by Jeff Gunzel
“Oh, of that I’m certain,” Liam agreed, accepting her offered help as they limped toward one of the ravens.
Ignoring the shouts of praise raining down from the windows and rooftops, they mounted up to head back to the tower. A victory to be sure, but this was only the beginning. It hardly felt appropriate to be celebrating so soon.
Chapter 19
Eyes still open, Liam lay on his bed, staring at the far wall. It was the middle of the night, and he had long ago come to the conclusion that sleep would evade him this night. Not that it made any difference, not tonight, anyway. With a groan, he tossed back the covers and slowly sat up. Still plenty sore from his fall, the time spent lying here did little more than help to stiffen him up.
Moving gingerly across the room, he opened his closet door and grabbed the heavy clothes already set out. It was always cold in the mountains, but more so this deep into the night. After a quick pat-down to be sure he had everything he needed, he peeked out into the hall. Satisfied, he moved swiftly.
There were still a few spiritists roaming the halls even this late at night, but a disarming smile and acknowledging nod did wonders to dissuade any suspicions. For all they knew, the old man was just out stretching his legs.
Down the east hall and up a flight of steps, the icy winds smacked him right in the face when he pushed back the iron door. Immediately rubbing his shoulders to generate a little extra warmth, Liam stepped across the platform and approached one of the roped ravens. The knot was loose, and after a quick pull, the rope came free.
Coiled up in his hand, he held it tight for a long, tense moment, before tossing it to the ground. With a sigh, he slowly turned around.
“Do I need to worry?” Viola asked, standing only a few feet away from him. Her thin nightgown lifted and rippled with each gust of wind. Her vague question was strangely respectful given the suspicious circumstances. It was clear she had already come to the conclusion that whatever he was up to, she wasn’t going to be able to stop him.
“Yes, you do,” Liam said simply, his beard lifting off his chest with each gust of wind. They stood in silence for a time before Liam spoke again. “Do you trust me?” he asked.
“With my life.”
“Then I beg you not to ask me anything else. All will be revealed soon enough.”
“As you wish,” Viola said, stepping up to the old man. She rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek. Her lips were as cold as ice. “Then I await your return.” He watched her go back inside, never once looking back at him. He hated keeping secrets from her, but this was a special case. She would never understand.
Off he flew into the night. Even he wasn’t sure about this, but few things were certain in these troubled times. Risks had to be taken.
*
Flying low across the barren field, Liam set down near a large boulder with a few sparse trees scattered about. With practically nothing else around, the landmark was pretty unmistakable. This must be the place. Hopping down, he approached the boulder just as Jarlen appeared from behind one of the trees. Looking straight through the killer, Liam tried to assess the other possible hiding places. If this was indeed an ambush, he couldn’t possibly escape in time.
“I told you I would come alone,” Jarlen said, crossing his arms as he leaned into the tree. “But I don’t blame you for being suspicious. I suppose you have plenty of reasons not to trust me.”
“Gaining the trust of others is not one of your strong points,” Liam nearly laughed. But this arranged meeting was no laughing matter. It was a desperate move for both parties, a sign that circumstances had reached a critical state indeed. “But no matter, I came just as you requested.”
“Does Viola know you’re here?” Jarlen asked, his expression becoming quite serious.
“Of course not,” Liam answered. “But that doesn’t mean I am comfortable sneaking around behind her back like this. Believe it or not, she is my friend, Jarlen. And I don’t like keeping secrets from my friends. If you brought me here just to waste my time—”
“I’m sorry, old man, was sparing your life a mistake? Because it would be no bother to simply finish what I started.” Liam said nothing. It was true enough, Jarlen could have killed him but chose not to. The least Liam could do was hear him out.
“I gave you my word that I would meet with you,” Liam said. “But I must admit that I have no idea what good could possibly come from this.”
“Is the survival of your species not a high enough priority?” Jarlen asked.
