The Buried Symbol (The Ruins of Issalia Book 1) (38 page)

Even after she disappeared around the stairwell landing, his heart was singing. This girl. He felt something special for this girl. More than ever before, Brock thought that life was beautiful.

CHAPTER 60

Life was filled with pain. It seemed as if every inch of Brock
’
s body hurt. He closed his eyes, willing the hot water to soak his aches away.

It had now been four weeks since he and the other novices had moved from hand combat to weapons in their Paladin training. During those weeks, the students had been sparring with wooden swords, short and long, as well as quarterstaffs. Brock had fared well, getting the better of every foe he had faced until today.

After the forms practice, Budakis had pulled him aside for a private conversation.

“
Mister Talenz, I
’
m sorry to do this to you, but I have no choice.
”
The large man stared into Brock
’
s eyes.
“
Your roommate has been thumping every opponent he
’
s faced.
”
He glanced over at Cameron, who was practicing his sword stances.
“
I try to match sparring partners so they
’
re similar in size or strength. Unfortunately, Cameron DeSanus has made that impossible. No other student over six feet can match his quickness. In fact, there are only a few students in the whole school who have any hope.
”
He turned back to Brock.
“
Only one of those students is in this class.
”

Brock stared into the man
’
s eyes as the words began to sink in.

“
You want me to spar with Cam?
”
He glanced toward his mountain of a roommate.
“
He
’
s twice my size. He
’
ll crush me.
”

Budakis smiled.
“
Perhaps. However, he cannot crush you if he can
’
t hit you.
”
He patted Brock
’
s shoulder.
“
Just don
’
t let him hit you and you
’
ll be fine.
”

He walked away, announcing the first six pairings. The twelve students, in groups of two, spread out to find their own space on the floor. The other students waited on the benches near the changing rooms. Brock sat next to Cameron. His massive roommate leaned over to whisper to him.

“
I wonder who Budakis will match me with today.
”

Brock snorted.
“
I wonder.
”

While staring at the floor before him, Brock
’
s mind raced. How was he going to spar with Cam and not be killed? He saw how the other students had fared. Broken bones were a regular occurrence. Two students were injured badly enough that they required a week of rest even after being healed. Though required to wear a helmet when sparring, one boy was hit in the head so hard that he still couldn
’
t walk straight. That was two weeks ago.

When the matches ended, Budakis called out the next six pairings. Though he knew it was coming, Brock winced when his name was called right after Cam
’
s. At least the big guy had the grace to look surprised. The look of surprise quickly became a grin. As they strolled to an open area, he pleaded to Cam.

“
You can at least have the courtesy to stop smiling. I know you
’
re going to kill me.
”

Brock slipped his helmet on. He didn
’
t want his brains to leak out when he was thumped in the head.

Cam shook his head.
“
No. You don
’
t understand. I was smiling because I think you
’
re the one person in the class who will provide a challenge. You
’
re quick, Brock. Really quick.
”

“
Um
…
thanks. Somehow, I don
’
t feel better.
”

Brock stepped back, holding his quarterstaff in a ready position. Cam adjusted his shield before raising his wooden sword. They both nodded, and a flurry of action ensued.

The rapid clacking of the wooden weapons colliding filled Brock
’
s ears. He concentrated, blocking the fast strokes of Cameron
’
s sword. Each offensive strike from Brock resulted in his having to dodge or block a counter-strike. Block, attack, block, dodge. Block, dodge, attack, dodge. They traded volleys repeatedly, leaving them both breathing heavily. Neither had experienced a match lasting nearly this long. This one was not only exceptional based on the duration, but also in the sheer fury of the exchanges.

Beginning to tire, Brock decided to attempt to end the duel. After blocking an overhead strike from Cam, he went for a low swipe at Cam
’
s legs. The staff only nicked one boot. Cam had jumped, which would have been fine if he hadn
’
t jumped forward. Thrusting his wooden shield at Brock as he descended, Cam
’
s full weight slammed into Brock
’
s head and shoulder. Air blasted from Brock
’
s lungs when he was driven into the hard dirt floor with Cam on top. Brock
’
s vision blurred to white. Was he going blind?

As Cameron rolled off him, pain rushed in. Brock tried to breathe, but air wouldn
’
t come. Panicking, he rolled to his side and a deep breath finally filled his lungs. He rapidly cycled through breaths, trying to catch up on the ones he had missed.

His ears rang and his head pounded. He sat up, realizing that his whole body hurt. As his vision began to clear, he saw Budakis staring at him with Cam looking over the man
’
s shoulder. Next to Budakis was Jestin, the healer on duty. Jestin put his hand on Brock, closing his eyes. Jestin soon shook his head and stepped away. Budakis smiled and gripped Brock
’
s hand, pulling him to his feet.

