War of the Fathers: War of the Fathers Universe: Volumes One - Three Box Set (War of the Fathers Series Box Set Book 1)

by Dan Decker

When Adar reached the intersecting alleyway, he paused and peered in the direction that Billy and Isak had just come from. A group of armed men rushed his way. Cursing, he turned back and rather than risking the barrels again, he chose to run in the direction that Billy and Isak had just gone, retracing his own steps down the alley. He didn’t slow when he got to the street, afraid the men behind him had already entered the alleyway as well.

  Luckily, the street was clear.

  He went the opposite direction that Isak and Billy would have gone. He dove behind a bush. It was in the front yard of a home that had red paint peeling off the wood siding. The ground between the home and the bush was a garden, overgrown with weeds. The roof was in desperate need of repair.

  He turned himself about and went up on a knee while bringing up his blaster, prepared to fire if they came looking for him. The men didn’t stop when they hit the street and headed after Isak, running as if they knew the exact spot where Tate had died. The tavern was probably a favorite spot of theirs, Kura was likely somebody they all knew.

  Ten men, Adar thought. I should have slit Billy’s throat as well. When they don’t find me, they’re going to blame her. He pushed back the guilt he felt about the danger she was in and tried to tell himself that having the blaster would be enough for her but knew that wasn’t true. He would have difficulty handling a dozen men with the weapon. Not to mention the fact that it could stop working at any time. He hesitated about what to do as he watched them run. She was a savvy woman, she could handle herself. She didn’t even thank him for rescuing her.

  Adar knew her type, the prickly woman that would almost have preferred to have something bad happen to her than be rescued by a man.

  I wouldn't want to be rescued by a woman either. Or by anyone. If he were to go after the men, what then? He’d be forced to take down all of them. He could wait until they found Kura and then help, risking detection and capture while he waited. If she were smart, she would have already left town. He would have to hope that Kura had done just that.

  After the men had disappeared, a door opened. A woman exited the home that Adar had almost stopped to investigate but had decided against it.

  When he saw that she had a blaster, he groaned. She looked both ways before crossing the street and heading to the bush where he hid.

  “You in there?” Kura asked when she got closer. She had changed clothes and was no longer wearing a dress. The coat, blouse, breeches, and boots she wore looked suitable for the woods. She shivered as she wiped the rain out of her face with one hand while holding the blaster with the other.

  At least she hadn’t yelled out to him, waving her arms while crossing the street. He would have appreciated it though if she had waited to speak until she was closer to the bush and only then if she used a whisper.

  Adar hesitated, but remaining silent wouldn’t keep her from talking more, so he stood and beckoned to her with his blaster while holding a finger to his lips.

  “How long have you been following me?” He made a point of whispering, something he was glad to see she noticed when she replied.

  “Do you realize what kind of trouble you’ve caused me?” Kura’s blaster was pointed his way, but her finger wasn’t on the trigger and her hand wasn’t covering the button on the stock. He reached out and moved it until it was pointing a different direction. He didn't know enough about how these worked to want the wrong end of one pointing his way, even if he was reasonably certain that it wouldn't go off.

  “Trouble? Most people would say thanks to the man that saved them from a couple of armed men.”

  “I had the situation under control.”

  Adar's laugh was grim. “You’re hands and feet were tied, and they were about to cut off your clothes. What were you going to do, bludgeon them to death with your head?”

  She scowled. “I could still kick with my feet.”

  “That wasn't going to get you anything more than a black eye or two. It might have even ended up costing more, if not your life.”

  “They were right where I wanted them.”

  “Tell yourself whatever you need.” Adar pushed past her to the alley. People like her made him want to not help the next time he ran into a situation like that; but gratitude or no, he'd do it again anyway. He’d saved her life twice today, what with the arming of the tower in addition to slitting Tate’s throat.

  “Look,” Kura said, sighing. “I'm going about this all wrong. I need your help.”

