Scent of Magic (16 page)

Ursan pointed to a tent. “Do you want company?”

“No, thanks.”

“Still don’t trust me?”

“Let’s just say I’m still suspicious of this...new side of you.” I realized we had switched roles. Interesting.

“Fair enough. I guess time will tell.” He headed back to our camp.

I approached the tent Ursan had indicated. No hidden guards tried to block my way. No one challenged me at all. Calling a hello, I waited for an answer.

“Come in,” Ryne said, drawing back the flap.

It was a relief getting in out of the sun. I expected the tent to be stuffy, but it was cooler than outside. When my eyes adjusted, I spotted Quain and Loren standing on opposite sides of the entrance. Belen sat at a conference table filled with maps. A narrow cot and chest lined the side wall. Major Granvil’s tent looked lavish in comparison to Ryne’s.

The monkeys wouldn’t return my greeting. I hoped they’d forgive me in time. As I sank into a chair next to Belen, he gave me a bright smile.

“Where have you been?” Belen asked.

“Doing a little reconnaissance,” I said, then asked Ryne if he could spare a squad to help with the repairs.

“Of course. It will show Estrid’s soldiers we can be useful.” Ryne sent Loren to relay his orders. “Why did you check out the POW complex? We already know Jael arranged the escape as a distraction.”

“I wanted to see who else might be helping her.”

“And?”

“Marisol’s timely arrival is suspicious. She could be loyal to Jael, but the camp gossip says Jael has been wanting to shut down the POW camp. So why have Marisol save the structure?”

“Maybe Jael’s hoping to use it for something else,” Belen said.

“Or Marisol could have been there on Estrid’s orders.” Ryne sat on the opposite side of the table.

“Which means Estrid had prior knowledge of your assassination and didn’t warn you,” I said.

No one said anything for a minute.

“We can’t trust either of them,” Belen said.

“Who says I have?” Ryne asked with an impish grin.

“You did go into the forest for that exercise,” I said.

“It was all part of my plan.”

“Uh-huh. Right.”

Ryne laughed. “Now tell us everything that has happened since we parted company.”

It took a while to fill them in on the details of my encounter with the Peace Lily and my life as Sergeant Irina. I did leave out a few personal ones about Kerrick and me. Ryne asked a couple questions during my tale, but when I finished, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. I helped myself to a glass of water, soothing my burning throat.

“You know what you need to do next, right?” Ryne asked.

I hadn’t before, but after spelling it all out for them the answer was obvious. The realization caused guilt to swell. I’d wasted so much time. “Go collect Peace Lily...serum and experiment with it.”

“Why?” Belen asked. “The plague is over.”

“Because we might be able to use the substance to revive the dead,” I said.

“Like Tohon does?”

“Oh, no. Living and breathing like me.”

“How do you know it’ll work?”

“I don’t. That’s why I would need to experiment.”

“Isn’t that how the plague started? With healers playing around with the Death Lily toxin and losing control,” Quain said.

“They were trying to discover a cure for the toxin,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter what the intentions were or what the logic was behind the decision. What matters is that six million people died.” Quain gasped in mock horror, then added with deadly sarcasm, “Unless those six million people are
pretending
to be dead.”

KERRICK

Kerrick watched as the long line of his army marched past. The soldiers’ loud tread grated on his nerves along with their slow progress. He missed Belen and the others. Missed being responsible for only a small unit. They could have covered twice the ground in the same time. His gaze tracked to the end where the supply wagons and auxiliary personnel were guarded by one of Ryne’s elite squads—the remaining six squads had accompanied Ryne. With an army this size, food and supplies were vital. Kerrick couldn’t let them be stolen or compromised in any way.

They’d been on the road for two days and covered a scant twenty miles. At this rate, they wouldn’t arrive at Krakowa for another eleven days. One benefit to the ruckus of four-hundred-plus soldiers was they’d attracted a few stragglers who joined their ranks. The entire army would have to be quieter when they closed in on Krakowa, which would slow them down even more.

