by Auryn Hadley
Chapter 17
Lorenz shoved through the door, a fresh bottle of rum in one hand, a pair of glasses in the other. With a grin he handed the bottle to Blaz and one glass to Sal, holding out the second. "Delivery fee. I gotta try that shit."
Blaz opened the bottle and poured. Lorenz took a sip and nodded, smiling at Sal kindly as he made his way back inside the mess. Blaz lifted the bottle her way, and Sal held out her glass, waving him off when it was only half full.
"Thanks," she told him. "The drink, the blade, and the respect."
He had the grace to blush, but tried to hide it by topping up his own drink. "Isn't often we get this many spec ops units in the same place. I'm shocked it's going as smoothly as it is, ya know?"
"For now," Sal pointed out.
"True." He grinned. "So tell me something, Salryc?"
"It's Sal," she said, her ears turning back as she waited for the bad pick-up line.
"Which horse in those stables is yours?"
Her ears flicked forward quickly. That was not the question she'd expected. Blaz's eyes glanced up, and he smiled while she answered, "Pinzgauer mare, covered in dark spots."
"And the black is LT's, right?"
She nodded.
"Ok," he said, looking up to her ears again. "Forgive me if this is rude, but do you do that intentionally?"
"What?"
"The ears. I can't be sure if I should judge them like a horse's or a dog's."
"More like an iliri. And it's like eyelids," she told him. "Something flies at your eyes and your lids will close, right?"
"Right."
"We get pissed, they..." Her ears flicked tight against her skull. "Like that, so they aren't damaged."
"Ok, like a horse."
"Right, but I can move them to catch sounds and I can hold them still. Some of our emotional expressions are tied to our ears, like yours are to your mouth. So yeah, I can control it some, and sometimes I can't."
Blaz laughed. "Iliri listen more, and humans run off at the mouth?"
She chuckled but shrugged. "You said it, not me."
"It's kinda true though, ya know?" He lifted his glass to her with a sigh. "And you have a damned nice horse. Your stable manager won't let us close enough to look, but we've been drooling a bit. Tell Major Doll if he ever wants to turn that colt of his loose, we'll find some real good mares to cross with him."
"Is it really all about horses with you?" she asked.
He shrugged impishly. "Pretty much. I like horses better than people, you know? That's why your ears get me. Horses talk with their ears, and you do, too."
Sal glanced back at the mess hall door and saw Zep leaning easily against it but no other humans close enough to eavesdrop. "Do the rest of your men feel the same?"
Blaz shrugged again. "Dunno. Lemme cut right to the heart of it, Sal. We don't fucking care that you're all iliri."
"Blunt," she said, surprised.
"I work with horses all day. Hinting just pisses them off. Thing is, there's shit going on, and I don't know what it is, but I don't play politics."
"Looks like a lot of shit, Blaz. We're just trying to make sure we don't get thrown under the cart."
"Not one of ours," he promised. "Always been an unwritten rule with us. We elites earned what we got, and we deserve respect for it. I think that goes double for the Blades."
"Thanks. You've just earned mine."
"Rumor has it, coming from an iliri, that means a hell of a lot." He smiled at her kindly. "Thanks."
"Why, though? Humans have never really liked our kind."
Blaz sighed and gestured toward the courtyard. "Care to sit? The breeze can't really be worse out there."
Sal nodded and moved with him away from the door. As the glow of the lantern faded, he looked around, stopping at a high stone railing. "Can you make it up?" he asked.
In answer, she reached up and grabbed the rail, then jumped. Shoving her chest against the stone, she slipped her legs over as easily as she'd mount a horse. He nodded, then passed the bottle and his glass up to her before doing the same. From their vantage they could see the entire courtyard and had a clear view of both the barracks and the officer's wing.
"Sorry. I feel a bit better if I'm able to see around me," he explained, accepting his glass back from Sal and taking a sip. "Here's the thing. We're scouts and forward attack. We rely upon people like you to make sure our intel's good enough to keep us alive. In the time I've been with the 112th, Blades have pulled our asses out of shit at least a dozen times, maybe more."