  “You have an interesting way of asking for it.” Adar didn’t stop as he headed into the alley, checking first to make sure that a second group of men wasn’t coming after the first. Seeing that it was clear, he went in with Kura close on his heels.

  “Isak doesn’t forgive or forget. When he can’t find me, he’ll take it out on those I love.”

  “Why are you here with me then? You should take your people and flee. Isak is hardly the best reason to leave. The city isn’t a safe place anymore. Melyah only knows how many of those confounded humans in Hunwei armor there are running around this town. I’ve already killed half a dozen. I assume there are at least a couple dozen more. And don’t think this doesn’t mean the Hunwei won’t come back either.” When he saw her scowl, he softened his tone. Maybe he could do something for her. “How long will it take to gather your friends and family? I can have you miles away from Isak and the city by nightfall.”

  “I’m not going to abandon Zecarani. This city is the only thing I know and it's home to thousands of people. They aren’t going to leave either. Unless you want to take everybody with you?”

  Adar shrugged and turned. “Suit yourself.” She grabbed his shoulder.

  “Isak needs to be stopped!”

  “Have you listened to a single word I’ve said? Isak isn’t the problem.”

  Kura paused, her eyes narrowed. “I watched you fight those other men back at that house. I saw you spare the life of that kid. By rights, you should have taken his head without another thought. Zecarani needs somebody like you. Isak was already positioning himself to become the next governor. Governor Voggs barely had control of the city as it was. I fear he won’t be able to do anything with the chaos, other than let the city burn. Isak needs somebody to oppose him. He isn't the type of man that should be in power.”

  Adar stared at her, not quite believing what he was hearing. How was she not able to see what was in front of her face? “The governor’s mansion was the first thing to go when the Hunwei attacked. There wasn’t a wall left standing when I last saw it. If Voggs was in there, he is dead. Isak won’t be far behind him if he tries to take control of the city. Isak will become the governor of rubble and then he’ll die.” Kura’s mouth opened, but he spoke right over her. “I’ve got my own problems to solve right now, and you’re concerned about the wrong things. You're welcome to come with me but—”

  “Hide!” Kura pointed past Adar down the alley. A group of five men turned the corner and ran towards them. When the man in front spotted Kura, he let out a yell that was echoed by the others as he unsheathed his sword and charged. Those behind him pulled theirs out as well.

  “Melyah’s nine bleeding burning fires!” Adar went to his knee, brought up his blaster and fired. He should have just left her alone, she wasn't happy about the interference anyway, seeing as how she had things under control.

  The man in front had just enough time to look confused and shocked before the blast took him in the stomach. The blast continued on and through the chest of a man behind him.

  Beside him, Kura brought up her blaster and fired as well, but it went high, slamming into a building.

  “Stand down,” Adar said as he fired again. “I got this.” This time, he brought down one man while the blast cut through the arm of another, severing it at the elbow. Adar went to his knees as the last man fled.

  Adar fired a final time, but the man turned the corner at the last second, the blast missed and disappeared down the alleyway.

  The man with the missing arm
whimpered as Adar approached. “Let’s see the wound.” Scowling, the man lunged with a dagger that Adar hadn’t noticed in his other hand. Before Adar could react, there was a blast and the man went down.

  “Thought you could use the help,” Kura said as she looked down at her blaster in wonder.

  Adar stared at her, the blast had come within inches of his shoulder. He'd been too cavalier in handing her the weapon and showing her how to use it.

  “I had it handled. I also won't be much good to you without a shoulder.” He pointed at the hole she’d made in the wall of the home where her initial blast had gone. “There might be people on the other side of that.”

  “Don’t look at me, you’re the one that fired down the alley without knowing what is at the other end, you’d better hope that some mother and her children weren’t down there.”

  That was a fair point, but Adar didn’t want to admit it. He'd been caught up in the moment. “Stick with me if you want, but I'm leaving.”

  She looked like she had something more to say but he didn’t stop to listen as he moved down the alley. He didn’t make it far before he realized that Kura was close behind. It would have been nice if they could have afforded the time to stop so she could practice with the blaster.

