A Battle Lord’s Heart (21 page)

           
“Dr. MaGrath said something about
making sure the men understood that if they harmed anyone, that you would be
the one to suffer,” Mastin said.

           
Atty nodded. “Yeah. That’s right.
The laws are simple but... precise. We will be given all the food we need to
survive, just as long as we don’t take more than our fair share. We will be
given shelter as long as we don’t take shelter away from others.”
          

           
“And we’ll be given aid and medical
help so long as we don’t harm others while we’re here?” asked Paxton.

           
“Yeah. Basically, that’s it. No one
in this compound will hurt us while we are staying under the rights granted by
the laws. But, by the same token, we can’t injure or hurt, or in any way
accidentally cause harm to any of the inhabitants. Understand?”

           
“But if something should happen, and
it’s our fault, they’ll punish
you
for it?” Mastin clarified. He looked
confused and increasingly angry. “Why? When you weren’t the person directly
responsible?”

           
“Cole, you should know the answer to
that already,” she admonished him with a tired but warm look. “I’m the one who
brought you here. I’m directly responsible for putting this compound in the
position it’s in.”

           
Paxton shook his head. “I can’t see
them laying a finger on you in your condition,” he argued. “Not after all I’ve
heard about how Mutah bless and care for every birth.” To his surprise Atty
leaned over and laid a hand on his knee. In the partial light he could see her
expression was clear and unworried.

           
“Just be sure the men know about the
laws and respect them. I don’t know how long we’re going to have to stay here.
Yulen keeps sliding toward death, and it’s taking everything in me to prevent
it from happening. I know some of the men may chafe after we’ve been here a few
weeks, but I have faith you two will find a way to manage. Warren?”

           
“Yes, Madam?”

           
For once Atty didn’t seem perturbed
by the title. “For the last few months the soldiers have been calling me the
Battle Lady. But Berta told me the title was simply ‘Lady’, as in the Battle
Lord’s Lady. Or Lady Atty. Is that right?”

           
“Technically, yes,” Mastin answered.

           
“Then why do they call me the Battle
Lady? Because I fight alongside my husband?”

           
Paxton chuckled. “You have to admit,
Atty. Someone of your ability is... rare.”

           
The remark got a chuckle out of her.
“So, what you’re saying is that I’m the first Lady that you know of with the
title of Battle Lady?”
   

           
“Yeah. Pretty much,” the Lieutenant
told her.

           
Mastin added, “Of all the Ladies
I’ve known or heard of, they’ve all been like Madigan. Very strong-willed
women, and powerful in their own right. But none of them have been like you.”

           
“Then it wouldn’t surprise anyone if
I took up the armor?”

           
“You already have,” Mastin admitted.

           
“Then if I’m equal to my husband in
sending out commands... and I’m equal to my husband on the battlefield...”

           
Her voice was teasing although they
knew she was serious. “Out with it, Atty,” Mastin grinned.

           
“Then I’m going to need my own
Second, don’t you think?”

           
Both men were stunned. “Your own
Second?” they almost chorused.

           
Before they could object, she
pointed at Mastin to state the obvious. “You’re Yulen’s Second. You help him
with his strategies. Well, I need someone who can help me the same. I need
someone who has the know-how when it comes to fighting and actual warfare. I
need you, Warren. I want you to be my Second.”

           
Paxton tried to find his voice to
reply, but Atty continued. “I’m making you a true Second. Cole, get me Yulen’s
sword.” She motioned toward a corner of the room where the men noticed for the
first time the blood-encrusted blade propped in the corner. Mastin got up to
fetch it as Atty slowly got to her feet.

           
“No, Warren. Stay seated,” she
gently ordered as she took the weapon in both hands. Hefting it over the man’s
bowed head, she tapped each shoulder. “Co-captain of the guard, Warren Paxton. You
and Cole will work in tandem. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

           
“No, Madam,” both men answered
simultaneously. Their sudden stoicism made her smile.

           
“I didn’t think it would.” She
handed her husband’s sword to her new Second. “Your first official order is to
clean and polish Yulen’s sword, and get it back to me when you’re done. I also
want a daily report on the injured. Cole, I’m placing you in charge of the
uninjured. Keep them at battle ready just in case there’s another army of
Bloods out there we didn’t know about. We’ll defend this compound the same way
we defended Wallis.”

           
“Do you honestly believe there could
still be more of them out there?” Paxton asked.

           
Atty tilted her head as she reached
inside herself for the answer. “I don’t know, Warren. Right now all I can focus
on is Yulen. But it would be wise if we didn’t tempt fate, don’t you agree?”

           
Both men nodded in unison.

           
“Also, we need to start paying our
way. West Crestin isn’t a big compound, and with our troops, we’ve probably
doubled the population. If we stay any amount of time, our men are going to
quickly deplete the stores. Cole, get a dozen of our best hunters and seek out
the caste here. Offer to help with the hunting.”

           
“Think they will?” Mastin asked.

           
Atty gave a slight nod. “They will
if you tell them you will follow their rules, and let our men know those rules
are absolute. So be sure you pick only those men you can trust.”

           
She sniffed again, finally becoming
aware of her bloodied state. “I need a bath and a few hours of rest. Warren,
please tell Liam I’m going to go lie down for a while so he’ll know where I am
in case Yulen starts to fail again.” Flashing them a weary but sincere smile,
Atty added, “Thank you for your friendship and loyalty, gentlemen. I will never
forget it.” Giving them a final warm look, the Battle Lady slowly walked into
the back rooms to rest.

