Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three (13 page)

CHAPTER 10

Ava hiked her weary legs up the side of the dusty hill. Her aching feet twisted and crunched in the dirt and ash, leaving large divots behind her. She winced.

Gods, am I getting a blister? That’s all I need.

She was never a healer, but once upon a time, she could have at least taken care of a blister with little trouble.

Not anymore.

Oh, she was sure she could relearn the spell and get it to work eventually. But how long would it take her? Too long when she was constantly trying to practice defense and attack spells that might help them on their journey.

The blister is going to be one more reminder that I’m not much of anything anymore.

“Ao-be-damned,” she muttered.

She reached the top of the hill and shielded her eyes, squinting. The light above was muted shades of gray, but the brightness still played havoc on her sight unless the darker clouds blocked most of the glare.

She stared south, searching. For what, she wasn’t sure. Just a sign. Something that might indicate she was on the right path. They had traveled for days, trying to follow the same course Tyrus had set them on. That had proved futile with the roads no longer passable and the land full of hazards.

Ava spat. “Just give me something,” she muttered again to herself.

She didn’t expect to see a large handwritten sign or a man jumping up and down waving his arms to urge her onward.

But maybe some vegetation. Signs of more foot traffic. A town. Something.

A cool breezed nipped at the back of her neck. It made her shiver, but it also gave her tired limbs a bit of needed life.

If that’s the sign, it’s a pretty pathetic one.

She glanced over her shoulder, looking at the people she led as they found a place to rest. Some began to pull out food or water. Others closed their eyes to sleep, tired from marching and the light drilling she had begun once back on the road. She didn’t want the people to grow lax in the lessons Tyrus had instilled in them. Trouble would find them again.

Several looked her way as if wanting to see the same sign from her that she hoped to receive from the land. She turned away. She had nothing to give them, just like the land had nothing to give her. Hope and assurance was as foreign to her as the ways of the Geneshans or Malduks.

“What I wouldn’t give for a decent scout,” she sighed under her breath.

Ava did have people scouting ahead. They just weren’t as skilled as Sivan had been.

The former tailor and the others had never returned. Ava had known they wouldn’t, but that didn’t make the truth any easier. It didn’t make it any easier to learn of the condition of their bodies once they later discovered them either.

Things grew more difficult as the people Nason sent out learned that the Malduks had found their hidden animals as well. All were taken. They had not even a pack mule to help carry supplies.

Herding a small group across miles of broken, battered, and dying land seemed infinitely more grim than it had before Tyrus left.

Especially when I’m supposed to take them to a place I’ve never been.

If we both survive this mess, Big Brother, I’m going to kill you.

Zadok might say that she should think ‘when’ instead of ‘if.’ But she hated such misleading hope. Mind tricks only made her moody. Either she’d see Tyrus again or she wouldn’t. That was it.

“What’s wrong?” asked Zadok walking up behind her.

She blinked. “Nothing.”

“Sure seems like something’s wrong.”

“Well, if you want to get technical, we have a sky with no sunlight above us, a land with little food and water beneath us. We’ve got an artifact trying to end the world behind us. And all around are people who, to put it bluntly, are practically asking to be set upon by raiders.” She paused. “Shall I keep going?”

He used a carefree tone. “If you need to.”

Her eyes narrowed. “If I need to? You little . . .” Her voice trailed off. “Fine. I’m sick of hearing complaints. I’m sick of making decisions. I’m sick of trying to figure out what path to take or how to avoid trouble with what little resources we have. I’m sick of not having scouts as accomplished as Sivan or Ira.”

Zadok stared at her, intently listening as if every word she said was important. They really weren’t though, which only made her angrier.

“And to top it all off,” she continued. “I think I’m getting a blister on my right heel.”

Zadok frowned. “Well, that’s not good. Pa said it was important for a soldier to take care of their feet.”

“It is.”

“Then you should take care of it while everyone is resting. I’ve got some grease we can use to prevent rubbing.”

She sighed. “All right.”

