Stronger than Bone (21 page)

(Present Day: 237 Cycles into the Light)

It was midnight and the Duke’s estate was quiet. Duke Dennison slept in his chambers soundly while guards posted inside and out kept watch. Shane was with the Sergeant of the Guard overseeing late preparations for the departure they would be taking in the morning.

In his guest chambers, the red headed Rebel sat in front of a stone fireplace talking in low tones with an old acquaintance. The fire died down to coals and embers, and the room was mostly dark. That is how Death preferred it. He and General Virden leaned toward each other as they spoke in quiet, careful voices, as if conspiring against the entire world.

“Two thousand horses I’ve pledged, and five thousand men,” whispered the red headed General with a smirk. “Their spies know nothing of our true strength.” He untied and removed the leather vambrace from his right forearm, revealing tattooed runes similar to those on Death’s body. “You were the first of us, but hundreds have followed. Since the word of your rebirth, many more have taken the blood rites.”

“As I recall, my choice to adopt the blood rites was labeled blasphemy and forced my exile,” said Death in an angry whisper. “Are you saying things have changed?”

“Officially,” said the General, “blood magic is still considered blasphemy, but I promise you those days are near an end. Too many have seen and felt the power of the blood. It cannot be denied much longer.”

Death considered that for a moment. “Still, I am surprised to see an alliance with the Duke. He stands against everything the rebellion was founded on”

“The Duke is a fool!” General Virden hissed. “Our armies are already on the move. He will help us defeat the King’s army, and then the arrogant bastard will hold the gates open while we destroy this kingdom once and for all.”

A noise from behind them caused both men to turn. In the darkness, the General could not see the hidden door closing quietly across the room, but Death saw it clearly. Flashing a smile at the General, he rose and moved with such speed he seemed to disappear.

Catching the door as it closed, he saw a shape retreating down the secret corridor between the walls. He raced after the spy and grasped her arm.

“Lady Evelynn,” he whispered in her ear. “What brings you into the darkness?”

Lady Evelynn tried to twist away from Death’s powerful grip. She hit him repeatedly with her free hand to no effect and she tried to cry out. Her voice would not obey her mind, though, and the only sounds she could manage as she struggled were muted cries and protests of, “No,” as he pulled her in closer.

Death opened his mouth and placed it over her soft, warm neck. His tongue could feel an intense heat from the blood and adrenalin coursing through her veins as her heart pounded faster and her fear took her over. He longed to snap his jaws shut, cutting through that supple flesh, and spilling all of her precious blood into his waiting mouth. His body quivered in anticipation and lust for the taste and feel of her hot blood, but he resisted.

He lifted his head and spoke softly to the matriarch of the house, “You will not be the undoing of this.” Death clamped an enormous hand over her mouth and dragged her back into the room.

“Well, this is unexpected,” said the General with raised eyebrows. “This presents an interesting problem, but not an incurable one.”

The General directed Death to bring her to a seat near the fireplace while he dragged a small table in front of her. He placed a paper and quill on the table.

“You are leaving, my Lady. You will write a note to your husband explaining that you must go and will contact him soon."

She looked at him with undisguised fear in her eyes and nodded understanding. Death loosened his grip and her hands shook as she did her best to comply. Once done, she laid down the pen and set her hands in her lap, waiting patiently for her fate.

Death once again wrapped his arms around her and stood her up. He placed a hand over her mouth and turned her to face the General.

Walking over to Lady Evelynn, the General pulled a dagger from his belt and swiftly cut her hand. Then nodding to Death, he did the same to the monster’s hand. While the General held her arm, Death pressed his hand to hers and held it there to ensure the blood mingled.

Lady Evelynn’s eyes grew wide with terror and confusion. Her eyes filled with tears and she whimpered though her mouth was still covered tightly by Death’s other hand.

“There is nothing to be afraid of my Lady,” said the General. “You will not feel any pain or see any physical changes.” Gesturing to the giant holding her, he said, “This type of transformation doesn’t happen without the full blood rites and rebirth. No, you won’t become like him. You’re simply tainted: unclean and unworthy.” He touched her face gently as if he cared for her.

“You will rage and kill, and be unable to control it. For the rest of your pitiful life, you will have uncontrollable anger at the slightest provocation. It’s an interesting byproduct of ingesting the blood of a re-born. Even now, the blood in your body is changing. Believe me, the outcome is always the same. You will lose yourself entirely and kill whoever is near you.” He paused and looked at her frightened, searching eyes. “You are wondering how long until you lose control. It affects everyone in their own time. Sometimes it takes less than an hour. Sometimes it takes the better part of a day. But it is certain.”

