Just have to get them there alive.
CHAPTER 35
Hamath looked down at me. He held a finger over his lips, signaling for quiet.
I bit back a sob of relief.
He let go of my mouth, then slowly pushed the D’engiti off me.
The relief of the weight brought a new wave of hurt. I bit my lip to silence the groan wanting to come forth.
Hamath leaned in. His mouth was so close to my ear that I felt the brush of his lips against it.
“Geneshans are crawling around everywhere so I need you to keep it together. Understand?”
A part of me wanted to tell him to leave me to die, or kill me himself to save me the pain and let him get out alive. But the other part of me wanted to live.
I nodded.
“It’s going to hurt a lot to move you. I’ll do all the work, but I need you to stay quiet.”
I nodded again.
He worked his hand under my back, then began to count.
I knew the pain would come on three. What I didn’t know was how much there’d be.
It wasn’t difficult for me to stay quiet. Passing out made it easy.
* * *
No matter how tough you are, something will break you. The pain, the situation, the nearness to death. It broke me that day. The healing in the infirmary broke me further. It was the first time our healers ever had to push themselves to heal someone with a resistance to sorcery. Previously, the army would just let the person with a resistance die. However, Balak said I was too important. He made the healers figure it out.
Maybe that’s why I never completely hated Balak.
Two healers died in the process, taxing themselves past their limit while trying to figure out how to treat my injuries. They had to rebreak my legs in order to get it right after the second failed healing. The third healer finally put the pieces together, making me whole, physically at least.
He didn’t die, and I recovered. That’s as good of a success as I could have hoped for.
Hamath was there through it all. He saved me, carried my unconscious body miles back to the rest of my unit, slogging through the latrine himself. He never left my side while I was stuck in the infirmary either, even after Balak ordered him otherwise. Only Ava had also been that diligent during my recovery.
It’s hard to forget that kind of dedication and sacrifice. Maybe that was why I never saw the signs that Hamath could be capable of the things he did after we were discharged. How could someone sacrifice so much for one person, yet be cruel and heartless to so many others?
It’s hard not to want someone who had risked everything for you to be your friend. And it’s harder still not to want that to ever change.
* * *
My thoughts were starting to clear from not only the nightmare, but also from my waking insight about my relationship with Hamath.
I managed to get to my feet.
It was night out, and based on the fact that everyone in Dekar’s unit still slept, I assumed I had dreamed silently for a change. Considering the phantom pains in my legs, the slight shaking of my hands, and the clenching of my stomach, I was especially glad.
I bent down and picked up a skin of water that I drank generously from. The liquid and cool air gave me a shiver that didn’t want to go away. I didn’t care, as the cold helped wake my mind further and push aside my thoughts from the infirmary.
The shivering would also hide the tremors in my hands.
I could almost hear Dekar prodding me further to talk about the dreams. The prodding would be far worse if he knew the extent of suffering I endured from those dreams. I could almost feel the slap of Ava’s hand for being so stubborn.
I missed her.
Thankfully, a sharp hiss caught my attention, saving me from enjoying another depressing ride through my mind.
The hiss came from Etan who walked toward me carefully, arm raised to get my attention.
I went to meet him.
“Don’t you ever sleep?” I asked.
“Only when Balak tells me to.”
I swore I saw the hint of a grin in the darkness. Could the man be softening?
“Was that a joke?”
His demeanor went back to the usual. “He wants to see you. Told me to come wake you up. But I guess I’m not the only one who doesn’t get much sleep.” He looked down as I rubbed my hands. “Cold?”
“A little.”
I blew on my hands, trying to make a bigger show of things.
He frowned, then spun on his heels and began walking away.
I guess our conversation was over.
We walked to Balak’s tent in silence.
Etan took his place at the tent’s entrance while I slipped inside.
For the first time in a long time, I was taken aback.
Three white-robed figures stood around the table beside Balak and two of his personal guard. The two guardsmen had a strong resistance to sorcery. I smiled inwardly at that. Balak might think the High Mages were on his side, but he didn’t trust them completely.
Balak waved me over. His old maps had been replaced by a new one with markings upon markings. Then on top of those markings were rocks, sticks, and other debris that I assumed were meant to simulate the terrain in that area.
No one said a word to me, which was strange. I decided not to say anything, instead studying the High Mages.
Grime covered their battered robes. Layers of dirt adorned their skin and nails. They wore wild and unkempt beards. And they stank worse than half the men I served with.
I liked them.
Too many High Mages I knew before the war held an air of superiority that these three didn’t seem to have.
Then the oldest of the three spoke. “Are you going to contribute, commander? We’ve been waiting for you after all.”
It took me a moment to notice they were addressing me. It was then I realized they were the same arrogant, infuriating High Mages of old, just ones in desperate need of a bath.
