Praetorian Series [3] A Hunter and His Legion

by Edward Crichton

  “Forgive… you, J…”

  Vincent never finished as he fell to his side.

  I stared in wide eyed horror as the closest thing I’d had to a mentor and a father died before me. There was no hope for a last minute rescue from Wang, who lay unconscious himself, and there were no Roman doctors to stabilize him, no magical vials to repair his wounds, and no more visions to change my interpretation of reality.

  Vincent lay there.

  Dead.

  And I’d killed him.

  Hands surrounded my chest, and I curled into a ball on instinct, afraid of repeating what I’d just done, but it was Agrippina who held onto me. She wrapped me in a hug tightly and leaned her head in close.

  “The fault is not your own, Jacob,” she whispered into my ear. “I was watching. You thought it was Archer. He deserved it, and Vincent should not have snuck up on you. This is Archer’s fault, not yours.”

  Her words were oddly soothing, convincing, powerful, and I found myself nodding and pulling myself together in seconds. She helped me to my feet and wrapped her arms around me and buried her head against my chest. “It’ll be all right, Jacob. You have nothing to blame yourself for.”

  I found myself wrapping my arms around her as well, but before I could tighten them, she pulled out of our embrace and led me to my dropped pack, mere feet from Vincent’s body. I didn’t want to go, but she pulled me there, picked up my bag, and handed it to me

  “I’m so sorry, Jacob,” she said, and I knew she meant it. The two of us were in this together now, and I could feel the empathy in her flowing through the orb and into me. She’d once spoken of a connection between us, and I felt it now more than ever.

  In an odd way, I felt happy just then.

  I nodded solemnly and Agrippina put a hand against my chest and helped me turn around, but we only managed one step before we had to pull up short.

  Santino stood there blocking our path.

  And he wore a face I’d never seen on him before.

  It wasn’t sad or angry, frustrated or thoughtful. It wasn’t even annoyed or condescending, all faces I’d seen on him before, although the last few only rarely. No, the face he wore was completely different from all of those, and I had to dig deep in my memory to recognize it. When I did, the feeling I felt was one I hadn’t experienced in maybe twenty years, because the look Santino wore was the same my mother would show me in those moments when she was completely disappointed in me. Those were the worst looks, and seeing it on Santino’s normally joyful face cut me deep.

  “Let me go, John,” I said quietly with Agrippina on my arm, but his eyes never left mine, not even to investigate the fact that Agrippina was present. He simply drilled into me with that look of disappointment that never wavered. I glanced down at Agrippina, then back at Santino. “Are… are you going to kill me?”

  And there was no doubt that he could. At this range, there wasn’t an orb in this plane of existence or any other powerful enough to give me a fighting chance against him.

  “You’re my best friend, Jacob,” Santino said evenly, his eyes steady. “I could never kill my best friend.” He paused. “But a mindless zombie controlled by an evil orb he knew was dangerous to begin with is the kind of bug I could squash over and over and over again.”

  The orb worked extra hard to keep the fear from distracting me, and it seemed like it was a battle it would soon lose, but then Santino cried out in pain and fell over. I didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but then I saw Agrippina’s arm protruding from her body holding a knife. It wasn’t large, but it was sharp, and it had Santino’s blood on it.

  “What have you…” I started to speak, but then my words left me.

  With the threat of Santino gone, the fear rescinded and the orb took over again. Even so, I looked at Agrippina in disbelief as Santino writhed on the ground from the intense pain of an abdominal stab wound.

  “He would have stopped us, Jacob,” Agrippina said steadily. “It doesn’t matter if the path before you is a dark one, what matters is the destination. This is the only way to keep Helena safe and get her home. We have to go to Rome, and we couldn’t do that with him in our way.”

  “Of course…” I said, trailing off as Agrippina led us away from Santino’s fallen body.

  I looked down at him, his body growing limper as he fought the pain, but when he was out of sight, I looked away, wondering what it was I had been so concerned about a moment before.

