Free Heirs of the Fallen: Book 03 - Shadow and Steel by James A. West Page B

been sure the encounter with the Kelrens had changed the man’s heart. But it had not, and his renewed passivity left Leitos deeply troubled.
    In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Leitos avoided his father’s pointed look, and tried not to think about standing on the place of Zera’s birth. Unlike Ulmek, he had no trouble believing Zera in this matter.
    Feeling more exhausted than ever, Leitos settled onto the sand. Through the night, while the tide was out, the Brothers had gathered every weapon they could find from both ships. After that, they hauled the prisoners ashore, along with a small stockpile of barrels, crates, and any other supplies they could rummage. After the tide retreated again, Ba’Sel intended for them to return to the ships, and retrieve whatever else they could find of use.
    Between the battle on Witch’s Mole and that aboard the Night Blade , the Brothers of the Crimson Shield had lost a dozen men. Thirteen lost, if the murmurs about Ke’uld’s chances proved true.
    Leitos looked down the shoreline. Ke’uld briefly thrashed about, and Halan stilled him with a gentle hand. His scimitar lay across his legs, and he eyed the roped Kelrens.
    With all that had happened since departing Witch’s Mole, Leitos had nearly forgotten about Ke’uld’s wounds. Now the Brother’s occasional outbursts served as a stark reminder of his declining strength. A fever burned in him, and even at a distance Leitos could make out the sweat coating his skin. Fresh bandages covered his shattered leg. Those wrappings only served to keep flies away. Had the Brothers still been on Witch’s Mole, they could have used various healing herbs and potions to aid him. But in this strange land, they had not had time to hunt for anything that might help.
    “If he has any chance,” Ba’Sel said now, following Leitos’s gaze, “we’ll have to take off his leg at the knee. Even that may not be enough.”
    “Better to give him to the sea, than to make him a cripple,” Ulmek countered. “It is what I would want for myself.”
    “As would I,” Adham said, using a thick splinter to pick his teeth. “I have seen such wounds before. No man can survive the corruption that has seeped into him.”
    “Before … before we do that,” Ba’Sel said, “I will ask him what he wishes.”
    “Try as you will,” Ulmek allowed, “but Ke’uld may never be able to answer. More and more, he raves like a madman. His blood spreads the poison, blackening his veins. Soon, he will fall into a stupor.”
    “I will not kill one of ours without making the effort to find out what he would choose for himself,” Ba’Sel said.
    “And what of these Yatoans?” Ulmek said, refusing to let the matter rest.
    “We do not know if enemies await us here,” Ba’Sel said. “There is just as much chance we have unknown friends spying upon us.”
    “With so much doubt as to what these lands hold,” Adham advised, “we should put a few of these sea-wolves to the question.”
    Ba’Sel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “In time, Izutarian, in time.”
    Leitos looked away from Ba’Sel, trying not to hear the words that came unbidden to his mind. Weak … indecisive … useless .
    Glaring, Ulmek abruptly jumped to his feet and strode down the shoreline.
    Adham gestured to Leitos, and they walked to the surf. “I fear Ba’Sel has grown incapable of leading.”
    Leitos thought to argue, but he found no words to counter his father’s observation. “What can we do?”
    “What soldiers have always done,” Adham said grimly. “We follow his commands, until enough of us die that the living revolt.”
    “Can we not reason with him?”
    Adham toed a bleached shell half-buried in the sand. “Ulmek is his lieutenant, the man he should heed, and still Ba’Sel refuses to listen to him.”
    “Maybe Ba’Sel refuses to listen,” Leitos said, “because Ulmek lives only for the destruction of his enemies.”
    Adham shot him a quizzical look.