Where are my guards? Suliel thought. To herself, Kelsey wasn’t going to know where her men were.

Most of them should be asleep in the carriage house. They only had two guards on watch at night. That struck Suliel as foolish now, but Bures was supposed to be kept safe under the King’s watchful eye. Massed assaults from mercenary soldiers were supposed to be unheard of.

The two guards on duty should either be on patrol around the house and grounds, or keeping watch from the rooftop parapet. The second possibility was easier to check.

“Delir, go downstairs and let everyone know what’s going on. We need to get someone to the carriage house, but it might not be safe to go outside. I’m going to finish checking up here.”

Delir looked like he wanted to protest, but he looked at Suliel’s skeleton guards and just nodded while he finished tying up the intruder.

“Aye, my lady. Shall we send someone across anyway?”

Suliel swallowed. Tonight was the first time she’d lost one of her people. She’d seen death and its aftermath during the raid, but this was the first time she was responsible.

“Wait for me,” she said. “I’ll send the skeletons down. They’re less… vulnerable to arrows.”

Kelsey sent as Suliel headed upstairs.

Suliel sent back, distracted. The stairs that led to the parapet were a part of the guards' patrol route. So they were kept lit at night. The golden light that filled the space was reassuring but all it meant was Suliel wasn’t going to get ambushed by another shadowy stalker.

Kelsey started sending images to Suliel. Not of scenes she was seeing, but mental images. Pictures of what were probably meant to be the Lazybones, with other skeletons. Two of the other skeletons wore dresses, and there were four more… little skeletons?

Kelsey sent.

Suliel paused at the top landing, her mind spinning. she started, before reconsidering.

Kelsey admitted.

“Oh, now they’re expendable?” Suliel said aloud. It was good advice, though. She thought she’d be safe if she stayed low to the ground, but there was no need for her to risk herself.

She ordered the skeletons to check, including a directive to keep down. They obeyed, scuttling out into the open air. They didn’t take long to find what they were looking for.

Suliel heard two arrows hitting the roof, and then the skeletons were back. One of them was holding a bloody arrow. The other was carrying two rifles.

“They’re not…” Suliel wasn’t sure how she was going to finish that sentence, but the skeleton seemed to know what she meant. It shook its head and used its arrow to point at first its neck, and then the chest of its companion. It shook its head again, its everpresent grin adding a macabre sort of consolation.

“Right, I should…” Suliel trailed off. She winced as she realised that she didn’t know which of her guards had been on duty that night. Two of her men had died and she didn’t know which ones.

“I need to see them,” she said softly. The skeletons shook their heads again. It wasn’t that they could stop her, but it was good advice.

“Bring them in, then,” she said. The Lazybones nodded and dropped their current burdens on the ground. Suliel picked up and examined one of the rifles while they were gone.

It was loaded and charged, ready to fire. Or would have been, if the powder hadn’t gotten wet. They had been struck down before they realised they had an enemy.

The Lazybones dragged the two corpses labourously over the threshold. Suliel sometimes forgot that, for all their skill, the Lazybones’ strength wasn’t all that high. They’d managed to complete the task she gave them, though. Suliel looked down at the fallen.

Jarek was a veteran who had served with her father. Talin was from one of the branch families, a distant cousin of Suliel’s, who had been brought in as part of the expansion of her forces.

“I don’t…” Suliel said. “I won’t… I won’t let your deaths be in vain.”

She looked at them for a moment more and then took a deep breath. She handed the rifle to the nearest skeleton.

“Get those weapons dried and reloaded, soldier,” she said firmly. “We’re going to need them.”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

* * *

They were all waiting for her in the great hall downstairs. Arelon Marr, the maids, the cook and Darik the groundskeeper. Syon was there too, the upper floors were all blazing with light now.

“Sorry to wake you all,” Suliel said wryly. “I take it that everyone is up to date with the situation?”

They all nodded nervously. Vaila, one of the maids, raised her hand.

“Is Talin all right?” she asked.

Suliel shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she said. “He was one of our first casualties. Has anyone heard anything from the carriage house?”

“Nothing,” Syon said. “It's screened off from the main house by the gardens, so they may not have seen or heard anything amiss yet.”

“Would that our enemies were so uninformed,” Suliel muttered. “We needed to light up the house, but now they must have realised that their first assault failed. What’s their next move?”

Everyone looked at each other, but one by one they all settled for looking at Delir. The guild master grimaced but gave the matter some thought.

“It depends on what they’re after, and what their resources are.”

“I’ve heard of the Grey Oaths,” Suliel said. “Enough to know that they have more men than we’ve seen.”

