An Elegy of Heroes

by K. S. Villoso

  And it wasn’t as if Enosh didn’t love her. She would probably never get him to admit it, but he had done everything he could these last few weeks to convince her, even if he can’t quite convince himself. What more did she want?

  She closed her eyes. All she had to do was accept the reality that she would lose Kefier once all of this was done. Which will make everyone happy, won’t it? He killed Oji. In time, we will find our own ways to make peace with that, because Sakku knows I can’t, not when he’s around. When he’s around, all I can think of…

  Sume swallowed. There was a knock on the door. She got up, wondering if Enosh had forgotten something again. She pulled it open and saw a hooded figure appear at the end of the hall. The figure drew closer, revealing Caiso’s face under the shadows.

  He placed a finger on his lips.

  “What are you doing here?” Sume asked.

  “You need to help me,” Caiso whispered against her ear.

  “Why should I? You’re the one who took my daughter away again.”

  “I told you back there that I had no choice. It’s not personal.” He glanced behind him. “Please. Come with me. I saw Ylir walk out of here, but I don’t want to be here if he decides to come back. It’s Kefier.”

  Sume felt her throat constrict. “What did you do to him?”

  “What? Nothing. Come with me. I don’t want to explain here.” He flipped his hood back up. After a moment, Sume closed the door behind her and followed him.

  Caiso led her down a quiet street near the edge of town and towards an inn. The entrances to the rooms were accessed from the back alley. It was eerily quiet. The warning from earlier on must have driven people back to their homes, and Sume could spot at least three ships on the horizon.

  “No need to have your hand on that dagger,” Caiso whispered as he unlocked one of the doors. She didn’t answer, stepping inside the room. The curtains to all the windows had been drawn shut. There was a table set up against it. The bed was half-hidden behind a partition, where Kefier was lying on his side, wrapped in a blanket.

  She thought, for a moment, that he was dead.

  One side of his face was covered in bruises and half caked blood. She also saw that he was bleeding through the bandages on his arm and leg. She whirled around to face Caiso. “You did this to him?”

  “I wouldn’t have dragged his ass up from Fort Oras to here if I did,” Caiso said. “Listen. We’re attacking the city now. My orders were to march to the wall and begin a siege. A mercenary fleet from Baidh is arriving to storm the harbour while you’re busy fending us off.” He glanced at Kefier. “He tried to fight Yn Garr, protecting your nephew. For it, the King had him thrown in the dungeons. He left him like this, but we weren’t allowed to call a healer for him. The King was convinced he would come to his senses. He didn’t wake up for almost a whole night and there were fucking rats in that dungeon. I couldn’t leave him there.”

  Sume had approached Kefier while Caiso was speaking. She placed her hand on his forehead. His skin was burning. “I couldn’t find a healer tonight,” Caiso continued. “Everyone’s in a fluster. I thought perhaps you were somewhere in the city, and I was right…”

  He watched her pick up a basin and fill it with water from the sink. “I’ll try my best to get them to leave this street alone,” Caiso said.

  Sume returned to Kefier’s side to wash his face. “I have to return to warn everyone.”

  “You can’t hold against that fleet. We know you don’t have enough people. This siege will look nothing like Fort Oras. You had the advantage there. Lon Basden is too open.”

  “He looks like he’s stable,” Sume said in a low voice. She turned to Caiso. “Thank you for this.”

  Caiso swallowed. “I have to go before the King catches on to what I did. He knows where my family is.” He rubbed his head. “Your daughter is safe. He keeps her close.”

  She nodded. Caiso withdrew into the night.

  Enosh was back in their room when she returned. He looked up, the relief evident on his face. “Where have you been?” he demanded.

  “Pack your things,” Sume said, reaching towards the window to draw the curtains closed. “I just spoke with the Boarshind Commander. We can’t stay here.”

  “You saw Kefier?”

  “Caiso,” Sume replied. “Kefier’s been replaced.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Enosh asked. He took a deep breath. “What did they do to my brother?”

