Chapter Ten
WE brEAK CAMP at dawn and meet no more resistance through the forest, though we all remained vigilant.
By mid-morning, the trees thin out and meadows peak through the gaps.
Thankfully, while the path through the forest was rougher terrain, the wagons made it through without breaking a wheel.
The meadows will make for an easier journey to Nolphi.
We slow our pace to pass out rations that we eat while moving.
Part of Bellius’s training focused on different sizes of forces and methods for organization, supply, leadership, and so on.
The Band of Spears splits into working cohorts, like ours, which consist of a score or two of soldiers who pride themselves on being able to move quickly and effectively; eating on the march is just one of many ways to accomplish this.
I bite into the dense cake, taking as small a piece as possible. I still haven’t adjusted to the texture of them yet. Thick, grainy, with a slight sweetness. Revolting and nutritious; a wondrous combination. A snort comes from beside me, as Helia watches me nibble on my lunch.
“What? I’m not used to them yet!” Or at least that’s what I try to say; only garbled mumbling comes out, launching Helia into a full belly laugh.
“It’s cute the way you eat.”
I blush, coughing around my bite. Cute?! Helia flashes me a smile spreading wide before leading me out in front of the caravan. Nibbling at my cake, my mind races. Was that flirting? She called me cute, but she’s the commander. That was definitely flirting though…right?
“Skion, I think it’s time you told me about that mark around your neck.” So much for flirting. I lower my lunch and swallow the dry piece of torture in my mouth. Gone is the panic at being called cute.
“You won’t believe me.”
“I watched you eviscerate a man’s head with a hammer and literally scream others to death.” Okay, fair. Helia arches one eyebrow as we continue our slow march, waiting for a reply.
“All right. What do you know of the goddess Lunos?” An indiscernible look crosses Helia’s face as I continue.
“Well, she appeared to me the day before the attack in Athos and then again in a dream that night. She”—I gesture toward my throat—“marked me; transferred some of her power. Or awakened something in me. I honestly don’t know.
” I study Helia’s face again, still seeing that same look.
“I know it sounds insane that a goddess would visit me, much less a member of the upper pantheon. But—” Helia lifts a hand to stall my words.
She reaches into a pouch on her belt and pulls out a single gold coin and places it in my hand.
I’ve never held or even seen a gold piece before.
It’s as light as a feather in my hand, as though a stray breeze would take the treasure for itself.
A motif of a blazing sun was pressed into each face of the coin.
“Do you recognize that symbol?” I shake my head at Helia’s question.
The symbols of cities and countries were not something we spent much time on in Athos.
“That, is the symbol of Solon, the upper pantheon god of the sun and fire.” Helia reaches back to her belt and pulls out another gold coin.
While weighing the same, there was a simple mark on both sides of this coin.
“That, is a minter’s mark, denoting where the coin was made; all gold coins have them.
That coin of Solon—” Helia shakes her head. “No official mint would create that.”
“I’m not sure I understand…” My words trail off. What does some random, unofficial coin have to do with Lunos? Or me for that matter. Helia takes back the coins, eying me warily.
“We found one on every bandit’s body in the forest. And, we found one on each of the bandits that attacked your home town.” Helia locks her gemstone eyes on mine.
“That’s an odd coincidence but I still don’t see the connection to Lunos.”
Helia chews her bottom lip for moment, uncertain and uneasy.
I’ve never seen that kind of look on her since this woman entered my life.
Like a flash of lightning, it’s gone. Her usual visage of a woman in total control slams back into place.
“There is a war brewing among the pantheons Skion. A war of shadows and power.”
Despite the sun and the march, a chill frosts my skin. Helia’s words are eerily similar to what Lunos said. “Commander, how would you possibly know that?”
“I know, because I am an Aspect of Lunos. I was drawn to your mark since Lunos put it on you; a signal that my charge was close.” The half-eaten travel cake falls out of my hand to the ground, the loss not registering. Helia returns my blank stare evenly, waiting. An Aspect?! A bloody demi-god?!
