The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) (19 page)

She was sure that her health also had to do with the horrible rationing her people did. They would gorge and fill their bellies until they were at their limits and then they would complain the next day when no more food was found. It was an endless cycle. Raid. Eat. Raid.

This was the lives of all she knew. Anything to the contrary was considered foolishness.

But since she was unable to participate in the raids, and there were times in which she couldn’t keep the food down, what was her purpose exactly? It seemed like a question her parents asked themselves whenever they thought about their daughter. Why was she there? She couldn’t work or clean that well—nothing they couldn’t do themselves in a third of the time. They couldn’t trade her for anything valuable. She was only friends with that Olivia girl and Olivia was just as useless in her own way. How could such an able-bodied person be so ineffective in raids?

They never said it, but Remi was sure her parents loathed the day she was born.

Remi looked up wearily as she saw Olivia running back to her. She looked further ahead and noticed that the town wasn’t on fire. That was a good sign. Nothing too serious could be happening.

“What is it?” Remi asked as her friend stopped in front of her.

“Your parents are back with the rest of the raid.”

“Already?” Remi said in surprise. A raid usually lasted days. A day to plan, a day to infiltrate, and a day to make sure there wasn’t anyone chasing them. Though Cimmerians rarely left their world, there was a commonly held belief that if they ever discovered where the thieves lived, they would have the entire town executed.

“I know! I don’t think they were successful.”

Remi couldn’t wrap her head around the thought. “But why?”

“They might have come against some trouble. Everyone is calling for a town meeting.”

Remi scoffed. “When was the last time one of those were called?”

“Not since I’ve been born,” Olivia admitted. “I don’t know what this means.”

“But you have to admit,” Remi grinned. “It’s a little exciting.”

“Ha. You would think so,” Olivia laughed. “Maybe we’ll all hold hands and sing songs of great warriors and fantastic adventures.”

Remi continued walking back to town and Olivia stepped in line next to her. “All I’m saying is that we could probably accomplish a lot more if we weren’t trying to kill each other all the time. This was bound to happen—an unsuccessful raid. How long did they think it was going to last before the Cimmerians got sick of having their stuff taken? Do you know if anyone was killed?” she said suddenly, dropping her voice to a whisper.

“No, no,” Olivia said suddenly. “That would be terrible.”

“I guess depending on whom,” Remi muttered under her breath. Olivia pushed slightly to the side.

“That’s not funny!” Olivia half-chuckled and half-shouted. “No matter how despicable someone is, we need everyone to make the raids go well.”

“See what I mean?” Remi said, tapping her forehead. “We need each other.” Olivia’s face fell as and she pursed her lips as her eyes narrowed.

“I hate it when you flip stuff on me like that. Okay, okay, I agree with you. Kind of. We could be a little more productive if everyone would just shut up for once. I mean, the roof in my house has been leaking for months. I’m sure the town could use some fixing up. But what you’re talking about is never going to happen. We’re not going to all of a sudden go somewhere and start anew. We’re not going to join Paragon’s army or whatever it is you want us to do. We have a way of life here that works. No one’s going to deviate from that.”

“Then no one can complain when the raids stop working.”

“You know, you talk a big game, but it’s not like you’re going somewhere. And you know why? Because you’re scared. You know you can’t do by yourself what we do as a collective. They may be gross and fight each other and neglect their homes and families, but they are still our people, and you still get fed. You have no right to complain either, or you should just leave already.”

“Yeah,” Remi whispered, nodding her head. “You’re right.”

“What?” Olivia asked in shock. “What did you just say?”

“REMI!” someone shouted from the center of town. Olivia whined as she knew she wouldn’t get confirmation now. They came upon the wooden gate and Remi stopped walking for a second to gather her thoughts. Once she hit the center of their quaint little town, where all the grown-ups were congregating, she knew that she would have to deal with a lot of stupid questions and lines of reasoning she couldn’t even imagine. It was taxing.

