Free The Awakened Book Two by Jason Tesar

looked around in confusion and slowly began to imitate the man, responding to the sense of urgency on his face.
    Maeryn’s heart began to beat rapidly as she looked over to Thaddius, crouching a few paces away on the right. The scout waved him forward and Thaddius began to move, staying low. Without an invitation, Maeryn followed, intending to be part of every decision made on behalf of this group from this point forward.
    As she and Thaddius came within whispering distance of the scout, who was now joined by several other soldiers, Maeryn could see the source of the man’s alarm. There, on the northern side of the cove, just visible over the horizon of the ridge, were two Syvak warships. Their sails were slack and they appeared to be anchored. Maeryn looked to Thaddius, who paid her presence no attention. His mind was consumed with the task at hand.
    “They have found our cave,” he whispered intensely to the scouts.
    “What are they doing here?” one of the men asked.
    “I thought they all fled after the attack,” offered another.
    “None of that matters,” broke in Thaddius, stopping the unnecessary conversation. “We need only be concerned with how to be rid of them.”
    Everyone nodded in agreement, but no one offered any constructive ideas. Maeryn looked out to the small bay and was alarmed to see tiny shapes in the water next to the warships.
    “What are those?” she asked.
    Thaddius lifted his head. “Our boats!” he hissed through gritted teeth. “We have to put an end to this, NOW!”
    “We outnumber them,” Maeryn stated. All the men looked at her as if she was crazy. “I know they’re dangerous, but there is strength in numbers. If all of us,” she said, sweeping her hand back to the massive group of crouching slaves, “were to swarm them, our losses would be minimal.”
    “And who is going to make them do it?” one of the scouts asked her.
    Maeryn looked around the small group of soldiers to find Thaddius smiling. “I will,” she answered plainly. After a few quick nods of agreement, she turned and made her way back to the slaves.
    The former captives of Bastul came close as she approached. Deciding that they were well out of earshot from the Syvaku, she raised her voice enough for all to hear. “Listen to me. Your freedom was not gained by simply escaping Bastul . From this day forward, your freedom will be a prize for which you must fight. And today is the first day of that struggle. Even now as we speak, the same barbarians who attacked Bastul are down in that cove, stealing the very boats that were reserved to carry you to freedom. There is no time to delay, or even to think. We must act now. Though they are warriors, they will not risk their lives for a losing cause. That is why we must act as one, intimidating them with our numbers.”
    As Maeryn spoke, a sense of calm came over her and the words began to flow. She didn’t ask permission. She commanded without hesitation. There would be no second guessing, for there was nothing else to do but act. The freedom of these people before her lay not in her hands, but in their own. “We will head back to the trees and then make our way quickly and quietly to the other side of the cove. I will give you more specific instructions when we get there. Let’s go,” she said, rising to her feet and striding confidently toward the forest. The slaves followed without hesitation. From the corner of her eye, Maeryn saw Thaddius say something to his men, but she couldn’t hear.
    Minutes later, Maeryn, the soldiers of the Resistance, and the mass of former slaves poured out of the forest above the cliffs on the north side of the bay. Half of the group split off and followed the gently sloping shore leading to the beach. The other half climbed to the highest point of the cliffs, directly over the entrance to the cave and the Syvak warships. Screaming at the top of their lungs, the slaves began hurling rocks at their enemy.
    Three of the barbarians