Page 7 of Mikoto and the Reaver Village
“Yes. In striking distance.”
Also the right idea. TrustanyAmaranthine’s sensesover your own.
Another rookie quietly asked, “How can you tell?”
Which wasn’t as stupid a question as it might sound. Knowinga predator is nearby is a good start, buthowyou know determines yournext step.
But their observer wasn’t on the team. She simply said, “Thereare boundaries, and he promised to stay within them.”
This was too easy, but these battlers really wereNaroo-soh’s choices. They’d catch on. They’d learn, and then Sinder would haveto try harder. But he’d impress them this once. Because the thing to rememberwhen tracking a dragon, if there was any chance of anyone surviving theencounter, was that your eyes can deceive you.
When you’re scanning your surroundings, and you’re surethere’s no place where any dragon could possibly hide, you’re wrong. He’sthere, and he’s still. He’s listening, and he’s laughing. And he’s almostcertainly behind you.
Sinder’s jump-scare tactics didn’t gain him anypopularity. After three days, the rookies still couldn’t find him in an openfield. By the fourth, they were beginning to suspect they never would. Notwithout help. By the fifth, they were sure of it. Which was as ready as they’dever be.
“Bring on the Elderbough,” Sinder drawled, by way ofintroduction.
The ranks fell silent as their instructor stepped out of thewoods.
Sinder eyed them critically. Yes, they were surprised. But bynow, they should be desperate enough to take what they could get.
When this group was first selected, Boonmar-fen Elderboughwas supposed to have handled their training. But things went south, and Boonwas off the grid. It had taken a little convincing, but in the end, Naroo-sohhad agreed to send another brother.
“My name is Torloo-dex Elderbough.”
The battlers exchanged glances.
Sinder was pleased to see that the prevailing emotions wereconfusion and … awe. He was willing to bet that none of them had ever met anAmaranthine this young. Torloo looked twelve.
“Naroo-soh is my brother.” With a soft smile, he said, “Hereis his promise. If by midsummer your skills exceed mine, he will come here, andhe will run with you.”
Quite the incentive.
Sinder wondered how long it would take these rookies torealize that this kid had been running with Elderbough trackers since always.He was good. As in exceptional. Torloo could be ruthless, which might have beenscary if he weren’t so damned cordial about it. Adoona-soh’s baby boy hadalready put Sinder on his back more than once. He was almost as good at it asJuuyu.
“New goal!” Sinder tossed his hair over his shoulder. “Nowthat you have an Elderbough to advise you, we’ll make the game harder. Find mebefore I find you.”
FIVE
Night Maneuvers
As soon as Torloo took over, Sinderstopped talking. Well, he stopped contributing useful information. His littleasides were bland or barbed. All part of the plan. These battlers needed atangible enemy to curse, corner, and confine. Because therealrogue wasthe worst taunt, the biggest affront, and a true monster on two legs or four.
Twelve years gone, and he was still out there—rending livesand raping girls.
Human agencies didn’t understand why it was taking so longto take this guy down. Every other year or so, they’d sling accusations anddemand results. But a heart-to-heart with a few members of the AmaranthineCouncil, always with Lapis in attendance, sufficed to remind them what theywere up against.
What these rookies were up against.
What Sinder could do with a few whispered words.
He tried not to look at them, to meet their gazes, to usetheir names. Otherwise, their hard eyes and muttered oaths might get to him.And this wasn’tabouthim. This was a dress rehearsal, and they neededto fully embrace their parts.
Sinder wasn’t thrilled to be the villain’s understudy.Neither was he loving Wardenclave’s rugged, rustic vibe. He was more of aclimate-controlled penthouse kind of dragon. Communications and computer code.Social media and slipping onto servers. The team usually relied on him forinformation extraction, yet they’d shunted him to a place that time forgot. Hewas up a creek without wifi. Come to think of it, this might be the worstsummer ofhislife.
Lost in a daydream in which Juuyu and Hallow were sent toextract him, Sinder nearly missed his cue.
Torloo crisply asked, “Do you understand?”
