“Al,” Anla said softly. “Are you sure?” She gestured for him to sit on a nearby farmer’s wall.
He nodded. “I’ve always been afraid of burning out, getting sick and tired and dying young, but that’s a mercy compared to what happened to Cove.”
“What did happen to him?”
“Could be number of things, but he basically overused the Unease. He might have done too much at once, overtaxing his mind ’til his sanity snapped. He might have gotten into a cycle of using magic, then using magic to lessen the aftermath, like a hair of the dog for hangovers, only he never got to fully rest and recuperate from it.” He shrugged. “He’s gone insane from it and he’s attacking people, women.”
He took a moment to stare off in the distance. “If…if he can’t turn off his conduit to magic, he’ll continuously be in the Unease. A wizard can’t sustain long periods of time doused in magic like that. He’d be feeling like a rabbit running from a wolf, heart racing, jumping at everything, breathing shallowly, always tense, scared all the time. He might have tried to burn off some of his magic by running or lifting heavy things, but it likely replenished too quickly. And so, to get rid of his magic, he poured it into someone else, all at once. In the beginning that lasted him a month; now it’s only lasting a week.”
“Pouring magic? Like when you heal someone?”
“We’re taught to do little sips for a reason. It would kill a normal person almost immediately after they’ve spent their last seconds in utter terror and agony.”
She breathed out slowly. “If what you say is true, what do you forsee happening?”
“I see the circle of travel for him growing smaller and smaller. He’ll only be able to run six days away, then five, then eventually he’ll stay in a large area with a lot of people, Acripla maybe, so that he can kill constantly. He’ll be a terror upon wherever he winds up touching, killing dozens every day, hundreds maybe.”
They waited for Raulin to return and for Tel to snap back to his body before explaining what they had learned.
Raulin clicked his tongue and was about to speak when he looked at Al. “What do you suggest we do, then?”
“Well, first we need to find him.” He dug out the oiled paper and map he had rolled together and flattened them against the farmer’s wall. “Baronet Finrest said he’d received word that there was an attack on the 23rd in Tetrim, a day early but in the area I predicted. He’s already moved to six day cycles. Assuming he hasn’t moved on to five, he’ll attack tomorrow in a place that’s as far as he can go, about…120 miles from Tetrim. Following his pattern, that will put him somewhere around Sispik, Gaenadi, or Rilway.”
“That’s a very large area,” Raulin said.
Al sighed. “I know. But we have to try for it.”
“Why that area?” asked Tel.
“Well, even though he’s a crazed man, he does have a pattern.”
“Or did you mean why is he staying in that area, in northeastern Tektorn?” Raulin asked. “That’s a good question.”
Al opened his mouth to speak, then shut it, furrowing his brow and looking back at the map. Why was Cove penning himself in? He was killing someone, then running in the opposite direction. Even when he had a month in between, he had never strayed beyond the boundaries he created for himself in northeastern Tektorn.
“Grass,” Al said. “Get me the longest blades of grass you can find.”
While they did this, he opened up his notes to the attacks. He placed a blade from the first female attack to the second, the second to the third, and so on until each every journey had been plotted. Assuming he took a straight course each time, there was one common travel spot.
“Kinuestra?” Al asked, leafing between the oiled paper and the map. “But it’s some large town in the middle of a plain. No rivers, no thick forest. It’s not even central. Why Kinuestra?”
“You’re thinking pragmatically. If you really want a reason, I could give you several: he grew up there, he’s stationed there, he has a family.” Raulin said. “Sometimes sentiment is enough.”
“Which means he could have the upper hand by knowing the terrain.”
“He already would have the upper hand; he’s in a place with thousands of potential victims or hostages. But, we know he’ll be passing through there. If Kinuestra is a cooperative sort of town then they’d be happy to lend people to act as lookouts.”
“In the meantime he’ll be killing someone in Sispik.”
Raulin looked over his shoulder. “Wizard, we won’t make Sispik. That’s forty miles. We might make Gaenadi or Rilway, but we don’t know if he’s going there. And look at how large this area is.” He drew his finger across what represented several hundred square miles. “That’s your outlet for where he could be tomorrow or the day after.” He put his finger over Kinuestra. “This is where he’ll most likely be in four days time.”
