by T. C. Edge
"We're not sure yet. Likely a few dozen," says Burns. "We will see them gathered up and buried. They may not have been respected in life, but we will make sure they are in death."
My eyes show thanks as I look at the Defence Secretary. Perses, still detached from the group, dips his eyes as he listens from afar.
"And your mission?" Hendricks joins in. His eyes work to Maximus, moving towards one of the vehicles that brought us out there a little while ago, ready to place Jude inside. "You were gone for two days to fetch one young man?"
"It's...complicated, Commander Hendricks," says Kira, refusing to look at me. "Our mission was the boy and it has been successfully completed. There's not much more to say right now."
"Not out here, anyway," says Burns. "The departure of the Olympian army has changed everything. We must return to the city and inform the President. Your husband-to-be must hear of this too. We may need the support of Neorome even more than ever now."
Kira nods. "Ah, so Adryan told you of my upcoming nuptials, did he?" she asks.
"No, it was the Emperor himself who told us the news," says Burns. "Congratulations, Kira."
The rest take a short moment to do the same, smiling, dipping their heads into congratulatory nods as is expected when hearing such news. Ares, of course, appears most sincere in his felicitations.
The moment of levity lasts only a few seconds, before Kira turns her mind back to the task. "Perhaps, now that we're on the offensive, we'll be more likely to secure the support we need from Neorome," she suggests. She turns her eyes to Ares, seeking his valued opinion on the matter.
The mighty Neoroman nods pensively. "It's certainly possible, now that the odds have changed," he says. "Sending troops to protect a city under siege is very different to sending them to take part in a more offensive strategy. If we are to march north, we will require reinforcements. This threat is one we must all face together. It is my hope that the council will realise this."
I listen, not quite understanding everything that's going on. By the sounds of it, Neorome have only offered limited support, and seemingly begrudgingly at that. And, while I knew that Kira was in a relationship with the new Neoroman Emperor, Domitian, I had no idea they were set to be married.
I purse my lips at the thought, putting Kira in a whole new light.
A warrior Empress, huh? Now that really is something...
The gathering concludes its impromptu meeting, Burns reiterating that matters will be pursued further back in the city. Ares and Hendricks move off, setting about leading their troops in the collection and burial of the dead. I see Perses move up to Ares to offer his support.
"They are my people," I hear him say, his manner apologetic and ashamed. "I would like to help bury them, if you'll allow."
Ares nods and sets his hand to Perses's shoulder, the two men standing at almost exactly the same, towering height. "Of course, Perses," he says to him. Then he looks up in the direction of Secretary Burns. "Perses will remain out here with me. I'll see him delivered back to the city in good time."
It's so strange to see him like this, this great leader reduced to someone to be chaperoned and watched over, working among the regular soldiers as he collects the charred remains of the dead for burial. I continue to glance back at him as I move off with Burns and Kira, heading towards the vehicles that will take us back to the city.
What a humble man he is, I think.
Returning to the jeeps, I find Jude laid down in the back, still unconscious and breathing smoothly. I hop in next to him, moving his legs out of the way to sit down, as Burns takes the front seat. Kira chooses not to join the small convoy at all. Instead, she merely speeds off towards the city at a great gallop, with Commander Maximus by her side, the two evidently eager to speak with the Emperor about what has transpired.
I sit back, letting out a breath as our driver starts the engine, and we begin moving back towards the city. My fingers work through Jude's tousled hair, my eyes unable to detach themselves from his face. I am...so very lucky, I know. To have him back. To be alive.
"How's he doing, Amber?" asks Burns from the front seat. "No injuries I hope?"
"He's fine," I say, still checking him over. "Just unconscious."
"Well, we'll have him fully checked in the City Guard infirmary when we get back," says Burns. "Just to be sure."
"The City Guard infirmary?" I ask. "He won't be taken to the Oasis?"