  Agrippina helped me atop Felix and I held out a hand to help her atop her own horse. She smiled at me in thanks, and I returned it, feeling excited at the prospect of a new adventure with a beautiful woman and the idea of returning to the Eternal City of Rome.

  Finally, a grand adventure worth writing about.

  Agrippina reached a hand out and rubbed my forearm. Her touch distracted me and I looked at her again, noticing that her beautiful smile hadn’t left her. It filled my heart with drive and determination, knowing that my partner in crime and I would get the job done in a way I never could before.

  The red orb was waiting.

  When Agrippina realized I’d pulled myself from my trance, she patted my arm lightly and motioned for me to lead the way. I lifted a hand to my forehead and nodded with my imaginary cowboy hat. “Yes, ma’am.”

  And with that, I kicked Felix into a trot. Agrippina caught up, and the two of us rode with our three supply horses in train behind us. We rode toward the eastern gate and I was finally able to take notice of the fact that dawn was finally upon us. The sun hadn’t yet breached the horizon, but it was close, and there was easily enough light to survey the camp by. I barely took notice of the Romans around me, healthy or wounded, but the sight of a pair of bodies on the ground caught my eye. I couldn’t quite make out who they were, but I noticed a few of my friends running toward them while a third figure was already kneeling beside one of the fallen two.

  Agrippina and I were far enough away that recognition was difficult, but picking my sister out of a crowd was easy. I tipped my imaginary hat in her direction as we rode further away, but the only look she offered me in return was distraught, one with fear and sadness in those distant eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks so clearly that I was half tempted to turn back, and it was then that I noticed she held one of the bodies in her lap, his head resting comfortably on one of her legs. I couldn’t tell if he was dead or alive, but the sight of it combined with the final look of complete defeat on Artie’s face before she disappeared behind rows of tents haunted me.

  And then Agrippina spoke. “A beautiful morning, is it not, Jacob.”

  I looked to the sky, noting its early morning blue enshrined by the deep yellows and oranges given off by the sun’s imminent arrival. I could just see it beginning its rise, but there was something about this sunrise that confused me. I’d always taken such joy out of witnessing the daily event, using it as a way to revitalize fatigued muscles or focus a frazzled mind. Witnessing one was a yearly tradition I’d had for decades, but as the sun continued its ascent, I felt none of those effects now. Instead, all it offered was a hollow emptiness, not unlike something I’d felt not all that long ago when… something had happened.

  I couldn’t remember.

  “Looks like we can use the sun as our guide for now,” Agrippina continued, her long golden locks as beautiful but empty as the sun we rode toward, swaying alluringly in the breeze as we passed Galba’s trench system. I stared at her for a moment, finding strength in her image, but when I turned back to the rising sun ahead of me, I felt nothing again.

  I decided to ignore it, realizing it was probably a fault of the sun’s and not my own. Instead, I thought of nothing more but the unbridled potential of finding the red orb and pairing it with my blue one. That alone filled me with enough motivation to ride into the very heart of the sun if I had to.

  I reached into my cargo pocket and removed my glacier glasses, lowered them over my eyes, and smiled, trying to conjure the appropriate imagery in
my mind of Agrippina and I riding into the sunrise, our destinies laid out before us, ours for the taking. All I’d needed was a little bit of a push, just as Agrippina had said, and now I had it. I let out a long sigh, letting years of pent up emotion fall from my shoulders in sheets.

  I settled myself atop Felix in preparation for a long journey, and even found myself singing to myself as we rode. “Round, round, get around, I get around, yeah.” The lyrics came easily, and I found myself smiling at the appropriateness of my chosen song. “Get around, round, round I get around. I get around…”

  “What is that song, Jacob?” Agrippina asked innocently.

  “What I Get Around? It’s a great song by the Beach Boys. Some guy I knew used to love them.”

  “Who was he?” She asked.

