Letti watched as Thorn untied the captain and the soldier from Ean and Enri. He left the young soldier who had defended Letti on the horse until he had trussed the other two in the cave.
“You make get down now.” Thorn ordered. “Give me your hands.”
The young man did as he was told. Letti dismounted and untied the packs from the horses, replacing them at the mouth of the cave. She did not approve of Thorn’s maneuvers, but she remained quiet.
“I’m Valary.” The young man introduced himself. He leaned against the stone entryway of the barrow.
“Letti.” Letti nodded at the man. “This is Thorn.”
Valary nodded, looking around interestedly. His olive complexion was ruddier, more bruised than Letti had originally appreciated. She wondered why he boasted such wounds. His dark, rust colored hair sat in a shock atop his head, contrasting starkly with the white-grey rock of the barrow.
“I was not a volunteer.” Valary said, noticing Letti’s staring. “I was taken from a village on Emak.”
“Oh?” Letti was intrigued. “So, the army is press ganging soldiers into service?”
“Yes.” Valary nodded. “Anyone who has reached their fifteenth birthday is expected to join. Or be dragged from their homes.” He grimaced and made to touch his face, stopped short by his bindings.
“Are these really necessary?” He asked.
“Girls and boys?” Letti asked.
Valary shook his head. “Only the men.”
Letti scowled.
“Seems a terrible waste, in my opinion.” Valary shook his head ruefully. “You’ve not seen anger until you’ve seen a woman executing a plan.”
Letti chuckled despite herself.
“Especially,” Valary continued, encouraged, “When there is a man’s heart at stake.”
Letti snorted. She had warmed to Valary quickly. She yearned to untie him.
“Letti.” Thorn poked his head out of the barrow. “It is time.”
Letti sighed, her face falling. She felt her stomach knot and swallowed hard.
“Go.” Valary said softly. “I’ll keep watch.”
“Why?” Letti asked. “You don’t know us. We’ve tied you up”
“I’ve no love for the blue tunics.” Valary finally lost his cheerful demeanor, and an ugly look crossed his face. “You do what you must. Perhaps you’ll return me to my village.”
Letti tried to smile at the man, but the efforts yielded only a grimace. She left the redhead tied outside the barrow and ducked inside.
The captain and his soldier sat facing each other, their hands bound behind their backs, fabric in their mouths. Thorn stood behind them, leaning against the side of the chamber. He was sharpening a knife slowly. If Letti hadn’t been so sickened by the image in front of her, she would have found Thorn’s motion comical. He stood like a villain in the stories her mother used to tell her.
“With whom would you like to start, Letti?” Thorn asked casually, as if he were asking her how to begin dinner.
Letti felt her face close. She pointed to the soldier.
“Let him speak.” Thorn instructed.
Letti knelt and pulled the fabric swatch from the soldier’s mouth.
“What’s your name?” Thorn asked.
“Keith.” The man growled. “What do you want?”
“I want to know what you and your fellow soldiers are doing sacking Ent Arden, why you are not occupying the nearby violet village, and what Durevin’s intentions are in the south.” Thorn stared at the man. “Can you help me with this.”
The man rolled his eyes. “I know little, big man.” He shifted slightly. “I go where I’m told. I volunteered off the streets of Durevin.” The man looked Letti up and down and grinned thuggishly. “I should have known you were a trap.”
“Yes, you should have.” Letti agreed. “Why’d you volunteer?”
The man looked surprised, his mouth opening slightly. “I had nothing.” He tried to shrug. “My old man taught me how to take a hit, and I had nothing left for me there when he died. The blue tunics offered food and a bed. What did I have to lose?”
“They were actively recruiting?” Letti asked.
Keith nodded. “Came around to the wharfs and knocked on doors. Asked for volunteers.”
The captain shifted.
“You’ll get your turn.” Thorn nudged the man with his foot.
But the movement had done its job. Keith fell silent and glared up at Letti. “Nothing more for you.”
