Juliet McKenna - The Assassin's Edge

“Sketches of the enchanters.” The artist waved a sheaf of parchment scraps. “I’ve done my best from Guinalle’s descriptions.”

Halice nodded. “Given them to Minare and Rosarn. Tell Vaspret I want to see him, if you get a chance.”

Pered swept a mock salute and sauntered off.

“If I come with you, I can lead another assault.” Temar wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“Leading assaults isn’t your job,” said Halice bluntly. “You’re not leading a cohort any more, you’re leading a colony.”

“With every man we can muster, we could finish this tonight,” cried Temar. “Kill Muredarch and have done.”

“You’re forgetting those enchanters,” Halice chided. “We’re hitting the stockade, that’s all.” She tilted the blade to catch the firelight and studied the edge. “I’d like to string Muredarch up by his pizzle for what he did to Naldeth, but all in good time, my lad. Tonight we free as many prisoners as we can and then we run before those enchanters have their hands off their tools long enough to wonder where their boots are.” Halice held the heavy sword’s hilt easily in her broad hand and very carefully shaved a little swathe through the dark hairs on her forearm. “As soon as Livak tells us Ilkehan’s dead, we’ll make Elietimm and pirates both sorry they ever set eyes on each other.”

What if Ilkehan couldn’t be killed? Temar was trying to find the words to ask this without risking rebuke when Usara came out of the cabin.

“Could you keep the noise down?” the wizard asked with terse politeness. “Guinalle’s overtired and overwrought. You two bickering out here is the last thing she needs.”

“How’s Naldeth?” asked Halice.

“Asleep.” The wizard looked weary to the bone. “If you can get anything more out of Guinalle than ‘he’s as well as can be expected’ let me know.”

“Are the pirates still convinced there’s no way we can reach them at night?” Halice demanded.

Usara nodded. “Them and the enchanters as well, apparently.”

“Then she should sleep while we go and prove them wrong.” Halice slid her sword into its sheath. “Temar, tell Guinalle we’ll need her rested if we bring back wounded. She might take heed of that. Darni!”

The burly warrior was a little way down the beach, mercenaries and sailors gathered round him.

“She says she can’t rest in case Naldeth suffers some crisis.” Usara’s thoughts were still inside the hut with Guinalle. “He’s lost so much blood, she’s worried she’ll have to strengthen his heart again. I could do that much with wizardry but she won’t even let me try.”

Temar’s mind was on his own grievances. “I don’t see why Darni is the only choice to lead the other half of this assault.”

Usara wasn’t listening, seeing Allin come to join Darni and Halice. Darni laughed abruptly and Halice scrubbed a hand through her short hair, face intrigued. “What are they up to?”

“Let’s find out.” Temar rose and Usara followed as they hurried to catch Halice and the big warrior disappearing into the shadows behind the cabin.

“Curse it.” Temar stumbled awkwardly on a treacherous tree root. With clouds covering the lesser moon barely at her half and her greater sister waning from her own, the night was a confusion of half-light and shadow.

“I appreciate you want to attack on the darkest night we’ll have before Solstice but that hampers your troops just as much as the enemy.” Larissa’s cool voice only served to warm Temar’s resentment at being excluded.

“I don’t have time for admiring clever mages,” Halice warned bluntly. “Shit!”

Temar felt Usara freeze, as startled as him.

“How did you do that?” Halice asked cautiously after a moment.

“Do what?” demanded Usara with frustration equal to Temar’s own.

“Light is made up of varying degrees of heat.” Pride bubbled irrepressibly in Larissa’s voice. “If you see the warmth—”

“I can see in the dark.” Halice’s wonder finished the sentence for the mage-girl. “How long does it last and how many of us can you bespell?”

“Barely half a chime.” Larissa sounded annoyed with herself.

“We can bespell two or three of you,” Allin offered meekly.

“Each of us,” clarified Larissa quickly. “Call it a handful between us.”

“Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.” Laughter rumbled deep in Darni’s chest. “Kalion had better look to his conjuring when you get back to Hadrumal, ladies, or one of you’ll be nominated Hearth Mistress inside the year.”

“It was mostly Allin’s idea.” Larissa didn’t sound displeased with the praise though. “Once we decided not to provoke Muredarch by drying up his wells.”

“Larissa saw how to make it work,” insisted Allin.

“We need to refine it before it’s a truly effective spell.” The clouds cleared a little and Temar saw Larissa raise a hand. “Usara? Can you help?”

“How do we make this work for us?” mused Halice. “How much can I see where there is some light?” She headed back for the beach, the mages close around her, watching alertly.

Temar hurried after them. “You’d need a second in command whose vision isn’t altered.”

“You’re not coming.” Darni stretched out an arm like a fence rail to hold him back. “We can’t chance your loss or capture.”

“I can hold my own in a fight,” Temar said stiffly.

“Emperors fall face down in the shit, just the same as peasants.” Darni gave the young nobleman a hard look. “The rest of us are expendable. You’re not.”

“How long would Guinalle hold out if she saw you being dipped for the sharks?” Halice turned the corner of the hut and swore. “Shit, I can’t look anywhere close to a fire. It hurts worse than taking it up the back alley.” She mopped her streaming eyes.

“Stand still.” Larissa passed her hands across the mercenary’s face.

“That’s better.” Halice grunted with satisfaction “Mind you, in the right place this could weight the runes for us. Can all three of you do this?”

“It’ll be easy enough to show Usara the trick of it,” said Larissa confidently.

“You can’t all be going?” Temar stepped around Darni’s arm. “I shall need a mage here, surely. Allin can stay.” Larissa could risk her neck with her ill-concealed ambitions, but Allin was far too precious to him. That abrupt realisation blinded Temar as effectively as the firelight in Halice’s bespelled eyes.

“We need all the mages this time,” said Halice with perfunctory apology.

“What if you need to bespeak me?” Temar objected. Was there any way he could insist Allin stayed aboard ship rather than join the actual assault?

“You’ll just have to keep a good watch out,” Darni told him. “We need the wizards to get us all ashore without lights.”

“There is one thing you can do for us, Messire D’Alsennin.” Halice snapped her fingers at the young man. “Tell them why we’re going. That’s a Sieur’s job.”

Temar gathered his wits as he saw the array of expectant faces among the campfires on the beach. Catching sight of Allin’s hopeful face, radiant with trust, he realised he had to find the words to make these people fight fiercely enough to bring her back safe. He bowed to the waiting men and women, mercenaries, sailors and Kellarin folk, the golden firelight making equals of them all against the velvet blackness of sea and sky. All of them bowed back and Temar cleared his throat.

“I know some of you and you know me, after these last seasons working for Kellarin’s benefit. I don’t suppose Sieur D’Alsennin means a lot to the rest of you; I’m sorry I’ve had so little chance to introduce myself as yet. Forgive me; we’ll do something about that on your return. You might pick up a few barrels of Kellarin’s wine that those thieves have stolen. It’s always easier to make new friends over a drink.”