Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) (3 page)

"Where'd he go?"

Paul started gathering up all his papers quickly and
packing them into a leather pouch.

"He went to see what the word was," Ryan
answered. He lowered his voice. "We're heading out shortly. If there is
anything you want to take, there's a little room."

Aro nodded and darted up the stairs to her room.
What
to take?
She knew better than to try to drag down a bag full of stuff.
Little
things. The most important things
. She went straight to the small carved
box on her dresser. It wasn't large or heavy, but held her most valued
possessions. Well other than her weapons. She glanced around the room, checking
to see if there was anything else. Seeing nothing she had to have, she ran back
downstairs and handed the box to Ryan.

"That's it?"

She nodded, feeling rather proud of herself, and
watched him open it. He lifted the small pile of letters from Father, noted the
few bits of jewelry that had belonged to a mother she didn't remember, and a
few other small odds and ends. He smiled and closed the box.

"Good girl." He ruffled her hair and winced,
then patted her head awkwardly.

With a scowl she tried to smooth her hair back down.
She hadn't thought to look in the mirror upstairs to see how bad a job Sammy
had done. Maybe that was a good thing. "Can I bring my bow?"

Ryan chuckled and shook his head. "We'll be
moving fast, so no."

"What about my sword?"

"You'll do fine with your knives. There shouldn't
be any fighting, if there is, keep close to us and do what you're told."

She nodded, not taking offense at his words.
Disobeying could get her killed, she'd heard enough stories about such things.

Raised voices by the side door caused them both to
turn. Raising her eyebrows she followed Ryan into the kitchen area.

Elliott, Joel and Sammy were back but standing off to
the side. Paul stood with his hands on his hips while Aaron glared at him.
Sammy stood beside him, hovering and unsure what to do.

"We don't have time," Paul snapped. "We
should have left last night."

Aro looked up at Ryan in alarm. "Why didn't we?"

Everyone heard her. With a frown at Aaron, Paul
answered. "Plans needed to be made, and there were..." he paused and
looked at the other boys, "things that needed to be dealt with first."

Aaron's cheeks were flushed, and he only did that when
someone talked about his girlfriends. Apparently all her brothers were saying
goodbye to their lady friends the night before. Somehow she held in an
irritated sigh. "So what's the problem now?"

Aaron shook his head, lips tight.

Paul sighed. "If she's smart she listened to you
last night and left with Marin and the others."

She blinked in surprise. "They've all left? The
others?"

Paul nodded. "Last night with their families."

Marin was another brother, though not of blood. Father
had taken in a handful of young soldiers over the years, orphans or those
otherwise abandoned by their families. Mostly they were troubled first years,
just sixteen years old at the time. He brought them into their home and into
their family. Each had adjusted quickly and straightened out, growing up to
become wonderful young men. The last had moved out before father had died, two
had died in the war, but those left still kept in touch. Her thoughts turned to
her father's last letter. He had mentioned a new boy he was going to bring
home. But there had been a great battle at the pass. Father had died and the
new boy had disappeared.

"Grab the gear. We need to get moving."

Her brothers jumped into motion.

"Wait!" She held out her arm, her hand a
fist.

A moment later her brothers joined her in a circle,
tapping their fists on hers to build a tower. "Masons! Together. Always."

Suddenly laughing, they each fought to get their fist
on top. She hadn't realized how tense everyone had been until she saw them
relaxed and grinning like fools. Joel and Sammy accidentally bumped heads and
then a friendly scuffle ensued.

Ryan swung an arm around her shoulder. "Come on,
Honey Bee. Time to buzz."

The boys hustled about, pulling on packs and strapping
on weapons. Before she knew what was happening they were heading out the door.
She wasn't prepared for the havoc of the streets. People and riders ran every
which way. The screaming made her cringe and the blighted bells were so much louder
outside she wanted to stick her fingers in her ears.

A hand at her back directed her down a side street
heading toward the north side of the city. It looked like they were headed
beyond the mountains to Dressan. They marched through the streets, people
making way for them. It was strange the way her brothers circled her, like some
rotting noble surrounded by guards.

Elliott glanced over at her. "I hope we didn't
make a mistake keeping her with us," he quietly said to Paul.

Her oldest brother shook his head. "The others
will be slowed down by the children. We'll protect her better."

"I don't like us separating," Elliott
muttered.

"We'll meet up with them in the mountains as
planned."

Aro glanced up at Paul. Noting the fierceness on his
face, she kept her mouth closed and pretended she hadn't heard the
conversation. Her heart hammered away in her chest. She kept a hand on one of
her knives. The familiar hilt brought her a little comfort.

The bells were driving her insane. When the ones at
the wall suddenly stopped she almost walked into Elliott's back. Her brothers
stood in silence. She didn't know what they were waiting for until she heard
the ringing of the market bells above the deeper port bells.

Paul ran a hand through his short dark hair and
cursed. He pointed, swinging a finger to Elliott and Ryan. "Check it out."
They dropped their packs and took off at jog through the streets. Aaron grabbed
their packs as Paul gestured them all into a side street.

Frantic citizens continued to run and scream.
Where
were they were running to, the palace?

Her brothers stood quiet and alert, listening and
muttering amongst themselves. She heard some people shouting there were a
hundred Gelanian ships in the harbor. She snorted at that. The Gelanians had
hardly any ships, and those only small trading and fishing vessels.

