by L. J. Stock
“What is a travel game?” Aric asked. “I mean besides the obvious.”
“Well, our options here are limited. We can't play the license plate game, for obvious reasons, which leaves us with only eye spy, and I've always been crap at that game.”
“Eye spy?”
“Never mind.” I sighed, rubbing circles in Dunamis' neck. I was starting to wish I'd sneaked my iPod into my saddlebag. Music always made long trips more bearable. At least I could have had a decent sing-a-long and possibly entertained the closest of those surrounding me at the same time.
The minutes slowly turned into hours, and the distance between the palace and us grew. More than ever I was realizing that trips like this were a lot less fun without Damon. He and I could talk about anything and everything and never hit a topic that didn’t work for us. Just spending time with one another seemed to make the time pass for me. I would study the new lines of his face, and the gentle cadence of his tone that had come from the years we’d spent apart. I normally loved riding, but the slow pace and cumbersome progression of the large group took all of the fun out of it.
“Aric,” I said finally, making him and Rasmus react at the sudden interruption from hours of exaggerated nothingness.
“Yes, milady?”
“Tell me about yourself, please.”
“What would you like to know?”
I thought about it for a while. I was trying to strike up a conversation and I wasn't really all that prepared for the question I’d asked. It had been vague, but I'd been hoping he would just go with it and start talking.
“How did you end up in the Regius Custos?”
“My father was in the guard, as was his father, and his father before. I was always destined to become a part of the most honored guard. My father brought me to the palace with him when I was ten. Ten has always been a good age to start training. Your mind continues to absorb knowledge and it becomes second nature to live that way.”
“Ten? What did your mom think about that?” I asked. I couldn't see any mother being happy to have a son of ten taken from them. Especially not to become a soldier who would ultimately live his life to risk it for his monarch.
“Mama always knew that I would be a guard. She and my sisters have always been very proud of me.”
“How many sisters?”
“Three, milady. Two have already married. They are wives of farmers. The third has become a chamber maid for the local dux.”
I felt weird knowing that these people were probably living a hard life alongside the other people who constantly suffered. His family made me think about all of the other guards and soldiers who had families out in these small villages. What did they think of us, sat in our ivory towers as their friends and family suffered around them?
“Can I ask you something?” I said quietly. “And will you swear to give me an honest answer?”
“It would be my honor, milady.”
“What do you think of all this? I mean this plan to help villagers. Do you think it's worth the risks? Do you think my plans could work? The only reason I ask is you have family out there. You know what they have to live with. You’re an inhabitant at the palace, but I know that you must see the differences and have opinions on them.”
“Milady, I am but a humble servant. I do not have opinions of—”
“Oh shut up, Aric. Cass is an honorable noble. She's asking for your opinion because she truly wants to know. She doesn't want you to push superfluous piffle on her.” Ras laughed, throwing an apple core at Aric.
“I really do want your honest opinion,” I added. “I'm trying to find ways to make the quality of life better. It's why the suasors helped me set this thing up. If my strategy works, the villagers can teach others. What I want to know is what you think of it.”
“I honestly think this project could help, milady. Your plan means that all of their labor is not for the privileged dux ruling the lands, but also for themselves. No longer will they be left with the defective parts of their crops, but as a township will have their own supply. Having running water will stop the supply from being tainted, which in turn will make their health far better. The only problem I foresee is the territory’s dux complaining that the villagers spend more time on their own crops than what they produce for them to eat and sell.”
“That's what I worry about,” I admitted, changing the reins to the other hand. “Productivity is still important. Loss of crops is an unavoidable part of agriculture, and I don't want the people punished because their crops were successful when another set in the main productions wasn't. It's all the luck of the draw—you don’t have to be an agriculturist to know that—but perhaps an agricultural department could oversee all of this. I'm sure they could test the soil to determine why the crop failed. Maybe even give the farmers the opportunity to sell their successful crop to the dux.”
I started planning out what it would take in my head. I would need a department to oversee the new edict, a committee of members who couldn’t be bought by any of the dux. If I could talk the king into adding an agricultural commission along with the department, perhaps the two would stop altercations between farmers and the dux who were overseeing the land in the king’s name.
“I could see that being helpful, milady.”
“Listen, I know it's not a flawless plan, and I know it needs work, but there’ll always be a learning curve. We have to start somewhere.”
Aric smiled and bowed his head. He'd inadvertently made me feel better about the whole thing. I knew there was a possibility that this concept may have failed. That the process may have imploded leaving nothing but fights and anger behind it, but as the suasors had said, it wouldn't be a real test unless we left them alone to work it out by themselves.
The closer we got to Dullhurt, the more impatient I became, and the restlessness wasn't doing a whole lot for Dunamis' temperament either. He wanted to stretch his legs just as much as I did. We hadn't stopped the constant drone of movement all day. We’d eaten on horseback as we moved, and bathroom breaks were at small inns that had to be emptied for me, so I’d held my bladder as long as I could avoid disrupting people’s lives and businesses unnecessarily.
