by Kris A Hiatt
“Take this,” Jensen said, reaching back through the doorway and bringing forth his sword.
“I made that for you,” Treace protested.
“And now I’m giving it to my son, The Wolf,” Jensen said boldly.
Emotions welled up from within Treace then. He was happy that Jensen called him his son. But he was also reminded of his real father. He knew he shouldn’t dwell in the past, however, so he set aside the pain of his childhood and focused on the joy in the present. He took the sword from Jensen’s hand and hugged the man tightly.
“Go,” his mother said, pushing him away.
Treace pulled one of his swords from his back and replaced it with his new one. He handed the old one to Jensen before he rushed away and jumped atop his horse.
Heral had already followed Exodin’s lead, but Moff and Kiril were still waiting. Moff wore a rather large smile upon his face.
“Don’t think I didn’t hear that,” Moffred told him as they urged their horses on.
“Heard what?”
“He called you The Wolf. Everyone likes The Wolf better. Even your parents.”
“Actually, I prefer Treace,” Kiril argued.
“Well that’s too bad,” Moffred said, frowning. “The world needs The Wolf more.”
“I am The Wolf,” Treace told him, trying to get Moff to see there wasn’t a difference between the two names.
“That’s the spirit!”
Treace didn’t mean it like that and Moffred very well knew it. But to tell him so would only make Moff comment further, so Treace simply let it go.
Kiril shook her head and urged her horse into a trot, quickly leaving Treace and Moffred behind.
Treace looked at his friend and smiled. Moffred returned it and took off to catch up to Kiril.
Treace was sad to leave his parents behind. Parents. It felt good to think of Jensen as one of his parents. The man may not be his biological father, but there was no doubt that he was a father to him. He never once pushed Treace on the matter and Treace loved him more for it. But, even as much as he didn’t want to leave them behind, he knew he was needed amongst Liernin’s forces. Not that he believed the war hinged on him alone, but because he felt it was his duty to try to make the world a better place. It wouldn’t be a better place if Shamir was the King of it all.
Up ahead Treace noticed the group had come to a stop. He could tell his four traveling companions were there, but so were two others, both on horses.
He brought his horse up to a trot to catch up.
As he neared, Treace realized one of the two other people was Rinin. The other person had their back to him with the hood of their cloak up, so he couldn’t tell who they were.
“You haven’t caught him yet?” Exodin asked Rinin as Treace arrived.
“No. But I will,” Rinin promised.
“You weren’t involved in his murder. You don’t have to leave. You can still have a life here,” Exodin told the other person.
Was he talking to Emiah?
“You can either let me travel with you, or I’ll just follow behind. I don’t care. But I don’t have anything left for me here,” Emiah replied.
Why would Emiah want to go with them? Treace was certain she didn’t exactly have the life she had hoped for with Wren, but she still had family here. “What about your family? And the farm?”
Emiah turned in her saddle to look at him. “There’s nothing for me here.”
She said it so coldly Treace wondered if something had happened to her family that he wasn’t aware of.
“Of course you can travel with us,” Kiril said, bringing her horse up next to Emiah’s and taking her hand. “It’ll be nice to have another woman to talk to for a change.”
Exodin offered the slightest of nods to Rinin before turning his horse.
Treace let the rest of the group follow Exodin while he waited behind.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your ma,” Rinin told him a moment later.
“I’m sure you will,” Treace told him. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“As I said, I’ll find the bastard.”
“I really hope you do. More than you know. Related to him, I wanted to ask you if anything happened to Emiah’s family that I don’t know about.”
The older man scratched his chin as he considered his words. “You’re wondering why she said she doesn’t have anything left for her here.”
“I am.”
“That should probably come from her, but you know firsthand how much of an ass Wren is. Would you marry him willingly?”
Treace thought about it for a moment. Was their marriage arranged? That would explain a lot, but what did Emiah’s father get out of it?
“See you, Treace,” Rinin told him. “And don’t get yourself killed. I don’t want to be the one to have to tell your mom.”
Treace waved goodbye but he didn’t really process what the man had said. He was busy trying to think of why Emiah married that ass. It bothered him because it didn’t make sense, not because he wanted Emiah for himself. He was in love with someone else.
He tried to dismiss the situation from his mind and turned to catch up to the group. Moffred was waiting not so far ahead.
“Well this should be interesting indeed,” Moffred beamed when Treace caught up to him.
“What should be?”
“Does Kiril know you were in love with Emiah?”
“No, but Emiah and I never dated. Not once. So I think you’ll be severely disappointed in that regard. Besides, that was a long time ago.”
“It’s been my experience that women have long memories,” Moffred told him.
“There’s nothing to it. Emiah’s been through a lot with Wren. She’s not the same person I once knew.”
“And you stayed behind to ask Rinin something. I’d bet a kaden you asked about her.”
“Well, you’d lose,” Treace told him.
“Really? Then what did you talk to Rinin about?”
“I asked him to look after my family.”
Moffred smiled but didn’t offer any words.
