Free Dawn of Empire by Sam Barone Page A

this much activity, and now he felt too tired even to force himself on the girl. He was getting old. Thirty seasons gone, and he knew he was lucky to be alive.
    “And tomorrow will probably be worse. I’m weary. I’ve eaten too much food and drunk too much wine, and there are too many thoughts in my head. Tell me if there’s anything you need, and we’ll go to sleep.”
    Her head came up, and he thought he saw color come into her cheeks, though the flickering light made it hard to be sure.
    “I have never been with a man.”
    He smiled at her, though at this particular moment he didn’t know whether that was good news or bad. “I think you’ll be safe tonight, girl. I need my sleep more than I need to wrestle with you.”
    He stood up, looking around the room. “There’s the chamber pot. I don’t think you should use the latrine outside, not tonight, anyway.” He turned away from the table and went outside, nodding to the guard as he headed down to the barracks’ privy.
    Finishing at the latrine, he found Gatus waiting for him. The old soldier wasted no words. “Did Nicar make you captain of the guard?” Gatus looked him straight in the eye, standing directly in front of his new commander.
    “For now. But I told him I would be in charge of all the village and its defenses or nothing at all. He’ll confirm that when he meets with the nobles. Or perhaps not.”
    “And if not?” Gatus asked.
    “If not, then I and my slave will be leaving the village. But Nicar will confirm it, I’m sure.”
    Gatus shrugged, then shook his head. The motion swirled his long gray hair around his shoulders. “Do you really think the village can withstand the barbarians?”
    “Gatus, I won’t lie to you. I know it’s never been done. But this is no small village. There may be as many people here as there are barbarians on the move. I think we can make its defenses strong enough to resist until they are forced to move on.”
    The thought that he might slip out of the village at any time in the next few months had also occurred to him, and the promise of Nicar’s gold kept the thought in the back of his head.
    The man looked dubious, and rightly so. Still, Gatus had to be persuaded, or Esk kar’s tenuous authority with the men would vanish. They respected Gatus and his words would matter.
    “Follow me for a few weeks, and let’s see what we can do. I’ve spent the day thinking about this, and it can be done. I’m certain of it. Meanwhile, your pay is doubled, and you’re second in command.”
    Gatus moved a step closer. “You are changed from what you were yesterday. Have you been touched by the gods?”
    Esk kar’s laugh rang out into the night. The gods and he were not exactly on good terms. “No, I’m not out of my head, though my skull does spin with all these new ideas.” He started to walk past the man, but Gatus gripped his arm hard and now their faces were inches apart.
    “You are changed, Esk kar. A fool can see that, even the rest of the men.
    I’ll follow your orders for a while, at least. But if you lie to me, I’ll put a sword in your back. I swear by the gods, I will! I’ve a wife and two boys, and I’ll not have them taken by the barbarians.”
    “Tend to your duties, then. Tomorrow will be a long day, and you’ll have much to do.” He moved away, and Gatus’s hand slipped from his arm.
    Esk kar thought about how quickly things had changed. Yesterday he would have struck anyone who laid hands on him. Now it meant nothing.
    When Esk kar returned to Ariamus’s room, the candle had been extinguished and the fire had burned itself down to glowing embers. Dropping the wooden bar across the door, he untied his sandals and stripped off his tunic and undergarment, ignoring the growing chill in the room.
    He took his short sword from the wall where it had been hung, drew the blade from its scabbard, and placed it next to the bed. Since he’d run from the Alur Meriki, there had never been a night