Bannen followed Temn down the cobbled street to the city’s center.  The boy had only been able to choke out a few words: “it’s Jack” and “please come.”  Bannen hadn’t asked any questions.  As Temn led them toward the shopping district, the commander felt a wave of fear and disgust grab hold of his insides.  His hurried footsteps faltered for just a moment as he realized what he would find when they arrived.  He could feel the shock and fearful curiosity of dozens of Star Children all gathered in one place.  He had always been able to sense the presence of other Children who, like him, bore the mark of the star in one palm.  But he had never been able feel what they felt.  Despite the situation, he couldn’t help marveling at the bond that connected them all.

They finally arrived, and Bannen saw exactly what he’d expected…and feared.  There was a large group of people surrounding the pole.  The commander didn’t hesitate at the outside of the thick ring of people.  Instead, he pushed his way through to the center.  At the base of the pole, lying on the ground on his side, was Jack.  He was covered in blood, and the arm and leg that were beneath him were bent in places where there were no joints.  His eyes were closed, and he was unconscious.  At least, Bannen hoped so.  He leaned over to check the boy’s life beat when he heard another man trying to push his way through the crowd from the opposite side.

“Let me through,” the man said, shoving against someone’s sturdy shoulder.  “I’m a healer.  Let me through!”

Bannen reacted immediately.  He stood and faced the crowd, raising his arms up and approaching those nearest the healer.  “Move it, you big lumps!”  He flapped his arms at them like a goose trying to land in the water.  As they moved, the commander turned to the rest of the people huddled around.

“Go on, MOVE!” he yelled at them.  “Give them some space.”  He didn’t bother telling them to go back to what they had been doing.  They wouldn’t have listened anyway.  He glared at a woman holding a young girl’s hand.  The child looked scared.  “Come on, lady,” he said.  “You really think she needs to see this?”

The woman gave him a scornful look at first.  Then it softened.  She blushed, scooped up her child and retreated.  The girl stared back at the scene from over her mom’s shoulder.

“What do you need?” he asked the healer.  “What can I do?”

The man just shook his head.  His eyes were closed, and his lips moved silently.  His hands, barely poking out from the sleeves of the blood-red robes that marked his profession, passed over Jack’s body mere inches above his skin.  He did not touch the boy.

Bannen, unable to disperse the crowd enough for his liking, finally swung the enormous blade from its place against his back.  That did the trick.  People finally started backing off, stumbling against the ones behind them as they widened the circle.  Bannen nodded at them, then replaced his weapon.  The onlookers saw the hilt peering out from behind his shoulder and didn’t attempt to close the gap.

Temn knelt on the ground next to his fallen friend.  He didn’t make a sound and didn’t try to touch Jack, but tears fell down both cheeks.  His hands were clasped in a desperate plea to the Great Fathers.

Finally, the healer opened his eyes and looked directly at Temn.  “Go to the apothecary,” he told the lad.  “Tell him to start boiling comfrey.  Willow bark, too.  Understand?”

Temn jumped to his feet and nodded.  “Comfrey,” he repeated.  “And willow bark.”  He started to run off toward the apothecary’s shop.

Then the healer turned to two lads who looked to have sturdy legs.  “You,” he said, pointing at one.  “Go tell Nara at the Prancing Inn to make ready a ground floor room.  You,” he said, pointing at the other, “go to the undertaker’s and bring back one of Old Man Mority’s coffin lids.  Tell him it’s got to be strong enough to hold a young man.  None of that cheap, weak stuff.”

Then he looked to Commander Bannen, who bent closer.  “I can’t move him like this,” the man in red said quietly.

“How bad is it?” asked Bannen.

The healer looked back down at Jack and shook his head.  “He’s in trouble,” he said.  “I don’t know how far he fell, but we need to get him inside quickly.  The problem is that if we move him, we might shift something and cause more damage.”

Bannen nodded and straightened.  He removed the black cloak from off one shoulder, draped it over Jack, then closed his eyes and concentrated on reaching out to Brother Galiwyr back at the church.  Galiwyr was especially sensitive to the bond and would know what to do.  To his surprise, an answer pushed back at him immediately.  Galiwyr was already on his way.  He was bringing help.

Bannen opened his eyes again, shifted the sword on his back, and knelt down beside Jack.  He put one hand on the boy’s uninjured shoulder and spoke quietly.  “Help’s on the way, kid,” he said.  “Hang in there.  We’re gonna get you fixed up.  The healer’s already here, and others are coming to help.”  Bannen closed his eyes and tried to project a sense of calm.  He didn’t know if it worked, especially since Jack wasn’t a Star Child, but the lad’s breathing seemed to grow a little less labored, a little more even.

