Jaden thought a moment. ‘We will not defeat them, but we must try! We can use their weapons against them!’
‘Weapons?’ Kal almost laughed. ‘How will we get these weapons?’
‘I will get them. I know the village better than they do. They will not find me.’
‘Just like your father. You live in fantasy. You do not yet understand what the Alliance is capable of. If it were possible, I would have fought them in my homeland, and I would not have brought my family to Callibra. Let it go, boy, we have been beaten. We will move on from here when we are sure there are no other survivors.’
Jaden was silent. There seemed to be no hope. Everything he could think of was being pulled apart, as if nothing he could do would matter, that it was all lost. He was at an end without anywhere else to go.
No. He couldn’t accept it, he couldn’t return to the pain, the helplessness and self-pity. It couldn’t be this way. It just couldn’t. He had to try, something … anything!
‘If I am able to bring you weapons, will you fight them with me?’
Kal took some time to reply. ‘It will do little good, but if you really believe you can, we will help you. I am tired of being pushed out of my home by them anyway.’
‘I will not fail.’
‘For your sake, I hope not. Once you have entered their lines, there will be nothing we can do to save you. You have until dawn tomorrow.’
‘I will be back by this night.’
Kal seemed to want to disagree, but then simply waved his hand. ‘Whatever you say, Daiyus. Be gone, we are still in mourning.’
Jaden bowed and exited the cave entrance. He had what he had come for. A purpose. Now he could go on living; he had a means of revenge. The Alliance would not go free from this crime.
‘I will return soon,’ said Jaden, stopping briefly at the man outside.
‘That is a return I hope to see,’ said Don warmly.
Jaden looked hard one last time at the wise elder in front of him. He had expected something more to be said. This man did not even attempt to stop him from going to almost certain death, as if he already knew there was nothing that could have been said or done to prevent it. As always, Don had showed perfect understanding of the people around him. Jaden nodded once in a gesture of both respect and farewell, and then without looking back, set out into the trees.
It was up to him now. He could make a difference. He could fight those who had destroyed his life. He would avenge his family’s death, or he would lose his life as they had.
As he neared the village, he became more cautious in his steps. He had made good time down the mountain side, but suspected there would be many scouting groups searching for survivors here. Any mistake now could cost him his chance at getting the weapons he needed and even mean his death. He had found it best to travel in random intervals—stopping erratically to be sure there were no other sounds apart from his own movements in the forest.
Everything was damp, giving off the familiar musty scent of wet wilderness as the usually crisp and dry foliage now acted as padding for his footsteps. He was able to move somewhat freely by this, but he would not throw caution to the wind with so much at stake. His father had taught him never to take risks when there was no other option but victory. It was why it could not have been true that the army his father sought had attacked instead of defended the village. His father would never have made such a mistake.
But Kal was right. Their homes had been destroyed. How could it have happened? Could his father have forgotten to practise the rules he had taught so well?
No. That couldn’t have been right. His father had said it was Kobin who was handling the matters. Perhaps that was his father’s mistake. He had let Kobin manage the negotiations. Kobin would not have taken as much care in them. It could have been by his actions that Callibra was gone.
Jaden shook his head. It seemed to make more sense. His ill feelings against Kobin had probably been right all along, and now they had all paid the ultimate price; they had lost what was most dear to them. If this was the army they had set out for, then both his father and Kobin would most likely be dead by now, and there would be no chance of salvation with the coming of a second military force.
Jaden grabbed at the trees to help himself up the steep slope, making sure he did not slip on the muddy surface. This was the final hill before the fields. It would not be long before he was within reach of the Alliance. Already he could hear the occasional shouting of orders and strange machinery in the distance. He began to feel sick by the sound alone, knowing the evil that it represented. He would need every ounce of strength he could manage to stay focused now.