They started back to the others, mostly in silence.

After a moment, Ava asked, “What about all that other stuff I said?”

“What about it?”

“Aren’t you going to try and do something about that too?”

“I can’t do much about any of that.” He paused, and gave a wink. “However, I can treat the blister.”

Ava snorted. “Better than what anyone else is offering I guess.”

* * *

Ava slipped her boot back on and tested it. Though her foot felt nasty from the grease, it alleviated her discomfort.

“See. Things are already improving,” Zadok smiled, half joking.

She shook her head at his attitude, but still couldn’t stop herself from cracking a grin as well.

Unbelievable.

“Don’t ever stop being who you are,” she said to him.

“What do you mean?”

She was about to explain when Nason called out from the edge of camp. “Scouts are returning!”

His three kids stood around him, imitating their father pointing south. She followed his gesture. The youngest of his kids bounced up and down with excitement as two figures emerged from a dead forest.

The scouts jogged toward camp, but didn’t sprint.

Important, but not life threatening,
she decided.
Or they’re just too tired to run any faster.

She walked toward Nason, glancing back at Zadok. He went in the other direction. “You’re not coming?”

She didn’t necessarily need Zadok beside her, but she had grown accustomed to his presence over the last couple days. He had made it a habit of tagging along more often as Myra sulked to the point of pushing even him away. The girl carried guilt for the lives lost at the outpost. She felt her input had contributed to their deaths.

“I’ll catch up,” he said.

She frowned, curious.

Ava reached Nason before the scouts did. They stood there for a few moments watching them approach, letting the children speculate on the news.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“I’d rather not. I spend enough time hypothesizing. It’s exhausting.”

He glanced behind him. A grunt of surprise followed which Ava turned at.

Zadok came toward them with Myra at his side.

Try as Ava might, it had been difficult to coax the girl out of her depression and sullenness. Any discussion was short and usually revolved around trivial matters.

“Zadok said you needed me,” Myra stated.

Ava shot him a quick glance. Her nephew winked.

Too smart. Saw this might be a good opportunity. A little warning would have been nice though.

“I did,” she lied simply.

Myra frowned, expecting more.

Ava didn’t give it to her.

Let her dangle to feed her curiosity.

The two scouts stopped a few feet away, breathing heavy and dripping in sweat. The smell of that sweat wafted into Ava’s nose with a shift on the light breeze.

“Better get some tarc root to rub on your clothes before you go back out,” she said. “Otherwise your scent might give you away.”

Hunched over, Eder, the younger of the two, a teenager they had picked up from Uman, raised an arm and took a whiff while lifting his head. He crinkled his nose as he started to speak. “We got problems.”

“What kind of problems?”

“Another army.”

“Two, we think,” said the older scout, a random traveler they had picked up recently named Massa.

“You think two? That’s a crappy scouting report. Explain.”

Eder straightened, holding his side. “A couple miles up the road there was a camp of Malduks. About a third the size of the ones that Sivan had spotted.”

“A hundred or so strong?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“And you were sure they were Malduks?”

“They matched the descriptions you gave.”

She nodded. That was good enough for her.

“They were starting to break camp and leave, but then another army came in from the west. At least twice the size as the Malduks, but they were different. I hadn’t seen people dressed like that before.”

“They were Geneshans,” said Massa, finally catching his breath.

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re sure? From a distance, they don’t look too different than we do.”

“I’m positive.”

“You served?” she asked, trying to get a feel for how he could be so sure.

“No. But before the war I had gone into the Geneshan Empire a couple times to do some trading. I recognize the ugly symbols of Beel on their clothes and armor . Trust me, they were Geneshans.”

Crap.

“Then what?” Ava urged.

“Well, I thought they might fight or something,” said Eder. “But some people, I guess they were officers, stepped out and greeted each other. Then they seemed to combine their forces.”

She swore. Dozens of questions ran through her mind.

