Forever Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Four

by Joshua P. Simon

  “Kamau ordered them out of the city so they wouldn’t cause any trouble. They still wanted to stay, but I told them to go as their presence would only get the locals riled up. That and my promise that Eder and I would wait for you convinced them to leave. They’re probably in Kasala right now, though I’m not sure if they’ll all stay after they see you’re safe. I think many have had enough of the Southern Kingdom’s hospitality.”

  “I don’t blame them. Thank you.”

  Margo cleared his throat. “Did you know they killed Danso yesterday?”

  Her gut clenched. “No.”

  “What happened in there?” snapped Eder. “We gave you a pick.”

  “It didn’t work,” she lied, unable to think of a better response.

  “Do you still have it? I’ll find that merchant and get our money back too.”

  Margo cut in, tilting his head. “No. She doesn’t have it. Do you?”

  Ava shook her head.

  He grunted. “Did you even try it?”

  Ava said nothing.

  “Gods-be-damned, I can’t believe it. Never in a thousand years would I think you’d do something so . . . cowardly. You know I might have given you the benefit of the doubt, but to just accept the ruling from the council and not stand up for Jumla Danso and what he did—”

  “It was his idea!” she snapped.

  “. . . what?”

  “I did talk to him. Tried to rescue him. He refused. Said his sacrifice was necessary for the future of the Southern Kingdoms. He was in on everything, and in fact the whole plan was his.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” said Eder. “And you let him die?”

  “It was his wish,” she muttered before telling them all that had transpired. “And you can’t tell anyone. If the truth gets out, even a strong rumor, it will make his sacrifice meaningless. I-I wasn’t even going to tell you two, but I don’t know . . .”

  After a minute of them standing around in silence, Margo clicked his teeth. “All right then. Best we get moving. Sooner this is all just a bad memory, the better.” He snatched up one of the packs at his feet and handed it to Ava.

  She met his eyes. “You still want to travel with me to Kasala?”

  “That’s the plan,” he said, handing Eder his pack and throwing his own over his shoulder. “Not sure I would have made the same decisions. Not sure about a lot of things right now really, but it’s done. Only time will tell if it was all worth it.”

  Gods, I hope so.

  Margo continued, “I’m willing to bet it was the right one. You’re a fine commander, Ava. Just as good as your brother. And I mean that having served under you both. Considering how many lives you’ve saved, including my own, I’d be a crappy soldier and a worse friend to turn my back on you because of a lack of understanding.”

  She fought back a welling in her eyes.

  Eder shouldered his pack. “Same goes for me. You can always count on us to have your back.”

  Margo gave a quiet nod.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  With the sun high overhead and the high walls of Batna at her back there was nothing much for Ava to do except start walking. She took her first hesitant step toward Kasala, dreading how she’d deal with the questions and accusations that would come with news of her role in the war. It made her want to run off and disappear. But then again, if anyone would fully understand what she had gone through, it would be Tyrus.

  CHAPTER 56

  “Molak’s sweaty balls,” I cursed as the back of my hand smudged the ink I had just put to parchment, blurring several lines of script together so none could be read.

  It had taken me twice as long as it should have to write the terms of our contract with Ekarta. The town had placed a recent order for new clothes, adding to the growing number of orders we already had locally and from Lalara.

  “Now, the whole blasted thing is ruined.”

  “Is everything all right?” Damaris asked from the back room of our tailor shop.

  No. Everything wasn’t all right. Thoughts of my sister had worked their way into my mind. Batna’s Speaker had sent me a coded letter for my eyes only. The details of what led to her imprisonment were vague, but the gist was that regardless of what news and rumors I heard about her, Ava was in no danger and would be released after Jumla Danso’s trial so long as I did not overreact and stir trouble, which included traveling to Batna.

  “Stir trouble,” I muttered low to myself. “I’ll do a lot more than simply stir trouble if something happens to her.” I raised my voice with a frustrated sigh. “Yeah. Just clumsy. Gonna be another half hour at least on that contract.”

  I pulled out another sheet of parchment to start the process over.

  “Gods-be-damned, what happened out there Ava?” a muttered to myself again.

  “Do you need me to help you with anything?” Damaris asked.

  “No. I’m fine.”

  “No need to rush,” she called. “We still have orders back here to work on today.”

  “I won’t,” I said, trying to keep the bite from my tone. Damaris wasn’t at fault for my sister’s current state.

  Repositioning myself on the chair at the side counter, I lowered my head and meticulously began the writing process over, doing all I could to lose myself in the scratching of quill on parchment so I could concentrate. The contract needed to be finished before evening to deliver it on time to Ekarta’s mayor.

  With each dip of the quill, I muttered another series of curses at having to write the entire thing over. The swearing was cathartic and kept me from losing my mind over the boring task. It had been so much easier writing supply lists or troop movements in short hand during my military career. Easier still, was just voicing the orders for someone else to convey, eliminating ink and parchment altogether.

  I snorted while shaking out my hand to stave off any cramping. It wasn’t often I longed for military life, but at times, it happened.

