Forgotten Soldiers (Book 1)

by Joshua P. Simon

  Ira and Dekar lay sprawled out asleep on the sitting room’s floor. I was about ready to kick one of them awake, angry for neither keeping watch on the door until I heard hushed whispers coming from Ava’s room. The conversation broke off when I bumped into a chair to my right as I tried to squeeze between it and a small table. Myra leaned back, head visible through the doorway I had been moving toward. She looked at me as if I had caught her sneaking candy.

  I entered Ava’s bedroom, and noticed no change in her.

  “Did you help her, Pa?” asked Zadok.

  I nodded. “She’ll be fine. Turns out she had a small talent for sorcery like Ava so the eruption affected her more.” I walked over and rested my hand on Ava’s brow. “How is she?”

  “The same as before,” said Myra.

  I sighed and looked out through the window at the night sky. “Why don’t you two take a break and get some sleep. It’s getting late. I’ll stay up with her.”

  “Actually, we were thinking we’d stay up so you could help others,” said Zadok.

  “What? The innkeeper’s daughter was one thing, but I’m—”

  “Shh,” said Myra. “You’ll wake up Dekar and Ira.” She gave Zadok a look. “We didn’t mean everyone.”

  “Good, because it’s not happening.”

  “I did,” Zadok said sternly.

  “Well, I didn’t,” said Myra. “And the idea was mine.” She eyed me. “I was just thinking that since you were able to help the innkeeper’s daughter, then maybe you should go check on Nason and his family considering how much he helped us over the years.”

  I thought of what they told me earlier about Nason giving them food or money while I was away in the war. He once was my best friend. The weight of the money he had given me jangling in the pouch at my belt suddenly became heavier.

  I looked at Ava.

  My daughter gave me a smug look that once more reminded me of Lasha when she knew she had me.

  “Fourteen going on thirty,” I muttered under my breath.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing. I’ll go see about Nason.”

  “What about the tailor and his daughter?” asked Zadok.

  I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “They helped us too even after they knew the trouble they could get in because of it. And they weren’t so harsh about it like that cobbler was with my shoes.”

  I sighed. “I’ll stop by Sivan’s shop on my way back from Nason’s place.”

  “And then maybe—” started Zadok.

  “And then nothing. I’ve got too many things to worry about without adding town savior to the list.” Especially after the way they treated us, I thought. I walked to the bedroom window and gave Myra a look that said, “See what you started?”

  She ignored me, but I could tell she regretted taking Zadok’s side as well.

  Her morals more closely matched mine than Lasha’s. I would bend over backward to help family, friends, and even strangers in most situations. However, once someone did me wrong, it took a lot for me to overlook it.

  On the other hand, Lasha had always been the person ready to give someone a second chance and was constantly on me about that particular character flaw of mine. It seemed Zadok was every bit his mother’s son in that department. Based on Myra’s look, I imagined that Zadok had a way to lay down the guilt on his sister just as Lasha used to do to me.

  Don’t get me wrong. In hindsight, Lasha always had the right of things. And I’m a better person because of her. It’s just that sometimes it’s easier to be a less than likeable person.

  I peeked through the window. Last night the moon had barely been a sliver. Tonight, it was close to half full. That didn’t make sense. Of course, last night there hadn’t been the explosion either.

  By the light of the moon, I saw people still sitting or lying in the streets. Some improved faster than others. Some crawled about. A few climbed to their feet long enough to take a couple steps before falling.

  I held back a curse. That wasn’t good. The faster they recovered, the less time I had for Ava to get better and to get us all out of town. No telling if the townspeople would blame her for everything. I doubted they would chalk it up to coincidence that she appeared right before the explosion.

  I drew the curtains.

  “Leave the curtains closed and the light of the lamp down,” I said while dimming the wick. “I don’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves. Some of the people are slowly recovering. They don’t need to know where we are.”

  “Won’t people see you leave the inn?” asked Zadok.