“We are surviving.”
“As are we,” Jarlen quickly pointed out. “But for how much longer? I am no fool, Liam. I am perfectly aware of what will become of me once the humans have been eliminated. The ghatins will not stop until the entire realm has been purged of life.
“Does that mean I should wait while they do the work for me, knowing that I will still have to deal with them eventually? Should I sit by and watch while your rebels try to take them on alone? If by some small chance you actually succeed, your forces would be so depleted that I could move right in and crush you all. If I could be certain of this outcome, then that is exactly what I would do. Trust me, I’ve been entertaining the idea for some time now.”
“Why are you telling me your plans—” Liam began.
“But...what if the ghatins defeat your forces, as I suspect they will? They have the numbers, and you’re losing ground to them on a daily basis.”
Liam pressed his lips together. There was no denying the truth of that. The ghatins’ numbers were so great that they were able to split into much smaller groups, effectively covering large areas all at once. At this rate, there wouldn’t be a realm left to defend for much longer.
“If this were to happen, I would have to hope that your forces had weakened them enough so that my men could finish them off.” Jarlen stepped up close to Liam, looking up at the tall man. “These are my current options, and both require me to stand by and hope that things go according to plan. I told you before, I don’t take chances when it comes to my own survival. I can gamble on either side and hope for the best possible outcome, or...”
“Or you can choose a side and make sure,” Liam said. Jarlen said nothing, but his intent was clear. Joining up with them was as close to a sure thing as he could possibly hope for. “You’re insane.” Jarlen just smiled at that. “Why would we ever trust you?”
“Trust me?” Jarlen laughed. “As you already pointed out, gaining the trust of others isn’t exactly my strength. But lucky for me, it is not a priority either. As long as I’m being truthful, you should know that I would betray you in a heartbeat if I had something to gain by it. But as it stands, I value my own life more than anything I could possibly gain by betraying any of you.”
“Do you even hear yourself?” Liam scoffed. “Nothing you are saying has anything to do with real trust.”
“Oh, really?” Jarlen sneered. “Let me guess, this is not how ‘true’ friends view their loyalty to one another, correct? Then tell me, mystic, how often does a deal or promise made to a friend have a life-or-death tag attached to it? Not very often, I would imagine. Can you really not see how different this is? My offer goes well beyond your imagined loyalties and false faiths. The stakes are much higher than that.”
Liam kept his eyes on Jarlen, evaluating, assessing whether or not he was telling the truth. And to his great surprise, he most certainly was. He even saw something in those red eyes he never would have expected. Fear... Jarlen really was afraid.
“As long as our goals remained aligned, you have nothing to fear from me,” Jarlen said, seemly going out of his way to let the mystic look right into his soul. “And although you think I am a monster, there is one thing you never considered before. I never lie...
“Lying is what frightened men do to cover up their secrets when they are ashamed or fearful of what others might think. I have no reason to lie to you, for I am not the least bit afraid of you or your kind. What I fear has nothing to do with you.
“Make no mistake, you and your kind mean nothing to me. I offer an alliance based on need, not trust. As far as I’m concerned, you can keep your damn trust. It’s never served me before, and won’t serve me now. So now that you know exactly where I stand, do we have a deal?”
*
As Liam moved through the tower, Spiritists acknowledged him at every turn. But when they laid eyes on the mystic, their grins vanished like smoke. Some backed away completely, or simply stood in place while staring in awe.
There was no time to explain, so he just kept moving with little more than a glance in their direction. He couldn’t worry about this right now, he needed to find Viola and the others.
*
“No, I won’t listen to another word of this,” Viola protested, scanning the wall map from top to bottom. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through. There must be another way.”
“Viola, I have gone through every possible scenario multiple times,” Hamas said, tracing his finger from tack to tack. “There simply is no other way.”
