Chapter 5
CHAPTER
The sun was setting as we arrived at the tents. They were small and stacking three people into one felt crowded, but it was the reality of a new recruit.
The silence had remained within the group, all of us processing what had happened.
“Are you… okay?” Mey was the first to break the silence, aiming her question at me.
“Yes,” I said plainly. It wasn’t a lie; seeing corpses and death close-up was nothing new. “People die.”
“I know but…” Mey struggled to find the right words, shifting her weight awkwardly.
“That was not normal,” Carolyn cut in, her voice shaking. “He murdered him, took his life as if it meant nothing. Why? They should care for everyone joining to protect our lands!”
“Not if that someone is useless,” Ashley answered, her voice unaffected, easy as always.
“What?” Carolyn breathed the word out.
“If they recruit you, keep you fed, train and pay you,” she began counting on her fingers. “Surely they are allowed to expect something in return? Now, if you can’t kill a mage… what good are you?”
There it was, the plain and raw truth, right in the open. None of it was fair, yet it made sense.
“If they waste food on someone who’s useless, they might not have enough to feed someone who could save dozens, you know?”
Carolyn turned pale, staring wide-eyed at Ashley.
“I see you’ve made some friends,” a familiar voice sounded, before an arm leaned on my shoulder.
My eyes darted up only to meet with Lionel’s brown eyes and a teasing smile. I curled my hand into a fist and sent it into his ribcage. “I thought you failed,” I snapped at him.
He retreated quickly, waving the white flag. “Easy there, I simply upgraded.”
“What?”
“Yeah, they wanted me as a sniper,” his smile widened.
They what?
“You can’t aim even if your life depended on it,” I snorted at him, clearly I was jealous. Snipers were treated with care, not all of us were blessed with incredible eye-sight.
“Ouch,” he pouted, pretending to take my words to heart, but really, he was gloating.
“Your brother?” Mey asked, cocking a brow at us.
“Gods no!” we echoed out.
“Could’ve fooled me,” Nathanial coughed, hiding his laughter.
I sent him an ice cold glare, but he simply averted his gaze and started talking with Mey.
Lionel placed his hand on my head, warmth spreading through it as I felt embarrassed. I tried to brush it off, but he resisted.
“I’ll be heading out now,” he said with a lowered voice and I froze.
“Now? It will be dark soon!” I slowly spun around, meeting his soft gaze.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” he smiled, as he began patting my head.
He turned to walk away and my hand reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket, before I realised it.
Lionel stopped, but he didn’t turn, he simply waited and I had no idea what to say to him. We were exactly where we both wanted to be.
“Be careful,” I muttered, releasing my grip.
I saw him nod, before he darted off to catch up with his own group.
It was fine, really. It was better this way, for him.
I barely got any sleep, with Ashley taking up half the tent and Carolyn mumbling in her sleep. It was awful and I prayed that this was only a temporary solution before we got our own rooms inside of the main building.
A new face awaited us outside of our tent once we were ready, guiding us to the large dining hall for breakfast. The main building was flat, built with stone bricks and with no decor or anything flashy about it in the slightest. I guess it fits its purpose.
The building was large, and upon entering we ended up in a broad corridor, with only a dirty old rug that ran down the long hallway.
To the left was a broad open archway, leading to the dining hall.
The smell of warm stewed potatoes and carrots struck us and all of our stomachs growled in desperation.
Not even a second passed, before we lunged into a sprint, fighting like animals to be first in line, grabbing a bowl and filling it with the stew.
We placed ourselves at the nearest table and gobbled it down without savoring it in the slightest. The things starvation did to your mind…
Once I slowed down, I noticed the entire room of soldiers staring at us as if we were beasts.
My eyes locked onto a figure passing our table, his red eyes watching me mockingly.
“Didn’t realise they recruited wild animals. Should I fetch you a muzzle or will you be satisfied with a trough?” the Lieutenant taunted with a wicked smirk.
I paused, long enough to swallow the food down, as my eyes narrowed on him.
“Guess hunger makes animals of us all, sir. Some of us just hide it better,” I said with a faux politeness.
He stopped, turning his head back slowly and arched a brow. “Careful, that almost sounded like an insult.” If his eyes could kill me on the spot, I’d be a smudge on the floor about now.
