The Everburning City

Act 1, Part 1, Chapter 10

Valen

"Don't draw your sword," Gwendolyn had said, just a moment earlier.

It was the only thing keeping the seething rage he felt in check. Lieutenant Rodstrom, his lieutenant, who looked like she had just stepped away from a dinner party and threw on an army coat to keep warm, was standing next to Sergeant Ewanmourn, and demanding his arrest.

"Irons, ma'ma?" Sergeant Blavin asked, clearly confused. The man made no move to comply with the order, instead looking from the crowd of kids, and back to his lieutenant. And strangely, the sergeant was looking to Valen as if he were hoping for guidance.

"Irons. Manicles. Chains, you gaping fool! Redgrave and his group fled their post, and the Gloam has flooded the field!" Lieutenant Rodstrom exclaimed. "He's under arrest for disobeying orders and deserting his post. Now do your burning duty, you flame-baked fool, so we can get back to prepping to evacuate."

"Ma'am, those are serious charges. And by the looks of things, you might be acting on incomplete information," Sergeant Blavin said. "Valen and his group just arrived from the cable car, with a second group of youngsters from that work camp in the field. By the looks of things, he was escorting them out."

"His job was to set the fields alight, and he left his post," Rodstrom barked, and snapped her fingers. "You have your orders, sergeant."

"What the burning hell? You're arresting Redgrave?" someone shouted from the group of kids nearby. Valen saw some jostling out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see a few people trying to push their way through the soldiers.

"Lieutenant, we need to get Valen away from those kids. This won't go easily otherwise," Ewanmourn said. "I'll arrest the ash-stained shit myself if that's what's needed."

"Ewanmourn? How do you live with yourself, you gutless coward!" Gwendolyn bellowed from behind Valen. The rage in her voice was nearly a match for the anger that tried to pull Valen's hand towards his sword. "You left children and your fellow soldiers to die!"

"There's only one deserter here. The others might have just been following orders," Ewanmourn insisted. And in a move that partially mollified Valen's anger, his sergeant scanned through the crowd quickly, and his eyes widened. "Where is Darius?"

"Killed fighting Gloamtaken, about eight miles down the causeway," Valen answered. He forced his hands into fists, to keep them away from his weapons. "He fell doing his duty. Don't rewrite that, sergeant."

"Darius? Burn me," Ewanmourn muttered. He looked shaken, his bulky frame drooping like he lacked the strength to hold it all in place. "Poor kid."

"He died on the wall, between us and Gloamtaken!" Roderick shouted, pushing his way forward. "I ain't a soldier, but I was raised by one. And you can call him a deserter, a coward, over my dead body!"

"Roderick!" Valen snapped. "At attention, mouth shut!"

To Valen's relief, Roderick stood up straight and fell silent. Valen very deliberately took a step forward, turned around, and turned his back to his lieutenant. Facing Roderick, he grinned and gave the boy a nod. "But that was well said."

"Very sad for Darius, but that doesn't excuse Redgrave, it makes it worse! You got that boy killed playing hero," Lieutenant Rodstrom said. She stepped forward, her hand on her sword. "Valen Redgrave, you are under arrest for desertion, disobeying orders, and abandoning your post during an invasion. Your resistance to arrest will also be noted in the records."

"What resistance?" Hendricks asked. "Valen could carve through you like a cleaver through pudding."

Looking back at Hendricks, Valen saw Gwendolyn was looking at something, just in the distance. It wasn't at anyone in the conversation, and she seemed to be keenly interested in whatever it was.