“Hate to state the obvious, Jules, but what if you fail?” Danil looked at the villagers. They were dressed like soldiers, but had never fought, not really. Even now, he could see they were shaken.
Julianne gestured at them. “That’s why we have a backup plan. You and Garrett can train our people. Run simulations, make them as real as possible so we don’t have anyone shitting their pants if the fight comes here.”
Marcus raised a hand. “If Garrett’s training my troops, I hope to hell that means I’m going with you.”
Julianne nodded. “You said you were dying to take me out to dinner in the big city. Now’s your chance.” She winked at him as a grin lit up her face.
“Wait, he said what?” Danil squeaked. “You’ve got some balls, Marcus. Last guy that said something like that to her spent the next week believing he was a horny chihuahua.”
Marcus winced. “I hope you’re joking. Don’t tell me if you’re not.”
Chapter Fifteen
Julianne called a crisis meeting at Annie’s. Bastian and the rearick had already gone to bed, but quickly roused when Julianne sent them strong mental nudges. She let Harlon sleep, but Francis appeared at the dining hall when he heard the noise.
Annie set a fresh pot of tea on the table. “Listen, I don’t mind you using my house to host your discussions, but my old bones are tired. You want a waitress for your meeting, you have it at a decent hour, you hear?”
Julianne jumped up from the table and gave her a hug. “Go to bed, Annie. You’ve been so much help, we wouldn’t think of asking more of you. If there’s anything you need to know in the morning, we’ll fill you in.”
Annie huffed out a breath and patted Julianne's arm. “And you’ve done much for us. Seems you’re still doing. I appreciate that.”
She waved them a goodnight and traipsed upstairs.
“What’s happened?” Bette asked.
Julianne and Marcus gave a quick explanation.
“Ye want me to mold those snot-nosed saplings into real fighters?” Garrett asked. “Maybe if ye gave me a year or six…”
“We don’t have that long,” Julianne said. “But don’t worry. I was going to ask Bette, anyway.”
Garrett shot to his feet. “I’ll have them battle ready in a week, Bitch help me.”
“Ye couldn’t do it in yer lifetime. Takes a warrior to train a warrior,” Bette piped up.
“And I suppose ye could do it better?” Garrett asked.
“I think it’ll go faster if you work together,” Julianne said, letting a hint of iron enter her voice. Bitch help me, I thought that damn fight would make them less competitive, not more, she thought.
“I can help, too,” Danil said. Garrett scoffed, but Danil explained. “I can give you illusions for them to fight. They can hit as hard as they want, no need to worry about bruising a friend. The illusions will bleed, though. Exploding heads, spilled intestines, I can do the lot. Get them over the squeamishness real fast.”
“That’s brilliant!” Bette exclaimed. “Oh, and if they chop a head off, can ye make it all squirty?”
Danil looked at her in alarm. “Cripes, Bette, you sound like you’ll enjoy the show!”
“Just wanna make sure my men can handle a wee bit of blood, is all,” she said with a grin. Garrett just watched, jaw slack.
“Bastian,” Julianne said. “I want you on teaching, as many hours as you can rope people in. See if Artemis will help, too. He promised to take some children’s classes, but I’ve only seen him do the one. We need as many villagers as possible to be able to shield.”
“Yes, Master,” he said. “I might be able to come up with some kind of deal with old Artie.” Bastian didn’t elaborate, but Julianne didn’t have time to ask, so she let it be.
“So, where are you going?” Bastian asked. “Off to Muir, I’m guessing.”
Julianne nodded. “Marcus’s shields are damn near impenetrable now. He’ll blend in better than the two of you”—she pointed at her fellow mystics—“and I know he can fight like a demon if we get into trouble.”
“You’re up against mystics, though, Master. Are you sure it’ll be safe?”
“We’re just going on reconnaissance. If there’s a chance I can take Rogan down cleanly, I will, but I won’t do anything stupid. If I need you, I’ll send word.”
