Alien General's Beloved (Brion Brides 6)(41)

Any warrior could challenge an officer for their position. Of course, if they lost, they paid for it with their lives, so the challenges weren't that common. But until that moment, the same warrior would be expected to obey every command the officer gave. Including cutting their own throat.

Twin red lines ran along the throats of both warriors. They were deep and the blood flowing from them was coloring their armors crimson. Corden was pleased. They had proved themselves and showed him that Brion warriors could be brought back even after a hundred years of dishonor.

"Put the knives away," he said. "You passed."

Both warriors sheathed their knives, not moving to stop the blood. Their general had not allowed it yet.

"Treat your wounds," Corden said, turning to Lana while they did.

His gesha was speechless, gasping for air, unable to tear her eyes from the bleeding warriors.

"I know you think this is barbaric," he said seriously, "but I had to show you, show us both."

Lana looked at him, the emotion in her eyes almost making Corden regret that he'd made her witness it. He forced that feeling down. She might be shocked, but it was necessary. The general didn't know what would happen in the days ahead. He might need her to trust these men at a second's notice. His gesha might not approve it, but now she would.#p#分页标题#e#

"W-will they be all right?" she asked.

"Yes," the general said. "They've been through worse. These little cuts are nothing. They're Brions."

"They almost cut their own throats," Lana protested, but Corden tilted his head toward the warriors.

Both had frozen in their actions. Hands pressed to their wounds, they stood and stared at him.

Corden knew what it was. He'd called them Brions. They might not have deserved it and he honestly didn't really think of them as Brions yet, but a man couldn't live on hope alone. He had to give them something, and this was the least he could do.

The emotion in their eyes was indescribable.

"They look like they're about to cry," Lana murmured.

Corden said nothing. They were telling him everything he needed to know anyway, the valor squares beaming quietly.

Both would die for him now. Men often felt like that toward those who gave them back everything they'd thought long lost.



***



After letting Lana get back to her duties, Corden and his two new warriors proceeded to wait for the second shipment of originals. Again, he felt the already familiar tinge of pain when he had to let Lana go.

The general knew she was expected to meet the newcomers and direct them to the Palians, but it still felt wrong. Now that she no longer had the protection Worgen had shown her, anything could go awry. If she gave the Brions any cause to suspect her, Corden doubted the mad general would forgive her again.

He would have gladly sent one of his warriors to guard her, but they were wounded. They would live, but staying hidden while bleeding was not something he wanted them to attempt. It was easier near the lab that had been emptied again.

They waited, like he had done once before.

"How many of you remain?" he asked. "I mean those who set out with Worgen."

"Not many," Tuven answered, his voice broken from the cut to his neck, rough and hoarse. "Less than a hundred."

That was only a few, considering the size of the warship, but for the sake of his mission, it was still too many.

No matter, Corden thought. He had not told Lana that, but he didn't intend to board the Abysmal alone.

The new originals entered the hall as the first batch had. Corden and his warriors waited in silence until the general was sure all the exits had been sealed. Then they stepped forward, this time hiding on the floor with the enemies.

Like the ones before them, the originals drew their spears.

"Is this what you became warriors for?" Corden asked.



***



It went faster this time.

Perhaps it was seeing Tuven and Ilen by his side and the example they set. Their presence made it so much easier for Corden to read the emotions of the enemies from their crystals, as faint and relatively unused as they were. Different, this time. Jealousy, disappointment, lust for vengeance, deceit. He'd seen none of those when he was alone.

An interesting addition.

Of the ten men, three stepped forward when he called them. Corden sent two back, knowing they'd be first to be killed, targeted by both sides. He'd read the lie in both. One wanted to betray him, the warrior's eyes burning with loathing when they should have been regretful. The other was a coward, coming over to his side because he thought Corden would win.

He would, but the general didn't need weaklings who were so easy to sway. Men like that were only waiting to switch again when the tide turned.