“We could try…”
“If you think we should, then we will. But you have to look at the cost of risk here. If we try for one of these three villages, and he isn’t there, then we lose the chance to catch him in Kinuestra. If we head straight there, we’ll be able to catch him with some certainty. We try for Rilway and maybe save a life, likely not, and we ruin our chances of saving the next girl or we stop him in Kinuestra and save the next girl.”
Al sighed and tented his hands in front of his face. “We head for Kinuestra,” he said.
* * *
They headed out early from Ammet Briash the next morning and made Kinuestra by late afternoon at the expense of all comforts. While Anla and Tel secured their lodgings and got a bit of rest, Al and Raulin went directly to the mayor’s office.
They were seated outside in the hallway for about five minutes before Al laughed. At Raulin’s steady gaze, he finally stopped. “Sometimes I have these strange moments where I forget who I am and what I’ve done and who I’m with. Then I remember and it seems kind of funny to me.”
“I hope you’re not going round the bend, Wizard.”
The smile dropped from his face. “Do you think I am? I mean, I’ve been wondering. I don’t know what’s going on with me. Is this what happens right before someone cracks from too much magic?”
“You already ‘cracked’. You tried to stab Sakilei and jumped off a cliff.”
“I did, but what if I’m still falling? I mean, metaphorically. What if I just haven’t reached the point where I go insane?”
“Where you start hurting people instead of helping, you mean? We have three and a half months left together. Be sure that I’ll tie you up to a tree until we can find someone to help you if that happens.”
“You’d do that?”
“You make it sound like a grand thing.”
“I mean instead of killing me?”
Raulin took a deep breath. “What’s really bothering you, Wizard?”
“Our classes were large, about a hundred graduating, but I knew Cove. He wasn’t the most popular guy, but a lot of people knew him and liked him. He wasn’t the smartest, but he did well enough to pass a high amount of the classes and with good grades. I never saw him lording over the other students or teasing anyone. He was rather laid back and easy with a smile. People would tease him about his ear and he’d have a joke ready. I’m having a hard time thinking of that Cove killing people. I keep thinking we have the wrong guy. And I keep thinking that if he of all people went insane, what’s to stop any of us?”
“Nothing, to answer your last question. Some people can adapt to catastrophe better than others. Anla saw her parents killed in front of her and she’s completely sane.”
“Your entire family was wiped out and you had to train with sadists for years.”
“Yes, that. Both of us have gone through a lot, but we’re both sane. But I think the issue with Cove is the magic, not his mind or his spirit. You’re taught in school to care for yourself. You know that both kinds of magic have limitations and repercussions. He obviously didn’t watch for the signs and failed one of his base duties as a wizard.”
“I did the same. I was trying to keep up with you guys and used far too much Unease.”
“And you had a rather traumatic experience. Like Anla and myself, you walked out the other side changed, forged, however you see it, and you are where you are now. Besides your continual terrible taste in wine, you seem fine, Wizard. When you were having your breakdown, you were muttering to yourself, speaking of strange things. You were antsy and hostile and paranoid. I don’t see that now.”
Al leaned forward, folding his hands. “Thank you.”
“Sometimes we need to hear things from another mouth.”
“Well, thank you for that, but I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for saving my life. It would have been easier for you to not have woken up and followed Anla and found me and dislocated your shoulder stopping my descent.”
“Likely, but we’re in this together. And you’re welcome. I wasn’t about to lose my wizard due to some momentary lapse in judgment.” He looked up at the door. “One more minute and I’m barging in.”
“Why? He’s probably busy.”
“People in power like to keep people waiting for a number of reasons: it makes them feel more in power, they don’t like this part of the job, they want to discourage people from meeting with them. Whatever his reason, we don’t have time for this.” He stood and walked to the door. “We might need to be a little heavy-handed in our approach. Let me do the…”
At that moment the door opened and several harried men poured out. Raulin’s hands flew up and he swiveled out of their way quickly. A man on the younger side of middle-age stood at the doorway and ushered the two in.
“I apologize for the delay, but we had a serious fire that spread to a few warehouses. I’ve haven’t slept in two days and I might be a little distracted, but I assure you I am very interested in what you have to say.” He sat down behind his desk. “Baron Girord sent me a letter that arrived amidst my other crisis and I’m afraid I haven’t had a moment to read it. Please, if you could fill me in.”
Al waited for Raulin to take the reins, since he had said he was going to, and Raulin waited for Al to speak since he was technically in charge. After a few moments, Raulin turned to Al and waved at him.
