A Sword Of Wrath, Book I by K. E. MacLeod (best way to read ebooks TXT) 📕

"Is his body still there?"

He turned back to Juko nodded, "Yes, preserved in the Lycanian way."

The N'bari fighter's face was awashed in emotions as he silently stood in the middle of the barracks, slightly swaying.

Euric stood alongside him and placed his hand upon the young man's shoulder, "You want your revenge, son, then it is the Decanus from which it should be taken; the Decanus was the one that killed your brother."

Juko grit his teeth as he spoke, "Then I will take his life and when I am done I will take my brother's body back to my father."

Euric nodded in agreement, then added, "I know that you owe us nothing Juko, son of Mutebe, but... will you stand beside us in the coming days, if it means that you will have your revenge?" Euric held out his arm to him.

Juko grasped it, firmly, "Yes, I will stand with you, lanista."

***

Spurius hummed pleasantly to himself as his servants dressed and washed him for bed in a long tunic. They then brushed his hair and brought him a basket of fresh fruit and a jug of water for the night, which they set upon one of the small tables beside his canopied bed. He continued to hum as one of the servants picked him up and placed him amidst his silk bed linens and goose down pillows. When they were satisfied that he was comfortable, they left the room, leaving one small brazier to burn throughout the night.

When the boy was sure that all the servants were gone, his lifted his small voice to the wind that blew in from the open windows and asked, "Mother? Are you there?"

It was a few moments before he heard a reply in the form of a darkly husky utterance from somewhere in the room, "Yes, my son. Your Mother is always here, always watching over you." Then, a hand gnarled with age and tipped with blackened fingers, slipped from between the gauze like material that hung from the bed's canopy and rested upon the boy's head but despite its appearance of a talon, it was gentle upon his crown.

"I am glad you have found me, Mother." He yawned as sleep tugged at him. "Never leave me again. Do you give your promise?"

"Oh, my boy," the voice rasped within the walls, "this Mother never abandons her children. Now sleep and dream of the days yet to come."

***

Chapter Five

Three days had passed since Aelia had safely returned home and Tacitus was at his brother's house checking on her as he had done everyday. But, as the little girl enthusiastically greeted her Uncle with a leap from a nearby tabletop into his arms, he soon discovered that any lingering concerns he had over her health were completely unfounded.

"Ooof!" he grimaced as he caught her. "Well, my dear girl, you appear to be quite healthy indeed!"

She grinned, the little white speck of her brand new tooth just beginning to poke through her gums, "Mother says I can join the Order now!"

Tacitus looked over Aelia's head and smiled slightly at Nona. She nodded as she spoke, "Yes, but only good girls can do that and right now you need to stop jumping off of things." Nona then stole a quick peek into Marcus' basket, relieved to see that he was still sleeping quite soundly despite his sister's exuberant aerobatics.

"Uncle?" Aelia asked, ignoring her mother's scolding.

"Yes, my dear?"

"What is that?" she pointed to the bit of scarred flesh that she could see peeking out from beneath the unlaced collar of his linen shirt.

"Aelia!" Nona exclaimed. "Don't be so rude!"

Tacitus paled for a moment, then recovered, "No, no, it-it's alright. It's nothing, I just... I got hurt a long time ago."

"But you're all better now?"

He nodded slightly, smiling, "Yes, I'm all better now."

"Good! Put me down. I want to go play!" Tacitus chuckled as he set her down upon the floor and she disappeared into the back of the house.

Nona sighed, "I just don't know what to do with her sometimes!"

He glanced at her, watching as she mended shirts from the basket beside her. He thought she was beautiful, the way her hair fell into her eyes as she worked. "Well," he spoke, "I'm glad that she recovered so quickly at least."

"Me too," she smiled. "Although I'm sure your stew had a lot to do with it."

He shrugged, "Maybe, but I find that when it comes to certain illnesses, children are very resilient." Tacitus then reached down and picked up the medical bag he had brought with him, "I'm afraid that I have something important to take care of at home. Will you tell Severus that I think every-"

"Tacitus," Nona spoke matter-of-factly, her face showing a deep concern, "there is something you aren't telling me, isn't there?"

His eyebrows knit together as he laughed when he said, "Where did you get an idea like that?" He smiled to reassure her, "No, no, no - I just have a lot to tend to with the coming winter. In fact, I have a new brew that I'm working on that may help a lot of the village's recent stomach issues."

She searched his face, not believing anything he said for a second, "Are you sure? I know that the Ways say that women should not be privy to the concerns of men but you would tell me if something were wrong here in the village?"

