by Dan Decker
“You know the innkeep—” He stopped short when he realized that he was alone. Kura had disappeared. He couldn't blame her for going. The last remaining turncoat was hunting Adar, not her. If he'd been in her position, he would have done the same thing.
He moved closer to the Hunwei and reached out a hand. After pausing just above the armor and feeling no heat, he put his hand on it. It was cool to the touch. A moment of indecision swept over him. He wanted to push the Hunwei over to see what would happen when it hit the ground. The fire that killed them had been intense. Had the armor maintained its integrity?
He lowered his hand. Maybe if he had time after taking care of the last turncoat. With the woman out of the picture and two out of three turncoats already dead, the chances of him going head to head with the last Hunwei turncoat and surviving had gotten better. Assuming of course that there weren't any other turncoats about. He thought of the blasts he'd heard coming from the next house over and retraced his steps back to the hallway. When he peeked out his head, the door at the end was still flapping in the wind and rain.
He was done running from Hunwei. Or from turncoats. Or anything else that this crazy new world was going to throw at him.
The door stopped moving, and the turncoat stepped in with his blaster ready. Adar ducked back into the common room. The hallway was silent, and Adar couldn't decide if the turncoat had seen him. The longer the quiet stretched out, the more certain he became that the turncoat knew he was here. Adar had just taken several steps back, angling for a position of cover, when something rolled down the hallway floor and came to a stop just outside the doorway of the common room. It emitted a hissing sound.
Adar backed away, chiding himself for his thought just moments before about not running away anymore. Sometimes running was the only thing to do. He had a bad feeling about this.
As the hissing got louder, he moved faster. He didn't hesitate any longer to knock over the dead Hunwei at the door. He barely even paused to watch as the corpse hit the ground. From what he saw, the armor wasn’t damaged by the fall, but he didn’t stick around long enough to find out for sure.
By that time, the hissing had become a high-pitched whine. Adar hadn't heard the sound before in all of his dealings with the Hunwei, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bomb. He was in a flat out run when a blast flew by him. Without a second thought, he dove and rolled, losing both of his spare blasters in the process.
Another blast came within inches of him as it tore through the cobblestone road, spurring him back to his feet. He hopped over the fence of the large home where he'd first spotted the Hunwei turncoats.
He flubbed the landing and almost twisted an ankle when his foot caught on one of the turncoats he'd killed earlier. He fell in a heap and rolled close to the body for cover. The long groove that had been made by the blast down the back of the turncoat's armor was a testament to the fact that the armor wouldn't protect Adar, but there wasn't much else for cover. He would have moved, but it was either this or a rose bush that was several feet back.
He wiped the rain out of his face with one hand as he brought up his blaster with the other. All was quiet, but he could see the turncoat approaching through a hole in the fence that had been made by a blast. Adar recognized it as having been made by a shot that he'd taken.
Lightning flashed in the sky above, and it was followed a few seconds later by rolling thunder. He aimed his blaster through the hole, but he could no longer see the approaching Hunwei.
“Bleeding Melyah's nine burning fires,” Adar muttered as he shifted trying to gain a new vantage point. It didn't help. He moved again, careful to keep from doing anything that would make any sound. His head was sopping wet. When he shifted, rainwater slid into his eyes. He blinked it away and continued to slide to the side.
When he finally saw the Hunwei turncoat, a stab of panic filled him. Adar looked up from the hole and above the fence. The turncoat was scanning the garden.
Adar didn't dare breathe as he raised his blaster and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
But the trigger made a quiet clicking sound that drew the turncoat's attention. Adar sprung up and vaulted over the fence, pushing the turncoat's blaster away as he fired. A small flash of light that was similar to lightning traveled from the arm of the turncoat to the blaster.
With his other hand, Adar pulled out the Ou Qui dagger and plunged it into the neck of the turncoat. He hooked his foot behind the man's boot and pushed him over, snatching away his blaster as he fell. The man hadn't even landed before Adar put a blast through the man's chest.
Lighting cut through the sky again, highlighting the eyes of a much older man as his life ebbed away. Surprised, Adar reached down and pulled off the man's helmet, confirming that the man was in his fifties.
Adar wondered if he'd been the leader of the group. He couldn't be certain, but he believed that all the other turncoats he'd killed had been young men.
“Why?” Adar asked himself.
A look of surprise crossed the man's face. He opened his mouth and spoke. Whatever it was he said, Adar could not understand it. Once he was dead, Adar picked up the blasters that he'd lost earlier and headed in the direction of the Arches at a run, traversing the alleys and backways of the city without pause.
He slowed before he made it more than a couple of blocks. He gripped the blaster in his hands as he tried to beat back the fear that was pushing him forward. He'd lost time in fighting the turncoats. Enough time had passed that if Tere had been planning to ambush him, he would have had ample opportunity to set up a trap or two as well.
Adar came to a stop and after seeing that he was alone, closed his eyes while taking several deep breaths. There might be other Hunwei turncoats or even Hunwei close by, but he might not be as lucky as he had been last time if he faced Tere again while his blood was still hot. The fight with the turncoats had only served to stoke the flames.
