The following morning, a muffled clang out in the hallway followed by an apologetic curse woke Pax out of a confusing dream mixed with memories of home and some monster that pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe.
Pax blinked open his eyes, only to find Talpa wiggling his tentacles in his face. He sat with his sizable body half in and half out of Pax’s bed. No wonder he’d been dreaming of a heavy weight holding him down.
Get off of me. Pax pushed his friend off and sat up, though he smiled at the pulses of eagerness radiating from Talpa. Talpa was eager to see what the rebel base had in store for them.
I told him it wasn’t a good idea to disturb your rest. Whisk sounded very satisfied at being right. But Talpa is correct. Most of our friends are already awake and preparing for the day. You are late.
Pax glanced around and saw his companions were right. The other beds in the room were empty, covers spread in haphazard attempts to make the beds.
“About time.” Amil poked his head in the door. “We let you sleep, but you need to get up now. A messenger stopped by with a ten-minute warning before we’re expected at the mess hall, followed by training, whatever that means.”
Pax was already moving, feeling disoriented with no windows and morning light to help him figure out what time it was. “Didn’t Incedis and Eldan talk to someone about what we’ll be doing? I don’t mind doing some training, but we have too much other stuff to do to be put in with the rest of the trainees.”
“Incedis and Eldan left earlier and will hopefully meet us at breakfast to let us know what we’re doing. Hurry up. You’ve only got five minutes.”
Pax bolted out of bed and pulled his armor stand out of his inventory, dressing with the speed of plenty of practice. “What about the others? Any news from Turgan or the rest of the team?”
Amil shrugged, looking worried. “We barely made it in last night, so you know they had to have bunkered down for the night, somewhere out there. Depending on how far away they are, they should show up sometime today.”
Pax paused for a moment and nodded, doing his best to think positive. “Yeah. I’m sure they’ll get here today. And hopefully, Incedis is making progress on getting us beasts to Tame.”
When Amil nodded, Pax got busy again. He finished quickly and hurried out of his room to find the rest of his friends waiting by the door, looking eager to see what their first day in the rebel base would bring.
Their companions attracted plenty of attention as they made their way to the mess hall. When Rin pulled out a map and made sure they didn’t get lost, Pax moved up to look over her shoulder and did his best to learn his way around.
The hot breakfast was much better than trail rations eaten while running, so Pax didn’t mind if it was bland and there wasn’t much selection.
“Finish up, clean up and line up!”
Mouth full, Pax glanced toward the bellowed words to see a gruff-looking warrior standing just inside the mess hall door with an expression that insisted they all obey. Around him, the younger crowd responded immediately, shoveling last bites in their mouths as they stood and headed toward the long tables against one wall that already held a few trays of dirty dishes.
Pax looked down at what he had left. Muddled thoughts had distracted him from eating quickly. He stabbed the eggs until his fork was full and shoved it all in his mouth.
“What do we do now?” Rin asked.
Pax looked up to see his friends all looking at him for answers. He chewed fast while giving them a shrug. Where was Incedis?
“New kids! That means you too.”
Pax looked back to see the warrior glaring in their direction. Mouth still full, Pax was grateful again for their Echoes. Let’s go along for a moment. Finish and clean up. I’ll try speaking to him. Hopefully, Incedis gets here soon.
By the time they finished, they were the last to join the others lined up and standing at attention on the open side of the mess hall without tables. The warrior in charge gave them a reluctant nod before snapping out orders that sent groups of rebels out the doors in coordinated groups.
When most were gone, he looked down at a board in his hand, reading. When he looked back up, his gaze caught on Talpa’s formidable bulk before moving up to where Whisk had draped himself over Pax’s armor, happy he didn’t have to hide anymore.
The man covered the moment of hesitation and cleared his voice. “I’m Sergeant Brondar Flinthelm. You’re now my new fourth squad for 4th Platoon. Today, you’ll follow third squad here, and they’ll show you the ropes. We’re at war and have no time to lose getting you trained. Our fellow rebels are dying out there, and we need to train fast so we can join them. Understand?”
He punctuated his words with a hard look. Before they could respond, he turned on his heel and marched toward the door, obviously expecting them to follow orders. The young woman at the head of third squad waved at them to join them before she followed the sergeant to the door.
Pax gulped, drew up his courage and called out. “Excuse me, Sergeant Flinthelm?”
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The third squad slowed, aiming looks back at him with a mix of incredulity and some pity.
Flinthelm stopped just shy of the door and held still for a long moment before turning to face him. “Were my instructions unclear, recruit?”
“No, sergeant. We’ve just been given different orders.” Pax kept his tone firm and calm despite feeling his cheeks flush. Maybe he should have just gone along. But like the sergeant had said, they didn’t have time to spare. He and his friends needed to get to work with their unique talents as soon as possible. Maybe they could work out a way to squeeze in some training when they were out of mana or beasts to Tame. But even then, their priority was to make progress on their secondary elements, which would mean work in the elemental training rooms, not drills with groups of recruits.
“I know you’re new here, but let me explain something to you.” Sergeant Flinthelm walked toward them, jabbing a finger at Pax.
Pax stiffened and held his gaze. “Please check with your superiors, and you’ll find that we’re expected to be working on different projects.” Pax waved a hand at their companions. “Like you said, we don’t have much time. We’d like to get busy immediately helping all the mages and warriors here Tame their own companions to double our fighting forces.”