“Depending on the situation, we might be able to petition the local lord for help,” Marcus added. “If his men still think highly of him, maybe they haven’t gotten to him yet.”
“That’ll be our first task,” Julianne said. “We need to know how deep the rot is, and how far it’s spread.”
She rubbed her head. “We’ll have to leave first light. I don’t want them getting the jump on us.”
“We should get some sleep then,” Marcus suggested with a wink.
“Not in her room, yer not,” Bette retorted.
Marcus stuck his tongue out at the rearick as he stood. “I’ll be here at sunrise with the horses. Be ready.”
Julianne pushed back her chair and rubbed her eyes. “Marcus is right, which proves miracles do happen. We all need sleep.”
The room quickly emptied, leaving Julianne to stack the teacups. A clink startled her, and she looked up to see Francis helping.
“I guess you lot have it all organized, then?” he said quietly. “You probably don’t need my help, but it’s there if you need it.”
Julianne put a hand on his arm. She knew the man had been hurting in silence for a long time, now. If only they’d had the time to deal with the deeper wounds this town had suffered before having to rush off to rescue it again.
“Francis, all our big plans could all come to naught. For all we know, that fat jerk is on his way back now. We need every bit of help we can get.”
Francis brightened a little. “If there’s something I can do, tell me.”
“You were a builder before, weren’t you?" she asked.
Few of the villagers had returned to their old professions, instead roped into farming and rebuilding the town. Francis had spent most of his time doing repairs and mending fences, in between his classes with Marcus and Danil.
He nodded. “Not much call for it here. Mostly did fences and barns.”
Julianne grinned. “That’s perfect. I want you in charge of fortifying the main thoroughfares. Wall off as much of the exposed routes into the town as you can and make sure those bastards can’t just ride on in.”
“Thank you, Master.” Francis shook her hand roughly. “You can rely on me.”
“I have no doubt.” Julianne’s heart lifted as a sense of purpose infused Francis.
His posture straightened, and he pushed his shoulders back, lifting his head to look her in the eye for only the second time since they had met.
The first time was the day he had sworn to burn the New Dawn to the ground if it killed him.
It was in their first interview. Julianne had met with the man to probe his mind and make sure he wasn’t still trapped by the New Dawn’s mind control, and that he hadn’t followed them willingly.
What she found was blind rage and a thirst for revenge. The Dawn had taken his wife. Danielle was ill when they came into town, and was preparing to leave to seek medical help in Muir. They used mental control to fool her into thinking the strange lump in her throat was gone.
When Francis questioned it, they did the same to him. The lump grew, though Danielle couldn’t feel it and Francis couldn’t see it. Even when she choked on her food, or gasped for breath, it never occurred to them that it was the growth, getting worse as it went untreated.
Danielle had died a few days after Julianne freed Tahn. Francis hadn’t even known. They had told him she was off to serve at the feet of Master August and his superiors, and the bastards had mind-fucked him so badly he was proud of her.
Julianne listened to him talk for hours. About the niggling feeling something wasn’t right, the constant anxiety and nightmares about his wife’s safety. He drowned himself
in guilt, convinced he could have—should have—known better.
It had taken some time for Julianne to make him understand he had done everything he could. It was August himself that planted the first seeds of mind control, and he seemed to be the strongest of the mystics in town.
A simple village man, with no training or expertise, hadn’t had a Bitch-damned chance against him.
Remembering his vow, Julianne touched Francis on the arm. His muscle was tight, vibrating with tension. “Francis, you’re a part of this. What you do over the next few days, even if they don’t come here, will help.”
He nodded. “I can’t thank you enough. For… you know. Everything.” He cleared the gruffness from his voice. “I’d best be off to bed. Goodnight, Master Julianne.”
Julianne waited until he had disappeared into the shadows before slipping upstairs. After pausing a moment to make sure all was quiet, she opened a door, then closed it behind her.
“Bah. I should’ve known you’d notice,” Annie said. She sat in a rocker, swaying gently back and forth with a pile of knitting in her lap.
