The Shadowbearer (An Aegis of the Gods Book)

Chapter 2

Several hours later, after Cerny and Zar Selentis left to return to the capital, Stefan sat at the table in his pavilion. Two candles in glass holders occupied the table’s center, their perfumed scent overriding that of the untouched food before him. Illuminated by flickering light, a map next to his plate displayed his forces. He removed the pins representing the Alzari Matii. By now, they were well on their way back to Benez under Cerny’s command.

Men were going to die because of the King’s order for their withdrawal. A great many.

In the days to come, the first to perish would mainly be Astocans. Some might say their deaths weren’t much of a loss, but eventually, his own men would number among the dead. A sense of helplessness crowded over him, and he sighed. Yet, he harbored no regrets for his announcement. Somehow, some way, he needed to stay true to his word.

“So what now?” Kasimir asked.

In his brooding, Stefan had almost forgotten about him and Garrick. “We do as we have always done … save as many of the enemy as we can.”

Garrick grumbled a protest under his breath.

“I know how you feel about them, Garrick.” Stefan recalled the sight of Garrick’s mangled body and face after his torture by the Astocans. “However, this was the one thing King Nerian, myself, and the High Council agreed upon. We would be different from other conquerors. We decided to save as many of those we defeated and give their people some choice in how we rule. This way, the common folk won’t think of us as tyrants—a lesson history taught us.”

“Use force as necessary for victory and compassion when the battle is won,” Kasimir said. A quote from Henden’s The Disciplines of Soldiering.

“Exactly.”

“I understand.” Garrick let out a resigned breath. “I still don’t like it.”

“If that’s the case, what I don’t get,” Kasimir shifted in his seat and peered at the map, “is why the King ordered us to kill them all and now has withdrawn our Alzari menders.”

Stefan nodded. “Yes, that’s been troubling me also. I can’t remember Nerian changing plans without conferring with me in person. So why now? I swear … I feel as if something is amiss back home. I don’t trust Cerny. Any man who is so quick to do anything without questioning motives often has his own plans.”

“You think he had a hand in this?” Garrick scowled.

“Not likely,” Stefan said. “The man barely knows the ass end of a horse. Someone else may be using him.”

“Or he’s smarter than any of us suspects,” Kasimir added.

“Still,” Stefan said, “until I speak to Nerian himself, I’m not changing how we do things. We’ll mend as many Astocans as we can.”

“How are you going to accomplish that without our Alzari?” Kasimir leaned back in his chair, armor creaking as he did so.

“We do possess other Matii besides them,” Stefan reminded him. His thoughts drifted to the crimson-garbed Ashishin Matii sent by the Granadian Tribunal. Considering the old hostilities between Ostania and Granadia, the Tribunal’s willingness to help and their accepting King Nerian among their ranks had come as a shock. It had taken a while for his men to adjust to the Ashishin. The fact that the Pathfinders—whose job it was to kill any Ashishin who succumbed to their power—accompanied them, had not helped.

Initially, his own Alzari had protested the Pathfinders’ presence. When orders arrived from Nerian himself, stating that the Pathfinders would also decide the fate of the Alzari, the outrage grew. It hadn’t lessened, but they did tread with fear around the silver-armored Pathfinders. Stefan was certain Nerian’s new orders relieved the majority of them. However, he harbored his own doubts as to the results of the King’s command. He shook off the thought to hear Garrick speaking.