Neversfall - Ed Gentry [51]
"Thank you, sir," they said in unison.
Taennen took in the scene around him and shouted to all within the sound of his voice, "Hold the wall! Keep your eyes alert both inside and outside the citadel. We cannot be surprised again."
Returned shouts of "Aye, sir!" came to him and he headed to the courtyard, offering more complimentary words to those he passed. Adeenya and Loraica were headed toward the courtyard from their perspective places on the wall as well, and each offered him a nod as they approached.
All around him in the courtyard were the bodies of his comrades and those left alive tending to them. He walked to where the attackers had been cloaked in their darkness and crouched to examine the ground.
"That was damned effective," Loraica said, standing next to him.
"How in the hells are they doing this?" Adeenya asked. "The darkness is no real feat. Any arcanist worth his salt can do that. But how do they enter so easily?" Her voice dropped. "Do you think someone is letting them in?"
"Twice they've hit us here in the supposed security of our citadel," Taennen said as he stood. He noticed a few other soldiers standing nearby had heard him and listened to his words. He raised his voice for more to hear. "Twice, they've invaded our safety. They will surely come again," he said.
One of the nearby Durpari blurted out, "No! We can't let that happen."
Taennen nodded at the man. "He's right. We can't let them do that. We can't do that to ourselves. We will figure this out. We will stop them," he said.
Several heads nodded but a few muttered amongst themselves, their reservations clear.
"There is nothing we cannot do if we stay united, if we stand up to what appears to be hopeless," Taennen said. "Trust in me and I will trust in you, friends. That trust will be a wall that these heathens will not break, will not pierce. They will assault it and be turned away by its strength."
Subdued cheers came in response and more heads nodded. That was the most he could hope for The coming night would be a long one as the dead were identified and sorted out. Hope would be important.
+ + + + +
"Make sure shifts are changed every six bells. I can't have anyone missing something because they're exhausted," Loraica said to a subordinate soldier as they both looked over a duty roster. Several more names had been crossed out.
The man affirmed her orders and left for the wall.
"What have you learned?" Jhoqo said from behind her.
Loraica turned to face Jhoqo, reminded of the last time he had sneaked up on her. His face was plain, his gaze locked onto hers. His stealth wasalways disconcerting no matter how long she'd known the man.
"Sir, I have important news from the battle. I was just coming to see you."
"First, what have you learned about the orir?" Jhoqo said.
"Sir, before the attack, I saw Taennen and the orir talking extensively," she said. "After they separated, the orir approached me and told me of a plan to lure out a possible traitor that might have killed Khatib. She wants to spread word through the ranks that one of the formians witnessed the killer-one of our own-entering the tower during the fight."
"That would be pointless. There was no traitor," Jhoqo said, resting against the wall. "That doesn't make any sense."
Loraica agreed. "Yes, sir, but the orir thought it worth a chance in case there really was a traitor, and she said that if there wasn't one, then there would be no harm done. And an item was stolen from her during the battle."
"What item?" Jhoqo said.
"A magical trinket used to contact her commanders," Loraica said.
"Hmmm. That's unfortunate, but I don't see how that figures into these attacks," Jhoqo said.
"Sir, she thinks it might mean that someone knew about her device, and might have betrayed us," Loraica said.
"Nonsense. They're wildmen. They just saw something shiny and valuable and took it," Jhoqo said.
Loraica nodded. Jhoqo might have been right, but Loraica found all of the