“Ser,” I said, “we are not Shades.”
“Oh no,” said Kun. “I am even more certain of that now. You are something less evil than Shades, but no less dangerous. You are vigilantes. Folk who think yourselves above the rest of us, who see yourselves as being removed from the petty concerns of the nine lands.”
“Respectfully, ser,” said Yue, “I love Underrealm with my whole heart, and I will defend my honor on—”
“Be silent, Sergeant!” roared Tou. He bit off the words almost as sharply as they had erupted, and I gained a new appreciation for just how hard he must be clamping down on his temper. “Do not try to defend your honor when we have caught you violating the captain’s trust.”
Yue’s jaw spasmed once, but she fell silent. Mag spoke again, still calm.
“Yet it is true, sers. We do love Underrealm.”
“Not as much as you loved your husband,” said Kun, and he too was calm. “I do not say this to hurt you. It is no evil thing that you loved him more than a nation. Underrealm is not even a real thing, nothing you can touch, or see, or hold in the darkness when fear and grief press themselves upon you. It is more useful than true. Yet within the false idea that is a kingdom, there are real people. Many of them are as worthy as your husband, though you do not know them. And by your actions, you endanger them. This war that poisons Underrealm is of little concern to you as long as you satisfy your pursuit of revenge—and yet in that pursuit, you are willing to leave others in grief, countless folk who now must seek their own reparations for the loss of loved ones.”
He paused for a moment and sighed, and his smile faded a bit. “I changed my mind, you know. I sent for Lieutenant Shi tonight. I told him to assign you to hunt for the Shades tomorrow, as you requested. If you had been less foolish, you would now be free to pursue your aims. And if I had not come around to your way of thinking, I would never have noticed your betrayal.”
The captain’s words struck me hard, and I could see I was not the only one. Mag’s eyes had widened, and her stance had become tense. I could feel the conflict inside her, self-doubt worming its way into her mind.
Again she mustered herself. “Yet we found the enemy. If we act quickly, we can destroy them. But we have to rouse the troops now.”
Kun’s gaze grew knife-sharp, and his smile grew just as thin as before. “Why?”
Mag blinked. “To … to root them out of—”
“Why now, Sergeant? Why not in the morning?”
There was a long, deathly silence. Then, at last:
“Because they discovered us,” grated Mag.
“Oh?” said Kun, eyes wide with mock surprise. “Did they?”
Again, a silence stretched wide enough to drown in. Finally, I growled out, “Dark take it, Mag, now is not the time to go dancing around half-truths. Captain, we infiltrated the camp and slew two Shade officers and a guard. But they spotted us.”
“With each revelation, the situation grows more dire,” said Kun, “and your offense more severe. Not for the first time, I find myself confident that you tell the truth. If you were lying, surely you would not keep digging yourself deeper into the grave.”
“We are sorry, ser,” I said. “But this can be turned to our advantage. If we move now, we can root them out of their hole and end this expedition. Please, ser. We know we were wrong”—I stared hard at Mag to quell any disagreement, though to my surprise, she looked docile—“but give us the chance to make it right.”
His smile widened. “Well. At least you express some remorse. And I suppose I cannot deny someone a chance at redemption, whether they deserve it or not. Of course we must march on them, and at once. I have half a mind to leave your company here to guard the camp as punishment. But Lieutenant Shi is quite angry enough already, and I have never believed in punishing an officer for his subordinates’ mistakes. Not to mention that if we must fight, I would rather have the Uncut Lady to the fore.”
This, at last, seemed to be what Mag needed to hear. She straightened, her grip tightening on her spear. “Thank you, Captain. You will not regret this.”
“I hope not,” said Kun. “If I do, be assured that you will regret it far more. Lieutenant Zhou will remain behind with one company to guard the supply train. The rest of you get ready to march. I want us to leave within a quarter-hour. Dismissed.”
We turned and strode away. But we had barely gone half a span before I heard a growl behind us.
“Sergeants.”
I swallowed hard, and we all turned to face Tou. He was still livid, his eyes boring into each of us in turn. His hands were clasped behind his back as if he was restraining himself.
“Lieutenant Shi,” said Mag.
“I do not know what changed between Taitou and here, but you had better change it back,” said Tou sharply. “I trusted you, and I thought you trusted me.”
“Ser,” I said, “it is not that we did not trust—”
“Be silent,” snapped Tou. I fell quiet. “You went off against orders because you thought you knew better, and your concerns were more important. Everyone knows you two are the most experienced fighters in the army. They have known it since you arrived. But I respected you because you did not act superior. You never lorded your skills or your history over the rest of us. Now it seems that was all a ruse, and you held yourselves above us all along.”
He stepped up to Mag. “You are not above us,” he said. “Just because you could take anyone here in a fight, that does not mean you are better than we are. We know the strength of trusting the people we fight beside, and that is a greater strength than any one person can match. Even the Uncut Lady. I thought you understood that already, but you had better learn the lesson now.”
Mag did not look at him but stared over his shoulder into the distance. Tou remained standing there for a moment before he turned and marched away.
