Forever Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Four Read online

  Forever Soldiers

  The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Four

  By Joshua P. Simon

  Copyright © 2016 by Joshua P. Simon

  These stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Joshua P. Simon.

  Visit the author at joshuapsimon.blogspot.com.

  Contact [email protected] with any comments.

  Sign up for Joshua’s newsletter.

  Cover illustration by Mario Teodosio http://marioteodosio.carbonmade.com/.

  Cover design by Leah Simon.

  Editing by Joshua Essoe www.joshuaessoe.com.

  Table of Contents

  MAP

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  CHAPTER 47

  CHAPTER 48

  CHAPTER 49

  CHAPTER 50

  CHAPTER 51

  CHAPTER 52

  CHAPTER 53

  CHAPTER 54

  CHAPTER 55

  CHAPTER 56

  EXCERPT FROM RISE AND FALL: BOOK ONE OF THE BLOOD AND TEARS TRILOGY (COMPLETE SERIES NOW AVAILABLE)

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  MAP

  CHAPTER 1

  Alone on a small rise that overlooked our camp in the humid lowlands of the Southern Kingdoms, I watched the sun dip below the horizon. A normal man would have seen the yellow sun against a blue sky and marveled at the newly forming shades of purple, pink, orange, and red. Some might have said a prayer of thanks to their gods for the destruction of the artifact that made such a sight common once again.

  But not me. Despite my son’s best attempts, I was too pessimistic to really enjoy the simple things in life. And I never prayed.

  My gaze paused on those reds, focusing especially on the deepest, darkest shades. Images of men under my command dying, bleeding out from chest and gut wounds seized hold of me.

  The haunting images threatened to consume me. I closed my eyes, willing the blasted memories away.

  Calmed, I looked at the sunset once more.

  The reds drew my attention again, but without the physical reaction. “What hell are we walking into now?”

  For once, I hoped my instincts were mistaken. I made a fist to settle the shaking in my hand. It didn’t work. I thrust it into my pocket to hide the trembling. That was becoming a habit.

  I hated to admit it, but I wasn’t sure how much more hell I could take.

  “I guess however much is necessary,” I whispered.

  We were too close to finally knowing peace for me to lose control. I refused to disappoint the thousand people who had stayed on with me, especially my friends and family. Nor would I allow myself to tarnish my wife’s memory in her homeland.

  I looked away from the setting sun and turned my back to what had first drawn me to the top of the rise. Batna, the capital city of the Southern Kingdoms, stretched for miles in either direction. It overshadowed every other landmark around.

  The massive walls looked to be well over eighty feet high. Compared to the remains of Hol’s walls months ago, everything about Batna appeared larger. Every one hundred feet, drum towers rose thirty feet above the walls. Several city buildings with sharp, slanting roofs dwarfed even those towers.

  “Easy to find if you’re an invading army,” said Ira as he and Reuma came up beside me. “A blind man couldn’t miss it.”

  I snorted, “I’d doubt the success of blind invaders.”

  If there was one bright spot to what we had gone through in two wars with the Geneshans, it was that we never had to lay siege to some great stronghold like Batna. Even when we had attacked a Geneshan settlement, it was more town than city.

  It was Ira’s turn to chuckle. He let out a long sigh. “Dekar would’ve loved to have seen this.”

  “Definitely,” I agreed, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  I let the silence linger rather than trying to make Ira feel better about losing his brother. I knew from personal experience that no matter the intention, I could say nothing that would fill the void that Dekar’s death had left. I also knew that though the pain had lessened during our journey south, it would never truly go away.

  Gods, I missed Lasha.

  “Can you imagine what it would take to assault something like that?” asked Reuma.

  I could. There would be no surrounding a city of Batna’s size. Even focusing on the gates to prevent the city from resupplying would be difficult. The best chance for success would be a full-scale assault against one concentrated area and then hope for a little luck.

  Phantom images of soldiers running full tilt with scaling ladders across their shoulders came to mind. Many carrying those ladders would be picked off by archers long before they even reached the base of the walls. Old injuries started aching as I imagined climbing those buckling ladders. My rear got to clenching when considering the odds of surviving long enough to reach the top. Siege towers and battering rams could help with the assault. However, the mangonels and ballista I assumed sat atop Batna’s drum towers would negate that strategy.

  I was so relieved that none of it was real I almost said a prayer of thanks to Molak.

  Almost. Real or not, I still hated that piece of dung.

