Age of War

Chapter 22

There was frost on the ground, Morrow noted, which should have been unknown in this part of Atlantis. The southern coast of the country was just a few leagues south, and this was supposed to be warm, fertile farmland. Instead it was just dirt. Cold dirt. Her horse was picking at the odd tuft of grass that still grew here and there, but without much enthusiasm. How was an army supposed to march without forage anyway? Supplies only took them so far, at least travelling as light as they were. But she wasn’t in charge – she wouldn’t even know where to start with deciding what to do with two-thousand-odd soldiers. It still disturbed her that Albrihn seemed to have much more confidence in her though. By her side rode Hasprit. He was looking over his shoulder, frowning at the hill they’d just ridden down. “So, when you said patrol…”

“What?”

He scratched under the cord of his eye patch. “I thought we were just going to ride around the camp a little. Get the lay of the land.”

“The commander told me to send out a long-range patrol to find Saffrey’s army.” She pointed over the next line of hills. Beyond there was a vague smudge of smoke against the pale blue sky. “Looks like campfires to me.”

“He told you to go?”

“He told me to send two riders, no more.”

“Yeah, see, send is the key word there. You’re the captain now.”

“So what?”

“So, you’re supposed to delegate.”

She shrugged. “I’m the fastest rider in the Seventh. You’re my best man, fates help me, so I decided it should be the two of us.”

Hasprit shook his head, but he wore a good-natured smile. “Serving under you is going to be interesting, Morrow.”

“You’ve served under me for years.”

“Yeah, but you used to have the captain to…you know…rein you in a bit…”

Morrow held up her hands. “See? Everyone else knows I’m not cut out for this – could you maybe let the commander know? He apparently has absolute fucking faith in me.”

“We all do, Morrow. You know that.”

“You should have been made captain.”

“Me?” he scoffed. “I’m no leader.”

“You’re a sergeant.”

“Exactly. And sergeants are a different breed, right? A career sergeant is a noble thing. Look at old Loban back at the barracks. Sergeant all his life, and who has more respect in the regiment than him?”

“Yeah, but Hasprit, the key difference between you and him is that you can’t cook for shit.”

“It’s never too late to learn…”

“I’ve tasted your cooking. There isn’t enough time in the bastard world.”

Hasprit grinned. “All right then. But you know I’m not cut out for command. Not real command.”

“Well, you’re going to have to be. I’m promoting you to lieutenant. Effective immediately.”

He wheeled his horse around to block her path and held up a warning finger. “Now, hold up there…”

“You said you wanted to be lieutenant when we were talking the other night!”

“Right, but then you made the very good point that we’re barely even a company these days. You don’t need a lieutenant.”