Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Dante
“Should this city fall, it will crumble under divinity. But I will do my best to hold it together until then."
— From a Recently Recovered Letter Signed By Eximius of House Avus
Apparently, two weeks of training and the magical ability to heal was all it took to qualify for a scouting mission.
Valin delivered the news to me as I sat across the breakfast table from Castor that morning.
He informed me the powers that be in command had declared me eligible for service.
As a result, I’d been placed in Valin and Castor’s own Squadron, commanded by a Geist known as Commander Orestes.
Valin was his Captain, the highest rank one could achieve in the Geist’s noble army without being a Geist themselves.
Castor was his First Lieutenant and they were lacking a second.
Each unit had five squads and each squad had a Captain, A First and Second Lieutenant, and thirty soldiers.
But this was a scouting mission. We weren’t taking the whole squad.
“It’s just to get a lay of the land,” Castor told me as we walked toward the edge of the city where Valin and the others would be lining up at the wall.
“We walk the borders from time to time just to make sure they’re still secure, that there aren’t any enemies laying in wait nearby.
It’s easy enough and good experience for a rookie like you. ”
I nodded, grateful for the explanation, as rushed as it was since we were approaching the remainder of the party now. Valin stood with two other soldiers nearby, inspecting their spears. Someone handed me one when I approached and two more stepped up to secure armor around my torso.
I examined the weapon in my hands as they strapped the leather and metal plates around me.
I recognized this spear. Wrought entirely in gold with faint, glowing blue runes etched across the surface, it was a difficult weapon to forget.
Especially when the last time I saw it, it had been used to save my life from the Zver that was attacking me.
“The men call them lightning rods,” Castor said with a wry grin, noticing my appreciation of the weapon. “Be careful with that thing. It won’t just stab your target. It’ll send white-hot bolts of magic lightning through it and fry the thing.”
I nodded, remembering.
“One strike won’t kill a Zver but it will incapacitate them long enough for you to get away if you’re quick,” he told me, but then his gaze flicked behind me and his smile fell. “What’s he doing here?”
I turned to see a man strolling up to the group, golden armor shining in the mid-morning sun. He held his chin high, proud, and seemed to glow faintly as he walked among us, seeking out the Captain. Valin frowned but stepped forward to meet him and the two fell to quiet discussion.
“Is that the Commander?” I asked.
It was clear the man was a Geist from his stature, pale, smooth skin, flowing blonde hair, and that telltale glow.
“Him?” Castor snorted. “No. That’s Aigeus.
He’s trying to be a Commander. He’s been training for almost three hundred years.
But there are only five spots and they haven’t been available for a long time.
So he spends most of his time drinking and gambling and making fun of the soldiers who actually work hard in their training.
That is when he isn’t at the palace kissing the council’s ass. ”
I turned to Castor, raising a brow in surprise at the blasphemous way in which he seemed to be speaking of a god. But before I could question him further, Valin whistled and we all fell in line.
“Listen up, men,” he called over the crowd.
“This is just your standard scouting mission. We’ve been assigned to scout and report back regarding the ninth perimeter.
Keep your spears ready and your senses open.
We have no reason to expect trouble but that doesn’t mean it won’t find us anyway.
I’ll be your officer today. You’ll be at my command.
Six of you will be coming with me, you know who you are, and Aigeus will be joining. Load up and move out.”
With that, most of the men who’d joined the party to bring weapons and armor peeled off and headed back to the barracks while eight of us remained. I noticed Castor turning away as well and reached out to grab his arm before he could.
“You aren’t going with us?” I asked, brow wrinkled in confusion.
He grinned at me.
“Someone’s got to stay and run training,” he replied with a shrug. “You’ll be fine, Viper. Just keep your wits about you. And steer clear of Aigeus.”
“Why?” I asked, turning to face the Geist who was polishing a gleaming golden dagger he’d pulled from his belt as he walked. “Is he dangerous?”
