Chaos Trapped

by Eric T Knight

  “It was that…whatever he did last night, when he drained those poor prisoners. It’s affected his thinking. You said it wore off. Maybe he’ll get better now.”

  “I don’t know if it will make any difference. They’ve poisoned him. I don’t know if I can get through to him.”

  “You will get through to him. I’m sure of it. He loves you like a son. Everyone knows that. We’ve all seen it, everyone who works in the palace.”

  Ryen came over and put his hand on Ravin’s shoulder. “You have to go. I don’t know when the captain will get back, and I don’t want to answer to him.”

  Ravin started to protest, but Fen spoke up. “He’s right. We don’t want him to get into trouble because of this. Or you. We’ll have other chances to talk later.”

  Ravin grabbed him and hugged him hard. Then she kissed him and hurried away, her hands to her face. Fen looked up at Ryen.

  “Thank you. I won’t forget this.”

  Ryen’s eyes darted around. In what was almost a whisper he said, “It’s not right.” He looked like he would say more, but he bit the words off. He repeated his words. “It’s not right at all.” Then he went back to his post.

  ╬ ╬ ╬

  As the Samkaran soldiers returned to the camp, more and more of them gathered around the tree where Fen was chained until there was quite a crowd. Fen saw surprise on a lot of faces. It was well known amongst the soldiers that he was favored by the Fist. But there were other soldiers who looked on with dark approval, men who had always envied and resented Fen’s position, assuming that it had been given to him rather than earned. One of them, a man Fen knew only by sight, exclaimed loudly, “It’s about time that young pup got what was coming to him!”

  At his words, angry mutters arose from some of the soldiers who were friendly to Fen. “Shut your fat gob, Lew!” one of them yelled.

  “You want to try and shut it?” Lew called back. He shoved one of the soldiers who was giving him an angry look, and the soldier straightened and was about to go after him when Wolfpack squad arrived.

  Fen was relieved to see that all seven of them were there. Wallice had a cut on his arm that had been bandaged, and Lukas had a black eye that was turning purple rapidly, but overall they looked healthy enough.

  “It is Fen,” Cowley said. “Fen!” he cried. He and the rest of the squad started for Fen, but the soldiers guarding him quickly moved to intercept them.

  “Stop right there. No one is allowed near the prisoner,” Ryen said, putting his hand on Cowley’s chest.

  “We’re going to talk to our lieutenant,” Noah said, shoving his way up beside Cowley, his chin thrust out aggressively. “If you want to stop us, you’re going to need a lot more men.”

  Before Fen could speak up and tell his friends to back down, Captain Rouk emerged from the crowd and got in front of the squad. “He’s not your lieutenant,” he said, jabbing Noah in the chest with his finger. “He’s been stripped of his rank. He’s not even in the army anymore. He’s a traitor and a prisoner.”

  “That’s not true and you know it,” Cowley said. “There isn’t a man among us more loyal than Fen.”

  “You take those words back,” Noah said, putting his hand on his sword.

  Rouk spit on the ground and sneered at the short man. “I won’t. He’s a traitor. We have an eye witness. Sergeant Ely saw him attack the Ankharans during the battle.”

  “Ely’s a damned liar then,” Noah said, ripping his sword from its sheath. “And everyone knows you have it in for Fen. Get out of our way, or I’ll cut you down right here.” He dropped into a battle crouch as the rest of his squad also drew their weapons and readied themselves.

  Rouk and the men assigned to guard Fen drew their swords as well, and Rouk called out for the watching soldiers to aid them. A few of the soldiers left the crowd and did so, but most stayed where they were, watching with mixed expressions.

  Fen came to his feet, though the movement sent waves of dizziness passing over him. He had to lean against the tree to stay on his feet. “Stand down!” he yelled, putting as much authority into his voice as he could.

  “Not until we get to talk to you,” Noah called back. Surprisingly, even Strout nodded when he said this.

  “I said to stand down!” Fen said sharply.

  The squad hesitated for a few more seconds, torn between obeying Fen and protecting him. Then Cowley sheathed his sword.

