From The Ashes by Christopher Mitchell

Author:Christopher Mitchell [Mitchell, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912879007
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

After unpacking their things, Big Lynn, Leah, and the two other Lach captains approached Keira. She had been trying to get Kylon to speak to her about what had happened, but the Kell man had said nothing, just stared at the ground.

‘Interested in a wee drink?’ Big Lynn said.

Keira stood, frowning at Kylon as he sat on the hay-bale in silence.

‘Aye alright,’ she said. ‘Lacey, watch the lizards.’

Big Lynn glanced at the stall where the Rahain were penned.

‘Bring the talking one,’ she said.

‘I’ll get him,’ said Leah, entering the stall.

‘Yer not killing him, remember?’ Keira said. ‘We agreed that. He’s Kylon’s.’

‘I don’t want to kill him,’ Big Lynn said. ‘Well, alright, I do, but I want to hear if he has anything useful to say.’

Kylon’s eyes flickered upwards, watching them.

‘Bit of a change of heart,’ Keira said.

‘I might have a wee plan,’ the Lach woman said, winking at her.

Leah emerged from the stall, leading Baoryn by a rope, his arms tied behind his back. Kylon stood, and followed them as they went over to where the Lach had camped. Hay-bales had been positioned in a circle, and a slatted opening in the wall let in the brightening light as the sun peered through the clouds outside.

‘Ale?’ Big Lynn said.

‘Aye, thanks.’ Keira said as she sat. She was handed a full mug. She sniffed. ‘Brig?’

Big Lynn sighed. ‘Aye. Picked it up off the supply wagons this morning. Was all they had.’

Leah pushed Baoryn to the ground, and Kylon sat behind him. Ale was served, and Big Lynn glanced at everyone’s faces.

‘I don’t agree with Brendan and the council’s strategy,’ she said. ‘I think we’d best protect the survivors in Domm by taking the fight to the lizards. Not in battle, I want to make that clear, Pyre knows how many battles we fucked up against the lizards when they invaded. Every time we charged, they’d rip us to pieces with their damned crossbows and stone-throwers. The only big battle we won was Marchside, and that was only because of you and your brother.’ She gave a nod to Keira. ‘No, what I’m talking about is hit and run. Attack their supply lines and camps, in small groups, spread out.’

‘Aye,’ said Keira. ‘That’s what me and my brother were doing before Marchside. It was just the one squad we had, but we ran riot for a while.’

Big Lynn smiled. ‘Then you know what I’m talking about. We tie down their forces all over Kell, maybe even entice them into Lach, hit them again and again. They’d never invade Brig and Domm if we did that. They’d be too busy trying to find us.’

Leah shook her head. ‘Sorry, boss,’ she said, ‘but I agree with the gist of what Brendan said in the farmhouse.’

Big Lynn shot her captain a fierce glare.

Leah shrugged. ‘Ye want me to speak my mind?’

‘Aye, go on,’ Big Lynn muttered, swigging her ale with a grimace.

‘The lizards have got thousands of soldiers guarding the entrance to the Brig Pass,’ Leah said.

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