Wayward Soldiers

by Joshua P. Simon

  “Evening!”

  “Evening,” he replied with the slightest of nods.

  The man carried himself like someone who had seen what the ugly side of the world had to offer and wouldn’t be taken off guard by it. I was willing to wager that anyone who dared to cross him or threaten his family would find themselves against no easy foe.

  “Passing through?”

  He looked beyond us to what remained of Denu Creek, pausing briefly on the funeral pyre. “Not much worth stopping for.”

  No argument from me there. “Where you heading?”

  “Not really any of your business.”

  “You’re probably right about that. You mind me asking where you’re from at least? Considering all that’s happened, it’s encouraging to see that others are alive.”

  “Netivot.”

  Netivot was a small town to the northwest of Denu Creek.

  He nodded to the funeral pyre. “We lost a lot of people as you did. More will die after the raiders come. We left before they could strike.”

  “Raiders?”

  “A couple of days after the first flash of light, we heard rumors about people on horseback, some ex-soldiers, who had begun raiding towns up north. Some say there’s more than one group involved. Most were working their way south before the first flash.” He paused, staring at our clothing which still showed signs of our time in the army. That explained some of his uneasiness. “You wouldn’t know anything about them, would you?”

  I shook my head. “We don’t.”

  He pressed his lips together and bobbed his head as if debating silently with himself. “A bit of advice. We heard the numbers of the group closest are growing every day. Nearly a hundred men, all mounted.”

  “I can see why you left then.”

  He spat to the side. “I’d rather not take my chances. Especially with that stuff still in the sky.”

  “You’re welcome to at least stop for the night within town limits if you’d like. It would at least put you around some people rather than being alone on the road.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but if it’s all the same to you, we’ll keep moving on.”

  He clicked the reins, and I stepped farther back.

  The traveler drove by us with a cautious nod. His wife, a handsome woman, kept her head down and her hands gripped firmly to whatever weapon she hid in her dress. Only his children stared at us from the back of the wagon. All three boys were younger than Zadok, yet I saw the glint of steel in their hands.

  “Raiders? What do you think about that?” asked Ira after they passed.

  “I’m not surprised,” Ava said. “There are always people who thrive on the weakness of others. Probably started once news spread about Balak razing Damanhur. They likely thought they’d get in on the action, without realizing why Balak did what he did to begin with.”

  “He said they were soldiers. Or at least dressed like them,” said Dekar.

  “Given their size, I’m guessing there’s at least one officer among them. It takes a strong personality to hold a hundred men together,” Ava said.

  “Ty?” asked Ira.

  “Hmm?”

  “You’re awfully quiet.”

  “Just thinking who those soldiers might be. Some have to be men we returned home with.”

  “Unless its men who deserted before the war ended or were discharged for some other reason.”

  “I don’t think that’s it. The timing fits too well. Dekar, any thoughts on who we came home with that could lead a group like that?”

  He shrugged. “Anyone. All were veterans. All had some leadership experience.”

  “And other than Captain Nehab, none of us had the welcome home we wanted,” said Ira. “I’m sure that whoever is involved would argue they have cause for doing what they’re doing.”

  “And they’d be wrong,” I spat.

  “How does this affect us?” asked Ava.

  “It doesn’t. Not just yet anyway.” I turned to Ira. “You got us those mules I asked you to buy?”

  “Yeah, cost us a fortune,” he said bitterly. “Nobody wanted to part with the animals that survived.”

  “As long as we got them.”

  “We’re leaving tomorrow then?” he asked.

  “Yes. I don’t need the town thinking they can force us to stay again.” I paused. “Nason and his family will come with us too.”

  “Does Zadok and Myra know?” asked Ava.

  “I told them.”

  “I’m sure Zadok didn’t react well to us leaving.”

  “No.” I gestured toward the funeral pyre. “But at this point, we’re not saving anyone else. It’s time we looked out for ourselves. If what you said was true about the artifact, only Molak knows if the cursed thing is finished or not. If it isn’t, I want to get as far away as I can before the next eruption. If it is finished, I’d still like to start over in a place more forgiving than where we are now.”

  “You’re all right with leaving the people to fend for themselves?” asked Ava.

  I gave her an odd look, thinking at first she had to be joking. Up until a few days ago, the last thing she cared about was helping the people of Denu Creek. I looked away only to have her step into my path. She wanted an answer I wasn’t in the mood to give.

  Maybe she wanted to make sure I wouldn’t have any regrets about leaving. I likely would, but I’d just have to get over them.

  I was physically, mentally, and emotionally spent. I needed time to bond with my kids and make peace with Lasha’s death. I was tired of having people look to me for advice, tired of people counting on me, and tired of always being caught in the middle of things.

  I worked my jaw, carefully choosing my words.

  A roar from the town saved me the trouble of responding.

  People had gathered around the travelers and their wagon as it made its way through Main Street. It seemed like many of the same questions we had just posed to the stranger were being shouted by the throng. The wagon hurried its way through town, maneuvering through the natural fissures in the road while leaving behind an uproar. Mayor Rezub was in the middle of it all, trying to gain order among the townspeople. The man looked like a grounded bird, wildly flapping its wings.