He nodded, "Yes, absolutely!"

"Alright... I suppose." She was unconvinced.

"Listen, for now I want you to keep your eye on Aelia and tell me if anything - a slight sniffle, a cough, a sneeze - anything happens. Alright?"

"Of course." Nona walked Tacitus to the door and as she opened it for him, said, "Thank you again, Tacitus, for bringing my daughter home."

"But it was Severus-"

"No," she smiled and shook her head. "He told me how you were the one that found her and... thank you."

"Yes, well," Tacitus said, slightly embarrassed. "He-he's a good man, Nona. A good honorable man." He wished her goodbye, then turned and walked into the direction of own home.

As he did, he took a deep breath in order to steel himself, mentally cursing Nona's uncanny ability to read the slightest change in his demeanor. She had indeed been correct in her concern that there was something he wasn't telling her and it was something very dark and very worrying.

Tacitus entered his home and nodded to the group of men from the village that were already gathered around his dinner table, Severus among them.

"How's Aelia?" his brother inquired from where he stood looking down at a map that had been placed on top of the table.

"She's grand."

"Good, good." Severus continued to scan the old map, which was beginning to show signs of wear. "Now, Tacitus, come over here and show us exactly where you saw the remnants of the Giants' camp the other night."

Tacitus looked over their shoulders and pointed to the area of the forest that was on the right side of the map, "Here, I think. It was dark and very difficult to know my exact whereabouts that night."

"But you're sure it was Giants?"

"Absolutely, no question."

"And the campsite? How fresh did it seem?"

"Not very, maybe two weeks. There was rotting food and bones all around."

The men of the village looked at one another, a sense of dread filling the room.

Cinna, a short and squat man with a beard in the style of the Hairy Men asked, "But why are they back in our part of the forest? You and your father drove them out of here decades ago!"

"We did," Severus nodded.

"You even killed one of them, right?"

"That I did but it was no easy feat and I was in my prime. I don't know if such an act could be repeated. They are ruthless bloodthirsty creatures who seem more like animals than men!"

"Does this mean that we will have to fight them again?" asked another at the table.

"I hope not but I think it is too soon to begin speculating their plans. I feel we should watch and see what their movements are in the coming days. Tacitus?"

"Yes?"

"How many would you say that you saw evidence of?"

"Hm," he tried to recall the scene that he had stumbled upon that night three days before as he had walked back to the village alone, "I'd say... thirty, maybe forty? It was a large camp, with a mass of horse hooves and wheel ruts left in the soil."

Severus shook his head, "But they never used to travel in packs larger than ten! There must be a reason, but what could it be?" His mind formed a million different possibilities, "Maybe it's a new Thrax directing them."

"Thrax?" asked the one called Decimus.

"It's what they call their leader and one of the few words I ever understood from them."

"If that's true," Decimus asked the Giant-Killer, "then what do we do?"

"We send a runner to each village and request an immediate audience tonight with all of the Elders." He shook his head as he looked at them, "I don't know what the reappearance of Giant's means but I do know nothing good can come from it." 

***

The Lupa Faction's transient camp was spread out over a disorganized patch that was comprised of both the stony outcroppings of the cliffside area and the overgrown green fields that led into the sparse forest of East Odalia. Julian clambered over the rocky ground as the new day dawned and threw a piece of hardtack at the Legate's head in an attempt to wake him up. Unbeknownst to him, though, Timonus had been awake since well before dawn as old military habits died hard. The Legate grasped the hardtack in his hands as he struggled to sit up in the restraints that were tied across his wrists.

For the last three days, the members of Lupa Faction had left him cold, hungry and dirty. As per Julian's orders, they had stripped him of his armor as well as his sword, leaving him only in his tunic and sandals, which were not much protection against the nighttime chill. In addition to his lamentable state, Timonus was also in desperate need of a shave and his wrists were red and raw where the ropes had been constantly chaffing at him.

He was also unsure of their location as Julian had insisted that they periodically double back and go in different directions so as to purposely keep Timonus confused. Little did Julian know that the experienced Legate had begun leaving markers on various stones within the camp and at night watched the stars so that he soon had a vague idea of what direction they were moving in. Despite Julian's misdirection, Timonus knew that they were traveling west, towards Odalia.

"Eat that," Julian pointed at the hardtack in Timonus' hands.

The Legate held it awkwardly, "How? I'll break my teeth!"

Julian took a ravenous bite of his own portion and spoke with a full mouth, "Yeah, well, I grew up on it just fine and I still have most of my teeth! Besides, you'll