Rebellion: Prince of Dawn

Chapter 18.6: Goodbye Blue Sky

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JAIME FONTOYA

While Askeladd and Toshi gathered the non-combatants, Tony and I carefully took down a small portion of the eastern wall. With help from the north platoon, we used those logs as a bridge across the moat.

Askeladd ordered us to guard the opening while he escorted the villagers to the cave.

"Why are we putting everyone outside the walls?" I asked as I fidgeted with my helmet. "Won't they be safer in here?"

"You saw firsthand last night what the bandits will do to civilians," Tony replied. "The safest place for them is as far away from the battle as possible."

"What will happen if the bandits attack them instead of the village?"

He shook his head. "That would be stupid. The kids know the caves and they don't. Once the bandits go in, we'll trap them. And Askeladd is right, this battle is going to end today. All the villagers have to do is hold out until tonight."

"What if they smoke them out?"

"A cave always has multiple exits. It'll gravitate to one."

I leaned against the cart we'd been using to watch over the walls. "If you were the leader of the bandits, how would you play this?"

Tony stroked his chin. "I'd attack the fighters first—especially us seven. We can take out the rest of the village once we're dealt with. When the farmers start losing, they'll flee to the caves as a last resort anyways."

"What about Messina? Since he wants everyone dead, what if he goes there while we're preoccupied."

"There's a chance he'll do that. But again, defeating us first is his best bet too. If we go in there after him, he'll have nowhere to run to."

The platoon was growing restless, playing games amongst themselves or simply taking a moment to get some shut-eye. Some even practiced their swordplay on the nearby trees.

"Hey, Susan, do you think you can use a sword?" I asked.

"I mean, anyone with a hand can use a sword. But I don't think I'd be any good at it. The same way you can use a gun but miss every shot."

"That's true." I waved Clash at him. "But you can hold your own with my sword. You might even be able to take down Askeladd with this. Do you want to switch?"

"You stick to your sword and I'll stick with my gun."

"Then let's switch when we come across a monster on our way back to Shoya."

Faint battle cries fled to us from the main gate. Kikori the woodcutter came running with it.

"The bandits!" he waved. "They're starting an attack on horseback."

I slipped my sword back into its sheath and put on my helm. "Let's go."

Tony held me back. "No, we can't just abandon this post. We need to wait for Askeladd to get back."

"Then what do we do?"

"Until he gets back, nothing." He turned to the woodcutter. "Are the other four really struggling?"

Kikori nodded. "They got caught up in Vienna's attack. Ilias instructed us to hold off the bandits while they deal with her."

"So that's why." Tony gritted his teeth. "I'm going to head over and help them. Jaime, take control of the platoon and wait for Askeladd to come back."