Bastial Sentinels (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 5) (21 page)

“Is it really prudent to send everyone out into the forest hunting for skunks? I mean...” Jek was surprised the word had come so naturally.

“Go on,” Micah urged. “I’m familiar with the term by now.” His seemed to already know what Jek was about to say.

“I suppose I just don’t understand the point of risking death if this war is about getting food into the bunker.”

Micah chuckled. “It is a bunker, isn’t it? It was designed as a fort. But they couldn’t build on the mountain, so they dug into it. The purpose of this place was to secure control of the east. With the lake protecting its backside, this fortification is unlikely to fall as long as it’s guarded. But it wasn’t built in anticipation of a siege. The land hasn’t been cultivated. This battle has become about food for the moment because we’re running out. But the true battle has and always will be about numbers, positioning, and the demonstration of resilience. To hunt skunks is to show not only our enemies that we’ll keep fighting, but it screams this message to us as well. The more of them we kill, the easier it’ll be when we get another food delivery.” A dark look came over his face.

“What do you mean?” Jek blurted before giving himself time to think.

“Depending on how many of our men return with food, they might have the numbers on us. Once it’s clear starving us isn’t going to work, what do you think they’re going to do?”

Jek could tell by his tone that “leave” wasn’t the right answer.

Chapter 18:

JEK

Jek met Calvon by the lake, the morning sun reflecting off the clear water. “I don’t suppose there are any fish?” Jek asked.

“If there were, there aren’t anymore.”

Groups of men were waiting around the lake for their last members. Jek started toward the glistening water, drawn to it like a painting he wanted to see up close.

“Stop,” Calvon said. “No one’s allowed near the lake except those responsible for giving everyone clean water.”

With the pristine nature of the lake, it made sense. Without the rule, it would’ve been murky, tainted by the dirt, oil, and disrespect of thousands of men.

“What about baths, then?” Jek wondered.

“Just have to hope it rains when you want one. Are you ready to go?”

“What about Peter?”

“He needs a day or two for his gash to close. It’s just going to be us.” The hesitance in his tone spoke of his discomfort with the situation.

“Then I’m ready.” Jek smiled to relieve the tension. “And I hope it rains today.” He already was longing for a bath and clean clothes.

Calvon returned a smile. “I wouldn’t bet on that. There’s not a cloud in the sky.”

It wasn’t long before Jek realized that Calvon was taking them through the same route as yesterday.

“Do you always go the same way?”

“It depends. But after everything that happened yesterday, I want to retrace the same path to see if we can find any clues. Locating an enemy camp is the best we can hope for. We were fortunate to find one with a recent food delivery.”

Deeper into the northern end of the forest, they stopped speaking. As Jek followed Calvon, the scout sought tracks, examining the ground and plants just as much with his hands as his eyes. Jek glimpsed the forest before them, beside them, even behind them. He was vigilant. But after lunch—or rather, after they skipped lunch, as they would every day until this was over—Jek couldn’t keep his focus.

His stomach tormented him, making it easy to forget they weren’t hunting animals to eat but Humans to kill. “Do you get used to the hunger?” he asked.

“To some extent,” Calvon whispered as he squatted to check a cracked leaf.

The baby-faced man’s constant concentration on his task was something Jek could never hope to achieve. Though, his hunger was forgotten when Lisanda stepped into his thoughts, his hunger for food, at least. The steady beat of his heart became sporadic as she undressed—the memories of their first night sharing a bed heating his whole body.

He’d only desired her more since that night. He knew Lisanda wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world. But to him, she was. There was something about her—the nature of her smile, the grace of her walk, the rhythm of her speech, the call of her eyes, the taste of her lips, the press of her body against his, the feeling of her soft skin in his hands. She would never be anything but desirable. She made him feel the same way he did when he remembered a delicious meal he hadn’t eaten in too long. This came every time he saw her, thought of her, remembered her.

He could think of many tortures, yet none would compare to losing Lisanda.

But recently, his memories of her were shackled to marriage. Perhaps because Lisanda said his eyes reminded her of the ocean, he felt like he was pulling a chain out of the depths of his sea of memories. Every link was connected. The shine of her dark hair came with its scent, came with kissing her neck, came with long nights of caresses and whispers. Without fail, he eventually would pull up the end of the chain…the anchor—marriage. It would come down over the railing of the boat with a crash.

There wasn’t one thing he could commit to doing his whole life that didn’t terrify him. And being with Lisanda was no different. He loved to sing, but he grew tired of songs too easily to enjoy a career in music. He loved Sannil and Kalli, but he couldn’t imagine living with them into old age. He loved magic, but he’d trade it in an instant to get rid of his darkness. He loved Lisanda, but…

“There will always be a but.”

Sannil had told him this the last time they were speaking about marriage. His father added, “And even when there’s not, we can convince ourselves there is in the same way a child can convince himself there’s a monster hiding in his wardrobe.”

“Are you saying I should take Danvell’s advice and propose?” Jek had asked incredulously, knowing his father didn’t believe in marriage between adults so young.

“I would never advise you to propose before you’re ready. I’m merely trying to help you see that there will always be fears. Marriage isn’t a proclamation of eternal happiness. It’s a commitment of loyalty and love. When you agreed to be the King’s Mage, you knew there would be work, hardship, and battles. It’s the same with marriage, only everything you face will be together.”

This had frightened Jek even more. He knew no matter what happened in his life, there would be danger. He’d dragged Lisanda into so much of it when he’d kidnapped her from the palace.

“It’ll be dark in a few hours,” Calvon said, his voice rousing Jek from his thoughts. “Let’s start going back.”

“But we didn’t do anything.”

“That’s how most days are.”