I gave him a cold look. “Excuse me?”
“Balak said your input was crucial. Well then, let’s have it. We have much to do.”
“Oh, you have much to do? You must think I just sit around all day playing with myself. You realize we’re actually fighting a war while you three are off prancing around in the woods playing cat and mouse with the Geneshans.” I gestured. “Wait a minute. I guess you’re also building these toys.”
“Tyrus,” Balak grated a warning. He turned to the High Mage. “Amasa, I know you’re tired and have much to do, but all your hard work will fall apart if you don’t take time to explain to Tyrus what you, Datan, and Gidel have been up to.”
The high mage seemed confused, “I was under the impression you had already explained that to him.”
“No, I hadn’t,” he said flatly.
The High Mage waited as if he expected Balak to continue. He let out a frustrated sigh and pointed to the map. It felt good to see someone else irritated at Balak’s odd secretiveness, especially someone I disliked. Amasa began addressing me, but did so without making eye contact, and more importantly without apologizing.
Idiot.
“You are approximately one day away from here,” he said, pointing. “This is where you’ll enter the transfer portal that will take the army to Hol.”
“Wait, you can create a transfer portal big enough for the entire army?”
“Yes.” He gave me a sour look. “We were not always prancing around in the woods.”
I grunted. “How in the name of Molak did you manage that? In the first war with the Geneshans, no one could construct portals of that size, or ones that could be used for that sort of movement.”
“We were able to figure out a new method with Balak’s help to strengthen the portal’s properties.”
&nbs
p; It was obvious he admitted the need for Balak’s help begrudgingly. I wasn’t surprised. However, I was surprised that Balak had been able to see something that they had not considering he was not a magic-user himself. I was glad to hear about his help though. It made me feel better about Balak’s secretiveness. Maybe he had some ground-breaking strategy to take out the Geneshans at Hol after all.
Amasa continued, “We used these two large rock formations created by the artifact’s last eruption, then added these two more opposite to them. Those are the portal’s anchors. We were able to create the symbol of Ao with other rock and debris. Once we activate its power, it should draw in enough sorcery so that it will create not only a portal large enough, but also one that will sustain itself long enough for everyone to pass through.”
I bobbed my head. The symbol meant nothing to me. Other than the four rock formations situated in a square, I couldn’t make out any of the other intricacies he seemed so thoroughly impressed with himself over. Then again, I wasn’t a mage. Perhaps Ava would have appreciated the effort.
He moved to a different part of the map.
“The transfer portal will lead everyone to this location which you’ll notice is the symbol of Ao as well, only reversed.”
“It looks massive.”
“It is. Half a mile in diameter. It needed to be that large with the artifact so close to it. The symbol will act in the same way as the first one in that it will draw on sorcery. The second symbol is designed to actually pull those walking through the transfer portal toward it. We wanted no mistake in the transfer given our proximity to the artifact.”
“What is its proximity?”
“Two days from Hol.”
High Mages had created transfer portals that allowed individuals and supplies to move much greater distances than the one being shown to me. However, a portal of this size, and one that would remain open long enough for thousands of people to march through had never been attempted.
A series of thoughts ran through my head. I tried to figure out which one to address first.
“Tyrus,” said Balak. “You look worried.”
“I am. Aren’t the Geneshans close to Hol right now?”
“Yes, we expect the first of their armies to arrive later today. But even if they’re able to learn the general location of the artifact, we know that part of the city is covered with a large amount of rubble to dig through. I believe we have some extra time on our side.”
“That’s good. Though that wasn’t what I was getting at.” I pointed at various spots on the map. “These locations look like more than ideal spots for someone to set up ambushes. How do we know that we won’t walk out of that portal and be immediately under attack?”
The High Mage smiled. “Because we already thought of that possibility and prepared for it. There are confusion symbols all around the area of the portal.”
“Those aren’t foolproof.”
“No, they aren’t. But by the time anyone realizes they’ve been led away on more than one occasion, we will have not only exited the portal, but also have been settled into camp for at least a day. I would assume that most of the army will have recovered their strength by then.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
The High Mage gave me an exasperated look that I wanted to slap it off.
“The artifact. Though it is pulling in power in preparation for the next eruption, being that close to Hol, your soldiers will feel its effects. It will mimic your experiences after previous eruptions. Your army needs time to acclimate.”
“How have you three managed to work under those conditions?”
“We’ve developed our own methods. But they won’t work on non-magic-users.”
“Then you’ll at least teach my mages the technique.”
Datan, another High Mage, snorted. “They are not strong enough to learn the methods.”
“Then you’ll see to them yourselves,” I snapped.
“Who are you to give us—”
“He’s right,” said Balak. “Do what is necessary.”