  Weeks had passed since my near-death experience. I wasn’t completely myself even physically, let alone mentally, or emotionally. However, I was much stronger in the latter two of those areas than I had been in years. No further proof of that came than with how easily I had just thought about military life without suffering any sort of anxiety or unwanted recollection from my past. Granted, those things still occurred, but they were less frequent and intense than before. Best of all, my improvement came without resorting to something like Dar’s concoction.

  Laughter from the back room distracted me as Udo’s wife, Nia, and Damaris worked with a half dozen others on an order. The two most recent hires already seemed to fit in with the group. I grinned at Damaris’s warm laugh, loud over the others. It was because of her that I wasn’t a sobbing mess off in a corner somewhere. Or worse, dead.

  Eventually, I triumphantly added my signature to the contract without smudging the previous lines of the document. Then I set the quill down, and rubbed the inside of my right palm. All the contract needed was Damaris’s signature above mine to complete it.

  I stood to fetch her, wincing at my sore neck and back. Only then, as my hands rubbed both areas did I realize how bad my posture had been while writing.

  “Gods, who would have thought that sitting at a counter and pouring over parchments all day could make you feel worse than digging a field? Must be getting old.”

  “I hate to break it to you Big Brother, but you’ve been getting old for a long time. Though now, I admit you’re starting to move about like Pa used to. Better cut that out if you want me to stick around. Otherwise, I’m going to start feeling old myself and I can’t have that.”

  I wheeled toward the front door. My jaw dropped.

  Ava stood a foot inside the shop, with a pack over one shoulder looking years older than when she left. So engrossed in the contract, I hadn’t even heard her ente
r. She had begun to let her hair grow out for the first time since we were kids. It reminded me of our mother. Dust adorned her torn leathers. In spots, I thought I saw dried blood.

  “Well, say something instead of staring at me like that,” she said.

  I ran to her and wrapped her in a hug. She dropped her pack, and hugged me tight. We laughed.

  “Like you got room to talk,” she said into my shoulder. “You lost weight.” She pulled away from me at that and looked me over with worry. “Is everything all right?”

  “I’m getting there. But the last few months were pretty rough. Damaris helped see me through it.” I paused. “She and I are together now.”

  The worry on her face vanished. Even her eyes smiled in return. “That’s great.”

  “Just wish I’d have listened to you and everyone else sooner. I guess I can expect a couple more I told you so’s from you.”

  She shrugged. “I might let them slide if you promise to keep from telling me the same.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re going to laugh, but that idiot Nason got to me.”

  “By saying he loved you?” I saw her face. “Sorry, he told me.”

  “Great.” She shook her head. “But yeah. That.”

  “So you love him too?”

  “I don’t know. But after the last couple months, especially even the last couple weeks, I think I’d be pretty stupid not to at least give it a go with him.”

  I bobbed my head, wishing I’d have been able to take that step sooner. “Then you’re smarter than me.”

  “Atta way to state the obvious.”

  I snorted. “Gods, I missed you, Little Sister.”

  “Missed you too,” her voice caught. She tried to mask it with a cough.

  “Do you want to go somewhere to talk?”

  “Yes and no. I-I got a lot to tell you about. News I want you to hear from me so you know the truth.”

  “You mean about the spell you put on the dead army, and the trial that followed?”

  She blinked. “You know?”

  “A little. The Speaker sent me a message last week that you were in Batna’s prison.”

  “What?” She choked on the word then stammered. “Then why didn’t you come for me?”

  “I was guaranteed your safety so long as I stayed in Kasala. However, if I journeyed to Batna or tried to stir any trouble, it was doubtful that he’d be able to keep that promise considering the emotions running through Batna’s people with the trial.”

  “So you already know the truth?”

  “No. I know a little of the story. That’s it. He couldn’t risk telling me. I did infer that you had to make a tough call with Danso though. That’s also why I suspected you might need to talk. It wasn’t an easy choice, Ava. I promise. It’s been tearing me up actually. But I’m on a pretty short leash right now and I couldn’t afford to take any chances.”

  “I know about tough choices more than ever. It’s hard for me to be mad about any you’ve had to make,” she said, dropping her voice. “And I heard that you weren’t mayor any longer.”

  “No. Like I said, the last few months have been rough. I can tell you about them first if you like.”

  That took her off guard. “Ao’s teats, Damaris has done wonders with you if you’re willing to open up that easily.”

  The comment made me chuckle. “She has.”

  Ava glanced around the shelves that contained fabric and templates before glancing back at the assortment of finished clothing in the window display. “You set this front part up, I presume?”

  My brow furrowed. “How’d you know?”

  “The way it’s all organized. I swear, it’s like you got the trousers ready to flank your winter socks.”

  Frowning, I took in the space, seeing it much differently than I had before. “It kind of does look like the layout of a battlefield. You know the saying, once a soldier—”

  “—forever a soldier,” she finished with a whisper. “Yeah, I know it. Too well, I think.”

  More laughter came from the back. “Like I said, we can go somewhere to talk. Just you and me.”

