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Thea introduced me. “Sergeant Irina, this is Sergeants Liv, Ursan, Odd, Saul and Wynn.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
They remained silent and unfriendly.
Thea’s voice took on her no-nonsense tone. “Major Granvil has assigned Sergeant Irina to our platoon to help with our special operations training.”
“We don’t need help,” Sergeant Ursan said.
His named sounded familiar—something about jumping jacks.
“That’s not your decision, Sergeant. It’s the major’s,” Thea said. “Your squad will be the first to start the training.”
Wrong move. Yes, she was his commanding officer, and he’d obey her orders, but his whole demeanor shouted I’d get more cooperation from Tohon’s dead. I had to get all the sergeants on board or the lessons with their squads would be a frustrating and fruitless waste of everyone’s time.
“Sergeant Ursan, you said your squad doesn’t need help. Is that correct?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then how about we work out a deal?”
A flash of interest sparked in his brown eyes.
“How about you give me the opportunity to prove to the five of you that I know something worth learning?”
“And in exchange?”
“Full cooperation.”
He glanced at the other sergeants. They nodded.
“Agreed,” Ursan said.
We shook hands.
“When would be a good time?” I asked Thea.
“Now. And I’ll be observing.”
“Great.” I scanned the area. “Is there a section of the forest reserved for training and free of Death Lilys?”
“Yes,” Ursan said. “Do we need any weapons?”
“No. But you’ll need your shirts.”
He paused for a moment and shot me a look. I wasn’t sure what he thought, but I knew he was intrigued despite himself. Good.
They collected their uniforms. Instead of strapping on their swords, they just tucked their utility knives into their belts. Thea pulled Ursan aside and said something to him. He nodded but kept his gaze on me.
We headed to the woods north of Zabin. Familiar territory for me as I had bypassed the city through this area a few weeks ago.
When we reached the edge of the forest, I turned to the five sergeants. “We’re going to play a game of hide-and-seek. You hide and I’ll seek. Standard rules apply.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling at their outraged expressions that clearly said, grown-ups don’t play kids’ games.
Thea’s voice remained emotionless when she said, “Sergeant Irina, please go over the rules with them. I’m sure it’s been … a while since they’ve engaged in this activity.”
“Of course. I count to a hundred while you go hide in the woods. You can only stay in one hiding spot for thirty minutes before you need to find another. You can move at any time and, if you hear me approach, feel free to change positions. If I find you all, I win. If I don’t find you all by sunset, you win. Any questions?”
Everyone glanced at the sky. We had about two hours until sunset.
“Sounds pretty straightforward,” Thea said. “Let the game begin.”
They grumbled but trudged into the woods as I turned my back on them and counted.
When I reached one hundred, I yelled, “Ready or not, here I come.”
Thea stared at me as if I’d grown a second head. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t worry, Lieutenant.” I saluted her before entering the lush greenery.
I drew in a deep breath. Oh, yes. The Queen Seeker was back!
I stepped into the shadowy half-light. Streams of sunlight cut through the forest canopy. Without thought, I touched the leafy branch of a bush, seeking Kerrick’s magic. Disappointment stabbed deep.
Moving without matching the forest’s song, I crunched deeper into the underbrush. When I’d gone about a hundred paces, I stopped.
“Okay, Sergeants,” I shouted to the surrounding trees. “You’ve heard me tromping around. Now I’m going to go silent.”
I concentrated, listening to the sounds. An off note came from my right. I headed in that direction and surprised Sergeant Liv. After that, it didn’t take me long to find Odd, Saul and Wynn. Not that I was bragging, but if I could locate Belen, Quain and Loren, who’d all had training, I could find these sergeants who hadn’t.
Ursan proved to be harder to find. He possessed some skill, and I had to wait until he moved to another hiding spot to discern his general location. Once there, I lost him again. I made a few loops until I remembered what Kerrick had done to throw me literally off his scent.
I returned to the original place I’d zeroed in on. Then I looked up, spotting the sergeant sitting on the tree’s lowest branch. Ursan jumped off and landed next to me. His expression unreadable.
Before I could say found you, he stepped close to me. Now he let his anger show along with the blade in his hand. How did I miss that?
“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
KERRICK
Kerrick offered the hilt of his sword to Cellina. From atop her horse, she met his gaze. If she signaled the pack of six dead ufas behind him, he would be torn apart.
“Take it,” he repeated.
“No. You’re going to need it.” Cellina whistled.
The high-pitched sound pierced his heart, releasing a surge of fear-fueled energy. Grabbing the hilt of his sword, he spun. The closest ufa launched straight at him. Kerrick sidestepped and slashed down with all his strength, decapitating the creature.
The rest pounced. Kerrick lopped off another head before they closed the distance, knocking him to the ground. His weapon flew from his grasp so he punched and kicked as his world filled with gray fur, sharp claws, growls and the rancid odor of decay.
When an ufa clamped its teeth around his neck, Kerrick fought with pure desperation. He grabbed the beast’s jaws, cutting his fingers on its teeth, and pulled the jaws apart.
“Heel.” Cellina’s loud command sliced through the ruckus.
The ufa on Kerrick yanked its mouth from his grasp and bounded over to sit with its pack mates behind Cellina. She had dismounted and now held his sword.
Kerrick jumped to his feet, preparing for another round.
“Relax. I wasn’t going to let them kill you.” She gestured to the pack. “I needed you to fight them so I can lie convincingly to Tohon that you’re dead.”
“You could have told me,” he rasped.
