Horde (Razorland #3)(94)

We lost sixteen soldiers that day.

For the sake of my men, I hid my despair over those deaths … and the increasing intelligence of our enemy. Because we were winning our fights, mostly, Company D’s spirits stayed fairly high as summer crept toward fall in a haze of multiple engagements. In the end, the scouts brought us dismal tidings as the days cooled again. The air was sweet with the scent of ripening apples; I had people in the trees, picking as many as they could carry. The last battle was two days behind us, and the men were ready to go again.

Sands delivered the worrisome news. “There’s movement in Appleton at last. I think the horde’s decided to engage.”

So while we fought like mad to hold our ground, they’d rested, fattened up, and tested our strength. Now they knew our strategies and were ready to crush us. And I was … out of ideas. I’d done everything I could think of to recruit enough men to face the monsters, and at the current count, we had slightly less than two hundred with recent losses. Even when Company D won, soldiers lost their lives.

“Then we have to pick the battlefield,” I said.

We set up camp by the river. We had come a fair ways west of Soldier’s Pond, and I checked the maps, locating landmarks we’d passed. Appleton lay to the southeast; if we marched toward the horde, there was forest we could use for cover, but it would be impossible to hide two hundred men as we’d done on a smaller scale. Therefore, that tactic wouldn’t work again. According to the routes, we were nearly to the Evergreen Isle. I tapped a finger against the paper, staring at it. There had to be a way to use the river against the horde.

Fade sat down beside me, looking as tired as I felt. Despite better provisions and good boots, life in the field took its toll, even in fair weather. He had to be tired of the lack of privacy and poor sanitary facilities, though men had it easier in a number of regards. Tully, Tegan, and I had complained more than once about how much more work it was for us while the male soldiers could urinate against a tree—and often did.

“Planning our next onslaught?” he asked with a half-smile.

There had been so little time to be with him … and I missed it. I ached from top to toes to be a girl as I had been in Salvation, all softness and smiles. For the first time in my life, I imagined hanging up my daggers in a place like Rosemere. I’d never seen it, but the way Morrow described it made me long to experience that peace for myself.

“I wish I could,” I said tiredly. I repeated what the scout had told me.

Fade laced our fingers together, and I remembered when that gesture required a mental pause. “You’ve done so much with relatively little.”

“It’s not enough. If we can’t break them, then it won’t matter what we’ve achieved.”

“Call the rest of the officers. Let’s figure it out over dinner.”

I bit back a sharp retort. There was no solution. The horde had too many for us to count, and even with our best fighters, they’d overwhelm us. I might be able to kill four or five, but the new men couldn’t. Once our boys started dying, others might break and run. So far, the battles had been against equal numbers, a tactic I suspected had been employed so the Freaks could inform their elders how we reacted. Or maybe their children. It made sense that young ones might be in power, devising strategies, while the elders served as grunts. If that was the case, then we could expect smarter countermoves in the future. This insight sank my spirits further.

But I couldn’t just ponder our inevitable defeat, so I invited the others to join us. They brought their stew, thickened with powdered hardtack, and gave us inquiring looks. In a few words, I shared all the details of the latest report. Part of me hoped they were smarter than me—Tegan definitely was … and probably Morrow; they might offer immediate suggestions.


Instead Morrow put down his plate and sighed. “Heroic stories aren’t supposed to end this way. The monsters never win.”

“No ideas?” Fade asked.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said.” I tilted my head at Morrow. “About how the Muties can’t swim. But I’m not sure how to use that.”

“We can’t fight in the river,” Tully said. “The current would drag us down too and make it hard to maneuver.”

“I wish there was a way to lure them into the water,” I muttered.

Spence grinned. “That would be a fantastic trick. But I don’t know if the river is big enough to drown that many monsters.”

“It would need to be the ocean,” Fade said.

“Somehow I doubt you’ll get the Muties to go along,” Tegan said.

Thornton had been quiet all this time. When he finally spoke, I hoped it meant he had something serious to contribute, as he wasn’t known for wasting words. “You might be onto something with that idea.”

“Drowning them?” I asked, doubtful.

“If we retreat to the big river to the west, we can fight with the water at our back. That means they can’t circle around behind us and if need be, we can swim for the island when they hit us in force.” He cut a look at Morrow, asking, “Would Rosemere welcome us? I know how your father feels about getting involved with outside affairs, but he’s never been known for turning away travelers.”

“Two hundred men is more than a few visitors,” Morrow said quietly.