Chapter 28 Kiera
Kiera
Two Shadow-Wolves stepped out from behind the bushes.
My heart climbed into my throat, even though I knew it was just Aiden and Maz in disguise. But the snarling metal masks still sent a bolt of fear through me.
“Fucking Four, that’s eerie,” Ruru muttered.
The slimmer one—Aiden—stopped in front of me. Even though the mask had eye holes, I couldn’t see his eyes.
I fought the urge to run.
His gloved hand clasped mine. “Be careful,” he said, his voice distorted behind the metal. “Remember, if we’re not out by dawn, go back to Yargoth.”
Before I could question myself, I threw my arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly, the silky cloth cool on my cheek. Aiden embraced me as if he’d been waiting for this very moment. His masked chin nestled into my neck, sending tiny shivers across my skin.
Gods, this was strange. But I might never get another chance.
“Don’t get caught, my little thief,” he whispered before pulling away.
“Never,” I said with a brave smile.
He moved to Nikella, who grasped his arms and whispered something to him.
I hurried over to hug Maz, my worry nearly choking me.
“Protect, lovely,” he rumbled in my ear.
I blinked back tears. “Protect, Maz. Make sure you both come back.”
He dipped his head, his mask flashing in the bare moonlight.
Yarina grasped his arm. “Remember, don’t say a word. No swearing. No threats. Just wave your sunstone shit around, and people will do what you want.”
“I’ll try my best,” he said dryly, rolling his shoulders, as if nervous.
“Mazkull,” Sigrid said, her voice thick and scratchy. She held her arms tightly around her body. “If you . . . if you see Bruna or Tarza or Zekrill or . . . any of the others, you can’t say anything to them. Don’t give yourself away.”
Maz hesitated, then nodded.
Sigrid rarely let her emotions out, so she must care deeply about the captured Dags she’d mentioned. I wondered if any of them were still alive.
Like two shadows, Aiden and Maz melted into the night. Ruru stood shoulder to shoulder with me. Jek grabbed Nikella’s hand, and I was surprised when she didn’t remove it.
“We worked so hard to get those boys out of that gods-damned cave,” Jek muttered.
“We’ll get them back again,” Nikella said. “But we need to do our part.”
An hour later, I caught my first glimpse of Calimber. The encampment gleamed like an ember in the plain. Hundreds of tents in neat rows formed a barrier on every side.
Of course, I couldn’t see the mine from here. It’d be underground. A network of tunnels in the cliffs facing the Niviath Sea.
Ozlow shifted under me as if he could feel my trepidation. There were so many soldiers. Eight of us against an army. And deep beneath a canopy of sunstone, dozens, maybe hundreds, of prisoners.
My jaw tightened.
“Fucking Four, this helmet stinks.”
“Quiet,” Jek growled at Yarina.
I couldn’t blame her. I wanted to claw this dead soldier’s clothes from my body. They reeked of blood and body odor. I supposed the scent would help sell the disguise.
“Make it fast. Make it loud,” Jek said.
Yarina nudged me with her armored elbow. “Just the way I like it.”
A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it.
Jek glared at both of us. Clearly, this wasn’t the time for lewd jokes. But the humor calmed me the tiniest bit.
We watched the perimeter guards circle east, away from the large horse pen we’d marked as our target.
“Let’s go,” Nikella barked.
We rode toward the pen. A few guards leaned against the fence, smoking pipes. They straightened when we approached, their hands going to their sword hilts.
The first test.
The Dags had shoved their braided hair up into their helmets, and we women had smeared dirt on our faces. The bulky uniforms would hopefully give the impression of broad shoulders and no breasts.
Ruru, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet since we’d finalized our plan, had also smudged mud on his chin to look older.
“A little early for patrol change, aren’t you?” asked one guard, squinting at us in the torchlight.
“Two of our men got drunk and wandered off a cliff last night,” Jek said with a shrug. “Figured I’d report it now and wait for replacements where there’s better food. Any meat tonight?”