  “So long as the Southern Kingdoms have anything remotely close to a decent-sized force on those walls, I can’t imagine anyone breaking through. At least not without a blood bath,” I said.

  My own words chilled me. From the look on Ira’s face, I guessed similar memories ran through his head.

  “Let’s head back to camp,” I said finally. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

  It’d be nice if Batna’s walls could protect us from the horrors of war haunting us.

  * * *

  I couldn’t get those walls off my mind. Most of camp had gone to sleep, but I was unable to join them. I returned to the same spot I had stood
earlier to gaze upon Batna once more. Even by dim starlight, the city amazed me both in size and of the possibilities it held for our future.

  I cocked my head at the faint sound of footsteps, already anticipating who they’d belong to. I might have lost an ear not that long ago, but thankfully it hadn’t affected my hearing.

  “I thought I’d find you out here,” said Damaris.

  Looking over my shoulder, I smiled, “You’re getting better.”

  She gave a mocking bow. “I was barely trying.” Coming up beside me she added, “Can’t sleep again?”

  “No. Too worried about tomorrow. Especially since we’ve come across so many abandoned towns along the way. The people here have suffered worse than I thought they would from the artifact. No telling how the council will receive us if that’s the case.”

  She shrugged. “Eh, I’m not worried at all.”

  I raised a mocking eyebrow at that. “Oh, really?”

  “Nope. I trust you completely.”

  “Ah, that could be a fatal mistake.”

  She removed the humor from her voice. “Seriously. You’ll do fine.”

  “I hope so. A lot of people trusted me to come this far. It would be a pretty crappy thing to fail them now. I just wish I knew what questions the council might have ahead of time.”

  “No telling.” She paused, lightening her tone. “I do have one though that you can ask them.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Why does a council rule the Southern Kingdoms? Shouldn’t we be meeting with kings?”

  I laughed. “Good question. And one I actually know the answer to because I asked it myself on my first trip here with my father when I was young. There used to be six small kingdoms here, I believe, all with their own king. As Kartan, Byzan, and Genesha became more organized countries, the kingdoms in the south formed an alliance to protect their people and trade. The very first Council of the Southern Kingdoms was created to keep one kingdom from controlling too much influence. Originally, only the kings held a spot on the council. Over time, the council was expanded to include more political positions. Eventually, the council became the area’s central power, and kings and their kingdoms’ borders were dissolved.”

  “But they never changed their name?”

  “No. I guess they couldn’t think of anything better.”

  “The Southern Republic? The Southern States? The Really Powerful Nation in the South?”

  I laughed again, loudly this time.

  She chuckled. “Well, maybe not the last one, but you get my point. I just think they were lazy.”

  Regarding her, I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing of a woman she was.

  “Feeling any better about tomorrow?” she asked after a moment.

  “A little,” I admitted.

  She grabbed my arm and turned me around. “Good. Then let’s get back to camp so you can get some rest.”

  * * *

  Two guards rode out from the city.

  Even after many in our original group had dropped off to settle the southern parts of Turine or abandoned towns in Byzan, we still had just under a thousand people, including women and children. Naturally, I didn’t expect Batna to just open its gates to such a large force without some sort of formalized greeting.

  To appear less threatening, I had left camp and settled on the road to the city. Having grown more protective of me after I lost my resistance to sorcery, Ava insisted on being at my side. I didn’t argue.

  I asked Chadar to join us as well. Ava had rescued him and his wife, Galya, from the Malduks during the second Geneshan War. As we traveled, the older couple had provided lessons about their people and language to make it easier to acclimate ourselves to the Southern Kingdom culture. Despite their lessons, I still felt far more comfortable with him at my side. Last thing I wanted to do was make a fool out of myself during basic introductions.

  The guards neared riding black mares whose coats shone brightly in the morning glow. Chain mail covered the riders’ torsos. Dark boiled leather protected their upper arms and thighs. Each man had a short, curved sword at his waist and a long spear in his free hand.

  The two guards stopped thirty feet away.

  I raised a closed fist and tapped each of my shoulders before giving a slight bow at the waist. According to Chadar, the greeting indicated peace and respect without degrading oneself as a coward.

  I expected the guards to return the gesture.

  They didn’t. Molak-be-damned. It seemed that regardless of how low I set my expectations, it was never low enough. I wished my hopes would pan out just once. Of course, I’d likely die of shock if that ever happened.

  “My name is Tyrus,” I said in the language of the Southern Kingdoms.

