The Destroyer Book 2 (7 page)

“Yes. I will be planning an attack shortly.” He nodded, and we were silent for a few minutes as we ate.

“He isn’t doing very well,” Malek said with worry in his voice.

“He has been sick for a long time, but he’ll eventually outwit what ails him,” I said with a smile. Malek continued to look worried and he glanced up to the moon to avoid eye contact.

“I spend more time with him than you since he is helping me with my magic. He doesn’t show it around you, but the coughs have become worse. He has to use that incense all the time now or he feels intense pain. He doesn’t want anyone to worry, but I can see the agony he is trying to hide.”

I finished consuming my food and set the rounded piece of metal down on the ground out of the way. I didn’t know what Malek wanted me to say or do about Entas. The old man was dying, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. He had been dying for a long time.

“We will not be lost without him,” I said to reassure my graying friend.

“I know. I know. I feel like
I
will be lost for a while though. He seems to understand me better than anyone here, including you.” His eyes met mine and quickly glanced away.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing really Kaiyer.” He smiled grimly, his mouth a rictus of irony, his eyes sad. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought it up.” He hesitated

“Don’t pull that shit. You did bring it up, explain,” I demanded. Malek was often moody and overthought problems.

“Sometimes I want to talk about things that don’t have to do with killing Elvens, or training other people to kill Elvens, or the logistics of managing an army of people intent on killing Elvens.” He laughed suddenly. “Entas is good conversation during those times.” He looked at me over his now empty plate.

“You can speak to me about whatever is on your mind my friend,” I reassured him.

“Ha ha! I’ve tried that before, Kaiyer. Remember when I carved the wood block into the bear a few years ago, after we met Shlara?” I nodded. “You asked me what it was, I said: ‘A bear that I carved.’ You asked why and I said, ‘Because I wanted to.’ You said: ‘I want your troops to launch their Fire blots farther.’ Then you stared at me like I was an idiot.” He laughed again. “No my friend, I love you in many ways, but you have little appreciation for art or other creative outlets.”

“I respect art!” I said in my defense.

“You respect a finely made weapon or the random arrangement of Elven corpses after you kill them. But anything that doesn’t have to do with their annihilation is a waste of time in your mind.”

I frowned as I considered his words. It only took me a few seconds to realize that he was right.

“It will change after they are dead, Malek. I will devote myself to other things. I want to focus on what is important. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I look forward to that day, Kaiyer. What will we do with ourselves when there is no more war left?” He smiled wistfully and looked back up to the moon.

I shrugged and heard a throat clear half a dozen yards behind me. Malek and I both spun around to see Alexia in her dark leather armor walking toward us. Her short blonde hair shone orange as she got closer to the fire.

“Sorry to interrupt.” She looked at Malek and then back to me. Her eyes were a light bluish-white and they made her seem almost as alien as the Elvens. Alexia was pretty, not as beautiful as Shlara, but she had sharp bird-like features I found pleasant.

“No, no. Sit down,” Malek said to her as he gestured to another wood stump near the fire.

“I can’t, I need Kaiyer.” Her eyes stared intently into mine even though she addressed Malek. “My scouts reported a group of Elven riders leaving the Goulix tribe lands and traveling northward.”

“How many?” Malek and I said as one.

“Almost half a thousand.” Her lips curved as she looked to Malek. “I think that they are trading some of their human smiths.”

Malek and I both shot to our feet in excitement. Her face was a full smile now that she couldn’t hide. Goulix was known to have the finest weapons and armor within a three months’ travel. We had gathered enough information to suspect that most of it had been crafted by magically changed human slaves. They had been one of the tribes that I had desired to destroy, but their numbers were too great, their warriors too well-trained, and their equipment outclassed the goods we had pillaged.

“How can you be sure?” I asked her as we set off toward my tent. Malek signaled for his men to get Gorbanni, Shlara, and Thayer.

“I am not, but my scout reported several caravans full of ore, weapons, armor, and smithing tools.” My mouth watered, even if the human smiths weren’t part of the group, the ore and weapons would be worth taking.

I nodded and realized that Malek wasn’t with us anymore. I frowned in annoyance and then predicted that he would probably meet us at my tent shortly.

“Will you come to this attack? We haven’t worked together in a while,” Alexia asked as we neared my area of the camp and approached the large leather tent.

“We will talk about it inside my tent,” I said carefully. I hated committing to battle strategies without knowing the full details.

“Bah. Just say you will come. My warriors have almost forgotten how fearsome the legendary Kaiyer is in battle.” One of my guards opened the tent flap as we approached and asked if I needed any food or drink. I nodded to the offer of water and then took my place by the thrashed planning table that held our territory sketch. There was no one else in the tent but Alexia and I.

“Kaiyer,” she said gently, and I looked up from the map.

“Just say that you will come.” She smiled at me reassuringly. “I have done well with my soldiers. Reward us with your presence.” Her eyes showed no hint of weakness in them and I knew that I should give her this.

“Fine,” I said with a smile. “But only if it makes sense after we plan.” She nodded but didn’t hide her smile, it softened her face and bridged the gap between pretty and beautiful.

She almost never smiled.

The flap opened and Shlara entered.

"You need to tell me how you did that. I've been trying to get him to spend time with my team and he always wiggles out of it."

"Persistence!" Alexia laughed and shook her short blonde hair back.

"I thought I was." Shlara looked at me and pursed her lips in annoyance. I was saved from her next words by Gorbanni and Thayer's voices outside the tent. The flap opened and the two muscled warriors joined us at the table. They were wearing various pieces of leather and chain armor that we pillaged from raids on caravans. Malek was thin enough to wear Elven armor, but Gorbanni, Thayer, and I were too large, so we had to make do with what we salvaged.

