Wayward Soldiers (26 page)

CHAPTER 37

The mood in our cave worsened considerably in the days that followed. Two groups formed, those who had supported my actions, and those who did not. The groups literally split the cave down the middle, each huddling on opposite walls. I was surprised at how many stood by me. I don’t think they exactly agreed with my choice in handling Hila and Benami, but for whatever reason they understood.

Perhaps I hadn’t given them enough of the credit they deserved.

I tried to bridge the gap between the sides more than once, but any effort fell flat.

The mood worsened when Reuma discovered Chana’s lifeless body two days later. She had sliced open her wrists, bleeding out in the night.

I felt saddened by the loss, but more angry than sad.

Four men had given their lives to save her and her child. Neither mother nor son lived, and the turmoil they had caused had me second-guessing my decision to save her in the first place.

We buried Chana in a shallow grave in the back of the cave. A tiny, secondary grave rested beside her. The priest of Molak said some final words for both. They seemed fitting despite what little we knew of either.

Ira and Reuma were the last to leave the grave.

If there was a positive that came out of Chana’s labor and delivery, it was that those two had bonded. In fact, they were practically inseparable now.

CHAPTER 38

The next day I was shaken awake, but not by someone’s hand.

The clicking of pebbles rolling down the cave’s walls reached my ears. I sat up fast, shouting for others to rise.

Many were already halfway there. The rest came about quickly with the rumbling and the trembling floor.

People scrambled to their feet. Everyone looked my way for guidance, even those who just yesterday wanted nothing to do with me. I guess I was worthy of their time when their lives were on the line.

“Everyone out!” I shouted.

People hesitated. No one wanted to leave the protection of the cave for what they had seen of the outside world, even if the cave was no longer a safe place to be.

“What about the artifact?” someone asked.

“Get out! Cave in!”

Someone yelled in excitement near the entrance. “The storm stopped!”

Chunks of rock fell from the ceiling, shattering as they struck the ground.

“Go! Now!” I yelled.

Some took off with only the clothes on their backs. Others grabbed the hands of a loved one or the belongings nearest them before running outside. The more selfless individuals aided the injured. A select few I had to literally push toward the cave opening as they tried to carry every last one of their meager possessions outside.

Two of those were struck by falling stone. One died instantly. The other suffered a large gash and a dislocated elbow. Ava and I helped drag him out.

We ran, stumbled, and slid down the rocky slope from the cave mouth that led to the valley. The slope was still slick from days of rain. Balance was impossible with the ground swaying and stones stampeding down the hillside around us. Our feet slipped and our ankles buckled over the rain-soaked ground. I wrenched my injured shoulder, trying to keep the wounded man moving.

Everyone ran for the center of the valley, the farthest point from falling rock. Those in the other cave did the same. In the chaos, I tried to spot my kids, but had no luck.

I rushed into the mire where days of water had turned the valley into deep, sucking mud. I strained with every step, casting a nervous glance back to the gathering rockslide. People around me flailed, some screaming for help as they lost balance.

The trembling ceased.

Stuck in mud, while our cave and several others collapsed around us, I briefly examined the new world. It was my first venture into daylight in nearly two weeks.

Well, it wasn’t really daylight. At least not what passed for daylight a couple of months ago. No bright yellow sunlight reflecting off green grass and vibrant flowers. Not even the orange hue that had followed the second eruption. Gray, gray, and more gray with hints of black and white littered the valley under a muted white glow from above.

There was something new to the air though. It was hard to explain, but the air just seemed thicker, almost like a humid summer day.

I temporarily lost interest in my surroundings as Zadok shouted, “Pa!”

I spun and saw him and Myra high-stepping through mud toward me. I met them and took both in my arms, wincing at the ache in the skin on my back.

“What’s wrong?” asked Myra.

“The burns still aren’t completely healed.”

They both let go.

“I’m sorry,” said Zadok.

“It’s fine. Really. The pain was more than worth it,” I said, mindful that something was suddenly in my eye. I wiped the tear away quickly and continued. “I’m mostly recovered anyway.” I paused and touched the spot where my ear used to be. “The only thing that truly hurts is the blow to my ego.”

“I think it gives you character,” said Myra.

“I think it makes you look like someone you don’t want to mess with,” said Zadok.

I smiled and gave a wink. “Well, that’s a trait that it never hurts to have.”

I pulled away from the hugs and looked them over. Even with mud up to their thighs and dirt everywhere else, I noticed the difference in their appearances.

“You’ve both lost weight,” I said.

“Everyone in our cave has,” said Myra.

I looked around at the others and saw it was true. “What happened?”

