Hunter's War (Legend of the Wild Hunter Book 4) (18 page)

“Is it true, Callor has turned against the crown?” Tinny asked.

“I heard we’re to be handed over to the valrik.” Nasom remarked.

The question did raise a few concerns, and the men started to talk all at once.

“Now, please, calm down.” Kile said, standing at the head of the table. “Nobody is being handed over to the valrik.”

“That’s not what I heard,” Duffy said, leaning back in his chair. “I heard the head valrik, something by the name of Vadokk, has demanded we be handed over to them without delay.”

He folded his arms across his chest and looked at her with a smug expression, one that he often presented to her, one which she never liked. He was Sergeant Wargner’s right hand man, and it was obvious, he believed the mantle of command should have come to him.

“If that was true,” she said calmly. “Wouldn’t we already be on the way out the gate?”

“So what is the deal? What’s going to happen to us now?” Sandson asked.

“As of last night, we... sort of… took control of the outpost,” Kile said quickly. Even after hearing it spoken out loud, it still didn’t sound right.

“We did what?” Tinny asked.

“How did we do that?” Lesh asked.

“It’s not official,” Kile replied, holding both hands up to silence the squad. “It’s a little complex, but for now, Captain Bartholomew Jax is still in command of the outpost, and we will help him in any way we can.”

“He is a trader to the crown, and I will not give aid to the enemy.” Duffy shouted, jumping to his feet. This had the effect of silencing the entire room, and now the civilians were taking a keen interest in the squad’s conversation, as well as a few of the outpost soldiers.

It was probably not a good idea to accuse their commanding officer of treason.

“It would depend on who you think he’s betraying,” Kile replied. “Captain Jax and most of the men under his command, have families in Callor. They cannot openly oppose Lord Rimes, but, if we seize command of the outpost, then technically, by opposing Vadokk and the valrik, he cannot be branded a traitor by either side.”

“This is ridiculous. This isn’t the way things are done,” Duffy continued to shout. He was waving his hands for a more dramatic effect. It was almost like watching some pantomime. “If we are truly in command of this outpost, then we must imprison the Callor forces.”

“Then what, the remaining thirteen of us defend the outpost against the valrik?” Tullner asked. “We need Captain Jax and his men if we want to survive this.”

“You are more than free to leave if you want, Corporal Duffy,” Kile added. “But, there are only two ways out of this outpost. If you go east, you’ll be entering Callor, where you will probably be imprisoned before nightfall. If you head west, you’ll probably be dead before you take your third step, since there is at least two thousand valrik sitting on our front door step.”

“Seriously?” Nasom asked.

Maybe she should have broken that to them a little easier.

“I’m afraid so,” she replied. “Tullner and I have just returned from the high wall. Captain Jax estimates, we have about three days before the valrik will try to take the outpost. They may, or may not, be assisted by Callor forces. If that happens, I don’t have to tell you what our odds of coming out of this alive are.”

“So what do we do?” Tinny asked.

“Today, we prepare with what little time we have, we’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes. For now, you might as well enjoy yourself a little longer until I can find out how we can best fit in.”

Kile left the men to talk among themselves and took a seat at a deserted table in the far corner of the room. She ordered a warm cup of tea, which was brought to her by an eager young waitress. Everything was moving so fast and she feared it would speed up before it slowed down. She was well out of her element here, and felt as if she had no control over anything, including herself. The feral episodes were becoming more and more frequent, and she was beginning to wonder if she was losing her sanity. She had planned to contact Morgan, but no messages were going in or coming out of the Tower. Mystics don’t get involved in wars, and it would appear they have isolated themselves from everything, at the moment.

Where was that simple farm girl, she wondered? How did she come so far and why did she make the journey? This was as far away from the Veller farm as she could have imagined. The only thing she could do now was to survive, although that was easier said than done. The code book she received when she graduated never even came close to covering this.

Fall back on the basics. That was what she needed to do, but what were the basics? For a Hunter, that was easy, information. She needed to gather as much information as she could about everything, and everyone.

