by Lee Hayton
“I wish.” Zen shuffled around in the dirt nearby until he found a comfortable position. “Couldn’t even see the damned things that attacked us, except out of the corner of my eye. Made it hard to fight, I can tell you.”
“How many men did you have?”
“Five dozen.” Zen stared into the fire for a long moment, his throat working. “I guess luck was on my side. One of the beasts knocked me down and I think I blacked out for a minute. When I came to, two men lay on top of me.” He shuddered. “The beasts stripped the flesh from their bones.”
Shandra moved and hugged her brother. “There weren’t anywhere near that many left dead. Some of your men must have escaped the attack.”
“I hope to high heaven you’re right. To lose them all…” His body was shaking as he relived the horror. “The noises the men above me made as they died were nothing compared to the sounds of the things tearing at them. I expected them to gnaw their way down to me, but they either didn’t find me or decided to leave me alone.”
“Well, thank goodness.” Shandra hooked her arm through his. “I wonder if your witch left a piece of a spell in you?”
She was joking but the look on Zen’s face suggested he’d thought of that too. “If so, I owe her two debts of gratitude. If any of my men survived the encounter, I need to get to them and warn them what’s coming.”
He shook his head, looking downcast. “I should’ve listened when they told me not to bring a mage onboard. Now, he’s turned on us and I’ve no one to blame but myself.”
Shandra drew back, flinching. “You brought Cade into your freedom fighters?”
“We weren’t getting anywhere. I thought with his powers, we’d be able to match Wella in a fight. If we can decimate her army, we can drive back the dragons, and the dwarves won’t press forward without them as a backup. The whole war could’ve been over. I could’ve gathered up the spoils and come home a rich man.”
Shandra pushed herself away from Zen in disgust. “Gold? After everything you’ve put our family through, that’s all you care about? Coming home rich?”
“You’re the one complaining that Wella didn’t pay out my salary for the past five years.”
“Because we needed that money to survive!”
Zen snorted and rolled his eyes. “Sure.” He pulled his shirt up, exposing a rib cage without a scrap of fat left to cushion it. “I’m the one who’s been living in poverty. Compared to my circumstances, you’ve been basking in the fat of the land.”
“I’ve been lucky to keep the wolf from the door. We had to take loans against the farm to survive. I’ve been looking after our family legacy.”
“I’d rather have a legacy of living well right now, than pass down a stupid plot of land to some imaginary progeny. Besides, if you’re so keen on keeping the farm intact, why did you leave two children in charge of it while you go out on adventures with your harem of men?”
With a huff of disgust, Shandra scrambled to her feet and stalked over to lay down in her sleeping area. As she lay, jaw clenched, sleep had never seemed so far away.
She wished they’d never stumbled across Zen. Her brother had been far more lovable when she thought he was dead.
Chapter Ten
Sulli laid down, thinking sleep would never claim him. A moment later, the sunlight hit his face, waking him from a deep slumber. The night had disappeared without even the trace of a dream to show for it.
“I thought you were going to sleep the entire day,” Mal said with a cheery pat on his shoulder when Sulli joined him by the fire. “We’ve discussed things with Zen and he’s going to take us to his men just as soon as we can pack up and go.”
“Sure.” Sulli rubbed a hand over his face, feeling out-of-kilter. What else had they discussed while he was snoring away the hours?
He tamped out the fire with a pile of dirt and rocks, not wanting to waste their precious water supplies on such a task. Shandra walked her horse near to him.
“How is it, being reunited with your brother?” She gave him such a scowl that Sulli burst out laughing. “That good, huh?”
“I don’t remember him being such a self-absorbed idiot when I was growing up, but maybe I’m just plastered over the bad memories with imaginary good ones.”
Sulli pulled her close, inhaling her scent until she fought against him.
“Don’t. I smell like the pits of hell at the moment and we need to get a move on.” She turned and studied him until Sulli had to look away. “Are you doing okay? The darkness hasn’t come back, has it?”
“It won’t.” He stared at the pale shreds of sunshine playing over the rock. “Not unless Cade forces it back upon me. I won’t ever invite it in again.”
“Good.” She reached up and kissed his cheek. Her lips soft and dry. “Although, if you ever want me to practice driving it out again…”
She let the words trail away and Sulli laughed as she walked off, swaying her hips. If the coming fight with Cade wasn’t weighing him down like a drowning stone, he might’ve taken her up on the offer. Well, that, and the entire camp staring at him, waiting for him to be ready.
“Lead the way, then,” he called across to Zen. Mal had seated Shandra’s brother in front of him since his steed was the largest available. “The sooner we get to your men, the sooner we can get back to our real task. Are you sure your fighters will be eager to join in our battle?”
“Once they hear about what happened to the rest of our team, they will.” Zen paused for a moment, squinting as he surveyed the path in front of them. “Even if there’s no money at the end of it, most of my crew will be happy to avenge our dead.”
“Had you encountered Cade before yesterday?” Mal asked. Sulli was glancing back at Shandra when he did so and noted the grimace pass across her face.
“Not in that way. Until the point he turned on us, Cade didn’t show any more might in battle than the rest of our team.”