  Sume ignored him. “We have to speak to Mahe.”

  “She’s in her office. Why—”

  She finished stuffing a pack with a change of clothes and some blankets and bolted back out the door. Enosh followed her.

  “You’re acting strangely,” he said as they walked.

  “We’re under attack, Enosh,” she said, even though that wasn’t it at all. She knew he could tell she was lying, but she didn’t want to dwell on it.

  They didn’t talk again until they reached Tribune Amiren’s office. There was a flurry of activity as soldiers marched around them like ants. Mahe looked up from her table.

  “Pull back,” Sume said.

  Daro, standing by Mahe’s shoulder, gave a grim smile. “As much as I’d love to, we can’t,” Daro said. “Our orders were to stay and protect Lon Basden.”

  “It can’t be done,” Sume replied.

  Daro smiled. “With all due respect, Sume, I think…”

  “They’ve got a mercenary fleet on the way. A group of sellswords from Baidh. You all know how much resources Yn Garr can draw from. I think they mean to keep us busy at the walls before attacking from behind.”

  “Our scouts haven’t reported a fleet,” Mahe said.

  “You’re dealing with a man who was legendary for winning impossible battles,” Sume replied. “Don’t you think he knows better than to waste his only army on these walls?”

  Mahe’s jaw tightened. “We know he has the creature. It’s the only—”

  They heard screaming from the hallway.

  Enosh opened the door. A man tottered in, his robes soaked in blood. He fell two paces from the doorway. Sapphire appeared behind him, giving the body a disdainful glance as she walked past it. “A flair for the dramatic, these dunces,” she said. She was also splashed in blood. She looked around, as if noticing everyone for the first time. “At least you’re all here.”

  “What happened?” Daro asked.

  “They’re storming the walls with siege towers,” she said.

  Mahe’s eyes widened. “Siege towers? But…”

  Sapphire looked irritated. “We thought he would use the creature to breach the walls, so we clustered our mages there. Mages who were defenseless from the start of the first wave of arrows and all the way to when they started climbing the walls and dragging them to the ground. About half were gone by the time the soldiers reached us.”

  “A bold move,” Daro said. “Perhaps they do have a fleet heading this way.” He gave a nervous laugh, his unshaved jaw tightening.

  “The scouts did not report siege towers,” Mahe murmured.

  “Not to state the obvious here, but you of course didn’t send mages with those scouts,” Sapphire said.

  Mahe sat down. “We didn’t have one to spare. We thought we needed every single one here.”

  “Simple cloaking spells would’ve done it,” Sapphire replied. “Easy enough for even a simpleton mage to detect. But of course, we thought we knew what he was going to do, so we had no need for…”

  They heard a screech from above. Mahe threw open the door leading to the balcony in time to catch sight of Naijwa’s beast in the sky. It went past the harbour, heading north.

  “Is it attacking from the shore?” Enosh asked.

  “No,” Mahe said. “I think it’s headed for Drusgaya.”

  Enosh gave a nervous laugh. “That’s…”

  “And you said a fleet is coming up this way?” Mahe asked, turning to Sume.

  “If it’s not already here.”
<
br />   Mahe looked down at the map for a moment, her face wracked with indecision. Sume knew enough about her now to understand that she was not a coward, that she would die at her post if need be, which was difficult to understand given who she was and what Dageis had done to her people. She also nearly died, saving Rosha.

  “We won’t call it a retreat,” Daro murmured, breaking Sume’s thoughts. “You called for an evacuation earlier. It makes a big difference. The city will be overrun and our objective is not here anymore.”

  “Not yours,” Mahe said. “Go. Take as many soldiers as you can with you.”

  “You’re not staying here,” Daro said.

  “I am Tribune, and I was ordered by General Takas to defend…”

  “You’re not staying here!” Daro cried. He slammed his fists into the table. “You will not die for Dageis tonight, Mahe!”

  She looked calmly back at him, though her jaw was quivering.

