Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three (5 page)

I chuckled. Then I recounted Balak’s tale. His side of Damanhur and the council of High Mages filled in the gaps from what we already learned from Ava. As expected, they had a lot of questions, most of the same ones I had wanted to ask Balak.

I shrugged. “Balak is being really guarded with his information. Says he has something in the works and is worried that if he lets out too much too soon, it will fall apart.”

Dekar studied me. “He told you not to tell us certain things too, didn’t he?”

I thought of the three High Mages. “Yes.”

“You’re not going to listen to him though, right?” asked Ira.

“I am.”

“But—”

“I’m not keeping anything secret that could hurt us. However, it could do harm to Balak’s plan. The second I’m able to share the information, I will. Until then, it’ll just have to be a nagging itch.”

“Gods, I hate that man more and more,” said Ira, fuming. “Already starting his manipulation. Probably half of what he told you was lies.”

“It’s possible. But do you have a better way to deal with Balak?”

Ira looked away, angry.

Reuma slapped his arm.

“Ow. What was that for?”

“Tyrus asked you a question. You can be mad, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a mule.”

I glanced quickly over to Dekar who wore a wide grin. I’m sure he enjoyed watching Ira handled by someone else for a change.

Ira thankfully didn’t notice his brother’s look. Otherwise, only the gods knew where that might have led.

“Fine,” he said. “We’re at his mercy. I get it. Don’t mean I like it any.”

“So, he wants you to train the army then?” asked Dekar, getting us back on topic.

“In eight weeks.”

“Not enough time.”

“Nope.”

Ira cleared his throat. “We’ll get it done, Ty. Just think about how far those people from Denu Creek came in a short period of time. We’ve got more veterans with us here. And those with no military background are in far better shape than some of the others you had to work with. Plus, no kids getting in the way now.”

I smiled at his optimism, but then that made me think of Zadok. Just a half day’s march from my kids and it already felt as if they lived in another country. I sure wished they were there to get in my way. My smile faded.

“What’d I say?” asked Ira.

“Nothing. But you’re right. We’ll make it.”

I promised my kids we would, and I wouldn’t go back on my word.

CHAPTER 3

Ava and Zadok stood behind the old armory in a narrow alley separating the outpost from the natural protection of the low mountains behind it. On a small boulder in front of them, some thirty feet away, sat three fist-sized rocks wrapped in old rags not good for anything other than starting a fire.

“I really don’t understand why you only practice back here, Aunt Ava,” said Zadok.

The boy’s voice broke as was common for someone his age. She glanced his way, checking the length of his pants to make sure he hadn’t grown another inch overnight. They didn’t exactly have an easy way to get him new trousers.

“I don’t only practice here. I’m always practicing. It’s just that most attack spells are finicky and the last thing I want to do is hurt someone. Now, stand behind me.”

“I have a resistance, remember? You don’t have to worry about hurting me.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “How many times have I told you a resistance is not the same as immunity? The closest I’ve seen to anyone with a full-fledged immunity is your father and he could still be harmed by sorcery.”

Zadok gave a frown at the mention of Tyrus. “Oh.”

Doesn’t take long for a boy to miss his father. What am I supposed to say to ease his pain? Gods, if I know.

She decided to just barrel through with her remaining thoughts. “Now, stand behind me.”

He sighed. “Fine.”

Zadok took a few steps back to her right until he was out of her line of sight.

“So, not that I necessarily want to go through anything painful, but what exactly can happen to me because of sorcery?” he asked.

“That depends on what spell you find yourself in the way of and the skill of the person casting it. Some things will just bounce off you or you’ll absorb without feeling anything. Others you may not feel at all directly, but indirectly it might heat your clothes, weapons, or send you flying into a tree. And getting hit with a strong spell or experiencing prolonged exposure to really powerful sorcery will do far more damage. If nothing else, it will make you really weak and tired.”

“Like when we pushed ourselves too much after the eruptions when trying to bring people around.”

“Exactly. Now, can you hush for half a breath and let me try this again?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

Ava closed her eyes for a second and began to concentrate. Before the eruptions, she really didn’t have to do much to focus. The power in the air, the earth, and the world around her that those in Turine attributed to Ao, just seemed ready at her fingertips, eager for her to use. She could draw on it whenever she had liked. Since the eruptions, she felt like one of the mages in the army she used to laugh at. Nearly every other magic-user she had come into contact with practiced all these crazy meditation techniques and focusing exercises in order to perform sorcery. She was amazed that in Hol, even High Mages had used such things.

She had thought them all idiots for being unable to just grab what they needed when they needed it.

But now, as she tried to work those same techniques she often ignored over and over again, she wondered who the real idiot was.