  He avoided looking at the bodies of the men he'd killed while he passed by them. I wouldn't have handled that half so easily without a blaster. He couldn't remember the last time he'd killed a man without taking a scratch, and here he'd taken down three without most of them getting close enough to swing a sword at him.

  When they arrived at the intersecting alleyway, Adar was ready in case the last man was waiting in ambush, but the way was clear. He had a feeling he should have chased down the man. Isak would probably be examining the body of his dead brother when the escaped man showed up to report he’d had contact with Adar and Kura.

  Bleeding burning Melyah, Adar thought as he picked up speed and was glad to see Kura didn’t have any trouble keeping up with him. Why in the nine burning fires did I get mixed up in this?

  Chapter 10

  The sun peeked out of the clouds and Adar relished the feel of it on his face. His clothes were soaked through, and he was chilled to the bone. He kept moving his wrists and alternating which hand held the blaster so that he didn’t become too stiff to respond to new threats. It didn’t help matters that he was tired and starving. He stumbled on a loose cobblestone and almost lost control. He was forced to skid to a stop.

  The encounter with Isak’s men still had his heart pounding in his chest. The deadly efficiency of killing and wounding multiple men with one blast made him wonder again how things would change if the use of blasters became widespread.

  Melyah. The only chance we have of making it through all this is to arm everybody that can handle one of these infernal weapons. What would happen afterward once the Hunwei had been dealt with?

  He snorted. Even though he pretty much knew this was mankind’s last hurrah, he couldn’t help but hope that this wasn’t the end. Hope, even in the face of insurmountable odds, was the one thing that kept him going.

  Things could change. The darkest night always had a sunrise. That was why he needed the tablet. The forgotten weapons of their fathers brought hope.

  As Adar and Kura drew closer to the Arches, he noticed without surprise the dead tended to be men. Every now and then, they stumbled across a woman. Most of them Kura passed without comment, but there had been several where she'd stopped, forgetting the dangers that lurked all about them.

  It had been a struggle for Adar to not say something that he would later regret, but his patience was stretched to the limit. Enough time had passed that the lone survivor from their encounter before would have found Isak. Tere could be half a continent away by now. Erro might come charging at him again like a wild man, determined to kill or die trying.

  Adar gritted his teeth, furious that so many different things were all going on at once. On any given day, handling one of these issues would have been plenty, but to have all of them forced upon him in the same hour? He must have done something to piss off one of the Melyah.

  Or perhaps they were testing him to see if he would be worthy to handle an even worse task.

  “Hurry,” Adar said, glancing back over his shoulder. Kura's eyes were red as she gripped her blaster in an almost challenging way.

  The plan was to show her the entrance of the Arches. She could collect the people she was worried about and then they would leave. He hadn't explained much about the Arches other than to say it was a hidden passageway out the city. Saying more than that would have just scared her off and he didn't like the thought of what Isak's men might do to her if they did catch up with her.

  “We've wasted enough time as it is,” Adar said again when she didn’t move. “The Hunwei are still up there.”

  Kura gritted her teeth but didn't say anything. She gave him a look that said he was stating the obvious. Well, he wouldn’t need to if she’d move faster.

  When Adar focused his attention back to where he was going, he got the idea that if he were to look back again, she would be pointing her blaster at his back. He refrained from doing so and increased his speed.

  When he spotted the lifeless body of a small child, he ground his teeth and fingered the trigger of his blaster, itching to come across a living Hunwei or a turncoat just so that he could punish somebody for bringing this terror down onto them.

  Melyah! He thought as he passed the small body, even Isak or one of his men would do. I’ve no doubt they deserve it. A muffled shriek came from behind, and he slid to a stop.

  “That’s Donni’s child,” Kura whispered in horror, covering her mouth as she bent over the form. She took off her coat and moved to wrap it around the babe.