"There seems little need now," Burns tells me. "The Oasis will begin to empty over the coming hours and days, as soon as we feel safe enough for the people to return to the surface." He turns back to look at me. "Don't worry, you can go with him right now, stay by his side until he wakes."
I smile gratefully, looking again at Jude's sleeping face. "Thank you," I whisper. "I'd...like that."
"We'll probably move Elian to the surface as well," Burns goes on. "I'll visit with him myself when I get a chance. His indoctrinations clearly run deep, so it would be best to keep him secure, and under guard, for the time being."
I nod, understanding. My fingers once again move towards my neck, the awful memory resurfacing.
"What...what do you think will happen now?" I ponder, turning my eyes out of the window, looking away beyond the city, to the vast lands we passed through to get here. It took weeks to complete that journey. Now, it seems, I might be going right back.
"As I say, Elian will be monitored. I'll spend some time with him, and you'll be able to..."
"No, I don't mean Elian," I say. "I mean...everything else. Do you really think you'll head north right away? You'll bring war to my own lands?"
He turns back again, clearly noting the concern in my voice. He regards me for a moment, and with some measure of sympathy. "I don't yet know what will happen, Amber," he says. "It will need to be decided within our council. But...yes, I suspect we will not delay. To do so would lose us the initiative. And there's Brie...we must get her back, as soon as we can."
I sit back, thinking of my people. Of my family, my new friends. Burns continues to look at me. He knows my thoughts.
"We will help protect your loved ones, Amber, don't worry," he says. "Our war is with the Prime, not the people of the Fringe. We will aim to liberate them. None will come to harm at our hands."
"And the rest?" I ask. "The good people of Olympus? The ones who only want peace?"
He narrows his eyes on me, and lowers his voice. "We will not do as Herald Kovas planned. We will not harm civilians if we can avoid it. In that, you have my word."
I don't offer any further query, turning my eyes away. I know that many more will die before all this comes to an end, but that is the expectation, the possible price, all soldiers have to bear.
I just wonder, are my days of fighting done? Has my career as Herald, as Fire-Blood warrior, seen itself cut short?
Could I fight against my own people? Could I fight Krun, or Hestia, were I to meet them in battle? I shake my head internally, knowing I've got some soul searching to do.
And knowing, too, that there's at least one person I'd gladly kill.
Probably the same as everyone else.
Oh, Kovas has a target on his head now. The question is, who's going to get to him first?
123
It seems that the city is already undergoing a bit of a change as we arrive at the core.
Coming from the southern reaches, I see a relatively large influx of soldiers and other civilians beginning to appear, evidently brought from the Oasis to lend their aid in planning the next stage of the war. While the function of the soldiers is obvious, I imagine that the civilians will be those with some important expertise or duty that makes them eligible to leave the Oasis immediately.
It's a fairly quick shift, whatever the weather. Clearly, word has spread quickly enough of exactly what is happening, the Havenites, as a collective, not seeming to be a people to dither or delay in any forward steps that need to be taken.
I find my eyes looking around the centr
e of the city with a note of irony. It was here, only days ago, that I stood in the dim light of pre-dawn along with a host of others, to find that the city had been abandoned. I can't help but smile at that particular memory. It gives me some joy to remember how angry Kovas was at being outwitted and outthought.
The smile, however, flees as soon as I think about Ralph, and the other poor Fringers burned to death in those carriages. It was Kovas's wrath, I know, that killed them. A cruel detachment to their worth that saw him order their deaths, surplus to requirements as they'd become now that the army has been so severely weakened and depleted.
I hope that Lady Dianna had something to say about that, I think, turning mournful for a moment. And...the Overseer. Why would he allow such a thing? Or have I been wrong about him all along as well?
We pass by the cenotaph at the city's heart, moving quickly towards what I assume to be the City Guard Headquarters. Outside, a number of soldiers stand on duty, one in particular awaiting us with an upright posture and keen eyes.