“We had a cave-in several days back. It killed five people, and buried a lot of our supplies. Sivan put everyone on quarter rations not knowing when things would clear up and it would be safe to go outside,” said Myra.

“Smart move.”

“It didn’t go over well. A couple people challenged Sivan’s right to lead our group since you weren’t around. Being hungry, people wanted to vote for someone new.”

“It got ugly,” added Zadok.

I asked. “How did it get resolved?”

Myra answered. “After listening to an hour of arguing, Dekar stood and said that Sivan was in charge because you would have wanted it to be so. He said that anyone who had an issue with Sivan could leave the cave. Fromel challenged Sivan anyway, so Dekar threw him outside. Dekar let him back in only after he apologized. Fromel was covered in welts and bruises from the hail.”

“No one brought the matter up again after that,” Zadok said.

I snorted. “Everyone thinks Ira is the one to worry about because he’s loud, but there’s a reason it took Ira over thirty years to stand up to his brother. You don’t want to get on Dekar’s bad side.”

I saw Myra looking around, frowning. “I see that you lost several people too,” she said.

“Yes.”

“Chana?”

“Took her own life.”

She gasped. “But the baby—”

“She took her life a couple of days after the baby was born. It died shortly after birth.”

“That must have been awful.”

I looked around and saw judging eyes of certain people from our group as they mingled with those from the other cave. Soon, everyone would know what happened.

“It was . . . difficult to say the least.”

A couple of sidelong glances swept my way. One or two were followed by a whispered exchange. I had a hunch the difficulties would continue as more people were forced to pick a side in my decision.

I thought about making a case for my actions to those who weren’t there. But in the end, I decided that if they didn’t already understand my choices, they probably never would.

“What do we do next?” asked Sivan slogging his way up through the mud.

Damaris was at the former tailor’s side.

Boaz and his family approached too. Nason and his kids were coming from the opposite direction with Dekar, Ira, and Reuma. All struggled in the slop the ground had become.

That accounted for those I was closest to.

I watched Rezub maneuver his way through the muck, speaking with those who had been in my group. Once he got wind of what happened, he could probably sway enough of those who disagreed with my actions to band together and cause problems.

I didn’t want trouble. Not for my friends and family. And not for those who supported me over Chana’s baby. Only one thing would prevent trouble from happening because of me.

“I think it’s time we part ways with everyone else. If we stay, if I stay actually, I’m worried that people will start fighting amongst themselves on my behalf. I don’t want that.”

Oddly enough, no one questioned why I would make the call. Either they understood, or simply trusted my judgment.

“Sky is pretty clear,” I continued. “You feel anything odd from the artifact, Ava?”

She shook her head. “No. I think the eruption is over.”

“Then we should gather our supplies and get going.”

“We lost so much in the cave-in that many of us have only what’s on our backs or belts,” said Dekar.

I noted that amounted to little more than clothes, weapons, and a few odds and ends.

I tried to make light of the situation. “Well, we should make better time with less to carry.”

And I did mean carry. Not one of the wagons survived the chaos brought on by the artifact’s third eruption.

I turned to Ira. “You and Reuma go find us a couple of mounts among those that survived.”

“How many?” he asked

I was tempted to say enough for everyone if that many were available. But I decided I could not be cruel to those we planned to leave behind. “Three. Two for riding. One as pack animal. But hurry, we really need to get moving.”

They set off toward the cave where the surviving animals remained.

“You don’t really think people would try to—” Zadok started.

“I don’t know what they would try to do, son. But it’s better if we leave on our terms before trouble starts. C’mon, let’s go get our share of the remaining supplies.”

We sloughed our way over to the pile of supplies brought out from the caves. Mud popped and squished with each step. All of us moving in one direction at the same time warranted quite a few looks, ending many a conversation among the others.

“Uh, Tyrus?” Nason said low as he noticed those looks himself.

I could guess at the questions probably running through his mind.

“Just act natural. You and your kids find some rope and a couple of blankets or canvas if you can.” I paused besides the gear. “Ava, you and Myra start gathering up food. Be reasonable. Zadok, see if you can find any feed for the animals out here in case Ira and Reuma aren’t able to secure much from the cave. Boaz, you and Dinah grab some water skins and get them filled.” Something caught my eye and I pointed. “That barrel too. We’ll strap it down to one of the horses. Sivan, why don’t you and Damaris give them a hand with that.”

While everyone went about the task I had given them, I sifted through the rest of the stuff hauled out from the caves for anything that might be of use.

It didn’t take long for our activity to warrant the reaction I expected. Rezub was soon at my side.

