by K. F. Breene
“We don’t have the resources for them to join us,” Sayas warned.
“What about our families?” someone shouted. “We’d just be trading one tyrant for another!” someone else yelled.
“Keep your tunics,” Kallon said, his voice now booming. “Pretend to stay enlisted. Check on your families. But when the time comes, remember who gave you a chance of freedom. And then look around you. Choose what to fight for. Don’t let someone else make that choice for you.”
“We’re wasting time, Kallon,” Tulous said.
Kallon turned to Tulous. “Can you put them to sleep without killing them?”
He frowned. “I’ve seen the Chosen do it, but…I’m afraid I might kill them. I don’t have her deft touch.”
“I can’t either,” Sayas said. “I’ve tried before. I killed the man.”
Kallon turned back to the unsure army one last time. “We are leaving you here. Think on what I have said. If any of you follow us after this, we’ll kill you. Your Inkna are dead. We don’t need swords to take you down.”
A few people’s eyes widened. A few others looked behind them, probably wondering if the Inkna statement was true.
“Are you really going to help the violet-eyed girl?” someone asked.
Kallon turned to jog away as Mela said, “She is the leader of our people. Together, we stand strong.”
As Mela joined them, jogging away, Sayas said, “Poetic, Mela.”
“I thought they needed a better end note than ‘Don’t come after us or we’ll kill you.’ It’s all about presentation.”
As Kallon and the others continued along the path, Sayas said, “That was genius, Kallon. There were a lot more of them than I’d thought. We would’ve taken wounds.”
“I wasn’t thinking about sparing us.” Kallon reached his horse, tethered loosely on a dead limb. He climbed up and swung his leg over the saddle. As his horse picked its way carefully to the top and then over the winding path along the hillside, he said, “Those men weren’t fighters. They weren’t trained, and they didn’t even know what cause they’re fighting for. Showing them compassion might change the tide. When they see what their leaders are capable of, they’ll think back and remember this.”
“It might not help,” Tulous said.
“We had to take the chance and hope the Chosen can eventually turn them to our cause.” As Kallon led the way, urgency ate away at him again. The fate of the land lay at the Chosen’s feet. He only hoped she could live long enough to fulfill her destiny. That any of them could.
Chapter Fourteen
Shanti blinked her eyes open, then rubbed them, gritty from fatigue and begging her to go back to sleep. After squirreling those two Graygual bodies away last night, hiding them within a garbage bin where the eventual stink wouldn’t be noticed, she’d stayed awake to get one last look at the city with her Gift. Graygual dotted the perimeter and within the park, where they must’ve felt they were needed the most, but within the city, the gaps between watchers was often large. They didn’t view the women nor the older or workingmen as much of a threat.
Rolling her shoulders to try and work out some stiffness that had settled in her body, she started when she noticed the small face looking at her from the corner. Big, brown eyes with lush black lashes watched in silence. Barely blinking, the little thing didn’t even move when she saw him. He just continued watching from where he sat, his arms hugging his knees to his chest.
He’d make an excellent spy.
“Don’t your people have an issue with impoliteness and staring?” She pushed the hair from her face.
“Staring is caring.” His voice was little more than a squeak.
She let a smile bud. “So they say. What do you want?”
His little shoulders jumped in a shrug. He didn’t move any other part of his body.
She got off the bed and moved to sit beside him, taking in the room from his vantage point. Large windows let the soft morning sunlight in, sprawling across the ground and warming her disposition. Two beds occupied the room, one rumpled where she’d slept, and the other made where Rohnan had been.
“Is this your room?” she asked, hugging her knees to her chest like he’d done.
“Yes.”
“And I took your bed, didn’t I. I’m some jerk, I know.”
His knees fell to the sides as he tucked in his ankles, relaxing enough to sit cross-legged. “It’s okay. I get lonely in it, anyway, but Vale hates when I get in with him. So I got to sleep with Ruisa last night. She used to live here, too, but then she got to go with the Captain.”
