enemy formations, so only the outlying sentries on this side remained between him and where his own soldiers were. If I stay here, they’ll find me. If I run, they’ll see me for sure.
But at the moment, the only priest in his vicinity was the one whose demon had threatened him, and Will was moving steadily sideways to make sure that ever more soldiers stood between them. With a thought, Will restored his camouflage and silent-armor spells, and then he ran.
A few seconds later, someone shouted behind him, but nothing happened after that. Will kept running, streaking between the sentries and on to the freedom that lay beyond. If they noticed him, none of them said anything. Once he was fifty yards distant, Will stopped and listened, but there were no unusual sounds. In his mind, he could almost imagine the demon warning its partner, only to face an angry rebuke when no enemy was there to be found.
His relief was so profound that he had to fight the urge to drop the spells and yell something salty at the Shimerans—but he refrained. Selene would be impressed with my maturity these days, he told himself.
Picking up speed, Will continued on at a light jog. The sooner he could reach his battered divisions and stop their retreat into the ambush, the better. He kept the camouflage spell active, though. The last thing he needed was to be attacked by his own men if he ran straight into them the way he had nearly done with the Shimerans.
At a guess, he covered roughly two miles of scrubby terrain that was predominately small trees and light undergrowth. Going north a short distance and using the road was tempting, but he knew better than to expose himself to more distant viewers.
Dusk had arrived and the sun was no longer visible when he finally heard the sounds of men on the road. He was glad to see that though they appeared battered and tired, whoever was currently commanding them had decided they could stop for the evening. Sentries were being set, and camp duties appeared to be progressing efficiently.
There were even wards in place. Will adjusted his turyn to slip through them, then made his way to the center, where the officers’ tents would be. It was time to resume command.
Chapter 44
Field Marshal Lustral and Sub-Marshal Nicht were in the midst of a disagreement when Will entered the tent and dropped the spells that had kept him unnoticed. They continued on for nearly a minute before becoming aware of his presence.
“It’s pure foolishness to stop here,” argued Fulstrom. “They’re scant miles behind us. The more ground we cover, the more likely we are to meet our relief before they overtake us again.”
Lustral eyed the sub-marshal with undisguised disdain. “They should be grateful we’re withdrawing. They don’t dare engage us again.”
“Are you mad?” demanded Fulstrom. “I know you took a solid knock to the head and you were unconscious for the worst of it, but they handed us our asses!”
“And I’m sure their losses were just as bad,” said Lustral.
Fulstrom’s eyes bulged so much they looked as if they might pop right out. “No. No, they weren’t. They were a fraction of ours. Do you not understand? We were thoroughly trounced. If Spry hadn’t cleared the way for us, it might have been—”
Lustral cut him off. “Victorious, Sub-marshal. Regardless of your personal opinions, that is how we are going to present this when we reunite with the others. Do you understand?”
Fulstrom simply gaped in silence, so flustered he couldn’t respond.
The field marshal continued, “We can either take the blame for this, or we can return as heroes who salvaged what we could after Spry’s blunder.”
“You can spin whatever fantasies you want in your reports, but the enemy behind us isn’t going to play along. We can’t camp here!” growled Fulstrom.
Will chose that moment to intervene. “Actually, much as I hate to agree with him, we do need to camp here.”
Both men turned to stare at him in shock, then responded with two different tones of surprise. “You!” exclaimed Lustral, in a tone of equal parts worry and disgust.
Fulstrom stiffened as an instinctive, “Sir!” leapt from his lips. He seemed both relieved and puzzled.
“It’s an illusion,” warned Lustral, backing up slightly.
“Shut up, Field Marshal,” snapped Will. “You could easily see an illusion if I was using one. Besides, in case you weren’t listening, I’m agreeing with you—though not for the same reasons.”
“How did you get here?” asked