by Auryn Hadley
Pig shrugged. "We're working with Blades. Not much different."
"Ok. Most paired units find the relationship is symbiotic. You'll approve of their unit name, though," Sal said, giggling.
Pig narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Ok?"
"Liall Lusarati" Sal told him, trying not to grin. Jase gasped and began chuckling.
"Does it translate?" Pig asked, looking between them.
Sal nodded, and Jase wiped tears of amusement from his eyes. "Yeah," he said, between bouts. "Liall means hound, like the creatures humans have as pets. Lusarati means evil, but in the form of a person." He laughed again. "In Glish, it's pronounced..." he started laughing so hard he was giggling.
"Must be a good joke," Tyr said, looking at both Sal and Jase.
Sal nodded. "Best elites Rragri has," she gasped, catching her breath. Twenty-four of them in the unit." Another giggle made her pause. "In Glish, it's pronounced..." She tittered again. "Devil Dogs!"
"Sir," Rayna said, tapping Pig's arm. "We're going to need to remake the logo."
"Yeah," Pig chuckled, shaking his head at the coincidence. "No shit. That's meant to be."
Sal nodded emphatically. "Ayati, man. That's what it's called, and it seems to like me a lot. Ok.” She paused to suck in a calming breath. “We ready for the next round, Arctic?"
"Yeah, demon."
He pulled them in, one by one, and they showed the Devil Dogs the nuances of communication. Tyr tended to project too easily and often yelled in their head, but Pig grasped the concept without a problem. Rayna struggled to separate public and private channels until Sal wrenched her mentally into one.
Oh! Rayna thought, finally feeling the difference. It's quiet in here.
Yeah. Sal agreed. You learn how not to listen quick enough, no different than men talking the next tent over.
It's nice, Sal. They've already gotten tighter, and we were fucking tight before. This'll just make it that much better.
Watch out for leaking, though, Sal warned her. Glimpses, emotions, and such can leak through.
What do you mean? Rayna asked.
Sal held up a hand and thought about that morning with both Zep and Jase. Rayna sat up straight and whipped her head around to look at Sal.
No way I got that right.
Sal shrugged. Not enough to be sure, was it? Just a leak. That's what I mean. It's enough to make those around you curious about what you're doing with Dom.
Rayna gestured to Sal, and together, they walked a few feet away from the men - out of their line of sight.
Look, I know I talk with my hands, and they know it too. I can't leak that shit to them. My hands are bad enough!
Sal nodded. That's why I said something. Here, let me show you. I'm going to play in your head, ok?
Go for it, Sal. I trust ya.
Sal slid into Rayna's consciousness, gliding across her mind. She caught the scent of Dom and caressed the memory, the feel of it on her mental hands a bit too personal. This. Can you see this as something unique and separate?
Yeah. How'd you find that?
It's hard to explain, Sal said. Just take it, and move it here. She gestured to a point in Rayna's mind that wasn't as easy to reach. And this one? Set it above it. And that one, too.
Sal pointed to memories, showing Rayna how to bury them in her mind. They built layers, with Rayna's most treasured memories of Dom the furthest away, and those she could more easily control near the surface. It didn't take long before Sal called it good enough.
If anything leaks, it'll be you checking him out, now, and not something more personal.
Rayna grabbed Sal's arm. Thank you. I mean it, Sal. I don't care if you sniff through those or not. She grinned. I'd tell you about them anyway! You're the only one who gets it. Meia prefers her own, and Teya is only looking for a husband.
I'm not going to dig in your memories, Ray, Sal promised. Tell me your stories, but your memories are yours. The only reason I dig in there is life or death, ok?
Rayna nodded. Deal. But answer something for me?
Sal nodded.
What happens if things do get serious between us. Dom and I? I'm just a damned soldier, Sal.
And he's the son of a bastard. So?
So I like him. I mean, I like-like him. A lot.
Sal grinned, understanding what Rayna meant. I'm going to link him in today. You good with that?
Why wouldn't I be?
Because it can take things to the next level, Ray. You'll feel what he feels, both physically and emotionally.
