The Choice of Magic - Michael G. Manning Page 0,172

sorcerers and that’s all.”

Dave stared at him for several seconds. “Right…” Then he nodded vigorously, as though he had made up his mind. “Fuck it. You’re right. If anyone asks, that’s what I’ll tell them.” He held out his hand. “Brothers first.”

He had never imagined saying such a thing to someone like Dave, but Will took the other man’s hand. A second later Tiny put his massive hand atop theirs. “Brothers first.”

Dave’s legs gave out, and he sat down in a barely controlled fall. Will and Tiny sat beside him. All three of them were done. Then Dave said, “I’ll never forget what happened to Sven, but at least we made them pay for it.”

Chapter 51

It took more than two hours to restore order to what remained of the Terabinian army. They had lost more than half their numbers, and of those that survived, many were injured. Company E had taken the worst losses, having been nearly wiped out by first Lord Fulstrom’s fiery death and then the reprisal that followed as the Darrowan mob surrounded them.

Corporal Taylor was found near the perimeter. He had died during the first clash, and Will hadn’t even noticed. He felt badly for the man, but not guilty. He had too many other things to feel guilty about.

More than twelve hundred bodies littered the former Darrowan camp, two-thirds of them belonging to the enemy. At least seven or eight companies of Darrowans had routed, fleeing back toward Barrowden.

The Terabinians had won, but the cost had been terrible. Lieutenant Stanton assumed command of the remnants and tried to organize the survivors to clear the area and loot the bodies, but there were simply too few men in good enough shape to begin such an undertaking.

And then the bad news came. A mounted scout came galloping into the camp. Another of the Patriarch’s armies had been spotted. Will was close enough to hear the man’s words as he reported to Lieutenant Stanton. “There’s at least five thousand soldiers on the road. They’ll be here before evening.”

“Goddamn,” muttered Will.

Dave was close by and he leaned in with interest. “Did you hear what he said?”

“There’s a huge army marching toward us from Barrowden.”

Dave’s eyes widened in disbelief and he swore, “That’s not fair! Goddamn it! We won! It ain’t fair!”

Shortly after that, new orders made their way through the tired army. They were to abandon their position and retreat to their own camp. Since they were too few—and too tired—to take the supplies left in the Darrowan encampment, they set fire to them and began to march. They left the dead behind, both theirs and the enemy’s.

The sun had nearly set by the time they reached their tents, and Will felt grateful that they hadn’t broken camp the day before. He didn’t think he had the strength left to put up a tent. Supper was cold, as no one had the energy to cook. Despite his multitude of worries, he fell asleep almost instantly when he found his bedroll.

It seemed that no sooner than his eyes had closed, he woke to the sound of Sergeant Nash’s familiar yelling. “Rise and shine, assholes!”

“I thought you died, Sergeant,” said someone not far away.

“In your dreams, Corporal,” said the indefatigable Sergeant Nash. “I was not given permission to die. Until I am, I will be here with your sorry ass. Now, get up!”

The sergeant continued until he got to where Will was rolling up his bedding. “Cartwright!”

“Yes, Sergeant!” said Will, jumping to his feet.

Nash held out a strip of linen that had been dyed black. “Since Corporal Taylor didn’t make it back, you will be the new acting corporal for Sixth Squad.”

Will started to protest, but after a second’s thought he realized Sixth Squad now consisted solely of himself, Tiny, and Dave. He shrugged into his armor and Tiny helped him tie the black ribbon around the upper part of his left arm.

The sergeant continued, “Since Fifth Squad only has two men left, they’ll be joining you in Sixth.” Nash looked at the two men in question. “Mayhew, Wilkinson, did you hear that?”

“Yes, Sergeant!”

Will looked at the two men, then at Dave and Tiny. He felt awkward. What was he supposed to say? “Get your things together,” he told them.

Will had thought that Stanton might have them retreat to the south. The mountainous terrain there would offer them a better defensive position, or maybe even a place to hide. But as he saw the supply and baggage wagons leaving, he realized