Hunt For The Hero (Book 5) Read Free

you teach us how to kill Ettins?” said the other, blowing the hair from his eyes.
    Ben rubbed their heads and smiled.
    “Not now, but maybe later.”
    One kicked at the dirt.
    “Ah! I want to learn now.”
    Ben squatted down.
    “A Legionnaire has to be patient and able to follow orders.” He looked into their eyes. “Can you do that?”
    One nodded, but the long- haired one said, “My mother’s always giving me orders. ‘Fill the bucket.’ ‘Sheer the sheep.’ ‘Pluck the chickens.’ ‘Skin the rabbits.’ ‘String the beans.’ Blah! I want to get out of this place.”
    Ben stuck his chin out a little and bobbed his head. He understood. He ’d been done all those things hundreds of times if not thousands. His home village of Quinley was a little bigger than this one, but the work was still the same. He didn’t hate being a farmer, but he didn’t love it either. If anything, it had prepared him for the Legionnaires. The training was tough, but his body and mind were already used to the work. He’d succeeded where many failed.
    “I used to love plucking chickens,” he said to them.
    The boy’s eyes widened.
    “You plucked chickens?” the long -hair said.
    The other teetered on his toes.
    Ben smiled.
    “I was the fastest feather-plucker in the village and I just loved stringing those beans. You want to know a secret?”
    They nodded their heads yes.
    Ben looked around and lowered is voice. “Farm boys make the best Legionnaires. My commander told me so.” He winked. “And I’m a pretty good one you know.”
    “I’m going to be the fastest feather-plucker in my village!”
    “No, I am!”
    They took off running, tackling and bumping each other all the way back home.
    Ben stood up, stretched his back and smiled. Then he frowned. Giving advice to children made him feel old. And he’d never worried before, but now he was worried about Sasha. He felt responsible, and it left his stomach a little sick. He shuffled along, rubbing the knot on his head.
    “I should have gone with them,” he said to himself. “I should be the one to find her. Dragon’s probably mad.” He adjusted his sword belt on his hips. “I can’t fail again.”
    He rubbed the bump on his head. It felt like a toma to was growing under his skin. Garrison said it was the winged ape that had grabbed him and tossed him like a fish. But Ben wasn’t so sure. There was something about Garrison that didn’t seem right. Ben had asked his friend several times what he’d seen and what had happened, but the story seemed to go back and forth.
    “I’m not sure.”
    “It was an ape, like they said.”
    Ben knew Garrison wasn’t telling him everything. Dragon had taught him a bit about liars. ‘Just watch their eyes,’ Dragon had said. ‘Their hands. Sometimes they fidget a little. And sometimes, if you’re wise, you can just tell. Your gut will tell you.’
    Garrison ’s story, though a bit inconsistent, did seem sincere. His eyes and hands were steady. Maybe too steady. But what would Garrison have to hide?
    Ben’ s stomach rumbled. He decided to head back to the lodge room and dig up a biscuit. He could smell them better in the air the closer he came. Hot. Buttery. Village or no village, these people were gonna make their biscuits. He patted his tummy. “Well not all of my body has to be unhappy.”
    Walking along he noticed a man making his way through the tall grasses in the distance. It was Garrison.
    “Say, where’s he going?” He rubbed his chin. He was hungry, but more curious. Something about the way Garrison moved bothered him. His friend checked over his shoulder a couple of times and disappeared over the dale. “I’ve a feeling I’d better find out.”

 
    CHAPTER 5
     
     
    I dove in to the pool, cut through the water and grabbed the chains. I didn’t look at either of them. I couldn’t. Brenwar and Shum’s chains ran through a metal ring in heavy stone and the pool was littered with bones at the bottom.