His face felt flush both from anger and the physical exertion of running. The rain had lessened somewhat, and he was soaked through. He had no idea how long it had been since his fight with Tere in the archives. Time had lost all meaning. The sun was behind the dark gray clouds and of no help.
Tere had revealed what he'd done, hoping to take advantage of Adar's anger. It had almost worked, but now that the truth was out, there could be no hiding from what Tere had confessed.
Adar tried to put himself in Tere's shoes and was unable to make sense of things. Tere had been despondent and withdrawn for much of the trip from Neberan to Zecarani. Adar had assumed that Tere had felt that way because of the situation with the Hunwei and his personal animosity towards Adar. What if there was something more to it?
What if the guilt had been eating at Tere all these years? Would it be enough to make him think twice about killing Karn? There had been a time when Adar would have depended on Tere for almost anything. When Adar was honest with himself, he'd been hopeful that things might be repaired. Tere had been a good man.
Adar pushed his questions to the side as he ran. He would act as if Tere had killed Karn and was planning an ambush until he knew differently.
Chapter 7
Neare and Erro’s path to the home had been blocked when a group of Hunwei marched through, herding people before them as if they’d been cattle. At that point, if it would have only been Neare, he would have ditched Thon and made a break for it. Instead, he and Erro had abruptly turned and gone the other way, dragging Thon behind them without regard to his condition. More than once Neare looked back over his shoulder, expecting that the Hunwei would be chasing after them, but he’d been surprised to see nothing of the sort.
Neare had lost count of the homes and streets they’d passed while they’d dragged the man away as fast as they could. At one point, he’d checked on Thon and decided that they were rescuing a corpse. Thon’s head hung, bouncing around whenever they dragged him over a rough stone, or one of them lost a grip on his hand.
Pu
lling to a stop, Neare had been about to prevail on Erro that Thon was dead when the man had moved, coughing and muttering something that Neare had been unable to hear.
Biting off a curse, Neare saw that they were alone and headed towards the closest structure, which turned out to be another home. It was made of red brick. A wooden bench on the porch had been smashed. Neare envisioned a Hunwei falling on it and figured that he wasn’t too far wrong. The door had been busted off the hinges and flung across the room.
He relaxed even further when he saw the disarray of the sitting and dining rooms. The Hunwei weren’t going to walk past this house and think they needed to check it out again. Chairs were overturned, windows had been broken, and a bookshelf had been pulled to the floor. A fire burned on the hearth of the dining room, but it was low and hadn’t been tended to in some time.
A table not far from the fire had miraculously survived through all the rest of the damage. Neare considered placing Thon there until he looked down at the bleeding man and realized that even if he and Erro could lift him, his weight might break the table legs.
“Quick,” Neare said once they’d pulled Thon off to the side and out of view of the doorway. “Scour the house for anything we can use as a bandage.” Erro opened his mouth, but Neare stopped him with a growl. “Just go. Anything will do.”
Neare turned his back to his son and knelt beside Thon as he pulled out the long handled knife that he kept on his belt opposite his sword. Erro hadn’t moved yet, and Neare shook his head. He would have thought given the urgency of the situation his son would have obeyed an order. It had been too much to hope for. When Neare realized he was clenching his teeth, he relaxed his jaw and stared into the eyes of his son.
“A knife?” Erro asked without breaking eye contact. “What’s that—”
“Go now,” Neare said quietly. “You’re the one that insisted we couldn’t leave him. Stop babbling and be useful if you want to help me do what we can for him.”
Babbling indeed, Neare thought. If I have to tell him another time to shut up about Jorad, I’ll leave him here, Hunwei or no. It was a harsh thought, but he didn’t like the implied accusation his son had made when staring at the knife.
It reminded him too much that he was capable of such things.
Neare sliced through Thon’s shirt and pulled it off. He counted the wounds and shook his head. “Four. You hear that boy? Man’s been stabbed four times. Thon’s a strong lad, but not many people would survive something like this.” Thon’s chest still moved, but it was barely perceptible. “He’s alive but he may not be for long, and he won’t live unless you get moving. You want to take now to address everything you’re angry about or do you want to help your friend?”
“I’m going to kill Jorad if I ever see him again,” Erro said.
Neare growled and opened his mouth to yell but bit it off, afraid that the noise would bring unwanted attention.
“Yes,” Neare said when he was certain he could keep his voice quiet, “I’m sure you will.” Assuming Soret isn’t nearby. “Bandages, now! And stoke up that fire while you’re at it.”
Erro finally went, and Neare shook his head. His boy didn’t have what it took to kill somebody and given their current situation, Neare wasn’t sure that was a good thing. They both had tough decisions ahead of them. Hesitation would get them both killed.
Neare looked down at Thon, his eyes narrowing. This was a waste of time. Thon was barely breathing. They needed to get out of here. Neare had seen what the Hunwei had done to the men back at Neberan. The memory of the massacre made bile rise in the back of his throat.
Was it wise to let one man put both Erro and Neare at risk? Not to mention the others.
The rest of the group that Neare had left outside the city wouldn’t know what to do without Neare to guide them. Too many were younger than Erro. What was to be gained if Neare died here helping a man that might not live? What would happen to all the others?
