The Young Dread by Arwen Elys Dayton

no chance of John being with them this evening. Even if Briac was continuing John’s training—which of course he must be—John still had many things to learn before taking his oath. Even so, Quin’s heart sank at his absence. Some part of her had hoped for years that he would take this step alongside her and Shinobu.
It doesn’t matter,
she told herself.
John will finish his training soon and follow us.
    As Quin neared the group, she saw they were all dressed as she was, in simple black clothing, with leather armor over their chests and leather helmets. Despite their similar attire, the Dreads gave the appearance of belonging to another time entirely. Their shadowed eyes and motionless expressions made them look fierce and terrible in the firelight. If they were indeed a kind of Seeker judge, they seemed to be cut from an ancient and brutal cloth.
    Quin moved to stand by Shinobu, and they glanced at each other. His hair was tucked inside his helmet, as hers was, and his dark eyes were in shadow, but she could tell he was working hard not to smile. His body was drawn up to its full height, as though his feet were about to leave the ground. She felt the same sense of anticipation and excitement. They nodded slightly to each other and knew without speaking that they were both thinking the same thing:
This is it.
    What would they be asked to do? Quin wondered. What was the modern equivalent of the great deeds they had heard about as children? Certainly they would start small, with minor heroics. Wasn’t the world full of injustice? Surely there were countless small acts of bravery they could perform to help.
    The Young Dread stirred the fire with those stately movements of hers, bringing the embers closer together and adding more wood above them. Then she took a long slender metal rod and placed the tip of it among the coals. Quin exhaled slowly. That piece of metal would be the final part of tonight’s ceremony. She reached out and tugged on Shinobu’s sleeve in a gesture of camaraderie. He responded by squeezing her hand. Then both watched the metal rod in the fire, waves of heat rising above it.
    “Now we begin,” Briac said, in a voice that was not loud but still commanding. The two Dreads stood up from the fire and faced the other four. Shinobu and Quin turned toward their fathers.
    Alistair stood by a large wooden chest that he had carried to the clearing. After throwing this trunk open, he began to draw out their weapons. He tossed her and Shinobu their whipswords. Until now, these had been kept locked in the training barn; from this moment forward, the whipswords would be theirs to keep. He threw them knives and daggers as well, then took some for himself.
    Alistair flipped up a shelf within the trunk and exposed another layer of weapons. He pulled out several, which he laid on the forest floor. In the firelight Quin saw that they were modern guns.
    Guns?
She glanced at Shinobu, who was equally surprised. Of course they had trained with guns. They’d trained with almost every sort of weapon. Yet these were not the proper arms of a Seeker.
    She watched Briac select two pistols and secure them in holsters so cleverly concealed among the folds of his clothing and armor that Quin had not noticed them before. Alistair did the same. Then Briac gestured to the apprentices.
    “Will you choose any other weapons?”
    “Will we need them, sir?” Shinobu asked, finding his voice before Quin could find hers.
    “Likely not,” Briac said. “The choice is yours.”
    Slowly Quin moved forward and selected a small pistol and holster, which she positioned at her lower back. Shinobu did not take a gun.
    Alistair closed the trunk and stood to face them with Briac.
    “We are honored tonight by the presence of these two,” Briac said formally, gesturing at the Dreads. He spoke as though he’d carefully memorized his words. “They have come here to witness the last stages of your training. Tonight they will observe the final