  “I plan to go out the back.” I paused. “I’m sure you know this but I’m going to say it anyway. Don’t open the door for anyone except me. No matter what. If someone comes knocking, have Dekar handle it.”

  “We’ve got it, Tyrus. Go,” Myra said.

  My stomach soured at her using my name yet again. I wondered if I’d ever get used to it.

  I left the suite. I had no clue if any of the other rooms in the inn were occupied, but I acted as though they were anyway, tiptoeing my way downstairs to the main floor. I didn’t see Boaz or his family so I took it on myself to find an alternative exit. I found the rear entrance by way of the kitchen.

  Once outside, I took a moment to study the sky over Hol. The devilish hues of red and orange pierced the black clouds like a sunrise fighting against a raincloud.

  However, unlike a sunrise, the demonic colors started in the middle of the sky rather than at the horizon. The spot seemed to brighten slightly and then fade. I blinked, unsure if my mind was playing tricks on me. I didn’t notice it again.

  “The end of the world,” I muttered to myself while staring at the anomaly.

  Molak be cursed, I hoped Ava was wrong.

  CHAPTER 18

  One minute my unit was slinking through an overgrown field, the next we were caught in the middle of an ambush.

  A flight of arrows peppered my unit, thudding into hastily raised shields. I barely managed to avoid a sword swept at my face. A spear pierced the gut of the man next to me before I could warn him of the incoming attack.

  His high-pitch scream shook my bowels.

  “Not even hell could be this bad,” a voice whispered in the back of my mind.

  I grit my teeth to stave off the pounding headache brought on by my racing pulse. My sword crashed down, severing both hands of the spearmen. My backswing slid across the chest of a man carrying a morning star. The man fell back as a spray of crimson sprouted from his torso, the spinning ball of metal clipping the man next to him.

  I screamed and ran forward, eager to meet the enemy on my terms.

  “Ty! Wake up!”

  I sat up quickly, hand darting to the dagger at my side. Someone grabbed my arm tightly so that I couldn’t move it.

  Waking up is never an easy thing.

  Waking up in a hard chair, hunched over the bed that your unconscious sister is lying in doesn’t make it easier. The harsh memories of war haunting my dreams made the entire process infinitely worse.

  Ira stared into my face. “Calm down, Ty. You were dreaming. We ain’t in the field anymore. We’re in Denu Creek. Remember?”

  Slowly, my mind relaxed. Visions of the men under my command dying began to fade. Memories of the last day in the present took their place, essentially replacing one hell for another.

  My chest tightened when I remembered Lasha.

  “Sorry. I’m all right.”

  I checked on Ava. There was still no change in her condition, but at least she looked peaceful. That didn’t stop me from saying a quick curse to Ao though. The goddess of sorcery had to have some sort of hand in this mess. I figured Ava’s lack of improvement probably stemmed from a closer connection to it than Abigail’s.

  I finished my inner tirade and added a quick curse to Molak for good measure. In my opinion, there was no such thing as saying too many curses to the father of the Turine gods.

  “Which one was i
t?” asked Ira.

  “Huh?”

  “You were talking in your sleep. Sounded like a battle.”

  I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand. “The ambush on the Safed Plain.”

  He closed his green eyes, blew a deep breath, and rubbed his hands through his blond hair. “Xank, that was brutal.”

  I nodded, thumb and forefinger moving down to rub my tired eyes.

  Ira snorted. “You know I can barely distinguish where my dreams take place. The gods-forsaken things all run together. One blood bath after another.”

  “Yeah, it’s getting that way for me too. Not sure what else to say to that.”

  Ira pulled up a chair and sat. “You don’t necessarily have to say anything more. I know what you’re going through and just trying to let you know you ain’t alone. Anyway, Zadok told me you went to check on some people you knew in town. What time did you get in?”

  “Just before dawn I think. What is it now?”

