Forgotten Soldiers

by Joshua P. Simon

  “The farms!”

  “What?”

  My shouting caught Nason’s attention and he hurried over.

  He eyed Ira. “I thought you were getting him upstairs.”

  “I tried to but—”

  “Do you have enough healthy animals to pull a wagon?” I asked.

  Nason started. “Maybe a couple.”

  “Get them harnessed. We’ve been so busy worrying about those here in town, we’ve forgotten about the farms.”

  He swore. “You’re right. I’ll try to organize some people to pick up those really bad off and have them brought in.”

  I thought of the old woman I lost. “No time for that. They could be too far gone to heal by then. Just take me to them.”

  “You’re in no shape to travel,” said Nason.

  “I can sleep in the wagon.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re swaying on your feet now. You need more than a few minutes of rest in the back of a bumpy wagon.”

  “Molak be damned, Nason! You talked me into helping these people. Don’t try to talk me out of it now.”

  Something happened then. I’m not sure what. One moment, I was all set to get into a shouting match with Nason, the next my eyes opened to Ira slapping my face. I was on the ground.

  “All right, stop. I’m awake.”

  Ira hit me again, this time harder.

  “By the gods, I said I was awake!”

  “I know,” said Ira. “That was for being so hard headed. I’ll drag you upstairs if I have to, Ty, but you’re not going anywhere until you get some rest. I’m not about to have you pass out again.”

  “But by then it could be too late . . .”

  “I’ll go.”

  All heads turned back toward the inn. Zadok stood on the edge of the porch looking at us.

  “I thought I told you to stay upstairs,” said Ira.

  “You were taking too long. I was worried about Pa. And Aunt Ava is doing all right without me.” He left the porch and walked toward us. “I heard what you said, Pa. Let me help those people on the farms. I know my resistance isn’t as strong as yours, but it’s better than nothing.”

  I shook my head. The thought of Zadok going off without me made me sick to my stomach. If he went off into the country, I’d have no way of knowing how he was doing until it was too late. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s too dangerous.”

  “Too dangerous? What’s dangerous about riding in a wagon and putting my hand on people who need my help?”

  “A lot can happen.”

  “A lot can happen here too. I could trip and fall. The inn could burn down. There could even be an explosion,” he said, gesturing toward the ugly sky that hovered in the direction of Hol.

  My son, the jester.

  “That’s different.”

  “Why?”

  “Because if something does happen while you’re at the farms, I’ll be too far away to help you.”

  “I’ll go with him, Ty.” Ira’s face had taken on a look of stone. “I promise not a hair on his head will be harmed as long as I’m breathing.”

  Ira didn’t make declarations like that often and when he did, he took them seriously. Still . . .

  “Please, Pa.”

  I sighed, realizing he was right. “You can go, but so help me you better not do like I did. You need to take breaks to eat and drink.”

  Zadok gave me a brilliant smile. “I will.”

  “Don’t worry, Ty,” Ira said. “I’ll be as much of a nag to him as you can be to us.”

  I shook my head. “All right, Nason. Go get a wagon. I’m going to see everyone off before I go upstairs.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Lasha stood at the foot of the bed and slowly undressed, exposing the fullness of her dark, smooth skin. She wore a smile she saved only for me when the kids had gone down for the night and the house was quiet.

  My heart raced and blood flowed to places I had no control over.

  Her smile grew wider as she began to glide around the bed, stretching and pretending that she had no clue what she was doing. She looked down and noticed my excitement. “Oh, were you expecting something?” she asked, teasing me as she liked to do.

  I loved every minute of it.

  I started to speak, ready to fire back some bit of witty banter for her to play off of, but found I could not open my mouth. I attempted to bring a hand to my face, but my arm did not move and neither did the other. I was strapped to the posts of the bed. Looking down, my legs were bound similarly.

  I pulled, jerked, fought to break free of the constraints without any success. Lasha stood as naked as her name day at the foot of the bed, smile growing wider by the moment.