Rasmus could sense my growing restlessness and managed to strike up a conversation with me. I'd always appreciated his humor and I was grateful for the distraction, my laughter adding a new dimension to the music of leather and wheels as we moved along. Soon our talking became banter, which seemed to entertain those in the cavalry surrounding us. Just when I thought I couldn't take much more of the riding, we finally crested the hill that looked over Dullhurt and the forest that framed it.
At a glance, things looked good. I could see children playing in the streets and men and women out in the fields that had been set up for the experiment. The farmlands looked like a patchwork quilt with the different crops they were growing. Running parallel with the forest were the other fields housing the larger crops for the dux leaders and noble people. All of the visible changes seemed to be in working order.
“Captain,” Rasmus called out, turning his horse from next to mine and greeting a man on a beautiful palomino. They spoke quietly under their breaths as the small caravan halted. Within seconds, the captain had taken off with a small group of soldiers into the valley.
I knew the propriety was all for my safety, but my ass and back were hurting. My thighs were as stiff as rocks and I was hot and restless. I just wanted to get going. As much as I loved Dunamis, I was ready to dismount and run all the pain and frustration out of my body. Yet, I couldn't risk that here. The best I could hope for was a room to myself so I could do some stretching with Melody. We'd taken up Yoga together to help our bodies with all the training we'd been doing.
The moment we started moving again, Dunamis began prancing, trotting slowly and picking his legs up high. I pulled an apple from the saddlebag to calm him down, but it only placated him for a while. The closer we got, the more restless he seemed to be. His ears flickered and
rotated, and his feet stomped. He would walk forward and back up periodically.
“Easy, boy,” I cooed in a soothing tone, running my hand up the edge of his mane. The touch calmed him and he evened out a little. The effect of my touch made it seem as though he’d needed my reassurances.
“Everything okay, Cass?”
“Yeah, he's worked up about something. He can probably sense the end of the journey.”
Our caravan drove straight into the heart of the small town, where I'd seen the children playing from the top of the hill, but it was empty now. People were sticking close to the buildings, their eyes not meeting mine as they moved around with purpose and I felt myself get discouraged. Did they resent me because it hadn't worked?
“Sir,” Rasmus called to one of the few men that were walking down the street with confidence. When he looked up at Rasmus' call, he nodded grimly. “Good afternoon. Could you tell me what has the people of the village so somber?”
The man looked a little perplexed and unsure how to answer.
“Sir?”
“We lost a friend in the fields. The bears are venturing out of the forest for food as their hibernation comes closer.”
“Bears?” Rasmus asked with a certain amount of suspicion. “Bears aren’t indigenous here…”
I could feel the panic start in my stomach as people began to retreat into their houses quickly. It was no longer just my horse acting restless. They were all starting to stomp on the ground and whinny in discord. Dunamis, with his ears flat to his skull, began nodding his head in deep strokes.
Rasmus dismounted quicker than it took to take breath and gripped the man by the arm. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I knew the tenor of questions wasn't good. Aric walked his horse a little ahead of mine and grabbed my reins gently, his eyes moving through the streets as he attempted to keep Dunamis calm and ready to spring into action should the need arise.
All I could think was something was wrong. Something was very wrong. My eyes scanned the buildings on the main street looking for what was making my gut twist painfully in dread. All of them were shut up tight like it was the middle of the night rather than daylight. I'd chosen Dullhurt because of its liveliness, because the townspeople were outgoing and seemed keen to try a new way of life to make theirs better. This wasn't the village I'd been to all those months ago. This was a ghost town.
“Aric, where are the cavalry that were sent ahead?”
His eyes moved across the buildings as mine had. I knew the drill by heart now. Every time I'd needed to take a break the small group had gone ahead of us and prepared the people. They usually lined the buildings we'd be entering. Here, there was no sign of them at all.
“We need to get you out of here. Now!”
I nodded in agreement, but it was a second too late.
Chapter Four
It was hopeless to even attempt to flee. The enemy were organized, ready for us, and they meant business. They'd bypassed Thánatos’ disposable soldiers and sent the latros instead. He was definitely making a statement. More terrifying than that, however, was the occasional red uniform worn by Thánatos’ veneficus dotted amongst the oncoming sea of charcoal grey hooded cloaks that now surrounded us. A veneficus meant any chances of escaping through water were now stolen from me. These magicians among the enemy could manipulate the elements and they would, keeping us trapped amongst their numbers, leaving me no choice but to fight for my life.
This wasn't how I'd envisioned this trip going. Even the worst-case scenario hadn’t touched this, but in hindsight, I couldn't fault Thánatos’ logic. We were already exhausted from an almost twelve-hour ride to Dullhurt, our guard had been down from the relief of arriving at our destination, and even following protocol we’d neglected to use the advance scouting party to our advantage. We'd been surprised and as a result, we were unprepared and possibly a little disorientated. The enemy troops knew they had the advantage over us and they’d used it.