Letti nodded, kneeling and forcing the man’s mouth open once more. She replaced the fabric, hating herself as she did so. She hoped Keith could not see her waver.
Letti marched across the barrow to the captain. She released his voice, but before she could even ask his name, he spoke.
“I have nothing to say to you.” His voice remained dispassionate, cold, just as it had the night before.
“You are criminals. You are the reason Durevin is trying to secure the land as it is.”
“Secure the land?” Letti asked.
“Yes,” The captain regarded her disdainfully. “These centuries of chaos have been but a blip in the history of Icaria. We have the strength and power and historical privilege to regain control of the economy, the government, the people of Icaria as we once did.”
“This is a lot of ‘we’ I’m hearing.” Thorn growled.
The captain craned around to face the large man. “I am Durevinian. House of E’Ixtura.”
“That clears it up.” Letti mutteres. “Wasn’t it E’Alturam who lost control in the first place?”
“A wild house.” The captain sneered. “They are diminished, caricatures of what they once were. No. They cannot form alliances anymore.”
“But E’Ixtura can?” Letti pressed.
“I’ll not say anymore.” The captain sniffed. “You wouldn’t know what I was speaking of anyhow.”
“Then try us,” Letti challenged, but it did no good. The man had fallen silent once more.
Thorn swept past Letti out of the barrow, jerking his chin to indicate that she should follow. He turned and marched to the back, ignoring Valary, who winked at Letti. She frowned at him.
“What do you think?” Thorn asked Letti once he stopped.
“Are all officers from the aristocratic houses?” Letti asked.
“No, but it’s not uncommon for additional sons to serve as officers.” Thorn shrugged. “E’Ixtura was a minor house, if I remember correctly. It would surprise me if they held any serious power in Durevin.”
“So, there must be at least another house supporting them.” Letti surmised.
“I would guess.” Thorn nodded. “And based on his talk of alliances I’d say that is a safe assumption. The question is how many and which.”
“He won’t tell us.” Letti shook her head. “I was surprised he said this much.”
“I wasn’t.” Thorn snorted. “Noble boys love to brag about themselves. It’s ingrained in their identity.”
“So now what? We get him to brag more?” Letti was confused.
“No,” Thorn sighed. “Now we move on to less pleasant methods.”
Letti gritted her teeth. “I don’t like this, Thorn.”
“Your discomfort is noted.” Thorn nodded. “What is your counter proposal?”
Letti did not have one, so she followed Thorn back into the dirt packed room.
“None of that.” Thorn kicked the captain who had been scraping his bound hands against the wall. “I can’t replace my tools as easily as you, rich boy.”
The captain glared at him. “You are a cretin, you—”
Thorn slammed his fist into the man’s mouth, bloodying his nose and lips. “That’s enough.”
Letti glanced at the other soldier, whose eyes had grown wide with fright.
“Here is how the remainder of our visit is going to proceed.” Thorn informed his prisoners cheerfully. “I am going to ask you a question. If you do not answer me in a way that I find satisfactory, I will apply pain.”
The captain laughed slightly, spitting blood onto the floor. “I do not respond to pain.”
“Oh no,” Thorn smiled evilly, “It will not be you.” He looked over at Keith, who had curled into a ball against the side of the barrow.
Letti’s skin crawled. Keith looked ill.
“Now,” Thorn walked over to Keith and knelt. “Let’s begin.”
“Why are you camped outside the southernmost cities?” Thorn asked.
The captain looked at the ceiling. Thorn untied Keith’s left boot. He began to whistle, stripping off Keith’s sock. Keith tried to kick, rocking himself away from Thorn, until he finally fell over and couldn’t move.
“Right.” Thorn said quietly, as he grasped Keith’s foot. “Last shot or I break his toe.”
The captain did not remove his glance from the ceiling.
“Fine.” Thorn grasped Keith’s big toe and twisted.
Letti heard a crack, followed by Keith’s muffled yell. Thorn placed a hand over his mouth and nose until he lay still.
