Ava worked her tongue in her mouth. “If we tie the rafts together and keep them close, I might be able to confuse what people see of us.” She sighed. “All right. We’ll change course.”
CHAPTER 23
Ava looked over her map with Myra and Zadok at her side. In the background, Nason and several others sharpened axes and hatchets. Camp was set for the night and what little light of day still hanging around faded fast. They had made good progress toward the river, but she wanted to ensure they got there by tomorrow evening, so temporarily suspended training.
They had been collecting dead vines that managed to hold onto their strength the last two days while on the road, and everyone worked on braiding them together while walking to minimize their time camping at the river itself when they reached it. They’d use the vines to bind logs for the rafts.
She followed Myra’s gesture. “This is about where we should meet the river.”
Ava nodded. “As soon as we get there, we set pickets. Anyone who can swing an ax or hatchet needs to get to work felling trees not already down. Anyone not doing those two jobs will need to start trimming logs and binding them together. We’ll work all night by firelight if needed.”
“People will be tired after the pace you’ve kept, Aunt Ava.”
“People will be dead if we stay there longer than we need to. They can sleep on the rafts.”
Zadok frowned at Ava’s hard response, but then brightened with a smile. “I guess I better remind everyone not to roll over in their sleep.”
Ava grinned, thinking about someone rolling into the river. However, she couldn’t take much pleasure in the joke. Her last conversation with Myra came to mind and she wondered how much of Zadok’s response was real.
Zadok frowned at her, and Ava realized she’d been staring.
“Let’s see what needs doing before first watch begins,” she said, standing, cursing her stiff legs.
Gods, barely into my thirties and I feel like I’m Sivan’s age. She felt a pang of regret from the thought. She had liked the old man a lot.
Hurried footsteps and murmured whispers came from behind. Ava knew right away something was wrong.
Of course it is.
She spun as Eder returned from scouting. He didn’t look panicked like when coming upon a large army, but he definitely wore a look of concern. Others must have seen the same as Ava. Rather than get a jump on breaking camp, a couple followed after him, wanting to get the news he brought firsthand.
Naturally, that only angered her. She didn’t like dealing with more than a couple people when listening to scouting reports. Though most of the people seemed pretty content with following her lead, she could tell that some grew disenfranchised with her.
Because we still aren’t there.
Her face must have conveyed her thoughts for Nason called out for people to keep working.
They said something to the former tanner, perhaps a question. Nason shook his head, and pointed back to their gear.
He had not wanted to lead their group, but he did not shy away from doing all the little things that made Ava’s responsibilities easier.
I could kiss him for that.
“What happened?” she asked.
Eder cleared his throat. “Another Malduk party, though much smaller than what we’ve seen so far.”
“How small?”
“I guess there might have been another couple out scouting, but only nine were visible.”
“That’s really small.”
“A squad out on a separate mission?” suggested Myra. “Advance group doing some detailed scouting.”
“I don’t think so. I doubt they’d be a lead scouting group with two prisoners. Not like these anyway.”
For the last few days, Eder and Massa had come back from scouting with reports of the Malduks and Geneshans transporting Turine prisoners. She had tried to keep that under wraps, not wanting to cause more fear where she felt there was already plenty.
Nason had suggested that it didn’t make sense for the Geneshans to drag prisoners all over the countryside with them since they would only be a drain on resources. Ava had kept quiet then, not explaining what she thought the prisoners were likely for.
Ava frowned. “What makes these prisoners so different?”
“Their skin.” Eder glanced to Myra and Zadok. “They’re darker than them. Black.”
“They’re from the Southern Kingdoms?” asked Zadok.
Eder shrugged. “Y’all know more about that stuff than I do. But that would be my guess.”
“How many?” asked Myra.
“Just two. A woman and a man. Might be husband and wife.”
Ava could see another question forming on Myra’s lips, but Ava cut it off. “What about the squad of Malduks? Anything else unique about them other than their numbers?”
“Not that I can think of.”
“Are they a threat?”
“Didn’t look that way. They seem to be trying to go unnoticed much like how we are. Maybe even more so.”
“Good. Grab some water, then get ready to go back out there in a bit.”
He nodded and left.
“Well, that’s good news,” said Ava to Myra and Zadok. “Go get some food yourselves. We’ll need to get to sleep soon.”
Myra asked. “You’re just going to leave them out there?”
“Leave who?”
“Don’t play dumb. The prisoners.”
“We left other prisoners.”
“This is different.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s only two people, and they aren’t being guarded by an entire army. Just a squad.”
“Oh, just a squad? Is that all? You do realize that your father led a squad of eight to twelve men for almost a decade. During that time we were responsible for directly killing hundreds of people. Indirectly, who knows the number.”
“We don’t know that they’re an elite unit,” said Myra.
“We don’t know that they’re not either so don’t act like we can just stroll into their camp and take them out.”