  The door to our bedroom swung open. Jareb entered. He said not a word. In fact, he didn’t even acknowledge me. Why would he? I saw the lust in his eyes. I knew what he wanted. He pulled Lasha to him, kissing and touching her in ways that only I had ever done. Bile crept into my throat and tears filled my eyes. The entire bed shook, creaking as I pulled as hard as I could against my binds. I felt the straps dig into my skin, cutting my wrists and ankles. Still, I pulled. I could not let him do that to my wife.

  My Lasha.

  She turned to me. Her eyes met mine and she whispered. “You weren’t here for me.”

  My head slammed back against the pillow as the fight left me. I closed my eyes. Regaining control of my mouth again, I screamed.

  * * *

  “Tyrus! Xank be cursed, wake up!”

  My eyes shot open and I sat up covered in sweat, chest heaving. I swallowed and winced at the grating rawness in my throat.

  “What happened?” asked Dekar, hands still gripping my shoulders as if he let go I might slip back into the hell he shook me out of.

  My eyes darted about, blinking. I saw the chairs, the dresser, the big window. I was back at the Hemlock Inn.

  “A dream,” I said.

  “About the war?”

  I shook my head.

  He noticeably relaxed.

  In the army, some soldiers began to lose their minds as the things they had seen in the war began to haunt them. It started out while they slept, but over time, they began to dream of the horrors even in their waking moments. It couldn’t be predicted who would be affected. A grisly old veteran was just as susceptible as the young recruit. And the worst part was that none of the healers knew how to treat the ailment. Several of the men affected ended up taking their own lives rather than experience those memories over and over.

  I was sure Ira had told Dekar about having to wake me from reliving the battle at Safed Plain.

  “What was it then?”

  “Just a nightmare,” I said.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” asked Dekar.

  “No.”

  I didn’t want to even think about it. I sure didn’t want to discuss those images. To me, nothing in the war was as bad as what had entered my mind—especially because there was some truth to the dream. Granted, Lasha likely never enjoyed what she had done with Jareb, but he’d had her. And worst of all, I wasn’t there to prevent it.

  One more thing that would haunt me forever.

  My stomach lurched and my heart raced again, this time in anger. “Let’s just talk about something else.”

  I went to rub my eyes and realized one of my hands was bound. I was in bed beside Ava, my forearm strapped to hers. I guessed that might explain part of my dream.

  “What in the name of Molak happened? Last thing I remember I was outside as Nason went off to get a wagon to take Zadok out to the farms.”

  Dekar reached over and snatched a skin of water off a nearby chair. “Here. Drink.”

  I took the skin and inhaled the liquid, nearly choking.

  “Slowly.”

  I wiped my mouth. “So, last night?”

  “Well, you ended up passing out in the street again and Ira had to carry you upstairs. Zadok came up too and they filled us in on what
had happened. It was probably a good thing you were out because Myra was pretty livid at you for saying Zadok could go off by himself. Ira said he’d be there with him. Myra made some choice comment about that and within a matter of seconds all three were at each other’s throats.”

  I took another long swallow, then realized I didn’t hear any movement outside the bedroom. “Is Myra asleep?”

  “No. She said the only way Zadok was going to leave was if she went with him. But since she didn’t want to leave Ava unattended, she suggested we throw you in bed next to her and strap you both at the arm so she’d stay in contact with you. I said that for all we know that might delay you coming around, but she did it anyway.”

  “I’m glad she was as equally concerned about me,” I muttered.

  Dekar frowned. “I’ve stayed in here while you slept. You started screaming and it took me a minute to get you to wake up. You know the rest.”

  I looked out the window. A night void of stars stared back at me. At least it seemed the night was void of stars since the sorcerous glow continued to do weird things to the sky.

  “So, I slept all evening and into the night?”

  “Yeah. Dawn’s probably a couple hours away.”