  “There doesn’t have to be trouble,” Cowley said. “We only want to talk to him.”

  “You’ll do no such thing unless you want to join him,” Rouk snarled, still holding his sword. “He’s a filthy traitor, and he’s going to pay for it.”

  His words cut off as Wallice and Eben, the two dark-eyed brothers, suddenly burst forward in unison. Wallice’s sword flashed, and Rouk’s blade was knocked from his hand. Eben’s sword was pressed to his throat a heartbeat later. It all happened so quickly no one had a chance to react.

  “Never call him a traitor again,” Wallice, the older brother, said.

  “Ever,” Eben added. The younger brother’s voice was soft, but the menace in it was unmistakable, and there was something in his flat eyes that made Rouk’s bluster disappear. The captain paled.

  “Easy there,” Cowley said. Carefully he put his hand on Eben’s sword to push it away from Rouk’s throat. At first Eben resisted, and Fen braced himself for the violence to come, but then he lowered his sword.

  “Don’t forget,” Eben said to Rouk.

  Rouk’s hand went to his throat. “I’m only doing my duty, following orders like a soldier is supposed to,” he said. “If you don’t like that your friend is chained up, take it up with the Fist.”

  “Let us talk to him,” Cowley said. “I give you my word we’ll cause no trouble. Just for a little while. That’s all I ask.”

  Rouk’s face twisted. “The hell I will.” He started to say something else, but Eben took a half step toward him, and he choked off the rest of his words. “The Fist will hear about this.”

  “Fair enough,” Cowley said. “You tell him whatever you like.”

  Rouk stepped aside. “I’ll be watching.”

  The squad started forward. Noah was the last one to move. He was still glaring at Rouk, his naked sword in his hand. “People like you come to bad ends,” he said.

  “Are you threatening an officer?” Rouk sputtered.

  Noah slid his sword back into its scabbard. “I’m only saying it happens.”

  The squad gathered around Fen. His strength failing him, Fen started to slide down the tree. Lukas and Gage grabbed him and eased him to the ground. Cowley crouched down in front of him.

  “I take it things didn’t go so well with the sorcerers,” he said, with a ghost of his old smile on his face.

  “What makes you think that?” Fen replied, trying to smile back.

  “The chains,” Cowley said with mock solemnity. “They’re a dead giveaway.”

  “What’s this about the sorcerers?” Noah said, pushing his way through the others to get close to Fen. “Is that where you took off to last night? Were you chasing the foreigners?”

  “I thought you agreed not to tackle them on your own,” Lukas said, and Gage echoed his words.

  “I had to act, and we couldn’t leave the orphanage unguarded,” Fen said. “You know that.”

  Strout sniffed. “Didn’t need more than a couple of us against that lot. They were hardly any trouble at all.” Strout was bigger than anyone else in the squad and confident in his abilities with a weapon to the point of arrogance. He was also the one who could be counted on to argue against whatever position everyone else took. “I hate to say it, but I agree with these idiots. You shouldn’t have gone running off by yourself. What could you do against them anyway?”

  Cowley gave Fen a look laden with meaning. “I think it might be time to tell them,” he said in a low voice.

  “Not right now,” Fen said. “Rouk’s gone. I think he went to get help. Pretty soon we’
re going to have a lot more company here.”

  “Tell us what?” Noah demanded.

  “But I can tell them?” Cowley asked Fen.

  Fen hesitated, not sure if it was a good idea for others to know his secret.

  “What’s he talking about?” Lukas asked Fen. Lukas was their corporal now. The chubby boy who cried easily was long gone, replaced by a muscular young man with a serious bent.

  “I knew you two had a secret,” Gage said. He was tall and slender, with a gap between his front teeth and a ready smile. He wasn’t smiling now. “I’ve seen you talking.”

  Strout turned his glare on Cowley, then on Fen. “You’re always going on about how we’re a team, how we have to trust each other and all that flap. How does that fit with keeping things from us?”

  “Okay,” Fen said. “You can tell them.”

  “That’s a relief,” Cowley said. “You know how hard it is for me to keep my mouth shut.” Sounds of agreement from the squad met his words. “What happened? What were the sorcerers doing?”

