Fortress Walls

Chapter IX, Part 4

They were deep in the Wilderness by now.

Phineas and Cass’ stamina was improving, though they still moved slower than Tariq was used to. He’d hoped to reach the small town of Charlotte (three-quarters of the way to the Tirrisian border) within three days. It had been two already, and they weren’t halfway to the village.

They marched in single file, Tariq leading the way. At least, he’d told them to be in single file—in reality, Tariq led and his three charges walked in a clump behind him, laughing and chattering as if it were a school picnic.

It had grown warmer the past couple days, and under the forest canopy the air was almost stale, hardly a breeze. The trees were still thick with leaves, dyed gold and red and brown by the previous weeks’ frosts. Though it was nearly October, only a few had fallen yet.

“We’ll stop,” Tariq said around noon. They had reached a small clearing scattered with boulders. A little sunlight filtered in through the trees overhead, dappling the mossy ground with gold.

“Pretty,” Sutton said as he sat down with a sigh of relief on one of the boulders. “Looks like a fairy glade.”

Tariq set down his pack with a noncommittal grunt and came over to him. “How much food do you and Cass have left?”

Sutton looked in his pack, face falling. “Three more meals? For me, anyway. Cass?”

“I rationed. Four.”

Phineas was looking in his already. “Tariq, for both of us we have four.”

Tariq clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Tch. We’ll have to pick up the pace if we want to resupply.”

Phineas groaned.

“Eat half a meal now,” Tariq said. “We’ll stretch it out. I can catch us a couple rabbits if we have to.”

There were some murmurs of dissent at the thought of eating less, but the boys settled down and munched on the little food Tariq would let them eat. The little glade was very pretty, as Sutton had said—it was hard to be grumpy.

Tariq didn’t eat. He was restless, sniffing the air and pacing the glade, every so often pausing as if to listen.

“You’re making me anxious,” Cass said when it started to get on his nerves. “Stop it.”

“There’s a storm coming,” Tariq muttered.

“Big deal.” Cass shrugged.

Tariq chewed on his thumbnail. It didn’t have to be a big deal, it was true, but he was worried all the same. They didn’t have a map. He could navigate alright without one, but they couldn’t afford to wait out a big storm, and if they pressed through it, they risked going miles off course.

He looked at his companions. Sutton had already laid down as if to nap. Tariq decided they had rested for long enough, and he went to kick Sutton awake.

“Pack up. We’re moving again.”

~

The storm broke early the next morning, just after they had packed up their camp and begun the day’s trek. It had been overcast since daybreak, and Tariq stopped to look up at the sky and curse as he felt the first drop of rain. The next couple splashed into his eyes as if to scorn him, and then the skies opened, and the rain came down in great torrents.

“We’ll stop, won’t we?” Cass called from behind after a few minutes. The ground was becoming muddier and muddier with every step they took.

“No,” Tariq said.

“We’re drowning back here.” It wasn’t entirely untrue—they were already soaked, with about as much water down their throats as drenched them.

“No,” Tariq said.

He slogged on through the rain and mud, ignoring the grumbles and panting behind him. They grew quieter as he pulled ahead; he made sure to glance behind once in a while to make sure they were still following. He tried to focus on keeping a straight course, though a mistake was inevitable in this rain. He wished he at least had magnets—then he could have made an improvised compass. He dismissed the thought quickly. It was no use dwelling on things he couldn’t control.

The wind picked up, whipping the treetops to and fro, sending wet leaves slapping into their faces. Lighting split the sky; thunder shivered through the heavy air. The boys pressed forward doggedly, and the rain drove even harder against them.

Phineas hadn’t been scared of a storm since he was little, but he’d never been out in a storm like this, and it terrified him. The thunder and lightning were so close, and there was nothing to protect him from the full fury of nature, nothing at all.

He gathered his strength and jogged to catch up with his brother and walk beside him, panting, his lungs burning in his chest.

“Shouldn’t—” he gasped, “we find—some shelter?"

“Scared of the lightning?” Tariq said unsympathetically.

Phineas shook his head, but his face betrayed the truth. Tariq gave him a grim smile.

“The best thing you can do is spread out. That way, if one of us gets struck, the rest won’t die too.”

Phineas made a small choking sound.

“Better go tell your chums to spread out, h’m? There is no shelter.”

Stubbornly, Phineas kept walking beside him. His breathing was still labored.

Tariq sighed. “I’ve never seen someone get struck by lightning in thick forest like this. I’ve only seen it in the open, and even then only once. Don’t worry too much.”

The thunder crashed directly above them, and Phineas flinched. Still hunching his shoulders, he glanced at his brother, who wore his usual scowl and didn’t seem fazed.

“Alright,” Phineas said, but he still kept walking by Tariq.

~

The king had made a trip to Zarael’s office with no warning for the second time that week, and this time, his smile was dangerous.

“My king,” Zarael said with a cautious bow.

Cillian sat, and for once, he left Zarael standing. His smile hadn’t moved. “You gave my orders to Thierry, didn't you?”

“Yes, my king. You were there.”

“Are you so incompetent I have to inform you of the things that go on in the military you lead? Because you don’t seem to know what’s happened.”

Zarael was silent.

“I’ve had Thierry arrested and stripped of his rank. I also intend to immediately disband his useless Elite Intelligence Corps, for good this time. He intentionally failed to carry out my orders. He will be punished accordingly.”

There was a long silence.

“And you,” Cillian said venomously, “didn’t seem to have noticed that he deliberately disobeyed me? Shouldn’t you have been the first to report it?”

Between a scolding and imprisonment, the general could easily have gotten away with only the former. But he wasn’t the type to lie, much less leave his subordinate to face punishment alone.

He sat down unbidden, his face blank. “Your Majesty, I ordered him to disregard your command.”

The king let out his breath in a long sigh. “Ahhhh...that’s what I thought.”

Another silence. The sounds of the street floated in; a snatch of conversation, the clatter of a carriage, a faraway shout and some laughter. Just outside the door, the king’s attendants and guards shuffled and murmured.

“I feel a bit of a failure,” Cillian said with a bitter smile, “replacing two generals in two years.”

Zarael thought of saying something noble like ‘it is I who have failed, Your Majesty;’ but it wouldn’t have been honest. He hadn’t failed, and he’d stand by his choice.

The king had paused. He seemed to be waiting for just that noble answer, but when it didn’t come, and Zarael’s only response was a set jaw and steely eyes, he said, “You’d risk your life and disregard your king for a common criminal?”

The general’s eyes flashed. “He is not—just a common criminal.”

“Oh? Then what is he, to be more important than my command? A long-lost emperor? The Anointed One the prophets wrote about?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“What, then?” Cillian’s sarcasm was crumbling into rage.

“He’s innocent. At least, his sentence was far too harsh. I’d disobey your orders rather than see someone suffer an unjust punishment.”

Cillian laughed humorlessly. “That’s your excuse?”

“Yes.”

The king waved a hand dismissively. “Fine. Ruin your career and your life over an abstract like justice and a worthless orphan soldier.” He turned away to open the door, beckoning his attendants and two of his guards to follow him. The other guards went into the office to arrest Zarael as the king headed down the hall, not looking back.

~~~~~~~~

Hi readers! Thank you so much for your patience. The break was much-needed and I was able to get past a road-block of a chapter that has been plaguing me for weeks. Pray for me that it goes smoothly for at least a couple months! 😅

As always, thanks for reading and God bless.

MC