Budakis clapped him on the shoulder, causing him to wince.
“
Wonderful match, Brock. I knew you could challenge the big guy.
”

Budakis turned to address the others.
“
Now that you jokers got to watch the big match, it
’
s your turn. Pair up and get to work.
”

Cam put his meaty hand on Brock
’
s shoulder, walking him toward the changing room.
“
Are you okay? I became so caught up in the match that I forgot who I was fighting. I didn
’
t mean to hit you with my shield and land on you like that. It just
…
sort of happened.
”

Despite the pain he felt, Brock couldn
’
t help but smile. That was the longest flow of words he had ever heard from Cam.

“
I
’
m fine
…
I think,
”
Brock replied.
“
Jestin didn
’
t find anything serious enough to require healing. I just
…
hurt.
”

With a look of concern, Cameron asked,
“
Where do you hurt?
”

“
Everywhere.
”

“
Come on, we
’
re done here.
”
Cam put his arm around Brock.
“
It might help if you got a good long soak before lunch.
”

He nodded as Cam ushered him to the baths.

That
’
s where Brock remained, letting the heat of the water ease the pain from his sore body. Other boys eventually came through the baths, getting a quick rinse before returning to the changing room to dress for lunch. He relaxed and let the hot water do its work. When the bell rang, Cam popped his head through the doorway.

“
Are you feeling any better? It
’
s time for lunch.
”

“
Yeah. I know.
”

Brock waded to the side of the pool where his towel waited. He felt better, but would be sore tomorrow. He grabbed his towel and stepped out of the pool.

“
Just give me two minutes to get dressed and we can go eat.
”

Cameron nodded, smiling. He did love to eat.

CHAPTER 61

Brock held the bolt and brace in place while Parker used a big wrench to tighten the nut. As he lay under the catapult, Brock reflected on how he had witnessed their creation evolve.

For the past three weeks, the team of five boys had worked hard to build the perfect siege engine. It began with long nights and every Seventh Day spent in the Foundry. With detailed direction from Benny, they crafted components for the catapult. They cut, drilled, and shaped heavy wooden beams for the frame and the launch arm. Using various casting forms, they poured steel to create all sorts of hardware.

After two weeks of creating components, they moved to their assigned stall in the massive outbuilding behind the Engineering Yard. The building had fifty stalls, each large enough to store a horse and wagon. Thirty of those stalls had been cleared to provide the teams with a private working space to construct their catapults.

For the past five days, the group of boys worked late into the night, assembling Benny
’
s work of art. As the machine began to take shape, their excitement grew. Nobody on the team other than Benny knew how an axle and wheels needed to be assembled. Only Benny understood why the stop rail had to be in a certain location in relation to the launch arm fulcrum. None but Benny understood why they reinforced the launch arm with steel bands. They just listened to Benny and did as directed.

Cam, Lars, and Benny were off to grab a quick bite from the dining hall before going to bed. Brock had told them to go eat as he and Parker finished securing the last brace.

With the brace in place, the machine was now almost finished.

Brock crawled from beneath the catapult and clapped a hand on Parker
’
s shoulder.

“
It
’
s looking good, don
’
t you think?
”

Parker finished tightening the nut and stood upright, wiping sweat off his brow with his sleeve.

“
I
’
ve never built anything before.
”
He stared at the catapult.
“
The ability to take a bunch of raw materials and turn them into something useful is pretty amazing.
”

Brock nodded.
“
You
’
re right about that. Thanks for the help.
”

Parker smiled, which seemed a rare thing.

“
Let
’
s stop for tonight,
”
Brock said.
“
Benny and I will come and do the final touches tomorrow.
”

He grabbed their cloaks from the wall hook, tossing one to Parker. It was cold outside, and they would want the cloaks for cover. Heck, it was cold inside their stall. They would be shivering if they hadn
’
t been exerting so much energy with the assembly.

As Parker secured his cloak, his eyes were on Brock.
“
He hates you, you know.
”

Brock looked up at Parker.
“
Corbin?
”
A nod confirmed his guess.
“
I expected that was the case. I
’
m not too fond of him either.
”

“
I think you underestimate what I
’
m trying to say.
”
Parker stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“
He hates you with a passion. He
’
s making it a personal mission to destroy you in any and every way he can. I
’
ve known Corbin for ten years. I
’
ve never seen him like this.
”

“
Okay. So he hates me in a special way,
”
Brock replied.
“
I
’
m touched.
”