Rayna sighed. Not yet. I don't know what I feel, but that's shit you do with someone you love. It's not the same for you. You love them all. Rayna laughed suddenly. You seriously have to tell me what that leak was about. I got Cyno and Zep in it, and that they were amazing. Stupid CFC getting in the way of my girl talk!
Sal covered her mouth with her hands to hide her grin. "Oh yeah, Ray. We have to talk. I'm going to bust if I don't spill this soon!"
Rayna switched to her voice just as easily. "After we deal with the Conglomerate then. Deal?
"Deal." Sal chuckled. "I'll schedule you in."
Rayna smacked her, then hauled her back to the Devil Dogs. Both girls were grinning.
Chapter 45
It took a while before the Conglomerate realized anything had happened. With the defection of an entire unit - including the commanding officer - there was no one to report it. The disappearance of the Devil Dogs went completely unnoticed until just before lunch when Parliament requested Pig’s presence. The grauori wandering around the edges of camp listened, waiting for a ruckus, but they didn't hear it until early that afternoon.
When the reaction finally came, the CFC exploded. Soldiers were ordered to check the barracks. On the top level, Tseri kept Sal updated. The Kaeen compared the humans scurrying to insects without a queen to guide them. When that died down, the Anglians made bets on who would be the first to ask. Sal won. As soon as the Representatives of Parliament were informed, one decided to take action.
Just a politician, Halin Berrik didn't think it through. She charged out of the Conglomerate gates and raced her horse toward the Anglian camp. Nothing more than a civilian bodyguard followed her across the open grassland. Her rampage sent the entire CFC base into a frenzy. Soldiers were ordered to prepare for an incident. Elite units were called into action. In every stable, humans were furiously tacking up horses and trying to catch up to the mad politician before anything drastic happened. When the grauori told Sal, she laughed - and ordered her soldiers to fall in.
"Ok, men, Conglomerate's realized we took some of their toys. What's the official edge of Anglian territory granted by Myrosica?"
"Sixty meters outside the line of tents, Kaisae," Ilija said.
"Then any human or iliri that moves more than thirty meters will be demoted. Understand me?"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers replied in chorus.
"Rragri? Mind if I use a few maargra to make a point?"
Nope. Feel free, Sal.
"Thanks. Ok men, we have a rogue bitch on her way...alone. Form up, and wait." Sal sent them a mental image of what she wanted, and the soldiers laughed as they jogged to find their positions. "Dogs?"
"Yes, sir!" Pig said behind her.
"You're with us, mounted." Sal looked at the grauori among them. "Does Hounds work?"
The leader nodded her pale head at Sal, a wide grin on her face.
"Ok, Hounds, would you hit the grass and flank around? I'll let you know when I need you to close the gap."
She whuffed and trotted away, her pack fading before Sal's eyes into the long grasses.
"Sal!" Tilso called out. "I tacked the dark set, so you get to try your new girl. Hope that's ok?"
"Thanks, Ahn. That's perfect. Mount up. Blades with me. Pig, I'll yell in a sec."
Sal lead her mare around the camp, taking a spot behind the infantry. The Verdant Shields waited, Dominic sitting easily among them in matching armor. When the rider be
came visible in the distance, the elites all reached up and dropped their helms. They waited in perfect silence. Halin Berrik, however, screamed at them long before she neared their line.
"You can't just take our soldiers! The iliri are one thing, but this is different!" She pulled her horse to a skittering halt, and her bodyguard moved between her and the army she raged at. "This is a breach of treaty!"
With a thought, Sal called the soldiers to attention. Across the quiet meadow, the sound of their armor shifting rang out as loud as a door slamming. Berrik jumped in place. Her guard tried hard to put himself between her and the massive threat before him.
Ok, we have units headed your way, the grauori watching the gates updated Sal. Heavy cavalry, moving quickly, and a division of light with the rest of Parliament.
Understood. Thank you.
