at dusk with the rangers who had been following the insurgents’ trail. They looked grim, and some of the rangers looked battered, as if they had been caught in a skirmish of some sort. The Draconian prince called an emergency war meeting without bothering to change out of his armour, dragging his generals from whatever downtime they had been enjoying.
“We found the supplies,” he growled once they’d all convened. “But we’re no closer to our goal than we were before. They saw us coming and fled before we could get close. Engaging them did nothing to slow them down.”
“Did you get a glimpse of their numbers?” Talin asked.
“Yes. A small party, hardly likely to put up resistance, but moving back past the den on horseback. We can cut them off tomorrow if we set out early and take a shortcut through the forest.” Kadis removed his helmet and set it down on the map table. “I hope we are not too late by then.”
“I’ll join you,” Talin said. “I’ve been training to shoot on horseback. We would gain a huge advantage if we can cripple them.”
“I agree.” Kadis gave a nod. “If we can distract the insurgents for long enough, Bo’Galesh might be able to manoeuvre his cavalry past them and block the road.” He pointed at the map. “They’re moving down this road, heading southwest, circling the forest and the den directly to the west. We can catch them easily. I could have the engineers craft some explosive arrows with black powder. That would take out the wagon’s wheels on impact. They would be forced to stop, which would buy us the time we need to surround them. Can I rely on you to fire them?” He looked at Talin.
“As long as they’re similar enough to a regular arrow, I can send it wherever you want,” she said.
“Good. Bo’Kata will provide a backup shot if you do miss.” Kadis flattened his palms on the table. “Bo’Galesh, how many horses do you have?”
“Ten war steeds, twenty if you’re willing to lend the other mounts too,” Bo’Galesh replied.
“Ten will do.” Kadis took a flag and set it down on the road. “They will have to stop for the night somewhere around here. If we ride directly west early in the morning, we can intercept them along the road before they get too far ahead. Once the convoy is brought to a halt, Bo’Galesh and his cavalry will seal the road ahead, here.” He set down another flag. “We will box them in and take back our supplies. Once the wagon is secured, we will bring in our own transport and transfer everything back to the den. Any objections?”
There was a mutter of ‘nays’ around the table. Kadis straightened.
“Very well. I will talk to the engineers and have the arrows prepared for tomorrow. The rest of you know your duties. This council is dismissed.”
The room dispersed. Talin went to find Golmin to inform him of the plan, and he offered to join the party. She told him to take it up with Kadis, though it was unlikely the Drakel would refuse an extra sword. He went to find the prince, and she decided to ask the engineers to craft a dummy explosive arrow so she could get used to the weight. They happily obliged. Talin took her practice arrow to the range as the sun dipped below the horizon. She made a few shots with it, going down to retrieve her arrow each time, before heading back to the den.
She wasn’t sure what made her recall the day the news of her father’s death reached Belanore, but the memory appeared just as she opened the door to go inside. A messenger on horseback had ridden through the gates to deliver the note, written in the king’s own hand and splattered with blood. In it, he explained they had lost the battle in the Glass Forest with no survivors and that the Hellhounds would be pushing south to Belanore unless reinforcements arrived. The bells had rung that day as the city mourned. Talin could only remember the last time she’d seen him, riding out with his army, telling her he would return as soon as he secured the Glass Forest and pushed the Hellhounds out of Wycrest.
He’d never chastised her for her reluctance to finish her weapons training, though he often told her that a good ruler had to be ready to fight beside their troops if need be. Reflecting on it now, she realised that perhaps he had played favourites even then; Ettrias had always been the one on the receiving end of his criticism for his poor archery skills. She had lived her life wilfully ignorant of how her brother had been treated because it had been easier to pretend that nothing was wrong.
Perhaps you wanted his approval so much that you were willing to overlook everything else.
Talin cursed herself for not seeing it sooner. She had been so blind, failing to recognise how the people around her were suffering until she could no longer run from the truth.
