Meta Gods War 3

by B N Miles

  “Damn right,” someone shouted. “Burn the fucking wolves.”

  Some laughter and a few cheers.

  “But we can’t do it without the Elves,” Cam said. “And we can’t do it if we’re too busy fighting with each other. I know there are those that might not agree with Felin’s methods, but I gave Felin orders and she’s done nothing but follow them. Blame me if you wish, but understand that you’d all die with your thumbs shoved up your asses if it weren’t for me.”

  More laughter. Cam stood straight and glared at the men assembled before him. Anger rolled down his spine, anger at himself for not doing this sooner, anger at the men for being so easily tricked into hatred and dissent, anger at those within the camp who were so blinded by their own prejudices that they couldn’t see the bigger picture.

  “Alone, we’ll be slaughtered. But together, with our godling allies, we’ll prevail. Lagon wants to manipulate you for his own selfish desires, all because he’s angry at the godlings for being what they are.

  “So go back to your tents. Finish your evening meals. Shit, shave, sleep. In the morning, we’ll march. We’ll kill more wolves. Some of you might die. But at the end of this, our families will live free again, back in the fields of our fathers.”

  Silence hung heavy. Cam met their gazes and held it there.

  “You heard the fucking General,” Arter said. “Get back to your tents, you lazy fucks.”

  The crowd dispersed. Cam watched them go in small groups, turning away and fading back into the camp. He stood still with his hands behind his back to hide the trembling he felt.

  That had been too close, much too close.

  Key shouted orders at the men and left with several men under her command.

  Felin walked to him and stood at his side.

  “How sure are you?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

  “I’m sure,” she said. “Very sure.”

  “Why?” he asked, shaking his head. “I don’t understand it.”

  “You’ll have to ask him that.”

  “How many came forward?”

  “A few.” She looked at her nails. “You were right about the torturing. Once word spread that I’d stopped, people started to talk.”

  Cam nodded. “Good. I want to talk to him.”

  “You can talk now, if you want.”

  “In the morning,” he said. “First light. Let him sit for a while and think about what I’ll do to him if he lies to me again.”

  Felin shrugged and put a hand on his arm.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “This has been hard.”

  Cam took her hand and turned to face her. He touched her cheek with the back of his hand then leaned forward to kiss her.

  “I feel like you’ve been gone for ages,” he said.

  “I’ve been following leads,” she said. “Trying to figure this out.”

  “I know.” He squeezed her fingers. “I’m only frustrated. This hasn’t gone like I hoped.”

  “It never does.” She stepped closer and he could feel the heat of her body. “Why do Humans hate us so much? I understand why they hate the wolves… but the Elves?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Godlings are different. I think it scares them.”

  “If they knew what I was—”

  “Don’t talk about that,” Cam said.

  “They’d kill me,” she said, her expression flat. “You know it as well as I do. I’m not just a godling, I’m a wolf.”

  “I know, Fel.”

  “They’d rip me to pieces. Even though I’ve been trying my hardest to help you and all the other Humans, they’d still kill me.”

  “I know.”

  She let out a breath. “It’s exhausting.”

  “But you’re doing the right thing.”

  “I know.” She tilted her chin up. Black bags hung under her eyes. “I just wish it were easy.”

  “Nothing’s easy now. But hopefully one day, it will be.”

  She pulled away from him and turned to follow her soldiers.

  Cam watched her go. She had a long, loping walk. Her dark hair shimmered in the moonlight. He wished he could bring her back to his tent and keep her for the night, but he knew she had work to do.

  Even if Lagon was the source of the godling rumors, this wouldn’t be the end. Lagon wasn’t the source of hate that flowed underneath the army’s underbelly.

  Cam had to hope that he could hold things together long enough.

  24

  General Lagon sat at a low wooden table with a mug of warm beer and a plate of stale bread in front of him. Cam pulled up a chair and sat down, legs crossed, hands flat on the table.

  It was late, past the normal evening meal. He’d meant to come earlier in the day, but he’d been sidetracked with duties.

  “Tell me why,” Cam said. “And I’ll make this easy for you.”

  Lagon didn’t look like he slept well. He picked up his beer and drank. His clothes were rumpled and dirty from lying on a dirt floor all night. His hair hung in oily strands. Bits of bread were stuck in his beard.

  The tent was lit with several lamps. Arter stood just outside the flap.

  “I think you’ve already made it hard, General,” he said.

  Cam watched Lagon put his mug down and eat the stale bread. He ate methodically, picking it into smaller pieces, dunking it into the beer to soften it, then chewing. When he finished the bread, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his large chest.

  “You don’t strike me as the kind of man to think about the godlings much,” Cam said.

  “Really?” Lagon’s expression didn’t give much away. “What do I strike you as, then?”

  “Careful,” Cam said. “You were my logistics leader. And by all accounts, you’re quite good at it.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “But I don’t understand why someone as careful as you are would spread lies about the godlings. You know as well as I do what the stakes are here.”

