“Jack told me the swords came in,” said Ingrid. “We came by to take a look.” Thomas handed her the weapon and she looked it over. “Nice.”

“Metal’s too soft to use for a sword,” Theo put in, catching the blade and examining it.

“I know, but it’s all we’ve got,” answered Thomas. “This is our only known weapon in fighting the demon.”

“And training?” asked Isabelle. “I don’t know about you but I skipped fencing class in college. In fact, I skipped college.”

“You and I start as soon as you’re ready.” He glanced at Theo and Ingrid. “Theo, I know you’re familiar with swords. I thought you could take over training some of the others.”

Theo nodded. “Micah’s got the rest of the weapons?”

“Yes. He’s got training swords, too. I think Jack and Adam are with him now.”

Ingrid handed the sword back to him. They said their goodbyes and went in search of swords to practice with.

After they’d gone, Isabelle looked directly at him, something she hadn’t done yet that morning, and he saw shadows in her eyes—trouble. “Do you know something about sword fighting?”

“More than the average person.”

She grinned at him. “So you want to be the one to train me, huh? Don’t trust me to Theo?”

“Never.”

She shrugged. “Let me get a cup of coffee and let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later they went to the ballroom of the Coven, a place big enough for them to move. Mirrors lined one wall and an area of hardwood flooring lay like an island in the middle of the plush red carpeting. Thomas and Isabelle stood on the hardwood, each holding a sword and facing each other. They had traded the viciously sharp swords for blunted training blades.

“We’re not going to train like fencers,” said Thomas, “since the demon’s not going to have a sword and, if he did, he wouldn’t be playing by any kind of rules anyway. I just want everyone to get a good feel for the weapon, learn to move with it in the most effective way.”

“Makes sense.”

“So the first thing to remember is to breathe.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Breathe? I’m doing that already. I intend to keep doing it for many more years.”

“I mean breathe in a regulated, focused way.”

“Be one with the sword?”

“Exactly. Breathe like you’re meditating, deep and regular. It will keep you calm and give you enough oxygen to fight.”

She tried it, turning around a circle with the sword in hand and breathing deeply as she moved. Closing her eyes, she rotated on the balls of her bare feet with the natural grace of a dancer or a warrior. Just by looking at her Thomas could tell that he didn’t need to discuss the second basic with her—balance.