"Feed us the info, Alexia," I said as we moved to the wooden table in the corner of my tent. It had a map of our territory etched on a piece of patchwork parchment. There were marks on it for each of the tribes within a two-week travel.

"Malek?" Gorbanni asked.

"He'll get here when he gets here." It wasn't like him to miss strategy meetings, but he could make his own decisions.

"An assembly of Goulix are moving from their estate. They left this morning and appear to be heading northwest. I would bet they are going to the Hoittor Tribe. My scout said they are escorting ore and smith tools."

Everyone got the implication and tried to hold back their excitement. We lacked anyone in the camp that made arms, and while we had some rudimentary forging equipment, every army needed a skilled smith.

"Could it be a trap?" Thayer asked.

"Possibly, but we've never attacked Goulix or Hoittor. We've just been focusing on the smaller tribes. If they knew our camp was here, they would crush us." Alexia smiled while she made light coal marks on the map.

"How many?" Shlara asked.

"Five hundred or so. My scout made a rough deduction and came back quickly to report. It is a three-day ride back here. They work in trios, so the other two are still observing. I should get another update in four days. We will be able to guess their route better at that point." My friends nodded and turned to the map on the table.

We had established a great working relationship when planning the moves of our army. It had been built on trust, accountability, and the understanding that we would make mistakes and learn from them. Within half an hour we solidified a plan for the possible routes that the Goulix caravan might take. I would be positioned with Alexia's forces overlooking a small canyon that the convoy would pass through to reach the Hoittor estate. Thayer, Gorbanni, and Shlara would cover alternate passages in case we were mistaken about Goulix's destination.

"We'll adjust once we get the second report from Alexia's scout," I confirmed after we reached a conclusion. "I will update Malek." I heard his familiar boot steps approaching.

"I am here." His face was white and a frown of pain replaced the normal smile.

"What is wrong?" I asked.

"Entas has died."

Entas's passing wasn't as devastating as the death of my brother and father, but the memory still felt like a hole in the chest. I didn't have to carry the pain alone though. Malek, Shlara, Thayer, Alexia, and Gorbanni were surrogate children to the old man. We comforted each other and the troops. Our friendship and love got us through the hardship, and then we had focused on what had really mattered: killing our enemies.

But that ache lay in my distant memories. Perhaps I remembered him because of the loss Jessmei just experienced. Thoughts of her made my heart sink in pain. I wanted to be with her now, to comfort and help her get through this. But we had finally agreed that I should journey back to Nia alone. She was understandably clingy and scared, but I had assured her that I would return to her. Though she was scared, she was not selfish enough to insist I remain with her after the initial shock wore off. Princesses were accustomed to sacrificing their needs for those of their country and family. She had lived her whole life resigned to the fact that she would be married to someone she did not love, or even know, just to pad Nia’s coffers. Losing me when she needed familiarity and comfort came naturally to her and she bore our parting with grace. Her initial passionate and uninhibited displays of agony had subsided and she regressed to the composed, if less cheerful, girl she had been.

I untied myself from the large oak tree in which I slept and checked my surroundings. My lofty bed was about a six-hour jog to the north of the capital of Nia and a two-week run from the village of Merrium, where the princess hid. I had decided to leave the horses with Jessmei and our adopted family for a variety of reasons. I moved faster through the forests on foot, and therefore, avoided the main roads. I also felt that I owed Greta and Rayat for our time at their home. Jessmei agreed and figured that the gift of the steeds, plus my help around the ranch, was fair compensation for our stay.

I opened my pack, grabbed a handful of jerked beef, and slowly chewed on it. The tough, sinewy meat helped wake up my mouth so I could focus on my task. I had traveled at an easy-paced jog for the last two weeks, sleeping for six hours every night before journeying onward toward Nia. I caught a rabbit or two almost every day, so my travel rations hadn't suffered. Even as I ate in silence, I heard several rodents scurry about the forest floor. I was the perfect hunter, and it would be almost trivial to catch and cook any of the game that roamed these forests.

But I did have somewhere to be, and the smoked breakfast helped remind me of the beautiful girl I had left back in the small village. She prepared these rations before I departed and had insisted that I use them. Thoughts of Jessmei made me smile and I almost regretted taking this journey. I could have been waking up in her soft, comforting arms instead of the cold tree branch.

After I finished the jerky, I climbed down the fifty feet to the needle-covered ground and took a deep breath of the brisk morning air. I did a quick stretch to work the kinks out of my muscles and get my joints lubricated. I didn't do my usual warm-up routine since the sun would be up in half an hour and I wanted to be in the city before it hung too high.

Despite advice from Rayat, I had traveled west through the forest and hit the main road leading south into Nia. For a week of travel, I saw no one, and then I came upon refugees and the sorts who become parasites off of people in need. The latter were easy enough for me to deal with; common brigands and robbers I exterminated when they tried to harm me or when I witnessed them attempting to exploit or rape refugees.

Lost souls without prospects, the refugees had little information, save what I already knew: Nia had fallen, the royal family was dead, and there was no hope. Most of the refugees fled as the Losher army was arriving. So they hadn't witnessed the outcome of the siege.

There was nothing I could do for these hungry people, as much as I wanted to. I saw in them the same desperate, wretched faces of the enslaved humans from my time. They were hollow with grief. They had seen great horror and loss. I shared rations and information when I could, but I did not allow them to slow me down. The success of my mission took precedence and would help all of us. I contemplated telling them about the small village in which Jessmei hid, but then decided against it. An influx of refugees would stretch the resources of the village and possibly put the princess in danger. As I traveled closer to the city, the groups of refugees became larger, more frequent, and told conflicting stories about what had happened at the capital of Nia. After my fourth attempt to figure out what actually transpired, I decided to avoid the refugees. I would find my answers when I was there myself.