Cordelia laughed, but as the young man approached, a wide smile on his face, Cordelia tried her best to turn her laugh into a cough.
“You ready?” Liam asked.
Pakesh nodded. “She should be here any minute. Like you said, I had her meet me somewhere impressive.”
“Good man. Remember the rules?”
Pakesh looked up for a moment, the pose of someone desperate to recall something important. “Everyone likes to be told they look and smell nice.”
“But not too many times or else…”
“…it’s creepy,” Pakesh finished. Cordelia barked another coughing laugh.
“What shouldn’t you do?” Liam asked.
“Interrupt her when she’s trying to talk.”
“And?”
Pakesh bit his lip and glanced at the ground before realization popped into his eyes. “No staring south of the neck!”
Cordelia had to press her lips together and pull them into her mouth. No cough would cover her next laugh if it got out.
“And if she catches you staring?” Liam asked, his face still serious.
“Tell her how nice her shirt looks.”
Liam clapped him on the shoulder. “Remember, that won’t work more than once, so keep your head up.”
Cordelia’s laugh came rushing out so hard she had to lean on Liam. “You…” She gasped for breath. “You forgot, always ask her what she wants to do next, then pretend to enjoy it!”
Pakesh’s eyes widened, and he nodded fervently. “That’s good. I like it.”
Liam elbowed Cordelia off his side. “That’s the advanced class. You said this girl is kind of shy, so she’ll be relying on you for today’s activities.”
Pakesh nodded proudly. “A stroll through the market. We could buy some sweet rolls.”
“Sounds good,” Liam said.
Cordelia couldn’t stop snickering. “Don’t expect any tongue on the first date.”
Pakesh’s mouth dropped open, and his color deepened by several shades.
“Ignore her.” Liam nodded toward the street. “Here she is. Off you go.”
A young girl Pakesh’s age stood at the gates to the keep. She smiled shyly, and Pakesh beamed at her. He nearly ran to her side, and they moved away together, Horace following a discreet distance behind. Cordelia gave him a wave.
Liam put a hand to his heart. “I love young love.”
Cordelia pushed him gently. “Romantic ass.”
“Where are you off to? Want to go to the Pickled Prog?”
“Good thought,” she said. “Simon and I are already meeting there. Let’s go.”
Liam’s expression turned stony as he crossed his arms. “He sure does make friends easily.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Liam said, waving. “On your way. I can occupy myself.”
Cordelia frowned, looking for the joke, but the way he wouldn’t look at her spoke of genuine hurt. “What the fuck? Did he do something to you?”
“No.”
“Say something?”
“He’s fine. He’s great. He’s everyone’s friend.”
Cordelia tried to think of what could have happened since the party but came up empty. “You were singing his praises pretty hard last night.”
He did look at her then, and she didn’t like the anger in his eyes. “That’s because he’s Mr. Fucking Fantastic, and everyone loves him.”
“Holy fuck, Liam, are you jealous?” She’d never known him to be jealous of anything save Cordelia’s relationship with her uncle, and that was because his mom should have won an award for bad parenting.
Liam laughed so loudly it screamed overcompensation. “Of course not! After all, you only want to leave me in the lurch and—”
Cordelia’s temper spiked. “Either stay here with your self-pity, or come get a drink with us, your choice.” She started to turn away, but he mumbled something about everyone picking Simon over him. Cordelia threw her hands in the air. “Do you want me to go get him so you can compare dicks and decide whose is better?”
Liam gave her a nasty leer. “Seen his dick, have you?”
“Oh yeah,” Cordelia said, drawing the words out. “You know it. That’s why I like him. We’re going to get plowed and then fuck until the sun goes down!”
Behind her, someone coughed, and she felt Simon standing there. “Um, if I’d known that,” he said, “I’d have worn something nicer, maybe used some cologne.”
Cordelia fought the urge to squirm. She cleared her throat. “Just a minor misunderstanding.”
