Chosen (The Warrior Chronicles, 1)

by K. F. Breene

  Sanders stared mutely at the curly haired idiot. He was too flabbergasted to be mad. “Do it anyway.”

  “But, sir—“

  “That’s an order!”

  Rachie sighed and mumbled, “I’ll just hurt him and you’ll be pissed.”

  “What was that, Cadet?”

  Rachie jumped and shook his head. Apparently Shanti hadn’t completely beat sense into the lad.

  Cadet Jonhas waited for Rachie to look at him, then jumped at the other boy, arms moving in small circles to the side, wrestling style. He feinted once, throwing his whole body to the right. Rachie didn’t bite. Didn’t even flinch. Jonhas feinted a second time, straight at Rachie. Rachie sighed again with a resigned expression.

  The third lunge would go live. Jonhas was indeed a little preplanned, but he was still a Cadet. He had some things to learn in the arena of reality that he could only learn with more experienced fighters. Of which Rachie shouldn’t be one. Not with only a month and a half’s worth of whatever it was he did with Shanti and his fellow Honor Guard members. And though it was his job to be neutral, Sanders hoped Jonhas would ring the kid’s bell. Jonhas was the best of the Cadets and soon to move up in the ranks. He’d been at this a year longer than Rachie and showed ten times the promise.

  As if reading Sanders’s mind, Jonhas rushed in, arms and legs everywhere, trying to mix up his opponent before he smacked him down… and landed on his back.

  Rachie had barely moved. His movements had been straightforward and efficient, and now he stared down at Jonhas with a distraught expression.

  “I didn’t want to,” Rachie said in slight embarrassment. “I told you that—”

  “Enough!” Sanders barked. Rachie flinched. It shouldn’t have been as gratifying as it was. “Rachie, head to the Pit. Jonhas, keep at it.”

  It was time for Shanti’s Honor Guard to get evaluated. He didn’t understand their style, but he couldn’t argue with results. Rachie had been way behind everyone else before the foreign woman showed up, and he’d just won the fight with no strain. The other guys she trained were showing the same sort of results. If they didn’t excel at one art, they were masters at another. Leilius could barely hold a sword, but with a long knife and some cover, he was silent and deadly. Rachie had just proved that hand-to-hand combat was his forte. Marc was now apprenticing with the doctor, which had always known the kid had talent, but hadn’t been able to get it out of him until recently. Gracas was a blur with any weapon he used and often surprised himself when he won mock battles. That kid was under-confident, if anything.

  And then there was Xavier. He was a leader. Even the Captain was taking special interest. He was large but still fast. He could work with nearly any weapon he tried. He had great aim with arrows and knives. And most of all, when he talked, men listened. The group was turning into Xavier’s Honor Guard more than Shanti’s. She talked to him, he talked to his men, and they all excelled.

  Sanders had asked Shanti about it the other day, wondering if she didn’t feel the pinch of Xavier taking her power. She had shrugged in her unconcerned way and said, “The Captain thinks I can’t be reasonable. So I am giving him his chain of command. What do I care who gives the orders, as long as the goal is met?”

  Sanders would care a great deal, actually, but he didn’t want to sound insecure by saying so. But one thing he couldn’t ignore anymore--Shanti had great skill, and she could train. She could be a valuable asset. Sanders hated to admit it, but it was best for all of them if she stuck around. He just wondered how long that would last.

  Chapter 26

  Two weeks later, Lucius stood with his back to the window, completely naked, when Shanti walked in. The man had a well-shaped body with wide shoulders, but he wasn’t overbearing. His muscles were cut and defined, and he stood balanced. He was an attractive man with a calm demeanor and patient air about him. He was a good Chance. Steady, strong, a good fighter, and reasonable. He also wasn’t bashful like so many of the men here were.

  “I hear you are able to leave this jip-joint?” Shanti asked as she sat on the bed.

  “Oh good, she has another wonderful little colloquialism,” the doctor remarked in his usual dry tone. He was sitting in the chair, putting his instruments into a leather bag. “With apparently a complete disregard for privacy. I wonder why no one has tried to take her home to mother?”

  “I am being released today,” Lucius said, ignoring the doctor.

  “I hear you are to return as my Chance. Was that your choice, or were you appointed?”

  “Your Chance? I’ve heard you use term before. What does it mean?”

  “My…co-fighter, I guess. My teammate. The one who watches my back, you might say. When I need protection to use my Gift, you provide it.”

  “Caretaker comes to mind,” the doctor commented.

  Shanti shook her head in frustration. “It’s hard to explain, I guess. You are my charge, I am yours. We are—we trust each other—“ She shook her head again. “It’s hard to explain.”

  Lucius nodded slowly. “I volunteered.”

  “Good. Otherwise it wouldn’t work. You’ll be like a sibling to me. A brother. It forbids anything sexual. Our bond, when it comes, needs to be closer than that. You need to leave me behind if that is for the good of the people. And I you. Love and sex make people crazy—makes people irrational. They do stupid things, especially men. There is no logic in it. It does not belong on the battlefield.”

  “Understood.”

