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Phalen sighed heavily as
he followed his mentor through the forest. A glance at the
lightening sky revealed to the young cadet that dawn was
approaching. Though he had been in the woods most of the
night and fatigue pressed heavily upon his eyelids,
complaining was the last thing on his mind. His top priority
was to serve and protect the kingdom. Besides, few would
dare dream about shadowing the revered Zorn of the Sixth
Legionnaires.
Phalen adjusted his body
armor and kept his crossbow at the ready. Zorn, however,
simply kept his broadsword sheathed. His long thin black
hair pulled back in a ponytail, the Legionnaire wore a
goatee and bore a crescent scar on his hardened face. The
most decorated soldier in the history of the kingdom.
Notorious for his preference to work alone working alone,
Zorn was known as the legion of one.
As the two men weaved
through the endless barren trees, Phalen pondered the
assignment. Sent back to where he had grown up, where his
friends Reshawn and Parn still lived. He hoped that the
information was false. He couldn't imagine the implications
for the kingdom if it was true.
“Do you think the sivs
have returned?” Phalen asked.
“That’s what we’re going
to find out,” Zorn said. As the two men weaved through the
endless barren trees, Phalen surveyed the area; everywhere
except for the stump in front of him. The cadet tripped and
crashed face-first into the ground. The dropped crossbow
discharged its bolt. The arrow zipped into the tree bark
inches from Zorn.
“Sorry,” Phalen
muttered.
Zorn yanked Phalen to
his feet, “You trying to get us killed?”
“Sorry sir!”
“I don’t need to remind
you that you’re a hair’s breadth away from being expelled
from the academy. I only agreed to let you shadow me as a
favor to Commander Talia. So you better show me something
impressive or expulsion is going to be the least of your
problems. Do we have an understanding?”
“Yes sir.”
“And kill the sir crap.”
“Yes sir—I mean yes.”
Zorn spotted a long thin
pair of tracks in the soft earth. He grinned as he crouched
and examined them.
“Are we close?” Phalen
asked.
“Less than a mile,” Zorn
replied.
Phalen shook his head as
he continued to ponder on the possibility of the sivs’
return. Though he was only a child when the attacks on the
village began, he vividly recalled the madness. As it was
their nature, they killed some and infected others through
the stingers in their tongues.
His thoughts wandered to
Reshawn and the havoc that sivs bestowed on her life. Her
father was turned. Having lost all traces of his humanity,
he murdered his wife on the night she gave birth to Parn. If
it hadn’t been for Reshawn’s quick thinking, she and her
brother would’ve been killed as well. Phalen recalled how
the villagers treated them like pariahs.
“Even if they’re back,
you and the Sixth Legionnaires will beat them like you did
last time,” Phalen said. “Of course it may not be enough.”
“We’ll do whatever it
takes to preserve order. Just like last time.”
“But that’s just it.
Even after the sivs were destroyed, things were still
chaotic. People accused each other out of paranoia. Anyone
thought infected was jailed or executed. Never mind the fact
that the infection was instantaneous. All those people died
for nothing.”
“Not for nothing. It’s a
small price to pay to protect the kingdom. Freedom is never
easy and sometimes sacrifices have to happen for the greater
good.”
“So how did you come to
learn of this siv?”
“Lady Haversham said
that something had been devouring her garden for the past
few weeks. She finally spotted it one night and swore that
it was a siv.”
“That’s weird. I’ve done
research on sivs for class. They don’t eat vegetables or
fruits. They’re strictly carnivores. For all intents and
purposes, Lady Haversham should’ve been its meal. If this is
in fact a siv, it’s showing some peculiar behavior.”
“It doesn’t matter. We
find it, we kill it.”
“But we should bear this
in mind. If it’s deviating from its nature then it’s in our
best interest to find out why.”
“You telling me how to
do my job boy?”
“No I only meant—.”
“Let me tell you
something, cadet. I’ve been a soldier since before you were
an accident on your daddy’s part. Only thing you need to
worry about is keeping that crossbow at the ready and doing
what you’re told. And what you’re being told is that we’re
going to find this thing, make it suffer a lot and then kill
it. And no more talking. This isn’t a tea party.”