“Have you lived here long?” Shanti dropped her knees and crossed her ankles under her, mimicking him again.
“A year.”
“What happened to your parents?”
He hunched a little. “I never knew my mom. My dad left. He didn’t come back. Where are your parents?”
“My parents died when I was about your age. My grandfather took care of me until he died. So I’m an orphan. Like you.”
He nodded with half his body, his chest rising and falling like his head. “Yeah. That’s what Rohnan said. He said you’re his sister because you were raised together. But if that’s true, all the people in this house would be my brothers and sisters.”
“And you wouldn’t like that?”
He chewed his lip for a moment in thought. His legs flopped out before him, now straight. “I don’t know. Saburo hits me all the time. And I get pushed around a lot. But I don’t really have anyone else.”
“I used to push Rohnan around a lot. He didn’t have anyone else, either. Eventually we just started depending on each other.”
He nodded with his body again, his legs spasming, making his heels thump on the floor. Shanti smiled with his energy.
“Well, I have to get up,” she said in a put-upon tone. “They’re going to try and dress me like a girl.”
“Ruisa always hated when they tried to dress her like a girl. She likes wearing pants.”
“I like wearing pants, too. That way, no one can see my knickers when I kick someone in the head.”
The boy started laughing, hopping up when Shanti did. “I’m too small to kick someone in the head.”
“Nah.” Shanti pulled open the door, pleased when he followed behind. “You just need to learn the right way.”
“But my foot can’t reach.”
“Then learn to jump.” Shanti traveled through a corridor to the stairs. As she made her way down, she heard the boy’s loud steps behind her. “What’s your name?”
“Arsen.”
“Hi, Arsen. I’m Shanti.”
She rounded the corner, making her way to the large dining area. There, she found Rohnan in the middle of the kids, gesturing wildly. A peal of laughter greeted her.
“What’d I miss?” she asked, grabbing a bowl and slopping some porridge into it. “This stuff is the pits. Don’t they feed you anything else in this place?”
Rohnan scowled at her. “As I told the children earlier, porridge is good for you. It gives you lots of energy and makes you grow up big and strong.”
She sat down, looking at it dubiously. “It tastes like wood.”
“You have only a few minutes, Chulan,” Rohnan said, turning his focus back to the kids gathered around him.
Shanti grimaced as the gruel squished between her tongue and the roof of her mouth. A door opened and shut at the front of the house. Shanti choked down more of her breakfast as Molly bustled in with a harried expression.
“C’mon, dear, we have to get moving,” Molly said to Shanti as she glanced over the children. “Good morning, everyone! Are you being welcoming to our guests?”
“Yes!” they chorused.
Rohnan rose as Molly shooed her into an airy room and made her stand next to a giant pile of bright yellow fabric.
“No way, Molly!” Shanti exclaimed. “The Graygual will have to shade their eyes when they see me.”
“Well then, they won’t recogn
ize your face, will they?”
“No. I’ll wear the blue one.”
“That one is for Rohnan.”
“What’s this now?” Rohnan stepped out of the horde of children who had gathered in the arched entryway in observation. He wore a comical yet disbelieving smile on his face.
“You can’t very well walk around wearing trousers!” Molly scoffed as she yanked down Shanti’s pants. She turned to Rohnan with a warning in her eyes. “You have long hair and you’re pretty enough to pass muster. So take those off or I’ll take them off for you. C’mon. I have to hurry. My guard is waiting outside.”
“What about the guard from last night?” Shanti asked, stepping out of her pants and putting on the unreasonably large undergarments. The white ruffled things were tight on her thighs and went down past her knees.
“I wasn’t asked any questions about last night. Like I said, he’d done that before. But when he doesn’t turn up for his post tonight…”
Shanti pulled off her shirt. Gasps filled the room.
“Shanti, for heaven’s sake! There are children in here!” Molly ran at the kids, shooing them away.
