Tapping her fingers on her knees, Magdala considered her plan. Had Liraya, before sending the wraith to attack Lord Kalan, sat up late worrying if it would all work out? Were she and Magdala the same person just on opposite sides? Pushing those questions out of her head, Magdala stood up. The enemy had her lord uncle, and she, no they, were going to get him back. Using the materials that Galkin had packed into her knapsack before she’d descended from Walcrest, she had created two firebombs and a couple of concussives but hadn’t bothered to create any more sedative bombs. They only worked on humans after all.
Around her, soldiers checked their weapons and adjusted their armor, and in the shade of the trees, Saundra led a group in a quiet prayer to Cueller, and Mei cleaned her rifle. The scene reminded Magdala that regardless of how similar she and Liraya might be, the Vanurian mage was alone and Magdala was not.
Saundra bowed her head. “Amen.” She opened her eyes and nodded to the group. “Now off to your sergeants.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
While the soldiers dispersed, Saundra brushed herself off and faced Magdala. “Ready, milady?”
Magdala straightened up. “Ready.”
“I’m ready too.” Mei reassembled her rifle and slung it over her shoulder.
Magdala turned to the knight. “Sir Marcus?”
The knight bowed. While Saundra and the rest of the soldiers had kept on their armor, he’d removed his, leaving on only the steel gray tunic and deep blue slacks he’d been wearing underneath. Mei had declared his armor to be too loud for their part of the plan. “I’m ready. Just give the word.”
Magdala nodded and raised her hand. “Move out.”
With swords, spears, and crossbows at the ready, the soldiers followed Mei into the jungle in squads of four, their boots trampling the undergrowth. Magdala winced at how loud they were, recalling what Mei had said when she’d presented the initial version of her plan. They were far too loud for a real ambush, and so Magdala had had to change tactics, but her strategy, her goals, stayed the same. Resolving to have Mei teach her how to move silently later, Magdala reentered the forest. They’d been traveling for a short time when a screech cut through the bird calls and insect buzzing. The Hounds had found them.
“Stay together!” Magdala drew her knife, but the garrison troops had already speared and beheaded two Hounds. As the jungle swallowed their dying screams, they continued onward. Nervous, Magdala searched the undergrowth for more Hounds. When she wiped sweat off her forehead, she caught the flash of pale grey skin from the corner of her eye. “Watch out!”
Wailing, three Hounds burst out of the undergrowth, their jaws wide and ready to bite. Yelping, Magdala kicked one in the head, knocking it down, but it crawled forward on all fours, still groaning. When she tried to kick it again, it grabbed her foot and pulled her towards it.
“Get away!” She jabbed her knife into the fiend’s eye and pulled hard to the left. With a crack, the head twisted around, and its owner gave a strangled wheeze and went still. Getting back to her feet, Magdala caught her breath. She’d had the most trouble; Mei and Saundra had dispatched their Hounds with ease.
After pulling Magdala to her feet, Saundra looked her over. “Are you all right, milady?”
Magdala waved her away. “I am.”
Saundra smiled. “Good. You took one down. Without magic!”
“Yes, but-“
“There’s more!”
The Hounds had gotten behind them, cutting off their retreat and forcing the soldiers to slow down to keep the group together. Behind them, Sir Marcus’s sword, wet with ichor, stabbed into fiends right and left, but Magdala couldn’t allow the knight to get bogged down here.
She grabbed Saundra’s shoulder. “Keep us moving forward. Don’t leave anyone behind.”
As Saundra nodded and moved to the front, Magdala pushed her way to the rear and reached Sir Marcus, who was breathing hard
He raised an eyebrow when he saw her. “You should be up front.”
Magdala pointed at the Hounds. “Don’t try to kill them. If we get stuck here, we won’t make it.”
Sir Marcus considered the problem. “Strike them in the legs!”
As one, the soldiers’ spears dipped down and stabbed into thighs, knees and ankles, and with a wail, the Hounds fell to the ground. While they could still crawl, they couldn’t run.
Sir Marcus wiped his brow. “Good call. We’ve got it here. Just let me know when you’re ready for me to do my part.”
Magdala nodded and returned to the head of the column where Mei and Saundra were carving their way through the Hound patrols.
Saundra grinned. “We’re doing it!”
Mei socked a Hound in the jaw. “We’re here.”
When the column broke out of the undergrowth and into the clearing, Magdala lobbed one firebomb into the massed Hounds and another into the catapult before the giant could react. Glaring at them through the smoke and flame, it got to its feet and achieved step one of Magdala’s plan: make a distraction.
She peered at the giant’s face, a chill going down her spine. “It’s not the same one.”
Saundra decapitated a Hound. “What?”
“That’s not the same giant. It doesn’t have any scars!”
The armored giant picked up a weapon so huge Magdala couldn’t recognize it at first, even as the giant looked down its length.
“Get down!” Magdala pulled both Mei and Saundra down to the ground.
A twang, a scream, a crack, and dirt, dust, and splinters rained onto Magdala and her friends. When it all stopped, Magdala turned around and found that a massive crossbow bolt had blasted through a soldier and brought down a tree. Now, Hounds descended on the stunned soldiers, who gaped at the destruction, and on the other side of the clearing, a steady ticking sound started. The armored giant was loading another bolt.
Magdala spat out dirt and cursed. “Mei, change of plans. We have to break that thing before it kills us all.”
The hunter’s grip tightened on her axe.
Magdala winced. “I know you want to find Huan, but we can’t save anyone if that thing takes us all out.”
Mei stayed silent, her face hidden from Magdala.
Then a weathered hand landed on her shoulder. “I’ll get your brother back,” said Sir Marcus.
Mei looked up at him. “Promise?”
“Promise.” Sir Marcus patted her shoulder. “Your brother will be returned to you. And we’ll get Lord Bart too. Just point me in the right direction.”
Mei pointed westward, and the knight saluted and slid into the undergrowth. On the other end of the clearing, the ticking continued.
Magdala caught Mei’s eye. “Can you break that giant crossbow?” she asked.
Mei peered over the grass. “I need a clear shot.”
Magdala nodded. “We’ll get you one.”
Admaeus Speaks 
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