Page 87 of Of Steel and Scale

I frowned and, after a few seconds, caught the creak of leather accompanied by the soft sighing of wind. The former very much reminded me of the noise you sometimes got with new saddles when the panel leather rubbed against the back of the flaps, or when there was a problem with the tree or head plate. Given there were no coursers on this island, let alone halfway up a steep mountain, there could be only one source.

“Back, get back,” I whispered and followed him quickly into the mouth of the cave.

The sighing sharpened and, a heartbeat later, gold glimmered as a bird and its rider swept over our heads and swooped toward the forest. Deeper in the trees, light flashed, two quick pulses that briefly lit the night.

We might not be able to see them, but there were definitely men down in those trees.

“We’ll need to work on our defenses tonight, I’m thinking,” Tayn said grimly.

“Yes, and don’t just rely on the pit. Maybe something simple like greasing the ground would at least slow them down.”

He nodded. “I’m not sure what we’ve got, but we’ll work on it.” His gaze shot to mine. “It would help, though, if Esan came to our aid.”

“They will. Are.”

He studied me for a moment, then spun and led the way back through the tunnel into the antechamber. There were twenty or so people crowding the small space now, most of them healers and stretcher-bearers taking care of the injured and the dead.

“I’ll go report to Katter. Good luck with everything, Tayn, and keep safe.”

He smiled and lightly saluted. “You too, Captain. You too.”

I nodded, wove through the crowd, then increased my pace once I reached the larger tunnel. Katter glanced up from whatever he was reading as I entered the temporary war room. “Thank you for your assistance down there.”

Obviously, the woman who’d been sent to call out the medics had also reported to Katter.

“Welcome.” I hesitated. “I need to rest up before I head back out—is there somewhere I can bunk down for a few hours? And if you can write up a list of everything you need, I’ll scribe it once I’m back in range.”

He nodded and glanced at the woman to his right. “Layla, escort the captain over to the officers’ quarters.”

As he got back to reading the missive, the woman said, “This way.”

I collected my pack, bow, and quiver, then followed her out. The officers’ quarters lay across the other side of this level and were basically a deep tunnel holding a series of narrow stone chambers that could be curtained off. Each contained little more than a bed and a storage shelf.

Layla led me past the first ten—at least four of which were empty—then swept aside the curtain and motioned toward the bed. “The noise from the lower chamber should be less noticeable here. The privies are down the far end, and there’s a washroom there as well, if you want a quick clean-up. Fresh towels and soapweed are kept on the open shelving there.”

“Thanks. Can you ask someone to wake me up in four hours?”

“Will do, Captain. Sleep well.”

She turned and immediately left. I dropped everything onto the bed, then went down to make use of the facilities and clean up a little. After stripping off my boots and jacket, I lay down and closed my eyes. It seemed I’d barely fallen asleep when there was someone beyond the curtain calling my name.

“Yes?” I said, struggling into a sitting position. My eyes felt heavy, and there was a deep ache in the back of my head, which was due to either doing too much on too little sleep, or my courses coming in. While all female soldiers took a specially designed potion to prevent both pregnancyandthe inconvenience of actually bleeding every month, that never stopped us getting all the usual symptoms. Mine was generally headaches, crankiness, and an overwhelming urge to eat sweet things.

“You asked to be woken in four hours, Captain.”

“Yes, indeed, thanks.”

“Administrator Reed wishes to know if you would like something to eat before you leave.”

“Trail bread and a flask of water will do just fine. Thanks.”

“He waits for you in the war room, Captain.”

“Tell him I’ll be there shortly.”

“Aye,” the soldier said, and then left, his boots echoing on the stone.

I lightly scrubbed my hands down my face, then pulled on my boots and staggered more than walked down to use the facilities and splash my face with cold water in an effort to get some wakefulness happening.

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