The hunting party that assembled the next morning, three and a half Parties of exceedingly irate mages and combat-Classers, was near enough the cream of what the outpost had to offer. Other than the captains and Marra Falk — who stayed behind to command the temporarily reinstated militia — and a few injured people, every high-Level combat-Classer was there, with a few lower-Level ones to round out the Parties. Considering their opposition, Ana had thought the closer they could get to an overwhelming force, the better. And when the call went out to gather for a punitive expedition, there had been no lack of willing voices.

  Not one of the hunters had been spared the loss of an acquaintance, a friend, or in one or two cases a family member in the past three months. During the night after Summerland and his minions breached the Splinter, sixteen more of the outpost’s small community had died. Besides the five dead guards at the stockade, four mages, including one of the outpost’s few Life-mages, had fallen victim to what could only be described as assassinations — the invaders had been carrying maps, showing exactly who lived where, with priorities. Another four combat- or hybrid-Classers and one mage had died fighting off the invaders in various parts of the outpost, and two unfortunate artisans had seemingly ended up as collateral damage, caught in the crossfire between invaders and defenders. That was to say nothing of the large number of injured of all Classes, many of whom had been forced to wait for hours before they could be provided with potions or Touanne could see them; or the property damage, all the way from broken up streets, scorched walls, splintered doors, and shattered windows, to entire buildings partially collapsed or set on fire.

  To say that the prospects of the escapees and their rescuers looked dim would have been a massive understatement. More accurately it could be summed up by the muttering of one man — Ana wasn’t sure who. “May the thrice-cursed Sentinel show them some mercy and kindness when they meet him,” he said, “because I damn well won’t.”

  Ana led her Party, of course, though perhaps she shouldn’t. Touanne hadn’t given her the all clear so much as a scolding capped off by, “but I know I can’t talk you out of doing what you feel you must. Just please try to be careful!”

  Messy, who’d woken for a short time during the evening and again before Ana left, had been more sanguine. “Kill the bastards,” she’d growled into Ana’s hair as she held her as tight as she could. “Kill every damn one of them. They had their chance.”

  And that was just what Ana intended. She’d made her concerns about keeping so many mages prisoner clear when Pirta marched them back to the outpost from Karti’s camp. She’d even offered to solve the problem, even though the idea left a bad taste in her mouth. Now she was going to do things her way. No excuses. As Messy had said, the escapees had their chance, and their rescuers were too dangerous for mercy. Besides, they were getting closer to food shortages with every meal, and keeping dozens of prisoners would only make that worse.

  No, Ana was resolved to do what she felt must be done. It remained to be seen if her soldiers felt the same, but from the way they talked, she wasn’t too concerned.

  The other two full parties were headed by Wandak, his multitude of facial piercings jingling and rustling as he moved between his Party members, checking their equipment, and Tarkan the Hammerer. They also had a half Party of dedicated trackers in the form of Kosh and her gang, six men and women in all, lean, mean, and raring to go. None more than their leader; Kosh had a mean streak to start with, and the short campaign against Karti hadn’t made her any kinder.

  As everyone finished going over their equipment and rearranging their packs, Kaira appeared by Ana’s shoulder. She and Omda were both in Ana’s Party, along with Lesirell, Perrion, Deni, and, of all people, Waller, who’d not taken Sylt’s death well. Raising the Party’s average Level by a bit were Tellak and Jancia, along with Brosden the Skirmisher, whose second go-around with Kaira was still somehow holding together, and finally Rill the themion Horde Breaker, who was terribly excited to be fighting in the Party of the Wayfarer’s own Chosen.

  Tor and Messy were both still laid up and recovering, but Ana had offered Jisha a spot in the Party. She’d declined. Even if some of the patients might be able to fight if they had to, she said, someone had to stay with Touanne just in case. Ana chose to believe her. She privately suspected that the thought of going out with the intention of killing people was still a step too far for the girl, and she wasn’t going to blame her for that. She may have found that she could take a life if she had to, but she didn’t have the anger of most of the hunting party, nor did she have the callousness that Deni, the only person Jisha’s age joining them, had discovered during the campaign against Karti.