  “I… I can’t remember,” I answered. “Still, they’re a good group. They have plenty of hits.”

  “Perhaps you can teach me a few,” Agrippina suggested with a sweet smile. “We’ll have plenty of time together in the coming weeks.”

  I nodded pleasantly. “Sure, I’d like that.”

  Her smile tightened and she turned back toward the rising sun. I turned as well and continued to sing, knowing that it was finally time to get around to doing what I should have done from the very beginning:

  Fix the universe.

  Author’s Note

  Well, this was a tough one to write.

  Very tough.

  I first thought the story up for this book years ago, back when I’d just finished The Last Roman and was beginning To Crown a Caesar. I had an idea about introducing Arthurian legend (in a way) and I knew it was time for all of the things Hunter felt responsible for to finally have some kind of repercussion. His descent into madness, if you will, was preordained for the guy the moment he first made contact with the orb. It’d screwed up just about everybody else, so why not him?

  Unfortunately, the pregnancy storyline was also one I’d thought up years ago, and knew just had to be included… little did I know that when I finally picked up this book again to complete earlier this year, that my wife and I would be expecting our first child. It made writing that final chapter almost impossible. When I came up with the idea, I didn’t really understand how devastating such a thing could be, but I do now. Boy do I understand, and I almost wanted to rewrite the whole damn book by the time I was finished.

  But I couldn’t do that.

  Whether everyone will agree with the course I took will be up to their own personal opinion, but the story is heading in a very specific direction, and I could think of no more low a moment for Hunter to go through than that. I wasn’t trying to be malicious. It’s just the way I saw the story going as I setup book four: the final book.

  Believe me, I wish I hadn’t.

  But if you’re still with me this far (and if you’re reading this book when this book is still considered “new”), I’d like to finish my little note by asking for patience for the last book in the Praetorian Series. I intend to take some time off when my son is born this November and focus on my family, however, once my wife’s maternity leave is up, primary care is going to fall squarely on my shoulders.

  Yep, that means stay at home dad status for the most part, which means my writing is seriously going to slow. I wish that wasn’t the case, but my family comes first, so while I will still write when I can, my output will suffer. I managed to publish four books within the last fifteen months, sure, but that’s only because I’d already two written, and parts of this one were already written as well.

  I no longer have that luxury.

  The Starfarer sequel, which is actually next on my to-do-list, and the final Praetorian book, are all empty Word documents right now (although their stories are in my head). So it’s going to take some time, and I just wanted to give everyone a head’s up.

  But back to Hunter, for a moment.

  I don’t know exactly where his “story” is going to end.

  However, I know exactly how his “Praetorian” story is going to end. The Praetorian Series will definitely end with four books, which will provide a conclusive finale to the events chronicled in this series, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m done with the universe. Some of you more observant readers may have already picked up on what I mean by that, or suspect where I’m going with it, but all I really mean is that certain things may live on in future books (and no, that isn’t any kind of hint either).

  But patience will be required.

  I hope you enjoyed the book, high points and low points both. Feel free to send me an email with your thoughts, positive or negative, and please leave a review as well (positive ones more welcomed than negative ones, of course). And if you email, I’ll be sure to email back as quickly as I can, baby throw up or not!

  Until next time, Faithful Readers.

  Ed Crichton

  September, 2013

  Author’s Note (Revised)

  Here’s the magic of online self-publishing at its finest: the ability to revise a book within hours, not months.

  While nothing in A Hunter and His Legion itself has been changed, my ideas and plans for future writings have. After having just read the above Author’s Note, some of you may be a bit upset that you have to wait so long for Book IV, but you’re in luck, because I’ve recently come to the decision that I will be putting Starfarer on the back burner for now, and will instead continue with the Praetorian Series, finishing it at four books. Since I try to treat writing as a 9-5 job, which it more or less is, that doesn’t mean I work like an automaton, pumping out work just to churn out content and make bank.

  Some authors can do that, but I can’t.

