The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War #1) - Jon Skovron Page 0,152
“That makes me so happy.”
Their eyes widened when they saw her open smile.
“Praise the Lady!” said Mathilde. “Another blessing!”
“Heh.” Sonya ran her tongue across her sharp new fox teeth. Had she been given the option, it was not the blessing she would have chosen. She couldn’t think of any practical use for fox teeth, and she’d had to practice talking to herself quite a bit during the ride from the salt mine just to make sure she was intelligible. Plus, she kept nipping her tongue, and that really hurt. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Oh, they suit you very well, Strannik,” said Olin.
“Really?” asked Sonya.
“My heart soars with courage just seeing ’em,” assured Mathilde. “Anyone who follows the old ways will feel the same.”
Olin nodded vehemently in agreement. “Seeing you now reminds me of all the old stories. I reckon there’s no way we can lose.”
“Well, okay!” Sonya felt her heart begin to lighten for the first time since leaving the mine. Just a little, but it was enough for now. “I like the sound of that.”
Then she heard Jorge’s voice. “Sonya!”
He and Blaine hurried over, looking worried.
“Did ye find a way to stop your brother?” asked Blaine.
“I did.” Sonya smiled less self-consciously now.
“Woo la!” said Blaine, looking impressed. “Can ye still kiss with those?”
“That’s your first question?” demanded Jorge.
Blaine shrugged.
“I don’t know…” Sonya’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Might not be completely safe.”
Blaine grinned back at her. “You were never safe.”
“But, Sonya,” said Jorge. “How are… your teeth going to stop your brother?”
“Oh, they’re not,” she said. “That was just the price.”
“Ah.” Jorge’s forehead creased with concern. “Did… did it hurt?”
Sonya squeezed his shoulder. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
He nodded, but didn’t seem convinced.
Mordha raised his voice, speaking in the Uaine language, and the clan chiefs and captains quieted down. Then he turned to Angelo.
Angelo nodded. “Thank you, Tighearna.” He turned to Sonya. “We’ve developed a plan while we were awaiting you. Hopefully you like it as much as we do.”
“Let’s hear it,” she said.
“We have two forces. The Uaine, and the peasant resistance inside Gogoleth. I suspect that putting those two groups together might prove… fraught?”
“Regular folk would be more likely to run screaming from undead than fight beside them,” Sonya agreed.
Angelo nodded. “Since we can’t put them together, I propose that we use their separation to our advantage. We will take the Uaine warriors and sluagh gorta north and circle around the city to the river. Then we will travel swiftly downriver by raft and assault the imperial garrison directly.”
“Bold,” said Sonya.
“It must be, because in part, it will be a diversion,” said Angelo. “Before we launch the assault, you will infiltrate the city. I believe your two friends here have already worked out a way to get you inside. Once the imperial forces have assembled at the garrison to repel our attack, you will rally your people and take the city from the inside, hopefully encountering minimal resistance. If we are able to take the city and hem them in on both sides, I think it likely the enemy will retreat south. Depending on how many casualties they’ve sustained, perhaps even all the way to Aureum.”
“What about the brother?” asked Blaine.
“Yes,” said Angelo. “We were hoping Sonya can fill in that part of the plan.”
“His magic doesn’t work on me anymore,” said Sonya. “I’ll deal with him, and everyone else should just avoid him.”
“Ye think he’ll come for ye?” asked Mordha.
“Absolutely,” said Sonya. “We just have to make sure he knows where I am.”
Angelo nodded. “Then once you’ve begun to take the city, you’ll need to make sure whatever light resistance you encounter can get word to the garrison that you’ve been spotted in the city. That will make things a bit more complicated. Perhaps an extra pair of hands would be helpful? Someone who wouldn’t be a hindrance in battle?”
“Obviously, that would be me,” said Blaine.
His father, Chief Albion, asked him something in the Uaine language, and Blaine gave a terse reply. Whatever he said clearly did not please the chief, and he began to object. But it was cut off by Mordha. Albion glared at Mordha for a moment, then nodded, still looking displeased.
“What just happened?” Sonya murmured to Blaine.
He shook his head. “Nothing to worry about. Me dad is just a wee… protective.”
“He thinks what we’re doing is going to be more dangerous than a frontal assault on the garrison?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” he said. “It’s… complicated. I’ll explain it to you some other time.”