Anglia did nothing. As Halin Berrik raged at them at the top of her lungs, not a single soldier moved. When the heavy cavalry crested the last hill, Sal just asked her men to look. Heads snapped to the right in unison - and Berrik paused, reining her gelding back. For a split second, the silence made it feel surreal. The Representative glanced behind her - the same way the Anglians were looking - and saw the Conglomerate soldiers. Huffing out her fear, the woman turned back to the Anglian army. Sal snapped their heads forward to face her. Amusement flooded into the Kaisae's mind.
While Sal played with her soldiers, the 112th Mounted pulled abreast of Representative Berrik and halted. The leader, Captain Rais Tolan, looked over the precise formations and nudged his horse closer to the politician. With so many ears lurking in the tall grasses, Sal listened in.
"Ma'am. You really should not charge into unprotected territory without an escort. Just be glad it's Anglia and not Viraenova you decided to confront."
Berrik glared at the poor man. "Why? What is it about Anglia? Are you going to defect to them next?"
"No, ma'am. We have no intention of that. But Dominik Jens at least is bound by the Conventions."
"And?" she screamed at the Captain. "What does that matter to me? That doesn't give them the right to just take all of our best soldiers!"
"No, ma'am," he agreed behind his helm before taking a deep breath. "It just prevents him from killing you for threatening his encampment. The same does not apply to the iliri, grauori, or nuvani."
Sal nearly lost it when she saw the look on Berrik's face. Evidently, the woman had never considered that. Her mouth fell open, her eyes widened, and then her face began to flush a brilliant red. Somehow, the leader of the 112th mounted remained calm.
"Can you do anything?" Berrik almost begged the soldier.
"I can only try, ma'am," he told her. With a gesture at his unit, the Captain rode forward, halted within human earshot, and pulled his helm from his head. "Anglia?"
You want this Razor? Sal asked, since he'd been assigned with them so recently.
If you don't mind. Captain Tolan is a good man.
All yours. Helm off when you halt, Sal told him.
Gotcha.
Razor squeezed his new gelding forward, and Sal adjusted the line before him. Soldiers stepped back and over, leaving a clear path through the front ranks for him. He touched the horse's mouth, the gelding reached for the bit, and Razor made it into a display of horsemanship. The commanding officer of the 112th Mounted almost smiled. Almost. Only the very corner of his lips twitched higher before falling back into place. Most likely, he knew exactly what Razor was doing.
Moving his horse halfway between Berrik and the front line of Anglian soldiers, Captain Tolan met the Black Blade as if this was a standard parley. Razor stopped his horse beautifully and nodded, dropping his reins as he reached for his helm. When he slid it from his head, the Captain's shoulders relaxed.
"Captain Tolan," Razor greeted him politely.
The Captain pushed to his friend's side. "Sergeant Dico. Anglia looks well on you. New horse?"
"Yes. Thank you, sir. I'm sorry I can't say the same for you, and I don't mean the horse."
"No," Tolan said softly. "We're committed. I'm sorry, my friend. Just good to know the Blades are still respected somewhere. Hope Anglia appreciates what they're getting." He lifted his voice back to a normal level, but not one meant to carry. "I'm sorry about the Representative."
Razor shrugged, smiling at his friend. "These things happen. You did a good job catching up. She was here before you even started tacking."
Captain Tolan's head twitched slightly as he tried to make sense of that. It took a moment, then his face turned perfectly smooth. "I see. Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. Are we safe here, Razor? Parliament wishes to parley with your, um... are they nobles?"
"Leaders," Razor corrected, grinning deviously. "I don't think any of them are very damned noble."
Captain Tolan grinned. "Considering the stories I've heard about one of them? Have to say I might even agree. They good to you?"
"Shit yeah, man. My sister's the Kaisae. They don't call us scrubbers here, either. They call us 'sir,' instead."
"Nice. Look, think we can drag this out, or will your leaders start to push it? Not wanting to cause you any grief."
Razor shook his head. "First off, she can hear us from here. Well, two out of three can - poor Dom. Second, dragging it out to save your pride are my orders."
"My pride?"
"The Conglomerate's," Razor clarified. "Berrik just put Sal in a position where she has to prove Anglia's strength. If we back down now, it'll make everything we're trying to do harder."