The two men’s trek
eventually led them out of the thickly wooded forest and to
the mouth of a cave. Raising their weapons, they slowly
entered. The pungent odor of beets, pumpkins, berries and
onions permeated the area. No doubt the creature nested
here. Zorn raised his fingers and signaled Phalen to cover
his rear. The Sixth Legionnaire crept forward as faint steps
echoed from the shadows. A sinewy figure charged and pounced
on top of Phalen. With long talons, the ebony creature
brandished its fangs as it hissed at the struggling cadet.
The siv leapt off of Phalen, flipped off the side of a wall
and landed on top of the ledge before Zorn could aid his
charge.
Phalen shook his head,
“Holy—”
“Use the crossbow!” Zorn
cried.
Phalen grabbed his
weapon and scrambled to his feet. Before he could squeeze
the trigger, the siv writhed and contorted. When the
transformation ceased, the siv was gone and its place was a
pale twelve-year-old boy. Phalen lowered his weapon as he
approached the ledge where the thin, trembling boy sat.
“Parn?” Phalen said.
The boy stared at the
cadet.
“It’s okay Parn,” Phalen
said. “No one’s going to hurt you.”
Parn glared at Phalen’s
crossbow and raised an eyebrow. Phalen hid it behind his
back, “It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you. It’s me Parn,
Phalen.”
Phalen turned to Zorn,
“What’s going on here?”
“His father was infected
by a siv,” Zorn said. “Before he was hunted down, he
attacked and killed the boy’s mother and the midwife while
she gave birth to him. They lived in a cottage not far from
Lady Haversham. It didn’t take us long to put the pieces
together.”
“So the transformations
have only been recent,” Phalen realized.
“Prepare your crossbow,”
Zorn said. “We still have a job to do. Rather, you do.”
“What?” Phalen said.
“Eliminate the threat,
cadet,” Zorn said. “Otherwise you can bid farewell to your
military career.”
Phalen’s eyes shifted
from his mentor to his weapon as he struggled over his
orders. He knew that he would be expelled from the academy
as a disgrace. The alternative would be to salvage his
military career at the cost of a child’s life.
“I-I,” Phalen stuttered,
“I don’t think I can-.”
“Just want to go home,”
Parn muttered. “I want my sister.”
Zorn grinned and twirled
his sword, “I’m afraid Reshawn won’t be coming for you.”
“What happened to
Reshawn?” Phalen asked.
“Reshawn was arrested
and interrogated. Harboring an enemy of the kingdom is still
considered treason,” Zorn said. “I got to say Parn; you’ve
got yourself a loyal big sister. She wouldn’t give you up,
even at the end. She was quite delicious if I do say so
myself. A spirited one too.”
Phalen’s eyes widened in
horror, “You didn’t.”
Zorn smirked, “Spoils of
war.”
“Spoils of war?” Phalen
said. “You call hunting a kid and torturing and raping a
woman, a friend of mine, spoils of war?”
“Don’t you dare get
sanctimonious with me you little pissant,” Zorn barked. “I
have fought, bled and sacrificed to protect this kingdom so
sniveling little worms like you could grow up to question
your betters. You want to talk about madness? Try watching
your brothers get murdered right before your eyes by these
things.” Zorn’s face held a pained and haunted look. “Your
friend made her choice when she hid that little mongrel. War
isn’t a pretty thing and if you don’t have the stomach for
it then you’ve got no business in the academy. In the
meantime, we got a job to do!”
“No we don’t,” Phalen
said. “Don’t you see? This boy could’ve killed Lady
Haversham and he didn’t. He could’ve killed me just now and
he didn’t. He’s part human; otherwise he wouldn’t have been
able to change back. He’s not evil. He’s more scared than
anything. We don’t have to do this. Surely the mages can
help him control his condition.”
Zorn scoffed and shook
his head, “Commander Talia is the only reason I haven’t
killed you yet for this insubordination. I don’t know what
she ever saw in you. ‘This cadet’s got so much potential. He
just needs a little guidance.’ ‘I see so much of you in
him.’ On my worst day I would never be so weak.”
“There’s nothing weak
about valuing life!” Phalen cried. ”I might be a pathetic
excuse of a cadet but I’m a better man than you’ll ever be.
We don’t have to kill him. At least let us take him back to
the mages and see if they can help him.”
