Wingborn (13 page)

While they waited for the rest of the new
students to finish, they got to know each other a little. Corin and
Harlan
’
s parents both
ran moderately successful skyships, Mouse was Harlan
’
s cousin, fresh from the
mid-Imercian countryside and Ulla had grown up on the docks. Being
his usual charming self, Derrain quickly fitted right in. He was
just explaining how he knew Mhysra, when their instructor clapped
his hands.

“Who wants to go home now?
”

Harlan looked at his mud-flecked boots and
sighed, making the others chuckle. There were a few discontented
mutters from the crowd, but no one left. The little man smiled, his
expression filling Mhysra with dread.

“Good. I am Hethanon Armsmaster and your
mornings belong to me now. With me you run and sweat until you
break. Eventually I may let you touch a weapon. Because before you
go near a miryhl with a pointy object, you must prove that you can
use it without maiming yourself. Understood?
”

There were a couple of mutters, a few
affirmative replies, but mostly subdued silence.

“
So much
to learn,” Hethanon said pityingly. “
When I ask a question,
you reply. Understood?
”

“Yes,” they
replied, mostly together.

“
Something is missing, students,” Hethanon continued, voice
growing sterner with every word. “When I spe
ak, you answer,
and when you do you call me
sir
.
Understood?
”

“Yes,
sir!”

“Better,”
Hethanon said. “Now your instructors. Real Rift Riders whose time
could be better spent than on you. Do not waste it, do not test
their patience and do not forget that they are worthy of your
respect. Always.”

“Yes,
sir!”

“Sergeants
Honra and Rees,” Hethanon introduced them, pointing to each.
“Lieutenants Stirla and Lyrai. You address them as sir and obey at
the first time of asking. Understood?”

“Yes,
sir!”

“
Then
pay attention. You are too many, but that will change. For now I
will divide you up, and you
will not
complain!
”
His bark silenced the dissenters before they could
even begin. Mhysra shot Derrain a worried glance; she hoped she was
in his group.

“
I will
point at you and say a name. That is your group. Go stand by them.”
Hethanon nodded at the Riders, who spread out. “My group wait in
the middle.” He started to point, barking
Stirla, Honra, mine, Lyrai
or
Rees
, making more than one student jump. His method
was swift and effective, splitting up any groups he spotted and
placing any potential troublemakers under his or Sergeant Rees’
command.

“Stirla.” He
pointed at Derrain, who sighed with relief.

“Honra.” He
pointed at Corin.

“Mine.”
Ulla.

“Lyrai.”
Mouse.

“Rees.”
Harlan.

He divided the
group in front of Mhysra, before coming back to her. “Lyrai.”

Her heart sank and she trudged towards her
group. The lieutenant was expressionless, despite the eight
students chattering behind him. She joined Mouse, who was pitifully
pleased to see her. A couple of lines over, Derrain made a sad
face, though he had nothing to complain about with Stirla. It was
just her luck to end up with the man she already knew
didn
’
t like her.

When Hethanon finished, she looked at
Lyrai
’
s group and
suppressed a sigh: she was the only girl. Stirla and Honra had two
each, Hethanon had three. There were none in Rees
’
line.

“Great.”

Mouse smiled shyly.
“
Bet I
’
m the last person you wanted to be with, but
it
’
ll be good,
you
’
ll see. But if it
does get bad we can always thank Heirayk we
’
re not stuck with Sergeant
Rees.
”

“
There’s
a bright side,” she agreed, morosely studying the other boys in
their line. Two were highborn and showed it. Four were friends
already, while the remaining two didn’
t seem to know anyone.
One was even smaller than Mouse. He was shaking and she doubted he
would last long. The other was tall and calm, looking around
curiously at all the fuss. Catching Mhysra
’
s eye, he smiled.

“
All
right, everyone.” Lieutenant Lyrai clapped his hands for their
attention. “
I
’
m
going to teach you some exercises to build up your strength and
keep you warm, then we
’
ll do more to improve your fitness. The Rift Riders
are about more than flying pretty birdies.
”
He caught Mhysra
’
s eye, and she could have sworn there was
a hint of a smile as he referred to the day she
’
d forced her way into the Riders. Then his
gaze passed on and he was as cold as ever.

“
I’
m sticking with you,
”
Mouse whispered as Lieutenant Lyrai began pairing
people off, telling them about Rider life – it wasn
’
t easy, they had to be fit and
willing to fight at any moment, and so on. Reaching them, he
pointed Mhysra to the far side of the line and positioned Mouse
next to her.

Mhysra bit back a smile as Mouse groaned: he
hadn
’
t got his wish.
Standing opposite her was the calm lad who
’
d smiled earlier. Mouse was paired with
the timid boy. It was obvious why the lieutenant had done it, since
they were of a similar size. And twitchy temperament.

“
I’
m Dhori,
”
the lad facing her said, as tall as she was and
just as lightly built.

“Mhysra.”

That was all they had time for, because the
lieutenant was talking again, demonstrating stretches, jumps,
pattern steps, blocks and holds, some of which required two people,
hence the pairings. A quick glance around showed that everyone else
was doing similar exercises. So she smiled at Dhori and started
counting star jumps, followed by tucks. It looked daft, but at
least she wasn
’
t alone
in her folly. Derrain and Ulla had said it right earlier – this
wasn
’
t what
she
’
d expected. Not at
all.