“Would you like to try again?”
“We are waiting for the strategic moment.” The captain said, his voice higher pitched.
“That is not good enough.” Thorn withdrew a knife from his belt and held it against Keith’s smallest toe. “Be specific.”
The captain hesitated. Thorn cut Keith’s toe off. Letti swallowed down bile. Keith began to cry.
“Our consultant on majik told the general to wait before entering Ent Arden. There was a majikal presence there, and we were not to storm the walls until he figured out what it was.” The captain had paled. “Don’t ask me who the ‘consultant’ is, I don’t know, and I am unfamiliar with majik. It would surprise me if any of his crock were true; the houses set too much by majik, always have.” He was babbling now. “The general said we were to wait until the consultant had shut off majik in the area. Said he was powerful enough to do that. That we were to wait until his mark to invade.”
Thorn raised an eyebrow and glanced at Letti. I told you so, she thought, irritated.
“What is the signal for you to take Ent Arden?” Thorn asked.
The captain bit his bloodied lips.
Thorn cut a second toe from Keith. Keith passed out.
“I don’t know.” The captain glared at Thorn. “That didn’t make it down to my level.”
“How did you find a majikcal consultant?” Thorn asked again.
The captain shook his head. “The heads of the houses contracted him.”
Thorn scowled. “What are the alliances in Durevin?”
At this, the captain stilled. He took a deep breath and returned his gaze to the ceiling once more.
“Marda,” Thorn swore. He shook Keith awake.
“Your leader has elected to offer your life in defense of his information.” Thorn informed the soldier. “I figured you’d want to be awake as we bleed you.”
Keith whimpered.
Thorn, face expressionless, took hold of Keith’s ear. He began to cut it off, slowly.
“Letti, cover his mouth please.” Thorn instructed Letti.
Feeling as if she were both freezing and burning at the same time, Letti dropped to her knees and placed her left hand over his mouth. She felt his warm breath through the fabric and retched. Blood trickled down Keith’s head.
Thorn stood and walked over to the captain. He squatted in front of him, and too his face roughly in one hand. “I will cut every piece of him off his body if I have to. This is your man. Then I will send an anonymous letter to the E’Ixtura and alert them that their officer son was too much a coward to save his soldier. When you return, you will be exiled. You will be a cowardly letch, unable to find shelter or solace anywhere in your city, until you are cast out into the plains with nothing and no one to save you.” Thorn dangled the ear in front of the captain’s face. “Tell me what I want to know.”
The captain broke, Letti could see it in his eyes. It was a terrible thing to watch a proud man fall. Letti felt as though she were witnessing something intimate, some act between two lovers that should not be shared. She looked away.
The captain started to mutter, and Thorn leaned in to hear him. Quietly, so as not to disturb them, Letti stood and walked outside. Valary sat cross legged on the outside of the barrow, his bonds stretched as far as they would go.
“I didn’t want to hear it.” He explained.
Letti flopped next to him.
“I know you are different.” Valary muttered. “And I wish them nothing but ill. But it is hard to hear a man in pain.”
“It is.” Letti agreed. “Death is preferable in many cases.”
Valary nodded, surprised by the girl’s quiet wisdom.
“You have seen violence.” Valary finally said. It was not a question.
“Aye.” Letti replied softly. “My village was burned to the ground, my family and friends slaughtered.”
“I’m familiar with the ruination of a homeland.” Valary said darkly. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” Letti felt a little better in the open air. “I left my best friend along our journey, and I worry I will never see her again. I have been in battle, run from soldiers, escaped madmen, and for what?” Letti spoke, almost to herself. “To find answers for the wrecking of my home? I am no closer than when I trekked the black teeth.”
Valary regarded Letti with true sympathy. “You have faced much.” He looked at his hands. “I have only been drafted, and I hope to see my family again before this is through.” He hesitated. “But it seems to me, you are much closer to answers than you were when you first started. Even if they are not the answers you are looking for.”
