The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

Kun had looked at her all the while with a surprised smile on his face. Now he cocked his head. “We are well aware of the situation, Sergeant,” he said. “Your offer is appreciated, but unnecessary. Lieutenant Zhou will lead the search for the Shades’ trail.”

“You should use Albern’s talents as well, ser,” said Mag.

“Sergeant!” said Tou. “Return to your unit and—”

“That is all right, Lieutenant,” said Kun, raising a hand. As Tou subsided, Kun looked upon Mag again. “You have some personal stake in this, Sergeant. And you know how I value honesty. Tell me why this means so much to you.”

“A weremage marches with the Shades,” said Mag at once. “She killed my husband.”

“Mag!” I said, more in shock than dismay. It was no business of mine what she did with the truth, but she had withheld it on our road so far.

“She and her fellows invaded Northwood,” Mag went on. “She murdered him in front of my eyes. I have been hunting her ever since. Truth be told, Captain, I joined you in hopes that you would come into conflict with her, and now you have. She is almost within my grasp, yet I can feel her slipping away.”

Kun never took his eyes from her. His lips twitched, and I could see heavy thoughts behind his eyes. Then, at last, he spoke.

“Killing the weremage will accomplish little in the war for Underrealm,” he said. “She is an asset of the enemy, yes, and a powerful one. But only one. Meanwhile, you, Sergeant Telfer, and Sergeant Baolan are three highly trained and invaluable officers in our war effort. Risking the three of you to locate the enemy is unacceptable. If you have any skilled trackers in your squadron, I might consider sending them, if you propose it to your lieutenant first.”

“Captain—” said Mag.

“No, Sergeant,” barked Tou, stepping in front of the captain. “You have pushed things quite far enough already. Your captain has given you a command. He has even deigned to explain his reasoning behind it, which you are not owed. Turn and march back to your unit now, or you will face discipline.”

I had never seen the lieutenant so angry. Mag looked as if she wanted to argue more, but she subsided. Kun’s expression was firm, but I saw pity in his eyes. If I am being honest, I agreed with his decision. An army is nothing if it lacks unity, and soldiers cannot be running off to settle personal vendettas.

Gently I put a hand on Mag’s arm. “Come.”

She turned without looking at me and stalked back to the tents. I waited a moment more, bowing my head to Tou.

“Apologies, Lieutenant. She … It happened very quickly.”

His nostrils flared, but he did give me a brief, sharp nod. I took that as the best sign I was going to get, and together with Yue, I followed Mag back to our tents at the heads of our squadrons.

“How did it go?” said Dryleaf.

“Not well,” I answered him. “The captain was not amenable to Mag’s decision.”

“And is that the end of it?” said Dryleaf.

“Not on your life,” said Mag firmly.

Yue frowned. “What do you mean? The captain gave his order.”

“I am going out anyway,” said Mag.

“You cannot be serious,” said Yue. “After he told you no?”

Mag looked at me. “Albern? What do you say?”

I hesitated. “I … I am not sure, Mag. We asked the captain. Why do that, if you meant to disobey?”

“Because I thought he would say yes, of course,” said Mag. “And he should have, because I am right. Your skills are wasted sitting here in camp. He says we three are too ‘valuable’ to lose. Well, what good is value if he does not use it?”

“Yet if he sends us out alone, and we do not return,” countered Yue, “then we are worth nothing in the next fight. I understand your frustration, Mag. But I understand the captain as well, and you must do the same. He is our superior officer. We are soldiers.”

“I left the mercenary life for a reason,” said Mag. She turned from Yue to me. “I want to go after her, Albern, and I need you to come with me.”

Slowly I shook my head. Rarely have I felt more torn. “Mag. Kun said …”

“And since when do we care what others tell us?” said Mag. She nodded at Yue. “Yue tried to tell us what to do in Lan Shui. We disobeyed, and we saved the town.”

“This is not Lan Shui,” said Yue.

Mag shrugged. “Yue, you are an honorable woman and a dark-damned good fighter. But if you had had your way, Lan Shui would now be empty of everything but vampires and corpses. I do not mean that as an insult. You did what you thought was right. But we had knowledge you did not. That is exactly what we face now. We know better than the captain, not through any fault of his own, other than mayhap not enough trust in us.”

“He does not trust you enough, and so you mean to betray his trust even further?” said Yue. “How do you think that will help anything?”

Mag, however, kept her gaze on me. “If you worry about us shirking our duty, we do not have to. We are mercenaries. Let us resign.”

“We agreed to see this campaign through,” I said. “Kun would brand us as deserters and outlaws. He would have no choice—imagine if everyone in this force thought they could simply turn tail for home after a bad day. If we wish to leave when we return to Taitou or reach another city for resupply, that is one thing. But we cannot abandon our contract out here in the wilderness when another battle could be just around the corner.”

I do not mind admitting that Mag was frightening me. I knew she was angry—I could feel the fury emanating from her—but she did not yell, nor did she even scowl.