The ce we were in was used by the men that harvested the worms.


    Master Kein took me deep under the surface and showed me where the worms lived. About ten feet


    down you could see them clinging to the surface of the rock and flowing with the current. If you got to


    close to them they dipped into the crevices of the rock and hid.


    N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    Master Kein caught several worms and brought them to the surface. They were each coated in a thick


    layer of that horrible slime. The men each ate one andmented how much better they were fresh.


    Frankly, I couldn’t tell a difference, the worms were just nasty. I didn’t want to be the odd man out, so I


    agreed with the men.


    “Ciara,” Master Damien chastised, “don’t lie to us. We have been too lenient and it is now a habit for


    you.”


    We were all sitting on the wooden tform and Master Christof was pulling some food out of the bags


    they had brought. They all stopped and stared at me, waiting for a response.


    “I wasn’t…” I started to say and five sets of eyebrows raised in tandem don’t like the worms. They are


    awful. They’re just saltier here,” I finished defeated.


    They all justughed and returned to what they had been doing before.


    “Master Damien?” I whispered.


    I had to know how they knew I was lying. I was afraid to ask, but they hadn’t gotten mad at my other


    questions today. I settled for looking pleadingly at him for a moment.


    “Your breathing changes and your eyes move in a specific pattern each time you tell a lie,” Master


    Evan answered the unspoken question. “We spend a great deal of time training to recognize all your


    human reactions.”


    ninjanovel


    “You will help us train others that wish to keep an Earth ve one day soon,” Master Bane said.


    ALL of them were staring at me, as though waiting for a reaction.


    I started to ask another question, “How would I…?”, but stopped short.


    I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.


    Master Evanid out a small pad and gestured for me to kneel. Master Christof brought out bowls of


    food and set them down before he responded.


    “We will take you to the tent. Those that wish to learn about Earth ves wille into the tent and be


    trained by us. We have been asked many times to take you, but have resisted. Now the Warriors are all


    very interested to see your leg. Even the General has asked us to put you in the tent for a day to quell


    the curiosity,” he exined.


    My eyes were wide and I wasn’t sure this was something I should be scared of or not. I searched their


    faces for an answer, but none came.


    They all just continued to look at me.


    I was surprised when Master Evan Laid a hand over my heart, which was beating wildly in my chest.


    “It is afraid,” he said simply.


    “Of course it is afraid,” Master Kein said irritably. “It fears our cousins.”


    “They will not hurt you in the tent, Ciara. They are there to learn,”


    Master Damien soothed.