by Jacinta Jade
The commander maintained a steady gaze, and Siray had to fight the urge to blink constantly as she tried to return it.
‘Roalger and Baindan have also pieced together for me what led to your capture, based on what you’ve told them.’ Commander Dacelin pressed her hands flat to the desk and leaned back in her chair. ‘What I wish to know is why you want to join us and why we should accept you.’
Siray felt her chest tighten and her heart begin to thump harder. She had thought that, after the events of the days just gone, she would be welcomed by the Resistance and that they would gladly accept her contribution to their cause. Admittedly, she should have guessed that she would be questioned after Baindan alerted her to the fact that they had to check for spies, but with both him and Roalger vouching for her, and after what she had gone through, she hadn’t really believed that anyone could think it of her.
She tried to ignore the little voice inside that reminded her that she had been suspicious of the Resistance herself, and really, she hadn’t given much thought as to why she wanted to join them.
Siray could feel the scrutiny of the commander and Roalger as she sat quietly in consideration, her eyes on her injured foot, and the room seemed tight with her silence.
Why did she want to join them? She didn’t know these people; she didn’t even know what it was they were really fighting for. But … she did know what the Faction had done to her.
Her stomach hardened, but this time it wasn’t nerves that caused it to clench. It was purpose, a sure coldness that spread through her and made her meet the commander’s eyes again.
‘I want to know what the Faction wants with me and what they are planning to do. I want to know who they work for and what their plan is. And I want to stop them, because I know whatever they are doing, it can’t be good.’
The commander tilted her head slightly, obviously considering Siray’s words.
But Siray wasn’t finished. ‘I could try to stop them on my own. I could attempt to track them down and try to learn what I could.’ Siray flicked her fingers in the air in front of her, dismissing that idea. ‘But I suspect I wouldn’t last long. I have no training to undertake such a task, and I’m still unable to Change, leaving me vulnerable on several fronts. Your forces could offer me that training and the chance to learn the answers I seek.’
She leaned forwards, her words carrying the weight of recent experiences.
‘You should accept me because I’ve already proven myself several times over. I’ve been tortured by the Faction, have fought them alongside Baindan, and have defeated the odds just to make it here.’
She went silent for a moment but didn’t let her eyes leave the commanders.
‘My previous life is gone. If I don’t join you, then I guess I’ll be fighting on my own. We may or may not be on the same side of that fight, depending on what it is exactly that you’re fighting for. I know I may not last long by myself, but I’m willing to do whatever I can in that time to stop the Faction from doing to others what they did to me.’
Siray stopped speaking again for a moment, but this time, it wasn’t reflecting on her past that gave her pause but a sudden insight into the future.
‘What I also know for certain is that the Faction considers me to be some kind of special case. They want me for something,’ she mused out loud, ‘which means that you should want me more.’
Siray leaned back in her chair, a quiet confidence flowing through her as she sat silently regarding the commander, growing more sure of herself with each passing moment.
She titled her head now, shifting her eyes to Roalger, then back to the commander.
‘So, the real question is, why should I accept an invitation to join you?’
Across from her, the commander’s face remained stern and impassive, the tolerant smile having dropped away.
Throughout her speech, Siray had felt the tension in the room thicken as she locked gazes with the commander while Roalger looked on, and as she continued to watch the commander now, she saw her eyes narrow, and Siray’s chest tightened.
She had just begun to wonder if she had said too much when the tension in the room was broken by Commander Dacelin turning and nodding at Roalger. ‘It would seem you and Baindan were correct.’
Siray’s muscles relaxed slightly, but she kept her relief from her face as the commander turned her eyes back to her.
‘Siray. You seem to be a resilient young female with a frank honesty I appreciate. If you would like to join us, I would prefer to get your training underway as soon as possible. As you noted, this will also leave you less vulnerable to the next attack.’
Siray noted her use of the word ‘next’.
Commander Dacelin gestured with her palms facing upwards. ‘From there, we’ll see where you can be best placed within our forces to contribute to our cause and gain the answers you seek.’
The commander settled her hands in front of her on the desk, seemingly to have made her decision.
Besides Siray, Roalger’s shoulders shifted slightly. ‘Commander, Siray cannot begin her training while she is injured.’ He waved one of his large hands at Siray’s foot.
The commander’s eyes didn’t shift from Siray. ‘I’m aware of her injury, Lieutenant, but there are areas of training that she can commence that will not place any undue strain on her.’
Commander Dacelin’s eyes narrowed again, but she was looking past Siray now. ‘I do not believe we have the luxury of time at the moment. Having as many capable people trained and ready to fight as possible could decide any of the battles to come.’
Her eyes refocused on Siray. ‘If Siray would like to join us.’
The question. Would she?
Siray inhaled, then nodded. ‘I would.’
Thankfully, her voice didn’t betray her but came out strong and even.
The commander stood. ‘Excellent. Roalger will make preparations for you to leave as soon as possible—you may even be able to leave tonight with one of the wagons returning to the training camp.’
