White Tiger

dummy.
    ‘Take the sword out, Lady Emma,’ Gold said, ‘and hold it in front of you.’
    I did as he said. He took the scabbard and put it on the grass away from us.
    ‘Now. Move some chi into the sword. Do it slowly, feel the sensation. Hold the sword with both hands and move the chi in. It will feel strange, be ready for it.’
    I held the sword in front of me and concentrated.
    ‘Only a small amount, Emma,’ John called.
    Gold raised his hand. ‘The Dark Lord is quite correct, my Lady, only a very small amount.’ He bobbed his head. ‘My apologies.’
    I held the sword out, concentrated, and moved about a golf ball’s worth of chi into it.
    The recoil knocked me backwards off my feet and sent the sword spinning out of my hands. I landed smack on my behind. Simone giggled. Leo guffawed. Even John laughed.
    ‘Do that again, Emma, that was funny!’ Simone squealed.
    ‘Wish I had a camera,’ John said. ‘The look on your face is priceless.’
    Leo didn’t say anything. He was bent double, speechless with laughter.
    I pulled myself to my feet. ‘You will all keep!’
    Gold had difficulty controlling his face. ‘Less than that, I think, to start.’ He fetched my sword for me. ‘Try again. Hold it tight. You’ll have less recoil as the sword becomes used to it.’
    ‘The sword has to get used to it?’
    ‘Just try it and feel it,’ John said. ‘I could explain about the sword, but it might be better if you just practise first.’
    I took a firm hold of the sword, held it in front of me and gingerly moved a minuscule amount of energy into it. The sword vibrated, but I could hold it. I moved more in, and the vibration intensified, but I could still hold it easily.
    I eased more chi into it until I reached a normal working level. The vibration intensified, then the sword stopped shaking and sang with a pinging crystalline whine that ran straight through my head like a glass blade.
    I pulled the energy out of the sword and it went silent.
    ‘All the demons for miles will run when they hear that,’ I said. ‘What an annoying sound.’
    ‘It will do more than annoy them,’ John said. ‘It will destroy any small ones that are close, and disable them if they are within earshot.’
    ‘How small?’ I said.
    ‘That depends entirely upon your own level of skill. The more you practise, the larger the demons you can destroy with it.’
    ‘I hope I didn’t hurt the house staff,’ I said, concerned.
    ‘I sent them down to the city,’ John said. ‘And they’re your staff too, now.’
    Leo snorted with amusement.
    ‘Give it a rest. That’s a really useful technique, Gold, thanks.’
    ‘That is not the technique. That is just an interesting side effect of the particular nature of this sword.’ ‘What’s the technique then?’ ‘Put the sword down and I’ll show you.’ I placed the sword on the grass.
    ‘Using a standard chi blast of about so big,’ he said, indicating a ball about the size of a basketball, ‘hit the target.’
    I generated the chi and threw it at the dummy. I wasn’t accurate; the chi hit the dummy slightly to one side and it burst into flames.
    ‘Pathetic,’ John said.
    ‘Leave her alone, Daddy, that was really good,’ Simone said, shoving him.
    Gold concentrated and the fire went out. ‘Now, load the sword with chi and use it like a slingshot to throw the energy. Only use about this much.’ He indicated a ball about the size of a tennis ball.
    I picked up the sword, held it front of me and filled it with energy. It sang. ‘That’s really annoying. How do I shut it up?’
    The sword went silent.
    ‘Okay, obviously I just ask it.’
    ‘Just tell it what to do,’ John called. ‘Tell it to sing again.’
    The sword sounded without me saying anything. I ordered it to shut up and it went silent. ‘Is it sentient?’
    ‘No,’ John said. ‘Has the stone in the ring said anything yet?’ ‘No.’
    ‘Stone in the ring?’ Gold said. I held the ring up for him to see. ‘Are you sure that was a good idea, my Lord? It will waken eventually.’
    ‘Emma can handle it,’ John said.
    ‘If anyone can, she can,’ Gold agreed. ‘I look forward to it waking. It’s been a long time.’
    I tried something. I ordered the sword to sing, and it sounded. I ordered it to make the sound lower, and it obliged. I ran it through some excruciatingly painful scales.
    A dog barked some distance away and others picked up the refrain. The hillside echoed with their howls of