Turned on them? Sulli looked back to Shandra again and saw the truth noted clearly in the forlorn set of her jaw.
“You brought Cade into this battle?” Sulli’s voice was raised in such a shout that his horse skittered, jumping ahead before he patted it into a state of calm again.
Zen looked uncomfortable at the question. Or maybe it was just Sulli’s tone that served to make him anxious. “We brought him on board, yes. After the assistance we’d had from witches in the past, it seemed a good idea to enlist the help of a mage when it was offered.”
“He offered his services to you?” Sulli’s voice raised into a shout again and he bit his lip for a second before he got it back under control. “And you didn’t think there was anything suspicious in that?”
“Obviously, not.” Zen took a deep sniff, then coughed and spat to his side. “If our troupe questioned the motives of everyone who wanted to join our ranks, we’d never get very far.”
“Great. So not only do you not know the motivations of the mage you brought into battle, you’re now saying that the rest of your men might be just as untrustworthy?”
“And women.”
“What?” Sulli glared at the man, sympathizing with the scowl that Shandra had offered earlier.
“Our freedom fighters don’t discriminate. We’ve got men, women, teenagers, dwarves, and some weird-looking dude whose breed no one’s quite sure of.”
“Sound like a cracking team.”
“They’re cool, man. We were doing a hell of a lot better than anyone else out here. We mightn’t like to ask questions when it’s awkward, but we’re a bloody sight better at communicating our battle plans than any regiment I’ve ever been part of before.”
Sulli felt a wave of impatience run through his body. “What were you doing halfway up this hill yesterday, then? What exactly was your battle plan?”
“We were following Cade. He’s going”—Zen broke off and his face turned pale—“was going to lead us to the front line of the skirmish between Wella’s army and the dragons. Once we triumphed there, the who
le war would pretty much be in the bag.”
“You did that to Wella’s harem?” Shandra’s voice was full of shock and repulsion. “How could you stand by and let that happen?”
“Eh?” Zen turned around, appearing to be genuinely confused. “What’re you talking about? We still hadn’t reached them when Cade turned on us.”
“That doesn’t fit with what we saw.” Chance’s voice was grim beneath the usual fire. “I can paint you a picture if you like. Start with what happened to your men and add in a dose more fire and teeth.”
Zen looked from one man to the other, his neck straining to keep them in view. “I swear. I don’t know what you’re—”
“Are those your men?” Sulli interrupted, pointing to a wisp of smoke rising from a fire up ahead.
When Zen continued to stare back over his shoulder, Mal grabbed hold of the man’s head and forcibly turned it. “Answer the question.”
“That’s them.” Zen sighed and struggled to loosen himself from Mal’s grip. “Now, let me down and I’ll go tell them we’ve got company.”
Mal snorted. “Nice try.” He grabbed hold of Zen to hold him fast. “How about we all go in together and you can introduce us? And in case you’re thinking of saying anything else, remember I’ve got a knife at your back.”
The introduction to the freedom fighters passed without trouble. The men and women gathered at the camp were blank-faced, still coming to terms with the news the survivors had brought home. When Zen stumbled into camp with six new recruits in tow, they barely blinked.
“We need to formulate a plan.” Baile stepped forward, trying to draw the attention of the shock-weary group. “If we’re going to stand a chance against Cade, we need to outsmart him from the get-go.”
“I’ve got a plan.” A large woman with blonde braids stood up and lifted an ax above her head. “How about you all stand back and leave him to me?”
Sulli stood, although his words were mostly lost in the roar of support. “One of his creatures will gut you and char you black before you can even swing that thing above your head.”
For those that were paying attention, all he received in acknowledgment was the waving of weapons and the baring of teeth. Sulli put his head into his hands as he sat back down. Did these people still believe they could win over this black power with a meager selection of weaponry, even in the face of what Cade had done to their brethren so far?
“When you’re done with him,” a child’s voice called out, “I’ll slice up the leftovers for the pot.”
So much for men, women, and teenagers. Sulli stared at the boy who couldn’t be more than ten. The knife in his hand looked like it would struggle with a piece of fruit. Had these people really thought they could win a war?
“Can I talk to you?” Shandra placed a hand on Sulli’s shoulder and he nodded, grateful for the opportunity to get out of the range of the fighters. “They don’t understand what’s going on. How do we get them to comprehend it’s not going to be a physical battle?”
Sulli could only shake his head. “I don’t know. They’re grieving, so even if we could explain it under normal circumstances, we’ll fight an uphill battle to make them listen.” He planted his feet wide apart and stared at the ground between them. “Zen would have a better chance.”
“At talking them around, or at fighting Cade?”
He stared at her, not wanting to answer too quickly. Some of what he was feeling must have been written on his face, though, because she nodded. “He brought the man into this fight, he must take some part of bringing him down.”
Sulli nodded. “Even if he only knew Cade for a short time, Zen’s information will be up-to-date. I haven’t seen the man for many years. There will have been changes during that time.”
“Tell him there’s gold for him at the end of it, and he’ll sign on.” Shandra sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, staring at the silhouette of her brother. “I hope Baile comes up with a good plan and you know what you’re doing. I’d hate to find out Zen was still alive, only to lose him a day later.”
