BROKEN BONES AND SHATTERED SPEARS by Edward Rickford

Author:Edward Rickford
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Black Acorn Literary Press
Published: 2021-12-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Pozon smashed his wooden sword against the ribs of his defenseless dummy. The cloth dummy, fixed in place with an oak stake, did not budge.

He retreated a few paces and adjusted his helmet. Farfan and Estrada said it was unfair that the others had Indians to protect them and insisted he learn how to use a sword. They were, of course, too important to give him lessons, but they assured him he could learn on his own. After all, Estrada had little in the way of formal training and she was one of the best sword hands in all the crew.

Pozon squeezed the sword hilt and stabbed it into the dummy’s torso. He twisted the sword, but the fabric caught the blade mid-turn, sending a sudden pain through his forearm. He dropped the practice weapon. It landed next to his feet, and he kicked outward in a fit of rage. The wooden sword sailed through the air and landed amongst the corn stalks.

He turned his frustration on the dummy and pummeled it with his bare fists. He poured all of his pent-up fury into each hit, pounding with all his might. By the time he was finished, his arms were burning like fire and felt heavy as copper weights. The dummy, however, looked none the worse.

A bead of sweat rolled into his eye, and he adjusted his helmet to wipe the sweat from his brow. The snapping of a stick caught his attention, and he dropped into a crouch.

Was somebody watching him? He glanced over his shoulder. He had set up the dummy next to a stand of pine trees, and the nearest tent was fifty paces away. His goal had been to find a place far enough from camp for privacy, but close enough that he could make it back easily. Perhaps I should have stayed closer.

Pozon scanned the corn field for danger. The immature stalks did not rise much higher than his head, but he could hide among them if he needed to. A bead of sweat trickled down his face. What good would hiding do if the Mexica attacked with a full army?

His heart pounded in his ears. The thought of being taken captive by the Mexica made his knees shake. They did awful, terrible things to their captives. All the teteo said so, and so did Yaotl.

A lump formed in his throat. It had been so long since he had seen his sister, Yaotl. He missed her every day. He tried to think of what Yaotl would do if she were with him. It was pointless, though. Yaotl would have never allowed herself to become a slave. He closed his eyes and pushed those thoughts from his head. It would not help to think like that, not right now.

Yaotl would find a way to defend herself, that’s what she would do. Pozon gritted his teeth and cursed himself for kicking his sword. Sure that no good would come from hiding, he waded through the thick stalks in search of his sword.

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