“Yes, sir.”
Claws scraped, weapons were sheathed. The draconians slowly and reluctantly climbed back up the stairs. Kang was on his own, he and the children and the human females.
Kang placed his sword and his armor, his boot knife and other accoutrements on the floor. Walking forward until he stood within a sword thrust of Sister Hana, he lowered himself to his knees before her and held out his hands in submission.
“I offer my life in exchange for the lives of the children, ma’am. Let them go. Let them have the choices I never had. I would warn you of one thing, though, ma’am. When I die, my bones will explode. You should order the other sisters to leave now and allow them to take the children to safety.”
Sister Marsel started forward, reaching out her hand toward the babies. Sister Hana blocked her, cast her a vicious glance. “Don’t come near!”
“Don’t do this, Sister Hana!” Sister Marsel begged. “In the name of Paladine be merciful. Or has everything you taught us about Paladine been a lie?”
Sister Hana smiled then. A terrible smile. “Yes,” she cried. “It was a lie. It was all a lie! The god lied to me, didn’t he? He said my children died for a reason, and then he left. He betrayed me, he betrayed them. Death take us. Death take us all!”
She swung the sword.
Kang lunged to avoid the stroke, which would not only kill him but everyone trapped in the cellar, the babies included. He rolled over, to try as best he could to fend off the next attack.
He watched in astonishment to see Sister Marsel jump in front of him. She grabbed hold of Sister’s Hana’s arm, struck her a blow on her wrist. The sword fell to the dirt floor with a dull clang. Sister Hana sank down beside it, sobbing in anguish, her hands clenched.
Sister Marsel gathered up the female in her arms, cradled her, began to rock back and forth, murmuring soothing words.
Kang stood up awkwardly. “Sister,” he began, trying to find words to thank her.
Sister Marsel looked up at him and shook her head. “You better go,” she said. “Take the children.”
Support Squadron carried the children out of the cellar. First Squadron raided the goblin camp, picking up food and weapons left behind by the fleeing goblins. They returned to report that they now had supplies enough to last a month. While the rest of the regiment prepared to march out, Kang and Dremon took the babies into the upper room in the temple and released them from their snug prisons. The babies looked around in amazement at their freedom, then perked up and began to play. Some discovered their wings for the first time and began to jump about the floor, delighting in their ability to fly for a few short hops. Others climbed up on the bunks and took to leaping off, causing Kang’s heart to lodge in his throat. He valiantly fought back the desire to stuff them all back in their sacks again.
The draconian troops allowed the children to play until they were tired, then fed them hot soup made of the remnants of yesterday’s venison. The babies ate well and were now content to return to their sacks, where they soon fell sound asleep.
Late that afternoon the First Dragonarmy Field Engineers lined up in the temple courtyard, prepared to move out, to continue their march. Snow had started falling again, but this time Kang welcomed it. The snow would hide their tracks, throw off pursuit.
Kang had a debt to repay. He could not leave without first thanking Sister Marsel. He found her in the temple, standing before the statue of the platinum dragon.
“How is Sister Hana?” he asked.
“She’ll be all right. The others are with her.” Sister Marsel crossed her arms over her chest, shivered. The fires had gone out. The temple was cold.
“You shouldn’t stay here,” he warned her. “The goblins might return.”
“I know,” she replied. “We should have left long ago, left when the rest of them left. But Sister Hana said that someday Paladine would return and he would be disappointed to find us gone. There’s a village not far from here. They’ll be glad to take Sister Hana in and give her and the others a home.”
“What will you do?” Kang asked curiously.
Sister Marsel smiled wanly. “I need to climb out of my warm fur sack, don’t you think, Commander?”
Kang shook his head. She seemed very young and very fragile to go roaming about a world that was becoming darker and more dangerous every day. It was not his part to say so, however. The choice was hers.
“Good luck to you, Sister,” he said. “And thank you for what you did for us. We are in your debt, all of us.”
“If Sister Hana had carried out her threat, then everything Paladine taught us would have been a lie.” Sister Marsel raised her eyes to the statue. “It isn’t. I know it isn’t. I’m going to find the truth.”
Kang shrugged. He had already found his own truth. He left her standing beside the statue of the platinum dragon.
It was odd, but when he turned around to glance at them both again, the dragon didn’t look all that forlorn.
