The Warriors of Valishna (Cartharia Book 1)

by Spencer Reaves McCoy

  "Maybe you're too scared," Penny said, "Maybe you're the frightened one, Kenneth. Has that occurred to you? While you're with them, calling me a coward, it's really you that's afraid. You're afraid of doing anything that'll actually matter."

  "We're done," Kenneth said.

  "What?" Penny asked.

  "I'm done," Kenneth corrected, "I'm done with you, Pen. I want you out of my home."

  Penny stared at him. The words did 't seem to be making sense, "Excuse me?"

  "You're... you're nothing but a selfish brat," Kenneth said, "You're really nothing more than that. You care only for yourself. I thought... I thought everyone was wrong about you. I married you to protect you, and you don't even deserve that."

  "You can't leave me," Penny said, "We're married. The Gods blessed our union. We don't have a choice. We have to stay together."

  Kenneth suddenly took a step forward, grabbing Penny's hand.

  "What are you doing?" Penny demanded, "You're hurting me, Kenneth! Stop it!"

  Kenneth ignored her, pulling the two rings off her finger. "See this?" he said, holding up the engagement ring that had been in his family for six generations. Penny stared at him.

  "Our marriage," he said, turning towards the sea, "matters about as much as this does."

  Before Penny could do or say anything, he'd thrown the ring as far as he could, into the gently splashing waves.

  "There," he said, looking back to her, "I'll have the servants... I'll have them move your stuff to your brother's home. You can stay with him till you figure out what to do with your, you know, your life."

  "Don't do this," Penny said.

  Kenneth ignored her turning and walking away.

  "Fine!" Penny screamed at his back. She realized she was crying. She didn't know why she was crying. She didn't love him. She didn't even want this marriage. "Go then! I don't care, Kenneth! I don't care what you do! You're nothing! All of you are nothing!"

  When he didn't even look back, Penny sunk to her knees. As she stared out at the beachhead, she realized that Kenneth and his resistance weren't the only ones doing nothing we're their lives. As the realization hit her full-force, she began to sob.

  If Penny had realized it was the last time she'd see her husband alive, she might have tried to stop him. She might have said more, or said something different. She might have tried to make amends while she had the chance.

  Or she might have let him go anyway, and changed nothing at all.

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  I Have No Food for Thee

  MATILYN SIGHED AS SHE PREPARED TO HOLD a conference between all the officers of the camp. Sean was the only one who didn't look exhausted and disheartened. She noted his bright, energetic eyes and shook her head.

  "What are we going to do about Samuel Frien?" Stini asked the moment everyone had sat down.

  Matilyn shook her head, "I've given it a lot of thought. We're not. There's nothing for us to do other than send out scouting parties to hunt for him--"

  "--Which would be a waste of time and resources," Sean finished for her, nodding.

  Stini didn't look pleased, "He's one of the top officers in the Lamonte army though. It wouldn't be a waste of time to hunt him down; we need to make sure he's out of the picture. It'll help morale here, and we desperately need that."

  "We're not worried about him returning to battle," Sean said, "We don't expect Sullivan will be happy about Samuel deserting his men."

  Cori nodded, "Unless he was ordered to, in which case, he's most likely already under Sullivan's protection."

  "In which case, he was always under Sullivan's protection," Sean said.

  Stini frowned, "We can't just let him go free without knowing though. We should send out a few Charges to start searching Lamonte. Sooner or later, they'll come upon word of where he is or even the man himself. Perhaps he's too afraid to return to the castle, or maybe he's at another camp, awaiting orders."

  Matilyn shook her head, "We can't afford the men. We need the troops here for defense and we need to keep sending men to attack the troops closest to Sullivan. We have to get close to him. That's what'll win this war for us. We found a lot of information in one of the missives. I think we can go after Sullivan soon."

  "You were all ready to kill him before," Stini said, "Talking about how it would be a great military defeat, how it would undermine Sullivan and so on." He leaned forward to peer at Matilyn.

