Trial and Glory (50 page)

* * *

The enemy faltered, looking confused. The Kifzo led by Kaz looked angry, eager for blood. Tobin’s men didn’t wait for his next order, pushing forward on their own accord.

Juanoq will not fall.

But the fighting will continue on for some time. There are pockets elsewhere.
He thought of Lucia again.
I need to find her before someone else does. I need to beg forgiveness. I can’t let our last meeting be the way she remembers me. Even if she does accept Kaz.

He gave orders to one of his captains, eyed his brother once more, and left the ranks through a narrow side alley. He thought of where Lucia could be and ran in the direction of the Warehouse District.

With each step he wondered what he would say to the mother of his child.

* * *

Kaz finished the Gray Clan warrior he fought against with a slash to the throat. Stepping away from the front lines and craning his neck into the side street where the city’s defenders had made their stand, he caught a glimpse of a lone figure slipping away.

Tobin?

Itken said he had changed. A healed ankle. Standing taller. Carrying a sword rather than a bow. I guess I wasn’t ready to see that. Is he trying to escape now that I’ve returned?

A part of Kaz wanted to let his brother go, hoping that Tobin meant to flee the city. It would make his promise to change his people’s culture easier to keep without Tobin. However, another part of Kaz could never let that happen. He needed to talk to his brother.

Were all those years of hate warranted? I need to know.

Kaz turned his attention back to the battle. It was under control.

He issued orders to his captains, then slipped around the back ranks in pursuit of his brother.

Chapter 35

“We’re not getting anywhere,” said Harq in frustration.

“What do you mean?” asked Drake, running out the door and into the street. The rest of the Kifzo and Wiqua ran alongside him. “They said Lucia’s uncle and aunt are a block over. Third building down.”

“Yes. The fourth person who swore they knew where to find them. All lies. Just trying to get us out of their home.”

Probably so. I can’t blame them either. But what else can we do?

Harq took the lead as they ran through the streets, head on a swivel in search of danger. With the sounds of fighting fading in and out of the night, Drake wondered how long it would be before a raiding party crossed their path.

He tightened the grip on his sword.

Rounding a corner, they stopped at the building in question. One of the older structures, it held a box-like design with a window at each corner. Three steps led to the beige door.

Harq took point. Drake followed. Wiqua and the remaining Kifzo stayed hidden at street level while keeping an eye out for any invaders coming their way. Harq rapped his knuckles on the door and stepped off to the side. Drake waited opposite him, nervous and anxious, hoping that he might finally find Kaz’s wife.

No one answered.

Harq pounded the door until the frame shook, cursing in Heshan to open or he would break the thing down.

Still nothing.

Harq looked back to Drake with a questioning look. He gave the Kifzo a nod.

The warrior kicked the wooden door. It buckled, but did not break. Twice more he repeated the process until the frame splintered, swinging the door inward. Harq rolled into the room and Drake darted in behind him. The rest followed at their heels.

The space sat empty. Harq signaled the other Kifzo to check the rest of the house while they waited near the entrance. The others returned shaking their heads.

“No one is here,” said Harq.

Drake swore, recalling one of the more colorful terms Raker often used. He kicked a chair over in anger, and then remembering he was in someone’s home, righted it. “Alright. Let’s keep going. We’ll start checking houses one at a time.”

The fact that no one said a word to contradict him spoke volumes.

They know this is hopeless. We’ll never find her.

Harq made a hissing sound as Drake moved to the front door. He spun about. The Kifzo held his index finger over his lips. The warrior pointed to his ear.

Then Drake heard it. A faint whimper.

“Where?”
Drake mouthed.

Despite his heavy boots, Harq tip-toed over the floor in silence. He stopped before a rug in the kitchen. He peered underneath one of the small corners. He called the other Kifzo over. Several hand gestures followed. They crouched near the rug.

Harq threw it back, exposing a small trapdoor that another warrior quickly flung open. The Kifzo dove down the hole. Voices screamed and pottery shattered. Drake hurried over to the opening, clamoring inside after them.

