Chapter 45

  Answers were not coming fast enough for Axl. He’d scoured the camp for a full hour looking for another peer, a captain or lieutenant that he knew, but every man of experience was missing. Sent on assignment of some kind.

  So far, all he knew was that he had been reported dead, and that Kern had been reassigned to some distant post the same day. Convenient, Axl grumbled to himself as he made his way through the savior camp on the western edge of the castle’s outer bailey.

  With at least a dozen new tents, Lord Atrion’s initial offering of the inner fair and tournament grounds was quickly becoming overwhelmed. At the heart of this city within a city was the spacious council tent, an old campaign tent made into a portable office for the council of savior Elders. Even at this late hour, Axl knew Elder Pavek would be there reviewing reports and already planning supplies for the next week. The old man had once been a proper quartermaster and knew how to keep the wheels of war moving. He’d have some answers.

  Axl had expected to walk right in but was thrown on his heels when the guards at the front entrance crossed their spears before him. Axl scowled at them both as he wondered what had prompted this level of caution.

  “I need to speak with Elder Pavek,” Axl barked it like a command.

  “Sorry, sir. They’re in council now. No admittance,” the one guard replied.

  “Council? Is Lord Atrion in there?”

  The guards looked at each other as if questioning whether Axl could be trusted with the knowledge. In the dimming light, Axl couldn’t make out their faces well enough to know how long they’ve been in the ranks. He didn’t know every savior, but he usually had an idea of who was new and who knew better.

  “Answer me,” he demanded.

  “Yes, sir,” the same guard replied again.

  “Yes, sir, what?”

  The guard stood a little straighter. “Yes, sir. Lord Atrion is with them, and we were told not to admit anyone until they’re finished. You’ll have to wait, sir.”

  Axl was out of patience. He refused to sit in the dark a moment longer.

  He gave the man one last scowl before walking away, but he didn’t go far. Once he was out of sight from the guards, he made a wide circular route through the maze of tents until he arrived towards the rear of the campaign tent. There, he spotted a third guard walking around its perimeter, but to Axl’s luck he knew that one. He walked towards him at a casual pace until their eyes met.

  “Jake?” Axl questioned as if this had been a surprise.

  “Captain Axl!” Jake paused his route to turn towards the captain with a welcome smile. “By the Highest, I’m glad to see you. They said you were dead.”

  Axl came over to clap the man warmly on the shoulder.

  “It’ll take more than a little fire to put an end to me,” Axl replied as he returned the smile for a brief minute. “On guard duty? At this hour?”

  Jake sighed, “Yeah. Some big meeting.” He gestured to the tent wall with a tired face.

  “Have you eaten yet?” Axl asked as he put a sore arm around the young man’s shoulders.

  Jake shook his head. “At this rate, I’m going to be scraping the bottom of the pot.”

  Axl patted his shoulder kindly. “I won’t hear of it. Go get some dinner. I’ll hold the post. Just hurry back.”

  Jake looked hesitant for a moment and Axl wondered if the boy could pick up on him. The fear was put to rest as Jake looked about cautiously.

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

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  Axl smiled warmly. “No trouble at all. Just hurry.”

  Jake flashed a thankful smile before darting off between the tents.

  It was Axl’s turn to sigh. No trouble… I hope. He then looked about as well before slowly walking the edge of the tent, carefully listening for any bit of conversation to filter through the walls of thick canvas.

  Finally, he found what he was looking for – a position where he could hear voices whispering from somewhere within. He looked about once more before he took a position like the other two guards with his back close to the tent. With his head turned he was able to pick out a few snatches of conversation.

  “It’s too far.”

  “You knew where this was going from the beginning.”

  “You didn’t say anything about this.”

  Axl couldn’t tell who was talking to who, but he didn’t like what they were saying. He had known for a long time that they were expanding their reach and trying to win more provinces to their cause, but clearly something more was going on. Putting aside Kern’s behavior, there had been something foul brewing for a while. It started with the proclamation that all the ancient temples must come down.

  While Axl had agreed that any temple to the Wild Ones should be destroyed, he never saw the purpose in destroying those to Orthan, Ilone, or any of the other benign deities. Those ancient buildings still mattered to the rural towns and villages that had grown up around them. They were as timeless as tradition and as sacred as a family graveyard. Their worshipers were mostly farmers, local merchants, and tradesmen. He knew the saviors wouldn’t win any hearts with fire and forced religion and he had said so much in front of the council the moment the order came down.

  All the comment got him was a special assignment to find a possible traitor who was rumored to have stolen one of the collared vampires. When he had arranged a hunting party, he was told that he had to take care of this personally and that they could only spare Kern as his tracker.

  “It’s already begun so I suggest you find a way to address it.”

  “Tindale and Vernin are one thing, but Erbin? It’s too big. Too well connected.”

  “It’s a hub. That’s what we need.”

  “We’ll be stretched thin!”

  “Maybe not.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “No. You’ll tell me now.”

  Axl didn’t realize how closely he was leaning into the tent when he heard footsteps coming close. He nearly lost his balance as he pulled himself back and started to walk around the way he had come, returning to Jake’s circuit.

  “Captain?” a voice called behind him, but it was dark. Axl pretended not to hear or notice. Perhaps the man might think he’s mistaken.

  “Captain!” the man called loudly.

  Axl winced and paused. He turned around to find another savior jogging over to him.

  “What are you doing here, sir?” he asked. It was just another young savior he knew from sword training. A very loyal young man by the name of Camrin who looked on him with gentle suspicion.

  “I found Jake on guard duty and told him to get his dinner before the kitchens close.”

  The young man continued to look at him skeptically for a long moment. Axl stared him down with all the authority in the world.

  “Is there a problem with that, soldier?” Axl asked.

  Just as Camrin opened his mouth, Jake came running up to the two of them with a grateful smile.

  “Thank you so much, sir. I was almost too late!”

  Camrin looked at Jake and immediately flushed with embarrassment.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Camrin bowed his head humbly.

  Axl smiled and laid a hand on the young man’s shoulder.

  “No reason to apologize. I realize now that you were just calling out something odd. It’s a good habit. Don’t lose it.”

  Camrin nodded as the embarrassment started to lift.

  Jake looked between the two of them briefly before clearing his throat. “Well, I guess I better get back to it.”

  Axl nodded to the two of them and turned back towards the thick of tents wondering what he had stumbled upon and what this meant for the future of the saviors. How far did this plot go? How many were in on it? The whole council? And what did this make him if he was now the one stalking outside tents trying to eavesdrop on his superiors as if they were villains? Was he some demon’s puppet? Part of him still didn’t want to believe it, but the facts continued to line up – leading him somewhere he did not want to go.