by Kris A Hiatt
He stood up and looked around. He didn’t see any others, but he couldn’t be certain there weren’t more of them around. He couldn’t worry about that now, though, so after Kiril was fully out he carefully picked his way around the tree and began to follow the man.
He was close enough to attack, but he wasn’t going to stab the man in the back. It just wasn’t him. But just as he was going to make a noise to get the attacker’s attention, he noted a hole in his cape that covered the snowman. An arrow rested in the snow beyond it. The man he was following didn’t have a bow, but one of his partners surely did. If they were willing to shoot a most likely unarmed and kneeling person in the back, Treace guessed they weren’t of the same mind as him. Still, he didn’t feel right stabbing the man in the back.
Treace then heard the hum of a bowstring and he heard an arrow whistle past him. The man he was following jumped from the surprise attack. He reached his hand around his back, feeling for whatever it was that hit him. There was an arrow protruding from his back, though was more toward the side than anything. The fletching on the arrow was higher than the shaft, clearly indicating the attack came from an elevated position.
“Oh, you bastards!” the man cursed as he turned to fight.
He didn’t get much more than that out because Treace slid his sword into the man’s stomach and angled it up toward his heart.
“Why’d you hesitate?” Raythien called down from a nearby tree.
“Stabbing a man in the back isn’t a fair fight,” Treace explained.
“You may think there’s no honor in stabbing a man in the back,” Raythien said as he climbed down from the tree. “But that hesitation will get you killed someday.”
“It may, but it won’t change how I approach a fight.”
“It’s a good thing there were only two of them, otherwise you would likely be dead,” Raythien chastised. “While you were fighting him, his friends would love nothing more than to stab you in the back.”
“They wouldn’t have gotten close to his back,” Moff chimed in as he came out from behind a tree, holding up his bow as a point of emphasis.
“Not a chance,” Kiril added from somewhere behind him.
He turned to find her back near the tree they were hiding under. He knew she followed him out, but didn’t even realize she stopped there.
“I get it,” Raythien said. “You’re loyal to him. Hell, I’m loyal to him too, but when I get the opportunity to put down an enemy, I take it. Do you know why?”
Treace was about to ask why, but Raythien didn’t pause long enough for him to ask.
“Because we are at war. It’s that simple. Every one of them we kill now is one less we’ll have to face at the gates of Haven.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t kill him,” Treace explained. “I just prefer my enemy to know I’m there.” He wasn’t entirely sure why that stuck in his mind. He believed it to be because of the many times he was bullied as a child, he often never saw it coming. Wren would attack him as he rounded a corner or come up behind him and push him to the ground. But now that he thought about it, he believed there was more to it than that. It just didn’t seem right.
“So when you hunt deer you crash through the woods to announce your presence? When you fish do you dive in and catch them by hand so that they aren’t caught by surprise by that silly little hook?” Raythien asked testily.
“Men are not animals,” Treace pointed out.
“I beg to differ,” Raythien argued. “We are the worst animal alive.”
Treace didn’t know what the man had in his past that haunted him so, but it was clear there was more to this that Treace’s unwillingness to stab a man in the back.
“Arguing about it now isn’t going to help either,” Kiril said.
“There’s still two more at the post,” Moffred informed them.
“Your namesake uses his guile and hunts in a pack. He doesn’t do it alone and he often drags down his foes from behind,” Raythien said to Treace, obviously speaking of a wolf. “If we are going to win this war, we need Haven’s greatest warrior to fully embrace what he’s named for.”
Treace could have replied, and probably should have put the man in his place, but thought it better to let it go. He suspected that this was not about him, it was about something in Raythien’s past. Whatever it was, he’d get it from the man, just not now. “Let’s just go finish the job. We’ve got one more post after this and I want to warn the good people of Kilindric. If they hear it from me, they may just vacate and join us in Haven.”
“I’m not doubting you,” Kiril replied. “But why would they listen to you when they didn’t listen to the baron?”
“Because we know the people there,” Moff replied. “We spent a lot of time there while at the College.”
Treace was going to point out that Moff spent most of his time in the bar, but decided against it. He was thinking of some people at the bar, but also of Mr. Uripo the blacksmith, among others. But Uripo had given him work when he needed it. He was a kind man and had a good heart. He was most likely being too stubborn to leave his smith and flee for the larger city. But he had to know the truth of what would happen if he didn’t. Shamir was well known for not taking prisoners. Treace hoped his former employer would listen.
Chapter 16
“There’s people milling about. It’s not as busy as usual, but considering the weather and recent events, it’s not out of the ordinary I’d say. You guys wait here,” Treace instructed them. “I’ll go check it out.”
They had cleared out all of the posts, eliminating fifteen of Shamir’s men, and had made their way to Kilindric. They had arrived just before dawn and used the darkness to creep up to a small outcropping of trees that provided a good vantage point of the small port town. But there was a deep cold that was starting to settle into Treace’s bones. The wind from the sea was frigid and they didn’t dare start a fire. They huddled together and waited until the morning light when they could see the town from a safe distance.