Siray felt her stomach clench in dismay. Leave tonight? Leave Baindan? She gave herself a mental shake and forced her mind away from those thoughts as the commander stood and walked around the desk to stand before her.
‘I look forwards to hearing reports of your progress.’
From the corner of her eye, Siray saw Roalger stand and give a respectful nod to the commander, and she quickly followed suit, turning and starting her awkward hobble towards the door, Roalger moving behind her.
Yet, as she reached the doorway, she paused and pivoted back around.
‘Commander, there’s something else.’
Roalger stepped to the side so Siray could have a clear view back to the commander without shifting her whole body.
Still standing before the desk, the commander’s head tilted slightly, one brow raised. ‘Yes?’
Siray swallowed at the authority in that one word and then began to speak rapidly. ‘Just before I was taken by the Faction from the capsule in the research centre, I realised I recognised one of the voices speaking in the room beyond.’
The stiffening of Roalger’s body beside her was noticeable, but the commander only repeated her earlier comment. ‘Yes?’
Siray looked right at the commander, knowing that this might sound crazy, but she was sure of what she had heard. ‘It was the Change master. He was the one who handed me over to the Faction.’
Roalger’s head whipped around to look at the commander, and Siray caught the meaning of the look that passed between them. This was new information to them.
The commander eyed Siray for a short, intense moment before she gave a quick nod to Roalger, some sort of silent signal that Siray didn’t understand. Then her eyes flicked back to focus on Siray again. There was a new edge to the commander’s voice as she spoke.
‘Thank you, Siray. Train hard.’
She was dismissed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AFTER THEY LEFT the command
er’s hut, Roalger escorted Siray through the dark, walking with large, comfortable strides, his assurance that of one who knew the ground before him well.
Hobbling along in his wake, Siray did her best to keep up, and tried to make up ground in the moments when Roalger realised his large steps were leaving her behind and briefly paused.
As they crossed the dark glade, Siray almost felt like reaching out in the dark to ward off any obstacles, but she knew that it was both her injury and her uncertainty of the ground that caused this feeling and tried to focus only on each step she took.
As Roalger led her on, Siray began to make out the black outline of a hut before her. Even in the darkness, she could see that this hut was different from the others. While its shape still suggested it had a main room, the other two rooms attached to it had large window fronts so that they were almost open to the clearing itself.
Roalger gestured to the two rooms as they approached. ‘This is our supply hut,’ he said. ‘Supplies for this camp, and others, are dropped off here and distributed.’ He pointed to one of the rooms, then to the other. ‘This one distributes foods and medicines, while this one distributes everything else. As you’ll soon see, the other camps have much larger supply huts, given their need for more raw materials for farming, building, and weapons manufacturing. Here at the main camp, we act mostly as a central coordination post.’
Siray appreciated the information Roalger was providing, but she was more tense than she had been all night, now that it seemed possible that she might leave tonight and not see Baindan again.
She followed silently as Roalger walked up to the hut’s main door and, raising his large fist, rapped his knuckles on it.
‘Yes, yes, who is it?’ a peevish-sounding voice called out to them from inside.
Curiously, Siray saw Roalger grimace.
‘Tenio—just my luck,’ he said in a low voice before announcing himself properly. ‘It’s Roalger. I need an update on all wagons leaving for the training camp tonight or tomorrow.’
Siray heard the voice inside mumble something indecipherable and listened to the sound of quick footsteps approaching the door.
An instant later, it was opened grudgingly by a male that looked far too young to be the owner of such a voice. He was thin and wiry, with short hair and eyes that seemed to bulge. The male’s eyes flicked rapidly to Siray, then back to Roalger.
‘It’s a bit late to be requesting items, isn’t it?’ His voice was haughty, and he stood in the partially open doorway, not inviting them in.
Siray blinked a little at the rude tone, but Roalger ignored it and turned to her.
‘Siray, this is Tenio, who helps to coordinate our supplies.’ Roalger twisted slightly back towards Tenio. ‘And as he is the one manning the supply hut this evening, he will also quickly provide me with what I asked for.’
Roalger shifted fully to face Tenio, and Siray marvelled that Tenio didn’t move instantly to do just as Roalger asked, as she would when faced with a large, and battle-weary, lieutenant.
Yet Tenio didn’t appear to be that smart as he drew himself up indignantly. ‘It is common knowledge that all requests must be submitted to supply officers by sunset of each day.’
Tenio paused as he took a breath, and Siray was forced to bite the inside of her cheek to keep her smile from her face as she saw Roalger tensing beside her, a storm about to be unleashed.
‘Hence,’ continued the supply coordinator, ‘you’ll just have to come back tom—’
‘Tenio!’ Roalger boomed.
Siray almost jumped at the sound of his displeasure, feeling his deep voice reverberate through her chest.
‘Tenio—I don’t care what time it is, what is “normally” done, or whatever else is going through your head right now,’ growled the lieutenant. ‘Get me what I want or I’ll see to it that the commander swiftly recognises that you are more suited for some other more menial post.’
Roalger reached up to rub at his face, his countenance that of someone thinking hard.
‘I’m sure the maintenance crew supervisor at Tulong Camp would be happy to have your assistance.’