What are the Geneshans doing here? And why two Malduk armies this far south? Surely they know about the artifact better than most. Are they just hoping to seize on an opportunity to gain power like so many others?

Later Ava. Safety and survival first.

“Which way is the army heading?” she asked.

“North, just west of us.”

Why north? The land is worse the closer you get to the artifact. Another question for later.

“So we can stay on our current course?” she asked.

“Probably.”

Probably isn’t good enough.

“We’ll turn more southeast just in case,” she said. “We don’t want any of their scouts to spot us.”

“Isn’t that going to put us farther from our goal?” asked Massa.

“It is.”

She waited for an argument, but it seemed everyone understood.

“You want us back out there, I’m guessing?” asked Eder.

“Yeah. But I’ll need you to split up. I’d risk sending more scouts, but you two are the best I got and the last thing I want to do is have us spread so thin we can’t watch over each other properly and I lose track of someone. Massa, you follow our back trail and make sure that army doesn’t shift course. Eder stay ahead of us and keep a lookout. Both of you check in regularly.”

The boy sighed, and started to turn.

“Wait. Don’t kill yourself. Go see Dinah first. Tell her to get you some fresh water skins and that tarc root I mentioned. Take some jerky with you to eat as well.”

They both nodded and left.

Nason sighed. “Time to move out?”

“Time to move out,” she said.

Nason hadn’t moved. Though he hated to lead, he hated just as much to not contribute. The sooner he was given a task, the better and more relaxed he seemed.

“You want to get everyone ready?” she asked.

“Sure.” He gestured to his kids. “C’mon. Let’s go see where we can help.”

“I’ll help too,” said Zadok, giving Ava another wink before leaving her alone with Myra.

Myra tilted her head. “You never said what you wanted to see me for.”

“What are your thoughts on our situation?”

“It’s pretty crappy.”

Ava waited, but nothing more came. “That’s good. You haven’t lost your honesty. Though I could use a bit more explanation next time I ask for an opinion.”

She shrugged.

“Good grief, Myra. Since the outpost, you’ve barely spoken. You’re more closed off than you were when I first returned to Denu Creek.” She paused. “The problem then was because you were mad at Tyrus.”

“Well, I’m not mad at him anymore.”

“No kidding. The problem now is that you’re mad at yourself.”

“Maybe,” Myra snapped.

“Well, get over it.”

She blinked. “Because of me, people died gruesome deaths. And you want me to just get over it?”

“Yeah! They died because of mine and Sivan’s decisions. It was our responsibility. We gave the orders. I’m not happy with how things worked out either, but stuff happens. You have to get over it, or at least do a better job of dealing with it because life goes on.” She gestured. “Some died, but more lived. You letting the negative affect you so much isn’t doing those survivors any favors.”

“So now you’re laying guilt on me?”

Frustrated, Ava closed her hands into fists. She desperately wanted to hit something.

Think. How do I reach her?

Despite how poorly the conversation was going, Myra hadn’t walked off yet which gave Ava hope.

“Tyrus suffered through his share of setbacks as commander, you know,” Ava said.

“And?”

The attitude remained, but she didn’t care.

She loves him, respects him, and wants to be like him. Just go with it.

“His first mission as commander was a disaster.” She recalled the situation. “It was right after our first real battle. Tyrus showed a lot of promise early on and was given his own squad to lead. We weren’t considered one of Balak’s elite units yet. Gods, that’s when Balak was still a captain. Still, your father had twelve soldiers under his direct command, including me.”

Ava glanced at Nason helping others get their things together. They really ought to be back on the road. However, she needed to take advantage of the conversation with Myra.

She continued. “Our orders were simple. Each unit was to sneak behind enemy lines and destroy a supply cache previous intelligence had targeted. Tyrus came up with this great plan, much better than what Balak suggested and we reached our goal sooner than any other squad. To top things off, the wagons weren’t even guarded. Looked like a sure thing. We made our move, me covering for the others as they snuck in close. We didn’t want to destroy the grain in a traditional sense, but instead were looking to poison it.”