Chosen (The Warrior Chronicles #1)(53)

“Yes, s’am.”

“Why is it that when you have a sword in your hand, you are light footed, but when you walk naturally you leave a heavy tread? Are you worried the ground will disappear unless you stomp on it?”

“No, s’am.”

“You will spend half of tonight and half of tomorrow night practicing in the dark. Take a sword with you. In the morning you will take me along your trail and point out places you performed a misstep. Yes?”

“Yes, s’am.”

“I am glad to hear you cleverly disguising your distaste for that punishment. Okay, Sterling is making his way in our direction. We need to change locations. Xavier, you will have Leilius at your back. Leilius, count the infractions, but cover them up. Gracas, you lead Marc—excellent work, by the way, Marc. It seems you finally realize this training is useful. Or maybe that you’ve come to grips with the fact that you will someday have to be in the field.”

Mark pouted. “The doctor said that the next time you follow us and jump out to yell ‘boo’ he’ll no longer train me. Since that is always your punishment, because you know the doctor hates surprises, I figure I should stop messing up.”

“Too bad. I love scaring you two. Fair enough. Rachie, you are doing well. You can follow the group of your choice. My team will follow the other. Yes?”

“Yes, s’am.”

“Good. Off you go. And hurry, Sterling is moving fast this time.”

They all looked at Xavier, who looked at Lucius. Who looked at the Captain. Who nodded.

As all the boys took off, Cayan fell in beside Shanti. “Sam?”

“Do you not realize how much longer that chain of command takes?” she asked, noticing Lucius falling in behind them.

“If I were giving the orders, there would be no reason to check in,” the Captain said with a pompous air.

“But you’re not giving the orders.”

“You’re welcome.”

Shanti pushed down the irrational urge to punch him in the throat. “S’am is a mix between sir and ma’am. It was the only title Leilius could get right more than once.”

“How often does Commander Sterling try to find you?”

“Nearly every day. I used to change the times we met to keep him away, but it turned into a sort of game, and it is great practice, so I changed the times of our practice to his idle times.”

“Has he ever found you?”

“Not so far.”

“Has he asked to watch your training outright?”

Shanti snickered. “Nope. He took it upon himself to snoop. Then he realized we were on to him, so he did it to prove a point, I think. He was exuding determination for a solid week. Now I think he is playing the same game. He wants to best us. We want to keep besting him. A merry chase it has become.”

“He doesn’t mean you harm?”

“No, I don’t think so. He is intrigued, is my best guess. And like I said, now it’s a game.”

“Commander Sterling doesn’t play games.”

Shanti shot him a sideward glance. “Maybe you just don’t know the ones that turn him on.”

“Is he the one that turned you down, then?” His tone was light, but the air got heavy. Shanti could tell Cayan was trying to hold his power at bay. He wanted to reach out and find out for himself, since he was a nosey bastard, but it seemed he also wanted to start controlling his Gift. Restraint was a very good thing with him.

“No, but thanks for reminding me about that. I hate having unanswered questions.”

The sound was not quite a growl, but it was close. It seemed the Captain hated mysteries. Men were incredible gossips!

They met up with the boys again. Shanti congratulated them on doing better, then put them to work. Knife throwing was first. It was a handy skill to have no matter the overall discipline. If a baker needed to escape in a hurry, and saw someone coming through the door, throw the knife and run. It was an easy item to carry on one’s person; you didn’t have to be close to use it effectively, and one throw could kill with a small amount of exertion. The boys worked hard at it, and Shanti helped them in each stage of their training. Only Xavier and Gracas were able to hit revolving and rotating targets effectively, but the rest were definitely coming along.

Next was archery. Rachie was excused, as was Leilius. They were crap. There was no point in wasting anybody’s time. Instead, those two worked on creating traps that could be left behind on a trail, intended to ensnare their victim, or simply kill or chop something off. Lucius and the Captain were extremely interested in that discipline.

“Your people did this often?” Cayan asked, memorizing the construction of one particularly gruesome contraption.

“Not often, no. I have, though. I have been hunted for the past year. Leaving these in my wake has…well, I’m still alive, so…”

“They work.”

“Very well.”

Cayan straightened up and put his hands on his hips, analyzing her. “But anyone could fall victim. Civilians.”

“Yes, which is why you only leave it when your life depends on it. Okay, boys, take it down.”

His mind brushed hers again. “You’ve had some close calls.”

“Very.” Shanti turned away from those probing eyes.