The healer watched Bannen intently.  “Perhaps you missed your calling, commander,” he said.

Bannen half smiled, half snorted.  “I’m no healer, friend.  Just learned a few tricks on the field is all.  I leave the tough stuff to the Reds.”  He indicated the healer’s red garb.

“Still,” the man said, “that’s a handy trick.  You people never cease to amaze me.”

Bannen assumed that by “you people” he was referring to those marked by the gods.  He might have commented on the choice of words, but Brother Galiwyr arrived then, with Father Sol right behind him.

Between the priests, the healer, and the commander, they managed to get Jack onto the coffin lid and into the Prancing Inn with relative ease.  Father Sol used some sort of binding magic to make the boy’s body rigid long enough to move him a short distance, and the healer wasted no time in getting to work once they arrived.  By the time the apothecary arrived, Jack’s bones had been put back into the right places and Father Sol and the healer were looking at and discussing the wound on the boy’s head.  It was carefully wrapped, but blood still seeped through.

Bannen stood outside the room with Brother Galiwyr.  They spoke in low tones barely heard over Nara’s more boisterous patrons in the common room.  Temn was with
them, staring at his boots and saying nothing.

“So why didn’t the protective magics take effect?” asked the commander.  “No one’s ever fallen from the pole.  At least,” he amended, “not as far as I know.  What happened?”

Galiwyr shook his head.  “Didn’t you feel it?” he asked.

“Feel what?” asked Bannen.  “I was concentrating on the boy…”

“There was no protective magic,” said Galiwyr.  “That thing out there is just a big stick stuck in the ground in the middle of the town square.  Just a skinny log driven into the ground.”

“I don’t understand,” said Bannen.  “There’s always been a protective seal around that thing specifically to keep this sort of thing from happening.  Did it fail?  Wear out or something?”

Galiwyr shook his head.  “The remnants are still there.  The edges are… well, jagged, I suppose.  Like broken glass.”

Bannen considered this.  He didn’t know much about this kind of magic, but he sensed the implications.  “How long has it been like that?” he asked.

Brother Galiwyr shook his head again.  “I don’t know.  Maybe hours, maybe months.  I’m not sure if anyone will be able to tell us, to be honest.”

Bannen sighed.  There would be an investigation, to be sure.  He was just beginning to consider the trouble this was going to cause when he heard Temn’s soft, shaky voice.

“Brother?” the lad said.  He hesitated, then asked the priest, “do you… you know… know what’s gonna happen to him?  Is Jack gonna be okay?”

Galiwyr put a hand on Temn’s shoulder.  “I don’t know, son.  The Great Fathers don’t really let me see into the future.  It’s more like a… a strong instinct about something.  But if they let me know he’s okay, I’ll be sure to tell you.”

Temn nodded his thanks.  Bannen noted that the priest hadn’t promised to tell Temn if the news was bad, but said nothing.  Instead, he shared a look with Galiwyr.  It was then that he noticed Temn was twisting something in his hands.  It looked like a belt.

“Here they are, Marshal Orry.”  The soft voice belonged to Nara, the inn’s owner.  She stepped aside to let a man through.  Like Bannen, he was dressed in black armor, which proved his station among the King’s Elite.  He was in his late forties, quite fit, and had a scar running across one cheek.  The nearby ear was missing a lobe.  Bannen immediately snapped to attention and saluted Orry with a fist clapped to his chest.

The marshal returned the gesture.  “Commander, your boys are gathered and ready to travel.”

“Thank you, Sir,” said Bannen.  With all the activity that morning, he had actually forgotten about the upcoming training mission.

“Commander General Abadon has some last minute instructions for you,” Orry said.  “You’re to report to the combat hall for full details,” said the marshal.

Bannen saluted again.  “Right away, Sir.”

He paused just long enough to give Temn a squeeze on the shoulder and a nod to Brother Galiwyr before heading back to the training grounds.

When he arrived at the combat hall, the commander was surprised to find the large building empty of recruits.  Instead of men exercising in unison or sparring against one another, Bannen saw only a few high ranking members of the king’s elite.  They stood near the dais at the far end where instructors usually gave orders, demonstrated techniques, or watched as cadets performed their maneuvers.  When the men saw him enter, their conversation ceased.  One beckoned for him to approach, and Bannen did so.

