Echoes (26 page)

“Then, if you’re ready, let’s go out and speak to everyone.”

Dearra sobered immediately. The thought of all of the injured and dying who must be left behind tore at her.

Dearra held the tent flap aside and followed behind the king. Daniel appeared on the king’s other side, and together, the three of them made for the top of the hill. Everyone would be able to see the king from there, but Dearra wasn’t sure they’d all be able to hear him, as there were too many of them, spread out over too much space. Even doing their best to be quiet so they could listen, his voice would never carry to them all.

I can help with that,
Brin said.
Do you remember in the Breken Arena when you and Darius were speaking to each other in not much more than a whisper? I can do that here as well. They will all hear him.

“Citizens of Mirin Tor,” the king began in a voice that was strong and clear. “The Breken have taken the capital, but they have not taken our spirit. They have torn down walls, but they have not torn down our resolve. They have wounded and killed some of our very best and bravest, and yet we will not be broken! As long as one of us remains free, continues fighting, refuses to give up, then we all go on!

“We have suffered tremendous losses; I will not pretend otherwise. Victory will be paid for with blood and sacrifice. The price is high, but the alternative is slavery and more death. Will we surrender to such a fate?”

There was a resounding no from the crowd.

“We make now for the mountains. In that place, we will join with our loved ones who were sent there to be safe during the worst of the siege. With the mountain at our backs, and Hell before us, we will make our stand! They are coming, and we will say, ‘Let them come!’ If they wish to cut us down, they will have to taste our steel first!”

Some of the crowd shot to their feet. There was a clattering of swords on shields as they pounded metal on metal and wood.

“Our archers will rain death down upon them, and they will think it is the end of days! We will show them what it means to oppose the Mirin Tor.” Here and there, bows were raised in the air. They were ready and eager to make the king’s word reality.

“We will beat them back until what remains of their number run for home with tails tucked between their legs, like wounded dogs.”

The king paused, and waited for the crowd to still.

“We will face the Breken at the time and place of our choosing, but right now, in this moment, time is our enemy. We cannot stay here. To do so would invite disaster and destruction. We have no food, no supplies, and we have no way to defend ourselves in this place. The Breken would surround us and crush us beneath their boots. Therefore, we must make with all speed to the mountains.”

There were a few murmurs, but for the most part, people were simply silent.

“Many of our friends are hurt, some grievously so. Just to get them this far has been a miracle. The way forward is not long, but it is long enough. We don’t have the luxury of waiting until everyone is well enough to go on together.”

The statement hung in the air. They all knew he was right, but they refused to accept they would be asked to leave friends, family and loved ones to die at the hands of the Breken without experiencing the honor of battle.

“I will stay behind!”

“As will I!”

The king held up his hand before they were all swept away in a wave of emotion.

“To what end? You cannot save them, only die with them. I know what I am asking of all of you, those who are walking away, and those who remain here, both. We will take everyone who can be taken. Even now, men are cutting down saplings to make stretchers that can be used to carry the wounded. We have some carts, some horses, and even many strong backs, should it be necessary, but some cannot be moved. Their injuries are too severe. Even if we stayed, not everyone would live.”

Dearra fought to keep her expression calm and resolute. She knew this was asking a lot of the people of Mirin Tor. They were loyal by nature, but they had generally lived lives of comfort and safety. Now, when put to the test, they faced the challenge before them with the grit and determination she knew they would.

A flutter of movement in the crowd caught her attention, and she looked to see Aesri speaking to three other Etrafarians. Arguing was probably a more accurate description. One of the fairies before Aesri was holding her hands out in a way that made Dearra think she was pleading her case, but Aseri’s expression showed she was unmoved. The fairy then swept her arm around to indicate the crowd, and Aesri shook her head and said something Dearra could not hear. Two of the fairies before her hung their heads, as if newly chastised, but the fairy who had been doing most of the talking crossed her arms and refused to back down. Niada appeared behind Aesri, put her hand on Aesri’s shoulder, and whispered something into her ear. Aesri’s shoulders slumped. She gave the briefest nod before turning and walking away.

Dearra did not see more, as the king began to speak again, pulling her attention away from the fairies.

“No one will be forced to stay behind, even if there is no hope. If they are willing to be moved, then we will do our best to carry them with us, but for those who are resigned and wish to face their death here rather than being jostled and bounced across the country side, we will honor them and their wishes.”

There was the soft sound of weeping, but all else was quiet.

“The Breken have paused, but the pause will not last. It’s my guess that they are at work pillaging the capital. The winter siege was long, and most certainly hard on the Breken as well. They may be allowing their men a little fun so they can be motivated to strike the killing blow. Whatever the case, we will not be here when they come. Lady Dearra and Daniel, Weapon’s Master of Maj, will captain our army. We leave in one hour.”

