Chapter 4
Mark crossed the camp with a bowl of stew. Kneeling before Captain Vin Armadd, tied to a tree, he offered him the stew.
“Hungry?” Mark asked.
The Cathian glared back at him, then turned his head to the side and spit.
“You have to be hungry. It's nearly time for breakfast. The sun will be rising soon.”
“I won't eat anything from my enemy. Even if it meant starving to death.”
Mark frowned then took a bite of the stew. “Mmm, you know, Karis is not only a great warrior, she's a great cook as well. She made this just for you.”
Armadd continued to glare back at him.
“Suit yourself. I guess I get a second helping,” Mark said, eating the stew as he walked away. He joined the others around the campfire.
“Did you hear that?” Iriand asked.
Mark looked up recognizing the sound. It was Arrow's call. Standing up, Mark whistled into the air. A few moments later the hawk flew down and landed on his arm.
“Thanks, Arrow,” he said taking the parchment tied to his leg. “Go rest boy, I'll call you if I need you,” he said, stroking the back of the bird's head a few times. Arrow nibbled at his finger as a sign of affection then flew to a nearby tree.
Mark unrolled the parchment as he sat down to continue eating. Taking a chunk out of a piece of bread, he read the message from Garandol.
“What does Garandol say?” Karis asked, sitting next to him, a little closer than normal.
“To wait for the reinforcements on their way. They should be here in a day.”
“We can't keep the Cathian here for that long. We're only ten. We can fight the hundred men, but fight and keep them from taking Armadd back, that's a little more difficult.”
“I know. I'll ask Garandol what we should do about Armadd. Get me the powder.”
Karis got up and went to her pack. She returned with a brown leather pouch with gray powder. Mark took a small handful and tossed it into the fire.
“Garandol,” he said once the flames turned blue. The flames froze, forming a circular shape at the top. Garandol's face appeared in the center of the circle of frozen flames.
“Yes, Mark?”
“I just received your message.”
“Good. Serani should be there by tonight, then.”
“Yes, but we need to know what to do with the Cathian Captain until then. The Cathian soldiers are likely to wake soon and find their guards dead and their Captain missing. If they attack, we won't be able to hold them off and keep them from taking the Captain too.”
“Then send two men to bring the Captain to Ashenland. We'll hold him prisoner in the castle.”
“Thank you, Garandol. I will be sending Trien and Bailey to you. I need my archers.”
“Very well, Mark. Stay safe.”
Mark grinned, saying, “I'll do my best, old man.”
Once the flames returned to their normal shape and color he looked for Trien and Bailey. “Trien!”
The tall, black haired Elf stopped in his tracks, turned towards Mark and walked towards him.
“Yes, sir?”
“I want you and Bailey to take Captain Armadd to Ashenland. In fact, no, take them to Serani. I want you two back here if there's a fight of any kind. Have him send two of his soldiers back to Ashenland with the prisoner. I will contact him soon and let him know.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, striking his left shoulder with his right hand and dipping his head slightly. Mark returned the salute then approached the prisoner.
“Sir! Mark, sir!”
Spinning towards the voices, Mark found his two scouts running towards him. They stopped right in front of him, barely panting from running the quarter of a mile to their camp.
“What is it?”
“The Cathians are coming! They're coming here, right now.”
Mark looked in the direction they'd come in. He could see movement in the trees. The Cathians' dark red uniforms vivid against the snow gave away their location. Mark thought if they were smarter, they'd wear clothing to match their environment. He guessed they were too arrogant for such tactics.
Before he could shout out orders, a deafening explosion shook their camp. Recovering from the sudden explosion, Mark rolled to his hands and knees, searching for Karis. She was halfway between he and the fire, sprawled out on the ground. The fire was the epicenter of the explosion.
“KARIS!' he shouted, clambering to his feet and stumbling towards her.
Mark fell to his knees when he reached her. Blood trickled from her ears and nose. His mind flashed to over a year and a half ago when he and Jennifer had been rescued from the jail house in Trondil. Picking her up he looked for any remaining members of his team. The two who'd still be at the fire were a charred mess. The Captain was no longer tied to the tree. Trien and Bailey were nowhere to be found. They must have hurried to take the Captain away.
“Wha- what's going on?” Karis's voice broke through Mark's muffled hearing. He looked down at his friend in his arms.