  Before she was able to argue, Cori spoke up, "Commander Malevus has explained the situation to you, Lieutenant Stini. It would be wise for you to take no for an answer."

  Sean gave Cori a slight smile. Cori nodded to him.

  Stini didn't look pleased, "It is your command, Commander. Although, you said you took the time to speak with him personally before he escaped. He is handsome..."

  The insinuation was too much and there was a general outcry from everyone gathered at the table. Sean actually stood up, glaring at Stini. Matilyn waved him back to his seat and raised her hands for silence, "Your thoughts on that matter are well appreciated, Lieutenant Stini, but trust me when I say that Commander Frien is not my type."

  There was a small amount of laughter there. Cori caught Matilyn's eye and smirked.

  "That aside," Matilyn continued, "We have every reason to believe Commander Frien will head back to Sullivan and tell him what happened."

  "I say, all the more reason to find and to kill him," Stini said.

  "No," Janice said with a shake of her head. Matilyn glanced at her. She'd nearly forgotten the archer was there; she'd been quiet nearly the entire time. "If I may speak, Commander?"

  Matilyn nodded, "Of course."

  Janice looked around, "Rather than using our extra troops to scour Lamonte--which is large enough that we'd most likely miss him--we should be using extra men to start setting up closer fortifications to the city. That is, if we're going to lay siege soon."

  "So you want to attack the city with Frien still alive," Stini said, 'You're a bigger idiot than Malevus is!"

  Matilyn turned to Stini, her eyes flashing angrily, "Lieutenant Stini, do I need to relieve you of your post?"

  "What?" Stini demanded, "You don't have the authority to do such a thing!"

  "I am your commanding officer!" Matilyn roared back, placing both hands on the table and standing angrily, "You will show some respect!"

  Stini didn't stand with Matilyn but he did lean forward aggressively, "So what? I'm supposed to just go along with this even though I think we should be spending our time elsewhere?"

  "Yes!" Matilyn said, "You are not the commanding officer here, Arthimur. Your responsibility is to lead your men, my responsibility is to lead you. I have heard your arguments and I have heard enough. You will follow the orders I give or you will suffer military repercussions. Have I made myself clear?"

  Everyone looked between Matilyn and Stini. The silence seemed to drag out indefinitely. Finally, Stini leaned back, lowering his eyes and bowing his head slightly.

  Matilyn let out a sigh of relief. She nodded her appreciation to Stini's backdown and then took her seat.

  "What are our upcoming battle plans?" Cori asked.

  Matilyn shook her head, "I took some time this morning to review reports. I think our best chance is to start sending men towards Sullivan's castle. We should move forward, as Janice said. We should start taking any large defenses first. Give ourselves a month to make sure."

  Matilyn glanced up at the sky, trying to calculate time. She shook her head and refocused, "We need to send a missive to the capitol, outlining our plans. We can march to the castle after their reply."

  Cori nodded.

  "I'm worried about space," Sean said. When Matilyn nodded for him to continue, he gestured around the camp, "We need to start moving immediately if we're going to get more reinforcements first. After our last arrival, we can't fit more men."

  Matilyn frowned.

  "If I may, Commander..." Stini said hesitantly. Matilyn looked back over at
him, considering. He'd sat back up in his chair and the red had finally faded from his face. She nodded for him to continue.

  "I realize we don't have many troops to spare," Stini said, "but if we can use an extra scouting charge, we could have them search out areas for us to move to. We send Lieutenants with the Charges that move and use scouts to keep up with orders."

  Matilyn nodded, "We'd need to find locations that are easy to move in and out of, and can be well-defended. We don't want to lose men because we're spreading ourselves too thin."

  Stini nodded, "Of course, Commander. I understand the concern but if we can find more basins, it'd work well. They're ideal for defending and there's less chance of someone stumbling upon them."

  "I'll leave it up to you to make sure a scouting charge is prepared and sent out to find areas," Matilyn said. He smiled widely and Matilyn let out an inner sigh of relief at his cooperation.

