He needed to show the council that I could be obedient. It was hard to accept once more being some no-name grunt who did what he was told and when and how he was told to do it.
I had led thousands into battle, and later led thousands more to safety. Even now, I wore the title of mayor and oversaw an entire town’s growth and well-being. But no matter how high a man rose, someone always sat higher, someone whose crap you had to stand downwind from and take in stride. Even as general, Balak had to take orders from the king.
“It was difficult to convince the council not to have you arrested. We all find it odd that a man who so adamantly refuses to fight for what he swears is his new country, would then resort to violence against his countrymen.”
I still said nothing.
“You may speak, Tyrus.”
“I see how that can be confusing. I assure you I had no intention of violence. From the very beginning, I’ve only desired peace. Even after Paki refused us access to the river that Kasala needs. Even after the council refused to instruct Paki to grant us that access again. I respected both of those outcomes and carried on.”
“Yet you brought a small army to Sinsca’s door? If you had no intention of violence, why bring them?”
“I wanted to be prepared for the worst.”
“You were preparing to intimidate! To show your strength. To show that your word was law, not anyone else’s, including the council! You’re lucky blood was not spilled because we’d be having a far different discussion right now.”
“What! How can you say that when they poisoned our fields?” I yelled back, unable to contain my frustration.
“No. You think they poisoned your fields. When recounting your tale, you admitted yourself that you did not have proof that would leave no doubt for who was at fault. You said that native Southern Kingdom citizens mentioned the “long blight,” but they could not say for certain if Sinsca was the guilty party either. Everyone was making decisions based on emotion rather than fact.”
“They were armed and ready for us. They knew that—”
“They knew an army of foreigners marched toward them, led by a famed military leader. What would you have them do? Would you have not taken a similar approach? Instead of going to them in peace as you had before when sending Chadar, you went to them with might. You can say that you had no intention of violence, but you had no way of guaranteeing it would not occur.”
“So I should have done nothing? Let them keep harming our work? Making it that much harder to feed our families and meet our charter?”
“You should have come to the council!”
“Why would I do that when you already disregarded my plea about the river?”
He inclined his head. “I thought you said that you respected our decision about the river. If so, then why would that make you hesitant to approach us again? We would have immediately sent a group to investigate Sinsca for such serious accusations, but you never gave us an opportunity. See, this is the problem, Tyrus. We did listen about the river, and then we made a decision. But the decision wasn’t one you wanted. So rather than come to us again and receive another decision you might not like, you took matters into your own hands.” He shook his head. “You say you’re a changed man, someone who despises war, yet your actions are aggressive and confrontational.”
Ice ran through my veins. That wasn’t true. Was it?
He went on, “Look even at the good you’ve done. You’ve essentially made Kasala a small nation unto itself, almost a military camp from what you’ve told us. Far different than the defensive measures we expected you to create. Even when you’re contacting other towns, you’re not trying to create true relationships, you’re seeking alliances.” He paused and gave a shake of a head that reminded me of the disapproval a father might give his son. “In some ways, your behavior makes me believe you’re almost as great of a danger to the Southern Kingdoms as the war we fight in the east.”
My knees were weak at the implication. “You honestly can’t believe that.”
“I do. What do you think would happen if you’re successful in gaining an alliance with Ekarta or Lalara? Do you think Paki would just stand by as you amass more power? No. He’ll attempt to do the same. And then it won’t be just one town against one other town, but region against region. The Southern Kingdoms will be entrenched in a civil war. That cannot happen! Things must change.”
I gave a sigh of resignation. I knew it would do me no good to continue arguing my point, especially when I had begun to doubt the validity of it. I had to think of my future and more importantly, the future of Kasala. “I’ll do as the council asks.”
“Of course you will,” he snapped. “The majority of the council wants you imprisoned until the war is over. They feel that taking away your influence is the only way to ensure you don’t cause any more problems for us. However, I’ve convinced them of something less severe.”
Gods, I knew the council would be angry, but I had not expected this reaction, especially since I came to them on my own rather than waiting to be summoned to explain myself.
I swallowed. “Thank you, Speaker.”
“I understand that the town has elected you mayor. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“It is my understanding that the election did not fall in line with Southern Kingdom law. Coupled with your recent behavior, the council has decided it best to remove you from your position. In addition, you are forbidden from holding any leadership role in the Southern Kingdoms. Three selected members of the council will return with you to Kasala. They will see that a new election is held in accordance with Southern Kingdom law. They will also observe the progress you’ve made, make adjustments as needed, and report back their own findings. Anyone who fails to comply with this edict or hinders the three selected members, will be placed under arrest. In addition, two other council members will journey to Sinsca to rectify the current situation with Paki.”
I blinked, barely able to comprehend what I had heard. In their eyes, I had no clue what I was doing. I was not only unfit to lead, but also a danger to everyone around me.