She extended her hand to help solidify her focus. With a couple deep breaths she worked the fire spell, feeling a slight pull of power into her body, warming, and then traveling through her arms as it exited her fingers.

I can’t look.

“You did it!” Zadok exclaimed.

She opened her eyes, hopeful. A string of curses slipped out before she caught herself, realizing whose presence she was in.

“What’s wrong?” asked Zadok. “It caught fire.”

That’s not good enough.

“Not the one I wanted.”

“It’s still progress. Last time you couldn’t even do that.”

So I’m slightly less useless than before.

“Yeah, sure. But it still isn’t something I can use around others, or a spell I can rely on in battle.” She paused and heaved a heavy breath. “You want to do me a favor and put that thing out?”

“You mean you’re done, already?”

She knew she should stay, but she could feel her focus waning already. Too many things were on her mind and she needed to sort them out.

“Yeah, I’m going to the walls to clear my head. There’re other things I can practice while I’m doing that.”

* * *

Standing on the worn battlements of the small outpost hidden between a cluster of rocky hills, Ava stared at a gray sky hanging overhead. It looked just as it had every day since the last eruption. The mostly dead land blended into the sky at the distant horizon.

My brother is an idiot, and almost no one else sees it.

People were often so blinded by Tyrus’s knack for strategy, his sarcasm, or his unselfishness that they’d miss his propensity to be a moron. Certainly some disliked Tyrus, but it was usually for the same reasons why most respected him—his ability to make a hard decision, to not pull punches, to stand his ground.

But younger sisters were meant to point out the shortcomings of their older brothers. She had been doing it her entire life and doubted she’d ever stop.

Yet she had said nothing to talk him out of his decision to go with Balak.

Does that make me the bigger idiot? Who in their right mind would volunteer themselves to reenter a life that still haunts them?

The more she thought about him in the army without her at his side, the worse she felt. Despite her brother’s skill, and despite his luck, the odds that he’d survive another war were stacked against him. It was practically a miracle they had made it through ten years of fighting in the first place.

I should be there to watch his back. Dekar and Ira can’t do what I can. Well, what I used to be able to do.

She fiddled with her fingers, trying to ignite a spark in the palm of her hand. It failed. She grit her teeth and tried again. A small pop of white light shone briefly, then dissipated.

It wasn’t much, mostly a parlor trick, but it was a small victory to do something like that with little focus. Her skills were coming back slowly.

Too Ao-be-damned slow. I was doing that trick as a child and with half the effort.

She had managed a stronger defensive spell yesterday, one of camouflage when playing a joke on Nason with his kids. It was good for a laugh in the short term. In the long term, it rejuvenated her spirits. With a bit more work, she could probably provide cover for some of their group should they run across raiders again.

But not much else. She swore. I need to keep practicing to figure out a better way to tap into the distorted power since the artifact erupted.

She wasn’t sure how she’d manage that. Ava practiced almost constantly as it was.

Her nails dug into her palms.

A part of her wondered if Tyrus made her stay behind because she was no longer the asset she had once been. Logically, she knew better. But still she wondered due to her own wilting self-confidence. It was hard to struggle at something that had once defined who she was.

Since Tyrus’s departure, she had turned over the events in her mind and tried to come up with another solution to his decision to rejoin Balak.

She couldn’t.

Try as she might, she was finally willing to admit that decision had been sound.

Still an idiot though. He made more than one decision before leaving.

The area where her belief in her brother’s aptitude seemed to hold firm was in what he had tasked her with.

In the military, Tyrus had given her missions where thousands of lives depended on her success. Yet, never did the weight of responsibility crush her like it did knowing that he trusted her with the lives of the two people most important to him in the world.

Seeing Myra and Zadok to safety with only a fraction of the power she once wielded was not a challenge she relished. To make matters worse, in his absence, she had by default become more than an aunt to them. She could no longer take the easy approach to their relationship as before, talking only to Myra and Zadok through jokes or mostly trivial things because Tyrus was no longer around to handle the weightier matters.

I never wanted to be a parent. And you’ve made me one anyway, Big Brother.

Zadok’s grief ate at her, as did Myra’s anger.

I don’t know where to begin to fix it.

She tried to take solace in knowing that Tyrus had struggled to connect with Myra at first too, but that didn’t help much.

He at least made an effort. The issue had been Myra’s to work through. Now, the issue is mine. I don’t know how to approach either of them. No, that’s not right. I can approach them. I can ask a question. The problem is I don’t know what to do with the answers.

She kicked the wall with her boot. A chip of stone flaked off. Her foot ached.

“Ao’s sweaty teats!”

Now, who’s the idiot?

A throat cleared behind her.

Ava turned.

