Shad scowled and nodded. “Respen planned his position well. How many men does he have?”
“Roughly ten thousand. I spotted the banners for the towns of Kilm, Surgis, Mackton, Mountainwood, Deadgrass, and Dyman. The men from the other towns supporting him are stationed farther west.”
“Ten thousand? And we can scrape together maybe six thousand. That’s including old men and young boys who won’t be as strong or as skilled as Respen’s soldiers.” Shad’s shoulders slumped. “And they’ve dug in on the high ground.”
Leith swallowed at the weight in his stomach. They had hoped Respen’s army would remain divided, which would put the numbers facing them roughly equal to their own.
They couldn’t back down from this fight now. “If you can drive Respen’s army from this position, you’ll get a few reinforcements from Walden.”
“We don’t know what kind of shape they’ll be in after defending Walden for this long.” Shad’s eyes strayed toward the direction Walden lay. “It’s possible Prince Keevan’s return could prompt the towns of Calloday and Dently to send reinforcements and some of Respen’s men might even defect when they see the Eirdon banner. Maybe a few men survived the attacks on Arroway and Flintley. If we can contact them, they’ll help.”
Long shots, all of them. But that’s all they had.
Shad met Leith’s eyes, his expression sober. “A tough battle here will delay our army. If we take too much time…”
“Then you won’t arrive at Nalgar Castle in time to save me. I know.” Leith shook his head. “I have to stop the wedding regardless. No matter what happens to me, I’ll make sure Renna gets out.”
Whatever it took, he’d get her away from Respen somehow. He couldn’t let Respen marry her or hurt her in any way.
Shad rubbed the hilt of his sword. “You don’t have to turn yourself in. Yes, having you on the inside might be helpful when we try to take the Blades’ Tower, and, yes, it might take a few of the Blades away from this front. But those benefits aren’t worth your life. We still can send a small group into Nalgar Castle and attempt a rescue that way.”
Leith leaned against a boulder, the long night of scouting pressing into his skull. “A long time ago, I told you Martyn Hamish was a friend. He’s the Blade guarding Renna, and he won’t let her go without a fight.”
“A small raid would be comprised quickly, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes. The only way to prevent Martyn from raising the alarm would be to assassinate him.” Leith rested his hands on the boulder. The gritty surface scratched at his palms. “I’m the only one with the skills to do it.”
“And you can’t. Not even for Renna.” Shad’s voice remained even.
Leith shook his head. He couldn’t meet Shad’s gaze. “Is that wrong? Shouldn’t I be willing to do anything for her?”
“No. There are some lines you shouldn’t cross, not for anyone.” Shad’s boots crunched, and the next moment, the weight of his hand rested on Leith’s shoulder. “You’re currently planning to give yourself to a week of torture to save her from marriage to Respen. No one doubts the lengths you are willing to go.”
When Shad put it that way, Leith’s plan sounded downright suicidal. But to save both Renna and Martyn, he had to risk it.
“Martyn can’t be persuaded to help?”
“He knows I betrayed him. It’s going to take something more drastic than talk to make him help me.” Leith sucked in a deep breath of the morning air, rich with pine and earth.
“Like seeing you tortured?” Shad scowled. “What if that isn’t enough?”
“I’m betting it is.”
Shad stepped back and crossed his arms. His scowl deepened the lines across his forehead. “You don’t have to throw your life away like this. We need you.”
Leith smiled, though the action felt tight and strained. “You don’t need me. With this information, you’ll be able to guide Prince Keevan to the best position to attack the army. The Blades won’t pose a threat to your numbers.” He clapped Shad on the shoulder. “Besides, you’re going to save me.”
“You can’t be sure of that.”
“Yes, I am.” Leith put as much confidence in those words as possible. “You’re going to rescue your father, then you’ll rescue me and Renna when you conquer Nalgar. That’s what lord’s sons do.”
One week of torture. Leith had to survive it. No matter how much Respen tortured him, the king wouldn’t let him die before the Meeting. But if Prince Keevan was delayed and didn’t attack during the Meeting, Leith would be long dead by the time Shad arrived at Nalgar Castle.