THEY TRAINED UNTIL
noon, then were shown the bathing chambers beneath the Rider
offices. Fresh uniforms waited and, once clean and changed, they
ate in the hall. Afterwards, they were divided into those who were
literate and those who weren
’
t. Since there were only twelve who
couldn
’
t write, the
remaining thirty-two were split again into two groups. This time
Mhysra managed to stay with Derrain. They were joined by Harlan,
Mouse, Corin and Dhori, while Ulla, who could read a little but not
write at all, was taken elsewhere.

Though the students
’
mornings might belong to Armsmaster
Hethanon, their afternoons would lie in the hands of the clerks. It
would be up to them to the students
’
literacy and arithmetic, as well as teaching them
geography, history and languages. The lieutenants would instruct
them about life in the Riders later in the term.

Mhysra tried to take in all the things being
said, schedules being made and plans being explained, but she was
not the only one smothering yawns after their busy morning.

“Remember we
asked for this,” Derrain murmured, as they settled into a
classroom.

If she
’
d had more energy she would have hit him.

“
Now we
know why there are so few Riders,” Harlan grumbled. By now his
boots were sadly scuffed and no longer shiny
.
“
Gods, I don
’
t think I can take much of
this.
”

“
Don’
t be soft,
”
Corin scolded.
“
This is a great opportunity. I
’
m not giving up yet, not after a paltry
bit of exercise. I might change my mind when they start lecturing
us on poetry, but I
’
m
hoping they
’
ll skip
that.
”

“
T
hey save it for Aquila,
” Dhori said, taking the seat next to Mhysra.

“That’s
something to look forward to,” Mouse chuckled.

Corin and
Mhysra groaned, “Great,” and shared a grin.

Moaning, Harlan put his head on the desk.
“
Wake me if anything
interesting happens.
”

It didn
’
t, and at the end of the day Mhysra waved farewell
to her new friends before going to see Cumulo. He hopped down two
perches to meet her.

“Well? How did it go?
”

Smiling, she
tickled his head. “It’ll do.” She’d already made some new friends
and if it stayed like this everything would be fine. “I can
cope.”

Tilting his
head for a stroke, he sighed with relief. “Good. Tell me the same
tomorrow.”

THE NEXT MORNING
Mhysra and Derrain met up with Dhori on their walk through the
city. The air was icy, promising a blizzard before dark. Not that
Hethanon cared, sending them straight off on another punishing run.
Cold to the bone, the students trudged to their training masters
and went through the motions with mind-numbing weariness.

“
Tired
, my lambs?
”
Hethanon cooed, but his sweet smile rapidly faded
into a scowl.
“
Toughen
up or leave.
”

The morning after that brought the first
desertions, with not one training master retaining all of their
students. Sergeant Rees
’
line looked particularly thin. Mouse had lost his partner already
and, unfortunately for him, was obliged to train with Lieutenant
Lyrai instead.

“
He’
s evil,
”
he whimpered at midday, flexing his shoulders.
“
It
’
s bad enough when he
’
s shouting, but working with him is
torture. He
wants
to
kill me.
”

“
You’
re getting off lightly.
”
Harlan was unsympathetic.
“
Try having Rees on your
back.
”

Mouse changed his tune the following
quarter-moon when he was paired with Mhysra, after another student
left and Dhori was moved to work with someone else. It was a day of
changes. Since they could all now manage the exercises without
injury, Hethanon brought out staffs for them to use.

“
The
staff is an all-purpose weapon, in training and in combat. Master
it and you may
try something more difficult. No one picks up
a sword who cannot handle a staff. This is the opening
exercise.
”

Mhysra was soon grateful to be opposite
Mouse, who though shorter was of equal strength. At Wrentheria,
Mhysra had taken daily staff lessons with her cousins from the age
of seven, and had yet to develop any fondness for it. By contrast,
Dhori looked as though he
’
d been born to wield it. Lieutenant Lyrai
complimented the lad on his prowess and sparred with him to
demonstrate how a sequence of moves should be done at full speed.
Not that the rest of them did the same. For the moment everything
was done slowly, building up their muscles and numbing their
brains.

The afternoons were no better, and Mhysra
finally understood all of her brother
’
s complaints about the selection school. It was no
wonder so many students dropped out – the boredom was staggering.
Only her new friends and the thought of Cumulo kept her going.

24
^th
Blizzard

WINTER MIGHT HAVE
been holding Nimbys in a merciless grip, but after completing her
first half-moon of Rider training, Mhysra couldn
’
t remember feeling happier. That morning
she
’
d attended the
service at the Cathedral of Maegla and had sat in the seats
reserved for the Riders. She
’
d been able to do it without fear, since her father
attended the service for Heirayk, God of the Sun, held elsewhere in
the city.

Now she was with Cumulo, preparing him for
their first flight in days.

“Hurry up,
”
her impatient miryhl ordered.
“
I
’
ve got so much to show you.
”

While Mhysra might not have had time for
flying lately, with her days spent training and her nights spent at
home pretending that all was well, that didn
’
t mean he hadn
’
t been out on his own.
“
You
’
ve
become quite the adventurer without me, haven
’
t you?
”
she chuckled, running her hands under his girths
to check that they weren
’
t twisted and his feathers weren
’
t uncomfortably ruffled.

As she brushed beneath his belly, he jumped.
“
That
tickles.
”

“Sorry.
”

“As you can see there
’
s space here for upwards of a hundred
birds
. A full Rider
flight.”
A familiar voice drifted in from outside. Mhysra
and Cumulo looked up. Lieutenant Lyrai was outlined in the doorway,
a handful of students clustered behind him, evidently here for a
tour of the eyries. Mhysra
’
s heart sank.