“I won’t accept that!” Viola nearly punched the map, but held up her fist at the last second. Scattering all the carefully placed tacks was the last thing she wanted to do. “We know exactly where they’re going and when they will be there. How can we still not take advantage of that?” She scanned the map for the hundredth time, trying to find some way to believe her own words.
“What if we cut them off at Tyrand?” She jabbed her finger at the map. “Then pursued them across Asanold, Shootain, and Hillianton? If we forced them to retreat to the coast, we would—”
“Sacrifice the entire west region,” Hamas said, shaking his head.
“Wha-What if we split our forces and cover the west, including Umtington and Matrea? We could work our way back northeast and—” Her hand was beginning to tremble, and she couldn’t even finish her own sentence. Even she knew such a watered-down plan would mean dividing her forces into sets of five or fewer, hardly a sound battle strategy by any measure.
“Umtington is already gone,” Rishima said. “It fell two days ago.”
“And Matrea is a farming community with a population of only a few hundred,” Bella added. “We can’t possibly spare any resources for—” Yes, it made no sense to try and rescue such a small number of people, especially while the entire realm was being ravaged. But she didn’t dare put it like that. How could human lives be measured by cold, hard numbers? But that was what it had come down to.
Hamas allowed a yellow strand to run between his fingers as he moved his hand up to Matrea. The yellow strands represented the ghatins’ projected targets. “They are right in the line of fire; as we speak, the town we know will be gone by tonight. Even our best efforts couldn’t save them at this stage.” He pulled out the tack representing the small town and dropped it into a very full dish. Towns were getting sacked by the hour, and there seemed to be nothing they could do about it.
“Wait... Wait,” Viola said, her voice quivering. “We could—” She jabbed her finger at the map, her mind racing as she continually tapped it in place. “Or if we start in the north— No, no, we should—”
“Viola,” Bella said quietly, stepping up from behind. She put her hand on Viola’s shoulder, resting her forehead against the swell of her back. “I know how hard this is,” she whispered. “But you knew we couldn’t save everyone. Hamas is right, there is only one option left to us.”
Hamas was probably the least qualified person in the room to be giving advice on battle strategies, but he understood numbers like no other. Even if Viola didn’t want to see the truth of his assessment, that didn’t change the facts any.
Heads turned when the door creaked open and Liam walked in. “Liam, where have you—” Rishima began. The air in the room seemed to thin as everyone gasped at once.
With fire in her eyes, Viola stepped forward. “What is he doing here?”
Chapter 20
Flesh blades flashing, Viola charged across the room as the others dove to either side to get out of the way. Leaping over a chair, she soared through the air with murder in her eyes. But at the last second, she managed to pull up just in the nick of time. “Out of my way,” she growled, blade hovering just over Liam’s head. Jumping in the way of her attack was risky, and he was just glad to still have a head.
“Stand down,” Liam ordered, standing with his arms folded across his chest. “On my word I have granted him sanctuary, therefore he shall not be harmed.”
“You have no such authority!” Viola screeched.
“Don’t I?” Liam reasoned, carefully pushing her blade away with his fingertip. “I have sworn an oath to protect and serve you, but I serve the realm and all who dwell here first and foremost. If there is any way to save it, then it is my responsibility to do so. Under these extreme circumstances, I would say that any sacrifice is deemed acceptable, agree? More so if the price of that sacrifice is nothing more than foolish pride. Now, as protector of this realm, your personal advisor, but most of all your friend, I am asking you to stand down.”
“Better to do what the old man says,” Jarlen said, stepping out from around Liam’s back. “If his heart were to give out right here, there is little doubt I would be blamed for that as well.” Hands clasped behind his back, he whistled while weaving his way between everyone. Gazing up at the wall map, he finished his whistling with a single high note. With an understanding nod, he reached up and pulled out six more tacks. “Your map here requires a bit of revision. These towns are now gone as well.”
“Why?!” Viola shouted. “Why would you bring him here? Why would you promise him sanctuary, then parade him around in front of me like some prize? Do enjoy watching me suffer?”
