They were, he belatedly realized, the officer corps. They all wore uniforms with stripes and markings, and many wore elaborate swords that appeared to be too delicate for real use.
The officers must have tried to stop the retreat at this point, and the soldiers had resisted. They’d resisted to the point of mutiny, corralling the officers together, and then butchering them. Then, freed of the constraint of leaders, the soldiers must have continued on their way towards home. The smell in the air from the long-dead bodies was more than Alec could withstand, and he remounted the uneasy Walnut to ride further away.
They continued to ride until well past sunset. Alec wasn’t sure if he’d be followed. He suspected he would be; Armilla would not take kindly to his disappearance, he knew. He suffered punishment from her once before when he’d abandoned her protection, and he knew more was coming when they met again. He didn’t have the stamina to ride hard and fast, but he would travel as far as possible, to delay being caught.
After a night without a fire, he departed early and rode further, and continued to do so for several days without incident. Walnut has an abundant supply of grass to forage, while Alec ran out of camp supplies within a few days and started having to forage as well. He started eating riverside roots again, and other edible plants as he found them. His healer knowledge remained available to help him decide if something was safe or not. The same was not true of his warrior skills however. He discovered that he could not successfully use a lacertii bow and arrow he found to hunt for small game. And so he suffered a monotonous diet growing constantly thinner, and rode along, with too much time to think about too many things.
Chapter 7 – Companions in Pursuit
Kinsey awoke on the morning Alec was gone, and sensed a change. She attended her needs, then walked to Alec’s tent and discovered he was out of bed already. Surprised, she went to the mess tent, then went to Armilla’s tent. “I didn’t see Alec at his tent or having breakfast,” she informed the guardian of the crown protector.
“That boy!” Armilla immediately growled with exasperation before she even opened her eyes. “He’s run away! He was ready to yesterday, and he’s gone and done it. Let’s go see if Walnut is in camp.” They hurried over to the rope corral, where a quick survey showed Walnut was gone, and they then hurried around the guard posts to see if Alec had gone out for an early morning ride.
“No ma’am,” the sentries replied when asked if they had seen Alec ride away.
“Where’d he go, Kinsey?” Armilla asked, visibly straining to maintain her temper.
“I can’t tell,” the ingenaire replied. “I can tell he’s gone. I have a feeling, but it is so vague I don’t really even know if it is my imagination or Alec. You say he was ready to go yesterday? Where was he going to go? Why?”
“Let’s go talk to Ryder about this,” Armilla responded, and minutes later they were in the tent with the commanding officer at the camp that had remained behind to watch over Alec.
“What exactly did he say yesterday that makes you so sure he’s run away?” Ryder asked.
“We were at the chapel, and he tried to shoo me away, but I wouldn’t have any of that,” Armilla told her small audience. “Then he told me he wanted to go on a journey, and he didn’t know if he’d go back to Oyster Bay or not.”
“Let’s get a patrol mounted, and out looking for him right now,” Ryder said decisively.
“That boy has been nothing but trouble. When we find him I’m going to whip him into shape,” Armilla muttered.
Ryder briefly spoke to an aide, who went off to send the patrols in motion. Once the three of them were alone, he turned to Armilla and Kinsey again. “I don’t know exactly what happened out there while you all were along the river, but Imelda was flustered about Alec, I could tell. Then, when he awoke, I gave him a note she had left for him, and I could see the light go out in his eyes, as if she had reached out and snuffed the candle right then and there.
“He is heartbroken,” Ryder said simply.
“That’s not all,” Kinsey added tentatively.
“What else is there?” Armilla asked.
“He, he lost all his powers,” Kinsey said.
“How? When? He didn’t say anything about that,” Armilla exclaimed.
“Imelda told me. It was some type of prophecy. In order to bring Imelda back to life the last time, he had to surrender all his powers,” Kinsey explained.
“The last time? He brought her back to life more than once?” Ryder gasped.
“Twice. Actually three times, if you include the time he healed her while we were giving Rosebay her army,” Kinsey continued.
“After I knock some sense into him, I’m going to ride to Bondell and knock some sense into her!” Armilla bellowed. “That stupid girl! What was she thinking, riding away and leaving him like that after he made that type of sacrifice for her?”
“That may have been my fault,” Ryder jumped in. “I ordered her to leave quickly. I thought I was doing her a favor, getting her out of this camp. I didn’t know Alec had done so much for her. Good Lord, you should have seen the two of them fight with each other back in Goldenfields. I never would have thought there could have been any type of attachment between them.
“She’s the one who gave him one of those scars, you know,” he said, motioning to his face.
“You stay here and wait for someone to bring him back, then don’t let him out of your sight,” Ryder said as he stood. “I’m going to take the rest of what little we have in this camp out in another couple of patrols to try to find him. He must be on his way back to Goldenfields to try to find Imelda.” He left the two girls alone in the tent.
Looking at one another wordlessly, they walked out of the tent, and soon were virtually alone in the camp as all the soldiers went off in search of the missing commander.
