I carried said sword with me to the backyard in case Ronick had forgotten what I was talking about. Actually, I just liked lugging it around. The grooves in the hilt fit my fingers, similar to a well-used stake, and the way light shone on the black blade and the symbols etched there, how it pulsed as if in flight, mesmerized me. Plus, it was a bird-sword, and I'd had a severe lack of bird-swords in my life before now.

My stakes had a serious case of sword envy. I could just tell. ...