The High Mages gave us both a grumble, but eventually nodded.
“One more question,” I said.
“Yes?”
“Those with a resistance, how will they travel through the portal?”
They gave me a confused look.
I gave them the exasperated expression this time. “I was once told that someone with a resistance would not be able to travel by portal. It would not work at all, or it would deposit them great distances away from where they intended to travel.”
“That won’t be a problem,” said Balak. “I brought up the very same point when construction began on the portal and was assured there would be no problems for those with a resistance.”
The three High Mages went pale in unison.
Balak gritted out a question to them. “There will be no problems, correct?”
They exchanged looks.
Balak slammed his fist down on the table. “Answer me!”
Amasa cleared his throat. “Well, you see . . . we’ve been so busy with other tasks and that piece slipped our mind. But I’m sure there is a way around this oversight and—”
“Oversight? Gods-be-damned!” the general shouted. “Are you telling me that your idiocy will destroy months of planning? I need my entire army at Hol. Do you understand me?”
“I-I honestly don’t know if we can do that,” said Gidel.
The open admission seemed to upset the other two High Mages, but neither contradicted him.
My own anger rose. However, much of it was directed at Balak rather than the High Mages. Had he not insisted on being so secretive, I would have brought up my concern sooner which would have reminded him to follow up with Amasa on how to handle transferring those with a resistance.
Balak seethed. “If you can’t, then you have a problem.”
I noticed the hands of his two guards casually moving to their sword belts. Most people would be hesitant about a move like that in front of a High Mage. However, with their resistances as well as mine, if things got really ugly, we could more than hold our own.
“I’m sure we could figure it out,” said Datan, looking at his two colleagues and trying to ease the tension in the space. “Just not in a day’s time.”
“When would you have a solution?” snapped Balak. “Weeks or months after the Geneshans have recovered the artifact and we’re about to be sacrificed to their blasted god?” He threw one of the model pieces of a small mountain across the tent where it stuck the canvas and fell. “By the gods, we had this planned for months! You assured me over and over that you had everything under control.”
“We did.”
“You didn’t! The timing on this is crucial. We cannot wait more than a day!”
Each of the mages began blaming another. Balak’s two guards packed in tighter around the general in case a High Mage decided to do more than shout.
I sagged on my feet. The implications of the High Mages’ mistake and Balak’s secretiveness weighed heavily on me. I knew our chances of success against the Geneshan horde converging on Hol were already not in our favor. However, if all those with a resistance could not make it there, including myself, there was no way Balak and his army would succeed.
It would be a hard thing to watch others go off to die.
The only other option would be to skip the transfer portal, negating months of work by the High Mages and continue to march on Hol. However, the Geneshans would likely be in control of the artifact by then, and our efforts would be for show only.
We would die in little time.
Morbidly, a thought passed through my mind that given the Geneshans’ penchant for sacrificing their enemy, the healers wouldn’t have to worry about much work after that battle.
I experienced a flashback to my latest ni
ghtmare where the healers had figured out how to work around my resistance.
I grabbed the side of the table before I lost my feet from the memory.
“The healers,” I whispered.
Molak-be-damned.
“The healers!” I shouted.
Everyone stopped arguing at my outburst.
“What are you going on about?” asked Datan.
“The healers. They’re who we should be talking to.”
“Healers are not real practitioners of the power.”
I scowled deep. Another thing I hated about a High Mage, and really most mages in general, was that they turned their noses up at healers since they specialized in one area of sorcery. Never mind that most mages could not heal at all.
“Put your prejudice aside and think. The healers already figured out a way around the resistance.”
“Yes, but it is one that taxes them greatly. If we all die just to get those with a resistance through the portal, we’d be right back to where we were before, losing a key asset to use against the Geneshans.”
“That’s why you should talk to them. Noam, specifically. He’s really good. I’m sure between the four of you, you might be able to come up with a way to combine techniques and figure out how to get the job done.”
“Look, a—”
“Go,” said Balak. “Now. No arguing. Just get it done.”
“We’ll expose ourselves to the army by doing so.”
Balak shrugged. “At this point, your presence is not important to hide. Getting everyone to Hol is what’s most important.”
The High Mages looked put out, but I guess even they realized they needed help. They left without further argument.
A moment later, Balak turned to me.
“Good job, Tyrus.”
“Do you think they’ll be able to work it out, sir?”
“They will. Or they will regret their error.”
He gestured to his two guards and both left the tent.
I raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t the High Mages swear their loyalty to you? I thought you had a good relationship with them.”
“I do have a good relationship with them. At least better than I ever had with a High Mage before. But words are only good when they come from someone you trust.” He paused. “I trust no one.”
Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three Page 32