  “Ready to go?” Kaira asked softly.

  “Ready as I will be,” Ana replied, then stepped out in front of her small force. All talk, all last minute adjustments, even all fidgeting, stopped.

  Slipping back into the role of Marshal Stasia was frighteningly easy.

  “On the evening of two days past, we were attacked,” she began. “The invaders came here to continue Karti’s wretched work, and to eliminate anyone who can cure the void plague. They targeted mages. They targeted Mistress Touanne. They targeted me. We lived, but they killed sixteen good people. They injured dozens more, most of whom are still in recovery. They destroyed homes, and lives, and livelihoods. And then they ran.”

  It was a slight modification of the truth, but close enough to start angry mutters of agreement spreading.

  “They took with them almost three dozen cultists and traitors who were awaiting trial. Not one of those prisoners chose to trust in justice or our mercy. They chose the invaders and ran for the forest. Now they lurk there, making the place unsafe for our hunters. Hunters who will be more responsible than ever for feeding the population of this Splinter, now that we’ve been forced to shut and bar the Waystone. They’re trying to starve us. They’re trying to destroy us. But we’ve been through this before, right?”

  “Right!” came the immediate response.

  “They failed to break us before. They will fail again! Right?”

  “Right!” the crowd answered, louder.

  “We will find them, and we will fucking destroy them! Right?!”

  “Right!” the crowd roared.

  “Of course, right! Kosh and company, lead the way! Everyone else, you know the order! No one runs ahead, no one falls behind! Until we find the bastards, we’re doing this textbook. And once we do, we give them a taste of the hell they’re going to! Move out!”

  The northern gate stood open, and Kosh and her Party took off, loping across the open ground of the clearing and quickly pulling ahead. Behind them Ana and her Party followed at a more conservative pace, marching rather than running, the other two Parties each taking up a position on her flanks. It didn't make much difference to their ease of movement if they were in a long column or a wide line; few people went north, and the trail from gate to forest was barely a path. Better to maximise their coverage, Ana had figured, and Kosh and some other more experienced trackers had agreed. Besides, it was easier to ambush a column than a line.

  As they neared the trees, Waller shuffled over so he was next to Ana. She gave him a flat stare, waiting for him to speak. The man had practically begged to be in her Party, and she’d acquiesced, but that didn't mean she intended to make anything easy for him.

  Finally, perhaps sensing that Ana wasn't going to initiate, Waller said, “You're in a fucking mood.” His eyes were in the trees ahead.

  “Am I?” she deadpanned.

  “Your speeches are usually more inspirational, less, ‘Let’s murder the shit out of these fucks.’ So yeah.”

  “Maybe it's a bit more personal this time. Less ‘horde of mindless zombies,’ more ‘they threw a trust fund Ascender at me and tried to murder every friend I have in this place.’ I’m sure you can imagine that'll piss a girl right the fuck off.”

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  “Sure can. And I’m sure you don't care, but I can sympathise somewhat.”

  “Can you?” Ana said, more a statement that the conversation was over than a question.

  Waller, however, didn't take it that way. He had something to get off his chest. After a few seconds, during which they both hopped over a ditch with a trickle of water at the bottom, he said, “He never blamed you. Not once. That's why he took shift after shift at the stockade.”

  Despite herself, Ana humored him. “Sylt?”

  “Yeah. We never knew Trig was devout or anything. She never talked about it. We figure someone must've got into her head. Sylt wanted to make sure the bastards saw justice.”

  “And you?”

  “He was my last real mate. I know some people, drinking buddies and guys who’d join us for a Delve and all, but Sylt, he was the last one I trusted to watch my back. So I took every shift with him. He watches mine, I watch his, you know?” Waller sighed heavily and spat into the thick moss. “And then a goddamn rock got him. Not even an aimed one. Ground broke open and—” He made a popping gesture at his head.

  “So that's why you’re out here? Revenge?”