Damaris looked at her with head cocked. Her blonde hair tossed over a shoulder. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Yes, my slow descent into insanity,” said Ava.

Damaris’s pink lips parted into a grin. “I’d come back later, but Pa wanted me to let you know the meeting is about to begin.”

“Already?”

“We agreed that—”

Ava waved a hand. “I know what we agreed to. I just can’t believe that Rezub is holding us to that bargain. I’d assume he’d be tired of all this as much as we are. What is that, three meetings since my brother left?”

“Only if you also count the little outburst you had in the courtyard that drew everyone over into more of a formal meeting.” Damaris smiled wider.

Ava smiled back. “Of course I’m including that. Can’t let a good speech like that go to waste.”

Too bad I can’t remember what that little lecture was about. I’m dealing with too much already. Get a handle on yourself, Ava.

“Most aren’t describing it as a speech so much as a tirade.”

“Aren’t those the best kinds of speeches?”

Damaris chuckled. “I’ve always thought so.”

“Then we agree.”

She hadn’t really talked to Damaris much before Tyrus left, but already they had shared a few moments while reminiscing about happier times. Ava decided she liked the woman quite a bit. Damaris didn’t judge or carry herself as someone better than others. And she had the right amount of sarcasm to show she didn’t have a stick up her rear.

I used to give Tyrus a hard time about her, but in truth, he really could do far worse. Doubtful he’ll ever get over Lasha though.

“So, the meeting?” asked Damaris.

“Sure. Lead the way. It’ll be good to think about something else for a while.”

Replacing one worry with another.

* * *

Damaris walked a couple steps ahead of Ava as they descended the rough stairs of the small gatehouse. It was mostly dark inside the space, but occasionally a few shafts of light shone in through cracks in the old wall, reflecting off Damaris’s blonde hair.

They reached the bottom and Damaris asked. “Were you thinking about Tyrus?”

Ava furrowed her brow. “Some.”

“Thought so. You seemed wistful.” She paused. “Then there was your kick.”

Ava snorted.

Damaris whispered. “I miss him too.”

Ava shrugged. She didn’t mind talking about Tyrus, but she really didn’t want to talk about missing him. She blurted without thinking. “He’s an idiot, you know.”

Ava swore silently. Now I’m going to have to explain what I mean by that.

She waited for Damaris to make a comment reassuring her that Tyrus was not an idiot, but instead the woman said, “I’m sure you have good reasons for thinking so.”

That took Ava back. As did the silence that followed.

She’s giving me the opportunity to explain myself if I want to talk, or to let the comment go if I don’t.

Ava chose the latter without any protest from Damaris.

I like this woman more and more.

They walked through the courtyard, toward the old barracks.

“Is your Pa ready to stop giving Rezub so much leeway?” Ava asked.

“He’s just trying to be fair to everyone,” she said quickly in defense.

Ava sighed. Another thing Tyrus had asked of her was to help Sivan lead the group in his absence. That hadn’t been going very well either.

Is anything?

“He’s ex-military. He should know that being fair is a great idea, but rarely works. He needs to firmly take charge and do what’s right, not what will make everyone happy. Nothing wrong with giving everyone a chance to speak, but giving others a chance to speak doesn’t mean we have to entertain what they say. Do what’s right, not popular.”

“You sound like you got it figured out.”

“Not much to figure out. You watched Tyrus. That’s how he led and it worked. Why change?”

She shrugged. “You could always take control outright.”

“No one wants me completely in charge. Better I just support your father.”

“You mean you don’t want to lead.”

There was a hint of an accusation in Damaris’s tone that took Ava by surprise. Yet, she couldn’t argue because it was true.

“No, I don’t. Leading small squads with a given objective is one thing, a large group with everything on my shoulders is another. That’s Tyrus’s thing.”

“Only Tyrus isn’t here. . . .” She paused. “And I think you’re right. Father needs to stop trying to make everyone happy. He’s losing control of the group to Rezub because he has too kind of a heart.”

She chuckled. “So you’re saying that I don’t have a kind heart?”

“No.” She blushed. “It’s just . . . I don’t know.”

Curse you Balak for taking my brother away.

She entered the barracks quickly. They were the last to arrive at the meeting. Everyone else, more than sixty men and women, sat or stood in a half circle facing the small fire burning in a wood stove at the back wall. Heads turned as they entered. Expressions on those faces ran the gamut—some blank and indifferent, some angry from waiting, and a few surprisingly happy.

Happy to see me, or just happy the meeting can finally begin?

Sivan stood near the wood stove, facing the group. He and Ava exchanged respectful nods. It looked as though something ate at him.

Maybe taking over command would be doing him a favor. Though no favor for me.