Then, without warning?—
“Catch.” Callum tosses the bladeat him.
The guy scrambles, just managing to snatch it in time.
I hide my smile.Ballsy.
The young Campbell hefts the sword, giving it a few practice swings. Then his eyes glint. “I’d like to put it to the test.” He looks straight at Callum. “Now.”
Callum’s face is blank. “I’ve only my practice sword. ’Tis wood.”
Oh no.
Callum’s going to get himself beaten again? I really need to stop getting this guy pummeled.
“All the better to see how sharp you’ve tempered my blade.” An evil smile spreads across his face. “Or are you afraid?”
“Not afraid,” Callum says evenly. “Only wanting to make sure I understand.”
He disappears into the barn. When he reemerges, his apron is gone, and he’s holding a wooden sword.
“Till first blood is drawn?” Callum asks.
I’m not even ogling anymore. I can barely focus over the roaring in my ears.
First blood?Callum’s sword is wood. It won’t draw anything but splinters.
Meanwhile, young Campbell’s blade is—well, a sword. Long, glinting, and freshly sharpened.
Callum strides toward an empty paddock and leaps the fence. Campbell Junior tips his weapon, admiring the light as it flashes along the steel.
Callum calls to him, “I thought ye’d like it pretty.”
Two points, Mister Black.
Campbell’s eyes narrow. He bounds into the paddock striding straight for Callum.
I run to the fence, breathless. “Stop!”
Callum ignores me.
The Campbell kid smiles. He wants to put on a show. He lifts his sword, pointing it like an arrow straight at Callum’s chin. “I do believe it’s time to muck up that face a bit more than it already is.”
“Think you can?” Callum bursts into motion. A crouch, a lunge—and suddenly he’s behind Campbell, smacking his thighs with the flat of his wooden sword.
Fear flickers across Campbell’s face before hardening into rage. He spins, stabbing wildly, and Callum barely ducks away.
That’s when his eyes find mine.
I realize I let out a whimper. I clamp my mouth shut.
Callum starts to reassure me. “Dinnae fash yourself?—”
Young Campbell sees his chance and strikes. Callum jerks sideways with a sharp hiss.
I slam my hands onto the fence, already stepping onto the lowest rung. “That’s not fair!”
Callum gives me a hard, silent shake of his head.Stay put.