Flinthelm took two more strides before Pax’s words seemed to penetrate. He narrowed his gaze. “Mages and warriors? You’re saying you can give all of us beasts like that?”
Bryn and Tasar stepped forward, nodding as they motioned toward Onyx and Warden who looked up at Flinthelm with stony faces. He looked at them for a long moment before his expression changed. He let out a disbelieving chuckle and shook his head before turning to the waiting squad. “Third squad, you can leave. I’ll take care of the special ones here.”
Their leader shrugged and left, but Pax caught a couple of hostile looks aimed their way. Hopefully, it wouldn’t balloon into problems because of their unique status.
“Ah, there you are.” Incedis walked in, Mage Eldan on his heels. “Thank you, Sergeant. I’ll be taking them now.”
One glance at the complex tattoos on their forearms had Flinthelm nodding rapidly. “They’re all yours.” He followed the other squad toward the door only to stop and look over his shoulder at Pax. “If you’re really going to help us all Tame beasts, you might consider starting with your own platoon.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned and left.
Incedis aimed a questioning look at Pax. “Making friends?”
Pax shook his head as he let out a relieved breath and allowed his shoulders to relax. “You couldn’t have gotten here a few minutes earlier? It’s not any fun to refuse the direct order of a sergeant like that.”
Incedis grinned and clapped Pax on the shoulder. “It builds character, though.”
That got stifled chuckles from his friends behind him. Pax didn’t bother to glare at them, just glad to have come out of the encounter intact.
“Well, time to earn your keep, kids. We’ve got an entire section in the controlled wing set aside for us.” He switched over to his Echo, which was wise considering the attentive glances of those still eating who’d been watching things play out with avid interest. We’re working on getting adult beasts for you to Tame. At least there are mages ready for new elements. And when you’re worn out from that, the committee is checking through the unawakened children for suitable candidates to work with you. Follow us. Time’s ticking.
As they stepped into the hallway after the two senior mages, Incedis’ words reminded Pax of someone.
How is Kai doing? Pax felt bad that he hadn’t really missed the kid this morning, barely noticing Incedis had taken him off to get settled in the kids’ wing last night.
He’s with the other teens. They have almost as rigorous a schedule as the recruits. Even without a class, every rebel needs to learn to defend themselves. And he’ll be better fed and clothed than he’s used to.
Can you have him come in with whoever else they pick out for me to work with? I’d like to compare the mana patterns I find inside him with other kids. Maybe if I can find some differences, it’ll help me know what class they’re destined for. I suspect helping awaken a mage might be easier for me.
Incedis, who had just turned down another hallway, stopped and turned to stare at Pax, expression unreadable. You do realize that being able to determine what class a child will awaken to might be as revolutionary as you being able to awaken them?
Amil just aimed a wide grin at Incedis. See. I keep telling everyone they just need to stick with Pax and they’ll get ahead, way ahead.
Incedis let out a huff mixed with disbelief and exasperation before turning and hurrying after Eldan, who was quickly leaving them behind. They went up two floors higher into the underground base. The further they went, the fewer people they encountered. Finally, they turned down a hallway, only to find an iron gate blocking access to the hallway. A guard, who’d been leaning against one wall, straightened instantly, gaze narrowing as she took in their unusual appearance. “Mage Incedis and Mage Eldan. I assume these are the students you went to retrieve? Let me verify and record their names, and we’ll get you in.”
With meticulous handwriting, the guard noted everyone’s names, including their companions. She annotated it with the date and time before moving to open the iron gate.
Pax’s friends stayed quiet, but exchanged excited glances as they moved into the guarded hallway. When they reached the end of the hall and Incedis opened the double doors, Pax and his friends followed him, only to stop and stare.
They stood in an entrance hall, nowhere near as big as the main atrium below, but large enough for the hum of voices from those moving through the space to echo off distant walls. It looked like a staging area for a horde of reclusive packrats, who’d been instructed to empty their collections and pile them neatly on the floor or on the various shelving units. Through the piles, Pax could see a few large doors along each wall. Some were double doors, big enough to allow large items and maybe even creatures to pass through.
“Stop gawking and follow us,” Incedis said over his shoulder when he looked back and saw they’d stopped to stare.
Pax and his crew hurried to catch up, trying not to gape at all the interesting things they passed.
Incedis noticed and relented. “This is the crafters’ wing where all the various projects and equipment are being worked on. Out here in this open hall, they’re collecting and sorting through raw materials along with items they’ve found while exploring the ruins.
A loud hammering suddenly rebounded through the space, only to be cut off as someone shut the door they’d opened. A sparse mix of workers, crafters and mages threaded their way through the various supplies with a familiarity that spoke of lots of practice. Some gave them startled looks when they noticed their companions.
When Incedis and Eldan stopped in front of two double doors on the far left of the open space, Pax exchanged excited glances with his friends. Incedis pushed the doors open, stepped out of the way and waved inside with a fancy flourish.
“Welcome to your new workshop.” He grinned at them while still looking determined. “We’re going to change the entire rebellion from here.”
Eldan mumbled something that Pax barely caught. “If the idiots with power stay out of our way.”
Pax stepped in, determined not to let her words pop the bubble of excitement he felt at finally being free to openly use all his talents to aid the rebellion.