“Get your squadrons ready,” he called back over his shoulder. “You will not be even an instant late for muster.”
An uncomfortable moment passed before Mag looked at us and shrugged. “They will feel differently once we wipe out the Shades,” she said.
“Let us hope that is how tonight ends,” said Yue.
“We had better go tell Dryleaf we are safe,” I said.
Mag shook her head. “Only to tell him we are going back out into danger again? He is probably asleep. Let him rest. We will complete our mission, and then we can come back with tidings of victory. Besides, you have heard the lieutenant—if we are late, he may flog us.”
I gave an uneasy look towards the supply train at the south end of camp. “I suppose you are right,” I said. “Very well. We will not wake him until we have happier news to report.”
Yue snorted. “He may sleep long, then.”
It was a cold night, and the wind whistled low. Yue growled at it in response, thumping her hands against her arms to stave off the cold. She had joined her squadron of spears, helping them get ready for the fight. She found herself irritable, and she did not know exactly why. Mayhap it was partly because her unit badgered her with question after question about the coming battle.
“Will we face them underground or above?” said one.
“I think underground, but I cannot know for certain,” said Yue.
“Will we be on the front line again?” asked another, eyes wide. Her wound from the battle in the Greenfrost was still healing.
“I do not know,” growled Yue.
“Sergeant, should we bring—”
“I do not know!” barked Yue.
They all fell silent around her. She closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead.
“I am sorry. That was … I spoke to you like Ashta and Sinshi back home. I should not have then, and I should not have now.”
“It is all right, Sergeant,” said one of them slowly.
“No, it is not,” growled Yue.
The wind picked up, needling them all with frozen rain scouring their skin. Again Yue pounded her arms to warm the bl
ood.
“In Lan Shui, I was in charge,” she said. “And I knew most everything about my job. Nothing went on in my town that I was not aware of. But here, everything is different. I am not them.” She tossed her head in the direction of Mag and me, who were busy with our squadrons. “I am a fighter, and I have been one for most of my life, but I am new to this kind of fighting. Before I met you all, the closest I came to war was when the vampires attacked my town. And waiting for them to come … I suppose that the threat seemed great, but at least we had a plan to fight them.” A spark seemed to light in her eyes, and her squadron saw it. “But that was not why I felt confident. I felt confident because of them.” Again she nodded to Mag and me.
One of her soldiers snorted. “Mostly because of her, I suppose.”
“No,” growled Yue. “Both of them. Albern may not be … well, he may not be Mag. But he is no slouch, either. I would lay ten gold weights on him against anyone in this little army, except Mag herself. I thought he was a dark-damned steer when first I met him. And do you know what? He is a steer. But he is a good steer. He is my steer. Not just kind of heart, but skilled and wise as well. If there is anything wrong with him, it is that—”
She cut herself off. Her squadron stared at her curiously.
“What, Sergeant?” said one.
“It is that he cannot keep his fool mouth shut when he should,” snapped Yue. “Much like others I could name. Now heft those spears. We have a battle to fight.”
But before she went to fetch her weapon, she looked at me again, and then at Mag. The wind blew a curtain of rain before her, blocking us both from view.
It was a cold night, and the wind whistled low. I shivered against it, pulling my hood tighter around my face.
My squadron stood in the darkness around me, rubbing or slapping their arms as we waited for the order to march. I walked among them, seeing that they and their equipment were in shape. Here and there I caught a loose buckle or strap and helped to tighten it, and I ensured no one carried anything they did not need.
Chausiku had been called back from sentry duty, replaced by an archer from Zhen’s company. From what the other archer had said, Zhen was not pleased to remain behind while we marched off to glory. I was not sure whether the captain was leaving him because he wished to protect him, or because he felt Zhen was a lieutenant he could trust absolutely. Either way, if I could have chosen to remain behind, I would have. Fighting a desperate, deadly battle in narrow tunnels beneath the earth was far from my idea of a good time.
“Remember,” I said. “We will be going in first, but only until we make contact with the enemy. As soon as we see them, we are to loose a volley and then run like Elves are after us. Green Squadron will take it from there.”
“Yes, ser,” said Jian fiercely. She was projecting all eagerness for the coming battle, but I could sense the nervousness beneath. “And mayhap we will have the chance to loose one or two extra shots into the traitors.”
“Hopefully, it will be over too quickly for that,” I replied.
“Will they not see our torches coming in the darkness?” said Chausiku. His anxiety was much plainer to see than Jian’s.
“They might, but there is little we can do about that,” I said. “They could do one of two things. They might attempt to hold the tunnel against us, for it is narrow and will render our numbers no great advantage. Or, they might seek a pitched battle in the large cave where they have made camp.
“If they try to hold the tunnel, Jian may well get her wish. The captain will not send our fighters to die against that brute woman who leads them. Instead, we will pepper them with bowfire until we whittle them down enough that they have to retreat. Either way, it will likely end with a pitched battle in the large cave. There, we should be as safe as we were in the battle in the Greenfrost.”
