"Today's training went very well," Levi said as I lifted my fork. "Things are so much better than I could have ever expected."
"If we had to go to the battlefield tomorrow, we'd be ready enough," Armon agreed.
"I've seen far worse show up at the front after full training," Kerok agreed while discreetly pushing the butter dish in my direction.
There was plenty for everyone at the table, so I took a generous portion for my roll and slathered it across warm bread.
Kerok didn't turn at my sigh of appreciation for the first bite, but the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.
"Armon says we'll get our first pay soon," Caral said while I savored a second bite of bread. "He says we can spend it on treats, fruit or clothing, all we have to do is ask a merchant's messenger for what we want. There are retired warriors who now work for merchants to bring those orders to the army's camp."
I stopped chewing. There's pay? I directed at Kerok, because I didn't want to speak with my mouth full.
You'll receive a rose captain's pay, he replied. Enough credits to buy pears and butter, among other things—if you want.
I swallowed while blinking at him. "Pears," I breathed. "Nice, ripe ones."
"We may be able to get some of the latest picking," Kerok said. "And a few apples, too. I'll ask Hunter."
I was imagining a basket full of pears that I could eat myself when Wend's frantic voice filled my mind.
Without thinking, I hauled everyone at our table toward the regular mess, where three missing warriors had arrived to kill two escorts they'd left behind.
"Shields up," I shouted at every rose inside the mess hall the moment we arrived. Kerok was already bellowing at warriors to fire at the three who stood in a corner, attempting to blast through shields that Wend, Jae and Neka had built around themselves to protect Hari and Lera.
Those two cringed at the table in fear, while the roses and warriors around them worked to protect them and everyone else.
"Sherra, get me close," Kerok turned toward me as the fireblasts flew and more than a few wooden beams in the ceiling began to catch fire.
Close? I sent mindspeak. How close?
Very.
It will be done, Commander. Forming the strongest shield I could, I grasped Kerok's arm and stepped us toward the fugitive warriors.
That wasn't all I did, either. The moment Kerok and I appeared right in front of them, I enclosed all of them in a second shield. If they didn't burn themselves to death at their first firing at Kerok, Kerok's return fire, which sailed easily through both sets of shields, took care of whatever remained of them.
"Get buckets of water, quickly," I heard Armon shouting somewhere behind me as I dropped the shield around three dead warriors.
"Sherra?" Kerok's voice was calm in the din as others took up the call to bring water. The mess hall would burn to the ground if something wasn't done soon.
"Kerok?" I turned to blink at him as the fire bloomed and sparked around us.
"I love it when you say that name," he said.
There, amid crackling fire and a fervent, reigning chaos to put it out, he took my face in his hands and gave me my first real kiss.
CHAPTER 19
K erok
"They tried to kill us," Lera wept.
Hunter stood nearby as I questioned both women inside the meeting room at my cabin. Sherra was outside in the sitting area with Wend, Marc, Jae and a few others.
The fire at the regular mess was out, now, but the building was so heavily damaged it required extensive repairs. During the rest of our stay, the officers' mess would have to serve everyone.
"Do you believe that, too, Hari?" I asked. "That they were trying to kill you?"
So far, she'd remained silent while Lera wept and told her version of the tale. Hunching her shoulders, Hari nodded.
"They yelled terrible things," she admitted. "Said if we told you anything we knew, we were dead anyway."
"Hunter, will you bring Wend and Jae in?" I asked. I'd get their verification in this matter. If Hari was correct, I assumed they'd become Merrin's new targets. They knew nothing—Barth had already verified it.
Merrin wanted them dead anyway, perhaps as a deterrent for anyone else in the army who'd seen or heard something that could damage him or three other warriors who'd died earlier.
Wend and Jae walked in behind Hunter, and took seats at the meeting table opposite Hari and Lera.
"Tell me what happened," I said. I trusted these and knew I'd hear only truth from them.
"Those men stepped into the mess hall and fired blasts directly at us," Wend began. "If we hadn't been trained to react quickly, we would have died then—they weren't holding anything back."
"So you put up shields?"
"Yes. All the roses at the table did, except, well," Wend hesitated.
"We didn't," Lera wiped tears away. "We were so shocked that we froze."
"Understandable—you knew those men," I nodded. "Go on," I turned back to Wend.
"When they didn't kill us with their first few blasts, they kept firing and started shouting. Calling Lera and Hari terrible names and saying they'd die. No matter where they thought to hide, they were marked for death."
"They were shouting die, bitches, you'll never be safe no matter where you go," Jae provided the unvarnished truth.
Lera sobbed as the words were repeated.
I wondered why the men hadn't stepped away the moment I appeared with Sherra.
Perhaps that was the point, I cautioned myself. They thought to kill us, or make an attempt to do so.
They'd never seen Sherra work; they'd only discounted her new methods. Sherra, I sent mindspeak, when you placed a shield around those men, did you keep them from stepping away?
Yes, came her succinct reply. I placed that shield the moment we arrived at the mess hall. I placed a second, smaller shield when we approached them, so their own blasts would take their lives quickly.
They'd been unable to escape. So much the worse for them. Thank you, my rose, I replied.