Her eyes averted from the group of adults about a quarter mile in the distance and to the sides, where their homes laid. It wasn’t much to behold. Long lines of log cabins and makeshift huts extended out into the distance as far as she could see. There were no fields or crops or town squares or buildings of recreation. There were just places of sleep, and dirt roads to stand in while the townsfolk discussed their next adventure.

Eat. Raid. Eat.

Raid. Eat. Raid.

The town didn’t even have a name. That was how lazy they were. Not that they traded or dealt with anyone else. If it wasn’t for stealing from Cimmerian, she would think they were alone in the world. The only other evidence were the stories passed around after the town was good and drunk. Sitting in a circle in the middle of the main dirt road, they would laugh and jeer as they told stories of the Sages and what the world was like before the worlds collided. In slurred speech and vomit stained shirts, they would describe what Kingdoms they once belonged to—back when there were actual Kingdoms.

Then they would begin fighting over who was better, both with words and fists and terminology that she couldn’t understand.

Quietus. Langoran. Allayan. Prattlian. Delilah. Yama.

She determined that they were all different races or types of people, but she didn’t know the significance behind them. To her, her people all looked and acted the same so she wasn’t sure why the labels mattered. And if anything, it gave her less hope in the outside world. If they were all from different races, and they were exactly the same in how they acted, then who could she connect to out there?

“REMI!” the voice cried out again and Remi realized it had been her mother calling her. If she had realized that from the beginning she wouldn’t have stopped to take in the sights. She reluctantly shuffled forward as the rest of the adults waited patiently for her to arrive. None of them were arguing so now she was really worried. Her mother—a ragged and frail woman with too many dirty coats hanging off her shoulders—glared at her with contempt.

“Did you see anything while we were gone?”

“What do you mean?” Remi asked sheepishly. She noticed that Olivia had slinked off into the shadows.

“Did you see anyone while we were gone?”

“No. No one.”

“Are you sure? You were in the town the whole time?”

Remi knew the raid group saw her walking from outside the town’s border, so she knew there was no point in lying.

“No, I went to look at the lights in the sky.”

“It’s cold outside. What are you doing out there alone? If you got sick, someone would have to stay back and watch you instead of heading back out.”

“The raid didn’t go well?” Remi asked, trying to get the attention off of her.

“No, it didn’t,” her mother sneered, turning to spit on the ground. “And if we want to eat within the next day or two, we have to go back out…tonight.”

“But you just got back. Aren’t you tired?”

“Are you going to help?!” Remi winced and bowed her head.

“No,” she muttered, and her mother crossed her arms.

“Exactly,” she said. “So here’s what I want you to do. I need you to stay here in the town and not wander off anymore. If you see anything, you’re going to have to confront them and convince them that they’ve found the wrong place.”

“We’ve never done that before.”

“We’re going to be exhausted,” her father replied, appearing from behind her mother. He was as thin as she, just taller. Balding and sporting a long grey beard, when she looked at him, she usually thought of Death. That probably wasn’t fair to him, but he certainly never spoke much about life. “We won’t have the strength to fight off anyone that comes looking for us,” he continued. “That means you’ll have to step it up for once. Be useful.”

“But what if they attack me?”

“I don’t know. Ask your friend to help you. It’s not our problem. From now on, if you want to eat our food, you have to earn it. I’m sick of you lying around the house all day.”

“It’s not my fault.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“Fine,” she seethed. “I’ll do it.”

“Good,” he said, looking at the townspeople around him. All of them—eighty in all—prepared themselves for the long night ahead.

“Can I ask you something?” Remi spoke up and her mother glared at her like she had just been cussed out. “Why didn’t the raid work?”

“We went in too deep,” she muttered before turning back to her husband. “We have to get going. I don’t want to be in Cimmerian while the sun is up.”

Remi’s father stretched his hand up into the air and made a circling motion with it. The raid team began to march out the town’s back entrance, albeit slower than before. No one looked back to make sure that she was okay. But she was fine with it. As far as she was concerned, there were two ways of looking at it.

She could wallow in self-pity, or she could become more independent as a result.  She chose the latter, realizing that their negligence was only making her stronger. If they were nurturing and provided for all her needs from the beginning, she wouldn’t know how to forage for her own food whenever they were away. She wouldn’t know how to repair the holes in the house or how to fight off the wandering predator. Their care would have become her crutch, and she hadn’t had to use crutches yet.

