The Elemental Mysteries: Complete Series by Hunter Elizabeth

Author:Hunter, Elizabeth [Hunter, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Paranormal, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction
Amazon: B00HMEYAC6
Publisher: E. Hunter
Published: 2013-12-31T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Penglai Island, China

September 2010

The longer he watched her, the faster his heart beat.

She was astonishing.

A vision of her transformed assaulted him. Lithe grace turned into preternatural strength and speed. Fangs gleaming in her mouth as she pierced his skin. Her smooth, pale skin crackling with energy when she touched him.

Imagining Beatrice as an immortal was undeniably alluring. Yet, it still filled him with guilt.

“She’ll be stunning when she turns,” Baojia said as he sat next to him.

Giovanni glared at him, irritated that his thoughts had been so closely mirrored by the other vampire.

“She’s stunning now.”

Baojia just cocked an amused eyebrow at him.

“She plans on it. Why else would she practice as she does?” He folded his legs and hands in a meditative pose. “I think it was in the back of her mind even before you came back.”

“Oh?”

“I remember the first martial arts class she took. Introductory tai chi. Ernesto was very pleased. Beatrice says Tenzin suggested it. Very forward thinking of your old partner; it will help immeasurably with physical control.”

Giovanni wanted the water vampire to shut up. He disliked being reminded of the years where Baojia had watched over Beatrice, and he had not. He decided to change the subject.

“What weapons do you plan on introducing?”

“I’ll start her with the jian and dao. She doesn’t have any experience with weapons yet, and those will be a good start for her.”

Giovanni nodded. The double-edged straight sword, or jian, and the curved single-edge saber, or dao, would be light enough for a human and versatile enough for Beatrice to carry regularly. Moreover, both were weapons he had some experience with and would be able to practice with her.

“Eventually, she will wield the shuang gou.”

“What?” Giovanni looked up, frowning. “The hook sword?”

“Two,” he said, watching Beatrice move in the faster wushu that Giovanni remembered practicing so many years before with Tenzin. Baojia leaned forward, tracking Beatrice with his eyes. “She’ll carry two. Watch her move, di Spada. She’s quick as a human; imagine her after. And she doesn’t favor either side. She’s adaptable and smart enough to wield them effectively.” Baojia smiled. “Yes, we will start with the dao, but the shuang gou will be her weapon.”

Giovanni frowned. The wicked curves of the traditional hook swords used in the northern part of China may have been brutally effective, even Zhang favored them, but they were also dangerous.

“Any sword is dangerous,” Baojia murmured, as if reading Giovanni’s thoughts, “but the shuang gou has many advantages to the one who can wield it effectively.”

In the end, Giovanni had to admit that the water vampire’s knowledge of weapons was far more extensive than his own. “I will accede to your expertise, Baojia, as long as it is what Beatrice wishes.”

“I will make sure to demonstrate a variety of weapons with Tenzin. That way she will be able to observe them all.”

“But keeping the jian and dao for her weapons at first?”

Baojia chuckled. “I never would have taken you for such a cautious immortal.”

Just then, Beatrice’s laugh rang through the practice room.

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