Simon fidgeted before he stepped forward. “Liam, I…” He sighed. “Samira is so much better at these kinds of talks than I am, but here goes. I know it must seem…significant that the people you love are becoming my friends, but…” He took a deep breath and smiled hesitantly, but Cordelia sensed impatience simmering below the surface. They were alike in a lot of ways. Maybe that was one of the reasons they connected so easily through Pool.
“Please, believe me,” Simon said. “I’m not trying to take people away from you. I’ve never had many friends. I’ll take all I can get.” He offered Liam a hand. “One big dysfunctional family?”
Liam rolled his eyes but shook the hand. “Stop winning me over.”
Simon grinned. “You got it.”
Cordelia wound her arms through theirs. “Come on. We’ll get good and tipsy, crawl under a blanket, and play a rousing game of ‘Whose Hand Is That.’ Then we’ll be the best of friends. Or we’d better be. I don’t have time for all this personal shit.”
They had a quick drink, and Cordelia left them laughing and talking, glad to know they could get along in her absence. It left her time to wander around her city a bit more, taking it all in, promising she’d be back as soon as she could. Maybe one day, she’d even make it into her uncle’s house.
Before she knew it, morning had come, and it was time to leave for the mine. When she met Horace and the rest who were going on the expedition, some of them seemed eager to go. Maybe they’d all had their fill of personal conflicts in Gale. Along with the handful of leathers and two armors was a pile of gear, including Cordelia’s personal pack. One perk of being captain was that someone else always toted her stuff. Wearing armor that was now as heavy as she remembered, she was happy to have her burden lightened however it happened.
Nettle had insisted on coming, not that Cordelia minded one bit. A few other drushkan scouts were coming, too. Sergeant Ines was leading the way, and Horace had brought two other yafanai. Everyone geared up and said last-minute good-byes. They were standing just outside the eastern gate when Liam came out to join them.
“Come to see us off?” Cordelia called. He had a pack slung over his shoulders, and she pointed to it. “If that’s a barrel of mead to take with us, you’re getting a big sloppy kiss.”
“Divine as that sounds, no, it isn’t. I’m coming with you. You need someone from the government of Gale to speak with the people at the mine, and since the election yesterday, I’m it.”
Cordelia nodded slowly. “Congratulations, but I’ve learned some diplomacy in my time, you know.”
“I know, I know. You talk good now. I’m still coming.”
She knew he trusted her, so she wasn’t quite sure what was going on. Maybe Shiv had gone cold again. Whatever it was, if he wanted to avoid his own shit for a while, she didn’t see how she could argue.
Ines approached, rubbing her hands. “We’ve got food and water for four days. If something happens and we need to stay longer, I’ve brought hunting gear.”
“Hustle up!” Cordelia called. Lea and Porter, the two armors, bullied the leathers into line, Sunny Swanson among them. If they got into a fight, the leathers would be using truncheons, and the armors would use blades. They’d recovered some of their slugs from the swamp, but they hadn’t had time to refashion them. If things got really hairy, they’d have to rely on the yafanai to help them out.
Cordelia walked
up the line of paladins, nodding. Private Swanson was watching her intently. When she met Cordelia’s eyes, she stood so tall, Cordelia thought she might be on tiptoe.
It was hard not to smile, but Cordelia kept it inside. Barely. “Ready, grunts?” she asked.
“Yes, Captain,” they chorused, Swanson yelling louder than the others.
“Eyes wide. This isn’t a pleasure hike.”
After another affirmative, they were off. Cordelia stayed near the middle of the line, off to the side, letting Lea take point. Horace and Nettle walked beside her while Liam had gone up to talk with Ines. The scouts strayed far ahead and only came back to report.
“We should trade Wuran for some ossors,” Horace said. “I’m spoiled.”
Nettle made a face. “I prefer the queen’s tree.”
“If she wanted to lend it to us, I’d take it,” Horace said.
“No whining.” Cordelia lifted her arms, reveling in the pull of the armor, in its weight. She realized she’d missed it more than powered armor. “This is paradise!”
Nettle wrinkled her nose. “Not all revel in hardship, Sa.”
