Stopping myself at the doorway, I turned around and addressed them both in the most determined voice I could muster.

“Adept Pax… Commander, I won’t participate in your training game or agree to be the bait for the assassin unless we change one thing.”

“What’s that, my child?” Adept Pax looked confused.

Pulling on my ruined shirt and holding it away from my body in disgust, I made a disgusted face. “The color of this awful paint. Blood red is impossible to get out.” And with that I left the office with the echoes of their combined laughter following me down the halls.

Chapter 19

“Thalia, where are you?” I barely ducked in time as Garit’s practice blade flew over my shoulder where my head had just been. Scuffling out of the way, my feet kicking up dirt, I moved around to Garit’s weak side. It didn’t matter; he was right, my mind had been somewhere else. He feinted a lunge at my face, swept out his leg and kicked my feet out from under me.

Staring at the clear blue sky, I longed for the day when I could be back inside doing dishes, instead of being submitted to a daily beating.

“Your mind was somewhere else and you lost focus.” Garit stretched out his hand and pulled me up from the ground.

I quit dusting off my pants because it wouldn’t matter. I would be seeing the ground again real soon.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try harder,” I said weakly

“Come, sit.” He motioned to two barrels and I sat on one and waited for him to take the other.

“For you to regain your focus, we first need to address what it is that has you so worked up and scared.”

“I’m not…”I began.

“You are!” he interrupted.

I didn’t like being vulnerable and having to share anything personal, especially to a guy. Even though I didn’t want to admit it, he was right.

“I don’t want to be the target.” I focused on the distant mountains and the shape of the cloud passing over them, so I wouldn’t have to make eye contact. Briefly I gave him a simplified version of my life story. And I had to give him credit, because he didn’t even blink an eye. It was nice to not have an overly dramatic reaction from someone for once.

“I feel as if I’m a scared rabbit just waiting for the hunter to take me out. The thought that I’m going to be hunted down and killed terrifies me. Even if it is just a training game, my heart quickens and my palms go sweaty and I freeze up at the thought. I’m back in the cell all over again and I don’t think I can do it.”

“Bull!” Garit said vehemently.

I turned my head and looked at him in surprise, my mouth going open.

“The only person that can make you be a victim again, is yourself. There is no cage, Thalia, it’s only in your mind.” Garit rapped his fingers against my temple roughly.

Looking into his face, I saw he meant every word. His red blonde hair looked even redder in the sunlight and the small scar on his chin stood out on his tan skin. He tossed me my practice blade. I caught it with ease.

“Thalia, if you don’t want to be the prey anymore, then you can only do one thing. Become the hunter.”

Our lessons changed. Instead of learning defensive moves Garit taught me to go on the offensive and to use every dirty trick he knew. Attack the eyes, or a kick to the groin, quick jabs into the solar plexus to give you time to run away. My size and speed would lend to quick attacks and evasive maneuvering.

I couldn’t overpower any attacker with strength, but if I could keep out of their reach and attack them from a distance, I would have a chance at survival.

We worked every day on hand-to-hand combat and evasive fighting. Then we went over knife techniques, because if I let someone get close enough to me to get caught, I would need a knife.

But I was most surprised on my third day of practice when I went out to the training field and Garit wasn’t in the training ring. I spotted him in the far field next to a fenced-in pasture where the horses were grazing. I glanced at the pasture to see if I could see Faraway. Yep, he was prancing around the field in happiness, grateful to run, his beautiful mane that I brushed every day shining in the setting sun. I smiled at Faraway’s youthful antics, and then climbed the fence to reach Garit.

Garit had a silly grin on his face and I saw that he had constructed a large man out of hay, feed bags and old clothes. Looking closely at the dummy there was a painted beard on the face in a very bad imitation of Commander Meryl.

“I got the clothes from Berry. When I told her what they were for she was excited to help me with my project, even going so far as to add buttons and decorations to the uniform.”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s a human target!” Garit pulled out a beautiful dark wood bow and a leather quiver full of arrows. The bow wasn’t the same size as the ones the archers used; it was much smaller, fit to my height and arm length.

Picking it up, I let the wood pass through my fingers feeling the coolness of it. The string vibrated into my soul when I touched it. It felt right.

“Since this is serious, I didn’t want to start you off hitting at a pile of hay. We needed something man size, so you can get used to aiming at a small target. Of course, they have them at the training yard, but I thought you would feel more comfortable training away from everyone’s prying eyes.”

That was exactly what I needed. I had been feeling very self-conscious lately in my lack of ability of Denai power. I was beginning to wonder if maybe Joss and Prentiss had been mistaken in their assessment of what had happened in the healing ward.

We started the session fifteen paces away from the Commander dummy and Garit walked me through how to string the bow, notch an arrow, sight a target and release. My first shot hit the dirt and stopped eight feet from the target.

Faint laughter tickled my mind, and I looked at Garit. He was grinning from ear to ear at my pathetic attempt.

“It’s okay. Try again. You don’t have the arm strength yet, but you will.”

Notching another arrow I sighted down the shaft at the target aiming for the large round stomach. Pulling the bowstring and arrow back, I was about to release when I heard HIGHER brush against my conscious.

Making the said adjustment, I released the bowstring and watched the arrow fly true and hit the stomach of the target dead on, only to bounce off and land pathetically in the grass.

I raised an eyebrow to Garit and threatened, “Not a word, not ONE word or I’ll use you as the dummy.”

He wisely held his tongue.

Getting frustrated I stormed away from the dummy to an even farther distance and notched another arrow, pulling the bowstring back as far as I could with the intention of sending it flying as hard as I could toward the target without even aiming.

Patience, the voice came again.

Breathe slowly.

I did what I was told.

Aim higher.

I made what I thought to be an adequate adjustment.

Breath out, it commanded.

Feel your heartbeat?

I listened to the sound of my heart and it seemed to slow.

Release between beats.

I did and watched in amazement as the arrow flew straight into the chest of the dummy. Garit was walking toward the dummy and fell back into the grass in shock as he saw the shaft buried inches deep into the heart of the target.

“Whoa, Thalia, I didn’t think you were serious about making me the target, but well done!”