She barely noticed when they were gone. It was the lack of noise that alerted her, and like an old friend, silence blanketed the town, and she allowed her thoughts to wander. Besides Olivia and a few of the elderly, she was alone, and that was fine.

She yawned and stretched her neck down the dirt road, evaluating how far she would have to walk to get home. She closed her eyes for a second, feeling exhaustion slide down her back. And when she opened them next, someone was standing in the middle of the road. At first she thought it was a straggler from the raid group, but when her vision focused, she realized that wasn’t true.

The stranger was clad in a dark green robe with patterns of light blue daffodils strung across the chest and a hood over his face. He strode toward her slowly with his fists clenched. She remembered her parents’ words—that she should convince the stranger that he found the wrong place.

But all she could think about was the eidolon hidden deep within.

As if reading her thoughts, the stranger placed a hand to his right hip and a flash of light cracked across her eyes. She yelped out in agony as the light blinded her, and when her vision cleared, the stranger was already behind her with a sword pressed firmly against her throat.

“What is the name of this place?” he whispered into her ears. His voice was surprisingly higher-pitched than she suspected, and it cracked when he said “place,” as if he was just going through puberty.

“It doesn’t have a name,” she whispered, realizing that she was still in great danger, regardless of how he sounded. With him being so close to her, there was no way she could get her eidolon out in time.

“What kind of town doesn’t have a name?” he scoffed. He kept the tip of the blade to her throat as he began circling around her so that he could see her face. It looked like an average sword. Nothing special…but it had appeared like an eidolon would. Could he be a…?

“This town doesn’t have a name,” she repeated as he removed the hood from his head. As it fell down, his long dirty blonde hair went wildly in all directions from the static electricity. His eyes were a soft hazel and his face was smooth and untouched. He was about her age, but he had seen and endured a lot less. She felt her odds improving.

“Listen to me,” he said slowly, trying to appear tough. “I need you to tell me what this place is. I don’t have time to play around.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” she replied, keeping her eyes steady on his. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s not for you to know,” he said as Remi’s eyes caught some movement from behind him. Olivia was crouched low and making her way slowly to his back. She averted her eyes back to the intruder so that he wouldn’t get suspicious.

“What’s your name?” Remi asked and the stranger sneered.

“I’m the one asking the questions. What is this place? Why is it on the edge of Cimmerian?”

“Because the people here are stupid. Just like you are for coming here. You have no idea how much trouble you’re in.”

“I doubt it,” he replied as Olivia slashed at his back with a rusty long blade. The stranger winced but it was obvious the cut hadn’t done much. He turned around and kicked her in the face, sending her flying in the air. Remi clenched her fists and prepared for the counterattack when she heard the growl.

“No,” she whispered as her eyes widened in horror. The adults must have been tired. Either that or they didn’t care who was killed out of those left behind.

For some reason, they had kept the gates open.

And the three hounds of Cimmerian were hungry.

She turned around slowly, listening for any change in the slow and steady grumble of both the hounds’ throats and their stomachs. When she had fully faced the hound, she realized how much danger they were all in. The stranger stood silent and still behind her. Even Olivia had climbed to her feet and trembled next to the intruder, almost as if she had forgotten about the blow he had just given her.

“What are those?” the stranger whispered as Remi swallowed.

“They’re from Cimmerian. Strays. They feed on people to extend their lives. The closer they are to death, the hungrier they get.”

“They look like dogs…but scarier.”

“They are. But I wouldn’t try rubbing their bellies.” Remi gripped the blanket around her. She didn’t want to show them fear, for like animals they could sense it in a victim, and that would just make them want to attack all the more. But it wasn’t the attack that she was afraid of.

It was taking the life of any creature.