  “Not only men do stupid things for love,” the doctor chimed in, placing his bag on the ground and clasping his fingers in his lap. For a man who loathed dealing with Shanti in any capacity, he was happy enough to banter against her comments.

  “On the battlefield, I meant,” she clarified. “Off the battlefield women are their own force. I once tied a woman up and hung her from a tree by her ankles because she went after my—“ Shanti broke off immediately as an image arrested her—her love, lying with opened, sightless brown eyes covered with a film of blood. She lowered her head and focused on her breath, forcing the image away.

  The room went deathly still; apparently the doctor and Lucius were unsure what to say to a strong woman showing weakness. The door opening was a welcome relief.

  “Oh, Captain, I’ve been meaning to ask you—“ Shanti said after the large figure came to a slow halt in the doorway, studying naked Lucius for a second before swiveling his gaze to Shanti. “What does it mean that you are a fairy?”

  The room went very still for a second time, but for an entirely different reason.

  “Where did you hear that?” His gravel voice gave her a shiver. It was the “I’m not happy, and despite the fact that my face is showing no discernible expression, someone will die” tone. In addition, his mental touch slammed against her barriers, giving her a weird, spicy tingle deep in her body.

  “Even though I would love to explore that sensation,” Shanti said, crossing her legs in relaxation, “since it is strange but not unpleasant, it’s rude to force a connection. You need to stick out a bare piece of skin to ask for permission, or it is considered a punishable and grave offense. It is like me perching in your window and watching a private moment.”

  “Are you saying you haven’t?” The Captain’s voice was now amused. His electric blue eyes hadn’t looked away, but his mental touch backed off.

  “No, I jumped through. That’s an entirely different situation that could have been avoided had your door been unlocked.”

  “I don’t ask for permission, I grant it.”

  “Then I guess you are out of chuck.”

  “Luck, you mean,” Lucius said quietly, his eyes on the ground.

  “Ah, that makes much more sense. Out of luck, yes. Good expression.”

  “Chuck doesn’t make any sense,” the doctor noted, motioning for Lucius to get dressed. “You are sliding backwards in speech.”

  “Out of cow. That makes sense! Out of nourishment. Hungry. We have a similar
saying, but since your people are rarely ever hungry, the context was flimsy. Luck makes much more sense since your city puts stock in that strange fantasy. Anyway, Captain, was there something you wanted, because I had hoped to introduce Lucius to the pesky boys who will begin their practice in half an hour.”

  “I will be accompanying you to this practice.” The Captain finally crossed the threshold. “The men assigned to you are ready for evaluation but no one has seen them work.”

  “Oh, they have tried. It has become a game to hide from Sterling—“

  “Commander Sterling,” the Captain interrupted.

  “—but we have so far done a great job of it. According to Gracas: if you see us, you will have to be killed. Top Secret, he calls it. Something about hidden files.”

  The dimples made a brief appearance in the Captain’s face. “You are welcomed to try to kill me.”

  “I have tried. It hasn’t gone well so far. But I am still hopeful.”

  “Lucius,” the Captain commanded.

  Lucius looked up at Shanti. “The Captain has a knack for tracking. He won’t have a problem finding us, and then he’ll just get in the way.”

  Shanti smiled. “He hasn’t met someone else who can cheat, but you’re right. That is possibly a game for later. Let’s go, we are wasting time.”

  “Fantastic, she is granting hospital releases now. Well, then, what am I needed for?” the doctor asked as he stood.

  Cayan didn’t hide his smile.

  Down the corridor, a middle-aged man hurried up to their party and stepped next to the Captain’s side. “Sir, he is awake.”

  “Give him water but no food. Don’t talk to him or answer questions. I’ll be along later.”

  “Yes, sir.” The man hurried away.

  Outside into the fresh, though still hot, air, another man approached, holding a clipboard and not wearing the customary blue army uniform army. He was small for this town, and balding. “Captain, the ball is set for Sunday week. I require the name of your date when you have a moment. If you require, I can prime her to match your dress. Also, the trade agreements have been drawn up. Those will need to be gone over. The first delivery is past the Mugdock lands but the cargo is small. The rewards will be plenty.”

  “I’ll see to it this evening,” the Captain answered, not sparing a glance as they moved down the hospital steps.

  “In your office, sir?”

  “Yes.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  And the man was gone.

  Half way through the city someone else approached about repairs to the fence. Further still someone found him and asked about agriculture. Someone else about some mining operation. Shanti realized that this man was the hub of the entire city. Everything went through him. If he were removed, it would cripple the city. It would then become the civilians clashing with each other for power, and the military men fighting for top command. The wealth and prosperity of the city would fall into mayhem.

  And the fool had risked everything to pull her from the middle of a battle. Stupid, but also, what an incredibly steep price to repay for her people’s lives.