  She clicked her tongue. “I do want you to know all that really happened so that you understand why I did what I did. And I want to know everything I missed here too. But not right now. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight I just want to see everyone again. Zadok and Myra especially.”

  I understood completely. And selfishly, I was glad Ava would see them as well. Myra had slowly thawed toward me over the last few weeks to where we almost had a normal relationship again. Zadok’s progress however was much slower, but I was beginning to chip away at the wall between us. I had no doubt that having his Aunt Ava around again would help.

  “Absolutely. Though let’s put them second on the list. Damaris is in the back and she’d kill me if you left without telling her hello first.”

  “Fair enough,” she smiled.

  “Damaris!” I called out. “Come out here, please. I need your help with something.”

  “Be right there,” she yelled back.

  I cleared my throat while glancing over to Ava. “One suggestion though.”

  Ava cocked her head. “Yeah?”

  I crinkled my nose. “Let me draw you a bath after we get out of here. You don’t want to run into Nason later on and test the idea that ‘love has no bounds’ so soon.”

  She punched my arm hard, but her face held a grin. I returned it.

  Damaris entered the front of the shop afterward with open arms, welcoming my sister home.

  END

  Thank you for reading The Chronicle of Tyrus. I hope you enjoyed the series as the story meant a great deal to me. Please consider leaving a rating or review at the site of purchase as well as other places such as Goodreads and Librarything. Like many other indie authors, I do not have a marketing team working for me and a positive review (even if only a couple of sentences long) can go a long way in enticing others to give my works a try.

  I’ve begun work on my next project which I hope to begin releasing in late 2017. If you’d like to know when it and any other future works will be made available, please consider signing up for my mailing list. It is used solely to notify my readers of new releases or other major announcements.

  In the meantime, please consider checking out my other series listed below.

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  Thanks again for your support.

  Joshua P. Simon

  THE CHRONICLE OF TYRUS

  Forgotten Soldiers

  Wayward Soldiers

  Resurrected Soldiers

  Forever Soldiers

  THE EPIC OF ANDRASTA AND RONDEL

  The Cult of Sutek, Vol. 1

  The City of Pillars, Vol. 2

  The Tower of Bashan, Vol. 3

  BLOOD AND TEARS (COMPLETED SERIES)

  Warleader: A Blood and Tears Prequel Short Story

  Rise and Fall: Book One of the Blood and Tears Trilogy

  Walk Through Fire: A Blood and Tears Prequel Novella

  Steel and Sorrow: Book Two of the Blood and Tears Trilogy

  Hero of Slaves: A Blood and Tears Novella

  Trial and Glory: Book Three of the Blood and Tears Trilogy

  EXCERPT FROM RISE AND FALL: BOOK ONE OF THE BLOOD AND TEARS TRILOGY (COMPLETE SERIES NOW AVAILABLE)

  “…This is the one that will break their backs for sure, Commander. We’ll smash them to pieces. They will be talking about tomorrow for years to come…”

  Aye, for years to come they’ll talk about tomorrow as one of the worst bloodbaths this continent has ever seen.

  Jonrell stared across the open landscape below. The cliff gave him a full view of an expansive plain, littered with rows upon rows of tents from the opposing army’s e
ncampment, more than double the size of their own forces. Two years after taking this job, and I’ve regretted every minute of it. Shorting us on pay, ignoring advice, putting us in dangerous positions…why am I here again?

  “...I won’t be able to sleep tonight in anticipation…”

  Anticipation of what? Stuffing your face while others fix your mess? I haven’t seen you do anything besides that since I’ve known you. “I think the men are a little too eager,” said Jonrell.

  Melchizan continued. “…Oh, yes. Naturally. They feel the significance of tomorrow as well…”

  Jonrell cleared his throat and cut in, “I think we should withdraw to more favorable ground.”

  “…yes, we will slaughter them, we will…” The would-be conqueror choked on his last words as he turned in the saddle. The short man’s demeanor turned from one of excitement to confusion and then anger. “What do you mean withdraw? We have them right where we want them. This is what we’ve been waiting for…”

  The setting sun bled across the land, reflecting dark purples and reds off the white canvases of the enemy’s camp. Reminiscent of a bruise. A bleak reminder of what awaits us tomorrow. No Melchizan, I haven’t waited for that.

  “Commander! I’m speaking to you,” said Melchizan, his great jowls swaying.

  “I hear you. And unlike you, I actually listen to the person I’m talking to.”

  Melchizan’s face reddened. “It’s bad enough you and the rest of your tattered outfit of mercenaries fail to address me as your lord, but I will not be spoken to like some common soldier. Is that understood?”

  “No. You are not our lord and definitely not a soldier, just an employer. The Hell Patrol will not bend a knee to you. If you want someone to kiss your rear, you’ll have to look to the rest of that motley army of yours.”

  “Have you forgotten that motley army has conquered over a dozen cities and hundreds of miles of land? An army you command?”

  Jonrell snorted a laugh. “Cities? Most of that land was filled with nothing more than small tribes and villages. Your army is not ready for this,” said Jonrell, pointing toward the encampment. “The men are going to face more than two to one odds against a better armed and better trained force.”