Neomi rose to her feet, turning away from them to make her way back to the others. Confused by her dismissal of their discovery Callum followed, his feet slipping slightly over a patch of ice while trying to stand. “You intend to leave him here still?” Callum inquired. “Should we not try to find a way to carry him with us so he is not buried and forgotten?”
“There will be plenty more bodies when we get closer to Isavo. Unless you think the ten of us can carry hundreds of corpses back to Nahedu, it would be foolish of us to waste our energy on one.”
Letting his gaze trail to the corpse again, Edric’s heart ached at the thought of leaving the body behind. In Tanispa they took death very seriously. It was important for families to have an opportunity to properly prepare their loved ones for their journey to the gods. But the Ovatai were different. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the way these people lived. This man had been lying here dead for weeks. Had no one noticed him missing? Did his wife not question his disappearance? Or maybe he wasn’t married. It was possible he had not been deemed worthy of furthering their people through marriage. And now he would lie here forever, no doubt forgotten once they left him behind, their minds distracted by the goal of their mission.
Weighted by the thought Edric slowly stood, tearing his eyes from the grisly sight. Afraid of being left behind he hurried to catch up with Callum. Edric couldn’t get the image out of his mind. No man could have survived the damage caused by the beast. It only served to increase his fears about what the Avaern was capable of.
Unable to keep quiet he leaned in closer to Callum, his voice low to prevent anyone from overhearing. “Did you see that man?” he asked in bewilderment. “He was practically cut in two.”
“Yes, I noticed,” Callum frowned, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “I am trying to forget, really. If my body is returned to Tanispa, I would prefer Aiva see me in one piece.”
“If we don’t beat this creature, I have a feeling none of our families will ever see our bodies, regardless of the number of pieces we’re in.” A shiver ran through Edric’s spine at the thought. He didn’t want to die here. No one did. The harsh truth was that some of their men were going to and it was frighteningly possible that he or Callum might be among them. It pained him to think of what his parents would suffer at his death. He was in this war because they granted him the privilege of accompanying Callum. Without their approval he would be safely home in Tanispa. His mother would blame herself if he fell to the beast. He didn’t want to consider the torment it would cause her. “Callum,” he added quietly. “Please promise that if I die you will have my body returned to my parents.”
The unease in Callum’s eyes was evident at the request. “I’m not sure I can make that promise,” he replied, his voice low and sober. “If I am alive to do so, you know I will. Unfortunately, I am growing less confident with every passing day that we will ever see the lush forests of home again. These people have no care for what happens to their warriors. Even less for what happens to us. If we were to die right now, I am convinced they would walk away and leave our bodies to the elements without giving a second thought.”
“Are you still considering pulling our aid when we return to Nahedu?”
“I would rather not. The problem is the risk,” Callum stared straight ahead. “Here, we have a chance at defeating this beast before it reaches Tanispan soil. The negative is the disregard toward us by our supposed allies when it comes to working as a team. We are like a separate force compared to them. There is no cohesion. Victory will be near impossible to achieve under these circumstances unless you and I are able to lead our soldiers without taking orders from the Ovatai.”
“Then what good is it for us to stay if we must risk our friendship with the Ovatai in order to have a chance at survival?”
“As long as we are in Ethrysta, the Vor’shai will not be threatened by the Avaern. Our families will be safe and my wife… may have a chance at bringing our child into this world without being faced with the dangers we would present our people by letting the Ovatai fall and bringing the fight to our home. I refuse to let the Ovatai sabotage this war because of their narcissism when the slightest cooperation could save us all.”
“Do you think we can convince them to cooperate?”
“I’m not sure.” Callum’s eyes strayed from his fixed gaze, shifting toward Neomi, a subtle flash visible in his umber eyes. “I think the woman who leads us now is the key. The trouble will be finding out how to convince her to help. You and I cannot get close to her. There is too much suspicion surrounding our men when it comes to their women.”