How could they tell me I didn’t know how to lead? My decisions had influenced the outcome of two wars and saved thousands of lives. None of them could do half the job I had. Couldn’t they see that?
But maybe, I realized, they saw it too well. It didn’t matter that I tried not to think about war, military life had become too ingrained in who I was. It was why, despite their disappointment in how I had handled things in Kasala, they still wished me to join their army. They wanted me in a position where my decisions made sense. They liked how I had fought and killed, but not how I tried to live.
In areas of peace, there seemed to be little room for a soldier’s way of thinking.
It was a sobering thought to be so easily discarded, to have some of my worst fears reinforced. Without war, how could any soldier truly find their place in the world?
“Tyrus?” the Speaker said loudly.
I blinked. “Yes?”
“I asked if you understood and accepted the council’s decision.”
Despite the thin ice I walked on, a bit of sarcasm slipped out. “Do I really have a choice?”
The Speaker frowned. “There is always a choice. Will you make the right one?”
The right one? In whose eyes, I wanted to say. But I didn’t. The Speaker was not one whom I could reason with or even manipulate.
That thought sobered me further.
I had approached the Southern Kingdoms completely wrong, looking at Kasala as a piece of land that I could mold into my own vision, a vision I thought would have pleased Lasha. But by doing things my way, I had set myself up for failure. I needed to let go and accept the consequences of my actions.
So I stood tall, met my superior’s eyes, not in defiance, but in respect. If they still looked at me as a soldier, th
en I would be one. “Yes sir. I understand and accept the council’s terms, sir.”
Once a soldier, forever a soldier, I thought to myself.
He studied my expression. “Thank you, Tyrus. I understand you have supplies you need to purchase while in Batna as well?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And these are needed to continue working on the various projects you’ve begun in Kasala?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’d like Xola, Barasa, and Gero to review your list before you purchase anything. They are the three councilors who will accompany you home.”
“I have the lists with me now, Speaker,” I said, reaching into my shirt pocket.
The Speaker raised a hand. “Not here. The council still has much to discuss on other matters.” He turned. “Xola. Barasa. Gero. Would you mind stepping outside with Tyrus?”
Barasa, tall and overweight, and Gero, short and lean by contrast, surprised me with warm smiles when introducing themselves.
The disgust and anger I had expected came in spades from the third council member. Xola, a middle-aged woman of medium height, held her head obscenely high. She did not take my offered hand, but instead snapped, “Come,” as she walked past.
At her command, we followed her out.
It was obvious that Ira had fallen asleep on the bench as he nearly toppled over when Zadok jumped to his feet.
“Pa!”
“Prax’s balls you were in there for a long time, Ty,” said Ira with a yawn. He caught himself from saying more at the sight of the council members.
Zadok looked confused. “Is everything all right?”
“It will be. I need you and Ira to hang back a little while longer. I need to go over our supply list.”
Ira furrowed his brow. “Huh?”
“Tyrus.” said Xola with annoyance as she walked down the hall without me.
I bit back a comment as I retrieved my water skin.
“I’ll explain later,” I told my son and Ira.
CHAPTER 38
By the gods, I never thought a supply list could be so interesting.
Or rather, I never thought it could be such a major point of discussion. In the end, the three didn’t change one single item, or quantity on the list, but for them to be comfortable with the list I had to explain it all down to the tiniest detail, including why I might have held back or added to the original request from each person in town.
Barasa and Gero asked their fair share of questions, but seemed more at ease with my answers. Not Xola. It quickly became obvious that she had been one who would have preferred to see me in prison. She had no intention of making my life easy or my transition from mayor to regular citizen painless.
After our lengthy discussion, she concluded, “You may purchase what you require. We won’t be accompanying you though as we have much to see to in order to leave on time tomorrow morning.”
“The morning?” I sputtered.
“Of course. Considering the mess you made, we cannot afford to laze about the city.”
“But councilor, we’ve barely got any daylight left. And it’s still raining. It will be difficult to secure the full list of supplies in so short a time.”
“Difficult, but not impossible. We’ll meet you at the north gate at dawn,” she said, leaving without another word.
I stared after her with mouth half-open.
Barasa and Gero exchanged a glance. Something passed between them.
Gero said. “We’ll speak with her in private to try to buy you a bit more time. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t leave at dawn.”
I gave a nod as they left, then whispered, “No. I already lived through the end of the world.”
* * *
Zadok and Ira remained where I had left them, except this time it was Zadok who was asleep. He woke at a nudge from Ira.
“Ty, what in the world is going on?” Ira asked as they got to their feet.
“Long story.”
“Well, let’s grab some grub and you can tell it while we eat. I’m starving.”
“No time to eat. We gotta get our supplies purchased.”
“Now? In the rain?”
