A troop of Perish were marching a half-dozen of their comrades – these ones stripped down weaponless and wearing only their undergarments – out to a trench from which diggers were only now climbing. When they were formed into a line facing that trench, they were made to kneel. Sword blades flashed. Heads rolled and bodies fell.
Gesler grunted. ‘Explains Bent and Roach going mad over those long mounds yesterday.’
Sighing, Stormy said, ‘If we practised that, instead of arguing all the time, Ges, we’d have killed each other a thousand times by now.’
‘Some people hate it when the party ends.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Listen,’ said Stormy, ‘we caught us up with the shits – we should do like Gu’Rull says and cut ’em all down, starting with Tanakalian.’
‘In her worst moments, Krughava might agree. If we didn’t have her under guard, sooner or later she’d be down there trying to do it personally,’ muttered Gesler, ‘but it’d still be wrong. Not … tactical.’
‘Oh, here we go again. High First Fist Sword Prancing Gesler the Great talking tactics again. Lay a wager the rest of them Perish aren’t already waiting in the Assail capital – so instead of taking down five thousand Grey Helms here and now we’ll have to take down twice that number a week from now. How does that make tactical sense?’
‘Krughava thinks she can turn them back, Stormy. But now’s not the time.’
‘She also thinks the sun sets up her ass every night and comes out of her mouth every morning. She’s unhinged, Ges. You can see that, can’t you? Mad as a five-eyed one-whiskered cat—’
‘Hold on … who’s that?’
‘Who? Where?’
‘That girl.’
Stormy fell silent, watching. He could see Tanakalian approaching her, was stunned when the Shield Anvil knelt before her. They were too distant to hear, but by the girl’s gestures – pointing at the trench where the bodies and heads had been dumped – she wasn’t happy about something. And she was giving that backstabbing shit an earful.
‘That must be her,’ Gesler said. ‘The one Faint told us about.’
‘Destriant,’ Stormy grunted. ‘But the question is, how in Hood’s name did she get here?’
‘Warren. She was spat out by the Wolves.’
‘If Krughava’s going to have to face anybody down, it’ll be her.’
‘You’re probably right, Stormy.’ Gesler edged back down the slope of the ridge, and then sat up. After a moment Stormy slid down to join him. ‘It’s this,’ Gesler said, wiping dirt from his hands. ‘The Wolves of War, right? So how come that army’s acting like they don’t even know we’re half a day behind them?’
Stormy scratched in his beard. ‘Wolves do the hunting. They don’t get hunted.’
‘Except by us humans.’
‘Still, might be just never occurred to them to take a look back.’
‘So maybe the Adjunct had it right,’ Gesler said. ‘This army of K’Chain Che’Malle is ready to come down like a knife in the middle of the table.’
‘More like we’re like snakes in the grass, and our fangs are fuckin’ dripping.’ Stormy smiled without humour. ‘Excited yet, Mortal Sword?’
Gesler’s eyes were bright. ‘You?’
‘Nah, you’re bound to mess it all up.’
‘That didn’t last. Thanks.’
‘Just keep your head level, Ges, that’s all I’m asking.’
Gesler’s expression was incredulous. ‘Now that’s rich, Stormy, coming from you.’
‘I’m more battle-hardened these days, Ges. All my wisdom I earned the hard way.’
‘How are you managing to keep a straight face?’
‘That’s what us battle-hardened veterans do best. Now, let’s get back to camp. My mouth is watering at the thought of more armpit fungi and a big tankard brimming with gland juice.’
There is treachery in his heart . Setoc stared down at the beheaded brothers and sisters, feeling the fury of the Wolves, struggling to contain its wild wrath. The presence of the beast gods within her surged mindless as a storm, and again and again she felt as if she was moments from drowning in the deluge. I am Setoc. Leave me to be your voice! Blind rage is pointless – for all that your cause is just, it must be a human mind that guides us all into the war to come .
And this was what Tanakalian did not understand. Or, perhaps, what he feared the most. We must be free to speak – all of us. We must be free to object, to argue – even the Wolves do not understand this. Look at these bodies – they spoke out against the cruel pace … among other things. Above all, they spoke out of fear for the readiness of their fellow soldiers – this army is exhausted .
