by B N Miles
Theus took a deep breath, let out a groan, then closed his eyes and crossed his legs.
“Will do, sir,” the soldier said.
Cam smiled and left.
Theus would be fine. The soldiers would mess with him for a bit but they’d grow tired of it soon enough. He needed to come up with a better method of teaching Theus how to find the priori, but this would do for now.
Cam stalked off to find Felin next.
19
Felin’s tents stood at the edge of a clearing away from the main bulk of the army. A small trench was dug in around her perimeter. Cam nodded at a pair of tall guards leaning against a cart as he walked past.
“Evening, General,” the guard on the right said. He had bright blue eyes and a boyish face. “Come to see the mistress?”
Cam half smiled. “That’s what you call her?”
“Not to her face, mind you,” the guard said.
“I think she’d like it.”
“Oh, maybe she would, but why take the chance?”
A scream rang out from the nearest tent. Cam flinched and turned toward it, but neither of the guards seemed to react.
“Don’t mind him,” the boyish guard said. “He’s just having a chat with the mistress.”
“What’s she been doing in there?”
“Asking questions. You know.” The guard grinned at him. “Working in your interests.”
Cam gave the guards a half nod and stalked to the tent’s flap. He pushed it aside and slipped through.
The interior was dim. Muggy air hung flat and stale. He smelled sweat and bile. Two more guards stood to the right side of the tent. Their backs were straight and both were sweating. A low wooden table sat in front of them. Tools covered its surface, some stained with dried and flaking brown blood.
A man sat on a chair in the center of the tent. His hands were bound behind his back. His head lulled forward as blood seeped from his nose. Felin walked around the chair like a predator with her hands clasped behind her back. She wore a tight black tunic, the top two buttons undone to show a hint of her breasts, her thick dark hair tied up in a bun on her head.
“I know you’ve been spreading rumors,” she said. “I know you’ve been talking about things you shouldn’t talk about. The sooner you admit it, the sooner this is done.”
“I don’t know… what you’re talking about.” The man on the chair let out a sob. “I really don’t.”
“Pathetic.” Felin stepped close to him and pulled his head back by the roots of his hair. He let out another groan as she spoke into his ear. “You’ve been telling people that the Elves plan on taking the Mansion from us while we’re gone. You riled up a lot of people, Iorrim.”
Iorrim tried to shake his head but Felin held it tight. “No, I didn’t, that’s not—”
Felin grabbed his face by the cheeks. “Stop lying to me,” she said.
“I didn’t—”
She slammed her fist across his face. He slumped to the side and nearly tipped the chair over. She stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her.
“I’ll ask again, Iorrim. And if you lie again, I’m going to stop asking, and start hurting.”
“Please,” he said. “I didn’t—”
“Felin.” Cam couldn’t watch any longer. “Enough.”
Felin turned. Surprise lit up her face. Then it darkened into something else.
“You shouldn’t be here, Cam,” she said.
“We need to talk.”
Her eyes moved back to Iorrim. He spit blood in a thick gob that landed in his lap. He let out a horrible sob as his head hung limp, chin against his chest.
“I’m nearly finished with this one,” she said. “And then—”
“Now, Fel.”
She gave Cam a look then released a sharp breath. “Take him back to the pens,” she said to the guards. “I’ll finish this later.”
The guards came forward. One untied Iorrim’s wrists while the other helped him up. They half carried the limp man through a back flap and out of the room.
Felin walked over to the table and picked up a white rag. She wiped the blood from her knuckles.
“What can I do for you, Cam?”
“What is all this?” He gestured around him.
“This is what you asked for.”
He let out a shocked laugh. “I wanted you to investigate, not torture.”
“Investigate?” She gave him a look. “You have no clue, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
She threw the cloth down on the table and strode across the room. She kicked over the chair and glared down at it.
“That sniveling little fuck you saw simpering and whining is part of a movement,” she said. “I’m not sure who’s leading them or what their goals are. But they’ve been spreading lies through the camp ever since we left the Mansion.”
“What lies?” Cam masked. “Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?”
“I didn’t have enough to bring to you yet,” she said.
“What lies, Felin?”
She turned to him. “About the Elves,” she said. “About godlings in general. People believe the Elves are going to slaughter all Humans when this is over and take the Mansion as their own. People believe the Elves are working with the wolves in some… conspiracy.”
“That’s insane,” Cam said.
“I know that, you know that. Most people know it. But there are those who believe all godlings are monsters or worse.”
Cam looked away from the tipped over chair. He’d seen plenty of hate toward the godlings since venturing out from his village. There was prejudice and anger everywhere, and that anger always seemed to end up directed toward the non-Human races more often than not.
“Why are you torturing him, then?” Cam asked.
