Chapter eleven
Almost the instant I agreed to help fight for his army, Solomon began briefing us for our mission. He was halfway through an explanation of where there were several combatants he needed us to eliminate before I interrupted him.
"Captain I don't think that's where you want us."
He furrowed his brow.
"What do you mean? Why not?"
"I can solve your problem with the Spirit."
Before he could respond, a man burst without warning through the double doors of the building. He was covered partially in blood, and was holding a young child's body in his arms. With closer examination I saw that the child's head was more or less intact, with shattered pieces of bloody bone hanging gorily from its neck. The man heaved a stone at Solomon, who looked relatively unfazed as he drew his sword and batted the rock aside. My eyes widened. His reflexes were phenomenal, but I had little time to admire them as the man ran at him screaming violently.
"This is your fault! If you had done your job my son would still be alive!" At this point he discarded his son's body and drew a sword of his own.
"Sir, I need you to calm down."
Almost as if he hadn't heard Solomon speak, the man swung his sword heavily at the captain. With a flick of his wrist, he blocked the attack nonchalantly. He continued to parry several others before getting fed up and disarming the man.
A part of me sympathized with the man, but at the same time I understood the captain's position. Oddly enough, the stress of trying to win a war that he was clearly losing seemed not to be affecting him. I wondered briefly if it had anything to do with the meditation I had seen him doing earlier.
"Take him out of here and calm him down," Solomon said to one of his subordinates.
"Yes sir."
"Sorry about that little disturbance, where were we?"
***
The four of us walked down the dirt path uneasily, still slightly unsettled by all of the events of the day. Solomon had agreed wholeheartedly with my plan to get rid of the Spirit, and looked slightly impressed that I had the power to stop one. He probably didn't belive that I could, but considering the state his city was in, I'm sure he would have taken anyone's help.
In any case, we found ourselves ambling towards the opposing city of Tutsu, with a determined attitude. As we walked, the flat land before us became more and more rocky until we were climbing over rocks so frequently we barely ever toutched the ground. The area around us was littered with these boulders, which presumably formed a mountain several thousand years ago. I broke a thin sweat, and began breathing faster as I climbed. I looked over at Sarah to see how she was doing. Clearly not used to scrambling over large rocks, she looked fatigued and dehydrated, so I gave her my water skin, which was still mostly full. The twins, who were clearly very good at navigating the rocks, were far ahead of us, giving relative privacy.
"Duncan," she began, "I'm sorry about yesterday."
"Don't be," I said, trying to refrain from saying anything bitter.
"I still want to be friends with you, it just can't be romantic."
"Would it kill you to explain why?" I said, my annoyance beginning to surface above my pleasant facade.
"You wouldn't understand," She said, looking at the ground and frowning.
"Right, because I'm just too stupid." I spat sarcastically.
"No, I don't mean it like that. There are... extraneous circumstances."
"Whatever."
We camped a little further on in what looked like the softest conglomeration of boulders. With uneven ground, and nowhere to put the stakes, we were forced to sleep simply on bedrolls atop the rocks. The cool autumn breeze washed against my faced as I laid myself down to rest. Part of me enjoyed it unconditionally, but another part nagged me that if we didn't make it to Kane soon, we would be in desperate need of warmer clothing. I tried to silence that voice and simply enjoy my surroundings, but it continued pestering me until it was interrupted by Dean.
"So do you actually have a plan for taking down the Spirit, or are we just going to march into the city and hope everyone gets out of our way?"
"I need a plan?" I responded.
"Do you remember the last time you entered a fight without a plan? You fainted and quite nearly died. Maybe that wouldn't be the best idea to repeat."
"Alright, I'll think of one, but I do have all day tomorrow as we walk."
"As long as you're not busy talking to your girlfriend..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
That night I slept poorly, tossing and turning as the hard surface of the rock bored into my frame, even through the ground mat I had. I woke several times near the morning, but for the first couple times I simply went groggily back to sleep. Then next time I awoke, I was staring up at a boy of about twelve, who was kneeling over me. He was also pointing a very long dagger at my face.
I rolled out of the way in a moment of panic and the blade collided with the rock where my face had been only moments before. I was still sleepy, and acting mostly on adrenaline and fear for survival as I shoved the kid to the ground. He tried to get up and stab me in the shoulder with the knife, but I grabbed its handle and pushed him back down again. As we wrestled control for the weapon that might mean my death or his depending on who's hands it was in, I slammed him against the side of a boulder and shouted for help. In moments, the twins were awake and had come to my aid. They grabbed both of his arms and restrained him as I managed to pull the weapon from his hands. His face was red as we tied his hands, and the look in his eyes spoke of a hatred I had never seen anyone display. I drew my sword and pointed it at our new prisoner.