“What do you mean?” Letti asked, turning to face the young man. She watched his red hair quiver over his head.
“I’ve known few people who could stomach what you do.” He explained. “You are learning much about yourself, if not the fate of your village.” He shrugged. “That is no small thing.”
Letti pondered a moment, before offering him a shy smile. “You speak well for a soldier.”
“I am no soldier.” Valary leaned out with his leg to offer a fake kick.
Letti grinned and dodged. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I have been feeling very lost.”
“I—”
“Letti.” Thorn’s voice sounded from the barrow’s entrance.
Letti sighed. “Until next time.”
Valary nodded, leaning back against the damp, green grass.
“Walk with me.” Thorn led Letti back to the rear of the barrow where they had discussed before.
“I reattached Keith’s appendages.” Thorn murmured. “They are both sleeping now.”
“That’s good.” Letti replied softly. “I did not like that.”
“I know.” Thorn made to put a hand on Letti’s shoulder but thought better of it. “It is no easy thing to watch another being in pain. You bore it well.”
Letti was unsure what that said about her, but she did not press the issue. “What did you learn?”
“As far as the captain, whose name is Metred by the way, knows, the houses of E’Ixtura, E’Lantur, and E’Quomin have formed an alliance.” Thorn began. “This particular coupling eludes me, as E’Ixtura and E’Quomin are less powerful houses. E’Lantur makes sense, but as far as I was aware, the house of E’Warye had taken the lead in politics in the last fifty years.” Thorn shrugged. “Perhaps there are power shifts.”
“Indeed.” Letti murmered. “And the majikal consultant?”
Thorn’s expression drew stormy. “To dampen majik from Ent Arden to the barrows would require a strength I’ve not yet seen. That would be a feat even for the Fae.”
Letti shivered. “But it is true. It affected you.”
“Aye,” Thorn grimaced. “You were right about that.”
“I know.” Letti said in spite of herself. “So what? These houses are rampaging across the west? Just to subdue and recruit?”
Thorn made a face. “Metred didn’t know the grand scheme, which was probably why he was stalling. He didn’t want to seem a fool.” Thorn shook his head. “I do think they are rooting out majik users.”
“Just majik? Or new magic as well?” Letti asked.
Thorn considered, twirling an earring as he did so. “Both,” he said slowly, “Would be my guess. Anyone who might have an advantage on a battlefield.”
Letti scowled. “Great.”
Thorn nodded.
“So now what?” Letti asked.
“Now we kill them and see if we can sneak into Ent Arden.” Thorn answered.
“What?” Letti nearly screeched.
“Shut it,” Thorn growled. “We’ve evaded detection this far, and that was with torture. I’ll not have you—”
“Woden Thorn.” Letti’s voice was cold. “We will not kill these prisoners.”
Thorn bared his teeth. “They would kill us. It is their job.”
“It is different.” Letti hissed. “We invited their violence. We captured them. We cannot kill them where they sit. It is not right, and it invites poor memory in a barrow.” She finished. “I will not have it.”
Thorn rocked back, assessing his companion. Her chin stuck out and her eyes burned with a determination he had not seen before.
“Fine.” Thorn said flatly. “But if they escape and kill you in your sleep, I am not avenging you.”
“Nor would I expect you to.” Letti retorted through gritted teeth. “You make it very hard sometimes, Thorn, to fight for your soul.”
Thorn rolled his eyes and trouped back around the barrow into the cave. Letti followed him and moved towards the horses. “I am going to feed them until the rains come.” She informed Thorn. She did not want to be in a room that smelled like blood. “Then we can start to talk about Ent Arden.”
Thorn grunted his affirmation.
Letti led the horses from the cave. At its entrance, she paused.
“Come here,” she said to Valary, who had returned to a sitting position.
Carefully, she untied his ropes and handed him one of the horses’ lead ropes. “I have no recourse, so please don’t betray me.” She said.
“You have a lot of trust.” Valary commented as he followed her with Enri.
“Or I simply don’t care.” Letti groused.
