“Yield!” Elden demanded.
Thor glared up at him, the salty taste of blood on his lip.
“Never,” he said, defiant.
Elden grimaced, raised his sword, and prepared to bring it down. There was nothing Thor could do. He was in for a mighty blow.
As the sword came down, Thor closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt the world slowing down, felt himself transported to another realm. He was suddenly able to feel the swing of the sword in the air, its motion, and he willed the universe to stop it.
He felt his body warming, tingling, and as he focused, he felt something happening. He felt himself able to control it.
Suddenly the sword froze in mid-air. Thor had somehow managed to stop it using his power.
As Elden stood there, holding the sword, confused, Thor then used his mind power to grasp and squeeze Elden’s wrist. He squeezed harder and harder in his mind, and in moments, Elden cried out and dropped the sword.
All the boys quieted, as they stood there, frozen, looking down at Thor, wide-eyed in surprise and fear.
“He’s a demon!” one yelled out.
“A sorcerer!” another yelled.
Thor was overwhelmed. He had no grasp of what he had just done. But he knew it was not normal. He was both proud and embarrassed, emboldened and afraid.
Kolk stepped forward, into the circle, standing between Thor and Elden.
“This is no place for spells, boy, whoever you are,” he chastised Thor. “It is a place for battle. You defied our rules of fighting. You will think about what you have done. I will send you to a place of true danger, and we shall see how well your spells defend you there. Report to guard patrol at the Canyon.”
There was a gasp among the Legion, and they all quieted. Thor did not understand exactly what that meant, but he knew that whatever it was, it could not be good.
“You can’t send him to the Canyon!” Reece protested. “He is too new. He could get hurt.”
“I shall do whatever I choose to boy,” Kolk grimaced at Reece. “Your father is not here to protect you now. Or him. And I run this Legion. And you better mind your tongue—just because you are royalty, don’t think you can speak out of line again.”
“Fine,” Reece responded. “Then I shall join him!”
“As will I!” O’Connor chimed in, stepping forward.
Kolk looked them over, and slowly shook his head.
“Fools. That is your choice. Join him if you wish.”
Kolk turned and looked at Elden. “Don’t think you get off so easy, either,” he said to him. “You started this fight. You must pay the price, too. You will join them on patrol tonight.”
“But sire, you can’t send me to the Canyon!” Elden protested, eyes wide in fear. It was the first time Thor had seen him afraid of anything.
Kolk took a step forward, close to Elden, and raised his hands to his hips. “Can’t I?” he said. “Not only can I send you there— I can also send you away for good, out of this Legion, and to the farthest reaches of our kingdom if you continue to talk back to me.”
Elden looked away, too flustered to respond.
“Anyone else want to join them?” Kolk called out.
The other boys, bigger and older and stronger, all looked away in fear. Thor gulped as he looked around at the nervous faces, and wondered just how bad the Canyon could be.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Thor walked along the well-trodden dirt road, flanked by Reece, O’Connor and Elden. The four of them had barely said a word to each other since they left, still in shock. Thor looked over at Reece and O’Connor with a feeling of gratitude he had never known before. He could hardly believe that they had put themselves on the line for him like that. He felt he had found true friends, more like brothers. He had no idea what lay in store for them at the Canyon, but whatever they should face, he was happy to have them at his side.
Elden he tried not to look at. He could see him, kicking rocks, smoldering with rage, could see how annoyed and upset he was to be here, on patrol with them. But Thor felt no pity for him. As Kolk had said, he had started the whole thing. It served him right.
The four of them, a ragtag group, proceeded down the road, following directions. They had been walking for hours, it was late in the afternoon, and Thor’s legs were growing weary. He was also hungry. He had been given only a small bowl of barley stew for lunch and hoped some food might be waiting for them wherever they were going.
But he had bigger worries than that. He looked down at his new armor, and knew it would not have been given to him if there were not an important reason. Before sending them off, the four of them had been given new squire’s armor: leather, dressed in chainmail. They were also given short swords of a coarse metal—hardly the fine steel used to forge a knight’s sword, but certainly better than nothing. It felt good to have a substantial weapon at his waist—in addition, of course, to his sling, which he still carried. Though he knew that if they were to encounter real trouble tonight, the weapons and armor they were given might not suffice. He longed for the superior armor and weapons of his cohorts in the Legion: medium and long swords of the finest metal, short spears, maces, daggers, halberds. But these belonged to the boys of fame and honor, from famous families, who could afford such things. This was not Thor, a simple shepherd’s son.
As they marched down the interminable road, into the second sunset, far from the welcoming gates of King’s Court, towards the distant divide of the Canyon, Thor could not help but feel as if this were all his fault. For some reason, some of the other members of the Legion had seemed to not taking a liking to him, as if they resented his presence. It didn’t make any sense. And it gave him a sinking feeling. His whole life he had wanted nothing more than to join them. Now, he felt he had crashed into it by cheating; would he ever be truly accepted by his peers?
Now, on top of everything, he was singled out to be marched away for Canyon duty. It was unfair. He hadn’t started the fight, and when he had used his powers, whatever they were, it had not been on purpose. He still didn’t understand them, didn’t know where they came from, how he summoned them, or how to turn them off. He shouldn’t be punished for that.
Thor had no idea what Canyon duty meant, but from the looks of the others, clearly, it was not desirable. He wondered if he were being marched off to be killed, if this was their way of forcing him out of the Legion. He was determined not to give up.
“How much farther can the Canyon be?” O’Connor asked, breaking the silence.
“Not far enough,” answered Elden. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for Thor.”
“You started the fight, remember?” Reece interrupted.
“But I fought cleanly, and he did not,” Elden protested. “Besides, he deserved it.”
“Why?” Thor asked, wanting to know the answer that had been burning inside for a while. “Why did I deserve it?”
“Because you don’t belong here, with us. You stole your position in the Legion. The rest of us were picked. You fought your way in.”
“But isn’t that what the Legion is about? Fighting?” Reece answered. “I would argue that Thor deserves his spot more than any of us. We were merely picked. He struggled and fought to gain what was not given him.”
Elden shrugged, unimpressed.
“The rules are the rules. He was not picked. He shouldn’t be with us. That’s why I fought him.”
“Well, you are not going to make me go away,” Thor responded, shakiness