  I was by no means fluent in the language, but for me and the kids, Chadar and Galya’s language lessons were a much needed refresher. I hadn’t used many of the words or phrases in over a decade since my last conversation with Lasha.

  The guard to our left responded stiffly. “What is your business? And why do you bring an army into our lands?”

  “We aren’t an army. Just survivors of the eruptions and wars in Turine. We traveled—”

  “So there are no soldiers among you?” he said cutting me off, eyes darting to my battered military garb and the assortment of weapons I carried.

  “There are former soldiers like myself. But war is behind us. We traveled south to escape the fighting. I’d like to seek an audience with the council and beg them to let us live peacefully in your lands.”

  “You’re not welcome here. Go back to Turine. We have enough problems without taking on pale-skin outcasts.”

  I flinched at the unexpected remark and felt Ava tense beside me. I knew she likely had a dozen spells ready to release should the guards threaten any harm.

  The other guard gestured to Chadar and spoke quickly to the first one. It was too fast for me to follow.

  Chadar frowned, eyes furrowing. He responded slower so that I could understand, snapping at the guards. “You dare spew such insults! Aren’t you a city guard? Or am I mistaken and you sit on the council?”

  The guard on the left opened his mouth, but Chadar cut him off before he could answer. “It is not your place to decide the fate of a thousand people. You will take us to the council immediately and announce us to the Speaker. You will treat these people with respect as you have no cause to do otherwise. If you fail to do these things, I will report you to the council myself for defying the basic laws of this land.”

  “I knew we kept him around for a reason,” Ava whispered in Turine.

  I gave her a cross look that told her to keep her comments to herself.

  The guards shifted in their saddles as they tried to conceal a small hand gesture that passed between them.

  The man on the left replied. “Not everyone may enter the city. Regardless of our laws, we will not allow so many foreigners inside without the council’s permission.”

  “A more than reasonable request,” I said. Turning to Chadar, I asked low. “How many would be considered appropriate to take with us?”

  “Less than ten, but more than five.”

  I addressed the guards. “Please give us a few moments to make arrangements, and we’ll follow you.”

  They gestured with a look of disgust that I could do as needed.

  Once we were out of earshot, Chadar said, “More has changed than I ever thought possible. Never before would a city guard have spoken so poorly to a foreign guest or insulted one of their own.”

  “Well, your country did not suffer like Turine with earthquakes and dying vegetation, but considering how many abandoned towns we passed, some sort of suffering must have occurred. Especially when you think back on how the few locals we came in contact with were wary of us.”

  “I had hoped they were exc
eptions. Not the rule.”

  “You can always probe the guards about their behavior on our way to the council,” suggested Ava.

  Chadar shook his head. “I’d rather wait to hear the news directly from the Speaker. He is the council’s voice. And what the council decrees is law.”

  CHAPTER 2

  The six of us each carried a pack and followed the guards.

  Chadar was an obvious choice to enter Batna with us. Our brief interaction with the guards confirmed the need to have someone with us who understood the Southern Kingdom culture. Galya, however, I asked to stay behind. Should more guards or people from the city come to speak with the remainder of our group in my absence, someone needed to prevent any misunderstandings.

  Ira had insisted on coming. “I ain’t about to let you go off into a strange city by yourself.”

  I was going to ask him anyway.

  I placed Reuma in charge while I was gone. I didn’t expect trouble, but my interaction with the guards reinforced my pessimistic tendency. She wasn’t thrilled with Ira going on without her, but she respected my wish for her to stay behind.

  Myra and Zadok joined our group without a second thought. It was probably safer to leave them with Reuma, but I struggled to let them out of my sight.

  Like Ira, Ava demanded she join us.

  I had no way of knowing how we’d be accepted so I thought it made sense to bring along food and water at a minimum. The hidden weapons I kept about my person also remained. If things did get ugly, I’d at least be equipped to take a few down before succumbing to the numbers of an entire city.

  While following the guards, Chadar reminded us about the council and what we might expect once gaining an audience with them.

  As we neared the gate, Batna’s defenses impressed me all the more. I wondered if siege ladders would even make sense given the angle of the walls. Tunneling or building a ramp might be the better option for an enemy to find its way inside. I had to stop myself from voicing my thoughts. I didn’t know if our escorts understood the Turine language, but if they did, I doubt they would have appreciated comments about how best to infiltrate their city.

  More guards stepped out of the main gate. They exchanged words with the two that led us, then eyed our group. They seemed equally unsettled by our presence.