Pain bloomed in my chest. I gasped for breath while curled in a fetal position on the ground. Once I regained my wind, I pushed myself to a sitting position. The flow of soldiers remained unabated, and I wondered if anyone had witnessed what that bastard had done.
If he was trying to discourage me, he was going about it the wrong way. Nix had just increased my resolve to learn self-defense so I didn’t fall victim to mongrels like him. I stood up and waited for Nix’s next circuit, but he never came back.
Ari stopped. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” Nix, like Margg, was my problem. If I didn’t deal with him, he would never leave me alone. A tingle of doubt touched my stomach. It had been that kind of thinking that had landed me in the dungeon, awaiting execution.
“Your face is covered with blood,” Ari said.
I wiped the blood on my sleeve. “I fell.”
Before he could question me further, I changed the subject by giving him something else to think about. I repeated Valek’s advice about concealing our training sessions; Ari agreed that it was prudent to go “underground.” He offered to scout out a suitable location.
“You’re Maren, right?” I asked between gasps for air. I had been running laps for a week, and this morning I had timed my pace to run beside Maren.
She shot me a quick, appraising glance. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Wide muscular shoulders atop a thin waist made her figure appear disproportionate. She moved with athletic ease, and I had to scramble to keep up with her long, loping strides.
“And you’re the Puker,” Maren said.
It was an insult aimed with a purpose; her interest in my response was keen. If she had wanted to dismiss me, she would have made her comment and sprinted away, not bothering to watch for a reaction.
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Why do you do it?” Maren asked.
“What?”
“Run till you’re sick.”
“Five circuits were assigned. I don’t like to fail.” I received another measuring look. With my words coming out as huffs, I knew I wouldn’t be able to maintain a conversation for long. “I watched you fight Valek. I’ve heard you’re the best with a bow. I want to learn to use one.”
Her pace slowed. “Who told you that?”
“Ari and Janco.”
Maren snorted as if she thought a con artist had duped me. “Friends of yours?”
“Yes.”
Her mouth formed a small o as she made a mental connection. “They found you in the forest. It’s rumored they were training you to fight but you quit. Are they foisting you off on me?”
“The problem with rumors—” I panted “—is the difficulty in sorting the truth from the lies.”
“And the reason I’m willing to donate my time?”
I had anticipated this question. “Information.”
“About what?”
“You want to beat Valek, right?”
Her gray eyes focused on me like two sword points pressing against my skin.
With the last of my breath, I wheezed out, “Come to the east entrance of the castle this afternoon at two and I’ll tell you.” Unable to keep up with her any longer, I slowed down. She pulled ahead. I lost sight of her in the press of soldiers.
Throughout the rest of the morning, I replayed the conversation in my mind, trying to guess her response as I tasted the Commander’s meals. At two o’clock, I waited in the castle’s east doorway, chewing on my lip. Ari and Janco had spread a rumor that my training had stopped. I’d taken a considerable risk by indicating to Maren that this might not be true. When I spotted a tall figure carrying two bows heading in my direction, my anxiety eased a little.
Maren paused when she entered the corridor. She spotted me leaning against the wall.
Before she could comment, I said, “Follow me.” I led her to a deserted hallway where Janco and Ari waited.
“I guess gossip is not to be trusted,” Maren said to Ari.
“No. But there are certain rumors we would like to keep as is.” A thinly disguised threat laced Ari’s words.
Maren ignored him. “Okay, Puker, what’s your information? And it better be good or I’m walking.”
Ari’s face reddened and I could see that he bit back a remark. Janco, as always, grinned in anticipation.
“Well, as I see it, the four of us can help each other out. Ari, Janco and I want to learn how to fight with the bow. You want to beat Valek. Working together, we may be able to achieve our goals.”
“How’s my teaching you going to help in a match against Valek?” Maren asked.
“You’re skilled with the bow, but your fighting tactics need work. Ari and Janco can help you with that.”
“One week of training and the Puker thinks she’s an expert,” Maren said to Ari with an incredulous voice. He remained mute, but his face darkened.
“I’m not an expert, but Valek is.”
She shot me a cold stare. “He said that? About me?”
I nodded.
“So I teach bow, and Ari and Jan teach tactics. What’s your contribution?”
I gestured to the four of us. “This. And…” I hesitated, unsure if my next statement would have any sway. “I could teach you some flips, and help you to gain greater flexibility and balance that might benefit you in a fight.”
“Damn.” Janco was impressed. “She’s go
t you there. And four does make for a better training group than three.”
Annoyed, Maren shifted her focus to Janco. He smiled sweetly at her.
“All right, I’ll try it on a temporary basis. If it doesn’t work, I’m walking.” Before anyone could interject, she said, “Don’t worry. I may listen to the rumor mill, but I don’t participate in it.”
Once we shook hands on the arrangement, my apprehension dissipated. We showed her where we had been meeting for the last week.
“Cozy,” Maren said as she entered our training room.
Ari had found an abandoned storeroom on the lower level in the deserted southwest corner of the castle. Two windows near the ceiling let in enough light to work by.
We spent the remaining time practicing the rudiments of bow fighting.
“Not bad, Puker,” Maren said at the end of the session. “I see some potential.”
When she picked up her bows to leave, Ari placed a large hand on her shoulder. “Her name’s Yelena. If you don’t want to call her by her name, then don’t come back tomorrow.”
I could see my astonished expression mirrored on Maren’s face, but she recovered quicker than I did. Nodding curtly, she shook off Ari’s hand and walked away. I wondered if she would join us again.
She returned the next day, and showed up without fail for the next two months as we trained together throughout the cooling season. The air held a fresh crisp scent, and true to the season’s name, each day grew cooler than the last. The bright flowers of the hot season wilted while the trees turned orange, russet and finally brown. The leaves dropped to the ground and were blown away by the frequent rainstorms.
My research on the pods had stalled, but Valek appeared unconcerned by my lack of progress. On occasion he observed us training, and he would comment and make suggestions.
Nix continued to plague me during my morning run. He threw rocks, he spat on me and tripped me. I had to change my routine to avoid him by running laps around the outer wall of the castle complex. My defensive abilities were still in the beginning stages, and not sufficient for a confrontation with Nix. At least, not yet. There were advantages to running outside the complex. The smooth grass was softer on my feet than the dirt path inside the complex, and by jogging before dawn, I encountered no one, which added to the deception that I had quit training.