CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
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Alana Hurd
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26th of Decepter, 935 PC
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Alana plopped down on the roots of a hefty tree and rubbed her tired legs. The desire to groan like a dying wildebeest crossed her mind but that sort of thing was beneath her now. Even though she swore her feet might actually fall off if she took another step. How could they not? They’d trudged through nothing but mud for almost two hours. Thick, nasty mud that had no purpose other than to piss her off. And for what? To surprise a group of Purists that could probably sense them coming anyway. Intuitionists, Sathariss had called those ones. He’d claimed it was harder to sneak something over on those ones than a mum with eyes in the back of her head.
This was a suicide mission if she’d ever seen one.
Her comrades sat and stood all around her as Lieutenant Pallani checked her map. Most of them were just as worn out and exhausted as Alana but they weren’t willing to whine about it either. That, and they were too busy with concerned stares at nothing in particular and moments with objects that reminded them of loved ones. Fools. All that awaited them down the trail was death. Not her though. She had her plan, her bow, her pouch of lotus, and a bad taste in her mouth. All she had to do was make it to the chaos, then run like the three hells.
“Wish we had one of those new ships Kit took off in,” Io said. “Keep the element of surprise and the skin on our feet. I’ve got blisters that are more unpleasant than my sister.” The front of his green gambeson was brown after he’d taken an uncharacteristic fall a mile back after he’d gotten tripped up on a rock and couldn’t get his balance in the mud. Lieutenant Pallani had a good laugh at that one. Her and everyone else. Except Alana. All it did for her was remind her how much she enjoyed the Pallanis and how much she’d miss them.
“Me too. Got blisters on my blisters.” Darrius lifted his waterskin to his mouth, his impressive, albeit useless, bicep flexing. At one point she thought she might regret not having a go at him before she split from the company, even with the mangled ear, but not now that men were as unattractive to her as women. She got clammy hands and an urge to gag when she thought about sex now.
Io mimicked the posture of a good soldier as he said, “At least our feet died in the name of a good cause.”
Darrius looked around cautiously then leaned toward him. “I thought you didn’t believe in the war…”
The self-proclaimed philosopher put a hand on the big fella’s shoulder, seeing an opportunity to flex his own form of muscles. “Good old Darrius. Wouldn’t know sarcasm if it took you to its bedroom and had its way with you. I’ll leave you with this, my friend. If the only way to stop something evil is to do something evil, should you do it?” He patted Darrius on the back and left him there, sinking in the mud beneath the weight that had been put in his head.
“Almost there!” the lieutenant hollered from the front of the group. Music to Alana’s ears. Every step took her farther and farther from the inn she’d seen when they flew into the valley. Too much farther and she might not get back to it by nightfall. Lords forbid she spend the night alone in the wilderness.
Darrius offered her some help up as he said, “What was he talking about?”
“Don’t overthink it,” she said. “Just do your best to survive today.”
The group came together, all twelve of them, two officers and ten ordinary Lotus that were paired up and prepped specifically for their role in the ambush. Darrius was Alana’s partner. Shitty for him, knowing he’d be working alone not long after the action started. They were fillers today, which meant they were to replace fallen comrades in the semi-circle Lieutenant Pallani intended to trap the Purists in. Alana couldn’t have asked for a better role. Fillers were left on their own and expected to feel the ebbs and flows of the battle, be where they were needed without being told. From what she’d seen of the role on other missions, fillers often got lost in the shuffle and ended up planting themselves where they felt safest.
“Hurd, Holloway,” the lieutenant said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Darrius said, heading toward the officer. Alana followed, cursing as she ripped her boots out of the mud each step.
“Change of plans. Commander Caylen and I think you’d both be best off trying to secure the potential exit route we’ve charted here.” The two Lotus stood on either side of their superior and studied the map. It appeared the Purists were supposed to be right on the riverbank, in a clearing labeled Dover’s Pocket. The clearing was surrounded by trees on three sides and water on the fourth, leaving nowhere easy way to escape except one narrow route that had been drawn through the trees to the south. “They may not even know of this path, but if they do it might be difficult to stop them from getting to it unless we account for it now.”
Command Caylen spoke up. An infrequent occurrence when she was with the lieutenant. “The last access point to the trail is just ahead. It bends with the river and heads west. You’ll need to come with me now. We’ll watch from there and wait for the lieutenant's signal in case they come our way.” Alana’s plan was unraveling more and more with each word. Wandering off into the woods while everyone was distracted by the chaos all around them was one thing, doing so with nothing going on and an officer standing over your shoulder was a whole other story.
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“Are you sure I’m right for this, ma’am?” Alana asked the lieutenant. “Should I be the last line of defense? I’m not the greatest shot.”
The lieutenant made a face like she was well aware. “That’s why you’re going with Commander Caylen. Hopefully you won’t need your magic or your bow.” Now was one of those times when the truth hurt. They’d joked about how bad Alana’s aim was, but she thought it was good natured. She tried to tell herself that the lieutenant was simply trying to keep her alive but it was difficult to believe with the tone of her voice. Why am I worried about this right now? Focus.