He cleared his throat in that loud, over-exaggerated way people do when trying to get someone’s attention, the way that sounded anything but natural and was completely condescending to the person someone wanted to speak with.

I hated that.

No one could convince me that it was simpler to rattle some incoherent noise around the back of the throat when that person could just speak up.

He made that noise again and louder after I ignored his first attempt.

I asked without turning to face him. “Something on your mind?”

“Just wondering what you’re doing? It looks like you’re getting ready to leave without the rest of us.”

I paused and turned. “Thought that might be for the best.”

“We’d rather you didn’t.”

I narrowed my eyes. “We? You sure about that? I know a lot of people aren’t too fond of what I did to Hila and Benami. I’m sure a few aren’t too appreciative of what Dekar did to Fromel as well.”

“Many aren’t. But not everyone. Even those who disagree with what you did, recognize they would struggle to make it on their own. They might not agree with your decision or even like you very much after what happened, but the alternative is a much scarier proposition.”

“And you?”

“Who do you think just convinced all those people to put their anger aside?”

I looked to those of my friends and family nearby. My kids. Then Ava. Then Nason. None said anything. The decision was mine. As usual.

It would have been nice to let someone else take charge for once.

Part of me wanted to say no. Actually, a lot of me did. I was tired of all the ups and downs in the mood of our group.

However, my wife’s voice was in the back of my mind, as ever, reminding me that staying was the right thing to do.

“All right,” I said to Rezub. “Get everyone moving.”

* * *

With the extra labor, we cobbled together one wagon. We used it to carry the worst of our injured and any supplies we could cram in.

Only a third of the animals made it out alive. They carried the rest of our salvaged supplies.

We were not nearly as weighed down with food as I would have liked.

More stress.

We didn’t leave the valley until midafternoon, barely traveling more than a couple of miles before making camp.

It was pathetic.

But as my optimistic son would say, “It was still something.”

CHAPTER 39

We persevered.

It wasn’t easy, or rather, it wasn’t as easy as before. That’s saying something since easy would not have been a word I would have used to describe our journey.

The roads were in worse shape after the third cycle from the artifact. More fissures, more holes, more bubbling lava, and lots of spurting steam brought on by the daily thunderstorms that rolled in with little warning.

At least we had rain again.

As before, the changes in the land forced us to re-examine our current course. The river we had been tracking, one that had remained constant for centuries, now flowed in a completely different direction from where we needed to go.

In just two short days, we traveled forty miles, but only ten in the right direction. Even with Sivan and Ira scouting, there was quite a bit of backtracking.

I wondered if we’d make it to the Southern Kingdoms by the time I reached my fiftieth name day.

* * *

After another painstakingly slow day of travel, with the dim sun still an hour from setting, I stopped in the middle of the muddy road. Wheeling about, our group stretched out in clumps at least a hundred yards long.

Ridiculous. If trouble hit us, we were too fractured to protect ourselves.

Boaz drove our lone wagon, and I gave him the order to halt. Everyone caught up and gladly fell in behind the wagon.

Reuma joined me with a look of confusion. “What’s the matter, sir?”

“Get with Myra and make camp for the night.”

She glanced at the sky. “Lots of daylight left.”

“At least another hour.” I motioned to the stragglers still catching up. “But do you think they can take another hour?”

She frowned. “Probably not.”

“Better to let them catch up on rest tonight, otherwise tomorrow we’ll be moving even slower.” I paused, thinking. “See that everyone gets full rations for dinner. Just this one meal. Maybe the extra food will do them some good as well.”

“I’ll pass the word.”

“Don’t forget to send out your foragers since we do have this extra light.”

She gave a nod and left.

Three times a day, I had Reuma send out people in the hopes of finding something edible to bring back to the group. So far, we managed ten potatoes, half a pail of old walnuts, and a couple of skinny foxes.

It was better than nothing, but still hardly enough to matter. We’d do better if I let them venture farther from the road, but then I’d lose sight of them which would raise a whole new set of worries and potential problems. I wasn’t ready to go there yet.

Ava walked up. She had Myra and Zadok in tow. The three had spent most of the day accompanying Nason and his kids. They helped my old friend move his young ones along now that practically everyone had to walk.

“Looks like you’re getting soft,” Ava said. “Making camp already?”

“Just looking out for those who’re struggling.” I gestured. “You seem to be breathing pretty heavy. Maybe I should have stopped sooner for your benefit.”

“I wouldn’t be huffing so much if I wasn’t carrying your share of supplies.”