“No that’s not it.” Valary undid Enri’s halter as Letti freed Ean and Bert. “You are just tired today.”
“You don’t know me.” Letti snapped, but immediately felt guilty. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.” Valary replied, dignified.
“You have defended me, been kind to me, been captured by me, and are still kind to me.” Letti shook her head. “It is not alright for me to treat you with such little regard.”
Valary grinned. “I am not captured now.”
“This is true.” Letti sighed. She tucked her cloak under her and sat on the barrow’s grass. Valary joined her. They watched the horses graze in a companionable silence.
“You know, I wasn’t even supposed to be in the village where I was taken.” Valary finally said. “I was visiting my aunt. I’m from Jooria, the village just north of Ent Arden.”
“Oh?” Letti turned to look at him.
“Yes.” Valary nodded. “I was taken with a bunch of other kids. Several of us were in the captain’s unit. That is why we were further away from the city, you know.”
“So, you wouldn’t try to sneak back.” Letti finished. “Was the captain good to you?”
Valary shrugged. “He really loves Durevin.”
“He does at that.” Letti murmured. “How did you end up with so many bruises?”
“I did not go easily from my home.” Valary explained. “Even though it wasn’t my home. And the soldiers are not so professional as the captain.”
“Oh.” Letti nodded.
“I do feel guilty about leaving the others.” Valary said quietly. “They were not blue tunics.”
“We killed them.” Letti tried to reassure the boy. “You could have done nothing.”
Valary shrugged, half irritated. “I could have spoken up. They did not want to take advantage of you. Rape is punishable by death in the violet villages. We have so many merchants and sailors come through that it is not a forgivable crime.”
Letti remembered the night before, how some of the young men had seemed unwilling to approach her. A pang of guilt struck her stomach.
“Do you know of any majik users in your town?” Letti asked Valary.
He glanced at her. “What, like witches?” He thought for a moment. “There were always rumors about particularly good healers in Ent Arden, but nobody called them witches. The witches are gone now.”
“I know.” Letti mumbled. “But the captain said something about ferreting out a majik user in the villages.”
“Sounds like a ploy.” Valary ran a hand through his hair, making the red locks stand even straighter.
“There are some odd priests in Ent Arden too, but as far as I know, they can’t use majik. Nobody can use majik like the witches.”
“You know a lot about the witches,” Letti posited. “Why?”
“I am the sixth son of a glass blower.” Valary shrugged. “I considered trying to make my way to the Citadel at one point.”
Letti felt as though someone had struck her in the gut. “But you didn’t?”
“I didn’t.” Valary shrugged. “No one actually knows if the Citadel even still exists. And I’d more than likely die on my way there. The captain has that right, at least, some safety in the land would be nice.” Valary yawned.
Letti sat back, pondering the conversation. “So,” she said slowly, “you sought out a history of majik to see if you’d want to pursue it?”
“Sort of,” said Valary. “I spoke to some of the healers in Ent Arden, but I was less than impressed. It did not seem as though they were actually practicing majik.”
“And the priests?” Letti asked.
“They are more focused on miracles, which they can achieve with quackery if needed.” Valary shrugged. “Majik seems to have gone the way of the Fae.”
“Hmm.” Letti did not know what to say. A at raindrop hit her cheek. She looked up; the sky had darkened since they’d taken the horses out.
“Time to go.” Letti stood and whistled softly for the steeds. Snorting slightly, they returned to her, and Letti replaced their halters.
“They’re mighty well trained.” Valary was impressed.
“Thorn is an excellent horseman.” Letti said shortly.
“You think the world of him, don’t you?” Valary said shrewdly. “Despite his choices.”
“I do.” Letti said softly. “He has taken care of me for some time now.”
Valary did not respond. He watched Letti walk Ean and Bert back to the barrow, eyes full of pity.
Letti found Thorn throwing a knife at the back wall, deep in thought. The prisoners, now awake, looked worse for the wear, blood dried on their faces and necks.
