Duels with Kauspetnd

Tom thrust his sword toward the mage, who blocked it with one of his sabers—the one in his left hand, I think, though it all happened very fast. They circled widdershins, their boots crunching on the stones; the only other noise was the rush of the narrow river channel chuckling over its rocky bed.

Then the Shaiksa aimed a couple of blows at Tom’s head. He blocked them easily, and they continued to circle each other. I could sense that Tom’s fear was gone now. He was concentrating, focusing on the fight, his confidence slowly growing.

Then it began in earnest. Kauspetnd launched a furious attack, both blades flashing in the light of the setting sun. My heart was in my mouth as Tom was forced backward, desperately parrying each blow, the Starblade held in both hands.

But he survived, and began to hold his ground; then the assassin yielded a few steps before renewing his onslaught.

How could Tom hope to survive such a ferocious attack for long? No wonder most of the fights had been over in a matter of minutes.

But survive he did, matching the Shaiksa blow for blow. Soon time became meaningless. I felt as if we were trapped in eternity, where all clocks ceased to tick. All that existed, all that had ever existed, and all that would ever exist, was this furious struggle. It would go on and on forever.

Starblade Book 1 Chapter 29