The God Reborn

Chapter 17

Daniel realized that the acolyte warrior called Fabian was almost as at home in the swampy wilderness as he was. Fabian had assumed the lead and Daniel held up the rear, looking over his shoulder every few moments. He felt terribly guilty, running further away from Naomi. But the reborn god had promised to return Naomi to him in return for taking him back to the Marble City. And so he would obey.

No matter the cost. He pushed the words from his mind and looked behind him. The reborn god had stayed behind to hold off their attackers.

He heard more of the staccato cracking noises from the enemy weapons, the sounds muffled by distance and foliage. By now they had covered too much ground for him to see what was going on behind them. But surely, the reborn god would prevail and rejoin them.

They had been scampering through the boggy ground at a rapid pace for twenty minutes and Daniel realized that he was exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

Thankfully, Fabian was waving for him to stop and conceal himself. He crouched down behind an overgrown, half collapsed stone ruin, at Fabian's right shoulder. He took a moment to gather himself, breathing deeply and willing his muscles to stop shaking.

Then he followed Fabian's gaze. On a path intersecting their own, a group of dozens of soldiers snaked towards them. Daniel didn't know who they were other than that they were acolytes, but he realized internecine warfare had erupted among groups of acolytes and that everyone they met was probably an enemy. He crouched down further. The two of them would not stand a chance against such a large armed party. Their only hope was to let the warriors pass without seeing them.

Fabian was on Daniel's left, the side where his arm was crippled. And therefore Daniel could not stop Fabian when he suddenly stood up and began walking boldly towards the oncoming warriors. Daniel almost yelled a warning, but bit it back when he realized that would only alert the soldiers that there was more than one fugitive hidden in the swamp.

***

Fabian stepped out from behind the crumbling, moss covered stone wall and stood before the approaching soldiers. He was unarmed, unarmored, and the lead soldiers were only a few yards away. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up in anticipation. He could be dead in the next moment. But this gamble was worth taking.

"Companion Fabian Fortis of the Shield! But you were imprisoned."

"I am now free," responded Fabian, trying to sound more confident than he felt. He saw that the muscular speaker wore the five-pointed star of a Companion on the shoulder of his tunic. Ah he thought to himself, So Julius put Hadrian in charge. That was Julius' mistake.

"You are a traitor and a coward!" said Hadrian, his face reddening. Next to Hadrian stood Claudius, head of the Household Guards, looking out of place and unhappy as he stood in the muddy bog in his once immaculate garrison uniform.

"Some say so," allowed Fabian. He was playing for time. Somewhere in the rear, out of sight and out of earshot, were Peloma and Remus. But to reach them, he had to win this battle. His eyes searched through the crowd of gaping soldiers. He saw the men and women looking at each other doubtfully.

Hadrian looked to a squad of five Shields standing a few feet to his right. "Arrest him," he spat. "And bring him to me." As Fabian waited to see how the men would react to Hadrian's order, he kept searching the crowd of faces.

The warriors hesitated for a moment, but a reluctant tilt of their sergeant's head got them edging forward. Finally, Fabian saw the face he had been looking for. She was hurrying up from the rear of the column, perhaps to see why forward movement had halted. "Octavia," he called.