  “It’s a long story, and we don’t have time for it right now. For now, I’ll just say that what the Ankharans are up to is even worse than we thought, and I don’t know if we can stop them.”

  “How’d you end up in chains?”

  “They told the Fist I attacked them.”

  “Which you did, right?”

  Fen nodded.

  “The Fist had you put in chains?” Lukas asked, his forehead creasing in a frown.

  “He thinks I’m a traitor.”

  “But…he trusts you. You’re like his son or something. Everyone knows that.”

  “Things are different now,” Fen said. “They have some kind of control over him. He only listens to them.”

  “Those cursed sorcerers,” Noah said darkly. “We shoulda cut them down when we had the chance.”

  “And what chance was that?” Strout shot back. “Maybe last night when they were summoning lightning and killing every Maradi in sight? Would that have been a good time?”

  Noah glared at him. “Better than sitting by and doing nothing.”

  “No one’s sitting by and doing nothing,” Strout said. “For sure I’m not. But I’m picking my spot, and unless you’re as dumb as you look, you will too.”

  “Can you two squabble some other time?” Cowley said. “We’re busy here.” Grumbling, Noah and Strout subsided. To Fen he said, “Do you think you’ll be able to get through to the Fist?”

  “I’m going to try.”

  “You really think you can get through to him?” Strout asked. He looked skeptical. “Cause you saw what he did last night, right? From where I’m standing, he looks pretty far gone.”

  “He’s still in there,” Fen said firmly, thinking of the look he’d seen in the Fist’s eyes just for a moment in the throne room. He had to hold onto that. “I’ll find a way to get through to him.” He tried to make his words sound confident, but the truth was he was far from feeling confident. How completely did the Ankharans control the Fist? If he was going to have any chance at all he had to get the Fist away from them. But how was he going to do that?

  “If anyone can get through to him, it’s you.” Cowley tugged on the chain. “Is that why you let them chain you up? Because you think you can reason with him still?”

  Fen winced. He wished that was the reason. Funny how he’d hated and feared his power for years, and now all he wanted was to have it back. “It’s complicated,” he said at last.

  “What do you want us to do?” Gage asked Fen. “Only tell us and we’ll do it.”

  “Lay low for right now. It won’t help me if you get yourselves arrested too. Don’t let Rouk or Ely get under your skin. Sooner or later I’ll get a chance to talk to the Fist.”

  “How about I get under Ely’s skin with the pointy part of my sword?” Noah asked. “He’s the one making up lies about you. Can’t lie if he’s dead.” Once again, the two brothers nodded fiercely.

  “Is there nothing at all going on inside that skull of yours?” Strout said. “You kill Ely, and it’ll look like Fen is guilty for sure.”

  “He’s right, Noah,” Fen said. “Don’t do anything rash. It will only make things worse.”

  Noah muttered something under his breath. Wallice patted him on the shoulder.

  There was a commotion, and they all turned to see Rouk coming toward them, a couple dozen soldiers trailing him with their weapons in their hands.

  “Time to go, boys,” Cowley said, standing up.

  “One last thing,” Fen said. Cowley turned back to him. “Keep an eye on Ravin for me, okay?”

  ╬ ╬ ╬

  “What’s the secret?” Noah demanded, once they were out of the crowd of soldiers gathered around Fen. Rouk’s voice rose behind them, yelling at the crowd to disperse.

  “Can’t it wait until after we get some chow?” Cowley asked. “I’m starving.”

  “No, it can’t,” Noah said, and others in the squad echoed him. They gathered around Cowley, staring at him.

  “Okay, okay, have it your way. Only, let’s move off a bit where no one can hear us. It’s supposed to be a secret, after all.”

  They walked through the camp to where the horses were penned in a temporary rope corral. There was a soldier watching over the horses, but he was clear on the other side and wouldn’t be able to hear them. Cowley spoke in a low voice anyway.

  “Fen has a…I guess you’d call it a power.”

  “A power?” Gage asked. “What kind of power?”

