Landis came ducking out of a doorway ahead. ‘Ah, Verus!’ he called cheerfully. ‘You and Mage Vesta made it in one piece, delighted to see it.’ He shook my hand and gave Luna a nod. ‘Oh, and Lady Ji-yeong, excellent! My men and I are very grateful for your briefing. Extremely clear and helpful. If you need anything, just ask.’
‘Uh.’ Ji-yeong looked taken aback. ‘Thank you.’
‘I should be the one thanking you, dear girl. Well then!’ Landis clapped his hands. ‘Time for some tea.’
‘Seriously?’ Luna asked.
‘Absolutely! Right this way.’ Landis wove through us and headed for the portable kitchen. ‘I don’t know about you, but between the battle and all the jawing, I’m quite parched.’
‘Um,’ Ji-yeong said, hurrying to keep up with Landis’s long strides. ‘Mage Landis? I don’t mean any disrespect—’
‘Of course! But a more profound form of disrespect is an unwillingness to come forward, wouldn’t you say?’
‘—but isn’t this dangerous? If there’s an attack . . .’
‘Four cups, please,’ Landis said to the man behind the stove, who nodded and turned to some sort of chrome and brass contraption that looked very similar to one I’d once seen in Landis’s house in Edinburgh. Landis turned back to Ji-yeong. ‘My dear girl, when it comes to military life, there are three things you’re always short of. Good intelligence, a hot meal and enough sleep. Whenever you have the chance to give your men the last two, you should take it.’
Ji-yeong looked around.
‘No, he’s not crazy,’ I told her. ‘If he’s let his men set up camp like this, it means we’re not due any attacks.’ I glanced at Landis. ‘At least not for a while?’
‘Not for a few hours, I’d expect. Thank you, Jamie.’ Landis accepted a steaming mug from the man behind the stove and blew on it before addressing us. ‘Sugar’s on the table there; do help yourselves. Even milk, God forbid. Well, as I was saying, we managed to bring the entire force through before the isolation ward activated and the gate collapsed. Our arrival triggered the alarms and their rapid-response force arrived in six minutes. By then we’d set up fire zones around the windmill, and the jinn and shadows were taken care of easily enough. The second wave was a little more troublesome, a mage by the name of Sagash. Acquaintance of yours, I believe?’
I sighed. ‘I’d been afraid of that.’
‘It did get rather sticky for a few minutes,’ Landis agreed. ‘A few bumps and bruises, but no fatalities, I’m happy to say.’
‘You fought off Sagash without anyone getting killed?’
‘We did have something of an advantage of numbers.’ Landis blew on his mug and took a gulp. ‘Tried to catch him, but he’s a slippery bugger. We’ve got pickets if he tries for an encore, but I rather suspect he’ll give us more respect next time.’
‘If Anne’s got Sagash, does that mean she knows everything about the castle defences?’ Luna asked.
‘Safe bet,’ I said. ‘Landis? What about the other force?’
‘Ah, yes,’ Landis said. ‘As they say, there is balance in all things. Director Nimbus, unfortunately, saw fit to delay his deployment while he attempted to verify your analysis. When he did send his force, it was a little late. The gate closed partway through.’
I swore. ‘How many—?’
‘Once through,’ Landis continued, ‘he took the remaining part of his force and attempted to follow the original attack plan. Unfortunately, this did rather attract attention and Miss Walker deployed the bulk of her forces against him. The fighting didn’t fully stop until ten minutes ago and I’m afraid it was rather bloody.’
‘How bad is it?’
‘Between dead, wounded, and those left behind, I’d estimate Nimbus’s force is down to around forty per cent strength. In light of this new development, the assault has been put on hold for the time being.’
‘On that subject,’ I said, ‘aren’t you supposed to be attacking?’
‘Absolutely!’ Landis said, waving his mug around. ‘According to the assault plan, established by no less an august presence than our very own Senior Council, all of us are driving on the keep at this very moment. Of course, that plan may not align perfectly with the current state of affairs as it might appear to us from our limited perspective here on the ground, but I have every confidence that the after-action reports will draw a veil over any such irregularities.’
Luna, Ji-yeong and I looked around. A collection of soldiers and Keepers from the Order of the Shield were listening in on the conversation with mugs of tea steaming in their hands. None of them looked as though they were about to go assaulting any keeps.
‘Well then!’ Landis said. ‘I really must go check on the pickets. Do have some of the sausages. Jamie is quite excellent at turning any rations you give him into a thoroughly pleasant meal. After all, what’s the point of extradimensional storage if you don’t get a good dinner out of it, eh?’ He clapped me on the shoulder and paused. ‘Oh, and Verus, I’d recommend giving Nimbus a little time to cool off. He isn’t in the best of moods right now and I rather suspect any conversation would turn out badly. Toodle-oo.’ Landis strode off. Two Keepers peeled off to follow him.
‘I’m going to talk to Tobias,’ Luna said. She walked over to the remaining Keepers.
Ji-yeong was staring after Landis. ‘That’s your captain?’
A nearby soldier laughed. ‘Stick around,’ I said. ‘You’ll see why they follow him.’
‘If you say so.’
‘He was the one who took on Sagash, miss,’ the soldier told Ji-yeong.
Ji-yeong looked startled. ‘He fought Sagash?’
‘Landis is one of the best battle mages I’ve ever seen,’ I told her. ‘And a good commander. Look around.’ I nodded at the soldiers and mages talking and laughing among themselves. ‘They just went through an attack, and they’re telling jokes.’
‘At least he’s confident . . .’
I sighed, my brief good humour fading. I took my mug of tea. He wasn’t, I sent to Ji-yeong through the dreamstone.
Ji-yeong gave me a surprised look.
Today was just the warm-up, I told her silently. A day from now, a good number of the people in this room are going to be dead. Get some sleep. Tomorrow will be bloody. I walked away without waiting for an answer.
9
Outside was dark and still. A blurry moon shone down through the haze, the castle battlements looming up all around. From up ahead I could hear the slow creak . . . creak . . . creak of the windmill.
I walked around the castle walls, my feet soft on the grass. The windmill was a hulking shadow in the gloom, its sails turning slowly in the sea breeze. Far below, the sea crashed against the rocks.
There was a man leaning against the windmill, invisible in the darkness. ‘Ozols, isn’t it?’ I said.
‘Ah, Verus, yes?’ Ozols sounded pleased. ‘Yes, yes.’
‘Brought you some tea,’ I said, walking up and handing him the mug. ‘All quiet?’
‘Yes, yes,’ Ozols said in his thick accent. ‘Those demons, they watch. No move.’
‘Jinn, not demons,’ I said with a yawn. ‘But close enough. I’ll be in the windmill.’
‘Inside is warmer,’ Ozols said with a chuckle. ‘I call if they attack, yes?’
‘Thanks, Ozols.’
‘Is no problem. Thank you for tea!’
I walked past Ozols into the windmill. The inside was pitch-black, lit only by stray moonbeams. I climbed the stairs until I came to an open room on the upper level. Windows opened up on all four walls, giving views onto the castle and out to sea.