The Cor Chronicles: Volume 02 - Fire and Steel Read Online Free PDF Page B

brown hair that he kept restrained in a neat ponytail had streaks of gray. His face was lined with the concerns of a commander of men, but also from the smiles and laughter his children gave him.
    Thom made some quick calculations and reviewed a mental roster of all of the men under his command. He would head this task himself and bring ten of his best scouts and archers. They would travel on foot, packed lightly, and he was sure that they could reach the Loszian wall by noon of the next day if they stopped to rest for only one hour. It would be grueling, but these men were used to this kind of work. The Loszians would have spied in and around the pass, just as he did. Normally, these spies ignored each other as a form of professional courtesy, but now they would have the be eliminated as Thom and his men moved. Approaching the Loszian wall unseen would be another tricky part, but Thom had never once failed his country.
     
    * * *
     
    Cor halted the group for lunch on the fourth day and announced that they would be staying there for a time. The weather had warmed a bit, and he allowed the group to relax and rest their rears. The plains had turned to rolling grassy foothills, making the ride a bit rougher, especially for the young and inexperienced. Cor explained to the group they were very near the Loszian fort that they would have to pass through to reach the mountains. He and Thyss would formulate a very strict plan, and it would require everyone to do exactly as they were told when they were told lest they all be killed. Cor should have anticipated that this would lead the smaller children to crying, and he realized that he would have to heap large amounts of responsibility on the adolescents when the time came. For now, he allowed them to simply rest, and eventually the younger children took to playing as children do while the elder watched or slept.
    Over the past few days, Cor had endeavored to learn the names of all those he led to gods knew what. They were but children. Even the oldest of them, Keth and Geoff, were only barely younger than Cor himself, two boys just entering manhood. There were also two other young teenagers, a boy and a girl named Celdon and Marya, but the rest were all ten years of age and younger. They had gravitated to each other based on common age group, which was not surprising, and Cor had to remind himself that he was not much older than any of them.
    As evening approached, Cor became restless. He had no desire to put Thyss in harm’s way, but he had no idea how to scout the Loszians. Beyond the fact that if something happened to Thyss he had no idea what he would then do to get the Dahken out of Losz, something about the idea of losing her troubled him. It felt as if a great mailed fist crushed and twisted his stomach and intestines, and simply put, he did not care for it at all. He recognized it as similar to the sensation he used to have when he thought back to his mother’s murder only a few years ago. He wondered what he would do to a Loszian, or anyone else, who dared to harm Thyss. He sat brooding as he overlooked the Dahken, and he wondered exactly what he was doing as the sun began to sink below the horizon.
    “It is almost time Dahken Cor,” said Thyss, sitting down beside him.
    “Are you sure you can do this?” he asked her without looking up.
    “You doubt me?” Her response was more of a sneer than a question, and Cor looked up to see her eyes narrowed dangerously at him.
    “No, I wouldn’t dare do that. I,” he paused not sure what to say. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “Do not fear for me Dahken Cor. They will not even know I watch them.”
    Thyss abruptly stood up and stepped a few paces away from the encampment. She quickly shrugged off all of her clothing and handed it and her beautiful weapon to Cor, who stood open mouthed at her sudden action and lack of modesty. Thyss’ body was thin and tone, her muscles strong as bands of iron, but it was also