Free Forgotten by Lyn Lowe Page A

old man talked about the troubles the military was having pushing into Jorander. The empire’s numbers weren’t the advantage they were accustomed to. The pass through the mountains was small, and the supply trains simply couldn’t come through fast enough to support the troops. Unless Urazin found themselves a foothold at a port, the old soldier theorized, the empire might finally see the end of its expansion. Kaie soaked it all in. Any bit of it might prove to be important.
    It seemed to be over the younger soldier’s head, by the man’s eagerness to change the subject. When the man found a topic that appealed to his elder, the night took a turn.
    “Which one do you think Silvertongue will take this time?”
    The old man grunted. “The redhead, no doubt. Don’t see many of those anymore.”
    Kaie nearly gave himself away as air stuck in his throat, threatening a cough. There was only one person they could be talking about.
    The young man chuckled. “You really think so? The boy somehow manages to look pissed off without a damn thing in his head.”
    That got a nod and another grunt. “That too. Man likes broken things. Likes to break them. And that pretty mouth? Oh yes. He’ll take the redhead. The question should be , will Silvertongue leave anything left to send in to the Jor spears?”
    The young man snorted. “I’ve got to make Rit. They get all the fun.”
    “Oh?” The old man was laughing himself now. “All those men following you into battle, dying at your word? You think that sounds like fun, Tovan? Just because they get to lay claim on a Hollow before the rest of the military fucks them or the enemy pokes holes in them? Remind me to request a transfer if the First Rit ever sustains a head injury bad enough to make her promote you.”
    “Come on,” Tovan coaxed. “Don’t tell me you’ve never wanted to stick it in one of them.”
    “Nah. You’ll never see a Hollow with fire. Might as well hump a blanket. At least then I don’t have to worry about sharing my cot. Not like any of them are any fun to be close to, either. All those empty stares and smelling of piss.”
    “I don’t know. That little girl with the brown hair… She doesn’t smell so bad.”
    Kaie cringed. Again, there was no doubt in his mind who they were talking about. The tiny girl, couldn’t be more than eleven, always seemed to be right at his elbow. In the wagon she was always sitting next to him, and no matter where he moved within the group she ended up lying beside him. Like now, just outside arms reach.
    It couldn’t be her doing it. She was a Hollow in truth, empty eyes and all. But he couldn’t sort out why he was drawn to her. Like Tovan said, she didn’t smell quite as bad as most of them. But that didn’t explain why he spent his days imagining her riding on a tall man’s shoulders or tugging on his arm exclaiming that he was shiny. Or why he spent so much time trying to figure out what her name was, before she was Hollow. Or why he cared about her at all. She shouldn’t be any different to him than the rest of the empty eyes sharing the wagon with him.
    The old man sighed and leaned back against the wagon. “If that’s the best you can say about a girl that catches your eye, it truly is a sad day. But if you’re asking my permission to poke that sack of meat, don’t bother. I told you before, I’m not here to babysit you.”
    It would require a much greater distance between them for him to miss the way Tovan’s face lit up. Hardly aware of doing so, Kaie slid closer to the little girl. His heart hammered in his ears so loudly he almost missed the next words.
    “I thought we aren’t allowed to touch them until the Rits…”
    The old man grunted. That was all the permission Tovan needed.
    As the younger man climbed to his feet and searched the crowd of Hollows for his prize, Kaie’s tongue grew thick and heavy. The girl didn’t flinch as the predatory gaze settled on her. Whether she knew what was