The Shasht War Read Free Page A

Brigade-Colonel Gillo waiting to see him.
    They embraced, took the time to look each other up and down. Both still bore the scars of their encounter with pyluk in the Farblow Hills some years before. Indeed, few mots who had come so close to armed pyluk, had lived to tell the tale. The green-skinned lizard men of the eastern deserts had a well-deserved reputation for ferocity.
    "How did you find the time to come up here?"
    "Well, I was actually the only one who wasn't absolutely needed."
    "How long can you stay?"
    "I'm going back tomorrow."
    "Ah." Meu nodded. "Well, that's quite a hike."
    "We're all used to it now. Glaine's a big place when you're trying to cover all of it against raids."
    Meu understood. He'd been out there in the field in the early part of the winter, before being posted to his current position.
    "Here's my problem," said Thru, handing Meu the paper on the Alvil's orchard back at camp. Thru explained that he needed more space for his troops to set up tents. Meu nodded briskly; this was a familiar problem.
    "I think we can get this indemnity written up pretty fast. I can put in with Major Huba, who feeds those requests to the royal legal department. Huba owes me a favor or two. The King does not need to seal it personally, since it is a document of the Second Tier, you see."
    "Well, that's good to hear. I absolutely have to go back tomorrow morning."
    "And one night of true love, eh?"
    "You've seen her?"
    "Yes, she sought me out when she arrived. Wanted to know all about your adventures."
    "Such as they've been."
    "You were there in Bilauk together weren't you?"
    "Yes." Thru shook his head to dispell the images that name brought up. For a moment Thru was back there in that ruined village, smoke still swirling up from the blackened houses. He could see the mound of heads that the men had left on the jetty. Every person in the village, bar a tiny handful of survivors, had been beheaded and their bodies taken as meat. Meu shifted uneasily on his feet.
    "Yes. Well, let's go find Major Huba and get this indemnity process in motion."
    Huba turned out to be a charming old brilby with white side whiskers that grew down below his chin.
    "Gracious," he said. "I know the dear old Alvil of Panute. Oh, yes."
    The indemnity was written up in no time, then signed and sealed. Thru and Meu parted company with a hug and a promise to dine together the next time Thru reached the city. Then Thru headed for the Outer Ward.
    Whiteflower Lane was a street he knew well. On that street were a few houses and three famous inns. During the previous winter when he'd been billetted in Sulmo, Thru had visited them often. Even in wartime these kitchens turned out food in the manner of the Land.
    Gardens filled with lush vegetable growth went all the way up to the edge of the street. No space was wasted. The fragrance of gardenias filled the air. He found the house quite easily, two stories of wood on a brick foundation. His knock brought her to the door.
    "Thru!" was all she had time to say before she vanished into his arms. They stayed that way, rocking back and forth in the doorway for a long time.
    "Oh, my love, my darling, my only Thru," she babbled as they kissed and nuzzled and kissed again. After a separation of almost a year, it was almost overwhelming to be together once more.
    They sat together on the little bench at the back of the whitewashed cottage. The garden was filled with blooming asteria and wild yellow foxgloves. Thru felt alternating surges of wonder and pure happiness. This was something he'd dreamed of for most of the last year.
    He saw her examining him, seeing the red pin of rank on his coat, and the frayed edges and worn cuffs of most of his clothes.
    "How did you do it?" she said, somewhere between tears and joy. "I thought you would be tied up in Glaine for months."
    "I had business here." He grinned at her look of disbelief.
    "Really. I had to get some legal paper signed. My brigade is jammed into a tiny camp