“A superficial knife wound to the ribs, which has stopped bleeding. His armor did a good job there,” Vandler called. “It’s the blow to the head that is serious. Geit needs to return to the Collective.”
Perro and Marla looked at each other.
“If you will agree, my second here will accompany the wounded man and the body of our comrade back to our base,” Batanya said. She felt Clovache’s muscles jump in protest. Clovache would not feel right leaving her here.
“No,” Perro said, for his mother. “The other woman warrior must stay, but you can... send... the body of the dead woman and this soldier.”
“I agree,” said Clovache before Batanya could ask her. “Let me get Geit and Simone home, and I will stay with my leader.”
Marla nodded. “Then you three must return to our village to meet our chief, Hannuman.”
“Hannuman?” Vandler was clearly astounded. “Really?”
He turned his back on the tribesmen to tell Batanya, “Hannuman is the only mage who has simply vanished. Quite a legend in our world.”
Only among the mages, apparently.
Batanya made acome ongesture with her fingers.
“He was the nastiest son of a bitch who ever walked the halls of the Collective, and then one day he vanished when he’d been detailed to come here with a mining party from Sentra. Hannuman was a metals mage. The Sentrans didn’t want to pay for a rescue attempt, and Hannuman’s beacon did not start sending. No one heard from him again. That’s what the older mages tell us.”
“Presumably it was he who set off the beacon?” Batanya washelping Clovache raise Geit to his feet. Geit barely knew where he was, though he recognized Clovache and leaned against her. He was having trouble making his muscles obey his will. The blow to his head had been serious.
What if Perro and Marla changed their minds? Geit would die. “I’m going to help my soldier get this man back to the body of our sister,” Batanya said, loud enough that the attackers’ party could hear her. “I will return as soon as they are gone.”
“No,” Marla said instantly. “If you two leave with your wounded, what’s to stop your people from sending even more soldiers here?”
A very good point, since that was exactly what Batanya would have done if Vandler hadn’t been with them.
“I will send Geit and the body of our sister back to the base,” Clovache called. “Batanya and the mage will stay here. I’ll return. You have my word.”
“This man will go with you to make sure you comply,” Perro called. The boy and not his mother, Batanya noticed with interest, waved a big man with a club forward. “He doesn’t speak your language, so don’t think you can talk him into anything else.”
That’s a boy who’s used to being deceived, Batanya thought.
“I accept,” Clovache called. “Let’s get moving.”
Marla gave the big man an order in their language. He dropped his club and came forward. These people were not trained or dedicated warriors. The big man seemed so eager to help that Batanya immediately knew he was the one who’d hit Geit in the head.
Between them, the Coturigan and Clovache managed to steer Geit in the right direction. Geit made an effort to help, but he had no control over his body.
Just in case Marla had said in Coturigan, “Big Guy, kill them when you’re out of sight,” Batanya waited on the alert, a spear in one hand and the paraton in the other. Vandler seemedunconcerned, and he and Perro looked at each other with unabashed curiosity.
In less than four minutes, Clovache and the big man returned. Clovache said, “Done, First.”
Batanya felt a wave of relief. Geit’s survival was out of her hands now. She spared a moment to wonder what was being made of the return of an injured merc and a dead merc, with no sign of the three who had gone to look for them.
Any response from the Collective would take longer since she and Clovache had acted so hastily in forcing Vandler to bring them here.
Marla talked to the war party in their own language for a minute. As a result, the largest men stayed to carry the bodies, while the wounded gathered behind the Britlingens.
Marla looked at Batanya and said, “Come.”
The Britlingens walked for a while in silence, careful to follow in the footsteps of the people before them. Something large thrashed around in the boggy water just out of sight. Marla said something to Perro and smiled at him, but the boy kept his grim face on. “We hardly knew how to use magic before Hannuman taught us,” Marla said to Batanya, looking back at her.
“Hmmm.” Batanya didn’t think this was idle history. “And you learned our language from Hannuman.” She sped up a little, hoping for a conversation.
“Yes. He was sure the Keechobish would return for him.”
