The Narrow Path To War

by D L Frizzell

  Kate pulled her hood further over her face. He could no longer see her expression but noticed that she shifted excitedly in her saddle. “Okay, deputy,” she said. “Let's go back to the colonel.” As she galloped back to the group, Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He watched her bounce in the saddle for a few moments, and then spurred Althayr into a gallop to catch up with her.

  Wyler joined Seneca at the wagon, holding a pair of binoculars. “I don’t see any tracks, so no one's been here since the rain," he said. "Do I have time to recon a larger area?”

  "Let's see what Miss Runaway has to say first." Seneca said as he watched as Kate approached. “I don’t know how reliable she is, but we could spend days looking for tracks and falling further behind.

  “Miss Runaway,” Seneca said as the two reached their position, “Here’s your chance to shed some light on your claims.”

  “We’re not looking for a shed,” she replied, “We’re looking for a tree. It’s over there.” She pointed to the distant group of Mokri trees.

  Seneca closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. “Deputy,” he said to Alex, “I hope you’ll be able to translate whatever she says into plain language for us.”

  “I’ll try, Colonel,” Alex said. Seneca spurred his horse in the direction she pointed, and everyone followed.

  When they reached the trees, Kate began riding back and forth, looking at the ground. The trees had been recently cleaned of sap, just like the ones near the wagon. After a few turnarounds and a long pause, she climbed off her horse and walked up to a tree.

  Alex stayed on his horse along with the rest of the squad and watched her as she jumped up to the tree’s lowest branch and started swinging back and forth. She let her legs dangle as she twisted back and forth, looking right and left. Seneca watched impatiently, and then beckoned Alex with a single bend of his index finger.

  “I don’t have time to babysit her while she looks for a swing set to play on,” he said sternly under his breath to Alex. “If she doesn’t give us something in five minutes, I’m going to send you two back to Edgewood.” Alex could see he wasn't joking. Seneca walked his horse up to her. She gave him a sideways glance as he approached.

  “This is not a playground, Kate,” Seneca started, then stopped. He noticed the branch she was swinging from. Next to each of her hands, the bark had been rubbed off, exposing the wood underneath. They matched the rope burns on her wrists.

  Without answering, she let go of the branch and dropped to the ground. Seneca circled the tree, keeping his eye on Kate. There were gashes on the tree trunk, cuts filled with congealed sap. Unlike the notches that grovers made to direct the flow of sap into basins placed beneath the trees, these cuts were uneven and crisscrossed. He dismounted his horse and came in for a closer examination. Someone had been hacking at this tree with a blade. Seneca could imagine someone shielding themselves from an attacker behind the tree.

  He noticed a glint on the ground nearby and climbed off his horse to get a closer look. He brushed the sand away and unearthed a slim, wooden handle. There was a strip of metal concealed within that looked as if it pivoted outward. He tapped it against the tree to dislodge the sand and found a tang at one end. He recognized the object and flipped it open. He wiped the sand off the silver blade with one finger, noting it was keenly sharpened.

  Seneca saw Kate kneeling in the sand, facing away from him, digging up something else from the sand. He folded the straight razor back into its handle and dropped it in his vest pocket. When he stepped toward her, she spun around and lunged back at him. He had no time to react as she shoved him into the tree trunk with a strength that astounded him. In her right hand was a parlo blade, still dirty with sand. She pushed him against the tree, with the half-opened restraint dangling from her left wrist. Seneca felt the blade push against his abdomen and stop just shy of puncturing his uniform. He knew his only response could be to put his hands up. Any other action would get his intestines exposed.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Seneca could see his own face reflected in each lens of Kate’s goggles. Her complete lack of emotion was a stark contrast to the surprise he could see in his own eyes. “It’s mine,” she said to him.

  “Okay,” he replied, thinking she meant the parlo blade. “I didn’t know you were a Jugguard.”

