‘I don’t want to break up.’
‘I don’t either. I love you, Lennox, though I wish I didn’t. What me, you and Cain had was special. The three of us; best friends. And now? He hates me.’
‘And me,’ Lennox said. ‘He hates us both.’
She stared at him. ‘It is worth it? Tell me it’s worth it, Lennox. Tell me you love me as much as I love you. If it turns out I’m just a rebound from Darine, I think I’d break.’
‘What?’ he said. ‘This is the longest relationship I’ve been in by far. You know every girlfriend I’ve ever had, right?’
‘Aye, and there were quite a few of them, at least until you fell for Darine. None of them bothered me back then, when we were just friends.’
‘This feels real, Libby,’ he said. ‘The rest were just boyish dreams. I did love Darine, there’s no point denying it, but I put her on a pedestal, and loved the image of her I created in my own head. You knew that, I think, and so did she.’
She sat on the bed next to him. ‘Twenty today.’
‘Aye,’ he said. ‘Makes me feel ancient.’
‘Hey! You’re only a third older than me. If you’re ancient, then I must be too.’
He put his arms around her. ‘Being friends was great, but I’m glad we found each other.’
She placed her hands onto his bare chest and they kissed.
When they were dressed and ready, they closed the shutters and went into the main living room of the apartment where the squad had been billeted. It was in the Kellach district of the town, in a block where all of the previous inhabitants had either fled or been relocated. Lennox and Libby had the largest bedroom, while Carrie, Loryn and Leisha shared a smaller chamber. Cain and Denny slept in the old dining room, the table and chairs burnt long before during the coldest spells of winter.
Leisha was the only one there when Lennox and Libby entered the living room. She had her boots up on a low table and was reading a book.
‘Morning,’ said Lennox.
‘Squad leader,’ Leisha said, keeping her eyes on the pages.
‘Have a good time last night?’ said Libby.
‘Aye. Me and the girls went to Baxter’s place. They’re both still sleeping off hangovers.’
Lennox glanced out of the window at the clock tower. ‘We’ll give them another five minutes.’
‘I’m starving,’ said Libby. ‘I might nip down to the canteen and bring our breakfast up.’
Leisha looked up. ‘That would be great. See if they’ve got any apples.’
‘I’ll ask,’ Libby said. She turned to Lennox. ‘See you soon.’
Lennox watched her leave the apartment. Leisha smirked. ‘Young love.’
‘Aye, so?’ said Lennox.
‘Nothing. It’s nice that someone’s happy. Two thirds we’ve been stuck in this shit-hole town, freezing our arses off and scrounging for food. Every face I see looks miserable these days, except for you and Libby. I mean, it’s a shame that it seems to have fucked Cain up, but you can’t have everything.’
‘He’ll get over it.’
‘You think?’ Leisha snorted. ‘The combination of seeing you and Libby together, along with the war and living in Stretton Sands, is turning him into a right nasty little bastard. You need to watch him, boss.’
A door opened and Loryn walked through into the living room, followed by Carrie. Both were dressed in their uniforms, but their eyes were bleary.
‘About time,’ said Leisha. ‘The squad leader was a minute away from going in there and dragging your lazy arses out of bed.’
‘Don’t start,’ Carrie said. ‘My head’s splitting.’
‘Why aren’t you hungover?’ said Loryn.
‘Just tougher than you, I guess.’
Carrie groaned. ‘I can’t face going down for breakfast.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Lennox. ‘Libby’s gone to collect it.’
‘Has she?’ Carrie said, her face lifting. ‘Bless that girl. I think I love her.’
‘Not you as well?’ laughed Leisha.
‘What you reading?’ said Loryn.
‘History book.’
‘Where did you get it?’ said Lennox, his eyes narrowing.
‘A guy in Second squad picked it up when he was guarding the Rahain district a couple of days ago. That, and a few others, or so he told me.’
‘Pyre’s sake,’ muttered Carrie. ‘You must be bored.’
‘Has it been approved?’ said Lennox.
Leisha frowned at him. ‘If you mean, have I gone to the priests and asked them if it’s alright if I read it, then no. It’s none of their fucking business.’
