Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
“Asshole, I asked you a question.”
“You’re the blacksmith.”
It wasn’t really a question, but it felt like one. “You got a problem with that?”
He stared.
“That was a question—in case you couldn’t tell.”
He turned away and walked off.
“Whoa, hold up. What the hell were you going in my shop?”
He kept going.
I went after him. “I’m going to kick your fucking ass—”
He spun around and pinned my wrist down quicker than I could evade the attack. “I didn’t take anything.” He had a deep voice and wore hostility in his eyes like two beacons. His fingertips squeezed me, as if to make a point. “Now go about your day.” He released me and continued on his way.
“Not until you tell me what the hell you were doing on my property.”
He kept walking.
“I wasn’t joking about the ass-kicking.”
He ignored me, not seeing me as a threat whatsoever.
I sprinted, ready to jump onto his back and throw him down.
He sidestepped the attack as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
I hit the cobblestones with a groan. “Asshole…” I breathed through the pain in my knees and didn’t rise, my whole body taking a hit when I struck the hard surface. Then a hand appeared in my line of sight.
I stared at it before I looked up at him. “Are you kidding me with this?”
He kept his hand there as an offering.
I released a loud groan before I took it and let him help me up. “You’re still an asshole.”
He didn’t crack a smile. “Necrosis will be here in two days.”
I had to blink a couple times before I could process what he’d said. “I’m sorry…what did you just say?”
“They’re coming for HeartHolme. You’re going to need better weapons if you’re going to stop them this time.”
More blinks. More confusion. “How do you know this?”
“Does it matter?”
“Uh, yes. It does fucking matter.”
“I left Ice on your workbench. It’ll only make a couple swords, but that’s better than nothing.”
“Ice?”
“Infuse your blades with it. Kills them much quicker.”
Now I had no idea who this guy really was. “I’ve never heard of Ice.”
“Because it’s rare. So rare, no one has even heard of it.”
My eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
He was a foot taller than me, so his chin was tilted down slightly to watch me. “Necrosis isn’t here to feed. Not this time. They’re here to destroy. So their entire army is going to appear at your gates in the deepest part of the night. Asking me questions will only waste time, time that you don’t have right now.”
I wanted to ask my questions, but he hadn’t answered a single one, so I didn’t bother. “If you’re right about the Ice, how do I find more?”
“I’ve given you everything I have.”
“Where did you find it?”
No answer.
“Your plan was just to leave it out and hope I used it to make a sword?”
“The moment you saw it, you wouldn’t have been able to resist.” He stepped away.
“Can you at least tell me your name?”
“I’ll tell you next time.”
“Next time?” I asked. “If what you say is true, there may not be a next time.”
He turned back to face me, his eyes sharp like broken glass. “And if there is a next time, you’ll owe me.”
I gave a slow nod. “So that’s what this is about. You want something from us.”
“Not us,” he said. “You.”
It looked like a pile of broken glass. The shards had sharp corners, so sharp they could slash a wrist quicker than you could feel the cut. All the chunks were uneven, like pieces that belonged to other puzzles. There was also a vapor that rose from the pile, thin and faint, like sweltering heat on the horizon. I placed my hand close, and that was when I felt it.
The cold.
It was cold like ice.
The closer I came, the colder it felt, like ice directly against the skin.
It was pretty too, like freshly fallen snow with little flecks of gold in the powder. I studied it for a long time, and just like he said, my interest was too great. I was already considering how I would use it, in what quantities, and in what weapons.
I decided to divide it into two halves and create two swords. I mixed with our lightweight steel since the Ice would do most of the damage anyway and created two swords that were featherlight. It took me the entire morning to create the two, to handle the Ice gently so I wouldn’t cut myself or accidentally destroy it. By the time I was done, the light was high from all the windows.
I took the first sword in my hand and tested out the balance as I rolled it around my wrist. It was like a knife in hot butter, gliding through without friction. Couldn’t even hear the wind whistle in my ear.