Jalaya
is the fourth and final short story to be found in
An Anthology of Battle.
It is also available as a stand-alone short story.
Michael bound to the village chief and
his soldiers by nanotechnology that provides a unique mental link. With it, he
commands a military force divided into Marks, and inherited the duty of
Protector. Ten years ago, he helped his community fight free of its township
and become nomads so they could survive the depredations of fierce raiders. Ten
years ago, he was forced to choose between duty to his people, and love for
Caroline, his wife-to-be. When he left the city with his daughter, Caroline
refused to go with them. Once a year, when their migration takes them close, he
takes watch above the town, leaving a white flower at its edge. Every year,
Caroline dances through the streets—for him. Every year, he watches from the
hills, hoping she will join him. This year, the raiders attack, and everything
changes.
Jalaya
is a story of battle, family, and sacrifice. It is a story of heroes,
fire-fights, wits and courage. And it is the story of a last battle in a
ten-year war.
Jalaya
is available on Smashwords, Amazon, Kindle, Nook and at the iTunes Store.
First Page: Jalaya
Michael
looked down at the town in the sand. Red, flat roofs of clay interspersed by
the elegant, wooden gables of buildings from northern climes, still stood in a
basin of protective hills. From where he stood, the rotting boards were
invisible, as was the sand that swirled along the unkempt streets.
He
tried to see the town as it had been ten years before. There had been trees
standing inside walled islands of stone dotting the center of the main streets,
and the sweetly scented jalaya flowered beneath them. There had been window
boxes full of color clinging to the walls and the town had been white, the
color of snow and light-hearted purity, not red, the color of old blood and
war.
Caroline
had danced in the streets with him on the first day of the new year, and the
unseen rains had made the river roar with pride as it rushed between the white
stone walls of the canal. That had been ten years ago when the Scorpions had
first attacked, and the town had emptied shortly thereafter.
Caroline’s
family had disappeared in the melee, along with his son, but Caroline had
refused to grieve them. They were safe, she insisted. His son was safe, but he
had to take their daughter. Michael had had no time to argue or grieve and
clung to her promise. His son was safe. His daughter would be safe with him,
but of his bride-to-be…
Caroline
had refused to go. She said she had duties that must be attended. She had asked
him to stay. Michael had possessed other duties, other responsibilities that
forced him to leave her behind, so she said she would dance the streets on the
first day of every new year in his memory. When he had protested that the day
was no longer safe, she had promised to dance at night.
Michael
had begged her to come with him, to wed him in the desert. Caroline’s eyes had
glistened with tears when she said she had to stay, the reasons secret until
they married and united as family. She had said she would not take him from his
duties, hugged him fiercely tight, and then fled swiftly away.
Caroline
would dance again tonight, without his arms to hold her as she wound her way
through the streets. She would raise her voice in bittersweet song, her body
clad in the white of a bridal gown that had never seen a wedding day. And
Michael would watch her from his place upon the hill.
Once,
during all her dancing and serenade, Caroline’s steps would bring her to the
edge of the town. She would stretch her arms towards where he sat, folding back
towards herself as she waved to him, beckoning him with her body and her hands.
She would pause there, the song momentarily silent, as she waited for his
response.
END FIRST PAGE
If you would like to read more,
Jalaya
is available on Smashwords, Amazon, Kindle, Nook and at the iTunes Store.
