(eng) Michael-Scott Earle by The Destroyer 02

Author:The Destroyer 02 [02, The Destroyer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18-Nadea

I devoted the early mornings to myself. The air was just above freezing and sometimes a fine layer of frost coated the long grass and tops of the oak trees. It wasn't as cold as in the North of course, but my lungs still burned when I did my morning exercise routine of rope climbing, pushups, and squats.

The squats were the most difficult. My injured leg did not have a full range of motion. Gerald thought that I would never be able to walk correctly again and he would be horrified to see me attempting these movements. Whatever Ancient blood I had did seem to help me heal a bit faster, so I hoped that the exercise might strengthen the shredded muscles. Fortunately, the wound was no longer infected and there was no danger of losing the limb.

We had moved our campsite six times in the last three weeks and the strategy kept us safe from Losher patrols. We also managed seven successful raids against farm houses and supply wagons that provided munitions to the camped army.

It was the two failures that still bothered me. The first happened a few days after I took command of Nia's forces. We had completed our first sortie, and I became too confident. We raided a caravan delivering grain to one of the Losher satellite camps between the Teeth Mountains and Nia. The raid went successfully as well, but our escape collided with a scouting brigade. We lost fifty of our one hundred and forty-four men.

The second failure was the last mission. Two dozen highly trained soldiers infiltrated the Losher camp in the dead of night to assassinate one of the tribal leaders and then plant evidence in a competitor's tent. We'd spent almost every waking hour over the past three weeks perfecting the plan, selecting the troops, and training. They departed three nights ago. They should have returned within half a day. I assumed they were dead.

It was my fault, and although I didn't know exactly where the failure took place, I had been overconfident and attempted too bold a move. Now Losher would be sure of our existence and would hunt our army.

"There should be a guard with you," Runir said from below me. I fought back a sudden gasp and almost lost the grip on my rope. My mind had been so occupied with my thoughts that I did not hear him approach.

"I like to spend time alone exercising." I climbed down the rope carefully in between words.

"Yes, I know. As would anyone else that spends more than a few days observing our camp and you. Your time isn't your own any more. If you were to be killed at this point, Nia would be lost forever."

I had started my pushups while he was talking and only managed a grunt. The ground felt cool and soft as my palms pressed into the dark earth by the tree.

"My father has probably reached Brilla by now. How do you think he is faring?"

"This is part of the reason I exercise alone, Runir.

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