  She looked over at the tents and saw the converging of messengers. She let out a sigh, "We need to work together to make sure this is done quickly and efficiently. Lieutenant Cori, prepare a report to send back with the runners. Let Rafinnel know what our plans are. I don't know how he's been these last few months but we should heed his opinion."

  "Yes ma'am," Cori said.

  "Lieutenant Audern," Matilyn said, "Get Captain Heff to work with Lieutenant Stini on the scouting expedition. Stini, you can probably find men from his unit to use."

  Stini nodded.

  "Yes ma'am," Audern said. To Stini, he said, "I'll have him meet with you when he gets back in the morning. He's out on an expedition right now."

  Matilyn looked over at Sean, "I want you to go through the letters we found. See what you can find out about Samuel Frien. Ask around. Find out what makes him tick. If we run across him again, we want to be prepared."

  "I can tell you about him," Stini said hesitantly. The entire group shifted to look at him, waiting for another confrontation, "I know all about him."

  Matilyn stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Stini took a deep breath, "He killed my family, all of them. You might not know it from my accent, but like Lieutenant Cori, I'm from Lamonte. Well, actually, I was from Serjya; one of the first kingdoms that the Black King took for himself."

  "My wife and I didn't agree with his views," Stini said, "I told her to keep quiet, but she was so outspoken. Samuel was only a Captain then, but he was the one to kill them. He killed our children as well, to set an example. I was given the choice of death or military service. I said I would fight, but I deserted and joined Arinford. Samuel Frien is a monster, plain and simple. He lives for the Black King. He'll do anything to support him."

  Matilyn was horrified by the story. For a moment, she felt worse about Stini's family than she did about the death of her own father. "I'm sorry," she said.

  Stini nodded, "So am I. I'll join you, Sweeton. If that's alright."

  "Go now," Matilyn said with a nod. She couldn't stand another second of this meeting. "All of you. Dismissed."

  Later that evening, a woman named Georgia Has approached Matilyn, "Commander," she said, saluting. Matilyn returned the salute. "What can I do for you, Has?"

  Georgia hesitated, "I didn't want to interrupt your meeting or panic the others, but there's a problem in camp."

  "What's that?" Matilyn asked.

  "Supplies," Georgia said, "I'm in charge of making sure we have enough, but we don't. Not even close, and the troops bringing in the ones we needed--food, primarily, and some medicine--they were attacked. They barely made it out with their lives. Lamonte took everything else."

  Matilyn let out a sigh. "How bad is it?"

  "Bad," Georgia said. "I'd recommend food stipends until we figure something out."

  "That could send the men into a panic," Matilyn said.

  "I know, but we don't want to run out," Georgia said, "and we're damned close. I sent back a report with one of the runners asking for more, but it could take a month or more to arrive. We need a plan."

  "I'll think of something," Matilyn assured her. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

  Georgia nodded.

  Matilyn made her way to where Sean and Janice were standing. It looked as though they were arguing. Sean was clutching his amulet tightly in a hand, face pale. Matilyn watched them for a moment before clearing her throat and stepping up.

  Immediately, they fell silent. Then Janice said, "Commander," and lifted her hand in a salute.

  "We have a problem," Matilyn told them both. "Our last supply convoy didn't make it, and we're nearly out here. We need to think of something we can do to replenish."

  Sean winced, "Is it bad?"

  "It's bad," Matilyn said.

  Janice sighed, "If it's not one thing, it's another. What are you going to do?"

  "I said I'd figure it out," Matilyn told them, "But I honestly have no idea. We can hunt more, but..."

  "But Lamonte is poor rangeland," Janice filled in, "I know. There's not much to hunt here, not really."

  Matilyn nodded.

  "One of the things that Jones taught us," Sean said, "Was that we needed to pull from our surroundings. Good soldiers utilize their environment."

  "Janice just said we don't have much to work with here," Matilyn said. She felt a wave of exhaustion sweep through her. She hadn't been sleeping much, not since her father's death. Not since Cori. She'd found other ways to relieve her stress.

  "I'm not thinking of hunting," Sean said, "at least not like that. There are towns nearby. We should raid them."

