Chapter 37

Once the call ended, Sergeant Lakhdar shot me a penetrating glare.

“Powerful friends? Who was out there campaigning to have you sent to North Ireland?”

I tried to think up a lie before remembering I had nothing to hide. Maybe being on the straight and narrow wasn’t so bad after all.

“I can’t rightly say,” I said. “I’ve been as cut off from the outside world as everyone else.”

“Speculate, then,” she said, “because whoever did this just chopped another month off your fellow soldiers’ training. I want to know who I’m pissed at.”

I scratched at my chin, which had developed a nice five-o’clock shadow. It was too late for this sort of nonsense. “King George himself, possibly? No, he’d tell you himself that he’s a figurehead. Asahi Maki is serving in the area, the last I saw… but he’s cross with King George after Ms. Bailey’s death. Even if he wasn’t, there’s no motivation. No, ma’am, I have no earthly idea.” I snapped my fingers. “Could it be Major Smythe herself?”

“She doesn’t have that much pull,” she replied. “At least, not until we were assigned to her jurisdiction. All she could try to do was delay the inevitable to give you all some more time.” She gave me a curious look. “I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

“Not especially well,” I said, yanked back into the familiar territory of lies. “She was one of my teachers at Merlin, but we never spoke much. I don’t know why she’s being so familiar.”

“She was off that whole call,” said Sergeant Lakhdar. “God, I hope she wasn’t high again.”

“Again?” I asked.

“She straightened up a lot after we graduated. Or at least, I thought she did…” She shook her head. “Forget what you saw and act surprised in the morning. You’re dismissed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, turning towards the door.

“And Marlowe.”

Of course it couldn’t be a clean escape. “Ma’am?”

“Eavesdrop on me again and you’ll forget what not doing pushups is like. Are we clear?”

I gulped. “Yes, ma’am.”

The rest of the night wasn’t quite so bothersome. Once he got over the shock, Mr. Lahlou started to entertain the idea that the wizarding community had overlooked All Heal for all those years.

“I think our variant of it will need some modification before we go into human testing,” he said. “We need guard rails to stop it from warping the body or giving them cancer.”

“I hardly think that’s necessary,” I said.

“Well, I do,” he replied. “Demons give no thought to safety, and they’re a sturdy race. We can’t blindly copy it without testing.”

“A pity there aren’t magically-gifted lab rats,” I said.

“Allah forbid!” he said. “Imagine dealing with tiny Fireballs all the time.”

We shared a good laugh.

“I have to say, this might be bigger than studying Mol,” he said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s session.”

“Oh, you don’t need me anymore,” I said. It seemed wise to soften the blow, given the news we’d be getting in the morning. “The answer was staring you in the face; I simply pointed you in the right direction.”

He shook his head. “You sell yourself short. Anybody in magical research knows demonic runes, but they come naturally to you. It’s like you were born to it.”

“Thanks to my Mimic affinity,” I said, perhaps a bit too hastily. It wouldn’t do if he started to ponder why.

I wasn’t sure how well I’d thrown him off; his bushy beard hid some of the finer details of his expressions. “Yes, imagine what you’ll be able to absorb when you meet the Horde in a proper fight, instead of skulking around the countryside!”

“It won’t be that different, really; I’ll still have every devil and demon searching for me while I tromp around.”

“Oh, there will be a difference” He patted my shoulder. There was that damned, unearned sympathy in his eyes, stabbing at my heart. “This time, you won’t be alone.”

“I like the sound of that.” Hearing that I’d be surrounded by Wizard Corpsmen actually gave me a sense of comfort. What a strange turn of events.

Eager to escape from my stolen sympathy, I bid him a good night and returned to the dorms. The one benefit of my schedule was that I had no trouble falling asleep.

***************

Wizard Corps Installation 17B, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Wednesday, February 8th, 2051

“I wonder what is going on?” asked Hiro. “Strange for them to cancel The Gauntlet.”

“An excellent question,” I said, managing to sound nonchalant. “At least we’re being assembled indoors for once.”

