Chapter 18
Eighteen
Ivy
Iknow the woman in charge herself has come to meet us when the cloaked figure approaching through the dusk raises a thumbless hand.
“Ivy,” Voleska says in a low voice. “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again. I’m glad my doubts were wrong.”
She steps into the shadows that drape the front of the shuttered shop where Casimir, one of the loyal soldiers, and I are standing.
This small town about halfway between the Temple of Tranquil Skies and Voleska’s home city of Pima is quiet enough that it seems to have been mostly ignored by the Order of the Wild.
But a few patrons are still coming and going from the pub down the street with bursts of spirited voices.
The corner of my mouth quirks upward with a wry smile. “I’m glad too. And it’s good to see you’ve survived the last several weeks as well.”
Voleska dips her head to Casimir in acknowledgment. “I hope the rest of your crew has made it through all right?”
I think of the men I left on the other side of the Eppun border with a mix of fondness and worry. “For now. We’re doing our best to stay that way. Is Emor well?”
A note of affection comes into her voice. I’ve never been sure of her exact relationship with her partner, but it’s clearly close. “Oh, yes, and spitting mad that I’m getting to have this adventure without him.”
My smile tugs wider. “You can apologize to him for that on my behalf. Thank you for coming all this way to speak with us. We didn’t think going right into Nikodi would be wise.”
The co-leader of the main resistance group in Julita’s former county lets out her breath with a hint of a huff.
“A reasonable suspicion. Ever since King Konram’s death, the Order members have gotten even bolder.
We’ve shaken them up as well as we can, but it’s harder to rally more people against them when there’s no clear alternative. ”
It seems word about Petra’s speech in Florian hasn’t reached the far edges of the country yet.
I hesitate, glancing at Casimir. His nod reassures me that he hasn’t seen any sign that Voleska’s goals have shifted.
She’s always been just as dedicated to ousting the scourge sorcerers from her country as we have.
I fold my arms loosely over my chest. “What if I told you that we do have an alternative? That it’s just a matter of clearing the way so they can safely retake the throne?”
Voleska’s pale eyebrows leap up. “What have you got up your sleeve now?”
“The king’s heirs didn’t die. We have a queen ready to rule, if we can present her without the scourge sorcerers murdering her too.”
I don’t get into the specifics of exactly who that queen is, since explaining about the former Prince Dunstam’s transformation and period in hiding would get a little complicated. We can fill Voleska and her allies in on the details when it’s relevant.
Voleska’s eyes have widened. She rubs the stump of her thumb along her jaw, beneath the scar on her cheek that speaks of past troubles she’s survived.
I don’t think her life before the uprising was that much more comfortable than my own on the streets. And I can’t imagine what it was like to give up a chunk of her hand and receive no gift in return—to be a child of twelve realizing the gods had judged your intentions as too selfish.
Even without magic, she’s proven to be a formidable force. No matter what hardships she’s faced before, she’s risen to the challenge of protecting her home.
“That’s a very good thing,” she says in an awed voice. “I should have figured you’d end up in the royal court with all the stubborn heroics you’re fond of. What is it that you think our people can do to help?”
The fact that she leaps straight to offering to get involved is one of the reasons I wanted to reach out to her. When we crossed paths with the resistors in Pima weeks ago, they approached us rather than the other way around, eager to strengthen their efforts against the Order of the Wild.
Voleska’s group is nothing if not dedicated.
My men and I found solid allies during our journeys across the country, even while we were fugitives. And now I can use that luck to Petra’s benefit.
We need to gather as large a resistance as we can, stretching across the entire country, if we’re going to effectively challenge Lothar’s self-appointed authority.
I pull my posture a little straighter. “We’re hoping to undermine the scourge sorcerers’ power and expose the crimes they’ve committed at the same time.
There’s a farm a couple of hours from here where the Order appears to be hiding several of their sacrificial accomplices.
We want to steal them away, and it’ll be easier with assistance. ”
Casimir speaks up in his normal, warm tone. “And I’m sure we’ll have plenty of future missions we’d appreciate your people joining us for afterward, if they’re on board.”