  “And they aren’t back yet?”

  “Nason said they’d likely spend the night at someone’s farm so they can visit more homes first thing in the morning, but only as long as Myra and Zadok were still up to it.”

  I didn’t like knowing they were out there somewhere without me, but I trusted Nason’s word and Ira’s blade. It’d take a couple D’engiti to take my children from Ira and those monstrosities were but a memory now.

  “You hungry?”

  On cue, my stomach growled. “I’d say that’s a yes.”

  “Here.” Dekar held out a plate containing a roll of stale bread, assorted cheese, and a link of cold sausage. “Dinah brought this up for you a few hours ago in case you woke up before breakfast. She apologized for it not being more, but in light of everything going on she had little time to cook.”

  I took one more drink of water, set the skin down, and accepted the plate. “The way I feel, I’d say it’s a feast fit for the king.” Saliva filled my mouth as I took the first bite of cheese.

  “If the king is even alive,” Dekar said with a grunt. “You’ll probably want to eat that as quick as you can and try to get some more rest. You still look like you’ve been through hell.”

  “I guess not sleeping much will do that to you.” I tried a bit of sausage. It was bland, but not bad. “You look tired yourself. Why don’t you take the bed in the other room since the kids are away?”

  “I’d rather stay here while you sleep.”

  I thought of the dream that woke me and shuddered, sausage almost coming back up as I did. “No. Go on. The food is helping. Besides, it will be a while before I get back to sleep anyway.”

  “Dream, that bad?”

  “Doesn’t get much worse.”

  War didn’t have anything on imagining someone else having your wife.

  He grunted, but didn’t pry. That was one of many things I liked about Dekar. He listened better than nearly anyone, but he never tried to force you into saying more than you felt comfortable with.

  He stood. “All right then. That bed does sound pretty good right now. I’ll keep the door open in case you need me.”

  * * *

  I almost called out for Dekar not long after I finished eating. It hit me that I hadn’t relieved myself in quite awhile. Yet, I was stuck in bed, strapped to the arm of my sister, while the chamber pot sat in a corner. It might as well have been leagues away.

  It took me a few moments to undo the strap, climb out of bed, and maneuver my sore body around to the corner while also managing to keep a hand on Ava’s leg. Despite the adventure, I managed to take care of business on my own, but it was close.

  Once finished, I stretched to get the blood moving about my stiff limbs. I then tended to Ava by spooning more broth down her throat and cleaned her face with a damp towel.

  When I could think of nothing else that needed doing, I settled myself in the chair next to the bed.

  My eyelids began to drop. I knew I’d have to face sleep again eventually so it would be better to get it over with. After intertwining my fingers with Ava’s and wrapping the leather strap around our wrists I allowed sleep to take me.

  CHAPTER 20

  Morning arrived for me with a bang. The sound of doors being thrown open and things being dragged across the floor woke me with a start.

  “Can you make any more noise?” hissed Myra.

  “Maybe if someone got off their high horse and decided to help me bring all this junk inside. Gods, I’m glad you’re not my daughter,” said Ira.

  “Trust me, the feeling is mutual.”

  Ira started on some tirade when Zadok interrupted. “Will both of you stop? Pa is likely still asleep. Dekar too.”

  “Not anymore,” Dekar called out from the other bedroom.

  “I’m up too,” I said.

  “See what you did,” said Myra.

  Heavy footsteps followed, drowning out Ira’s subsequent curses.

  “C’mon kid, help me bring up the rest of this stuff since your sister can’t be bothered.”

  The door slammed as Ira and Zadok left.

  I snorted to myself thinking about all the grief Ira had likely put up with. In some ways it made me feel better about myself. Myra wasn’t just angry with me or even the people in Denu Creek. She seemed to be mad at the entire world.

  I checked over Ava, who unsurprisingly, looked no different than she had hours before.

  “Any change?” Myra asked as she strode over to the head of the bed. She placed a hand on her aunt’s forehead.

