Redoubt Read Online Free PDF Page B

flying completely out the
     window. The things that had worked for Gennie on their own team
might
work for this one . . .
    Of course, over on King’s Choice were Halleck, Meled, and Lord Wess, and Corwin and
     Beales of the South Foot.
    Both sides would have a good notion of the other side’s potential strategy. Unless
     both sides came up with something brand new, there would be no surprises, strategically.
     Provided nothing went pear-shaped, this would either be a lot of stalemate, or a very
     interesting game.
    The Healer Trainees left, and two more and a much more alert-looking Bardic Trainee
     came in. They applied themselves to food without much conversation.
    Mags, as was his nature, continued to worry at the possibilities ahead of him. When
     the picks had been made, everyone on Prince’s Choice had voted Gennie as Captain,
     so at least that much would be familiar. The hard part for Mags would be remembering
     just who
else
he was supposed to Mindspeak to—not to mention who he
wasn’t
.
    Good thing I haven’t got a mead head, for sure.
    Mindspeaking was his forte. Even before he’d been Chosen, even when he’d just been
     a grubbing digger in the mines, it appeared he had been a rudimentary Mindspeaker.
     Mags was a superb rider even by Herald standards, and his coordination with Dallen
     was phenomenal, but aside from that and athletic ability, what he really brought to
     the team was the fact that he could Mindspeak everyone, even those who didn’t have
     Mindspeech themselves. That was of tremendous value in the game—as it would be on
     a battlefield, one day, if he ever had to fight. Being able to relay orders directly
     into the head of a commander could mean the difference between losing and winning.
     Being able to give the order to every single one of his men could mean saving the
     day. Of course, in the game he had to be able to Mindspeak
and
play at the same time; in a battle situation, if it was at all possible, he’d be
     kept off to one side to concentrate.
    This was going to prove challenging with so many of his own people on the other side.
     He wasn’t going to be able to go by “feel;” he’d have to be absolutely sure he was
     talking to the right person. And looking wasn’t going to help. The only way to tell
     the two sides apart was by color; all the normal armor and padding was replaced with
     white for King’s Choice and with the deep blue the Guard wore for the Prince’s Choice.
     The colors weren’t remotely like the usual team colors of sky blue, red, green, and
     yellow; he’d probably hesitate a lot; overheated or otherwise confused, he might even
     find himself trying to recall if his own team was blue or white. Last of all, everyone
     was wearing full face shields. So he wouldn’t even have faces to remind him whom he
     was supposed to be communicating with.
    :Oh, don’t worry, I’ll keep you straight,:
Dallen chuckled.
    He finished his meal and hurried down to the practice grounds. It was early enough
     still that almost no one was stirring except those who were cleaning up the gardens
     and lawns in preparation for the day’s continuing festivities. Many of those wore
     Guard Blue, and this was not punishment detail. Not only were they cleaning, they
     were also looking for signs that someone had been lurking about who shouldn’t have
     been there. After all the assassination and kidnapping attempts, no one was taking
     any chances that someone had gotten onto the grounds amid all the comings and goings
     of guests. Just because the assassins had vanished again, it didn’t follow they had
     given up. On the contrary, if past history was anything to go by, they were definitely
     still out there, and defeat only meant they were going to come back with someone more
     skilled.
    He and Dallen were early; only Gennie and Jeffers were waiting, with none of the King’s
     team in sight. He didn’t even need the nod from her to begin warming up; he and Dallen