“We all want to come out of this fight alive and our chances are better now than they were yesterday. If I can talk some sense into these fighters, we’ll be better equipped to take Cade down.”
“Well, I hope—”
“What the fuck do we have here?”
Sulli spun in surprise, pulling Shandra behind him from instinct. Wella stood a few yards away, her full armor gleaming in the sun.
“What?” she asked, laughing at the confusion on his face. “You didn’t really think I’d run away from the battle, did you?”
Wella walked forward, pushing Sulli aside and grabbing hold of Shandra’s arm. “I owe you a debt of thanks, my dear.” She placed a smirking kiss against one cheek, then the other. “I should’ve known I could count on you to lead me straight into the heart of my enemy.”
The overlord stepped back, a wicked gleam in her eye then yelled loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in camp. “Attack!”
Chapter Eleven
Shandra froze in place as people exploded into action around her. Wella’s mocking grin hung in front of her for another second, then the woman faded into the background.
The men and women gathered around the center of the camp, moved in all directions. Some shouted orders, others searched for a hiding place.
One man ran by, shouting, “We must find her harem and kill them before they kill us!”
Realizing the panic, Shandra ran for the center of the camp, standing on a log to try to gain a height advantage. “Stop!”
Nobody heard her, or nobody was listening. Even her harem had disappeared when a second before, they’d been standing around the campfire, strategizing.
“Everybody needs to stop running and calm down,” Shandra shouted. “Wella doesn’t have a harem any longer, they were slaughtered. She doesn’t have any men with her at all.”
Shandra didn’t know that for certain but it was the only solution that made sense. There hadn’t been time for the overlord to return to her starting point and gather up the troops to return and wage a battle. From her own words, she’d followed Shandra. That meant she hadn’t gone anywhere at all.
No soldiers and her harem lay in pieces farther along the hillside.
Wella was bluffing. She must have walked into the camp alone.
Although Shandra admired the guts of the woman, her chief concern was to spare the lives of the people running helter-skelter around the camp right now. Her brother Zen was among them. From the little she’d learned about him over the past half-day, he was probably one of those who’d hidden away.
“Stop and listen to me,” she called out again, stamping her foot in frustration when nobody paid the slightest attention.
Searching in her memory for a trick or tip she might use to her advantage, Shandra picked up a log from the fire, held its flaming tip above her, threw back her head and screamed.
This time, a few faces turned her way. “Stop. Everybody stop running right now.”
More heads turned. The large woman who’d wielded an ax earlier, added her voice to Shandra’s, and the crowd slowed, turn, and circle in toward Shandra.
“There’s no army here to attack you,” she called out, hoping those outside the region her voice could carry would have the message passed along by others. “Wella is alone. We saw her harem destroyed by the same beasts that tore apart your men and women yesterday. She doesn’t have an army or her harem. No one is going to attack.”
“Is that true?” The blonde with braids frowned. When Shandra nodded, her expression turned to rage. “Let’s get her!”
She turned and ran toward the spot where Wella had first appeared. Shandra felt tears of frustration raise up in her eyes as she once again called out to the crowd and was again ignored.
“Dammit!” She wished she could shift into a dragon so people would pay attention to her. She spotted a conch shell at the far corner of the fire and tried her luc
k with that instead.
The dismal sound of the horn stopped people in their tracks. Once again, faces turned up to Shandra, and she beckoned them closer, having learned her lesson. When a few dozen people had crowded up near where she stood, she talked to them in as quiet a voice as she could manage.
“Wella is alone. Our best bet to face the foe who is destroying our warriors is to bring her in and talk to her. We’ll need as many people as possible on our side if we’re to triumph over our joint enemy.”
Around her, people nodded.
“I’m going to walk to the last place I saw her, and I want people to join me in a search. Not a hunt, not a fight, but a search. Bring Wella Ufsprig into the campsite alive, and you’ll be a hero.”
At the edge of the circling crowd, Shandra saw the clan brothers standing quiet and listening. When she stepped down off the log, they moved to her side to join in the search.
“Bravo,” Baile said, giving Shandra a pat on the back.
She waited for him to continue, expecting the usual joke, but he moved aside to turn over a suspiciously placed shield. Io caught her eye and gave her a nod of approval, then turned his eyes back to scan the edge of the clearing.
An indignant cry came from Shandra’s left. A large man was carrying Wella, upturned over his shoulder. Once he’d carried her back to the middle of the camp, he set her back down on her feet.
“You just brought yourself an execution date, mister,” Wella said, pointing her finger in the man’s face.
“I don’t think so.” Shandra moved in between the two, grabbing Wella’s finger and pushing it down. “We need to talk. At the moment, we share an enemy, and he won’t go away by himself. It’s only if we stop fighting each other that we’ll defeat him.”
“I’m the overlord of this area. You’ll do what I order you to do.”
“If your orders are in the shared interest of us both, I’ll obey them willingly.” Shandra sat down on the same log she’d stood upon earlier, patting the wood next to her. Wella stared around the crowd with a glare, then stamped across to join her.