For the first time since leaving camp that morning Edric allowed his eyes to focus on Neomi. She was stubborn and headstrong… and curious. The fascination she possessed regarding the Vor’shai was certainly something they could use to their advantage. But Callum was right. Any attempt at turning Neomi to their side, to gain her sympathy and support, would have to be done by another woman. Someone who couldn’t be accused of trying to take advantage of her. “What about Sahra?” he thought suddenly. “She has already been ingratiating herself with the Ovatai women. Maybe we could put her skills at manipulating people to good use and keep her focus off the men for a while.”
“Sahra’s talent is manipulating men. It’s hard to say if she would be successful with the ladies.”
“Then send her after one of the men,” Edric chuckled. He spoke in jest while a part of him couldn’t help but think it might not be the worst of ideas.
Callum stared at him, shaking his head in frustration. “I hope you aren’t serious,” he sighed. “You know I’m opposed to any form of seduction in military strategy. I allowed it once before and it nearly cost me my head; and that’s not counting the number of good men who did lose their lives over it.”
“No,” Edric blinked in realization at how his suggestion must have sounded. He hadn’t meant seduction. He wasn’t convinced the Ovatai men were even susceptible to physical temptation. “Although it was intended in jest, if we were to make use of Sahra’s ability to manipulate men, I only meant in swaying their opinion. The Ovatai men would have less need to prove their strength against a Vor’shai woman. When speaking with you or me, they would do everything they could to demonstrate themselves as the more powerful man, right down to disagreeing with our views simply for the sake of putting us in our place. I hate to say it, but I think our women have a better chance at talking to anyone in this country. They pose less of a threat to either gender.”
A bitter laugh escaped Callum, a flicker of misery in his eyes. “It’s unfortunate Aiva isn’t here, then. She could talk them into almost anything.”
Unsure of what to say in response, Edric brought his hand to Callum’s shoulder, squeezing it gently, hoping it might offer some comfort. If only there was something more he could do. Nothing short of sending Callum home would ease the pain he must suffer. At times it was easy to forget. Callum bore the strain so well. It tore at Edric’s heart to think of the agony Callum kept locked up inside. His own troubles felt trivial in comparison.
They walked on in silence, the sun slowly creeping toward the horizon, lighting the sky with its dusky orange glow over the clouds. Eventually Neomi’s arm lifted into the air, motioning for them to stop. Rubbing his eyes Edric scanned the area, shuddering at the macabre scene laid out before him. Bodies were strewn about the cracked and broken ground, dusted with fresh snow, though it did little to cover the stains of blood which tarnished the purity of the surface. The terrain was uneven, split in every direction, leading to a central point where a large hole created a void deep in the ground, down through the frozen soil underneath the layers of ice.
“Watch your step,” Neomi warned, carefully resuming her pace onward into the midst of the bodies. Edric stared in shock at the corpses. When he traveled with the naval units to Luquarr there had been plenty of fallen men, soldiers and pirates alike; but it was nothing quite like this. There were so many. Some pierced through with
arrows while others were in worse condition than the man they found earlier in the day, their limbs torn from their bodies. Nausea welled up in the back of his throat. This wasn’t just the remnants of a battle field. It was the aftermath of a merciless slaughter.
His attention was constantly diverted back to the hole which made up most of the ground where the village appeared to have once stood. A few structures remained intact while others were broken. Nothing more than blocks of ice lying in haphazard piles. Most had toppled into the depths of the abyss, leaving the area barren and bleak. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the thought of something large enough to create such utter destruction. In his head he pictured the beast drawn on the aged vellum of the journal, shuddering at the realization that the Ovatai might not be exaggerating the appearance of the creature they witnessed here in this very place.
