The Last Heroes Before Judgement (12 page)

“Were you praying for my safe return?”

I opened my eyes and moaned from the stiffness of my body.

“Master, you are alive.”

“Did you fall asleep in the Shaman pose?”

Major Swiftblade had returned from skinning the striped lions. His mask had a new claw mark on it and he carried the remains by the tail. When he put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, I became aware of the time. I was kneeling comfortably in the warm sun when I fell asleep, sinking down lopsided into my armor. Kru yawned from his black stone bed and rolled over to watch Major Swiftblade splay the giant cat furs. I noticed he had left no singed hairs nor stained the black and gold stripes with a single drop of blood.

“Only a true Monster Hunter could do that Kru. Even the lion offers him no challenge.”

Somehow, Kru nodded in agreement. The sight made me giggle too hard and I was forced to stand. With all the stretching and groaning, the other dogs came out to see if I was doing pushups and needed to be weighed down.

“Fetch wood for the fire. I’ll have my dinner early.”

“Yes sir!”

I could not have been more excited for food. I flipped over the fire block and Major Swiftblade woke the others. He first knocked on Lazarus’s cart.

“Corporal.”

Lazarus jumped up while still half asleep and completely inside the tent. The cover pulled the pegs out of the cart walls and his hand slowly raised to a salute.

“Sir.”

His voice came out soft and muffled. Major Swiftblade pulled off his mask and covered his mouth to laugh without making noise.

“The sun is setting strangely early. We will have chow early as well.”

“Sir yes sir.”

The tent cover outlined Lazarus dropping his hand and relaxing his shoulders. I thought he was taking his leadership role too seriously and Major Swiftblade rolled his eyes around in agreement. When he knocked on the cart Senjay and I had been sharing, the door dropped off its broken hinges and fell straight to the ground.

“Oh my sir, what have you done?”

The door had just missed his toes and he pointed a knife hand at me. I pointed two back at him and he put up another one at the yawning head of Senjay.

“That time already?”

“Who did this?”

“Yea that, my fault sir.”

Senjay did not register anything on his face. He simply shrugged off the still broken door and sat in the cart bed to slowly pull on his gear. After having saved Senjay’s life, Major Swiftblade was not offended. Instead, he treated Senjay’s angry reaction with understanding. He motioned to the empty fire pit and I slapped my own face for being so forgetful.

Rounding the compound made me draw in more than I had expected. My blood stained hands shook, and my eyes saw everything. Finding dry wood was a nerve racking process and I jumped at the snap of every twig. I kept seeing the shadow men that trace the edges of one’s glance, trying to convince their victim to go mad. I could not even turn my back to the forest while I cracked the flint stones together. I cut my hands many times, covering them in fresh blood. I did not regain focus until Lazarus smiled at me with his eyes and literally pulled my hands out of the fire.

He had a stoic image going with his head wrap and face cover. Senjay and I could have used a pair ourselves, but, if I wanted to hide my face, I had no choice but to grow my hair as long as Mato the Lokah. Senjay did not join us by the fire. He sat in the cart wearing one boot and staring down at the broken door.

“Got knocked in the head too hard. He won’t be right for some time.”

“Hey, I got knocked harder than that. What are you saying about me then?”

“You? You will never be right again.”

Major Swiftblade turned Lazarus’s comment into a joke that ended up being true enough to make me blush. Major Talon popped out of the compound and went to sit with Senjay.

“Well, it’s not polite to stare. So, sir, tell us about yourself.”

He and Lazarus looked cross at each other. They laughed at my weak attempt at small talk, then, threw up their hands. He cleared his throat and leaned in to smell the air. When Lazarus mixed all the powders into the boiling pot, the smell of food erupted so heavily that the dogs came running out. They were on him so quickly he could barely push the spit off the fire block to keep the whole pot from boiling over. Major Swiftblade took his time thinking about home. When he finally spoke, every creature in the valley was waiting in suspense.

“I am born from the heart of the world, the endless jungle of Congo-grosha.”

“Oh, here we go.”

Major Talon watched him from across the fire and even matched his next words.

“A jungle made for monsters, not for men.”

They smiled at each other, recalling the many times he had told his story before.

“In order to survive, we become hunters from birth. But then, there are laws against hunting men.”

“And that’s how we met, on Dante’s Isle.”

“But why were you sent there? She killed the Sheriff’s brother. What did you do sir?”

“Dante’s Isle is more than a prison. They offer men the chance to fight for their freedom. But, they also open the arena to bets. Whoever sold the man to the prison takes home a tax for each of his slaves’ victories.”

“So, sir, you did nothing wrong? You just showed prowess as a hunter?”

“Yes, and no. They trap only the best hunters from the bush. However, this is not what happened to me. No, I…”

Major Talon raised a brow and leaned closer. Her face read of not knowing.