At that point, Leith had better hope Martyn had a change of heart.
Shad huffed a sigh. “You’re the most insane Blade of the lot, aren’t you?”
“Most likely.” Leith shrugged and forced a grin. After a moment, his grin faded. “I’ll be all right. I trust God with my life. Respen can’t hurt me a hair beyond what God has already planned for me.”
“Then the Lord’s will be done.” Shad bowed his head. After a few moments of silence, he straightened his shoulders. “I’ll report what we’ve seen to Prince Keevan. He and General Stewart will come up with a plan. We’ll get to the castle on time.”
“I know.”
In the end, it didn’t matter whether Shad got there in time or not. Renna needed Leith there. He couldn’t abandon her.
Not this time.
33
After three long days traveling with the army, Brandi had learned more about what guys did when they didn’t think a girl was looking than she’d ever wanted to know. The latrines, if the pits dug at the end of camp could be called that, were in plain sight with no privacy whatsoever. Not that all the guys took the time to walk to that end of the camp. She’d learned that one the hard way. Guys also had no inhibitions against changing in the open air, comparing chest hair, and making a variety of rude noises and laughing about it.
Not all of them were that crude, and, to their credit, most of them tried to be a little more civilized when any of the women archers were nearby.
But Brandi looked like one of the boys. If any of them stumbled across her at the moment, that wouldn’t last long. After finding a secluded spot behind a fallen tree, she hurried to take care of some personal business after the day’s ride.
Footsteps crunched on the dead leaves and sticks.
Shoot. Of course someone would decide to wander in this direction. Brandi hurriedly straightened her clothes, buckled her belt, and stepped around the fallen tree.
A young man skidded to a halt, his short brown hair flying around a slim face. His hazel eyes widened. “Oh!” The word came out in a high-pitched squeak. The young man coughed, and his voice deepened. “I mean, sorry.”
The voice did it. Brandi grinned. Not a young man. A young woman. A fellow masquerader. Brandi spoke in her normal voice. “I see you’re also looking for a bit of privacy. There’s a nice spot back there. Would you like me to stand guard?”
The woman’s shoulder’s relaxed. When she spoke, she made no attempt to disguise her voice either. “Thanks.”
Brandi leaned her back against a tree, keeping an eye on the men bustling around the fires. None of them made any move into the forest.
After a few minutes, the young woman joined Brandi by the tree. She stuck out her hand. “Thanks again.”
Brandi shook her hand. “I’m Brandi with Captain Alistair’s Riders. Glad to see I’m not the only girl in disguise here. What’s your name?”
The young woman frowned, leaning away from Brandi as if she wanted to bolt. “I’m Kay.”
That sounded more like her fake army name than her real name, but Brandi wasn’t going to be picky. “Nice to meet you.”
Kay nodded and tromped away, headed in the direction of the main mass of foot soldiers.
With a shrug, Brandi strolled in the other direction. The Riders were stationed on the outskirts of the camp to have room for their horses, one division of Riders for each side. Brandi ha
d left her bedroll and saddle in a heap since she’d been in such a hurry to find a quiet spot in the woods.
She could go set up a small campsite by herself. That’s what she’d been doing the past two nights. But the near miss convinced her. She couldn’t keep doing this on her own. There were too many guys and too little privacy. She needed an ally to keep watch.
At the outskirts of the Alistair Riders, Jamie perched on a log by a small fire by himself. He turned a small carcass on a spit. His bedroll lay a few feet away. Apparently he missed out on a tent too.
She plopped to the ground across from him. “Hi.”
His eyes flicked up then returned to the carcass. He froze, and his gaze inched back to her. “Brandi? What in Acktar are you doing here?”
“I joined the army. What does it look like I’m doing?” Brandi crossed her arms and glared at him. She wasn’t going to back down. She’d come too far to have Jamie try to talk her out of this.