“No. He’s just annoying as all hell.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as Castor turned and walked away, heading back to the training yard where the others were already beginning their morning regimen.
Squaring my shoulders and hefting the spear over one, I followed after Valin and the others.
Aigeus raised a hand as we approached the glowing wall of light and an opening appeared, seeming to split the light in two wide enough for us to pass.
I followed Castor’s advice and took up a spot in the line as far away from Aigeus as I could get.
That put me next to a human boy named Erki.
He was barely over eighteen and practically shaking in his newly issued boots.
They were too big for him, I could tell from the gaping tongue and the clumsy pattern of the prints he left in the sand behind us.
But he walked as straight as everyone else, focusing a bit harder on his steps than the others.
At first, he didn’t say a word, preferring to keep his eyeson the endless barren wasteland before us. But eventually, he spoke.
“I knew the desert was large,” he told me, stumbling a little as he tried to keep up with my long strides. “But this is immense. I mean, I can’t see anything but dry sand and cracked earth for miles. What about you? Can you see anything different? I know you have…”
He trailed off, cheeks tinging pink in embarrassment.
“Enhanced senses?” I supplied for him.
He nodded vigorously.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “Viljar, my mentor back at camp, said the Victors don’t like to talk about their magic much. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Was that so? I looked forward to where Valin led us. Aigeus had made his way to his side and was already gesturing wildly as he spoke. Valin didn’t seem to respond with any more than a nod from time to time as his eyes darted around our surroundings.
“I don’t mind,” I told the boy.
He beamed up at me.
“This is my first time out,” he said. “Viljar said it would be a good experience.”
“Me too.”
“You train with Castor, right? Well, and Valin, of course. Makes sense they would put you with them, seeing how important you are and everything. I’m glad you’re here. Glad Valin is too, and Aigeus. Not that I think we’re going to see any Zver today but you never know beyond the walls, right?”
“Right,” I agreed but I was hardly listening.
The boy had been right about one thing. The vast expanse of this desert certainly seemed endless.
The wind picked up a bit farther from the city and sand rose and swirled around us until some of the men were forced to raise their arms in an effort to shield their eyes.
Still, we pressed on. Some spoke in muttered whispers.
Some remained silent. All kept their eyes on the horizon.
“My mother didn’t want me joining up,” the boy next to me confessed as I fought to maintain my focus on enhancing my senses, trying to see what the others couldn’t.
“She said it was too dangerous and she’s probably right.
But we’ve got to defend our homes, yeah?
The Geist are generous enough to allow us to live in their city of light.
The least we can do is make sure it stays that way.
The others, the ones outside the walls, I’ve never seen them but my older brother has.
He said they’re barbarians, the lot of them.
They hardly even have armor and their weapons are all made of sticks and stones.
At least we get plate metal. At least we get proper spears.
And of course, we have magic on our side. The gods themselves—”
The boy’s words died off with a sudden gurgling noise. I whipped my eyes back to him to find an arrow protruding from his neck just above where his armor and helmet were separated.
My eyes widened in shock as he fell to the sand, staining the orange dirt crimson.
His fingers clawed at the arrow as if he would attempt to extricate it but then, just as suddenly, his legs stopped twitching and he went still.
My lips parted to shout the warning, too late, but someone beat me to it.
“Zver!” someone cried and our soldiers all raced to formation.
I stood still, blinking down at the boy’s body in the dirt as he stared up at the beating sun with glassy eyes. It was his first time beyond the gates. It was a scouting mission. It was supposed to be safe. He was supposed to be safe. And now he was dead.
“Viper,” someone snarled.
I turned to find Valin’s dark gaze narrowed upon me.
Hefting my spear from over my shoulder and holding it in front of me in a defensive position, I raced to the others and got into position alongside them.
We stood in a circle, back to back so we couldn’t be taken unaware at any flank.
We kept our gazes up in the sky, searching for the beast and it’s rider who’d shot one of us with their arrow.
For a moment, nothing happened. The broad blue sky was just as empty as ever. Then, they appeared.