“No, I was young. I made the choice to kill those men.”

He cleared his nose and spit into the fire. Then he looked up and met all our eyes in turn.

“I crossed the Congon borderlands and snuck into a port city at night. I found my people there on a Swillian slave ship. Three were shot in the back with arrows from iron plated bows. Twelve escaped, I have since forgotten their names. The slavers lost eight men to a boy. There was only one way to make a return on their lost cargo.”

“I’m so sorry sir. I didn’t know, and should not have asked.”

He held up his hands and shrugged off his own tragedies with such ease. Once again, I felt ashamed for actions that were not mine. But he did not rightly answer all of my questions.

“Your people were lucky to have such righteous royalty. I hope you left behind many brothers and sisters.”

“What? I am no royalty boy. They took my woman. I just wanted her for myself.”

I tried to laugh with everyone else but failed to pull it off properly. He saw through my ruse and made a face. Major Talon popped a horn of wine and got up to leave. She stopped when she saw his face. She turned back and gave me my answer, if only to gain his full attentions.

“You have not understood by now? You still want to know about the fallen prince?”

“Sorry ma’am, I’m sure it’s the Bloodaxe.”

“Ha! Look at me fool. There is a reason the giant is master to us all, yet leaps head first into battle. Honor is in his blood boy. His name is Carolus Belutgrava. First and only son of the fallen Queen- taken from us by a Swillian arrow. The Lexicon is demanding a vengeance on you. Satisfied?”

She took a large gulp of the liquor and spit a flare-up into the fire. She stood there nodding at me, proud of herself, until Major Swiftblade took the horn and they disappeared into the compound. All the dogs, save for Kru and his oldest uncle Tommy, followed them inside. Senjay broke the silence with his newfound mood that came with a permanent scowl.

“She’s got a point. The man said fallen prince, and that bow had iron reinforcements.”

“Senjay, stop it.”

“What? It’s just the truth is all.”

“Please, you’re only taking her side because of her bosom.”

“Na, it’s time he recognized the truth. No matter where you go, everyone will look on you as a spy. Do you deny that?”

“No, but you know better. I didn’t-”

“You know better, too. The whole world’s turned to pirates and raiders and the only city that stands a chance against them glows fairy pink at night. The scales fell too long ago. There is nothing left for us. You Swillians damned us all at birth.”

“What is that to us? He was just dropped off at the home in Ulfbar like everyone else.”

“Because his loyalty will never stop being questioned. You both know, we are the only ones left to fight the Swillians when they return. Until that day comes, nobody knows what side you’ll be fighting on.”

“Your side Senjay.”

“Yea well, so far my side aint sure you’ll hold up your end of the bargain mate. Considering what happened last time a Swillian waved the white flag of peace…”

“Stop it right now Senjay. That’s an order.”

“Shut it Corporal!”

“Cross this line and make me, you twig!”

They were edging closer to each other, and doing so dangerously close to the fire. I could not get in between them, nor did I care to. Senjay had never questioned me in such a way before and I was still registering his words. Immediately after burning those bodies, Major Bloodaxe realized he had set a dangerous precedence. The Lexicon of Potentiality wanted blood and that’s exactly what it got. I wondered if it had imprinted on Senjay, or if he had simply been burying his feelings for some time.

“So, what is it then?”

“What is what?”

Senjay squinted at Lazarus but would not risk averting his gaze over to me.

“What must I do? What can I do?”

“On the day the world ends, you just do what comes naturally. Let the gods decide who is right, and who is dead.”

Senjay shoved Lazarus to the ground and made Kru growl. Without looking back, he stomped to the cart. He tried to put the door in its proper place several times before giving up and throwing it away. Lazarus held up his hands to stop me from washing the dinner dishes. All I could do was pet Kru over and over until the sun was fully set. I was still gazing up at the stars when Lazarus returned from tucking the dishes back into the Bloodaxe’s cart.

“Matthius, don’t leave the fire pit dirty.”

“Yes corporal.”

“And do get some rest. Don’t just be laying there when Major Bloodaxe returns.”

“And flip the block. And put the pup inside.”

“What? You suddenly can’t trust me to do the right thing either?”

Lazarus shrugged and backed away. He hung his head low and sauntered back to the cart. The last of the dogs went back inside when the chill blew over the plateau. I took care of the ash in the fire pit and returned to the Shaman pose by the cliff. I waited for Major Bloodaxe. Perhaps because I wished to apologize for what my ancestors had done. Perhaps, I wanted any news at all, in order to aid us in getting past recent events with a greater speed. Whatever my intent, I sank into my armor to stay warm, and again fell asleep out in the open.