The last was almost a mirror image of the two he already had with him. Corden allowed only him to approach, and then the killing started. Tuven and Ilen, although wounded, did their part. Not that he needed much help, but he supposed it was better if it was over quickly.

Barely five minutes had passed before they stood over another pile of corpses.

Corden turned to the newcomer, asking his name.

"Arben, General," the man said.

Corden's voice was cold and hard when he spoke again.

"I see weakness in you," he said. "I know you want to redeem yourself, but I can't trust you by my side if you are not ready to do what it takes."

The man didn't shrink back from him like the coward Corden had sent away. Instead, he looked Corden in the eye and said:

"I am, General. Order me and I will do it."

"Kneel."

Arben did, even though his valor squares pulsed confusion.

"Bare your neck," Corden said.#p#分页标题#e#

Understanding. Resistance. Acceptance. Corden thought if Lana would have liked this way better, but he doubted it. For all her spirit, his gesha was a gentle soul. She didn't appreciate the brutal tactics of the Brions and that was fine. Corden didn't need her to become a Brion; she was perfect to him the way she was.

"You will die a Brion, Arben," he said.

The kneeling man opened his eyes and there was only gratitude there. Corden wondered what exactly Worgen had done to his warriors to break their spirit so badly. In his hands, they became alive again, like a veil had been lifted from their eyes and shackles undone from their hands.

He chose to do the deed himself this time. The general drew his spear and brought it up like a scythe. Arben was still looking at him, unflinching. The only fear his valor squares showed was the natural fear of dying. Even warriors who lived with the possibility every day didn't like the idea. They were merely prepared for it.

Corden struck. Arben flinched, but didn't try to pull away from the blow. He was left kneeling, breathing heavily, with Corden's spear an inch in his neck. Blood trickled down when the general pulled the blade away, wiping it clean on his coat and sheathing the weapon.

"Rise," Corden said.

Arben did, his eyes filled with relief. And underneath it Corden saw the same emotion he'd seen before with the other two. He had no doubt they were his now, his forever.

The general ordered them to hide like the day before, but this time closer to the bridge. He might need them in a hurry. Not because there was something he couldn't handle, but because Corden couldn't be in two places at once.

He left them, moving on to other urgent matters. They seemed to be piling up, but the first order of business was to make sure that he didn't stand alone when the battle arrived. Corden slipped into the bay where his fighter still stood, untouched. He signaled the Claw to come to his location, to follow the fighter's beacon. It was time he matched the Abysmal against an equal opponent, even if it meant losing his ship.

Corden had briefly considered calling his brother generals as well, but decided against it. Until he knew whether the Claw could damage Worgen's ship, it made no sense. If the Abysmal really was indestructible, it didn't matter whether one or fifteen ships stood against it. No, it was better if they made for Briolina, ready to protect the home world if Corden failed. Until then, he wouldn't risk losing all of the Brion armies.

Finally, he came to the riskiest part of his plan.



***



Corden could have sworn the Torons were waiting for him.

They rose when he approached. About a hundred faces looked at him, gathered in a hall near their special quarters, darker and more cavernous than most of the ship.

"You," said one of the beasts.

That was one way of greeting. Corden sized up his company, thinking whether they could really blame him for the four unlucky Torons simply because he was a Brion too.

"I hear you've been causing the captain trouble," he said. "She is not to blame. No one on this ship is to blame."

"We know," said the one who seemed to speak for them that day. "We want the black general, but he is gone. Hides in his ship."

"That is true," Corden said. "I will kill him, but you must do as I say."

The Torons didn't answer at once. Corden knew they had a problem with being ordered around after their long history of slavery, but he had no time for democracy. They either obeyed him or they were a problem.

"We listen," the speaker said.

Good.

"I promised you your revenge," the general said, "but you have to be patient and you have to do exactly as I tell you. Like this, you will get payback for everyone that has died. Do you understand?"