Passage to the village was treacherous. Each break in the ice led down into small crevasses, their depth unperceivable through the darkness at the bottom. If Neomi was haunted by the memory of what happened the night the Avaern first appeared, she didn’t show it, leading the group through the maze of broken land to the abandoned structures the Ythes once called home. “It will be dark soon,” she announced, turning to face them. Her blue eyes pierced through the dim light, staring directly at Callum. “The area is not safe enough for us to waste time in building a camp. I suggest you and your men seek out a place to rest through a different means. There are plenty of homes that remain untouched by damage.”
“You want us to invade the private homes of those who live here?” Callum inquired. Neomi shrugged her shoulders, seeming not to understand his hesitation.
“Most of those who once lived in Isavo are dead. The ones who survived the last battle have evacuated the village for safety. You intrude on no one.”
Callum inhaled a sharp breath. He wasn’t thrilled by the idea. Edric didn’t need to hear him say a word to recognize his reluctance. Not that he could blame him. The thought of invading someone else’s home and calling it their own was unsettling. What if these people returned? They would still have belongings in the village. It wasn’t safe to assume the Ythes had abandoned everything.
Neomi didn’t give anyone a chance to argue, moving toward one of the ice structures at the northern end of the village. Edric watched her give a brief scan of the area around it before disappearing inside, leaving the others to fend for themselves in locating a place to rest.
“I’m not comfortable with this,” Gadiel murmured, slowly moving to stand beside Edric and Callum. “I recognize the danger of setting up tents but I find it more likely to offend the Ythes if they return to find us in their homes.”
“From the sounds of things the Ythes will try to kill us whether we are in their homes or not. For the sake of sparing a fight between us and Neomi, let’s just find a place to take cover for the night. Once we’re settled in, I want to hold a command meeting.” Callum surveyed the area, nodding to the other Vor’shai soldiers, indicating his approval for them to break from the group. “Locate a suitable structure and then meet me back here in fifteen minutes. We have some important details to discuss before morning.”
The interior of the dwelling Callum chose was similar to that which Neomi utilized at the camp outside Nahedu. Sufficient for the purpose they required it to serve. There were blankets and furs scattered about, providing ample protection from the cold. More than would have otherwise been granted by the use of a tent. A table fashioned from ice was positioned near the center of the main room. Hanging from a hook punched into the ceiling burned a small oil lamp, the flame small, illuminating the room with nothing more than a faint light, flickering and sputtering.
Sahra sat at the table in a small chair, grasping at her temples with a painful grimace. Her long hair hung loose around her shoulders, falling in gentle waves to frame her face, making her look almost innocent in the silence that hung on the air between everyone present. “Are you feeling alright?” Edric asked. He wasn’t genuinely concerned. It felt appropriate for him to inquire after her health given the strain that was so visible in her eyes.
“I have the most horrendous ache in my head which has plagued me since I woke this morning,” she frowned.
“This meeting will not take long, Lieutenant. I promise.” Callum paced back and forth from one end of the narrow room to the other. “It’s unfortunate that you are not sharing a tent with the Ovatai women. My hope was that you might find a means of befriending them. Edric and I were discussing the benefits that would have for us in gaining the trust of their people.”
Sahra’s hands lowered to the table, staring at Callum in disbelief. “Befriend them?” she breathed. “You ask me to do the impossible. Moinie refuses to listen to anything I say and Neomi…” her voice trailed off. She contemplated her words for a moment, shaking her head as if deciding against speaking out loud the thought which had come to her mind.
Callum paused in his steady pace, looking her over carefully. “What about Neomi?”
“Captain, I honestly believe that she is the reason I am in such pain right now,” she sighed in defeat. “When we set up camp last night I went into our tent to prepare for bed. I thought I saw her behind me and the next thing I knew I was waking up to Moinie’s glaring face this morning to get packed. Someone did... something. It isn’t normal for me to just black out and lose an entire night.”
“That is nonsensical, Sahra. What reason would Neomi have for putting you to sleep?” Gadiel laughed. “Did you irritate her that much?”
