Anton winced as the bony fingers probed into his wound. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Anton, you’re injured,” Aris scolded. “Are you going to run into another fight with an arrow sticking out of your shoulder?”

“At least he didn’t try pulling it out,” Kelsey said. She had placed herself strategically so that she could keep an eye on both the “sexy nurse skeleton” and the four skeletons guarding the prisoners. “Barbed heads are barbaric. Well, arrows are barbaric. Stick-powered weaponry!”

“The house is being attacked right now,” Anton protested. “We can’t stop just because I need a bandage!”

“Bandage, he says.” Kelsey rolled her eyes as the skeleton nurse pulled the arrow out with a wet schlick. “Suliel is… fine, for now. This commander guy must have been giving his men a buff because they backed off the moment he fell. They must have felt it.”

“So they’ve stopped?”

“Eh, pulled back to re-evaluate,” Kelsey said. “They’re in the building, Suliel’s people have fallen back to the first floor. Sergent Mirok thinks they’re going to bring in the archers to sweep the first-floor landing. They might send someone back to see what’s happened to their commander.”

“So there are more forces incoming?” Anton asked. He struggled to get up, but the nurse was still bandaging him. When he tried to get free, she jammed her fingerbones directly into his wound, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Don’t worry; her fingers are quite sterile. We boiled them just before she came over,” Kelsey said.

“I don’t know what that means,” Anton said. He took deep breaths to work through the pain. “Are you sure you’re keeping their murderous nature suppressed?”

“Mostly. Don’t struggle so much; it makes their job harder. Anyway, if they send someone, Aris can take care of them. We don’t have to wait much longer, anyway.”

“Why not?”

In the distance, trumpets sounded.

“That’s why not,” Kelsey said smugly. “At least… I think so? I can’t imagine who else would be playing trumpets. Hang on.”

Anton looked at the prisoners. The ones who were still conscious had started to look distinctly worried. More worried, that is. Most of them were injured and in considerable pain.

“OK, Suliel’s confirmed it,” Kelsey said. “The King’s forces do announce their arrival with trumpets. Sometimes.”

“Why?” Anton asked.

Kelsey shrugged. “I guess sometimes it helps if the people you’re coming after know who’s after them.”

“We announce our approach because we have nothing to fear from any force residing in this Kingdom,” a new voice said.

A tall, imposing figure walked out of the darkness. Anton gulped.

Idran Sehhur, Level 38, Human, Paramount Strategist, Scion/Reckless Knight/Gallant Captain/Paramount Strategist, S: 36 T: 37 A: 35 D: 38 P: 50 W: 44 C: 50

“And sometimes you use them to make it sound like you’re far away when you’re really pretty close!” Kelsey said brightly. “How sneaky!”

General Sehhur, famously known as the Sword and Shield of Zamarra, looked at Kelsey for a long time. Then he turned to Anton.

“Baron Nos,” he said.

“General Sehhur,” Anton said. His voice faltered, and he scrambled to his feet in order to bow. “I, uh, I suppose that my message managed to reach a high rank after all.”

“Indeed,” the man said. He looked like he’d dressed in haste. He was wearing a polished breastplate that had been strapped over a simple arming doublet and leggings, and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. “An invasion of the capital from one of the King’s vassals does raise the alarm.”

“It was—is, still—an emergency, General. I need to—” Anton stopped as the general held his hand up.

“Haste leads to mistakes, young baron. I heard your—” The general broke off and gave Kelsey another long look. “—companion say that the danger is not immediate.”

“I feel so seen,” Kelsey said with amusement.

The general gestured, and a squad of five men came out of the forest.

“Take charge of these,” the general ordered, gesturing at the prisoners. “While the baron briefs me on what has happened here.”

“I suppose we don’t need my skellies anymore?” Kelsey inquired. She gave… Anton supposed it was a salute. Just one that he’d never seen in Zamarra or the Elitran Empire. “Permission to withdraw them from the field, sah!”

The general gave her a third, long and unamused look. “Granted,” he grated.

The four skeletons formed up in a line and marched toward Kelsey. As they reached her, she touched them and sent them back.

“Do you want to keep the medic?” she asked. “There’s one among the prisoners, but…” she dropped her voice in a fake whisper, “I don’t know if she can be trusted.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“That,” the general said, looking with distaste at the skeleton nurse, “Is a medic?”

Anton was largely inured to Kelsey’s antics by now. He was even reasonably sure that this particular affront could not be laid at her door. The costumes the skeletons wore were part of their race. The nature of monsters was determined by the gods. Kelsey had complained about their shortcomings enough for Anton to know that if she influenced that, it was only in minor ways.

That said, Anton was also reasonably sure that whatever Kelsey could have possibly done to make this affront worse, she had.

The stiff, pink fabric of the skeleton’s short—scandalously short—dress did a good job of concealing the fact that there was no flesh underneath it. Not a perfect job; It hung strangely and didn’t always move when the nurse did. The bodice, while plump, held nothing but air, and the short, flared skirt revealed nothing but bone. It didn’t hide the truth so much as parade a lie proudly.

“A sexy skeleton nurse!” Kelsey said. She dropped her voice again. “If you want to spend some special time with Trixie, General, I’d normally charge, but nothing's too good for you! Just say the word and—”

“Get rid of it,” the general growled, his composure breaking for the first time.

He didn’t wait to see if she complied. Turning to Anton, he glared at him.

“Baron Nos, report.”

“Kelsey has a link with Suliel, sir, so we knew when the attack began. We were just a little way out, so we left immediately. The attackers were a mercenary company known as the Grey Oaths. They were hired by a wizard.”

Anton pointed the man out.

