Second Fire by Mike Shepherd

Author:Mike Shepherd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KL&MM Books

Launa grinned as the legions began morning P.T.; it wasn’t the cool morning air that made her shiver.

These were her people, come to fight her battle under her command. They were the fingers; she was the hand. She had never been more excited . . . or terrified.

It seemed every time she blinked, another day was gone. True, the days grew longer, but that offered no encouragement. They were getting closer to what she guessed was June . . . the month Hitler launched his invasion of Russia.

Even as she crammed another minute’s drill into already packed days, subsistence made its demands.

Cohorts had to be detailed to nurture the winter crops as they ripened. Spring crops had to be planted. Launa’s casual mention to Lasa over supper that horses would trample much of the crop around Tall Oaks ended up causing more trouble.

Lasa asked people, including Second Legion, to go to Wood Village. Half of the spring planting was done there.

And it didn’t help when holes started appearing in the ranks of both legions at muster time. Each cohort had a full strength of four fifteen-person squads, sixty all told.

But few squads stayed at fifteen. Men and women would go missing one day and show up sheepishly a few days later. Others never showed up again.

Launa needed to talk with Kaul.

She grabbed Jack and headed into town. She didn’t have to keep the pace down too much for him to keep up.

She found Kaul with Lasa outside the longhouse. Hanna was with them.

Talk was fast and animated as Launa approached. The spring day was warm; both women were down to mostly bare skin. The flush of their anger went almost to their pregnant bellies; their voices rose with more emotion than Launa had heard in a long time.

Lasa turned her back on Hanna to greet Launa.

"Little Blossom, bring water. Our visitors must be thirsty."

Lasa's ten-year-old girl was off at a run. Kaul rose to greet her. His neck showed red, too, but he was covered with a linen poncho.

None could see how empty his breechcloth was.

Hanna glared. "What brings killers to talk to the Speaker?"

Launa stopped in mid-stride. She hadn’t heard such a slap this side of the time jump. "I will come back," she stuttered.

"What do you have to share with Lasa that is not to be shared with all? Will you not only take blood from the People, but their words as well?"

Jack started to say something, but Launa put a restraining hand on his arm. "It’s okay, honey. When you grow up army, you get into these types of talks. I can handle it now. I just wasn't expecting it."

Hanna glowered at Launa’s use of English.

With hardly a pause, Launa sat. Hanna was playing to her strong suit; this would be fun

"The danger is clear. The horsemen will come soon. You have heard the words of those taken as slaves at River Bend. You have seen what they did to Kaul when he would talk to them. Have you no fear of being burned by their fire? Even your consort walks with us.

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