Page 18 of The Spy

Two soldiers lay on the ground, not moving.Ralph and his group had formed a diamond with their backs facing one another, all of them fighting about ten wolves and two men on horseback.Karl’s group hit the wolves’ flank.He cut at the closest wolf, slicing through fur into muscle, and the wolf went down with a pained yelp and spray of blood.Alerted, the wolves spun and one of the men on horseback headed their way.

Lyric picked up one of the swords the dropped fighters had left behind and started swinging.Char was a master at using his magic to deflect blades—he used it primarily to prevent cutting himself in the kitchen, but Karl had seen how effective it was in battle before.However, Char wasn’t the only one who knew how to add magic to his fighting.Karl concentrated as he swung a knife to block swiped claws and a faint red sheen appeared along his blade.Blood didn’t flow when his knife met flesh, but the agonized scream as the wolf suddenly shifted into human and curled around the festering, puss-filled wound on his thigh was just as effective.

A lynx suddenly pounced on the wolf in front of Karl, taking it down and ripping out its throat.Emily dashed past, her short sword bloody, but Karl couldn’t focus on them as another wolf ran at him.

He sliced and jabbed, spinning to try to keep the enemy in front.Using daggers meant he had to get close to engage, but he was fast and accurate, and one slice from his magic incapacitated his enemy.

Karl’s arms were burning, and he was panting for breath when he turned again to find another enemy to fight and only found allies still standing.He slowly dropped his hands to his sides, gasping, and his muscles started to shake from the exertion he had just put them through.

“Report!”Ralph yelled from somewhere to Karl’s left.He looked in that direction and found Ralph and Marc standing back-to-back, both scanning the area.Emily scurried over, followed by Tilly and the three guards in Ralph’s original group.Karl’s breathing was finally slowing, but he didn’t let out a full breath until Char and Lyric also walked into view, the lynx pacing at Lyric’s feet.Karl hurried over to join them, and a moment later, Alina ran into the battlefield.She fell on the two fallen guardsmen, her hands glowing green.

“Casualties?”Ralph was saying to one of the guards Karl didn’t know when Karl reached him.

“Just the two sentries from this side of camp.Healer Alina is working on them now,” the guard replied.

Ralph nodded sharply.“Right.You two, I want you to complete a full patrol around the camp.Make sure the rest of our sentries are not in any trouble.You two”—he turned to Tilly and the third guard Karl didn’t know —“triage the enemy.I want bodies searched and moved to somewhere we can bury them, and anyone injured should be bandaged until the healers with Commander Fen return.Keep in mind the wolves will likely shape-shift into human form.”

All four saluted and ran off.

Ralph next turned to Lyric and the lynx sitting at his feet.“Your Highnesses,” he said, bowing shallowly.“Thank you for aiding us in this battle.Please go take some time to rest, and I will do my best to ensure the rest of your journey is uneventful.”

“A bit of invigorating battle helped fight off the travel doldrums,” Lyric replied with what Karl was starting to believe was the smile he kept on his face to mask whatever he was actually thinking.“We’ll go wash off the blood though.”

He nodded to Ralph, and then Lyric and Melody headed back into camp.

Ralph sighed and shook his head but apparently let it go.Instead, he lifted a hand and lightly bonked Emily on the top of her head with a loose fist.“You know you’re not supposed to join in any battles yet, not until you’re old enough to actually enlist.”

“It’s special circumstances,” Emily replied, frowning grumpily as she purposefully glanced around at the remnants of their battlefield.

“You think Captain Zain would accept that as an excuse?”Ralph answered, frowning back at her.After a moment, he sighed again and rolled his eyes.“Fine.She’ll figure it out even if you don’t tell her, so when she corners you about it, tell her I’ve already tripled both your training time and your time on cleaning duty when we get back to the barracks.”

“Aww.”Emily kicked at the ground, but didn’t argue beyond that one groan.

“Go get cleaned up, and then you’re helping Char prep dinner,” Ralph finished, shooing her away in the direction of camp.Emily obeyed, slouching off, but thankfully not whining any more.

The soldiers Ralph sent on patrol jogged back, saluting Ralph.

“Karl, you go get cleaned up too.I’m sure Ama could use more tea by now as well.”Ralph turned to get the report from his soldiers, but he was right.There wasn’t anything more Karl could do here.

Melody was sitting next to Char by the fire when Karl returned to his abandoned toast and tea.He had cleaned his blades and changed into a fresh shirt first but was glad to see Char already had fresh tea waiting.

“This one’s lukewarm,” Char explained as he passed Karl one of the travel cups.“No one bothered him while you were gone.”

“Thanks.”Karl took the cup over to the other side of the fire where Ama lay, still asleep in his bedroll.After a bit of maneuvering, Karl was able to lever Ama up, his body resting against Karl’s chest, so Karl had one hand to steady Ama’s head and the other to gently tip tea into his mouth.He was careful to only give Ama a sip at a time, and Ama swallowed as if he was thirsty, but he didn’t open his eyes or otherwise indicate he noticed Karl was with him.Still, Ama’s breathing was even and his skin was cool.The black circles under his eyes were pronounced, but no worse than before.

Once the cup was empty, Karl slid Ama back into the bedroll as gently as possible, making sure he was completely covered before leaving him in peace to let Alina’s magic keep working on him.

Emily had joined Char and Melody by the fire while Karl was distracted.She had finally changed out of her little girl costume, the pigtails and pretty clothes gone, replaced by the working leathers most of the Royal Forces wore when they were out on an assignment where they didn’t need armor.No one was going to make armor for a growing girl—just the leathers were expensive enough—but she looked like a completely different person.Melody kept glancing over at where Emily was grumpily chopping something for Char as if she couldn’t believe what her eyes were telling her.

Thankfully, before Karl had to figure out something to say to break the ice, Fen and Zain, and all the soldiers who had been fighting the Yaroi incursion, returned.The camp roared as it filled, humans and horses taking up all the empty places.Loud, boisterous people letting off steam and anxiety, healers and hostlers running back and forth—the din was deafening yet comforting at the same time.

Char’s lips lifted in the slightest smile as Fen strode through camp, calling out orders as he passed different groups until he reached Char’s side.Char smiled and sank into the arm Fen wrapped over his shoulders, his head resting on Fen’s shoulder.

“Now all that’s left for this journey is returning home to Etoval,” Char said, looking over at Karl, his smile growing.“We’ll be home soon.”

Interlude

AMA DIDN’T KNOWwhere he was, what day it was, or even why he was in a quiet room where everything around him was white.The last thing he remembered was that cramped compartment, getting jostled and bruised every time the wagon went over a bump, and feeling like the world was starting to spin around him.Now he was lying in a soft bed with thick blankets, in a small room with a tall cabinet as the only other furniture.The walls, blankets, and cabinet were all stark white.The only color in the room was the silver of the doorknob across the room from the bed.

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