A little later others started shouting about the
Frans. Paul cursed loudly and she echoed his sentiment with more than a little
alarm. Everyone knew about the Frans. They lived across the sea on the eastern
continent. They were criminals and slavers who attacked not only ships at sea,
but also the coastal northern countries. They would have enough ships to launch
a sea attack.
Had the Gelanians allied with them?
It was hard to tell,
all the people were panicked and rumors were spreading like wild fire.

Elliott and Ryan returned at a run.

Paul didn't even let them catch their breath. "What's
the word?"

"The wall's being swarmed," Ryan said.

"Remember those strange soldiers we saw a few
days ago?" Paul nodded at Elliott. "You were right, they aren't
Gelanians. Looks like they hired mercenaries."

"How many?"

"Three or four thousand."

"The walls won't hold. We don't have enough men
to cover it and the port."

"The port is under attack?"

Paul grimaced and nodded. "Looks like they're
quite serious this time."

"The commander was asking about us. I told him
we're at the port," Elliott said.

"Good enough," Paul answered. He didn't look
happy and Aro didn't blame him.

Were they supposed to be at the walls? Of course they
were. They were the countries best soldiers.
Guilt flooded her.
They'd abandoned their posts. For her. Would the
city fall because her brothers weren't on the walls? Because they were helping
her escape?
Emotions bubbled up inside of her and she clenched her teeth.
Yes, she wanted out of the city and safe, but not at the price of others losing
their lives.

Sammy cocked his head to the side. "Now what?"

Paul stared off down the street. "We still try
for the north gate."

They started off again, this time moving more quickly.
The city had only two walls, the main west wall, and a shorter north one that
then butted up to cliffs. The southern side of the city was built up to the
mountains as well, and the east held more cliffs and then the harbor. The city was
naturally well protected, but the sea and cliffs made the number of escape
routes a lot smaller. She assumed their current goal was the smaller north gate
near the cliffs.

She found it hard to make sense of anything as they
ran through the streets. Between the people and the bells everything was utter
confusion. Keeping close to her brothers she tried not to panic even when
shouts the wall had been breached started to echo down the streets. They would
be fine. The gate they headed for was near the middle of the city, not close to
the main wall under attack.

The gate finally came into view and a great sigh of
relief whooshed out of her. Soon they'd be out and hopefully her heart would
dislodge itself from her throat.

The arrows whizzed by, clattering on the stone of the
street around her. One of her brothers cursed, but she couldn't tell which one.
She dropped into a crouch. An arm pressed over her back as she glanced over at
Sammy.

His eyes were wide but he tried to smile. It didn't
really work. "Stay down, Aro."

She nodded and looked forward. "Wither me,"
she gasped. The north wall crawled with men, but not just theirs. More appeared,
coming up ladders braced against the wall. She watched the fighting on the
walls in fascinated horror. All of her years of lessons hadn't prepared her for
the ferocity and blood of true fighting. Kingsport soldiers fought valiantly,
but quickly became overwhelmed. Bodies toppled off walls as enemy archers
continued to fire into the city.

She stumbled as Sammy grabbed her arm and they all
took off running down another side street. Glancing back once, she saw the
small north gate literally break open from mounted soldiers pouring through.

"Next plan," Paul hollered over his
shoulder. "Ashton's."

She had no idea who Ashton was, but further into the
city a number of nobles had land bordering the cliffs. Perhaps this Ashton had
an escape route.

The streets were finally cleared of civilians. The odd
soldier could be seen running by, carrying messages or other such errands. They
ran, keeping close to buildings as they moved from one street to another in the
direction of the harbor.

The sound of fighting ahead slowed their progress.

"We're almost there," Paul said, gesturing
for them to keep following. They reached the intersection of Baker and Counter
streets. The fighting had somehow gotten ahead of them.
Perhaps those
attacking the harbor had docked and come ashore to fight
.

Paul stopped and turned, drawing his sword. "Straight
through. Two by two. Watch your backs. Keep Aro in the center." He looked
over at her. "You're with me."

Before she could say anything, her brothers ran out
into the street in pairs, fighting to clear a path for them. She drew her
knives and followed Paul, sticking as close to him as she could.

Men fought all around her, yelling, screaming, and
cursing. Blood sprayed, covering the stones of the street as bodies fell. She
gritted her teeth and paid attention to the living. Luckily, their soldiers all
wore the same general uniform under their leather armor. More enemy ran into
the intersection from another street, jumping into the fight and engaging her
brothers.

The clanging of swords and sounds of fighting grew
louder, almost drowning out the bells. All her years of practice with her
brothers kept her alive as she ducked and dodged around friend and foe. Blood splattered
her face and hands. Skipping to the side, a sword slid across her armor,
cutting it but not her skin.

She tried to keep an eye on her brothers, but
everything moved so quickly she kept losing track of them. Bodies littering the
street and growing puddles of blood began to make fighting more difficult.
Twisting around, she scanned for more enemies.

An arrow bounced off of Paul's back and she wheeled
around, looking for the shooter. He was far down one of the side streets, but
there were more advancing behind him. "Archers coming!"

Paul turned and grimaced. "Regroup!"

She followed, jumping over bodies as Paul led them
toward the far street. Half a dozen enemies turned a corner ahead and ran
toward them. Paul raised a hand and she skidded to a stop behind him.

Her brothers gathered around her and she did a quick
head count. Everyone was there, and no one looked to have anything more than a
few scratches.

Sammy grinned over at her. "Doing good, sister."

She blinked at him, trying to catch her breath, and
then grinned back.