Free Rise of the Red Harbinger by Khalid Uddin Page B

the Taurani to have survived, it had to be him. Finally, Marshall allowed reason to guide him, and raised a hand over the tree trunk to catch Aric’s attention. Being civil would be just as difficult, if not more so, than staying alive. The road had been empty of soldiers for several minutes, although they could be faintly heard at the other end of the village. Aric rose to his feet and, hunching over, ran to the tree. Marshall begrudgingly made room for him and attempted to mask his disappointment. “Aric, what happened?” Marshall grunted as Aric sat beside him, resting against the trunk of the fallen tree.
    “I don’t know, Marshall. Rufus was on duty atop the tower during the night. I was to relieve him at sunrise. I went to the stable to feed the horses, when I heard him scream like death. I ran out to see what happened and I saw him falling from the top. I wanted to help him but the arrows were never-ending and the tower was on fire. I saw them coming and ran back to the stable. Hundreds of them came from the forest, weapons in hand, destroying everything in sight. It would have been futile to stand and fight.”
    Aric had always spoken to him as if he assumed they were friends, as if he presumed he was accepted by the whole family. In truth he was, except by Marshall.
    Coward. Marshall nodded. But then again, I did the same thing outside my own house. Perhaps I can put aside our differences for now; then go back to hating you after we get through this. “I understand, and I would have done the same. In fact, I essentially did the same thing, which is why I am alive.” Aric’s explanation did not manage to make anything clear though. “Is that all you know?”
    Aric paused, confused. “I don’t understand what they are doing. It’s organized chaos. First they were walking up to our people. Aggressive. Talking in some strange tongue. But for some reason, they grew angry with everyone and ended up killing any Taurani they encountered”
    Marshall considered this for a moment and began to understand. How dimwitted could you be to not see this? “They want us for something; otherwise they’d just be killing us on sight. My guess is they wanted to reach us first. And if we won’t surrender, we have to die. With what you’re saying, this is beginning to make some sense. Aric, it is not our custom to surrender, and you’re saying that they are not killing us on sight.” Esha would be able to piece this together just as easily as I, how could she love you when she is so much smarter than you? “Did you hear what they were actually saying?”
    “Hardly. The stable was coming down and I was hiding in the hay. And even when I could hear, I could not understand them. They do not naturally speak our tongue, and when they do, it is broken and marred by their accents.” Aric dusted his body off, inspecting for sources of the blood that was now caked on his leather armor and on his body.
    Marshall had the beginnings of a plan. “We need to capture one of them. If they know enough of our language to question our people, then that is enough to get answers. And if you and I are both alive, there have to be others who have survived.”
    “And what do we do if we get our answers?” Aric retorted. “Even if others have survived, it will not be enough to mount an attack on these people. They outnumbered and overwhelmed us, despite our watchtowers and scouts. Surely you do not believe a handful of us can atone for this attack.”
    “If we can get answers, then we can find an opportunity. Look at our village, Aric. They destroyed almost everything we know in an hour. They knew we were not ready for this. They knew when to strike. They have been scouting us, studying us. Whether we are the only two left or there are one hundred of us, I cannot simply sit idly and live with this.”
    Marshall could see acceptance in Aric’s expression. Aric looked at him directly in the eye. “What of Esha? I have been trying to be