Free Vesik 04 - This Broken World by Eric Asher Page A

how outmatched he is.”
    I looked at the Old Man for a moment, but I didn’t speak. I wasn’t quite sure what to say to that.
    “Does that seem cold to you?” he asked as he looked back to his plate.
    “A bit, but I think I understand.”
    “You have not seen war, Damian. There is a reason that training soldiers has not changed much in the past two thousand years.”
    “I would think it’s changed quite a bit.”
    He nodded. “In some ways, in regards to technology, yes. At its core? How you train a man to move forward and keeping fighting as his friends and family are dying at his side? That will never change.” He took another bite of his lunch and set his silverware down. “I sent hundreds of men to their deaths believing in the lies of courage, honor, and glory. It was my job. And I was damned good at it.”
    “Rome,” I said.
    “All over the empire,” he said. “After I … changed. It was only after that I came to understand what I was. Or at least came to understand part of what I was. For centuries I wandered. Hunting Ezekiel, yes, but joining any fight where I could get someone else’s blood on my hands too. I called Nixie an ally in some of those battles.”
    “She told me a little bit.”
    He nodded again. “That’s enough reminiscing. Finish your lunch and meet me out front.”
    I finished my chimichanga and looked at his plate as he left the cabin. Every last scrap was gone. I smiled as I gathered up the dishes and washed them in the sink. The well water was cold, but I barely noticed. I’d spent more than my share of time washing dishes in that sink over the years.
    Nixie hadn’t told me too much about the Old Man, but I did know he had fought in the war between the water witches. The war where Nixie’s queen rose to power. That was around the time the Roman Empire finally collapsed. Next time I saw Nixie, I was going to have to persuade a bit more information out of her.
    The sun was lower in the sky than I expected when I joined the Old Man beneath the oak tree. We’d eaten a much later lunch than I had realized. More like dinner. A cool, gentle breeze was a welcome respite from the heat of the midday sun we’d been training in before. He was throwing dirt on the smoldering ashes of the fire pit. They hissed as the last ashes disappeared, but I could still smell the burning wood.
    “I think I could have been a pyro in another life.” I took a deep breath. “That is just an awesome smell.”
    The Old Man gave me a sideways smile. I was pretty sure he appreciated the change of topic.
    “Come. Tonight we train on the rocks.”
    “What?” I said.
    “We are going to train with Aeros.”
    “Umm, what?”
    “You’re driving.”
    “I’m … we’re … how does one train with a rock?”
    “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were nervous,” he said, wiping his hands off on his jeans.
    I cleared my throat. “Nervous might be a slightly strong word.” I fished around in my pocket and found my keys. I started spinning them on my index finger. “I hope you’re ready for a bouncy ride.”
    “I used to ride chariots through roads with ruts deep enough to swallow the wheels.”
    I stopped spinning my keys. “You just don’t intimidate easy, do you?”
    “No. Your staff and your backpack are already in the car. Let’s get moving.”
     
    ***
     
    It was about an hour drive. Once we finished bouncing our heads off the ceiling of my ’32 Ford on the uneven gravel road, the steady hiss of asphalt was a sweet relief.
    The Old Man hadn’t complained once as we hit the ruts and rocks. I’d cursed the entire time.
    “That’s better,” he said. We headed north on highway 67.
    “So you did notice the bumps.”
    “Noticing something does not require me to complain about it.”
    I cocked an eyebrow and shot him a sideways glance. “Did you just take a shot at me? I could have sworn you just took a shot at me.”
    “It’s probably a sign I’ve been around you and Zola too