Resurgence by Alex Janaway

Author:Alex Janaway [Janaway, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912053469
Publisher: Fantastic Books Publishing
Published: 2019-12-23T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 34 – KILLEN

Killen halted Bajin and leaned forward, easing the pressure on his backside. A half-day’s ride southeast of Brevis had him in country that was verdant, gently rolling and populated with small woods and herds of wild horses. It was nice to be somewhere that was appreciably more like home.

‘What do you think, Bajin? Like the place?’ he asked the camel, who pointedly ignored him, cropping at the grass. Next to them Devlin’s mount maintained a respectful but peaceable distance. It had taken a while for the horses to calm down when confronted with the arrival of the camels; most of their skittishness had gone now.

‘What was that?’ asked Devlin, walking back to his horse and lifting a leg up to the stirrup.

‘Nothing.’

‘Oh,’ Devlin said, as he settled into his saddle.

Killen pulled at his forked beard and pursed his lips. The two men were alone, for the moment. All their companions were scattered in a loose line some distance away, sweeping the area, looking for any kind of sign. Now was as good a time as any. ‘You’ve got your riders well drilled.’

‘Thank you.’

‘What were you? Before it all fell apart?’

Devlin glanced over and smiled. ‘Retired.’

‘Huh. Fair enough. Must’ve been nice.’

‘Didn’t get much time to enjoy it.’

Killen sighed. Devlin wasn’t going to make this easy.

‘Seriously, though. You are military. Wait, I’ll concede the point, you were military. Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re the one who coordinated the withdrawal, turned civilians into soldiers. You’ve got a hundred riders under your command. They listen to you, they follow you. Emperor, you have a barracks, a fortification.’

‘Someone had to do it.’

‘Yes, they did.’

‘And others did as well.’

‘But here you are.’

Devlin shifted in his horse, turning his torso towards Killen. ‘What do you want to know, Major?’

‘I’m just trying to understand the chain of command.’

Devlin’s eyes narrowed a little. ‘I keep the borders safe. And I serve the council.’

Killen raised his hands. ‘I’ve no agenda here. And I’m not looking at causing ructions and I’m not making this about loyalty. But you and I both know things aren’t simple at the top of the tree.’

Devlin closed his eyes.

‘There are some different views, I’ll grant you that.’

‘You know my lot. You know Owen. You would have heard the title General is bandied around a bit.’

Devlin nodded. ‘Yes. Not sure that title carries as much weight around here.’

‘Either way, Owen’s planning on a course of action that is going to drag everyone in.’

Devlin was quiet for a while. ‘Cade won’t like that. We are trying to keep a low profile.’

Killen had sympathy with that. ‘That’s a little at odds with Owen’s plan.’

‘It is.’

‘What do you think? Is Brevis going to fight?’

Devlin shook his head. ‘You mean, is Cade going to fight?’

Killen nodded. Exactly. Even if there was a council, she was the power. She had the people and the swords. And, now he thought about it, Owen and Cade were not that far apart in age. What did that make him?

Devlin patted his horse and ran his hand down its mane.

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