Loryn glanced at Carrie.
‘You going to grass me up, boss?’ Leisha said.
‘No. Just be careful.’
‘Does everyone who goes to Liberton come back with funny ideas?’ said Carrie. ‘First Darine, now you. Is that what having babies does to you?’
‘How did you know Darine had children?’ said Lennox.
‘Cain told me.’
‘Liberton’s a weird place,’ said Leisha. ‘The nurses try to keep you away from the locals, but they can’t manage it all the time. I was there for nearly a year. It changes you.’
‘That’s probably why they want to keep us away from it,’ said Lennox. ‘There are too many folk there who remember what it was like before, and don’t like what’s happened to them.’
‘Is that what the rebels told you,’ said Carrie, ‘when you were captured?’
‘Aye. They were wrong in what they were doing, but I still had some respect for them.’
Leisha nodded. ‘I get what they’re trying to do. From their point of view, we’re just fodder in Ghorley’s army, bred only to fight; stolen from our parents when we were only four or five years old. Or, in my bairns’ case, eight thirds old.’ She looked away, her eyes dark.
The room sat in silence. Lennox gazed out of the window, noting the time.
‘Can I ask you a question?’ said Loryn.
‘Aye,’ said Leisha.
‘Did you get to meet the people who’re looking after your babies?’
Leisha shook her head.
‘Sometimes I think we’re led by arseholes,’ said Carrie.
‘And yet we do our job,’ said Leisha, ‘every time they ask.’
‘Aye,’ said Lennox. ‘We win the war, then we can sort everything else out afterwards. In the meantime, we look out for each other and stick together. We’re the Fifth; we’re family.’
A side door opened and Denny appeared, his uniform on. He grunted and sat. Cain entered the living room a moment later. He glanced around the room.
‘Why are you sitting around like a bunch of numpties?’ he said. ‘Are we not getting breakfast?’
‘Libby’s bringing it here for us,’ said Lennox.
‘Oh. Right.’
Cain sat down on the edge of the threadbare couch, Denny shifting along to give him space. Cain nodded at Carrie and Loryn.
‘You two look like shit.’
‘Baxter’s,’ muttered Carrie.
Cain grinned. ‘Ah, that explains it. You crazy bitches, you do know we’re back on boat training today, aye? Imagine how you’re going to feel in a couple of hours when you’re bobbing about in the harbour. You’re not sitting next to me. No way I’m getting covered in your vomit.’
‘We’re on one of the galleys today,’ said Lennox.
‘Aye?’ said Leisha. ‘About time. I thought we were going to be stuck in that rowing boat forever.’
‘I got word from the captain yesterday evening. Our squad’s going to be learning all about sails and rigging, as of this morning. We’ll be rowing out to the galley,’ he said to Leisha, ‘so you’ll have a bit more oar-pulling to do.’
‘It’s still just a fucking boat, though,’ said Cain. ‘We should leave that shit to the frog-folk.’
‘We should do what the empire least expects,’ said Lennox.
‘We should be marching
to Amatskouri,’ Cain said. ‘If we’d left after taking this place, we’d have been there a third ago. Instead, we’ve been sat on our arses, doing fuck all since we got here.’
‘We’re waiting out the winter,’ Lennox said, his eyes locked with Cain’s. ‘Every day that passes, Rainsby starves a little more, and come spring time, we’ll unleash an attack that will break the back of the empire.’
‘Do you still trust our generals?’ Cain said. ‘I mean, I want to win this war; I want to smash the empire into a thousand pieces, but we have to face the truth – our leaders don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. It’s eight thirds since we invaded, and what have we got to show for it? One crappy, seaside town that we took in a day. If Ghorley had the balls to send the Army of Pyre down the throat of the Empress in Plateau City, then we’d win this war in no time.’
‘Damn right,’ muttered Denny.
Lennox glanced at his squad. ‘Cain might be right,’ he said, ‘but I know that something big’s planned for spring, and until then we do as we’re told and get on with it. We’re soldiers of Pyre, that’s what we do.’
