“Ah, I see now. Up north, we don’t know much about you Ivory Shadow warriors. We just knew you flew with the king in Olost.” Kick nodded slowly. “Sounds good, having a family like that.”
“It is,” Mat whispered, for a moment aching to be back with them. “That’s just half of it. There’s Nevyn and Varon, who are best friends of Kian. Kian is my wife’s father by formal adoption and there’s the rest of the family to account for. Senri, Willem, Gentrin, and a new baby on the way. Bryn is a close friend of Nevyn and Varon as well, and he’s married—”
“To your wife,” Kick said with a soft chuckle. “Females tend to do that. Tie everyone together.”
“They do.” Mat looked into the woods, listening. There were the natural sounds of birds and a stream nearby, but nothing out of the ordinary. “How’s the northern community?”
“Leria and Seanev stand above us. Leria is a great mativa but hands-off when it comes to really knowing us. There’re too many of us for her to know. Seanev knows all of his warriors. He’s a fantastic commander, but seeing him alone and seeing him at Leria’s side? Two different males. He’s entirely focused on her when she’s around.”
“Of course.” Mat accepted that. He had a hard time focusing when Mave was around and he didn’t have a blood bond.
“She also doesn’t like your Champion,” Kick admitted, sounding a little guilty. “Seanev doesn’t make his opinion known, but…Seanev and Mave are the last of the Lorrens. I’ve heard it’s complicated.”
“You have no idea,” Mat said with a heavy sigh. “Complicated doesn’t begin to describe it.” He’d been told about Leria’s behavior with Seanev, and no one in the Company was ignorant of Mave’s feelings about the couple. They’d all thought Seanev would remain loyal to his wife, but even that assumption was thrown out with his decision to leave his wife. “It’s all personal from my understanding. There’s a lot of history there that can’t be undone or changed.”
“The woes of family,” Kick said softly. “That I understand much better. I’ve watched all of mine die.”
“Yeah…” Mat thought of his uncle. He spent as many days and nights as he could with the old male, knowing his time was running short. The years took a greater toll on him every year, but he’d stuck around for a long time for Mat, for the Company. Mat leaned over, putting his elbows on his knees, resting his head in his hands as he considered the change it was going to be for his uncle to leave them in the fall. Leshaun deserved to rest. He had hoped to retire years ago before Shadra had attacked them in Olost, and the stress of the rebellion put a good five hundred years on him overnight. It wasn’t just his duties as spymaster. At his age, he shouldn’t have been teaching new Blackbloods because of the stress it put on his body.
They settled into silence, and Mat felt closer to this older male, thanks to the talk. He’d liked Kick from the beginning of the trip and was glad to finally get the chance to have a private conversation. As their watch drew closer to the end and midday was approaching, Mat decided to ask the male one more question.
“How did you get your name?”
“If we live through this mission, I’ll tell ya,” the old male answered with a wry smile. “Deal?” He extended a hand.
Mat accepted, grinning. “Deal. Now let’s wake up these lazy pigeons.”
Kicks laughed softly, and together, they went to slowly wake up each Andinna individually to keep from making too much noise. Mat knew they were too far from the Elvasi camp to get caught, but it was still better to speak softly and pack up quickly.
“Make sure everything is ready to go. Roll up those bedrolls. When we get back, we’re jumping on the horses and moving.”
He got silent nods in return. Zayden came up to his side and stifled a yawn.
“Wake up,” he ordered his friend. “Can’t have you feeling drowsy for this.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Zayden muttered, smirking. “I sleep better when I have—”
“Let’s talk about that on the way home,” Mat said with a smirk of his own.
“You can’t deny being in the woods like this doesn’t remind you of her,” the cranky male said with a soft punch to his arm. “Especially after that wild night—”
Mat reached out and put a hand over his mouth.
“Again, let’s save it for when we’re done with this mission. Then we can get back to daydreaming about home.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to be ready, standing in front of him and Zayden.
“We’re splitting into two smaller teams,” Mat explained as he had before. This was already decided, but a quick reminder before a mission never hurt. “Does anyone here not remember who they were assigned with?”
No hands went up.
“Good. Then split in the middle. If you’re with me, come over. If you’re with Mat, go to his side,” Zayden continued.
Mat watched patiently as the team split. Kick was on his side, which was exciting. He wanted to see what the older male could do.
“We’re entering the valley from two sides, with this being our meeting place. No one leaves until the other unit comes back or dawn hits. Once dawn comes over the horizon, if you’ve made it here, get on your horse and leave, and for the love of the Skies, don’t take anyone else’s horse, thinking you might need it. You might strand someone walking home by themselves.” Zayden sent a glare around the group.
“The mission is simple. We’re sneaking into the camps and finding their supply stores. We set them on fire, then get out. Both Zayden and I have fast burning fat that will speed the process. We should be able to do a lot of damage before this is over. We won’t stick around to see how it plays out. We just have to hope it’s effective.”
“You ready?” Zayden asked softly, leaning to him.
“Yeah. You?”
“For her,” his friend said with a smile. This one wasn’t joyful. It was trouble. Mat smiled back.
