The Forest at the Edge of the World (33 page)

---

High in the dark trees sat two men in green and brown mottled clothing. Their eyes grew large as they saw the two uniformed officers boldly striding into the forest.

Well,
one
strode boldly, the other just slinked behind.

The men in the trees exchanged glances, watched the captain and lieutenant slip quietly past them below, then looked at each other again. One smiled and the other nodded.

It wasn’t going to be a dull night.

---

Mahrree’s neck was cramped. The pain was why she opened her eyes and realized it was morning. She’d fallen asleep sitting on the sofa, but Perrin hadn’t returned.

She looked around her quiet gathering room. A gnawing worry in her belly reminded her she was still alone. Her mother-in-law had been right about her “not being ready.”

She cleaned up in the washroom, dressed, made breakfast, ate alone, and tidied the house. She set the washing to soak, did some reading, and looked up and down the road frequently. School was out for a week for the early harvest, ever since the last day of Weeding on the 91
st
, so Mahrree had nothing else to do but wait.

It was going to be a dull day.

Chapter 17 ~ “Some rules are meant to be broken by the right men.”

K
arna was never so happy to see the sunrise, or so Perrin deduced by the look of relief on his lieutenant’s face. But the light only revealed just how deep they were in the forest that growled around them. For the past several hours they’d been following shouts that moved west.

At least, he assumed
it was west. Perrin judged direction based on the slope of the forest. Down had to be south, up was north, so he was facing west with sun rising behind him.

Already they had surprised one Guarder—and themselves, to be honest—and chased him towards the edge of the forest where several soldiers captured him. Now they were about fifty paces behind a
nother two Guarders, visible at the edges of large grassy patches, and moving towards Moorland.

But Moorland, ten miles to the west of Edge, didn’t know a ba
ttle was coming. Because the village was so sparsely populated, they didn’t even have a fort yet, just a converted barn and a dozen soldiers recently sent there to help since the village lost a herd of cattle to the Guarders. Perrin wasn’t about to leave them overwhelmed.

Distantly, he saw one of the men in black turn up and north. Through the trees the figure trotted, skirting past a swath of dead pines standing in dirt that was—oddly—white. In the middle of the soil—or perhaps it was now white rock, Perrin wasn’t sure—and among the blackened tree trunks was a gaping hole which belched out hot water, sending it nearly ten feet into the air. Steaming, the water followed a channel in the ground and disappeared into another crevice a few hundred paces away.

Perrin signaled to Karna behind him, and wordlessly the two officers, keeping to the trees, jogged north as well. Captain Shin kept his eye on the black figure that popped in and out of the tree shadows, while making sure that he never touched the white ground that reeked of sulfur.

He kept his other
eye
on
the trees, though, trying to figure out why he felt so comfortable picking his way through them when he should have been terrified.

---

“What should we do with him, Sergeant Major?” the younger sergeant asked cheerfully as he and his men stood just beyond the tree line.

Wiles stared in amazement at the Guarder bound by rope around his wrists and ankles.

The man in black glared back at Wiles.

“How was he captured?” Wiles asked, barely above a whisper.

“Captain and Lieutenant chased him right into our waiting arms!” a corporal announced, grinning at the three other men.

Wiles gestured lamely to the bound man. “How did you—
Why
did you—”

“Captain Shin ordered us,” explained a satisfied private. “Said to me, ‘You grew up on a ranch, right? Use your rope!’”

“So you . . . you
hog-tied
him?” Wiles said in disbelief.

“Actually, it’s called calf tying,” the private clarified, sniffing with authority.

“Granted, we don’t teach that in training,” the sergeant said proudly, “but we ought to.”

The soldiers laughed, their fear gone now that their enemy was immobile.

But Wiles’s anxiety had increased so much that he couldn’t move. “But . . . but Guarders are
never
captured.”

The wooden expression on the Guarder’s face told Wiles the reminder wasn’t necessary.

