That night, the twins returned and we all conferred over what they’d found, which entirely consisted of things Tomas told us about before we left.

  “Tomas? How far is the magnetite deposit from here?” Cailleach asked toward the end of the discussion.

  “A day, day and half round trip, tops. Why?”

  “Would you mind showing me where it is?”

  “Now?”

  Even though it’d been night for quite some time, I felt Cailleach’s eyes roll from where I sat. Though, that might’ve been me rolling my eyes, for which I was thankful Tomas wasn’t facing me. “No, we’d leave in the morning.”

  “Oh. Sure. Do you think everybody else will be okay?”

  “If they don’t leave the skyway, sure. Besides which, Aine will be here.”

  As with every night so far, Aine came to me for warmth, but when I woke, she was still there. The sun was up, barely, and Millwall was still snoring. Both her sister and Tomas were long gone. I briefly wondered what, if anything, this arrangement with the assassin actually meant between us, but remembered that when someone was sufficiently broken, all bets were off. It might be a bit uncharitable, but she was well past that line as far as I was concerned.

  The rest of that day passed without anything of real note. Both the villagers and the garrison we could see went about their normal lives, all unaware they were being watched. When the sun began to set, I found myself wishing I’d brought the drone.

  Halfway through the next day, Aine startled the hell out of me by stepping up next to me while I was relieving myself off the side of the tree. “You know, Sam, I need to thank you.”

  I blinked and slowly turned my head toward her. “While I’ve got my dick in my hand? This couldn’t wait?”

  She actually looked over and then jerked her entire body away in a different direction. “Shit. I— I, uh. Thought you were just enjoying the view. Sorry.”

  I shook and tucked it back in. “I mean, it is kinda nice up here. So what’s this about thanking me?”

  “I just wanted to say, uhm. You, uh—Ergh, I don’t know what I’m trying to say. I feel safe around you. That doesn’t happen.”

  I gave her some serious side eye. “Aine, you’re a trained assassin. You’ve probably killed more people than me.”

  She finally turned around, only to glare at me. “And? I’m just saying it’s nice to feel like I could depend on you if something happened. I only feel that way with my sister. And Rowan. My parents taught me that when someone does something for you, you should thank them and let them know what you appreciated the most. Originally, that was the fact you expect more, but I realized that wasn’t it at all.”

  Hearing the earnestness in her voice hurt my heart a little. What happened to you, Aine?

  “That’s fair, I guess. Sorry for not accepting your thanks earlier. Hey, when was your sister supposed to get back today? Do you remember?”

  “Well, if Tomas was to be believed, a few hours ago. At the latest.”

  I frowned. “That’s what I thought.”

  I went back to where I’d been sleeping and unzipped the soft case I’d been lugging for days at this point.

  “What’s that?” Aine asked when I slid the rifle out.

  “A bigger, meaner cousin to the little guy on my hip.” I started pulling magazines out of the case and slipping them into the vest I had under the hoodie. “Look, we have enough time all three of us could go and be back. I don’t really want to leave, but we have time.”

  Her eyebrows came down and she put a knuckle to her mouth. “I’ll give them until nightfall. I’ll go, alone.”

  I reached into the external storage bag on the soft case and pulled out the PVS-14. “You’re not the only person who can see in the dark, Aine. You don’t have to go alone if it comes to that. If I ask Millwall, he’ll wait here.”

  She looked torn for a moment. “We’ll wait. I’ll make up my mind then.”

  Shortly before we broke out the evening meal, the rope ladder across the way from me rubbed up against something as it moved. I stood and had my ACOG centered where the head would be whenever they finally finished the climb. That face turned out to be Tomas, who didn’t seem to notice I’d just been pointing a rifle at him. With the rope still moving, I figured Cailleach was coming up behind him.

  Tomas stopped next to me and quietly whispered, “I fucked up and found out. You were right.”

  He glanced toward the rope and then back to me. “I won’t lie, still kinda hot, but I understand what you were getting at a lot better now. I should take what you say to heart more often. You know what you’re doing, but I think leaving the shotgun behind was a bad idea.”

  That was the moment I noticed Tomas sported a small bruise on his forehead and had a number of small cuts here and there on the rest of his face.

  “What the fuck happened, Tomas?”

  Cailleach grunted as she pulled herself over. “The local garrison is now short a half dozen men. They just don’t know it yet.”