  “Let him go, Kate,” Niko said. He had reacted when he saw her uncover the parlo knife from the sand moments but could not close the distance between them before she made her move on Seneca. He pointed his pistol in her direction, keeping it aimed at the sand near her feet. “He’s not your enemy.”

  “It’s mine,” she repeated. “I want it back.”

  “Can you tell me what you're talking about?" Seneca asked.

  With her left forearm still against his chest, she moved her hand over his vest pocket and reached in to get the straight razor. As she pulled it out, she kept the parlo knife pressed against his belly as she flicked the blade from the handle. Seneca winced as she turned it over and examined it, seeing its reflection near his throat in her goggles.

  “Kate,” Niko warned. “I’d like to keep this friendly. We’re after the bad men, remember? Colonel Seneca trusted you enough to bring you along.”

  “I can’t hear you,” she said.

  “Kate,” Alex said. He had gotten off his horse and eased behind Seneca. Kate turned her head slightly to look at him. “We can’t tell what you’re thinking, either.”

  She looked back at Seneca, her expression unreadable behind the goggles. She looked at Alex. “You can’t?”

  “No,” Alex replied. “We’re a little confused right now. I thought we were starting to trust each other.”

  “Do you hear trust?” she asked.

  Alex swallowed hard, his mouth dry. Here she was, not making any sense, holding Seneca hostage with a Jug weapon. The whole team had their weapons drawn, waiting for an opportunity to take her down. Seneca stood like a statue, save for the sweat forming on his brow. “I don’t know what trust sounds like,” Alex said. “I only know...what it looks like.” He turned to Niko and the rest of the men. “Put your weapons away,” he said to them.

  Niko hesitated. He looked back at the soldiers behind him and knew the standoff could end badly if Kate thought they were threatening her. Slowly, he re-holstered his pistol and backed away. “Alex is right,” he said. “Put your guns away and back off. I don’t think Kate wants to hurt anyone.”

  Seneca remained motionless.

  “I trust you, Kate,” Alex said. “But you don’t hear it. I think you trust me, but I don’t see it.” He hoped that made sense. His words sounded right when he looked at her, even though they sounded crazy in the back of his mind. He could see she was now looking straight at him. “Can you show me you trust me?”

  “I want to hear you,” she said slowly, “but I don’t think I can. Do you hear me?” she asked Alex. It was almost as if she were pleading with him.

  Alex’s mind raced. How could he answer her? He was afraid the wrong answer would end in disaster for Colonel Seneca. He sensed Kate was a creature of truth, albeit a misguided one. “I don’t know,” he finally replied. “I want to.”

  Seneca felt her release the slightest amount of pressure on the blade. He realized he’d been holding his breath, but still had a hard time breathing because his future rested on the negotiating skills of a socially inexperienced deputy with a crazy nomad girl.

  Kate stood, not moving the knife or the razor from their positions. She seemed to have forgotten that she was holding a man’s life in her hands. She and Alex stared at one another without saying a word. Niko had backed away several steps, and now waited for Kate’s next move. The rest of the squad had retreated to a distance of a hundred meters, though a few had rifles at their side to use them in case the situation worsened again. The silence continued until Kate seemed to realize Seneca was still there in front of her. She looked down at the blades and dropped them to the ground.

  Everyone
let out a collective sigh of relief, none more so than Seneca, who lowered his arms and moved around the tree to get away from her. The squad brought their weapons up to their shoulders and awaited their next orders.

  Kate held out both hands for Alex to see her palms. He exchanged a quick look with Seneca and walked up to her.

  “These are yours?” he asked after he picked up the parlo knife and the straight razor.

  “The small one is,” Kate answered. “The other one belonged to the bad man.” She pointed at the ground to the west. Seneca looked where she indicated. He noticed an uneven mound in the sand about fifty meters away. Niko also noticed it and follow him. Alex stayed with Kate.

  When they reached the mound, they noticed a red discoloration near one end. Niko walked up next to it to examine it closer and felt his boot come down on a soft spot next to the mound. He kicked the sand back from his footprint and saw a hand.

