Revolution (Cartharia Book 2)

by Spencer Reaves McCoy

Eldrin shook his head, "This isn't some game we're playing. It's not my job to entertain you, Penny."

  "I know that," Penny said, annoyed. "I never said it was. I want to learn, Eldrin. You're always talking about me learning.

  "I don't think it's a good idea." His voice was stoic, hard to read.

  "Why not?" Penny asked, resisting the urge to throw her hands in the air, "Is there something I'm missing, Eldrin? You're going to find some captured Arinford soldiers."

  "Yes," Eldrin said with a sigh, "There is. I might have to talk to the soldiers about it."

  "Why would they talk to you about it?" Penny asked, frowning, "Do you have an in with them? That would have been nice to know a long time ago--"

  "I might have to torture them," Eldrin said.

  "Oh," Penny said softly. She rocked back on her heels, considering this.

  "This is why I didn't want to say anything," Eldrin said, sighing.

  "Eldrin, you can't torture someone. It isn't right, even in war. I know there are things we have to do -- like the maiming of that man after his death -- but there have to be things that separate us from Lamonte." Penny thought of George and the manipulated animals, and people, and bit her tongue. It wasn't even true, what she was telling him.

  Eldrin shook his head, "Those men may have information that I need, and I'm not going to let my affiliation stop me from getting it."

  "But I've been trained to help people," Penny said, "So were you. We're priests."

  Eldrin laughed. "Well guess what? Priest or not, I'd rather torture them than have them torture me. And hell, it might end up like that still. But I'm not going to balk at something that has to be done. And neither should you. So stay or go, but I'll be doing this. You're not going to stop me."

  Before she could argue further, Eldrin had let himself out the door.

  Penny stood at the door, unmoving for a moment, before yanking it open and running after Eldrin.

  "You'll need this," he pulled the vest he was wearing open and took out one of his daggers from its sheathe and offered it to her.

  "You know those aren't my strong point," Penny said, fingering the blade. She slid it into her own belt, trying to decide what his expression was. She wanted to believe he was happy she'd decided to accompany him, but she could never be sure these days.

  Sometimes their time together before the war seemed so far away.

  Eldrin shrugged, "With any luck, you won't have to use it. But we can't have you carrying your staff around."

  "Right," she agreed, glancing around, "So where is it we're going, exactly?"

  "I know a back way around the soldiers' barracks, where they'd be keeping the prisoners. We'll go that way and try to find out what we can."

  Penny nodded.

  The two of them walked in silence for a moment before Penny asked, "So you don't have a real place here?"

  Eldrin shook his head, "Me and Matilyn's old place, but it's kind of falling apart."

  "That's why I said real," Penny said.

  "I don't like being attached," Eldrin said.

  "What? What do you mean?" Penny frowned at Eldrin. "Why wouldn't you get attached? It's just a place, just for yourself."

  "I'm not planning to stay," Eldrin said, "I have places to go, Penny. Things to do in the war."

  Penny felt a sense of disappointment well up in her. She'd thought he was dead for so long, that she'd lost him forever. Now she'd gotten used to his company again, whether she liked his new personality that much or not. She forced herself to bite back that feeling. "So what? You'll rejoin the Guard? Will they take you?"

  "I don't know yet," he admitted, "I think about it sometimes, yes, but I'm not sure how I would fit back in. There are other things I would like to pursue in regards to Lamonte though... some of it depending on what we find out here."

  Penny bit her lip in thought, "So when are you leaving?"

  Eldrin looked at her expression and nearly laughed, "Penny, I'm not going to run off and abandon the resistance before we finish what we started. You don't have to worry."

  "Maybe," Penny said truly, "I'm not worried about that. Maybe I'm worried about losing a friend."

  Rolling his eyes, Eldrin shook his head, "Oh come on. We're partners here, Penny. Friends go for long walks on the beach, talking, not sneaking around Lamonte soldiers and planning ways to torture people."

  Penny closed her mouth, stung.

  Eldrin glanced over at her when she didn't say anything back and frowned, "Penny, I didn't mean to bring up the torturing again. We won't do it unless it's necessary. You have my word."