  “Yeah, revenge! Fuck do you think nine out of ten of these guys are here for?” Waller looked at her like she was stupid, then thought better of it and looked away again, muttering, “What else do I have left? Anyway. Guess I wanted to thank you for having me along. I know the other low-Levelers are your friends. I’m… not.”

  “Sure,” Ana said. “Figured if nothing else you'd be motivated.” And with Jisha declining, there’d been a spot in the Party. “Word of advice, though?”

  He looked at her with genuine interest. “What?”

  “Be less of a cock and more…” Ana gestured to him generally, “this, and you might find some new people you’ll trust to watch your back.” She gave him a moment to consider if he wanted to express any offense, then finished with, “You’ve been shockingly tolerable ever since dragging me back inside the wall from under that pile of corpses. I don’t mind having you along. Now get the hell back in line, and stick close to me when things get bloody.”

  Waller gave her a flat stare, then a snort and the closest thing to a genuine smile she’d ever gotten from him. Then he shuffled back to his position two heads down from Ana, giving her a sarcastic, “Yes, Marshal!” as he went. They both knew how she felt about the title.

  She also knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that, while they might not like each other, he’d have her back when it counted. He might be a dick, but he was a loyal dick. Hell, he might even be worth salvaging.

  “Making nice with the local hoodlums?” Kaira asked from behind her. “Or is that just ‘hoodlum’ now? They’ve taken some, whatsit? Attrition.”

  “Maybe,” Ana said, slowing down for a moment so Kaira naturally caught up. “I know who he’ll try to kill when things kick off, at least, and it won’t be me. How’re you doing?”

  “Holding up. Lost a couple of acquaintances, but no one close, thank the gods. Fucking furious about you and Messy and Tor and Girry and… yeah. Too many friends got too close to oblivion for me to be anything but murderous right now. Still can’t believe they sent a goddamn Ascender.”

  “I don’t think anyone sent him,” Ana said. “He should’ve been better prepared if this was planned properly.”

  Kaira waved dismissively. “Yeah, whatever. Point is, an Ascender came after you. And that mage who wrecked the stockade… I mean, gods beyond, Ana! I talked to Drisa and she says that Earthbreaker is a Heroic-Tier Class. According to Tor the guy was Level 37, too. Bet you anything the guy was holding back so he wouldn’t kill the people they were trying to rescue. If that guy comes back to the outpost, I don’t even want to think about the damage he could do.”

  “That’s why we’re hunting him down, and taking him out with extreme prejudice,” Ana said. “We can’t afford to have enemies lurking in the forest, least of all someone like that.”

  “Nah, yeah,” Kaira agreed. “But seriously, Ana, you need to be careful. The only high-Level mage you ever fought was Karti — who’s with them, I should point out — and he’s not a combat mage. This bastard, he’s not just a combat mage. He’s a goddamn war mage. There’s no reason to take a Class like that unless you expect to bring down walls and destroy formations.”

  “War mage?” Ana objected. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a good idea of what the Earthbreaker could do — the man she’d taken captive had broken shockingly easy under interrogation — but the term ‘war mage’ surprised her. “I thought you didn’t have wars here.”

  “Hell did you hear that? They’re rare, yeah, but they happen. Not like the bad old days, before the Splinters, of course — from the little reading I’ve done you couldn’t go a year without hearing about a new war starting somewhere. But for sure wars still happen! And I bet you that a mage who can crack a wall might not be the best fit for a Delving Party, but they’d get paid well enough to compensate when someone wants a city or a stronghold taken.”

  Ana thought about what she’d seen Kaira do: focused bolts that could put a smoking hole through a man at dozens of yards, and powerful, short range blasts that could tear a demon in half. The sheer power of it. It was tiring, and Kaira didn’t have much staying power — she’d understood that much. But what did that matter when she could kill an opponent long before she ran out of juice, with attacks that were accurate enough, and travelled so fast, that few would be able to dodge them? “Could you do that?” she asked. “Blow through a wall?”