  “Still early morning. Your kids are still asleep in the other bedroom. Dekar went downstairs to get an idea about what’s going on outside.” His voice lightened. “You hungry?”

  Only then did I notice the smell of cooked oats. Ira held a bowl.

  “Starved.”

  “Figured as much.” Ira placed the bowl on the bed, next to Ava’s arm. “The innkeeper’s wife brought some breakfast up a few minutes ago. Said it was on the house, as is the room, on account of what you did for her daughter.”

  I began spooning the warm oats into my mouth with my free hand while the other stayed in contact with my sister. The honey sweetening the dish was a welcome surprise.

  “Her daughter’s still doing well then?”

  “I guess. She didn’t say otherwise.”

  That was encouraging. Since Abigail had recovered, I held out hope that Ava would eventually do the same. She just needed time.

  “Do you have a water skin?” I asked, noticing Ava’s lips had begun to crack.

  He raised one.

  I set the oatmeal aside. “I’ll lift Ava up and tilt her head back. Slowly pour a bit of water in her mouth. Just a little at a time.”

  It took a few minutes to get Ava in the right position without exposing her, but eventually we managed to get a few sips down her throat without completely soaking her pillow in the process. I eased her back down just as Dekar returned.

  “I asked the innkeeper’s wife to bring up some broth when she had the chance,” he said, entering the room.

  “Good. Water isn’t going to cut it.”

  I wolfed the rest of my oatmeal between sips of water. During the process, Dekar filled us in with what he had learned.

  “For the most part, everyone’s still in really bad shape. Most of the people from yesterday are still in the streets. A couple might even be dead. Those that can stand on their own, are trying to drag others inside. The way they’re moving reminds me of watching people affected by a confusion spell.”

  I grunted. “Well, as long as they’re busy with each other, then maybe they’ll leave us alone while Ava recovers.”

  “About that . . .”

  I set the empty bowl aside. “What?”

  “Well, the innkeeper and his family are out there helping people. I also saw an old man and a younger blonde down the street doing the same. I guess that’s that tailor and his daughter that Myra told me about?”

  I nodded.

  “What do you think the likelihood that your friend Nason and his family will start helping too?”

  Nason had gone out of his way to help both me and the kids, despite the risk. “Pretty good, I’d say.”

  “That’s what I figured.”

  I cursed. I hadn’t considered what would happen as a result of my kindness.

  I muttered a few swears to Molak when it dawned on me what Dekar was getting at. I could never curse Molak enough as far as I was concerned.

  “What are you so upset about? Who cares what they’re doing?” asked Ira.

  “Because eventually people are going to start asking why the innkeeper, the tailor, and the tanner aren’t as bad off as everyone else,” said Dekar.

  “And then it’s only a matter of time before it comes back to me.” I shook my head.

  “You mean us,” said a voice.

  We turned to Myra standing in the doorway. Her black, curly hair looked a mess. Her eyes, red and puffy with sleep, stood out against her copper skin.

  “Sorry, if we woke you,” I said. “You can go back to sleep. We’ll keep it down.”

  “I’m up now, but you can keep it down for Zadok.” She walked over to the edge of the bed. “So, what are we going to do if people figure out where we are?”

  I looked at Ava and sighed. I had hoped she would be better by morning. Conscious, at least. In her current state, there really wasn’t a whole lot we could do except make our stand in the inn and hope the innkeeper, Boaz, might make a case for the rest of the town not to burn us out.

  Of course, if it came down to losing his inn, I couldn’t fault the man if he had a change of heart and decided to side with the rest of town.

  A knock sounded before I could express those thoughts. “Must be Boaz,” I muttered.

  Dekar left. “I’ll get it.”

  A brief and muffled conversation followed.

  A smell I couldn’t quite place hit me.

  The door closed and footsteps followed. Dekar reappeared.

  “Got rid of him?” Ira asked.

  “Depends what him you’re talking about,” said a voice I hadn’t expected to hear.