  "It's fine," Penny growled. She sped up and Eldrin had to hurry to keep up with her.

  The two of them were silent until they got close to the buildings. Then Eldrin put a hand on her shoulder to pause her. When she looked over at him, he put a finger to his lips.

  "You have to promise to do exactly as I say," Eldrin told her in a whisper, "I let you come along but this is dangerous. If we get caught, we are going to be the ones tortured. They will do things to you that you can't imagine, until you're spitting out every name you know in an effort to get them to stop."

  "I would never do that--"

  Eldrin cut off her offended tone swiftly, "You don't know what you would do unless you've been tortured, Penny. Now agree, or I'm sending you home."

  "You can't send me home," Penny said in a low, angry tone.

  "Agree," Eldrin repeated, ignoring her anger.

  "Fine. I'll do whatever you say," Penny said, in a half-sarcastic tone. Eldrin ignored that as well, nodding.

  He led the way without further comments, moving silently. Penny watched how his feet nearly glided on the ground hardly making any sound at all. She tried to imitate it but couldn't quite match him.

  At the first building, Eldrin motioned for her to stand back a few yards and crouch in the grass. Once she had done so, he made his way up to the building and pressed himself against the side. He shimmied around the wall, and then came back.

  "There's nobody in front of them," he said in a low voice, "They're probably with the others, cleaning up the mess those fires made. We need to check the other buildings but there will be soldiers in those, and we need to be careful."

  Penny nodded, eyes wide with anticipation. The two moved back to the building together. Penny followed Eldrin's example and pressed herself against the building tightly. She let her eyes glide over and into the window. She could only see opposite of herself. She knew Eldrin was checking inside.

  "I don't see anything," Penny mouthed over. From what she could tell, the building was one large room. Her perspective showed a few chairs and a deck of playing cards. There was also some glass bottles scattered around the floor that she assumed held alcohol.

  Eldrin glared over at her and shoved a finger to his lips. Penny rolled her eyes.

  After a moment, Eldrin dropped down and scooted underneath the window and met up with Penny. He gave her side a glanced and then grabbed her arm, yanking her back.

  "Ouch," Penny muttered, jerking her arm loose.

  "Shh," Eldrin said, "They're inside."

  "I didn't see anyone," Penny said in a whisper.

  Eldrin nodded, "They were on the side you were standing on, so impossible for you to see. But there are two people in there; a man and a woman. They're tied to chairs and one of them is sleeping."

  "No soldiers?"

  "Nope," Eldrin said, glancing back at the window momentarily, "Which means our coast is clear. For now. We don't have that long though. Chances are the the soldiers left to go grab them some food or drinks and they're on the way back."

  Penny nodded, "So what now?"

  Eldrin pulled his vest open again and fished around in one of his pockets. After a moment, he came out with a small pick.

  "What is that?" Penny asked.

  "Watch," Eldrin told her. He slid up to the window and quickly used the pick in the lock. It took less than moment before it popped open. He looked back to se
e Penny watching him, surprised, "What?"

  "I remember you doing that when were kids," Penny said with a small smile, "You would use it to break into my father's warehouses so we could have a secret place to hang out."

  Eldrin shook his head, turning away from her and opening the window. He waved her over and then shimmied inside.

  Penny hurried to follow, pulling herself up and through the window. She winced, feeling a splinter slide into her palm. She ignored it and quickly looked at the prisoners. Like Eldrin said, there were two of them, a man and a woman. Both of them were awake now and wide-eyed at their arrival.

  "We're not here to hurt you," Eldrin said. He glanced at Penny, "Put a chair in front of the door. Shove it under the knob."

  "Sure," Penny said weakly, hurrying to follow his order. She took one of the spare chairs and put it under the knob, glancing back at the two as she did so. Both of them were in horrible condition: they were covered in lacerations and bruises. The man had a broken nose, and the woman had a swollen jaw and two black eyes. Both of them were in tattered, dirty furs and hides with no weaponry to speak of.