Letti replaced the mounts, dodging one of Thorn’s throws and glaring back at him.
“Valary says there are healers and priests in the city.” Letti informed Thorn, as Valary stood by the horses. “But that the priests are frauds, and the healers can’t do majik properly.”
Thorn grunted. “It would have surprised me greatly if the healers could do proper majik. One would have needed instruction, and sans Fae and sans witches, it would be generational.” He shook his head. “There are few pockets like that left in Icaria.”
“So why are they waiting?” Letti asked. “There’s no threat.”
“I don’t know.” Thorn ran his hand across his beard, puzzled. “I think we need to get into the city.”
“And do what?” Letti asked. “Find all the majik users ourselves?”
“Perhaps there’s a witch who has been hiding here.” Thorn suggested.
Letti snorted. “Realistic hypotheses here, Thorn.”
Thorn rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I’ve said that.”
“Could it be…” Letti hated to suggest the possibility. “Is it possible Emarza is their consultant?”
Thorn stood stock still for a small moment before shaking his head violently. “It cannot be.”
“Alright, alright.” Letti held up her hands. “Might just explain the power behind the suppression.”
Thorn grimaced. “I need to think. And,” he said upon apparent inspiration. “You need to practice.”
“Practice?” Letti repeated, nonplussed.
“You need to spar,” said Thorn. “And they are reasonable opponents right now.” Thorn gestured first to Keith, then to Valary.
“You want me to fight them?” Letti clarified dubiously.
“Yes.” Thorn tossed Letti her cutlass. “Now.”
Letti caught it awkwardly with her left hand. Valary stepped forward to help her buckle it around her waist.
“One at a time,” Thorn instructed, untying Keith. He handed both young men a sword.
This is a terrible idea, Letti thought, but she tipped her sword up. She faced Valary first, who seemed about as adept with a sword in his dominant hand as she was in her left hand. He disarmed her, but she managed to nick him in several places.
“Fight with your eyes, Letti.” Thorn critiqued. “You are not seeing what he is doing, you are anticipating based on pain you expect to feel. Do not fight with your emotions.”
Letti nodded.
“You,” Thorn pointed at Valary. “Not a bad start.”
Valary looked pleased.
“Keith.” Thorn called the next partner up to spar.
Once more, Letti raised her sword. Keith far outmatched her skill, and he was unkind about it. “Too pretty to be a fighter,” Keith crooned.
“You seem to have recovered quickly,” Letti bared her teeth as her sword flew from her hand. “Perhaps I should have let Thorn take another bit of you.”
“Enough, Letti.” Thorn chastised, his voice sharp. “Do not ever let an opponent take your mind in battle. Ignore everything he says, focus on his chest, his hips, and his hands,”
Letti blushed, ashamed.
“Again.”
Letti spent the better part of the afternoon taking turns with Valary and Keith. By the end of the afternoon, all three were sweaty. Valary was euphoric, though his forearms were clearly tired. He grinned at Letti. She stepped up to fight Keith again, her breathing somewhat ragged.
Keith had grown more and more frustrated. Letti had bested him once, and she had said nothing. He continued to speak at her, hoping his words would find traction in her mind.
Letti had ignored him, and in her silence, she had discovered a way to distract him. Keith grew irritated when he could elicit no reaction. It vexed him. It vindicated Letti. Thorn had offered critiques all afternoon, as had, Letti was surprised, Metred. He seemed unable to help himself and had corrected both Letti’s and Valary’s footing several times. She did not mind.
“You would do well in Durevin’s armies.” Metred finally said as Letti pulled Keith’s sword from his hand. He swore.
“I have my freedom.” Letti shook her head. She handed Keith his weapon. He snatched it, glowering. “I need little more.”
“Freedom,” Metred scoffed. “Freedom means little without security.”
“And you think Durevin could provide that for me.” Letti stretched her left arm, feeling the muscles groan. “I think Durevin would take that from me.”
