elbow to the side jarred me from my thoughts. Ava gave me a look that told me I needed to focus.
I inhaled deep and gave the signal, imitating an eastern yellow-backed sparrow.
Hamath groaned ever so slightly as Dekar’s team sprinted from cover, making as much noise as possible in order to draw attention their way. We watched them take out several guards to our right while using confiscated crossbows we had picked up earlier from the officers’ post. Dekar’s team quickly dropped the weapons, pulling free swords to engage the rest of the enemy.
With the Geneshans rushing to Dekar’s location, Ava, Hamath, and I broke from cover, legs pumping with everything we had to the large tent at the center of the area. We didn’t make it far before being noticed. I raised my shield to deflect a thrown knife flying in from the left.
A crossbow quarrel zipped past my right ear. Apparently Dekar wasn’t quite as engaged with the enemy as I had hoped.
I heard Ira bark orders somewhere behind us. His team was more successful at taking pressure away from the three of us as we closed in on the tent.
The flap flew open. In the entrance stood a woman in dark blue robes with wavy blonde hair. Her fingers crackled with sorcery as her eyes darted around at the chaos. She caught us speeding toward her and raised her arm. A knife thrown by Hamath struck her in the shoulder, its force throwing her off balance. The deep purple lightning emanating from her fingers blasted off to the left.
Two steps later, I barreled into her with my shield, knocking her to the ground. I continued pushing inside, Ava right on my heels. Neither of us had time to finish off the woman with a Master Sorcerer nearby. I trusted Hamath to take care of her.
The Master Sorcerer stood in white robes at the back of the tent over a simple table. There was no sign of the other lesser sorcerer. On the table rested a plain wooden box. In that moment, I cared about nothing else. His wide-eyed expression turned to anger. Our ability to get this far caught him off guard. His hands glowed orange. An acidic smell crept into my nose.
I cursed and charged, hoping the tactic might buy Ava the time she needed to take him down.
Bright fire shot across the room. I ducked behind my shield—its etchings softening the attack. Despite it and my own resistance, the force of the blast still catapulted me backward.
I flew across the room and crashed into a table. Its legs shattered beneath my weight. I banged my head on something hard.
The tent spun. I fought to stand, but could not, vomiting instead. I turned my head toward the Master Sorcerer, blinking against the pain of what was likely a concussion. I grabbed something. A cup, I think, and threw it with what little strength I could muster. It missed him by at least six feet. It didn’t matter. It was enough to distract him half a second longer.
He realized his error and wheeled on Ava. He was too late.
Thankfully, I managed to stay conscious as my little sister engulfed the whoreson in shadow. The sound of his agony was music to my pounding ears.
* * *
We started our mission with a unit of twelve men. We charged our last target with eleven. When the dust settled we were down to six.
Besides the concussion I earned, the mage also knocked my left shoulder out of socket and further bruised my ribs I had injured earlier. Hamath lost a finger. Ira half an ear. Dekar suffered a broken leg and nose. Of the six of us who survived, none of us had escaped injury.
But we had done it.
Ava had killed the Master Sorcerer and still had enough left in her to help with the D’engiti while I vomited from the head injury and got my feet under me. Dekar had found the other sorcerer with his robes down in the woods. That was about the only thing that went our way.
We had done it all right. I doubted that Adar, Baruch, Hayyim, Yahu, and Gal cared much about our victory though. I stared at their bodies while wavering on my feet. Their blood soaked into the ground beneath my boots. I doubted Jachin, the private I lost earlier in the day would care either. His body would get lost among all the rest and given no special acknowledgement.
I’m sure