Khollo shrugged. “It’s fine. You’ve got a fortress to command.”
Janis shook his head. “Thing is, we need leaders and we need them now. If I’d spent the last several years the way I should have, we’d be better prepared now.” He paused. “You’d be better prepared now. As things are, you’re going to get a bit of a crash course.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Khollo said slowly.
“I thought you said the boy was intelligent?” Wilkes snorted. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen it.”
“It takes intelligence to spot intelligence,” Janis snapped. Wilkes pursed his lips but said nothing.
“So,” Janis continued. “From now on, Khollo, you are second in command along with Ondus. You have authority over everyone except me and Ondus, and will be included in the decision making that comes with commanding a garrison. In addition, you will spend each morning training with either Ondus or I in your new role.”
Khollo was stunned. Somewhere, deep in his mind, he registered that he had just been given a promotion. He could not fathom why though. Neither, apparently, could Wilkes.
“You’re promoting him?” Wilkes shouted. “A boy who can’t even . . . that . . . ”
“Yes,” Janis interrupted, cutting Wilkes off. “I am. Khollo is going to be trained to take over command of this fortress and provide us with intelligence of the enemies’ movements.”
“Enemy? What enemy?” Wilkes screeched. “If this is some cock and bull – ”
“The vertaga,” Khollo murmured. “Demons above and below . . . you did find them.”
“Found them,” Ondus muttered bitterly, “Fought them, barely escaped them.”
“Where?” Khollo demanded. “I marked several possible locations on the map while you were gone. Here,” he said quickly, pulling the map closer. “These three are the most likely – ”
“How did you figure this out?” Ondus asked, clearly impressed.
Khollo shrugged, embarrassed. “It wasn’t too hard. I just looked for places where a band of vertaga could hide virtually unnoticed and have enough trade moving through the area to sustain them.”
Janis snorted. “Good work. Wish you would have figured this out before we wasted a month looking for them.”
“You needed a first-hand report, not guesses,” Khollo pointed out.
“True,” Janis agreed. “That’s why I had to go and leave Wilkes in charge.”
Khollo glanced across the table. Wilkes was slumped in his chair, disbelief in every line of his horrified expression. “Vertaga?” he asked finally. “But . . . How?”
“They’re back,” Janis snapped. “Deal with it.”
Khollo reflected that Janis could be remarkably unsympathetic at times.
“We searched the mountains around the pass for the first two weeks,” Ondus elaborated. “Found nothing. Then we moved a little further south, into a highland valley. This one, actually,” he added, jabbing a finger at one of the places Khollo had circled. “There were fifteen of the brutes there. They had sentries out, but we were nearly in their camp before we realized what was going on. It was dark, you see.”
“Next came one of the most terrifying fights I have ever been a part of,” Ondus sighed. “The vertaga attacked, running at us with astonishing speed, armed with short swords and round shields. The horses panicked and bolted, with us hanging on for dear life. The sentries nearly got us, but Janis and I fought our way out with only minor injuries. One of them crushed Janis’ ankle with his shield, another gored my shield arm.” Ondus lifted a torn flap of his shirt to reveal a wide, blood-stained bandage circling his bicep. The flesh around the bandage was discolored and sickly looking.
“After the fight, they pursued us all through the next day,” Ondus continued, shuddering. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought we were dead for sure.”
“But you were riding! Did the vertaga have horses too?” Khollo interrupted.
“No horse could bear them,” Ondus replied, shaking his head. “They’re too big. But they are fast, and determined. They can keep pace with horses and have nearly as good of stamina. I thought they had us a couple times, but we were able to stay ahead by taking turns sleeping in the saddle.”
“On the fourth day, they turned back. We holed up in a village that night and the whole next day to rest the horses, then finished the journey home.”
“They didn’t trace you to the village? Or here?”
“We don’t think so,” Janis replied. “But the garrison is more than a match for fifteen vertaga. Well, eleven now, I think. Hard to know what a mortal wound is to those creatures.”
“Only sure way to kill them is to lop their heads off,” Ondus agreed. “And that’s damned hard seeing as they have those massive horns.”
“So, what can we do?” Khollo asked. “Will the vertaga come here?” He ignored Wilkes’ little whimper as he mentioned the horrible creatures again.
“Not yet,” Janis replied. “For now, no one leaves this fortress. I’ve notified Ishkabur to lock down the city and send word to Etares. They can send someone up the Ranil River and through the Midwood to the capital. Everyone must be made aware that we are once more at war.”
Ondus nodded gravely. “With any luck, things will turn out better this time. We’ll muster an army, march to the mountains, and wipe the vertaga out before they gain enough strength to oppose us.”
Wilkes was still sitting in wide-eyed silence. “Vertaga,” he muttered weakly. “It can’t be . . . not possible.”
“It is,” Khollo said. “This is the second sighting. The first was an attack on a trading caravan near Ishkabur. That’s why Janis and Ondus investigated. The good news is, we all know the truth, and soon everyone else will too.” Khollo turned to Janis. “Just so you know, the smithy has been turning out arrowheads and spearheads for two weeks. We’ll be well supplied should the fight ever
