who wore no obvious armor. Bren found a slight nagging worry for her safety pool in his stomach, but he quickly pushed the feeling away.
Bren was told that he would work directly with the general’s. The only one who didn’t take his orders without reservation was Cass who demanded to stay at Bren’s side. Once they learned that he would not be moved from his decision, they reluctantly allowed him to stay with Bren.
Once the leaders of the different groups were sure of their roles in the upcoming battle, everyone quickly departed, leaving Bren feeling more than a little anxious. He had been placed with the generals, but he knew little of the plan himself, and he didn’t like the idea of his friends being in danger without him having a clue as to how much. He still believed that he had lost a lot of his humanity since his last battle with the Brotherhood, and he saw his friends as his only link to who he was, and the fear of losing them made his chest tighten painfully.
Bren forced himself to follow the other commanders as they moved through the town heading to an unknown location. Bren began to worry more when they reached the edge of the village and entered a small cave. Bren had to fight against the vast urge to produce any type of light in dark recess of the earth. He knew that the others had not done so in order to keep anyone from knowing where they were going, but he didn’t like not being able to see anyone around him. The only thing that he could do was let his fingers trail along the damp rock as he listened to the shallow footsteps of those with him.
Bren let out a sigh of relief when he noticed a thin stream of light coming from the end of the tunnel. As he stepped though the opening in the earth, Bren found himself standing on a large cliff overlooking the forest. He was so high up that he could even see the edge of the forest and the Brotherhood soldiers, who looked like small specks in the distance.
“Why have we come here?” Bren asked the man standing closest to him.
“Our task,” the man said quickly, his attention staying focused on the forest below.
“And what is that?” Bren asked slightly frustrated.
“To watch and help when we can,” The man said returning his frustrated tone.
“Can you at least tell me when the battle will start?” Bren asked sounding defeated.
“When the sun has set, our men will move out. We do not have the numbers for a direct conflict so we shall do what we do best and take them out in the silence of the night.”
The news didn’t set Bren’s nerves at ease, but he knew that it was the best he was going to get. It was easy to tell from the man’s aura that he held little faith in Bren and saw him as more of a hindrance than a help in the current situation. Bren was sure that he wasn’t the only one that thought that way either. Most likely most of the soldiers that would be risking their life would much prefer if Bren and his friends were cast out from the village. Why should they risk their lives for strangers? Bren forced away the thoughts, knowing it was his own weakness pushing through. They had offered their aid, and any deaths that came about would not be his, nor his friend’s fault. No. Those deaths would fall squarely on the Brotherhoods shoulders.
I half thought you would leave on your own again in some vain attempt to lead the Brotherhood away. Foolishness always ran in your father, and given your past actions, I thought it had run true in your blood as well. I am glad that for once I was wrong.
“If I left, my friends would follow, and their risk of capture would be even greater,” Bren replied. “The best chance for all to survive is to work with the village, so that is what I will do.”
It seems that you have finally grown out of your naivety.
“I don’t think I have grown out of anything,” Bren said with a hint of remorse. “It has been lost along with many other things.”
“What has you looking so sullen,” Cass asked, bumping into Bren. “Well, other than the few thousand soldiers that have come to separate you from your head.”
“Nothing really,” Bren replied, giving his