Avatar: The Wheel of Time | Book One: The Earth Kingdom |

Chapter 5: Firestorm

I'm not sure what woke me, whether it was the soft patter of tiny feet on the floor, or the gentle thud of a closing door, or maybe just the chilly nighttime breeze drifting in through the open window. Needless to say, something woke me that night, and when I sat up, I didn't have to look far for the reason.

Through the window, I watched as Lee glanced around furtively before sliding open the barn door.

What does Lee want with Sparky? I narrowed my eyes as Lee tip-toed inside, disappearing into the shadows. Quietly slipping from my bed, I grabbed my robe and climbed out through the window, bare feet touching lightly against the sandy earth.

Lee darted out, Sparky's sword clutched in his grasp. He raced down the path and into the sunflower field. I laughed a little, shaking my head. Boys.

I began to follow him, just to make sure he didn't impale himself accidentally, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Gasping, I ducked behind the corner of the house as Sparky himself emerged from the barn. I let out a sigh of relief, watching as Sparky rubbed his eyes and followed the fast disappearing figure of Lee into the sunflowers.

Go back to sleep, I told myself, but curiosity drew me after them.

Even from a distance, I could hear Lee's cries of Ha! Heh! Huh! Hai-yah! Fallen sunflower stalks crackled beneath my feet as I crept closer.

Lee panted aloud as he stabbed a hollow tree trunk over and over with both swords. Wait. Both swords? Since when had there been two?

"You're holding them all wrong," Sparky commented, arms crossed.

Lee yelped, falling over backwards in surprise. He rose slowly, a sunflower falling off his head as he abashedly offered the swords to Sparky.

"Keep in mind, these are dual swords," Sparky advised, taking the weapons back and fitting them together to demonstrate. "Two halves of a single weapon."

Dual swords? I'd read about them somewhere, but they were rare, and hard to master. Who was Sparky, and where had he gotten them?

"Don't think of them as separate, because they're not. They're just two different parts of the same whole." He slashed the air, looking much better with them than Lee had. With a swift stroke, he decapitated a row of sunflowers. I flinched.

Sparky handed the swords back to Lee, who took them eagerly. He folded his arms again and watched as Lee resumed his play-fighting, now with much more control.

I was impressed. Who knew Sparky was such a good teacher.

Lee glanced back at Sparky, who nodded in approval, a smile warming his features. Spirits, he was hot when he smiled.

Lee giggled, playing around a bit more before returning the blades to their owner. Sparky took them and fit them back in their sheath, walking beside Lee on the path back to the house.

I squeezed into the sea of sunflowers to let them pass. Sparky eyed the swaying sunflowers in my wake suspiciously, but continued without spotting me.

"I think you'd really like my brother Sensu," Lee remarked, "He used to show me stuff like this all the time."

When they had gone far enough ahead that I thought they wouldn't see me, I crept out and followed them to the house. Sparky watched as Lee waved goodbye and entered the house. He stood there for a moment before turning to the barn and jerking back when he spotted me. His sword was halfway out of its sheath before he recognised me.

"You again," he exhaled, sliding his sword back.

"Me again," I agreed, stepping out of the shadows.

"Do you often walk around barefoot in the middle of the night?" he raised an eyebrow at me.