“I never said any of that.”
“You were thinking it.”
“No. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t plan something. We have the element of surprise. And more importantly, we have you.”
“I’m not at full strength, Myra.”
“You don’t need to be. You’ve been practicing attack spells, right?”
“Very small ones and I’ve had to be careful when doing so. Attack spells are a different animal than the other types I’ve been using. A high-level mage or enemy sorcerer can possibly trace an attack spell back to the person who created it. We don’t want that kind of attention if there are any nearby.”
“Well, then we don’t use those spells. You’ve still been working all sorts of concealment and confusion spells. Even if you do nothing more than that it will make a big difference in us being able to rescue them.”
“It’s still a big risk.”
“It’s one we should take.”
“Why are you so bent on putting us in jeopardy for two complete strangers?”
“Because. They are from the Southern Kingdoms. They might be able to tell us how best to get there from our current spot. They might know alternate routes or changes in the land we aren’t yet aware of. They’ll know what’s happening in the south and how badly the artifact affected their kingdom. It would make our journey easier.”
Ava had to concede that point. More points started running through her mind.
We really don’t know anything about the Southern Kingdoms either. Tyrus was the only one who had even been there and that was over a decade and a half ago. And those memories were influenced by the fact he met Lasha there. What if we spend all this time traveling south and the kingdoms turn
us away?
Those people could help us navigate the Southern Kingdoms and get us better acclimated to a new land.
Plus, we could kill a few Malduks along the way. Nothing wrong with that.
But the risk . . .
“What if we lose someone? Or multiple people? How do I justify that to the others? We lose friends, but save two strangers? Or what if these two don’t want to help us after we save them? Or they give us false information?”
“All good points,” said Myra.
Ava snorted. “And you don’t agree with any of them.”
“I didn’t say that. They’re just not enough to talk me out of wanting to save those people.”
“We don’t know the layout of their camp,” grumbled Ava. She was trying to put up a fight, but could feel herself conceding. She too saw the benefits of having the people with them.
“That’s because you didn’t ask Eder.” Myra pointed. “He’s right over there.”
“We’ll need to convince others to help. It would be better to have volunteers over ordering people to do this,” said Ava.
Ao-be-damned, I guess that means we’re doing this.
“I’ll help,” said a woman’s voice.
Ava turned as Damaris walked up.
“Sorry,” Damaris continued. “I overheard some of your conversation. I want to help.”
“See. We already have a volunteer,” said Myra, half-joking.
Ava gave Damaris a look. “Do you realize how dangerous this is going to be?”
“I told you before. I’m tired of being pushed aside when it comes to things of importance. Just because I’m a woman, doesn’t mean I can’t contribute. You of all people know that.”
She did, and Ava had to concede that Damaris had fully embraced the extra training Ava had given her with the spear and dagger.
Still . . .
“But I’m a mage.”
Damaris gestured to Myra. “She isn’t.”
“She’s offering strategic advice. She’s not asking to fight a squad of Malduks.”
“Actually—” began Myra.
“No. Out of the question. Don’t even think about it,” snapped Ava.
Myra’s brow furrowed in anger, but thankfully she didn’t add anything more.
“I want to go,” said Damaris.
Ava was surprised by the hard tone the woman’s voice had taken.
“You should let her,” said Myra.
Ava sighed. “Let’s go talk to Eder then.”
Filled with dread, Ava hoped she wasn’t making the wrong decision.
CHAPTER 24
A part of Ava felt at home slinking through the forest remains. She had so many memories of doing the same on a dark, starless night just like this one. In the army, she would be either at the front of the group, helping mask Hamath’s advance, or at the rear, covering their back trail as they went on another of Balak’s seemingly impossible missions.
She found herself in the middle this time. Bodies moved around her on all sides as she worked concealment spells.
The sense of being at home diminished when she looked to her left or right and didn’t see people like Omar, Hayyim, or Gal. Bloody faces, bloody chests, and hollowed eyes flashed in her mind instead. Those people were all dead.
Ira, Dekar, and Hamath weren’t there either. They had left her too.
The most important of them, her brother wasn’t there.
A sense of loneliness overtook her. A high level of anxiety followed. Young men and women, some acquaintances, some friends, surrounded her. None contained the skills she was accustomed to working with, and as a result, the pressure she put on herself only increased.
During the war, there were times that she carried the burden of the squad. It was only natural given the level of power she once possessed. There were times she had saved one of them. But someone else in the squad had done the same for her. That familiarity with people after years of working together put her at relative ease. She could rely on them.
She felt none of that ease now. She didn’t trust any of these people with her life.
But they trust me with theirs. It’s all on me.
Ava came upon two large pines, each six feet in circumference. One leaned precariously against the other. She peeked around one and spotted a dim light about two hundred yards ahead.
The Malduks.
