Traitor's Moon Read Free Page B

times.
    Sitting here now on a bench in front of the nameless inn, hat brimpulled down over his eyes, he considered the task ahead. Alec would listen to reason, but a whole troop of soldiers wouldn’t be enough if Seregil dug his heels in.
    â€œSir, sir!” a reedy voice called. “Wake up, sir. Your ship’s coming in!”
    Micum pushed his hat back and watched with amusement as his excitable lookout, a lad of ten, came scampering up the muddy street. It was the third such announcement of the day.
    â€œAre you sure it’s the right one this time?” he asked, then winced as he stood. Even after a day’s rest, the scarred muscles behind his right thigh ached more than he cared to admit. The wounds left on a man by a
dyrmagnos
went deep, even after the flesh healed.
    â€œLook, sir. You can see the banner,” the boy insisted. “Crossed swords under a crown on a green field, just like you said. There’s Queen’s Horse Guard aboard, all right.”
    Micum squinted out across the cove. A few years back, he wouldn’t have had to.
    Damn, I’m getting old!
    The boy was right this time, though. Taking up his walking stick, Micum followed him down to the shore.
    The ship dropped anchor in deep water and longboats were lowered. A small crowd had gathered already, chatting excitedly as they watched the soldiers row in.
    Micum grinned again as he caught sight of a redheaded officer standing in the prow of the lead boat. Old eyes or not, he knew his Beka when he saw her. She spotted him, too, and let out a happy whoop that echoed across the water.
    At a distance, it was easy to see the girl she’d been when she’d left home to join the regiment, all long legs and enthusiasm. From here, she looked too slight to bear the weight of chain mail and weapons, but he knew better. Beka had never been frail.
    As the longboat drew closer, however, the illusion dissolved. A mix of authority and ease emanated from her as she shared some joke with a tall rider standing just behind her.
    She has what she always wanted
, he thought with a rush of bittersweet pride. Just shy of twenty-two, she was a battle-scarred officer in one of Skala’s finest regiments, and one of the queen’s most daring raiders.
    It hadn’t given her airs, it seemed. She was out of the boat before it ground up on the shingle.
    â€œBy the Flame, it’s good to see you again!” she cried, throwing her arms around him, and for a moment it seemed that she wasn’t going to let go. When she did finally step back, her eyes were brightwith unshed tears. “How are Mother and the children? Is Watermead just the same?”
    â€œWe’re all just as you left us. I have letters for you. Illia’s is four pages long,” he said, noting new scars on her hands and arms. Freckles still peppered her face, but two years of hard fighting had sharpened her features, stripping away the last vestiges of childhood. “Captain is it?” he said, pointing at the new gorget.
    â€œIn name, at least. They gave me Wolf Squadron, then sent me and my turma home. You remember Sergeant Rhylin, don’t you?”
    â€œI always remember people who save my life,” Micum said, shaking hands with the tall man.
    â€œAs I recall, it was as much the other way ’round,” Rhylin replied. “You took on that dyrmagnos creature after Alec shot her. I don’t think any of us would be standing here if you hadn’t.”
    The comments drew curious stares from the bystanders and Micum quickly changed the subject.
    â€œI only count one decuria here. Where are the other two?” he asked, waving a hand at the ten riders who’d come ashore with them. He recognized Corporal Nikides and a few of the other men and women, but most were strangers, and young.
    â€œThe rest sailed with Klia. We’ll meet up with them later on,” Beka told him. “This lot should be enough to get us