Read In All Places (Stripling Warrior) for Free Online Page A

laughing.
    “Are you two going to the training ground?” Seth asked, looking between us.
    I nodded and pulled my bow more securely onto my shoulder.
    Gideon glanced at the sun. “Actually, no. I have to return to Captain Helaman at the government building.” He turned to me. “Have fun,” he said. Then he leaned close to my ear and whispered, “That’s an order.”
    He tossed the ball up and caught it as he left.
    Seth’s kohl-lined eyes were watching me closely.
    “You all go ahead,” he said to his men.
    None of them argued, and they moved away quickly, passing me without a word.
    Seth and I stared at each other until the sounds of the men faded.
    “You’re mad at me,” I said.
    He sighed and slowly shook his head. “I’m not mad.” He stepped closer. “Gid’s different than the rest of us.”
    “I know.”
    “He could be Chief Captain over the entire Nephite army,” he said emphatically.
    “So you’ ve told me before.”
    “If you love him, don’t jeopardize it for him.”
    “What do you care?”
    “Obviously more than you do.”
    I stared at him again, and then turned on my heel and followed the others toward the training ground. It was only a moment before I heard Seth hustling to catch up.
    “Ket, wait.”
    When he was at my side, I said, “I didn’t provoke that.” I waved behind us. “Back there.”
    “You provoke it just by being you. You still have no idea what you do to men.”
    I gave him the dirtiest look I could find, reaching deep inside myself for a scowl that would make him back off. Gideon had been trying to comfort me. He had made a deliberate effort to remind me of the sweetness in life. I wouldn’t let Seth make it into something it wasn’t, something ugly and common. I didn’t know what I did to men?
    “I guess you would know.”
    It was a cruel thing to say. His shoulders stiffened, and I knew it had been too cruel. I wasn’t unaware that he himself had feelings for me, nor was I without feelings for him.
    “I’m sorry. Seth, forgive me.”
    He swallowed. “Not necessary. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have given Gid the credit to make his own decisions, and I should have had more faith in you.”
    I bumped his shoulder with mine. “I think it was the hunger talking, for both of us.”
    We entered the training ground. As strange as I knew it was, the familiar sounds of swords and spears and boys yelling were comforting to me.
    “Let’s put our aggression to good use,” Seth said, and he led me across the field.
    It had been quite a while since Micah had returned from his embassy to the governor when I saw a group of Kenai’s men hurrying through the city toward the command station, which was now housed in one of Cumeni’s government buildings.
    I recognized them all but only knew one of them. I groaned, but approached them anyway. I hated any interaction with Mahonri. When I fell in alongside him, he glanced at me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He was as ornery and difficult to communicate with as Lamech, except Lamech had the forgivable excuse of being young.
    “Where’s Kenai? ” I asked, not really sure what information I wanted from him. I just knew he had some information, important information from the looks of it, and I wanted it.
    “How should I know? Kenai doesn’t report to me.”
    “Hmm…” I said. I would have to try a different tack. “Where are you going?”
    He didn’t answer. The men he was with looked between us with varying degrees of amusement. They had obviously been putting up with him for a while and were probably wondering why the stubborn Mahonri was the one I had chosen to speak to.
    “Look,” I told him. “The faster you tell me what news you have, the faster I’ll leave you alone.”
    “Or you could just leave me alone right now.”
    He was such an irritating person.
    “You will find out soon enough,” he added, giving me a dismissing once-over that clearly implied he did not think I was