“Then you wouldn’t have fought so hard.” She approached. “Here, grab the hilt.”
Despite her claims, Kerrick didn’t trust her. “Why?”
“Tohon’s magic will sense your blood on your sword, helping to support our ruse.”
Kerrick glanced at his hands. Blood dripped from multiple cuts. As he reached for the sword, he wondered if he could take the weapon and kill Cellina before she could signal her ufas. His fingers closed around the leather. Meeting her gaze, he released the weapon.
“Last chance for you to come with me to Ryne’s,” he said, knowing the next time they encountered each other would probably be on the battlefield.
“Last chance for you to get out of here before I change my mind,” she said.
He gave her a two finger salute and resumed his trek east.
Kerrick’s energy faded after a few miles. Kneeling next to a stream, he washed the dried blood, ufa slime and sweat from his face, neck and arms. His hands shook with a delayed reaction from the fight.
That was too close. He hoped Cellina’s reprieve meant she might be a potential ally in the future. Pushing to his feet, he continued east.
A loud crash sounded behind him. Kerrick spun, grabbing for his sword. His fingers wrapped around an unfamiliar hilt.
“My bad,” Quain said, returning the copper statue that had fallen to the marble floor, turning it so the dent was no longer visible. He glanced at Kerrick’s hand. “Expecting trouble?”
“Depends. Why are you here?” he asked.
Quain and Loren, or as Belen liked to call them, the monkeys, had been … not quite avoiding him since he’d arrived at Ryne’s castle four days ago, but they’d been keeping out of his way. They had acknowledged Avry’s absence with grief-stricken expressions. Ryne had warned them prior to Kerrick’s arrival, but they had hoped, with Kerrick’s magic strengthening her healing powers, she would have survived the plague.
“Prince Ryne is looking for you,” Quain said. The lantern’s glow shone on his bald head.
“What does he want?” Kerrick planned to help speed up the departure preparations. Every day spent here gave Avry another day to encounter trouble.
“Don’t know, but he said right away.”
Kerrick suppressed his annoyance as he headed toward the prince’s office. Ryne probably wanted another detailed explanation of the ufa attack. He realized he still held the sword’s hilt and relaxed his grip. Cellina had taken the sword his father had gifted to him when he’d graduated from boarding school. Before the plague had killed King Neil and most of Kerrick’s family.
He concealed the shudder that ripped through him when he thought of the ufa pack. Kerrick would be content to never see another ufa in his lifetime. But the fact Tohon was training and using them meant Kerrick would likely encounter them in battle.
Worry for Cellina swirled in his stomach. He hoped she’d be able to lie to Tohon. The life magician was quick to anger and could easily murder her with one touch.
Quain followed Kerrick into Ryne’s spacious office. Large windows allowed in plenty of sunlight. Oversized armchairs ringed the huge black slab of obsidian that served as Ryne’s desk and conference table. Loren lounged in a red-and-gold-striped chair but sat up straight and eyed Kerrick warily. A few silver hairs shone among Loren’s short black hair. At thirty-five he was the oldest of Kerrick’s gentlemen and balanced Quain’s youth and inexperience nicely. Otherwise, Kerrick would have lost his patience with Quain long ago.
A memory tugged. Avry had accused Kerrick of being moody, sullen and distant. And from the way Quain and Loren had been acting around him, he guessed they thought the same. He smoothed his expression and approached.
Ryne was bent over a map of the Fifteen Realms. Kerrick waited, studying his friend. Ryne’s dark brown hair fell forward almost covering his hazel eyes. Thin and five inches shorter than Kerrick, his pleasant and average appearance belied his cunning mind.
Tapping the map with a stylus, Ryne said, “I think if we send in waves of smaller units, we could soften Tohon’s troops up before hitting them with a bigger force.”
“Sounds like something you should discuss with Estrid,” Kerrick said.
Ryne looked up at his tone. “I know you’re all about action, but there has to be a great deal of planning beforehand or we won’t succeed. Why are you so anxious to leave?”
“Summer is a few weeks away. It’s prime time for Tohon to launch an attack. We should be there,” he said.
“Tohon won’t attack until we’re there.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does to Tohon,” Ryne said. “The Nine Mountains are an effective barrier. If he conquered Estrid’s army before we arrived, then he would have to cross the mountains to get to us. We’d litter the passes with ambushes, and it would make it harder for Tohon to succeed.”
“We’re safe here, so why don’t we stay and see what happens?” Quain asked.
“I said it would be harder for him to succeed, not that it would stop him. We don’t have the resources or manpower to fight him.” Ryne glanced at Kerrick before continuing. “Besides, Avry promised Danny we’d heal our world. That includes all fifteen realms.”
There was a moment of silence as the men mourned their friend. Kerrick hated deceiving them, but he understood the need. Tohon could have spies among Ryne’s soldiers. Plus, he had promised Avry not to tell a soul that she lived, including Ryne. Kerrick would honor his word.
“When are we leaving?” Kerrick asked.
“When we’re ready,” Ryne said.
“What did you want to see me about?” He tried not to growl in irritation.
“Have you talked to Danny and Zila about Avry yet?”
Instantly wary, Kerrick said, “I thought you—”
“I warned them when we left you that she might not survive the sickness, but they need to hear what happened to her from you.”
“Ryne, I—”
“It’s not a request. Talk to them before we leave.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else?”
“No.”
Kerrick left. Hard enough dealing with the monkey’s gloomy moods, but he felt almost sick thinking about upsetting the kids. No sense putting it off. He strode to the wing where they had been staying.