Julianne eyed the metal grate in the wall behind the chair. It covered an air vent that led downstairs. It did, Julianne found out as she had done a mental sweep of the house late one night, offer a wonderful acoustic quality that filtered any noise from the dining room straight up to Annie’s ears.
“I suppose I should apologize for eavesdropping,” Annie said irritably. Her face didn’t give any indication that it would be forthcoming, though.
Julianne shrugged. “It’s your house. Your town, too. You could have stayed at the table with us.”
Annie scowled and gave Julianne an “are you kidding?” kind of look. “With that rabble? Easier to sit back and listen up here, where it’s quiet.”
Julianne raised an eyebrow at Annie’s reasoning, but didn’t comment on it. “Do you think it’s a sound plan?”
Annie pursed her lips, thinking. “Seems like the most dangerous place to be in this will be your boots.”
“I’ve been through worse,” Julianne said.
Annie nodded. “I’d believe that. See it in your eyes. Don’t take much to put a person down, though. A moment of lost concentration. A stumble or a wrong word.”
Julianne smiled. Annie wasn’t so much worried, as offering a challenge.
“Did I ever tell you about my time in Arcadia?” Julianne asked. Annie shook her head and Julianne’s smile turned into a grin.
“I bet I’m about to hear about it, though,” Annie said grumpily. Still, she picked up her knitting and the needles began clacking away. Julianne had spent enough time with her to know this was a sign to continue.
“A little over a year ago, three men came to the Temple. They tried to start a fight; one died. We didn’t want word to filter back about what had happened… so I took the dead man’s place.”
Barely flickering an eyebrow, Annie asked, “Who was he?”
“Stellan was one of Adrien’s most trusted soldiers. He had a dozen friends and twice as many enemies. I took Stellan’s place, wore a magical disguise. I had to talk like him, act like him, fight like him. I had to recognize the people he knew, people I’d never met.”
“Might sound like a foolhardy act to some,” Annie said softly.
Julianne nodded, acknowledging the truth in her words. “It was dangerous. One slip and I’d be dead, my entire mission over and all the people relying on me exposed. I spent months as that man.”
Annie finally looked at Julianne. “And no one caught onto the fact that you were a woman?”
“Eventually, yes.” A corner of Julianne’s mouth turned up. “But not until she thought I’d slept with her a dozen times.”
Annie barked a cackling laugh. “Oh, fine. You’ve made your point, girl. You just be careful out there. Much as I hate to say it, you lot have grown on me, and I’d hate to lose one of you.”
Julianne stood to go. “I’m relying on you just as much as the others, Annie. This is your town. You know it better than anyone—the people, the moods, the whispers in the woods. The moment you feel something is wrong, tell my people. They’ll listen.”
“That they will.” Annie’s needles clacked again. “A good solid bunch you’ve got. Enough to make a girl proud.”
Shining with happiness, Julianne crept out of Annie’s room. She snuck into her own bed, beside a snoring Bette, and closed her eyes. A few moments later, she slept.
Chapter Sixteen
Sunrise came far too soon. Julianne rubbed sleepy grit from her eyes as Marcus gently shook her awake. “Dammit,” she muttered. “I hate early mornings.”
“Come on, lazy bones.” Marcus spoke softly, almost drowned out by Bette’s rumbling gasps.
“I’ll give you lazy,” Julianne muttered.
She rolled off the bed and quickly threw her things into a bag. She didn’t need much—a nice dress, some riding clothes, and a few personal items—but she cursed herself for not seeing to it before she turned in last night.
“Are you going on a rescue mission, or a month holiday?” Marcus teased.
A hiccup from the other side of the room made Julianne wince. Bette was hard to wake accidentally, but when she did, the whole town would know about it.
“Shut up,” she said softly. “Bette hates mornings more than I do.”
“Too fuckin’ right she does, now fuck off and let ‘er fuckin’ sleep!” Bette threw a pillow at the door, then pulled another over her head. Julianne was sure she heard another muttered “fuckers” from underneath.