  Nason came in behind Dekar. The smell made sense now. Lime and leather. The smell of a tanner.

  “I think you should hear him out, Tyrus,” said Dekar.

  I nodded. “Give us a few minutes.”

  Ira gave me a disappointed look which I ignored. It was likely he had wanted to be a fly on the wall. Dekar cuffed him for taking his time in exiting.

  Myra quietly followed, but not before lingering to rub Ava’s leg. The gesture gave me pause, as it was the only time I’d seen her convey any sort of care to anyone besides Zadok. A part of me was jealous at being upstaged by my unconscious sister, someone Myra knew even less than me.

  Of course, Ava had something going for her that I didn’t. Myra didn’t blame her for ten years of pain and misery. I got to carry that blessed burden.

  Nason took a seat as the door clicked shut. Smudges of dirt covered his face, his brown hair tussled after what looked like a hard day’s work. He let his arms hang off the sides of the chair and stretched out his legs.

  “You look tired.”

  He snorted. “No worse than you, I’m sure.” Nason nodded toward Ava. “How is she?”

  “Alive and breathing. Beyond that, I have no clue.

  He leaned over. “I always forget how much you two look alike.”

  It was true. We both took after our father. Same square jaw. Same brown eyes and hair which we both kept short. Both tall and lean, but neither skinny.

  “Don’t say that when she wakes up. You remember how much she hates hearing that.”

  He frowned. “I think it’s the hair that really makes it obvious. I never understood why she cut it so short. Don’t get me wrong, she still looks cute, but . . .”

  “Ma used to tell her the same thing. Naturally Ava kept it short to spite her.” I let the silence linger for a moment. “So, why are you here?”

  “A couple reasons. One, you left so quickly last night I barely had a chance to thank you.”

  “Sorry. I needed to be here.”

  His gaze flicked back to Ava. “I understand. But regardless, thank you. Other than a lingering headache, the family is doing well.”

  “Glad to hear it. It’s the least I can do considering what Myra and Zadok said you did for them before Uncle Uriah became a hassle.”

  He hung his head. “By the gods, it’s a shame what they went through. Lasha too. Tyrus, I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.
”

  “What’s done is done.” I cleared my throat, not wanting to dwell on that. “Why else are you here?”

  “To ask you to help the rest of town.”

  I snorted. “Not you too.”

  He gave me a confused look.

  “Zadok tried to get me to do the same last night,” I explained.

  “I wish you would have listened to him. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to how people are affected. Some are far worse than others. A couple have died, many more could go at any minute. Lots of people are sick.”

  “Why should I help them? To repay them for the wonderful way they treated me and my family? For trying to kill me? Or should I do it to thank them for making sure Lasha didn’t have to get a job that involved her working on her back? Or how about repaying them for the kindness they showed in preventing Myra and Zadok from becoming slaves to Jareb just so they could eat a few pathetic meals each day?”

  Nason had leaned back in his chair and I realized I was practically out of my seat, yelling.

  “Not everyone in town is as bad as you think they are. There are still some good people here. You’ve seen some of that with Boaz and his family. Sivan and Damaris too.”

  “Then why didn’t anyone help?”

  “They’re scared of Jareb. Scared that they might end up . . .” His voice trailed off.

  “Scared they’d end up like my family?” I asked.

  Nason frowned. “Yeah.”

  I laughed, though there was nothing pleasant about it. “And you want me to help these people again, why?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

  Just what I needed. Another moral compass in my life.

  I shook my head. “I’m not leaving Ava.”

  “You did it last night. Myra and Zadok can watch over her.”

  “It’s not the same as me being here.”

  “You don’t know that for sure, do you?”

  I sat back in my seat.

  Nason leaned forward. “Look, Boaz’s wife slipped up and told several people what happened. They know you’re here and they know you can heal them. Some of the townsfolk might lack the strength to do anything now, but if you stay up here while their loved ones die, well, it’ll be worse than the small mob that the mayor cobbled together yesterday.”