The front door opened and Libby entered, carrying a large bag. Lennox got up and walked over, taking the heavy bag from her, knowing that she had just climbed three flights of stairs to deliver it.
‘Thanks,’ she said, smiling at him.
His heart soared as he gazed at her. He wished they were alone, and felt almost angry that the rest of the squad were there, watching.
‘Libby,’ said Carrie, ‘you’re a darling.’
‘Thought you might be feeling a bit rough,’ she said, squeezing onto the couch next to Loryn.
Lennox walked over to the table and began to unpack the bag, laying out the food that Libby had brought. Despite the weight, there wasn’t much to go around seven hungry Kellach Brigdomin. When it was all spread out on the table, Libby coughed.
‘We should say a few words of thanks before we eat,’ she said.
Lennox watched the rest of the squad exchange glances.
‘Pyre, the almighty Creator,’ Libby said, her eyes closed, ‘bless this food, and bless us today, as we try to do your work. Strengthen our faith, and bring us ever closer to your undying truth.’
Lennox saw Cain smirk. He glanced over, and his old friend caught his eye.
‘She’s yours now,’ Cain whispered, ‘and you’re fucking welcome to her.’
There were three ex-imperial galleys anchored in the wide, almost circular basin of the harbour. High cliffs shielded the southern edge, while a rocky spit of land came round from the north, creating a narrow entrance to the harbour. The empire had fortified the spit of land, and placed a chain across the entrance, controlled by a pair of towers. A far larger fleet had been stationed in the port on the day of the attack, but imperial sailors had fled in a few ships, and had managed to burn most of the rest, along with many of the equipment yards and storage depots that lined the harbour-front.
A cold rain was falling as the squad assembled on the quayside, the grey clouds above threatening more to come. The worst of the winter had passed, and the storms were fewer and less severe than they had been, but the water was still freezing, and the squad had been drenched several times during their training exercises.
An officer approached, wrapped in a long raincoat.
‘Fifth squad,’ he said. ‘Today you begin a new phase in your training; a step up from playing about in rowing boats.’ He pointed over at the galleys, visible through the mist and rain as great black bulks on the swelling waters of the harbour. ‘By the end of winter you’re going to be able to manoeuvre a galley, and board another, ship to ship, but first, you’ll be learning the basics. Commander Donne is waiting on the rightmost galley, for you and the other squads that have been selected.’ He waved along the side of the quay, where small groups of soldiers were standing. ‘When I blow this whistle, you and the other squads will report to your rowing craft, and race to the galley. The first squad there wins half tomorrow’s rations from the squad that comes last.’
Lennox glanced at the other squads. All along the quay, every soldier was watching the officer, their bodies tensed and ready.
‘Whatever happens,’ he muttered to the Fifth as the officer walked away, ‘we’re not coming in last.’
The officer stopped when he was halfway along the quay. He raised his arm, then blew the whistle. The harbour front exploded in movement as the squads began running to their boathouses. Lennox charged down the quay to where the Fifth’s boat was tied up. Libby pulled the tarpaulin cover off the twelve-foot craft as Lennox and Cain went to its stern and began pushing it down the ramp. Loryn climbed in as it was rushing down the greased slope, and took her position at the back, facing forwards. The planks at the bow dipped into the water as the keel slid, and the others leapt in. The boat bobbed and tilted as the soldiers scrambled to the benches, each reaching down to pick up their oars and attach them to the pins in the sides. They sat in pairs – Denny and Libby at the bow, Lennox and Cain in the middle, and Leisha and Carrie at the rear, all facing Loryn, who began to shout.
‘Pull!’ she cried, and the six soldiers heaved on the oars.
Spray soaked them as the wind bit through their clothes. Lennox tried to ignore the wet and the chill, and concentrated on listening to Loryn’s voice. They got into a rhythm, born from days of practice, whatever the conditions, and the boat moved swiftly through the water. The harbour wall grew more distant with every pull on the oars, the lone figure of the officer silhouetted in the mist as he stood on the quayside watching. Carrie threw up over her leathers, but kept pulling, her hair tangled and wild in the wind. The rate of Loryn’s cries quickened, and the boat sped up. The bow went over the edge of a deep swell, seemed to hover for a second, then smacked down and the front of the boat was deluged. Lennox heard Libby and Denny swear behind him as freezing cold water swept over the bow.