  “A suggestion,” Enosh broke in. “Didn’t the consul send someone to Drusgaya earlier today?”

  “He didn’t send someone. He went himself,” Mahe said.

  “Perfect,” Enosh replied. He leaned in close to her. “Technically, this means you’re not in command. A request from a citizen means an impending formal inquisition, which means you’re suspended. I believe this means your second-in-command should be in charge right now?” He turned his head to look at Daro.

  Daro broke into a grin. “Tribune Amiren, I am relieving you of your charge until a decision has been made regarding Consul Hirrei’s request.” He turned to a soldier. “Call your officers and rouse the ships. We’re retreating. Lon Basden is a lost cause.”

  “With any luck, we’ll reach the other side before we see signs of that blasted fleet,” Enosh said. He gazed over the side of the ship. He couldn’t see anything through the dense fog, but the lack of activity made him shiver, anyway. “I don’t know much about war, but it seems to me like he’s moving remarkably fast. How is he doing it? There must be some truth to the tales about him.”

  Sume looked up at the sky. “What would he accomplish by sending the beast to Drusgaya instead?”

  “I don’t know,” Enosh said. “I’m just hoping Rosha wasn’t on it. I couldn’t see from where we were.”

  “It was either Rosha or Arn,” Sume replied. “But Caiso said that King Agartes was keeping Rosha close.”

  “What happened at Fort Oras was a fluke. You remember when they stormed the temple at Jin-Sayeng? They kept Rosha away from the heat of the battle. I do not think he would willingly send Rosha into the heart of Dageis without ample protection.” He tapped his hand on the ship’s railing. “I just hope that Sapphire’s reports have reached Drusgaya. Destroying the creature in the middle of a city would be more tragic than its attack alone.”

  “Relying on others to keep my daughter alive…I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel,” she said. “Anger? Gratitude? Helplessness?”

  Enosh came up to brush his fingers over her cheek. She turned away.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “I have to stay here,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I told you I spoke with Commander Caiso. I didn’t tell you why he was in the city. He freed Kefier from Fort Oras. He’s in an inn right now. He’s badly hurt, Enosh, and there’s no one to take care of him.”

  Enosh grimaced. “Is that it? I can send someone…”

  Sume placed her hands on his wrist. “He was Yn Garr’s commander, and an escaped slave. Sending soldiers after him would be the equivalent of putting him under Dageian custody.”

  “I’m sure Prefect As’ondaro will figure out a way,” Enosh said. “He always has before.” He caught the faraway look in her eyes and tried to turn her chin so that her gaze would fall back on him. “I can’t risk you there.”

  “I’m not asking for your permission, Enosh.”

  Something about her words, and the weight of her tone, cut through him like a knife. “You could get trapped in here when Agartes’ army arrives.”

  “Caiso reassured me he will do his best for us,” Sume said. “When Kefier is better, I’ll figure out a way to join you. Not everyone is leaving the city, and I do not think the Hafed are bloodthirsty enough to slaughter people in the streets.”

  Enosh sighed, looking at the surface of the water. Normally, he would’ve said no, and left the conversation like that. But he had the feeling that nothing was going to deter her. She would jump into the sea first.

  “I’ll ask Daro to send someone,” he found himself saying. “Have a small boat stay behind, or something.”

  “The Sweet Balla is still here.”

  “So it is,” Enosh said, his eyes brightening. “We’ll leave a couple of soldiers there to wait for you.”

  “Thank you, Enosh.”

  “He’s my brother. It’s the least I could do,” he said, flashing her a smile. After a moment, he grew sombre. “Come back to me,” he murmured. “We still have to get married. Give Rosha a brother or a sister, maybe.”

  They heard the ship’s captain yell something. Sume removed his hand from her wrist. “I have to go,” she said.

  “Wait.” He pulled her in to kiss her. A moment later, she turned away.

  He watched her step off the ramp, her back to him. A part of him whispered that he had to stop her there, right now. The other part knew he could not, even if he wanted to.