As they’d traveled farther from the Nine Mountains, the terrain smoothed and opened up into flat grasslands. The long blades of grass swayed stiffly in the breeze, filling the air with a dry rasp. No rain meant firm ground perfect for walking, but it also meant limited water. And that led to more problems.

Kerrick clutched the reins tighter. The horse shifted under him but remained in place. Ryne had made it sound so easy. Take half his army and drive the tribes back to the wildlands. He hadn’t mentioned the squabbles between personnel, the logistics of feeding everyone and digging latrines in hard sun-cooked earth while fighting off hungry packs of ufas—the living kind, thank the forest.

One of his majors rode toward him. Probably to suggest they stop for the night. Ryne had given him four companies with four majors who bickered worse than Kerrick and his brother. They handled most of the day-to-day drudgery but needed him to make all the key decisions and to mediate all their disagreements. Most of the time Kerrick asked General Zamiel his opinion and the general had quickly turned into his primary adviser.

Each major also rode a horse. Kerrick had argued with Ryne against bringing horses. Too noisy. However, he had to admit they made communication between him and the majors easier and faster.

“Prince Kerrick,” Major Sondra called. “The scouts have returned.”

Finally. He spurred his mount and followed the major to the front of the column. Half his squad had been sent to collect information on the tribes right after Ryne had received the news of the attack. They had been trained by Kerrick, and he’d picked the best for the mission, but he’d worried over their lack of experience.

He spotted the scouts walking their sweaty horses. Counting heads, Kerrick felt a moment of relief. All four had survived. They appeared tired. Dust coated their fatigues and hair.

As soon as he dismounted, Sergeant Jave and the others snapped to attention.

“Relax, gentlemen,” Kerrick said, then caught his mistake. “Sorry, Cerise.”

She waved off his apology. Once she had realized he treated everyone in his squad the same, she had stopped correcting him.

“Report,” he said to Jave.

The sergeant opened his mouth but then closed it as if uncertain where to start.

“Most important first.”

“Yes, sir. We confirmed that the tribes have invaded Krakowa, and we have ascertained there are approximately twelve hundred camped around the city’s boundaries.”

Hell. “All warriors?”

“No, sir. It appeared to be the entire tribe, including children.”

Interesting. “Did you see any survivors?”

“Yes. Three days after we left Prince Ryne’s, we encountered a number of refugees, traveling south.”

“Did you talk to them?”

“Yes. The fleeing citizens told us they had a few hours’ warning so they left with what they could carry before the tribes reached the city. We didn’t see anyone else after the fifth day.”

Not a surprise. “What about within the city? Are there survivors there?”

“We were unable to pierce their outer encampments. But we did loop around them. And, sir...” Jave hesitated.

“Go on.”

“There are more tribes arriving. We spotted a line of campfires stretching to the north.”

Kerrick kept his emotions in check even though fear washed through him. His army was already outnumbered. “Anything else?”

“Yes. When we returned for our horses, we saw evidence that a large force had passed through the forest south of Krakowa.”

“More refugees?” He hoped.

“No. We caught up to them. The tribes are spreading south, heading this way.”

Kerrick cursed. What about “most important first” hadn’t the sergeant understood? He pressed his balled fists against his thighs to prevent him from shaking the man. After he had lost his temper and hit Avry, he had vowed never to do it again. To anyone. Well, except the enemy. And Tohon. It would be pure joy to feel his fist connect with that man’s jaw. But that was a fight for another day.

“How many are coming?” Kerrick asked.

“About a thousand. And they’re all warriors.”

“How far away are they?”

“Right now, they’re about a day from Krakowa. They’re moving slowly, as if feeling their way. I’d say about six to eight miles a day. The woods are pretty thick.”

“Horses?”

“No.”

Finally, one bit of good news. Kerrick calculated the distance and amount of time his army needed to travel in order to meet up with the advancing tribes in the forest that stretched about fifty miles south of the city. Once the warriors reached the grass plains, then Kerrick’s smaller force had no chance of stopping them.

With this ungainly group, even if they doubled their speed and increased the number of hours marching, it would be impossible. However, if he split the army into four units, traveling independently, it just might work.

