Chosen (The Warrior Chronicles #1)(31)

“Lucius will guard you,” the Captain said to the girl, apparently not planning to wait for Sanders to arrange it. “He’s fast and able. He’ll keep you out of trouble.”

Shanti turned to a quiet Lucius and smiled at him pleasantly. She could smile all she liked, if Lucius was anything like Sanders, he wouldn’t fall for it. Because like Sanders, he, too, had just gotten beat up by a girl. It wasn’t something a guy forgave all that easily. Or ever.

“Sanders’ hero—Lucius? Hello. So you are my Chance? You will be guarding my back?”

Lucius nodded with one black eye. She nodded once, staring back, before her eyes started to glow faintly. Even as Sanders’ mouth dropped open, Lucius stood up straighter.

How did glowing eyes not freak the guy out?

“That gives them the courage of a lion,” Shanti said to the Captain. “They will not balk, they will not be impeded by fear for themselves or family, and they will prosper because of it. Give that Gift to your Commanders if they go into battle…if you can remember how.”

She met the Captain’s gaze for a long moment, her jaw clenched.

“Thank you,” the Captain said. “For the warning. For...” The Captain let the word trail away as he stared at the foreign woman with a lightly puzzled expression.

Sanders barely had time to wonder what was going on before she broke the gaze and took off down the street. Lucius sprinted after her a moment later.

“What the f**k just happened, Sir?” Sanders couldn’t help but blurt. “Glowing eyes, stare-offs. She’s a menace, and something is definitely off—“

The Captain shot Sanders a hard look. A shut up or I’ll make you shut up kind of look. He turned back into the house. “Get ready. They are coming. And it’s going to be a bloody battle.”

A shock of apprehension coursed through Sanders. He had to make sure Junice got to safety! They were coming!

Chapter 13

Her Guard was huddled at a familiar copse of trees when Shanti tracked them down. They waited impatiently, mostly afraid and all apprehensive. Shanti approached at a fast walk, the thrill of the coming battle simmering her blood. “Are all your families to safety?”

“Yes, sir,” they responded.

“Good.” She looked them over, most with bent backs and large eyes, their limbs shaking and their faces pale. They wanted to help, felt it was their duty, and knew, one and all, that she would find them. And they were right. She’d trained them enough to give Shanti confidence that they could each help in their own way. It was not only necessary for the city, but vital for their experience levels.

“Leilius, where are your knives?” she asked. Lucius stopped directly behind her.

“Right here, sir.” Leilius patted his belt as he gulped.

“The rest of you, where are your swords?”

All the men patted their weapon, eyes pleaded for courage.

Shanti didn’t ever remember being this young. This green.

But then, she hadn’t had that luxury.

Shanti felt the trees around them, felt the life calling through the forest. She looked at the boys, so ill prepared, about to get their first lesson in warfare. “That is your weapon. You are the only one to wield it. In your hand, that weapon will protect your family. It will protect your brothers and sisters. It will protect your men at arms. It will protect your way of life. It will find you glory, it will mean your survival.”

She filtered the life-force through herself, merged it with the hope of eternal salvation, mixed in confidence and power, and layered it over their minds. Their brains hummed with an elixir of eternal life. Their backs straightened, their eyes brightened, and the crippling fear each and every one of them felt burned away like kerosene.

Shanti nodded. “I will be protecting the most vital point. Is there a main gangway to this city that is often in danger of being overrun?”

“The Western Gate,” Lucius replied. “It’s the smallest, but the most vulnerable. It’ll let people through if any of them will.”

“That is where we will be,” she said to Lucius. He nodded.

She turned to the boys, just about to become men. “You will be playing your game hide-and-seek with the enemy. You will ferret around the city, silently, hiding in shadows. Finding stragglers that have made it in. You will kill them quickly and silently. You will not worry about blood, Gracas. You will not worry if you miss, Leilius. You will not worry about pain, Rachie, or letting your family down, Marc. You are faster, Xavier. You will stick something sharp in them, nod to a countryman that you just saved, and move on. If they have presented their backs to you, you stick them in that back. And you nod to your mother, who you just saved. We are not seeking the thrill of the hunt, men. Not the flash. We are getting quick and dirty and saving our family by the quickest means possible. There is no shame in killing. Yes?”

“Yes,” they said in union.

“Protect your family. Happy hunting.” Shanti turned and ran, Lucius by her side.

It wouldn’t be long now. Death was sprinting toward their doorstep. Shanti intended to be the one who answered the door.

Chapter 14

“Are the men stationed?” the Captain asked, looking at his three Commanders.

Sanders stood with beating heart and pumping blood

“They are ready and able, sir,” Sterling said.