by Dan Decker
It looks like my hesitation is paying off, Neare thought as he looked outside the door, glad that he hadn’t tried to go outside quite yet. At least I have that. If Thon would only die, it would make things much easier. Once things settled, Erro would insist on finding a healer and Neare would be forced to make his son face the facts of their situation. It wouldn’t do any good. Erro would insist on getting help, regardless of whether he had Neare’s support.
Neare approached the side of the door opposite Erro and looked out into the street but everything was still. It was infuriating that he had no idea what was going on and he was saddled here with Thon. Maybe the time for the conversation with Erro had come.
Erro went pale as more shots from a blaster echoed through the street. Neare growled quietly. If their opportunity to slip away had already passed, he was going to lose it.
“You were right,” Erro said, shaking his head. “You were right. They’re still here.”
“Maybe you should listen a little more, eh?” Neare said gruffly while looking back at Thon. He had his eyes open and was staring towards them. When Neare made eye contact, he repressed a shudder from Thon’s cold expression. Had Thon been able to tell what Neare was thinking of doing?
Neare raised a finger to his lips and pointed out the door. Thon gave a slow nod of his head but didn’t ease up on his grim frown. Neare turned as if nothing was wrong and hoped he was misreading Thon. He should have let Erro take the chance of going to look around after all. At least then, he could have handled this Thon situation cleanly with Erro out of the way for a bit.
“Hey, there’s Adar!” Erro whispered. It was indeed the man. Adar had his back to them and was headed away from them.
Neare was taken off guard, but he realized that he shouldn’t have been. He should have assumed that he would find Adar here as well. It made sense that Adar and Jorad would be together. He reached for the hilt of his sword that hung from his belt. Adar had insinuated that he’d known about Neare and Karany. It would have been a mercy if Adar had been the one to discover his affair instead of Bram.
There would have been less guilt associated with killing Adar.
Erro stepped out into the street, breaking into Neare’s thoughts.
“Erro!” Neare hissed. “Get back here.”
Of course, Erro didn’t even bother to respond as he ran across the street and ducked behind a cart. Adar was far enough away that he hadn’t noticed the sudden movement.
“Melyah save me from my own son.” Neare took a quick look at Thon whose eyes were closed again before he chased Erro into the rain. If that fool son of his tried to settle his grievances with Adar instead of Jorad, he was going to get himself killed. Neare still didn’t think Erro would actually go through with killing anybody, but he had held Jorad at the point of a sword.
If the fool managed to do that to Adar, he’d be lucky if he died quickly.
Chapter 8
Adar slid to a stop, wiping rainwater out of his eyes while gasping for breath as he put his back against the rough lumber of a shed. He brought up his blaster so it was ready in case Hunwei or turncoats or Tere stumbled into the backyard of the home he was cutting through.
The extra blasters Adar had slung over each shoulder cut into his back, and he eased up off the shed while still trying to take advantage of the lip of roof that stuck out overhead. It was the first opportunity he'd taken for shelter since killing the last turncoat, and the rain looked as though it was finally stopping anyway.
Figures, he thought. That's just about what I'd expect today. Now I just need a dozen or so turncoats to chase me and things will be right again.
Adar shook his head as he looked at the remains of several dead Hunwei. The tower had done its job well. He was more than a dozen blocks away from it and was continuing to find the burned out armored husks of the Hunwei.
He had no way of knowing the effective range of the tower. The further he got from the tower, the antsier he became. He hoped all of the actual Hunwei in the city had been killed, but he wasn't going to count on it.
The smell of charred flesh still hung heavy in the air and overpowered a nearby pigsty. The pig looked up at Adar and grunted pitifully. It's back was covered with water, mud, and bits of hay. The pen lacked even a rudimentary shelter. He figured the animal was typically kept in the shed at times like this.
