Forgotten Soldiers (20 page)

Myra and I stared uncomfortably at each other as Zadok yammered on. I saw she could also stand to gain a few pounds to her wiry frame. Myra shook her head, turned to Zadok, and shushed him. “That’s enough.”

The boy stopped.

Myra’s eyes narrowed in a way that Lasha’s never had. I knew where she had inherited that look from. It had worked wonders for me in the army.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” she said. Her tone was flat and even, not shaky in the least.

“So, I’ve heard. The letter you got was wrong.”

“Obviously.”

This wasn’t going as I hoped.

“I know this is a big surprise, but I’ve been discharged. I’ll explain everything later. Right now, I just want to take you and Zadok home.”

“We don’t have a home anymore,” she snapped.

“We can find a new one.”

She pulled Zadok to her. “Zadok and I already found a new home. What makes you think we want to leave with you?”

“Because I told him we do,” said Zadok. “Why are you acting like this? You hate it here more than I do, especially with Jareb—”

“Zadok,” she hissed. The boy clamped his mouth down.

I frowned. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she snapped.

“All right. Look, I know you’ve both been through a lot. Zadok’s told me only some of it. I can never make that pain go away. And I can never make up those years I was gone. But, I still want to try anyway.” I held out my hand. “Please, let me try.”

Her face softened, but not completely. She stared at my hand and I could see her struggling with what to do—slap it away or take it.

Gods, they had been through so much.

“What’s taking so long, Myra? I asked you to get the door some time ago,” said a voice I recognized.

Jareb stepped into view. Other than a poor attempt at a mustache, he hadn’t changed much in my time away. Brown hair, green eyes, defined jaw.

He recognized me immediately, the surprise hindering his ability to speak for only a moment. He cleared his throat, stepped out of the doorway, pushing himself in front of Myra and Zadok.

“Tyrus? By the gods, I thought you were dead,” he said. He looked over my shoulder, a bit nervous. “Ava with you?”

I held back a smile. A decade later and he still hadn’t forgotten that thrashing. “No. She’s in Hol studying with Turine’s High Mages.”

Jareb relaxed. His eyes went down to my boots then rose until they met mine. “You look like hell.”

“I feel like it.” I nodded at his clothes—clean and wrinkle-free. You would have thought a tailor had made them that day. “I see you’re doing well for yourself.”

A thin smile tugged at his face. “I certainly try to make it seem so. People have a way of not showing you the respect you desire if you don’t look like you deserve it.” He paused, looking down at the children who hadn’t said a word since he’d shown up. “I’d ask what brings you here, but I guess that’s rather obvious. They are doing well as you can see. Clothed and well-fed.”

I wanted to refute that claim based on Zadok’s appearance and my own assumptions from Myra’s weight, but honestly, I didn’t have the time or inclination to argue. I just wanted to get my children and leave.

“I’m ready to take them home. Now that I’m back, there’s no need for them to work for you. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the chance you gave them,” I said, doing my best to keep the peace.

Jareb clicked his tongue. “They have contracts with me.”

I reached for my money pouch. “I know. I’ll buy them out. Zadok told me the amounts.”

“The buyout in their contract isn’t an option for another five years.”

My voice went low. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I can’t just let them leave at that price. It would set a bad precedent. If I allow this for Myra and Zadok, who’s to say one of my other servants might not try the same thing.”

“What is it going to take for me to buy out their contracts, Jareb?”

He appeared thoughtful, then sighed. “The best I can do is give you Zadok for double his buyout amount. But Myra will need to stay. She’s too important for me to part with.”

My jaw clenched. “Are you crazy? You want me to pay twice the amount of Zadok’s buyout and then leave Myra here?” I opened my money pouch, counted out the amount of their original buyouts, added ten percent, and shoved it into his hand. “This is more than fair.” I held my hand out to Myra and Zadok. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“No!” Jareb snapped. “Myra stay where you are.”

Neither she nor Zadok moved. Both looked confused.

“I’m not leaving here without both of my children.”

“Kush. Amalek.” Jareb called over his shoulder.

I cursed inwardly recalling the names of Jareb’s childhood friends.

The two men stepped out of the house where they had obviously been hiding on the other side of the entranceway. In the last ten years, they had put on quite a bit of size. Some fat. Some muscle. Either way, they occupied a lot of space. Swords hung at their waists.

At our last run-in, they had both held me down while Jareb worked me over. That was when Ava’s powers first manifested. Both Kush and Amalek still bore the faint scars on their arms and neck from my little sister’s wrath.

I fought off a snicker.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Tyrus. Your sister isn’t here to watch over you this time.”

Was that supposed to scare me? I was pretty good fighter before I joined the army. I more than knew what I was doing now. I had faced both people and things scarier than the three of them. The three of them put together didn’t elicit the response the sight a single D’engiti brought.

“A good thing she isn’t,” I said. “Her temper has only gotten worse over the years. You’d probably be dead if she was here watching you prevent me from taking her niece and nephew away.”

“Take your son and leave.”

“Why is it so important that Myra stays?”

Jareb eyed each of his friends who had moved up beside him, hands on the hilts of their swords. A dumb move since there now wasn’t space to easily draw the weapons. The thin smile from Jareb grew wider.

“Well, it’s because she reminds me so much of her mother. I still think about Lasha, you know. Best piece of tail the Soiled Dove had. But I’m sure you know that already. Gods, I never saw a whore who enjoyed what she did as much as her.” He chuckled, gesturing to Myra. “I’m hoping what they say about the apple not falling far from the tree holds true.”

My right fist came up so fast, it snapped Jareb’s head back, mid-laugh. He fell backward into the open doorway.

