“You will close your eyes for five minutes,” I said firmly.“If you choose not to meditate, that’s on you.”This time, I kept my own eyes open until they complied.
“Can we ask what this will accomplish?”Nokita questioned, showing a small bit of bravery.
I peeked his way and saw his eyes were closed.“It will calm our minds and help us see more clearly.Once that happens, it’s easier to sort out our problems.”
“If it works, I’m in,” he replied, surprising me.
“If you’re quiet, it works better,” I said, giving him a direct stare, though his closed eyes missed the message.
“We just close our eyes and wait five minutes for an epiphany?”Labyrinth grunted, but his strange eyes, one blue, one green, remained shut.When they were open, the contrast was always striking, especially since every other Warrior besides me, had blue eyes.
“My, what big words you’re using now.Maybe this does work,” Alden teased about Labyrinth’s use of “epiphany”, and smirked at his friend.
Teaching Shadow Warriors to meditate was turning out to be more difficult than I’d expected.I needed more of Cosway’s patience because my agitation was rising quickly.“Deep breathing is key,” I said, trying again, my jaw clenched tightly as I closed my eyes.“Clear your mind, take deep breaths, and kill something in your thoughts.”
Someone, I think Labyrinth, chuckled softly.I ignored him.For me, mentally killing something always brought me to my happy place faster.“Picture your claws ripping through intestines.Bits of gore plop onto your mammoth feet.Imagine the smell of blood as it gushes from a mortal wound.”
I lowered my voice, softening it deliberately, hoping the men would feel the shift in the air, the meditative state taking hold.“Feel your rival’s essence fade as you claim victory.Now, inhale deeply.”
I inhaled and exhaled softly as they followed my instructions.I added several more calming pictures for them to think about.Satisfaction spread through me when my shoulders relaxed and I could feel the peacefulness meditation brought.“Now, slowly open your eyes.”
The men blinked at me; their postures seemingly more relaxed.“Now we can begin the meeting,” I said, nodding with approval.This had been hard for them, but I knew they’d improve with practice.
“Don’t you feel better?”I asked, looking around the room.
Axel tilted his head slightly, his expression thoughtful.“I have this strange desire to kill something,” he said, completely serious.
That was not the point.And Axel wasn’t even a fighter.This was supposed to take them through the killing stage and allow the mellow aftereffects to take hold.
“Maybe we should start over,” I muttered, exhaling slowly and bracing for round two.
The men glared at Axel and he winced.Cosway had shown endless patience with me, and I would do it with these buttheads even if I had to point my gun at them to make them find their inner peace.
Chapter Thirteen
King
After another round of meditation, we figured out it was best to play along, or we would be at it all day.The smiles and deep relaxing breaths may or may not have fooled Marinah, but she let us off the hook.Nokita’s next words helped too.
“We have a submarine?”I said, narrowing my eyes as I tried to process the bombshell he’d just dropped.
“We may have a submarine,” he clarified, clearly uncomfortable under my scrutiny.“It’s not operational right now.”
He went on to explain, “Three systems need to work for it to function underwater properly: replenishing oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide, and removing the moisture we exhale.It’s complicated,” he added with a shrug, as if that summed everything up.
Marinah didn’t miss a beat.“How long will it take to make it operational?”she asked, cutting straight to the point.
“If it’s salvageable, two weeks,” he replied.“I’ll need parts.”
“Hmm.Are there any other toys you want to share?”she asked, her voice sharp enough to make Nokita visibly squirm.
It was rare to see someone else being grilled while I got to sit back and observe.I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, enjoying the change of pace.
“We have a quad mini sub that’s seaworthy as soon as I fix the scrubber,” Nokita admitted reluctantly.“That should take a couple of days at most.”
“What about land vehicles?”Marinah fired back.
Nokita hesitated, then said, “We’ve got one hundred and twenty tanks in working condition.Most are Soviet models that were already here when we arrived.We also found a few older U.S.and British tanks from World War II.After we worked on them, a couple actually run.”
