Angel of Storms (Millennium's Rule, #2)(101)

Tyen nodded. “You did the right thing.”

“The neighbours wanted to know what to do with the bodies. I told them to burn or bury them. They were in no state to take back to their homes.”

Volk frowned and Hapre’s mouth thinned, but neither of the generals voiced their unhappiness at the decision.

“That, too, was the safest option,” Tyen reassured Brev. “We all know there’s little chance we will be buried at home, following the rites of our peoples.” His heart sank a little further. He might not have been able to save Yira, but at least he’d got her remains to her home.

“Are you sure you were not followed?” Volk asked.

“As sure as any can be.” Brev’s eyes darted into the shadows of the room. “I took all the steps, all the precautions.”

“Thank you,” Tyen told him. “You may go.”

Brev took a step back, then hesitated. “Are we going to move to another world again?”

Tyen glanced at the generals. “We’re about to work that out.”

The man grimaced in apology, then hurried out of the room. When the door had closed behind him, Tyen scanned the minds in and around the building and found none occupied in mind reading. He turned to the two generals.

“What do you think?”

“We should leave,” Hapre said without hesitation.

Volk chewed the inside of his cheek as he considered his answer. As the man’s pause lengthened, Hapre began drumming her fingers lightly against her thigh. The big man always thought over his answers carefully before speaking, which the other generals found annoying even as they appreciated that it was a good habit, especially as Volk dealt with all the intricate matters of rebel security.

“It could be exactly what the allies want us to do,” Volk said at last. “They may have found the world we’re hiding in, but they don’t know all the places we are located in here. Rather than waste time seeking us out, all they need to do is scare us into fleeing, watch the well-used paths to the next worlds and attack anybody that leaves.”

“Then we don’t take the well-used paths,” Hapre said. “The allies can’t stay in the place between worlds. They’ll have to wait at the arrival places those paths lead to. We can make new paths and avoid them.”

It was Tyen’s turn to frown. “I’m almost certain that the allies have a way of breathing between worlds, or simply don’t need to. During the battle Preketai considered taking Yira between worlds and holding her there until she suffocated.” His voice caught and he paused to swallow before continuing. “He did not plan to take a deeper breath, or believe he could hold his longer than she could. He just considered it something that he could do.” He looked up to find the pair staring at him in amazement and horror.

“You saw into his mind,” Volk said, shaking his head. “Your strength never stops surprising me, Tyen.”

Hapre grimaced in sympathy. “That must have been a hard thing to see.”

“Yes.” Volk looked at his counterpart again. “This means we truly can’t risk leaving right now.”

She shook her head. “But we can’t stay. They’ll hunt us down, group by group. We must scatter, each group forging new paths out of this world. Some will be caught, but most of us will get away since there aren’t enough allies, as far as we know, to stop all of us.”

“The first to leave will be the most likely to die,” Tyen pointed out.

“Someone has to be first.” Her eyes were hard. “We’ll call for volunteers to lead the allies away.”

“Or we lead ourselves, since we are the strongest,” Volk suggested.

“No. It means those who hold the most valuable information will be at greatest risk of capture.”

Tyen shook his head. “It would be better if we all left at the same time. I agree with Volk that they’re probably expecting us to flee. But we can’t stay, either. They will hunt us down if we do. We need to wait until they believe we’ve decided to stay, then, when they enter this world to look for us, leave all at once. That’s when we’ll have our best chance of evading them. In the meantime, we should set up fake hiding places to draw their attention first and alert us to when they’ve entered this world.” Tyen looked from one general to the other. “What do you think?”

The pair nodded, both thinking it was a reasonable plan. “We should consult Frell,” Hapre said.

Volk shrugged, resisting the temptation to tease her over the romance that had begun between the pair, which was a habit Hapre did not find amusing. Even so, Hapre’s eyes narrowed as she saw his expression and guessed what he was thinking. Tyen drew in a breath to speak before the two could begin antagonising each other openly.

He let it out in a sigh as a knock interrupted him. The thoughts of the messenger behind the door told Tyen what he’d come for.

“Frell wants me to meet one of the new recruits,” he told the generals. “Since he is already expecting me, I will go and warn him of the situation at the same time.”

“I’ll begin setting up the fake hiding places,” Volk said. “I have a few locations in mind. Ones we abandoned because they weren’t secure enough, or we discovered the locals are untrustworthy.”

“And I’ll tell the other groups what happened and warn them to be careful and ready to leave,” Hapre added.