  Tomas nervously nodded. “Sam, did you know how hard it is to hide bodies?”

  I winced. “That’s what took you so long?”

  Cailleach shook her head and caught her sister in a hug when Aine came running up. She pulled her head around her sister’s hair to look me in the eye. “Don’t worry. We left multiple false trails on top of covering our own. The wolves will find the bodies before anyone else does.”

  “Cailleach, Rowan is going to be mad you started early, you know,” I heard Aine quietly tell her sister.

  A shiver ran down my neck. “Wait, you’ve been scouting the approaches for Rowan’s assault, not for us?”

  Cailleach’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not an either/or proposition, Sam. Both require the same task list. And Aine, I didn’t start early. It was self-defense. Tomas didn’t do anything wrong. They caught us out in the open on the way back. I didn’t expect a patrol that far out. They were probably going to the deposit.”

  I grunted, punched the tree limb next to me, and stalked back to where I’d been sleeping. Millwall had clearly heard the commotion from where he’d been staying, much further back along the skyway, and came to ask what was going on.

  After I explained what had transpired, he commented, “That will greatly complicate getting your sister.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, tell me about it. There’s no telling how long it will take the garrison to realize they have a missing patrol. A day, at the latest? They’ll be on alert when Jenna shows up.”

  I felt more than heard motion next to me and when I glanced over, Cailleach stood next to me. “Samuel, there are two potentialities you might consider. First, you were told your sister would arrive under the full moon, yes? That implies it will be nighttime. We own the night. Alert or not, we’ll have options.”

  I suppressed the frustrated groan that came over me. “And the second?”

  “There are only forty-four of them. It will be night soon. My sister and I can solve the problem before it becomes a problem, likely before anyone even realizes we’re there if we move fast enough.”

  I stared and asked with no small amount of incredulity, “Just forty-four?”

  Cailleach shrugged like I’d just asked if she could walk across the hall. “We’ve done it before.”

  I shook my head. “No, as much as I’d like to see if you could pull it off, I’m not endangering Jenna. She is my first and only priority here.”

  The assassin agreed with a curt nod. “That’s what I’d do if it were my sister we were here for. I only wanted you to know it was an option. If we’re lucky, they’ll be complacent because no one has seen an elf for years.”

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  Churning for options, my attention drifted to the village off in the distance, where the residents were just now starting to light lamps and torches. When I glanced over to Cailleach I found her eyes nearly closed, clearly deep in thought. “Problem?”

  Her eyes snapped open, and she quickly shook her head. “No. Well, hopefully not. I was worrying over if I put down enough false trails or not. We didn’t see any tracking hounds while we were in the Green, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

  Well, at the very least, she’s a mindful tactician. “Does Rowan really mean to raze the village?”

  “It’s really the only option.” She shrugged nonchalantly and then her eyes narrowed, focusing on me. “Is that a problem?”

  “I’m reluctant to kill people who are otherwise innocent if I don’t have to, Cailleach. It’s not like they’re combatants. Is that a problem?”

  “No. I can appreciate an ethical approach like that. Generally, by the time my sister and I are needed, we’re long past ethical solutions. Do you have a viable alternative to Rowan’s plan?”

  I turned my gaze back to the village. The cold calculus was quite clear. Razing the village really was the safest, best option for the Syr to defend their border in the long term. Even knowing that, the idea of putting dozens of innocents to the sword sat wrong in my gut. “Not a complete one, no, but there might be an opportunity.”

  “Oh?”

  “I don’t think it’d work with a garrison that small, but if you hit someone hard enough, fast enough, they’re generally reluctant to step up for more. If they had more people here and we cleared them all out with no clear casualties on our part, they’d be forced to reevaluate their opinion of the Glade’s ability to defend itself. A surprise attack on that scale, they’d likely go from underestimating to overestimating. At that point, if these guys don’t fuck off entirely, it might permit a diplomatic solution.”

  After a few long, silent seconds she began to nod slowly. “I’m inclined to say you’re correct, on both counts. The garrison is too small to make a message out of them, but in general, your idea has merit. Your alternative is certainly artful and presents multiple opportunities for different beneficial end states. It’s a shame, really, that the world seldom respects art.”

  “The world seldom respects much of anything.”

  “It certainly does not. Thank you, by the way, for looking out for my sister.”

  “Uhm, you’re welcome?” I awkwardly replied as she came to stand next to me and we both looked out over the Green.

