The Guardians: Book One of the Restoration Series (25 page)

For several seconds, it was all he could do to avoid the branches and limbs that were flying at him, but fortunately, the company quickly broke through onto the path. Unfortunately, twenty five or so goblins were advancing on the clearing, and they came out right in the middle of them.

The goblins were as surprised as the humans, but both sides quickly recovered. Atock drew one of his swords and cleaved the head of the nearest goblin so quick that Flare couldn’t follow the movement.

A goblin jabbed a spear at Flare, but he clumsily slapped it with his sword. He didn’t have much force behind the swing, but it was just enough to deflect the spear head behind his back. Flare reversing the motion of his swing, caught the goblin in the throat. The blood from the wound sprayed Flare across the face, soaking his shirt.

The events had transpired too quickly, and he hadn’t had time to think, just react. In that instinctive action, he had taken his first life. He had prepared himself for this, ever since he joined the guardians, but he still was not ready for the conflicting emotions that surged through him. The disgust that he had expected was there, but it was not as pronounced as he had thought it would be. He felt relief at having survived his first battle, and joy at his first killing. The joy sickened him.

He didn’t have time to think, as he spotted Enton pinned between two goblins. Spurring his horse, Flare drove at the goblin on Enton’s left. The goblin had his back to Flare, which made it all the easier. He rammed his sword into the goblin's lower right back. It slid between several ribs, and emerged through the other side. Enton made quick work of the remaining goblin.

Twelve to fourteen of the goblins were already dead, when the remaining goblins fled into the woods.

Flare looked down at his hands, and they were covered in blood. His joy and elation were gone, and disgust was all that was left. He dismounted, and spewed up what was left of his breakfast.

“Flare! Get back on that horse. We're leaving now. You can come with us, or stay behind.” Colonel Holt shouted as he spurred his horse along the path toward the fort.

Flare stumbled to his feet, and climbed back on his horse. “You're welcome,” He mumbled in the direction of the Colonel. He was about ten yards behind the rest of the company, but he managed to keep up with them on the way back to the fort. They rode their horses hard all the way, but the goblins did not catch them.

When the company reached the fort, it was mid-afternoon, and Colonel Holt and his officers immediately left for the fort headquarters, leaving Flare and the rest of his squad to return to their rooms.

“The colonel took off in a hurry. What do you think he will do?” Heather asked.
Rubbing her left shoulder.

Heather’s question was directed at Flare, but Philip answered. “What will he do?! He will gather his forces, and lead a counterattack.” Philip’s eyes lit up as he spoke. “Did you see how fast he headed back to his office and the look in his eyes? He wants to obliterate the goblins. It will be glorious.”

Atock spat on the ground.
“The only thing glorious about war, is surviving it. Killing is necessary, not glorious.”

Flare felt the same as Atock, but he too had become excited by the promise of battle, and that was confusing. He continued to wrestle with the excitement and hatred of battle even after he reached his quarters.

As commanding officer of the reinforcements, he had received his own room. After two years of military training, having a room to
himself
was magnificent. Even though it was only mid afternoon, he
lay
down on the bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

Later that evening, Flare was
woke
by a messenger summoning him to appear before Colonel Holt. He quickly dressed, and followed the messenger to Colonel Holt’s office.

Once again, Flare was forced to wait in the ante-room, before being admitted into the Colonel’s office. This time, however, the wait was only about twenty minutes.

Entering the office, it was as he had feared. The Colonel’s office was quickly turning into a war room.

The office had been rearranged since Flare last visit earlier in the morning. A long table had been set up in the middle of the room, and was currently loaded down with a large number of maps. Four officers besides Colonel Holt were present in the room. There was a major, two captains, and a lieutenant. Three of the officers were sitting down in chairs along the wall, with the major apparently speaking to the group. When Flare walked in, the major quit talking, and moved away from the table several feet. Colonel Holt was standing in front of his desk, listening to what the officers were saying.

Flare stood in the middle of the room, assuming a rigid military stance.

“Sergeant, we will be attacking the goblins tomorrow at first light, and I will need you to help coordinate with Captain Hawk. You will be responsible for integrating your reinforcements with the regular soldiers under his command.” Colonel Holt said, holding Flare’s gaze. “Do you understand?”

'
If you participate in the battle, you will die'.
A voice rang through the room.

“Sir?!
What did you say?” Flare asked, confused.

The colonel bolted forward into the middle of the room. “Are you deaf? Your orders are to follow captain Hawk’s orders! You will assist him in the management of the new soldiers. Is that clear?”

Colonel Holt had misunderstood Flare’s question. He had not been questioning the colonel’s orders, but instead had been questioning the other voice he had heard. The colonel and the other officers had apparently not heard it.

'
You will die, if you follow your orders, and the fort will fall.'

This time, Flare was sure that none of the officers had spoken, but the voice had sounded as if it was right beside him. The words had a chilling affect on him. They seemed to seep into his very soul, and without even knowing where the voice came from, Flare believed completely that it was the truth.

Not sure of what the voice meant, he addressed the colonel. “Sir, am I to understand that you intend to attack the goblins without knowing how many there are? Shouldn’t you hold off until you have determined how many we face? And how many soldiers will be left to guard the fort?”

The colonel’s face went from white to red. He sputtered a moment before he managed to get intelligible words out, “How dare you question my orders? I’m in charge, and I will give the orders.”

“I’m sorry sir, I just thought ....” Flare started.