“Commander General Abadon,” he said as he saluted the man who moved in front of the others to speak.  “Commander Kevor Bannen, King’s Elite, Protector of the South Gate, Keeper of…”

“Yes, yes,” Abadon interrupted.  “I’m well aware of your accomplishments.”

He ordered Bannen to assume a resting position, then took a seat for himself on the edge of the dais, facing Bannen.  The other two officers retreated several steps to allow the men to speak more privately.  Bannen noted with curiosity that these men watched the room and the front door carefully.

“We have a special assignment for you, Commander,” Abadon said.  “You are to take the Hopefuls to the southeast to outpost thirty seven.  You will be given further instructions upon arrival.”

“Yes, Sir,” Bannen said.

“If you are asked about this change in procedure, you are to explain that there have been raids and other small disturbances in that area, and the Hopefuls are to test their skills at finding and neutralizing the threat while protecting the local civilians.”

Bannen raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.  This was highly unusual.  The final test of a Hopeful was always a mock battle where each man would have a chance to prove his skill, might, and determination.  Instead, they were being sent on a patrol run to a location several days’ march from DeJadis.

“You will, of course, tell your recruits nothing,” Abadon continued.  “Since this portion of their training is always secret, that shouldn’t be a problem.  However, you mustn’t give any indication that the usual routine has been changed.  Understood?”

Bannen lifted his chin.  “Yes, Sir.”

Abadon looked Bannen over carefully before speaking again.  “You are to speak of this meeting and this mission to no one save myself.  Your next orders will come from a man with a Kivu accent.”  The Commander General lowered his voice and leaned forward.  “Tell him the morning fog might bring rain.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Questions, Commander Bannen?”

Several questions immediately danced through his mind, but he forced the biggest to remain silent.  He knew those would not be answered, and would only serve to lower Abadon’s opinion of Bannen’s judgment.  This was obviously something important, and he would only be given the information he needed.  Instead, the commander asked, “Sir, should I be prepared for opposition?”

Abadon half smiled.  “You should always be prepared for opposition, Commander.”

“Yes, Sir,” Bannen said, “but should I post additional sentries at night or bring additional scouts?”

“No,” Abadon replied without hesitation.  “You are to act as if nothing has changed.  You and your charges are simply traveling to the location for their final test.  We don’t want to draw attention to such an insignificant event.”

Bannen nodded.  “Understood, Sir.  What about the ones who are marked with the star?  Should I take any additional precautions with them?”  He was thinking of the way he had felt the emotions of the crowd surrounding Jack.

Abadon frowned.  “How do you mean?”

“Well, Sir, I mean that I don’t know their Gifts.  What if they… sense something?”

He gave Bannen a hard look with narrowed eyes.  “If you’re concerned that they might suspect something, then I suggest you take every available precaution to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Use the secret nature of their last challenge to your advantage.  They all know you hide information from them.  If anyone seems wary or suspicious, just act concerned over their performance on the final trial.  I also recommend you report the person to the Kivu upon arrival at the outpost, just to be safe.”

“I understand, Sir.”

“Any other questions?”

“No, Sir.”

“Good,” said Abadon.  “Then I’ll leave you with a final warning.  No matter what happens, you must continue on to your destination.  You must get to the outpost for your next orders.  That’s your true goal.  The men are expendable, if need be.  Am I clear?”

Bannen nodded, showing no signs of discomfort at the goose bumps running up his forearms and down his back.  “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.”  Abadon rose to his feet again, and Bannen snapped back to attention.  “Then I wish you and your men a safe journey.”  His expression softened.  “I do hope you all return home unharmed.  I’m looking forward to the naming ceremony.  We could use some new, young blood among the Elite.”

Bannen saluted, which the Commander General returned.  “Thank you, Sir.”

The commander took one step back, turned around with a single, quick step, then headed for the door.  After a couple of steps, he stopped and turned around again.

“Commander General,” he said, “does this have anything to do with what happened in the town square today?”

Abadon half smiled again.  “Good day, Commander,” he said.

Bannen nodded his head at the man, then turned and left the Training Hall, closing the door behind him.

“I’m still not convinced,” said one of the officers who had stepped aside to let Abadon and Bannen speak.

“You don’t have to be,” replied Abadon with a frown.  “He wants that lad to be the one to do this, and that’s all that matters.  If you disagree, you can go tell him yourself.”

The officer frowned, but said nothing more.