"Leslie What & Nina Kiriki Hoffman - Chain of Command" - читать интересную книгу автора (What Leslie)

There were ten girls enrolled in the Teen Warriors program. The applied arts class was held in a lean-to
constructed of sharpened bones and animal hides that opened to the front. It was a rustic look that
practically screamed Don't Mess With Me! I thought it attractive enough that I had instructed our PR
division to make postcards with an inscription reading "Wish you were here."



Kayla seemed determined to corrupt the others with her pacifist nonsense. It only took one
wrong-headed person to ruin things for everyone else. So why did that one have to be related to me?
"I'll be back to check up on things," I whispered to Lanyard Lana, our arts group leader, and left to make
sure the bow-stringing class was running smoothly. All the materials were in place for the mask-making
workshop tomorrow. Another group had already speared a twelve-point buck and were gutting it in
preparation for roasting over the coals for dinner. Everything looked well under control. I headed for the
galley at the back of the lodge and watched Cookie stir her huge black cauldron. I smelled vegetable
broth and frowned. Had Kayla somehow gotten to Cookie? "Need any help?" I asked, on the lookout
for any white cubes that might be tofu.



She grinned. "One troll," she said. "That's all I ask. Enough for a decent broth, and the rest of them can
go back to Idaho."



Trolls were a protected species. "Sorry," I said. "But I'll be glad to skin you a rabbit."



"Not the same," Cookie said with a sigh. "Goddess, I miss the good old days when you could kill
anything you wanted."



I shrugged. "You gotta change with the times," I said, and waved good-bye.



I decided to drop by the sign-up desk. There was one problem with a credit check, but otherwise
everything was in order. I checked on supplies. We had enough ammo and plastic wrap to last a year.
The troll traps were set and my border guards were alert and on patrol.



Back at the lean-to, the girls were constructing chain mail from soda can pop tops, a very clever project,
I thought, with proprietary pride. Then I saw Kayla's innovation. Instead of aluminum, her chain mail was
made from paper gum wrappers.