Evelynn’s eyes overflowed with tears and muffled screams escaped from around the hand Death continued to hold over her mouth.

“It’s a wonderful gift,” said the General. “Our friend here…” He pointed again to Death. “…and a few others were experimented on, when very few dared to practice this lost art. Oh yes, it’s quite old. In fact, no one really knows where it started, or by whom. There are rumors that it comes from across the seas, or over the mountains, but no one really knows.”

“Welcome sister,” General Virden said. “I wish I could be there to see the beast within you come out to play.”

Looking at Death, the General said, “Strip her clothes and leave her in a nearby village.”

(Present Day: 237 Cycles into the Light)

Laughing and singing, the battalion returned to camp in high spirits. As they approached, the Sergeant Major signaled quick time march, and they strode back into camp dress-right-dress with chests out and heads held high.

No one was more excited than the new officers. The Colonel had made sweeping changes throughout the battalion, appointing new officers and firing many of the old. Over the past week of field exercises he had proven to each of them that he valued their opinions, and trusted their judgment. Even when they were wrong, he turned it into a teaching moment and let them try again. The young officers, mostly commissioned from the enlisted ranks, learned valuable lessons about judgment, decisive action, and leadership.

It wasn’t all hugs and lullabies though. There was hard work for everyone, and grueling tasks to be accomplished every day, all day. There was plenty of yelling.

“Holy hell, that Sergeant Major can yell,”
thought Lynn several times every day. He shook his head and smiled. There’s just something about a good Sergeant Major.

Every task had a purpose, and every day brought the men closer together. Teamwork and camaraderie were encouraged and pushed at every opportunity. The new Battle Captain, Major Martin, had a knack for tasking companies according to their strengths and building on them.

Petty differences were handled every day in a make-shift ring, hand to hand. No one ever had a difference to settle with the new XO, of course. Lynn wasn’t so sure that didn’t disappoint Captain Brente, just a little. The ring was also used for friendly sparring and training, and the Colonel participated freely, and often.

The most memorable sparring match had been between the Colonel and the Battle Captain. The entire battalion had gathered by the end of the match and cheered them on. Most favored the Colonel, but Major Martin’s old company cheered him on loyally. That was as good a character reference as Lynn had ever seen. He almost hated to win, but in the end that’s exactly what he did.

During the match, Chase also noticed his former command cheering him on. His chest swelled with pride that they would cheer him on against the King’s Champion. He was surprised at the Colonel’s stamina and speed, but he could tell he was just a little faster. Chase was not used to being so evenly matched. He almost hated to let the Colonel win, but in the end that’s exactly what he did. He knew these men needed to have the utmost confidence in their leader. They had to believe that he really was the legendary warrior the King was touting. The best part was; he really was that good. It wasn’t just about his fighting ability; it was about his iron will and his ability to rally the soldiers around him to do incredible feats.

The culmination of the exercise was a pitched battle between all four companies. Each had a flag planted in a designated piece of ground to defend. The goal was to capture the flag of your enemy without losing your own. Once you captured another company’s flag, they became subordinate, greatly increasing your strength. This was an infantry war: no mounts were allowed. The resulting battle was lengthy and brutal, but extremely fun. Nearly a quarter of the battalion had at least one black eye at the end of the day, and everyone was smiling.

Most importantly, beyond all of the drills and hard work, fun and games, the battalion came together and formed into a single cohesive unit. That was, of course, the entire point of the exercise.

Once back inside the gates, the Sergeant Major called a halt and brought the battalion to attention. The commander, Colonel Hayes, rode to the front and saluted the Sergeant Major. He sat up straight in his saddle and looked out at the Battalion. His chest swelled with pride as he viewed the men who he would soon lead into battle.

From deep within his chest, he bellowed, “Men! Never, have I seen such camaraderie and pride within a unit!”

“Hoorah!” they boomed back in unison.

“Never, have I seen such strength and endurance!”

“Hoorah!” sounded their reply.

He looked slowly from right to left and yelled, “Never, have I been so proud to serve with a group of soldiers!”

“Hoorah! Hoorah!” thundered the battalion.

Then smiling, he shouted, “Rest! Eat! For pity’s sake, take a bath!”

“Hoorah!” followed along with some laughter.