Both Kush and Amalek started to draw their swords, each realizing too late that quarters were too close. Kush stepped back to make more room, so I turned my attention to Amalek while throwing Myra and Zadok back with a sweep of my arm. My heel slammed into Amalek’s instep. I followed it with a kick to the inside of his knee. He tumbled forward in a screeching heap.

Kush had managed to get his sword loose and swung it wildly at my head. I ducked under the sweeping blade. It thudded into the side of the house. I stepped into him and pushed his still extended arm against his body, pinning it before he had a chance to recover. Both hands locked on his shoulders and I yanked him down as my knee came up. He expelled a gust of air and dropped the sword. My elbow connected with his nose. Blood sprayed as he fell. He rolled into a ball on the porch.

I turned around quickly as Amalek tried to stand. A boot to the head knocked him out cold.

I walked over to Jareb and looked down at his splayed form. That pretty face looked a mess. Blood oozed from nose and busted lips. The defined jaw crooked. His unconscious body lying in a heap only upset me more. I had wanted him to get up if only to knock him down again. Doing anything more to him while he was out just didn’t sit well with me.

I didn’t believe for one moment that Lasha had enjoyed what she had to do at the Soiled Dove, but that didn’t keep the image of him on top of her from my mind.

“Gods be cursed,” I muttered.

Looking up, Zadok and Myra stared at me wide-eyed and wide-mouthed just off the porch.

“That was amazing!” yelled Zadok.

I cleared my throat, suddenly self-conscious. “We need to get moving before some of the workers come by to see what’s been going on.”

“If they do, I doubt it would be to help,” said Zadok.

“Even still. Let’s go.”

Zadok grabbed Myra’s hand, pulling her forward as I stepped around the bodies and joined them on the lawn.

“What about the money?” he asked.

“Leave it,” I said. “I think it was wrong how he treated you and your sister, but there were contracts in place. As much as I hate giving Jareb anything more than his life, I won’t be called a thief for reuniting my family. The mayor’s a good man. He’ll see things from my perspective if I leave the money. If I just take you two and run, we’ll have more trouble to deal with.”

“I don’t know, Pa. There’s a different mayor than when you were here last, and he’s close to Jareb.”

I paused, reconsidering. “We leave the money anyway.”

We started off the porch as a few curious field hands appeared around the side of the house. They took in the damage and gave me a nod as if saying they approved.

Same old Jareb.

“There’s money lying around for Jareb.” I said. “It’s the money to pay for my children. See that he gets it. If not, I’ll be angry. Understand?”

One of the workers, a big man, nodded.

“Good.” I tossed him one of my few remaining coins. That might have seemed like a dumb move, but since I thought to take care of him he might be more inclined to leave what still lay on the porch alone.

We hurried toward the main road. Myra and Zadok were complete opposites. She walked in a daze. He wore a smile and dragged her along by the hand.

A bright crescent moon hung in the clear night sky interlaced with countless stars. It was the sort of night Lasha and I used to admire on our porch after the children went down for the night. The memory began to calm me until another image of her and Jareb took over. I cursed and picked up my pace.

“Where are we going, Tyrus?” Myra asked in a huff.

“Tyrus?” That jarred me.

“That is your name.”

I looked back at her. “Did you call your mother ‘Lasha?’”

“No. She earned the right to be our Ma.”

Ouch. That might be the worst thing anyone had ever said to me.

Zadok shoved Myra. “Stop it. He just saved us from Jareb.”

“Appearing after ten years and beating on a few people doesn’t make up for all the time he’s been gone,” said Myra.

“Shut up! You’re going to make him angry. He’ll leave us again.”

“No,” I said. “The first time I left, it wasn’t my choice. It was the king’s. But that doesn’t matter. Regardless of what either of you say or do, I’m not leaving you again. Ever.”

“You never answered my question,” said Myra. “Have you been away so long, you’ve forgotten where town is?”

“I know where town is,” I said, trying to mask my frustration with her. “I thought it might be wise to keep to ourselves tonight since it will be late when we would get there.” That was only part of the truth. The rest was that I was barely thinking straight after everything that I learned in the last few hours and the last place I wanted to be was around more people who might try to do me harm. Gods, I hoped Dekar and Ira would have a better go of things in Tamra.

I continued. “Don’t worry, I know a spot in the woods that will give us what we need.”

“Do we have to?” asked Zadok, voice shaky.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“He’s scared,” said Myra. “The woods don’t hold good memories for us.”

I thought of Zadok’s story about how Lasha had them living there for a few months.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “It’s just for tonight, and I’ll be with you. All right?”

He nodded.

CHAPTER 13

We managed our way through thick undergrowth and low hanging oaks thanks to the starry night. It took less time than I thought it would to find the place Ava and I used to spend our free time as children. Surprisingly, it looked undisturbed after all the years away.

Wild blackberry bushes lined the clearing between tall pines. A lean-to that Ava and I had built out of old logs still stood in as good of condition as it had when we were younger. Later when Ava’s sorcery manifested, she managed to figure out some minor spell that added strength to the logs, preventing rot and repelling bugs.

I recalled that a quarter mile north stood a giant walnut tree and another half mile past that ran a small creek. At the low point, the water was only a foot deep. When younger, I remember snatching fish right out of the water while they maneuvered through the rocks.

Shelter, food, and water all within easy walking distance. Had I thought about it, I would have shown Lasha the spot long ago. Such resources might have stayed her decision to work at the Soiled Dove.

Maybe a part of me had just wanted to keep it a secret between me and Ava. As children, it was our refuge from the world when we decided we had enough of it. We had built plenty of good memories in our little hideout.