“Only if you’re admitting it applies to you,” I shrugged, feigning innocence.
A beat, silence filling the air.
My four squadmates exchanged quick, wide-eyed looks. Mey coughed into her cup, hiding a grin. Carolyn elbowed Ashley under the table, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing. Nate muttered under his breath, “Damn…”
“Enjoy your meal while it lasts. Your missions won’t be as forgiving,” the Lieutenant threatened, eyes narrowing slightly, but lips quirking.
He strode away, leaving the table buzzing with nervous energy.
“You just said that to him? You’re insane,” Mey whispered, baffled.
“Insane or brave, maybe both,” Nate chuckled, patting my shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter. He needed reminding I’m not here to roll over,” I muttered, watching our Lieutenant place himself at a table together with his own unit, a familiar figure right next to him.
Rohan.
“You might need to be reminded that he’s the Lieutenant?” Carolyn snapped, glaring at me. “Let’s not get kicked out of here on our first day?”
“Eat up, we’ll be fine,” Ashley chuckled, keeping up her pace, not fazed one bit. “Ethalyn is the one biting the owner’s hand, after all.”
I scoffed, but kept my mouth shut. My eyes wandered the room, searching, but found no purchase.
Lionel was not back yet it seemed. Instead, I noticed how ragged the place looked, I would’ve expected them to afford keeping it up better.
The wallpapers were scraped off at places, spider webs lurked in the corners and the floor had skid marks from all the shoes that had travelled through the hall.
Most of the porcelain had cracks along the edges, not enough to make them useless though. The tables were put together of simple wooden planks, together with some benches to sit on top of.
“Listen up!” a voice echoed through the room, silencing all the chatter in an instant.
It was Rohan, who had risen from his seat, staring everyone down.
“We’ve received news about attacks…” the Lieutenant began after Rohan had silenced everyone for him.
Some of the other soldiers gasped in response.
“The mages!?” someone from another table shouted. Once again, murmuring broke out around the room.
A loud slam sounded, demanding attention and killing off the noise before it got out of control. My eyes darted to the Lieutenant who had pounded the side of his gun against the table, still gripping it, threatening anyone who dared interrupting him again.
The Sergeant sighed, before the Lieutenant continued. “It’s the southern tower.”
“Demons,” Carolyn whispered as low as she could, voice filled with fear.
It didn’t matter how quiet she was, there was a click from the gun, loaded and ready for use, as the white haired man’s eyes swept towards our table, narrowing on me.
Shit, I wasn’t the one who blurted it, yet I had been the one to pick a fight with him. Of course he would suspect me of challenging him again…
“Them,” he demanded low, but loud enough for everyone to hear and turn their heads towards our table. “Everyone else get out and await your orders from Izera.”
“Yes, sir!” I shouted, but the others stared dumbfounded. Slowly, people around the other tables got up and began leaving the room as they had been ordered to. But their glances burned like fire while they whispered. They didn’t think we would be able to make it back, that much was clear.
“Them? But they’re newbies?” Rohan furrowed his brows, staring at us as if we were hiding something from him before turning back towards the Lieutenant.
“Some pups need to be put in place from the start,” the Lieutenant drawled on the words, voice laced in ice cold steel.
We stared at each other. I knew he was my superior, but I didn’t bow to tyrants, my respect had to be earned.
Rohan pulled his jacket over his shoulders. “I’ll inform your team to prepare for departure.”
“Don’t bother.” The white haired man’s voice cut through the room like sharp glass.
Carolyn shrank into her seat, her hands trembling in her lap, fingers twisting themselves raw.
Nate cleared his throat, his voice cautious. “Sir… with respect, none of us has any real experience with demons.”
The silence cracked. The Lieutenant pushed himself to his feet with deliberate slowness, every movement like a predator stretching before a kill.
He stalked towards the table. Mey sat up straighter, but her eyes stayed fixed on the wood grain, as if bracing for impact.
My jaw flexed, trying to contain my boiling blood.
The Lieutenant planted his hands on the table with a heavy thud, leaning over his recruits. His gaze swept across us, dark and merciless, barely lingering long enough on me to make the air between us coil with unspoken venom.
“Then consider yourselves fortunate,” he said, voice low and edged. “I’ll be right there, holding your hands as you slay your first demons. Try not to trip over yourselves and embarrass me.”