           
Mastin and Paxton let themselves
out, closing the door to the little apartment firmly behind them. It was
snowing again. All the signs pointed toward harsh, early winter. But once again
they were safe, thanks to the generosity of people they once considered little
better than wild animals.

Chapter
Sixteen

Slow
Recovery

           
MaGrath walked into the clinic, dusting
the snow off of his jacket before going over to the medicine cabinet to extract
the syrup he planned to administer. Walking through the little interconnecting
doorway, he glanced up at the patient bed to see a pair of blue-gray eyes
calmly watching him enter the room. MaGrath nearly dropped the bottle in
surprise.

           
“Dear God! Yulen! How long have you
been awake?”

           
“I have no idea.” His eyes searched
the room for something to jog his memory, but nothing clung. “Where am I? This
isn’t Alta Novis, is it?”

           
“We’re in West Crestin.”

           
“West Crestin? Who all...how
long...”

           
Laying a hand over the man’s parched
and peeling lips, the physician chuckled and proceeded to uncork the bottle,
extracting a spoon from his coat pocket before pouring a portion of medicine
into the bowl. “Take this first.”

           
To his amazement, the Battle Lord
obediently opened his mouth for the medicine. Before he could completely screw
up his nose at the taste, MaGrath offered him a glass of water from the jug on
the bedside table.

           
“What the hell was that?” Yulen
objected as the physician helped ease him back down on the pillow. The water
had helped. His voice sounded stronger.

           
“Well, it’s easy to see you’re
feeling better. It’s an elixir to help your body replenish itself. You know the
good stuff is always the worse-tasting stuff.”

           
“And it’s definitely worse.”

           
“Worse than lemon verbossa?”

           
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,”
Yulen relented with a crooked grin.

           
MaGrath threw back his head and
laughed. He looked down at his patient, and a ribbon of almost fatherly love
suddenly tied around his heart. “It’s good to have you back,” he honestly
admitted.

           
“That bad, huh?”

           
“Excruciating. How much do you
remember?” He pulled a three-legged stool out from under the bed and parked
himself on it.

           
“Damn little.”

           
“I wouldn’t doubt it. I think your
mind’s blocked out a large part of it. Do you remember any of the fall of
Bearinger?”

           
Yulen gave him a blank stare. “I
know it’s been burned to the ground. I don’t know how I know, but I just do. I
get vague images of the forest. I keep seeing this big, giant snake getting
right up into my face, but that’s about all. Want to fill me in on the rest of
it?”
 

           
A past memory found its way into the
present, and before the man could answer his previous question, he gave the
physician a scowl. “Did you say West Crestin? That’s a Mutah compound.”

           
“Yeah, it is.”

           
“What the hell are we doing in a
Mutah compound? Wallis I can und—”

           
Looking like a man who’d just had all
the air knocked out of him, Yulen threw his head back onto the pillow, his eyes
drilling into the ceiling. “Oh, God, if you’re here, who’s watching after Atty
and the baby? Liam, how’s Atty? Who’s taking care of her at the compound?”

           
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

           
“What?”

           
Getting to his feet, MaGrath reached
over and took one of the man’s hands between his own. “Listen carefully to me,
Yulen. Don’t interrupt. Don’t even think about starting an argument with me
until I’m finished. Okay?”

           
The man nodded silently.

           
“I’m going to take this nice and
slow. You left to go rescue Bearinger from a Blood attack. Let me know at which
point you lose track, Yulen.”

           
“I will.”

           
Giving himself a second to mentally
prepare, MaGrath gave Yulen’s hand a quick squeeze. “All right. We got word
Bearinger had fallen. So Atty called for a Code Four—”

           
“Atty? She what?”

           
“Just shut up and listen. Atty
called for a Code Four. We left for Bearinger with about—”

           
“Who all is ‘we’?”

           
“Am I going to have to surgically
stitch your lips together before you let me get through this?” MaGrath glared
at him.

           
Yulen backed down silently.

           
“We went to Bearinger and found...we
found it completely gone. Burned to the ground. Not a living soul. Not a body
left in one piece. Blood running in rivers on the ground. We...we were
devastated. We thought you were somewhere underneath all those body parts,
especially after Atty found your sword. It wasn’t until after the Blood
attacked her—”

           
“
She was attacked?
”

           
“Dammit, Yulen! Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe
you’re not ready to hear all this.” The physician angrily got to his feet and
turned as if to leave. But when he heard none of the pleading for him to come
back, he abruptly stopped and looked around to find the man with his hands over
his face. The broad shoulders moved slightly. Shaking. Uttering a vulgarity,
MaGrath rushed back over to gather the man into his arms. Psychology had never
been his strong point, and he knew it was very dangerous, very risky ground he
was treading upon by telling the man the details of his rescue this soon after
regaining consciousness. Even knowing that the only way to completely heal both
body and mind was to get the raw truth out into the open, it tore at his soul
to have this man who was the son he never had weeping against his chest.

           
“Just...just tell me she’s okay,” a
trembling voice begged.

           
“You have my word. She and the baby
are doing fine. She’s getting fatter, and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t get
reamed out about her discomfort.”
   

           
This last statement earned him a
watery chuckle. Gradually, Yulen drew away and accepted the man’s handkerchief.
Seeing that the man was more in control, MaGrath sighed loudly and sat on the
edge of the bed to continue.