“That’s ridiculous.” Jamie jumped to his feet. “We’re going to report this to Prince Keevan. He’ll arrange to have someone take you back to Eagle Heights.”
“Don’t you dare!” She grabbed his shirt sleeve. She couldn’t go back yet. “I have to do this. Leith and Renna are in trouble. I can’t run and hide. Not this time. Surely you understand.”
His shoulders sagged as he slumped onto his log. “You know Leith’s going to kill me if he finds out I let you join the army.”
“And Renna’s going to kill me when she finds out, but that isn’t going to stop me.” Brandi clenched her fists and her jaw. “If you try to send me back, I’ll just slip out and follow the army on my own. Then I’d be unprotected, and that’d be worse, wouldn’t it?” She cocked her head as she looked up at him, trying to add a note of innocence to those last words.
Jamie’s sigh contained a growl. He scowled at her. “This isn’t a game. We’re headed to war. There’s going to be killing and deaths.”
“I know.” She met his gaze. Of course she knew that. She wasn’t stupid. But this was the middle of the story. If Leith was Daniel meekly walking into the lions’ den, then she was David grabbing a sling on the way to slay a giant. Yes, there’d be bloodshed. Yes, she’d see death and even cause a few deaths herself. But she had to face this fight. “I can handle it.”
She’d killed once. For Leith’s and Renna’s sakes, she could face doing it again in battle. That’s what warriors did.
She studied the expression flashing across Jamie’s face. He turned the spit, staring at the fire as if it held all the answers to his problems. She raised her eyebrows. “You haven’t killed before, have you?”
He shook his head, still focused on the spitted meat. “Leith took me out of Nalgar Castle before Respen had a chance to force me to kill. I haven’t had too many fights since then.”
And she’d killed instead of him in the one attack they’d suffered.
Jamie’s eyes flashed upward. “But this is what I’ve trained for. You’ve had a few lessons, but I’ve spent over two years with the Blades. I haven’t killed yet, but I’ll be able to fight when the time comes.”
“And I proved I can hold my own in a fight.” Brandi gripped the hilt of the knife Leith had given her. “Look around. I’m hardly the only fourteen-year-old here. I have about as much training as some of them. Besides, I’m older than you.”
“By three months. I’ll turn fourteen soon.” Jamie waved at her. “Besides, you’re a…”
“A girl?” Brandi grimaced at him. “So I’ve noticed. Do you realize how disgusting boys are when they think a girl isn’t watching?”
Jamie’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re just realizing this?”
“All I had was a sister. Not much time spent around boys.”
“That explains a few things.” He pulled the spit from the fire. After waving it in the air for a few minutes, he ripped off a chunk of meat and handed it to her. “Dig in.”
After praying, she blew on the meat for several minutes before she took a bite. The juice dribbled onto her chin. She swiped it away with her fingers.
Jamie chomped into his piece, chewed, and swallowed. “If this army wasn’t so big, someone would’ve noticed you’re a girl. You have no idea how to act like a boy.”
She watched his movements, the way he gripped the meat in his fist, the big bites. She shoved as much of the meat as she could in her mouth, chewed with her mouth partly open, and said with her mouth still full, “How’s this?”
“Better. If you want everyone to think you were raised by wolves.” He rolled his eyes and kept eating.
She copied him, taking a bite when he took a bite, chewing as long as he chewed, wiping her mouth on her sleeve when he did. Based on the twinkle in his eyes, she wasn’t getting it right. This whole being a boy thing was harder than she’d thought.
“So are you going to report me?” She chomped her bite and slurped on her fingers to clean them.
“Guess not.” His fingers tightened. “It wouldn’t stop you from doing anything crazy, and I’d rather have you here where I can keep an eye on you than doing something reckless where I can’t.”
She grinned and reached for another chunk of meat. She’d known he’d agree with her when she put it to him the right way. Most people did.
34
As dawn broke in the distance, Leith had hiked west through the edge of the Sheered Rock Hills. After allowing himself a few hours of rest, he continued hiking until he’d passed the far western flank of Respen’s army.