By the smile on Moffred’s face, Treace guessed his friend knew he was lying. But at least he didn’t say anything about it, so Treace considered himself lucky. “Let’s go.”
“The former love of your life and your current chatting it up. That couldn’t possibly go wrong,” Moffred said as their horses began to move.
“Shut up, Moff.”
“Lie to me, and yourself, all you want. But don’t lie to Kiril. You’re terrible at it and she’ll see right through it,” Moffred told him.
Treace thought about what his friend had said, but didn’t offer a reply. He didn’t need to. Moff was right.
They increased the speed of their horses to catch up.
~~~
The fire crackled and spat out a glowing ember. Treace kicked it back toward the pit.
Across from him, Emiah sat quietly with her hood pulled over her head. She had been quiet for the entire trip so far. He’d checked on her frequently, but she rarely offered anything more than a simple response. She wasn’t the same as he remembered and it bothered him. He could tell she was in pain and considering she was one of the few people from his past that treated him kindly, he wanted to help. They would arrive in Haven tomorrow and despite his attempts at connecting with her, she remained mostly to herself. Kiril had even tried to talk to her a few times, but Emiah didn’t offer much in the way of conversation to her either.
Heral snored contentedly from his bedroll to Treace’s right. Exodin and Moffred were a little further away and were having a conversation about how to entice nobles into serving in Liernin’s army. Moffred didn’t think it would be possible without a large sum of money, and Exodin was certain more than a few would do so out of duty. Treace was more inclined to agree with Moff though in his heart he hoped Exodin was right.
“Join me for a walk?” Kiril asked from his left.
“Of cours
e,” he told her, standing up and offering her his hand.
She looked at his hand briefly before accepting it.
Treace let her lead him out of camp and onto the road. They turned right and headed in the direction of Lake City, not that Treace thought they’d walk very far in the dark. They were well outside the firelight and the sliver moon’s light was scant. He could barely see her facial expressions only a few feet from him.
“Is there something going on between the two of you?” Kiril asked.
“With who?” Treace asked. He didn’t know who she was referring to. Did she hear him tell Moff to shut up? That was a few days ago. Why wouldn’t she bring it up before now?
“You’ve been staring at her ever since she joined us.”
“Emiah? No. There’s nothing between the two of us,” Treace assured her.
“I mean, I know I told you I wasn’t ready,” Kiril said, absently scraping her boot around in the dirt. “But I didn’t expect you to move on so quickly.”
Treace was blown away. He wondered how long Kiril had been harboring those thoughts. He was instantly reminded of what Moffred had said. But, he didn’t lie to her. Though he realized that he should have told her from the beginning that, as a child, he thought she was beautiful. He could have assured her it was in the past and her feelings of jealousy would have been prevented. “I used to be infatuated with her when I was younger. I admit that. But there is absolutely nothing between us. I promise you.”
“So you don’t love her?” Kiril asked.
Treace detected relief in her voice. He had never seen this side of Kiril. It seemed as if she was actually jealous of Emiah. She had no reason to be! Treace was in love with her, not Emiah. “I see her more as a childhood friend that has had a very rough past couple of years. I guess I’ve been staring at her because I’m trying to figure out what happened. I want to help her but I don’t know how. So, to answer your question, no, I don’t love her. I love—”
Kiril placed her fingers over his lips before he could finish telling her that he loved her.
“I know it’s stupid, but I’ve already lost my dad. I had it stuck in my head that I was losing you too. And I can’t take that right now.”
The fact that she was opening up was not lost on him. She didn’t say it, but he knew she felt the same way about him as he did about her. He just needed to be patient with her. With all the work he was going to be doing with the soldiers and the brothers, he knew the right thing to do was wait anyway. He couldn’t devote the time to her that she deserved. After the war they could be together. “You’re not losing me. I’m right here. I’ll always be here. No matter how long it takes.”
“I miss him so much,” she said.
“I know you do.”
Moonlight glistened off the tears that streaked down her cheeks. Treace hugged her tight and stroked her hair. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest as she cried. It made him feel good to hold her like that. He felt like he was her protector. He thought of what the fishing boat captain, Jons by name, had said after helping them escape from Shamir’s clutches. The captain had told him that he should take Kiril and stay as far away from the war as possible. It sounded like a very good idea to him. His previous thoughts about waiting until after the war seemed silly right then.
“I’m okay now,” Kiril said as she pulled away from him a short while later.
“Do you ever think we should just get out of here? I mean, go somewhere else and stay out of the war? Live our lives together in peace?”
“It’s a nice dream, but I’m afraid that’s not our reality,” she replied. “Where’s this coming from?”
“It’s just something Jons said on the boat.”
“What did he say?”
“He advised me to take you away from the war and said by fighting in it I’d only get you killed.”
“And you believe him?” she asked.
“You have to admit, your life has changed dramatically since you met me. You’ve been through enough. You don’t deserve to be involved in a war.”
