Borderlands- Act 1 Read online

  Haddar shakes his head. “Some aren’t interested in elite status. For them, all this extra training is just pointless hard work. They simply don’t get it.”

  “There must be some way to make them stay.”

  He shrugs. “Every Guardsman’s a volunteer. When the first two left, well maybe they were just on the edge of lazy. However, yeh made it worse by trying to over compensate and push the remainder even harder. That’s what’s lost yeh the most heads this last few days. Yeh need to back off on this excessive training.”

  “Excessive training? Are you telling me that it is wrong to maximise the abilities of the patrol I lead into the Borderlands?”

  “What I’m trying to tell you is, if you carry on like this, you aren’t going to have a patrol to lead anywhere at all.”

  I cannot help growling. “Sergeant, I really do hate it when you are right.”

  He scoffs. “Me too, Captain, me too.”

  The worst thing about swallowing one’s pride is how bitter it tastes.

  “Hello, my boy! What brings you to my offices at this late hour?” Sgail Krin stands in the door to his chambers. In the dim backlight, his thin nightshirt forms a tenuous halo around his stocky form. “Not in trouble are you?” He scratches is rotund belly so that the hem of his shirt rides up even higher. I look away before I get to see more than just his bowed legs. “Because if you are, come back tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have packed and left by then!” My look of shock elicits a huge guffaw. “It was a joke, boy! I wouldn’t leave you hanging like that.” He finishes with a crushing slap on my shoulder. “Come in, come in!” He catches my look as I take in the mess and packing crates. “I really am leaving in the morning. It should have happened days ago by all accounts. No joke, you really are lucky to catch me. So, spit it out, lad, what’s the emergency?”

  I gather my thoughts, swallow the last of the bitter taste and let out a little sigh. “It is more about advice than an emergency actually, Uncle.”

  “Aha!” He smacks his hands like a thunderclap. “Excellent! You’ve come to exactly the right place. Advice is exactly what I’m good for. WINE!” Though directed over my shoulder the surprise of the final bellow still makes me jump. He smiles in half apology. “The best advice always flows together with the best wine.”

  “You’re not fussing over those boxes again, are you, Sgail?” I turn in surprise at the liquid purr coming from Krin’s bed chamber. The lithe nut-brown curves that appear, prop themselves against the door frame with a naked hip. “Can’t you just come back to bed and leave them to finish the packing for you in the morning?”

  “I didn’t call you to help pack, girl. I called you to fetch wine, and quick, we have company!”

  “Eh?” Sweeping back the cascade of tousled anthracite waves from her youthful face, she blinks into the room. Seeing me, she lets out a shriek of surprise and belatedly tries to cover her modesty with her hands, her chestnut eyes wide with shock.

  Krin groans. “No need for all that drama, girl. Banak here is family. Now fetch that wine and quickly, before I have to review my choice!” The snap of his fingers launches her skittering across the room, weaving and leaping the jumble of obstacles. I watch her progress until she disappears into the pantry before turning to Krin open mouthed. He grins. “Covers the ground well doesn’t she? Moves even better on a mattress, I can tell you.”

  I glance back at the pantry doorway before making a first attempt at a question. “Who?”

  “Voolvihlma. She’s the final candidate.”

  “She’s the what?”

  “What’s the problem, Banak? Recent bump on the head or something? I never took you for an idiot!” Clearly, I am not following him. He rolls his eyes and sighs. “Remember? I told you I was planning to arrange an attendant or two for my retirement.” With my nod of agreement, he continues. “Well, what with various administrative matters delaying my departure, I thought I’d put the days to good use and start the recruitment process early. Skim off the cream here in Afreem, as it were. It’s been a tough selection process putting all the candidates through their paces but Vooli there ended up coming out on top.” He lets out a guffaw. “Quite literally in several respects.”

  My mind has just about caught up. “I see.”