“Yeah,” I said, walking past them. “We’ll need to split the list in order to save time. Let’s start with the steel first since it’ll be the hardest to move. At this point, I’m more worried about how fast we can get what we need over what we’ll pay for it.”
I tried to explain what happened in the council chambers as we walked. I didn’t get far before being interrupted. Zadok was beside himself in shock, stumbling over his words. Ira was pissed in ways that only Ira could be pissed in.
Expletives came forth from him in waves before he finally managed a coherent question. “So how are we going to handle this?”
I could tell by his expression he wasn’t thinking of going back and asking them nicely to reconsider.
“There’s nothing to handle. We’re on their land, so we follow their law.”
Zadok found his voice, as if understanding Ira’s comment. “Right. The thing to do is show them they’re wrong and then petition them when we have everything in order. Especially once Chadar and Galya return. With their knowledge, they can help us convince the council that—”
“We’re not doing that.”
“Why not? Are you saying that you agree with the council?”
“I don’t completely agree with them, but I can’t say that I disagree either.” I continued my story, explaining the council’s reasons for their decisions and my defense, which as I explained it a second time, sounded far less convincing.
“But Pa, think of all you’ve done to help people.”
“For every person I’ve helped, I’m sure you can find at least one I’ve hurt.”
“You can’t believe that, Ty. I sure don’t and neither does the town. They wouldn’t have elected you mayor if they did.”
“Maybe they subconsciously elected me out of fear for what I would do if denied the office. Maybe they figured I’d demand to lead, so why not just give me the title. Or maybe they elected me because they were just used to me being in charge. The demon they knew was better than the one they didn’t. Or maybe they still had their views skewed just as badly as mine because of all the crap they’ve gone through. Could simply be that most people in Kasala are from Turine and wanted one of their own to lead them locally. Could also be they forgot that when a government works as it should, the people don’t have to make the tough decisions we’ve all had to make.”
Ira sucked his teeth. “Gods-be-damned, Ty. Did you drink something that wiped your mind clear? What government is that perfect?”
“None, but based on what Chadar and Galya told me, or even what Lasha told me years ago, the council did their job well before the artifact.”
“So you’re just going to let them treat you like this?”
I stopped and faced Ira. “I’ll suffer through whatever is needed to get what I want.”
“And what’s that?”
“Peace. Happiness. Normalcy. To forget, or at least put aside, most of my adult life. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of those things on the course I had set. So yeah, I’ll take their crap and try to smile while doing so because maybe the solution to all my problems is to trust in someone else to make a better decision for once.”
“But what if I don’t trust them?”
“Then trust in my decision to give them this chance.”
Ira frowned. “Fine. But what if things don’t get any better? Or if they get worse?”
“We can petition the council for another change. Or if necessary, I guess we pack up and leave the Southern Kingdoms entirely.”
“And go where?” asked Zadok.
I could hear the fear in his voice. The last couple of months had probably
been the closest thing to normalcy he had experienced in a long time.
“Wherever we need to go. So long as we do it together.”
He nodded, but I could see my words didn’t ease his worries.
“C’mon,” I said, moving quickly in an effort to leave the conversation behind.
* * *
To secure our entire list of supplies, we overpaid quite a bit. It wasn’t my fault. Merchants knew we were in a hurry with no time for the negotiation dance. About the only thing I was able to work out in our favor was to have several purchases delivered to the stables that night. I never heard if Gero was successful in getting more time from Xola. I worked like he had not.
At sunrise, Zadok, Ira, and I waited at Batna’s main gate, yawning and tired. The only thing that seemed to prevent Zadok from falling over at the reins was the chill in the air. Residual anger from our situation seemed to be keeping Ira’s senses keen.
Dread of the unknown drove my alertness. At least keeping so busy had kept my mind focused.
Xola came into sight flanked by Gero and Barasa. With dawn still half an hour away, I think she had hoped to beat us to the gate in order to later ridicule us for it. She had struck me as that sort of person, which was why I had made it a point to arrive early. When her smug expression vanished into annoyance I knew I had read her correctly.
“I did not expect to find you here so early,” she said.
Yet, she had come anyway.
“I’m not one to shy away from completing a task on time.”
“Some of that soldier shining through, I see,” she said, making my hard work seem like a strike against me.
“Is everyone ready?” I asked.
“Nearly,” she said. “Makeda and Lesedi are on their way. They will travel with us before continuing on to Sinsca to repair your damage.”
I gritted my teeth, but said nothing.
“You seem tense. Is something wrong?”
It was bad enough she hated me, but then to bait me . . . Gods, this was going to be a long trip.
“Just eager to get home,” I answered.
A hint of a smile flashed. She looked ready to say something more biting, but thankfully, Makeda and Lesedi rounded a street corner.
Forever Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Four Page 33