  “I do,” Lagon said. “Of course, I do. The stakes are larger than anyone truly understands.”

  “Enlighten me then.”

  Lagon grunted. “You don’t want to listen,” he said. “You’ve made up your mind. But there are men within this army that know better.”

  Cam didn’t move. That was confession enough for him, but something still didn’t sit right. Lagon wasn’t irrational, he wasn’t foaming at the mouth, he didn’t seem filled with hate. And yet, he still held these strange beliefs.

  “I’m willing to listen,” Cam said. “I want to try and understand.”

  “The godlings aren’t like us,” Lagon said. “They’re not from the Urspirit. They don’t have the same beliefs, the same values.”

  “That’s true,” Cam said. “But the same could be said of a man from Medlar and a man from Waters.”

  He waved that away. “Minor differences in dress, in burial customs. We’re still men in the end. We’re born, we live, we fuck, we die. But the Elves? They walk this earth as long as they wish and never fade away.”

  “They’d say that’s both a blessing and a curse.”

  “Easy for them, they don’t have to die. They have a choice.”

  “This is about death, then?” Cam asked.

  “No,” Lagon said, shaking his head. “This is about autonomy.”

  “Explain.”

  “This war will end,” he said. “And when it does, the world will be remade. That’s how wars shape things. Men rise and fall, fortune favors some and casts others down, and when the dust settles and the shield walls return back home to their families, those that ended up on top get to choose the new rules. When this is over, I want to make sure Humans are the ones on top.”

  Cam grunted. “So it’s political for you?”

  “It’s always political.”

  “But surely you have to realize that stirring the men up against the Elves doesn’t serve our greater purpose.”

  Lagon leaned forward. “Whi
ch is what, exactly?”

  “Beating back the wolves.”

  A small smile slipped across his face. “Not just the wolves. All the godlings. The world wasn’t always the way it is now, Camrus. When the wolves are gone, we need to be ready to move on the Elves, on the Shifters, on any other godling that decides to stand up against us.”

  “But why?” Cam shook his head. “I don’t understand. The Elves have their territory, we have ours.”

  “You think they’ll be content to stay behind their walls forever? The wolves weren’t, and they had more lands than the Elves ever did.”

  “I don’t think you know the Elves well.”

  “And you do? You think fucking one gives you some great insight?” He leaned toward Cam. “Tell me, does her pussy whisper Elven secrets up along your cock?”

  Cam clenched his jaw but refused to take the bait. “Actually, yes, being with an Elf does give me insight,” he said. “I’ve actually spoken to Elves. I’ve spent time around them. How many do you know?”

  Lagon waved that off. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “They’re not Human. What else do I need to know?”

  “They’re our allies,” Cam said. “And you’ve all but admitted to sowing discontent. What do you think I should do with you?”

  “I don’t know,” Lagon said. “String me up and kill me? Send a message to all those that think like I do?”

  Cam made a face. “That’s not how I do things.”

  “I’m sure you think so. But you’re a General now. I’ve met men like you, men that feel as though they have morals, and those morals somehow supersede their duties. But you’ll find that what’s moral and what’s right isn’t always the same thing.”

  “Maybe that’s true,” Cam said. “But I won’t fall into this trap of hate for no reason.”

  “So you say now.” Lagon tapped a finger against his plate. “But soon enough, you’ll have to make decisions, and they won’t always be easy.”

  Cam pushed his chair back from the table. “You’ll stay here for now,” he said. “If you name your conspirators, maybe I’ll be lenient.”

  “I have none,” he said, his face flat.

  “Think about that some more,” Cam said. “Give them up, let me keep this army together. At least long enough to fight the wolves.”

  “And then what?” he asked.

  “Then we start rebuilding the world.” Cam shook his head. “It’s not always about fighting and tearing things down.”

  “Maybe not to you. But to all those monsters out there?” Lagon shook his head. “The world’s full of monsters just waiting to steal what we have.”

  Cam turned from the table and walked to the tent flap. He paused before leaving and looked back at Lagon.

  Lagon stared back at him without moving.

  “I hope you have a change of heart,” Cam said. “And not for my sake only, but for the sake of the army. For the sake of every man, woman, and child living in this region. I hope you realize that you’re wrong.”

  Cam pushed the flap aside and stepped out of the tent.

  “Sir,” Arter said.

  “How much of that did you hear?” Cam asked.

  Arter hesitated. “Enough,” he said.

  “And what do you think?” Cam walked slowly across the short central space between Felin’s tents. Three guards remained circled around Lagon’s prison.

  “I think a lot of men think like he does,” Arter said. “And he has some points.”

  Cam frowned at him. “Explain.”

  “The godlings aren’t our friends,” he said. “They can be allies, but in the end we’re all competing for the same things.”

  “There’s plenty of land in the world for everyone,” Cam said. “It doesn’t have to be a competition.”

  “Maybe not, but it is. And more than that, we don’t know what the godlings really want. We don’t even know why the wolves are here.”

  Cam let out a sharp breath. “That’s true,” he said. “We really don’t.”