He would never have thought he’d prefer the smell of a pig manure over anything else, but he now found himself wishing for that unique sickly-sweet stench rather than the odor of the dead Hunwei. He'd hoped the smell wouldn't be as bad the further he moved from the tower, but from what he could tell, the distance hadn't made a difference. The smell was far better than having all the Hunwei alive, but that didn't make each breath any less unpleasant.
Movement at the corner of his eye drew his attention, he brought up his blaster.
He'd only been using blasters for a short time, and already his hand automatically moved to the button on the front of the weapon, his other touching the trigger.
He hadn't been able to decide whether he liked the blasters, but he'd already accepted them as part of his new reality. It would have been nice if everybody was already armed with a blaster so that they would be capable of killing the cursed Hunwei. A part of him was glad the knowledge of how to make the blasters had been lost long ago. In a world with swords, Adar often had the advantage.
If Adar could arm many people with a blaster, even an untrained person had a chance of bringing down a Hunwei. It also meant that any fool with the ability to point and shoot could kill even the most skilled swordsman.
There was something wrong with that.
It somehow felt uncivilized, though he had a hard time explaining—even to himself—how anything about killing could be civilized. The element of luck was far more important in a battle with blasters than a fight that only involved contemporary weapons. He supposed it wasn't that different than if there were archers in the mix, though it took months of effort for an archer to learn to shoot well.
He preferred the Radim sword he had strapped to his back because it wouldn't stop working like the blasters did.
The movement turned out to be a small group of Ou Qui. Adar assumed that a tall man in the front was the leader because he had a certainty to his walk that wasn't matched by the others, though, the leafy camouflage he wore made him look more like a walking tree than a man. Even in broad daylight, he could have disappeared right into the bushes at the side of the nearby home. If Adar hadn't known where to look, he would have had a difficult time identifying the man.
The Ou Qui's faces were painted green. Adar was surprised to see that water slid off the coloring. Why didn’t the rain wash it off? The forehead of the leader had a splotch of red paint. Adar noticed it because the man nodded to Adar as they passed and his hair slid to the side revealing the scarlet daub. Adar studied the other Ou Qui and saw they all had similar markings as well.
It must have meant something, but he wasn't experienced enough with the Ou Qui to know what it was. Did it set them apart as a different tribe? The Ou Qui he had encountered before today had painted their faces black and had not been marked in any other way. Was that significant?
He wasn’t surprised to see the Ou Qui leaving so quickly and even though he wanted an opportunity to talk with them further, something about the determined look on the first Ou Qui's face made Adar let them move right on past. He suspected that trying to get them to stop wouldn't do any good anyway. In his experience, the Ou Qui only ever did what they wanted to do.
Adar ground his teeth as he watched the Ou Qui disappear. He very much wanted to ask them about the metalmen he'd seen back at the town hall but was certain that if he ever did develop enough rapport with them to ask the question they wouldn't say much.
The fact they referred to the metalmen as gods was enough to know that. The Ou Qui Jorad had met outside of Neberan had referred to them as such and the others no doubt revered them in the same way.
>
The metalmen had all disappeared by the time he'd left the town square. If they worshiped these metal gods of theirs, he didn't want to offend them by asking a question that could be taken the wrong way.
The pig grunted and broke into Adar's thoughts, bringing him back to the present. The Ou Qui were gone, and it was time for him to get moving. He'd regained control of his breath and had managed to stamp his anger at Tere down to a more controllable level. The fighting with the Turncoats had at least given him something to direct his fury at for a while.
Another sudden movement drew his attention, he expected to see another group of Ou Qui, but instead, an armed young man waving a sword burst around the corner of the home. He had his weapon hanging loosely over his head as he ran. If the man hadn't been heading straight towards him, Adar would have burst out in laughter at the fool’s attempt to charge.
As it was, he cracked a small smile while he dropped the blaster he held and swung the others off his back before he pulled out his sword. He might have laughed anyway if something else hadn’t just managed to get in his way again. How many distractions was he going to have before he caught up with Tere?
