by B N Miles
Flesh and hair sizzled. Wolf bodies broke into pieces. Inhuman wolf screams filled the air. Cam killed as many as he could and reveled in the piles of ash he left behind.
He waded forward, slicing through hides. He used his off hand to throw long jets of red-orange flame forward. The fire broke the wolves and scattered them back toward the water.
Key’s formation pushed forward. Spears darted forward and sliced through ribs and stomachs and skulls. Shields battered desperate snapping jaws. Boots stomped over corpses as they pushed the wolves back.
Arter and his men swarmed around Cam. They hacked at the animals around them. Arter tried to form a shield wall but Cam’s flames kept them back. Cam couldn’t release his magic or else the wolves would be able to regroup.
The stream was ahead. More wolves lingered on the far banks, waiting for their chance to leap across. He released another jet of fire then pooled as much power as he could. He aimed it for the water and clenched his jaw as he snapped his magic into place.
The stream lit up in a dancing inferno.
Fire raced along the water and hung in the air. The wolves on the far back reared back. Cam thought he saw some try to jump through.
Key’s men pushed forward. Their numbers dwindled with each step but the wolves were forced back to the water’s edge. Some risked the flames and died in water and fire while the others threw themselves like maniacs at Key’s soldiers.
Arter and the Guard formed a protective ring around Cam.
The afternoon air was thick with blood and burning bodies. Cooked meat and copper stung his nostrils. The ground was damp with gore and bodies.
There were too many dead Humans on the field.
Cam released his magic as Key’s men reached the edge of the stream. The flames dropped and he let out a groan of despair as the Need overwhelmed him. Wolves gathered on the far side but didn’t dare throw themselves across. They’d lost about half of their number, though Key’s men didn’t look much better.
“I think we have it,” Arter said. “The wolves, I think they’re retreating.”
“No other choice,” Cam said through clenched teeth.
Key’s men began to pick through the dead and to tend to their wounded. They retreated to the slope and gained some high ground before they made camp for the evening. Cam found Key huddled over a camp fire at the edge of a small clearing while her men wrapped bandages over their wounds.
“You okay?” he asked, crouching down beside her.
The evening stretched out around them. Cicadas sang as stars filled the sky.
Key fed a thin twig into the flames.
“We almost lost that fight,” she said.
“I know.” Cam sat back and leaned on his hands. “I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t think they’d jump,” she said. “I expected them to wade through and come slower. Once they got across, I was going to push up on them and kill as many as I could.”
“But they jumped,” Cam said.
“And it freaked the men out. I mean, you saw that, right? It scared my men half to death.”
“The first charge almost wrecked your lines.”
“I’m lucky you were there.” She looked at him and shook her head. Stray hairs haloed around her face. “Otherwise we’d be dead down there.”
“Arter almost didn’t let me help.”
She snorted. “Thanks for ignoring him.”
“Key.” Cam reached out and took her hand. She blinked away tears and he could feel the frustration roll off her. “It was just your first engagement.”
“I know,” she said. “But I just thought…”
“You took green, barely trained soldiers into battle,” he said. “You fought a horde of wolves and survived.”
“Only thanks to your magic.’
“And to your leadership,” he said. “You pressed the advantage. I couldn’t hold them off forever.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for saying that, but I’m not sure it’s true.”
“It’s true,” he said and held her fingers up to his lips. “I swear, Key. You’re a good commander. You just need time to settle into the role, and you need the men to get some experience.”
“Hard to get experience when half of them are dead.”
He kissed her finger tips. “I know,” he said. “We’ll assign you more.”
“That’s not the point.” She gently pulled her hands away and fed another twig into the fire. “How are we going to do this, Cam? Half the army is green. The other half is terrified of fighting again. Our first engagement was nearly a disaster.”
“We’ll get better,” he said. “We’re already learning. Now we know they can jump at least ten feet. In the future, you’ll hit them hard as soon as they land.”
She smiled a little. “If there is a future.”
“There’s a future.” He put an arm around her shoulder.
She leaned against him. They sat in silence. Fire crackled and danced in the breeze.
Men moaned around them in pain and frustration.
Cam couldn’t deny that had nearly been a disaster. If he had lost Key back there, plus an entire battalion, he wasn’t sure they could have come back from that. The morale hit would have been too great.
But they’d survived. They hurt the wolves as much as the wolves had hurt them.
They’d get better. They’d be smarter, stronger.
Cam squeezed his arm tight around Key’s shoulders.
“Now,” he said, leaning his lips against her ear. “I have a little Need I’d like to discuss with you.”
She smiled and laughed and Cam grinned back.
There was a future. He was sure of it.
18
The bulk of the army rolled through the woods. Days passed, trees shook and quivered in the wind, rivers came and went. Axes lopped off branches for firewood. Each night a chorus of digging shovels and grunting men erected a ring of defensive fortifications around their position.
