The Heroes Fall -1- When War Calls

  * * *

  ‘That was Jaden, a hopeful,’ said Vennoss as Jaden had left the room.

  Dahla nodded, but continued looking in the direction Jaden had gone, seemingly curious about him still.

  Vennoss tried to regain her attention. ‘Now, what have you found?’ he asked.

  Dahla slowly turned back to him, taking a moment to settle her thoughts. ‘The Alliance has received reinforcements.’

  ‘How many?’ asked Vennoss.

  ‘I can’t say. Thousands.’

  ‘And in the south?’

  ‘More. All nations between Chiresk and Omada will fall.’

  ‘They move quickly,’ said Vennoss thoughtfully, ‘just as they did in the Tiquan continent.’

  ‘They are desperate for victory,’ said Blair.

  ‘They wish for an end beyond patience,’ added Adonis.

  ‘Yes,’ said Vennoss, ‘but the Resistance is weakening. This may not be the mistake it seems.’

  ‘Corsec cannot be allowed to fall,’ said Adonis.

  ‘Is it time to act?’ asked Blair.

  ‘The nations have had their chance. They have failed. The world is no longer theirs,’ answered Adonis.

  ‘No,’ said Vennoss, shaking his head as he stood up and paced the room. ‘We cannot interfere to that extent. Their right to life is equal to our own, and we haven’t the numbers to stand against the Alliance without them.’

  Adonis and Blair exchanged looks of disapproval.

  ‘We are more powerful than in the beginning,’ said Adonis.

  ‘And so is the Alliance,’ said Vennoss. ‘It would be foolish to even try. The war must go on for longer. We must prolong it.’

  ‘Then we must make a stand at Corsec,’ said Dahla.

  Vennoss turned and gave her a small nod. ‘Yes, if we can summon enough in time, that is what we must do. If we help the Resistance defend against the Alliance assault, it may help them gain a foothold in the war again. We need them to become the aggressors, and then we will help the Alliance while in Tiquan. There must be balance between them for the coming years, it is our only hope.’

  ‘How many do we need?’ asked Adonis.

  ‘It will depend on the size of the force. Can you give an estimate?’ Vennoss asked Dahla.

  ‘Fifteen, maybe twenty thousand from the west. Double that in the south.’

  ‘And a few hundred thousand across the land bridge,’ finished Vennoss. ‘The bulk of their army resides around Corsec, but they will be held off by the Diadon fleets.’ He said nothing for a moment as he began to pace again, this time slowly with his eyes directed to the floor. ‘If we can maintain position with the Resistance, we will be able to do it with as few as ten or eleven, but I fear circumstance may require a minimum of fifteen.’

  ‘Who can we call upon?’ asked Blair.

  ‘The three of you will have to be there. I know of some residing northwest of here that may answer us, but they will be stubborn. I will have to go myself to persuade them. If I am successful, that will give us another three. There are others scattered from here to Corsec. The last I saw them they were travelling alone. Dahla, see how many you can locate.’

  Dahla accepted with a bow of her head.

  Vennoss turned to Blair and Adonis. ‘The others can be reached at Ceahlin and Waikor. Your presence alone and the rumour of the Daijuar massing will be enough to draw them.’

  ‘That is still not enough,’ said Adonis.

  ‘I know,’ said Vennoss. ‘Take Jaden with you. You can continue his training along the way.’

  ‘He will not be ready,’ commented Blair dryly.

  ‘He will be assigned a lesser task. We need everyone we can get.’

  Adonis and Blair bowed as they too accepted their task.

  Vennoss released his breath. ‘We must move quickly.’

  ‘What if he does not wish to come with us?’ asked Blair.

  ‘I will come with you to speak to him,’ said Vennoss. ‘Come, we must go. Now.’

  All three Daijuar and Vennoss walked briskly out of the hexagonal room through the corridor, Vennoss in the lead as the lights behind them dimmed to blackness. As they exited the temple the thick steel doors were locked by Adonis, and Vennoss began searching for Tarsha and Jaden, but saw only Tarsha walking toward them.

  ‘Where is Jaden?’ asked Vennoss.

  ‘He left,’ said Tarsha. ‘He said he had to go.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘He didn’t say.’

  Vennoss turned to Adonis and Blair. ‘Find him.’

  The two Daijuar nodded and hurried down the stairway to Tarsha.

  ‘He went out through there,’ she said, pointing to the other end of the hollow.

  Without responding, the two ran as fast as they could, leaving Tarsha far behind calling out for them to wait.

  When they came out of the small tunnel Jaden had used to enter days before, midday sunlight made them close their eyes for a moment, its brightness blinding even for them.