  As they entered the trees, Shanti slowed her pace. The fresh breeze tickled her cheeks as the lush vitality from the trees infused her Gift. Her feet sank into the loosely packed dirt. Shade cooled her sun-kissed skin, her coloring a few shades tanner from the intense sun. She closed her eyes as she pushed her mind wide, seeing in her mind’s eye the swirling colors of Cayan and the Lucius’s steadfast tones. Wider she pushed, finding the boys waiting for her over a hundred spans in the trees, and the edges of citizens going about their business in the town. Wider she stretched, pushing until the whole city looked like a collection of small, pulsing orbs. In the short time since the battle, she’d regained her strength nicely.

  When she opened her eyes the Captain was facing her. She hadn’t heard him move. Or Lucius, who had stepped away. Cayan was holding out his hand.

  So he did ask permission if he really wanted something. Interesting.

  She touched his arm, skin on skin. His mental touch brushed her barriers and she opened up, allowing him a shallow connection. She’d done this a million times before; sharing feelings and sensations with another. Her people used it to establish a connection for support, to train the young or get trained by the old, to share knowledge, or cement a deeper level of intimacy. The last thought called up a picture of Romie, his earth eyes shining with love.

  Pain gripped her heart and ripped. Staggering, she felt Cayan’s strong hand bracing her, keeping her upright.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, shaking her head a little to get her mind in the right place.

  Before she knew what was happening, a deep blast of profound compassion washed over her. Cayan had felt her tortured past and was responding. He hadn’t learned to keep his feelings to himself, and with a deep well of power to rival hers, she couldn’t stop him from intensifying their connection.

  He pushed deep down into her, filling her up and merging their power. Her whole body went light. The ground dropped away and her mind soared, pushed so far out that the world became a map of colors. Glittering, glowing, and tinkling, it was like sun flares. Her skin sizzled with the power flowing through her. It danced and played, meeting his. Growing. Blooming, and then blazing. Her eyes started to water and her skin began to singe. It was wild and raw and completely out of control. It was a warning.

  “Ease up,” Shanti said through clenched teeth, feeling like she was floating in a void, no sense of direction. She clutched onto his arm with both hands, needing solidity. She felt his hands grab her shoulders then reel her in, needing the same thing.

  “Ease up! Pull it back in!” she shouted, pushing at his steady torrent of power. Struggling with it. Molding it. Trying to force it out of her. It was like trying to build a dam in a flood.

  Lights blazed brighter, power surged around her, pulling at the seams in the fabric of her being. Her Gift wrapped around Cayan’s, melding the two, and then blazing brighter still. Color bleached and reformed in crystal clear imagery. The brain paths of every living thing for almost a league presented themselves in dots like a heat map. They pulsed and throbbed, matching her body. Emotions flooded her. Intents, desires, motives—her mind was fraying, Cayan’s with her. And then suddenly it all shut off.

  Shanti struggled for breath, flat on her back. Wrung out, the hot tingle of warning electrocuted her skin. Beyond that, though, was such an intense joy she was high off of it. It was probably the most grounding of all. A joy that intense was habit forming, and that was a terrifying thing with that much power. Especially with a man she barely knew who had no control.

  “Is it always like that?” the Captain asked in a shaky voice, getting slowly to his feet. Lucius was standing between them, white faced.

  “No. Do you feel tingling in your skin?”

  “Yes.”

  “That is not good.”

  “I figured. And the elation?” He reached around Lucius to help her up, but she shied away from his touch and hopped up.

  “What’s elation?”

  “Intense happiness. Almost too sweet.”

  “Also not good.”

  “I figured that, too.”

  “What was that?” Lucius asked with wide eyes. “Your skin burned my hands when I tried to separate you two.”

  “It is something best kept to yourself,” Cayan said in a flat voice.

  Lucius nodded, troubled. Shanti knew how he felt; she wasn’t much better off. And she certainly didn’t like the speculation in the Captain’s eyes.

  “Let’s go.” She nearly sprinted ahead. She had no idea what happened, but it wasn’t the time to dissect.

  It was a short walk made long by Shanti’s acute analysis of the boys who had gone before her. They were supposed to leave no trace of their passing. Instead, there were broken tree branches, Gracas’ footfall, Xavier’s large frame knocking down leaves, and any number of little things an experienced tracker would
see. Like Sterling, who was on their trail constantly.

  When Shanti and crew finally reached the large clearing chosen for that day, the boys were play fighting and horsing around. Shanti cleared her throat. As if she’d shouted, everyone immediately fell into line, facing her in order of seniority. How they figured who was ahead of whom, she had no idea, nor did she care. That was Xavier’s department. To her they were all one and the same, in need of different types of training because they had different skill sets.

  “I take it you didn’t hear the three of us coming?” Shanti began, strolling toward them, though not directly in front of them. She didn’t like addressing them in the weird line formation. It was too contrived.

  Cayan, however, felt perfectly fine standing directly in front of them, their backs perfectly straight.

  “No, s’am,” they answered in chorus.

  “Please take a moment to notice how large the men are who accompanied me.” They did. “They made no sound and probably left no trace of their passing. Xavier, how does that correlate to yesterday’s excuse?”

  “They are larger, or as big as me, and therefore I have no leg to stand on,” Xavier answered dutifully.

  “Precisely. Gracas—you salute me again and I will use that hand to painfully put your face in the mud. Yes?”

  “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.”