Page 3 of Lucie
Chapter Two
Plea
A wall of delicious smells assailed them as they entered the main dining hall. Dinner was being prepared, and his stomach growled in anticipation.
Lucien immediately spotted his father standing among the group of people gathered at a table near the low-burning fireplace. One of the kitchen help was piling logs in the nearby bin. During the day, therewasn’t much need for heat. But come dinner and nighttime, when the temperature dropped with the setting sun, the embers were stoked back to life.
Yulenappeared to be listening to one man in particular as he explained something Lucien couldn’t hear. By the strangers’ appearance, he could tell they weren’t from the compound. Neither were they from any compound in this area. Among the small cadreof the battle lord’s soldiers surrounding them wereYulen’scabinet of advisors, including the two seconds, Warren Paxton and ColeMastin. Mattox andMistellewere also in attendance.
He followedAtty, stopping beside his brother as she went straight to her husband’s side. The man who’d been speaking paused when she appeared.
“Gentlemen, this is my wife, the BattleLady of AltaNovis.Atty, this isHarankPechard, an emissary from the compound of Green River.”
Pechardsmiled and bobbed his head in salutation. “Madam.”
Attygave him a quick smile. “I’ve never heard of that compound. Where’s it located?”
“To the west, in theNewmexterritories.”
“Who’s your battle lord?”
“SimanVeers.”
“Green River. Veers. I’ve never heard those names before,”Attycommented. “But there is a lot to the west that I’m not familiar with.”
“Yet, we have heard ofyou,”Pechardremarked with a wan smile.
Lucien saw his father take notice of his arrival, and the battle lord motioned toward him. “And this is my other son, Lucien.”
Lucien andPechardexchanged a brief salutation.YuleninformedAttyas to the situation. “Veers is seeking help. His compound is being attacked by Damaged.”
“How long have they been under siege?” she questioned.
“By the time we managed to escape, it had been three weeks, madam,”Pechardreplied forYulen.
“Why have you come to us?” Mattox broke in. “Surely there are othercompounds closer to you where you could seek help.”
Lucien eyed the three newcomers.Pechardand his two accompanying guards looked like they were on their last legs. Splattered with mud and blood, it was obvious they had been through sheer hell to get here.Pechardhimself wobbled slightly, signaling he was about to collapse. He started to comment whenAttyintervened.
“These men are beyond exhausted. Sit, gentlemen, sit. Holden, go fetch someone from the kitchen and have them bring water for these men.”
A soldier saluted. “Fetching someone to bring them water, my lady,” he repeated, and hurried off.
Pechardgave her a grateful look. “We appreciate the hospitality, madam.” He turned his attention to Mattox, but Lucien discernedthe man didn’t quite look his brother in the eyes. The affect was not lost on Mattox, either, but it wasn’t the first time people tried not to make eye contact with the half-Mutah. Not when the entirety of Mattox’s eyes were a bright scarlet, emphasizing hisMutahheritage.
“We managed to make it to Tarkington, the next compound over, but it had already fallen. Same for Schutz Ridge.By then we were at a loss where we could go to seek help. If those two heavily-guarded compounds were gone, then we knew the Damaged must have advanced from the east and were heading west. So we turned north and prayed for luck.”
“Go on,”Yulenurged.
BeforePechardcould continue, a servant from the kitchen arrived with a tray bearing three large mugs of water anda full pitcher. Setting the tray on the table, he turned toYulen. “Would sir want us to bring our guests something to eat?”
“I’ll let you know. Thank you,Brally.”
Mastinstepped forward. “Please continue. You went north and?”
“After four days, we came across aMutahcompound called Lost Traces.”
Attybrightened. “I know where that’s at!”She turned to her husband. “They’re part of the southern chain.”
