Behind The Wooden Door Read Free Page A

father?”
    Tommy nodded his head. “Yeah, Tristan’s my brother.”
    I waited for him to laugh and tell me it was a joke. But he didn’t. Brothers? It seemed impossible. He seemed so much more carefree than Tristan, more innocent. He was probably here to live up to the soldier life his brother had. To prove himself.
    “Why did you decide to fight in this war, Tommy?” I asked. I had to know.
    “Because your people need help, and–” He hesitated. “I don’t know. I guess I just want to make a difference in someone’s life.”
    I looked into his face for any sign that he was lying; I found none.
    “Tommy! Are you coming or not?” Tristan’s voice called up from ahead of us.
    Tommy looked over at me and smiled. “We better catch up or he’s gonna kill us.”
    I didn’t know whether or not Tommy was joking, but I didn’t want to find out. The river turned back to its crystal blue color as we walked along the edge toward the crossing. Large gray stones had been placed into the shallow water to allow passage across the rushing waters. White foam lined the edges of the smooth stones. Please don’t let me fall.
    I held my breath when I took the first step onto the rocks. I could feel Tommy’s eyes as he watched me from behind. He was probably waiting for me to take that one wrong step and go plummeting into the water.
    Once Tommy crossed, we made our way through the small thicket that divided the field from the river.
    Large, brown vines crawled through the overgrown weeds and wound themselves around the surrounding trees like snakes trying to squeeze the life from their prey. Tristan leaned his back against a tree and crossed his arms; Hawk was by his side.
    “I didn’t think the two of you were ever going to get here,” Tristan said.
    Tommy rolled his eyes. “You weren’t that far ahead of us.”
    Something black fluttered past the corner of my eye. I prayed it was just my imagination again, but it wasn’t. The black butterfly landed on Tristan’s shoulder. He swatted at it, but he missed.
    I hated the rare black butterflies. The days prior to my mother’s execution, one of the winged insects had followed my mother as if it was her shadow. Since then, I had always associated the small shadow with death itself. I hadn’t seen one of them in years. It must have felt the change in the air. It waited to bask in the glory of the death of so many men.
    Tristan tore his eyes from the fluttering shadow and pushed off the tree trunk. He sighed and paced back and forth through the field.
    “We have defend this place. If they get past this field, they’re going to take the castle.” Tristan stopped midway through the tall weeds and turned to face me.
    “If they get past this field, you and your people won’t survive.”
    I didn’t know what made me more anxious – the calmness in Tristan’s voice or the fact that he was telling the truth. My heart beat rapidly, and I hoped no one else could hear it. “How do you plan on stopping them?”
    He resumed pacing. “From what all I’ve heard, Artair’s army isn’t very large, but they’ve never lost a battle before.” Tristan smiled and looked over at Hawk. “But, luckily, neither have we.”
    Tristan’s arrogant smile faded when he looked over at his brother. Tommy stared back.
    “I’m going to lead the first attack. I’ll take two hundred eighty men with me.” Tristan stared into the distance as if he could see over the hills at my cousin’s castle. “Hawk, you’ll come in next. I’m giving you two hundred thirty-seven men. The strongest ones we have.”
    “I’d rather go in with an even number,” Hawk said.
    “Then it’s a good thing you’re number two hundred thirty-eight.”
    Tommy walked over to where Hawk and Tristan stood. “What about me?”
    Tristan sighed and shook his head. I went to Tommy’s side and waited for his assignment. Tommy seemed eager to be a part of the war, but Tristan was reluctant about letting his brother