The Betrayed Read Online Free

were given a shelter to live in. They were given jobs that fit their skills. Some were even given new names. All sins were forgiven. It was like being born again. And in return, the newcomers promised to live by the Code for the rest of their lives. A fair bargain, by far.
    The long train of soldiers was trundling down the Old Road, raising a huge cloud of dust that looked like a sandstorm. It was what had drawn Ewan’s eye in the first place.
    “Ewan, you fool, get down here!” Ayrton called in a subdued hiss.
    Ewan spun to see his friend standing some twenty paces away, tense and poised to flee, hidden below the top of the hill.
    “What’s wrong?” Ewan called back.
    “If those soldiers see you, we’ll be in a lot of trouble. Come on. Stop playing, and come here!”
    The lad did not leave, but he slowly knelt and blended into the high summer grass. He kept his eye on the jangling snake of men and animals moving ever deeper into the Safe Territories. It was hard to tell details or their exact numbers, but they were numerous. You could feel the heat emanating from that huge train, a collective sweat of thousands of soldiers and pack mules. A solid hum of chaos pervaded the landscape, almost like a fog.
    “They won’t hurt us,” Ewan recited.
    Ayrton rolled his eyes. “A beast does not care when it steps on an ant. Come here.”
    Ewan turned back to see his friend crouching behind him, his face dark. The old, puckered scar down the side of his cheek was whiter than ever before.
    The older man was one of the Outsiders. He had come from one of the surrounding kingdoms one day, wearing torn clothing and bleeding from a dozen wounds. He had never spoken of the world he had left, but it was obvious that he knew what armies were. He had been a soldier once. Ewan knew that.
    “For the last time, boy, let’s go, or I’ll have to hit you on the head with this.” He shook his quarterstaff.
    Grudgingly, Ewan withdrew from the hilltop and let the magnificent view of the army slide away. He was curious and wanted to know more. Never before had he seen something like that. Life in the Territories was peaceful and uneventful.
    “What shall we do?” he asked.
    Ayrton shrugged. “Nothing really. We’ll let them pass and then get back to the village.”
    Ewan pointed behind him. “We should inform the patriarchs. They must know about this.”
    The man with the scar smiled softly, as softly as his hard, scarred face permitted. “Son, trust me. They already know.”

    Ewan was shocked to see his friend among the dozen or so men readying to leave the next morning. Coming out of the monastery after the Morning Prayer, he found Ayrton in the village square, packing. Dozens of bewildered people, mostly young brothers, stood and stared at the twenty or so men strapping bags and tools to their horses.
    Questions rushing like a rapid inside his head, Ewan approached his old friend. Ayrton had been almost like an older brother to him for a decade. A mentor, really. He had taught him so many things about life. And now, he was leaving.
    “Good morning, Ewan.”
    That seemed to unlock his tongue. “What are you doing?”
    “Readying to leave. The patriarchs have issued the Call to the Cause. I have decided to go.” Ayrton closed another bulging saddlebag, fumbling with the straps.
    “But you do not have to go.” The Call was voluntary.
    “Son, you have so much to learn about life.” Ayrton tugged on one of the straps twice. “When you come to a new place and they welcome you in, give you a home to live in, give you food, treat your wounds, give you a new life, give you a future…do you really think it’s all for free? There’s always a price to be paid.”
    Ewan was not really sure what Ayrton was saying. “I’ll go too,” he said after a long pause.
    Ayrton did not raise his eyes, but he gave the second strap a powerful, sharp yank, so that it snapped like the tip of a whip. “Ewan, you are a young brother. You have