“Enter,” a deep, baritone voice came from within.
Kane remembered at the last second the protocol for a debrief, and gestured to Eder and Terrell to wait outside, as he followed Erhard into Commander Rayner’s office.
“Brother-Sergeant Erhard, sir, escorting Brother-Corporal Kane of the Ninth Citadel Battalion. He has orders to report to yourself on arrival in Auris, sir.”
“Does he now?” The Commander stood from his desk, and it took all of Kane’s hard-learned discipline not to lean backwards. Rayner was huge, easily the size of General Valens back home, with skin as dark as ebony. He had a beard, neatly-trimmed, and his hair was a thick, tightly-curled thatch on his head.
Kane executed the neatest salute he’d ever given in his life.
Rayner nodded an acknowledgement. “May I see your orders, Corporal?” he rumbled.
Kane handed over the scroll, and Rayner sat back in his chair to study it. Allowing himself a quick glance around the room, Kane noticed the contrast between the Lieutenants’ office in the Citadel. Not a book, not a scroll, not a single leaf of paper was out of place. Instead of candles dribbling everywhere, there were neat oil lamps around the room, ensconced in glass and metal cages. This was more like what Kane had expected from an officer’s domain.
“I see,” Rayner said, at length. He seemed to have read something in the brief, terse orders that Kane was not privy to, and it was not to his liking. “Make your report, and make it quick.”
Kane gave a mostly accurate account of the journey. He missed out the part where Sophia had returned as a Sidhe traitor, and left it that she had been kidnapped by a force of bandits, made larger and fiercer in the retelling. He was amazed at how short the journey sounded when recounted.
“You are to be congratulated, Brother-Corporal, for even making it through the Borderlands with a squad of so few. Even the Border Rangers travel in whole companies, it is a respectable feat to traverse that distance with almost all of your party intact. The loss of Professor Sophia is a tragedy, but she was aware of the risks of the journey.”
“Thank you, sir,” Kane said.
“As it is past sunset, it is inadvisable to trouble the Prince at this hour,” the huge man said. “You will stay overnight in the visitors’ quarters, here, and I will have a detachment escort you to the palace in the morning. Erhard, show them to their quarters.”
“Excuse me, sir, my orders were to deliver Miss Cahaya to the Academy, an audience with the Prince was not mentioned.”
Rayner smiled, his teeth bright in the darkness.
“There is a peculiar way of doing things in Auris, Brother-Corporal. One does not present a specimen to the Academy without first making said specimen a gift to its patron, Prince Fahim, who will then bestow it on the Academy.”
“Specimen, sir?”
“The young lady you have escorted,” Rayner explained. “As she is to be studied she will be referred to as a specimen, I hope that does not disturb you overmuch.” He seemed to be looking for something in Kane’s face, which he found, with a ‘hmph’ of satisfaction. “You are dismissed, Brother-Corporal. Erhard, sort them out in the visitors’ quarters.”
Kane tried not to let it show precisely how much it did disturb him. He saluted, again, for good measure, and followed Erhard out of the room.
“This way,” Erhard said, and briskly led them through the corridors. Once they’d reached a safe distance from Rayner’s door, he gave a sidelong look to Kane, a grin quirking the corner of his mouth. “Did you really come through the Borderlands on your own?”
“It was the quickest way here,” Kane said, “and it was in our orders.”
“Nice,” Erhard replied, admiringly. “You meet any Sidhe out there in the big bad wilderness?”
“We had an encounter or two,” Kane said, for some strange reason feeling the need to impress the tall, aloof soldier with the crooked grin.
“Oh I’ll just bet you did,” the girl, Avila, said sarcastically, and Kane turned to see her looking him up and down with another calculating look. He had the distinct impression he was being weighed in the balance and found wanting.
“Just a half-Sidhe and a band of Changelings,” he continued, addressing Erhard directly. “Nothing major.”
“Sounds major enough for the five of you,” Erhard said. “There are plenty that don’t make it through.”