It took his eyes a moment to adjust in the barely lit space. Harq held his knife on an older man who stood frozen in fear. Two other Kifzo watched over an older woman who fought against their grip. The old woman’s gaze flicked to a third figure lying on a bed roll, torso propped up. The Kifzo all stared at the prone figure as well.

Covered in sheets, Drake realized the woman had her knees folded up. The slight whimpering sound came from her.

Great. A woman in labor.
Drake swore.
One Above, will we ever find Lucia?

“Let them go,” said Drake. The Kifzo complied. The old man eased slowly away from Harq while the old woman ran to the other on the floor. Drake paid the woman in labor little mind. He had never been part of a birth before and based on the pained sounds had no intention of starting. “Another false lead.”

Harq looked up from the grunting woman, wearing a frown. “No. We found her.”

“What?”

Drake stepped closer, peering around the frantic old woman whispering words of encouragement. With his second look, Drake studied the woman in labor more closely. He had never seen Lucia in person before, but as he looked past the dripping sweat and contorted face of pain, he saw it.

Her color, her eyes, her nose, her lips. One Above, she’s just as Kaz described her.

He blinked, unable to speak, unable to breath, as a hundred thoughts rolled around his mind.

Kaz’s wife is having a child. But that means . . .

A hand shook him by the shoulder. Wiqua guided him back toward the ladder, away from Lucia. Her screaming had lessened significantly.

“Are you alright, Drake?”

“Yes. Sorry, I . . . what happened?”

“You’ve been standing there dumbfounded for several minutes. I helped her pain. The baby is early, and she isn’t doing well.”

“Oh.”

“We can’t move her. You’ll need to find Kaz and bring him here.”

Bring him here? To see this?
Drake lowered his voice. “Seeing her like this will kill him. What am I supposed to tell him?”

Wiqua’s eyes narrowed. “That his wife, the woman he loves above all else, needs him desperately.” His voice cracked. “I know this isn’t a situation anyone expected to find, but there’s nothing to do about it now. You and I both know what kind of man Kaz is. Get him here and trust in knowing he will do the right thing, whatever that may be.”

One Above, this may break him.

Drake nodded. He climbed the stairs in a daze.

“Are you going for Kaz? Wait for us,” said Harq.

“No. You’re staying. Someone needs to be here in case invaders reach this part of the city. You’ll need to keep everyone safe.”

“But how will you find him?”

“I’ll listen to where the fighting is at its worst. Then head straight for it.”

* * *

Kaz hurdled a pile of trash dashing out of an alley past two dead Gray Clan warriors. Another corpse lay across his path, then a fourth. He hadn’t spotted his brother, but the fresh bodies reassured him that he traveled the right path.

Yelling, cursing, shuffling footsteps, and clashing steel from up ahead spurned Kaz on. He reached an intersection as Tobin’s sword lopped off the head of a lone Gray Clan warrior who had ventured too far ahead of his brethren.

Tobin looked like he considered running once more from the charging enemy, but apparently he thought the strategy useless, knowing they would hound his trail. He kicked aside the headless corpse and readied himself as the large squad slowed to fan out around him.

Kaz watched the scene unfold with a mix of emotions. The audacity of the Gray Marsh Clan warriors angered him. His brother’s courage in facing so many alone brought him a surprising sense of pride. Yet, neither of those could quell the ever-present hate he had for Tobin, the origins of which he still could not recall.

Thousands of questions filled his head.

And I’ll get no answers here. Put aside your hate for now, Kaz.

He sprinted toward his brother.

* * *

Tobin watched the Gray Clan warrior die, his headless corpse twisting as it fell to the cobbled street. He thought about running onward, but he knew he would be unable to lose them before reaching Lucia.

The last thing he wanted to do was bring her trouble.

In her eyes, I’ve brought enough.

In a perfect world, he would have his bow with him to pick off each of the enemy from the rooftops. However, the world he knew had never been perfect.

He thought once more of his one night with Lucia on the rooftop of the palace.

Well, maybe it was once.

