“How big is this camp?” Alwyn hissed in frustration.
“I’d guess at least a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty tents,” Krujha answered, his voice frustratingly even now. “Which makes me worry how much larger Zesh’s primary camp is.”
Alwyn wanted to growl at him to shut up. The last thing he needed to think about now was an even bigger camp, and what they would do when they eventually arrived there. He had to focus on the task at hand.
“Alwyn,” Krujha said, after they’d trudged in silence around what felt like half the camp. “They might not be on the perimeter after all. Let’s do the same as Torlag and Fionia to get into the camp—I’ll say I caught you, and I’m bringing you as tribute—”
“Absolutely not,” Alwyn snapped, glaring back at him. “Because that plan wentsowell for them.”
Krujha made a noise of irritation. “We have to get into the camp if they’re further in—”
“Then we’ll do that without making the same mistakes they did! Obviously the rebels were already suspicious of Torlag—another orc, bringing another elf to camp, is going to be even more suspicious.”
“Alwyn—”
“No! I’m not doing it,” he said, rounding on him now. “I’m not stupid, and you need to listen to me:it won’t work. I’m not doing it.”
Krujha stared down at him in obvious frustration, but said nothing else. After a beat, he gestured for Alwyn to keep walking. His heart punching frantically in his chest, Alwyn turned around and continued in the wide perimeter—only to pause after a few steps. Krujha stumbled to a halt behind him. “What now?”
“Look,” he whispered, pointing. He’d used a spell to sharpen his vision in the dark, realizing too late that Krujha probably couldn’t make out what he’d spotted further along the edge of the camp. “I think I see them.”
It looked almost like a paddock for horses: a circle made with wooden fencing. But in the center was a single shade tent, and huddled beneath it was a cluster of smaller bodies, too small to be orcs.
“I need to get closer,” Krujha said quietly from behind him. “Not all of us have magic vision, you know.”
Alwyn mumbled an annoyed retort, but together they both drew closer. The figures came into sharper focus. Now Alwyn was sure they were elves, lying down in neat rows, a few sitting up with their backs against the posts that held up the canopy. He thought he could even make out Fionia amongst them with her short dark hair and reddish-brown robes.
His heart sank at seeing them. Perhaps they might be sleeping, but something gnawing in his gut told him they wereallbeing kept sedated. A member of the Order would never be idle at a time like this. Maybe Fionia was feigning sleep, but he doubted it—more likely she’d been drugged with the same thing used to keep him asleep and docile. Maybe these orcs had heard of what had happened at the smaller camp, and were now taking no risks with any elven prisoners. The thought made him want to crawl into the deepest hole of shame—that it might be his fault this was happening to so many others.
“I see now,” Krujha murmured. “Look. There’s a guard at the back gate, closest to us. There’s surely another on the other side.”
“I can take care of them,” Alwyn said softly, already focusing his attention on the rear guard Krujha had pointed out. He hadn’t used his blood magic since he’d been saved from his own captivity; it had drained him to kill so many orcs in quick succession, but this was just one and well within his practiced range.
“Wait,” Krujha whispered, but Alwyn’s magic was already racing out of him. It felt like stretching his arm out, reachingimpossibly far. In an instant, his magic had closed the distance between them, burrowing into the body of the orc guard. He felt the orc seize around him—muscles tensing, his hands grabbing at nothing—then his magic tore out of the orc’s body through the arteries, leaving him in a crumpled heap to bleed out, even faster than Torlag had.
“Damn it, Alwyn, I told you towait,” Krujha hissed, grabbing his shoulder. Alwyn glared up at him, drawing the magic back into himself. “What are we going to do if they notice their guard dropped dead?!”
“I’ll kill the other before they notice. No one else is around,” Alwyn protested, but Krujha shook his head.
“No. We can’t be sloppy with this. They’re already on high alert after Torlag. You said so yourself, remember?”
Alwyn scowled at the rebuke—his work was anything butsloppy.“It’s an easy matter to hide the bodies.”
“Just wait one gods damned minute, will you?” Krujha interrupted, and Alwyn fell silent with a huff. “Okay. Let me think. Let me figure out how to get that guard away from here, and then we can get them out. Okay?”
“What are you suggesting?” Alwyn asked flatly. He had a plan and was already enacting it—why should he wait for Krujha to figure something else out on his own?
“Just wait here,” Krujha said. Terror gripped Alwyn as the orc hurried toward the camp.
“Krujha!” he hissed, his voice coming out an embarrassing squeak. “Come back!”
“Wait right there. I’ll come back,” Krujha said over his shoulder. Alwyn stumbled after him for a few steps; but the orc’s stride was easily more than double his, and within moments Krujha had disappeared into the camp.
Alwyn stood there, frozen, for what felt like an eternity. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
Chapter Twelve
Krujha