  Chapter Ten

  The sound of chaos from the streets dissipated as soon as Sume closed the door. She pulled the bar across it, just in case, and placed a box—supplies pilfered from the Dageian army—on the table.

  She went in to check on Kefier. He was sitting up. His eyes hardened at the sight of her, but he didn’t say anything as she walked to the side of the bed to check his bandages.

  “You’re in Lon Basden,” she said, after the silence started making her uncomfortable.

  “I know that much,” he replied. “Caiso brought me. He said nothing about you.”

  She unwrapped his bandages before pulling out a bottle of spirits and pouring it over the puckered wounds. Kefier swore. She uncorked the bottle and began to re-wrap his wounds. He remained still, though she could hear him breathing. “Some of it’s infected. Caiso should’ve done a much better job.”

  “He had to hide me in horse feed,” Kefier replied. “I don’t think that ever occurred to him.”

  “Lie back,” she told him.

  He stared at her.

  “You’re still sick,” she said. When he didn’t move, she pressed her hand on his forehead. “You’ve still got a fever. You need to rest.”

  “What are you doing here?” he asked. “They’re on their way to Lon Basden. You need to leave.”

  “We know. They’re already here. Tribune Amiren was removed from her post and Prefect As’ondaro called for a retreat. You know, we can talk with your head on the pillow.”

  He sank back, though his expression didn’t change. “You should’ve retreated with them.”

  “So you can rot in your filth and then return later to criticize us for leaving you behind? No, thank you.” She unbuttoned his shirt. “What happened back there?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light. He would probably accuse her otherwise, but she didn’t like it when he was angry.

  Kefier sighed before replying. “I pissed him off.”

  “You do have that effect on people,” Sume said. She finished wiping the last of the mud off him and returned to the table to fetch him a fresh shirt. She threw it at him.

  He caught it, and said, “You’re thinking about my brother.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Pissing people off,” he replied. “I’m surprised he let you stay here.” She realized Kefier was looking at her hand. Almost instantly, she drew it behind her back, though she knew he had already seen the ring.

  He watched her walk back to the bed. “I didn’t exactly give him a choice on the matter,” she said as she added another l
ayer of blankets over him.

  “You know that I know what that means, right? I’ve spent enough time in Dageis and the Kag.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Why not? You were the one who told me back in the mountain that you wanted me around to talk to.”

  “Not with that tone of voice, I don’t,” she snapped.

  He snorted. “You’re impossible.”

  “At least you don’t have to live with it.”

  Kefier laughed. “Right. I don’t.” He closed his eyes. “How the fuck did you get him to agree to that, anyway?”

  “It was his idea.”

  “No, really. And I suppose tomorrow I’m going to wake up and Yn Garr will be walking down that street, offering everybody cookies and cake and apologies.”

  She inspected a long cut along his cheek. “Tell me what you did to make him this angry at you.”

  “You just want to change the conversation.”

  “So what if I do?”

  He snorted. “You remember what happened to Dai back in Shirrokaru, don’t you? The part where Sagar dragged a dead boy’s soul back to share his body with him?”

  “Impossible to forget a thing like that. Go on.”

  “Well, the boy, Myar, was Agartes’ son.”

  Sume paused, wringing the wet cloth back into the basin. “Did Agartes have something to do with that?”

  “No. It caught him by surprise just as much. When Myar retreated, Yn Garr became furious. I tried to defend Dai, but the man is as strong as the legends say he is. I couldn’t even get close.” His face darkened. She drew up to wipe the cloth over his cheek.

  “Will he hurt Dai?” she asked.

  “I think…all his anger went out on me,” Kefier said. “I don’t know.”

  “He is not a boy anymore,” Sume murmured. “He should know how to defend himself.”

  “I had him working with the scribes, to keep him away from the field and the fighting,” Kefier said.

  “He told me. I appreciated that.”

  “I asked Ranias to teach him how to fight, too, but I don’t know if he ever did.” Kefier gazed up at the ceiling. “I’ve been busy. I’m so tired, Sume.”