Godblind. Anna Stephens

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СКАЧАТЬ on the hunt for an escaped slave. She made it down to us and they followed her, attacked the village. Burnt the village. We lost nearly seventy.’ She tapped her fingertips to her heart, commemorating the dead, and Mace and Tara copied her. ‘We’d had a few hours’ advance warning, but there were too few of us nearby to form an effective defence. We fought a holding action, then had to run.’

      ‘My sympathies, Dalli, to you and yours. Any help you need rebuilding, please do ask. I’ll increase our patrols in the meantime, give you a chance to recover.’

      ‘Thank you, General, we’d appreciate that. We’re stretched thin. For now we’ve sent the girl to Watchtown with Dom, to keep her safe and … keep her away from the other Wolves. There’s some bad feeling about what happened. The Mireces wouldn’t have attacked if she wasn’t there, and if she’d told us beforehand that she’d murdered Liris – well, let’s just say we wouldn’t have sent most of our warriors to winter in the smaller settlements.’

      ‘She killed him?’ Mace asked, incredulous. ‘A slave?’

      Dalli touched her face again. ‘That she did, General. Or that’s what she told us anyway, and we believe her.’ She rested her hip against his desk and Mace was suddenly aware of her exhaustion. She was hurt and hurting, grieving, but she’d come to warn them anyway. She puts half my men to shame.

      ‘At least that fat old bastard Liris is dead,’ Dalli said. ‘Even if too many of ours are as well.’

      Mace stalked to the window and back again. ‘You say there’s bad feeling around the slave? We’d be happy to host her here,’ he said, trying not to sound too eager. Her knowledge of Eagle Height must be extensive. This could be the turning of the tide. But why did she have to make her way to the Wolves? I could do so much with that knowledge, so much.

      ‘She and Dom will stay at the temple. With luck there won’t be trouble, but we’ll bear it in mind.’

      ‘Of course. If her presence in Watchtown becomes complicated, let me know and we’ll send someone to fetch her. In the meantime, if you learn anything from her, please do share it with us.’ He paused and Dalli dipped her head. ‘Do we know who the new Mireces king is yet? Or if there even is one?’

      Tara sighed. ‘That we don’t know. I can take a patrol—’

      Mace held up a finger. ‘You’ve done enough, Carter. Just let me have your full report by this evening.’ She opened her mouth to protest. ‘I’ve told you before, being a reckless idiot is not going to get you promoted any faster. If anything, it’ll make me more inclined to demote you. You are not the only captain with a Hundred in the West Forts. I appreciate your zeal, but I have other capable officers who can take out patrols. And I’m not sure your men would appreciate another run out so soon. Dismissed,’ he added when Carter looked like protesting anyway.

      She saluted and stalked to the door, closing it very firmly behind her. Mace suppressed a smile; Carter was going to be an outstanding general one day, if she managed to stay alive that long. And if she could actually bloody listen to orders.

      ‘She’s a good one,’ Dalli said, breaking into his thoughts. ‘You’re lucky to have her.’

      ‘I know, I just wish she didn’t think she had to prove herself all the time.’

      Dalli snorted. ‘She’s the only woman in the Rank, and she’s an officer. Of course she has to prove herself all the time. She’s fighting the instincts of five thousand soldiers.’ Dalli poked at the bruise again. ‘Your men aren’t as enlightened as ours; most of them don’t believe Tara should be wearing trousers, let alone wielding a sword. She’d probably be better off joining the Wolves.’

      ‘Stop trying to steal my best officer, Dalli,’ Mace said with a mock frown. ‘You can’t have her. Listen,’ he said, moving back to the desk, ‘how bad is the feeling about this woman?’

      Dalli’s brows drew together. ‘Bad enough. Seventy is too many for a single skirmish on our own ground. Those four incursions we repelled over the summer cost us less than a hundred, plus your losses of course. To lose so many now, this late in the season …’ She closed her eyes. ‘It’s been a hard year for us.’

      ‘Then maybe she should stay at the forts,’ Mace said. He squeezed her shoulder and she opened her eyes again. ‘Think about it.’

      ‘I’ve got to visit a few settlements in the foothills, tell them what’s happened, then I’ll be going to Watchtown. I’ll see what the atmosphere’s like. If necessary, I’ll bring her here.’ She stood up from his desk. ‘But for now, General, with your permission I’ll raid your kitchens and then find somewhere to get my head down for a few hours. Long way still to go.’

      ‘Of course. Dancer’s grace upon you.’

      She gave him a crooked smile. ‘And you, General.’

      When Dalli had left, Mace wandered back to the window and looked down on the fort, then up at the mountains clawing the air, white and angry against a white sky. Change was coming: he could feel it. Maybe a king-killing slave from Eagle Height could help ensure that change was to their advantage.

       CRYS

       Eleventh moon, seventeenth year of the reign of King Rastoth

       The palace, Rilporin, Wheat Lands

      A couple of easy years, they said. A rest from the threat of border patrols, they said. Crys stood in the audience chamber and tried to keep his eyes open. He’d been here a few weeks and was bored out of his mind. Most of his wages had gone on drinking and gambling and he’d been threatened with a flogging already for being late on duty. That was Rivil’s fault, though; the prince could drink like a horse. Though it wasn’t exactly the done thing to blame your superiors for your own tardiness.

      His Hundred were in charge of the king’s honour guard this week, and he’d thought that’d liven things up. So far he’d stood and listened to the king mumble for four days. He couldn’t make out most of it, and what he could didn’t make much sense. And the court? Crys had never seen such a bunch of expensively clothed arse-lickers in all his life.

      Only Rivil’s endless supply of court gossip had kept him going, and he’d discovered which of the twittering court ladies was not blind to a dashing young officer offering a supportive hand during a turn in the gardens.

      He’d spent the morning amusing himself by examining their outfits, grateful for the fashion for low-cut necklines. He’d be asleep if there wasn’t an army of well-endowed bosoms parading in front of his face.

      The doors opened and the princes entered together. Crys snapped to attention, thumping his pike on to the marble, the sudden movement sending a rush of blood to his numb feet. Rivil winked as he walked past and Crys fought to remain stoic as the prince flicked him the finger for good measure.

      Galtas followed a few paces behind, as always. The bastard’s single eye blazed a challenge at him. Crys really was going to have to give the little prick a beating at some point. He was bigger, but Crys would bet he was faster – he’d just stay on the side without the eye.

      The princes bowed to the king and Rastoth beamed at them. ‘My boys,’ he boomed СКАЧАТЬ