Soldier at the Door(169)
“But they’ll have a signature on file,” Zenos said, pulling a piece of parchment out of his jacket pocket. He unfolded it to show to Walickiah. “And your signature looks like this?”
Walickiah’s eyes bulged.
Zenos nodded in satisfaction. “So obviously I forged it well enough. So sorry to hear you’ve decided the army just isn’t for you,” he said, reading Lieutenant Walickiah’s resignation. “All that training and education, wasted. Oh well.” He folded it again and slipped it back into his pocket. “That’s all right, sir. I’m sure your new life will be far more interesting than you could’ve imagined. I’ll make sure your things are sent to you.” Zenos nodded to the six brawny men standing around their captive.
Without a word they effortlessly hoisted the squirming Walickiah and hustled him deeper into the forest.
Zenos kneeled down by the spring—forgetting for the moment that his muscles weren’t going to be happy about that—and groaned as he scooped up a drink of water in his hands. “Best water in the world,” he said to no one in particular. “At least, in this world.”
With a pained grunt he stood up and walked out of the forest.
---
Barker lifted his head as he heard the quiet footsteps in the back alley. This late at night he knew what it was. He eagerly hauled himself up and lumbered to the back fence where a piece of bacon was waiting for him.
“Well done, well done,” the man in the black jacket said, scratching the giant dog around the ears as he gulped down the bacon. “Up, up, up.”
---
Mrs. Yung opened the back door hesitantly. In the middle of the night, one is never quite sure what to expect, even when one is married to the rector. Not everyone knocking at the door is wanting only advice.
She sighed loudly. “Thank the Creator you’re back!” and she grabbed Dormin’s arm to pull him into the dark house. “We expected you back two days ago. I was ready to make my way down to find you myself!”
Dormin hugged her in the dark kitchen. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you, but it took longer to find him than I thought it would.”
“But you found him again? Remarkable, Dormin! Truly.”
“No progress with him though, as you might imagine,” Dormin muttered. “But I did say good-bye.”
“Oh, I hope you did so carefully,” Mrs. Yung fretted. “We don’t encourage that, you know. People start asking questions—”
“He wasn’t interested in questions, Mrs. Yung. Instead, he was more worried about giving himself away. He’s up to something, and I need to find someone to tell. I was hoping the rector—”
The door to the gathering room opened, and the shadow that came in was the size of Rector Yung.
“Dormin! My prayers are answered!”
“Rector Yung,” Dormin paused to accept his embrace, “I think I’ve discovered a problem, but I don’t know who to tell.”
The door opened again, and Dormin held his breath as two more dark shadows, much larger than the small rector, came into the small kitchen.
“You tell us, Dormin, son of King Oren,” one of them said.
Dormin didn’t dare exhale until Mrs. Yung patted his back. “It’s all right, Dormin. We’ve been expecting them. You can trust them.”
“Try us right now, Dormin,” said the other large man. “What’s your news?”
“It’s . . . it’s my brother,” he stammered. “He’s a guard—a lieutenant—in Chairman Mal’s mansion, but I don’t think he’ll be staying there.”
In the dark Dormin could barely make out the two men looking at each other. “Where do you think he’s going?” one asked.
“He has his heart set on taking back our mansion. The High General’s mansion,” he whispered.
The men seemed to nod to each other. “What name is he using?”
“Lieutenant Heth. I’m afraid I don’t have anything else to give you.”
“It’s enough, Dormin,” said the other man. “We have our own connections. We’ll be watching for Lieutenant Heth. And now, it’s time to go.”
Dormin swallowed hard. “Tonight?!”
“It must be tonight,” Mrs. Yung said gently, squeezing his arm. “It’s not just about us, you know. There are others with more pressing needs.”
Dormin sighed. “Of course. I’m ready to leave Winds. And everything else.”
---
Two men sat in the dark office of an unlit building.
“‘I’m the Unk, good to meet you’? That’s not in the codes!” Mal said, perplexed.