02 The Invaders Read Online Free PDF Page B

size that was keeping him earthbound. But he was
trying
. Thorn watched him approvingly for several seconds, nodding to himself. There was a lot of value in Ingvar, he thought, shortsighted or not. Ingvar’s sense of loyalty to Hal meant he was always first to volunteer when there was a task to be done.
    “Don’t hit me, Thorn,” Ingvar said, some sixth sense warning him that Thorn was behind him. “I’m jumping as high as I can.”
    “I can see that, Ingvar,” Thorn said softly. He moved on, casually flicking the hickory baton at Ulf’s backside as he went.
    “Ow!” Ulf cried. “What did you do that for?” He’d been jumping and clapping his hands as high and hard as he could.
    “My mistake,” Thorn said. “I thought you were your brother.”
    “Oh. That’s all right then,” Ulf replied.
    Thorn frowned, wondering at the twisted logic in the statement. Finally, he rounded the end of the line of leaping, clapping boys and moved to stand before them.
    “That’s enough!” he yelled and, gratefully, they stopped their leaping and cavorting. A few of them leaned forward, resting their hands on their knees to breathe deeply. There were one or two coughs from the line of boys.
    “You really have let yourselves go, haven’t you?” Thorn chidedthem. There was no answer. The boys were embarrassed to realize that he was right. It had been several weeks now since they had been subjected to this sort of rigorous exercise, whereas during their brotherband training it had been a daily event. Even during the run down the coast in the
Heron
, they hadn’t had to row. They’d had a constant wind on the beam the whole time.
    “Very well,” Thorn continued. He pointed down the long, curving beach that ran along the edge of the bay. “It’s time for a run.”
    The boys looked in the direction he was pointing and groaned. The beach was almost two kilometers long.
    “Down and back,” he said. “Right to the far end. And you see that nice, firm sand along the water’s edge?”
    He waited until they looked and then nodded that yes, they could see it.
    “Well, we’re not going to run in that, are we? We’re going to run in that nasty, soft, dry sand above the high watermark. Much better for us.”
    “Us?” Stefan queried. “Are you coming too?”
    Thorn regarded him, a light of amusement in his eyes. “Well, now, what do you think?”
    Stefan shrugged resignedly. “I think you’re staying here.”
    “And who said you were slow on the uptake?” Thorn replied. Then he made a shooing gesture at them. “Off you go. And remember, no walking. I’ll be watching you all the way.”
    The boys turned and set off in a ragged group, Jesper quickly moving to the lead. As they straggled away, Thorn barked out a command.
    “Edvin! Not you! Back here!”
    Edvin dropped out of the group and walked back to where Thorn stood, his head tilted curiously.
    “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, eyeing Thorn’s hickory baton warily.
    Thorn shook his head. “Not at all. Get a fire started. Make tea and get some bacon and bread ready for them when they get back. They’ll need a good breakfast.”
    There was a warmth and a level of concern in his voice that belied his previous uncaring manner as he’d stalked along the line of leaping, clapping boys. Edvin, placing dry kindling in a pyramid stack in the fireplace, watched the old warrior shrewdly.
    “You’re not really as mean as you make out, are you?”
    Thorn eyed him coldly. “Oh yes, I am,” he replied. “And you’ll find out just how mean I can be if you tell anyone otherwise.”
    Sometime later, the Heron brotherband straggled back into the campsite. They had strung out during the run. Jesper was well in the lead when they returned and Thorn noticed that the boy was barely breathing hard. Ulf, Stefan and Wulf came in next, and finally Hal and Stig arrived, each one holding an arm of the lumbering Ingvar. Thorn pursed his lips. A shame, he thought. Ingvar was