“Hey, I'm not saying I'm ready to sneak out of the fortress and run off with you right this second, but I have a feeling about you, Ev. A good one. And we Nethren don't get good feelings, remember? So, I'm gonna follow these new instincts. I'll vid you again when I can. We'll see how things go. Maybe we'll end up fighting a lot, and this won't go anywhere.”
“Or maybe we'll end up betraying everything we know and love, just to be together.”
“Don't worry about it, Aethari. Nethren don't love. At least, not yet.” Mal winked and clicked off.
Evellor put his vidco in his pocket. “Oh, dear convergence, I'm going to get us both killed.” And yet, try as he might, he couldn't stop smiling.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Vor
Vor wished he were with Lena. Cracking his neck, he closed his eyes and sought calm. He was in a meeting room a door down from the command room, receiving reports from the soldiers who had infiltrated the Paradefense camp.
Vor set his stare on the man who'd been speaking. “They had drawings of the fortress?”
“Yes, Commander,” Private Crinlo said. “I'm sorry, I only got a glimpse before they caught me. They were drafts of the fortress that showed every room, corridor, and courtyard.”
“They built this fortress. I expect them to have renderings of it. But the information is of no use to me unless you saw their point of attack.”
“I saw a red mark on the map, but it was a mile away from the fortress.”
“A mile away?” Vor frowned and pushed the map they had of the area across the meeting table and toward the private. “Show me.”
Crinlo frowned at the map and tapped it. “Here, sir.”
Vor marked it with an X. “Perhaps they're planning on launching explosives from a distance for a surprise attack.” He turned to look at Lieutenant Greis, who had joined them. “Lieutenant, send some men to the back wall with farseers to search this area.” He tapped the map over the X.
“Yes, Commander.” Greis noted the coordinates.
“Anything else?” Vor looked around the table.
“I overheard people talking about a convergence,” Private Lovall said.
“Well, there are many Medeans there,” Greis said. “I expect they're working on several convergences.”
“No, wait.” Vor rubbed at his jaw as he stared at the map. “I assumed they were converging as well, but now that I'm thinking about it, they wouldn't bother with converging weapons. They're already armed.” He sat back and considered what he'd be converging if he were with Paradefense. “At the moment, their key problem is the ward. But as far as I know, there aren't any convergences that can break a ward. Wards would be irrelevant if there were.”
“So, perhaps they're converging a new war machine?” Greis suggested.
“Perhaps, but that doesn't feel right.” Vor looked at Private Lovall. “Do you have any idea what tent they're converging in?”
“No, Commander, but I was in the east section of the main part of their camp, just outside the gates, when I heard them speaking about it.”
“Tell me what they said—their exact words.”
Lovall frowned. “It was a woman's voice. She said, 'This fucking thing isn't converging.' I don't remember the rest exactly. There was a mention of frequency.”
“What needs to be done frequently with a convergence?” Greis asked.
“I don't know.” Vor frowned from the map to Greis. “Have the soldiers on front wall duty watch the camp for deliveries of strange components, odd noises, or unusual activity. Anything that could be a sign of converging.”
“Yes, Commander,” Greis added another note to his little book. Then he looked up. “Uh, sir, about your guest.”
“Yes?”
“You said we'd all get to meet her. When will that happen? I only ask because I have soldiers asking me.”
Everyone in the room focused on Vor.
