The Last Stand (The Eleven Years War: Book One)
Chapter Fourteen

Kael was utterly lost.

Hisplan had seemed so simple, so impossible to screw up. All he had to do wassneak out of Thaos while everyone was asleep, then head in the generaldirection of Asfalis. Once there, he would reveal his identity to them, pray tothe gods that he wouldn’t get thrown into a loony bin or killed, then join theCaithians to help them beat Raul’s army. However, there was one thing he forgotto account for:

Hedidn’t know a thing about Caitha’s geography.

Atfirst, he thought he was doing well: he’d managed to escape Thaos completelyundetected and with his father’s sword, the one that had been wielded by everyGisken king for hundreds of years, and his mother’s dagger, which had beenpassed on to every first born in her family for countless generations, wearingthe Kurzhian garb he’d worn for years while living there. With the combinationof hooded Kurzhian clothes, a large sword and a dagger, he looked like somesort of assassin, and he still managed to basically walk out. Even after a fewminutes of walking through the dense, Caithian woods, he still felt confidentthat he’d be able to make it to Asfalis by morning.

Now,he was beginning to wonder if he’d even manage to make it there at all. The woods were black as ink andfilled with fog and life. Owls hooted in the trees, twigs cracked as animalswalked over them; even the very trees seemed to be alive as their branchessnatched at his clothes, trying to hold him back. He found himself beratinghimself for not bringing a map, a compass, anythingthat would have helped him navigate the woods.

Heeventually stopped doing that, though. It wasn’t like he could turn around andgo back to Thaos, now; his clothing would scream, “kill me” to any Gisken thathe happened to run into.

Afterabout an hour of wandering aimlessly around the woods, he began to get an eeriefeeling, and not just because he was lost. He began to feel like there wassomeone – or something – watching him. Every time he looked over his shoulders,though, he couldn’t see anyone behind him. All he ever saw standing behind himwere the trees, inky black shadows that reached out for him through the ghostlyfog. Every time that happened, he would berate himself about it, asking whatthe rightful king of Gishk had to fear from a few shadows. He was acting likesome child who was scared of the dark, for the gods’ sakes!

However,he knew all too well how much he needed to fear the shadows. Not only was hedeserting the Gisken army, a crime punishable by hanging, but he was alsosupposed to be dead and he was dressedlike a Kurzhian, something, he knew, was frowned upon almost everywhere butKurzh and Mirinia; nobody wanted to be associated with a race considered to besavage monsters. If he were to be seen by the wrong person, he would be killedon the spot.

Aboutan hour after he’d deserted the army, a twig snapped behind him. He turnedaround to face whatever was behind him, but as normal, the only thing that wasbehind him was inky darkness shrouded in mist.

Heput his hand on the pommel of his sword as an ice-cold fist gripped his heart.Something wasn’t right. If it had been an animal, he would’ve seen something: atail, a leg, something to show himthat it was an animal; however, there was nothing there, as if he’d imaginedit.

“Who’sthere?” he asked the woods. “Show yourself!” There was no reply.

Heturned back around. Must’ve just been an animal.

Thenext thing he knew, his head was whipping to the side as a staff slammedagainst his jaw.

Hestaggered back as he drew his sword. Standing in front of him was a boy whocame up to his shoulder, holding a staff. Judging by his black cloak, he was aRook.

Kaelalmost scoffed at him. He knew of the Rooks; rumors of the assassins hadmanaged to spread to Gishk, and they’d terrified any lords who opposed the oldalliance with Caitha, before Raul had taken over everything. This childcouldn’t possibly be one of them, could he?

“Whoare you?” the child growled, holding his staff at him as if it were a spear. “AGisken assassin?” Kael drew his sword and swung it at the boy, who stepped justout of his sword’s reach.

“Whythe hell do you care?” he asked. With that, the child’s attack began.

Kaelhad to admit, he was a lot better of a fighter than he thought he would be. Theboy was quick and agile, and handled his staff, which was taller than he was,with ease. He knocked Kael’s sword out of the way with his staff, whenpossible, stepped out of its way, landed painful blows against Kael’s shins,sides, arms; after a few minutes of fighting the small shadow of a boy, hebegan to wish that he had some sort of armor to keep away the sting of hisblows.

Finally,he managed to have some luck. He landed a blow across his cheek with the buttof his sword.

Therewas a loud, ugly crack, and the child’s head whipped to the side so hard, Kaelthought that he might have killed him. That hadn’t been the case, thank thegods. The child simply stumbled back as the hood of his cloak fell off of hishead, putting a hand to his cheek. Kael was shocked when he turned his head toface him, again.

