Gunner, Priya, and Kazi pulled weapons from the back of the wagon and hurried to shove them into everyone’s hands. Synové, Wren, and Samuel helped move them into positions, the strongest in the front.
Ash continued to fall from the sky, dusting our hair and shoulders. The towering cloud cast an uncanny orange light over the landscape.
We had ninety-two in our ranks who could reasonably carry some kind of weapon, or just insisted on carrying one—like Judith. She would be in the rear guard. The very rear guard. Tiago swore his arms were as strong as ever, and he drove the wagon piled with swords, halberds, shovels, and axes—and empty launchers.
On our quick descent from the mountain, at every switchback I paused to look at the town. The tembris blocked most of it from view, but I couldn’t see any activity. Kazi and I exchanged a glance. I saw the concern in her eyes. Were they regrouping, just as we had feared? We had to hurry.
We knew they had heard and seen the explosion at Tor’s Watch. Their supplies were limited now, maybe less than ours, but we didn’t want Montegue’s soldiers blocking the inroads, concentrating every bit of their firepower on us as we marched in.
“Over there!” Aram raised his launcher, and ninety-one other weapons were raised simultaneously. Nerves were tight and ready.
“Wait!” I said.
A small group headed toward us.
I cursed. “It’s Caemus. What’s he doing here?” One of their group broke loose from the rest and ran to us. It was Kerry.
“Patrei! We’re here to help!”
“Now’s not a good time, Kerry,” I called back.
Caemus caught up with him.
“Lydia and Nash?” Kazi asked immediately. “They’re all right?”
Caemus assured her they were safe and fine back at the settlement. Before I could say anything else, Caemus began explaining they were just leaving town when the whole sky exploded. He guessed it was Tor’s Watch. “And then, not much later, a whole swarm of those devils came flying past us.”
“Slow down, Caemus. What devils?”
“Those soldiers. They had all kinds of things on the backs of their horses. Bolts of silk. Candlesticks. Sacks of food. Anything they could grab and carry.”
“I saw one with a squealing piglet!” Kerry shouted.
“Everyone was running and screaming,” Jurga added.
The mercenaries had ransacked the town and left.
“How many?” I asked.
Caemus wasn’t sure. “At least two hundred.”
“They’d been grumbling about payment,” Paxton said. “The explosion at Tor’s Watch may have been the final straw. They cut their losses and ran.”
“Were any of the other soldiers shoo
ting at them?”
“I only heard a few shots.”
They couldn’t even quash a mutiny? Did the mercenaries not have it in them to shoot their own? Or were they out of ammunition?
The only way to know for sure was to draw their fire.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
KAZI
“They’re here,” I whispered. “I can feel it.”