The Threshold Child by Callie Kanno Read Free Book Online Page A

ground. Undaunted by this, the first guard tried to come up behind Adesina
while the other slashed with his sword from the front.
    Adesina dodged the stroke, and the sword cut into the first guard
instead. While the guard was distracted by this unexpected wound, Adesina
roundhouse-kicked her, sending her crashing into the wall. The agony in
Adesina’s ankle resulting from this attack, however, was enough to mar her
focus momentarily.
    The final guard lunged again, bringing a heavy fist across her
face. Lights exploded in Adesina’s eyes, disorienting her with pain and
dizziness. She staggered for several steps before she was able to catch herself
and reel back with a counterattack.
    He was bringing his sword around, and didn’t expect her to recover
so quickly. She grabbed his hands and spun, disarming him and bringing his own
sword to his throat.
    He spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. “I yield.”
    Adesina nodded and returned his sword to him. She limped over to
where the chest lay and picked it up. It seemed to be undamaged, so Adesina
tucked it under her arm and walked out of the maze. Due to the pain and fatigue
she felt, Adesina decided to go under the fence instead of over it. After
nonchalantly dusting herself off, she handed the chest to Kendan, who was
waiting for her on the other side.
    Adesina recognized the expression in his eyes and braced herself
for the verbal fencing that was sure to come.
    “You were told not to harm the guards.” “Nor did I, Shar.”
    Kendan raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
    She hated when he did that. She took a breath and reminded herself
to stay calm and unemotional. “No lasting damage was inflicted.”
    “Blood was drawn.”
    Adesina raised her chin defiantly and said in a cold voice, “I am
not responsible for the carelessness of other Shimat.”
    He smiled, and there was a brief pause as he looked at her
admiringly. “Very well, then.”
    Her breath caught in her throat when he smiled like that. She
quickly lowered her eyes to compose herself. Kendan had a knack for reading her
thoughts through the subtle expressions in her eyes.
    He held up the chest. “Did you open this?”
    Adesina frowned slightly. “Were you not watching?”
    Kendan didn’t answer, but looked at her expectantly.
    “Yes, I did open it.”
    “And what did you find?”
    She was confused by this line of questioning. “Two stones, Shar.”
    Kendan seemed satisfied by this answer. He nodded and set the
chest down. “Come. Your weaponry could use some work.”
    Adesina stifled her feelings of indignation at this slight on her
skill. Sometimes it felt like he was incapable of letting her have a single
moment of triumph. It was not enough that she had overcome the obstacle course
he devised; it was not enough that she was pushing herself to exhaustion. None
of it was enough.
    She swallowed back the tears she suddenly felt forming and lifted
her chin in a gesture of confidence she didn’t feel. “Yes, Shar Kendan.”
    They practiced first with the spetum, then daggers, then axes.
None of which were really favored by Adesina, but were still wielded with great
amounts of skill. After he was satisfied, Kendan made Adesina run at full speed
until she was gasping for breath and her eyes were filled with tears from the
pain in her ankle.
    When all of this was done, Kendan surveyed Adesina with a passive
look on his face. “You may go to your room now. Finish preparing for your
journey and get what rest you can. You will be summoned when it is time.”
    Adesina nodded, not trusting her voice. All of the physical
exertion as well as the lack of sleep were catching up with her. While walking
back to her room she went over her mental checklist. By the time she reached
her door she was reassured that she had taken care of all of her preparations.
The time was hers to get some sleep.
    Adesina wrapped her injured ankle tightly, and assessed that no
lasting damage had been sustained. She washed herself thoroughly before