Read The Threshold Child for Free Online Page A

each target.
    Adesina stood and faced the targets. They were small, round wooden
shields painted with a red circle and an X through the middle. Their movements
were reasonably paced, but it was also clear that their course was random.
Adesina knew that this would take a bit more time and skill than if they had
had a clear pattern.
    She drew the bow and took careful aim. The arrow was released with
a soft twang. Adesina didn’t need to look to know that she had hit her mark,
but she checked just in case. The arrow stood quivering in the center of the
red painted X.
    Adesina drew her bow again, and dealt with the other four targets
in a similar manner. A brief smirk crossed her face, but she quickly banished
it. The course was far from done.
    The young girl took the bow from Adesina and stepped aside to let
her pass to the next section of the challenge.
    The path led to an open area that looked a lot like part of the
final test of her fifth year of training. The ground was spread with a yellow
substance that showed clearly on any clothing. The objective was to cross the
area without touching the ground. Adesina studied the course, mapping out a
path in her mind. When she decided on the best strategy, she began.
    The entrance where Adesina stood was in the corner of the open
area. High up on the outer wall that ran away from the entrance hung a sturdy
draping fabric. Adesina braced herself in the doorframe and climbed up slowly
in order to reach it.
    There was still quite a bit of distance between Adesina and the
fabric when she reached the top of the doorframe. Focusing all of her energy in
her legs and feet, Adesina jumped toward the fabric with all the force she
could muster.
    She hit the wall much harder than she anticipated. Her slender
fingers automatically clutched at the fabric, even though her breath had been
knocked from her body. It took several moments for Adesina to steady herself.
Her hands were beginning to ache by the time she was able to breathe normally
again.
    There was a trick that Adesina had learned when she was very
young. If she focused hard enough, she found she could trick her mind into
thinking her body was incredibly light. Adesina closed her eyes and did so now.
Years of practice made it fairly easy. She immediately felt the pressure on her
hands ease.
    She began climbing along the wall, careful to control her momentum
so as not to lose her grip. The fabric ended after about fifteen feet, leaving her
no direction to go but out into the open area.
    Ten feet away from the wall stood a series of tall wooden poles.
Adesina pushed off the wall with her feet, leaping to grab the closest rod.
From there she jumped to another, and then to another. The fourth pillar had a
tiny platform nailed to the top. Adesina climbed onto this platform and paused
to reorient herself. There was a rope strung tautly from the small platform to
another on a pillar twenty feet away. Adesina balanced herself expertly and
slowly crossed the rope.
    From there, there was a section of many thick wooden rods that
varied in height and size and were placed fairly close together. Adesina found
herself jumping and climbing from pole to pole with relative ease.
    At the end of this section was a platform and a rope hung from a
rod high above. There were about half a dozen ropes hanging at intervals that
led across to another platform, but the first one was the only one that touched
the ground. She would have to climb straight up the first one, and then swing
to reach the next rope. As soon as Adesina began to do this, three young Shi
appeared on the far wall with bows in their hands. They immediately drew their
bows and began shooting at Adesina as she climbed.
    The tips of the arrows were dull, but they were coated with the
same yellow substance that covered the ground. Although a hit would not be
physically harmful, it would be clear that she had been careless.
    Adesina quickly began to swing the rope as she climbed, making
sure she