She took a sip of her tea, which was actually quite soothing, something of a local herb found only in the mountainous regions of Callor. She made a mental note to ask the cook if he had some dried leaves available.

“You know, I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. But this has to be your worst outfit yet.”

Kile slowly looked up from her cup of tea at a slender young woman with long blond hair. She was dressed in a filly, blue blouse and slacks. In her hand was a bowl of salad.

“Alisa?”

“Even traveling with a dozen hansom young men, you still have spinster written all over you,” the young girl laughed, taking a seat at Kile’s table.

Alisa set the bowl down and pulled out a single leaf of lettuce. She handed it to Vesper who eagerly accepted it. The yarrow made short work of the leaf, then helped himself to another when the girl pushed the bowl toward him.

“I see Vesper hasn’t lost his appetite,” she laughed.

Alisa Reaba, owner and operator of the Apple Blossom Livery in Coopervill, and the first person Kile met when she arrived in the mining town. That was so long ago now, almost another age. She hadn’t dared think about Alisa, probably because, in the back of her mind, she had already written her off as being deceased.

“What are you doing here?” Kile asked.

“At the moment, just helping out where I can, but what happen to you, where have you been and did I hear right. Are you commanding a squad of able bodied young men?”

“Please, don’t even go there,” Kile laughed. “But seriously, it’s great to see you. I thought you were…”

“What? Dead?” Alisa replied, and even though she was still smiling a heavy darkness covered her eyes.

“What happened in Coopervill?” Kile asked.

“I don’t really know,” Alisa replied, staring down at the table. “It happened so fast. The last thing I can remember was Carl, waking me up in the dead of night, which I thought was strange since he seldom came into the farmhouse, let alone in my room. He told me I had to go, that the town was under attack. At first I didn’t believe him, but Carl wasn’t one for making jokes. I remember grabbing some clothes as he led me down the stairs into the courtyard. He had a horse saddled, waiting for me. The sky in the west was this bright orange color, and I remember thinking, it was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen, but it wasn’t the sun setting. The town was burning.”

“How many made it out?” Kile asked.

“Not many,” Alisa replied, taking a deep breath. “As I said, it happened so fast, there was no warning or anything. Only those of us on the eastern side of town had any chance of getting away. They never perused us. It was almost like they just wanted the town. Steele met us on the road. I think he was returning from one of his assignments. He went back to check on the town, to get as many out as he could, but I think by then it was too late. He was the one who led us here, to this outpost. He said we would be safe. We’ve been here for a couple of months now. Obviously we can’t go back to Denal and Callor doesn’t want us, so, here we wait. Have you… seen him lately?”

“Steele? I’m afraid not. Last I heard he’s running messages between command and the base camps. What about Carl? Where’s he?” Kile asked, looking past Alisa into the crowd of civilians. She hadn’t really noticed them before, but there were a few familiar faces, now that she thought about it, of course, that could just be wishful thinking.

“I don’t know,” Alisa replied, dragging Kile back to the conversation. “The last time I saw him was in the courtyard, when he told me to go. If he survived, he didn’t come here. Truthfully, I can’t see him leaving the Apple Blossom. I truly believe he would fight to his last breath to defend it.”

Alisa looked down at her hands as if trying to forget what she had just remembered, but then her smile, which never seemed to be too far away, slowly returned.

“What about you?” She asked. “The last we parted, you were heading to Littenbeck with a couple of Hunters on your trail. So what happened?”

Kile started to explain everything which happened to her, since the day she left the Apple Blossom Livery, unfortunately, she never got the chance to explain it all. The doors to the pub opened and Captain Jax entered, along with the young nervous soldier she saw him with earlier.

“Commander, we have a problem,” He said, crossing the floor toward her.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You know when I said, we should have about three days before the Uhyre get hostile, I may have misjudged.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Private Thompson, here, has just returned with Vadokk reply, and I fear, the situation on the ground has changed. He’s basically telling us to open the mainway, or he will open it himself.”

