Part 14 (2/2)

FOOM.

The sound left Taniel's ears ringing. When he managed to pull himself away from Ka-poel, the soldiers weren't on the outcropping anymore. One of their hats lay on its side where they had just been, and a quick glance showed him two more bodies down in the gorge.

What the pit was that?

The crunch of boots on stone made him cringe. More infantry?

A familiar figure strolled out to the end of the narrow outcropping. He wore ruddy muttonchops and a suit of clothes that, if they hadn't been so travel-worn and dusty, would probably cost as much as a horse.

Privileged Borbador kicked the infantryman's hat after its owner and watched it soar down into the gully. He turned to Taniel and waved.

”Hey, Tan. Sorry I'm late,” he called.

CHAPTER.

14.

Nila was going to die.

She wondered if that certainty had ever crossed her mind before, during any of the events of the last six months. It must have. During her time with the royalists, or as Lord Vetas's prisoner, or even her first encounter with Bo. There were a dozen or more times that she had stared death in the face.

Yet none of them seemed more certain than now.

Something had been done to buy the Adran army an extra day. She'd seen a messenger rush from General Hilanska's camp yesterday afternoon, crossing over to the Kez lines, and the antic.i.p.ated attack had never come. It had given Brigadier Abrax more time to plan and dig in her forces.

And now, with the sun rising over the Adsea, the Kez and Adrans prepared for battle once again. A hundred thousand Kez infantry fell into ranks to the south, their bayonets glittering in the morning sun. To the northeast, General Hilanska's men were already arrayed and ready for battle. Nila stood near the Wings of Adom command tent, where she could see messengers running to and fro and hear the bark of Abrax's stern alto.

The Wings of Adom and the three brigades of Adran soldiers that Ket had handed over would be crushed between the two enemy armies.

There wasn't even any place to run.

Rumors swirled among the Wings of Adom. A captain claimed that they'd seen one of Field Marshal Tamas's powder mages. An infantryman claimed that Deliv had entered the war and were sending reinforcements, but that they were still weeks away. Another said that this was all a ruse by Hilanska and that once the Kez forces advanced, Hilanska's army would swing around and hit them in the flank.

Soldiers would say anything to keep up morale, it seemed.

Even if all of those things were the case, they would still be crushed by the Kez. There were just too many of them. Their army could swallow the entirety of the Wings of Adom mercenary company five times over and still have room for more. The Wings' infantry-impressively-kept up a professional front, but she could see the panic in the eyes of the rank-and-file soldiers and their officers.

They would all be dead by morning.

”Ma'am,” a voice said at Nila's elbow, startling her.

She regained her composure and turned to the young lieutenant. He couldn't have been much older than Nila and he wore his black hair slicked back under his bicorne and tied in a bow behind his head. He favored her with a nervous smile.

”Yes?”

”Brigadier Abrax has requested your presence.”

Nila frowned over toward Abrax. The brigadier had exited her tent and was standing just thirty paces off, staring balefully at the Kez army. Why hadn't she just come over herself? ”Of course.”

Nila joined Abrax in front of the command tent. ”You wished to see me, ma'am?”

”Is it still a secret that you're a Privileged?”

Nila blinked back at her. ”I... well, I a.s.sume so. Bo said that I was still too green for my aura to show in the Else, so the enemy Knacked or Privileged shouldn't know I'm here.”

”The enemy has no Privileged. Or,” Abrax corrected herself, ”the ones they do have amount to very little. None of the mountain throwers of the royal cabal.” She turned to Nila suddenly. ”Have you told anyone?”

”No.”

”Keep it that way. You're to be our trump card.”

Nila couldn't help but laugh at that. She stifled it as best she could, but it still leaked out as a giggle.

”Something funny, Privileged?”

Privileged. Being addressed as such sent a s.h.i.+ver down Nila's spine, sobering her instantly. ”It's just that I'm only a trainee. I've barely learned to look into the Else, let alone command the elements. I won't be any help at all in a fight.”

”You can't do any sorcery?” Abrax sounded skeptical.

”I can light my hand on fire. But only when I get very startled or angry.”

Abrax turned away, looking slightly disgusted. ”We have some Privileged, but they're very weak. They won't do much more damage than a well-placed field gun and they're far more fragile. Borbador told me you were powerful. I'd hoped you'd be of some help.”

Bo had said that to Abrax? Why on earth? Nila was untrained, and Bo knew that better than anyone.

”I'm sorry,” Nila ventured.

”I didn't realize you were that green. Stay back with the baggage. You'll do nothing but get underfoot near the front. And whatever you do, don't attempt any sorcery. You'll likely kill everyone around you. It's unfortunate your b.l.o.o.d.y master abandoned us. He might have tipped this in our favor.” Abrax strode away without another word, barking orders.

Nila stared after her, indignation warring with a sense of helplessness. Bo had abandoned her. She knew just enough to know that maybe, with a few months more training, she could have defended herself. But she couldn't be of any use here. She was no better than the rest of the camp followers-part of the luggage. She was back to being with the laundresses and all the rest.

Abrax could go to the pit. If-when-the Kez broke the line, Nila would fight. She didn't care if she took the whole baggage train with her.

The baggage and camp were about a quarter of a mile behind the front line. The area had been fortified with hastily dug entrenchments and was guarded by a brigade of Wings of Adom mercenaries stretched out-to Nila's eye-over far too much ground.

The camp followers had been ordered to stay behind when the Wings had marched to General Ket's aid, but even so there had to be several thousand people with the baggage, essential personnel such as wagoners, quartermasters, and the like.

”Shouldn't you be near the front?”

Nila turned to find Inspector Adamat sitting on the ground nearby, looking older and wearier than he had just a few days before.

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