“Uh, yes. My name is Alpine Gray and I was hired by Baron Girord to find and apprehend the man who has killed fifteen, likely now sixteen, people in eastern Tektorn over the last half-year.” He handed him the sealed letter presenting himself, which the mayor scanned quickly and handed back. “My team and I are going to need some cooperation from you.”
The mayor’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’ll have it, of course, but what exactly does that entail?”
“We discovered very recently that the killer has been passing through Kinuestra on his way to the next murder. We think this is because he is stationed here or has connections, perhaps both. Do you have a wizard here by the name of Cove Gray?”
The mayor sat back in his chair and thought for a few minutes. “The name sounds familiar. I confess that I don’t know everyone who lives here as well as I should.”
“He’s a hard wizard, so he’s likely doing inspection or heavy labor.”
“Maybe. I could confirm that for you.” He jotted down a note. “If he is here, what do we need to do? Would you like me to arrest him?”
“Definitely not,” Al said. “In fact, I don’t want any of your people to go near him. He’s killing through magic; if he touches anyone, they’ll die, too.”
The mayor blanched at this. “How will we stop him, then? And when should we expect him?”
Al hesitated. He hadn’t had enough time to think of a plan. He had some ideas, but nothing concrete. Raulin took over. “We have a team of people who are capable of taking care of this situation. All we’re asking for is a few trusted, and discrete, people to watch the roads in town and let us know when he’s here.”
“That’s all?”
“It will essentially be like trying to catch a man on fire. It will be difficult and delicate. If you could brief your police force and anyone else you think might waylay us, that would be helpful.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Also,” Al cut in, “if you could give me a list of wizards in the area and allow me to interview them, I’d appreciate it. And he’ll be coming through likely tomorrow or the day after, if he’s still following his patterns.”
“Of course. If you need anything else, let me know.”
“We wouldn’t mind a liaison so that we’re not hounding you. Past this point we’ll just need information and provisions.”
“I’ll lend you my secretary, Mian. She grew up here and is quite knowledgeable.”
The both rose and the mayor shook their hands. “If I may ask before you go, how will you be dealing with him if you’re successful?”
“Our contract was to stop the killings. Of course we’d love to apprehend him, instead of executing him, but at this point it might be a mercy to kill him. I don’t think he’s a bad man,” Al said, meeting the mayor’s eyes, “I think he’s stuck in a situation where he is forced to do terrible things in order to survive. Eventually he will die, unchecked it will still likely be by the end of this month. He will either die now with sixteen victims or later with dozens.”
The mayor nodded sadly at this and wished them well.
* * *
They hadn’t made it to the street before they heard a woman calling after them. She was short, though her dark hair piled in curls above her head netted her a few inches. Raulin would admit that she was cute, with thick lashes, a round face, and apple cheeks, but his interest fizzled quickly when he thought of Anla. She caught her breath. “Whew. Hi, I’m Mian. The mayor just told me that you might need some things. I thought I’d catch you before you went to your hotel room, which I would also like the name of. If you don’t mind.”
Raulin opened his mouth to speak, but he noticed she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were fixed on Al and this pleased Raulin more than he would have thought. “Thank you,” the wizard said. “We’re staying at Comfley’s Inn on the corner of Market and Main, the top floor suite. At this moment we need a list of which wizards are working in Kinuestra.”
She looked up from the notes she was taking on a pad. “Wizards? Is he one, the killer?”
“If we have the right guy, then yes.”
She opened her eyes and mouth. “Wizards have always worried me. They give me the goosechill. It’s not natural that a man should be able to lift so much or run so fast.”
“I’m a wizard,” Al said, holding out his hand. “Alpine Gray. And magic is natural, it’s what you do with it that makes it fair or foul.”
After she shook his hand, she touched her lips with her fingertips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you.”
“Many people are distrustful of wizards. You have to get used to it or get into a lot of fistfights. Although, I guess it wouldn’t be a problem since I’d win, right?”
Mian gave a soft giggle. “I suppose so. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, I think we’ll be fine,” Al said, giving her a warm smile.
Raulin looked between the both of them several times. “Actually, we’ll be heading out to dinner around five thirty this evening. I don’t suppose you’d like to join us? I bet you could direct us to a good place.”
“Well…I suppose…yes. I’ll meet you at your hotel a little before?”
“That sounds wonderful. We’ll see you then.”
