Chapter 39 #2
As she clambers onto the obstinate stallion, Rheave collects the bundle of additional arrows he constructed. The blankets and camp gear we leave on the floor.
We’re not bringing much other than ourselves on this mission.
Another set of hoofbeats approaches soon after, announcing Alek’s approach.
He slides down from his mount, a little breathless.
“We went through the conversation as soon as we saw the man coming through the forest. Obviously I couldn’t look right at him or he’d know we’d noticed him, but he stopped and seemed to be listening to the whole thing. ”
He’s only just finished speaking when Casimir appears as well, grinning widely from the other stallion’s back. “And that blasted letter just happened to slip from my pocket without my noticing it. The scout will have plenty to tell his associates.”
He hops down and nudges his steed toward me.
I take the stallion’s reins. “You two keep an eye on the camp site and confirm that the march leaves at the right time. There should be some small indication of their passage when they pass through the forest, if you’re watching closely.
Meet up with us while keeping your distance from them, or sound whatever warning you can through the temple and the town if it appears they’re sticking to their original intent. ”
Both of my comrades nod, tense but determined.
“Be careful,” Ivy tells them as I prod my horse to pull ahead of hers.
I set off at a trot. “Let’s ride.”
By the time the Seafell Channel has come into view up ahead, the sun has completely set, only a faint glow lingering on the horizon. We approach the water at a cautious distance from the nearby fort that’s my next destination. A hint of brackish salt laces the air.
It only takes a few minutes to find a suitable boat with its oars. The fishermen who don’t live right on the waterfront have favorite places to stash them that I came to know in the time I was stationed near here.
We already carved Ivy a simple if suitable rod, and I find an old net that would only need a little quick mending for good measure.
“The Darium fortress is almost directly across from here,” I tell her in a low voice. “It shouldn’t be difficult to spot—there aren’t any other buildings nearby. Just make sure no one spots you at an inopportune time.”
“I have lots of practice at sneaking around,” Ivy reminds me, but her expression tightens as she looks across the water. “I’d better get going. The sooner the message is delivered, the more likely they’ll act on it.”
She turns to me to claim a hasty kiss and then shoves the boat off the bank, hopping into it at the last moment. In the thickening darkness, it takes less than a minute for the small craft to blend into the shadows wavering across the water.
Rheave has been waiting back with the horses in the stand of trees where we’ll leave Toast for Ivy to collect him. As I approach, he peers past me as if he was hoping Ivy might have returned with me after all.
“Are you sure it wouldn’t have been safer for one of us to go with her?” he asks.
I’m never going to fault the daimon for his dedication to keeping our woman in one piece.
I give him a gentle clap on the shoulder in an attempt at reassurance, even though my own worries are knotting my stomach. “More people look like more of a threat. Especially when one of them is a large, fit man. She can handle herself.”
Rheave makes a rough sound. “It just doesn’t seem fair that she should have to go alone when the rest of us don’t.” But he draws his posture straighter with an air of resolve I also have to admire. “Now we go to our fort?”
“Now we go to our fort.” As much as we can call it ‘ours’ when we’re about to take it over like an enemy force.
There’s one Silanian fortress watching over the channel in this area, a couple of hours ride from the larger palace in Regica where Konram and his family are currently residing. Unless policies have changed, they’ll have regular patrols along the bank starting not long after dark.
Patrols that could ruin our plan before it’s even really gotten started.
So we simply have to delay them for a while. Ensure both they and our scheme stay safe. It benefits them as much as us.
But as much as I tell myself that, my gut sinks with each stride my stallion takes toward the looming stone walls.
Perhaps my trepidation shows on my face, or perhaps the daimon has simply paid enough attention to past conversations to put the pieces together on his own. After a while, he glances over at me and ventures, “The people at this fort—they used to be your colleagues.”
I nod. “In a way. We were all part of the royal army together. I was never stationed at Fort Cyprian specifically, and I don’t know if any of the soldiers currently posted there ever served under me.”
“But it must be hard. Even though what we’re doing will keep them away from the danger. I wouldn’t like it if I had to do something that would make you—or Alek or Casimir or Ivy—angry, even if it would be good in the end.”
His acknowledgment lifts a fragment of the weight bearing down on me.
I find I can smile at him. “It is hard. But military life is all about making the best of many difficult choices. In a way, I’m using my training even more now than when I was officially a general.”
Rheave smiles back at me. “I’m glad to act as your soldier, then.”
I wouldn’t have thought I could say this when he first stumbled into our midst weeks ago, but I can feel how true it is now. “I’m glad to have you.”
We leave the horses again in the patch of woods nearest Fort Cyprian and make our final approach on foot. As his gaze darts around us watchfully, Rheave walks with a spring in his step, clearly eager to leap into action.
What will the books of history have to say about the former General Stavros when this night is done? What we do here could be seen as a major triumph… or an even greater tragedy of my career than the battle that ended my work in the field.
I push down the gnawing uneasiness and stride onward. I know that I’m doing whatever I can to protect my king and my country. Would I rather stand back and let the scourge sorcerers ruin it all, just to avoid any risk that my name could be tarnished by those who don’t understand?
No. So those doubts should sit down and shut up like new recruits who haven’t yet seen what warfare really means.
Lanterns glow in the big stone building beyond the thick wall that surrounds it. I spot a few soldiers standing atop the wall, but they’re watching for larger threats than a couple of men on foot.
They don’t notice us until we step into the meager light that extends only a few paces beyond the fort.
“Who’s that there?” someone calls down as we approach the door—wood fortified with steel, and presumably still locked with a heavy bar on the inside.
I motion Rheave over to the door and lift my voice. “I’m sorry about this, but it’s necessary to ensure the security of the country. No one is to leave this fortress before the morning.”
“What?” the first soldier says in a bewildered tone.
And then another sucks in a sharp breath. “Is that General Stavros?”
She must have spotted my prosthetic. My stomach contorts into a ball of nausea.
Some of the men and women inside could have served under me while I was still a general. There are so many soldiers who trusted me, counted on me…
I set my jaw. I’m not letting them down tonight. I’m leading them better than I did during my last battle, whether they’ll see it that way or not.
I put on my best commander’s smile and raise the metal hook of a hand to my forehead in a quick salute. “Please stay calm and remain inside these walls until we open the door. As soon as your assistance is needed, we’ll let you know.”
“As soon as you open the door?” someone else mutters, just as I nod to Rheave.
The daimon sets his hands against the door’s edge. His supernatural energy crackles over the surface like tiny streaks of lightning.
The steel border melts into the stone of the frame. He’ll be pushing his power straight through to fuse the crossbar in place as well.
A faint smoky smell laces the air. Rheave yanks his hands back before the wood is outright charred.
A yelp carries from the other side. “What the fuck are they doing?”
A strained chuckle catches in my throat.
Saving Silana is what—with this crazy, last-ditch plan that will hopefully look more like heroics than betrayal by the time we’re through.