She nodded, accepting that.
"We've never gotten weak or bad intel from the Blades, but I can't say that about the rest. I like horses more than people, Sal. Think about that for a second. How can I say I don't want to work with 'your kind' because you're not human, when I'm already working with my partner, who isn't human?"
She ducked her head to hide her smile. "Logic doesn't usually stop people from hating us, though."
He nodded. "I'm sure. Personally, I've just never thought much of it. I'm from a long line of soldiers. Both sides. I can't remember a time without iliri around, ya know?" He glanced over his shoulder quickly, and sighed. "You figure out what they're planning yet?"
"Who?"
"They. Them." Blaz shrugged. "I don't know who, but I can feel the tension well enough. There's something going on."
"You know you're not here on orders, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. "You gonna explain that?"
"LT's promotion." This time she remembered to use his public name. "It gives him authorization to make use of forces available. The mission to stop the ore? It was only given to the Blades."
"Three loads, eight of you, and he wasn't given direct command of any other units?"
"Exactly."
"They trying to kill you?" he gasped, shocked. "They're willing to throw away the chance to finally stop this damned bribe because your skin is different from theirs?"
"I think it's the teeth," she teased, "but yeah. Also heard a few other things that we didn't get with our orders."
He looked around again, peering into the darkness.
"Don't worry," Sal said. We're out of even iliri hearing, and there's no one close."
"You sure?"
She nodded. "I hear as well as your horse, can see better than most cats, and my sense of smell is almost as good as a hound's. I'm pretty sure."
He grinned and patted her leg. "I think we need some of you. That has to be useful. Can I ask what you didn't get?"
"We're chasing three loads. There's rumor of a fourth, and that Parliament knows about it."
His manner changed quickly. "Sal," he said, leaning forward, "this isn't a game. You know that, right?"
"I do," she assured him. "Not sure if they do, but we do. We found the load, we'll get it."
"Can I pass that to the Captain?"
"Figured you would."
"Tolan's a good man. Wouldn't serve under him if he wasn't. He's got a bit of sway in Parliament right now, too. If we hear anything, I'll let you know."
"Thanks, Blaz. I'm getting to be in your debt really quickly."
He nodded, a smile slowly spreading across his face, until he chuckled. "Let me ride that mare of yours one day, and we'll call it even."
"Thought you liked the black," she teased.
"Oh, I like them both. Pretty sure my Rax is at least as good as the bay and grey in your string, but your mare might just be better."
"I'm not trading," she said around a laugh. "I'm pretty fond of Arden."
"Nah." He glanced away. "Won't give up Rax. Wish I'd never got him, but no way I'm giving him up now."
"Contradict yourself often?"
He rubbed his face quickly. "He was Jiesa's. She took a blade in that skirmish in southern Escea last year. Couldn't get her to the medics in time." Then he paused, staring at nothing, and Sal grabbed his hand. In the moonlight, he looked down at her pale skin next to his.
"I'm so
rry," she whispered.
"She was the First Officer, ya know? I was the left flank lead at the time." He flicked his eyes up to hers. "I reported directly to her."
Sal could smell his anguish, mixed with the scent of love. What his words didn't tell her, his body did. Jiesa and Blaz had been lovers.
"They know?"
"Yeah. Wasn't a big thing in the 112th. It happens more than most guess, at least that's what Tolan said when I requested a transfer. Told him I couldn't serve under a woman I was in love with, and he told me he didn't care about what happened when we're off duty, ya know?"
"I know. So long as chain of command operates without a problem, it shouldn't matter."
"Yeah. She asked me to take care of her first love." He smiled sadly. "Rax, I mean. Swear the damned horse misses her as much as I do." He patted her hand and nodded to himself. "Sal, her eyes were blue. Her hair was dark but not really black, and her eyes were as blue as a winter's morning. I can't hate the Blades. None of us can."
