Forever Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Four

by Joshua P. Simon

  The enemy held a three-to-two advantage in numbers. Their sorcery was more organized as well. Yet those advantages didn’t seem to help. The enemy continually tried to control the center. However, upon each major move, Danso skillfully employed a counter to offset enemy maneuvers, keeping the battle at roughly a stalemate thus far.

  As fast as the Southern Kingdom soldiers are reacting, Danso should press the Bozrathan ranks.

  Ava had been impressed by Jumla Danso’s tactics since joining his army six days prior. Twice she had witnessed smaller skirmishes that resulted in decisive Southern Kingdom victories. Because of those results, it had been easy to follow Danso’s order to stay out of his way. Though the enemy had not gained an advantage yet, Ava worried at the outcome of this battle. Danso hesitated to push. She wondered if the enemy’s use of sorcery was making him too cautious.

  It became increasingly harder to justify obeying Danso’s order to stay out of it. Her men had not taken the news well. Instead of being relieved at not fighting, they were angry and frustrated. They had sacrificed a new life so that all those from Turine could finally have a home. Their sacrifice felt meaningless. She could feel their anxiousness to fight grow more and more.

  Glancing about, she noted the tension in their necks and shoulders, their fists closed at their sides, their mouths twisted as tasting foul water. She heard their muttered curses and the restless shifting of armor.

  Still, she refused to disobey Danso’s order.

  Ava couldn’t fully explain why though. After all, she had a long history of defying orders, even Tyrus’s.

  But at least I had a better idea of the overall plan. The last thing I want to do is get involved and destroy something Danso has been setting the enemy up for.

  “Ava?” came a gruff voice.

  Though she had granted herself the title of High Mage, she had not forced those from Turine to use the moniker just as Tyrus had never been a stickler for the men in his unit to call him by rank so long as they gave him the respect of his position.

  “What’s on your mind, Margo?”

  Margo was highly regarded among the men. They often looked to him to speak for them.

  “The men are pretty unanimous about how much this whole situation stinks. It’s one thing not seeing action based on specific tactics to counter enemy movement, but not being part of the battle plan at all . . . to be outright ignored? We didn’t volunteer for this.”

  “Is everyone really so eager to risk their lives and end others’?” she asked, knowing the question was completely unfair as soon as she asked it. She felt the same as they did. That had not so much to do with killing as not being able to do something that they knew they could do well.

  “Eager? No. It’s just who we are. What good is a soldier who isn’t allowed to fight?” He paused, obviously warring with thoughts similar to hers. “Danso has taken away what most of us have ever really been good at.”

  The pain and honesty in Margo’s statement tore at her heart. She had felt that way herself at times. She never took the time to really learn farming from her Pa as Tyrus had. And she didn’t have a trade to fall back on like Boaz did with running an inn. Sorcery and war were what she knew and what she was good at. Sadly, as much as she hated being away from her family, being in her current surroundings eased some of the worry she had felt about how she’d make a life in the Southern Kingdom.

  Margo and the others who volunteered were in a similar situation. All were single men without families. Most also lacked a trade. Soldiering was what they had. It was less scary for them to return to war and face death at any moment than to deal with the uncertainty of attempting something new.

  And right now they’re losing their self-worth. Their identity. Not unlike when the artifact took my sorcery.

  “I understand where you’re coming from,” she said.

  His mouth twisted. “But?”

  “But we have orders not to interfere.”

  She jerked her head toward the blast of a loud trumpet. A sorcerer must have cast some spell to increase its volume. The Kartan army began to withdraw. The Southern Kingdom forces acted immediately, seizing full control of the battlefield’s center. The Bozrathans responded by shoring up their Kartan allies in a calculated retreat. Danso did not pursue them.

  “Battle is over,” she stated.

  Margo spat. “I guess it is.”

  He took a step to leave, but she grabbed his arm.

  “I’ll talk to Danso tonight and make sure he understands.”

  It was a dumb thing to say. She had already promised herself not to go against Danso’s orders. She’d be doing just that by seeking him out again. She had also promised herself that she would protect her men as best as she could. Despite their frustration, the last six days had allowed her to fulfill both promises with ease.

  But Margo made her realize that keeping her men alive wasn’t necessarily as important as keeping them whole.

  The tenseness in Margo’s jaw released. “What if he won’t listen?”

  “Then I’ll figure something else out,” she said, hoping she could.

  * * *

  Ava left the ridge last, trailing the Turine soldiers. Upon descending the rise, she skirted around the battlefield on her way to camp. Many Southern Kingdom soldiers busied themselves with helping the injured and properly handling the dead according to their religious custom. She spotted officers doing the same work as the lowest ranking infantry. Until then, Ava hadn’t fully realized that handling the dead was more than just a task that needed doing.

  Ava caught up to Danso in time to see him slip inside his command tent. Three other high-ranking officers trailed after him. She recognized two as Captain Kamau and Captain Lungile.

  A part of her considered returning when she could speak with Danso privately.

