Read The Threshold Child for Free Online

her, and she hurried to the courtyard
where she usually met Kendan to begin her lessons. He was standing with his
arms folded expectantly.
    Adesina bowed respectfully. “Forgive me, Shar Kendan, I did not
know if I had a lesson in light of my new assignment.”
    Kendan raised an eyebrow. “Why would you not? All who are resident
to the fortress are students. All students have lessons.”
    Adesina nodded. “Of course, Shar Kendan.”
    He beckoned to her and walked down the corridor that eventually
opened up to a large training area. As she followed him, she had an unpleasant
feeling that he was going to make her pay for keeping him waiting. Her fears
proved to be well founded.
    Kendan took her to an obstacle course he had set up on the range.
It was arranged in such a way that Adesina could only see the obstacle
immediately in front of her, and the rest was hidden from view. The wooden
walls formed a kind of maze around each of the puzzles she was to solve.
    He turned to face her with the familiar challenging gleam in his
eyes. “There are guards patrolling the area. You are to neutralize them without
harming them. Each obstacle in the course is to be dealt with in a manner of
your choosing, but you are not to influence the servants assisting on the
course. At the end of the range is a box you are to return to me. Do you
understand?”
    Adesina nodded, her mind already working on the task.
    Kendan pointed to a raised tower that overlooked the entire
obstacle course. “I will be watching you from there.”
    He walked away, leaving Adesina to her exercise. She entered the
maze on velvet feet, making no noise even though the ground was covered in
gravel. The first obstacle was a wall of wooden boards. There was enough room
at the bottom for her to squeeze under it, but it also was a height that
Adesina could climb over. She crouched by the wall, closing her eyes and focusing
on what was on the other side.
    Adesina could hear two guards breathing. They were standing
stationary, and there was a third guard patrolling.
    She pursed her lips thoughtfully. It would be tricky getting all
three at once. She reached into her belt and detached three darts, which were
coated with a special compound that Adesina had invented during her sixth year
of training. The result of the mixture was almost immediate unconsciousness.
    She jumped lightly and grabbed hold of the top of the wall, raising
herself up slowly and silently. Peering over the edge, she verified the
positions of all three guards. Then, gathering her energy, she vaulted over the
wall. While in midair she threw a dart at the patrolling guard with pinpoint
accuracy, then she landed between the stationary guards, jabbing both of them
in the shoulder with the remaining darts.
    Not one of the three guards had time to react before the drug on
the darts took effect. Adesina gathered the darts and immediately turned her
mind to the next obstacle.
    Just beyond the fallen third guard were a series of moving targets
and a small servant girl standing on the path that led out of the enclosure.
The girl looked to be about seven or eight, and was holding a bundle of various
weapons. Adesina walked over and took the bundle from the girl. As she did so,
the girl looked up at her with undisguised admiration glowing in her young
eyes.
    Children who were brought to the fortress between the ages of five
and nine were put to work as servants. If they were younger, they were taken to
the nursery. The fortress rarely accepted children over the age of nine because
at least one year of service was required before training began. Being that
Adesina had begun her training so early, she never went through that particular
process. This was yet another part of what engendered the feelings of hostility
between Adesina and the other Shi. All of them had paid their dues, except for
her.
    Adesina rummaged through the bundle of weapons and picked out a
bow. The girl smiled and handed Adesina five arrows—one for