  I’ve found that all my inspiration when preparing to continue Starfarer has led me toward finishing the Praetorian Series instead. All my thoughts, ideas, and eureka moments are for Hunter & Co. right now, not for Lawson & Co. Maybe it’s because even I’m uncomfortable with my most recent ending, as I don’t like cliffhangers any more than you people do, but this is a book series, and drama sometimes dictates them (unless you’d really prefer a 600,000 word book, I guess). Believe it or not, but the ending to A Hunter and His Legion is a cliffhanger even for me, and I’m just as excited to get to the end of the series as you are.

  So, don’t worry. I won’t be leaving you hanging as long as initially planned. I’m already deep into the first chapter of Book IV as I write this note, which already has its own fresh surprises, and I’m dedicated to pushing through to the end. I still have to contend with that soon-to-be kid of mine (almost there!), but at least you won’t have to wait for an entire other book to be written before I start the last one in this series.

  Patience will still be required.

  Just not quite as much as you may have thought.

  Ed Crichton

  October, 2013

  Starfarer: Rendezvous with Destiny

  If you haven’t yet read Edward Crichton’s Sci-Fi epic Starfarer: Rendezvous with Destiny, his advice is that you really, really should. For a brief look at the first few chapters, keep on reading…

  INCOMING TRANSMISSION . . .

  TO: John Paul Sterling, Admiral, Allied Space Navy (ASN)

  FROM: Alexander Mosley, First High Admiral, Allied Space Navy (ASN)

  ORIGINAL REPORT: Richard Alderman, Colonel, Office of Strategic Space Intelligence (OSSI) – Original Report Attached

  SECURITY LEVEL: CLASSIFIED

  XXXXX - XXXXXXXXXX - XXXXX

  SUBJECT: Anomalous ISLAND Activity – Action Required

  SENT: 11.13.2595 (11:20:11)

  AUTHENTICATION CODE: Echo Echo Bravo Zero Zero Seven Echo

  Admiral John Paul Sterling,

  This could be big, J.P., so I’ll dispense with the usual pleasantries. Word has been sent to OSSI that our Chinese friends have encountered an anomaly along ISLAND Transit Route AlphaCOL–BetaCOL. The spooks haven’t been able to get anything specific out of the Chinese yet, but it has The Star Destiny Corporation, at least, v
ery concerned.

  They’re going to lose contact with the ISLAND Liner Sierra Madre on the aforementioned course very soon, and while OSSI isn’t saying much, we could be talking about another rumored contact with alien technology aboard an ISLAND. That or they may have simply experienced their first mishap with WeT Tech.

  Consider this your unofficial readiness report. Prepare the 3rd Fleet for immediate redeployment back to Earth and launch the Alcestis as soon as possible. I don’t think I need to remind you to keep your wits about you, John Paul. There’s more at play here than even I’m aware of, and I can’t offer you much more advice than that. This won’t be some silly sim we mucked about with back at the Academy. Something big is about to happen and something about it stinks.

  Regards,

  First High Admiral Alexander Mosley, ASN

  Admiralty Board, Chair

  Washington Aerospace Naval Headquarters, Luna

  P.S. Should we get through whatever this thing is, I’ll get you a case of that ancient Jameson swill you love so much.

  <<<<< SEE ATTACHED FILE FOR ORIGINAL REPORT >>>>>

  SECTION 1

  The ISLAND

  High Earth Orbit /

  ISLAND Liner Sierra Madre – Red Zone /

  Power Conduction Shaft – Delta /

  11.06.2595

  07:35:08 Zulu

  That which defines mankind is nothing more than what he leaves behind. In no other way will he be remembered when his presence in this universe becomes little more than dust to aid in the formation of new celestial bodies, and the onset of space travel centuries ago only helped to safeguard this legacy. Later, the ability to travel to other planets cemented it. If every human in existence simply vanished from reality, the ISLAND Liner Sierra Madre would remain, drifting through the depths of space for time immemorial.