We’d had to rearrange the mess hall to make a space for us all to stand, but it made a decent meeting center. It was just large enough for the twenty-odd of us to stand at parade rest. Sergeant Lakhdar and Mr. Lahlou were nowhere to be seen, but we had our orders. Most of us stood in rows at attention, barring a few volunteers, waiting for their return. By the Dark Lord, we almost looked ready to be real soldiers.

“Spill it, Magpie,” said Kiyo, who stood in the row behind me.

Oh, were we on speaking terms now? I looked over my shoulder. “Spill what?”

“You know darn well what,” she said. “Something weird’s going on, and you’re always in the middle of weird stuff.”

Where was that coming from? Was it a wild accusation? Or had I missed a tail the night before? Whether she had followed me or not, it seemed Kiyo still knew me well.

I turned back towards the front. “Ms. Jones, I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, right.” She dropped it, though.

Good. After a month of alternating silent treatment and target practice, I didn’t care to speak with her, either. I’d tried at first, but I could eventually take a hint, after all. That had been the most words we’d exchanged the whole time.

The door opened, and in walked our instructors and a few select volunteers. Kowalski and an ape-like Buddy hefted large cardboard boxes over their shoulders, while a few floated in Yukiko’s wake like ducklings following their mother. The instructors used mundane dollies to haul theirs to add to the stack.

When we had first arrived, the room would have buzzed with activity and speculation. However, now we knew better, and nobody was eager to run laps after dodging The Gauntlet.

Sergeant Lakhdar studied us in silence as Kowalski and Yukiko shuffled over to their spots. The tension rose as the anticipation built.

“Cadets.” The word was like a spell, ramping the tension yet higher. “Translators in; I’m only going to say this once. In our brief association, I’ve come to know your abilities well. Despite the strange circumstances that brought us together, you have all adapted admirably.”

“Our time has been cut short; the world needs wizards, and, in my estimation, you’ll do your countries proud. You’ll do the Wizard Corps proud, too. Cadets…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t call you that anymore. As of today, you’re all privates of the Wizard Corps’ Seventh Japanese Division. Welcome home, Nineteenth Platoon.”

Everyone around us quivered in excitement, the words just about bursting out of them. I could see Gabriella Hernandez digging her nails into her other hand behind her back. However, the discipline still stuck. At least, for most of them; Mariko’s shoulders slumped at the announcement.

Sergeant Lakhdar had stayed stone-faced during her little speech, but a grin played at the corners of her mouth. “You all just graduated; go ahead and let off some steam.”

The joyous cry echoed through the tiled room, making my ears ring for minutes afterwards. Even I let out a holler. For appearances sake, of course…

One person didn’t join in, though. Mariko raised her hand, and the sergeant silenced us with a wave of her hand. She really did have us well trained.

“Yes, Private Yamada?”

“Are we really ready?” asked Mariko. “I-I think we need more time.”

More like the poor woman desperately wanted to kick the can down the road a bit further.

Sergeant Lakhdar’s eyebrow raised as she saw through Mariko. “High Command has deemed you ready, and your services are badly needed,” she replied. A non-answer worthy of a politician! I wondered why Sergeant Lakhdar wasn’t an enlisted officer with her school chum.

“Before we continue, though, I want everybody to give Moulham Lahlou a round of applause,” continued the Sergeant. “We’re losing him now that you’ve all graduated.”

He waved off our clapping. “I am only doing my job.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

And by his own admission, not well. Still, I joined in the applause; he’d certainly given me a good amount of personal attention. Plus, I did feel a little bad about his bird.

There was warmth in the sergeant’s smile as she patted his arm. “And we’re grateful for it. You’ll finally get to do that special research project you’ve been putting off.”

“Hm, yes,” he said, staring right at me. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. Was he going to try and shanghai me for his research?

“As for the rest of you, we’ll be departing after lunch,” continued the sergeant, cutting off any more questions. “We’re in a rush; there’s only one more flight today to North Ireland.”

“North Ireland?” It would be faster to say who didn’t blurt that out; me, since I already knew, and Yukiko Sato, who was ever a stickler for discipline.

Not that she wasn’t curious, but Ms. Sato had the manners to raise her hand. “Ma’am, we are part of the Japanese command. Wouldn’t we normally deploy here for our initial run?”