Kiril hesitantly nodded.
“I should go with you,” Raythien suggested.
“You’ll do as you’re told,” Moff barked.
Raythien looked at Treace. “If any of Shamir’s men are there, and they likely are, I’ll be able to recognize them.”
“And they’ll recognize you too,” Treace replied.
“Raythien’s right. Shamir’s men took over the posts,” Kiril said. “We have to assume they have men hiding in the town too. The townsfolk likely won’t even know the enemy is among them.”
“And if they are there, what would stop him from turning over Treace to get good with Shamir again?” Moff asked.
“Stop it, Moff,” Treace warned. He wasn’t buying it that Raythien was an enemy. It was time his friend caught on to it.
Moff gave him a hard look but shook his head before looking away.
“If Raythien spots any of Shamir’s men, you guys can warn the townsfolk. With the town’s help, we can at least get rid of Shamir’s spies,” Kiril reasoned.
“Even if they do recognize me, they’ll either run to tell Shamir, or they’ll stay quiet so they don’t blow their cover. If they do that, we’ll catch them. Either way, we get them out of town,” Raythien added.
“Fine,” Treace relented. “Come with me.”
“Bad idea,” Moff said, putting his back against a nearby tree.
“If for some reason something does go wrong,” Treace said to Kiril. “Don’t come in after us. You need to get our discovery to your father and Drevic.” He knew that their recent magical findings were very important. It very well could be a determining factor in the war. Part of him wanted to send her away now so that the information would make it to Kint. Her father would know best what to do with it. But if Treace did send her away, she’d only take it as him trying to protect her. So, for now, she remained. He meant to be quick about his task. He didn’t want the people of Kilindric to be caught unaware, but he didn’t want to keep t
hat information out of Kint’s hands any longer than necessary either.
Kiril again hesitantly nodded. “Be careful.”
“I will,” he said, kissing her cheek before walking out from their hiding spot.
“I didn’t get it at first,” Raythien told him once they were out in the open.
Treace glanced his way.
“Why people seemed to hold you in such high regard,” Raythien clarified. “How The Wolf bests everyone he meets. When I first heard of you and how young you were, I thought it nothing more than just an over-inflated story.”
Treace wondered what the man would think if he said he completely agreed with him.
“But then after your escape, I realized the story had some validity to it.”
Treace was tired of hearing about the escape already. The one big lie in his life. He was grateful to be alive, for sure, but it gnawed at him that what was alleged to have happened, didn’t. He preferred the truth. Which was, of course, that he killed only a single person during the escape. Even then, he did so with reservation. He didn’t enjoy killing, contrary to the varied versions of the story being told in bars.
“And after spending all this time with you and seeing how you treat those around you and how they respond, I know The Wolf isn’t just a story. He is you, at least some of the time. That’s the best part. You don’t let The Wolf rule you, you rule him. That’s exactly what makes me believe everything’s true.”
Treace understood the man was giving him a compliment, but it just didn’t feel like it. It felt more like an insult. True. That word stung.
“I knew it!” Raythien exclaimed. “How much of it is a lie? Huh? The escape. You had help, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?” Treace asked, trying to seem unaffected by the man’s words. How did he know?
“Come on, you always talk about truth and honor and yet you’ll sit here and pretend to not know what I’m talking about?”
Treace stopped and waited for Raythien to do the same. When the man looked at him, he said, “What is it you’re getting at?”
“First the note written in blood. I knew it wasn’t you. But then Moff said he was the one who wrote it. I doubted it, but it was possible. He did just lose his family then. He could have written it. And your chains broke free from the cell? Many heavier men have been hung from them and it didn’t break. I doubted your weight could have done it. But that’s not what sealed it. Do you know what did?”
Treace wanted to tell him he was wrong, to deny everything the man had said so he could keep his promise to Kiril, but he simply couldn’t. He didn’t want to keep the lie anymore. So instead, he shook his head.
“It wasn’t that you refused to stab a man in the back. That was also a sign, sure. Several of those men, men that I trained, were stabbed in the back. If you wouldn’t do so to one man in the woods, you wouldn’t have done it to a handful of men back then either. But what really sealed it was how you flinched when I talked about the truth of your escape.”
Treace sighed heavily but didn’t offer a reply.
“It was Disdane that helped you, wasn’t it?”
Treace nodded his head.
“I knew it. He’s strong enough to break the chains and since the men knew him he could catch them unaware. Who’d think their own captain would turn on them?”
“I wasn’t given a choice,” Treace told him. “Just so you know.”
“And if Disdane was involved, so was Brental. Wasn’t he?”
“Yes,” Treace confirmed. It felt good to finally have the truth out there to someone other than Moff and Kiril.
“He came up with the plan, I’m sure. That devious bastard. I knew those two were going to cause trouble. They’re attached at the hip.”
“I’m guessing, but I couldn’t say.”
“So why’d you lie about it?”
“It’s a long story. One we don’t have time for right now,” Treace told him, noting the looks the few townsfolk were giving them.