“They’re trailing us,” Brice said about a week after Key’s first engagement. Her dark hair hung loose over her shoulders as she hunkered over a map. Candlelight shaped her lips into a full heart.
“That’s what we want,” Cam said.
“Key’s been having running battles with them in the rearguard,” she said. “And we’re losing men.”
“How many?”
Brice shook her head. “Too many. Ten, twenty every day. We lost fifty yesterday.”
Cam grunted and ran a finger down a list of provisions. They were low on salt already.
“Reinforce her from the seventh,” he said. “Captain Frant can spare the men.”
“He won’t like it.”
“Then he can march back to the Mansion.” Cam stretched his arms behind his head.
Brice lingered over the map. Cam gazed along the curve of her hip, the arch of her spine, and saw a hint of her breasts beneath the neckline of her tunic. She caught him looking, but instead of standing up, a smile slipped over her lips.
“Easy there,” she said. “You know you have more than one girlfriend in this army, don’t you?”
“There’s always room for more,” he said.
She laughed and sat back. Cam let out a breath. Brice’s eyes were like steel, but her lips and body looked like they would be soft beneath him.
“There’s been some grumbling,” she said.
“Grumbling?”
“Complaining. From the general staff.”
“That’s not surprising.”
“Felin’s been a little… aggressive in her tactics.”
Cam laughed. “Also not surprising.”
“The Generals don’t like it,” she said. “I’m afraid they’re going to start abandoning the army if Felin keeps pushing at them like this.”
“What would you have me do?” Cam asked. “I need her to sniff out disloyalty.”
“I think you’re sowing more chaos instead.”
Cam crossed his arms over his chest. �
�I hadn’t considered that.”
Brice chewed her lip for a moment. Cam had never seen her so indecisive before, but then she leaned forward and put her elbows on the table.
“There are men here that want to see you fall,” she said, speaking very slowly and carefully. “I won’t deny that. But most of the army just wants to do what’s best for the Mansion and their families.
“You think I should reign Felin in.”
“I think you should be subtler,” she said. “Felin has an important role. We need order in the camps. But the way she’s been doing it…”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“Thank you.” Brice leaned back, and her relief was surprising and palpable.
Cam tilted his head. “Did you think I was going to get angry at you for bringing this up to me?”
“I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
He rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been under a lot of strain lately,” he said. “For obvious reasons. But I’m not going to snap at my officers just because they don’t agree with all my decisions. I need some dissent in my ranks, at least enough to keep me honest.”
Brice gave him a smile. Her eyebrows arched. “You want me to be that dissenting voice?”
“If I deserve it. You don’t have to worry about… punishment.”
“Oh, but General. Sometimes I do deserve to be punished.”
Cam’s mouth dropped in surprise.
Brice laughed and stood. She turned away and Cam stared at her pert, round ass. She walked toward the far tent flap, but before she could push it aside, Janter stepped through.
“Sir, Theus is here to see you,” Janter said.
“Send him in.”
Brice gave Cam another look. Theus stepped inside, looked from Brice to Cam, then held up a hand.
“Am I interrupting?”
“I was just leaving.” Brice nodded to Theus then slipped outside.
He watched her go then turned to Cam. “What was that about?”
“I have no clue,” Cam said, his voice soft. “One second, that woman hates me. And the next she acts like she wants to throw herself in my bed.”
“Must be nice.” Theus walked over and took the chair Brice just left. “All these women throwing themselves at you.”
“I really don’t know what it is.”
“Momentum, I’d guess.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” he said, “you started out with one, right? Miuri was first?”
“I guess so.”
“Then Miuri helped with Key… and Felin came along… then Galla threw herself into the mix. So now I guess women see that you’re desirable, and apparently open to multiple women, so…” He shrugged and spread his hands out. “Momentum.”
“I’ll just keep picking up more women like a rock rolling downhill then?”
“Pretty much. Like I said, lucky guy.”
Cam sighed and rolled his eyes. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the tent ceiling, watching the heavy canvas fabric ripple slightly in the wind.
“I learned something interesting before we left the Mansion,” Cam said.
Theus looked up from studying the maps in front of him. “Did you now?”
“Sirrin told me something about magic. I’ve been thinking a lot about it, ever since we left, and I can’t really get the idea out of my head.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
Cam looked at his friend, at the burn scars down the side of his face, and felt a shiver in his guts.
“Magic can be taught,” Cam said.
“Obviously,” Theus said. “Your father taught it to you.”
“No, you don’t understand. Magic can be taught to… anyone.”
Theus’s lips tugged down into a frown. “I thought you needed to be born to a shaman.”
“That’s what I thought too. That’s the impression my father always gave. But Sirrin says it’s not true.”
“How would he know?”
“He wasn’t born to shaman, and he has magic.”
“Huh.” Theus sat back. “Interesting. I just always assumed…” He shook his head. “I thought it was special.”