An itch ran down my neck and over my back. Resisting the urge to scratch it was almost as difficult as the itch was annoying. The herbs taken from Denu Creek’s apothecary had done wonders for my burns. I was wearing a shirt again and each day I felt improvement in the health of the skin.

“If things continue to heal as they’ve been, I might be able to strap on a pack in the next week or so.”

“Or so?” She raised an eyebrow. “That leaves you a lot of wiggle room.”

I smiled. “My eagerness to ease your burden will be heavily dependent on how much of a hard time you give me from now until then.”

She snorted.

“Are you going to tell Pa about your—” started Zadok.

Ava cut him off, scowling. “Yes. Of course, I am. Show some patience. I was just making small talk.”

Both Myra and Zadok cracked a smile at their aunt for getting all puffed up.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’ve got some potentially good news.”

“Spill it. I sure could use some.”

“I think my powers are starting to come back.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I took a step forward. Having a mage of Ava’s level along with us wouldn’t necessarily solve all our problems, but the solutions would be much easier to come by.

“What do you mean, ‘think’? Tell me everything.”

“I noticed something felt different after this last cycle of destruction, but I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on and didn’t want to say anything until I knew better. Then Abigail did something to one of the horses this morning that got me thinking.”

“Explain.”

“Well, the black mare was bucking wildly because it didn’t want to get in the harness. No one could get it to calm down. I tried and almost got kicked. Abigail walked up to it, touched its nose for the briefest of moments and the horse not only calmed, but practically put on the harness itself.”

“Definitely strange. Go on.”

“You told me that her parents said she had a way with animals that you thought might have been sorcerous,” Ava said. “So when we had a moment, I pulled her aside and asked her what she did. She wasn’t sure exactly, but said there was a fuzzy sensation that went from her hands to the animal. It reminded her of what she felt before the first eruption sometimes. It happened by accident this time. She didn’t remember doing anything consciously.

“We talked for a bit and we both tried to do some simple tricks. Neither of us could do anything with consistency, but I can feel the power now. It’s there, just harder to access.”

My brow furrowed. “What does this mean? What can you do?”

“It means what I said. My powers are starting to come back. However, the success rate is low. Maybe two out of ten times, and that’s just with very basic spells. I’m nowhere near ready to try anything complicated.”

I swore. “That’s not as good of news as I originally hoped.”

She looked at me exasperated, slightly angry. This was a big deal for her. I knew that, but my pessimistic tendencies found it hard to get excited about such inconsistency. I wouldn’t be able to rely on her as I had in the army.

“But it’s still good news,” chimed in Zadok.

“It is. Sorry if I’m downplaying that. Who else knows beside Abigail?”

Ava shook her head. “No one. I told her to keep it a secret. Surprisingly she’s good at that for her age.”

“Let’s keep this to ourselves then. I don’t want people to get their hopes up, or from the opposite view, upset because of it.”

Ira came galloping up, putting our conversation on hold.

While Sivan scouted the land before us, I had sent Ira to Ashkelon and Susa, the two towns we had considered seeking refuge in before the third eruption of the artifact. In part, I had hoped to gain some information from them. I also wanted to know how they each fared in the storms and quake. If their supplies were in better shape than ours, perhaps they’d consider trading or selling us some.

Ira didn’t slow until the last moment, causing some people nearby to jump out of the way. That made my stomach sink. Based on the hard look he wore, I didn’t expect the news to be good.

He stopped and handed the reins off to Zadok while coming forward. His mount was well lathered.

“Ty, let’s go for a walk,” he said, passing me.

I swore. “That bad?”

“Yep.”

I gestured for Ava and the kids to stay put and followed Ira up the road until we were well out of earshot.

He didn’t wait for me to prompt him.

“Things are pretty bleak out there,” he said. “Susa is gone.”

“Gone?”

“Practically wiped off the map. Every building was flattened by those flaming rocks in the sky or engulfed by the ground when it opened. I spent an hour searching what little debris remained, calling out in case people were trapped like in Denu Creek. Not a sound.”

I sighed. Susa was the smaller of the two towns we had considered and for that reason, was one I had felt less inclined to visit for protection.

“And Ashkelon?” I asked.

“Better, but not great. About a third of the town kicked it. The others are busy searching for survivors and trying to put their lives back together.”

“Supplies?”

“Not great. They had plenty before the eruption, but ended up storing most of them in one location. It got damaged badly. Most of their food went up in flames. No way are we going to get anything from them without taking it.”

He tilted his head up, insinuating a question without actually asking it.

I shook my head. “We’re not that bad off yet.” I hoped we never were. Even in a life or death situation, there were lines I’d rather not cross. “What else? This is all bad, but honestly, I was expecting worse from the look you wore riding in.”