And perhaps that was why she felt guilty about Ettrias now; if she had realised back then how their father had treated him, she could have prevented the coup, or done something at least. But now, proving his innocence in front of Kies Tor would condemn Red Wolf. Saving her brother at the cost of another man’s life.
Could you do it?
It should not even be a question. Ettrias was her brother. Red Wolf was merely a bodyguard.
Yet she had allowed herself to get close to him over these past few weeks. He was no longer ‘merely a bodyguard’, but her friend, and…
Talin banished the thought.
They set off the next morning just before dawn, after Kadis’ engineers had supplied her with the explosive arrows to blow the wagon wheels. She’d been warned that they were highly volatile and to be extremely careful with them so as not to set one off accidentally. She and Bo’Kata had been given three arrows each in case they missed a shot.
“Look, up ahead,” Kadis said, pointing down the road. Talin glimpsed the wagon in the distance, barely a speck. It looked like they had only just started moving, exactly as the prince had predicted. Kadis whistled and his cavalry broke off to seal the road ahead of the wagon.
“Can you hit it from here?” he asked.
“I need to get closer. You can’t even see the wheels from this distance,” Talin said. “I think they hear us. They’re picking up the pace.”
“Then we shall match them.” Kadis spurred his horse on, prompting the rest of them to do the same. Talin unslung her bow and nocked her first explosive.
“These explosives had better work,” she muttered under her breath, and let the arrow fly.
She didn’t see where it struck; the wagon was still too far away. But she did hear a sharp crack as the arrow exploded and saw a small cloud of dust kick up by the wheel. The wagon kept rolling.
“Aim for the axle!” Bo’Kata said. Talin nocked her second arrow and loosed. This time it struck the wheel dead-on. There was another crack, louder this time, as the wheel broke, sending the wagon skidding sideways and eventually coming to a stop. She readied her third arrow just in case, but there was no need. She swapped it for a regular arrow and sent it at the insurgent closest to them. Kadis and his riders overtook her and Bo’Kata to get into the melee. Ahead, she saw Bo’Galesh’s cavalry circling, cutting off the road ahead. The only way out of this was into the forests on the right or towards the fields on the left. Talin helped pick off the insurgents trying to slash at Kadis, Golmin or Ettrias. Some of the Drakels had already fled; she could see them running for the trees after throwing down their weapons. She let them go. They were unlikely to be a threat.
Gradually, as the remaining insurgents were struck down or fled, the road grew eerily silent. The cavalry dismounted to finish off the injured insurgents.
“That was a good shot,” Kadis said, nodding at the broken wagon wheel. Talin followed his gaze and saw that her arrow had struck it dead on the axle, ripping the wheel completely off. She looked at the dead insurgents sprawled across the road and winced. Some of these deaths had been at her hand; she saw the distinctive Elven fletching of her arrows sticking out from eye sockets and torsos. It was frightening how easy it was to kill a man.
“Get the transports in,” Kadis said. “Let’s get these supplies out of here.”
Talin retrieved what arrows she could salvage and cleaned the tips. Red Wolf had made it look so easy to cut down attackers, but she knew she could never get used to it. All she could do was push the thoughts out of her mind. Worry about it afterwards.
“You’re not used to violence. I can see that.” Kadis stopped beside her.
“No.” Talin didn’t see any point in denying it. “I never liked weapons training. I didn’t mind archery for hunting, but…”
“I was not used to it at first either. I was a child during the first civil war and understood so little. My father desperately wanted to protect me from the violence. When the insurgents took over, I was inexperienced and didn’t know anything about combat. I had to learn everything from my advisors.”
“Did it bother you? Relying on your advisors?” Talin asked, mounting her horse again. “On guards to protect you?”
“No. I knew they could not fight my battles for me. They could help; that was all,” Kadis said. “You should stop worrying too. If you wish to spend time with your bodyguard, you must learn to fend for yourself. The people around you will not always be there.”
“Red Wolf is…” Talin began.
“A friend? Of course.” Kadis gave her a slight smile and moved on, leaving her behind. She considered yelling after him that he shouldn’t make assumptions, then decided against it.
She knew he was right.