“It is,” Cam said. “It’s still exceedingly difficult. I don’t think most people could learn it, even if it’s possible.”
“So what are you thinking?”
“I want to teach people,” Cam said.
Theus laughed. “Imagine an army of shaman. We’d wipe the wolves out in a week.”
“Exactly.” Cam leaned forward. “I want you to be the first.”
Theus made a face then laughed again. “Come on, you’re not serious.”
“I’m very serious,” Cam said. “I need someone that’s smart, capable, and loyal. I need someone that won’t abuse their power.”
“You really think you can teach me? You barely learned yourself.”
“True,” Cam admitted. “But it hasn’t been too long since my father gave me lessons. I remember most of what he taught me and I think I can pass it down to you.”
Theus studied him for a long moment. Cam couldn’t read his friend’s expression, but every time he looked at the burn scars on Theus’s face, he wanted to get up, leave the tent, and never return.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” Theus said.
“Nobody’s ever ready for it,” Cam said. “You just do it, and one day you figure out how to be better.”
Theus took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “So, what, are you going to make me sit in the middle of the camp and… what do you call it? Meditate?”
“Probably,” Cam said.
“I’m a General. I have responsibilities.”
“We’ll work around them.”
“This is insane. You want me to learn magic.”
“I really, really do.” Cam leaned forward. “You deserve it, Theus. You’ve been with me from the start, and there’s nobody I trust more than you.”
“I’ll do it,” he said. “If you want it, I’ll do it.”
“Don’t take this on if you’re not sure. I can find someone else.”
Theus grinned. “Like you said, I’m brilliant and capable, so.”
“I’m not sure I said that.”
“Sure, you did.” Theus crossed his arms. “So what now?”
“Now we’ll get started. And if it works with you…”
“Then you’ll create your army.”
“That’s the idea.”
Theus laughed and leaned back in his chair. He ran his hands through his hair and stretched his arms up.
“So if I learn magic, will I get a bunch of beautiful women to keep me satisfied?” Theus asked.
“I don’t think it works that way,” Cam said. “I mean, look at Sirrin. The guy’s barely with it most of the time.”
“True.” He dropped his arms and the smile slipped away. “I know this is a huge responsibility. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.” Cam pushed his chair back. “Let’s start the first lesson.”
“Right now?”
“Right now. Come on.” Cam brushed past his friend and headed toward the tent flap. Theus scrambled to his feet and followed.
Cam moved out into the evening. Spades dug into dirt. Men laughed around fires. The smell of cooking meat, boiling water, and washing soap resonated. Theus caught up with Cam and walked beside him.
Janter and a stocky man named Madus fell into step behind them.
Cam loved the camp in the early evening, just before the sun fell. Men greeted him as he passed and he stopped to exchange a kind word or two. Cam breathed the campfire smoke. Armorers repaired torn leathers and hammered out dented plate. Weapon smiths sharpened spearheads. Fletchers carved arrows and sanded bows smooth. Camp followers moved between tents and spoke in low voices.
Cam made his way toward the center of the army. He hadn’t actually planned any lessons for Theus. He hadn’t thought ahead at all. He only knew that he needed more shaman if he
was going to survive what was to come.
The image of Lycanica hanging gorgeous and perfect and horrifying mid-air was seared into the inside of his eyelids.
Cam reached a ring of tents placed around a crowded fire. The men were infantry, though he wasn’t sure who commanded them. Spears and shields rested haphazardly in the grass.
“Sit with them,” Cam said, gesturing at the fire.
“Why?” Theus asked. “Those are…” He squinted in the low light. “I’m actually not sure who leads them.”
“You do!” one of the men shouted. He had a bushy gray beard. Laughter broke out around him.
“Oh,” Theus said. “Shit, he’s right.”
“Sit with them,” Cam said again. “Don’t speak. Don’t listen. Sit with them and think about nothing.”
Theus groaned. “I was joking about the meditating thing.”
“I wasn’t.” He put a hand on Theus’s shoulder. “You need to learn to control your mind. That’s a big part of what I do.”
“Sounds boring.”
“It’s very, very boring. Until you understand.”
“So I just sit… and think about nothing.” Theus frowned at the infantrymen.
“Not so different from what you normally do!” a voice shouted and more laughter erupted.
“Sit and think about nothing,” Cam said. “Don’t smile at their jokes. As far as you’re concerned, they don’t exist. If you can’t tune out a bunch of idiots with too much time on their hands, you won’t be able to tune out a pack of gibbering wolves.”
Theus took a deep breath. “Alright,” he said. “If you think this will work, I’ll do it.”
“Good. It took me years to learn what I know. You’re going to do it in weeks.”
Theus’s face went pale. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Get in there.” Cam pushed him forward. Theus walked over to the fire and took a seat between two burly men.
“Should we give him hell, General?” one asked. His belly jiggled as he laughed.
“Do whatever you want,” Cam said. “If he reacts to you at all, make sure you tell me about it.”