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The loud pop echoed through the quiet town, and the Jeep tipped as the driver tried to overcompensate for the sudden loss of the tire.
“Get them!” Eno ordered while pointing toward the store. He continued to the Jeep. He had to make sure the driver was dead and not radioing for help.
Hunkering low, Eno briskly walked to the dark-green vehicle, two good tires spinning in the air while the engine grumbled and whined. He moved around the rear of the Jeep, attempting to sneak up on the man, but it wasn’t necessary. The top had been off the Jeep, giving Eno a clear view of the soldier in black-and-gold fatigues. He lay unconscious in the front seat, blood streaked across his face and soaking into his blond mustache. Knocked out but not dead.
With a grimace, Eno made a quick single stab to the man’s chest through his heart, ending his life. He wasn’t fond of killing a helpless man, but they couldn’t afford to take prisoners, and he had to keep Caelan safe.
He paused to wipe the blade off on the man’s uniform before replacing it in its sheath. It was likely the other knife was lost under the Jeep.
“Eno!”
He glanced up to see Caelan and Drayce running toward him. “What—” the prince started but Eno cut him off.
“What the hell happened? You were supposed to be waiting in the apartment.”
“Road snacks,” Drayce offered, looking thoroughly chastened. “We thought we’d save some time and grab some road snacks while we waited for you.”
“It’s not like we knew the Empire was going to walk inside. Andy even said they’d never come in her shop,” Caelan added.
“Yeah. We just turned a corner and bam! The dude was right there,” Drayce explained, which did not make Eno feel any better. He could only imagine Rayne was having palpitations over this mess.
“Andy? Is she okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. She was in the store office at the time. Missed all the action. I killed the one inside, while Drayce got the one who ran out.” Caelan scrubbed a hand over his face and resettled his hat on his head. “Sorry. This is my fault.”
Eno shook his head. Now that the immediate danger was over, he couldn’t be angry. Sometimes shit just happened.
The door to the store opened and Rayne stepped out, dragging behind him the corpse of the Empire soldier Caelan had dispatched. “We owe Andy a glass-front door,” Rayne announced in a bland voice as if that was the worst of their problems.
“I tell y’all, I’m happy to call it even, since you got rid of some of them Empire vermin,” Andy said happily. She daintily stepped around the trail of blood Rayne was leaving across her tile floor.
“We need to get rid of these bodies before the Empire comes searching,” Drayce observed.
“How? A bonfire?” Rayne snapped.
“You could just drop them at the edge of the Ordas,” a newcomer drawled.
Their eyes snapped to the man approaching. With his white apron and shiny bald head, he was possibly Henry of the diner and excellent cooking. He stopped beside Andy, a white rag in one hand as he frowned at the dead bodies.
He nodded suddenly. “Yep. We can tip the jeep on its wheels and load the bodies in it. Then just drive right up to the border. Those nasty critters will take care of the rest tonight.”
Eno looked over at Rayne to see the advisor nodding as well. “That would help to cover up this mess, but the Empire is still going to miss four soldiers eventually. They’ll poke around town, causing problems for everyone even after we leave.”
“We’re not leaving them to deal with the Empire,” Caelan stated flatly, and there was zero room for argument. Eno didn’t blame him. They’d made this mess, and they needed to clean it up.
“That means we’re clearing the Empire out of the base.” Drayce thrust his arms into the air and shouted “Whoo-hoo! We’re kicking some Empire butt.”
“Then you’re gonna need to talk to Katie,” Henry said with a grin. He turned to Andy. “Can you call up to the old Parish place and ask Katie to stop by?”
Andy crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “She’s still in town? I thought she left with the other soldiers.”
Henry shook his head. “Nope. She and a bunch of her platoon are hiding out near the other edge of town. They’ve been trying to figure out a way to take back the base without actively engaging the Empire. Looks like these boys could give her the opening she’s been needing.”
Oh, this was starting to sound hopeful. Even a little military assistance in this insanity was better than none.
“All right. I’ll get her on the line,” Andy happily agreed and disappeared inside the store.
The rest of them—with the help of a couple of diners who were promised a slice of banana cream pie for their trouble—worked to get the Jeep on its wheels and the dead into the vehicle. Warner got the old thing running again, and Eno drove it until the engine gave out about a hundred yards from the edge of the Ordas. He felt a tiny bit guilty about feeding the dead to the creatures of the Ordas, but the feeling quickly faded when he thought of Queen Amara and the other people in Stormbreak who’d been slaughtered by the Empire.