“Your Nobility’s Privilege gave you that, did it?” Delir asked. “Aye, well, they’re a mercenary company, they run from somewhere between fifty and two hundred warm bodies depending on the season.”

He scowled. “They haven’t got the best reputation, but I hadn’t heard anything that said they’d go against the King’s peace like this.”

“What do you think they’ll do?” Suliel asked.

“They’ve got the men for a direct assault, if they’re desperate,” Delir mused. He looked soberly around at the whole group. “If they try that, then they’ll need to make sure there's no witnesses.”

Suliel smiled thinly. “My husband already knows what I do. It’s scant comfort, but if the worst does happen he’ll be able to point the King’s men at the perpetrators.”

Suliel blushed at the concern that Anton showed and Kelsey passed on. Did he really think so highly of her? She almost missed Delir’s response.

“It’s always good when your enemy makes a mistake, my Lady. But if we’re to repel an assault we’ll need to make preparations.”

Suliel nodded. “Barricade the doors and windows?”

“Aye, but we need those guards. Two skeletons and myself aren’t enough to cover one side of this place.”

“How?” Suliel asked. “We know their archers have the front side covered.”

Darik put his hand up. “Out the front is the quickest way, my Lady, but if we go out of the kitchen entrance and come around the side we should be covered most of the way.”

Suliel tried to visualise it, but she didn’t know the grounds well enough. That there were a lot of trees and bushes on that side of the grounds was as far as she could get.

“All right,” she said, “We’ll send…” she trailed off, looking at the Lazybones.

“All due respect, my Lady, you’re talking about stealth,” Delir said. “Ain’t what those fellas are good at. There’s not much light out there, but those two practically glow.”

“The archers must have night vision, to have been so effective,” Suliel allowed. “But if not them, then who?”

“I can do it, my Lady,” Darik spoke up. “I know the way better than anyone.”

“You’re not one of my men, Darik,” Suliel said. “You were hired to be a gardener, nothing more.”

“I doubt that will matter to these fellows,” Darik said bitterly. “I’m your man now, my Lady, and one way or another I’ll be fighting for your life and mine.”

Suliel hesitated. She looked at Delir. In times past, he would have been more than suitable for the role, but with his leg…

“Very well,” she decided. “I’ll put my faith in you. The rest of us will get working on those barricades. We’ll leave the kitchen door open for you to all get back.”

“Yes, my Lady, I won’t let you down.” Darik saluted her before heading for the kitchens.

The rest of them got to work putting furniture in front of the first-floor windows. The rest of the humans that is. The skeletal warriors proved strangely inept at moving furniture. They were a little bit stronger than the maids but didn’t seem to be able to grasp Suliels orders. They kept trying to either destroy the furniture, or they would slam whatever they were carrying into the door or window in question.

After a few mishaps, Suliel took them upstairs to watch over the front gardens. Standing well back from the first-story windows, the Lazybones had a good view of the grounds without exposing themselves to archers.

< It's actually crazy how many things they do have routines for> Kelsey sent,

Suliel asked.

Kelsey sent.

Suliel admitted.

Kelsey said.

A shout came from the kitchens before Suliel could answer. Vaila had been sent to watch the door once she’d been overcome with exhaustion from the unaccustomed physical labour.

“Miss! Miss!” she called. “Darik’s back! And he’s brought the guards!”

A surge of relief went through Suliel. With her soldiers here, they might have a chance.

“Sergeant Mirok,” she said to the first of them to stumble through the kitchen and come into the main hall. “You’re out of uniform,” she said with a wry smile.

Sergeant Eshara Mirok dropped what seemed like her own bodyweight of gear and saluted.

“Apologies, my Lady! It seemed like speed was of the essence, so we didn’t wait to dress!” She was a lithe, agile woman with dark brown skin. Suliel was used to seeing her hair braided, with silver charms in it, but she must let it out when she sleeps. “We brought everything over instead!”

“Good. I think I’ll defer to you on the placement of everybody. We’re expecting an attack from the front, but we’ll need to have at least some coverage on the back and sides.”

“Yes, my Lady. Do we have any information about the opposing forces?”

“The Grey Oaths mercenary company, numbers unknown,” Suliel said. “We just need to hold out for a little while before the Baron gets here.”

Kelsey said.

“Yes, my Lady. Those archers are going to be a problem. I’d like to get up on the roof and see if I can take them out.”

“They have darkvision too—”

Suliel stopped as a shot rang out from upstairs. She and the sergeant exchanged glances.

“It’s starting,” Suliel said.