1
Mave
Mave fidgeted uncomfortably, wondering when she would see their target. Lying in wait was a bore but necessary when she was part of an ambush party. Months of planning came down to this moment. If the information was good, they would have their first successful mission since she and Alchan cooked up the insane idea of starting a full rebellion against the Empire.
She didn’t have any doubt the information was good. Nothing Leshaun ever told them was bad, though sometimes it was a little off. That was something she learned to take in stride—apparently, no spy was perfect.
Matesh ran a hand down her back slowly, encouraging her to calm down, but Mave had been waiting for this moment for weeks. It was finally time to see it through and push forward with the rebellion. Without this, they were dead in the water and would have to talk about getting back to Olost, back to relative safety.
It was midafternoon when she caught the first glimpse of soldiers coming around the bend toward their tree line. Her hands twitched with pent-up energy, ready to unsheathe her swords and attack. The gentle hand on her back became a tight grip on her shoulder.
Soon. I just need to wait for them to pass me. Once I see the caravan stop, that’s my signal. That’s when I lead the attack from behind.
Lead—she hated the word. She wasn’t one to lead, didn’t like helping come up with plans. She could see them executed, but she liked the idea of being one of many, not one over many.
Too bad I’m too dominant to be allowed that. No, I just had to refuse to put my eyes down, didn’t I?
The caravan moved slowly. She counted the soldiers as best she could from her position, as they passed, unaware and at ease. This was going to be a slaughter. Three large carriages, made of steel and wood, were at the center of the caravan. Those were the objective. The soldiers could live or die for all anyone cared, but they had to get those carriages.
Mave tensed as the caravan slowed but didn’t stop. After a few moments, the entire thing passed her, and she was looking at it from behind.
Then there was shouting, and everyone stopped. Soldiers bumped into each other, cursing as something held up their slow march south to Elliar.
“Now!” Mave roared, not wanting to give the soldiers any time to collect themselves before the attack. She rushed through the underbrush, drawing her blades. The first three soldiers she dropped had no idea the Andinna were there. The fourth and fifth were scrambling to draw their weapons. The sixth was holding his sword but not yet truly understanding what was happening. Battle cries and roars filled the once silent road and forest as the Andinna cut quick paths through the Elvasi.
“Secure the carriages!” an Elvasi screamed. “Get them out of here! Move, men!”
She turned to the man on horseback and growled, throwing a sword at him. Her blade went into his back as two arrows went into his chest. As he fell from the horse, she caught a glimpse of Varon nocking another arrow as he stood on top of one of the carriages. Nevyn stood next to him, kicking off an Elvasi trying to climb up for them.
Grinning, she turned back to the combat and realized her group was keeping the Elvasi busy enough for her to check the first carriage and free the hostages. She hauled ass to the back carriage and cut through the locks with her sword. Swinging the door open, she saw human and half-Elvasi men she recognized, both young and old.
“Get moving, sailors!” she ordered. “Get into the woods and wait for us there! I don’t have time to stand around and wait on your lazy asses!”
“Yes, ma’am!” one yelled and led the rest to pile out of the carriage. One dared to smile at her as he jumped out. They all looked bruised and beaten, thin from starvation, but she made it a point to talk to them as if nothing was wrong. A little light teasing in the middle of a rescue, she had been told by Nevyn, never hurt anyone.
She watched to make sure they made it into the woods with no followers and ran for the next carriage, ducking through fighting to get there. She would have rather put all her attention into killing every soldier she could, but there were still people who desperately needed her.
At the second carriage, she ran into Nevyn, who jumped down to help her.
“The fighting won’t last long. We’ve already seen some Elvasi jump on horses and get the fuck out of here. Our hit on the front was strong.”
“Has anyone opened the front carriage?” she asked quickly as she worked on the lock of the one in front of her.
“Alchan’s on it,” he explained. Finally, they were able to work it open and ushered everyone out. Mave patted the shoulders of the three dwarves there but didn’t have time to see which ones they were. She knew losses were sustained when the ship went down. More were lost during their captures, but it was still painful to see only three dwarves. She hoped there were more in the last carriage. There was no way to find out until they were done with the ambush.
As their rescued friends ran into the woods, some Elvasi got an idea of what was going on. Mave and Nevyn ran with their injured friends and defended. Mave blocked one particularly nasty axe swing, feeling the power behind it nearly pop her shoulder out of place. With a snarl, she kicked the soldier responsible, disarmed, then gutted him.
She didn’t have time to watch this batch of free prisoners disappear into the woods. She was busy with another Elvasi. She had thought they were all too busy. If some now had time to come after her, that meant someone had gone down, or the soldier was looking for an easier target. The Elvasi outnumbered them, so it would make sense a soldier who was free would go for an Andinna who wasn’t being stopped.
She fought next to Nevyn, matching each other’s speed as they cut through the few Elvasi that had come for them. Arrow after arrow came down on the group. Mave was grateful for the perfect aim of the mute because some cut very close to her and hit the Elvasi she was fighting. The fighting lulled for a moment, and she took the chance to breathe. Right as she started moving to engage another Elvasi soldier, a roar could be heard over the fighting, one different from the standard battle cry of the Andinna. This was victorious.
“We’re ready to move out!” Alchan yelled over the fighting. “Finish up! Elvasi, now’s your chance to run!”
Mave nearly laughed, and Nevyn did as several soldiers ran as the Andinna backed off. Cheering started up as they let the soldiers run for it. Their goal hadn’t been to kill as many of the Elvasi as they could; that was just a bonus. They wanted Elvasi spreading the word about their deeds. Eventually, the whispers of their activities would reach ears that needed to hear them.
As she turned toward the woods, seeing those they just freed walk back out, she knew those whispers would give hope to the ones still waiting on them. That was the entire point of rebellion.
She didn’t cheer with the rest of the warriors, though. She found Matesh and kissed him, glad to see he came out of another battle unscathed. After him, she found Zayden and looked over the male so she could report to Rainev if she saw the young male first. The father’s face turned red as he realized what she was doing, but something kept him from saying anything.
“Good, neither of you is hurt. I’m going to find Alchan. Get the warriors into the woods and begin heading back to camp with as many of the rescues as you can,” she ordered, following the predetermined plan.