Soul of the Fire

Captain Tolbert halted them among the buildings. Beata could see soldiers up on the stone base of the enormous, bell-shaped, stone Dominie Dirtch. There were soldiers in the buildings, too. The squad there had been at station for months, and was being relieved by Beata's squad.

Captain Tolbert turned to them. "These are the barracks. One for the women and one for the men. See it stays that way, Sergeant Beata. The other buildings are used for kitchen and dining, meetings, repairs, and everything else." He pointed to the farther building. 'That over there is storage."

He ordered them to follow as he marched on. They marched behind him in their two neat rows as he went past the Dominie Dirtch. It towered over them, a dark menace. The three women and one man up on the base around the bell-shaped part watched them pass.

Out in front of the Dominie Dirtch a ways, he stopped and told them to be at ease and to spread out. They formed a loose line, shoulder to shoulder.

"This is the frontier. The border of Anderith." The captain pointed out at the seemingly endless grassland. "That, out there, is the wilds. Beyond this place are the lands of other peoples. We keep those others from coming and taking our land from us."

Beata felt her chest swelling with pride. She was the one protecting the Anderith border. She was doing good.

"Over the next two days, I and the squad here will teach you what you need to know about guarding the border and about the Dominie Dirtch."

He walked down the line and halted in front of Beata, looking her in the eye. He smiled with pride.

"Then, you will be under the capable charge of Sergeant Beata. You will follow her orders without fail, and if she is unavailable, the orders of Corporal Marie Fauvel." He gestured behind them. "I will take a report from the squad I lead back to the Twenty-third Regiment, and I will treat very harshly any soldier who failed to at all times follow the orders of their sergeant."

He glared at the entire line. "Keep that in mind. Keep in mind, too, that the sergeant has a responsibility to live up to her rank. If she fails in that, I expect you to report it when I come back for you when it's your turn to be relieved.

"Supply wagons will be coming once every two weeks. Keep your supplies orderly and mind how long they must last.

"Your primary duty is to tend the Dominie Dirtch. In that, you are the defense of our beloved land of Anderith. From up on the watch station of the Dominie Dirtch, you will be able to see the next Dominie Dirtch to each side. They extend along the entire border to guard the frontier. The squads on duty are not changed at the same time, so experienced soldiers are always to each side.

"Sergeant Beata, it will be your responsibility, once your squad is trained and we depart, to see to it your soldiers are on duty at your Dominie Dirtch, and then to go meet with the squads to each side to coordinate with them all matters of defense."

Beata saluted with a hand to her brow. "Yes, Captain."

He smiled. "I'm proud of you all. You all are good Anderith soldiers, and I know you will do your duty."

Behind her towered the terrible Haken weapon of murder. Now, she was to be in charge of it in order to do good.

Beata felt a lump in her throat. For the first time in her life, she knew she was doing good. She was living her dream, and it was good.

CHAPTER 44

The burly soldier gave her the side of his boot on her rump. She had tried to hurry out of his way as soon as he kicked, but she wasn't fast enough. She pressed her lips tight against the sting of it.

If only the power of the gift worked, she would have done him a turn. She considered using her cane, but, keeping in mind her business, thought better of dispensing justice just then, no matter how sorely it was needed.

Rattling her three copper coins in her tin cup, Annalina Aldurren, former Prelate of the Sisters of the Light, the most powerful women in the Old World for over three-quarters of a millennium, moved on to beg from the soldiers gathered round the next fire.

— Like most soldiers, the next bunch she came upon as she moved through the camp showed interest when she first approached, thinking she might be a whore, but their ardor for female companionship quickly faded when she came into the ring of firelight and gave them a big gap-toothed grin- or the illusion of one, anyway, with the aid of some greasy soot on a few selected teeth.

It was quite convincing, actually, along with the rags she had layered over her dress, the dung-soaked head wrap- lest anyone decide they could overlook the craggy smile- and the walking cane. The cane was the worst; affecting a bad back was giving her one.