Page 61 of The Infernal Battalion

Winter went to her side and spoke quietly. “I think you need to start picking them off.”

“Are you sure?” Alex said. “The Haeta might not see my power as kindly as they see Abraham’s.”

“If you don’t, we’re all dead. I’ve got another five rounds for my pistol. That’s not going to be enough.”

“Okay.” Alex shook out her hands. “Give the word.”

“Leti!” Winter called. “Alex will try to hurt them. Tell everyone not to panic, no matter what happens.”

“How?” Leti said. But Vess was already shouting in Haeta, and after a moment Leti joined her.

“Do it,” Winter said to Alex.

Alex raised her arms, globes of darkness enveloping her hands. She sighted carefully, between two of the Haeta warriors, and a lance of pure shadow licked out. The pair flinched back in alarm, but the beam had already passed them and gone on to spear one of the circling wolves through the head. The animal crashed to the ground, blood spurting. The other wolves around it paused, uncertain. That made them easier targets, and two more black lances snapped across the field, leaving two furry bodies in their wake.

“She...” Leti said, staring. “She is...”

“A Blessed One,” Winter said. “Like Abraham. They are companions.”

“This is not the power of a Blessed One,” Vess growled.

As the dead piled up, the wolves were growing agitated, fleeing from where Alex’s attention was directed. She followed them, turning in a slow circle, her beams scything out whenever she had a clear shot. Some of the Haeta gave alarmed shouts, but others were cheering every dead wolf.

Driven by desperate starvation, the wolves charged, two dozen of them in a tight group. They hit the side of the circle across from Alex, dodging the protective spears and leaping at the girls. Three of the animals went down, but their corpses dragged the spearpoints away, and the rest poured through. One Haeta girl was bowled over as a wolf slammed into her, her scream dissolving into a gurgle as it ripped out her throat with one efficient motion. Others struggled as the animals grabbed their arms or legs, dragging them to the ground.

No reserve, Winter thought. Except one. She drew her saber and charged. The first wolf, tearing at the fallen girl, didn’t see her coming, and her blow to its neck nearly took its head off. It collapsed, twitching, and she spun to face the next one. The animal backed away from the blade, while two more circled her, staying low. Winter gave ground and caught one of them with the tip of her blade, drawing a bloody line on its flank. It yelped and retreated, but the other came in from behind, slamming into the back of her legs. She lost her balance and fell, scrabbling away on her elbows as another wolf loomed in front of her.

No sooner did she manage to focus on the yellowed fangs than the animal was gone, picked off its feet by a thrown spear. With a yell, Leti closed, driving off another wolf with rapid thrusts of her weapon. Vess came in behind her, spearing a wolf that tried to circle around. The pair of them pushed forward and closed the gap in the circle, while behind them Alex’s lances of shadow skewered the wolves that had gotten inside.

A few seconds later, and the wolves were breaking, peeling off in ones and twos and slinking into the deepening shadows. Alex blasted another one off its feet, and its pained cry spurred the rest into full flight. Between breaths, they were gone, leaving only corpses behind.

“Winter!” Leti said. “Are you hurt?”

“Fine, I think,” Winter said. Somehow.

She took Leti’s outstretched hand and hauled herself to her feet. The Haeta still maintained their circle, spearpoints raised. Abraham and Vess were working where the wolves had broken into the formation. The girl whose throat had been torn out was beyond saving, but several others were down with nasty bites to arms or legs. Winter silently thanked God once again for Abraham. Otherwise we’d be carrying them the rest of the way.

“I think,” she said slowly, “that we made it.”

“They won’t be back soon,” Leti agreed. She barked a command in Haeta, and the warriors put up their spears. Someone gave a cheer, and a few others picked it up, but the celebration seemed half-​hearted. Most of the girls were either looking at the dead or staring at Alex.

Leti, though, was looking at Winter. She wiped her sword on a dead wolf and sheathed it, feeling suddenly self-​conscious.

“What now?” Leti said.

Vess was looking at her, too, Winter realized. And quite a few of the others. She gave a heavy sigh.

“Make camp closer to the stream,” she said. “With a nice wide berth between us and the nearest cover, and torches for the sentries. Do what you need to do for the dead.”

Leti nodded eagerly and started giving orders in Haeta. Vess stared for a moment longer, her expression unreadable, then turned away. Alex, the black glow gone from her hands, came over to stand by Winter’s side.

“Am I cursed?” Winter said in Vordanai.

Alex seemed to understand immediately. “The curse of competence,” she said, and clapped Winter sympathetically on the shoulder.

11

Raesinia