How Riya Ended Up Here...
Chapter Three: A Little Game
Working on Mullen's team wasn't all it was cracked up to be, Riya soon learned. For all the inside information he was gathering and all he was learning, he paid for it by being the butt of military-kids' humor, the recipient of staff jealousy, and the constant fear that he would be discovered as gifted or as a Martian spy. It made him jumpy, though he was always carefully polite. Once or twice he pulled an anonymous practical joke to get his revenge on the more snotty of the Favorites-- or the Nine, as they called themselves, or the Eight, or the Seven, as people kept getting removed from the team-- but always when it was certain it could not be traced back to him. He even managed to convince one that there were ghosts in the boys latrines on his floor, with a little well-placed thought-sending. That was his favorite joke, and couldn't help a little grin every time the fellow in question passed the latrines with a nervous look and hurried to the downstairs one. Most of their jests and superior looks didn't get a response from him, however-- he just carried weapons, picked up wet towels, hauled around water, and once or twice performed some simple first aid, all without thanks from anyone except Mullen and one of the girls-- who unfortunately left the team shortly after Riya had been assigned to it.
But it wasn't all bad. Riya was learning a lot about psionics by listening in, pretending to be busy, and even more about fighting. Mullen was very fixed on teaching the students how to fight those things called demons-- they didn't really look much like demons, to Riya, but he didn't question the name-- and even the dragon Esuro Fidalites seemed to have some sort of grudge against them. Riya guessed that these "demons" were some sort of dragonic enemy, which sort of made sense, given how the dragons were obviously good and the demons were supposed to be evil. It still made Riya feel a little sick to think of the pure-seeming dragons turning against his home and family, what he had left of either, but he tried hard not to think about it except when he was alone in his room or far from the Favorites. He didn't want the others to pick up such a thought, and he didn't want to ruin what time he did get to spend in the company of the dragon.
And, of course, there was the dragon. Esuro didn't come very often, but when he did it was enough to make Riya hold his breath for his next visit. Though Riya couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something special and ethereal, almost holy, about the dragons, he did come to learn that they had wildly different personalities from the stereotypical celestial being, and from each other. Esuro was hardly what one would think of as an angel, though he was still decidedly good. The dragons might have been magical, but they were also mortal and almost, he dared to think it, rather like humans.
*****
Capture the flag, huh?
Riya crouched in the grass, listening to Captain Mullen give the Cadets their rules. He remembered that game from a long time ago, and as he recalled, he'd always been good at the duck, dodge, and snatch, whenever he had the chance to actually play. Probably the reason he was in espionage and not being a paper-pusher or rabble-rouser back on Mars. Too bad he didn't get to actually play; he'd be a pretty good addition to either team. But it was more fun to not have a team and just cause trouble. God, this'll be fun.
He'd already decided which team to sabotage. As soon as the second team leader had been chosen, he knew. That boy, James Anderson, "Andy" as he was usually called, was the perfect little military boy, and it positively ticked Riya pink to make him loose his cool. Besides, that girlfriend of his, Adara, had looked down her nose at him more than just about anyone else in the Favorites, and it would be sweet revenge to bring her team down. What was best was that no one would know it was him who had brought them down, so no one could hate him for it.
The teams dispersed, and Riya kept low. He'd had practice staying hidden, usually without the helpful grass and bushes to keep him concealed, but it was tricky not to make too much noise and alert them to his presence before he was ready. He had to go very slowly, much more slowly than they were moving, and he almost lost them twice before hearing a soft rustle that betrayed one of them. But, once they had found the place they wanted to place their flag, he had the spot fairly well pinpointed. With all those protective bushes they could hardly move silently-- of course, neither could someone coming after the flag, but since that wasn't Riya's goal, that was all right.
Three of the four left the bushes; Riya, hidden flat against the ground a few yards off, heard the rustling. Riya hoped one of them was Andy, but he doubted it. He suspected Mister Military had ensconced himself with the flag, as the "leader" of the little group, giving out orders but not going out into the world himself. He would have to settle for finding Adara and tripping her up somehow.
Which was, actually, exactly what he ended up doing. He'd wriggled through the grass on the ground, trying to get a clear view of the person he could hear so close to him, and she tripped over his outstretched legs. To her credit, as she fell, she twisted and grabbed him by the back of his jacket, dragging him towards her and taking him in a wrestling, rolling move that left him pinned beneath her. He went limp, blinked owlishly up at her, then mimed a kiss at her. She looked disgusted, but Riya had already done what he'd wanted, so he didn't much care.
::Jason, move a little further left,:: he sent out openly, trying to sound as uptight and serious as Andy. ::There's someone coming from your right side.:: Then, to the second runner, ::Franco, you're not covering enough ground, get moving.::
Every mind in the area must have heard that, with the exception of Andy and Andrea who he was blocking-- the former hearing would surely give things away, and the latter might guess it was coming from him since they were so close. It was only a matter of time until Mullen and his team would be swarming Andy's team and taking his flag, and by then, Riya would be gone. Adara let him up, giving him another disgusted look before returning to her patrol. Riya spent a few minutes on his back, staring up at the stars, then got up, brushed himself off-- making a clear marker for anyone who cared to look-- and strode off through the grass, off towards his room.
The sour expressions on the faces of Andy's teammates the next morning told him all he needed to know.