Forgotten Soldiers (35 page)

“I was worried about you.”

“Still.”

I sighed. “I’m not disagreeing with what you’re trying to say, but it’s not as easy as you think.” I thought of my dream with Jareb and Lasha. “Frankly, I don’t want to talk about the stuff going through my head, because its images of things no man should have of his wife, you know? I don’t want to share that with anyone because I want to forget it myself. Her enjoying . . .” I coughed, then started to laugh bitterly. “I keep thinking about our conversation over that last recruit you hurt when he hit that whore. You asked ‘What if that was Lasha?’ To think after all this time you had a talent for prophecy too.”

She put her free hand over mine and I realized I had started to shake. “I never in a thousand years thought there’d be any truth to what I said. Otherwise, I never would have made the comment.”

“I know.”

“Big brother, promise me something.”

“What?”

“Not to forget that regardless of how genuine those images seem, they aren’t real. Lasha worshipped the ground you walked on in a way I never understood. Still don’t. She loved you. Just like she loved those kids. I’m sure anything she did she treated like a job. Like you and I would have looked at digging ditches. I’m willing to bet it lacked all enjoyment and love. No way she would have given that part of herself to anyone but you.”

“I know,” I whispered. “It’s just going to take time.”

“Then let’s drop it. Pull yourself together so we can call in Ira and Dekar. They should be back by now. It will do them some good to hear what I have to say and I’d rather not repeat myself.”

“Are you up for more talking?”

“I’m feeling better after that food. Besides, after what you told me, the end of the world doesn’t seem half as bad as what’s happened already.”

* * *

Before I grabbed Ira and Dekar, I helped Ava put on an old shirt we’d borrowed from Dinah so she could sit up without someone helping her hold a sheet over her chest. She wasn’t keen on putting her leathers back on just yet. Dekar came in shortly afterward carrying more food—a bit of ham, cheese, fresh bread, a couple of apples, and honey. He took the lone chair in the room and began laying the goods out. Ava went right for the honey, attacking it with a spoon while Ira brought in another chair from the sitting room.

Everyone got comfortable and waited. Ira, as usual, lacked any patience. “Well? What’s going on?” he asked Ava.

She glared. “I’m thinking about where best to begin.”

Having recovered from our earlier talk, I couldn’t miss the chance to poke at her. I gestured to the dresser. “How about that white robe? If I recall, you swore you’d never wear one.”

Ira seized on the opening. “Yeah, how long did it take for you to cave in?”

“I didn’t cave in, you idiot. It’s a disguise. I had never opened a transfer portal before and knew I needed to get to Tyrus. I figured he had made it back here, but without any experience, I knew I’d be taking a risk trying a portal that would cover that distance. So, I needed access to the Sky Tower. It’s this place in Hol where the High Mages perform their most complicated sorcery. The wards etched in the stone there make it easier to cast a spell. Only a High Mage can get past the guards, which I’m not. Therefore, I needed the robes so people wouldn’t ask questions.”

“The Sky Tower? That’s a pretty dumb name,” said Ira.

“Almost as dumb as Ira, huh?” Ava shot back.

Ira opened his mouth and closed it like he had been ready to agree.

Dekar snorted.

“How does that fit into all this end of the world stuff?” I asked.

“Not much other than providing me a way to get here. But you asked the question.”

“Fair enough. Start when you’re ready.”

She took another swallow of honey, set the spoon down, and cleared her throat.

“News of Damanhur hit Hol hard. Everyone agreed something had to be done about the rogue soldiers who started that mess as Damanhur had reported things to the king,” Ava began. “No one in the army believed the city’s report though. We all knew this wasn’t a bunch of green recruits, but veterans. You wouldn’t have started killing unless someone had been trying to kill you first. The king knew this too at first, but popular opinion began to sway him. The High Mages took the side of the king. Probably for no other reason than to get under General Balak’s skin, who, by the way, was livid. He and the king got into quite the shouting match. Balak didn’t back down until the king threatened to remove him as commander of the army.”

“I never thought Balak would do that,” I said.

Ira grunted in what sounded like disgust. I remembered his story about why he hated the man and wondered if Balak could ever do enough to redeem himself in Ira’s eyes. Probably not. Honestly, after hearing Ira’s story, I doubted Balak could ever do anything to redeem himself in my eyes either.

“Despite the outcry,” continued Ava, “the king ordered Balak to release the next wave of soldiers. Balak did and word is he told them to pass through Damanhur. He was daring the people to try something again.”

“Why?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Probably out of spite. Balak was angry and I guess he figured that since that group was triple the size of the group you left with they’d be safer. He was wrong. Damanhur attacked the second group at the city’s gates. The city took heavy casualties, more than twice of what they gave, but in the end they had the numbers and wiped that second group out completely.”

Ira, Dekar, and I all exchanged curses. More of our brothers had died while just trying to get home.

“Makes me want to go back and kill every last one of the people in that city while they sleep,” said Ira.

“Too late,” said Ava.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Balak lost it. The same night he got word of what happened, he pulled the entire army out of Genesha and marched on Damanhur while refusing all communication with the king and the Council of High Mages.”

“By the gods, he marched on a Turine city?” I asked.

She nodded. “He razed the blasted thing to the ground. Every last man, woman, and child killed. Word is he wouldn’t even allow it to be looted. Said he didn’t want the taint of those spoils in his army.”

Dekar whistled low.

I blinked. “Wow. What happened next?”

Ava took another swallow of honey. “He began slowly taking the army south, following the path that I think he expected you took to get home. It was like he was daring the citizens in other towns to try something similar to Damanhur.”

“What did the king do?” I asked.

