Eban

26 - Callum

"I have an idea," Elaine muttered. She stood and walked away from the fire without another word. Keir grinned at her behaviour. It had become something of a running joke in camp that Elaine would only stay for as long as her interest lasted.

"Guess we got boring," Keir said.

"I can't speak for you, Keir, but I am never boring," Rhona said. She was idly twisting a twig in her fingers, letting the plant grow, and then throwing bits of the new growth into the flames as she pruned it. "We just weren't the people she needed to talk to."

"Foxby knows how to pick the strange ones, doesn't he?" Keir winked at Callum, who managed a small smile back. That rumour had spread far faster than the one about the drugs; seeing Nathan and Elaine together had only put oil on the flames.

"She's no stranger than the rest of us," Rhona said, looking at Keir pointedly.

Keir stood and bowed. "Guilty as charged," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, nature calls."

The camp, which had been growing over the past week or so and new companies joined them, was electric with tension. Too many people, with too many differences, were crammed together with no outlet except for scouting parties, raids, and endless practice drills. The veterans in the ranks spoke of a calm before the storm but, with fistfights breaking out hourly, Callum could not see it.

When he said as much to Ada, she smiled grimly. "Always listen to the veterans, lad," she said softly. "They've survived the worst Agaith could throw at them. They know the signs."

"So something is coming?" Callum asked.

Ada nodded. "Lord Foxby will make the announcement tomorrow."

The next morning, the camp gathered on the field used for drills. Lord Foxby stood, with the eight members of the Royal Guard currently in the camp arranged behind him.

"Rumour has it," Nathan started, "that we are on the brink of a storm." Nathan paused to survey the crowd before him. "I'm sure the veterans amongst you will know that these rumours are true."

A babble of sound erupted from the fresher faces of the newest recruits. Those who had lived through a battle or two hushed them. The most experienced of the veterans were silent as they waited for Nathan to continue.

"The Harvest Moon will be upon us in a months With it comes autumn and an end to this year's campaigning. Some of you will be free to return to your homes. For the rest, you'll be wanting a safe place to wait out the winter."

Callum wondered how many would stay. There would be the Royal Guard, of course, for whom the season meant nothing when it came to the King's wishes. There would be those who had signed contracts – the criminals and the desperate – and could not leave until their time was done. Then there would be those who, like him, had nowhere else to go.

"We have a plan," Nathan said. "In fact, we have Ash's plan. She chose the target, and she figured out what we need to do." He turned, pointing out over the tents towards Agaith. "Burford lies only a few miles away. At this moment, the Agaithians think that distance is enough to protect it. Tomorrow, we will prove them wrong. Tomorrow we will plant the phoenix in the town's keep, so that all of Agaith will know Burford belongs to Ferann. Tomorrow we will take the town. For Ash."

The recruits broke into cheers. The veterans kept their dignity, but they smiled and nodded their approval. Rubbing tears from his eyes, Callum found himself somewhere between the two.

This will give us the opportunity to remember her. This would give us the opportunity to avenge her.

Callum, along with the rest of the camp, rose hours before dawn the next morning. They assembled in bands of forty soldiers, each with a Manipulator at its head. The Manipulators must have come in with the rest of the newcomers, Callum realised, because there was no way there had been so many even week before.

The Manipulators had one job – to hide each band from Agaithian eyes.

They made the journey on foot, moving as quickly as sound allowed. Each band travelled separately, and each had a separate target in mind. Most headed directly to the Agaithian encampment where, if Ash's plan worked, they would cause as much trouble as humanly possible.

Callum's band was one of the few who headed straight for Burford. Nathan had assured them that three further companies were expected to join the attack. They were in place and would reveal themselves only when they saw Nathan's signal.

Lord Foxby was, as Callum well knew, not someone to take unnecessary risks. Still, two hours of jogging-walking-crawling-jogging in the near pitch dark of pre-dawn was enough to test anyone's faith, and Callum could not quite stop the niggling doubts. What if we were drugged again?

Burford's wall appeared, dark and forbidding as they blocked out the stars above. There, Callum waited while five soldiers scaled the walls. He only remembered to breath when the ropes fell beside them, marking the soldier's success.

Callum was halfway up the wall when the shouting started. They know we're here. Strangely, the thought calmed him. He had been waiting, fearing, this moment ever since they left camp. Now that it was finally here, it was one less thing to worry about.

He made it to the top of the walls and moved to join the others guarding the ropes. They had had an easy time so far – the fighting had started on the opposite side of the town, and only a few Burford guards had been unlucky enough to come this way.

Keirwas the last up. With everyone accounted for, Ada motioned them on. Theydescended into the town, wraiths in the shadows, and made their way to thekeep.