Avila gave a disgusted huff, but Erhard turned to her with a level look.
“Avila, go make yourself useful somewhere,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I can escort our guests by myself.”
The girl looked like she might argue, but at the last minute she turned away proudly, and stalked off to the courtyard.
“Don’t mind her,” Erhard said. “She’s just bitter because she can’t sass me any more, not since she got demoted last week.”
“Why was she demoted?” Kane asked.
“Garrison’s big secret, that one,” Erhard said, and the wink he gave Kane made his stomach lurch strangely. “Suffice it to say, she and her erstwhile second, Caron, are both miserable as sin to be around, I’m glad they’re not in my battalion.”
He abruptly opened a door to his left, revealing a room identical to the dormitory Kane had spent fifteen years of his life in; ten wooden beds all lined in regimented rows. It was musty and cold, the heat of the day having not permeated into it, and somebody had stored several brooms in the corner.
“These are the visitors’ quarters,” Erhard said, and added dryly, “we don’t get many visitors.”
“These will do just fine,” Kane said, kindly.
“It’s better than sleeping on the ground,” Terrell added, which made Erhard chuckle.
“There is a visiting officer’s room, but I think someone has been keeping damaged and broken weapons in there so it might not be the safest choice.”
“I’m sure I’ll manage bunking in with the rest of this lot,” Kane said. “But thank you for the offer.”
“Make yourselves comfortable, I’ll go see about some food and find the Immaculatii who were accompanying you.”
He left, came back, saluted Kane, then left again. Terrell flopped down bonelessly onto one of the beds, shedding his pack, which raised a cloud of dust from the bare boards as it thudded onto the floor.
“That Avila really doesn’t think much of you, does she?” Terrell chuckled. “Even with us all being great Sidhe-fighting heroes and everything.”
“She doesn’t have to like me, I’m only here for a night.”
“A girl with looks like that? I’d be devastated if she didn’t like me.”
“Terrell!” Kane hissed, acutely aware they were now back in what counted for order, and all the liberties and carelessness they’d experienced on the road were a thing of the past.
“What, it’s just us three here, nobody’s going to clap me in irons. Unless Eder has a fit of religious fervour.”
Eder gave Terrell a withering look, and sat down delicately on the end of the bed.
“Sampson’s going to have us all drink the Elixir again tonight,” he said, quietly. “It’s not as if he let us give it up by choice. And there’s no throwing it out the window or hiding it in the dirt for you two, not here.”
“It’s one dose,” Kane said. “I doubt one dose is going to change anything after all this time without.”
Eder looked at him, his blue eyes sad. “I don’t know whether I hope you’re right or wrong.”
“We’ll be fine,” Terrell said confidently. “Kane’s right, it’s been too long, it’s not going to shrink us right back down to little novices again. After we drop off… after we’re done at the palace tomorrow, I’m out of here anyway, and one dose isn’t going to change that.”
“What are you going to do?” Eder asked.
“No idea,” Terrell grinned. “But that’s the fun part. I’ve got my whole life to live out. Might see if I can get myself a girl who isn’t going anywhere. Can’t be that hard.”
Kane
rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop himself from smiling. It had been the three of them, together, having each other’s backs and keeping each other’s secrets for so long he had forgotten there would be a point where they would have to part ways. It would be odd, not seeing Terrell’s easy, lopsided grin every day, as he had done for the past thirteen years. A surge of feeling welled within him, and he felt tears prickling his eyes.
“You’ll have to find one who can see past your ugly face,” he teased, taking refuge in the same banter of old.
“I’m a big strong man now, I’ll have the girls falling at my feet, face or not, you’ll see,” Terrell replied, flexing his arms. A stitch in his clothing ripped, audible in the quiet room.
Kane laughed, and for a moment he wished the Elixir would take them right back to where they had been, a young trio of novices, best friends for a decade in the safe, unchanging Citadel.
“If they’re falling at your feet it’s only because of the smell,” Kane launched a pillow at Terrell.
