“Me too,” Mike admitted, waving to Adams.
“Got something for me?” Adams asked.
“Get with Doc Forgate,” Mike said. “The test of the bull is coming up. Make sure he’s standing by to give aid. Including advanced aid. If anybody gets really gored, he’s going to have to stabilize them so we can get them to the hospital.”
“Will do,” the chief said, walking back over to the trainers.
The next test, though, was the test of fire. A large triangular area had been dug out and a fire laid on it. The fire had burned down, leaving only coals.
“This is the test of fire,” Father Makanee said, waving at the coals. “The contestant must jump the coals, barefoot. He must choose the widest place he thinks he can jump. It is a test of both courage and wisdom. Knowing your limits is the true test.”
“Point of order,” Adams said, holding up his hand. “Does the contestant have to jump the coals?”
“To win they must pass from one side to the other,” Father Makanee said, frowning. “The one to cross at the widest point wins.”
Adams looked over at Mike and winked. It was all he had to do.
The military sometimes went through bizarre periods. During the previous administration, there had been a brief fad for bringing in oddball “motivational specialists” to “improve the understanding of the military.” The guys were mostly idiots, or parroted stuff the military had dreamed up first. A few had had some useful things to say. But the one that Mike knew Adams was thinking of was the firewalker.
The teams, one by one, had been sent through this guy’s “motivational course.” Most of it was right out of the military handbook for using physical tasks to build confidence. The problem being that his “physical tasks” had been extremely basic from a SEAL point of view. He’d even had an “obstacle course” that was so laughably easy the SEALs had played through the whole thing.
But at midnight the fire walking had started. They’d had the theory explained to them carefully and it worked. You really could walk over coals just like these. You had to step carefully and, most of all, have absolute confidence. Nobody really had figured out why you had to be confident and calm to do it, but you did. However, Mike was “in the zone.” He knew he could cross the widest part. And, best of all, in a way that nobody among the Keldara would believe.
He didn’t pay much attention as the Keldara jumped the fire pit, letting himself fall into an alpha state that was much like autohypnosis. He simply envisioned himself walking across the coals and the fire not touching him. He dropped out a bit when Oleg came up, watching in disinterest as the Keldara backed up and ran at the pit. He didn’t make the widest jump, that had been Vil, and when he landed his heel came down in the fire. He rolled over, grasping at his heel and grimacing.
Mike watched it all in disinterest then removed his boots carefully. He dragged his feet on the grass as he walked to the coals, ensuring that nothing was sticking to his feet, and then paused at the side of the fire.
“Kildar,” Father Makanee said, quietly. “You cannot possibly jump here.”
“I’m not gonna jump,” Mike said, distantly but distinctly, his voice carrying across the buzz of the Keldara. Which immediately silenced as everyone turned to watch. He raised his face and hands to the sky and stepped off onto the coals, his mind adrift.
Slowly and carefully he walked across the hot coals. Each foot was placed perfectly, much like when he was doing a sneak, and his mind was sitting on another plane. When he stepped off onto the grass on the far side instead of applause there was stunned silence from the Keldara.
Mike lowered his hands and face and just rode the endorphin rush. It was amazing what doing the fire walk felt like when you finished; one of the SEALs had let slip that it felt like doing a line of coke. When he finally looked up the first eye he caught was Katrina’s, who was looking at him as if he’d walked over water instead of fire. He couldn’t help it, he winked.
“Are you well, Kildar?” Oleg asked, limping over.
“Very,” Mike said, grinning at him. “It’s an amazing rush. I’ll show you how to do it sometime. It’s like the thing with the bull; you have to know how and be supremely confident.”
“You’re not burned?” Oleg asked, amazed.
“Not a bit,” Mike said, lifting up one sole to show him. The skin wasn’t even red.
“The Kildar is the winner of the test of fire,” Father Makanee said, clearly and distinctly.
“I’ve got to throw one of these,” Mike said to Adams as they walked to the bull pen.
“Just checking out of this one might be a good idea,” Adams said, quietly. “I took a look at that bull. It’s a monster.”
The bull was, indeed, a monster. It stood about five feet at the shoulder and must have weighed over a ton. This time there were a few Keldara baiting it from the solid stone walls, but nobody was getting in to play.
“The test of the bull,” Father Shaynav said, standing on a platform to one side of the ring. He was wearing his bull cape and holding a stick with a hook on the end for controlling the bull through the ring in its nose. Evidently, if things went wrong it was the elder’s job to control the bull. “Each contestant must bring the bull’s body fully to the ground and hold it there for three seconds to pass the test. The contestant will be judged upon both his defeating the bull and his skill and prowess in working with the bull in the ring. The test is a test of courage, skill and wisdom. Those who do not know their ability will fall to the power of the bull.”
Vil was the first to enter the ring. He leapt lightly off the wall, on the bull’s offside, and ran around the ring to get behind it.
The bull saw him out of the corner of his eye, though, and turned in place, snorting and pawing the ground. As the Keldara continued in a circle the bull continued to spin in place, trying to get a good read on the adversary.
Vil trotted around the more or less circular enclosure once, then darted in to touch the bull on the flank. The beast spun quickly when touched and charged at him but Vil dodged out of the way, laughing, and touched it on the other flank.
He continued to play with the bull, touching it on the flanks and back and even once on the head. But it was clear the Keldara was running out of steam by the time he really confronted the animal, darting in just at the base of the neck and grasping the horns in both hands, then stepping forward and down.
The bull resisted the twist, trying to shake off his gadfly and then falling over on his side.
Vil held him down just long enough for the count, then darted up and raised his hands in victory as he ran to the wall.
Most of the rest of the Burakan duplicated the performance, running the bull in circles and then darting in at the end to throw it. The good part about it from Mike’s perspective was that they were wearing the animal down; it was covered in sweat by the time Oleg got in the ring. But the bad part was it was also getting angrier.
Oleg was still limping from the fall in the fire and he wasn’t as fast as the rest. The bull was able to line up on him more than once and charge. The second time required a roll away from a head sweep that surely would have gored the Keldara badly. That time Oleg was clearly done and leapt to his feet, getting behind the sweeping head and throwing the bull with a massive heave. Mike wasn’t sure how well he counted against the rest; his throw had been almost effortless but his “play” time had been mediocre.