Unbeknownst to all but Olivia, she was the only one in their town to successfully take down one of the Hounds. They were built like bloodhounds but as stocky as pitbulls. They had massive shoulders and jaws as wide as an alligator’s with the teeth to match. Their eyes were beady and drool poured from their mouths as if it came from a pitcher. Their bodies trembled for the blood they smelled as if they were addicted to it, and all they needed was a reason to advance. A twitch of their prey’s arms. A movement of their legs. All they needed was the opportunity to begin the chase.

“Listen,” Remi whispered. “There’s three of them, so we’ll have to focus on one at a time. I need you to hold your hounds back until I can get to them.”

“What?” the stranger scoffed, on the line of ridicule. “These dogs aren’t threats. Step back and watch what I can do.”

“If you want to die, go ahead,” Remi replied. “Have you faced one of these before?”

“No, but—”

“—I don’t care who you are. These hounds are tricky. Even a Sage could fall by one of them.”

“What?” he asked in disbelief, though his voice was lower than before. “Even a Sage?”

“I’m just being honest,” she said as the hounds started growing tired of waiting. They stretched their paws forward cautiously, searching for the weakest prey. Remi coughed and caught their attention. They extended their heads toward the ground as their eyes fixed upon her.

That’s it, she thought to herself. Just stay on me. Ignore them.

One of the hounds decided to take a chance. It lunged toward Remi’s small throat, sure of its victory, but Remi had already unsheathed her eidolon from beneath her wool blanket. Throwing the blanket aside, she pivoted to the right and allowed the hound’s momentum to propel it through her blade, cutting it in two. The other two hounds were thrown into a frenzy as they began running in circles around the three of them. Remi kept her falchion steady as Olivia readied her own blade. Remi noticed that her friend was heating up the blade from her grip on the hilt and she smiled at her cleverness. It was almost like Olivia was creating her own makeshift eidolon. The stranger, however, wasn’t going to be much help at all. He was still standing around like an idiot with his blade sheathed, staring hard at Remi’s eidolon.

“Wake up!” Remi shouted and he jumped from the abruption in the silence. The remaining two hounds charged her and Olivia, but they had learned from the deceased’s mistakes. They didn’t jump in the air. Instead they kept their bodies low to the ground like a snake, darting in to nip at their legs and then speed out before they could be swiped at.

Remi grunted as she received another bite on her ankle. She hadn’t even seen the animal move, and now she could feel her feet beginning to swell. She didn’t know if they had poison in their saliva, but it probably didn’t matter. The loss of blood would be more than enough to take her down in the end.

“This is getting old!” Olivia shouted as one of the hounds pulled her back by the ankle. She swung at it but it had already put some distance between them. The stranger finally came out of his daze as one of the hounds decided to take a chunk out of his calf.

“NO!” he screamed in agony as the hound leapt away from his attempt to slap it. The stranger growled and put his hand to his right hip when all of a sudden one of the hounds leapt up and latched onto his throat. Remi threw caution aside and came to his aid, hoping that Olivia would be able to take care of the last hound herself.

Remi cut through the hound at the stranger’s throat and it’s jaw went slack, hanging from his neck like an accessory. The stranger grunted as he took a hold on the hound’s mouth and thrust it off of him. Remi heard a yelp and she spun around to see Olivia delivering the final blow to the last hound’s head—a downward thrust.

“We need to check the other end,” Remi breathed heavily, feeling her adrenaline dying down. Olivia nodded and began heading to the other side, leaving her and the stranger together. Not that she thought the intruder was much of a threat anymore. The hound hadn’t been on him long, but there was a deep puncture in his throat from where each of its teeth had sunk in. The stranger couldn’t breathe well and his eyes were beginning to well up with tears. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the pain or the fact that he almost died.

“I got you,” she said, trying to pull him up to his feet. After the first pull, she knew that it was going to be impossible without his assistance. “We need to get to the infirmary. They have antibiotics there. We should probably both get some for these wounds.”

“Eckard,” he replied. Was it another language he was trying to speak in?

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” she replied. “Come on. Help me help you.”

“Name is Eckard,” he whispered, forcing his legs to carry his weight. She tried to put his arm over her shoulder but he weighed too much. Giving up on trying tocarry him, she let him walk behind her as she kept an eye on their surroundings.