  “I think that angers people the most,” Arter said. “Godlings don’t think like we do. If they did, this would all be easier. We could anticipate their moves and understand their motivations, but because they’re so different…” He trailed off.

  Cam nodded as they stopped outside of Felin’s main tent. “Thank you for your honesty,” Cam said.

  “The more I’m around Miuri, the more I believe those that hate the Elves are wrong,” Arter said. “But I can still understand their position.”

  “I need that honesty,” Cam said. “Thank you for it.”

  “Sir.” Arter nodded. “Shall I come in with you?”

  “Wait here,” he said, and pushed aside the tent flap, ducking his head beneath the entrance.

  Felin sat at a table in the far corner. Several lamps hung from pegs and swayed in the breeze. She stared at a series of maps spread out before her.

  “What are those?” Cam asked, nodding at the pages.

  She looked up. “The camp,” she said.

  Cam walked over and stooped down behind her. The map was drawn in rough charcoal. Each brigade was drawn in squares and circles, with the command tents marked by an X.

  “What do you see?” he asked.

  “Division,” she said, jabbing her finger down at the fourth brigade. “These men were closest to Lagon. He didn’t directly oversee any armed men, but from what I can tell, these men camp nearest his tents each night.”

  “You think they’re involved?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I have my men checking in on it.”

  “You’ve done well,” Cam said. “I’m proud of all this.”

  She nodded and looked up at him. Her eyes were weary and reddened.

  “I don’t understand these people,” she said. “I don’t know how they can hate so much, and how that hate can lead to even more.”

  “It’s fear,” Cam said. “Fear of losing something they have, and fear of losing things they might have.”

  “But they’re starting to hate each other, too,” she said. “For thinking different things.”

  “I know.” Cam put a hand on her shoulder. “But we’ll figure it out.”

  Before he could say more, a shout rang out nearby. The tent flap flew aside and Arter shoved his head through.

  “Sir,” he said. “Problem.”

  Cam gave Felin a look. She got to her feet, and together they strode out into the night.

  “What’s going on?” Cam asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Arter said. “But look.”

  Lamp and torchlight flickered along the tents across the dead space. Guards gathered around Lagon’s tent in particular. Cam walked back toward the group. Arter led the way and shoved through the gathering.

  Fifty paces away, across the dead space that separated Felin’s small tent grouping from the rest of the army, were men at arms in full leather armor, shield, and spear. They stood in silent ranks, and Cam’s eyes drifted over them, trying to count their number.

  “What’s going on?” Cam asked the nearest guard.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “They just… appeared. Two minutes ago. Just standing there, not speaking.”

  Cam took stock. There were ten guards, ranked side by side. They were armed and armored, but clearly outnumbered by a factor of five to one at least.

  He turned to the silent men at arms and walked out into the dead zone between the two groups. Arter bristled but let him go.

  “Stand down,” Cam said. “What are you people doing here?”

  “We’ve come for Lagon.” A man stepped forward from the pack. His voice was nasally, like he’d broken his nose. His hair was dark and reached shoulders, and his leather armor was creased and well-oiled. “We demand his release.”

  “Who are you?” Cam asked. “Who is your superior?”

  “We have none,” Nasally said. “We’re here to demand the release of General Lagon.”

  “Return to your tents,” Cam said. “I am
the General of this army. Return to your tents now, lay down your arms, and await further orders.

  The nasally soldier took a step forward. Cam could see the sneer on his lips.

  “You’re outnumbered,” he said. “And I don’t think you can get reinforcements here before we kill most of you.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” Cam said. “Some of you have seen me fight. You know what I can do.”

  “Going to burn your own men, are you?” Nasally cackled. “Go ahead. That’d only prove our point.”

  “This is insanity,” Cam said. He gripped the pommel of his sword. “Stand down, now.”

  “Last warning,” Nasally said as he stepped back into line with his comrades. “Release Lagon.”

  Cam stared at the men assembled across from him and his mind raced.

  He could send word for help. There were easily thousands of men that could come and assist. But Nasally was right, they wouldn’t get there in time. It was late and most men had long ago taken off their leathers and put down their weapons for the evening.

  Then he could burn them all. There were fifty of them, but he’d gotten stronger lately, and they were bunched in a tight formation. Cam could ash most of them and break the rest into submission.

  But that would require him burning his own men.

  “Cam,” Felin said. “What do you want to do?”

  The fifty men began to advance in a tight shield wall, three rows deep.

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  “Cam,” Felin said.

  “Back up,” Cam said, his voice a bark over the men marching toward them. “Fall back.”

  Felin’s guards did as instructed. They fell back between the tents. Cam stopped and stared down the advancing soldiers.

  “Return to your tents,” he said. “Return to your tents now.”

  “You’d better start burning us, General,” Nasally shouted.

  Cam fell back with a snarl.

  The formation reached the back of Lagon’s tent. The men in the front cut a long slit down the back and tore it wide open. Lagon stepped forward through the tear and turned to face Cam.