The guards relaxed a bit, not seeming to care that two soldiers were dead.
“Rabbit again,” spat the second guard. “Get it from the cook near the High General’s tent. He burns it the least.”
Jek dipped his head. “Much obliged.”
He dismounted, and we imitated him.
“You two,” he barked at me and Ruru, “go find us some meat while we take care of the horses.”
Heart in my throat, I nodded with a grunt while Ruru answered in a deep voice, “Yes, sir.”
The second guard gave us an odd look. I turned my face away and hurried toward the tents with Ruru at my side.
I didn’t want to do this part, least of all with Ruru. But not being a Dag or a woman, he had the best chance of getting close to soldiers without raising suspicion.
Loud laughter and male conversation emanated from between the tents. My skin prickled like I was walking back into the Den.
Just because these men didn’t wear the masks didn’t mean they weren’t also wolves of a sort.
They may be wolves, but you are not prey. Aiden and Maz are counting on you.
I wanted to squeeze Ruru’s hand for good luck, but couldn’t risk it.
He grinned at me as though we were simply going to the market for some sticky bread.
We strode into the camp like we were meant to be there.
Soldiers in violet Rellmiran uniforms lounged around wooden tables, drinking and playing Death and Four.
Others marched past in full armor. Their spears glinted in the firelight of many braziers that squatted near every tent.
We skirted around a few soldiers on horseback who rushed through with taut brows and sharp commands to make way.
Keeping our heads down, we walked east toward the mine and the cliffs. Our distraction needed to be as close to the entrance as possible so Aiden and Maz could slip inside unnoticed.
Ruru swiped an abandoned mug from a table as we passed. He sniffed it. “Ale. Good enough.”
Finally, we neared the end of the tents. A wide clearing encased by a high stone wall lay beyond. In the middle of it was a great hole, with steps descending into darkness. Guards with torches, bows, and swords stood at the entrance.
My throat suddenly felt parched. How many people were down there? What did the sunstone look like, still embedded in the rocky caves?
I glanced around, but didn’t see Aiden and Maz. They must be hiding nearby. Waiting.
A small group of soldiers huddled around a barrel playing a heated game of Death and Four next to a few tents I hoped were theirs. A huge, red-haired soldier warmed his hands over a sizzling brazier, calling out colorful insults to the players.
“All yours,” I muttered.
Ruru stumbled toward them, pretending to drink from his stolen cup. “Hey! Hey, I get next game.”
The soldiers looked up. “Get lost, boy,” one snarled.
“Yeah, border patrol can play with the infantry,” the red-haired soldier sneered, jerking his thumb back the way we’d come. “Not the officers.”
I edged toward the nearest tent and peeked inside. A shirtless man was sprawled across his bunk, snoring loudly. I nonchalantly walked to the next.
“Hey, I just got paid,” Ruru said, slurring his words. He jangled a coin purse in front of their faces, which immediately turned greedy. “I want to play with real opponents. Not those baby infantry.”
A soldier guffawed. “You’re barely older than a baby yourself, boy.”
“Wanna bet?” Ruru shook the coins under his nose.
He scowled. “Fine. Next game.”
They would probably fleece Ruru, but that was part of the plan.
I checked two more tents while they focused on their game, pausing whenever soldiers walked or rode by. At last, I found an empty one within eyeshot of the entrance.
I darted inside. I needed to work quickly before Ruru ran out of coins, or the soldiers ran out of patience.
The tent held two wooden bunks, a chest, and a table with one chair. A lone lamp sat on the table, its flame turned down. The only light came from outside the tent walls.
Fingers shaking, I carefully took apart the metal lantern, preserving the smoldering, oil-soaked wick. Then I dumped the rest of the oil over every wooden surface in the tent. It wasn’t nearly as much as I’d hoped, but it would have to do.
Raucous cheers and groans came from outside. Had Ruru lost already?
Shit, shit, shit.
I kneeled next to the oil-soaked chair and laid our last fireseed on it. Nikella said the fireseed would catch on any amount of burning material. And to run when it did.