Nine burning fires, he thought. If I believed the gods cared about us mere mortals, I would think one of them had decided to start playing games with me. It could have been Zenar, the god of chance, or Naryah, the god of sport, he was said to be fond of pranks.
Gods.
Adar wasn’t sure he believed in gods anymore.
He entertained the idea of just finishing off the kid with a blast to the chest but decided he could handle the matter with his sword almost as quickly. At least I’ll fight him with a proper weapon.
This way, the kid didn’t fall into the same category of the turncoats.
Adar’s blaster splattered mud onto his pants when it hit the ground, but he didn’t bother looking. If he had, he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. He was already covered in mud from head to toe and had lost count of the number of times he’d dove into the mud or splashed through a puddle.
The young man let out a howl as he got close and Adar shook his head, not certain what he’d done to provoke the kid. Was this a turncoat who had lost his armor? No, he thought, that can’t be it. He would have just shot me with a blaster. The only people I’ve killed today have been turncoats. Not that he hadn’t done his best to take Tere’s head.
Adar felt a chill sweep over him. Was this guy a Kopal? It had been a long time since he’d dealt with one of their members, to be sure, but what other cause would the man have for attacking him? I thought it was a problem only found in Rarbon. I should have supposed it would spread to other places as well.
Was Adar being paranoid? It was a long way from Rarbon to Zecarani.
Adar spread his feet and brought up his sword as he looked into the face of his approaching attacker and realized he knew this man.
It was Erro Paler, Neare’s son.
Adar hadn’t recognized him at first because Erro had always made certain to maintain a dignified appearance. His clothing was imported from out of town, and he’d been impeccably groomed.
Erro’s shirt was now ragged, and his pants weren’t much better. His hair was matted against his head. He also had blood running down his face, and his shirt was covered with it as well.
Adar growled. He’d planned to just kill the man, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that now. Erro had managed to survive what had happened in Neberan and somehow made it to Zecarani only to watch the same thing happen here.
Whatever was going on in his head, Erro couldn’t be in his right mind. Experiencing two cataclysmic events was enough to break a man.
Naryah must have taken a special interest in me indeed, Adar thought as he lunged forward and struck Erro’s sword before the lad was ready. The sound rang out through the air and Adar grunted. Any nearby turncoats would have heard that for sure.
Erro’s arm flew back, and it was by luck alone he didn’t lose his blade. He tried to get it back down for another swing, but he was already too late.
Adar caught Erro’s elbow with one hand and put his blade to Erro’s neck with the other.
“What are you doing?” Adar demanded. “If it’s death you seek, I can oblige but I’d rather not.”
Erro struggled against Adar’s grasp instead of answering. Sighing, Adar took away the youth’s sword and flung it into the pigsty. It made a thwacking sound as it hit the dung and mud mixture. Let him climb in there to get it out, maybe crawling through rotting poop will make him come to his senses. Adar snorted. It’s doubtful he’ll be able to take it away from the pig.
Erro’s eyes widened, his face pale, and he stuttered.
Adar repeated his question, and Erro mumbled something about Thon and Gorew that Adar didn’t understand. He thought he caught the word payback in there as well, but none of the words coming out of Erro’s mouth made any sense. It was too garbled. Adar couldn’t tell if it was from insanity or because the lad was gasping for breath.
A man came running up from behind Erro and Adar wasn’t surprised to see it was Neare. If Erro hadn't just tried to skewer Adar, the two could have passed by without Adar recognizing anything about either one of them.
Neare had always been fastidious about wearing his expensive clothes too, but as with Erro, he didn’t look the same as he had the night of the wedding party before the Hunwei had come.
He was filthy and bloody, his shirt was frayed around the arms with a rip in the side, and his trousers were about as muddy as Adar’s. He approached with hands outstretched and to the side of him.