“Why is everyone putting so much emphasis on the fact that there are children?” Shanti wrapped her binding around her breasts, needing to keep them in place in case she had to strip out of her dress later and fight.
“You seem to forget you are no longer a child. We are trying to remind you.” Rohnan moved to the side of the room.
“You can’t get naked in front of the boys.” Molly huffed as she stepped in front of Shanti. She ignored Rohnan’s “why?” as she tsked. Picking up the corset, she stepped up to Shanti with a scowl. “You have to wear this.”
Shanti laughed. “We’ve had this fight, Molly. I will not wear that death trap.”
“What is it?” Rohnan asked, stepping forward again, moving as far from the dress as possible.
“Shanti, now listen to me.” Molly yanked at the binding, trying to rip it off her. “You need to look like—”
“How are we doing?” Valencia, the woman who had proclaimed herself an expert with a knife and a pig, bustled in with an expectant expression.
“Good, you’re here.” Molly pointed at Rohnan. “Get him going. And make sure those boys don’t try to sneak in here. They’re trying to get another look at Shanti.”
“Your fear of the naked body is silly.” Shanti swatted Molly’s hands away. “That thing could be the difference between life and death, Molly. I cannot wear it.”
Molly sighed as Valencia backed Rohnan into a corner. “I don’t care how much you value your masculinity, young man. You will put on this dress, or I will make you put on this dress. Either way, you are leaving this house much prettier than you came in, if that were possible.”
“I can move around this city without being seen. I do not need to wear that frightening thing to do it.” Rohnan gently removed the woman’s hands from his person.
“Then at least wear a girdle.” Molly shook a band of fabric at Shanti. It had strings hanging from it, promising an uncomfortable hug that bordered on painful.
“No. There is no need.” Shanti slapped Molly’s hands away again.
An hour and several arguments later, Shanti, wearing a horrible monstrosity that hugged her breasts and then exploded out into a sea of fabric to the floor, had her hair dyed black and styled. She was the only one, though. While having Rohnan disguised as a woman was a good idea, his shoulders were much too broad and muscular for him to pass as one. He’d have to stick to the sides and try to get around as best he could in broad daylight.
“I don’t have a good feeling about any of this,” Shanti said as she finally stepped outside. Molly had left after getting her dressed, not having an excuse to hang around any longer. At least none that her guard would buy.
“Neither do I, but we don’t have any other options.” Rohnan slipped in behind some shrubbery as the pretty young woman from the night before came walking toward them.
“Good, she’s on time.” Valencia pushed Shanti forward. “That’s Alena. She’ll be taking you around the prison. Okay, I have to run, girls. The kids make a horrible mess when someone isn’t looking over their shoulders. And remember, keep a low profile.”
Alena approached with an angry bruise across her cheek. She glanced at Rohnan in the bushes before focusing on Shanti. Her face turned a light crimson. She opened her mouth, probably to utter a greeting, but closed it again when Gracas stepped up.
“I’m ready, S’am.” Two of the oldest orphans were with him.
“You know what to do?” Shanti asked Gracas.
“I got it, S’am. I can do it.” He motioned the silent orphans forward. His body was much larger than theirs, stacked with muscle. He still had the youthful, floppy, and goofy way of moving, but he was a young man now, walking among boys. Hopefully the Graygual guarding the army in the park wouldn’t notice his older age. She was counting on Gracas to get some information about how that system worked, and distribute more poison if at all possible.
Ruisa came out of the house next in a puffy pink dress. Orphans scurried behind her and then out to the sides. They each carried a purse filled with a potent version of the poison the women had devised. With their time running out, they needed to start affecting the Graygual now. Ruisa would distribute that poison to everyone she could, working it into food and water. The effects wouldn’t be entirely noticeable for days, but the start of the damage would be quick—fatigue would set in only a few hours after ingesting the liquid.