The people who would not be making the journey with them had been moved into the shade. Dearra had gone to see to Merry herself, but there was no need, as Merry had already joined her husband. The smile on her still face was oddly comforting to Dearra; she was at peace. When all was said and done, there weren’t as many people that would be left behind as Dearra would have thought. Some would not survive the trek to the mountains, but they had chosen, at least, to try.

People said their goodbyes and shared last embraces and words of love before turning and walking away.

Dearra saw the three fairies who had been with Aesri earlier and noticed that they made no preparations to leave. She walked toward them and nodded a greeting.

“Lady Dearra, I do not believe we have had the pleasure. My name is Tianna. I am sorry that we could not meet under more pleasant circumstances. I tried to speak with you a few times, but there always seemed to be something going on, and well, I am sure you understand.”

“Of course, Tianna.” Dearra looked at the other two Etrafarians standing slightly behind Tianna, but neither of them seemed like they were about to speak, so Dearra decided to focus her attention on the woman before her.

“I noticed you’ve made no preparations to leave,” Dearra said, dispensing with any further pleasantries. “Is there anything you require?”

“No, Lady Dearra, but we thank you for the offer. We will not be going at this time, although, we hope to join you later.”

“I don’t understand. Why aren’t you going?”

Tianna hooked Dearra’s arm with hers. “Let us walk together for a moment,” she said.

Dearra was a little surprised by the familiarity, but saw no reason to argue. It was clear the tiny woman wanted a moment alone with her. She was a strange little thing. Every female Etrafarian Dearra had seen had long hair. Some wore it to their shoulders, others past their waists, but all of them had worn it long. Even the men preferred a longer style, so it was not unusual to see Etrafarian men with shoulder length hair, perhaps twisted into tight braids at the sides to keep it out of their faces, or pulled back and tied with a leather thong. Tianna was the exception to what Dearra had assumed was the norm. Her hair was cut very short. It poked up in little spikes all over her head. Though the style was odd, it was nevertheless still somehow appealing.

“Lady Dearra, there is no reason for you to be concerned. I and my sisters are healers. We have asked Aesri’s permission to stay behind and offer whatever help we can to the dying.”

“That’s very compassionate of you, Tianna, but there isn’t much that can be done for them. We’ll need your skills much more where we’re going. Besides, I didn’t get the impression that Aesri was eager to agree with your request. I’m sure she’s worried about you as well. Please, reconsider and come with us.”

Dearra stopped walking and leveled her gaze at the woman. She was touched that this Etrafarian showed so much care for a people not even her own, but she didn’t want to see them sacrifice themselves when there could be no hope for a good outcome.

Tianna offered Dearra a smile. “You are very diplomatic, Lady Dearra. You are correct that Aesri was opposed to our remaining with the injured, but not for the reason you believe.”

“What then?” Dearra asked.

“When I told you we were healers, that was not exactly accurate. It is the word you are most used to, so I used it to help you better understand. Our role is more, however. We do heal the sick when we can, but we can also ease pains not of the body. Sometimes a person’s mind can be in more pain than the body. We seek to treat those wounds as well. We have taken an oath to alleviate suffering in any form, whenever possible.”

“That seems very noble, but still—”

“It is not noble. It is what we have committed our lives to. It is a calling, and it cannot be picked up and put down on a whim,” she said forcefully.

Dearra considered her oath, as a Maj, to protect the Mirin Tor and to defend her family and home at any cost, and she thought that maybe she understood their level of dedication. “Surely Aesri understands this oath. Why did you argue with her? I would think she would support you in this.”

“Because there is a vow which Aesri holds more dearly, or at least, she is trying to convince herself that she does. As children of the Great Tree, we owe our lives to Rah. He created us, and taught us through the guardians. He forbids the taking of life.”

“We believe that as well,” Dearra said nodding.

“But you take life, do you not? How many Breken have left their blood upon your blade?”

“That’s different, Tianna. We didn’t seek this war. We fight only to defend ourselves and others. Besides, the Etrafarians have killed Breken in this war as well.”

“Yes, we have. Aesri and the others have convinced themselves that, in this case, it is Rah’s will we offer aid. They believe Rah has sent us to this moment in time to free the dragon, Brin’du Drak’Tir.” At this, Tianna nodded to the sword at Dearra’s waist. “Not all of Etrafa agrees with her, which is why so few have come, not that there are many of us left anymore. Many of my brothers and sisters think Rah may indeed guide our steps, but it is still for us to choose our actions. Right and wrong are not simply washed away. Trying to do good is never an excuse for doing evil to meet those ends.”

“And what do you believe, Tianna?”

Tianna tipped her head and seemed to consider the question before answering. “I believe Rah gives His children the will to choose. I also believe that, as children, we are going to make mistakes, and Rah understands that. I do not think He is as understanding when we make choices to suit our own needs. Where we get into trouble is when we take a statement from Rah and try to interpret it into something that it is not.”