Holding my breath, I carefully dangled the smoldering wick over the fireseed.
“Wait a moment!” a rough male voice came from just outside the tent. “I’m going to grab more wine.”
I froze as a hand parted the tent flaps.
Nowhere to hide. I couldn’t cover up what I’d done. He’d know it wasn’t an accident.
“Liar!” Ruru shouted. “He’s a cheat! He stole some of my coins and is probably going to hide them in his tent.”
The hand disappeared. “What did you say, boy?”
Oh gods, Ruru, what are you doing?
I dropped the wick onto the fireseed. It ignited with a hiss and a loud crack. A flame speared upward, and I stumbled back, tripping over a heavy bag. The fire rippled down the chair and across the floor toward me.
I tossed the heavy bag aside. A bottle rolled out onto the oil-soaked rug. The wine.
Screaming silent curses, I flung myself at the back wall of the tent and cut a long slit through the fabric with Mother’s knife.
I escaped the tent and raced around it. My eyes widened.
Two of the soldiers were holding Ruru by his arms to let a third soldier deliver punches to his face and ribs. Their makeshift table had overturned—ale, tiles, and coins spilled everywhere.
Rage burned through my veins. “Let him go!” I shouted.
The big, red-haired soldier who was hitting Ruru stopped and spun around. His eyes narrowed on Mother’s knife, which was still in my hand.
“Where did you—”
Boom!
An explosion behind me knocked me to my knees. The soldiers’ faces paled as they stumbled back.
“Fire!” the red-haired man screamed. “Fire! Ring the alarm!”
I twisted around to see a monstrous fire eating through one tent and flicking its many tongues at the ones next to it.
More men shouted, and somewhere a bell rang.
I crawled out of the road as men rushed out of their tents. The soldiers who held Ruru flung him to the side. He rose to his feet, wincing and eyes wide, looking for me.
I scrambled over to him. “Let’s go!”
He nodded and kicked over the brazier, dumping burning wood and hot coals over the soldiers’ spilled drinks. Another fire leaped up on the spot.
I grabbed his arm, and we raced back toward the horse pen.
Soldiers jostled us from every direction as they carried buckets of water toward the fires.
One slammed against me hard enough that I lost my helmet. My braid fell down my back.
Another soldier saw, and his jaw dropped. “You’re a gods-damned woman!”
I brushed past him.
But he shouted. “Spy! She’s a spy!”
“Run!” Ruru yanked on my arm, and we sprinted past the tents.
Something dull and heavy hit me in the back, but I kept running. Jek and the others were waiting, already atop their horses. Nikella held the reins of Ozlow and Ruru’s horse.
Footsteps pounded behind us.
The two guards at the fence stared with open mouths.
“Stop her!” the soldier chasing us roared.
The guards whipped out their swords. Jek, Sigrid, and Yarina pulled out theirs and charged them.
Nikella aimed her bow and an arrow at us. “Split!”
Ruru and I veered away from each other, and she loosed her arrow. It streaked between us. A grunt, and something crashed to the ground.
Ruru and I swung onto our horses.
Metal clashed as the Dags fought the guards. Sigrid stabbed one while Jek and Yarina knocked down the other.
“Go!” Jek roared, jerking his horse to the north and taking off at a gallop.
The rest of us tore after him.
I twisted around to glance back at the encampment. No one pursued us. Shouts and clanging bells still rose to the sky with the sparks I’d set.
We rode hard to the stream and splashed back through to the other side.
The plan was to wait here until Aiden and Maz were back.
We dismounted, panting and sweating. Ruru groaned, still on his horse.
“He was . . . injured,” I said, breathing heavily.
“Get my supplies,” Nikella said as she helped Ruru dismount.
I staggered to the bushes where we’d hidden our bags and other weapons near Wicked, Valiant, and our packhorse. I grabbed Nikella’s bag.
But then a rough hand clamped around my mouth. Cold metal slid against my throat.
“Scream, and I’ll gut you here and now, girl.”