Ghosts of the Tristan Basin by McClellan Brian

Author:McClellan, Brian [McClellan, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2016-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

Taniel started awake in the darkness, sitting up in his bedroll with sweat rolling down the back of his neck. He remained still for several moments, trying to orient his foggy mind, before seeing a shape at the entrance to his tent.

“Pole?” he asked.

The figure nodded. Or at least, he thought it nodded. He reached for his kit and found an old snuff tin, tapping a line of black powder on the back of his hand. One quick snort later, and his night-vision improved ten-fold as the powder trance kicked in. He could see Ka-poel kneeling at the flap of his tent and behind her, someone else.

“What is it, Pole?”

“Get out here, Two-shot,” a voice called gruffly. “The Lady Chancellor wants to see you.”

Ka-poel jerked her thumb over her shoulder as if to say that. Taniel stiffened. What could Lindet possibly want at this hour? He dressed quickly, tucking a knife into his belt and taking an extra hit of powder as a precaution before climbing out of his tent and finding four of Lindet’s thugs gathered just outside. What had Styke called them again? Blackhats.

This didn’t look like a social call.

What was going on? Did Styke betray him, telling Lindet about Taniel’s plans to keep the Ghost Irregulars behind longer than planned? He almost grabbed his rifle but thought better of it. Nothing was going to happen, he reassured himself. Maybe this was just a social call—a last series of orders before she made her escape.

Of course, they wouldn’t send four men to bring him in if that was the case.

Taniel accompanied the Blackhats through the militia camp and into Planth, passing the city center until they reached the point at which the highway left the northern part of the city. Taniel expected a wagon train waiting to move Lindet’s government on to her next hiding spot and was surprised to see less than a hundred mounted riders waiting beside the road. No carts, no carriages.

Taniel could sense Lindet’s lone Privileged among the group and recognized some of the faces he’d seen in the church the day before, both administrators and Blackhats. The former had heavy saddlebags, while the latter were armed with blunderbusses and carbines. Lindet, it seemed, packed light. No wonder she’d managed to stay ahead of the Kez all this time.

Taniel was directed toward the middle of the column, where he found Lindet standing next to her horse, giving quiet directions to one of her footmen. She was wrapped in a cloak despite the warmth, and she seemed small and unimposing to him at first glance. But when she turned those eyes upon him, fiery and critical, he had to keep himself from taking a step back.

“Two-shot,” she greeted him.

“Lady Chancellor.”

Taniel clasped his hands behind his back, falling into an at-ease position. It was instinctual for a soldier like him, but it also let him keep one hand near his belt knife. He could feel the Blackhats still lurking behind him.

“Let’s do each other a favor,” Lindet said, her tone almost pleasant.

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