  No. This can’t wait.

  She stopped at the tent entrance. “I need to speak with Jumla Danso.”

  The young boy barred her path, shaking his head with enthusiasm. It took restraint not to lose her temper. If she wasn’t in such a determined mood, she might have laughed, or at least admired the boy’s tenacity to perform his job. However, annoyance brought on by the hurt of her men dominated her emotions.

  “Announce me or move out of my way.”

  The boy replied, trying to keep his voice from cracking as he raised its volume. “No one is to interrupt Jumla Danso.”

  “If he’s so adamant about seeing to his privacy, perhaps he should post real guards at his tent.”

  The boy hissed. “He hadn’t the need to because his men obey his orders.”

  That stung. However, she had been told far worse. “Step out of my way or I’ll move you.”

  The boy spread his legs wide in a crouch, arms out in a fighter’s position. He lifted his chin in defiance as if to dare Ava to try something. She hadn’t expected that.

  Does this kid have a resistance too and thinks that’s all he needs?

  “Kid, you’ve got guts. I’ll give you that.”

  She stepped forward. There was no need for sorcery. She could put him down easy enough.

  Danso’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “What’s going on out there, Tau?”

  The boy sneered and poked his head inside the tent. There was an exchange she couldn’t make out. He retreated a moment later and pushed the flap aside. He had wiped away the sneer and acted as though Ava was beneath his notice.

  She walked past him with brows furrowed, the flap falling behind her. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light. When they did, she saw a very annoyed Danso. Beside him was an equally annoyed Kamau. Lungile and the other officer didn’t even bother to acknowledge her. They continued conversing low as if she didn’t exist.

  “I don’t recall requesting your presence,” said Danso.

  “I’d like to speak with y
ou in private,” she said.

  “I’m in the middle of something important.”

  She drifted forward casually in the hopes of spotting the markings on the map being examined. It wouldn’t hurt to have an idea on what the enemy was up to.

  “This is also important. It won’t take long if you would grant me a few minutes in private.”

  “I don’t have time to dismiss my officers and then call them back. If you have something to say, then do so now. Quickly.”

  Ava clenched her jaw, but decided it made no sense to push the need for privacy. “My men and I have watched three battles in less than a week.”

  “And how did you enjoy the view?” Lungile asked in a mocking tone while still refusing to meet her eyes.

  There was a snort from the third officer at the question.

  She took the slight in stride, refusing to give either the reaction they wanted. “We didn’t enjoy standing by as soldiers died.”

  “Truly?” asked Lungile, finally looking up.

  “Is that so surprising? We are all on the same side last I checked.” She glanced to Kamau, then Danso. “Unless the council has changed the terms of our deal.”

  “The council is unimportant here,” said Danso. “It is my will that matters.”

  Kamau winced at that.

  She glanced at the map and noted recent scribblings to the west of their current position. From what she could tell, it was not a large enemy force, but large enough to warrant tracking. Yet, markings seemed to indicate that Danso would not alter his current plans or leave his current position to do so.

  “Then I’m here to ask when we will be allowed to contribute.”

  Danso shrugged. “Perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps never. I’m not one to share my plans openly.”

  “I’m not asking you to. We just want to help. We volunteered to fight, not watch.”

  He made a dismissive gesture with his hands. “Life often fails to meet expectations.”

  The response was too much. She could not keep her calm any longer. “Are you really so blind that you can’t see you need us?”

  Kamau let out a small gasp. Lungile and the third officer looked appalled.

  Danso furrowed his brow. “What was that?”

  “You’re obviously not confident in the skills of your sorcerers considering how much they were underutilized today. For the third straight battle I’ve witnessed, you didn’t pursue the enemy. You’re just delaying an inevitable defeat. The enemy is reorganizing and replenishing their ranks faster than you can. Eventually, you won’t be able to hold them back, and they will push harder and seize control.”

  Danso cut through the silence that followed with several sharp breaths. Ava had a feeling he had never been spoken to like that before.

  He stared at her as if waiting for her to apologize. But she would not take her words back, just as she would not cast her eyes away from his.

  “Get out,” he finally said. “Now.”

  The old her might have voiced an insult in response to his hardheadedness, but instead she twisted her mouth and shook her head slowly in disgust. She hoped the expression said more than words ever could.

  Stupid.

  She left but lingered nearby outside behind Danso’s tent. His lack of posted guards illustrated how much he trusted his men, but he had made it quite clear that she was not one of his.

  So why act like one?

  Ava cast a spell to increase her hearing and eavesdropped on his discussion with his officers. She had apparently interrupted a discussion about the new scribblings on the western point of the map she noticed.

  It seemed like Kamau picked up where he left off. “We should send a couple of companies out to investigate. It could be another group of Kartans like what I faced traveling here.”

  Danso grunted, obviously frustrated. “No. We just got news that the Noval military is bringing in men here and here. With that influx, I can’t afford to spare a few companies.”