“Japan already has plenty of active-duty wizards, and most of the reservists retire here,” she said. Sergeant Lakhdar seemed well prepared to explain the odd posting. “North Ireland is on the front lines. It’s going to be a fantastic experience for all of you.”

Mr. Lahlou cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, we need to clear out soon. However, you can’t show up for duty in your cadet uniforms! Svalinn’s Wrath!”

It seemed Yukiko wasn’t the only one who’d stolen my spell. Mr. Lahlou’s magic formed a curved sword the length of forearm and removed the top of nearest box with a single swipe. The others got the same treatment in short order, though he stayed in place. He used his will to levitate it into position before a gesture with his right arm sent it in an arc like it was still in his hand.

I’d have to steal that trick myself.

I leaned over towards Hiro, since everybody else had broken parade rest. “Never took him to be a showboat.”

He seemed to struggle with ‘showboat’ before nodding. “I guess he is in good spirits, too.”

“You’ll only have one set of uniforms to start, but more will arrive once we’re in Ireland. There has also been some reshuffling of your squads,” said the sergeant. “Short of practice exercises or actual combat, you will spend most of your time alone with your squad. If any of you don’t like your assignments, I expect you to keep it yourselves and be professional.” She let out a long sigh, which had my hackles up. Why would she be apprehensive?

And why had she glanced my way once she let it out? Especially since she didn’t start with me.

“Squad One: Yukiko Sato, Hiro Takehara, Rafal Kowalski, Antoni Gajewski. Please come forward.”

Well, lucky for them! They came forward, at which point each was issued a rank insignia and a fresh, black uniform. They used the same trim and styling as the white cadet uniforms, with four gold buttons to hold up the front and a colored hat and matching capelet to indicate their role in the squad.

I had wandered over to Mariko; partially to be with her, partially to see if Sergeant Lakhdar kept glancing my way. She did, which meant I might need to treasure what time I could get.

“That’s odd,” she said. “Why did Yukiko get blue highlights? She’s never been anything but a combat wizard.” Hiro and Kowalski had been given combat reds while Antoni matched Yukiko’s black and blue.

“Who would you rather have running interference?” I replied. “Hiro, Kowalski, and Buddy, or a slim girl who barely breaks five feet? She’s a perfect candidate to focus on casting.”

Mariko shivered. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“That seems unlikely,” I said.

She reached out and traced a hand down my arm. “I know.”

“Let’s put away that frown,” I said. “Everyone else is overjoyed; be happy on their behalf.”

“Happy because they’re going to kill…” She trailed off. “No, you’re right. This isn’t about me.”

While we’d chatted, they had continued to call names. They seemed satisfied to keep some of the training squads together, while others were scattered.

“Squad Four,” said Sergeant Lakhdar. “Soren Marlowe, Mariko Yamada…”

Mariko actually leapt for joy, tugging at my sleeve like an overstimulated child. “Kasasagi, they kept us together!”

Before I could express my immense relief, the sergeant kept going.

“Gabriella Hernandez.”

I don’t know who was the most surprised. Ms. Hernandez looked over her shoulder at us, her expression clearly saying this hadn’t been her idea.

“Kiyo Jones.”

“What?” Kiyo’s explosive outburst echoed through the mess hall, and all eyes were drawn her way. She ran right up to the sergeant. “No, that can’t be right!”

“Private Jones,” said Sergeant Lakhdar, “these assignments are final.” Looking over Kiyo’s shoulder, she nodded to the rest of us. “All of you, come on up and get your uniforms so we can continue.”

Kiyo’s pale skin was flushed with anger, and it looked like she was fit to pop.

A few thoughts ran through my mind at once. I was still cross with her. She had been an enormous bother ever since we’d been reunited. If she wanted to blow a gasket and get herself in trouble right off the bat, that was no skin off my back, was it? She wasn’t my responsibility anymore.

Except that wasn’t true, was it? I’d reduced her to this embittered state, after all. I had a duty to help her, whether she liked it or not.

“Sarge, you can’t—”

I cut Kiyo off with a hand on her shoulder. “Kiyo, you’re making a scene.”