“I didn’t ask you to think, just to follow your orders!” Colonel Holt shouted at him.

A thought occurred to
Flare
, and he acted on it without even considering the consequences. “Sir, my orders, from General Vergillion
are
to turn control of my troops over to you, the day after tomorrow. Until then, they are under my control, and if you wish to use them, then you will have to convince me of the value of this battle.” The last words came out slowly, as if what he was saying was starting to occur to him.

Colonel Holt was speechless. He stood there moving his lips, with no sound coming out.

Flare was feeling sick to his stomach. He had used a technicality to get around having to follow Colonel Holt’s orders. But he doubted that a military tribunal would uphold his decision. If he was wrong, then his military career was over.

When Colonel Holt regained his voice, several seconds later, he spoke with a cold quiet authority, “Lieutenant, place sergeant Flare under arrest and take him to the stockade.”

The lieutenant stood up, and took several steps toward him.

Flare’s heart skipped a beat, but he was committed now, and he couldn’t change his course. He dropped his right hand to his sword, and withdrew it several inches from the sheath.

“Colonel Holt. Are you going to defy the orders of General Vergillion? That would not be an advantageous career move.”

Colonel Holt moved back behind his desk, and sat down. “Flare, we both know that you are twisting the wording of your orders. It will not stand up in front of a military council. You'll be found guilty of disobeying a direct order from a commanding officer. You’re finished.”

Flare smiled, masking his nervousness. “Perhaps, but if you arrest me, and commandeer my soldiers, then you too will face a tribunal. The last time I checked, a colonel could not override a general’s orders.”

“Flare if I went in front of a tribunal over this, I would be cleared.”

“Perhaps, but I have never heard of a general who faced a tribunal when he was a colonel.” At these words the smile faded from the colonel’s face. “It doesn’t take much to prevent a colonel from getting promoted. Any scandal or hint of a scandal is all it takes. Isn’t that right?”

The smile returned to the Colonel’s face. “All right Flare. Here’s what I am going to do. Tomorrow, I will lead my troops to a glorious victory, while you and YOUR troops will remain here and guard the fort. The day after tomorrow, you will surrender the troops to me and then I will have you arrested in front of all MY soldiers.”

The major spoke from the couch where he was sitting, “Sir, shouldn’t we leave a couple of soldiers here, just to make sure that the gate is opened when we return?”

'Stupid man,’ Flare thought. 'If I intended to keep the gates closed and I had the full support of my troops, what good would a couple of soldiers be?'

Colonel Holt leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest. “I do not think that will be necessary. Even if several of the soldiers don't want to follow orders, I’m sure the rest of them understand what will happen if they are found guilty of disobeying a direct order.”

Colonel Holt stood up, and came around the desk to stand in front of Flare. In a quiet and cold voice, the colonel said, “You are dismissed for now, but we will finish this the day after tomorrow.”

Flare slunk out of the headquarters building, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. If things went as he expected, then the soldiers who left tomorrow would not be returning. And if they did return, then he was through as a member of the guardians. And where had that voice come from, that bothered him more than anything.

The next morning was cool and brisk. Flare and the other members of the guardians stood atop the western wall, watching the soldiers leave. They stood there in silence watching rank after rank of soldiers march or ride past.

“Flare, I can not believe that you refused a direct order from Colonel Holt,” Heather said to break the silence. “I sure hope you know what you're doing.”

“Like I told you, the colonel’s an idiot. If he brings half of those men back, he will be lucky. He has no idea how many goblins are out there, but he goes marching out like some hero from the sagas.”

Philip shrugged, and said, “But that idiot will put you in chains when he comes back.”

Atock arched his eyebrows, “Are we going to allow that to happen? Couldn’t we stop it?”

“What?!!”
Flare, and several other people, said at the same time.

“Atock, you’re talking about armed rebellion!” Philip burst out.

“Atock!
I will not have it. I got myself into this, and I'll handle it. If Colonel Holt survives today’s battle, then I'll surrender to him.” Flare held Atock’s gaze for several seconds, before continuing. “I will not allow my decisions to negatively affect you. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”
Atock said quietly.

There was silence for several moments before Mikela spoke up, “Sir. All of the soldiers are through the gate.”

“All right Mikela, Have them close it up.” Flare said.

Mikela left with Heather, towards the gate house. Moments later, the gate came together with a loud CRASH!

“What do we do now?” Callin asked with his hands held out.

“We wait.” His brother, Trestus replied quietly.

The wait was unbearable. Flare didn’t know what to hope for. If the force was wiped out, then he was right, and most likely dead. If the force defeated the goblins, then he was wrong and under arrest. Perhaps he should have held his tongue, and simply followed orders.

The time passed slowly. At first, he had tried to pass the time by correcting the positioning of the soldiers on the walls, but he quickly ran out of things to correct. He finally gave up, and returned to the western wall to watch for the soldiers' return.

It was mid afternoon, when the first warriors were spotted approaching the gate. Unfortunately, the warriors were not human, they were goblins.
A large number of them moving rapidly toward the fort.

Flare was standing on the walkway above the gate, when they were first spotted. Turning back toward the center of the fort, Flare spotted Heather moving along the base of the wall. “Heather. Get to the gate, and make sure it’s secured!”

He returned to the outer wall, and attempted to get an idea for how many goblins were approaching. He quickly gave up, as the numbers kept swelling. The emotions surging through Flare confused him. He was relieved to be right and devastated also. And with that many goblins, what chance did they have of holding the fort?