was lithe, well fit, with his prematurely gray hair bound into a ponytail. He moved with such authority, Darius knew immediately that he had to be Kaide. His eyes carried such an intensity, it left him with little wonder how the man had managed to raise an army against Lord Sebastian, however ill-equipped and meager it was.
“Jerico,” he said, sheathing his dirk. He wiped his hands on his tunic, and, unlike the others, he seemed only mildly surprised that the paladin had returned. “So you survived after all.”
“There any doubt?” Jerico asked, and he smiled as the two embraced. “It’ll take far more than a couple thousand soldiers to bring me down.”
A half-hearted cheer came from the men training. Kaide turned on them, whatever joy had been present in his composure immediately gone.
“Back to training, all of you,” he said. “Pat, you lead until I get back.”
Kaide thanked Adam for escorting them to the camp, then sent him back to his hunt.
“Takes a lot of food to feed so many,” Kaide said as he headed to his quarters with the two of them in tow. “Thankfully the deer here are plentiful, and even in winter we can usually capture a few squirrels.”
“Venison sounds wonderful,” Jerico said as they stepped inside the small log cabin, and Darius heartily agreed. Once the door shut behind them, Kaide turned and swung. His fist crunched into Jerico’s jaw, the blow knocking him a step backward so that he thudded against the door. Instead of retaliating, Jerico stood there, mouth agape, and rubbed his face.
“When you tell me to flee, you don’t stand there and keep on fighting yourself,” Kaide said, jamming a finger in Jerico’s face. “We fight together, you and I. If you’re going to hold a line until death, then I stay at your side, and if I retreat, then your ass follows. Whatever miracle allowed you to survive, I don’t want to have to rely on it again. You’re the heart of this band now, the one thing that gives them hope, and your stand at the Green Gulch only solidified that. Do we understand each other?”
“You going to hit me again if I say no?”
The tension continued for a few more seconds, and then Kaide broke out into a laugh.
“No, but Sandra might. She missed you. We all have.” He turned his attention to Darius. “I see you brought a friend.”
“My name is Darius,” he said, bowing. “Jerico saved my life, and I seek to return the favor.”
At hearing the name, Kaide froze, and his eyes seemed to sparkle.
“Darius,” he said. “As in Darius of the Stronghold, from Durham?”
Darius swallowed, and he tried not to show any emotion.
“Yes. Will that be a problem?”
“A problem? Depends. Who’d you piss off to get that bounty on your head?”
Darius thought it might be prudent to lie, but he immediately felt ashamed for even entertaining the notion.
“I was once of the Stronghold, but no longer,” he said, standing up straighter so his full height towered over Kaide. “Karak’s followers have never taken kindly to one who leaves the fold.”
“That’s strange,” Kaide said, rubbing his chin. “Report I heard said the bounty came from Sir Robert at the towers.”
“I was there when one of Karak’s greatest priests burned it to the ground. I’m sure the blame has been cast upon me.”
“Enough,” Jerico said, standing between them. “We’ve come back to help, in whatever way we can.”
Kaide shifted his attention to his friend, but Darius felt no comfort. It lingered in the air, that unspoken challenge, the question of his guilt, his role in Durham. No doubt Jerico saw the strong leader that Kaide was, but Darius also saw in him a greed and a hunger that set his nerves on edge. He saw a man with a cause, yet no ideals. The whole world might burn while Kaide waged his war on Lord Sebastian, and it wouldn’t matter, so long as in the end he found victory.
“We don’t have enough men, not yet,” said Kaide. “But soon, we’ll move out. We’ll starve Sebastian’s army of supplies, hit their caravans, set fires when they sleep. Anything to make their lives miserable. With each passing day, my men scour the North, telling tales of Sebastian’s depravity. We’ll build another rebellion, one that won’t be stamped out after a single battle. But we can talk about those details later, once Bellok comes back with more supplies. For now, let’s get you something to eat, and find you a room.”
He opened the door, then glanced back at Jerico, whose face was starting to swell on one side.
“You tripped crossing the stream on the way here,” he said, then exited.
“Aren’t you the clumsy one,” Darius said, following Jerico out, but there was no humor in his voice, only unease, as the rest of the camp cheered once more for their arrival.
4
With how many Kaide had gathered, there was no more room left in the few cabins. So they were given heavy blankets and bedrolls, which Jerico accepted gladly.
“We’ve both had plenty of experience sleeping on the ground,” he said.
“Still prefer a bed, though,” Darius said. Jerico chuckled, smacked him on the shoulder, and found a spot to make his own. It was at the outset of the camp, and he wasn’t surprised when Darius didn’t follow him. The man had been sullen since Wilhelm, and they’d been traveling together since the battle in the Green Gulch. No doubt Darius wanted to have some solitude for once, and, to be honest, Jerico felt the same. The near-worship Kaide’s followers gave him didn’t help much. By the way they acted, it was as if they thought Jerico could singlehandedly win them the war.
Which he couldn’t. He’d try, of course, but even he had his limits, and he felt safe in assuming that taking on an army by himself was one of them.
As he was smoothing out the grass and weeding out any rocks or sticks that might make sleep difficult, he heard a woman call his name. He turned to see Kaide’s sister, Sandra, weaving through the trees toward him. He raised his hand in greeting, but she ignored it, instead wrapping her arms about him. Her smile was the finest thing he’d seen in weeks.
“They told me you stayed behind when everyone else fled,” she said, slipping out of his arms.
“I did. I tend to do stupid things like that.”
“I should slap you for worrying me so.”
He turned his head so she could see the light bruise on his cheek.
“Your brother beat you to it.”
She laughed, and they embraced once more.
“I’d say he is only under stress, and worried about you, but I think I spend too much time apologizing for my brother’s behavior as it is.”
Jerico found himself increasingly aware of the feel of her in his arms, the way her silver hair curled about her face before falling past her shoulders, and the scent of flowers crushed into a perfume that wafted up from her neck. It made him feel awkward, and his mind failed to think of conversation.
“It’s been rough since the battle,” Sandra said. If she noticed his sudden awkwardness, she gave no acknowledgment of it. She sat down in the space Jerico had cleared and leaned back against the nearby tree he had planned to use to prop up his pillow. He took a seat next to her, thinking of the aftermath he’d seen: Arthur’s men in flight as Sebastian’s cheered in victory.
“I can’t imagine,” he said. “Did Kaide’s men escape the fight cleanly?”
Sandra shook her head.
“Sir Gregane gave chase, and while my brother led them on a wild hunt, the rest started filtering back here.” She shuddered. “So many were wounded, and there was no one else. I kept hoping you’d return, be there with those healing hands of yours. That light…but you never came. Just me. That was all. I sewed and stitched everything I could, but we didn’t have enough herbs for the pain, not for any of them…”
She looked at him, and her eyes had tears.
“Tell me of other things, of a world so much better than this one. I want to think of anything else but the bloodshed and heartache of the North.”