“You can say that again,” Porter mumbled. He’d dropped back to just within earshot.
Cordelia put on her best Carmichael face. “What was that, Lieutenant?”
He straightened, eyes wide. “Nothing…nothing, Captain.”
“I didn’t hear you, Lieutenant!”
“Nothing, Captain!”
Everyone’s eyes were wide, and Cordelia chuckled. “It’s all right. I’m just fucking with you.”
Some chuckled, a little nervously to her ears. Liam turned and mouthed, “Bully.”
She laughed, and it felt very good indeed.
They marched through the day and set up camp while the mine was just out of sight. Darkness was falling, but that wouldn’t matter to the drushka. It was time for a little scouting. Cordelia stripped off her armor, determined to go with them. Hopefully, they wouldn’t let her embarrass herself by falling in the dark.
“Be careful,” Liam said. “Stay hidden.”
Nettle grinned. “We will be as lizards among the reeds.”
They hurried into the night, and Cordelia couldn’t help thinking of being wounded with Nettle, of the close encounter with the grelcat in the darkness. She tried not to shiver at the thoughts. They were the past, done with, like the drushka were always saying. She couldn’t afford to focus on such things now.
They paused when they saw torchlight glimmering atop the mine’s new wall. It didn’t seem as well-constructed as the palisade around Gale, but she’d expected something hurried and shoddy. She didn’t see any walkways, but they could have been hidden. In the light of the torches, she saw two gates, a smaller one within a larger, but no other gaps. A ditch lay between them and the wall, filled with sharpened stakes, but that wouldn’t stop their small scouting party.
With the drushka leading the way, they sneaked around the side. The wall met the hill beyond in an area too steep to climb. If someone went far enough into the mountains, they could probably double back and come at the town from above.
Where anyone would see them coming. Smart.
“I can climb the wall,” Nettle whispered in Cordelia’s ear.
She didn’t like the sound of that and didn’t bother to hide her frown. “A quick look. Keep your head down.”
Nettle went with one other scout. They twisted easily through the ditch and stakes, then ran their hands over the wall before skittering upward. Cordelia bit her lip. She could hear voices from inside. People were awake and moving around; the drushka might be spotted at any moment. She tensed, ready to fight or run, whichever was needed.
Nettle and the other scout moved sideways as they peeked, staying far too long for comfort. A cramp began to form in Cordelia’s calves, and she tried to stretch while remaining out of sight. She was thinking of ways to signal when Nettle and the other scout climbed down and hurried over. Together, they retreated into the darkness.
“Small structures interspersed with larger ones,” Nettle whispered. “It seems a typical human place. There are indeed plains dwellers and tents.” She gripped Cordelia’s arm. “I saw someone I have seen before, a young human woman, the one who bore the consciousness of Naos.”
Cordelia’s belly went cold. What the fuck could that mean? “Come on. We need to talk to the others.”
Chapter Nineteen
At their camp in the plains, Horace shook his head as he listened to Nettle’s report about the mining town. He could hardly believe it. What in the world was Kora doing there?
“If she’s not possessed,” Horace said, “I can’t imagine why she’d take over a mine. Maybe she’s just…staying there?” He related again what his old friend Natalya had told him. Kora had been a four-year-old trapped in a teenager’s body when she’d been under Naos’s control. He hoped like hell that she’d simply taken refuge in the mine, but he couldn’t really believe that.
“What if Naos is still with her somehow?” Cordelia asked. “Or what if she’s got some of Naos’s power?”
Horace shook his head even as his stomach went cold. “No, no way. I was with Simon when we beat Naos. I felt what he felt. He broke Naos’s link, the power that let her possess people.”
“Could she still be guiding the girl telepathically?” Cordelia asked.
Horace rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Could she convince someone to take over a town with words alone?”
“Maybe everything Kora went through unhinged her,” Liam said. “And now she can only do what Naos wanted her to do before.”
“Well,” Cordelia said as she stretched. “There’s one way to find out. In the morning, we’ll ask.”
