Free The Starfall Knight by Ken Lim Page B

Devan’s stride loosened.  Like coming home.
    A buzz followed Devan as they trotted towards the ranger barracks and training grounds.  Conversations were animated and pointed.  Army squads marched towards the gates with full gear and rucksacks rather than parade regalia.
    “Exciting,” Rika said.  She jogged ahead.
    Curiously, no guards or look-outs were present on the outer wall of the ranger barracks.  Squads of Devan’s fellow rangers had assembled in varying degrees of readiness in the training yard.  Pages scurried back and forth with armour, weaponry and survival kits.  Just outside the officers’ quarters, Romaine consulted with her senior staff.  She glanced at Devan without acknowledgment and returned to her discussions.
    He entered the squad’s barracks and his eyes quickly adjusted to the interior gloom of the squad wooden structure.
    “Nice of you to join us,” said Terson.
    “That will do,” Benton called out.  “We’ll all have enough on our plates very soon.”
    Terson grunted and turned back to packing his equipment.
    “Gear up, Devan,” Benton said.
    “Yes, Captain.”
    Rika hopped over to Devan and helped unpack his chest of gear.
    “Thanks.”
    “No problem,” Rika said.  “I just spoke with Sergeant Lora.  They say they’ve never seen one so fast.”
    “One what?”  Devan produced his ranger tunic and trousers.
    “Not those,” Rika said.  She pointed to the leather armour.
    “Oh, it’s that serious?”
    “Aye.  The aerock.”
    “What?  Oh.  It’s fast?”
    “From the south,” Rika said.  “Came through the storm to the south.  The same one on the night we brought back the Knight.”
    Devan pulled the leather cuirass over his head.  “This will be interesting.”
     
    Alessa stepped onto the porch and Leonus turned around.  Brunos, Pelio and Elina flanked him, lounging against the railing as the rain pelted the ground and the shacks.  Alessa slipped her hand into a pocket and felt the reassuring weight of her small knife.
    “You broke my heart,” Leonus said.  He produced a dagger and handed it to Brunos.  “You betrayed me but I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything less.  Elina was right.”
    Leonus produced another pair of knives and gave them to Pelio and Elina.  Alessa backed away and pulled out her own pathetic blade.  Moons, but she needed only a broom handle.
    Elina cackled, her chins wobbling in unison with her saggy breasts.  Brunos stepped forward and licked his lips.
    Alessa leapt over the porch railing and yelled, “Help me!”
    The thrashers in the smithy peered out for a brief moment.  Grunos appeared and frowned.  He must’ve seen his brother and as Alessa darted past, Grunos dutifully ignored her.
    The constant rain had turned the ground into mush.  Alessa stumbled as her feet sank into the muck.  Soaked once again, Leonus, Pelio, Brunos and Elina surrounded her.  Their knives glinted even in the overcast light.
    “Hold.”
    All eyes turned to the cabin.  Tarius stepped out.
    “Father,” Leonus snarled, “you said we were done with her.”
    “I know what I said,” Tarius replied.  He gestured to Grunos and the lead thrasher approached Alessa, squinting in the downpour.  “Look-outs have made a report.  I will require her services.”
    “After what she has done?  You trust her?”
    Grunos shouldered past Leonus and his friends and pulled Alessa to her feet.
    “Perhaps,” Tarius replied.  “Co-operation for mutual benefit can be a powerful motivator.”
    Grunos marched Alessa back to the cabin and she found herself staring at Tarius even as the rain pelted her face.  He looked down on her and said, “What say you?”
    “You have nothing I want,” Alessa replied.
    Tarius motioned with his chin and Grunos withdrew back to the shelter of the smithy along with Leonus and the others.  “No?  Not even your life?”
    “Maybe I’d rather die than live like this.”
    “What if I gave you Elina?”