Then more seriously, and in his loudest command voice he bellowed, “Because the time for training is over! The next time you draw your sword,” and he drew his, holding it high above his head for emphasis; “will be to put it through the heart of your enemy! Our enemy!” His eyes swept over the battalion. “You are King’s Guards! You are Soldiers! You, every one of you, are my BROTHERS!”

“HOORAH!!” thundered the battalion. It was so loud that it echoed off of the distant mountain side.

There was silence from the men as everyone listened to the fading echoes. Chills ran up Lynn’s back as he watched his battalion standing so perfectly at attention. He nodded his head in approval.

“Dismissed!” he shouted, and turned his mount toward the stables.

He dismounted and the groom took the reins. Chase rode up beside him and dismounted as well.

“Nice speech boss. It makes me wonder though, what will you say when we actually go to battle?” he teased. “If you use up all your good stuff in camp, we’ll be pretty disappointed on the battle field.” With a smile he said, “You might be setting yourself up to fail.”

“Actually, I was thinking of just saying something like, ‘Remember what I said last time!’ when we get out there.” Lynn answered. They both chuckled.

The two men were joined by Corvis and they all walked back to the command post together.

“You have a visitor Major,” said the Corporal of the Guard as they approached. “He’s waiting inside.”

Chase nodded his head in acknowledgment at the Corporal as they walked past his post. Opening the door to the command post, Chase was shocked to see his brother sitting on a chair inside.

“Guy!” he said as he walked over to greet him. “What brings you back here? You look terrible!” he said with a laugh, and he slapped his brother on the shoulder. He was truly happy to see him.

“It’s a long story, but it will wait,” Guy said, standing and obviously surprised to see Lynn. “What happened since I left?” he asked. “Wait, before you answer; Lynn, Charity is here!” he said with a huge smile.

“Here?” Lynn asked in disbelief. “Where is she?”

“She’s at our campsite, across the way,” said Guy, pointing to a spot on the far side of the camp.

Hurrying back to the doorway, Captain Brente called for the Corporal.

“Yes Sir!” shouted the Corporal, snapping his feet together and saluting the XO sharply.

“Corporal, there is a young woman on the other side of the camp named Charity. Have your men escort her along with all of her belongings here to the command post immediately,” ordered the Captain. He glanced at the Colonel he added, “And tell her that her father is here.”

The battalion had been in camp for two days now, and things were moving fast for everyone. Mateo was carefully loading and tying down supplies on his pony when Colonel Hayes found him. Lynn watched the smaller man for a few moments before approaching. He still wasn’t sure what to think of the tracker, but his gut told him that Mateo was a good man. Lynn didn’t begrudge him the desire to get back to his family. In fact, he envied him a little. Thoughts of family brought memories of his departed wife, and then Joszette.
“Why won’t Charity talk about her?”
he wondered.
“She hasn’t said a word about her or why she came here without her. She keeps shutting me out and I don’t know why.”

That was part of the reason he came to talk to the man who brought her here. Mateo told them everything he knew about the men following Guy, and a platoon of soldiers was sent out to arrest them. Lynn wanted to thank him for sticking his own neck out to warn Guy; and most importantly, for bringing Charity safely to him. He just needed to know why.

“Mateo,” he said as he approached the other man. Mateo looked up from what he was doing, stopped and turned. He dropped his hands to his sides and faced the Colonel, looking to Lynn like a kid who was expecting to be in trouble. Lynn smiled to put him at ease.

“Mateo, I want to thank you for bringing my daughter to me. I also want you to know that what you did for Guy was very brave. He’s a friend, and I thank you for that too.” He held his hand out to Mateo, who took it politely, and surprisingly, gave it a hard shake.

“Before you go,” Lynn said, helping the other man check the straps on his saddle and gear. “I was hoping you could tell me why my daughter left. She was in the care of a friend; a woman, and Charity hasn’t told me why she didn’t stay. Do you know anything?”

Mateo looked at him with a pained expression and simply said, “When she’s ready, she’ll tell you. It’s not my place to say.” Then he stepped into the stirrup and heaved himself up onto the pony. Siting up straight in the saddle he said, “You have a fine daughter Senior. Be…patient with her.”

The little man clicked his tongue and gently slapped the reins on the horse’s neck. The pony stepped off at a leisurely pace, and the little man rode out of the camp in silence.

Lynn watched him go and shook his head. “Be patient,” is not what I was hoping for."