"Who are you and why did you try to kill me?"
He was trying desperately to get free from the rope that bound his hands, and he squirmed violently as he spoke.
"Let me go you Hutti bastard! I'll kill you all for what you've done! You don't deserve to live!"
I tried to speak in the midst of his shouting, but was drowned out, and eventually just gagged him with a bit of cloth. Sarah, who was by far the least threatening looking of the four of us, tried to talk to him.
"I think you have us confused with someone else. We are just passing through here. We aren't from the Hutti village."
He continued struggling for several more seconds, but after a while he began to process the words she had spoken. Gradually, he relaxed and stopped wriggling.
"I'm going to take the gag out," Sarah said, "But if you start to scream again I'll put it back in."
He nodded in compliance, and she gingerly removed it. He was breathing heavily, but was thankfully no longer shouting.
"What's your name?"
"Mikey," he said, staring intently into space and looking rather nauseous.
"Where are you from, and why did you attack us?"
"I came from the city of the Tutsu people, and I attacked you because I thought you were Hutti soldiers."
"This kid might be able to help us get into the city," Dean pointed out, his eyes lighting up.
"Have you not heard of the atrocities that the Hutti people commit?" the boy continued. We all looked confused, as we simultaneously began to process what he had just said.
"Atrocities?" Sarah inquired.
At this, he began to recount to us a tale I will never forget.
"I was almost twelve when they took me and my sister May. My parents were away fighting in the war, so there was no one to help us when they came. After they breached the city walls, they killed the adults and took the children as slaves. Later that day the invasion was fought off, but it was too late for us. We were taken to a heavily guarded military training base, and forced to make their weapons and equipment. They beat us daily, even when no one stepped out of line. Almost no one dared to because the ones who did fight back were tied to a target and used as training for the novice archers. Sometimes it took eight or nine arrows to kill them, and they just hung there, writhing in pain. They used us as slaves for labor, but they also used to girls for their sick desires. My sister was among them, and I couldn't even do anything about it. I just stood there and watched. If I had tried to stop them I would be killed, and I couldn't bring myself to help her, as much as I hated myself for not trying. One boy tried to help her, and it took them twelve arrows to kill him. I was determined to escape, and spent my entire time there planning how to get past the armed guards and high walls. Finally, one of the boys found a small hole in the wall big enough to crawl through, and with May and a couple other kids I decided to use it to escape. The plan went wrong though, and they spotted us as we ran away. They hadn't seen May yet, so she changed her mind and decided to stay behind. I will never forgive myself for leaving her, but in that moment all I could think about was my own survival. I ran as fast as I could away from that place, and I've spent the last thirty days trying to get back. I found out when I returned to my city that both of my parents had been killed in the war, and so I took my father's dagger and swore vengeance against the Hutti people. I will save my sister if she is still alive, and I will kill every one of her captors. The only question now is whether you will kill me, or help me do this."
When he finished saying this, he was disturbingly placid. He was not crying, but glaring at a spot of ground with so intently that I thought it might catch fire. To accent his lack of tears, Sarah had completely broken down, and was weeping miserably. The twins looked shell-shocked, and likewise, I just stared in awe at this bone chilling story.
As I looked at this young boy, I saw a terrible similarity between the two of us. I saw what I feared about myself mirrored in this young child, and I was torn. Part of me wanted desperately to help him, and take revenge on the people who did this to him and his sister, but still another part of my wanted to end the violence, and stop this horrible metamorphosis. I didn't want to become an abomination, but I also didn't want guilty men to go free without being punished.
"We should help him," I said exclusively to Dean.
"How do we know he's telling the truth?"
I realized that this was a valid question, and voiced my concerns. Before he could respond, James answered in his stead.
"He's not lying."
"How do you know?"
"Knowing when people are lying is essential to not being scammed. Trust me, he's telling the truth."
At this point Sarah turned to Mikey and spoke gently to him.
"tell us where the camp is, and what your sister looks like and we can help."
He realized instantly the implications of what she had said.
"You're not going without me. I'm coming with you. Don't say it's too dangerous, because I'd rather die saving May than live with her in captivity. Plus, I'm the only one who knows my way around the place; you have to take me with you."
"Fine," I said, "take us to the camp, and we'll help you break her out."
"Good. I'll show you the way."
As we walked in the direction he led, my skin crawled as I realized how perverted it was that a child this young would crave revenge. I looked into his tender brown eyes and saw a reflection of my own monstrous bloodlust. I was ashamed and disgusted, and for the first time since I started this quest, I questioned my own goals.