Al walked with Raulin, a frown on his face. “I appreciate your help, Raulin, but my earlier promise still stands: if you hurt Anla, you and I are through.”
“And why would I hurt Anla?”
“You invited Mian to dinner tonight. You didn’t have to. I’m thinking it’s because you’ve taken an interest in her.”
Raulin snorted, then laughed for a few moments. “You lummox. I invited her to dinner because of you. She couldn’t take her eyes off you. And you actually didn’t seem irked by her thoughts on wizards. Tell me there’s nothing there.”
“I’m married.”
“You didn’t say that with much conviction.”
“I’m not going to sleep with someone I just met.”
“Mmm, now that’s filling in some spaces. Who said anything about tumbling with her? We’ll be here for a few days. It’s going to be trying. Speaking with a friend or flirting with a girl is relaxing, if done well. Wouldn’t it be nice to connect to someone?”
“I suppose.”
“Though far away, Tel has someone. I have someone and I’m hoping Anla agrees, however she sees us. And now you might have someone. We’re here to live; live a little.”
* * *
Raulin had worried that he had been reading a little too much into Mian’s gestures and had given Al false hope. That was until he saw Mian, a fancy fascinator pinned to her curls, the feathers matching the new red and yellow dress she had changed into. While he could be mistaken that sweetheart necklines were common in Tektorn, he didn’t see any other woman wearing a dress with them in the rather crowded restaurant.
When Anla gave him a quizzical look and nodded at her, Raulin just gave a throaty chuckle and said, “Evre”, Arvonnese for “watch”.
Al did chivalry justice, pulling out her chair for her, taking her coat and gloves, and making sure she felt comfortable. The latter was done by answering the copious amount of questions Mian had for him about the ongoing case, his life, and wizardry and magic. “So, let me make sure I understand,” she said, leaning in towards Al. “Most wizards pick one side of magic and stick with it, but you can do both?”
“They usually don’t pick,” he answered. “They find they can do one or the other. But, yes, I can use both sides.”
“What are they like?”
“The Unease heightens your sense of sight and hearing. It allows you to get things done that the body usually can’t do, lifting several times your own weight, for example. The Calm relaxes you, allows you to heal and makes you a more creative person.”
“What does it feel like, having that magic course through you?”
“See what I said about watching?” Raulin murmured to Anla.
“Shh. I’m enthralled by this.”
Al coaxed her into putting her hand in his. “I’ll do the Unease first. You’ll feel a jolt, maybe excitement or fear or just your heart beating fast.”
Mian’s spine straightened and her eyes widened. Her hand jerked away and she touched her fingertips to her chest before laughing. “That’s thrilling! Gosh, my heart is racing.”
“And if you want to try the Calm…”
She placed her hand in his. There was no sharp reaction this time, just the slumping of her shoulders, her eyes half-masting, and a dopey grin melting her face into bliss. “I think I like that one better,” she said, slowly turning her gaze back to him.
“The Unease has greater benefits to the wizard with it, but the Calm has greater benefits to the layperson receiving the magic. I only did Touch wizardry when I was in Whitney, before I met these guys.”
“How long have you know each other?” she asked the group.
“Since last June, so almost nine months,” Anla said.
“And you’ve been traveling the country since then?”
“Yes, picking up jobs here and there, enjoying the country.” She thought it was best to side-step why Raulin had to determine where they went.
“What are some things you’ve seen?”
“Lots of things. Al and I rescued the Duke of Sharka’s daughter and stayed at his palace for a few days. That’s how we met.”
“Oh,” Mian said. “Are you two…?”
Anla smiled. “No, never. He’s a wonderful man, but we’re just friends. And I suppose my pretend husband, when decorum necessitates it, but never anything romantic. Of course the Count of Carvek thought we were. That was after Al saved Tel from a lynch mob. I’d tell you all about it, but I need to attend to a few things before retiring tonight. You should ask Al about it.”
Raulin stood a half-moment after she did. “Same here. And it occurs to me that Tel has to do some checking on the weather and the landscape.”
Raulin met Tel’s gaze. They stared at each other for a few seconds, with Tel finally saying, “Oh, yes. I thought I saw a storm developing in the west that might cause us problems. I should check on that.”
Mian started to stand. “I’ll see you four tomorrow, then?”
“Oh, don’t leave on our account,” Anla said, patting the air. “Al needs to conduct interviews, which he can’t really do at eight in the evening. He’s free right now.”
