Page 24 of Wicked Allure
She met the postmaster’s gaze. “At ease, Postmaster. Thank you for the warm welcome.”
“I was ecstatic to learn you would be making it a priority to inspect the posts. You’ll find Butterbush to be a top-notch,” he said.
“We’ll see about that,” she muttered. She nodded to the building. “Shall we?”
“But of course. Please follow me.” He nodded, too, spun on his heel, and headed up the stairs.
She followed him. Once their meetings were done for the day, it would give her time to start on the real reason why she was in this town.
“I am impressed.” Dru sat back at the head of the conference table.
Since they had entered the room, she’d received presentation after presentation on the workings of the post. Alexander was very thorough and appeared to be the correct choice in succeeding the previous postmaster. Talbot was positioned by the wall behind her while the other warriors were outside the room securing the area. She leaned forward and remembered mention of something in Alexander’s file.
“Now, tell me about the lycan attacks that occurred recently.”
The postmaster stood tall and met her gaze. A snarl appeared on his face.
“Those mangy animals thought they’d come into my town and try to overrun our hold,” he stated.
When Azura was causing her ruckus, lycans all over the country were going on the attack. Not only had the lycans invaded towns that had little to no vampire involvement, but some had grown bold and infiltrated towns with strong vampire military holds.
He went into an elaborate description of the events that had taken place. He discussed utilizing not only the active vampire warriors but those who were in training. They had succeeded in protecting the townspeople of Butterbush.
“How many vampire casualties were there?” she asked.
“More than we would have liked. We lost seven good vampires during that time. Humans, we’re not quite sure. Some bodies were never found and have been marked as missing.” The postmaster stood next to the wall where the holograms had been projected for his presentation.
“Do we know how many of the humans were changed?” she asked.
“That we do not know. We’re assuming the humans’ bodies that we did not recover are now lycans, General.”
Dru gave a short jerk of her head. This wasn’t surprising news to her. That was why the lycans were going on the attack. They were trying to change as many humans as they could to increase their numbers. They didn’t care if the humans objected to the change. They couldn’t care less if the humans did not survive the change. All Azura cared about was making more lycans.
Dru pushed back from the table and stood. It had been a long day, but she wasn’t done with her first day at the base.
“Take me to the training grounds. I want to see the new warriors in action,” she stated.
“Yes, General.” He strode over to the door and opened it for her.
Talbot fell in line behind her as she exited the boardroom. She’d been cooped up entirely too long. Dru wasn’t used to being in boardrooms and meetings. She was a warrior who stayed on the move. Even when she had to work in her office, she normally stood while she hashed out her plans.
Their footsteps echoed through the halls as the postmaster guided them outside. Darkness was upon them, but the grounds were very much alive. The sounds of metal clashing with metal filled the air. Dru had a love for the art of fighting. She’d trained in the deadliest of combat. She desired to the be fiercest fighter for the crown.
“Our warriors take great pride in their skills they’re developing. We’ve studied many of the skills that you have established yourself,” Alexander said.
“Is that so?” she murmured.
They strolled along a dirt path and headed toward the first area where warriors were being schooled in hand-to-hand combat. This was extremely important for foot soldiers. Dru scanned the area and remained silent. She didn’t want to distract the young warriors from their lesson, but that didn’t go to plan. Whispers must have gone around about her arrival. She could practically palpate the excitement among the warriors.
“Gather round,” Alexander called out.
Talbot and Orenda were behind her. The warriors fell into a formation and stood to attention. Seeing how they recognized her status from the moment their attention landed on her gave her the sense that the trainers here were doing their jobs well.
The postmaster motioned to Dru and beamed with pride. “Warriors. We have an honored guest visiting our post. Please welcome the esteemed General Moldark, the right hand of your commander, Princess Lethia Riskel.”
Wide eyes watched her. She remembered being in their shoes so many years before. She, too, had been a young warrior trying to learn all that she could, and having an important member of the royal court visiting had been a big deal. The need to want to impress and be chosen for an important role had blossomed in her chest. She still remembered the pledge she’d made to herself.
Be the best that you can be.
