Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (red queen free ebook txt) 📗

immediately to ward off the multitude of thrusts and slashes. Utsef used several known and practiced patterns and routines but varied from them and blended them with surprising ease. If not for Cooper's speed, he would've surely been overwhelmed within the first twenty seconds. Without knowing how long Utsef could maintain his increased speed, Cooper began to Channel some of the energy that filled the space around him. Speed came easily now and it almost seemed like he could slow Utsef's advance simply by increasing the speed of his own reactions. He slipped under a slash that would've sliced away a portion of his ear. It would have been easy enough to block, and in fact that had been Utsef's intent; to draw his blade upward and leave his ribs unguarded. Instead, Cooper avoided the strike entirely and shifted his weight forward. Since Utsef's own blade was high, his ribs were unprotected as well. From this position it would be a simple matter to drive a blade upward, behind the man's lowest ribs, and puncture his diaphragm, perhaps even into a lung. Cooper stepped through without striking and resumed his fighting crouch, forcing Utsef to pivot in order to face him. He'd lowered the previously raised blade instinctively, to protect his exposed ribs, knowing the effort would've been wasted. Cooper capitalized on Utsef's foot placement and shifted even further to the outside. This movement made it necessary for Utsef to either pivot even further, placing almost his entire weight on his front leg, or disengage entirely. He grinned slightly as he pivoted. Cooper stepped inward to slash Utsef's forward leg and Utsef brought his rear leg forward to thrust his knee at Cooper's exposed side. Cooper re-directed his slash to meet Utsef's knee strike and laid the flat of his blade against Utsef's inner thigh, just above the knee. It demonstrated the action but did nothing to impede the knee strike, which struck Cooper glancingly but enough to push him beyond the reach of any counter strike. Cooper felt the energy well up within him and he rushed forward striking at several perceived vulnerabilities in rapid succession. Utsef managed to deflect each strike but a few of them came dangerously close to striking. “Good!”, Utsef called out with an amused laugh. The teacher edged backward and risked the question, “Is there more?” Cooper recalled several sequences that Felis had used against him when they'd sparred before hunting Egil. He used them now. Utsef raised an eyebrow as he prepared to interrupt the pattern with a counter of his own. There seemed to be no end to the available energy and Cooper abandoned the pattern and captured Utsef's right wrist in the cross guard of his left hand blade, and started to twist. Utsef recognized immediately that his wrist was about to be trapped, if not broken, and withdrew completely, raising his arm high to avoid the cross guard. Anticipating this Cooper stepped forward in preparation for a devastating strike between Utsef's ribs.

All at once there was an unmistakable presence nearby. Beyond the edge of the clearing but he knew immediately that it must be Uaine, or one of the other fae. He'd never felt them before, but then he'd not yet Manifested yet when he was last here. He let his blades drop to his sides, indicating that he was ending the match. He tried to ignore the presence he felt from the woodline and turned an inquisitive eye to the teacher.

Utsef lowered his blades, “There were a few times when you could've struck me. Why didn't you?” Cooper sheathed his blades, “It would've interrupted the session. It's enough to know that I could've.” Utsef squinted, “Just how fast are you? The depth of your Talent... I expected, waited even, for you to run out of energy. You didn't...” Cooper shrugged, “I don't know much about it. Studying Talent is more Felis' area of expertise. If he's still alive, that is.”

The statement created a pause in conversation as each of them retreated to their own memories. Utsef was the first to speak. His tone was serious and the characteristic mirthful glint in his eyes was absent, “You didn't strike when you could've. That's an important lesson to expand on.” Cooper interjected without sounding impatient, “Assassins do more than simply kill, I know.” Utsef lowered his shoulders, “True. But it's more than that. The Guild receives requests all the time, sometimes a dozen in a single day. These are reviewed and decisions are made whether to accept them or simply reject them outright. Those that are accepted are  assigned to an Assassin, who then researches them. Before even creating a plan, the Assassin must decide, 'is this target worth killing?'. What changes will occur with the completion of this contract?” He paused and Cooper remained silent. He understood. Some contracts should be refused. Utsef continued, “If an Assassin decides to reject an assignment, he or she reports that to Master Vorni,” (“Not anymore.” Cooper thought.) “who then assembles a small council to hear the Assassins reasons for rejection. Those Masters then decide whether to honor the rejection, or reassign the contract.” That made sense. The Assassin might refuse for personal reasons, or the council might have a better comprehension of long-term Guild goals. There needed to be a means to re-address a rejected contract, but it couldn't very well be assigned to someone who'd already rejected it. Cooper acknowledged that he understood the motive behind Utsef's detailed explanation, “There's no council now and my client might not even be alive. What now?” Utsef's eyes glinted again, “Then you'll just have to decide for yourself. The responsibility for researching the assignment still applies. Once that is done, thoroughly done, then you'll know for yourself.” Cooper sat silently as he considered all that Utsef had just told him. He also recalled that he'd definitely felt some kind of presence in the Forest as he and Utsef had sparred. He felt