Hearing Sahra’s concerns sent a wave of discomfort through Edric. He could think of one very logical reason why Neomi might have wanted Sahra unconscious. One less pair of eyes watching her if she planned to sneak out of the tent in the middle of the night. Had she really taken such pains to arrange their meeting? In a way it explained her strange behavior. The flushed appearance of her face when she first arrived. She hadn’t simply stood up and walked out of the tent to speak with him. She’d carefully plotted every detail in order to avoid anyone discovering her intentions.
“She is a strange woman, Commander. I could never claim to understand what she is thinking, nor do I think I could ever be friends with her,” Sahra scoffed, returning to the gentle massaging of her temples with the tips of her fingers. “She questions everything I say. When I talk with her, I always feel as though she is taking in the words like they might incriminate me. And I’m pretty sure she used my perfume. The first night at camp I returned to the tent after the Boeikath attacked and she smelled like the fragrance I brought.”
“Lavender?” Edric rolled his eyes irritably. “She mentioned something about that, Sahra. If we were not in the middle of a war, I might have come to you about the things you are rumored to be saying about me to those women.”
“Your Highness…”
“Please,” he brought his hand up to silence her. Now wasn’t the time. They were all tired and stressed from the long journey. There would be time for confrontation later. “Let’s focus on more important matters, shall we? I believe the Captain was the one who called this meeting. We should give him a chance to speak.”
Callum waved his hand dismissively. He was distracted. By what, Edric couldn’t be sure. “Sahra, I have a task for you, if you think you are up to it.”
Edric’s heart sank. Did Callum really intend to do this? He wasn’t comfortable with the thought of Sahra playing games with Neomi. Women were jealous creatures. It didn’t matter what race they were. The only difference was in how an Ovatai female might react to a woman she viewed as a threat. He could only assume it would be violent. If Callum was correct in his assumptions about Neomi’s interest in him, Sahra would be a possible danger to the peace they tenuously held with the Ovatai. He dreaded to see what would happen if both women felt compelled to pursue him.
“If you’re going to ask me to gain the trust of those women, I can’t make any promises,” Sahra huffed, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table. �
�I’m not good with women. They tend to despise me for one reason or another. I cannot explain why.”
“Then try harder,” Callum replied simply. “Think like they do. Don’t waste their time with idle chatter about useless things. That means avoiding discussions about men. It’s best the Prince specifically is not mentioned in Neomi’s presence. Stick to basics. Battle strategies. Compliment their ideas. Do whatever it takes to earn any kind of respect you can… even if it means lying through your teeth.”
“I don’t mean to question your logic, Captain, but what good does that do us?”
“More than you realize. It will build their opinion of our people which they might pass along to their fellow warriors. Right now we need all the help we can get if they are ever going to trust us in battle. If you believe they think low of you, then fix it. The rest of us will do what we can, but we are men. The women will be less inclined to listen to a word we say.”
Leaning against the cold wall Gadiel eyed Callum curiously. It was a strange tactic to resort to during a war. The focus should be on the enemy. The time they wasted trying to gain the trust of their own allies took away from their chances at devising a quick and efficient plan to destroy the Avaern. “And what about us?” Gadiel questioned. “What are your orders for the men while Sahra tries to sweet-talk her way into the good favor of the Ovatai? Are we supposed to just blindly follow whatever command they give for the sake of appearances? If that’s the idea, then I must object.”
“Gadiel, you have worked with me long enough to know that I don’t run things that way,” Callum replied calmly, unsurprised by the doubt he received at his strategy. “We will follow their direction within reason. If I feel strongly that they are going to lead us erroneously, I fully intend to undermine them. In the field, if I give you an order, you follow it regardless of what the Ovatai say. I am still the Captain. We may be in their country but you are Vor’shai soldiers, therefore you are not under obligation to serve the Ovatai. The worst they can do is order us back to Tanispa.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Three: Crown of Ice Page 37