She just nodded, not knowing what else to say. His hand tightened on hers, and he sighed again then leaned back, glancing up at the stars.
"I shouldn't have gone with the rum." He tried to laugh. "Thanks for listening, though."
"You tell anyone else?"
"Nah," he said, pushing it away. "They know, and they understand, but no. I try not to talk about it. I'm not really ready."
"Blaz," she told him, "that was over a year ago."
He just nodded. "Doesn't mean I'm ready."
"I know, but my ears do work well."
"You're nothing like I expected, Sal. Iliri are known to be lethal, and the stories about you make you sound cold and practical. Everything we'd want in a soldier, you know?"
"We were basically designed to be," Sal told him.
"Then whoever designed you needs more credit. You may be a good soldier but you're easy to talk to. We always say that our horses are the best listeners. They never judge us, and always try to understand. You make me feel like that." He laughed. "Damn, I'm sorry, I just got sappy." Sal realized her ears had drooped when Blaz looked up at them intently. "I don't know that one," he said, gesturing up.
She nodded, gently biting her lower lip. "I'm not used to compliments."
"Embarrassment?"
She smiled at him tentatively. "Kinda. Insecurity?" Sal leaned back, and brushed her hand across her ears to relax them. "I just always feel like everyone's watching me because I'm different, and I'm not even sure what it is I'm supposed to be doing, so things like, well..." She sighed, looking for the right words. "I don't exactly make friends well."
He shrugged. "Me either. I tend to be a bit too blunt."
"I like blunt. Lets me know where I stand."
"No wonder you do so well with LT then. Doesn't get much more upfront than that."
Sal's head snapped toward him, "What do you mean?"
His mouth hung open at her reaction and he nodded slowly. "I see. I meant as a commander. He's always straight talking and to the point. So there's truth to the rumors after all. No wonder you understand about Jiesa."
"Blaz," Sal said softly. "Don't make me lie to you."
"I didn't ask a question, Sal, but I think everyone knows what that," and he gestured at the top of her head, "means."
She realized her ears were locked back and flicked them forward. "I - "
He stopped her words with a gesture. "I didn't ask a question. Of all the people in the world, I'm not going to ask that question."
She took a long, deep breath and nodded as she let it out.
"I am going to ask one now, and you don't have to answer it," he said. "Thought you had a thing with your partner?"
"It's complicated."
"People would believe it more, if you two weren't always so casual together."
She sighed. "Cyno isn't really a very..." A wry chuckle slipped out. "He's not the public display type."
He nodded, smiling. "It sounds complicated. Is he the protective type?"
"Yeah."
"I'll make you a deal. You tell him not to kill me, and I'll help you shut down those rumors."
Chapter 18
She'd talked to Blaz for a while. The party was starting to wind down when Blaec broke up their chat to request her help with mission planning. Blaz smiled a little too big when he wished them luck. Sal just shook her head and let her commanding officer escort her to the door of their office. It led into his suite. From there, he tugged her right into bed.
Hours later, the door to the suite opened gently, waking Sal from a deep sleep. She grabbed Blaec's wrist, sending him a thought of warning, then slipped from the bed and moved into the shadows. Blaec rolled to face the door, his eyes flicking to Sal as she pulled his sword from its place next to the wall. They listened to feet cross the room, then the door opened a crack.
"LT," Cyno whispered harshly. "We got shit."
Blaec groaned and sat up, yanking the blankets across his waist. "We're up."
Cyno pushed the door open, then glanced to his right, chuckling when he saw Sal glaring at him. He took a long look across her body and smiled. "Might as well get the lights."
"Go ahead, love," Blaec said. "I'm the only one here who can't see perfectly right now."
She grabbed the striker and flicked it, lighting the wick of the lantern before turning it low. The light filled the room, making both assassins blink. She rubbed at her eyes, turning away to put the sword back in its place.
"It's Terric," Cyno said, leaning back against the wall. "Would na wake ya, but ya know that little village up in the Escea-Unav corner? Triple Corners, or somethan' like that?"