  “I guess it’s safe to assume they heard about the raiders,” said Dekar.

  “Yeah,” I huffed. That would likely affect my plans.

  Sivan, the old tailor, worked his way through the crowd while leading a brown and white speckled mount. He got in the saddle, exchanged a few words with the mayor and took off toward us. He galloped past without stopping, but waved. He followed the trail from whence the wagon and fleeing family came, disappearing around the bend in the road.

  Damaris ran out of the group of townspeople, blonde hair flowing behind her, as she shouted at her father to come back. By that point, Sivan was well out of earshot.

  “What was that about?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, but the old man looked pretty comfortable in the saddle,” said Ira.

  I had to agree.

  “We’re not going to find out anything just standing around,” said Ava. She tapped me on the arm. “Go talk to Damaris.”

  “Why me?”

  “Yeah,” said Ira. “I could go ask.”

  “We’re trying to get information, not scare the woman off,” said Ava. “Besides, she looks upset and could use a kind word or two. Do you even have any of those in your vocabulary?”

  “Don’t start what you can’t finish,” began Ira, quickly working himself up again.

  Dekar cut in before it got out of hand. “Ava’s right, Tyrus. It’s obvious that Damaris has eyes for you. Who better to go find out what’s going on?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t sound surprised, big brother. She’s always watching you out of the corner of her eye. Didn’t you find it odd that after we rescued her, she always managed to work on clearing the same pile of rubble as you?”

  The realization chilled me despit
e the warm air. I hadn’t ever considered that, but it did make sense. The woman had been around me or one of the kids more often than not. I thought all her attempts at small talk were just a way to deal with the mess we had all gone through.

  Molak-be-damned, what would Lasha have said if she even thought someone was showing an interest in me?

  “Ty, you look as pale as death,” said Ira.

  Ava touched my arm. “Calm down and take a breath. Talking to her isn’t turning your back on Lasha.”

  My sister knew me well.

  “No one said you have to marry the woman, or even like her,” added Ira. “Just go find out what’s going on. Then maybe later I’ll swoop in—”

  Dekar cuffed Ira on the back of the head.

  Damaris had stopped staring after her father, instead gazing in our direction as if she knew we were talking about her.

  “Well, I can’t ignore her now, can I?” I muttered. I started walking and called over my shoulder. “Go find my kids. I don’t need them getting caught up in that crowd.”

  “We’ll handle it,” Ava said.

  I approached Damaris while trying to appear calm. Inside, my stomach did flips. Thankfully, I was already sweating from standing so close to the pyre. Otherwise, my nervousness would have been more apparent.

  It was stupid to be so worked up over talking to a woman who just a few moments before wouldn’t have made me uncomfortable. But after what Dekar and Ava said, dozens of thoughts surrounding the last few days clouded my mind. Light touches on my arm that I had thought were insignificant before made me wonder if they held different meanings.

  Guilt worked its way around the inside of my head. Lasha might have died over a year ago, but to me the loss was only days old. I was not yet ready to think about another woman.

  I wasn’t sure I ever would be.

  Damaris managed a smile as I approached.

  I did my best to return it. “Is everything all right?”

  “Father went scouting for the mayor.” She did a poor job of masking the distress in her voice.

  “Scouting?”

  “The family in the wagon said there were raiders harassing some of the surrounding towns.”

  “He told us the same.”

  “Everyone is in a panic. Mayor Rezub said we should all stay calm until we know what’s really going on. It could be an exaggerated story.”

  “Sound thinking. About time Rezub did his job.”

  “Except the only way we’d know if the stories were true is if the bandits attack us . . .”

  “Or someone goes to find them,” I said, finishing her thought.

  She nodded.

  I raised an eyebrow. “And Rezub chose your father?”

  “He volunteered. He was a scout during the Byzan Wars. And he still has remarkable hearing and sight for his age.”

  “Knows his way around a horse too,” I added, thinking of Ira’s earlier comment.

  “But he’s also in his fifties. He could get himself killed.”

  “Then why did he go?”

  “In some ways because of you.”

  I blinked. “I don’t understand.”

  “He said that a good man thinks unselfishly and does the work that needs doing, regardless of the risks to himself. He already had a soft spot for you because of your military background. But after all that you’ve done for the town, despite how they first treated you, well he talks about you like he once did about Zev.”

  I didn’t know that name. “Who’s Zev?”

  “He was my older brother. The one who died in the early years of the Geneshan War.”

  Molak’s sweaty balls. The man was comparing me to his dead son. No pressure there.

  “I don’t know what to say to that,” I finally managed.

  “Say you promise my father won’t get himself killed despite acting like a young fool.”

  “You know I can’t do that.”

  “All right, then say you know a way to stop those raiders from coming our way.”

  I clicked my tongue, frustrated. “Can’t do that either.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Well, what good are you?”