  “Good, with that cleared up. Sit down and tell me what’s troubling you.” He throws a critical glance in the direction of the pantry. “I’m sure the wine will turn up soon enough.” He drops himself into an armchair next to a low table.

  For lack of a second chair, I select the most convenient packing box and re-gather my thoughts. “So, Uncle, the matter is this. I appreciate you are about to retire, but you can look back on a long career as a captain in the Guard.”

  “True enough.”

  “I assume that, what with having to keep your patrol going for so long, you have had your share of recruitment problems along the way.”

  “Indeed.” Before we can continue, a movement at the edge of my vision distracts me. We both turn to see Voolvihlma exiting the pantry. “Ah, excellent, the wine has arrived. It certainly took long enough!” Clearly, she has used the seclusion of the pantry to good effect. Though still utterly naked, she has tied back her hair and now oozes composure. Holding her chin high, she swings her pelvis wide as she weaves between the obstacles. The silver tray with perfectly balanced bottle and goblets seems to float effortlessly before her as she carries it across the room. At the table, with bolt straight legs she bends at the hips to set the tray down. Her torso hangs in our line of sight for a moment before she eases herself back upright with a barely audible moan. Krin gives her a critical look. “I said, you took long enough!”

  She pokes out her hip to make a convenient rest for her left hand and looks down her nose at him. “It wouldn’t have taken so long if you hadn’t had the boxes nailed closed already.” She waves in the direction of the pantry before inspecting her fingertips. “I almost lost a nail tearing the stupid lid off.” My attention is caught halfway between her liquid voice and elastic breasts.

  Krin snatches up the bottle and inspects the label. “Ah, the good stuff!”

  As he sets about pulling the cork, her chin drifts round to point at me. “Only the very best for our…” she pauses for the briefest of moments letting her teeth drag across her lower lip in anticipation of the final word, “…visitor.” Her eyes blaze with challenge.

  Krin scoffs as he pours out the wine. “Don’t overdo it girl. Just because you’ve been paying attention, doesn’t make you an expert vintner. The Panphions may brew a fine bottle, but just because it comes from over the river, doesn’t automatically mean that Aldestaen is the best there is. For instance, Relgin offers a few surprisingly good vintages.”

  I force myself to ignore the way her fingertips are tracing little circles across the taught skin just below her navel and try to get the conversation back on course. “As I was saying…” My throat is unexpectedly dry forcing me to stop and cough.

  Krin hands me a full goblet. “Here you go. Wet your pipes with that.” I take a sip and cannot keep the surprise from my face. Krin chuckles. “Told you. Not a patch on your old man’s of course, but not bad for all that.” He reaches his arm around her hips and pulls her to him. “That’s why I picked her. Not just a pretty face. She’s capable of learning stuff too, you see?” With her midriff in my direct line of sight, I am left with nowhere else to look as her stomach muscles ripple. With her pelvis now tipped back, her groin is displayed to the maximum. A glance at her face reveals a half smile, twisted with triumph.

  She pats Krin on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you boys to it. When you’re finished, I’ll be keeping the bed warm.”

  He slips his hand between her thighs. “It’s not the bed you need to be keeping warm.”

  The skin stretches tight over her windpipe as her head tips back. The slender fingers of her free hand cup her breast. She sweeps her pelvis back and forth across the edge of his hand. Her eyes descend upon me. She moans as she pl
ucks a nipple brutally. “Always.”

  With a yap of laughter, Krin withdraws his hand and smacks her on the arse. “Go on, you shameless tease. Be off with you, or else young Banak here is going to demand to borrow you for the evening.” With a final dismissive glance at me, she swings her leg over his head before curving out of the room.

  Krin lies back in his chair and, gazing up at the ceiling, smacks his lips lavishly. “Not a bad vintage at all.” He sits up and, leaning close, whispers conspiratorially. “Though I’m sure I’ll tire of her before too long. Can’t be bothered to train her properly.” He gives me a wink. “Mind you, I’m sure a young buck like you could break her in properly.” He pats me on the knee. “I’d be happy to give you first refusal once I’ve lined up a less wilful replacement.”