  “Encourage what you want to see more of, as I was taught. No need to be embarrassed, I’m not implying anything. She needs to be around people with a more healthy outlook on life.”

  Not that I necessarily believed what just came to mind, but it was nonetheless true to some people. “Cailleach, from a certain perspective, I’m a trained killer just like you.”

  She smirked. “Yes, but you deal with it better than either of us. I did say more healthy, not just healthy.”

  “Fair. I guess. So, what does ‘What came before never was, and what comes after will never be’ mean?”

  I felt her eyes on me for a long moment. “Your life before is irrelevant. Your actions after never happened. Joining the House means the death of who you were, who you are, and who you could have been.”

  I opened my mouth to ask something, but suddenly thought better of it.

  “Ask. Aine is seeing to Tomas. This might be your only opportunity.”

  “Why? Why would either of you— No, wrong question. If you believe in something hard enough, any price is worth it. What happened before you joined the House?”

  The wind picked up and a hawk cried out overhead.

  “The people Tomas inconvenienced, the slavers, did not appear from thin air after the Fall. Their methods, their appetites didn’t suddenly grow worse.”

  I shifted uncomfortably over the utter dispassion in her voice.

  “That we showed unnatural promise allowed others to turn their eyes from the truth and hide our shame behind the doors of the House. My sister may choose not to remember, but for their choices, I do not mourn the loss of so many of our own, nor will I regret what must be done. Only in death are we all made equal. Many scales remain that must be balanced.”

  I drew a long breath. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

  “So noted and appreciated, Samuel. In the same vein, I’m sorry your plan can’t work. It would be nice if life allowed us our ethics, just this one time. Well, I suppose you should go back to the others. I’ll take first watch.”

  Is that regret I hear? I looked at the elf standing motionless next to me. “If you need anything, let me know.”

  She replied with a faint, wistful smile.

  I took my leave and returned to where everyone else was still gathered. Aine was still worrying over Tomas, who seemed equal parts embarrassed and happy to have someone fussing over him. Millwall simply watched over the pair impassively but nodded to me when he noticed my approach.

  When I joined the trio, Millwall leaned over and said, “It seems much has happened, but my proficiency with their language still leaves much to be desired.”

  I explained what I knew of the situation and Cailleach’s interpretation. “So, what do you think?”

  Millwall scratched his chin, which was quickly turning into a dense beard as the days went by. “Well, there’s nothing pleasant about any of it, is there? I can’t fault Rowan’s logic, nor yours or Cailleach’s. Myself, if blood must be spilt, I’d prefer your solution were it feasible. I did promise to help retrieve your sister and that promise still stands.”

  I smiled and clapped the giant on the back. “Thanks, Millwall. It means a lot.”

  “Think nothing of it, Samuel. When the forge fires waver, we must all stand together lest the Deceiver shatter the bonds we’ve made. So long as a single spark remains, hope is not lost.”

  I looked down at Tomas. “What about you, Tom? How are you doing?”

  He started to look up at me, but Aine made a distinctly unhappy noise that got him to look back in the original direction. “Uhm, I’m thinking bringing Millwall with us was a good idea. I’ve dealt with a few bullies here and there, an irate mark even, but six men with swords drawn is a bit different experience than what I’m used to. Bandits tend to leave bards alone, provided they don’t offer to hire you for the night. If Cailleach wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now, I can tell you that much.”

  “Stop moving,” Aine whispered. “I’m almost done.”

  “Couldn’t you just heal me?” Tomas asked quietly.

  “Yes, I could, but we’ll be dealing with a lot more than six people soon. Do you want me to heal these tiny cuts now or fix the knife in your gut then? This ointment will do the same job, just over a day instead seconds, at least for cuts like this.”

  “Ow. Put that way, save it for the knife. This isn’t that bad.”

  Aine smiled. “Though, you know, these could make for some unusual scars. Some women are into men with scars, you know.”

  Equal parts curious and disbelief, Tomas responded, “They are?”

  Aine grinned innocently. “Not all of us, but some.”

  Silence hung in the air for a heartbeat as Tomas clearly built up the courage. “What about you?”

  “You don’t want to know what I’m into, Tomas.” Aine’s grin widened. “I like you too much for that.”

  Tomas clearly didn’t know how to respond to that, and I couldn’t blame him.