  “He’ll tell us if you only quit interrupting him,” Noah said crossly. “Get on with it, Cowley.”

  “It’s hard to explain, and I don’t understand it very well. He doesn’t either.”

  “It feels like you’re stalling,” Strout said. “Quit stalling or I’ll thump you.”

  “He has a power over stone,” Cowley said. “Like, he can do things with it.”

  “What kind of things?” Lukas asked, frowning.

  “He can cause earthquakes, for one thing.”

  “No way!” Noah exclaimed. Gage shook his head in disbelief. Lukas looked skeptical. The brothers were as impassive as ever. Oddly, only Strout looked like he believed.

  “It’s true,” Cowley said. “Remember when the earth shook that day the Fist executed all those nobles? That was Fen.”

  “That’s crazy,” Noah said. “You don’t really believe that, do you? It was one of those things that just happens. A…what was the word you told me, Cowley? A coin…a coin-something.”

  “It’s called a coincidence and no, that’s not what it was. He’s done it other times too. He used his power to collapse the old tower. Or are you going to say that was a coincidence too?”

  Strout was nodding. “I knew there was no way the tower just happened to fall right as he was getting out. I knew something else had to be going on.”

  “He can do other things too,” Cowley said. “He can use the power to make part of himself like stone, so weapons don’t hurt him. And he can use it to make himself stronger.”

  “That’s how he did it,” Strout said. “I’ve seen him take hits that should’ve hurt him more, and there’s a couple of times when I was fighting him, and he was way too strong.”

  Lukas was rubbing his temples as if this was all hurting his head. “This is a little hard to believe, you know.”

  “Oh, I know,” Cowley replied. “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

  “So that’s why he went after the sorcerers by himself?” Lukas asked. “Because he thought he could use his…power to stop them?”

  “It is.”

  “But where does something like that come from?” Gage asked. “Did the gods give it to him or something?”

  “I don’t know,” Cowley said. “But his father had it too. Fen says it killed him.”

  “Fen’s father was some kind of stone monster too?” Noah asked.

  “Fen’s not a monster,” Lukas said stoutly. He looked
like he wanted to slug Noah.

  “You know what I mean,” Noah said.

  “Not when you call him a monster.”

  “Wrestle over it some other time,” Strout growled. “What else can Fen do?”

  Cowley shrugged. “That’s all I know.”

  “But if he’s so powerful, why doesn’t he break those chains and escape?” Gage asked, his brows drawing together.

  “I don’t know that either,” Cowley admitted.

  “Knowing Fen, I’d say that even if he could escape, he wouldn’t. It’s that damned code of honor of his,” Strout said. His tone made it clear what he thought of Fen’s code.

  “He went to fight the sorcerers,” Lukas said. “Maybe they defeated him, did something to him so he can’t use his power.”

  “You really think he has some kind of magic power?” Gage asked Lukas.

  “If Fen says he does, then I believe it,” Lukas said. “You know Fen. He doesn’t lie about stuff like that. Or about anything.”

  “It’s one of his worst traits,” Cowley agreed.

  “I bet they did do something to him,” Noah said. “Put a spell on him like they did to the Fist.” He put his hand on his sword hilt. “I say we poke them a few times and see if they bleed like regular men.”

  “They defeated Fen, with all his power, but you’re going to run a sword through them?” Strout said. “Do you even think before you talk?”

  Noah cursed at Strout and shoved him. Strout shoved him back. Cowley quickly got between them. “Save it for the real enemy,” he said.

  “When do we rescue Fen?” Wallice asked.

  “Yeah, what’s the plan?” Noah asked.

  “We’re going to keep our heads down and stay out of trouble,” Cowley said, looking meaningfully at Noah. “As Fen’s closest friends, we’re already under suspicion. Let’s not give the Fist any reason to lock us up too. We can’t help Fen if we’re prisoners.”

  “That’s not a plan,” Noah said darkly. “That’s standing around and doing nothing. I say we rescue him tonight.”

  “And then what?” Cowley said.

  “I don’t know. We ride away before they catch us.”

  “That’s quite a plan,” Strout said sarcastically. “You think that up all by yourself?”