“Adar,” Neare said. “Let him go. He won’t try to harm you again. You have my word.” Thunder cracked as he finished speaking, lightning danced across the sky, and the rain came pouring down again.
Adar snorted with derision, but the effect was lost in the storm. Upon reflection, he decided that was a good thing. Neare was presenting him with a way that would let him continue his chase after Tere that didn’t involve killing Erro.
“What happened to him?” Adar asked, shouting to be heard over the downpour.
“Look, look, I’m sorry. I’ll just take him and we’ll go.” Neare placed a hand on Erro’s shoulder.
Erro struggled against Adar’s grasp while he shrugged off his father’s hands. His eyes went to Adar’s blade. “We can take him, two on one! This is for Gorew and Thon. We owe them that much.”
“What’s he talking about?” Adar asked, a chill sweeping over him that had nothing to do with the cold rainwater. Had these idiots crossed Jorad?
Neare tried to smile, but it looked more like he was baring his teeth. “Erro’s lost his mom and sister to the Hunwei, took them right up in their ship. We’re just trying to get them back. It’s too much for him to handle. Bleeding Melyah! I haven’t come to grips with it all myself. Please, just let him go, and you’ll never see us again.”
“That’s got nothing to do with what he did here.” Adar frowned. “I’m no Hunwei, and if I were, he’d be dead by now. You’re lucky that I recognized him. I about ran him through. Why does he keep going on about Gorew and Thon?”
“It was just a mis—”
“He killed them!” Erro snarled, interrupting Neare. He lunged for Adar, despite the fact that Adar’s sword was still at his neck. “Your Melyah cursed son shot Gorew with a blaster!”
Adar held onto Erro but lowered his sword. A small line of blood had formed on Erro’s neck during his last movement, the blade having just nicked the skin.
This kid is lucky twice over, Adar thought. How many more times is he going to try to throw his life away? Using one hand to keep the kid at bay, Adar used the other to sheath his sword.
Once it was put away, Erro tried to come after Adar again, but he grabbed the kid by the shoulders and pushed him back into Neare’s waiting arms. Neare latched onto Erro while he struggled.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Adar said. He almost added that he was sure Jorad had a reason
for the things he had done, but thought better of it. As much as he disliked Neare and Erro, he didn’t feel the need to hurt them. It was obvious that Erro wasn’t a skilled fighter, but he couldn’t so easily discount Neare’s abilities. There had to be some truth to the stories he’d heard about Neare.
Adar’s eyes moved to the ugly expensive weapon that hung at Neare’s side, he was loath to have things devolve into a fight. If I have one more distraction...
“You need to get Erro’s head straightened out,” Adar said. “We’re all on the same side now, and if you haven’t noticed, we’re losing badly. If this is to be mankind’s final hour, we shouldn’t waste our breath and energy fighting each other.” Adar paused. “I might have asked you to join me had we met under a different circumstance.”
Erro continued to struggle while an incredulous look appeared on the face of his father.
“If you can fix this,” Adar said. “I may still be open to it.”
Adar looked at Erro and took a step closer, knocking away Erro’s hands as he did. Did the kid still think that he had a shot of harming Adar or was he so daft not to know when he’d lost?
“Erro, you can continue to try to kill me if you want. If you do, I will kill you.” Neare’s lips tightened at the words, but he didn’t say anything. If it hadn't been for the rain, he might have been red in the face. “Or you and your father can help me fight the Hunwei. I know how to kill them, and I could use the help.”
When Adar stepped back, he suppressed a smile when he noticed Neare’s mouth hanging open. Adar couldn’t blame the man. The last time he’d spoken with Neare it had almost come to blows. It was a lucky thing that Ginne had gotten in the way.
If Adar could recruit these men, it wouldn’t be the first time that he had worked with people that would have preferred to kill him. Over time, he won them over. He always did. He thought of Tere and hid a scowl.
I can usually bring them around, he amended.