  I find his earnest smile oddly disturbing. Though another taste of the wine does nothing to dispel the bitter taste climbing back up my throat, I steel my nerves and plunge into my recruitment crisis.

  Krin listens quietly without interruption. When I am finished, he drains his glass and chews his top lip for a moment as he pours another. “Well, my boy, you certainly like making things difficult for yourself, don’t you? Can’t say I ever had to deal with the same problems myself. The patrol rankings aren’t really about who’s on top, you see? It’s about not being at the bottom and getting your commission withdrawn, understand? I just kept my patrol ticking over, bringing in enough heads to never land in the danger zone, and here I am, at the end of a long career, a much loved and respected captain, you see?” I cannot help thinking that ‘much loved and respected’ is pushing it a bit but I hold my tongue, best not insult him before he gives out any advice that might just possibly be forthcoming. He eyes me for a moment before continuing. “However, I can see you are far too young and ambitious for taking the low road. Desperate to make your mark, and all that.” He pauses for a reflective sip. “I can imagine a few things you might consider. Mind you, first and foremost, you need to explain something to me that I never have quite understood about you. What is it about you and the family?”

  “What do you mean?” It comes out far too snappy.

  “Oh, come now! No need to be all defensive. It’s hardly a secret, you do tend to carry it on your sleeve.”

  I take a deep breath and try again, though my teeth still grind a little. “We do not get on.” Uncle or no, I am not about to drag out all the dirty family laundry in front of someone like Krin.

  Setting down the bottle he holds up his hand. “Fine, fine, say no more if you don’t want to. If you’re having some kind of family spat, it’s no business of mine, even if I am family myself, obviously.” I open my mouth to protest that it is far more than a spat but close it again. He nods. “The point is, how long are you going to keep this up? It appears to me that everything you wish to achieve would be so much easier if you were to call in a few favours with the family.”

  “I cannot do that.”

  “Oh, come on, my boy! You’re an adult now. Man up, admit you were in the wrong and make up with your folks. How hard can it be?”

  “In the wrong? You have no idea…”

  He cuts my outburst off. “Banak! You are as dear to my heart as any son I might have had, however, I shall not tolerate a tantrum from a grown man, and a captain of the Guard at that!” He waits until I have calmed myself before leaning forward and clasping my knee again. “This has nothing to do with wrong or right. It has to do with breaking a stalemate. Often, the only way to move forward is to graciously accept the blame even when you are not at fault. You should do it for your mother’s sake if nothing else.”

  The moment stretches as I wait for the turmoil inside me to subside. I take a deep breath and answer as levelly as possible. “There is more to it. I cannot give you all the details, so you just have to trust me. I do not think I can do what you suggest and anyway, I do not see what it would do to help my recruitment problem.”

  He pats my knee and sits back. “Very well, let’s put the matter of family to one side for now. The benefit of using your connections comes when you can see the bigger picture. You need to step back and view the problem from a different perspective. You are losing men because you are pushing them to achieve more. The problem is, they don’t see an immediate benefit. Where’s their coin?” He holds up a hand to stop me interrupting. “Bear with me. It doesn’t matter how much more they improve. You can’t collect more trophies than there is Spawn to kill each cycle.”

  “And?”

  “And, everyone knows, not all the patrol zones yield the same amount of Spawn. If you concentrated your efforts on the zones with a higher yield, you could collect more trophies each and every cycle. More trophies lead to a higher ranking for you AND more trophy pay for your men. Everyone’s a winner, you see?”

  I shake my head. “Uncle, you know as well as I do that we do not select our own patrol zones. They are assigned randomly by a central committee. We have no influence over them.”

  He shuts his eyes for a moment before explaining with a sigh. “That is the official line, yes. However, on behalf of a serious family name,” he shrugs, “adjustments can be made.”

  “Are you telling me that the allocation committee can be bribed?”