Kerrick called a stop for the night and met with Zamiel and the majors. For once, they all agreed with his plan. They would split the supplies four ways. Two companies would travel wide into flanking positions. The other two would head straight north. Kerrick would scout ahead with his squad and send runners back to each unit to report the tribes’ location and a point of engagement.

In the morning, it didn’t take long to organize the companies, but there were issues with the division of supplies. Kerrick ordered General Zamiel to handle it. He could be counted on to remain impartial and fair.

He was going over a few last-minute instructions with his majors when Cerise arrived. She waited until he finished before approaching him.

“Problem?” he asked.

“Yes. We found...something in the supply wagons.”

“Just spit it out. It can’t be any worse than the news you brought me yesterday.”

“Uh...” Cerise gestured.

Sergeant Jave dragged two struggling figures closer. Danny and Zila stopped fighting when they met Kerrick’s gaze.

“I stand corrected,” he said.

CHAPTER 9

“You can’t go alone,” Ryne said, sounding rather annoyingly like Kerrick. “There’ve been reports of clashes with Tohon’s troops to the southwest.”

“I don’t want anyone to see me get swallowed by a giant lily. That’ll set off too many questions that I’d like to avoid answering,” I said.

We sat on opposite sides of his conference table inside his tent. I had Dagger Company’s squads practicing the silent training in the forest and had left Sergeant Odd in charge of the afternoon sessions. His Odd Squad trained as much as possible. They were determined to improve in order to jackknife the jumping jacks. With an evil gleam in his eyes, Odd had called it a little payback.

“Then take a few soldiers you can trust,” Ryne said.

From his post by the entrance, Quain snorted with derision and muttered, “That rules out everyone here.”

I ignored him. “Belen left yesterday with Ursan and the jacks.” They were hunting the dead. A shiver brushed my spine.

“What about your lieutenant and a couple of the other sergeants in your platoon?” Ryne asked.

I considered confiding in Thea, Wynn and Liv. Thea already knew enough to guess, and my roommates had suspected I wasn’t quite what I’d claimed from the beginning. “All right. I’ll talk to my LT.”

“The sooner the better,” he said. “It would be best if you returned before Belen.”

“You’re that confident he’ll succeed?”

“He hasn’t failed me or Kerrick yet.”

Or me. I rubbed my stomach. He had stayed between me and the mercs long enough for Kerrick and the others to get into position, sacrificing his life to save me from capture.

“Why should I be back first?” I asked.

“Once Estrid sees the truth of Tohon’s depravity, one of three things will happen. She’ll either order it decapitated immediately, claiming it’s a one-of-a-kind abomination, or she’ll cover it up, ordering Ursan to keep it quiet until she can determine exactly what it is, or she’ll be smart and involve her top military aides right away and prepare her army for what they’ll be facing.”

“Doesn’t she trust your word?”

“No.” He smiled. “And she shouldn’t.”

“I’m not going to ask.” Pushing from the table, I stood. “I’ll report back when I’m leaving.”

Ryne stopped me when I reached the flaps.

“There’s a fourth possibility,” he called.

Turning, I waited.

He stared at the wall of the tent as if he could see through the fabric.

“And?”

“That Tohon learns of Belen’s mission and launches his attack before we have a chance to find a way to stop his dead.”

* * *

I found Thea conferring with another lieutenant outside Major Granvil’s tent. When she finished, she gestured for me to join her as she headed to the training area.

“Problem?” she asked.

“Do you know the true nature of Ursan and Belen’s mission?” I asked.

She gave me a slight nod, looking not at all surprised by my question. “Sergeant Ursan has kept me informed.”

“About everything?”

Keeping her voice pitched low, she said, “Yes, Avry. About everything.”

Suddenly a few things made sense. Estrid had known about the assassination attempt beforehand. But her failure to warn Ryne meant she either didn’t want to tip her hand to Jael, or she didn’t trust Ryne. Or both.

I decided it would be best for me to stay out of the political intrigue and focus on my own tasks. At least I didn’t have to explain as much to Thea. Taking a deep breath, I made my request.

She remained quiet for so long, I worried she hadn’t understood how important this mission was.