“So they’re deviating wildly!” Wilkes observed triumphantly. “You’re just making excuses, fitting everything into the picture you want to see!”
“The sacking of Holwey indicates that the vertaga are still acting in a manner similar to the last war,” Khollo countered. “In addition, the villages are sensible targets at this stage. They are relatively undefended and make easy victories to give the vertaga warriors confidence in battle. In addition, they are not large enough attacks to attract the attention of the king and so are relatively low risk. The most we would be expected to do in response to such attacks is deploy soldiers to the villages which weakens larger, more important targets as we have said before.”
Muttering swept through the council.
“So, to sum things up,” Wilkes said sourly, “We have a weak king denying that a war is on the way, thousands of vertaga in the Fells, and villages being razed at will?”
“Precisely,” Janis agreed.
“We’re doomed,” Wilkes muttered. He stood quickly and stormed out. “I have cadets to train,” he growled over his shoulder. “Might as well have them ready to take down a few vertaga when the beasts get here. For all the good it will do.”
“Wilkes!” Ondus said sharply.
The sergeant paused in the doorway.
“You were not dismissed,” Janis said mildly.
Wilkes flushed. “I have more important things to do than – ”
“ – obey the command of your lord?” Janis finished, raising an eyebrow.
Wilkes scowled and leaned against the doorframe, but he did not return to his seat.
“The situation is not so dire as the sergeant implies,” Janis said to the room at large. “We have a chance against these beasts, if we stay united and determined as defenders.” He looked around the table, his gaze lingering longest on Wilkes and the two captains. “Dismissed.”
The council broke up then, the other leaders getting to their feet and retreating down the stairs, descending back into the everyday bustle of the West Bank. Janis, however, moved to the windows that overlooked the southern horizon and gazed out across the land. Ondus remained seated, frowning at the map. Khollo shifted uncomfortably, not sure whether he should leave or stay.
“You did well, Khollo,” Janis said finally.
Khollo shrugged awkwardly. “I did what I had to. What you trained me to do.”
Janis nodded. “Yes.” He remained at the window, his back to Khollo and Ondus. “Khollo, there’s something I should probably tell you.”
Khollo frowned. If it was about the vertaga, wouldn’t he have told the whole council?
The young warrior waited expectantly. Janis did not stir for a long time. Finally, Ondus broke the silence. “Tell him, Janis. I’ve been trying to tell you for years – ”
“I’m just gathering my thoughts,” Janis growled. “It’s hard to explain a secret like this after I’ve kept it so long.” He paused. “When I spoke to the council, Khollo, you’ll recall that I told them I was at the battle of Ganned’s Gorge?”
“Yes?” Khollo said, not sure where this was going.
“Before that, I fought in another major battle,” Janis said quietly. “One that . . . I can’t talk about. The battle of Tamor.”
Khollo frowned. “Hang on,” he said slowly. “That name’s familiar for some reason. Tamor was – ”
“The trading town,” Janis confirmed. “The one the vertaga destroyed. I had been charged with its defense.
“Oh,” Khollo said quietly. “I can see why you don’t like to talk about it.”
Janis snorted. “I’ve been beaten in battle before and I’ll be beaten in battle again. If that was all that had happened then I wouldn’t have issues talking about it.”
Then what did happen? Khollo wondered. Did he run? Retreat? Desert his comrades? Khollo didn’t think any of these possibilities were likely. Janis was talking about something more important than losing a battle or losing men that he commanded. More than the destruction of a major town.
“Your brother,” Khollo said quietly.
Janis swung around. “What?” he snarled.
“This is about your brother,” Khollo realized.
Janis nodded slowly. “Yes. We were both there. We were commanding the defense together. Each of us led half of the troops at our disposal, about four hundred in all.”
“You tried to defend a small city against thousands of monsters you had never seen before with four hundred men?” Khollo asked in disbelief.
“We had no choice,” Janis replied. “The vertaga had to be slowed down.”
An awkward silence fell upon them. “What happened?” Khollo finally asked, dreading the answer.
Janis closed his eyes. “We never stood a chance,” he whispered. “The vertaga surrounded us in the night and swarmed over the walls. They can see as well in darkness as we can in the light. Our soldiers were caught completely off guard, cut off from help, hopelessly outnumbered. I’m not sure we managed to kill more than a dozen vertaga.”
“Those who survived the first wave retreated to the stables and prepared to escape to the north. Everything was chaos. As we were getting ready to leave, my brother arrived, covered in ash and blood, though none of it seemed to be his own. The vertaga were setting fire to the city. He had just escaped with his life and twenty of his two hundred men. No sooner had he and his men mounted up than the vertaga attacked the stable.”
“We charged right at them, clearing a path. We were nearly in the clear when one of the beasts leapt from a side alley and struck down my brother’s horse.”
Khollo swore quietly. Ondus looked away, his face set in grim lines.
“I tried to go back, to help him, but he yelled for me to keep going,” Janis said, tears filling his eyes. “Then he turned and charged the vertaga pursuing us. He never had a chance, and he knew it, but he attacked anyway, hoping to buy us time to clear