  That aggravated me. After all I’d been through and all the things I’d done not only for the town, but specifically for her and her father after the first eruption, why would she have said something like that? I was ready to lay into her when I saw the beginnings of a grin tugging at the corner of her thin, pink lips. She smiled wider as she caught me noticing it.

  She had been teasing.

  “Sorry, maybe I’ve been listening to Ira and your sister give you a hard time for too long. It just seemed like too good of an opportunity.”

  I chuckled. “You took me off guard.”

  “That was the idea.”

  I laughed again, recalling a fond memory. “You know Lasha used to do the same thing to me. She’d . . .” My voice trailed off, remembering what Ava and Dekar had said about Damaris earlier.

  “She’d what?”

  Damaris asked the question in a way that suggested she was genuinely interested in the story. Maybe she was, but I couldn’t go on. I felt guilty for even mentioning my wife around her. Talking about Lasha bothered me even more than potentially upsetting Damaris.

  “Are you all right?”

  I blinked. “Sorry. Just drifted off.”

  “I should probably head back into town and wait for my father. Maybe listening to everyone else arguing will make the time go faster.”

  The hint of fear had returned to her voice.

  “Maybe. I’ll head back with you.”

  We didn’t say anything at first during the walk back. The only sound was the scraping of our feet on the hard earth and the increasing volume of conversations among the townspeople.

  “We’re leaving town tomorrow,” I blurted. “Nason and his family are coming with us. You and your father are welcome to come as well.”

  Where had that come from?

  We both stopped walking. Damaris stepped in front of me.

  “Are you serious?”

  Was I? No good would come from traveling with a woman who apparently had feelings for me while I still mourned my wife and tried to bond with my children.

  “I think so.”

  I screamed inside my head. That’s not what I had wanted to say.

  “You think so?” She cocked her head to the side, flipping blonde hair over half her face as she awaited an answer.

  She was a beautiful woman. The admission surprised me at first until I realized how silly I was being at letting Dekar and Ava affect my thoughts and behavior. There was nothing wrong with admitting Damaris was attractive. In fact, she had a striking face that put many women to shame.

  Besides, it’s not like I had never appreciated the looks of women other than Lasha before, regardless of what Ava might say. It was just every other woman paled in comparison to my wife.

  Any man would be thrilled to have Damaris as a wife. Maybe I would have been too if I’d never met Lasha. My wife had been the kind of woman that the minstrels in Hol write songs about.

  It always amazed me that Lasha picked me over every other man in the world.

  Suddenly comfortable with the confusing feelings running around my head, I relaxed. Why wouldn’t I invite Damaris and Sivan? They had proven themselves strong workers in the aftermath of the second eruption. I recalled old Sivan on horseback. Someone with skill like that would come in handy as we traveled.

  I puffed out a big breath. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I invite you and your father?”

  Her face brightened which made me realize I needed to be careful about how I phrased things around her. Just because I was comfortable with where things stood between us didn’t mean we shared the same feelings.

  “Thank you. That’d be great. We had no idea what we’d do next. We didn’t have the money to pay the bank for our shop before, let alone repair what’s left of it now.” Her brow furrowed. “What if my father isn’t back by the t
ime you’re ready to leave?”

  “Then we’ll wait a bit longer.”

  “And if he’s still not back?”

  In other words, how long would I wait for him? Would I have to force her into deciding that her father might be dead and leave without him?

  At least that’s what I thought she was getting at. If so, I wasn’t ready to give that answer.

  “Let’s not borrow trouble. We’ll talk about that if it’s necessary. All right?”

  She bit her lip, seemingly reluctant to agree. “All right.”

  “Good. Then let’s go.”

  We skirted behind most of the crowd. I made sure to keep my head down, so as not to draw attention. Dekar, Ira, and Ava had found Myra and Zadok, thankfully pulling them to the outside of the rowdy throng. They watched the situation in the long shadows cast by the Hemlock Inn’s crooked porch. The storm and elements following the second eruption had done a number on it.

  All except Zadok wore an intense look of agitation as they listened to the townspeople. My son was ready to burst with worry.

  “That bad?” I asked in a low whisper as I strode up.

  Ira grunted. “All that goodwill over the last few days is drifting away awful fast now that people can’t agree on what needs to happen next. Everyone’s true colors are coming around again.”

  Zadok shook his head. “They’re just scared and confused. Someone needs to talk some sense into them. I tried to get Aunt Ava to do it, but she said no. Neither would Ira or Dekar.”

  “That’s what they pay Rezub for,” said Ava.

  “But he doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Zadok said with a bit of a whine that revealed his age. “Nason had to get involved just so people would let Rezub speak.”

  I followed my son’s gesture and looked over the mob. Rezub stood red faced, arms gesticulating wildly as he tried to make himself heard over the many others already talking. Nason was right next to him, trying to quiet people.

  Why would Nason get involved knowing we’d be gone tomorrow?

  I sighed. Another one with a heart too big.

  I shifted back to Zadok. “The mayor’s not doing that bad.”

  “But what if Sivan doesn’t come back?” someone shouted in the crowd.