Free The Last Heroes Before Judgement by Matt Wilk

scar.”
    “It was only three lashes ma’am.”
    She scowled at me and put on her shirt. I looked away and put on my vest but she stopped me and tried to wipe the scars off my skin with another angry glare.
    “Liar. I said- how many?”
    “Ma’am, I’m not lying. Sloan just used a nine-talon.”
    She snorted and spit. Then she tried to take a deep calming breath, but it ended with a low growl that scared the nearest sloth to the other side of his tree.
    “When they send you to Dante’s Isle, tell the harlot’s Bertrada approves of your face.”
    “Yes ma’am. Thank you ma’am.”
    She slammed her hand down on my shoulder again and walked over to kick Senjay awake. I was shaking my head and wondering what she meant when I realized Major Swiftblade had been watching the whole time. I had just admitted to cheating him with damaged goods.
    “Sorry sir, I didn’t see you there. Uh, careful fraternizing with that one, the grey skins hate that even worse.”
    “Because she is a white woman?”
    “Y-yes sir.”
    “Should I be afraid? Am I in danger? Are the authorities coming for me?”
    When Major Swiftblade laughed it was the loudest noise of the morning and it caught everyone’s attention. He jumped out of his cart, holding out a string, and using me to hold himself upright.
    “You think you’re the first boy to earn the whip? That is the difference between us then- I will kill any man who tries.”
    His message was more easily understood, as his punishment had indeed been much more severe. His back had been torn into deeply over and over, with years of healing in between the layers of scar tissue. We were smiling at each other and comparing scars, but everyone else was turning away in shock. When he was through having a laugh, he held his stomach and drew down his tone with a long sigh in the way the old men do. Then he pulled the string, making the tent collapsed in on itself, and handed the string to me.
    “Fold it neat. Wrap it tight. Tie it off. Tuck it away.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    He held up his hand and raised his brows to be sure I knew he was serious about maintaining his gear, though, cleaning and returning his shovel should have proven just that.
    “Sir, fold, wrap, tie, and tuck.”
    He nodded and walked into the tree line while I hopped up in the cart. The short cart walls had been drilled into and the tent pegs fit perfectly. The string was loose, but I saw how he had looped it through the ceiling pegs for a quick collapse. I stacked the pegs up onto the covers but had learned they only fit properly if the covers were first stacked and folded in thirds. I had Major Swiftblade’s tent tied off and tucked away before Senjay had finished waking, so I did the same for Major Talon. Lazarus helped Major Bloodaxe strap the steeds to their breech lines and pulled the carts into position back on the cliffside road.
    “Here you are boy-o. Since you like dogs so much, bury all the piles of dung, and the horse apples too. You’re in the commandoes now, get used to leaving no traces- like you did with the fire pit.”
    “Sir, yes sir.”
    Major Bloodaxe handed me his shovel and Senjay helped me to find our targets. He was not ready to talk but he did groan a few words about breakfast while we circled the plateau. He rubbed his eyes and dragged a branch of pine behind us to cover our tracks. When I returned the shovel, I pet Kru one last time, and we all met behind the last cart.
    “Good morning my sleepy little turtles. How’s about we make some nice hot soup to get the day started proper? Ready and down, yes the snow is cold, but not for long. Just push harder.”
    The Bloodaxe got down with us and pushed just as hard. Though his skin turned pink from the cold wind, he still left his shirt in the cart where Tina was using it as a bed. We matched his breathing and his pace- until he suddenly stopped. He pointed his nose up and sniffed at the air like one of his dogs. Major Swiftblade saw it first.
    “A