Ascension: The Complete Trilogy by Justin DePaoli

Author:Justin DePaoli [DePaoli, Justin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-07T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Chief Commander Zariss Yeira waited patiently at the mouth of a snowy cave, flanked by two pikemen. As a high captain in the Imperial army, she would have never gone twenty feet from base camp without half a battalion at her side. She despised the rules and regulations that plagued the Red Coats. The Defiance had fewer rules, and those they did have mattered and made sense.

Zariss would know—she was the one who legislated and enforced them. In a little over a year, she had transformed the Defiance. The rebellious group of men and women were orderless and aimless when she commandeered them. Their old leader—an ancient man who bit off more than he could chew by staging a siege of Vayre City—had done a whale of a job in structuring their ranks. But his excellence stopped there.

He had thousands of likeminded individuals willing to die for him, but none knew how to fight worth their salt. Zariss had changed that. With a great deal of help from defecting Red Coats, yes, but also because she was two dead generals away from ascending to the top position within the Imperial army. She knew war. She knew how to lead.

And she knew the Empire was on its knees after the emperor’s death and not getting up anytime soon.

Several faces crafted from stone emerged from within the dark cavern. The Buried Ones dragged three average-sized chests, covered with cloth tarps, across the snowy floor, stopping a few feet before Zariss.

They stood tall, shoulders straight in respect. Perhaps their display of reverence was because Zariss towered above them all, just as she towered above most she met. She had thick legs—meaty legs, as teasing children used to say—and great, burly arms. She wore a dingy shawl of fox fur. Her long black hair was tied in a tail and rested at her butt. Ass-length hair was what she called it.

“I assume you’ll be giving me a manifest,” Zariss said, waiting with an outstretched hand.

“Of course, milady,” said one of the cowards hiding behind his mask.

A plump man stepped forward. He had reprehensible growth all down his neck, patchy and curly. His name was Ogrus, and he was the chief coward. He handed Zariss a sheet of copper on which a list was inscribed.

She gave it a quick look-over, then peered into one chest and smiled upon seeing packed bricks of crystal. She nodded at the pikemen, who grabbed the chests and towed them to the horse-drawn carriage a short ways away.

Zariss produced a small pouch from her pocket. She tightened her lips, clamping down on a smile as she felt how light the pouch was. It was amusing how cheaply the Buried Ones could be bought. Of course, with the assistance of abominable creations—what fun stealing those monsters and hauling them to another shard was—and a pair of Recollection runes, she could hardly blame the Buried Ones. They were hers to toy with.

“Thank you,” she said, tossing the pouch to Ogrus. She turned to leave.

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