Hisopponent wasn’t, in fact, a boy: it was a girl, one with hair that was black assin, a large scar on one side of her face from a knife, and an ugly bruise thatwas starting to form on her cheek where his sword had hit her.

Kaelfroze, confused. This couldn’t be right-

Painflared up in his wrist, making him drop his sword, then on the back of hisknees. The next thing he knew, he was laying on his back, while the girl heldhis own sword at his throat.

“I’mgoing to ask you one more time,” she growled. “Who are you?!”

“Whyis it such a big deal for her to leave the fort by herself?” Elise asked. FortAsfalis was alive with activity as Rooks and Watchmen, alike began to assemblein order to replace the commander. Silas was putting them into groups, each withat least one Rook, and giving them a portion of the surrounding area to search.

“It’sa long story,” Doc said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Basically, the Giskensconsider refugees to be war criminals; if they were to replace her and figure outthat she’s a Kurzhian, they’d ship her back to Kurzh, never to be seen again.”

Elise found herselffrowning in confusion. Eza would have been six, maybe seven when the Giskenshad invaded Kurzh; what could she possibly know about them that was sodamaging?

Shenever got the chance to ask. A Rook, one that looked to be Eza, rode in on adark brown horse, a sword and a staff in her hands, while someone clad intanned hides lay across her lap, with his hands tied behind his back.

Silascursed as Eza hopped off the horse. “What part of ‘don’t go on a ranging byyourself’ did you not understand, you little ass? You could’ve gotten yourselfkilled, for the gods’ sakes!”

“Well,sorry for going out and stopping a Gisken from killing anyone,” she grumbled. “Don’tworry; I’ll never do it, again.”

After handing thesword to a nearby Watchman, she began walking towards the infirmary, whereElise and Doc were. Elise could see that she had a large, purple bruise thatwas starting to form on her cheek. The man, who’d been helped off the horse,turned his head and looked at her in disbelief.

When she saw hisface, Elise’s blood ran cold: it was Kael, one of the Giskens who’d been inThaos.

“I’mnot a Gisken!” he yelled. “I’m on your side, I swear!” Elise found herselfshaking her head.

“Hewas there.” Doc looked over at her, confused.

“Pardon?”he asked. She looked over at him.

“He’slying,” she said. “He’s a Gisken soldier. I saw him in Thaos; he helped thenbeat Olrick.” Doc nodded and looked back at Silas.

“He’sone of them,” Doc called. Silas looked over at them and nodded.

“Getthe Gisken to the brig; General Polain will get to him when he can,” he said.He looked over at Eza, anger brewing in his eyes. “Commander Mitriovna: in mystudy, now.” They all walked into one of the cabins.

Oncethey were out of sight, Doc snorted and folded his arms across his chest. “I’mnot sure who he’s going to kill first: that Gisken or Eza.”

“Youwanted to see me, sir?” Silas waited for a few seconds to speak as the Giskenwas led down the trap door to the brig. It didn’t take very long, but it seemedlike an eternity to him; he was fuming mad at Eza. How could she have been soreckless? Did she want to get sentback in Kurzh in chains? Somehow, he managed to keep it all under control;screaming would just end with her famous stone-cold look and him angry with howemotionless she could seem.

Finally,the Watchman who’d escorted the Gisken came back up from the brig, shut thetrapdoor, saluted, then walked out.

Silastook a deep breath. Gods, give him patience.

“What.The hell. Were you thinking?” Eza’s brows furrowed, thoughwhether or not it was because she was angry or confused, he couldn’t tell.

“Iwas doing what I came here for,” she said. “Sorry for not wanting what’shappened to the rest of the world to happen here.”

“So,you came all the way here to single handedly take down the Gisken army?” Silasasked. “That’s going to work out realwell, seeing as they’ve already brought down just about every nation that’sstood against them; what’s going to stop them from taking out you?” Eza didn’tsay anything. Her frown just deepened and that all too familiar fire was lit inher eyes.

Silas sighed as he beganto relax. He could still remember that scared little kid that first arrived inSemata, clutching his hand like a life line; how the hell did that kid turninto the most reckless, hard-headed person he’d ever met?

“Listen, kid,” hesaid. “I know how much you want to go in there and knock some heads, but wecan’t do that; we have to come up with some sort of strategy, and for that, Ineed you here, not on a ranging. I can’t have you running around, exactingvigilante revenge on any Gisken bastards that come within a mile of this place;got it?” Eza paused, then nodded.

“I understand,” shesaid bitterly.

She was going tobreak those orders soon, according to Silas’ gut, but he didn’t talk on theissue any more. He had more important things to worry about, like what thatGisken was doing so close to Asfalis.

Silas glanced back atthe trapdoor that led to the brig. “Now, let’s go see what we’re going to doabout our Gisken friend.”