Marcus couldn’t stop a snort from escaping, even with both hands pressed to his mouth. Julianne kicked him.
“Hurry up!” She glared at him in the dark.
“I was waiting for you!" he hissed. “Got everything?”
Julianne nodded, and they went downstairs. Marcus gestured at the table by the front door, where a cloth bag sat tied with a string.
“You’d better not be asking me to take your shit as well as mine,” Julianne mumbled.
Marcus grinned. “Not mine. Gift from Annie, if I’m not mistaken.”
Julianne picked up the slip of paper sticking out from beneath the cloth sack. “Travel safe, travel fast. Thank you.”
The eloquent handwriting was Annie’s, for sure. “I swear, that old woman must never sleep,” Julianne said quietly.
A quick peek in the bag didn’t show much, but the scent of bread wafted out immediately. Marcus nudged her forwards, and she wrapped it up again.
Shivering in the crisp morning air, they saddled the horses, loaded their bags, and climbed up. “Let’s hope this trip is easier than the last one,” Marcus said.
“You mean the one where we all nearly died?” Julianne chuckled.
“Well, that’s a bit melodramatic,” he replied. “But yeah, that’s the one.”
“We’re only going to the next town over. Francis said it’s only a day and a half’s ride, if we’re quick.” Julianne stretched and let out a giant yawn.
“Or three if we go at your pace.” Marcus kicked his horse from a walk to a canter as they headed into Tahn.
The village looked like a different place. Soft streaks of early sunlight touched the tips of nearby trees, making them glow like fire. The fences they passed were strong, the fields harvested, the long weeds by the road slashed down to a manageable level.
As they drew closer, the transformation of the last few months became even more obvious. Houses were tidy, and fresh paint was obvious on more than one. Broken windows had been replaced and roofs re-thatched, while window boxes sung with bright flowers instead of withered, dead husks.
“The town’s certainly coming along,” Marcus remarked as they passed the town hall, still littered with decorations from the night before.
“Not so much the villagers,” Julianne giggled. She pointed to a pair of legs sticking out from a rose bush.
“Ouch. Do you think we should check on him?” Marcus slowed, but Julianne didn’t.
>
“Already did. It’s Jarv, and he’s fine, though I don’t envy the headache he’ll have when he wakes. Keep up, slowpoke.”
She launched her horse into a gallop, not waiting for Marcus to catch up. Marcus yelped and kicked his own horse, chasing her through the streets.
They raced to the edge of town, where a low, stone wall marked the boundary of Tahn. Julianne let out a belly laugh as her horse leaped over the crooked gate first. As they slowed to a more moderate pace, Marcus sighed.
“Do you think they could really protect the place if it came to it?" he asked.
Julianne frowned. “I didn’t think an old woman could stand up to the New Dawn like Annie did, or that a young girl like Lilly could survive on her own while the town was under their control.”
Lilly had spent her days between the forest and the town, relying on her animal friends and the magical connection between them to keep her safe. At just nine years old, she had not only fed herself and kept safe, she had sabotaged the New Dawn operations on more than one occasion.
“Marcus, do you think the world is changing?” Julianne mused.
“It never stopped, did it?” Marcus’s mind was, as always, shielded.
It itched at Julianne. Usually in a conversation like this, she could skim a person's thoughts—politely, of course—and get a better hold of their feelings. Marcus’s block was irritatingly strong, though.
Most times, she didn’t bother to push it aside. Now, with nothing better to do and little chance she would need to save her energy for an emergency, she tried. Julianne let her eyes fade to white as she bobbed along on the horse.
She nudged his shield gently, more an experimental flick than any kind of real effort to dismantle it. Immediately, she felt the shield strengthen in response.
Good, he’s been practicing, she thought.
She pressed harder and again, the power that pushed back increased. She was just gearing up for an almighty shove when he spoke.
“You know, if you want to know something, you could just ask me.”
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