Lesser Gods by Adrian Howell Read Free Book Online

her from the flat of my back.
    Such was Terry’s style of teaching: Learn by doing, or rather by having done to. Whatever combat moves she was teaching, first she used them on me, and then, if she was in an agreeable mood, she’d show them slowly. I would do my best to imitate her, but usually I’d just end up losing my balance and fouling it up. Learning to fight wasn’t all that different from learning to spell words: repetition upon meticulous, painful repetition.
    Pulling me to my feet for the tenth time, Terry suddenly said, “Alia told me you’re having trouble deciding what to get me for my birthday.”
    “Yeah, well, Alia has a big mouth,” I replied. It was true that I hadn’t bought Terry anything yet, but my sister didn’t have to go blabbing to her about it.
    Terry and I squared off on the gym mats again, but Terry didn’t attack. Instead, she gave me a curious look and said, “How about you skip the present and do me a favor instead?”
    Terry had never asked for a favor from me before. When she wanted me to do something, she ordered it.
    “Sure,” I said quickly, “you know I’d do pretty much anything.”
    “Would you go to war with me?” asked Terry.
    “War?” I repeated, raising my eyebrows.
    “Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Terry said lightly. “More like a mission or two with the Knights.”
    Terry and I were still facing each other in combat stance. You never knew when Terry, who loved to surprise her opponents, would decide to lunge.
    I said to her, “I already promised that I would join the Knights with you, remember? As soon as we come of age.”
    Terry shook her head. “I was thinking more along the lines of this summer.”
    This summer?! I had let my guard down, and Terry, perhaps acting on instinct, stepped forward and flipped me.
    “What kind of mission?” I asked, looking up at Terry, who had me pinned on my back.
    “I don’t know yet,” said Terry, getting off of me and letting me stand up. “We’re both Honorary Guardian Knights. We have the right to request and join missions for the Guardians. Whatever they give us, it’d be a better experience for us both than to spend all our time training down here.”
    “Are you sure you want me to come with you?” I asked hesitantly. “I always felt you thought of me as a hindrance.”
    “Well, you were, for a while. But you also saved my life, Adrian.” Terry raised her left stump and smiled. “Most of it, anyway. You’re green, of course, but when it comes to actual combat, so am I. Besides, you’re already a more powerful psionic destroyer than many of the seasoned Knights. I’d be happy to have you come on a mission with me. Come on, it’ll be fun. It’ll be an adventure.”
    Adventures... I’d had enough of those. Over the last month, I had felt that Terry was itching for some action, but I never thought she would want me along. Terry didn’t compliment me often. That she would regard me as, if not an equal, nevertheless someone who could be relied upon in battle, meant a great deal to me.
    “I’m not really keen on adventures, Terry,” I said, “but I’ll do it for you.”
    “Great!” Terry said cheerfully. “I’m planning to talk to Mr. Baker later tonight. I’m pretty sure he’ll agree.”
    I let out a slight sigh. How was I ever going to explain this to Cindy?
    Though not at all psionic, Terry was nevertheless very good at reading my thoughts. “The real problem is Cindy, you know,” she said darkly. “The Heart of New Haven holds a lot of sway over Mr. Baker and the Council. If she doesn’t want Mr. Baker to give us mission status, we won’t get it.”
    “Cindy would never agree to this,” I said, shaking my head.
    “I’m not so sure,” Terry said slowly. “I think it’s a matter of how we ask her.”
    We celebrated Terry’s birthday in the evening of the next day. It wasn’t so much a party as a large dinner with ice cream. Father Mark Parnell, a family friend