“I would rather die than cause you any more pain,” Liam insisted. “I told you once before that when you are a leader of men, then you are the one forced to make the hard decisions. Well, that goes for me too. I saw no other choice, so I did what I thought was necessary.”
“Enough!” Rishima boomed. Throwing her head back, arms straight down at her sides, her presence suddenly filled the room. She may be aligned with the humans, but this tower was still her domain. She stormed across the room in two strides and pressed her chest up against Jarlen’s.
“Perhaps the human did offer you sanctuary,” she said, her eyes flaring. Caught off guard by her aggression, even Jarlen took a step back. “But I did no such thing, and I do not feel bound by the promise of another. You are standing in my tower, and I owe you nothing.
“Now, I’ve already heard from Liam, and I know exactly where Viola stands as far as you’re concerned. Now let us all hear what the murdering coward has to say. Convince me of your worth, for that is the only chance you have of leaving here alive.”
All the commotion had drawn quite a bit of attention. By now the hall was filled with armed spiritists blocking off every possible escape route. Several had entered the room with spears in hand, ready to act the moment the command was given. Jarlen would most likely kill many if he chose to try and fight his way out, but even he couldn’t defeat them all in these close quarters. It was only at this moment that he realized the seriousness of his predicament.
“My offer is a fair one,” Rishima added, taking a seat next to Bella. “So I suggest you try and take advantage.”
Jarlen sneered, then casually leaned against the far wall as he sized everyone up. After flashing Viola a particularly long glare, he finally spoke. “Very well, but let me make one thing clear to all of you. You can make all the threats you want, and I can counter those with threats of my own, but that endless circle of hollow words will not change the fact that we need each other.”
“We need nothing from you,” Viola hissed.
“Is that really your stance?” Jarlen asked, raising an eyebrow. “Or are you just trying to convince yourself?” He moved back over to the map and started jabbing at tacks and strings. “Because from where I’m standing, this war doesn’t seem to be going your w
ay.” Then, in a rare show of humility, he bowed his head and swallowed hard. “But I can’t exactly say it’s going my way either. The difference between us is that at least I can admit it.”
He sighed, then threw himself down on a chair and looked over at his sister. “I know your plan was to try and save all the humans. Even with my help, that simply is not possible. Put your hate for me aside for one second and admit that you can at least see the truth of that.”
Viola deflated, slinking down into the chair across from him. His words were much the same as everyone else’s. Somehow, to hear it from her most hated enemy just made it even more real. “I know,” she whispered. “But does that mean I shouldn’t try?”
“That is exactly what it means,” he said firmly. “Move forward with this plan to save everyone, and you’ll end up saving no one. Not even yourself.”
“You weren’t even here,” she said, perking up in her seat. “How would you even know what my plan was?”
Jarlen threw his head back and laughed. “How could I not have known? Of course you’re going to try and save everyone, no matter how absurd the odds are. We both know your thinking will never change.” The humor bled from his face. “But we all have our limits, don’t we? And I’m afraid you have reached yours. Like it or not, you are going to need my help. And that means you will have to find some way to trust me.”
This time Viola was the one to laugh. “So that’s it, then? I should just accept you with open arms and forgive you after all you have done?”
“Accept me? No, of course not. I could never expect that at this stage. But for once in your life, would you step back and see the bigger picture? Instead of accepting me as an equal, think of me as a tool to be used if that makes it easier.”
“How?” Viola said. “How do I go to my men and tell them that I’ve struck an alliance with our sworn enemy? I will look—”
“Weak?” Jarlen growled. “As weak as the man who must go deliver a similar message to his own men? I don’t see any difference. But I do know this, if you do not accept my offer...you will look dead.” He sprang from his chair to address everyone at once. “If we do not join forces against this shared enemy, then everyone will die! Am I really the only one who can see that? Is your pride really more valuable than your lives?”