  “But if they get behind us—” started Kamau.

  “It’s just a small force. Nothing more. They’re trying to draw us out. We can’t allow that, especially if these constant rumors of necromancy are true. We won’t react until it looks like they’re committed to something greater.”

  “And in the meantime? There are still some inhabited towns out there.”

  Danso’s voice grew grave, tired. “They are on their own. We have a task to defend all of the Southern Kingdoms. If we weaken ourselves here, that lessens our ability to do so. Such is the price of war.”

  Ava had heard enough.

  * * *

  Her men waited near their fire, looking anxious at her approach.

  Margo asked the question they all wondered. “Well?”

  “We reached an understanding.”

  “So he changed his mind then?”

  “I never said that.”

  His face soured. “So we’ll continue to be stuck watching?”

  “I didn’t say that either.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “We’re going against orders?”

  Even Tyrus knew there was a time when the best choice was one of disobedience. I’d say this definitely falls under what he’d consider the best choice.

  “Our deal was first with the council. Not Danso. So technically no.”

  He cocked his head. “You got something in mind?”

  “I do. Caught a glimpse of recent enemy movements to the west of here. Eavesdropped on some reports too. What do you say we aggravate the enemy and make Danso regret not using us.”

  Margo grinned wide, then looked over his shoulder at the other seventy-nine expressions matching his own. “I’d ask, when do we leave?”

  CHAPTER 21

  Chadar had returned about a week later. He’d brought the same bad news as before.

  Staring out the window of my room into the quiet night, pausing as I had begun getting ready for bed, my thoughts drifted to his news.

  Paki said no to my second offer. Chadar suggested we not approach him again. I heeded his advice. Still, I wondered if I could wear Paki down over time with consistent news and goods to trade.

  Galya returned a day after her husband with more bad news. The council said no to our plea.

  Emphatically.

  The Speaker made it clear that the war was their main priority, and he trusted I would figure something out to solve my problem. The one consolation the council offered was that they would reach out to any other nearby towns recently resettled and ask that they treat us with respect. Small consolation. I wondered if that would make us more hated.

  Worse still was the private letter for me Galya had returned with. The Speaker wrote about more aggressive behavior from the enemy, and detailed opposition that Ava’s group had faced on the road to Danso’s camp.

  The communication was carefully worded to come across as a courtesy about my sister, but I was not a fool. I read the underlying message. The Southern Kingdom army needed my help. Ava needed my help.

  Even knowing the Speaker’s intent and his likely exaggerated account, I still had half a mind to leave Kasala to go protect my sister. But given how much more frequent my mind wandered to the horrors of war, I wondered if the half a mind I had to go fight the Southern Kingdom war could be trusted. Besides, I couldn’t leave Myra and Zadok. They didn’t have their aunt to watch over them this time.

  “Take care of yourself, Ava,” I said into the quiet. “And for the love of the gods, don’t take on too much.”

  I snorted at the absurdity of my comment. She was smart and more powerful than ever. She’d not abide sitting back and doing nothing or going off to hide. She’d put herself in the worst of it.

  “Just like me,” I whispered, rubbing my eyes with forefinger and thumb.

  Looking back out of the window, thoughts
on what a more aggressive enemy might mean became too much.

  My hands didn’t shake, but my body went rigid. The inside of my head felt like what I imagined a destruction globe contained. I had experienced torture once in my life on an infiltration mission gone wrong.

  Tied to a chair under the flickering light of a single candle, a Geneshan “specialist” had worked me over with his fists for some indeterminable amount of time until my face was a swollen mess and every breath felt like broken glass stabbing my lungs. Surprisingly, that beating had never haunted my dreams.

  The part of the experience that stuck with me the most came when the beating stopped.

  Heaving with exhaustion, but not lacking in fortitude, he decided it was time to try methods less physically demanding.

  Through tiny slits I could barely see out of, I had watched him make a show of meticulously examining each and every instrument he brought out to a small table before the dim candle. He purposefully ignored me, but Molak’s balls, I couldn’t ignore him. Worse than the instruments themselves was the change in the torturer’s facial expression. A slow grin formed as each instrument met his satisfaction. When the last tool touched the table, he finally regarded me with a smile widened to obscenity.

  A beating was one thing. What was to come next would’ve been something completely different. I knew I’d not hold out any longer. He had known that too and more importantly, he knew that I knew. He wanted more than information. I had denied him the pleasure of his fists, and he meant to regain it tenfold.

  Thankfully, I never had to feel those instruments slice and stab. Hamath and Ava had mounted a rescue mission against Balak’s orders before it came to that. But those moments of anticipation, not unlike me waiting to die while pinned in a Geneshan latrine, were worse than the actual pain I had endured.

  Curled up on the floor of my room, I experienced that anticipation all over again.

  Gods, how did I even get on the floor?

  That question helped me regain some control. Slowly, the dread subsided. Thankfully, I had suffered the trauma alone. Myra and Zadok were none the wiser.