  Eldrin went to the woman first, taking the gag out of her mouth. Penny went over to the man, freeing his mouth as well. Both of them breathed in deeply. The woman coughed a few times.

  "It's okay," Penny said, "We're here to help you. We came to rescue you."

  "Rescue us?" the woman asked. Her voice was scratchy and hoarse. Despite this, there was something overwhelmingly familiar about her. It was difficult to tell much through her injuries -- Penny wasn't sure she'd be able to recognize her own mother in this state. Not with the large, purple, blue, and black bruises still in their prime.

  Eldrin, meanwhile, took a long look at the man's neck.

  "What are you doing?" he asked.

  Eldrin ignored him.

  "Who are you?"

  "It doesn't matter," Eldrin said, shaking his head and stepping back, "I know who you are. Sean."

  Penny's eyes widened and she turned to look at the man again. She had known Sean, albeit not well, and had not recognized him at all. With the beard, the overgrown hair, the dirt, the bruises, the scratches, he looked nothing at all like the boy she'd known.

  Sean nodded. He looked over at Penny. He looked surprised to see her, though there was obvious recognition. Then his eyes turned back to Eldrin. "That's right. Are you Lamonte now? Both of you?"

  Penny stepped forward and shook her head, "No, he's not. Neither am I. This is--"

  Eldrin slammed a hand over Penny's mouth, "Don't give them my name."

  "Why?" Penny asked, once he'd removed his hand.

  "Because he's going to leave us," the woman said. She stared determinedly at the ground.

  Eldrin ran a hand through his hair. When he spoke, Penny thought he almost sounded ashamed. "Janice. Please don't be like that. We can't take you with us right now. We're doing something here in Valishna, and we can't risk them finding out before that happens. You're both high profile prisoners -- if we took you with us right now, they'd know we weren't just some trouble making kids."

  "Then why are you here?" Sean asked. There was nothing accusatory about the question. He sounded genuinely curious.

  "I need to know what happened to you," he said, squatting in front of Sean, "I need to know how you got here."

  Janice frowned at him, "If you aren't going to help us, why should we tell you?"

  Penny watched this exchange, her arms folded over her chest. She looked between Eldrin and the other two, uncertain. Eldrin shot her a look, which was quite obvious: stay silent. She frowned at him but consented with a jerk of her head. She'd promised to follow his lead after all.

  "When we finish what we're doing, we're going to come back for you," Eldrin promised. He put a hand on each of their soldiers and squeezed. Penny stared at him, trying to discern his thoughts.

  Sean seemed to suddenly understand something. He stared at Eldrin, his expression changing rapidly. It went from confusion, to anger, to hurt, to understanding, and he finally nodded. "What do you want to know?"

  "How'd you get here?" Eldrin asked, "I thought the two of you were killed."

  "We almost were," Janice supplied, her voice as angry as ever, "We had to break out of the Lamonte prison we were being held at."

  "How'd you get there?"

  This time, Sean answered. "We ran into troops that we're too large for us to handle. They left some of us alive. We don't know why. Some sort of publicity stunt, I imagine."

  Eldrin nodded, "So you broke out and were recaptured?"

  Janice nodded, "We made it through the mountains somehow. We were lost. Probably why we ran into a party of Lamonte soldiers. They didn't feel like killing us, so here we are."

  "I'm sorry," Eldrin said after a moment, "and I'm sorry I have to leave you here. I need to know though; were there others that escaped? Are there others in the other buildings?"

  Sean shook his head, a knowing expression ons his face. Penny didn't quite understand it. "We were the only ones that escaped Sullivan and his castle."

  Eldrin sunk back, a desolate expression on his face. He sat there for a moment, staring through Sean.

  "Eld-- Craig?" Penny asked after a moment.

  He shook his head and looked up at her, "No names."

  To her surprise, his eyes were filled with surpassed tears. Since she'd met him again, as Craig, he had hardly shown emotion and had never come across as sad. She felt out o her league with the situation and had no idea what to say.