He blurted, “There’s an army heading our way.”

I blinked. “An army?”

“Yes. Ashkelon had sent out a couple of scouts themselves. One came back right as I was about to leave. There’s a force of over two thousand men marching south, stopping at every town it comes upon and forcing people into its ranks. Looks like that army we heard about from that raider is making good time?”

“Crap.”

“Apparently, they’re recruiting hard, Ty, and not just from the various raiding parties. From what that scout said, the first question they ask when they come upon any town is for anyone with previous military experience to come forward. Those are the first pressed into the army. Afterward, they start selecting the best of what’s left over.”

I rubbed my temple at the onset of a sudden headache. “Tell me this is a joke, Ira. An army over two thousand strong? How is that possible? Keeping our small group fed and watered is challenging enough, how can they do it? And how did they survive all the eruptions?”

Ira shrugged. “Good questions, but I don’t have the answers.” He worked his jaw and spat. “You haven’t heard the best part.”

“I don’t think I want to.”

“Balak is leading that army.”

My breath caught in my throat. “That’s impossible. He was so close to Hol, he should have died.”

Ira spat. “Look around, Ty. Is anything really impossible at this point?”

I began to think aloud. “He did have people resistant to sorcery by his side when the artifact erupted according to Ava since he was worried about the High Mage council.”

“You think he’s recruiting for the king?” Ira asked.

“Balak might be alive, but there is no way the king should be. No one with a resistance was near him since he sent those after the general. Plus the king was too close to the artifact.”

“Then what is Balak doing?”

I remembered the last conversation I had with Balak and the ten years of comments before. One thing Balak never lacked was ambition. He wanted to go forth and conquer.

“He’s recruiting for himself.” I swore. A lot. “Do you know what direction they’re heading?”

“Right toward us.”

“Of course.”

“He was mad the king made him discharge us. Especially you. If Balak catches up to our group, there’s no way he’s going to allow us to get away. Heck, they’re specifically looking for veterans. That even puts Sivan in Balak’s sight.”

“Molak, be damned. Go get your brother, but don’t tell him or anyone else what you heard and saw yet.”

He jogged over to Dekar. They returned a few moments later, ignoring the questions from Ava and the kids, as well as the looks of others.

“What’s going on?” Dekar asked.

“We got a problem. A big one.” I nodded to Ira. “Tell him.”

When Ira finished, Dekar took his turn at cursing. He was not as practiced as his brother, but did a more than serviceable job in my opinion.

“What are we going to do?” he asked.

“A few days ago you mentioned that abandoned military outpost that hadn’t been occupied since the border shift decades ago. If we left now, how long before you think we’d get there?”

Dekar looked up to the sky with his eyes closed. He was doing the math in his head. “From here, it would take at least three days, even if we lit a fire under everyone.”

“Do you think Balak or anyone else would know about it? I sure didn’t.”

“I don’t know. The only reason I know about it is because I saw an old map of Turine from back when King Asher reigned. The outpost isn’t on that newer map I found in Uman. Still, it stands to reason that out of two thousand plus men, someone else will know of it. Especially if they lived around here. The bigger question is will Balak feel it’s worth his time to investigate?”

“Depends how he finds out. If someone tells him he should look into it, he might not out of spite, or maybe so that person doesn’t think they knew something he didn’t. He didn’t take outside advice often.”

“Unless it came from you,” said Ira.

“Unless it came from me.”

“Hamath always hated the way Balak used you like that,” said Dekar.

I chuckled, missing my old friend again, even his complaining. “That he did.” I paused. “All right. Going to any other town would be pointless based on what Ira learned. Going back to the caves is too dangerous. Our only two options are stay south ahead of the army, which we all know we won’t be able to do forever, or go to the old outpost and hide for a while and hope Balak doesn’t show.”

“And if he does show?” asked Ira.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ll have to deal with that scenario if it happens. In the meantime, you ride up and find Sivan. I want one of you scouting ahead while another rides at the rear to confuse and cover our tracks.”

“That isn’t going to be easy in all this mud,” said Ira.

“I know. Ava might be able to help some with that. Her powers are starting to come back. I’ll talk to her in a minute. Dekar, while I talk to Ava, go break the bad news that we aren’t making camp after all. We need to dig deep and travel into the night. Tell Reuma to find a way to make room on the wagon carrying the injured. She is to rotate people, especially the children and elderly, as we travel so they can rest and not slow us down. We are going to make it in three days and I’ll ignite an inferno to see it done.”

“What do we tell everyone when they start asking questions?” asked Dekar.