“I need to know who he’s talking to and where he’s getting these lies,” she said. “If I can cut it off at the source, we might be able to keep this army from splintering apart.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
“It can be, Cam.” Felin stalked back and forth under a single hanging lamp. Her shadow lengthened, twisted, lengthened again. “I’m thinking about what happens when all of this is over. If we beat the wolves, what then? People won’t go back to the old way of living. They’re afraid of godlings, Cam, and I can’t blame them. They’re afraid of people like me simply because of what I am.”
“It’s war, Fel,” he said. “War brings out the worst.”
“And I’m making sure that the worst doesn’t destroy what we’re trying to build.”
“Brice came to me about you.”
Felin stopped pacing. “And?”
“She asked me to stop what you’re doing. She said… she thinks you’re making things worse.”
Felin snorted. “Of course she does. I took a few of her men a couple of days back. Haven’t returned them since.”
“Why, Fel?”
“Rumors, lies.” She shook her head. Her eyes looked wild. “This whole place is going to fracture and split. And I’m afraid when it does, they’ll come hunting for people just like me.”
Cam stared at Felin. He’d never seen her like this before, agitated and half-crazed. He believed that there were plenty of people within the army that hated the godlings, and the Elves in particular, but she couldn’t really think there was any way of stopping it.
“Felin, please, listen to me,” he said.
She crossed her arms. “What? Don’t tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re not wrong,” he said. His voice was gentle. “But you’re going too far.”
“Too far—” she started.
Cam interrupted. “No more torture. No more taking men from their platoons.”
“If I don’t separate the worst of them—”
“No more, Felin.”
She gaped at him. “I can’t believe this.”
“You can’t torture members of this army,” he said and flipped a hand at the table of i
nstruments to his right. “You can’t carve them up to make them talk.”
“It works,” she said.
“I’m sure you think it does. But we aren’t doing that anymore.”
“What will you have me do then? You wanted me to root out your enemies.”
“I wanted you to find those still loyal to Remorn. I wanted you to find anyone that might try and usurp my authority.”
“I’ve found some of those,” she said. “Tortured them, too.”
“I believe in what you’re doing,” Cam said. “But I don’t believe in your methods. No more torturing. No more disappearing. Watch, listen, question, learn. Bring me what you find.”
“Cam,” she said, and her voice was a snarl. “You’re cutting off my hands. How am I supposed to do my job?”
“You’re going to have to find some other way,” he said. “If I hear you’re still torturing people, I’m going to—”
“What?” Felin asked. “Throw me out?”
Cam opened his mouth then shut it again. He let out a breath and shook his head. “Of course not.”
“Then what?”
“I’ll take away your command. Assign someone else.”
She laughed. “Nobody will do it. You think anyone cares about you like I do?”
Cam took a few steps toward her, hands extended. She didn’t move.
“I know you care,” he said. “That’s why I want you to keep going. But please, no more torturing. I can’t have that, not right now.”
She glared at him before throwing her hands in the air.
“Fine,” she said.
“Thank you.”
She let out a breath. Her expression dripped frustration.
“I don’t know how you plan on keeping all this together,” she said.
“I don’t either,” Cam said. “But I intend on trying the best I can.”
“And when it all goes wrong?”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
She just shook her head. “I have work to do,” she said. “I’ll make sure Iorrim is tended to. I’ll ask him some questions and release him tomorrow.”
“Without hurting him.”
“Without hurting him,” she echoed.
She strode to the back flap, threw it aside, and disappeared.
Cam watched the flap flutter back into position and leaned his head back, his eyes squeezed shut.
He didn’t think Felin would ever go this far. But clearly, he had underestimated her zeal. He didn’t know if he should be angry or if he should appreciate how much she cared.
A little bit of both, he decided.
He turned and left her tent behind. The guards nodded to him as he strode back toward the main camp.
20
Birds chirped sparingly. Boots crunched over freshly fallen pine needles. Brice kept her helmet tucked under an arm.
Cam’s eyes skimmed the forest ahead as Brice’s armored column continued its march along a dry streambed. Cam guessed the stream would fill once the summer thaws hit the mountain.
“Reports said the wolves should be near here,” Cam said.
“I’m surprised your guard let you come on this mission,” Brice said.
“Arter wasn’t happy about it. But I told him you’d take good care of me.”
She gave him a look. “We both know why you’re out here with me.”
Cam said nothing. Ahead, the stream hooked right through a dense copse of tall pines. There were fifty men and women in heavy plate with spear and shield at the ready. Cam’s scouts found evidence of a mid-sized wolf force camping in the area, but they hadn’t come across them yet.
Most missions went like this. The wolves were beginning to learn. They couldn’t engage them every single time Cam sent his people out, otherwise they’d get stretched too thin. They began to set traps and pick the ground on which they fought.
Which meant Cam was losing more often than he won.
“There’s something off about this,” Brice said.
“You feel it too?”
“They’ve been getting smarter.”
“I think they’ve always been smart.”
Her gloved hand patted against the bronze plate skirt around her thighs. It made a soft clinking sound. “But they didn’t fight smart,” she said. “They were a rabble before.”