“For her,” he agreed. They both knew Mave wanted to be out there, taking Elvasi heads for herself. They would do this for her and make it home.
They launched into the air as a unit, dividing as they came over the treetops. They flew low, skimming branches precariously to keep from being too obvious. It was a long flight at a fast pace, the sun moving further to the west and going behind the mountains, giving them a dark shade that helped conceal them further.
Mat picked the clearing to land in with his unit. He held up a hand, indicating he wanted silence. The sun was now truly falling, the light in the sky becoming a deep blue and closing in on a black night every moment. Stars were beginning to show up above their heads, and he caught a glimpse of the red moon rising.
He drew his sword and waved for his warriors to follow him as he began to work his way through the thick underbrush and trees. It was a good sign because it told him the Elvasi didn’t patrol very far out of their camp, so he didn’t need to worry about seeing them just yet.
They moved silently until he could see the edge of a cliff. He crouched down and moved low, tucking his wings in close, so they didn’t hit anything.
I wish I were sneaky like Bryn. He’s so good at this part.
Once on the cliffside, Mat smiled. Below, there was little activity. Only a few fires were lit, and some Elvasi wandered around, but it wasn’t bustling with activity.
“How do we get down?” a warrior asked behind him.
“Carefully,” Mat answered. “Follow my lead.”
He edged closer and checked the shadows. His side of the valley was covered in the red glow of the moon, which would make it obvious they were climbing down. That was a problem he was grateful Zayden wouldn’t have. The south side of the valley was in the deep shadow of a mountain, thanks to the angle of the moon.
Mat moved east, looking for a trail down. It was risky since an Elvasi could be patrolling or guarding it, but that was a chance they had to take. They would get spotted climbing down the cliff without a doubt.
He found what he was looking for, a trail
on an incline instead of sheer cliffside. Down the trail were two guards in leather armor, waiting with a couple of torches to light their area. A simple entrance, probably for patrols to come and go.
Mat pointed for his Andinna to follow him, circling wide around the guards, who seemed relaxed and out of it. Typical night watch boredom. Mat knew the curse of being night watch and getting sloppy. He’d only ever made that mistake once after Alchan whacked him, then Leshaun whacked him when Alchan was done with him.
Mat took his warriors as close to the Elvasi as he felt comfortable, holding up a fist to make them wait. They spent the last month making sure everyone knew the hand symbols, and he was glad to see it had stuck.
He readied his sword, his eyes flicking around to see if there were any other watchers.
Once he confirmed there weren’t, he struck, and Kick followed him. As Mat stabbed into the back of one, Kick rushed around him and drove his sword into the chest of the second. They didn’t let the bodies drop and make any more noise. Dragging the dead Elvasi soldiers into the forest cover, they propped them up behind trees, out of sight from the torches.
Mat then led his warriors into the camp. They were all attentive.
“Fucking Andinna,” an Elvasi said from one of the makeshift buildings. Mat threw up a fist and pointed to a shadowed space between two tents. They ducked together, waiting. “Do they really think their tricks will save them from the might of the Empire? The only reason they have any victories in this sad rebellion is they play dirty.”
“Yeah, I think they’re just suicidal at this point,” another said. “If they really want to die, we can do that. I’d much rather be at home with my girl than here, though.”
“That’s right! You just got married last year.”
“I did, but then I heard these barbarians killed Prince Lothen. I wasn’t going to miss out on getting revenge for that.”
Mat listened for footsteps, hearing them retreat as the conversation continued. Once he was certain they were gone, he looked around the corner, and they kept moving. It didn’t take long to find a potential target. It was late, and the building was quiet, but a quick look inside told Mat it was the mess, where they met for meals. The food stores are either inside or close by. Those would be better. We could do both, though.
He looked into the next building and found exactly what he wanted. Kick was suddenly beside him, flint in hand. Mat nodded at him as the other warriors took defensive positions around him. Mat poured half of the skin’s liquid onto the packages and crates inside, focusing on open food items like potatoes. Once he was done, he stepped outside and moved to the mess, covering the door and its frame in the remaining liquid.
Kick was there suddenly, giving him a thumbs up. Mat looked at the storage building, its door closed. Smoke was beginning to creep out. Kick lit the door, and they started moving again, knowing they had to go fast. Mat led. They were passing the dead guards when the fire alert started, and Elvasi began to wake up. Mat took a quick second to look down at camp from the cliff and smiled as the fire began to rage, and the Elvasi scrambled to put them out.
For the Andinna. For Mave.
Everything wasn’t perfect, though. He stood there a moment longer than he should have and saw a handful of Andinna flying out of the other side of the camp. Arrows were following them, and one of the warriors fell from the sky, disappearing into the camp.
No.
20
Zayden
Everything had gone so well at the beginning. Zayden had led his unit to the cliff and discovered he was on the better side of the valley, with the deep shadow of the mountain working in his favor. He’d climbed down first, taking the risk, and they followed him shortly once he secured the place they could come down to. They had found an armory and a supply building, dousing them both with the flammable liquid.
