“We don’t have a lot of real weapons, but that shouldn’t matter if we can get past the doors,” Max stated as he pointed at the rough drawing on the table. “With this many people and the few of us who know how to actually fight, if we get past the guards, everyone else should fall back.”

Falana frowned as she tapped the bridge that led to the guard shack and eventually to the keep. “This is the choke point, though. Getting past here and the archers they might have watching it, how do you plan on actually getting into the keep?”

“I’ll handle the keep,” Grace said, raising her hand slightly. “We get past the bridge, I’ll get on the walls. Once I’m up there, I’ll clear a path and open the gate.”

Coughing, Falana looked at Grace and then at Max. She turned to see Marcus smiling. The other leaders of different gangs remained silent, none having been in battles like those three had.

“You’re serious?”

Grace nodded, her eyes focused on the image before her. “They don’t know how to handle what is coming. None of the remaining guards are prepared for it. Maybe ten or fifteen more guards are around. Just the Lord Knight and any random person from the city tempted by an offer of coin,” Grace replied. “Once we get past the bridge, the turn is the blind spot. There’s a corner there that I can use to get up the walls, and Brinduol said he has a hook that will work for climbing up the wall.”

All the men and women in the room turned to stare at the dark-skinned man like Grace, seeing him nod and smile.

“I have two… don’t ask from where, but with some rope and a good throw, it will hold.”

“Climbing thirty-plus feet seems hard,” one of the others in the back said.

“She can do it,” Marcus interrupted before anyone else voiced doubts. “We’re committed to this cause, and you have seen what Grace has done for us. She is right. They are going to keep coming and won’t stop until we are dead or they are gone. This is the only way.”

Murmurs of agreement echoed around the room, and Max grunted, holding a few pieces of paper. “Listen, we all know the cost of what we are about to do, but we all know what it cost us a week ago when they poisoned us and tried to slaughter us the night after.” Max had to wait a moment for those who started to shout and stomp their feet to settle down before he could go on. “People are going to die tonight. I might die tonight, and yet I am ok with that because I know either we end this now or let them bleed us to death. If you don’t want a part of what comes next, I won’t blame you, but rest assured, if we win, the remorse you will feel won’t come close to how others will think you betrayed them. Last chance, does anyone want to walk away?”

A few shifted in the group, but no one moved toward the door.

“Good, now take your assignments. We have eight hours to be ready.”

Each leader came and nodded, took the sheet Max handed them, and quickly departed to carry out their preparations. When it was just Max, Grace, and Marcus, the three of them looked at the roughly drawn map once more.

“You know, Cedric was right,” Marcus said, keeping his eyes on the paper. “You’re stronger than anyone he has ever met.”

Grace tried to absorb that compliment, unsure how to respond.

Marcus lifted his head up finally, and she saw his eyes were wet, ready for a tear to spill out as the man clenched his fists by his legs. “Tonight, no matter what, we get revenge for what they did to Cedric.”

He turned and was gone a moment later, leaving Grace standing there even more confused as Max held a hand up to stop her from talking as Marcus left. The large man’s frown and closed eyes told her it wasn’t worth discussing.

“Now what?” Grace asked after a moment of silence.

“Go see your brother, make sure he is ok. Spend some time with him and rest if you can. Tonight… it’s going to be worse than you can imagine.”

“How the hell do you believe that?” Grace asked as she leaned on the table. “You know what I’ve seen and what I’ve done. I had to save my brother! People I love have been killed and–”

Max’s fist slammed through the table, shattering it and making her pitch forward as it gave way.

“Stop it!” he growled, glaring at her. “Stop pretending for a moment you have been in a real battle. That tussle you had with those two knights was the closest thing you have experienced to a real fight, but tonight will be different.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Max paused, grimacing momentarily when he saw the table, and his head snapped forward quickly, a curse Grace couldn’t hear mumbled for a moment.

“People are going to die… people from our side of town. They will follow you into battle because they believe in you and the reason we fight. Do not forget how much each person still alive has experienced since the King came and raised this town.”

Grace opened her mouth, but no words came out. She felt her eyes bulging, wanting to scream at him that she did understand, but the truth was, she didn’t.

“How can I go and relax like you told me to?” she implored. “After what you just said?”

