Breaking Through

*Rafe*

“There are fewer of them than I thought there would be,” Devon observes as we survey the Rallegrad army’s encampment at the border.

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” I reply, my gut twisted with worry.

“Why would it be a bad thing?” Jim asks. “Fewer people, fewer problems.”

I watch a group of guards laugh and play cards. “If there aren’t a lot of soldiers here, then that probably means they breached the border of Shadowglade and are marching southward.”

“Oh.” Jim bites his lip. “Yeah, that does sound bad.”

“But, unfortunate as that is, it is good news for us,” Devon says.

Scott doesn’t comment. He’s too busy playing quiet peek-a-boo with Drake.

Casper rolls back his sleeves. “This looks like a job for a thief.”

“What? How?” I ask.

“Well, obviously, we need uniforms,” Casper replies.

“That is a good idea,” Devon says.

“I know,” Casper responds. “I thought of it.”

I nod and Casper and Jim descend the hill we’ve been watching from.

The rest of us all hold our breath as the thieves appear at the base of the hill, then tiptoe into the Rallegrad camp.

“They just let them walk right in,” Devon says, surprised.

“They’re watching the other side, not the back of the camp,” I explain. “They’re not expecting anyone from that direction.”

Casper and Jim flit from tent to tent until they’ve gathered up enough uniforms. Then they hightail it back to the hill.

I’m impressed by their success and make a mental note to discuss watching one’s back with the Shadowglade forces.

When they return to our group, we all start to pull on Rallegrad uniforms. Drake fusses a little bit at being passed from person to person as we all dress, but he finally settles once he’s back with Scott.

I wonder if I should ask him how he’d feel about being Drake’s nanny.

We wait until dusk when we see the shift change happening for the night. Then we all descend the hill and begin making our way through camp to the border.

For the most part, the guards aren’t paying attention. They’ve been playing cards all day, and it looks like the game is going to continue into the night.

One guard who does look up quickly dismisses us with a wave.

Jim waves back.

We only encounter problems when we reach the border at the other side of the camp. I can see Shadowglade’s own guard stations have been burned to the ground, and I feel sick to my stomach. Soldiers are patrolling the border anyway, keeping up a last line of defense should Shadowglade manage to push back the Rallegrad army.

“Who goes there?” one guard bellows, seeing us.

Shit. “Reinforcements going to the front,” I reply.

“I didn’t hear about any reinforcements. And there sure aren’t a lot of you.” The guard starts walking toward us.

“We’re specialists,” Casper says.

The guard sniffs the air.

Devon doesn’t wait for him to register that we’re not all lycans. He surges forward and grabs the guard by the throat. The guard doesn’t have a chance to call for help before Devon breaks his neck.

“You never know if he got something out over the mind-link,” he says.

All five of us make a run for it. I hold tightly to my son as we run. I know the others wish they could shift, but since the lycan guards are all in their human form, it would look suspicious.

An alarm goes up behind us, and I’m not sure if it’s because they see us running or because the guard really did call for help over the mind-link. Either way, we need to stay ahead of them.

Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of good tree coverage in this area. Our only choice is to keep running.

The soldiers shift into lycan form and come after us. It will soon be impossible to stay ahead of them, especially for my companions, unless they shift.

Scott shoves me forward. “Run. Run as fast as you can. Don’t try to hang back with us.”

“But—” I argue.

“Go!” Devon says.

I pick up speed. Before I’m out of earshot, I can hear the others shifting. I don’t dare turn around to look. I can’t lose the time.

The tree line becomes visible, even though it’s a few miles off. I redouble my efforts, clutching Drake tightly to my chest.

Just when I’m within striking distance of the trees, people leap out of the bushes. I skitter and start to change direction.

‘Your Majesty!’ I heard the call in my mind from another vampire.

I skid to a stop.

‘Come into the woods. We’ll help your lycan friends,’ the voice continues.

Upon closer examination, I see the group coming out of the woods are a small troop of ragged Shadowglade soldiers.

‘Thank you. Please hurry,’ I reply, going into the trees. Four guards surround Drake and me protectively while another dozen leave the trees to go help my friends.

Now that I can see properly, I watch as my friends try to hold back the Rallegrad soldiers, just the four of them, to give me an opportunity to run for it.

I don’t think there is enough gold left in Shadowmanor’s treasure room to repay the sacrifices they are willing to make.

The Shadowglade soldiers soon join them, and now it’s an even battle. Fangs and fur are everywhere, as is blood and gore.

When the dust settles, most of the Shadowglade forces are still standing, along with my friends. Rallegrad’s soldiers are lying dead on the ground.

I come out of the trees, holding Drake, a proud smile on my face. I’m so awed by these people who were willing to give their lives for me, I could burst.

“Is Drake okay?” Scott asks as we meet in the middle of the field. Blood is running from his temple and shoulder, but he’s only concerned about my son.

“Yes,” I say with a nod. “Thank you.”

“I hate having to use my teeth.” Casper spits to the side. “So undignified.”

“Where did my knife go? Screw the clothes. That’s my favorite knife,” Jim says, searching among the bodies.

“Your Majesty, are you all right?” the leader of the men who’d gone to fight asks.

I nod. “I’m fine. Drake’s fine. You all showed such courage. I’m so proud to be your king.”

The men guarding me and the soldiers who’d gone to fight all puff up with pride.

“What are we, chopped liver?” Devon teases me.

“I don’t think I have enough gold to cover what this means to me,” I admit.

“I’ll count it out for you,” Casper offers.

I laugh. “I’m sure you will.”

“We need to wash off and find clothes. Where’s the nearest town?” Scott asks.

My soldiers all look at each other. “Sir, the nearest town was burned to the ground.”

I feel a pain in my chest. “What?”

“They’ve been burning every village they pass, slaughtering women and children. The elderly. Everyone,” a soldier tells me sadly.

Anger runs through my veins, and Scott quickly takes Drake and holds him to his chest. “All the villages? How far south are they?”

“They’re about halfway to the castle from the border here,” he says.

Closing my eyes, I force myself to breathe. “I can’t believe they’re slaughtering the innocents and burning the villages.”

“We would have gone to fight with the others, Your Majesty, but the commander told us to stay here and wait for you, if you managed to come home,” he explains.

“No, you’ve done well. You did what your commander told you to do.” I squeeze his shoulder. “I don’t suppose there’s a stream around here and some extra clothes?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Nothing fancy, but we can get your friends dressed.” He looks at Scott’s large frame and frowns slightly. “I think.”

“Give it a try,” I sigh. I want to scream. And punch things. And kill the Rallegrad forces dead on the ground all over again. “Even the children?”

The soldier nods.

“All right,” I say, taking a deep breath. “We need to get back to the castle. I need to follow up with the Regent and coordinate efforts to keep our people safe.”

“They’re holding strong at the Tormentian border,” the soldier says, his voice filled with hope. “These half-bree-I mean, hybrids-came across from Tormentia and joined the fight.”

“Really? That’s a relief. We were wondering about their movements,” I reply. “I’m sure King Dartmoth Croft wasn’t expecting that!”

Devon starts for the trees. “I don’t like being out here exposed like this.”

As we follow him, however, we see new forces approaching. They’re wearing black livery I don’t recognize.

“Shit. There’s too many of them,” Casper whispers.

“Time to make a run for it again,” Scott says sadly. He kisses Drake on the head and hands him to me. “I don’t think we’ll be coming back from this one.”

I hold Drake against my chest, prepared to run, but then the sun flashes on a silver-and-black banner one of the new soldiers is carrying. The standard is a giant claw.

“It’s Longclaw,” I breathe.