Legacy of the Defender (The Defender Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

before, as my mother provided all of these things for me.  It fell to me to handle this task myself after my teacher threw me in the water fully clothed to bathe and wash the smell.  I smiled.  That day seemed so long ago already.  My teacher had a sensitive nose, but it was more about establishing dominance over me or maybe even just teaching me a lesson about taking care of me every day.
    As I left, Malnuras had his nose in his tome.  I was barely outside of the camp when I heard his voice.  "Do not forget your sword."
    "Pardon me teacher, no offense but that is not for real fighting.  I am just doing my laundry.  I am sure you can smell me."  He did not speak another word as I departed with my task.
    This morning was an exceptional day being that I could barely move but strangely felt good.  The trail to the river was not a rough one but did require good balance and land navigation skills to avoid many cuts and bruises.  It took me about thirty or so minutes I guessed, since I had no clock or watch, to traverse the terrain that day.  Walking did hurt from yesterday’s lesson, but each step and knowing how good the water would feel gave me new vigor, and I stepped up my pace.  It was hard not to hasten my steps, but I learned that lesson already.  We chose our camp with this in mind.
    Standing over the river, I gazed at my reflection and then looked at a low hung tree behind me near water.  It showed me to be a little taller with a pronounced jawline.  Mirrors did not exist here, and the last time I used one was the morning my life changed in fact.  Days ran into weeks or months.  How much time had passed escaped me now?  It was a different feeling knowing that your body was lying in some bed in a hospital asleep.  Malnuras did not tell me what the condition was other than being in a coma, only that I was recovering from the accident.  Having seen the actual event, it had not been a pretty sight.  Sadly, my memory of it was sparse so seeing it first hand by using the campfire was the only real way I could see it.  It all seemed so long ago.
    My thoughts went to Jason for a few moments, wondering how he was and if he recovered okay.  Maybe he was out in the woods .  Did he even think of our time as friends or our adventures?   I could not imagine what he must have been going through regarding that day’s events.  I hoped he was okay.  He had to be.  Aside from my stepfather, he was the toughest person I knew in my life.  Nothing could keep him down. 
    My thoughts shifted to the girls at the lake.  Had Jason gone back there later in the summer? Was he dating one of them by now?  He always had better luck with the ladies.  The crazy things we were doing to try to impress them by jumping our bikes off the dock made a smile for a moment.  The other girls name still escaped me. 
    A bubbling sound in the river caught my attention and jarred me back to the present.  Things were different, of course, and my priorities had changed drastically.  Malnuras told me my new life was beginning the morning after arriving, the day he quite literally threw me in the river after commenting on my smell.
    It was so many days ago, I lost track . 
    Malnuras had really yet to tell me where we were.  He simply referred to it as a realm that was not on earth.  The only time he ever really talked about it was the first few days after we arrived.  I asked if we were somewhere on earth; he cuffed me on the back of the head, telling me to focus on the task.  Never striking me out of anger, he always had a purpose to it, even if it felt abusive.  I always felt he had a reason for it other than to cause me pain.  Strangely, he seemed to be doing what my father failed to do: make a man out of me the right way.
    I fell back into my task of cleaning my clothes.  The substance used was like soap, but would not hurt the river.  I did not know its composition, but it did the job even in the cold water of the