Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 266 of 619

The feast broke up near midnight. The men drifted to the barracks, full of ale and meat. Ajax stayed at the carved table until only he and Torren remained. Torren had joined the house from the port, a treasury guard for fourteen years, hired for his watch and his hard eyes. He had worked under Bran on the walls and sworn the oath, but Ajax had never brought him in close. He wanted to test the man now, before spring, before he trusted him with idle soldiers. "Stay," Ajax said. "Sit." Torren sat. He said nothing. He waited for the reason. Ajax poured two cups and pushed one across. "You held a gate longer than most men hold anything." "Fourteen years," Torren said. "Then I opened the wrong crate and had to run." Ajax drank. He set his cup down and looked at the man's vest. "Take the vest off." Torren did not move. "Why." "Every man here has done it," Ajax said. "The house touches its own. You saw them do it to Kael. To Aldric." Torren studied him a moment. Then he pulled the vest off and dropped it on the bench. His build was broad and strong. The tribal mark ran down his right arm. "Flex," Ajax said. Torren raised his arm and made a fist. The muscle rose hard. Ajax reached out and closed his hand around the bicep. He felt the weight of it, the years of standing watch built into the arm. He moved his hand to the chest and felt the heat and the rough texture under his palm. "You never quit that gate," Ajax said. "Not for weapons. Not for bodies. Only for a man you wanted to keep alive." "My supervisor," Torren said. "He started asking questions. I got him out." "That's the man I want," Ajax said. He took a flat gold chain from the table, one saved from the last hoard. He laid it over Torren's neck. It fell bright against the dark fabric. Torren looked down at it, then up at Ajax. Ajax leaned in and kissed him. Torren held still one breath, then kissed him back. It lasted long. When Ajax drew away he kept his hand on the man's chest. "Brotherhood," Ajax said. Ajax sat back. He had bound another man close, one who guarded a gate for fourteen years and never broke. Come spring the vault was full and the marks were spent, but he had the kind of man who could hold ground while Ajax found new ground to hold. "You keep the gate when Grayson rides," Ajax said. "Starting tomorrow." Torren touched the chain and nodded. He smiled longingly at Ajax. He slung his vest back over his shoulder and left the hall.