Chapter Twenty-Nine

They were late. Enge was surveying the surroundings from the master bedroom in the mansion. He'd arrived as scheduled two days prior, as had the survivors from two of the other towns, along with their escorts.

He'd sent a company of men on to search for the Captain. They hadn't returned yet, and he was growing worried. The kid, Tressa, wasn't showing it as much but he could tell she was worried too.
She warmed up nicely. He'd had a talk with the Captain before they'd left town. Once he'd mentioned it to Tressa she'd been much nicer. The whole witch thing was mostly just an act. Deep down, she was just a frightened kid who'd been through some pretty wierd stuff and wanted to feel safe.
She read a lot, and not just school type stuff. Enge had never been much of a reader; his parents had been in prison and he'd never really recieved much of an upbringing. He might not have the same intrests or abilities that she did, but he could sympathize with her experiences. He got the impression that she felt the same way. Their relationship made him wonder how any of his own children were right now. He knew he had them; with the number of women he'd known in his life it was inevitable that at least one of them would be raising one. Maybe they were cursing him for leaving, he hoped at least one of them would want him back one day. With the payoff the captain was promising he might be able to look them up, settle down somewhere.

He'd never thought this far ahead. He'd always asumed he'd die fighting, eventually everyone did. He'd seen all his friends and comrades die at some point; the fact that he'd survived so long is why the captain had bothered to befriend him. It had become mutual, but it would never be quite the same as a friendship between equals. The captain was the captain, and in the end they both knew which relationship was more important. If it hadn't been for Tress coming along, he probably never would have thought further than the next job.

There. Dust on the road, the captain would be returning now. But there wasn't as much as there should have been.
Enge rushed down into the courtyard.
"I need medics. You men come with me."
"Aye sir."

Kiera hopped off of the lead truck.
"I need medical personel now!"
"Right here milady."
"Enge, is there a medical facility set up yet?"
"It's in an outbuilding, servants quarters. This way."
They brought the trucks around to the servants quarters and started unloading the wounded. Enge gasped when he saw the captain among them.
"What happened? Is he going to be ok?"
Kiera was practically screaming orders to the nurses now. Enge realized that whatever had happened, he wasn't going to learn anything from her.
"Enge, what happened?"
Tressa was standing next to Enge, looking startled.
"I wish I knew kid. The captains been injured, and her ladyship is getting hysterical."
"Oh, I'll handle this then." She glanced over at Kiera, "Seithe"
Kiera yawned, and walked of toward the mansion after prompting by one of the nurses.
"All right people! Guards, go fetch the cots, tents, and tarps and set them up here. Nurses get inside and set up the medical equipment; doctors start prioritizing patient status. Get those in critical condition inside for imediate attention."
"What about the captain?"
"Take him upstairs, I'll take care of him. Then start organizing the men to defend the mansion if we have to."
"You'll take care of him? When did you become a doctor?"
Tressa started running back up to the mansion, "When I started living with a witch."