“Conflicting tribes and packs,” Cam said. “We exploited that to break the army free.”
“Right,” Brice said. “But they’ve been working together these last few days. Drawing Key into traps, fighting with the high ground. Before they’d throw themselves at our walls and hope their numbers overwhelmed us.”
“They don’t have numbers anymore.”
Brice let out a small grunt. “They don’t,” she agreed. “But at the rate we’re going, I’m not sure how long that’ll last.”
“What do you propose, then?” Cam asked.
“Confrontation,” she said. “Force a battle.”
“I’m not sure we can win.”
“Nothing’s ever sure in war.”
“That’s not true,” Cam said. “Maybe nothing is ever exactly certain, but you can bend a battle in your direction. Tactics, strategy, positioning, numbers, it’s all designed to give your army the greatest possible chance.”
“And you don’t think we can come up with some strategy to win in a direct confrontation.”
Cam’s eyes swept along the bend in the stream. “I think there’s something bigger happening.”
She eyed him with a tilted head. “What do you mean?”
Cam thought back to the mountain, to Lycanica hanging mid-air, her gorgeous hair waving in the soft breeze.
“Something happened before we left,” he said. “I haven’t told many people about it.”
“If you know something, you shouldn’t keep it to yourself.”
“I’m not even sure you’d believe me,” Cam said.
“What happened?”
He sucked in a breath, but a crashing of twigs and rustling branches made him stop.
Wolves spilled out from the trees.
“Formation!” Brice shouted.
Cam fell back as Brice’s men formed up around them. Three ranks deep and heavy with armor. The wolves tore down the empty streambed and threw themselves at the line of soldiers. Teeth gnashed and claws tore at shields and spears.
The copper smell of blood and gore quickly filled the air.
Cam couldn’t get a good count. He was buried in the back lines. Brice hurried between them, shoving some forward, pulling others back. Cam tried to move to the side to get a better view but one of the senior soldiers grabbed his shoulder.
“Stay here, General,” he said. The man’s eyes shone from beneath his bronze helmet. “Can’t keep you safe if you go running off.”
“I’m not sure I need protecting, soldier,” Cam said.
“All the same, General would have my nuts on a platter if she knew I let you run off.”
Cam grunted in response and let the soldier guide him back into the center of the fighting mass.
Animal screams filled the air. Birds took flight in great black flocks. Rocks and dirt tumbled down into the streambed. Wolves slammed into the shield wall with shocking force and little regard for their own lives.
Cam could hear Brice shouting over the din but couldn’t make out the words.
Ahead, the wall pushed forward. Men grunted and shouted. Cam smelled musky sweat and fear.
He cursed and looked around again. He couldn’t stay safe in the middle of a mass of armored soldiers, not if he could help. More shouting from the front, and the mass jerked forward then stumbled back as more wolves spilled in from the trees to their left, slamming into the front line’s flank.
Brice called up the second line and tried to form a wall.
But there were too many of them and on too many sides. Cam realized that the scouts had led him directly into a trap.
He shoved away from the soldier watching over him. He h
eard a shout but ignored it as he waded through the bodies toward the left flank. Bodies sliced open and screams filled the air. The wolves clawed at shields and armor desperate to find flesh. Cam shoved out of the column and staggered into the open air.
Only to face a pack of snarling wolves as they threw themselves with berserker rage at the line facing them.
Cam called on his fire. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t bother drawing his sword. It flowed out from his hands like molten water. He thrust his palms forward and released the burning inferno in huge gusts of bone-melting heat.
Wolves screamed. The front line stepped back, away from the fire.
Cam pumped more energy into his attack. The wolves parted before him. Piles of ash simmered on the blackened ground. The smell of cooked meat and burned sinew filled his nostrils as more screaming rang out.
The wolves melted away before him. He dropped his magic as sweat fell down his brow. He swept the field in search of more wolves to kill, but they melted back into the forest.
Armored soldiers marched forward, swinging the line out through the devastation.
“Cam!”
He looked over and found Brice with two soldiers trotting toward him. He recognized one of the soldiers as the veteran that had held him back before.
“General,” he said.
She wore her helmet shoved down over her dark hair, but he could see her bright eyes through the visor. He felt the Need claw at his brain.
“I thought you were told to stay in the ranks,” she said.
“I thought I’d help out,” he said.
Brice got closer. “I agreed to let you come on the condition that you wouldn’t fight,” she said. “If you got hurt under my watch—”
“Then I’m sure there’d be a lot of men and women back at camp that would be happy to see it.”
“And twice as many that would tear me limb from limb.” She shook her head and released a frustrated breath. “You’re too important to go running around fighting like this. You know that, don’t you?”
“I can still fight.” Cam’s words came out in a snarl.
“You can, but you shouldn’t.”
Shouts rang out by the front line. The mass of men shoved forward and Cam watched them break ranks.