Breaking an Empire by James Tallett Read Free Book Online Page A

the traces, only standing upright because they held him so. He had had no breaks, whereas all of the squad had rotated in short shifts.
    An officer came to see the prisoner, and took the report of the day’s actions from the sergeant. With a few words of praise, he dismissed the squad, and led the exhausted, groaning Lianese soldier away as quartermaster troops swarmed over the wagon, inventorying the find.
    Rhyfelwyr hunted up a cook and had him make the squad a hearty meal, their right after a day on forage duty. There was little conversation over the food, and only when their stomachs were satiated were they able to relax in front of the fire. Knowing Taflen had already spoken with Rhocas, Rhyfelwyr let the conversation roam, although it mostly settled on the ambush of the Lianese patrol.
    “You know, I’ve been fighting beside you for years, and I’ve still never figured out how you get that close to lookouts. Do you crawl under the ground or something?” Locsyn was talking to Llofruddiwr.
    “I move quietly.”
    “No, I move quietly, and they can hear me from twenty paces. You move like a damn spirit, not even here in this world until you pop up and surprise everyone. If anyone actually survived meeting you, there might be a growing rumour about your skill, but you’re so good no one ever knows. And yeah, I know you like it that way, all quiet.”
    “Yes.”
    “Gwyth, you talk to me, you’ll say more words in one sentence than Llofruddiwr will in an entire day.”
    Gwyth doubled over with laughter, then put on a silly expression. “Yes.”
    “Oh bugger, not you too.”
    Leaving the others to their mirth, Rhyfelwyr got up and tapped Rhocas on the shoulder, gesturing for the young soldier to follow into the quiet darkness. Rhocas did so reluctantly, and glanced at the warm fire more than once as he followed the sergeant.
    Rhyfelwyr turned and eyed the firemage in the dark. Nerves were visible in every aspect of Rhocas’ stance, and the sergeant patted him on the arm before gesturing at the ground and sitting himself.
    “I know you don’t want to be here, but I need to find out what’s going on. You saved Taflen’s life, but you also should have been there to protect his right flank in the first place. It turned out well, but what are you? Did the mages send you down here to live like a soldier for some reason?”
    Rhocas mumbled at first, his voice faint in the night. “No, I’m not a firemage. Never noticed I had the talent. Me, or the people who tested me when I was young. It doesn’t come out much, until I’m angry or scared, and then it comes out in big waves, and gives me a headache afterwards. It started showing up a few years ago, and I thought something was wrong until I realized I had a talent with fire. It’s not all that useful.”
    “Not all that useful? Taflen would be dead if you didn’t have it. That counts as useful to me. Now, why’d you never take yourself round to the firemages and get trained properly? That life’s better than grubbing along in the dirt with us soldiers.”
    “Never wanted to, and thought I was too old to be allowed into the school, least by the time I knew anything. And when Ymerawdwyr was calling for young men to join the army, I decided I might as well go. I was mucking out stables at a caravan rest, so a soldier’s life is a step up from where I was.”
    Rhyfelwyr nodded. “Still, you might want to go talk to the firemages. Doubt they can give you a lot of training between now and Horaim, but it might be worth it. Can’t hurt to have an extra tool or two, and could make your life a good deal better in the long run, if you can get bumped up.”
    “I’d thought about it, but how would that work? They’re not going to believe that some poor fool of a soldier is a firemage because he says he is.”
    “I’ll talk to them, and bring the squad with me. We’ve been around for long enough that officers know I’m not going to lie to them. We’ll do that on