Hallan’s great red beard jumped as he chewed on a piece of meat, pulled from a pouch as a midnight snack before our foray. His eyes would rest upon me for a moment before darting away. He seemed less than pleased. I had not told him about my plan with Mag before we left. It was strange to feel such disapproval from the man, who was usually the friendliest archer in my squadron.
“Easy enough, ser,” he said gruffly. “Anything else?”
“No, that is all,” I said. I turned to speak to the rest of them. “Tonight has held more than its share of bad decisions, and for my part in them, I am sorry. But we are all making the best of a bad situation.”
Hallan spat. “S’pose you did what you thought was best.”
“We did,” I said. “And with luck, we will be proven right in the end.”
“Hm,” said Hallan.
The wind whistled colder, and I shivered again.
It was a cold night, and the wind whistled low. Mag’s squadron buckled on their swords and hefted their shields. Dibu and Li swung their arms nervously, trying to stave off the cold just like the rest of us. But Mag seemed unaffected by the weather. The sharp wind’s only effect on her was to send her cloak and hair swirling. Frozen rain tried to slice at her face, but it could not find purchase, and soon it melted and ran down her cheeks. Her gaze was fixed to the northeast, where the cave and the Shades waited.
“Is everyone ready?” said Mag.
“Yesser,” said Dibu.
“Good,” she said. “We will be right behind Black Squadron. That means we will be the first to meet the enemy, when it comes to blades instead of arrows. Let me take the fore then. Focus on staying alive.”
“They say this is it,” said Li. Her voice shook. “They say this should be the end.”
“It will be,” said Mag, fervent but quiet.
She thought of her words with Dryleaf, about our plans to leave Kun’s army at the next large city we reached. She motioned Li and Dibu closer and spoke quietly enough that only they could hear.
“I have a question. Do both of you mean to see this war through?”
Li’s wandering eyes focused, and her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“This war for Dorsea,” said Mag. “For all of Underrealm, I suppose. Will the two of you stick with Kun as long as it takes?”
“I plan to,” said Dibu, folding his strong arms. A moment later, Li nodded in agreement.
“That is good,” said Mag flatly. “You are both good at this. One should not be overly proud to be a good soldier, but one should not be ashamed of it, either. And you could both be great one day if that is what you want. But not me.”
Li snorted. “Ser, you must be joking. You are the greatest among—”
“I mean that it is not for me anymore,” said Mag. “I used to enjoy it when I was … well, not young. But younger. And when I looked back on those memories, I thought I would enjoy myself again now. But I do not. I am not meant for this sort of life anymore. One day, you might not be, either. When that day comes, I want you to try to recognize it. Because I will not be there to tell you. You are going to have to look out for each other.” She gave a sad smirk. “And for the lieutenant, I suppose.”
Dibu’s cheeks flushed.
“Well, not like that,” said Mag. “Although, I suppose like that, too. Come. It is time to march.”
The cold wind picked up, blasting them all. Nothing about Mag shivered but her cloak.
And so we marched. Four of Kun’s companies set out, leaving behind the fifth under Zhen’s command. Zhen himself stood at the northeast end of camp and watched us march away, his eyes never leaving the column.
I do not know how long he waited, as we all faded into the darkness before him. But I know it could not have been too long.
We reached the entrance to the tunnel in short order. I approached it with some trepidation, afraid that we might find the Shades had come out and formed up for a defense.
Yet the snowy field beside the boulders was empty. No soldiers waited for us with drawn blades, nor were there tracks to show they had come out at all. They were still inside.
We halted, and the column dre
w up. Kun summoned Mag, Yue, and me to him. Tou was also there, arms folded, glare fixed upon us.
“Well, Sergeants,” said Kun. “Where do we go next?”
I pointed. “Behind those boulders is the entrance to a tunnel leading to the enemy.”
“We should take care, Captain,” said Mag. “They may be guarding the entrance, hoping to hold it against us.”
“Indeed they might,” said Kun, smiling. “What I would not give for a wizard of any stripe. But very well. It might be best to drop a torch down first and see if we can spook them. If they fire arrows at it, we will at least know if they are waiting, and we can plan from there.”
“Yesser,” said Mag. “Let me do it.”
“Certainly,” said Kun, waving her forwards.
Mag took a torch from Dibu and crept up the hillside until she was above the boulders. She waited for the space of a heartbeat, and then she dropped the torch inside.
We all waited in dead silence. But nothing happened. I could see the light glinting around the edges of the boulders at the entrance.
“Nothing, Captain,” said Mag, her voice floating towards us in the night.
“Very well,” said Kun. “Two should drop down with shields and hide behind them at once. Two others should drop ropes at the same time, in case we need to pull them out quickly.”
“Bring a rope,” said Mag. “I can go in first alone.”
Before we could answer, Mag dropped into the darkness. I heard her boots land on the tunnel floor, and then another long silence.
“Nothing, Captain,” repeated Mag. This time her voice was heavy with the echoes of the tunnel. “They are not here. We can proceed.”
Kun turned his gaze on me in the darkness, and though he still smiled, his eyes were steely in the moonslight.
The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) Page 81