  “Hang on,” Seneca waved him back. He pulled out his sword and began probing the sand around the arm. It didn’t take long to map out the arm’s location, so he pried it up to get a better look. It had been partially desiccated in the heat, then reconstituted in the wet sand during the rain. The result was a loosely assembled collection of flaky, putrid flesh packaged in a sleeve. “He’s in pretty bad shape,” Seneca told them. “Been dead a few weeks. Try to uncover the body without damaging it too much.”

  “Right,” Niko said, covering his nose with his sleeve. Together, they pulled up on the shirt and unearthed the corpse. It was face down, stained with blood around the mid-section. Long, jet-black hair was arranged in a sloppy braid on the back of the head.

  Seneca pulled back on the braid, then nodded in recognition at the bearded face. “Jug,” he said. He let the body drop back into the sand. Standing up, Seneca faced the squad at the trees. “Spot! Get over here on the double!”

  Corporal Wyler grabbed his gear and ran over to join the colonel.

  “What can you tell me here?” Seneca asked.

  Wyler looked around, knelt down and sifted a handful of sand through his fingers. He looked over the body, then stood and studied the area. After a minute, he headed toward the southwest, scanning the path ahead of him as he went. He went about ten paces before turning around and coming back.

  “They went this way,” Wyler reported. “No doubt about it.”

  “Because?” Seneca asked.

  “It wasn’t just this guy,” Wyler replied, pointing at the dead Jug, “and it wasn’t an isolated group wandering through.” He pointed at the ground and traced off a depressed line in the sand that led into the distance. “Their tracks were mostly washed away, but the trail wasn’t. It looks like there have been Jugs travelling back and forth from this grove to the Crumbles for some time.”

  “What were they doing?” Niko asked.

  “Best I can tell," Wyler answered, "They’re stealing sap."

  “Are you sure?” Niko asked. “What the hell sense does that make?”

  “There’s sap all through the sand here, like it was leaking out of something,” Wyler replied.

  Alex and Kate stood next to the tree, watching the soldiers discuss their next move. Alex was trying to come up with some helpful ideas but didn’t think they'd want him or Kate around anymore. He raised Kate's hands and eyed the shackle attached to her left wrist. He reached for the open one hanging below it and looked at it. “How did you open this?” he asked her.

  “It’s easy,” she said, and proceeded to contort her wrist within the remaining shackle and slid it out with minimal effort. They jingled as they hit the sand.

  “Double-jointed,” Alex said. “It figures. I guess we won’t need them anymore,” He picked up the shackles and put them in his vest.

  “I won’t take them off,” Kate said to him. “You can put them back on me.”

  Alex thought about it. He felt it wasn’t right but knew Seneca and Zand would disagree. He did put them back on, this time keeping them loose. He wanted to show Kate he trusted in her, so he reached into his vest pocket and pulled the straight razor out.

  “You killed the Jug with this?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then you should hang onto it in case we run into them again.” He gave it to her.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly. She brushed the razor’s handle clean, then put it in her pants. Alex thought she wanted to say more. Instead, she turned to look in Seneca’s direction.

  Alex saw Wyler giving his report in the distance. He put his hand on Kate’s shoulder to direct her back to her horse. “We’d better mount up. I have a feeling we’re heading back to Edgewood.”

  “Okay,” she replied. As they walked, she drew very close to him and put her hands around his arm. He wasn’t sure how to react. When he saw her gazing up at him, he decided not to resist.

  “So,” he tried to make small talk, “that’s quite a straight razor. It’s not a very common weapon for people to carry.”

  “I shave with it,” she replied.

  “Oh,” he said.

  Alex finished helping Kate onto her horse when Seneca, Niko, and Wyler returned. They motioned for him to wait as they spoke briefly with the rest of the soldiers. When they were done, they approached Alex and Kate with solemn looks.

  “Kate,” Niko said. “I need to check your shackles.”

  She nodded and got off her horse. Niko checked her, more interested in her bruises and half-healed wounds. He turned her hands over and examined both sides. The he pulled a key out and took the shackles off. Alex’s mouth fell open in surprise. Kate just scratched her backside.