I faded in and out of the dream state for hours. Major Bloodaxe never returned to the training compound. The early morning saw me fading back and forth once again. Seeing several crazed images of a blood soaked sky convinced me to end the nightmare before it grew to full force. I swatted at the light just before my face and cleared my nose. To my surprise, the sights remained. However, as the valley came into the focus, I realized the majesty of the scene. With the first melt of spring, gliding tree squirrels and song birds dashed and darted across the chasm. The few inches of water in Red Heart Run had turned to feet, and filled with chunks of melting ice. Winds met from three directions in the valley so whenever a glider wished to be in the air they could jump from a block of ice and be pushed several hundred feet high.

“Wow, it looks like they can fly.”

“Indeed.”

Lazarus jumped sideways at the sound of my voice. He had been sneaking up to me and only spoke to himself in a whisper.

“Nice mask. You know I’m not afraid right?”

“Yea, I reckon you’re only fear is heights now.”

He came and sat beside me, then scooted away.

“You slept in your armor again.”

“I was waiting for Major Bloodaxe. I don’t mind it really.”

“You smell like a sweaty goat.”

“Who are you telling? Every attempt to wash it just gets it wet and then yuck, it smells even worse.”

“Yuck- exactly, you smell terrible.”

We sat out on the edge of the plateau and watched all the animals play chase and celebrate spring. Some came close enough to reveal their true size. The dark blue gliders were twice the size of the largest bat we had encountered at the Giant’s Bridge. A plethora of memories swam to the surface of my mind, especially those I made with Lazarus.

“Do you remember the Baker? He stunk worse than this, yea?”

“Ugh. Jerry Baker and those green onion loafs. Stop or I’ll be sick.”

“Yea that one. Remember he had that nephew. Said something awful to Leiza and you pounded on him with a vengeance. I tell you, you really inspired me that day.”

“Is that right? I inspired you?”

“Yes, of course. That’s how I always lead now, with as many heavy right’s as I can. You knocked his eyes cross with that one.”

Lazarus laughed and jabbed at the air. He did not seem proud of himself about it, but then, I hadn’t finished recalling all the details. It was those details in which he could rightly brag.

“I still remember what he said. To Leiza, I mean. ‘Trade a whole loaf of bread for one night in my bed?’ Nasty pig, said that to all the girls. Went after them much too young.”

“Yea, that’s what he said. Yea, I’d say it’s worth a beating. I never knew you were there with him. With me, I mean. And the Bakers.”

“And Senjay too. We were creeping behind the older boys- like always.”

We turned back to the carts after a noise. Senjay must have stirred from hearing his name.

“So, to my point. You remember what Grandfather said when he caught you? I mean, I still think about it sometimes. Like, when you stood up for me last night. Just, thank you is all.”

“What was it?”

Lazarus was staring down into the turtle shell mask. He wouldn’t meet my eye.

“Matthius, I can’t remember his voice anymore.”

“I understand, that happens to me when I get in trouble. He tried to apologize to that poor boy, but he just screamed and ran off. Grandfather could tell you weren’t lying so he spoke in that wise priest tone, that’s why I remember. ‘The Gods show little mercy, to the most wicked of kings, and the most innocent babe. May you ever raise your fist in defiance’.”

“Right. That’s a good lesson. Standing up for the weak.”

“Neither of you have the faintest idea what it means.”

Senjay walked towards us unbeknownst. Because he wore none of his armor, we heard no footsteps until he was ready to reveal his self.

“It’s from the book of the non-believer. It means to give no thanks, no prayers, and no offerings of gold to any of the gods, for they offer nothing in return.”

Senjay sat between us and rubbed his eyes as the last bits of black sky turned to pink.

“That’s why the Lexicon means so little. For every one of us that defies the gods, every single time, their plans must be rewritten.”

“Enter the Great Defier himself, Senjay. Observe as he denies his own destiny. Turned from a life of piracy, and harlots, and gold. Now, he protects the Lantos city of Embraun.”

“Those pink little fairies had better pay me my gold. And the moment I go on leave, I expect the most beautiful Lantos girl in town to slut it up in my honor.”

Lazarus slapped his own face in disgust. I had not laughed so hard in days. Senjay put his long arms around us and laughed just as hard. Lazarus immediately wiggled free.

“Between his fur and your armpit- yuck and more yuck!”

He spit, but it only made us laugh harder. It felt good for us to be united and carrying on in good spirits. However, before anyone could conjure up the next tale, the gods spat on us for our many heresies. In the absence of the lions, a pack of wolves had moved into the forest. A wolf pup called with such volume that it drove the dogs wild. Senjay and Lazarus ran to don their gear. I was too slow to stop the dogs. Tina had slid the bar open and barked orders of attack to Timmy and Tommy. To my horror, Kru joined them in the charge. I dove after him but caught only a block to the face. Ma jor Talon cracked open a steel window and called out for an explanation. I left that to the corporal, and followed the dogs to battle.