444: Strong Arm Tactics
Alexandra Erin on May 17, 2010 in Book 16
In Which Mackenzie Puts Her Foot Down
Gloria was just a little bit faster in seizing the moment than I was. She might not have known exactly what I’d just done, but she had to be able to see that something had changed. The staff felt awkward in my hands. No, my hands felt awkward on the staff. I was suddenly very aware of its weight. It wasn’t heavy, not to me… but until I’d ripped the enchantment out of it, it had felt more like a part of my arms than something I was holding in them.
She lashed out and I lashed back, shoving up and forward to catch her blade and knock it back. For lack of any better plan, I just kept moving forward. She ended up on her ass, though she scrambled sideways and got herself up on her feet before I figured out what to do next. Hit her, obviously, but I wasn’t really holding the staff in a swingable position.
Even without magic guidance, it really wasn’t that hard to figure out how to put a stick I was holding right in front of me in between myself and a sword blade. Yes, there definitely was something to be said for a staff over a sword when it came to blocking… I just needed to work on striking.