Gorinthians Read Online Free Page B

to
something.
    "Will you do me a favor,
Celdic?” Li asked quietly, as she walked close enough to brush
shoulders with him.
    "Of course,” Celdic replied
quickly, sneaking a glance over at her. She was coyly twisting a
small blade of grass around with her slender fingers.
    "Could you let Lendel win
your duel?” Li still had not taken her gaze from the blade of grass
she was toying with, but a slow blush crept into her cheeks. "I
think he wants to show off to Cha'le and he would feel a lot better
if you let him win."
    Celdic was silent for a
moment as they crossed the field toward the Staff Hall. "On one
condition,” Celdic said at last, watching her sideways.
    Li looked at him curiously,
her dark brown, almost black eyes making his pulse quicken. "All
right, what?"
    "I will let Lendel win if
you tell me what it is that Lendel said he would tell me if I won.”
Celdic smiled as Li came to an abrupt halt, chagrin painting her
features. "So, is it a deal?” Celdic asked with one eyebrow raised
slightly.
    "Oh, that.” Li regained her
composure, frowning at him, "I'm not sure I know what he is
referring to. You know how he can say one thing and mean something
else."
    "Oh, I think you know what
he was referring to,” Celdic declared confidently as they continued
following Celdic and Cha'le. "I think what it comes down to is
this: do you want to tell me or do you want Cha'le to tell
me?"
    "That's cruel, Celdic,” Li
admonished with a playful punch to his shoulder. "How about a
truce? If you let Lendel win first, then I will tell you what I
said last night."
    Celdic pretended to think it
over, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "What assurance do I have that
you will keep your part of the bargain?” he asked
pointedly.
    Li drew herself up. "You
would question my word?” she demanded indignantly, her dark eyes
appearing hurt, yet amused at the same time.
    "I would be a fool not to,”
Celdic countered dryly. "I know you too well."
    Li studied him silently, her
almond-shaped eyes calculating. After several moments of silent
inspection, she seemed to make a decision. "I asked Cha'le if you
had ever kissed a girl."
    Celdic frowned doubtfully,
searching her eyes for a trace of falsehood. "That's all? You just
wanted to know if I had ever kissed a girl?"
    "No," Li smiled a small
smile. "I told you the first part of the conversation as an
assurance. Now you have to lose the duel with Lendel before I tell
you the rest."
    "Fair enough,” Celdic gave
in.
    "Are you two waiting for the
Elders to get done with their meeting?” Lendel demanded impatiently
from where he waited next to the Staff Hall.
    Celdic sighed and joined
Lendel near the building. Lendel casually strolled up to the window
outside the Staff Hall where the teachers would gather and began to
lean toward the wall as if for support. Celdic saw the vines
covering the walls begin to undulate and rapidly extend toward
Lendel. Jumping forward, Celdic grabbed Lendel and jerked him back
away from the expanding vines.
    Lendel swore as he turned
toward Celdic. “What’s the matter?”
    Celdic pointed at the vines.
“You just about joined the foundation of this building."
    Lendel glanced down at the
writhing vines and blinked. “Thanks Celdic. I owe you
one.”
    “ I’ll make sure to write it
down somewhere,” Celdic replied dryly. “Now what?”
    Li and Cha’le were staring
intently at one of the bricks on the wall. A moment later Celdic
could feel their yar s working together as Li changed the moisture content in one
of the bricks in the wall, while Cha'le remolded it so a small hole
appeared allowing sound to escape. Learning to eavesdrop through
building walls by changing their malleability was one of the first
things Cha’le had discovered on her own after going to the Tar Ri’
San. Cha’le and Li had perfected the art of spying on others to a
science.
    Suddenly Li gasped and tried
to jump back. The vines on the wall had changed color until they
were the same color