She whirled around, the sudden motion sending her green beret tumbling off her head. “Since when do you care about me?” she hissed.

I flashed her my winningest smile. “When didn’t I?” I bent down and retrieved her hat, holding it out to her. “Here, you dropped this.”

It was a gamble; I figured I had an equal chance of mollifying her or making her completely irrational.

Kiyo snatched the beret back out of my hands. The poor thing took the brunt of her frustration; she squeezed it so hard her knuckles went white.

“It isn’t your uniform anymore, but it always suited you,” I continued. “Let’s stop holding things up; the faster we finish here, the sooner you can tell your father about your promotion.”

I’d never played the ‘daddy’ card with Kiyo before, but it was at the crux of my quick plan to calm her. She was always talking about the American naval captain, and there was never a bad word said. I doubted she’d want to let him down.

Kiyo finally relaxed and nodded once. She turned towards the sergeant and gave a shallow bow. “Sorry, ma’am.”

Sergeant Lakhdar shook her head. “Stop apologizing and go get your uniform! We’re burning daylight.”

Kiyo nodded, rushing over towards Mr. Lahlou’s crate. I went to follow, but the sergeant stopped me. “You handled that well.”

“Is that why you hit me with this squad?” I asked. “To clear the air with Ms. Jones?”

Sergeant Lakhdar shook her head. “There were compromises made. That’s all you need to know.”

More politician speak! If I parsed her words properly, that meant it hadn’t been her choice, which left the obvious question: whose was it?

Chapter 37.5

As soon as we’d all been processed and had a chance to pack our things, we were shuttled off towards the personnel carriers. The mundane soldiers were giving them a quick inspection before we were allowed on, which seemed sensible while the snowpack was still thawing. We all milled around, and I wished I could have joined in on the excited banter about her new rank. However, there was a conversation that needed to be had before we left this mountain.

Unfortunately, it seemed that somebody else had the same idea.

“Don’t think that you’re done with me just yet, Private Marlowe,” said Mr. Lahlou. “You knew about this, didn’t you? I could read it on your face when you got back last night.”

“I was under orders to keep mum about it,” I said. “My apologies.”

There was a glint in his eyes. “I don’t envy you your squad. It seems that High Command decided to ignore our recommendations.”

Oh they did, did they? I wondered who might have it out for me up there. “I’m actually about to go deal with it, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Before you do,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder, “it won’t be as easy as when we’re in person, but I could use your insight on my next project.”

“What’s that? Finally getting to study Mol?”

“Yes, thank Allah! I got word from the headmaster about what the holdup was.”

“Besides your training here,” I said, with perhaps a touch of sarcasm.

“Besides that,” he said. “It’s part of why I was put on training duty to start with, and why I was stuck studying photos. After Maggie Edwards’ wild ride, anybody who was staff at the school got put on a watchlist. They’ve been interviewing everyone I’ve ever served with for signs of disloyalty. They’re afraid some demonkin or Holy Brother holdout would destroy the body to deny us the data.”

I tilted my head thoughtfully. “I can see why a demonkin would, but a Holy Brother would want to know everything they could about our enemy’s magic, wouldn’t they?”

“You faced them twice,” he replied. “Were they perfectly rational?”

I recalled Maggie’s histrionics during our last encounter. “Point taken, sir.”

“Now, are you willing to help me? As your duties allow, of course.”

“I’ll have access to SatoChat and email, sir. I’ll help you where I can.”

“Good man,” he said, clapping me twice on the shoulder. “Go do us proud.”

“Of course, sir.”

“And remember, just because you’ve graduated doesn’t mean you can neglect your classmates. The bonds you’ve made will save your lives.”

“Sensible advice, sir.” I’d been trying to do something about that before I was interrupted. That’s why I needed to have a quick heart-to-heart with a certain someone before we got going. I didn’t need to go to North Ireland with a Hiro-style romantic quadrangle in my way.

Sadly, the prime suspect had already slipped away to her seat on the APC. The crews had completely missed the invisible girl.

However, there was another future squad mate who needed to learn something about boundaries.