“What’s it going to take
for me to get it through to you that monsters have no place
in this world? He hasn’t infected anyone yet. If we do this
now, we can stop the sivs from returning.”
“Only monster I see here
is you,” Phalen said. ”You’ve raped and murdered innocent
people. That boy is a victim of circumstance. What’s your
excuse?”
“Enough of this. I’m
done talking.”
Zorn started for the
cliff but Phalen moved to block his way, his crossbow
raised.
“You want to think about
this carefully, boy,” Zorn said. “Are you willing to
sacrifice your military career over that thing up there? Are
you ready to live with the shame and disgrace?”
“Like you taught me,
sometimes sacrifices have to happen for the greater good.”
“If you don’t have the
stomach for this, fine. Just get out of the way.”
“I’m not letting you
hurt that kid,” Phalen replied.
“We both know I can kill
you with little effort.”
“Then I’ll die
protecting him.”
Zorn chuckled before
spin-kicking the crossbow out of Phalen’s hands. Zorn
followed up his assault with an elbow and a jab to the
cadet’s face. Stunned and bleeding, Phalen barely managed to
block and parry the succeeding punches. Phalen surprised
both himself and Zorn when he landed a roundhouse kick and
an uppercut. Zorn sneered as he licked the blood that
trickled from his lip.
“You might not be
completely worthless,” Zorn said.
From the ledge Parn
watched as Phalen tackled Zorn.
“Get out of here Parn!”
Phalen screamed. “Run!”
Parn quickly scrambled
down the wall as Phalen wrestled with his larger foe. Zorn
elbowed Phalen in the stomach and rammed his knee into his
jaw. Zorn reached behind his back and hurled a bola that
ensnared Parn’s legs. Parn crashed face first to the ground.
Blood streamed from the unconscious boy’s head. Phalen swept
Zorn’s legs from underneath him. Before the cadet could
reach for the dagger underneath his tunic, Zorn stomped on
his face. Zorn yanked his hair and slammed his face into the
earth. An unconscious Parn was the last thing Phalen saw
before he blacked out.
#
Phalen wasn’t certain
how long he had been unconscious when he finally opened his
eyes. Remembering everything that transpired, he quickly
scanned the cavern. Zorn sat in a corner, nonchalantly
polishing his broadsword with a rag. Phalen’s eyes widened
in horror as he witnessed the fate that had befallen Parn.
“Oh gods,” Phalen
whimpered.
“It’s done,” Zorn said.
Phalen doubled over and
vomited.
Zorn placed his sword in
his scabbard and waited for Phalen to finish heaving. “It
had to be done cadet. War is always an ugly business and
sometimes as soldiers, we have to do things we aren’t proud
of for the greater good. This business is tragic but there’s
no telling how many lives we saved today.”
Phalen remained
motionless as he stared at Parn’s remains.
“You know something kid,
I was wrong,” Zorn said. “You really showed me something.
You were willing to die for what you genuinely thought was
right. Few men have fought me as fiercely as you did. You’re
going to make a great soldier, cadet.”
Phalen nodded. Zorn
patted him on the shoulder and helped him to his feet.
“Come on kid, let’s find
ourselves a tavern and have a hearty breakfast,” Zorn said.
“What-what about Parn?”
Phalen asked. “We should give him a proper burial.”
“What’s the point?” Zorn
asked. “The boy is gone. Besides, the wolves will take care
of his remains.”
Zorn slung Phalen’s
crossbow over his shoulder as the two exited the cavern.
“I’ll put in a good word
and see to it that you’ve got a spot in the Sixth Legion
once you graduate from the academy,” Zorn said.
“That’ll be nice,”
Phalen said.
“You’ll be in good
company,” Zorn continued. “You know Commander Talia was a
Sixth Legionnaire as well. In her day she was quite the
force to be—”
Phalen plunged his
dagger into Zorn’s throat. He rotated the blade before
yanking it out. Expressionless, Phalen watched as Zorn
staggered, clutching his throat and wheezing for life. His
struggle eventually subsided as he collapsed to the earth.
“You were right about
one thing, sir,” Phalen said. “Monsters have no place in
this world.”
The cadet returned to
the cavern to give Parn a proper burial. |