“Until today,” the sergeant winked. “Rather like Shin’s thinking. He wants him held for questioning. And if the captain interrogates as well as the High General, well I have high hopes for the future of the Army of Idumea!”

Wiles didn’t notice the proud chuckling of the three soldiers as
they gazed at their prize.

“Interrogation?” Wiles muttered, then turned a sickly gray.

The Guarder’s glare turned brittle as the two men shared a look.

“Didn’t drill for this,” Wiles said under his breath. He slow walked backwards, oblivious to the look of surprise the soldiers now wore. “Not according to plan . . .”

-
--

At midday meal Perrin didn’t return. Mahrree wanted to believe she was ready for his absence, but she knew that was a lie. She’d lived alone for years, so why was she worried now? Her belly churned in dread and fear.

Perhaps this was one of those days her father had warned her about. The world really
was
out to get her.

Or her new husband.

-
--

Captain Shin and his loyal lieutenant paused to look around.

All they saw now were pine trees, so close to each other it seemed that at any moment they might break out in a fight for su
nshine. But that was all right. Just ten minutes ago two more Guarders had been stunned to find themselves chased out of the forest. Then the captain took some emergency food rations from the soldiers, and hauled his weary lieutenant right back into the thick of the trees again.

Karna sighed.

Perrin smiled to himself. There was a lot associated with that sigh.

“Tell me, Brillen. It’s your job, you know. You’re my third and fourth hands, as they say, so I rely on you to keep me informed and on task.”

Karna made a “Pfft!” sound, which was likely the most insubordinate noise he’d ever uttered.

Perrin grinned and turned around to face his second-in-command. “You have something to say, Brillen?”

Karna froze, stunned. His face registered frustration, agitation, and now uneasiness as he realized his “Pfft!” was audible.

What he finally said surprised the captain. “Why do you call me Brillen, sir?”

Perrin blinked. “Why not? We’re not around the other soldiers—why shouldn’t I call you by your first name?”

Karna licked his parched lips. “It’s not protocol, sir.”

Perrin grinned again. “I’m not exactly protocol.”

Karna threw his hands in the air. “Really? I hadn’t noticed!” he exclaimed in a rare show of sarcasm.

Perrin folded his arms, fascinated.

“I’ve never seen you like this, Brillen. Normally you’re so by-the-book I could use you as a reference guide. Getting annoyed with your commander isn’t exactly protocol either. But I heartily approve. Keep it up!” He slapped the lieutenant on the shoulder.

Karna took a deep breath and twitched his complimented shoulder. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Only if you call me Perrin. It’s only fair, Brillen.”

“Sir!”

Amused, Perrin said, “Sir?”

Seeing the lieutenant couldn’t come as far as Perrin was hoping, he patted his shoulder again in a conciliatory manner.

“Go ahead.”

Karna cleared his throat formally. “Sir. As your third and fourth hands, it is my duty to inform you that . . .” He gestured lamely to their surroundings. “We’re breaking every rule in the book!”

“I know.”

“Your FATHER’S book!”

“I know.”

“Your GRANDFATHER’S first rule!” Karna’s voice a full octave higher now. “First rule states, ‘No man—’”

“Goes into the forest, blah-blah-and-ahem, yes I know,” Perrin said dully. “So that’s what’s bothering you?”

Karna gestured again with his arms outstretched. Obviously the captain had gone blind and stupid in the last several hours.

Perrin smiled in understanding. “I’m not showing disrespect to my grandfather, if that makes you feel any better.”

Karna squinted dubiously.

Perrin glanced around to make sure they were still alone. The immediate forest was remarkably still.

“You see, my grandfather was an excellent man, Brillen. Do you mind if I call you Brillen? Better get used to it, because you’re also my second mind, and I can’t refer to my own thoughts in a formal manner, so neither will I refer to you formally. As I was saying—” he continued, ignoring the baffled expression of his lieutenant, “—my grandfather was an excellent man. Better than most people ever knew. Yes, he set that first rule, but in order to keep the world out of harm’s way. He didn’t want the common man, woman, child, or soldier risking their lives unnecessarily by stepping into the forests. Hence, the law.”

