Wizard's Sword (The Battle Wizard Saga, No.2) Read Online Free Page A

campus. After parking, he grabbed his gear and went to the side door. Two women carrying gym bags climbed the short flight of stairs and entered ahead of him.
    Inside, he looked around. The familiar sounds and smells of workouts filled the space. Metallic clanks and grunts sounded from the weight lifting area. Wooden swords and staffs clacked as some sparred. Stamping, scraping, and slapping sounded from a group engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
    However, the familiarity stopped there. In small-town Minnesota, the gym would be filled with guys. Here, there weren′t any other males in a gym filled with over a dozen Amazons. It even smelled a lot better than his memory of the high school gym.
    Women stopped to look at him. Sig felt like a spotlight illuminated him. He wanted to run. Instead, he looked around for a familiar face.
    Arianna sauntered up wearing karate gi; a black belt wrapped around her waist. "You made it, good. We′re next on the mats in about five minutes."
    Sig hefted his bag. "Where can I change?"
    Arianna′s eyebrows rose. "Change? We usually come dressed or…" She gestured over to where the two women who preceded him had stripped down to their underwear and now donned workout clothes.
    Sig wrenched his eyes away, trying not to stare. Tall, muscular, and shapely, they were staring material.
    "We use the facilities at the gas station down the block if you have to go potty. We keep the women′s side clean. I don′t know what the men′s side is like. Or, you can change by that bench over there." Arianna looked at him with a challenge in her eyes then smiled, "Do you go commando?"
    Sig blushed. "No, the bench will be fine."
    Not wanting to seem prudish, he sat down, untied and pulled off his boots, then stood and dropped his pants. It seemed like the spotlight intensified. He quickly pulled off his shirt and donned his gi. He wanted to cover up the flush that suffused his body.
    He turned toward the sound of quiet clapping. Giselle, the redhead they met last night said, "Nice, I like the jock strap and cup. I bet Arianna didn′t mention the storeroom where men change."
    Sig′s head swiveled to look at Arianna. She smiled. "Storeroom? I guess I forgot about it. Well, no one got injured during the process."
    Giselle shook her head, still smiling broadly. "Don′t let her get into your head. She′ll go for every advantage she can, not that she needs it."
    Sig gritted his teeth, nodded, and smiled back. "No harm done. Good trick. I′m learning the rules."
    Giselle laughed. "Honey, there aren′t any rules."
    She and Arianna looked at each other and laughed. Sig noticed several nearby women smiling.
    While they shared a laugh at his expense, he noticed that Giselle′s hair was the same red-gold color as the girl′s he fell for who turned out to be a witch that buried him alive. Giselle didn′t have the voluptuous beauty that Madeline possessed, but he noticed that her chiseled, broad-shouldered frame came with an adequate compliment of well-placed curves.
    After a quick warm up, he met Arianna on the mats. Sig noted that she appeared to be at least two inches taller than his six feet and he guessed she massed as much. Her legs were longer than his were, but he thought he had longer arms.
    They met in the middle of the mat and bowed. Before he straightened, she dropped and lashed out with a leg sweep. Half expecting it, based on previous actions and Giselle′s warning, he sprang into the air and blocked the upward kick to the groin that followed. He landed spinning and slammed a kick to her side that she partially blocked. He just managed to pull his leg back before she grabbed it.
    He began the match thinking he would have to ease up, but quickly realized he could get hurt if he didn′t give it his all. She used her better leg reach to good effect and surprised him with her strength.
    After almost five minutes of a very even match, he panted from exertion. It felt good pressing hard like this, but he