Tenio actually paled at this threat and retreated quickly into the hut’s main room, the door swinging open behind him.
Though it, Siray could see Tenio moving hurriedly to a desk with several stacks of paper to find the information Roalger was seeking. She spoke to Roalger in a low voice. ‘What does the maintenance crew do at Tulong Camp?’
Roalger pivoted away from the door to face her and the darkness behind, effectively hiding his face from the young male inside. ‘Tulong is where all our food is grown. The maintenance crew is responsible for looking after fences, creating and distributing fertiliser, cleaning and looking after the animals that assist in the work.’ He shrugged. ‘If you like working in the outdoors with animals and plants, it’s not a bad job.’
Siray cocked her head a little, raising an eyebrow to indicate she still didn’t fully understand.
An amused smile spread across Roalger’s large, honest face. ‘But if you’re Tenio, who likes to work indoors and dictate to everyone else, it’s the worst job in the world.’
Siray grinned and then hurriedly rearranged her face into a neutral expression as a nervous Tenio returned to the hut doorway.
‘The wagon schedule as requested.’
Roalger took the schedule from Tenio while looking the young man sternly in the eye. After Tenio had dropped his eyes, Roalger focused his attention to the papers in front of him, the light spilling through the doorway illuminating the tables on the papers before him.
Siray watched as Roalger scanned the schedule rapidly before holding out the papers once more.
‘Thank you, Tenio. That’s all for now.’ Roalger spun on his heel and left the doorway of the hut, and Siray shifted to follow, working hard again to keep up with him.
‘The next wagon leaves early in the morning, giving us time to get the gear you need before you leave,’ Roalger said.
Siray nodded but then frowned. ‘Couldn’t we have gotten it from Tenio while we were there?’
Roalger snorted. ‘I don’t want to deal with Tenio any more than is necessary. He’s great at what he does, but he’s also arrogant and annoying. Tomorrow morning the hut will be manned by one of the other supply coordinators who will be much … quicker to assist.’
As they walked, Roalger directed their steps back across the clearing towards the hut where Siray had awoken that morning.
‘It will probably be a good idea for me to visit Mandolin tonight as well, to let him know that you’re leaving in the morning. If he doesn’t get a chance to assess your injury once more before you leave, I’ll never hear the end of it.’
Roalger spoke as if this was an annoying thing for him to do, but Siray could also heard a lot of respect in his voice as he spoke of the healer.
As they approached her hut, Siray asked, ‘How will I know where to go in the morning? And how early should I be ready?’ She found she was nervous. Part of her had hoped that this camp might be a safe place to stay for a time. A new home.
Roalger waved away her questions. ‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll have someone come fetch you when it’s time for you to leave so you know where to go. The wagon will arrive before dawn, so you’ll leave once it’s dropped the incoming load off at the supply hut.’
They had reached Siray’s hut now, and as Siray hobbled up to the door, she twisted back to Roalger, feeling a little awkward. ‘Roalger. Thank you for your help—over the last few days, and today.’
Roalger chuckled quietly. ‘Siray, I think you did most of the work yourself, but still, you’re welcome.’
He clapped her on the shoulder in a friendly way that almost made Siray lose her grip on her staff and go sprawling off-balance.
He turned to go, saying over his shoulder, ‘I won’t say goodbye, because I’m sure I’ll see you again soon enough.’
Siray watched Roalger stride away, heading down
the line of patient huts, supposedly heading to visit the master healer, and Siray smiled a little to herself at the memory of a trembling Tenio.
Turning, she pushed open the door of her hut and, hobbling inside, saw that someone had hung a small lamp by the inside of the door. Its light also showed her a small meal on the table, causing her hunger to surge up at the sight.
She realised she had not eaten all day.
Hopping promptly over to the table and letting her staff drop from her hand, she braced a hand against the table, then grabbed up a piece of bread and quickly tore chunks off it. The bread had cooled slightly, but its centre was still warm and soft. After the bread, she had bits of the various fruits that were also part of the meal and savoured the delicious ripeness of some berries that were particularly good.
After she had demolished the small meal, Siray distractedly untied her blue cloak and draped it over one of the chairs at the little table. Standing there in her white smock, Siray looked around for her staff, meaning to pick it up and place it in the corner.
Instead, a large yawn took her, and she shook her head at the end of it, trying to clear her fuzzy thoughts. She was physically and mentally tired from her long day … had it really just been one day?
Her eyes drifted to her bed and its inviting blankets, and she decided that she really didn’t need to worry about her staff just now. Lifting her injured foot behind her, she hopped across to the bed and carefully sat down upon it.
A tired groan escaped her as she reached down over the side of the bed, grabbed her injured leg by the calf, and lifted it carefully onto the bed. Then, flicking her other leg up and onto the mattress of soft reeds, she sank down into her blankets, closing her eyes.
Two breaths later, she was deeply asleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
‘SIRAY.’
A voice whispered to her in her dreams, and Siray turned her head to the side in her sleep, burying into her pillow, but the whisperer was unrelenting.