  “We owe you an apology, Miss Runaway,” Niko said contritely. “I accused you of theft without checking out your story, and I put you through a lot of unnecessary trouble.” He handed the cuffs to Alex. “We found this on the trail.” He handed Kate a leather strap with familiar designs on it. “This matches the harness you were using when you rode into Edgewood. The Jug was wearing it around his waist.”

  She nodded.

  “In our judgment,” Seneca said, also in a humble voice, “all the evidence points to the conclusion that you defended yourself against an attacker and took only what he had in his possession at the time of his death.”

  She nodded again.

  “You've helped us on our mission," Seneca continued, "even though we had that misunderstanding a few minutes ago. There were circumstances I wasn’t aware of at the time, so I would also like to apologize for my behavior.”

  “I…see…what you are saying,” Kate replied. “What does it mean?”

  “You’ve not been formally charged,” Niko told her. “You are still in Deputy Vonn’s custody, though. It is up to him what to do next.” He looked at Alex.

  “I think,” Alex replied with a sigh of relief, “that charges will not be placed.”

  The corners of Kate's mouth turned up slightly for the second time.

  “I’m glad that’s taken care of," Seneca said. "Let's skip the group hug, though. We have work to do.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  “I'd say it's no coincidence these tracks are here,” Wyler told Seneca. "We don't know where the Jovian is going, but it's a fair bet that he's on the same course as the Jugs who took the sap."

  "The trail only gets you to the bottom of the Crumbles," Niko said. "Even if they left a trail of sap on the boulders, chances are it's been washed off by the rain."

  "I need someone who has experience on the boulders," Seneca said. He turned to Kate. "I could use any assistance you can provide, Miss Runaway."

  Alex was taken aback. "So now Kate is invited onto the team, and I'm not?"

  "We need a guide," Seneca replied. "If you want to help further, I'm sure Ranger Zand could use some assistance in Edgewood."

  "You need me, and you know it," Alex fired back. "Colonel, I guarantee that it’s too late to worry about one or two guys running for the Narrow. You are now far outnumbered."

  "Explain," Seneca said.

&n
bsp; "Jugs have been moving bagfuls of sap up the boulders for who knows how long," Alex explained. "Do you think they took all that sap and just went home with it? You can bet your ass they have an outpost up there on the ridge. And guess what, they're expecting you now."

  Seneca looked at Niko, who nodded in agreement.

  "You need me," Alex told Seneca, "and I don't especially care if you like the idea or not."

  "Alex isn't coming?" Kate asked, confused.

  "I am coming," Alex told her.

  "She's the one who's been up there," Seneca said. "Her knowledge may be useful. Go home, Alex."

  "You didn't want to involve me because I was an unknown," Alex snapped, "but it's okay to make an exception for her? I'm not buying it, colonel."

  Seneca stood his ground. "You're starting to sound a lot like Redland, Alex."

  Alex couldn't believe his ears. "What?!"

  "He put these thoughts in your head," Seneca replied, "and now you're becoming just as belligerent as he is. I don't need that right now."

  "I don't need Redland to tell me what the right thing to do is!" Alex shouted.

  “I’m going back to Edgewood,” Niko interrupted. “I need to report the missing sap to the governor and the Council. Alex. You can head back with me or do whatever you think is appropriate.” He paused. “After all, you're an independent agent, Deputy Vonn.”

  Seneca glared at Niko.

  “I'm going up the Crumbles," Alex said, "with or without your blessing, colonel."

  "I will stay with Alex Deputy Vonn," Kate said.

  Seneca shook his head angrily. "Miss Runaway, I need you to help me."

  "You're going to take a civilian into harm's way, colonel?" Alex mocked. "That doesn't sound right. I have a better idea." He took the star off his chest and handed it to Kate. "Since I don't have a spare badge, I'll have to let you borrow mine until I get another one."

  "Why?" Kate asked.