  “Bribery is for lesser beings. Someone like you? We’re talking bought, sold, disbanded and re-constituted wholesale. The options are limitless, but only if you use your family name, understand?” I nod dumbly. He smiles. “Now all told, Krin is a decent enough house, but honestly Banak, if I’d been born Doneir?” He shrugs. “I would have been bathing in butter all my life, not chasing Spawn across the nether regions of chaos.” He lets the message sink in before finishing. “And that is why you need to swallow the toad and make up with your family.”

  Suddenly, the opportunity to propel my plans forward is within easy grasp. All I must do is abandon my principles and corrupt the system. Could I suck up to the enemy in order to eventually defeat him? Waves of frosty dread and hot prickly excitement wash over me. It is far more than the wine making my head spin. Have I ever been so conflicted? I rise unsteadily to my feet and clear my throat. “Uncle Krin, you have certainly given me much to think about. I have inconvenienced you long enough, especially so late at night. I shall leave now. Goodnight.”

  Krin clambers out of the chair and gives me a penetrating look. “Pleasure to be of any small help. I’d shake your hand but,” he holds up his empty glass and the half bottle of wine with a shrug, “no hands free. You can show yourself out, can’t you?” He tilts his head in the direction of the bed chamber. “Urgent matters of my own to attend to, and all that.”

  I give a nod. “Of course.” I have barely turned away when Krin calls out.

  “Vooli you hussy, you had better be awake! We need to talk about how we behave in front of guests. You are going to have to show me how sorry you are for your impertinence!” I hurry to the door desperate to slip out quickly. However, before I have a chance to escape completely, a last few words catch me up. “Ahh! Not a bad start, but there is no true repentance without tears…” Before my skin can crawl clear off my body, the latch falls with a click and I am alone in the corridor outside.

  A miasma of dust hangs in the air. Across the practice ground the men are running weapon drills. Even from the saddle, they look quite tiny and insignificant at this distance. I wonder how far I would have to ride to not be able to distinguish them at all.

  “Captain?” Haddar interrupts my thoughts.

  “Hmm?” Here, close against the outer wall, I can’t get much further away.

  “I take it, yev being paying attention to what I’ve been saying.”

  I nod. “Yes, of course.” On the far side of the field there is a gap between the stables and the storage sheds. It forms an alley that cuts quite a way in between the buildings.

  “So, what do yeh think?”

  I do my best to sound convinced. “I think we should do exactly as you suggest.” If I ride to the far end of the path,
would the men look smaller than they do now?

  “Not possible!”

  My brow furrows. “Why ever not?” The problem is, it is quite a narrow gap. I really need a bigger passage, like the avenue down to the Grand Gate.

  “Because I didn’e make any suggestions.”

  I wrinkle my nose. “That is a shame. You always have such good thoughts.” The problem with that is it doesn’t lead to the training fields so there is no direct line of sight.

  “Well, now it’s your turn.”

  I frown. “It occurs to me that, even on horseback, you cannot see very far at all when you are within the guard house.”

  “You could always ride up onto the battlements.”

  I mull it over for a moment. “You see, that is what I meant about you having good thoughts.”

  “Captain Doneir, Sir. Are yeh perhaps sickening to something?”

  I shrug whilst imagining Chalka climbing the stairs to the top of the wall. “Not that I know of.” But, would the perspective be any better from up there?

  “Fantastic! So, when’s it due then? I’ll pass the hat around. Get the lads to start a collection.”

  “A collection? What for?”

  “The baby. You being pregnant is the only plausible explanation.”

  I turn to look at him sat on his horse next to me. “What are you blathering on about, man?”

  “Ahh! Back with us now are we? Because, to be perfectly honest, yev been totally absent for all the morning’s training.”

  I wipe my palm over my face and sigh. “Look Sergeant, can you take over from here on? I need to attend to some business.”

  “Take over? Yeh mean, carry on without you like I’ve been doing all day?”