Rise Of The Scoundrel

16. Results

It was windy on the roof of the CK building. As the breeze swept behind them, their cloaks fluttered. Kash hadn't expected Asher to sense them so easily. They'd had to duck behind the cement base of the metal railing to remain hidden. Kash's face threatened to break into a grin, but he maintain his composure. His companion, however, did not go without notice.

"He's growing stronger," a feminine voice singsonged.

"Mhm."

She cleared her throat and stepped closer to the ledge, brushing her shoulder against the captain. "The fact that he's a villager makes it particularly exciting, but I still don't think I see what you see, Kash."

The man placed one boot on the ledge and crossed his arms over his chest, rocking his weight between his feet. After one incredibly basic training session; frankly, Kash barely considered it one at all, the boy was showing signs of greater capability than someone who had been training for a month. The concept simply did not make sense to him.

Kash had what he called a "twin-track mind", constantly moving and never making a single pitstop. One track maintained his social standing, reminding him to say and do what was proper at the moment. Making sure he performed with unmatched excellence that no one could overlook. That was how became a Captain at just twenty-two years old.

The second track questioned everything. He loathed it and himself for having such thoughts. It was improper for a captain to question authority or consider conspiracy theories even possible. He should blow them off as hearsay, idiocy even. That second track was relentless, however, grabbing onto any hints or possible signs about where things such as Blight Hounds came from. Or Zitrean, for that matter. Occasionally, both tracks of his mind wondered together if those two were somehow related.

"Hey, are you listening to me? I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!" The woman pouted with her hands resting on her hips.

"Of course I am."

"No, you're not!"

"Oops."

She huffed and leaned forward as she looked out across the many training fields that were organized like blocks within the large arena. White paint marked the sidelines and gates separated each field. A few trees were sprinkled through the arena, but otherwise, there was no access to shade without returning inside.

Large metal polls stood along the wide center aisle between the two rows of fields. Those who possessed reasonable Core strength were landing hard blows, the clank of the metal reaching their ears even from such a distance. Along the outskirts of the arena were practice targets, Sheaths with long-range Birth Weapons making use of them. There were high-tech drink and snack machines littered about, and the same automated voice operating the front doors of the CK building came through their speakers.

"If only we'd had this growing up," the woman said wistfully. "Do you think we would have done better?"

Kash snorted incredulously. "We survived the Trial, Sasha. How much better could we have done?"

"Do you think your special student will be better off than we were? He's a villager but has access to here and such talented friends. Plus, he's just too cute!" She beamed.

"He's seventeen."

"Aww, I just want to pinch his cheeks!" She laughed and clenched her small hands into fists under her chin.

"And he's not my "special student", as you say."

"Of course he is! You've never taken on a Trial participant before... Actually, you've never willingly trained anyone, not even when the Garrick approached you about becoming a Drill Master."

"Waste of time," the man grumbled under his breath.

"Well, how is Asher not a waste of time?"

The question caught him off guard, causing him to drop his foot from the ledge. "He deals Zitrean, getting his supply by some lowly city dweller called Hunter. Asher is a criminal, but he's also a lead. A lead who is oddly talented."

"Oddly?" she asked as she quickly approached to peer over his shoulder as he retrieved a piece of paper from his cloak's pocket. It was severely wrinkled and stained around the edges, as though it had been opened and closed countless times. Her eyes scanned the page intently.

"Oh my!" She gasped and snatched it from his hands and placed a hand over her mouth.

"Mhm."

"How did you not bring this to me sooner?" Her eyes were glued to the paper as she chided him.

Kash's gaze returned to the field. Asher was now sitting under the lone tree beside William Krull. They were laughing as they watched Maggie Welkin and Jackson Tierce ready for their spar, Hannah Andrews making a fuss about something.

"You needed to see him as a person first."

She frowned before bringing her eyes up to meet his. "Hey, I'm the Garrick Medical Officer, not some mad scientist."

"It's hard to predict what you'll become once you start this."

"Excuse me, I'm your superior, Captain Ryker!" She lightly scolded, then returned her focus to the paper.

Kash continued to watch Asher. The boy's smiling face brought a flicker of pain to his chest. The familiarity was excruciating, sometimes making him hard to look at or even be around. From the moment he'd set eyes on Asher at the Garrick outpost, his twin-track mind had become uneven, the skeptical side growing far heavier.

That familiarity had ignited a ghost he'd fought to keep at rest.