“Ma’am-” Alana started to say.
“It’s an order. Make sure you have everything. You’re heading out now.”
“Yes ma’am,” Darrius said, bowing his head.
“Yes ma’am,” Alana said weakly, bowing her head half as much as expected of her.
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The Candlebury River bent and curled as it slithered through the Nevergreen Forest. Dover’s Pocket sat in one of those bends. Far enough away from their muddy hillside across the river that danger was unlikely to find them unless it ran right at them. Alana fought the urge to sulk in the fact that she wanted to be somewhere in the trees with the other Lotus, fully capable of disappearing without a trace.
“Are those Purists?” Darrius asked, peeking around the boulder they were using for cover. One man sat in the mud by a log, another lay on it, both seemingly sleeping. A tent was set up near a fire about twenty yards behind them.
Commander Caylen thumped the boulder with her fist. “That’s like Purists to think they’re invincible. Sleeping in plain sight. Arrogant bastards.”
Where the younger Lotus were often terrified of the Purists and all the different ways they could be killed by them, the older Lotus’ fear of death had been pulverized by years of oppression. Now, they stomped around like angry monsters, pounding their chests and looking for something to kill. The commander however, was much more roar than chomp or else she wouldn’t have turned around and shed every bit of frustration she felt as she searched for a place to rest her eyes.
Darrius pulled his bow from his back and nocked an arrow. “Ducks on a pond from here.” Alana almost laughed. A true enough statement if the commander was the one shooting, but Darrius’ aim suggested it was one of his eyes that had been damaged, not one of his ears.
“Not worth the risk of missing,” the commander said, showing why so many of her subordinates respected and enjoyed her; tact and good judgment. “Lieutenant Pallani and the others will handle things. Just stay alert.” Having spotted a place to rest, she walked toward a few trees and lowered herself to the ground. For a moment, she sat as tall as the faraway hills behind her. Then she leaned against the tree and closed her eyes.
Darrius lifted his bow and took aim. No intention to shoot but eager to change that. “Swoosh. Right in the chest. Put a pin on my chest and slap my ass.” There wasn’t a chance it would go that well but his thrill for the fight gave her an idea.
She glanced at Commander Caylen who’d settled into studying the back of her eyelids. She tugged on Darrius’ sleeve and pulled him lower when he looked at her. She put a finger to her lips. “What do you say we go get our pins?” she whispered. Rouille had not given her a pin after the debacle in the inn and probably wouldn’t even if she went above and beyond normal expectations of a Lotus. But Darrius didn’t know that.
They both checked on their superior. Still peacefully clueless.
“I’d say we’d be disobeying orders,” Darrius whispered.
“I’d say orders are only orders if you follow them.”
“What are they if you don’t?”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you want your pin or not?”
Darrius thought about it. Thought some more. He thought so long she wondered if maybe he’d forgotten what they were talking about. Then he smiled. “I do.” He lifted his bow again. She put a hand on his wrist.
“I think we may want to get closer.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” She pointed at the mouth of the trail they were meant to guard. “If we go down the trail it’ll take us right to them. If the lieutenant pushes them to us we’ll be able to corral them and have help instead of having to deal with them ourselves.”
“Maybe you should be in charge,” he said.
“Too smart for that,” she said. Darrius screwed up his face in confusion. Nice fella but dumb as a rock. She shoved Darrius toward the trail. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up in a second.”
When Alana was a young girl her father used to tell her stories at night. Back before they were at each other's throats daily. They’d visit faraway lands that his father had told him about as a young boy. Her favorites were the stories about the elephants in Nazrakk; a continent she’d always wanted to visit but knew she never would. Watching Darrius run toward the trail now reminded her of an elephant. Or at least the picture of them her father had painted in her mind for her; slow, a bit stiff-legged, and loud.
Commander Caylen grunted something like a loud breath that woke herself up. Her eyes opened, spotting the exotic animal fleeing right away. She stood, looking at Alana. “Where’s he going?!” She was about to yell for Darrius when Alana raised a hand.
“He has to piss,” she said, walking toward the commander.
“Right now?!”
“Men… always looking for a chance to see their own prick.” Commander Caylen smiled, chuckled softly. The blast hit her chest before her head ever stopped bobbing. Not what Alana had aimed for, no surprise. The commander stumbled backward, catching a root behind her and falling over it. The blow to the head as she hit a rock might have killed her but there was no point in risking it. Alana pounced on her like a tiger with its paws pressed to its prey’s mouth. This time there was nowhere for the blast to go but directly into the commander’s jaw and neck. She died looking like she’d seen a ghost. Alana swallowed all the guilt that had suddenly built in her throat, which wasn’t as difficult as she’d expected, then reached down and closed Commander’s Caylen’s eyes, knowing she’d prefer it that way.