A small chirp sounded, something like a cicada in the night. Ava froze and waited, unable to hide the smile forming on her face as Damaris eased up beside her. The call had been hers.
“Did Tyrus teach you that?” she whispered.
“No. Why?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
A small click sounded out front. Damaris peered toward the fire, and pointed. “There’s Eder. Are you ready?”
Ava nodded and Damaris made the chirp again, signaling Eder forward. Ava had asked her to help with directing people so she could spend more effort focusing on sorcery. Ideally, she would have liked Nason to come along as well, but the last thing she wanted was to risk his life when his children had already lost a mother. He reluctantly agreed to stay behind.
It had been difficult making Zadok and Myra stay with their camp. Neither liked having her go off on her own, but Ava wasn’t about to put them in unnecessary danger.
Ava focused on Eder’s position, felt him as he slunk closer to camp. The spell she performed was one of higher risk, one she never had to use on Hamath who could sneak around undetected almost as if he were a sorcerer himself.
She carefully wove an aura that enveloped the boy, muffling his movements, even his breathing, while also creating a shimmer over his body so that if someone looked at him, their gaze would naturally keep moving. The only way someone would discover Eder would be if someone tripped over him.
Ava wanted to look around, but fought against it. She knew Damaris was at her side, using sharp ears and eyes to keep a look out, and everyone else was told before venturing out to remain completely still until the right signals sounded.
Though Ava loathed giving up part of command, she could think of no better approach. It was difficult to perform sorcery while also visually taking in one’s surroundings, and making split-second command decisions.
In the army, she usually had Tyrus beside her handling the role she allowed Damaris. When broken into smaller squads, Hamath or Dekar might have taken on the role as well.
Ava sat deep in her spell for what seemed like an eternity, losing herself in the moment to better concentrate.
She opened her eyes as Eder crawled over to the pines near them. He came up in a crouch and sighed.
“Well?” she asked.
Eder took a small stick, and with great care so not to make any noise against nearby leaves, gently began to draw in the dirt and ash. He detailed a camp much like the one he had described previously.
“Twelve men,” he whispered low, making a deep gash to represent each figure.
He drew a circle around four. “Asleep.” Another circle around three more. “A game.”
He pointed at the last three that formed a triangle. “Watch.”
“Prisoners?” she asked.
He pointed near the fire at the center of camp.
“What about those two?” she asked, noting two marks far outside of the three men keeping watch.
“Uh. . . .” He reddened.
“What is it?”
“They’re sharing a moment,” he said blushing.
Damaris frowned at Ava, not understanding.
“Some men march to a different beat,” said Ava, realizing the reason for Eder’s reddening.
Damaris blinked. She grinned. “Oh.”
The grin was gone an instant later as she scurried off to others nearby, giving last minute orders or reaffirming the ones
already in place based on what Eder said.
The signal to move forward came next. Ava’s task remained unchanged. Conceal and mask movement to avoid later casting any attack spells. Stay back and intervene only where necessary.
Ava didn’t like taking herself out of the direct action, though it made the most sense. She wanted to be close, even if it meant using a blade over sorcery. It’s not like she couldn’t handle herself with one.
Damaris chirped again, cutting off any uncertainty, doubt, or uneasiness. Ava was no first-timer to such situations and she wouldn’t allow her thoughts to distract her.
From her peripheral, she caught the slow slinking of dark shadows moving through the forest low to the ground. The exception being Damaris. The woman took point, walking briskly toward camp while trying to make as much noise as possible. Before leaving on the mission, she had changed into old, battered clothes and dirtied herself to appear desperate.
Though the overall plan of attack was Ava’s, it was Damaris who suggested her role in it, adamant that she directly contribute to the mission.
Gods, I hope I don’t regret agreeing to this.
Damaris increased her pace, half-jogging, half-stumbling with grunts and exaggerated breathing. She called out loudly in the dark “Hello?”
Activity around the Malduk camp erupted at the shout and several figures raced into the night toward Damaris while the rest of the camp stood on alert.
She waved her arms. “I’m over here.”
They came at her with weapons drawn, eyes darting warily in the night. They spoke in their native tongue, a language filled with short, choppy words. Two of the four figures who had rushed out, darted deeper into the woods after an order from another. They searched for any signs of others. Ava cast a faint spell that acted as more of a suggestion on where to look and where not to. None seemed to notice the sorcery directing them.
“Please,” said Damaris looking around. She held her arms overhead as one of the Malduks guarded her with a drawn sword. “I saw your fire. I just want somewhere to rest for the night. Maybe some food and drink.”
The two Malduks returned to the others and the four spoke frantically. Looks of concern turned to wide grins. They seemed comfortable in believing that Damaris was alone. Ava couldn’t speak the Malduk’s language as well as the Geneshan’s could, but she understood enough of what was being said.
Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three Page 23