“Ahya,” Nettle said. “That is the best way.”
“First light?” Lea asked from where he’d been watching.
Nettle gestured at the night. “I could help us sneak over the wall now.”
Horace shook his head. “If she has even a fraction of Naos’s power, Kora will sense us.”
Cordelia nodded. “Lea, set watches. Everyone else, get some sleep.”
Inside his tent, Horace stared at the darkness. The little girl who’d become a pawn in Naos’s games had broken his heart when he’d first seen her. He’d wanted to help her then. Hope fluttered at the thought that he might be able to help her now. He’d been unable to help Natalya, and looking after Kora had been her last wish. Now maybe Horace could fulfill it.
It felt as if he’d just closed his eyes when Cordelia bellowed a wake-up call. With a groan, Horace rolled out of his blanket and used his power to brush the cobwebs from his mind. He’d need real sleep the next night. Maybe once he’d helped Kora, she’d find a place for them in the town. It was a nice thought to keep in mind.
With a lighter heart, Horace fell in line with the others and marched to the wall. The morning daylight stretched out before them, but a chill settled over Horace. He kept flashing back to Natalya’s face, her shattered body. He hadn’t found it until after Pool had reached Celeste. Had Kora killed her? Or had it been Naos? Was it better to be a puppet or a madwoman?
Noise came from the mining town. They were already up, probably working. People wandered in and out of the tents that stretched before the wall, and several people caught sight of Cordelia’s band. They ran to the wall, yelling for someone.
Cordelia kept marching even as a group of plains dwellers gathered, some of them with weapons ready. A group of archers lined the top of the wall by the time Cordelia called a halt.
“Easy does it,” Cordelia said as her troops shifted from foot to foot. Horace sent them some calm, ready to change that to a jolt of adrenaline if they needed it.
“We’re here to see the woman in charge,” Cordelia yelled.
Soon after, the small door set inside the larger gate opened. A tall, willowy woman walked out. Her black hair stood out starkly against her red dress, and her air of superiority was clear even from this distance. “We told you
not to come back,” she called, with traces of an accent that wasn’t Galean or from the plains.
Horace scanned her. “She has power,” he whispered. “More than a yafanai.”
“Looks like one of the breachies,” Cordelia mumbled. “Our mystery puppeteer?”
“Maybe.” But she didn’t seem powerful enough to subdue a whole town.
“This mine belongs to Gale,” Cordelia shouted. “Who are you?”
The woman snorted and crossed her arms. “I’m Raquel, and I’d watch how I talk to my elders if I were you.”
“Well, I’ve faced the ultimate badass from the Atlas and lived. What have you got on Naos?”
Raquel dropped her arms. “What are you talking about?” Her head tilted as if listening to someone.
Horace swallowed as he detected a telepathic signal, but he didn’t pry, remembering the way Naos had batted him away like an insect. When Raquel turned, and Kora stepped past her, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t try for a deep scan, but even a surface one revealed that there was no outside link. Whatever had happened, Kora wasn’t tied to Naos. He sent a quick mental note to Cordelia, and she nodded over her shoulder.
“Mistress,” Raquel said, “I can take care of this.”
“I want to see her again.” Kora seemed different, more confident and centered, though she still looked about sixteen. Her brown hair hung loosely over her shoulders, framing a thin face, though she didn’t seem malnourished. As she came closer, he noticed her eyes were mismatched: one blue, one brown. He didn’t remember that from before.
“Kora?” he asked. “Are you all right?”
She glanced at him and frowned. “Sorry, I don’t remember you.” She pointed at Cordelia and smiled. “But I know her. A little bee, wasn’t that what she called you?”
Cordelia’s hand rested on her wooden sword. “Naos. Is she speaking to you? Through you?”
The girl smiled wider. “Not anymore. I’m Patricia Dué. Nice to meet you in the flesh.”
Cordelia glanced over her shoulder. Horace thought back to his conversations with Simon. “That was Naos’s name before she came to this planet,” he said in Cordelia’s mind.
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