“Karis! You're okay!”
She looked around at the camp.
“Where's Iriand?” she asked, dropping out of his arms onto her feet.
They searched the camp for her young cousin. A second explosion went off. This time, smaller, but close to Karis. Flying a few feet through the air, she landed at the feet of the Cathian soldiers now in their camp.
“Take her! She's a high ranking soldier!” he heard someone shout from amongst them.
“NO!” Mark yelled, pulling out his sword and rushing the Cathians.
The Cathian soldiers rushed for him in response. Five of them immediately surrounded Mark, but he jumped, twirling in the air. Three heads fell to the ground as he landed in a low, wide stance; one foot stretched out behind him, the other with his knee against his chest. His arms stretched out wide, sword ready to fly at any second. The two remaining soldiers rushed him. From his squatting position, he jumped into the air, feet now above his head. Twisting quickly, he lopped off the head of the first, then landing gracefully, he stabbed the second through the chest.
Gaining his bearings, he searched for Karis but the soldiers surrounding him blocked his view of her. He could hear her screaming. Not for help, but threats to kill the ones taking her. Grinning at her resilience he stared down the seven soldiers surrounding him.
They closed in slowly. Mark realized they weren't there to kill him. They wanted to take Karis as a bargaining chip to get their Captain back. There was no way he would let that happen, so he began the attack. Removing his second sword from its scabbard he looked for the least prepared soldier.
One of the soldiers behind him stuttered in his step. Taking advantage of the soldier's fear, Mark jumped, flipping through the air and landing behind the scared soldier. Before they had a chance to react, Mark ran his sword through the scared soldier's back. He pulled his sword out allowing the soldier to fall into a heap of flesh and clothing.
The two soldier's closest to him attacked simultaneously. Mark blocked both of their advances at the same time raising his swords to shoulder height. Moving his arms in a circular motion, he flung their swords away, then swiped both their heads off. Four left. Stepping into the center of the last four, he began his real acrobatics. All four attacked in succession. Spinning with precise movements, Mark blocked each sword and stabbed a soldier. Two more fell. He attacked the last two-
Mark woke suddenly from the darkness. Every inch of his body ached. Someone was shaking him. Serani. He recognized the Elf Captain.
“Mark! Wake up!” Serani seemed to be yelling at him, but Mark couldn't hear a word. Then a ringing began to grow in his ears. Serani's voice began to break through. “Mark! Get up!”
Mark tried to stand, but his limbs felt limp. He had no strength.
“Help me stand,” Mark said in a scratchy voice. His mouth was dry. He needed water.
Grabbing Mark's arms, Serani helped him to his feet. Then he placed a water skin to Mark's lips. Tipping it back, Mark drank greedily. The water soothed his dry throat and mouth, sealing cracks caused by dehydration. Looking around, he didn't like what he saw. His men were dead and Karis taken. Only two of his men survived. Trien and Bailey. They'd returned with Serani as commanded.
“Where is Karis?” Serani asked, grabbing Mark by the shoulder.
His eyes continued to search the camp for any sign of his men. Trien and Bailey were gathering the bodies of their comrades, lying them side by side to be burned. Walking away from Serani, Mark stumbled over to his fallen men as Trien and Bailey laid the last one down. Iriand. Their young reader and runner. Karis's cousin. His friend.
Mark fell to his knees at Iriand's side. He'd healed him once, but he was dead. He didn't have that power. He didn't even know how long he'd been out for to know if he could try CPR.
Mark looked up at Serani, tears falling down his dirt stained face, he asked, “How long was I out?”
“I'm not sure, but my guess is a few hours. Trien and Bailey found us four hours ago. It took us about six to get here.”
“Four hours?” he whispered. Iriand had been dead for too long for him to try CPR. He looked down at the young Elf, only a little older than he was, saying, “I'm so sorry, Iriand. You were a brave, strong Elf.”
Mark stood up, walked to where he'd woken up and searched the area for his swords. He found them ten feet away. He assumed it was another explosion that knocked him out. The Cathians must have collected their dead already, assuming he was dead after being out cold for so long. Sheathing his swords, he returned to Serani.
“They have Karis. There's less than a hundred of them, and with their Captain in our custody, they're just lost soldiers trying to get their captain back. We outnumber them, we can easily go in and take her back.”
