The Tiger (Chronicles of An Imperial Legionary Officer Book 2)
Page 26
The general was surprised to see alarm on his old friend’s face. Something was wrong. The colonel held out a dispatch that had already been opened.
“General Triem, this just in from command,” Aetius said, handing it over. Aetius was a veteran and the general wondered with dread what could have shaken him so. He immediately began reading. After a moment, he looked up at the colonel and then continued reading. He could not believe the contents.
“Defeated?” Treim asked aghast, looking up at Aetius for confirmation.
“Hard to believe,” the colonel nodded gravely. “Impossible to fathom.”
Treim turned away from the colonel. The realization that his dreams of retirement were once again only dreams crashed home. Crumpling the dispatch in his fist, he held it for a moment before dropping it. The discarded missive landed among the ashes at his feet. Treim was silent for a time as he looked out across the ruined city. Julia, his wife, not to mention his children, would have to wait. So would his Ovation and triumphant return to Mal’Zeel.
He turned back to the colonel, face hardened with resolve.
“Prepare the 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 14th legions to march,” General Treim ordered. It was late afternoon, too late in the day to begin a route march. The men would need a good night’s rest. “We will begin moving at first light. The 31st and 32nd along with our allies, will remain to clean up and to follow when practical. Send for my senior officers. I expect their attendance in three hours’ time.”
“Yes, sir,” the colonel said, saluted and left to carry out his orders.
Treim turned back to look out at the once grand and now ruined city, destined to become a footnote in the histories. A light snow had begun to fall and mix with the smoke. He had broken the Rivan army in the fall. To keep them from recovering over the winter, he had gone against the recommendation of his officers and advisors and conducted a rare winter offensive. The drive had been difficult and costly, but it had all paid off handsomely.
His men were looking forward to spending their back pay and bonuses. They deserved a long rest. However, due to the incompetence of General Kromen, they would be denied their just reward. In a few hours’ time, nearly seventeen thousand men from four crack legions would be highly pissed off with him at having to march, in the dead of winter, without an opportunity to savor the fruits of their hard-fought victory. But there was simply no other choice. No time could be lost. The empire was in deep peril and would soon need every sword available to battle the might of the Cyphan Confederacy.
For a moment he thought on Captain Stiger, the young officer he had taken under his wing when no one else would. Stiger’s father and he had served together as lieutenants and become close friends. In later years, they had faced each other on the field of battle and yet when the dust had settled, their friendship still ran deep.
To the disgust of many, when Marcus Stiger had begged a favor, Treim had granted it. The general was not sorry he had taken the young Stiger on, as Ben had rapidly become one of his finest junior officers. Having come to view Ben as his protégé, he now regretted having sent him south. It had been a mistake. It was not the first he had ever made and surely would not be his last.
Treim bent down and retrieved the dispatch amidst the ashes. He opened the crumpled paper and once again reread it. It would be a long, hard march south. He wondered if Ben Stiger had managed to survive the calamity that had befallen the southern legions. Or were his bones rotting on some distant battlefield?
Shaking his head, he turned away from the view and walked into the palace, his mind now fixed on the campaign to come.
End of Book Two
About the Author
Marc Edelheit was born in New York State. After graduating from college with a Masters in Education as a Reading and Writing Specialist, Marc became a teacher and ultimately a middle school administrator. He is currently an executive in the healthcare industry, staying up late at night to work on his novels. Marc is also the host of a successful (free) history podcast 2CentHistory.
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Marc Alan Edelheit
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Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer
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The Tiger’s Curse
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