  "Those are civilians," Matilyn said.

  "They're part of Lamonte," Sean told her, "I know it's not an easy thing to consider, but we should be putting more pressure on citizens anyway. We want them to stand up to Sullivan."

  "When they stand up, they're killed," Matilyn said, 'You heard what Stini said."

  Janice cleared her throat, "Those are only a few," she said, "Sean is right. We need a lot to stand up. He can butcher families but he can't start butchering entire cities. We need to make them more afraid of us than they are of him."

  "I don't like it," Matilyn said.

  Sean nodded, "I don't either," he admitted, "But if we need the supplies, it might be our only option."

  "We're going to need a good group for it," Matilyn said, "Nobody's going to want to take supplies away from villagers."

  "My squadron can do it," Janice said. "There's enough of us. You don't need a full Charge to raid a city."

  Matilyn nodded, "Alright," she said, "Talk to your men. Prepare them for what we're going to be doing."

  "Yes ma'am," Janice said.

  Matilyn glanced at Sean, "You're sure about this?"

  Sean nodded.

  "Alright," Matilyn said again. She sighed and ran a hand over her face, "I'll be putting together a plan in my tents. Find me once you've talked to your men, Janice."

  As the three of them operated, Matilyn couldn't help but think they were going down a path that they wouldn't be able to come back from.

  Matilyn followed Janice's lead when they entered the nearby village with her troops. They brought wagons with them, and horses to pull the wagons with. The plan was simple. They were going to load up the cart with whatever supplies they could find. Matilyn still didn't like it, but she'd come to accept the necessity of the venture.

  Upon seeing troops, people quickly rushed into their homes, taking their children with them. Matilyn saw faces peering out from windows though, curious and scared at once.

  Nobody tried to stop them as they made their way down to the market place of the town. Small shops quickly closed their doors, and people with carts of goods hunkered down, trying not to draw attention.

  Janice looked at Matilyn. Once she'd nodded, Janice turned to her troops, "Spread out," she commanded, "Take food and medicine only. Don't attack unless necessary. No liquor."

  The troops nodded, and quickly split up into teams. Matilyn watched the men approach shops and commandeer different sorts
of foods. There were large bushels of fruits, vegetables, and grains. They took fresh fish too, from one of the local carts. People cried out in protest, but everyone seemed too afraid to try and stop them.

  "Why?" One man demanded. He came up to Matilyn and Janice. "Why are your men stealing from us? What have we done?"

  "This is a war," Janice said, "You support the Black King, and we stand against him and everything he stands for. You brought this on yourself."

  "By trying to stay safe? By trying to keep our families alive?" The man said. He spat out at Janice's feet. "Arinford has no idea what it is like to live in Lamonte. Don't bring me your wartime platitudes."

  Janice said nothing to that.

  Matilyn looked around at the men. One of the shopkeepers had finally stood up to the team taking her fruits. One of the men was detaining her.

  "We can't afford this," the man said, switching tactics, "Please, show mercy. Our town is poor. We can barely survive as it is. Our children go hungry."

  Matilyn swallowed.

  "Our children go hungry," he repeated, "And now you take our food. Our children will starve to death. What should I tell them? That they should have stood up against their king? Their king who provides warmth and shelter and full bellies? They should have argued with the man who brought them hope?"

  Janice exchanged a look with Matilyn.

  "What will you tell yourself when our children have died in their beds?" the man asked. "Will you tell yourself it was necessary? That it's only war?"

  Matilyn couldn't look at the man. She felt her heart beating a little too fast in her chest. She thought of the faces she'd seen in the windows, staring outwards. She couldn't change what they were doing though; it was too late for that.

  "Please, I can tell you care," the man said, "Please, have mercy. Don't make our children starve. My son, he's only four years old. How will I tell him that he has no food tonight? How will I tell him that there's nothing to eat? You can't do this. It's wrong. It's wrong."

  "Go back to your shop," Janice said.

  "Please," The man said again. He fell to his knees in front of Matilyn, "I'm begging you. Do not rob our village."