“No one does. It just happened. You can’t blame yourself for everything. Yes my life has changed. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish my father was still alive, but you aren’t to blame for his death. Disdane is. You aren’t the cause for this war. That’s on Shamir. But it’s here whether we like it or not. We can’t run from it and I don’t want to. You told me you’d teach me how to use a sword. So when the time comes, I’ll do my part to ensure the world isn’t ruled by the likes of Shamir.”
Treace felt ashamed for even mentioning it. He was The Wolf and he was talking about running away from the war. She was a young woman who had lost her father not that long ago and had no direct involvement in the war, yet she was ready to fight. When she first told him she wanted him to teach her how to use a sword, it wasn’t to fight a war. She told him that when it was clear she wanted to take revenge on Jass for all the despicable things the woman had said and done after she had captured them. From Jass stabbing Moff in the leg, having them all dragged behind horses, and to the way she boldly flirted with Treace, the sensible Kiril was appalled by the woman. That was the real reason for wanting to learn how to use a sword. Treace was reminded of the way Kiril coldly mimicked Jasses’ tune and it sent shivers down his spine again. At the time, Treace had told Kiril that revenge didn’t suit her. Even if Jass wasn’t here for Kiril to fight, there would be many others to take her place. “You’re right. It was stupid to even think of it. We need to win this war. Together.”
“Together,” she agreed, offering a smile. “And it wasn’t stupid at all. It was sweet.”
He didn’t see any reason to say anything further so he simply smiled and nodded.
“Come on, let’s get back before Moffred thinks we left to do something other than talk,” she told him.
“I’m pretty sure it’s too late for that. We both know he thought that the moment we left camp.”
“Well, let him think what he wants to think.”
~~~
Kiril and Moffred had lagged behind him slightly and seemed to be engaged in conversation. It didn’t bother Treace, Haven was in full view and he was excited. He couldn’t wait to begin training with Exodin again. Even if it wasn’t just the two of them. And, he admitted, he was interested in seeing just what Kiril could do with a sword.
“Not that it matters now, but I’m curious,” Moff said, riding up next to him. “Who would you have picked?”
“What do you mean?” Treace asked.
“He means when you were going to fight Drokier. Which of us were you going to save?” Kiril clarified after she caught up.
Treace was supposed to fight Drokier in front of Shamir and his people. If Treace won, he’d be allowed to leave, but both Kiril and Moff would be executed. But what Drokier and Shamir were banking on, was that if Treace agreed to lose, he’d get to choose to save either Kiril or Moff, but not both, at the cost of his own life. Drokier’s fame would grow immensely by beating The Wolf. “Is that what you two were talking about back there?”
“No dodging,” Moffred instructed.
“Well, you’ll be disappointed to know that I was going to save myself,” Treace told them.
“Liar!” Moffred hissed, pointing his finger at him.
“You would not have,” Kiril told him.
They were right, of course. He would never choose to save his own life if it meant costing Kiril or Moff theirs. The problem was, he wasn’t entirely sure who he was going to save. It was a terrible situation and thanks only to Brental’s devious plan and desire to make Raythien look bad did they get out of it. Brental had risked his own life by coming up with a plan to secretly murder his own men to allow Treace and his friends to escape. It was his plan, but the murderous Disdane carried out the actual killing. “I honestly hadn’t made my decision yet, and even if I had, I wouldn’t tell you now.”
“We both understand,” Moffred told him. “Th
at’s what we were talking about back there. We’re curious, but we understand. We won’t be hurt by whichever one you chose to save. You can tell us.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t have to decide. And I can’t believe either of you would ask me to tell you that now.”
“Don’t blame her,” Moff said. “It was my idea. I convinced her to go along. I didn’t think you were going to be so touchy about it.”
“He’s right, Moffred. I don’t know why I let you talk me into it. Treace, I’m sorry.”
Treace nodded his acceptance of her apology and continued on in silence.
“Great, now he’s brooding again,” Moffred lamented.
“Shut up, Moff,” Kiril told him.
“Shut up, Moff,” Moffred mimicked. “You could at least come up with something better to say.”
Treace smiled despite his annoyance. He was glad to have his friends with him. He knew he was very lucky to get out of Kadenton with his life and those of Kiril and Moffred. He hoped he would never be in that position again.
~~~
When the baron’s palace first came into view, it didn’t appear to have changed, but now that they were on the other side, the side where the men trained in the yard, Treace realized that it had.
They couldn’t have been gone for more than a couple of weeks, but in that time the area that used to be an open walkway between Smith’s forge and the training yard had changed dramatically. It was hardly recognizable now. Where the walkway ran through was now a series of buildings slightly larger than a house. The fence that used to separate the smithy and training yard was moved to encompass both the new buildings and Smith’s forge. There was still a gate in the fence near the baron’s palace and that’s where the other guards were leading them.
The smell of fresh cut wood filled Treace’s nose as he neared the new buildings. He thought of Mr. Lavare, the woodworker from his hometown that he worked with frequently, and realized that he never stopped in to see the man during his visit home. He didn’t see Gil either. Gil had helped him acid etch the swords that he had made for Jensen and Exodin. He should have stopped in to see both of those men. He scolded himself for not doing so.
“Commander present!” one man yelled.