A couple of the patrols returned empty-handed that night, but others stayed out as they ranged further towards Goldenfields in search of Alec. By the next morning, Armilla and Kinsey were getting nervous about the failure to find Alec. They met at the entrance to his empty tent, where they surprised the only two other people in camp who were not part of the search effort.
Brother Antonio and Delle Locksfort were at the tent when the girls arrived. Locksfort had stayed at the camp when the rest of the Stronghold contingent had returned to their native home. Delle had stayed because he wanted to see Alec again, even though he was ignored if not blatantly ostracized by the other residents of the camp. The Locksfort name held a terrible stigma outside of Stronghold, and so Delle had made no acquaintances except Brother Antonio.
“Any word on the search?” Delle asked Armilla as the women arrived.
“Not so far, and it’s been a day and a half since he left,” she answered. “With the road being built, he could travel quite a way in a hurry,” she thought out loud.
“What if he’s not riding on the road?” Delle asked. “What if he’s riding in the other direction?”
“You mean he might be following Rosebay?” Kinsey asked, her curiosity sparked.
“Or running away, or something else,” Delle replied.
“You don’t think he would, do you?” Armilla chimed in.
“He isn’t the type to surrender or run away,” Brother Antonio protested. “When he was trapped in his body last year, he didn’t ever give up.”
“No he wouldn’t give up, but maybe there’s something he’s running to. He could be chasing after Rosebay, to see if he could help her,” Kinsey responded.
“What good would he be to her, without his powers?” Armilla asked.
There was a silent pause as they all pondered the possibility. “It sounds right. I think he did go up the river,” Kinsey interjected. “But I don’t know why.”
“Perhaps he wanted to go back to our camp site by the river, just as a retreat, to think through everything that’s happened,” Armilla tentatively suggested.
“Maybe,” Kinsey said without conviction.
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“Well, regardless, if he went east, and all the search parties went west, they aren’t going to find Alec,” Delle declared. “I’m ready to go after him and bring him back in right now.”
Armilla and Kinsey looked at one another. Kinsey sensed no malevolence or ill intent in Delle, and shrugged slightly to indicate so to Armilla.
“He’s got a day and a half lead on us,” Armilla commented without arguing, indicating she was willing to travel with the Locksfort family member. “Brother, you’ll stay here in camp and let Colonel Ryder know where we’ve gone?”
“I will,” Antonio agreed.
“Let’s get packed and get moving as quickly as we can,” Armilla told the other two. “Get your gear together, get a horse, and we’ll meet on the east side of camp in half an hour,” leading the group to briefly disband as they each momentarily went their own ways.
Chapter 8 – At the Ruined City
Alec continued his journey across the summer time steppes of the open land between Goldenfields and the Pale Mountains. Occasional summer storms drenched him with brief bouts of rain, while long stretches of sunny days left him dry and warm most of the time during his ride along the River Giffey.
A fortnight after leaving the army camp, Alec spotted a distant change on the horizon, a shadow that he knew was the first sign of the Pale Mountains. The flatness of the terrain diminished, and trees began to appear along more small waterways. Within two days, the mountains were an overwhelming fact, not to be ignored as they cast morning shadows far out across the land.
The notch of the river valley was clearly evident, and the ancient city that sat above the river at that point gleamed brightly, just as it had two years earlier, when he and Leah had floated past it, traveling in the opposite direction. Alec camped across the river from the city, arriving at the site as the sun set, and the next morning, he and Walnut found a ford where they could cross to the opposite shore and ride up into the ruins.
The pristine appearance from a distance dissolved up close, beginning on the weed-infested road that led from the river banks to the overlooking city set up on a mountain spur. Stones were cracked, displaced, or missing from the pavement, walls were tumbled down piles, and statutes were heaps of dismembered stones. Alec stopped and looked at a statute of a woman who stood in the center of a square. Her head was on the ground below her feet, and her arms were broken off at the elbows.
Alec looked at the weathered face that looked up askew from the ground. The gentle smile still retained a placid welcoming expression that made Alec wish he had known the model. Its implied gentleness reminded him of Helen Millershome, whose gentle courtesy and compassion were the greatest Alec had ever known.
As Alec walked Walnut around the city, he kept vigilant for any signs of other visitors or residents among the ruins. He had an uneasy sense that he was being followed, but there were no signs that anyone but wild animals had disturbed the urban setting in the recent past.
He tied Walnut to a rusty iron hitching ring outside one large building and went inside. The city had crept up the side of the mountain. Alec had chosen to reach the tallest building in the highest point of the city, and began climbing the interior stairs, seeking access to the roof, and the views he expected it to offer.
The architects of the ancient city had favored large windows and interior courtyards that lent light and air through the rooms and hallways of the building. Alec found the concept to be practical and attractive; if I ever build something new, it will be like this, he promised himself. He easily found the stairway, and climbed upward through the clutter and debris that had accumulated over unknown centuries of abandonment.
When he finally reached the top, he was on a flat roof that gave glorious views of vistas that stretched three quarters of the way around. Only the mountain behind him blocked the view.