“I have so many questions. I…” Words fail me. I am in the presence of a figure of myth. A mystical being that most believe exists, yet none have ever met. Helia’s eyes flicker toward something behind me, breaking the moment. The band must be catching up.
“I know you do, but we should not talk until we’re alone.
We’ll reach the city in a few days. We will talk there.
” She strides forward, laying a calloused hand on my shoulder, the shock of physical contact and the usual emotions that accompany that are muted by the surreal reality I find myself in.
Helia looks down at me with that lonely smile of hers.
“You can trust me Skion. For whatever it is worth, my existence is meant for one thing; protecting you.”
***
The remaining journey to Nolphi passes without incident. As predicted, or perhaps promised, Helia and I didn’t talk, though the silence gave me time to think. Both of the captains and Olena avoided me as well, likely terrified of what happened in the forest. Can’t say I blame them.
Eventually, we reach the city around midday, and a small platoon of soldiers greets us with an official at their head, just like Ionos.
And just like Ionos, they ask for the band to camp outside the walls.
The merchants wait along the road while Bellius gives the order to set up camp only a few minutes away from Nolphi’s main gate.
We clear a small space off the road, our backs to the city.
After the ambush in the forest, the closeness gives us all a sense of security.
As we all get about setting camp, Bellius sets myself and Olena on foraging duty for tinder and edibles for a meal.
The sly old dog must realize we haven’t talked since that day.
Silence settles on us, a mire for our minds and tongues.
Quickly enough, our arms begin filling with small bits of tinder and wild mushrooms. My borrowed armor chafes with poor fitting at the constant crouching for our gathering.
I grab at the neck, pulling it away from my body to gain a brief reprieve, while glancing over at Olena.
Her body is much like Andra’s, toned and lithe, coiled and ready to strike with unyielding ferocity.
And yet, her femininity shines through. The curve and lines of her body, the grace as she moves among the grass.
Emotions I managed to push to the side bubble up again, causing my body to itch with the intensity of a spring storm.
“Is something wrong? You keeping pulling at your armor and tunic.” Olena’s words are soft, yet crack like thunder in the silence.
“What, no bumpkin this time? And no, nothing’s wrong. I’m completely fine.” Free hand on her hip, Olena cocks her hip to one side, disbelief palpable. Yeah, I wouldn’t have bought my deflection either.
“I’ve seen you do that before. You sure you’re okay?”
How do I respond to that? Of course I’m not okay!
I’m trapped in the wrong body, I’m chosen by a goddess, I watched my only friend get her head chopped off, a few days ago I screamed people to death, and the commander is a fucking Aspect of the goddess who marked me.
My insides are aflame with uncertainty, the total loss of control.
Breathing deep, my hand loosens from my armor, finger by finger, and I give the lie; the partial truth, a single tree in the forest of madness.
“No, I’m not. I’m not sure of anything anymore.
” Olena nods slowly. Hells, she does know some of it; or at least she thinks she does.
“Are you okay? You took an arrow for me.”
In defiance of her wound, Olena rolls the shoulder of her free arm.
“Eh, it’s a bit stiff, but it’ll heal fine.
Skion…” Her voice trails off, a sharp inhale giving her a measure of courage.
“I’ll admit, I’ve been avoiding you the past few days.
I don’t know what I saw or experienced on that hillside.
I don’t know what you are, and it seems like you don’t either.
I also know, that I would be dead without you. Hells, you probably saved the band.”
“I-I don’t know what to say.” Moisture gathers in the corner of my eyes, quickly erased by the back of my hand. Even if she doesn’t know the half of it, Olena could have easily never said anything. She closes the distance and nudges me with her shoulder.
“Regardless of the truth, you’re one of us now; no longer a bumpkin. Now, come on. We should head back. We don’t need Bellius or Andra chewing us out.” Olena steps out in front, leading the way back to camp.