“I’m still unclear what this has to do with you and Aesri disagreeing with one another. If she feels so strongly about the sanctity of life, then shouldn’t she be happy that you and your sisters are going to stay to try to save the Mirin Tor left behind?”

Tianna shook her head and laid a hand on Dearra’s sleeve. “We are not remaining behind to save them, Dearra. There are some things even we cannot heal. We are going to stay to alleviate their suffering and save them from a death worse than the ones they already face.”

“But you said—” Understanding washed over Dearra’s face and she gripped Tianna’s hand in her own.

“They will simply go to sleep, Dearra. It will be but a sip of sweet wine, and then it will be over.”

“Will you tell them?”

“Yes. It is a choice. It is
their
choice. I will help them only if they wish it. Should they choose to wait until it is their time, then we will wait with them.”

“But, Tianna, what if the Breken come while you’re still here?”

“Then they come. We will not leave while there are any here who need us. We are not naive. People die in war. After these, there will be many more, but this is a death unlike a death in battle. The Breken will not just kill them and move on. They are like a cat that plays with a mouse before he devours it.”

Dearra shuddered. She had seen Breken cruelty first hand, and it was not difficult for her to imagine some of the more inventive methods the Breken would use to dispose of their enemies.

“And you’re okay with breaking one oath to honor another?”

“I am not ‘okay’ with any of this, Lady Dearra, but what else can we do?”

Dearra walked away from the Etrafarian and let her gaze wander. Thousands of Mirin Tor were spread out before her. They pulled carts laden with those too injured to walk. The children that had remained in the capital and had made it out after the attack were now slung on strong backs, resting their weary heads on the shoulders of those who bore them. She could see strong men that had taken up the elderly and carried them as if they, too, were children. The king was mounted on a large, sorrel warhorse, looking every bit like an image plucked from one of the tapestries the Maj used to adorn their walls. From this distance, she couldn’t see the grey in his hair, or the worry lines etched around his eyes—what she saw was a king. He was sitting up straight and proud, as though he could project his strength outward to his fleeing people and share it with them through sheer determination to do so.

Dearra, Tianna is right
, Brin said to her.

But, Brin, it’s just wrong, no matter how you look at it. On the one hand, they are taking their own lives, but on the other, Tianna is murdering them.

No, Dearra. They’re already dead. I have never understood people’s feelings on this. You and Darius were ready to do the same thing in Parsaia. Neither one of you would be the cause of pain or suffering for the other, so you chose to end one another’s lives, instead.

Yes, we did, but you saved us, Brin! We thought all hope was lost, but we were wrong. What if you had allowed us to carry out our plan?

But in this case, there is no hope of reprieve, no miracle lurking just around the corner.

You can’t know that, not for certain,
Dearra thought to him.

Maybe not, but I can figure the odds, and so can you. I told you I would destroy myself if you and Darius fell, and you didn’t argue with that. Why is this any different?

Dearra was quiet. Her vision blurred with unshed tears. When did life get so complicated? Killing was wrong, except for when it wasn’t. She hadn’t ever taken the time to consider how many exceptions to the rule they had made up along the way. It all seemed so very simple: do not kill—unless you were defending your own life, or the life of another, or unless it was war time, or if punishment needed to be handed down to someone who was beyond rehabilitation, or…

“Lady, Dearra?” Tianna said, breaking into her thoughts. “Do not trouble yourself so.”

“How can I not? These are my people. These are Maj and Mirin Tor. I am supposed to protect them. How can I—”

“Because it is not your choice. It is my choice to offer aid, and it is their choice whether or not to accept it. You are not responsible for either their decisions or mine.”

“But it feels so cruel,” Dearra said with a small sob.

“It is not cruel to make someone’s pain less. It is not cruel to offer what comfort we can to the dying. What
is
cruel is that they need suffer at all. It is cruel that people wage war on one another to begin with, but we cannot change that by wishing it away. This is where we are. This is the challenge we have been presented. All that is left is to decide how we will meet it. Even walking away and doing nothing is a choice, but it is not the one I will make.”

Dearra saw Darius riding towards her. Towsanah appeared to quicken her pace when she saw Dearra.

“Dearra, it’s time to go,” Darius said to her. “Are you ready?”

Dearra turned and looked at Tianna, and then, much to the Etrafarian’s obvious surprise, she embraced her.

Tianna slowly raised her arms and then returned Dearra’s hug. Her voice came out in a hushed whisper. “Pray for me, Dearra,” she said.

Dearra stepped back from the woman. “I don’t think Rah even knows who I am, but if you think it will help, I will pray for you.”

Tianna offered Dearra a small grin before saying, “It could not hurt. Go now, and may Rah watch over you.”