Rubbing his eyes, Max sighed. “Because every other person who can will be doing that right now. Everyone knows they might not return home. So they are getting one last hug, one last kiss, enjoying one more meal in case another one never comes.”

“What about you?” Grace asked. “What are you going to do during this time?”

“Honestly? I’m going to go collect a bottle I’ve hidden somewhere and enjoy it alone. I've hidden a pipe and some tobacco with it for a moment like this.”

“A moment where you might die?”

Max nodded and shrugged. “I’ve dodged death more times than most men can imagine. I wish I could say my life has been worth all those moments, but it hasn’t. I lost the woman I love, and since then… I’ve been a shell of a man. My soul was gone. But now…”

Moving to where Grace stood, Max reached out, put a hand on her shoulder, and squeezed. “Seeing you with your brother and the love you two have for each other has given me a purpose I’ve long since lost. I’ll gladly die if it means the two of you can have another day together.”

Her face felt numb at those words. Like her parents, willing to die so the two of them could escape. Why were so many willing to give them another day together? How could someone just be willing to die for another?

Because I would gladly die if it meant Levi would live longer… if he could genuinely live… like that dream.

“Thank you,” Grace whispered, her voice almost feeling like it hadn’t come out at all.

Max squeezed her shoulder and let her know that it had. “Now go, take care of that boy. I’ll see you tonight.”

“You’re back,” Levi said softly, his jaw swollen and bruised. “I knew you’d come back.”

She nodded and moved to lie down next to her brother. He had still been unconscious when the meeting had been called, and leaving him had been hard, but Marcus had given them both Cedric’s room.

The woman who had been taking care of him was older and had said nothing to her, just bowing slightly before shutting the door to the room and giving them privacy.

“I told you I would always come for you,” Grace whispered, gently patting his hair.

He nodded and snuggled close to her, letting Grace wrap an arm around him, and they lay face to face. Levi’s head moved until it was under her chin, one of the positions he always took when scared or needing to be comforted.

“Did you make them pay?”

Grace felt her heart miss a beat at that question.

“Some of them… mainly the ones who took you. Tonight, I have to go end it.”

“I know,” Levi replied. “I heard there is a group going tonight. Can I come?”

She carefully pushed him back while she adjusted his head, making sure to not touch his swollen jaw.

Looking into his dark eyes that trembled, tears pooling around in the corner near his nose, Grace knew the answer she had to give but didn’t want to.

“Why? Why do you want to come?” she asked.

Sniffing, Levi rubbed his wet eyes. “What if someone comes and takes me while you are gone?”

The tone in which Levi spoke, how his words almost seemed caught in his throat, all of that made Grace want to go back in time and torture the guards who had stolen him from her.

“That won’t happen again, I promise,” she replied, trying not to growl as she spoke. “I will ensure you know how to fight and defend yourself.”

“Really?” Levi asked, looking up at her. “You will?”

Frowning, she nodded and gently touched her forehead to his. “You can come but will have to stay far away this time. I will make sure you learn how to fight, even though I hope you never have to.”

Levi pressed himself closer to his sister and began to breathe slower. She could tell he was still tired and recovering from the ordeal. Closing her eyes, she listened to him breathe, letting it settle her until exhaustion overtook her.

“Listen up!” Max shouted as the people were gathered together along the street. Makeshift shields made from boards bound together, spears of wood, and other tools outfitted the army, waiting for the call to move out. “We are going to be loud enough just getting there. Do not shout and make more noise until the time has come. Remember the instructions your leaders have given you. Tonight, we will end this!”

A cheer erupted from the people, having forgotten Max’s words already.

“It’s going to be a long night,” Max shouted over the noise.

Bobbing her head, Grace smiled anyway. Tonight could be as long as it needed to be.

“You still going to wear that sword?”

“I need something longer than a dagger, and we don’t have an actual spear, so unless you're going to pull one out of your arse, I’m stuck with this.”

Max shrugged and grinned. “We need to get one a little shorter for you so it doesn’t drag across the ground if you have to squat. You’ll be fine, though.”

Three sharp whistles came, and as the sun's light disappeared, an army of ordinary people moved through the burnt remains of the place they called home, ready to rise from the ashes and claim a new life or die trying.

Balethem, if you’re listening, help me tonight.