Silver Dragon by Jason Halstead Page B

that her father was somehow less than a full man because of his profession. She stiffened and glared at him. "He's had to wrestle and fight more men than you've even met."
    "Aye, that's true," Durak conceded. His thoughtful expression cracked into a grin when he added, "Even if they were all drunk!"
    Aleena snorted and turned her attention away from him. The others were laughing or trying to act like they weren't paying attention. Celos shook his head. "Ignore him . He's still upset that he was unseated from his horse by the jousting dummy last time around."
    Aleena ignored the laughter and Durak's red face. She stared at Celos with her own jaw hanging open. "We have to joust? You mean, like, we ride a horse?"
    "Don't worry, you're not expected to do well. Jousting isn't trained until you become a squire."
    Aleena nodded and swallowed past the lump in her throat. All of a sudden , she felt unsteady. Even worse, were these tests seen by anyone other than Sir Amos?
    The door opened before she could ask any more questions–or be sick in her chamber pot. She saw Sir Amos standing there with a somber expression on his face.
    "Recruits, it is time for the testing."
    Aleena's eyes felt like they might fall out of her face. She'd grown accustomed to exercising first thing in the morning and then eating. It seemed the testing was a different affair altogether.
    "Walk with me ; we'll see to your conditioning first," Sir Amos said. "May Saint Leander's blessings be upon you."
    They fell in behind him in the organized line Aleena had come to expect. Being the youngest and least experienced recruit, she was in the rear of the procession. That made her the last through the door that led out the rear of the church. A cold wind slapped her in the face as she beheld the grounds that had been made into an obstacle course.
    "By Leander's grace," she whispered. She saw barrels and ramps set up. Elsewhere there were wooden beams with ropes hanging from them and walls that seemed to serve no purpose at all. Light snowflakes were blowing past her in the wind and adding to the swells gathered at the base of some of the obstructions. "What is this?"
    "Thi s is to test your conditioning," Sir Amos called out loudly, though he looked directly at her. "You think all that running and jumping you've been doing twice a day was my way of putting you in your place?"
    The other recruits chuckled while Aleena's cheeks burned.
    "Carrying Leander's message into the world is a difficult and challenging task," the priest continued. "You will face peril time and again. There are those who do not want to care about Saint Leander because they know nothing of him. Then there are others who will fight back because they have their own beliefs that are contrary to yours. If you are winded or weak, how will you carry Leander's light into the darkness?"
    He turned to Celos and nodded. "Celos, you may begin the testing."
    The blond-haired recruit called for Leander's blessing and ran onto the course. He ran back and forth between barrels and then leapt over some gates that had been set up. He dove into the snow and crawled under the next set of gates and then climbed back to his feet and grabbed one of the ropes Aleena had seen to swing across and land on a box. He kept going, climbing a net and then tumbling when he leapt off the other side. Without rest, he came to one of the walls and had to leap up and climb over the wall as well.
    Aleena's mouth fell open as Celos made his way through the course tirelessly. She saw him pick up and push a cart loaded with dirt and then grab a training sword and run through several dummies, striking each one along the way. He continued through the challenges and finished by running hard and coming to a stop before Sir Amos.
    The priest turned a small hourglass over and saw that there was still sand left in both sides. He nodded. "Well done, recruit. William, your turn."
    Aleena watched William, another skilled recruit, take his place and