Venture Unleashed (The Venture Books) by R.H. Russell Page A

have you girls been, then?” he said. Then, remembering his place, he silently cursed himself for asking such a question at all, and for not even calling them ladies .  
    Tempest seemed to enjoy his curiosity too much to notice, though. “Lurking around in the woods, getting into mischief,” she said.
    “We saw the clouds, and started heading this way.”
    “But you saw them too late, I see.” Venture nodded at their drenched clothes.
    Tempest laughed, and Jade smiled at him, regaining her usual confidence. “How have you been, Vent?”  
    “I’ve been training hard, but doing very well, thank you, Miss.”
    “Oh, you’re the fighter! The one who trains with Starson, the Champion! I’ve heard Uncle Grant talk about you.”
    “You have, Miss?”
    “Oh, yes. Come, sit down and let’s talk.” She plopped down on a bale of hay, pulled Jade with her, and patted the spot next to them.
    “Tempest—” Jade protested.
    “Oh, come on. I’m sure Venture won’t mind taking a break from his work to tell us a story or two.”
    He hesitated, then took a seat across from the girls instead of beside them. “All right, Miss. But there isn’t much to tell. Not much that young ladies would be interested in anyway.”
    “Oh, but I find it so fascinating, you practicing with all the best fighters, traveling all over the nation. Tell us about the places you’ve been.”
    “Tempest, we’re going to get Venture into trouble.”
    But Venture, now getting over the shock of this new, nearly-woman Jade, and seeing that Tempest was more intrigued than repulsed by him, was in better command of himself, and couldn’t resist the opportunity to sit for awhile and look at Jade.  
    “It’s all right, Miss, I can handle a little trouble.” At the moment he didn’t care one bit about being the man of honor his mother, a devout follower of the Atranian faith, had taught him to be, or about keeping his word to Justice.
    He noted the flush in Jade’s cheeks at his remark. As he entertained the girls with the story of where he’d been and what he’d done, starting with his unexpected experiences at Champions Center, he tried to catch her eye. He told them about his stay in the capital, Founders Rock, a city neither had been to since they were small girls.
    “One morning, I woke up, and even though Dasher saw to it that we had a good room at Regal’s—”
    “Regal’s Respite House?” Tempest interrupted, preparing to be impressed.
    “Yes, Miss. We sleep on floors or bunks most of the time, but in Founders Rock Dasher wanted to be comfortable before the biggest competition of the year. It was a real treat, but even at Regal’s, it was so suffocatingly hot and smelly, I jumped out of bed in the morning and ran to the window, and stuck my head outside, I was so desperate for some fresh air. But you wouldn’t believe what I smelled when I stuck my head out the window.”
    “What?”
    “Sheep. A whole flock of sheep bumping up against the buildings and baa- ing, even more confused than sheep usually are, looking like they were even more desperate for a breath of fresh air than I was.”
    Both of the girls laughed. When Tempest laughed, her eyes scrunched closed, and Jade looked right at him for that wonderful instant. Tempest’s laughter died down and Jade looked away again. It was a good thing she did, for he didn’t have the will to do it himself.
    He told them how Dasher had explained that the sheep were on their way to the City Green. The green in Founders Rock was much like city greens all over the nation, but only the City Green at Founders Rock underwent a dramatic transformation every Summer’s Second Month—the erecting of the All-Richland Absolute Fighting Championship arena.  
    This happened in a series of processions, starting with a local shepherd, who brought his sheep in, through the narrow stone-paved streets to the Green, for the sole purpose of getting the grass under control. Then, from the massive