Chapter 111: King

Marinah's avoidance doesn't bother me. She needs time to think this through. What she doesn't understand is, she's a leader and she's strong enough to lead the Shadow Warriors. I remember my doubts in the beginning. They ate me alive. The difference is Marinah has me at her side. I won't let her flounder.

Axel begins testing the whistles after I give him Marinah's orders. I inform my guard that Marinah doesn't have meetings or training planned for today.

"You told her?" asks Beck.

"She took it as well as expected."

"That bad?"

"It could have been worse." And the earthquake that took down San Francisco in 1906 could have been worse too.

"You want us twiddling our thumbs?" asks Labyrinth.

The man's a lummox and I don't count dexterity as one of his pluses so I doubt he could. "Until we have our orders, go for it."

He nods, lifts his hands, and twiddles those monstrous thumbs. That's when Marinah walks into the conference room. The men come to attention immediately, and it hits me