If this was what it had come to, I refused to go down without a fight. I hadn't trained to kick some ass only to let people around me die, and I would not be my own last line of defense. There were strength in numbers and I was one of those numbers. If I was faced with this impossible situation, I would go out in battle with my friends and people at my side. I wouldn’t just be taken or killed.
Pulling Damon's sword from the scabbard, I swung my leg over Dunamis and dropped to the ground between him and Rasmus' horse for cover. The dirt-packed road, damp under my feet, gave way enough to have me bracing myself between the two horses, the blade of the sword cutting a line by my feet and further spooking the horses. They were both uncomfortable enough without my sudden movement, stomping in an attempt to test their boundaries, their heads bowing and rising as they breathed heavily and pawed at the ground in agitation. I couldn't blame them. The outpouring of soldiers closing in around us like a set of floodgates being opened was enough to make anyone nervous, including me.
“Cass.” Ras hissed my name from the other side of the huge beast as he released the man he'd been questioning with a push of frustration. “What are you doing?”
“The only thing I can do,” I replied tempestuously, ducking under his horse’s head and coming out beside him as I scanned the sea of uniforms coming toward us. The attack was all happening so fast it was hard to get my thoughts in order. The resonating stampede of soldiers’ feet was accompanied by the leather and twang of metal on the enemy soldiers’ belts as their swords were liberated from scabbards.
“You could translocate,” he countered, his own fear hidden under a façade of frustration. He knew as well as I did just how screwed we were. The desperation he was trying so hard to mask in his voice wasn’t helping with my own fear. I had no doubt he would do everything in his power to protect me—that was the very reason Damon trusted him so completely. It was just unfortunate that his protection wasn't actually an option at all. Not anymore. Neither was translocation with the veneficus removing access to vital resources.
“Can't do that,” I said bluntly, realizing he wouldn't have seen the veneficus in the oncoming crowd. I'd had an advantage on horseback when I’d spotted the red uniforms amongst the oncoming army. I ducked and stood on my toes beside him, inciting him to look himself. When his eyes widened at the flash of red, I knew he understood.
“You mean…?”
“That's exactly what I'm saying. There's no way out now. We're surrounded.” I took a deep breath and tried to lighten my voice as I took in the scene from where we were. “Do you want to do this back to back?”
Rasmus paused and I didn’t miss the way he looked at me with that prideful expression he had when I did something to surprise him. He'd seen me training with Damon. He’d even fought alongside me when the palace had been infiltrated, but I didn't think he'd ever expected me to be quite so prepared for what we had to do, not when I was faced with the very real possibility of the devastating outcome of this disaster. He and I both knew the ropes and what had been drilled into us as protocol, but the way he looked at me made me believe he'd assumed I would freak out on him if standing shoulder to shoulder with him in battle outnumbered by the enemy ever came about.
“I don't like this,” Rasmus finally growled resolutely. His eyes scanned the wall of masked figures closing in on us. Their regimented footsteps sounded like rolls of thunder as they moved together as a united front. They were much more organized than they had been when they'd infiltrated the palace, which told me they were, at the very least, smart enough to learn from their mistakes. They weren't going to underestimate us again, and we couldn’t afford to do the same to them.
Panic rose in my throat and I tried to stave it off. I needed my wits about me if I was going to survive this fight. I recalled my months of training and let the lessons roll through my mind. I knew what was expected of me, just as much as Rasmus knew what was expected of him. No matter what it meant for the soldiers of the king’s army stationed around me, we weren't planning to be
in this fight for the duration. Rasmus and I would fight our way out of the battle and I was going to run. I was expected to run hard and fast without looking behind me.
Our own army closed in around us in a clatter of sound as they circled the wagons, their backs a sinuous wall of defense around me. Their directive was clear to them: protect me at all costs. I tried my very best not to think about the implications of that or just how outnumbered we were. I had to focus on getting out. I was so lost in the movement around me that I jumped as one of the stable hands gripped the reins of the two horses and prepared to follow us through the fight so we’d have our mounts when we eventually made a break for it.
When I caught sight of Melody sprinting through the chaos toward me, a dagger curled in one hand and a sword in the other, my heart clenched in my chest. She was taking her place at my other side, situating herself to protect me and stand in the way of any strike that was aimed at me.
Everything was as it should be.
Everyone was in place.
Yet, the impending attack of the latros army was far larger than anything we'd been planning for.
Even our own army—a three-man-deep wall around the three of us—wasn't going to be enough to keep them away from me. Nor would Rasmus or Melody be enough to deflect the oncoming storm of death and destruction. All of those lives in place of mine… I’d thought I was prepared to accept their fate and ensure that I lived, but I was finding it more difficult to be alright with their blood on my hands with every passing second.
“Cass, I really don’t like this,” Rasmus repeated, nodding his respect to Melody as she settled beside me.
“And you think I do?” I asked impatiently, realizing I'd been quiet too long. “What choice do we have? It's kill or be killed now. They have us outnumbered and we need all the swords we can get. We fight or die.”
“You stay close to me and follow my lead. Remember you're not the Princess of Mortisali right now. You're a decoy. If you engage in battle, you better kick some ass.”