It was just past midday, and the sun was high overhead. Alec looked due north.
He could see the river valley stretching miles and miles to the north, running between two mountain ridges. Somewhere up along those mountains were the remains of Walnut Creek and Riverside. What would they be like now, two years after their horrific devastation by the lacertii?
To his left, stretching west was the rolling tableau of foothills that gave way to flat prairie, and the river slightly meandered as it made its long, slow way across the empty space, disappearing on the horizon without any significant bend in its path.
He’d left a lot behind out there in the west. He’d run away from the confusion of Bethany and Imelda, from the toil of the crown protector, and from the despair of his status as ingenaire without powers. Over the many days he’d been alone with Walnut, Alec had thought a great deal, and tried to understand what he was doing by running away.
He knew that he shouldn’t have left everything and everyone behind without explanation. Only the blessing he’d received from John Mark gave him confidence that it was right. He held on to that confidence tenaciously. In several more days he hoped to reach his destination, and confirm that he had done the right thing.
As he idly pondered what awaited him up the river, his eyes casually focused on a small, dark patch moving with purpose along the river bank, coming towards him. He strained to make out details, but could resolve nothing more than the likelihood that it was a handful of riders on horses. As he watched them intently, the group paused for several minutes, then changed direction, and headed directly towards the river. They appeared intent on crossing the river at the same ford he had used that morning.
Suddenly, Alec no longer felt so lonely. He was about to have companions, he realized.
Chapter 9 – First Encounter
By the time Alec reached the great white city, Rashrew, Imelda and their followers had left the City of Bondell and ridden south along the sea coast for two weeks. The Goldenfields cavalry and Bondell forces had reached the southernmost city in the Dominion, South Harbor, then turned inland to begin hunting down the ruffians and smugglers who were their target.
On the day Alec awoke and rode into the ruins, Imelda awoke in a small village along a shallow river in an inland mountain village.
“We’re going to split our forces into four groups,” Rashrew instructed a mixed assemblage of leaders from the Bondell and Goldenfields forces.
The cavalry forces were in a village that was the farthest reach from the capital of Bondell. The nameless village had been attacked twice in the past month, and Rashrew suspected that it would be attacked again by the same band of men who had looted it before.
“Imelda, your group of Goldenfields riders will go further east to look for signs of the raiders – camps, stations, or even stationary forces. Ride as far as a day out, then turn around and come back. We’ll have a local guide go with you to help identify local landmarks for the first few miles. Try to map out as much as you can, especially any strongholds or any trails that show obvious signs of usage.
“The second group,” he continued, “yours, Mitae, will go back west along the river to see if anyone has tried to sneak in behind us and to keep things clear. Same goes for you; ride out a day, then ride back here, and map the things you see.
“I’ll take the third group. It will be mixed riders from both Bondell and Goldenfields. The locals think there’s a canyon out east that may be used as a camp for the raiders, so we’re going to ride east with the first group for a few miles, then our guide will point out the canyon, and we’ll follow it to its end, looking for any signs of trouble.
“The last group will be the smallest,” Rashrew finished his instructions. “We’ll leave a dozen hidden here in the village, as protection. If anyone is watching us and sees our forces ride out, they may think they can strike these folks while we’re gone, and this way we’ll have a nasty surprise waiting for them. Cole, you’ll keep your folks in the large green barn behind the stone house.”
“Do you really think they’ll attack?” Cole asked.
“We’ve been paying folks cash for
goods and use of their stables the past two days,” Rashrew answered. “If word of that has spread, and if it looks like we’ve left the village, it should provide a tempting target.”
“So we’ll meet back here tomorrow night?” Imelda asked.
“Yes,” Rashrew agreed. “Everyone should ride out this morning, set up camp when night falls, then come back here tomorrow,” he confirmed.
The meeting broke up, and the commanders went to collect their gear and their riders. Imelda and her two dozen soldiers set out with a local man as their guide, and Rashrew’s group riding behind them. The river valley they rode in was a green floor from which steep stony mountains rose, creating a sense of entrapment. Imelda looked at the trees and foliage that grew from shelves and crevasses among the mountain sides. This would be a dangerous place to be ambushed, she thought. The land was different from the open plains she was used to in Goldenfields, and she’d spent many hours trying to imagine how to fight in such circumstances. She looked now at possible escape routes in every situation; out on the plains it was easy to avoid trouble, but here she knew that hidden enemies could rain harm down on a squad and inflict serious harm, or even catastrophic destruction if there was no place to escape to.
The other thing she spent time thinking about was Alec, and particularly something she believed he had done to her. She found that she was able to comfort and heal small wounds and aches, a talent that had come to her since Alec had resurrected her on the battlefields in the wars with the lacertii. She’d known that Alec’s friend Cassie had developed healer skills after Alec had saved her life, through some transference of his essence to her during his intimate exercise of totally committed healing energies. She had found that the same transference had implanted his healing abilities in her as well.
Against the Empire: The Dominion and Michian Page 6