“You are but a child.” Metred looked at her with pity. “Durevin is fighting for peace and strength. Control over things that have been left to chaos for too long.”
“Pretty words from an enforcer.” Thorn remarked.
Metred turned to his captor. “You know not the power that grows in Durevin.” He said calmly.
“Men do not share power well.” Thorn said gently. “If there is one truism in this world, it is that.”
“You underestimate great men.” Metred asserted.
Thorn shrugged and looked back to Letti and her partners. “Again.”
Valary and Keith fought this time, with Valary giggling like mad every time he caught a good thrust. Letti would have wondered after his health, but for the fact that he seemed to be having a truly wonderful time.
“Enough.” Thorn commanded. “Valary come here.”
Dutifully, Valary walked to Thorn, who muttered something to him. Valary nodded and closed his eyes. Letti watched Thorn place his hands over Valary’s cuts, healing them.
Thorn stopped, eyes bleary but satisfied.
“It is still difficult.” He remarked.
Letti shrugged. “Not surprising, little has changed.”
Thorn turned back to Valary. “You fight with your heart.”
“Thank you.” Valary swelled with pride.
“It is meant as a critique.” Thorn corrected the boy. “Like Letti, you must learn to fight what is in front of you, not that which you think you are fighting.”
Valary scowled, but he nodded.
“Letti, Keith, again.”
Letti, arms leaden, faced Keith. This time, she fought to watch his chest, where his body moved, his hips, where he was going to thrust his momentum. She beat him handily.
Excited, Letti turned to Thorn, a great smile on her face. Thorn’s expression was a mask of horror. In what felt like slow motion, Letti saw Valary move past her. She heard the swing of two swords, and the crunch of a breastbone. The sticky, squishy sound of a sword retracting from flesh urged the world to its proper speed, and Letti whirled to find Keith falling to his knees.
Valary’s sword was coated in crimson red, and his whole body shook.
“I’ve never killed before.” He muttered. He promptly fell to the ground in a dead faint.
“This is why women are better fighters, on the whole.” Thorn remarked calmly, but Letti could see the fear still ebbing from his eyes. “Women don’t take a loss as personally.”
Metred snorted. “Women are weak.”
“You have clearly never fought the Esatzon, the women of the river that flows both ways.” Thorn picked up Valary and leaned him against the packs. “There are no better fighters in the whole of Icaria.”
“There is no better fighter than a soldier with a cause.” Metred sniffed.
“Oh, for the love of the twins,” Letti barked, “Would you shut your mouth.”
Thorn chuckled quietly, then sighed. “Letti come with me.” He bent and slung Keith’s bleeding body over his shoulder.
“He’s still breathing.” Letti observed, horrified.
“He won’t die for a few more moments.” Thorn replied grimly. “Brains are better targets than hearts for quick deaths. But he will not have much longer.”
“You could heal him.” Letti cried as she followed Thorn across the barrows. It had grown dark.
“I could, but it would take more of my strength than I am prepared to lose, especially as I do not know how much I would have to struggle through this evil majik over us.” Thorn shook his head as he entered another barrow, also ringed with a stone entrance. “No, it is his time to die.”
“So, we will just leave him here?” Letti asked, tears in her eyes.
“Few could ask for such a princely burial.” Thorn’s voice was low. He turned to Letti and pulled her into his chest.
She struggled for a moment, before leaning into the big man. He held her for a moment longer, before pulling back.
“I want to stay here, just for a little longer. I need to get into Ent Arden, I can feel it.” Thorn entreated Letti. She was surprised to hear how jagged his voice sounded. To her, it echoed ominously in the empty cave.
She nodded. “Valary is from one of the small towns just north of Ent Arden. Jooria, I think he said. I’m sure he could get us in.”
Thorn nodded. “When he wakes, we will discuss.”
Letti followed Thorn back out and across the damp grass. She stopped short, breath whooshing from her lungs.
“Thorn,” she breathed, gazing east towards a darkened swath of plains. “Thorn, where are the fires?”
~.~
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