Kingmaker

by Eric Zawadzki

CHAPTER 14

  Jani sat in the sand in the training area when Butu and Nolen arrived. Butu barely recognized her without her jewelry and with her hair cut so short it made her ears look much larger than he expected.

  Her uniform fits better than mine does, though.

  Tirud and Blay stretched nearby. Blay waved to each of them as they arrived before continuing his animated conversation with Tirud. Phedam and Retus barely even yawned in the morning light, and Lujo looked positively cheerful, grinning at all of them but with an eye on Jani.

  So he didn’t have to work all night. No reason to look all smug about it, or look at Jani like that, Butu thought bitterly, his jaws stretching in another yawn of his own. His muscles were still sore, which had never happened before. Maybe it will go away in a little while.

  Aeklan strolled toward them from the mess hall, but was still out of earshot. No one else moved in Gordney toward them. Phedam frowned at their small gathering.

  “What is it, shumi?” Nolen asked.

  “Usually there would be more of us for basic training,” Phedam said. His voice dropped as he glanced sideways at Tirud and Blay. “And why are they here? They’ve already been through this.”

  Blay stood up abruptly and put a hand on Phedam’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “Someone has to show you how things are done.” He grinned. “You don’t expect sarge to demonstrate, do you?”

  Phedam opened his mouth, but at that moment Aeklan started barking orders at them.

  The obstacle course was a game of marbles compared with the first day of training. The recruits endured relentless verbal assaults from the sergeant for most of the morning. He cursed their upbringing if they did not salute properly or fast enough. Improperly standing at attention led to comparisons with farm animals, and a speck of dust on their uniforms resulted in even wilder accusations.

  And then there were the marching drills. Walking in step, moving in formation, and remembering commands would’ve been hard enough without being exhausted, and Butu found himself on the ground doing push-ups as often as falling over. The drills were repetitive and boring, and whenever he could, Butu glared into the back of the sergeant’s head, wishing for sword training.

  The sergeant used Blay to demonstrate the right way to do everything. Although Blay shared the squad’s punishment whenever someone made a mistake, he seemed almost glad for the opportunity to do push-ups or run laps.

  “Halt! Attention!” Aeklan’s roar never cracked. They stopped and stood.

  Tirud remained neutral throughout the day’s training, producing without effort exactly enough accuracy and fervor to satisfy Aeklan and not a grain of sand more. He didn’t hesitate to obey when Aeklan punished the squad, but he didn’t pretend to enjoy the extra work, either. And Jani struggled as much as any of them. She got here yesterday, too, Butu thought. I wonder if she’s had any punishments yet.

  “At ease, you worthless rugs,” the sergeant said, switching his comparisons from domestic animals. “I should have you all hung and beaten with sticks, you’re covered in so much dust. Fall out for lunch, recruits.”

  Butu was as tired as he was hungry, but knew he had no time for sleep. They found a place where they could all eat together, and Nolen laid his head down next to his plate as soon as he sat down. Tirud made some comment about that which had Phedam giggling. Butu watched Jani out of the corner of his eye, where she sat listening to Lujo explain about the giants living in the mountains above Pophir.

  Blay joined them, intimidatingly cheerful and energetic.

  “Whatever you might think, you’re actually doing pretty well, for your first day.” He smirked and lowered his voice. “Especially after the late night some of you had.”

  They looked at him, and Nolen lifted his head to yawn.

  “Stop that,” Butu said, yawning back.

  “I’m sorry.” Nolen yawned again.

  Blay tipped the bowl of porridge into his mouth and gulped it down quickly. “It’s tougher in the afternoon, but don’t you worry. It’s in no one’s interests that you pass out from heat stroke. Sarge’ll keep us watered, and he’ll likely ease up a bit. All the same, you’ll all be asleep before they put out the lamps tonight.”

  “What’ll sarge do if I disappear to take an afternoon nap?” Nolen asked, poking at his lunch muzzily.

  Tirud grinned at the suggestion, but Blay’s smile drained off his face like sweat. “If one of us disappears, sarge’ll have the rest of us looking for you all afternoon. We’ll all miss dinner to spend a few more hours training under an angry sergeant who isn’t happy himself to be missing dinner. And the runaway will spend another night on the obstacle course.”