"Yeah," Blaec said. "Seriously, love, put something on, you're distracting me."
Cyno chuckled at that and grabbed a shirt from the ground near his feet. He tossed it over to Sal. "Yeh. Well, it's kinda gone."
"Gone?" Sal asked, shoving her arms into the sleeves.
"Yeh. Whole thing was burned to the ground. Lots of scorched corpses. Thing is, we found four farmsteads pretty fucked up on the way in."
"You sure it's Terric?" Blaec asked him.
"Three imperial bodies," Cyno answered, then reached over his shoulder, pulling something from the scabbard at his back. "And these were kinda everywhere." He tossed an arrow onto the bed.
The tip was made of black resin, the shaft was dark wood, and the scent of ravens wafted from it.
"Easy to fake the arrows," Sal pointed out.
"But na the bodies. Looks like they came from Unav, not Escea."
Blaec flipped the covers back, grabbing his pants from the floor as he crawled from the bed. "Map's in the office."
The three of them moved together into the other room. Cyno found the lamp and lit it, turning it high enough for Blaec to see easily. By the time he turned back, the Major had a small map spread across the mess of papers littering his desk.
"Here," Cyno said, pointing. "This is the one gone, and here's the farmsteads." His finger tapped at the map. "Got tracks from here, and here, and found signs of a skirmish around here."
Sal cocked her head, watching. Blaec sighed and leaned back, catching her movement from the corner of his eye. "Ok, Sal. Why would you do that?"
"What?"
"If you were the emperor, why would you make that move? Three Corners – that's the name of the town, Cyno – is worthless. No one is even sure what side of the border they're on. Not more than a hundred villagers there, mostly human, and they keep to themselves. The farmsteads? Why would you take losses like that, or even the risk of loss, to hit something that insignificant?"
She looked back to the map and he pushed it toward her. When Cyno turned to face her, she flicked an ear at him, but refused to let him distract her thoughts. The lines on the map teased in her mind, hinting at something more.
"I need the other map, Blaec. Huracan River to Anglia, at least."
"It's behind you, Cyno, in the case."
Cyno grabbed a large solid tube, work
ing at the catch until the end opened. With a shake, he slipped a dense roll of parchment from it. "This will na fit on the desk."
"Tack it on the wall," Blaec said, moving to help. Sal still stared at the small map before her.
"K, kitten," Cyno said as the men stepped back.
Sal turned, looking at the larger picture, and finally saw it. Her mind traced lines from the river through the known passes to Dorton in Anglia. Three lines fell north of the Conglomerate's border with Unav. The third passed well below it, through land the army typically used moving toward the Escean front.
"Where's the Terran front in Unav?"
Blaec traced a rough line through the middle of the country, a smile growing on his face.
"Where was the western most farmstead?"
Cyno pointed, his finger to the right of Blaec's line. Sal nodded.
"Bait and bleed," she told them, moving to the map. "Terran regulars are hitting easy targets along our border, which will draw the main army north, rather than east. We move," she gestured along the map, "here, and leave this open, allowing the Escean load through without complications. The other three will pass north of the skirmish, but the hope is that we'd be too busy throwing ourselves against the line to break through. When they reach here," and she tapped west of Issevi, "the border raids will simply disappear."
"Nice," Blaec said. "I figured it was a distraction, but I'm impressed."
"No," she said, intensity in her voice. "When did the raids start?"
"Two days ago, supposedly."
"Where did the other units come from?" Sal asked.
"Devil Dogs were passing through Prin. The others weren't far out either. Why?"
"Who was the farthest?" she insisted. "This is important, Blaec. Who?"
"The 112th, kinda. They were headed back from Escea, and I asked Ran to push them toward us. They didn't get the request until they were in Ft. Landing," he explained.
Sal's eyes flicked back to the map. "Blaec, they're in the passes now. That's why they're hitting us, the metal is moving. Now."
"We can na break through," Cyno said, looking up at Blaec. "Na like this. There's signs of a few hundred of them, LT."