He caught it and flung it back with considerably more force. “I’m sure I could impress some of these rubes,” he said, folding his arms behind his head and staring at the ceiling.
The door opened, and Cahaya, Davena and Sampson entered, led by a boy in a novice’s tunic, mucky from work. He had black-brown hair, in a messy haystack, and under the dirt his skin was a weatherbeaten tan.
“Thank you for your assistance, Private Caron,” Davena said politely.
“It’s my pleasure,” the boy said. “Is there anything I can get for you ladies, or the rest of you?”
“Thank you, but I believe Brother-Sergeant Erhard is seeing to some food for us,” Kane said.
“Very good, sir,” Caron replied, then turned to Davena. “If there is anything further you require, you know where to find me.”
He saluted Kane, bowed to the girls, and left.
Kane realised everyone was looking at him.
“Is there something on my face?” he asked.
“He looks quite uncannily like you,” Eder said, squinting. “Under the dirt, I mean.”
“Perhaps that’s why Avila doesn’t like your face,” Terrell said. “Because it’s so much like his.”
“Or she’s just always like that,” Kane shrugged.
There was a quiet knock at the door, and after a short pause Brother-Sergeant Erhard entered, with a wooden trolley which Kane recognised as similar to the ones used to transport heavy equipment in the Citadel. On top of it, balanced precariously, were a pot of something hot and delicious-smelling, a few pieces of bread, and a small kettle of boiling water.
“The kitchens were closed,” Erhard said, with a casual shrug. “But there was some stew left in the pot, so I warmed it for you. I’ll leave you to your repast, I need to get back to my duties.”
He left the room, and the squad didn’t wait. They ate hungrily, tearing into the only slightly stale bread like ravening wolves. For all it had been a meal of leftovers it was a hearty one, and even Terrell gave up before they reached the bottom of the pot.
Sampson had drawn the velvet bag of Elixir reverently from his robes and added it to the kettle, breathing in the steam as though by doing so he could undo the trials of the last month.
“Any trouble with the quartermaster?” Kane asked, feigning concern.
“Other than his manners leaving something to be desired, no,” Sampson said. “It would seem that there are no Immaculatii in Auris, and only a few scattered priests who mostly keep themselves to themselves. This is a godless city, not like the Citadel at all. I shall be very glad to return home. But for now, we pray.”
He poured the libation, said the prayer which they had not heard in months, and drank deeply. Kane saw tears squeeze from the corners of Sampson’s eyes, and briefly wondered if the journey of an Immaculatus abstaining from the Elixir was in any way similar to that of a Guard. He knocked back his own dose of the noxious brew casually, knowing it would be his last and uncaring of the bitter aftertaste.
There was an expectant hush, afterwards, as the three Child Guard waited for a noticeable effect, and the two Immaculatii savoured the return of their holy elixir.
Kane felt no different, and as he climbed between the musty sheets of an honest-to-gods bed, his friends around him, he felt at peace.
With no need to put on a guard, Kane could have slept the night through but something in him would not allow it. He had drifted off easily enough, but as he emerged from sleep he became aware the sounds of the great city of Auris at night were not the same as the Citadel, nor the sounds he had become accustomed to on the road. There was the occasional cry of a strange bird, or the yowl of something he couldn’t identify, and the crickets had reached a maddening crescendo. The room, cold from lack of use, had warmed quickly with half a dozen bodies in it, and had quickly become stifling.
He rose, on silent feet, dressed only in his drawers, and crossed the room, light-footed as a cat. He paused, for a moment, by Eder’s bed. Eder’s face was cherubic as ever, moreso in his sleep, with a stray lock of hair plastered to his forehead. Kane brushed it away fondly, with the gentlest of touches, and Eder smiled in his sleep.
Kane seated himself on the sill, allowing the night breeze to flutter across his fevered skin, the tiny sounds of the city less annoying now he had resigned himself to being awake. The visitors’ quarters overlooked the courtyard; not the worst view he’d ever had.
He caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, and surreptitiously slid out of the window, concealing himself in the shadows next to it. White-blonde hair bobbed in the breeze as Private Avila made her way across the courtyard below. She looked around, cautiously, and Kane was instantly intrigued. Once she had decided to her satisfaction that nobody could see her, she made her way into the stable block.
Nothing happened for a few more moments, but just as Kane was about to dismiss it as yet another peculiarity of Auris, another figure emerged into the courtyard. This time it was Private Caron, Kane’s doppelganger. He was more sneaky than Avila, sticking to the shadows of the walls rather than making a dash across the centre, but from above Kane could easily keep track of him. He was almost to the entrance of the stable block, when there was the brief sound of a scuffle, and he fell to the ground and didn’t get up.
Out of the shadows came the broad, unmistakable silhouette of Terrell.
Kane squinted into the darkness of the room and saw Terrell’s bed was artfully set up to give a semblance of a sleeper still occupying it. He had been taught that very same trick ten years ago by Kane himself, and Kane was not at all pleased to find it had fooled him.
He turned back to the courtyard, to see Terrell, stealthier than the other two combined, making his way after Avila. He even cast a glance up to the window where Kane was watching, and Kane could have sworn their eyes met in their respective shadows. Terrell continued regardless, and disappeared into the stable block.
There was silence for a long while, and with a bad feeling growing in the pit of his belly, Kane retreated from the window and groped for his clothes.
And then there was a scream.
20. Terrell
“When a friendship cuts, it scrapes the bone.”
Coban proverb
“I didn’t do anything of the sort, I swear,” Terrell protested. Kane could see him testing the strength of the bonds holding his wrists together, and felt a sudden, vindictive urge to tighten them.
“You liar, you horrible toad, you weasel,” Private Avila, similarly manacled, spat. She wasn’t struggling, but if her words had been arrows Terrell would have been a perforated corpse.
They were in Commander Rayner’s office. Terrell and Avila had been frogmarched in by a pair of guards apiece, who had left to dispel from around the door the gaggle of novices who, roused by the commotion, had come to see what the cause of all the fuss was. Kane, as Terrell’s commanding officer, had also been allowed to remain in attendance. He had run into the courtyard only m
inutes after the scream, to see the pair of them being hauled out by guards. Caron had chosen that moment to lurch out of the darkness, but given his disorientated state had been taken to the Infirmary rather than the office.
“Enough,” Rayner’s deep voice cut across Avila’s barrage of insults. “We will get to the bottom of this tonight or I will lock you both in the brig and throw away the key. I do not appreciate half the garrison being roused in the middle of the night, and this had better not be some kind of prank. Again, Private Avila, and if you interrupt once more, Private Terrell, I will have you gagged until it is time for you to make your account.”
Avila took a deep breath and, casting a venomous glare at Terrell, began her story again.
“I had just finished guard duty and I was heading back to my dormitory when I heard a strange noise coming from the stables. I went in to investigate and raise the alarm if necessary, but there was nothing there and I was just about to leave when this little-“ a warning look from Rayner caused her to bite back the insult, “when Private Terrell assaulted me.”
“I can see no evidence of any blows,” Rayner said. “Unless the blows were in places not ordinarily visible, in which case you would need to be stripped and examined to provide proof of your claim.”
“He didn’t strike me, sir,” Avila said, her eyes on the floor.
“Then what happened?” Rayner was rapidly losing patience as his chance of a good night’s sleep retreated.
“He put a knife to my throat, sir,” Avila said, her voice trembling slightly. “He was – he was touching me, he tore open my shirt, pushed me up against a wall and grabbed hold of my hair. He said if I fought or screamed he’d cut my throat.”
Rayner was silent, but his expression darkened noticeably. There was something about the silence that begged to be filled, and so Avila continued, after a steadying breath.
“I managed to disarm him when he became distracted by something about his clothes, got him pinned to the floor and called for assistance.”
The Child Guard Page 21