“You really think Loren can get that close?” I asked.
“Well, there’s a slight chance of success.”
“How about if Loren comes in from another direction?” I asked.
“What are you suggesting?”
I told him about the mine shafts. “If you create a distraction to the east, we could sneak in from the west.”
Kerrick and Flea exchanged a significant look.
“Yes, that could work,” Kerrick said.
“And if it doesn’t?” Quain asked.
“Plan B,” I said.
Everyone looked at me.
“And that would be...” Quain prompted.
“Retreat through the tunnels.”
“Not bad.” Quain pursed his lips.
“When are we implementing this plan?” Loren asked.
“Wait,” Quain said. “Why rush? Why can’t we send a message to Prince Ryne and have him send a thousand troops to back us up?”
Kerrick inclined his head. “Tohon knows we’re here. He won’t wait much longer. The sooner we move, the better. How long did Private Beau say it’ll take to navigate the tunnels?”
“Three days, and we’ll come out about two miles west,” I said.
Kerrick drew a circle in the dirt with a stick. “The enemy is about a mile deep, but I’m sure Tohon has patrols going farther out. It’ll take the overland and underground teams the same amount of time to reach the Healer’s Guild, so that fourth day will be our action day.” He tapped the stick on his boot. “Do we want to strike at dusk or the middle of the night?”
“What’s the advantage of dusk?” I asked.
“It’s like catching them with their pants down,” Quain said.
“Not quite,” Loren said drily. “They’re settling down for the evening, eating supper, and washing up.”
“That’s what I said. And middle of the night means we have to be extraquiet—any sound is amplified.”
Loren leaned forward. “But the enemy is confused and disoriented from being woken. Plus the darkness will help hide us, which will work in our favor since our teams will be—”
“Tiny, petite, minuscule, infinitesimal.” Quain pinched his finger and thumb together.
“Mobile, fast, flexible,” Loren countered.
“The darkness can also make it hard for us to see,” Belen said.
“Unless the moon is bright,” Flea added.
“If it rains, we’ll have to wait until it stops. Hard to have flaming arrows in the rain.” Loren lined up an imaginary bow.
The discussion continued and everyone offered their opinions and advice.
In the end, Kerrick decided our course of action complete with contingencies in case it rained and set the time of attack to a few hours after midnight.
“The overland team will be led by me and consist of Flea, Belen, Sergeant Saul, and his squad. The underground team will be led by Avry and consist of the monkeys, Private Beau, and the rest of his squad. We’ll leave in the morning,” Kerrick said.
The others rushed off to gather supplies and prepare for the mission, leaving me alone with Kerrick. No cookouts tonight.
“Well, that was rather convenient,” I said.
He smiled. “Nice of the boys to clear out.”
But my mood soured thinking of Belen and the others. Had I just condemned them all to death? Or worse?
Kerrick brushed a hair from my face. “What’s wrong?”
“Quain has a point. Why don’t we just go hide until Ryne and his army catches up? He has plenty of personnel now and we’re a small force. It’s suicide.”
“No. It isn’t.” He turned so he faced me. Taking my hands in his, he met my gaze. “Trust me. This is exactly what we need to do. Okay?”
Understanding mixed with frustration. Kerrick hadn’t told me everything. He didn’t want Tohon to discover it through me. Smart.
“I trust you.”
“Good.” A slow smile spread on his face. “Besides, I’m feeling...energetic.”
“You shouldn’t waste your energy.”
Pushing me back until I was on the ground, Kerrick leaned over me. “This is never a waste of energy.” His lips found mine.
After that, it didn’t take me long to agree with him. And for a few hours, all thoughts of battles, ambushes, and assassinations disappeared. Replaced by every aspect, detail, and scent of Kerrick.
* * *
In the middle of the final preparations the next morning, Flea pulled me aside. “Avry, I need you to do something for me.”
Just by his queasy expression, I knew it involved magic. “I’m not going to like it, right?”
“No, but it’s important. And believe me, I’m not happy about it, either.”
Curious. “What is it?”
“I need you to tell Yuri to listen to my orders.”
Yuri? Oh, no. “You want to take him along.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Kerrick’s words trust me repeated in my mind. “All right.”
Flea tried to hide his surprise with a familiar smoothing of his features. All that time spent with Kerrick was rubbing off on him. He grabbed a lantern and led me down three levels to a small dark room. Inside, Yuri lay on a stone slab.
Guilt rushed into my heart. I’d been avoiding facing my horrible mistake since I’d arrived. And the poor man had been left all alone. “No light?”