  “I don’t know,” Kaira answered immediately. “How much are you paying?”

  Ana gave the Evoker a flat stare. Kaira just grinned. “Seriously, I’m not sure. Given time, probably. If I go a few steps deeper into my Crafts, pick up another 15 Levels in both my Class and Shaping, and maybe Evolve to a Master- or, gods be kind, Heroic-Tier Class? You best believe I could. It’s few people who get the combination of Crafts that I have, and it’s a powerful one. You better bet I was fucking pleased when I realized Deni had both Aptitudes.” She twisted to look back at the younger mage, who’d been listening in, and flashed her a shark-toothed grin.

  “You’re just happy to have someone to corrupt,” Deni chirped, looking pleased as anything at the attention.

  Kaira rolled her eyes theatrically. “Please, like I could corrupt you! You were begging me to teach you to blast things to flaming bits at an age I was still driving cattle. I’m terrified and terribly excited to see what you’ll misuse my guidance for.”

  “Since I’ll use it for good, I suppose you would think I was misusing it,” Deni sniped back, giggling.

  The change in Deni since Ana had first met her was amazing. At the start of their first Delve, the very first for both of them, Deni had been a blushing, babbling, almost timid little thing — all the way up until Rayni and Kaira set her and Ana to kill the first demon they found. After that her confidence had grown in leaps and bounds. She was still a giggly, thoughtful young woman who blushed at the first mention of so much as a kiss, never mind the constant stream of coarse anecdotes and innuendo she’d been exposed to during the days out with Kaira’s Casuals group. But she’d also shown a brutally pragmatic and vindictive streak that would make her a nightmare to anyone who crossed her, and possibly a huge asset to Ana. Assuming she lived long enough to grow into herself, which wasn’t at all guaranteed considering the shitshow that had been forced on them.

  Which reminded her…

  “Deni, Lesirell, Perrion. And Waller, I suppose. Remember what I told you. Eighteen feet and not an inch further away from me, unless you have a damn good reason.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Perrion said, though it was easy to hear that he wasn’t sure why she’d told them that. She hadn’t explained about her ability to take on their wounds, and if he hadn’t heard by some other route, she wasn’t planning to. She didn’t think any of them would use the Ability against her, but she hadn’t thought that of Trilgayeri. And even if they were perfectly trustworthy she could very well see it making them overconfident and getting her hurt unnecessarily. Waller especially, but she didn’t know Lesirell well enough to trust her with the knowledge either.

  Deni, of course, knew exactly why, bearing the dubious honor of being the first person whose life Ana had saved with her Ability when a demonic bear took a foot-long chomp of her torso. It had been one of the worst experiences of Ana’s life up to that point, and the fact that it had fallen to the lower end of her top-ten in barely three months should probably be more sobering than it was.

  “Anyway…” Kaira said. “What was I saying? Right! Goddamn war mage! I saw what he did at the stockade — not like anyone could miss it — and I don’t want you thinking that all he’s good for is breaking walls. Tellak’s the one to go to about Earth-magic, but don’t be surprised if he’s got all kinds of nasty tricks for taking out anything from one hard bastard — or bitch, as the case may be — to whole damn formations. Best thing would be if one of our scouts could put an arrow in his eye before he even knows we’re here.”

  “But they’ve got to know we’ll be coming for them,” Ana said.

  “But, that, yeah,” Kaira agreed. “So I think the best we can hope for is to avoid being ambushed and take it as it comes. But that guy needs to go down before he can take too many of us out.”

  “That’s a lot more fatalistic than I’m used to from you,” Ana commented soberly.

  Kaira shrugged. “I think we’ve all accepted some of us might not come back from this. I wouldn’t worry about the traitors, but we’re going up against an ass-load of mages, and if there’s one thing we mages are good at, it’s doing a lot of damage before we go down. One Shaping. That’s all he needs to cause a lot of tears.”

  and read 8 chapters ahead of both Splinter Angel and Draka! You also get to read anything else I’m trying out — which is how Splinter Angel got started.

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