Jek couldn’t tell if he felt relief or guilt.

“This place will make you feel like a rag wrung out,” Calvon said, emotionless. “Better get used to it.”

Jek was eager to see Peter when they got back to the bunker. He hoped they’d have his company the next day.

Calvon came with Jek to the infirmary to visit. Peter was laying on his right side, the back of his pants pulled down to expose his naked backside. The sickly white color was a sharp contrast to the rest of his tan body.

“Might as well lie around outside and give that ass some color,” Calvon teased. “How’s it healing?”

“Why don’t you look for yourself?” He waved a hand down over his rear. “I’ll need at least another day before I’m ready to prance through the forest again with you gentlemen.”

Jek’s heart sank. Without Peter’s company, another dull day was ahead of him. He noticed something under the crook of Peter’s arm. “Is that the journal you found?” Jek asked.

“Yes. I’ve been reading it all day.”

“What are you talking about?” Calvon asked.

Peter handed him the book. “We searched the skunks’ other tents after you left and found this. It contains the thoughts and experiences of one of the men.” He held a sad cadence, like a bard reciting a tragic poem. “Whoever it belonged to was a talented writer. We probably killed him. It might’ve even been me who did it.”

“Is there anything useful in it?” Calvon asked without sympathy, handing the journal back. But Jek reached out and took it. He glanced at a random page in the middle as Peter spoke.

“No, unless you think it’s useful to know that the skunks are just as miserable as we are. I think it was a young man. He refers to a woman he loves but hasn’t yet married. Many of the pages are dedicated to his feelings; some are even poems to her.”

The page Jek had opened to was one of the poems Peter spoke of. He refused to read any of it. Giving the skunk a voice and a heart was something he’d avoid at all costs. But it looked as if this already had happened to Peter, the way his eyes held the journal as if staring at a ghost. Jek gave it back to him.

“Do they bring you your meals in here?” Jek asked.

“Yes, after everyone else has eaten. You should go to the dining quarters. The chances of a bigger portion are higher the sooner you get there.”

Breakfast and dinner were served in the same vast hall. At long tables of crude wood sat men, many thirsting for beer and yearning for meat. Instead they were given lake water that had been boiled. Their appetites could only be satiated by bread, crackers, and mush. Some claimed the tease of a half full stomach made them feel hungrier leaving than coming in. Jek agreed.

Micah and Tobkin were away when Jek retired to their sleeping quarters. His straw bed pricked his back, the course sheet he laid upon barely adding any comfort. Despair came at him, grabbing his shoulders, squeezing his chest, twisting his stomach, and he fought back with his thoughts.
I won’t be here forever. We’ll find a way to get food in or we’ll give up.
Surprisingly, he found both outcomes equally appealing.

Micah still wasn’t back when Jek awoke from his nightmare with fresh cuts. But Tobkin was there. With deep breaths, he appeared to be sleeping, his straw bed too far away for him to have been disturbed by the sounds of Jek thrashing.

At least I don’t scream out Lisanda’s name anymore,
he thought. In the last few months, his darkness had returned to attacking only Jek in his dreams, no longer her, too.

While Jek was cleaning and bandaging his wound, Tobkin sat up.

“Sorry,” Jek said.

“Will it happen every night?”

“Yes, I’ll try to be quieter.”

Tobkin’s face was just a shadow. “Sounds like you’re already being as quiet as you can. Don’t fret.”

“Thank you. While you’re up, may I ask where Micah is?”

“He must be going over the numbers with Raymess. We’ve been trying to determine how many enemies are still out there.”

“Are you aware that many people lie in their reports about how many skunks they’ve killed?”

“We are. And that’s going to stop. Each party is to report to Micah from now on, and I’m sure you know the man can sense lies.”

“Do others know this?”

Tobkin chuckled as he lay back down. “If they don’t, they will soon enough.”

The next day with Calvon was just like the one before. They walked through miles of forest and found nothing but birds and bugs. Jek wondered how many skunks and frogs found each other each day. How many skunks died? How many frogs? How much food did they have left? Did the crates they found Jek’s first day even amount to more than one meal for twenty-five thousand men?

He wished Calvon had fought in the Bastial Steel War. Then he could ask about his experiences, if war had been like this in the past. But it was ten years ago, meaning Calvon would’ve only been thirteen.

It would be an awkward conversation, nonetheless. Calvon was from Zav. In the Bastial Steel War, he would’ve been fighting against Goldram with Waywen and Presoren.

Jek found himself curious about Calvon.
Does he have siblings? Does he have feelings for a woman? What did he do before the war?
But Calvon was a locked chest when it was just him and Jek. Any attempt at getting inside took force. It felt as if Peter was the key. When the three of them were together, Calvon was open. Jek reminded himself to ask Peter if he had the same experience with Calvon when they first started hunting together, just the two of them.

He and Calvon visited Peter when they returned after another uneventful day. Although the infirmary was the saddest room in the bunker besides the bathing quarters, there was a palpable change in the air when the three of them came together.

Calvon smiled for the first time that day. “You must be bored in here.”

“That’s right,” Peter said. “I can’t wait to go back out there with a newly healed ass for skunks to shoot at.”

“Have you finished the journal?” Jek asked.

“I’ve read through it twice. The man can write. Either of you want to read it?”

Jek and Calvon shook their heads.

“They say we should know our enemies,” Peter added.

Calvon spoke Jek’s thoughts. “I don’t want to know them that well.”

Chapter 19:

JEK

A week went by at the speed of a crawl. Even with Peter back, the constant threat of skunks made them speak in whispers most of the day, and laughing quietly was like swallowing a sip of water in hopes of quenching a parched throat.