“Which you have broken. Which you tried to break several weeks ago,” Karna reminded.

His mouth opened and his eyes narrowed as a new understanding came to him.

“Which you intended to break for a long time now, haven’t you, sir? You came to Edge
precisely
to enter the forests!”

If he feared his allegation would offend the captain, Karna was going to be surprised.

Perrin merely shrugged and raised his eyebrows in reluctant confession.

“You did!” Karna exclaimed, almost forgetting to keep his voice down to avoid calling Guarders to their position. “You came here deliberately to break the law! Sir!”

Seeing the worry in his lieutenant’s eyes—he’d have to report his commander as noncompliant!—Perrin put his hands on Karna’s shoulders. “With my grandfather’s approval, I promise.”

“Oh, that’s convenient to claim,” Karna snarled. “He’s dead!”

Perrin blinked at the outburst, and Karna slapped his hand across his mouth.

“That sounded so awful, sir!” His voice came muffled. “I’m so sorry.”

Perrin just shook his head and chuckled. “Don’t be—I’m quite enjoying this new display of independence from you, Brillen. And don’t cringe like that to your name, just get used to it. You see, while my grandfather made the rules, he also had an interesting perspective about them: some rules are meant to be broken by the right men. A rule may not be a good one, and begs to be violated so that it can be replaced by a better one.”

“Again,” Karna said, but this time more carefully, “that’s co
nvenient reasoning for violating the law.”

“But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Perrin suggested. He looked off into the distance as if he could see beyond the twenty paces of dense fir trees. “Sometimes the right man must go where no one else has dared to. He may be the only one that can go over the wall, break down the door, or go into the forest and see, once and for all, what’s
really
happening. That’s because he’s the only one who can actually
do
something about it.”

Karna was silent for a moment, then eventually said, “Go over the wall, sir?” He glanced around, not seeing any walls.

Perrin blinked out of his thoughts, ignored the last question, and glanced over at the lieutenant. “My turn to ask a question—why’d you follow me in here?”

Next to any other man, Brillen Karna wouldn’t have looked so short. He steeled his stocky frame before giving his answer. “B
ecause I was following your orders!”

“Fair enough. But you could have rejected my orders. No one would’ve blamed you.”

Karna raised his eyebrows. “Obviously you didn’t see the look on your face last night. No one would have survived had I opposed you. Sir,” he remembered to add.

Perrin chuckled. He wasn’t sure why he felt so at ease in the trees. That should have alarmed him, he knew. More than the idea that he was, in fact,
in the forest
.

He just smiled and said, “Well, I’m glad you’re with me. We’ve already had success and I’m confident we’ll have more. If we ever get our bearings again,” he added in a mumble. “The only thing I’m sure of is ‘downhill.’ Everything downhill must be ‘out’.”

Karna mumbled something, too, as he gave the trees an agitated glare.

“What was that?” Perrin asked.

Karna’s troubled
he-heard-me
look returned. “I . . . I just . . . uh . . .”

“Spit it out, Brillen. And stop grimacing.”

Karna gulped. “Maybe I mentioned something about following your father’s orders is more difficult than anticipated. Sir.”

Intrigued, Perrin put his hands on his waist. “What orders might those be? From his book about command?”

“From his instructions to me, just before I left to come here.”

A corner of Perrin’s mouth lifted into a subtle smile. “Which were . . . ?”

“‘Keep my son out of trouble.’ Sir.”

“He really said that to you?”

“Along with a few other bits of instruction. Warnings. Threats—”

“Sounds like the High General,” Captain Shin chuckled. “He’s the one who recommended you to me, you know.”

Karna looked surprised. “Because I earned the highest marks in his class, sir?”

“Or I suppose he thought you’d be the best man to remind me of my duty.”

Karna sighed heavily. “Obviously I’m failing at that.”

“Oh, not at all,” Perrin assured him. “I’m just ignoring your r
eminders.” He laughed at Brillen’s expression.