Stronger than Bone Read Free

fog.
    “Slap your sister…”
    Guy instinctively looked over his shoulder and saw no one. He looked up and down stream, weighing his options, and briefly considered trying the swim across…very briefly. Guy was not afraid, but he was not an idiot either. He knew that even with two legs he was not a strong swimmer, and this was a very wide river: the kind that looks slow and lazy, but hides powerful undercurrents. It was only a short hike downstream to the ocean where he could find passage on some other boat. That’s why he planned on hopping a ride on the boat across the river and continuing inland. It simply didn’t make sense to go anywhere but toward the open ocean, but Curly knew the ocean better than anyone and he’d look for him there. “Upstream then,” he thought. He put on his belt and let his right hand rest on the hilt of his knife as he pondered his decision.
    “Screw it…”
    One last look over his shoulder, a quick pat of his bag to make sure the flap was secure, and he stepped off upstream toward the Northern Mountains. He hoped Curly hadn’t hired a tracker. Even a bad one could follow a one legged man, and God knows he wouldn’t be able to outrun anybody.
    As Guy made his way out of the village and through the forest along the river bank, he thought of a different girl. She was a beautiful girl, often sad, with blue eyes and pale skin. His resolve strengthened and he walked faster, putting more distance between himself and the men who had killed her. One day he would make sure they suffered the same fate. He would make them pay. But it would not be today. Today he would run.

Chapter Four
     
    (Six years earlier: 231 Cycles into the Light)
    Chase twisted away from the pain with a yelp, instantly furious at himself for showing weakness. Then, another stinging mark landed across his back, spiking his fury. It wasn’t that he was scrawny, or not athletic. Chase was quite exceptional for his age, but Kelly Turner, his teacher, was magnificent. Just ask Kelly.
    “Enough!” Chase shouted.
    “Enough? Hardly son,” said the sinewy man delivering his daily humiliation. “What would the old man say if I took it easy on his favorite pupil?” He suddenly swung his wooden practice sword at the boy’s knees with enough force to break them.
    If it had not been for the widening of Kelly’s grey eyes and a telltale twitch to his brow just before he swung, the boy would not have had a chance. Without thinking, he launched himself backward into the air. He arched his back, tucked his arms in, and twisted as hard as he could. As his body inverted, he threw one leg into the spin, executing a perfect aerial. He landed facing Kelly, who stepped back to avoid a vicious kick to the jaw.
    “You little…Ass!..errr, pup…Ass-pup!” said Kelly, incredulously. “I was fourteen before I mastered that move! You’re barely past your eleventh birthday, and haven’t had a tenth of the training I had at your age!”
    “You were probably able to defend yourself without aerial tactics at my age. I can’t seem to do without them,” offered Chase.
    “Well, I was pretty magnificent, even then,” admitted Kelly as he looked away dramatically and smiled.
    Chase rolled his eyes and tried smiling along with Kelly, who was only half joking, but managed more of a grimace. The bleeding welts were making his shirt stick to his back.
    The moment was broken by the chime of a loud bell, signaling rotation to all of the academy students. Chase breathed a sigh of relief. He had made it through another session with the academy’s greatest fighter, greatest braggart, and greatest cause of injury to students. Before running on to the next lesson, Chase waited for Kelly to give him leave. It was expected here, and Chase always followed the rules…sort of.
    Kelly made Chase wait an extra few seconds, as always, and then opened his mouth to impart a last bit of wisdom. Chase, who was waiting for the teacher’s nod, liberally