“Our orders are to continue on, with you, to Fortuna.”
“But my men are dead, my second has been taken captive by the same enemy we are going to protect the city from! We are going to get her back first!”
“I'm sorry, but my orders are to continue on to Fortuna.”
“We'll just see about that,” Mark said walking quickly to where the campfire was. He lit a new fire, then using the gray powder he contacted Garandol.
Mark saw the concern on Garandol's face when they made eye contact.
“Mark, what happened?”
“They attacked us. All of my men are dead and they took Karis. They must have assumed I was dead while I was unconscious.”
“Or they wanted you alive to make a trade. Which can't happen.”
“I understand, but there's less than a hundred of them. Serani is telling me he won't help me get Karis back.”
“His orders are to take you to Fortuna.”
“I'm not leaving Karis behind. We've always had each other's backs. I can't desert her now.”
“She would want you to do what's best for Eranithia. We can't lose Fortuna.”
“I can't lose Karis,” Mark said.
Garandol sighed, “Where is Serani?”
“I am here, sir,” Serani said standing directly behind Mark.
“Leave him a few men. Then go on to Fortuna. They're expecting you within the next couple of days.”
“Yes, sir,” Serani said saluting him, then walked away to his men.
Once Serani was out of earshot Garandol said, “You have one shot, Mark. If you can't get her back after one attempt, get to Fortuna and assist Serani.”
Mark didn't respond, instead he waved his hand over the solid blue flames, ending the conversation.
Mark was given ten men to help him. Trien and Bailey included. Their loyalty was with him and Karis. They were also loyal to Eranithia, but it was their loyalty to each other that strengthened them. The faithfulness to each other was their testament to Eranithia as well. If they couldn't be true to each other, how could they be true to their country?
“Thank you, men, for joining me. We've been given one chance to retrieve Karis. If we fail, we are ordered to join Serani in Fortuna. I ask only for one thing. Loyalty. Your loyalty is your strength. If your love for others exceeds your love for yourself, you will be a much more effective soldier. When you fight for something more than yourself, you can never fail. Even in death, you do not fail. Do I have your loyalty?”
“Yes, sir!” they barked in unison.
“Good, you have mine as well. I may outrank you, but, I hold myself no higher than you. Come, let us get our friend back.”
Mark began to lead them to the Cathian camp when two Cathian soldiers rode up to them on horses. He heard the stretch of bowstrings behind him. He held up a hand to keep them from opening fire on the messengers.
“What message do you have for us?” Mark asked, holding back his anger.
“This message is for Mark, Lieutenant in the rebel army.”
Mark grinned and stepped forward, “You've found him.”
The messengers dropped down from their horses, turned around to show they were unarmed. Mark waved them forward. They stepped boldly, even though Mark could sense their fear. They had heard the stories about him and his special ops team.
The messenger on Mark's right stretched out his arm to hand him a rolled parchment. He took it from them, unrolled it and read. Rolling the parchment back up, he looked at the messengers.
“Well, I'm sorry, but I can't fully comply with your request. You see, your Captain is on his way to Ashenland. In fact, he should be crossing the border now. So, you can go back and tell your commander my conditions.”
“Which are what?” the messenger to Mark's left asked.
Mark squinted at him, then grinning at him said, “Commander.” He gave a slight bow.
“What are you talking about?”
“Come on now, you really didn't think this would fool me did you? I've done this same thing before. In fact, I don't use messengers at all.”
The commander shifted nervously.
“Relax, Commander. I'm not going to kill you here. First, tell me your name.”
“Rhaj Alzahd.”
“Well, Commander Alzahd, I will only fight you in battle. However, I will win that fight. We can avoid all of this if you just hand my second over to me. We will even let you walk away from this without having to lose anymore men.”
The commander laughed, saying, “Lose anymore men? Haven't you lost nearly your entire regiment to us?”
Mark's grin faded into a glare, “No, not really. Out of the hundred men, how many have you lost? Of my entire team of ten, we still have four of us alive. So, tell me, who has lost more?”
Glaring back at Mark, the commander and his messenger mounted their horses.
“You have three hours,” the commander said, then they rode back to their camp.
“We need reinforcements,” Mark said.
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