“I took his dangly bit away, and I’m keeping it safe!” Kelsey announced.

“We, uh, confiscated his core,” Anton translated. “We took out the guards at the gate and captured this command post. We were about to move on the main force—”

“And they’re running!” Kelsey announced. “They tried to hide it, but it was only going to be so long before Suliel noticed. They’re booking it!”

Anton looked at the general, who was glaring at Kelsey again. He didn’t seem upset by the news, only by her continued existence. Anton took that to mean that he had secured all the approaches before blowing the trumpets.

Muttering something under his breath, the general turned back to Anton.

“You must be eager to check on your wife,” he said. “Let’s go.”

“Right!” He started heading toward the house. Aris and Kelsey fell in with him, as did the general. Anton wracked his memory for what Suliel had told him about etiquette.

“Uh, welcome to the Nos Estate,” he tried. “My apologies for the state that it's in.”

The general snorted. “Torn-up gardens can be forgiven,” he said. “Your actions are another matter. We have standards for our nobility, Baron Nos. Rules of propriety, precedence and procedure. Your wife can fill you in.”

“She’s been trying,” Anton confessed. “There hasn’t been much time for talking.”

“Make time,” the general commanded. “I heard of your quest to bring back those captured in the raid. Was it successful?”

“A few died before we could reach them,” Anton admitted, feeling a pang of guilt. Failing to bring every person back, as he’d promised, still stung. “But we brought back every person that was still alive.”

“Not a bad result,” the general said. “No operation goes perfectly, even one of mine.”

“That’s not what the stories say, General,” Anton replied.

“Ha! You’ll see for yourself, soon, just how little stories can be trusted,” the general laughed. “Was your wife caught up with the murder in the Palace?” he asked suddenly.

“What?” Anton asked, caught off-guard.

“The wizard that was murdered in the Palace,” the general said, looking at Anton closely. “Probably some kind of connection there with the wizards that attacked your wife.”

“I heard rumours about a murder in the Palace,” Anton said carefully. “They were passed on through Kelsey.”

The general grunted. “Fair enough,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to commit anything based on what that told you.”

“Rude!” Kelsey objected. “See if I give you any more free passes to the Skeleton Bordello!”

Anton was spared from further comment by his first sight of his townhouse.

In some ways, it was more impressive than the castle, which also belonged to him. It didn’t have the castle’s high wall or impressive defensive position. It was less fortified overall, a fact which the attackers had made full use of. But it was just as large as the castle, with wider doors and windows that were currently blazing with light, illuminating the battered and wrecked lawn and garden outside.

A hacked-up tree, used for a ram, had been abandoned on the front steps. The doors had been caved in, and broken furniture had been scattered all over the steps and lawn. Fortified shutters on the lower floor had been pulled off; protective bars had been pried away.

“Not too badly damaged,” the general said.

There were no bodies left outside. The mercenaries had dragged off their casualties, and whatever casualties Anton’s people had suffered were suffering inside. Anton stepped forward into the light, then hesitated. He didn’t want to get shot by a surprised defender.

“Go on,” Kelsey said. “They’re expecting you.”

He nodded his thanks and started moving more quickly. He couldn’t run, he had to pick his way through the debris of the failed siege. He made his way up the steps, Kelsey and Aris right behind him.

Suliel was waiting inside. She was standing on the first floor landing, behind an improvised barricade and a small knot of Kirido soldiers. She was trying to see past them, and they were trying to stand between her and any potential threat that came through those doors.

“Anton!” she cried.

“Suliel! he shouted back. He rushed forward. The stairs were slippery with blood and… oil? He didn’t stop to wonder why, he just triggered his Spiderclimb to climb the stairs surefooted.

He jumped right over the barricade. Not with a Leaping Attack, just a normal jump powered by his not-so-normal strength. Then he had reached Suliel, and she was throwing herself into his arms.

“You’re here,” she mumbled into his chest. “I was so frightened.”

Anton held her as tightly as he dared. She felt warm and vital in his arms, but also terribly fragile. “You’re too brave to be frightened,” he murmured into her ear. One of his hands stroked her long hair. “You drove off an entire mercenary company.”

“That was our people,” Suliel said. “and Kelsey’s skeletons. I didn’t do anything.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Anton said. “I’ll have more to say about it once I’ve heard all the reports. Look forward to being scolded for putting your life in danger.”

“Yes… my Lord,” Suliel said. It was hard to tell with her face buried in his chest, but Anton thought she was looking forward to it. When she started speaking formally in private, she was in a particular mood.

“I’m glad to see that you’re all right, Lady Nos,” General Sehhur called out from the floor below. Suliel stiffened in Anton’s grip.

“Put me down!” she whispered urgently. Reluctantly, he did so.

Once on the ground, Suliel curtseyed in the general’s direction. The soldiers blocking the view had all disappeared. Some of the barricade had already been removed.

“Thank you for your timely aid, Lord General,” Suliel said “I apologise for the circumstances we find ourselves in, but our gratitude for your rescue knows no bounds. Please permit us to offer you our hospitality at a later date, when it is not so constrained.”

The general bowed. “No thanks are necessary when I’m conducting the King’s business,” he said. “To dispose of ruffians threatening the peace of this city is nothing less than my duty.”

Suliel looked like she was going to reply, but the general held up his hand. “I will leave your household to clean, take stock and repair,” he said. “I have but one duty remaining to me.”

He pointed at Anton.

“Baron Nos, you are charged with appearing before the King tomorrow. To answer for your actions this night, to be assessed of your fitness for the title you hold and to answer any questions the King might ask about certain events that have troubled him. Ninth bell. Do not be late.”