The boat righted itself and they carried on; the rain and the wind drowning out everything except Loryn’s cries.
‘Hard left!’ she shouted, and the soldiers on the right side of the vessel lifted their oars out of the water. A rope fell into the boat, and Lennox looked up to see the side of the galley a few feet away. He grabbed the rope and flung it to Libby, who secured it to the bow. Loryn did the same at the stern, and the boat was pulled alongside the galley. A rope ladder was lowered, and Cain took a hold of it.
Lennox glanced at Loryn. ‘Well?’
The young soldier pointed to their right, where another boat was still thirty yards from the galley.
‘Second Squad from Third Company,’ she said. ‘The whole lot of them were in Baxter’s last night.’
The Fifth laughed in relief.
‘Thank Pyre,’ said Lennox. ‘Right, let’s get our arses up on deck, and learn how to be sailors.’
The rain grew heavier as the day wore on, and by the time the squad was rowing back to the quayside, each one of them was exhausted and soaked. The officers insisted that everything was put away properly once the rowing boats were pulled up the quay ramps, and the lamps of the town were being lit for evening when they began their trudge home.
Beyond the walls that enclosed the harbour district, the streets of the town were quiet, with only a few Rahain patrols out braving the fierce weather. A few taverns in the Kellach district were open for business, but the soldiers were forbidden from spending their free time in places where the locals went, being restricted to a handful of designated bars near their billets. The townsfolk had remained quiet and obedient throughout the winter, and order had been maintained with a firm hand. It had been disturbing for the soldiers to witness Kellach Brigdomin civilians whose loyalties, despite being liberated, remained with the corrupt and wicked empire.
They turned a corner and entered a large square in the centre of the Kellach district, and the squad paused. At least a hundred Holdings civilians were standing out in the rain, many clutching onto baggage. A cordon of Rahain soldiers was guarding th
em. One of their officers glanced over as the squad approached.
Lennox raised an eyebrow.
‘This lot are being re-housed,’ said the officer, ‘along with half of the Holdings district.’
‘Are we getting reinforced?’
The officer nodded. ‘The civilians are making way for a battalion of Sanang warriors.’
‘Sanang?’
‘Rebels from the empire,’ the officer said, ‘and our new friends.’
Lennox nodded his thanks, and the squad continued on towards the tenement block where their apartment lay. None of the flats had running water, and so the squad washed and dried themselves in the communal bathrooms on the ground floor. Afterwards, they ate a cold dinner in the half-empty canteen, then hauled their gear up the flights of stairs to their rooms.
‘This is never going to dry out by the morning,’ Carrie said, holding up her sodden leathers as Denny knelt by the fireplace in their living room, coaxing the flames into life.
‘Just get everything ready as best you can,’ Lennox said. ‘We’re back out on the galley tomorrow.’
Cain groaned. ‘Pyre’s bollocks; we don’t belong on water.’
‘I’m going to bed,’ said Libby. ‘I’m knackered.’
‘Me too,’ said Leisha.
‘I was thinking about going to get a drink,’ Cain said. He glanced at Lennox. ‘Fancy one, boss?’
Lennox suppressed his surprise. ‘Aye, sure.’
‘I’ll come too,’ said Carrie, as Denny and Loryn both shook their heads.
‘Fine,’ said Cain, ‘the three of us will go. I just need to get my boots.’
He got to his feet and walked off to the room he shared with Denny. Lennox stood, and followed Libby to their own room.
‘Have a good time,’ Libby said, failing to hide a tightness in her eyes.
‘It’s the first time Cain’s asked me to go for a drink with him since the two of us got together.’
‘I know,’ she said, sitting on the bed.
He leant over and kissed her. ‘I won’t be too long.’
The Magelands Epic: Storm Mage (Book 6) Page 9