Shanti had been dead set against involving the orphans. Children should be sheltered away from danger, not thrust into it. Unfortunately, they’d stolen some of the poison for themselves, and made it very clear they’d be helping Ruisa. She was one of them. And they all stuck together.
“Be careful,” Shanti said as they left the house.
“I like using the orphans least of all,” Rohnan said quietly.
Shanti sent a mental kick his way. That was supposed to be a secret.
Thankfully, Alena ignored it. “Shall we?”
Leilius slunk behind Shanti and joined Rohnan where he skulked behind the bushes.
“I know my way around the city,” Shanti said before she started walking. “You don’t need to put yourself in danger. I’m going to try not to engage, but…well, you just never know.”
“From what they said, you only vaguely know your way around the city,” Alena said, raising her chin. “I can help. I’m not afraid.”
The woman shed fear like a dog shed fur in summer, revealing her lie. Shanti just nodded, and let her lead the way. She really hoped nothing went wrong.
Chapter Fifteen
“Shhh. Do you hear that?” Sonson looked around with wide eyes.
Denessa paused, a cube of cheese on the end of her knife hovering near her mouth.
They sat deep in the trees, clustered around a small fire. They’d taken a northern route instead of veering south and using the Cross-Land Travelway, which ran along the plains. This way would take longer, but it kept them hidden and played to their strengths of fighting within the cover of woodland. The black of the night consumed anything outside the flickering glow of the flame.
A distant snap sounded, and then a rustle of plant life.
Sonson let his Therma travel out as far as it could, bolstered by the others. He could barely feel someone tickle his consciousness out in the night. He glanced to his side in time to see all three of the great cats melt into the blackness. On the other side, the three beasts raised their heads and looked out into the night, issuing a soft whine.
“They have no idea who they are dealing with,” Boas said in delight. In the trials, he’d always been the lead in sneaking up on people during the still of the night. Only the Chosen had ever felt him coming. And only the Chosen could best him, Sonson included.
“They have no idea what they are dealing with,” Denessa said with an evil grin as one of the animal keepers let Bonzi, the mal
e beast, off his tether.
Sonson rose slowly and took out two knives. To the animal keeper, he said, “Those cats won’t take a bite out of me, right? I’m a friend?”
The man hesitated. “If the Chosen were here, I’d say yes. They’ve been overly anxious since they were left behind, though. But…” He scratched his growing beard. “You should be okay.”
Sonson gave Boas a commiserating stare. Should be okay?
“How many do you want to go?” Boas asked as he spread a little mud across his cheeks.
Sonson looked around at the eager Shadow, all hoping he’d point to them. These were the best, most versatile fighters they had. They loved their craft and wanted the chance to experience it beyond the confines of their island. Too bad Sonson didn’t trust those animals, or he’d let them all go.
“Let’s just see what we’re up against.” Sonson motioned for a few of them, including Denessa and Punston, to rise.
A small unit followed Boas’ example, covering the paleness of their faces. If moonlight found its way through the thick canopy above, they didn’t want it highlighting their presence.
One by one they drifted into the trees, stepping lightly, careful not to disturb plant life. Sonson felt the cool air coating his skin, and heard a small scrape of wood on jacket from somewhere to his right. This land was much drier than they were used to. It was harder to keep the noise muffled.
Sonson’s awareness tingled as enemy minds sparked into his mental map up ahead. Another presence tugged at his awareness, and then made him jump as something ghosted by his leg. One of the cats, silent and deadly.
He worked around a large trunk and then paused, sensing movement in his direction. Dark shapes moved on the near-black background, hardly noticeable but for the sound. Footsteps crunched the ground. Leaves rustled.
Sonson felt Boas go tranquil, blending into the night to his left. Then Denessa did the same. They were getting ready to attack.
Sonson brought his knives up, nice and slow, bent his knees, and let his mind drift into the night. He felt his surroundings, his Therma, and his fellow warriors, as they synchronized their minds and prepared.