She sat again as the three departed. Raulin stopped at the matre’d’s stand and gave him a gold to make sure Mian and Al weren’t disturbed.
* * *
The evening wrapped up the way it usually did for Anla and Raulin. And in the morning she awoke first and she watched him, like she almost always did.
Raulin was partially right about her. She had reservations about sleeping with him because she didn’t care to lie underneath yet another man she didn’t love and didn’t love her. (Oh, he liked her quite a bit, but his tone had never changed from when they had met and therefore he’d never fallen for her. ) It was what she’d had to do for money and information and protection. It was all she knew of being bedded and there would be something disappointing about that happening with Raulin.
But that was just a small portion. Anla had been thinking with her mind and she understood that Raulin’s courting of her meant they were on neutral ground. That would surely be enough for the spell in a few month’s time. They would part on good terms, as friends.
That was until Acripla. She hadn’t liked the group of admirers and had followed him to the restaurant. She hadn’t planned on waiting for him until he left, all the while wondering what was going on inside. She hadn’t planned on feeling the searing heat in her chest, the pain of hot, broken glass filling her belly with each breath as she watched that woman go home on his arm. And she found it almost impossible to breathe through it when she had kissed him. A sob had caught in her throat, the emotion clawing her airway shut. She almost left then, the pain unbearable, until she saw him rebuke her. Her heart had soared. He didn’t want her! She had left crying and Raulin had gone back to his room alone.
Anla had no idea how that girl would take the rejection, though. She had spent quite a few hours picking stones, hoping to see what she was planning. Things were murky. Sometimes the runes expressed some lie that was being told, but it couldn’t say whether it was the girl or Raulin. Sometimes she saw completion of a task and Anla worried that this didn’t mean Raulin completing the contract, but that he was going to bed the girl. And every once in a while, when she had drawn a few times and her mind was wondering, she would ask about the two of them. She frequently got paw and maw and wha mixed with a few others and she’d smile and bite her lip.
She had felt guilty tailing him. Saving his life didn’t feel like a justified cause, but she was sure that, in this case, he didn’t mind it. He hadn’t asked how she knew where he was. Perhaps he didn’t care or assumed it had been her magic. She wasn’t going to volunteer that she had watched him walk that girl home, her stomach still roiling even though he was a perfect gentleman.
After she had saved him, her logical, thoughtful decisions on their relationship had crumbled and she had kissed him. She still didn’t know why, only that it had felt like a number of things: I was scared and now you’re safe, I missed you, you’re not hers but mine.
Now she had to fight her feelings. Her heart and her mind were telling her to wait just a little longer, to make sure this Raulin, the one in front of her now, wasn’t going to do something foolish to spoil the spell. (And, fairly, she was worried about doing something as well.) The fire at his touch, when they kissed, when he held her and ran his fingers along her skin, was the antagonist to her wise choice to wait. Her curiosity was thrown in, wondering if maybe things would be different with him. Just a little longer, she told herself. When this whole mess was over, maybe when they reached Cataya.
He sighed in his sleep. He looked so peaceful, his face softened of all expression. He was handsome, she had decided a long time ago, and she liked watching him sleep. Or looking at him, even with his mask on, since she’d also decided that she enjoyed the way he walked like he was cutting through the world, carefree but with a purpose.
He smiled. He did that when he knew she was awake and watching him while he slept. He’d never teased her about it, just smiled, slowly opened his eyes, and said, “Abene mautin, ainle.”
“Abene mautin. What were your dreams this morning?”
He sat up. “Mmm, something about getting two loaves of bread when I paid for one. It was nice.”
She laughed. “You sure enjoy food.”
“Good food,” he corrected. “I enjoy the best of what I can take of the moment.” As she sat up and turned to move off the bed, Raulin caught her wrist and pulled her to him for a kiss.
She smiled. “We have quite a day ahead of us.”
“True. I’ll be downstairs for breakfast after I finish my exercises.” He hopped out of bed and began his stretches, noticing that she hadn’t moved. “Don’t wait on my account.”
“I like watching you practice.” She had a long list of unvoiced reasons why she enjoyed it, including watching his chest and stomach muscles strain at holding certain positions. “Do you think you could teach me how to fight with a knife?”
He said nothing, as so she asked again. “Sorry, I’m concentrating. Why do you want to know how to fight? You have your magic.”