  "I'm sorry," Sean spoke up again, "But is there anything else? If you two aren't help us, you need to get out. The soldiers should be back within the hour and sometimes they're early. They'll hurt her if..."

  Janice made an unmistakable sound of fear in her throat.

  "We can't leave them," Penny said, kneeling beside Eldrin. "We know them. We know Janice."

  Eldrin stood, ignoring Penny. He approached Janice first and embraced her gently. She winced beneath it, but lowered her forehead gently to his shoulder anyway. "I don't know you or why you'd help us," she said, "but please come back."

  "I will," Eldrin said, "I promise.

  "Leave the gag out?" Janice asked, "Well them that we spit them out. It happens often enough and it doesn't really bother them unless we're yelling."

  Eldrin nodded.

  He went to Sean next and hugged him too. "We'll be back for you, Sean. I promise."

  Sean merely nodded.

  Penny spoke up again, louder, "We can't leave them."

  "You have to," Sean said, "He's right. You have to get away from her now and come back once you've done what you need to do."

  "But it's wrong," Penny said, her eyes moving back down to Janice and her bruised body.

  "Get out," Janice said. Penny had to look away from her.

  Eldrin nodded and paced over to the door. He yanked the chair from it and then put it back to it's original position. "You first," he said to Penny.

  "I'm sorry," Penny said moving to the window. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. She hurried out and then sunk into the grass.

  Eldrin came next, pulling himself out the window.

  From the inside, Sean's voice floated out. "Don't forget, Craig."

  Penny looked up in time to see the shocked and frightened look on Eldrin's face before he slammed the window shut behind him.

  Eldrin walked quickly, his hands shoved into his pockets. Penny had to hurry to keep up with him.

  "Eldrin!" she said sharply. When he ignored her, she grabbed his arm, yanking him to a stop.

  "What?" he demanded, spinning around to face her. He kept seeing Janice and Sean's faces over and over in his head. He'd never been so disgusted with himself.

  "You took me there on the promise that we were going to rescue them," Penny said, "and then you made us leave them there, which was your plan all along, and then you freak out, and you question them and... why?"

  "I needed information," Eldrin said.

/>   Penny shook her head, "You barely asked anything at all."

  Eldrin ignored this. He thought about Janice, being beat. About Sean, being beat.

  "Eldrin." Penny said.

  "I wanted to find out what happened to the rest of their division. The ones they were serving with," Eldrin admitted in a low tone. "I was hoping they might know."

  Penny's eyes widened in sudden understanding, "You wanted to know if Matilyn had gotten out too."

  Eldrin looked away.

  "Why didn't you tell me that?" Penny asked, her shoulders slumping, "Gods, Eldrin. I miss her too."

  "It wasn't your business," Eldrin said. He heard the defensiveness of his tone. He knew he was using that empty voice that she hated but he couldn't help himself. He'd been hoping... ever since he heard they were captured... and now that hope was gone. Dashed.

  It felt like he was losing Matilyn all over again.

  Penny balled her hands up into fists, feeling the anger spark and rise in her again. She glared at Eldrin for a long moment, "You're an idiot. Friends help each other. Friends care more about things like this than "hanging out" or "walking the beach." Friends don't lie to each other, or use each other."

  "Penny," Eldrin said plaintively. It had just occurred to him why she was so angry. He felt like an idiot now too. She was already storming away.

  "Stop," he said, walking backwards in front of her, "Penny, I'm sorry. I don't think before I speak, sometimes. You know that. I didn't realize it was bothering you."

  "It's not bothering me!" Penny snapped.

  "What happened to friends not lying to each other?" Eldrin asked with a lofted brow. His lips twitched up into a slight grin. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he couldn't help himself.

  Penny hesitated a moment and then slowed down so they could walk together. "It's just... in this city right now, it's so hard to be open and honest with anyone. You don't know who your friends are. We were close once."

  Eldrin nodded, "I know. Listen, I'm not that person anymore. I'm not. I'm not the sort of person who grows close to people. It's like the same thing with a home; I don't want to get attached. I don't want it be harder when I leave."

  "Right," Penny said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.