“I told you I didn’t come here for money.”
Theron dropped the bucket at his feet and turned. “So why did you come here?”
“You left the wake early and I was concerned you might not have heard the news that everyone in the village is going to spend the night inside the castle walls.”
“Thanks for the notice.” He turned back and corked the jugs. When he finished, he looked up, annoyed. “Why are you still here?”
“What exactly do you know about combat?” Hadrian asked.
The farmer glared at him. “What business is it of yours?”
“As you pointed out, your daughter paid my partner and me good money to help you kill this monster. He’s working on providing you with a proper weapon. I am here to ensure you know how to use it when it gets here.”
Theron Wood ran his tongue along his teeth. “You’re fixin’ to educate me, are you?”
“Something like that.”
“I don’t need any training.” He picked up his buckets and yoke and began walking away.
“You don’t know the first thing about combat. Have you ever even held a sword?”
Theron whirled on him. “No, but I plowed five acres in one day. I bucked half a cord of wood before noon. I survived being caught eight miles from shelter in a blizzard and I lost my whole damn family in a single night! Have you done any of that?”
“Not your whole family,” Hadrian reminded him.
“The ones that mattered.”
Hadrian drew his sword and advanced on Theron. The old farmer watched his approach with indifference.
“This is a bastard sword,” Hadrian told him, and dropped it at the farmer’s feet and walked half a dozen steps away. “I think it suits you rather well. Pick it up and swing at me.”
“I have more important things to do than play games with you,” Theron said.
“Just like you had more important things to do than take care of your family that night?”
“Watch yer mouth, boy.”
“Like you were watching that poor defenseless grandson of yours? What was it really, Theron? Why were you really working so late that night? And don’t give me this bull about benefitting your son. You were trying to get some extra money this year for something you wanted. Something you felt you needed so badly you let your family die.”
The farmer picked up the sword, puffing his cheeks and rocking his shoulders back, his breath hissing through his teeth. “I didn’t let them die. It wasn’t me!”
“What did you trade them for, Theron? Some fool’s dream? You didn’t give a damn about your son; it was all about you. You wanted to be the grandfather of a magistrate. You wanted to be the big man, didn’t you? And you’d do anything to make that dream come true. You worked late. You weren’t there. You were out in the field when it came, because of your dream, your desires. Is that why you let your son die? You never cared about them at all. Did you? All you care about is yourself.”
The farmer charged Hadrian with the sword in both hands and swung at him. Hadrian stepped aside and the wild swing missed, but the momentum carried the farmer around and he fell to the dirt.
“You let them die, Theron. You weren’t there like a man is supposed to be. A man is supposed to protect his family, but what were you doing? You were out in the fields working on what you wanted. What you had to have.”
Theron got up and charged again. Once more Hadrian stepped aside. This time Theron managed to remain standing and delivered more wild swings. Hadrian drew his short sword and deflected the blows. The old farmer was in a rage now and struck out maniacally, swinging the sword like an axe with single, hacking strokes that stole his balance. Soon Hadrian did not need to parry anymore and merely sidestepped out of the way. Theron’s face grew redder with each miss. Tears filled his eyes. At last, the old man collapsed to the dirt, frustrated and exhausted.
“It wasn’t me that killed them,” he yelled. “It was her! She left the light on. She left the door open.”
“No, Theron.” Hadrian took the sword from the farmer’s limp hands. “Thrace didn’t kill your family and neither did you—the beast did.” He slipped his sword back in its sheath. “You can’t blame her for leaving a door open. She didn’t know what was coming. None of you did. Had you known, you would have been there. Had your family known, they would have put out the light. The sooner you stop blaming innocent people and start trying to fix the problem, the better off everyone will be.
“Theron, that weapon of yours may be mighty sharp, but what good is a sharp weapon when you can’t hit anything or, worse, hit the wrong target? You don’t win battles with hate. Anger and hate can make you brave, make you strong, but they also make you stupid. You end up tripping over your own two feet.” Hadrian stared down at the old man. “I think that’s enough for today’s lesson.”