The Revelation of Light and Dark (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 1)

I frown, peering closer. “But why?”

“Because iron is dangerous to the fae and daemons,” he says, and my gaze snaps up to stare at him with wide eyes. He nods toward the cabinet. “All of these weapons are iron.”

“Why am I just learning this?” I ask, aghast neither Zaid nor Carrick imparted this to me. Not that I’d gotten to the part where I’d thought of hurting or killing fae myself, but it’s a fascinating bit of information.

“You have so much to learn, little grasshopper. But let’s keep talking about the whip.” Titus runs his hand down the length of the thong, covered in tiny iron scales that are reminiscent of what I imagine dragon-hide would look like.

A thought strikes me, and my eyes get big. No, it’s simply too fantastical, and yet… I have to ask to make sure. “Are dragons a real thing?”

Rolling his eyes, Titus ignores the question. Taking the end of the thong, he holds it up. “The thong on this whip is three feet in length. At the end is what’s called the fall—a single piece of twelve-inch leather. All together with the handle, thong, and fall, you have about a five-foot weapon, more with the extension of your arm.”

“It’s covered in iron, too,” I observe as I examine the fall. Tiny little squares of iron are affixed to the thin piece of leather on both sides.

“All the better to slice Dark Fae,” Titus says ominously. “Now, on most bullwhips, there will be another piece tied onto the fall called the cracker. It’s for showing off sound mostly, and it’s what creates that sonic-boom cracking sound.”

“Why doesn’t this whip have one?”

“What’s more important, Finley? Making a cracking noise or hurting a fae?” His tone is dry, and the answer is, of course, obvious, so he doesn’t even expect me to answer. “Because the fall will do a lot more damage without the cracker, although technically, you’ll still get a cracking noise. It just won’t be as loud unless the person hearing it stands directly before you. The cracker disperses the noise all around.”

“Can you show me how it works?” I ask eagerly.

Titus’ lips twitch, and he moves backward several paces. “Offensively, you can do a straight-over-the-shoulder strike to make contact with someone or you can use it defensively to keep someone back.”

He demonstrates by raising the handle of the whip past his shoulder, causing the thong to fly backward. As it falls, almost touching the back of his leg, he snaps it forward again. The thong and fall move in a fluid ribbon of motion over his shoulder, striking at an imaginary opponent who could be standing directly in front of him. There’s a crack—not overly loud, but enough that I jump.

“If you want to get fancy and intimidate your opponent, a figure-eight over the head is a nice move.” He demonstrates this by raising the handle and with a quick, definitive movement filled with confidence, he maneuvers the handle in a figure-eight above his dreadlocked head. The thong and fall follow, making the same pattern. At the end, he launches his arm straight out.

Another sharp crack, and I can’t help but murmur. “That’s so cool.”

“As you can see, it’s good to keep enemies at bay. You get fast enough with it, then you can keep several away at the same time. If you strike a fae or daemon opponent with the thong, it’s going to bruise badly, and the iron scales are going to burn exposed skin. If you catch them exactly right with the thong or the fall, it can slice and the iron will delay healing. If you’re accurate, you can take out an eye and the iron could even be poisonous enough to prevent regrowth.”

“It’s fascinating that iron can do that,” I murmur.

Titus nods. “Depending on the caste you’re dealing with, iron can sicken a fae or daemon greatly. Mere cuts or stabs using iron will weaken them, but, in time, they will heal. To kill a fae or daemon, there are three specific methods.”

“And those are?” I sidle in closer, curious for information that could save my life one day.

“A simple beheading with an iron weapon works,” Titus says, nodding back to the wall of weapons within the cabinet. “That’s why a long or broad sword are good choices. Even the scythe if you can get in close enough. But it still must be iron to separate the brain from the spine for the creature to die. I don’t think this is a good choice for you.”

“And why is that?”

“Because it takes a lot of strength to alleviate someone of their head.”

“Point taken.”

“There are two other ways to kill a fae or daemon,” Titus continues in his lecturing voice. “A strike through the heart or brain with iron is instant death. They can’t recover from it.”