  When the sun rose the next morning, Aine was nowhere to be seen. I sat up, still groggy, and spotted her sister crouched by the edge of the skyway. Tomas was still curled in the ball I remembered when I laid down. I glanced behind me to see Millwall leaning against a trunk with a look of boredom on his face.

  “If you’re curious where my sister is, she’s in the Green,” Cailleach commented when I came over to her. “Specifically, in the garrison building. Don’t worry, she’s quite good at not being noticed when she doesn’t want to be.”

  “You sleep yet?” I asked with a yawn.

  “A quick nap. I’ll sleep once she’s back.” She held out a small reddish colored pouch. “Dried kain fruit. They’re a bit tart, but they’ll help you wake up. Mind the pits, you can chip teeth if you’re not careful.”

  I cautiously took a handful of the small, mottled fruit and popped one in my mouth. My eyes immediately began to water. “That’s more than just a little tart. Holy shit, you could’ve warned me they’re hot, too.”

  When I finished taking a slug from my canteen, which only made things worse, she was grinning at me. “Yes, but you’re awake now, aren’t you?”

  When my mouth finally stopped trying to kill me I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fuck you very much, thanks.”

  She turned her attention to the Green, still grinning. “Glad to be of service. You know, if you make an extract from the pits, it’s a serviceable poison. Though, fresh works better than dried. Something about the drying process renders it mostly inert.”

  I spit the pit in my mouth over the side. “So don’t eat them right off the tree, copy. I’ll keep that in mind next time I pick some. So, any story behind why this place is called Fiddler’s Green?”

  Cailleach stood and answered while she stretched, “As the story goes, Gwydion the Trickster stood there and when he played his fiddle, the crater turned green and the trees tripled in size. That’s what the humans say anyway. They didn’t know we beat them there by centuries and had been tending the forest for just as long.”

  “Huh.”

  “Gwydion’s the only god shared by every race, by the way, so be careful invoking his name. He takes requests from all comers, and seldomly delivers in a way anyone but him appreciates.”

  “Good to know. Thankfully, I was already not inclined to pray to anyone called the Trickster.”

  “Wise choice.”

  “Still, a fiddle?”

  “What, were you expecting something classy like a lute? That’d make sense, considering he’s also the patron deity of bards, but he’s seldom that straightforward.”

  “You’re curiously familiar with this topic.”

  “Had to deal with an infestation of Trickster cultists not long before the Fall. If you think my sister and I have problems,” she chuckled darkly for several long seconds. “Learned a number of things I would’ve been perfectly fine never knowing.”

  I glanced at the assassin. “You don’t think the two might be related? The cultists and the Fall, that is.”

  She shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

  The sun crawled across the sky. Aine returned sometime around noon and informed us the garrison still had no clue their patrol was missing. Both sisters then curled up together, leaving instructions to wake them if anyone noticed activity in town.

  Said activity did come, but Cailleach had woken up minutes before and spotted it herself. After a short discussion with her sleep-weary sister, she departed.

  Aine brooded silently by the rope for some time before I stepped up next to her. She leaned into me without either of us exchanging words.

  The wind picked up a little and she sighed. “It’s silly, you know. She’s so much better at everything than I am, but I worry every time she’s gone.”

  “I wouldn’t say worrying about your sister is silly, Aine. Family is important.”

  “You understand.” Aine made a quiet, pleased noise and pressed into my side. “Sometimes I wish we didn’t have to do jobs like this, but I don’t know what I’d do if that happened, you know? Cailleach would be okay, she’s good at everything, but me?”

  “I’m sure you’re more capable than you think. Every war eventually ends.”

  “Such a shame, that. When the screaming starts, everything so crystal clear, so alive. And then the silence comes and ruins it all.” The hair on my neck stood on end as I stood stock still against her and said absolutely nothing. “I know it’s not normal, but I can’t help it, Sam.”

  I glanced at the top of her head, frowning. “I meant you need to find what else you’re good at.”

  When she looked up at me, her eyes glistened. “But what if this is all I’m good at? What if this is all that’s left of me? I don’t want that, but what if it’s too late to change?”

  I cautiously squeezed her shoulder, and we watched the torches move about the garrison yard for several minutes.

  “Sam?”

  “Yes?”

  “If this is all that’s left of me, I don’t think I’d mind if it was you. It would break Cailleach if she had to do it herself, but I think she’d manage if it was you.”