The Courier’s Collection

Chapter 19

19

LADI GLANCED AROUND THE room one last time, looking for anything she might have forgotten. Her bag felt light on her back as she mentally rechecked the contents. She’d packed a pulse, her hand tools to open collars, and items that might help on her trek through the woods. She placed a note on the bed, folded in half.

Rasha would be angry. The others probably would be, too. They still looked at her like a rebellious little girl. They didn’t understand that this could end the war. Why didn’t they at least want to try? Her life for the lives of thousands, if it came to that. Wasn’t that exactly what Lu would have done?

The guards patrolled at regular intervals. She listened at the door, and their heavy boots marched by ten minutes ago. She slipped out her room and into the deserted corridor. Being on the main level afforded her easy access to the grounds.

She sucked in a breath of cold air when the winds hit her face. Her feet crunched on the icy ground as she made her way to the north wall. The archers would be the hardest to avoid. She had to creep along behind the trees and bushes, then, when she was clear, broke into a run. She readjusted the bag on her back. When she cleared the palace grounds, she’d have to keep up a steady pace to reach the encampment by morning.

A high-pitched whine came from the trees just to her left. Temi poked his head out of the bushes before his body followed, placing himself directly in her path.

“I’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

His head tilted to the side and he snorted as if he didn’t believe her.

“What do you know? I’m going to do something more than sit in this palace waiting for the war to end.”

He whined again as she turned to go.

Ladi turned to Temi and reached out her hand, stroking his soft head. The Tero-Joro had a strong connection to small beasties that lived on their lands. Ladi herself often found it easy to connect with them. Maybe that was the real reason she needed to go. Either way, she was even more determined when she faced the wall again.

“Take care of the others,” she said over her shoulder. Then she hauled herself up and over using the thick vines growing up the wall.

When she dropped on the other side, her enhanced vision and hearing kicked in. Being from Tero-Joro did have its advantages at times, like when traveling in the woods at night. Ordinary night sounds, insects and rustling leaves were all she could hear. No sign of anything worse ahead.

Ladi plowed through the forest, making her own path toward the coordinates. It would take her several hours to get there. She continued zigzagging through the dense trees. The distinct reek of contained animals reached her nose long before she reached the designated location. She wondered that everyone in the realm didn’t have their position. Their smell permeated the air and everything around them.

Ladi swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. The stench burned her nostrils. She found a good place to watch and settled in. She could see a multitude of cages within an enclosure that spanned thousands of feet. She couldn’t see the end of the maze of metal fencing from her hiding place. Most of the animals were locked into individual cages. Only a few held more than one beast. Some of the larger beasts looked too big for their cages. Ladi climbed a nearby tree to watch the animals and wait for an opportunity.

She peered intently, trying to count the ones wearing collars.

She wasn’t surprised to see beasts wandering the main encampment. These had to be the beasts that were with the bird-men. That meant all beasts in cages were there against their will. She should go back and tell the others what she’d discovered. With reinforcements, it would be easy to free the beasts and turn them against the bird-men and bull-men.

She knew that she should only do reconnaissance. Ladi thought about it, but going back and having Rasha tell her no again would only infuriate her. No, she wasn’t going back without results. She’d stay, and maybe figure out how to communicate with them. Any advantage might help them. She told herself she wanted this for Lu. Maybe his death would mean something. If it got her commissioned as a courier with field status, that wouldn’t be so bad either.

Ladi remembered the look on her father’s face when she left their home. He and her mother seemed so defeated. They expected her to become a criminal mastermind and ruin their lives. Wouldn’t they be surprised? She’d only ever done those other things because she’d been restless. Bored and broke to put it more simply. Each risky job made her easy money and cured her boredom for a time.

This mission didn’t bring in easy money or kill the monotony. She needed to do this. Ladi wouldn’t sit on the sidelines and let Ebere and the others take all the credit for saving the kingdom. She wanted her place in it.

Now the hard part: not getting caught.