Voleska rubs her hands together. “Anything to stick it to the Order and see them finally knocked on their asses. When do we get started?”
I peer through the thickening dusk behind her. We were hoping to act as early as tonight. But as far as I can tell, she came alone, even though the message we passed on mentioned that we’d welcome more of her colleagues to “collaborate” with us.
“I guess that depends on how long it’ll take you to get a decent force out here—”
The resistance leader chuckles. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. I’ve got a dozen friends waiting on my word right here in town. Didn’t want to have them all stick their necks out until I knew what the story was.”
Relief sharpened by a tingle of excitement sweeps through me.
“Fair enough. We can descend on the farm tonight if you’re up for it.
The rest of our people are waiting across the border, closer to our target—we already have a plan worked out.
” With multiple options depending on whether we brought anyone back with us and how many.
Voleska nods and motions to the far end of the road. “We’ll meet you on the southern road at the edge of town in ten minutes.”
I hold up my hand to stop her. “You know, I realize you and Emor have a lot you’re dealing with back in Pima. I didn’t expect that you’d pitch in here personally.”
“Oh, I’m not missing this. And I’d like to see with my own eyes who all I’m sending my people to work with.” Voleska flashes us a grin and darts off down the street.
When I look at Casimir, he’s smiling. “I don’t think anyone could be more committed than she is.” He motions to the soldier who’s stayed still and silent during our conversation, only there to intervene in case of a threat. “Come, let’s get to the horses.”
By the time a distant bell has rung in the second hour after midnight, some twenty of us are clustered in a patch of forest just down the road from the farm Delfis directed us to.
One of the temple’s devouts who has a gift for calming nerves has come along to help ease the sacrificial accomplices through what’s technically a kidnapping.
Four of the soldiers stand among us, along with Stavros and Rheave—and Voleska’s dozen resistors.
The plan would have been a lot harder to pull off without them in the mix.
Petra almost insisted on joining us, but between Stavros, Tinom, and me, we managed to convince her that ensuring she stays alive overrides any concerns about sharing the risks in our mission. She has several guards with her back at the temple.
Tinom’s magic will conceal her if there’s any significant trouble—and hopefully protect Alek as well. Although he could probably lose himself amid the books in the temple library without any trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still down there reading by lantern-light right now.
Being the one among us most experienced at running military-style operations, Stavros has taken the lead. He’s already spoken with Voleska’s people to get an idea of their strengths and is now splitting our group into four.
He points at two of the groups. He assigned Filip to one of them, presumably to keep the Order defector and possible traitor away from the most essential parts of the plan.
“You and you will go to the left and right of the farmhouse, staying several paces from the walls. Set the fires and keep out of view until our enemies come running to see what the matter is. Disarm and disable them however you see fit.”
The former general swivels toward Casimir, one of the soldiers, and a couple of Voleska’s leaner followers. “You four will get the wagon into place and come forward to help usher the sacrificial accomplices over there.”
He turns to face the rest of us, including me, Rheave, and the devout with the calming gift.
“I’ll be leading the final group right into the building.
We’ll deal with any other sorcerers on the premises and retrieve the sacrificial accomplices.
They’ll be distracted by the fires, but that doesn’t mean we should be careless.
The faster we can take them down before they realize we’re there, the better. ”
I nod, my heart thudding. My magic wriggles between my ribs and tugs at my gut, but I squash it down.
I’ve pulled off plenty of schemes like this without relying on it before. If I’m going to risk my sanity, it’s not going to be to enhance my stealth skills.
Stavros makes a sweeping motion with his prosthetic hand. “Move out.”
Along with a few of Voleska’s best fighters and the rest of our soldiers, I follow Stavros through the trees and skirt the edge of the forest until we’re directly across from the farmhouse. There’s still about a minute’s dash across open ground from here to the farm’s low stone wall.
Moonlight casts a faint glow over the terrain. A few dark figures prowl around the property’s perimeter.
Stavros drops his voice to a murmur. “As soon as the fires flare, we run for the wall, two at a time, on my signal. Stay low and as quiet as possible.”
I wet my lips, anticipation thrumming through my veins.