"I believe Hunter has enough information to take to the King," I said, feeling weariness settle over me like a heavy blanket. "Hari, Lera, I'll have extra guards around your cabin tonight. Neka and her warrior will escort you there."
"Thank you, Prince Commander," Hari rose from her seat.
"Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Wend and Jae, for saving us," Lera wiped more tears away as she stood to follow Hari.
"We would do the same for any of ours," Wend said.
Once they were out the door, I turned to Wend. "I heard you—as did Sherra. Perhaps it was desperation, but you can mindspeak, Wend. I cannot tell you how pleased I am about that."
"I don't really know what to do with it," she confessed.
"Ask Sherra tomorrow morning at breakfast. I think she'll have you communicating in no time. Ask her to teach you how to step, too. She's quite adept at it."
"May I try?" Jae asked.
"Of course. You'll be able to step, unless I miss my guess," I told her. "As for mindspeak, it's rare enough among warriors, but you and the others are more than welcome to attempt it."
"Thank you, Commander."
"You're welcome. You're dismissed, Corporal Wend, Corporal Jae." I nodded to both as they rose to leave.
Sherra
Although I bathed after everyone left our cabin, I couldn't get the smell of burned wood out of my nostrils.
Sherra? Kerok's mindspeak interrupted as I pondered what to do about it.
I'll be right there, I said. I was dressed in a clean undershirt and sleep-pants, but everything, no matter how freshly-laundered, smelled of smoke.
He stood outside my door when I opened it, still dressed as he was earlier. He held a bottle of wine in his hands.
"Want to share?" he asked.
"Yes. Maybe it'll clear away the smell of smoke," I said.
"Good. Let's go."
"Wh-where?" He gripped my arm as if we'd be stepping some
where.
"To our rock."
"We have a rock?"
"Yes, we do. I've placed Armon in charge, and asked him to mindspeak us if we're needed."
With that, he stepped us away, and I found myself standing beside him on the same rock we'd sat on near the lake at North Camp.
"I didn't bring glasses, so we'll have to share the bottle," he grinned.
Moonlight on the lake cast eerie reflections on us and the rock, as Kerok sat down before motioning for me to join him. Out in the scrub, far from camp, a coyote howled and was answered by another. Pulling the cork from the bottle with a familiar, hollow-sounding boop, Kerok handed it to me, first.
"We'll drink to a fucking long day," he said.
In total agreement, I tilted the bottle back and drank.
K ing's Palace
Crown Prince Drenn
"You shouldn't even be here," I hissed at Merrin, who stalked about my suite in an agitated manner. "Barth is here, you fool. He could discover us at any moment."
"My allies are dead," Merrin snapped at me. "Only the whining escort is left, and if she doesn't cooperate, she'll be dead, too."
"I told you it was stupid to send them after those escorts."
"I couldn't take any chances that they'd heard something. I blocked information from the dead ones, so Barth has no idea I'm involved—unless you've heard otherwise."
"Hmmph. Father knows nothing, or he'd have told me already," I said. "You're safe enough, but stupid moves like sending them into Secondary Camp could get us both killed. We'd be questioned already if I hadn't found Thorn's book for you. That's the only reason you knew how to block information from a Diviner."
"Yes, that's been very useful, and something the phantom already had. We can commit murder and lay it all on the phantom, now. Besides, your father will never allow anything to happen to you, now will he?" Merrin sounded bitter. "He didn't give a shit about me."
"I'm the Crown Prince," I reminded him. "Father loves me and Thorn's too busy playing soldier to involve himself in politics. He hates all of this anyway, so I'm Father's only choice to serve."
"I'm still counting on you to put me in charge of the army."
"And you'll get there if you stop doing stupid things. Any new word on the enemy, and when I can expect their attack?"
"They're building some kind of strange road," Merrin scratched his neck. "It's short and just—stops."
"You haven't brought fleas into my suite, have you?" I accused as he continued to scratch.
"What? No," he denied my words while scratching an arm.
"Fuck. You've brought fleas in here. Get out and take them with you."
Sherra
"Here." Kerok scooted closer so he could wrap his arms about me. I was shivering in the night air, wearing only a sleeveless undershirt and thin sleep-pants.
"Relax, I won't bite. I'm just keeping you warm," he breathed against my hair. "You smell nice," he added.
While we'd passed the wine bottle back and forth, the moon had risen higher in the sky. Night insects buzzed low across the lake; an occasional fish leapt from the water to capture one for a meal. Resulting splashes were occurring regularly, and I found it restful and entertaining.
Kerok's arms about me were warm. For that small window of time, I felt safer than I ever had. And, after sharing wine with him, I felt as close to being cared for by Kerok as I ever had.
Tomorrow, I'd remind myself of the ghost who stood between us—a rose who hadn't been prepared to protect herself in addition to protecting her warrior.
The rose Kerok grieved for above all others.
Tonight, I'd take the comfort he offered, as we'd shared the events of a trying day, along with a bottle of wine at the end of it.
"Ready to go back? We have an early morning scheduled." Letting me go, he stood and stretched before reaching out a hand to lift me to my feet.