“He sent a small team of our best High Mages to take Balak down and regain control of the army. The king had a lot of cleanup to do in the public’s eyes and there would be no satisfying end to Balak except one that involved his death.”

“Considering how much they hated Balak, the High Mages must have loved those orders,” I said.

“They did,” said Ava. “Until they got there. Balak must have anticipated the king using the High Mages and created a bodyguard of those resistant to sorcery. We received word later that they never leave his side. The High Mages didn’t have a chance with their sorcery negated. Only one lived long enough to tell us what happened.”

“The world keeps getting crazier,” said Ira.

I grunted in agreement. “How does all this relate to the artifact?”

“The king, like everyone else in Hol, was worried Balak would just decide to march on the capital and take Turine for himself. Who could stop him? The king wanted him removed immediately, but the forces he still commanded were too small and the High Mages were obviously hesitant to send more of their own against him. I sat in on those meetings. It wasn’t pretty. On top of everything already spinning around, there was a huge undercurrent of what the Geneshans would do once they got word that the Turine army was now under the control of a renegade. They could invade Turine again and we’d be defenseless to stop them if Balak chose not to get involved.”

“So, out of options, the king instructed the High Mages to use the Geneshan artifact,” I said.

Ava nodded. “The plan was to use the power of the artifact to initiate a massive transfer portal from Hol to Balak’s location. They’d bring in the king’s personal guard along with every other mage available. The hope was to hit Balak hard and in all the confusion seize him.”

“And you left?” I asked.

“Snuck away that morning, right before they attempted the transfer portal. I didn’t sign up for that. I felt the power of that artifact. And I sat in on some of the preliminary studies of it. The Geneshans had every right to be scared of using it.”

Dekar grunted. “Obviously.”

“Well, at least the worst of it seems to be over,” said Ira.

“I’m not sure,” said Ava.

“What do you mean?” Dekar asked. “People are getting better. You’re finally up.”

“Yes, but everything we learned about that Geneshan prophecy hinted that using the artifact would be the end of the world. Balls of fire dropping from the sky, earthquakes, and so on. If you can think of something bad, it’s supposed to happen after using this thing.”

Ira stood. “C’mon. I bet most of those stories are just meant to scare little children.”

“Explain the sky then,” Dekar said to his brother. “It doesn’t matter what time it is, day or night, but you can still see these bright colors over in the direction of Hol.”

Ira waved a hand. “Just residual effects from the artifact. We’ve seen stuff like that on the battlefield before.”

“Nothing like this,” said Dekar.

“It’ll fade eventually.” Ira walked to the window, peering out in the direction of Hol. He grunted and then went quiet.

Ira going quiet was never a good thing.

“What?” I asked.

“The sky’s changed.”

“Changed how?” asked Ava, sitting up a bit more.

“Well, it’s pulsing now. Going real bright, reds and oranges getting deeper in color. Then it dims, and it’s like its drawing itself back in.” He shrugged. “I guess the sorcery is fading already.”

“Tyrus, get me to the window,” said Ava.

She began to tuck the sheet underneath her legs and nudge herself over to the side of the bed.

“Are you sure? You haven’t walked in days. Your legs might give out on you.”

“I need to see things for myself.”

Dekar came around and helped me guide her to the window. Ava didn’t shy away from his touch. Unlike the rift her and Ira always had, she and Dekar got along well.

She put her head down as sunlight touched her eyes. “Tyrus, I need my hand back or I won’t be able to see anything. If you’re unwilling to let me go yet, then grab my shoulder.”

I did, and she used the free hand to shield her eyes.

She stared toward Hol for some time. We all did, actually. Confirming what Ira said about the pulses.

After a minute, Ira couldn’t keep quiet. “Well? Was I right?”

“No,” said Ava. “It may be pulsing, but it’s not going to fade away. It would have done that by now if that were the case. I think its building up for another eruption.”

“You mean where we all feel like garbage again?” asked Ira.

“That, and probably more,” said Ava. “We need to leave Denu Creek, Tyrus.”

“And go where?” I asked. “If this is the end of the world, we can’t outrun it.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I’d rather at least try to go somewhere else than just sit and wait for whatever hell that artifact is going to cause. Who knows, if we get far enough away from Hol, the effects might be weaker. Maybe it’s just the end of the Geneshans’ world, not everyone’s.”

“I could buy that,” said Ira.

“What about you, Dekar?” I asked.

“It’s worth a shot.”

“All right, then where do we go?” I asked as we all stared toward Hol.

The sky pulsed brighter than it had before, bringing in hues of purple to mix with the reds and oranges. For a moment I thought my mind had played tricks on me, until a small gasp from Ava.

She clicked her tongue. “I’d say as far away as we can, big brother. And soon.”

* * *

Ava wanted to stay up longer to discuss our plans, but her lack of strength betrayed her when she needed Dekar and I to hold her up. We carried her back to bed, forced her to stay awake long enough to eat another biscuit and drink some water. Then I told her to get some sleep.

She never liked being bossed around, which was a testament to just how tired she was since she didn’t argue once. As soon as she lay down, she was asleep. She didn’t even wake when we started talking about where we should go.

The discussion didn’t last long, though, when I remembered that both of our horses had died after the initial eruption so our wagon was essentially useless.

In light of that, I sent Dekar and Ira out to see what sort of animals were available in town. I told them to buy something decent with the junk we had been given.

It wasn’t long after that I closed my eyes as well, leaning over my chair, head resting on Ava’s bed.

Myra and Zadok nudged me shortly afterward. Both insisted I go sleep in the other room. They said they would take over. I didn’t protest. Ava’s condition had improved dramatically and my body ached from being stuck in too many awkward positions the last few days.