That was where it went wrong.
“Who’s there?” an Elvasi called out. Zayden turned quickly, seeing the dark silhouette of the enemy, too far away for him to strike.
“Stop him,” Zayden snapped, wondering why none of the other Andinna had jumped into action yet.
Tekyv jumped forward a heartbeat later, his sword already drawn, and cut the Elvasi down before the poor bastard even had a chance to speak another word, but the kill made noise because Tekyv let the body drop. A bone-crunching thud marked the death of the Elvasi soldier, and it was bound to draw more attention. Zayden was sure of it.
“Get the fires going,” he ordered, walking away from the group. He only went ten paces before he heard the first bad sign—more footsteps. He turned back and hissed. “Hurry!”
Finally, the crackle of a fire began, eating into the wood structure they had chosen. Zayden turned back to keep his watch and saw them coming out of tents now. Elvasi eyes widened as they saw him.
Why do I keep finding myself in these positions? I need to stop entering enemy encampments, Skies damn it.
He turned and moved quickly back to his warriors. One was using a makeshift stick to grab some of the flames and move it to the second building.
“We need to get into the air,” he ordered. “Now.”
A twang called his eyes to its source. He saw an Elvasi smiling in the firelight, arrow up.
“Stand down, or we’ll kill another,” he ordered softly. “Surrender.”
Another? Zayden took a chance to look down and saw the blood spread around his feet. Fire was lighting up the area, and Elvasi began to scream on the other side of the camp, but Zayden’s eyes were only drawn to Tekyv, now on the ground, an arrow going into one of his eyes.
At least it was quick.
He looked around quickly. There were a dozen Elvasi around them, and he wasn’t sure how they got there or how they moved so quickly. Was this an ambush? A trap? Or were they just nearby and realized something was happening they could take advantage of?
“Surrender, Andinna,” another Elvasi snapped in anger.
Surrender. They’re asking for surrender. That’s positive to end up in torture for information and execution down the line, but they aren’t killing us. Not yet. I don’t know how they got here, but that gives us a chance. They don’t have fucking nets on them, at least.
Zayden dropped his sword, letting it hit the ground hard, so everyone heard it drop without a chance to second guess it.
“Sir!” another Andinna gasped.
“Do as I do,” he said with as much resolve as he could. “I’m the commander of this unit. You’ll follow orders.”
He heard their blades hit the ground. Zayden knew this was risky. He knew they would all lose their weapons, but weapons were replaceable—lives were not. His job was to get out of this mission with as few casualties as possible.
Zayden watched the Elvasi around them. Those with bows lowered them as those with swords drew close. Once those bows were pointed at the ground, Zayden smiled.
“Have a nice evening. Hope the fires keep you warm.” He jumped in the air and spun to see his warriors. “Fly!”
They rose up with him. They made it halfway up the cliff before the arrows started to fly by them in the sky. Zayden heard a scream and looked down for only a moment to see another of his warriors fall, but he couldn’t stop. He made it to the top of the cliff and grabbed another warrior, pulling him out of the line of fire. A third landed with him, then a fourth.
“Let’s go!” he ordered. “Run and don’t stop. Forget the weapons. Fly when we get back to our landing clearing!”
He ran with them but heard the sound of horses being woken from the camp, mixing in with the rest of the chaos. They reached the clearing before any Elvasi reached them. Zayden was the last in the air, watching his warriors get into the air before following them. They flew hard and fast. Zayden tried not to think about the two bodies he left behind. He couldn’t think about them yet.
When Zayden crash-landed into the valley where they had hidden their horses, he was tackled to the ground.
“Get off me, Mat!”
he yelled. “Get off.”
“I thought it was you,” the male whispered, holding him close anyway. “Skies, I thought it was you.”
“I’m not that fucking easy to kill,” he growled. “You know that.”
“Who did we lose?” Mat asked, finally pulling away.
Zayden took the chance to get back on his feet and dust off, glaring at his friend.
“Tekyv and Satien,” he answered finally, sighing. “Tekyv was killed first. Arrow to the eye. They wanted to capture us. Idiots forgot nets, so it was probably a rush decision when they realized we were there. Satien was shot out of the sky as we were leaving.”
“Where’s your sword?” Mat was frowning now, looking him over.
“We left them. I had the group pretend we were surrendering to get the Elvasi to relax just enough for us to jump into the air and start our escape.” Zayden sighed, rubbing his face. “Could have gone better.”
“Could have gone worse,” Mat countered. “We’ll say a prayer for Tekyv and Satien at our next rest spot. We won’t be able to recover their bodies.”
“We never can,” Zayden whispered. Mat thumped his shoulder and started moving. Zayden watched him get to his own horse, then realized everyone was watching him and had heard the entire conversation. That wasn’t a bad thing, but it made him feel guilty. He’d lost two. Mat had gotten out with everyone, but he had lost two in a sloppy capture attempt by Elvasi.
He pulled himself onto his horse, sad he didn’t have his sword on him anymore, but he still had a dagger. He tried to think about the sword because it was easier than thinking about the two warriors.
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