The Black Sword Trilogy: The Poacher by Jeffery VanMeter Read Free Book Online Page B

Sergeant’s exclamation.
    “Not so loud.” He ordered.
     
                  “The Congress has to approve any large number of troops to be used for any purpose,” Krall continued.  “And before they do that, they demand that a committee be formed to ascertain the validity of the request.  The King asked for a committee to be sent, but the Congress refused.”
    “That’s insane.” The Sergeant said, disgusted.
    “Yes, it is.”
     
                  The two were quiet for a moment; then the Sergeant spoke to ease the tension.
    “That archers a promising one,” He said.  “Have you seen the look in his eyes?  He’s a fighter that one.  I can’t say the same for the rest.”
    “You don’t know the half of it.” Krall answered quietly.  He then found himself smiling at the image of him sending the Prince to the ground.  “If any of us survive what’s waiting for us at The Wall, it’ll be him.”
     
                  It was the worst coffee Kenner had ever had; but he told himself that he should probably get used to it.  If he was going to serve in Walechia’s army, these and other inconveniences would need to be gotten used to.  Still he’d eaten for three days in a row and couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
     
                  Life in the hills was difficult.  It was often cold; the work to keep the village going was hard and food was always scarce.  When he had come of age, the elders of his village put him on a hunting team with the responsibility of hunting food for the entire village.  His wasn’t the only team.  There had to be others in order to assure that the village had enough food to go around.  But he was the best archer in the village and rarely failed to bring home a kill.  His hunting missions had become longer as he had been forced by the deer migrations to search farther away from the village.  That was what brought him in to the woods where he had been caught.
     
                  He couldn’t help but almost laugh at the irony of his current predicament.  Just three days before, he was a villager who hated the very thought of Walechia and its King.  Now, here he was wearing the uniform of a Walechian soldier; and pledged to five years’ service.  He’d eaten for three days in a row and was drinking coffee for the first time since he last left his village.  As he thought of these things, he tried not to think of his two cousins.  His heart had him blaming himself, even though his mind tried to remind him that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the tragedy.  When he closed his eyes, even to blink, he could see the horrible images of their last moments.
     
                  “What’s your crime?” One of the recruits asked him.  It startled him a little, bringing him out of his deep thoughts.
    “Poaching,” he said quietly.
    “Really?  That must be why you’ve got a bow.”
    “Hey!” Another soldier said.  “When do we get weapons?”
    “You’ll get them when you get them!” The Sergeant said kicking one of the recruits.  “Now get off your asses and back on to those carts!”
     
                  They loaded on to the carts and Kenner tried to make himself comfortable.
    “What do you think will happen when we get where we’re going?” One of the recruits asked.
    “Hopefully we’ll be given weapons and shields.” Another answered.
    “Go ahead and take off your helmets, boys!” The Sergeant called from the other cart.  “Try to get some sleep.  You’ll need all the rest you can get.
     
                  Hours went by and as he began to doze, Kenner began to stare at the sky above him.  It was partly cloudy with a full moon peeking through the thin clouds.  At one point, a cloud curved around the moon making it look like a single eye.  As he watched this vision, he felt as if the eye were looking directly at him;