Page 40 of The Ruler
“As I said, it needs work, but we could update it.” Boulder waved his hand. “Come on, let me show you the rest.”
We saw the two offices and bathrooms before Boulder took us into the side building, which was only slightly smaller than the church. There was a kitchen, a gathering hall that could be converted into a dining hall, a supply room, and six rooms in different sizes.
“We would need to add shower facilities and some more bedrooms,” I said, “but otherwise I think it’s perfect.”
“Perfect?” Khan snorted. “It’s a long way from perfect.”
“Sure, it needs cleaning, painting, and insulation…”
“And plumbing, and a ton of other things,” he added grumpily.
“It could work.” I turned to Boulder, who lit up in a bright smile.
“Just give me the go-ahead and I’ll get this place shining in no time.”
“Secretly,” I reminded him.
“Of course!”
“I’ll talk to the council and explain that we now have the physical location and a suitable teacher from the Northlands who is willing to bring ten students,” I summed up.
“And I’ll talk to Kya about moving up here,” Christina said eagerly, and rose on her toes next to Boulder while holding on to his hand and shooting him an isn’t-this-amazing smile.
“Kya?” Boulder’s eyes grew big. “Your Kya?”
“Yes,” she squealed. “She’s the best teacher in the world and I would die to have her live close to me.”
“I’ll need to approve of her,” Khan pointed out.
“Yes, of course,” I agreed. “We both do.”
“This is going to be fucking epic,” Boulder exclaimed and lifted Christina from the ground.
Khan’s lips pursed up slightly. “Don’t get too excited, the council still has to find the children, and I have a hard time seeing any Momsies agreeing to sending their girls here.”
“Leave that to me,” I assured him.
CHAPTER 10
Enemies
Khan
Slamming my fist into Finn’s rib, I felt the impact vibrate up my arm. If not for our protective gear it would have been painful for us both. The thin gloves and body armor looked like nothing, but it shielded us from broken bones and internal bleeding.
“Is that all you got?” Finn grinned at me and I was pleased to see that he was back to his normally cheerful self. “Maybe spending so much time with a Momsi has made you a softy.”
“Umph.” I pushed the air out of my lungs as I put all my strength into my upper jab.
“Motherfucker!” Finn bent over and held both hands to his face. “You broke my nose.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that,” I said, out of breath. “Don’t worry, mine has been broken several times.” I pulled his hands away so I could see better. “Yeah, you need the bone accelerator.”
He wiped blood away with the back of his hand and walked over to get a towel. “It fucking hurts.”
“I know,” I said. “But you were the one who told me not to hold anything back.”
“The face is off limits; you know that, you twisted fuck.” He gave me the middle finger.