Toward evening, he approached the town of Flayin Falls. Smoke trickled from a few of the buildings while a line of people snaked from the town headed north into the Hills. If Leith were to guess, Respen’s army had raided the town looking for supplies.
Leith watched the people. Should he talk to them? He needed information. Without it, he’d walk into Respen’s trap blind. But if he questioned someone, Respen might discover his whereabouts and capture him before he had a chance to stop the wedding.
Lord Westin was one of the Christian noblemen killed by Blades a few months ago. The odds were high that the people fleeing northwest were Christians escaping into the Sheered Rock Hills. It was unlikely one of them would report Leith to Respen.
If Leith managed to get them to talk. He glanced down at his black clothes. He might frighten them to silence dressed as he was.
He had to risk it. Waiting until darkness dropped around them, Leith slithered through the grass toward a man lagging behind the others. His wife and children trudged into the foothills ahead of him, already weary with the burden of the possessions they carried on their backs.
Ghosting behind the man, Leith drew a knife and pressed the flat of the blade against the man’s throat. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just need information.”
The man stiffened and remained silent.
“I heard King Respen plans to marry Lady Rennelda. When and where is the wedding taking place?” Leith kept his voice low but friendly. No need to scare the man more than he had to.
“The wedding was several days ago.” The man’s throat bobbed.
He was too late. Leith’s stomach burned. Respen must’ve moved it. He’d known Leith would try to interfere and had fooled him into thinking he’d still had time.
“But the king didn’t marry the lady.” The man swallowed again. “I heard she refused him. So he’s having her executed.”
An execution. Not a wedding. Should he be relieved or worried? “When’s the execution?”
The man made a gargling sound. Leith winced. He’d pressed the knife harder against the man’s neck than he’d realized. Since the man was cooperating, Leith released him. “Please. I need to know. When is Lady Rennelda’s execution?”
Cautiously, the man turned around. His eyes flicked over Leith, taking in the knives and the black clothes. “You’re that Blade King Respen is hunting, aren’t you? There were other Blades here asking about you.”
Too late to deny it now. “Yes.”
> The man’s tense shoulders eased as he glanced at his family. They’d stopped trudging down the road and now huddled in a group as if numbers would protect them. “The lady’s execution is a week from today.”
Leith’s shoulders sagged. He had time.
The man waved a hand at the knife Leith still held. “You know, you could’ve just asked.”
Leith glanced at the knife, grimaced, and sheathed it. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he could go up to the man and ask. Questioning always involved knives. “Sorry. Let me give you some provisions for your trouble.”
He dug in his pack and pulled out half of his dried meat and biscuits. If only he could tell the man that the Resistance army was on its way. But he couldn’t risk word reaching Respen’s army.
The man took the supplies. “I hope you rescue her.”
Leith nodded. “Your prayers would be appreciated.” He spun on his heel and headed for Nalgar Castle.
35
Brandi craned her neck to see what was causing the commotion at the front of the army. Blizzard flicked his ears, as if he could hear and understand the words being said.
She caught a glimpse of dark hair and the shine of chestnut fur. “Shad’s back.” As she settled back into the saddle, the order barked along the column to halt and make camp.
“Must have some crucial information.” Jamie dismounted and tugged Buster in the direction their lieutenant indicated. “Prince Keevan and General Stewart need to plan.”
Brandi undid the girth on her saddle and hauled it off Blizzard’s back. She brushed the sweat coating the fur under the saddle. When she’d finished, she took a few handfuls of dust and rubbed it over Blizzard’s distinctive grey, speckled coat.
Since she’d told Jamie, she hadn’t bothered, but with Shad back in camp, she needed to keep Blizzard hidden. Jamie might be willing to let her ride into this battle, but she didn’t think Shad would be as lenient. He might tolerate Lady Lorraine and Jolene with the archers, but he wouldn’t allow her to continue with the Riders. He’d personally escort her all the way to Eagle Heights and see to it that Lady Alistair kept Brandi tied in her room until this war was over.
Defy (The Blades of Acktar Book 3) Page 19