  “He’s dead.” Adar hoped he would have done the same thing if it had been the son of somebody he knew. She gave him a sharp look through her tears. “I'm sorry.”

  “I’m not leaving him in the rain, his body needs to be taken care of. Melyah!”

  Her voice choked as she touched his neck. “Donni would never have left him. Bleeding Melyah, he’s still warm. Melyah help anybody I learn of having a hand in this.”

  When she picked the baby up he jerked, a loud scream belting out of his mouth. “Lars, you’re alive!”

  Despite his relief that the kid had survived, Adar looked around as he swung his blaster up, anxious that the crying was going to draw the attention of one of the parties that were hunting him. Even still, the cries were welcome sounds.

  I’d rather have a whole army of Hunwei chasing after me than find any more dead children. The world was not as cold and unforgiving of a place as it had been a moment ago.

  A fat drop of rain hit Adar in the eye as a peal of thunder rolled across the sky, the sudden sound made the poor little guy cry all the harder. Kura held him close to her chest while she made soothing sounds. It didn't help. Lars opened his mouth wide and let out a scream.

  The screams would have been best sounds Adar had heard all day if they weren't being hunted from every direction.

  The gods were indeed testing Adar. What new challenge should he expect next?

  He looked up, expecting to see half a dozen Hunwei ships appearing overhead, but saw nothing other than gray clouds and rain. He had been itching for a chance to see what kind of damage a blaster would do to a ship at close range, but with a screaming baby in tow, he was glad the moment hadn't yet come.

  Because he hadn’t seen a flash of lightning, he compared the thunder to his hazy memory of the explosions from the invasion. It was hard to tell but after several seconds passed during which nothing else happened, he became convinced that it was actual thunder and nothing else.

  That didn't mean that the Hunwei weren't still up there taking advantage of the low-hanging clouds. He’d keep an eye out for them.

  Hunwei above and foes at every turn below. They would be lucky to live through the next hour. Lars let out another blood-curdling screa
m as his lips vibrated, his eyes shut so tight his face turned bright red.

  It would be a miracle if they survived the next ten minutes.

  “Adar,” Kura hissed. “Stop gaping at the sky. He needs shelter, and we need a safe place.”

  “Come on,” Adar said. “This way. When we get to the Arches, we'll find somebody to care for him so you can fetch your family.”

  “I'll be looking for Donni now too.”

  Adar ground his teeth but kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t very well begrudge her that, but he had a feeling things weren’t going to be getting any easier.

  As they ran, he pictured Hunwei up in their ships frantically trying to figure out what had happened to their comrades below and a small thin smile crossed his face. It disappeared when he passed the corpse of a woman that looked as though she’d been trampled to death. Kura passed without stopping, so it must have been somebody she didn't know.

  Bleeding Melyah, he thought, I have stumbled into a wasp’s nest that has been dunked in honey, rolled in sugar, and thrown into a pit of bears. And a dozen feral cats and dogs have been thrown in for good measure while the eagles circle overhead. New opportunities to die and bodies of the dead greet me at every turn.

  It was indeed going to take a miracle to get out of all of this alive.

  Chapter 11

  Wiping the rain out of his eyes, Adar blinked and looked around. His senses were heightened to a level that they hadn’t been before. Kura had done a good job of getting Lars to calm down. Lars was no longer screaming at the top of his lungs, but the boy was still fussy.

  So much for hoping to catch Tere unaware, Adar thought.

  The street looked much like any other, there weren’t as many dead, but there were a great number of homes that had been leveled by the Hunwei bombs. He supposed that most of the occupants of this street had been caught in the wreckage. At some point, search parties needed to be organized so that those who were still alive could be rescued.

  With the governor’s mansion destroyed, Adar hoped there would be somebody else who would take charge of the city and see all of that was done, assuming, of course, the Hunwei didn’t come back to finish the job. Adar didn’t know enough about the political structure here to venture a guess as to who that would be. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be Isak. Adar hadn’t met the man, but he sounded like a fool.