  The sky was all but clear over the mountainside, save for the few remnants of the storm that had passed. The wilderness was still wet from early morning showers, causing the ground to make a crunching noise as they stepped, and had kept a slight imprint of where Jaden had run. They saw him passing over the side of the mountain slope in the south, but he was in a full run and was only seen for a second. The two Daijuar gave chase, but were unable to gain any ground on the young sprinter. They followed his trail for what seemed as miles, catching a glimpse only when there was a break in the trees or a depression in the ground, and it seemed Jaden was now gaining more distance ahead of them. Half an hour passed without either party slowing, but the Daijuar soon came to a complete stop at the edge of a great river, its current too strong for any to swim across.

  ‘Which way would he go?’ asked Blair, searching over the ground for tracks.

  Before Adonis could answer his question, they heard a girl scream. The sound bounced off the many trees, so they could not pinpoint her exact location, but they followed the sound as best they could. They then heard a loud thwack and the girl’s screams were silenced. Still they could not find her; unsuccessfully searching through the many shrubs and thickets everywhere they turned. It was another five minutes before they came across a clearing. At the other end, they saw Jaden on the ground, kneeling in front of the girl that had screamed, holding her to him in an embrace. For a moment, it seemed he had attacked her. But to the left, they soon spotted a middle-aged man lying on the ground with bullet wounds to his head and chest, and in the centre was an Alliance scout, blood pouring from his right ear as he stumbled left and right, trying to take aim at Jaden.

  With a flash of Daijuarn light, the Alliance scout was off his feet and flying through the air over Jaden’s head, hitting the trees hard before falling to the ground where he slumped back against a rock, unconscious.

  Jaden turned to the Daijuar and then back to the girl he held, resting his head against hers. They did not ask him what had happened, as the evidence was clear. The middle-aged man was in plain clothing and had been shot dead by the scout, beyond repair even for Daijuarn healing. He had no doubt been travelling with the girl. Once dead, the scout would have attempted to have his way with the girl, but Jaden had used a large part of a branch as a club to hit him off her, which was why he was bleeding from the ear. And Jaden had almost made a grave mistake by assuming the scout would stay down. It was reckless, something both Adonis and Blair noted with interest.

  Knowing there would be other scouts in the vicinity, the two Daijuarn Sentinels quickly helped the teenagers up from the ground and escorted them away from the grim scene, not a word being spoken.

  It was nightfall before they made camp, having found a place to cross the river at dusk. Tarsha had caught up to them along the way, at a loss for breath as she reached them and not short of a few complaints. But as a fire was lit by the Daijuarn energy, she quietened and let Jaden and the girl sleep in peace. She sat prodd
ing the fire for a while, staring into the flames mindlessly as the wood and leaves crackled and jumped out disapprovingly, as if they were not fond of the temperature. She was oblivious to Adonis and Blair moving away from the camp to speak out of her hearing range.

  The two Daijuar made themselves comfortable on the ground in meditative positions, but did not close their eyes. They looked back toward the fire, to where Jaden slept.

  ‘He is calm,’ said Adonis.

  ‘He feels love.’

  ‘How did he know where to find her?’

  ‘He is not what he seems,’ Blair concluded.

  ‘Should he be taught?’

  ‘We are in need of him.’

  ‘He may not choose to help us,’ reminded Adonis.

  ‘A risk,’ Blair agreed.

  ‘He could still be dangerous.’

  ‘Noviahn would not be pleased with us.’

  ‘The blame will rest with him.’

  ‘Perhaps he can be used,’ said Blair. ‘He may not do as we would have him do, he will do only as he wants to.’

  ‘Your plan?’

  ‘His desires must be changed to suit ours.’

  ‘It is possible.’

  ‘He feels love,’ said Blair again, and raising his voice enough only to get her attention, he called out to Tarsha. ‘Woman!’

  Tarsha jerked her head up in surprise, confused at the sudden break in silence. Realising then that she had been called, she stood and walked to the two Daijuar.

  ‘My name is Tarsha, Sentinel.’

  Blair bowed slightly, and then inclining his head toward Jaden and the girl he asked, ‘Who is she?’

  ‘She is a girl from his village,’ said Tarsha.

  ‘His partner?’

  ‘I don’t know. I haven’t spent much time with them, but I think so.’

  Blair seemed pleased. ‘She will accompany us to Ceahlin,’ he said. ‘You will need to take care of her while we see to training.’

  ‘What has been planned?’ asked Tarsha.

  Blair turned to Adonis, then back to Tarsha. ‘It is time for rest, Tarsha, we have a long way to travel after next wake.’

  Tarsha eyed Blair suspiciously, and was about to protest, but then thought better of it. She was accustomed to the secretive ways of the Daijuar and knew she would not be able to draw an answer out of them, no matter what trick or method she employed.

  ‘Then I will bid you both a pleasant night,’ she said, and returned to camp where she made a fuss of finding the most comfortable piece of dirt, as if only to show that if they were not going to humour her or bring her into their secretive loop, she would at least be treated well by something this night.