He hoped the Hunwei wouldn’t return here, but that was no guarantee. He needed to help Erro face the facts. Thon didn’t have much of a chance. Neare snorted. It was worse than that. Thon would almost certainly die. Neare had been afraid of having another death hanging around his neck, but what was that compared to all the others who were dependent on him?
Neare looked up as his hand gripped the handle of his knife a little tighter, Erro had disappeared into a back room. Neare could hear him as he rummaged around. Thon’s chest was bloody enough that Erro wouldn’t notice if Neare were to enlarge one of the wounds.
A blade straight to the heart would stop the feeble breathing that was left, he thought. One quick movement and I’ll put an end to all this madness. There was even a wound he could use. Steeling his will for what he was about to do next, Neare looked down and saw Thon had opened his eyes and was looking at him.
Neare froze, afraid Thon was able read his intentions. After a pause, he smiled down at the wounded man. “Don’t worry, we got this old fella. Just finished cutting off your shirt. We’ll make sure you get through this.”
Thon squeezed his eyes shut without a word and groaned. His mouth was crusted over with dried snot and dirt.
Firming his face, Neare brought his knife up and was about to slam it down when he saw Erro heading back into the room. Neare suppressed a frown and instead cleaned his blade on Thon’s shredded shirt before putting it away.
Erro hadn’t noticed anything because he would have commented on it. That was one thing Neare could always count on his son to do, speak his mind without any thought of the consequence. Erro was carrying an armful of sheets and blankets, far more than they would need.
Neare sent Erro for water hoping to put an end to Thon while his son was gone, but Erro returned quickly, having found a full pail in the kitchen. Sighing with resignation, Neare went to work.
It took the better part of an hour to clean and bandage Thon’s wounds. Erro managed to rummage up a ladle and tried to get Thon to drink some water with little success. Erro kept saying reassuring words to Thon, even though Neare had told him to hush more times than he could count. It wasn’t the comforting intent that was annoying, it was Erro’s promise that Jorad wouldn’t get away the next time Erro saw them.
As usual, the lad didn’t pay any attention to Neare’s admonitions and kept at it. Talking about how he suspected Adar must have been involved with Bram’s death as well. It was enough to make a man go insane. Neare stood and paced so he wouldn’t have to continue to listen.
Eventually, Erro gave up on getting Thon to drink and finally shut up about getting his revenge on Jorad and Adar.
After a few more minutes of pacing in silence, Neare realized that it had become quiet outside as well. He hesitantly peered out the door. It took him several moments before he realized that he could still hear blasters in the distance.
He stepped outside and was thrown back by a sudden gust of wind that hit the home with enough force that if he hadn't grabbed onto the doorframe, he would have been tossed to the floor for sure. He slid around into the home and put his back to the wall as the wind continued unabated for several long minutes. The books that had spilled were flipped open, and pages were turning, the table in the dining room was blown off its legs and slammed into the wall.
Erro had hunkered over Thon, shielding his face from most of the blast, the wind ripping at their clothes and hair.
Neare thought of moving into a back room, but when he took a hesitant step forward, the wind caught him and almost pulled him down. He thrust himself back to the wall. After the wind had passed, the sounds of the Hunwei’s confounded weapons didn’t return.
He’d figured that the Hunwei had left, which was why he was surprised when he once again heard the sound of the Hunwei weapons half an hour later.
Neare had slid to the floor to catch his breath while thinking through what had happened. He got to his feet, tread lightly over to the door, and looked out. A moment later Erro joined him on the other side.
“I’d thought they were gone,” Erro said, his voice cracking as he spoke.
Neare snorted. “Make no assumptions, that’s how people die.”
They both stood at the door, waiting while the blasters continued to fire. It didn’t last long before returning to silence. Neare sat in a chair. Trying to decide what to do next. He glanced over at Thon, hoping that the man had stopped breathing so they could just leave him, but his chest still moved. If anything, it looked as if his breathing had improved.
By Veri and all else that is sacred! Neare thought. What I wouldn’t give for a little bit of luck just now.
“Come away from there,” Neare said when he noticed that Erro had lost all sense of caution and was standing in the doorway as if there wasn’t anything to fear outside. Erro didn’t move. “Stand to the side.”
For once, Erro listened and moved.
Neare stared at Thon, wishing that the man would just stop breathing. Perhaps he could send Erro into the back rooms to look for something. If Neare were to move quickly, he could remove a bandage, do the deed and cover it back up before Erro returned.
After giving it several minutes of thought, he was unable to come up with anything that he could send Erro to find. He stood and paced, trying to decide if it was worth the risk of leaving the home to circle around the block.
If the Hunwei had left, it was time for them to do the same.
As the minutes stretched by there were several more blasts but they were all muffled. Neare was close to venturing outside when he heard an explosion. It was louder than a blast but not as large as some of the explosions that had occurred during the invasion. It hadn’t been very far away, maybe a block or two over. Thon stirred at the sound but didn’t wake. The bleeding man’s condition had improved. He was breathing easier and wasn’t as pale as he had been.