Lyam took over Alaire's practice, setting the other stocky man on Kai again. He loomed over Alaire like a giant, but Alaire saw that the man was getting tired.
Nevertheless, he was a consummate professional, and he didn't make mistakes, even when weary. It took everything Alaire had to keep up with the Captain, even to the point of using some of Kai's evasive tactics, but he didn't make the same mistake he had made with his first opponent. His concentration didn't waver. Lyam looked for an opening, but couldn't find one.
"Hold!" Lyam boomed, and at once all swordplay ceased. Alaire didn't catch on right away that this meant practice was over, and made ready to thrust again. A warning look from Lyam froze him in mid- attack. His sword dropped.
The entire exercise couldn't have taken a quarter of an hour, but Alaire found himself quite exhausted. His practices with the Dark Elf were nothing like this. It was as if they were training for a battle the next day in which only one side would walk away.
In an odd way, Alaire felt terribly pleased with him- self. He hadn't let Lyam score on him. He'd even managed to pick up some new tricks from the Cap- tain, and looked forward to using them with Naitachal the next time they sparred.
Kai was breathing heavily, his hair and clothes soaked with sweat. The boy's exhaustion was no real wonder, given Lyam's special attentions and the rota- tion of partners. He had no doubt sweated out every drop of alcohol he'd ingested since the day before.
"Well done," Lyam said, and Alaire grinned shyly, uncertain which of them he meant. Some unspoken cue had dismissed the two assistants, who had disap- peared to parts unknown without a comment.
Lyam turned to scowl at Kai. "If you come into practice drunk tomorrow, I'm going to really wear the drink out of you!"
Kai bowed slightly, but as Lyam turned and left the ring, Kai made an absurdly comical face at his retreat- ing back, mouthing some mute retort Alaire could only guess the content of. The ridiculous expression caught Alaire at an unguarded moment, and he almost laughed out loud. He stifled his outburst with a great effort, saving it for when Lyam was far, far away.
Moving a little slower now, Kai took his blade to another rack. Althea had a similar arrangement at the palace guardhouse, although it was more ornate, and the minions were always present to take them person- ally for sharpening. Metal though they were, these were practice blades, and a lot sharper than Alaire felt comfortable with. Alaire racked his weapon as well, suddenly aware of muscles he didn't think he had.
"Gods, Kai," Alaire said as he lay the sword beside his friends. "Is that typical for a workout?"
The familiar, arrogant look returned. "You didn't think that was hard, did you?"
"Well..." Alaire began, unwilling to admit just how soft his own training with Naitachal had been, in com- parison. "Does he usually trade off partners like that?"
Kai grinned, like a fox. "All the time. It's why I can kick the behind of anyone I want, whenever I want."
Alaire allowed that this made sense, but he didn't like what it implied about Kai. He hadn't thought the lad was a bully....
"Now it's time to get cleaned up in the sowna," Kai said, shaking some of the sweat out of his hair.
"The what?"
"Come on. I'll show you."
Alaire didn't know what to expect, but this wasn't anything he could have imagined for himself. Kai led him to a part of the palace grounds somewhat con- cealed by trees, where he found a crystal clear pond fed by a generous freshwater spring. Near the shore was a short, squat building made of timbers, built into the side of a small, and clearly artificial hill. Smoke poured out of a chimney, its fires apparently stoked by servants prior to their arrival. The sweat was chilling on his back, and he was looking forward to getting out of the stiff breeze that had suddenly arisen.
"This is the sowna," Kai explained as they entered the small structure through a narrow door. "I heard you didn't have these down south. Shame, really.
They're really good for getting rid of muscle aches."
Within the sowna were two smaller rooms, the first furnished with towels, bottled perfume and soaps, a large wooden bucket of water, and a shelf where someone's clothes were drying. A strong, acrid smell of pine and cedar made him briefly dizzy, and cleared his head in the process. Kai immediately began shedding clothing.
Alaire hesitated, but began doing the same, won- dering if the ritual included females. Kai sported a lean, wiry frame, well developed for a seventeen-year- old. Though Alaire was two years older, he found himself comparing his own larger but less muscular body with Kai's, sucking in a bit of baby fat that had taken residence around his middle. He envied Kai's build; but then, Kai had a torturer for a trainer.
When Kai opened the door to the second room, a wave of heat and steam nearly knocked Alaire over, and he recoiled reflexively.
"You get used to it," Kai assured him, but Alaire bent lower, where the air wasn't as hot. Inside were a few wooden stools, and mixed with the steam was a strong scent of smoke. In one corner a hot bed of coals heated a cluster of pitted, round rocks.