“Ms. Hernandez,” I said. She was talking with one of her friends, but they went quiet when I walked up behind them.

“Ladies,” I said. “I hope I’m not imposing.”

“Oh, it’s Magpie,” she said. “Guess you can’t ignore me anymore, huh?”

“I’d have thought you preferred it that way, after I ‘snitched’ on you,” I replied.

Gabby’s blue eyes widened. “W-well, I kind of thought… nevermind.”

The brunette American on her right rolled her eyes. “You’re totally over him, huh?”

“Shut it, Jen!” she snapped.

Jen rapped on my chest with her knuckle. “Guess you never gave in to her hard-to-get act, huh, Magpie? She was sure you would.”

“I said, shut it, Jen!” Gabby’s tan face was bright red.

Jen was a failure as a friend, but she was making my job easier. We hadn’t spoken much, but I decided I liked her. I tipped my new uniform’s hat to the American and flashed her a smile. “Might I borrow Gabriella a moment, Jen?”

Jen giggled. “Well, since you asked so nicely, she’s all yours,” replied Jen, getting behind Gabriella and shoving her towards me.

“Traitor,” she said as Jen retreated. “Alright, what is it?”

“That’s a heck of a way to speak to your squad mate,” I said.

“Well… I was maybe a bit in the wrong,” she said.

“That’s something approximating an apology,” I said. “Why not go all the way?”

“Look, if I want a guilt trip, I’ll go to the sergeant or my mom,” she said.

“I’m not after guilt, I’m after a promise you won’t do it again,” I said. “We’re going to have to work together, and whatever one-sided romantic tension you’re feeling is not going to help that.”

She winced at that. “One-sided? Oof. Cut out my heart, why don’t you? Really? Not even a little?” She cocked her hip.

It was my turn to roll my eyes at her. “You’re a lovely woman, but I’m afraid I’m not interested. How many times do I have to say it?”

Her shoulders slumped as she shifted her black and red cap to cover her eyes. “Fine. I did you wrong and I shouldn’t have. Just… you send really mixed signals. I thought there was a chance.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Mixed signals?”

“You friggin’ held me tight and said everything was alright after you beat me,” she said. “I felt safe and warm then. Can you blame me for taking my shot?”

“Yes, actually,” I said. “Are we clear? There’s nothing between us.”

“Ugh,” she said, biting her lip. “The messed up thing is, that makes you cuter.”

By the Dark Lord, is that how I’d made Yukiko feel? No wonder she’d hated my guts for so long. “You’ve given me that song and dance before,” I snapped, twisting my fingers into a casting position. “Do I need to cast a Water Orb and give you a cold shower? That won’t make our trip down the mountain more fun.”

She held up her hands. “Alright, I give, I give. Don’t give me false hope and I’ll forget all about it.”

“I promise not to ‘friggin’ hold you tight’, if that’s what you mean,” I said.

“Exactly,” she said, offering her hand. “Shake on it?”

I accepted, but she caught me off guard and pulled me close. She nuzzled against my chest, but I kept my hands clear of her. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Checking to make sure you were keeping that promise,” she said, tarrying a moment before releasing me. “Okay, it’s out of my system now. Go make Yamada happy.”

“Now see here! You can’t just—”

Gabby burst out laughing. “Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t resist. I swear to you for the love of God, that was the last time.” She quickly crossed herself, which gave me a passing twinge of pain in the back of my head.

I stopped a moment to get over her lingering scent. Like that first day at the training yard, I wondered where this girl was when I’d been single. We could have had a good time, just like I had with Heida.

This time, though, the answer came quickly to mind: where had she been? Not there for me like Mariko, or Kiyo before I’d spoiled everything. That suddenly let me see Gabriella Hernandez not as an object of physical desire, but as a somewhat irritating human being. I guess I had ‘it’ out of my system, too.

“It had better be,” I said, using a quick Spot Clean to remove a smidge of makeup she’d left behind. “Makeup? You’re a combat soldier!”

“I want to look my best when I put a Magic Bolt through an orc’s face,” she replied.

I again questioned the wisdom of this coed army. But, that was above my paygrade.