  “It’s not worth it,” Phedam said, eyeing his shumi for suggesting it. Nolen put his head back down on the table, muttering to himself.

  They spent the first half of the afternoon on the obstacle course. At the hottest part of the day, the training was less monotonous and more simply exhausting. Aeklan made them drink water every time he hauled them aside to bark at someone, which was frequently.

  Occasionally, one of them would use magic. It couldn’t be helped. The punishment after that was worse than others. Aeklan, who appeared to enjoy striping them with words, dove into scatological references for these tirades. Even without magic, Blay and Tirud moved quickly through the obstacle course — not as fast as Butu knew he could, but faster than any of them could without magic. Lujo sometimes outpaced them for a lap or two, but another tirade against magic usually wasn’t far behind such displays. Only Jani could manage occasional bursts of speed without using magic to do it, although she wasn’t nearly as fast as Blay and Tirud.

  “With enough training, you’ll be just as fast. It takes time to develop strength and coordination,” Blay said between gulps of water when he saw the others looking at him with something akin to wonder.

  “As long as you keep using magic, though, you’ll remain useless to the Ahjea,” Aeklan added. “Break’s over. Get moving! I have shirts that move faster than you maggots!”

  I’ll get stronger, but I’m going to keep using magic, too, Butu vowed silently as he climbed a wooden wall covered with small handholds. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. It can’t be!

  By the end of the day, Butu felt like an empty waterskin. He could barely stand up. Nolen leaned on Phedam, eyes blinking rapidly.

  “Right,” Tirud said, rubbing his hands. “Dinner, folks.”

  “Bed,” Butu said, though he was hungry. Exhaustion won this time.

  “You need to keep up your strength, and Lujo promised us a story. You can sleep later.”

  “Shanubu, you water-starved camel turd,” Nolen mumbled just clearly enough to be understood. “May you find a scorpion in your boots. I’m slithering to my bed, ‘cause someone took my legs. C’mon, Butu,” he offered, pushing away from Phedam. “Jani, ladies, good night.”

  They all grinned at him, and Butu and he started walking away.

  “Pretty good Aeklan impression,” Butu said.

  “Marching isn’t the only thing we learned today. I think my vocabulary tripled.”

  “Right.” They sluiced some cooling water over their heads in the tent, using wet rags to rub off sweat and dust. Nolen seemed more awake now. “So, Jani.”

  Butu cleared his throat. “Yes?”

  “She recognized you. I could tell.”

  “What does it matter?” Butu asked, suddenly in a foul mood. He climbed up to his bunk. Nolen sat on his own.

  “Not many women join the sordenu,” he said, removing his boots. Butu’s dropped next to his bunk.

  Butu grunted as he laid back, hoping this conversation would die if he stopped contributing to it.

  “You have, um, history, don’t you?” Nolen persisted.

  Butu’s sigh betrayed him.

  “I knew it!” Nolen said. “Who is she?”

  “She’s the kluntra’s niece.”

  “Oh,” was all Nolen managed, and Butu heard a note of p
ity there.

  When he slept, his dreams filled with Jani’s kisses — the flash of her eyes, the feel of her hands around his neck, the scent of her long, dark hair. Did she have to cut it so short?

  Training the next few days was no better, nor did it change significantly. Butu barely spoke except to respond to the sergeant’s orders. It wasn’t until the fifth day that everyone seemed to get the marching passable enough that Aeklan stopped them with an incredulous sneer on his face.

  “Take a break, men. Corporal, I will speak with you.”

  Butu watched Blay briskly approach the sergeant, wondering what they whispered about. Blay came back and ordered them to fall in. The sergeant regarded them suspiciously.

  “Tomorrow you’ll get weapons,” he said, and the line broke down in a ragged cheer. He hollered at them until they found order again. “That’ll be two extra laps on the course.” He cleared his throat. “Tomorrow you’ll get weapons, and we’ll start your sword training. Some of you may be able to hold a sword without dropping it now.”

  Butu fell asleep that night feeling exhilarated. Finally, he thought.