“How long has he given us?” she asked.

“Daybreak tomorrow.”

“Wonderful. Do you think more of the Uhyre have arrived?”

“That would be my guess,” Jax replied. “But it might be something else. Thompson, tell her what you saw.”

The young soldier looked at the Commander first, before stepping forward. He never made eye contact with Kile and seemed a little nervous. She had to wonder if it was because she was a wili or because she was a woman. He didn’t look like he had much experience with either one.

“Um… when… when I was… waiting for Vadokk to reply to the message, I noticed a few of the valrik cutting down trees. They were dragging them off to the west. I couldn’t actually see what they were doing… but, it looked as if they were building something.”

“Building something, what?” Kile asked.

“Siege engine, ram, hell, they could be building a boat out there, for all we know,” Jax replied.

“What do you suggest?”

“We don’t stand much of a chance if they hit us with everything,” Jax said. “The truth is, this outpost has been undermanned and under supplied for ages. It was never meant to withstand a full assault. If you haven’t noticed, this is where Callor sends their malcontent and misfits, to keep them out of trouble. We should probably expect the worst, but hope for the best.”

“That doesn’t’ sound very promising,” she replied.

“I never said the job of running the outpost was easy, Commander.”

Kile looked around the room at the young soldiers who were waiting eagerly for her to say something. She would love to jump up on one of the chairs and give a rousing speech which would raise their moral and rally them into action, but she had nothing. The truth of the matter was too sobering, and they all heard it. Nothing she could say would change that. The only thing left to do now is fall back on the basics.

“Then the first thing we should do is get a message to high command.” she said, getting to her feet. “We need to inform them of what’s going on, but I don’t think we can expect much help from them any time soon. Until then, we’re on our own. We should secure the gates and get the civilians to the kastelya,”

She took the last mouthful of her tea and set the cup aside.

“I agree. I’ve already sent my men to the storage rooms to start moving supplies,” Jax replied.

“And the stables,” Kile said. “Get the horses and the deer up there as well.”

“You want to bring the horses into the kastelya?” Jax asked.

“Of course I do. I’m not leaving anything or anyone along the mainway.”

“You’re in command,” Jax said with a slight nod.

“I’ll have Perha Squad help with the civilians, and I’ll meet you on the high wall.”

“It’s going to get awful crowded up there.” Jax said. Turning, he motioned for the boy, named Thompson, to follow him as he headed back out into the rain.

“Come on Vesper, we better get going,” she said as she lowered her arm for the yarrow to climb up. Vesper took his seat on her shoulder. She walked over to where Perha Squad was nervously waiting.

“Tullner, did you hear all that?” she asked.

“Hard not to,” he replied.

“I want you to start getting the civilians to the kastelya. Alisa, will you help?”

“Of course I will.” Alisa replied and quickly moved to the back of the room. She started to get the people moving.

“When you get everything going, meet me on the high wall.” Kile said. She pulled the hood of her cloak back over her head and headed back out into the rain.

She was expecting this. There was no way the valrik would wait out there quietly for someone to open the front door. It was only a matter of time before they would force their way through, but they needed that time. They were building something back there, and she had to find out what it was.

She made her way up to the kastelya, weaving through the soldiers who were carrying crates and barrels through the streets. Her first stop was the infirmary, not because she needed it, but because she knew where it was. When she opened the door, her senses were assaulted by the smells of strong medical herbs and cleaning solutions. It reminded her of Daniel, and started to wonder where he was right about now.

She found Sumsor going over a list, with his assistants moving around him, checking on shelved items and peering into boxes. It was clear, they were expecting heavy casualties. The healer looked up when she entered.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I need ink and parchment,” she told him.

Sumsor hesitated for a moment, and Kile wondered if he was going to be surly again, but instead, he turned to one of his assistants.

“Ja, get some ink and parchment from the back room,” he ordered.