"I suppose," I grumbled. After standing, I swayed unsteadily for a moment, wanting more than anything to press my body against his again for the warmth it provided. "I probably shouldn't drink," I hiccupped.
He chuckled and stepped us away.
K erok
"News from the General," Linel's personal messenger appeared inside the officers' mess at breakfast the following morning.
"Good morning, Dayl," I said, taking the sealed envelope from his hand. "What can you tell me before I open this?"
"We sent scouts as you requested. Things are quite—busy—at the enemy camp."
"Have you had breakfast?"
"Yes, Commander."
"Good. I'll send a reply later today," I tapped the edge of the envelope on the table.
"Thank you, Commander. I'll let General Linel know."
"If he wants a private conference, I'll come," I said.
"I believe that is contained in your letter," Dayl grinned.
"Then tell him I'll be there tonight for the evening meal, unless it's an emergency."
"I'll inform him right away."
Dayl stepped away while I set the envelope beside my plate and continued eating. Armon and Levi had watched the exchange, both wondering, I'm sure, what Linel had to say.
Sherra eyed the envelope as if it were a snake about to strike. If I were alone, I would likely do the same.
Busy. The enemy camp was busy, as Dayl put it.
Ready to strike, in other words. I wondered what they were waiting for. We needed this day, at the very least, to prepare the warriors and new escorts for battle.
I worried we'd lose some in a vicious attack from the enemy. I worried that they had something terrible planned, and we wouldn't be prepared.
We stand or fall together, Armon informed me. As it has always been.
"As it has always been," I lifted my cup of tea in a salute to my first personal advisor.
"To us," Armon replied.
"Lift your cups," Levi said. "In a salute to those who stand beside you, when battle comes."
Sherra
Caral, Misten and I lifted our cups with the others, while other tables took up the chant—We stand or fall together—as it has always been, until the entire officers' mess was filled with voices.
"To our King and the Prince Commander," someone from the far end shouted. It was repeated until the building echoed.
A part of me was grateful at the omission of the Crown Prince. The others wouldn't know of his misdeeds, and I was sworn to keep Kerok's secrets. The crimes and treason Drenn had committed would remain with me.
If Drenn harmed a hair on Kerok's head, however—he should guard his back carefully from then on.
Kerok rose from his seat once the voices died down. "I know you're expecting this," he announced. "We'll be moving to the front tomorrow. The enemy is planning an attack, that much is plain. Use your training today to hone your skills and ready yourselves. Battle will come soon enough to all of us."
Sherra
"Step only where you have clear memories of the place," I told my trainees. Caral, Misten, Jae, Wend and several others—the highest-ranking ones from North Camp—had been allowed the morning off from training with the warriors so I could teach them how to step, and hopefully to discover whether any besides Wend had mindspeaking ability.
"Marc talks about sight-stepping," Wend said.
"I'm not as familiar with that," I said. "It would probably be better coming from Marc," I explained. "Sight-stepping, as I understand it, is stepping to a place in the distance that you can actually see. It's still dangerous, as you may not notice the snake waiting in the distance, or the hole in the ground which can twist or break an ankle when you land in it."
"That's why they always say to be careful where you place your feet," Misten sighed. She'd already had a conversation with Levi before coming to training.
"If you've noticed the General's personal messenger when he comes, he always steps to the same spot in the officers' mess," I went on. "That spot is reserved for stepping. The Commander and I land there every time
."
"That makes sense—you could land on somebody if you picked a random place to land," Jae giggled.
"True. I think the warriors get extensive training in stepping, and this is only a rushed lesson, so I'll repeat their words—be careful where you set your feet."
"What if we need—well, a place to escape," Wend asked. "If your warrior is wounded away from the battlefield or something?"
"You should know at least two places where a physician is," I answered. "Here, and at North Camp. Kerok says the physicians, instructors and drudges are at training camps year-round, to maintain the training grounds and buildings. Either place would work, I think. Plus, you're very familiar with North Camp and know every inch of it, too."
"The battlefield has a corps of physicians," Kerok announced as he walked up to our group. "Sherra's right, though—if you're away from the battlefield, go someplace you're more than familiar with—in times of emergency, you're usually not thinking clearly and a familiar place is the best."
"I think it's time to try it," I said, struggling not to smile at Kerok as he came to stand beside me. "Wend, you first," I said.
She came forward and offered her hands so I could transfer the images and information to her.
When I let her go, she grinned and stepped away, appearing moments later with a cup of tea from the officers' mess in her hand. She handed it to Kerok with a giggle before moving away.
"Thank you," Kerok said. "Hot, too, just as I like it." He drank from the cup as Caral came forward.
K erok
Every rose Sherra trained that morning could step when it came time for the midday meal. Wend, Caral and Tera could mindspeak. I'd never seen Caral so excited—she and Armon would be able to communicate silently, and that was a gift to them and to the army.
We needed mindspeakers desperately, and I wondered whether Sherra could search the new warriors coming in for that particular talent.
I'd mention it to her during the meal; she'd worked hard with her small group of trainees and needed rest and food.
The Rose Mark: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 1 Page 27