"You mean ignoring some deranged politician?" Tolan scoffed.
Razor subtly shook his head. "I mean proving that a human doesn't have the right to order around an 'inferior' species. Right now, you and I are just the pawns in a very big international game."
Captain Tolan huffed out a tense breath. "Right. I didn't think of it like that. Slave to soldier to sovereign." He glanced back to where the Anglian leaders sat perfectly still. "Gonna be a few who won't want to give her the respect she deserves. Or her brothers."
At the back of the Anglian line, Sal tipped her head slightly, proving she'd heard. Captain Tolan returned the gesture, but his eyes dropped more than his head. It didn't matter. It was enough to prove that the man really was the friend he'd always claimed.
Make sure they aren't embarrassed by this, Sal thought to Razor.
He chuckled, pulling Tolan's attention back. "Word of warning from the Kaisae. When you get back to the line, tell your men to sit strong. These horses are going to lose their ever-fucking-loving-minds over this shit. Ya get me?"
Tolan paused to run his tongue over his lips. "Thanks, Razor. Tell her I appreciate it. Wouldn't do good to have the 112th sitting on our asses. We'd never live that shit down."
"Pass this word to the elites too. Umso. Think you can remember that?"
"Umso? What is it?"
Razor grinned. "That's Sal's promise to anyone from the Conglomerate. You ever come up against us, you say umso, you live through it."
"You really think they're that good?"
Razor glanced up at Tolan's eyes. "Sir? I'm not fucking kidding. Our greens run better than Shadow Team. This shit the politicians behind you are trying to make go down? We got Devil Dogs now."
"Ah, dammit," Tolan muttered. "Can't say I blame them, but it's going to get real ugly out east without a few more spec ops units who can hold their weight."
"I know," Razor agreed. "Hopefully, these humans can pull their heads out of their asses and get an alliance signed. We will help, sir. Sal's already said that."
"Even if we're across the line?"
Razor just cocked his head and smiled. "Don't come across the line from us, Rais. If it happens, you got options, but that's not a place you want to be. Am I clear?"
"Umso?" Tolan said softly, memorizing the word. "Yeah. I'll make sure they know."
"Good, because your politicians are about to crest the rise. We can break now. Tell Berrik we have no intention of attacking, we simpl
y intend to defend the encampment we've been allocated by Myrosica. The boundary they gave us is the line in the sand. Tell the CFC not to cross it."
Tolan held out his hand, and Razor clasped it, their gauntlets clanking at their wrists. "Good luck to you all. Kick the shit out of him for me?"
"That's the plan," Razor promised.
They shoved their helms on their heads and turned back to their own sides. When Razor passed behind the line of Anglian soldiers, Sal closed it. The eleven other members of Parliament pulled beside Halin Berrik, and Tolan gestured behind him, obviously explaining something. Sal waited for him to make his way to his unit. As soon as he got there, Tolan turned his head to the man beside him. One by one, she saw the humans pass the warning. Many shoved their feet just a bit further in their stirrups and some shifted their seat. Sal noticed one man on a large black stallion shove his heels down, and she smiled, recognizing the horse if not the armor. Tolan looked across the line and nodded.
Here we go, she told her men. It's time to make a show.
Chapter 46
Blocks of units moved forward in unison, shifted, and settled into a new place. Forms became clear in the bodies, and their movement sounded more like a machine than simple soldiers. The members of Parliament watched, impressed, and then began to ride forward into the space that had opened up like an invitation. They stopped in a line about where Tolan and Razor had met, and waited. Together, Sal, Dom, and Rragri moved forward. The Black Blades and Verdant Shields fell in behind them, forming a silent arc between the rulers and the infantry, but they were careful not to encroach on the 'foreign' politicians.
When the leaders were within range, Sal halted her horse. Dominik stopped beside her. Rragri sat quietly on his other side. When Sal reached for her helm, Dominik did the same, and both of them exposed their heads to the people before them. Even if it wasn't in perfect unison, the display was still impressive.
"Leaders of Anglia," Representative Anis said, nudging her horse forward.