Well, eye, I think. He only seems to have the one.
The car comes to a stop outside, and Burns steps out, greeting the one-eyed man with a firm handshake. I follow, as a hulking figure steps forward from the side, opens the door, and draws Jude out into his arms. I look up into his enormous face, frowning. Something in me faintly recognises him.
"Ah yes," says Burns, stepping over, joined by his one-eyed companion. "This is Captain Titus, Amber. He was the one on protective duty when Elian, well...when he reacted to what you told him yesterday."
I look up at the Titan, one of the larger ones I've seen. "Thank you, Captain Titus," I say. "You saved my life."
"Just doing my duty, Miss," he says, nodding his great, domed head down at me. "I should have got there sooner. I apologise." His eyes take in the red markings around my neck. I instinctively attempt to reposition my hair to cover them.
"Well, I thank you all the same. Without your intervention I might not be here."
I see the one-eyed man frowning as he observes the interaction. "Something I should know about, Titus?" he asks.
"Oh, a little altercation between the Olympians," says Burns, speaking for the soldier. "Nothing to worry about, Deputy." He turns to me again, making the introductions. "This is Deputy Commander Rycard Winchester," he tells me, opening his hand out to the man. He holds a striking image, not only for the patch over his right eye, but the intensity of his left. He's very clearly a Farsight, or what they would call Hawk over here.
"My pleasure," says Rycard, reaching out a hand to take mine. "I don't have to be told your name. The presence of you and your fellow Olympians is something of a talking point among the men."
"Understandable," I say. "Nice to meet you, Deputy Commander Winchester."
"Rycard is a good friend of Brie's," Burns informs me. "He has a history with the Nameless, like she does, and some sympathy, I would imagine, for your own plight."
Rycard nods as his left eye scans me. "The Secretary is right," he confirms. "Many of us here know that not all allegiances are quite as clear-cut as they might appear. We have heard your story, Amber, and am glad to have you with us."
"Thank you, Deputy."
"Should I..." We look to Titus, holding Jude quite easily in his huge arms.
"Ah yes, of course," says Burns. "Take him to the infirmary for a quick check over, Captain. Amber, you can go with him. I'll fetch you when you're next needed."
I nod, moving off after Titus as he hauls Jude through the main doors of the City Guard HQ, heading through the foyer and towards a set of stairs at the rear. I turn my eyes around, looking as I go. It's a growing hive of activity, soldiers rushing here and there, technicians and engineers and medical officers also returning to their duties from the hidden sanctuary down below.
"This way, hurry up now," booms Titus as I slow, gazing around the building. It's impressive, if functional. There's little of the beauty of Olympus here, everything designed in straight lines and simple shapes. Built by the Savants, the aesthetic quality of the building was never one that was deemed particularly important.
I follow the Titan, or Brute as they call them, down the steps and into a subterranean section of the building evidently used as a hospital of sorts. Titus gives me a brief run down of things as he goes, explaining a few of the eminent guests who have spent time here in the recent past.
"This place saw a lot of action during the war with the Cure," he says, stamping forward at a pace I need to jog to keep up with. "Brie was here, you know. You know about Brie?"
"I...yeah, some."
"She spent a bit of time here in recovery after her brother...well, he died. Very sad story."
"Yes. I...heard about that."
He turns back to me, nodding. "Right. I guess it's hard not to hear Brie's story around here, even if you're an enemy prisoner." I sense that he's a friend of hers too, the way his eyes turn slightly distant as he speaks of her.
He turns around again and carries right on. "Deputy Rycard was treated here too," he continues. "Though, he wasn't Deputy Commander then. He started as a normal Hawk, then defected to the Nameless in the civil war. Now he's back full circle. Probably why he can relate to you, I guess. Good man. Good leader. Lost a leg as well as an eye..."
"He...what?"