“Don’t try to talk too much,” she said as she examined each house from roof to porch. So far, it looked like only a few hounds had gotten in. Not too surprising since they couldn’t have smelled too many people inside. They must have been really hungry.

“I’m from Paragon,” he said from behind her, and she was too shocked to scold him. She fought the urge to face him for she knew they would stop in their tracks and inevitably begin a conversation. Both actions could wait until they were sure that they would survive.

“We’ll talk in a moment,” she said as they continued up the main dirt road. Eventually, she stopped in front of a house that looked exactly the same as the others. Nothing important was labeled in their town and she supposed it was smart to a degree. If anyone came to steal from them, it would sure be an adventure trying to find the right goods.

“Where are we,” he rasped and she shushed him. She pointed to one of the cots that had a somewhat clean sheet and motioned for him to sit on it as she opened the panel cabinets. She rummaged through the little wooden boxes and peeked under the lids until she found what she was looking for. It might not be the most appropriate medicine for the wound, but at least she could identify these particular herbs. She knew they sped up the healing process on cuts and soothed the burning.

Without asking him, she took a few of the leaves, rubbed them between her hands until they were practically ground up into dust, and then she pressed it up against Eckard’s throat. She had seen her parents put water on their hands before grounding up the leaves but she didn’t want to dilute the effects.

Eckard winced and closed his eyes. He leaned back on the cot and took deep breaths as she retrieved a few more leaves and applied them tenderly to the bite on his leg. After a few more leaves were put onto his neck she took care of herself. Her parents would have disapproved for sure, saying that she should have kept her life in mind first.

Or maybe not.

Maybe they would have found a brand new warrior to groom in Eckard. It was hard to say.

“Thank you,” Eckard whispered as she finished with her legs. She stared at him as he gave her a smile. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” she replied. “But how else am I going to find out what you’re doing here?”

He laughed. “Well, that’s true.”

“So? Why are you here?”

“I was looking for new recruits.”

“For a town like mine? Need new members for your raid group?”

“No, not at all,” he said, pressing a hand against his neck. Remi shook her head.

“Don’t touch it. Let it work.”

“Fine,” he sighed, putting his hand back down. He grit his teeth and glanced back at Remi. “Like I said, I come from Paragon. There’s no raid groups there. No point. We have everything we need.”

“Then why do you need recruits? Paragon is a long way from here.”

“The recruits are for the Sages.” He searched her eyes for awe or surprise, but he found none. “Of course…it seems that doesn’t impress you.”

“I think you know why.”

“Yes,” he replied, staring straight into her eyes. “Because you are one.”

“I’m no Sage. I can manifest my soul into eidolon. Just like you. That doesn’t make me a Sage.”

“Where I come from it does.”

“Then the Sages aren’t anything to be impressed about,” she huffed, looking around for her blanket. Remembering that it was still in the dirt road, she ripped a sheet from a cot behind her and wrapped it around her shoulders. It didn’t provide much warmth, but it would do for now.

“If you met them you wouldn’t think so.”

“Can they do more than use an eidolon?”

“Not too much more. But that’s not the point. It’s not what weapons you have at your disposal but how you use them.”

“Okay,” she said, turning back to the cabinets to see if there was anything else they could use. She had already used more herbs than she was allowed so there was no turning back now. Besides, Olivia still needed to be treated.

“You’re right,” he replied, jumping off the cot. “There is more to a Sage than the weapon they yield. They wouldn’t be held in such high regard if that was the case. You have to admit though…I must be strong if I was able to make it all the way down here on my own.”

“Not that strong,” she replied, glancing at his neck. He smiled and chuckled a little.

“You were right. The hounds weren’t what I expected. I underestimated them.”

“Why are you talking to me like a salesman?” she asked, turning back to the cabinets.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re being so nice to me. Complimenting me. Making small talk and borderline flirting. What’s your game? You can’t possibly be trying to sell me on joining the Sages.”

“Perhaps I’m just grateful you saved my life.”

“I hope that’s it,” she said with a shiver. “Because I have no intention of going with you anywhere. And especially if it’s to join the Sages—if they even exist.”