“Make time.”
“You don’t give the orders around here.”
“Understood, but in this case, I think I will.”
Treace was both aggravated and relieved. He didn’t like where this was going but having the truth out there, at least a small part of it anyway, made him feel much better. But to do this story justice would take far longer than he had. He’d have to sum it up quickly and let Raythien make his own decision from there. “Brental said that my death didn’t benefit him at the time. He said he’d help if I promised to tell everyone that I was the one that killed everyone during my escape. If I didn’t agree to it, he said he’d kill us all right then.”
“Why the hell would he want you alive?” Raythien asked.
“I don’t know. But at least Kiril and Moff are both safe now. Whatever his reasons, it was better that than to know that one of them would die.”
“I thought you said it was a long story?”
“The whole thing is. If you wanted details.”
“No need, really. The story pretty much tells itself. I don’t know what his reasons were, but how it happened is pretty clear. But it still doesn’t explain why you wouldn’t tell the truth.”
“I wanted to, but Moff convinced me that if we told the truth, we’d most likely be considered spies. It was better to not have anyone question us on why we would be allowed to escape.”
“Ironic,” Raythien mused. “He’s been questioning my loyalty since day one yet he’s the one who’s lying for Brental.”
“We aren’t lying for him,” Treace argued. “We chose to keep the truth between us.”
“Which is lying.”
Treace shook his head at the absurdity of it all. Raythien was right in some aspects at least. But the circumstances at the time left him no other reasonable choice. Raythien could either come to terms with it or not. But he was going to keep his mouth shut about it. “Regardless of what it is, you won’t say anything to anyone.”
“Only because of what you’ve done for me will I agree to that. I’d still be in a cell, or dead, if it wasn’t for you. I owe you that much, and more.”
“I’m glad,” Treace said, starting to walk again. He wanted to get to Mr. Uripo and get out of town.
“Having said that, I’m very sorry about this,” Raythien told him.
“Sorry about what?” Treace asked, turning around.
Just as he did, Raythien’s bow came crashing down on him. Pain exploded on the top of his head and he fell to the ground. His vision blurred and he thought for a second he would lose consciousness. His vision returned quickly and when he looked up, Raythien had an arrow drawn and pointed at him.
“Don’t move,” Raythien told him.
“Why?” Treace asked, getting to his knees. He wanted to try to escape, but knew that would be fruitless. Raythien was too good with a bow to miss from that range. He was caught.
“Just don’t move,” Raythien said again.
“Sir! Put down your weapon!” someone called out from a short distance away.
“Do you know who I am?” Raythien asked. “Or who that is?”
“Put down the weapon!” the man repeated.
“Damn you fool!” Raythien roared. “I know you and you know me. This is The Wolf. Now tie him up.”
“You’re a traitor, we were told you switched sides. You’re one of Liernin’s spies now,” the man said cautiously.
Treace looked around to see two men nearby, one with a bow and arrow pointed at Raythien. The other had his sword drawn at the ready.
“Of course that’s what you were told, you idiots! How else do you think I was going to bring Shamir his prize? Was I going to walk into Haven and have The Wolf surrender? No, I had to trick him. You were told what we needed to tell you. Now get your asses over here and tie him up!”
The men looked at each other uneasily but did as their commander bade them.
Treace never saw it coming. Raythien had fooled him into believing he
was a changed man. He made him think he was on their side. “I trusted you.”
“I know,” Raythien said softly.
Treace was pushed down face first in the snow and had his hands tied behind his back. Once done, they lifted him up and dragged him along with them toward town.
Raythien looked back toward where Kiril and Moff were hiding in the trees. He nodded and followed right behind. “How many men are still in town?”
Treace hoped Moff and Kiril would listen to his instructions. As tough as it was to think of, he hoped they were already on their way to Haven.
“Close to the five hundred original sir,” the sword wielder answered. “We lost a few during the fight, but not many. We’ve sent a few more to take over Liernin’s posts. But most of the men still remain.”
The simple townsfolk didn’t have a chance against five hundred men. Granted, there were probably three times that amount of people living in Kilindric, but most of them weren’t armed and didn’t know how to fight. But what did they do with all of the people?
“Is Liernin aware of your presence?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” the man replied. “We’ve been diligent in keeping up the illusion the town still functions as normal.”
“You’re in command here?” Raythien asked.
“I am,” the man confirmed.
“Well done,” Raythien told him. “You’ve done great work here. I’ll be sure to commend you to the King.”
That seemed to please the man, judging by the smile on his face.
“You can stay in my quarters tonight, sir. I’m sure the King will be happy to see your prisoner when he arrives tomorrow.”
“I’ve been out a while,” Raythien told the man. “I didn’t realize he was set to arrive tomorrow.”
“Change of plans,” the man said.
“And he’s our prisoner, not mine,” Raythien corrected. “You helped.”
The man couldn’t hide his smile at that remark.
“I should have let you rot in that cell,” Treace told Raythien.