"In the war," Titus says. "Lost his eye. Part of the reason he lost faith in the leadership and defected to the Nameless. Then lost his leg fighting the Cure. Still walks fine with that bionic one, but doesn't fight on active duty anymore."
We continue onwards down a corridor, little private rooms on either side. It's empty, aside from a few nurses and doctors just arriving, setting the place back into order after spending the last few days in the Oasis.
"All right, this one will do," says Titus, opening the door to one of the rooms, and laying Jude down on a bed inside. "You stay here. I'll fetch a medic."
He moves back towards the door as I settle in by Jude's side, pulling up a chair from the edge of the room. Titus stops in the doorway and turns. He looks at me with a frown. "I er...I hear Brie was captured during the battle on the plains," he says. "Is that true?"
I nod up towards him. "I'm afraid so, yes."
"Afraid nothing," he returns, pulling in a full breath of air, inflating his gigantic lungs and chest. "It's your lot who should be afraid. They have no idea what they're in for with her."
I smile at him, though find myself doubting his words. You don't know the Overseer, I want to say. You don't know the Prime.
I don't say anything, however, as he draws a resolute expression and marches off, leaving me alone with Jude. I settle in by his side, preparing to begin my vigil. It takes only moments before the door is swinging again, and Titus the Titan - which has a rather nice ring to it - comes stamping in with the company of a medic. As he directs the young woman to Jude's side, and I'm shooed away to give her space to work, I find myself compelled to tell Titus of my revelation about his name.
"Do you know what we call Brutes where I come from?" I ask him, my tone light and friendly.
He turns as he's about to leave. "This sounds like the beginning of a joke of some sort," he frowns, skeptically.
I laugh. "No joke. Just an observation."
"Well, in that case, no, I don't."
"Titans," I say. "How about that!"
He purses his lips, nodding to himself. "Titans. Hmmm, not bad."
"So you're Titus the Titan," I say, explaining in case he hasn't quite figured it out. "That's pretty cool, right?"
"I...I suppose it is. Though," he adds, "I'm not sure it's something I'm going to want people calling me. Doesn't have the best connotation, given that your lot are the enemy. So, try not to call me that if you see me again," he says.
"I'll do my best," I tell him, though with a little smirk that suggests otherwise. "But if we were in private..."
He shakes his head. His jovial spirit seems to suddenly draw away, sucked like air from a vacuum. "I lost ple
nty of soldiers out there the other day, Amber. Now, perhaps, isn't the best time to joke."
"I..." I begin, feeling a little foolish. "I'm sorry. You're right."
"It's OK. You're just trying to fit in, and that's a good thing. Just remember to be tactful. Not all the soldiers are as easygoing as I am. Some won't be quite so happy about your presence here."
I glance towards the nurse, working to check Jude over. There's something about her expression that suggests she's one of the sorts that Titus is talking about. Someone who has lost a loved one or a friend, perhaps. Someone who might not warm to me as easily as I seem to think they should.
Titus leaves with that, though does so with a comforting smile. I like to think that, as soon as someone actually gets to know me a bit, they'll realise that I'm not someone to be distrusted, not the Fire-Blood Herald who was intending on burning the entire city, and all it's people, to the ground.
If only they knew what I'd been through, they'd be quicker to understand.
I'm left there for a few awkward minutes as the nurse completes her checks on Jude, telling me that he's just fine, and will likely wake shortly. I ask her just why he's unconscious and she shrugs, slightly annoyed by the question, and says it could be a range of things. Then she marches off at speed, ready to leave us alone, before stopping, much as Titus did, before moving through the door.
"Those marks on your neck?" she asks. "How were they caused?"
I shrug. "Strangulation," I mutter.
"I see." She steps forward, adopting a more appropriate bedside manner. Something infuses her, some sort of softness, as she moves towards a cabinet, opens it with a key, and draws out a couple of pills. She hands them to me. "You look like you're in discomfort. Take these for the pain."
"I...I took some painkillers earlier," I say.
"How long ago?"