  “None.”

  “When’s the last time she was fed?”

  “I gave her some broth a few hours ago.”

  “So she’s probably ready for some more then.”

  “Probably.”

  She lifted up the sheet on her side of the bed. “I see you didn’t change her bedpan.”

  “Hard to do with only one hand. Besides, it didn’t need it last I looked.”

  “Well, she needs it now. Lift her up.” She went back to the bedroom door and closed it for privacy, then threw the sheets off Ava completely. I averted my gaze and tried not to think about what I was doing as I lifted my sister so Myra could empty the bedpan and wipe her down.

  “All right. I’m done.”

  I lowered Ava and Myra threw the covers back on top. To my surprise, Myra wore a smirk.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I just think it’s silly how bashful you are about seeing her naked.”

  “Are you telling me that seeing Zadok without clothes on wouldn’t make you uncomfortable?”

  “I doubt it. I’ve seen him like that when we were younger.”

  “Things change.”

  The door to the suite opened again and I heard things being jostled around as Ira and Zadok grunted.

  “What are they hauling up?”

  “Offerings,” she said with disgust.

  “Offerings? For whom?”

  “Us. You, specifically. The people you healed aren’t sure what to make of us anymore, especially you. Some are saying you’re a priest or a tool of the gods. Some are saying you’re a god yourself, an offspring of Lavi and Prax.”

  “You’re joking.”

  “Does it look like I’m joking?”

  Her eyes narrowed in a way that made it impossible for her to ever deny she was my daughter. It made her look older than her fourteen years. Of course, she didn’t speak like any fourteen year old I had ever met.

  Given our current situation, she’d start sounding like an old crone before spring.

  “I guess not.”

  “People started giving us stuff in thanks as an offering to you or for you to offer to the gods on their behalf.”

  “And you accepted it?”

 
“We healed them despite the way they treated us before. Why shouldn’t we get something out of the deal?”

  “That sounds like something Ira would say.”

  “It was his suggestion. But, it makes sense.”

  “I’m surprised Zadok went along with it.”

  “He didn’t want to at first. But once he saw all the things people wanted to give him—things he had always wanted, but never could afford, he came over to our side.” She paused. “I guess you going to help all those people wasn’t so bad after all. We’ve obtained more stuff in one day than you would have earned in a year at any job in town. Even after we split our take with Ira and Dekar, we could go somewhere and maybe buy a place like the one we used to have.”

  A part of me saw the logic in what she said. And if someone other than Myra had made the observation, I would have agreed with them, not bothered in the least. But something about hearing my daughter speak like a cynical old woman pained me. It was a complete contradiction to the way I knew Lasha would have wanted her to behave.

  “You know your mother wouldn’t approve of hearing you talk like that.”

  “Probably not.”

  “That doesn’t bother you?”

  “Why should it?” she snapped. “I loved Ma, but helping people out of the kindness of her heart without expecting anything in return didn’t help her, or us.”

  I nodded to Ava who she continued to fuss over. “You’ve been taking care of her. She never did anything for you.”

  She paused as if I raised a point she hadn’t considered. She pulled away and sat in the other chair.

  “I guess I’m just doing it as a favor to you,” she said after a moment.

  “How so?”

  She nodded to our interlaced hands. “It’s obvious how much she means to you. And even though I still think it was dumb what you did to Jareb at the plantation, you meant well by trying to help us. Plus, Zadok hasn’t been this happy since before we lost the farm. Consider me taking care of her as payment for what you’ve done for him.”

  But not her. . . .

  I changed subjects, hoping that by doing so the room might warm from the ice-cold words of my lovely daughter. “So, I guess people no longer believe you and Zadok are cursed?”

  “Some still do. Those who are still loyal to Jareb think the eruption was all our fault.” She leaned back in the chair, stretching. “But in the eyes of those we healed, how could we be cursed when we’re apparently the children of a god?”