“I’ve already experienced a time when it was taken from me. I think it’s good to have something to fall back on, in case I happen upon a deaf assassin or something along those lines.”
“I’ll tell you what I told the wizard: I can’t teach you the Arvarikor style of knife-fighting. It’s too obviously ours and that would create problems for you.”
“What about hand-to-hand combat?”
“I know a few dirty tricks, not much else.”
“I’ll take that over nothing.”
He stopped halfway through his stretches and dressed quickly. “I’m curious as to how the wizard did last night.”
Al was already sitting at breakfast, stifling a yawn as both Anla and Raulin sat at his table. “You look a little tired, Wizard.”
“I was up with Mian for a while last night,” he said, resting his cheek on his fist. After a moment, his eyes widened and he held out his hands. “No, nothing like that! We talked for quite a while at the restaurant, then on a bench in the park a few blocks from here.”
“Was it good?”
“It was,” he admitted.
Al left the three of them to interview Cove’s wife and children, followed by the local wizards. His wife was sporting a yellowed bruise around her eye. “Cove’s been under a lot of pressure,” she said after he asked about it. “It’s been tough after he was let go when his boss died. He’s had to travel out of the area for work and it’s been harder and harder for him find any. Don’t be too hard on him. He’s usually a gentle man.”
Al pressed his lips together. He had always pictured informing his wife of her husband’s crimes and asking for her assistance in catching him. But now that he was there, seeing his children play in the backyard, it became too difficult. “Yes, that’s the guy I remember from school,” he said, abandoning his harder questions. “Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“He’s usually back within a few days of leaving, so maybe tomorrow.”
“That’s too bad. I’ll be leaving for Cataya today. I just wanted to stop and say ‘hello’ to an old friend.”
“I’ll let him know you stopped by.”
Other than Cove, there were five other wizards that worked in Kinuestra. Two of them were soft and wouldn’t help. One was on the brink of retirement and the other hired by the first to take over the business. “It’s spring and that means paw-paw season,” the elder man said.
“I understand, but this is a rare occasion and your skill set as hunters will be invaluable.”
He shook his head. “Can’t afford to have a day off. If the boy wants to go, that’s fine, but he ain’t getting paid.”
The “boy”, twenty-six year old Linden Gold, met Al’s eyes, sighed, and said, “I need the money.”
Al was all for paying him out of pocket, but there seemed to be more here at play. What Al perceived, but didn’t understand, was that Linden felt beholden to Cliff for taking him under his wing and didn’t want to jeopardize that. Cliff absolutely would make Linden’s life difficult if he decided to take the day off in the middle of a busy season of trapping and hunting. He, of course, wouldn’t be expected to go out at his age, but putting the decision squarely on Linden’s shoulders meant that he could keep his reputation sterling at the tarnish of Linden’s. Al didn’t understand all that; it was beyond him. But he didn’t need to. It was enough that he was picking up on things and reacting properly.
“That’s all right. Should you change your mind, let me know,” he said, leaving them with ways to contact him.
While all this was going on, Raulin, Anla, and Tel were still at the hotel strategizing. Raulin explained that there would be no way to predict where Cove would be and where he would go, so they needed mobile traps. The meeting mostly consisted of writing down plans and a code word for them in Grivfia, Elvish, and Merakian, so that Al could spring them without alerting Cove to what was about to happen.
Mian found Al several times that day with the excuse of wondering if he needed anything. Once that business was out of the way, they would chat for fifteen or twenty minutes about something before she pulled herself away reluctantly for work.
Al returned to the hotel and spoke with the rest of the quartet sometime in the afternoon. Raulin thought he might balk at having to memorize dozens of commands in less than a day, but he glanced at them and said he’d do what he could.
They prepared for this like they would a battle, borrowing armor and gear through Mian and making sure it was ready to wear for when Cove arrived.
Raulin couldn’t remember a time he had been deeply afraid of an approaching campaign not for himself but for someone else. He had made sure Anla was caparisoned in as many knives upon her person as possible and had given her the chain mail shirt to wear. He kissed her sleeping head and ached with the possibility of losing her.
The sunlight streamed in that morning through the window. Anla watched Raulin breath slowly with sleep. She moved a piece of hair from his forehead and smiled, feeling a warmth in the moment. There was a knock at the door and he startled awake. “Yes?” he called.
It was Al. “He’s here.”