Chapter 34

Kaze was waiting for me at the foot of the stairs.

“Well?”

“I hope you weren’t fond of your officers,” I said. “Killed a mess of them.”

“We had a relationship built on mutual respect,” she said. “They respected that if they crossed me, I would kill them outright. That’s how one maintains power in Lady Flir’s host.”

“By that standard, I should be up for field marshal,” I said. “I quit when it stopped working.”

“My infantry are trained to advance towards the enemy in the absence of orders. Killing the officers just means they have no one to hold them back.”

That was completely ass backwards from most armies, who treated their infantry like barely trained and slightly rabid hounds. In the absence of controlling authorities, the standard procedure was to hunker down and wait for someone to come along and take charge.

“Oh, lovely. Now they’re heading this way without grownups riding herd,” I grumbled.

“It’s almost like I expected to be stalked by sneaky, cunning warriors who would seek to disrupt my command structure at some point,” she said.

“The good news is, it seems to have worked,” I said. “That’s also the bad news. I don’t suppose they’ll hesitate when they see you?”

“Likely not. Especially if I’ve been declared a traitor. I expect they’ll be especially eager to claim my head as a trophy.”

“I realize this says as much about me as it does anyone else, but your boss is a psychopath.”

Kaze shot me an even look.

“At least you’re self aware. You know we won’t be able to hold everyone here, yes?”

“The first wave gets chewed up, they send in what’s left of the heavy infantry to box you in while lighter troops slip around, and then the heavy hitters come to finish us off,” I said. “I know.”

“I suppose it’s a good thing so much of the city is burning. They’ll have a hell of a time finding their way to Degle and her troops with any cohesion.”

“And what’s not burning is booby trapped. They stand a chance.”

“Do we?”

She wasn’t scared, not in the “oh gods, we’re going to die” sort of way. Kaze wasn’t as eager to kick the bucket as Degle. That wasn’t her style. She would breathe her last here if she had to. She just wanted to be assured that it wouldn’t be for naught.

“Oh, sure,” I said. “At least a coin’s flip. I’ve faced worse odds than that.”

“Well. You did just jump off a building and survive. I suppose that has to count for something,” she said.

There was a sharp thwack against the timbers of the gate, the sound of a breaching axe crashing into the sally port. The smaller door built into the gate was reinforced. It would take them some time to cut through. It would take longer with a full complement of defenders pouring hot sand and boiling water down the murder holes. Alas. Equally annoying: the portcullis had been removed decades ago. No one ever thought Namic would have to fend off an invasion after the civil wars of the Schism died down. If the old iron grating was still there, we could kick up our feet and relax.

More thwacks and the breachers got to work. Purely for my own amusement, I shot a couple through the holes they cut. That halted work for a minute or so. They started hacking with renewed intensity once they realized I couldn’t possibly kill them all.

Oh well. At least I tried.

“You should probably get to cover,” Kaze said. “I’ll be able to fight more freely if I don’t have to worry about you.”

“I figured as much,” I said. “Still got your earpiece?”

“I do.”

“Holler if you need me. I’ll be nearby.”

I started to walk away. I’ve never been one for prolonged goodbyes.

“Wait.”

I halted.

“Could I…could I get a kiss? Purely for luck.”

I looked back over my shoulder. She was blushing so fiercely, I was worried her hair might combust.

Eh, what the hell. It wouldn’t hurt anything, and it might just help. If Aethna was paying attention, there was a chance Soeh was too. He was all about little lights in the darkness. If I helped her brighten things up a bit, he might actually bestow a little good luck.

“So long as it’s just for luck.”

She threw herself into my arms and pressed her lips against mine hard enough to draw blood. Somehow, improbably, she was even more flushed when she pulled away.

“There,” she said. “I feel lucky now.”

“Is that what they call it?”

“Wait and see, Sclopetarius Nock. You’ll see just how lucky you made me.”

What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

The fires were still burning away from us, towards the city center. I didn’t have trouble finding a hidey hole that wouldn’t burn me to a crisp for the second time in as many hours.

There was a little cafe by the gate that catered to weary travelers who wanted to wash the dust from their throats and eat something other than salted pork before they found their inns. There were no seats, only a counter where they could pick up a paper cup of sweetened fruit juice and a morsel of meat wrapped in flatbread.

The bread ovens, or so the proprietor bragged as he packed up his family, had stayed lit for over three hundred years without a break. He left behind several bags for the defenders, as well as some of his choicer fruit juice, on the condition that we didn’t leave any for the enemy. He was proud to do his part for the defense of his hometown. He would have stayed to fight if not for his young daughters. Degle rejected his request to help out of hand. The girls were more important than having another body to throw at the enemy.

As I settled in with my musket on the counter, the last piece of bread in one hand and a cup of slightly dusty juice in the other, I was reminded that this city was full of little tragedies. Even if we threw back Lady Flir’s forces, those ovens would likely never be lit again. The city could be rebuilt. The shattered pieces of lives could be put back together. It would never be the same, though.

It was a sobering thought.

I could be flippant about the battle because it wasn’t my home, and I wasn’t really risking my life. No one else could say the same.

The sally port crashed open, and infantry rushed inside, swords and shields at the ready.

They fanned out in a cautious semicircle around Kaze. Surely they recognized their old commander, even without the bonnet or veil. The fact that they refused to get closed certainly suggested they knew what was in store for the careless.

“Greetings, gentlemen. Welcome to Namic. I do hope you’ll enjoy your stay.”

She curtseyed, as graceful as always, and the smoky air was rent by flying steel.