He counted out fourteen Gray Clan warriors. Despite their numbers, they approached him with caution.

He spun the sword in his hand while shuffling his stance. He had never defeated so many before at once, not even in training.

Tobin opened his mouth, ready to spit a defiant curse when he noticed them pause, eyes leaving for a moment to a spot behind him. He heard footsteps and quickly followed their line of sight.

Kaz ran toward him. His brother’s appearance baffled Tobin.

He’s alone? Why?

He tensed as Kaz came up beside him. His brother kept his eyes on the Gray Clan warriors.

“Tobin,” said Kaz in a relaxed manner.

He blinked.
He never calls me by my name.

“What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

“I’m busy.”

“Thought I might give you a hand.”

Tobin snorted. “Why? To make sure it’s your blade that glides across my throat?”

“That depends on how our talk goes.” He moved his gaze away from the circling warriors for the first time, facing him instead. “Let’s put that aside for now and for once, fight against someone else, brother.”

Tobin’s mouth dropped. The word ‘brother’ lacked the venom it had once held when it passed through Kaz’s lips long ago. His chest tightened, and his head tensed in confusion.

Is he trying to trick me? Probably. So be it, but I’ll use him to get out of this first.

He nodded.

The two wheeled at the same moment. They matched each other step-for-step as they charged into the nearest warriors.

* * *

A warm feeling permeated Lucia’s body, loosening the tightness in her limbs and relieving the cramps in her legs, hips, back, and stomach. The pain persisted, but at least she could manage it.

Someone raised a water skin to her mouth, and she drank deeply, not realizing how refreshing the cool liquid would be against her raw throat until it reached it. She opened her eyes to stare back at the strange man who had relieved her pain once again.

She had listened to the old man speak with the pale-skinned youth earlier, but because of the strange language and her pain, she couldn’t make out anything but one word.

Kaz. They said his name.

She wanted to ask what that meant, but the pain had returned before she could.

The three Kifzo who had regarded her with confusion and disgust, had left the underground space. She heard them above and knew they hadn’t gone far. She assumed the pale-skinned warrior must be with them.

Her aunt and uncle wore looks of concern but neither spoke. That silence, especially in her aunt’s case, brought Lucia only more dread.

The strange man with lighter skin than most Heshans, but not as pink as the youth, lowered the water skin, and smiled. “Better?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Good. I’ve managed to stall your contractions for a time. Though I’m not sure for how long.”

“We thank you,” said Lucia’s aunt. “I felt helpless when it started.”

“I understand,” said the man.

Lucia picked up on how well the man spoke Heshan considering his foreign features and color. “Who are you? And the boy?”

“We are from lands far away. And yes, other lands do exist,” he added as if reading the doubt in her mind. “My name is Wiqua, and I’m skilled in the healing arts. The young man you saw earlier is named Drake. He’s an engineer and a soldier. We belong to the mercenary company your husband commands.”

“My husband?” She swallowed. The words catching in her throat. Her hand went to her mouth, shaking. “Are you saying after all this time, he really is alive?”

“Yes.”

“Impossible,” her aunt hissed.

Wiqua shook his head. “Not if you knew the man. Nothing is impossible to him.”

Lucia smiled for she had once thought the same, only recently giving up hope. Tears ran down her cheeks for having doubted Kaz. She thought of the story that Jober had told her about Nachun. “So, he’s been on some foreign land all this time?”

“Yes.”

She sobbed with joy, head down on her aunt’s shoulder. After a moment, she composed herself, wiping her face. “Why is he only returning now? I’ve been waiting for him for so long and . . .” her voice started to rise, her heart racing as she thought of all the pain and confusion she had gone through.

What will Kaz say about me and Tobin?

She began to panic until Wiqua stroked her hand. She wondered if the old man had done something to her again, but the calming effect had been what she needed.

“It’s a long story,” said Wiqua. “For a time, he had no memory of his past and when it returned, he had no means to return to you, for just as our lands are a mystery to you, so was Hesh a mystery to us. However, once his memory returned, he could talk about little else but returning to you.”