Free Balestone by Toby Neighbors

guilt at berating the servant. He was noble-born, and she was a lowly cook. He trusted that keeping the servants busy during such a trying time was kinder than letting them wallow in despair.
    “My lord,” the servant said in a fearful voice as she returned. “I have cold chicken, but nothing more. The king has had the fires put out of the ovens, and there are soldiers guarding the spirits.”
    Leonosis wanted to spew more venom at the servant but he knew it was a waste of time. The poor woman was terrified. He waved at her to follow him and then walked briskly through the kitchens toward the great storerooms, where food from the other eight cities was stored. The citadel did not produce its own food or wine; the other cities sent taxes of food, wine, and precious materials to the King. Leonosis knew there were long storerooms full of ale and wine, enough to last the entire castle for years if the shipments suddenly stopped.
    There were two guards standing in front of the door that led to the nearest storeroom. Leonosis didn’t bother to speak. He walked briskly up to the first soldier and kicked him hard between the legs. The soldier stared in disbelief as his partner fell to the floor in agony. Leonosis had snatched away the long spear that the soldier had been holding, and with one quick, efficient stroke, smashed the butt end of the weapon into the other soldier’s temple.
    “Now drag them out of the way and fetch me some wine!” Leonosis shouted.

Chapter 8
    Rafe
    His strength improved throughout the day. He stretched out in the back of the wagon after a lunch that consisted of water. He woke two hours later, hungry and ready for a fight. They had kept the wagon moving all day, circling wide around the camp, just beyond sight of the sentries Bu’yorgi had posted.
    It was an hour before sunset when they finally stopped. Tiberius left Lexi and Olyva with the wagon, while Tiberius and Rafe slowly moved toward the camp. The entire band of raiders were watching for Tiberius and his companions to return from the other direction, so no one saw the two men walking slowly toward the Hoskali encampment. Tiberius had cast a spell of concealment over them as a precaution, but from what Rafe could see, it was unnecessary. They were just inside the camp when night fell. There was a moment of deep gloom that quickly turned to total darkness. Fires were kindled and watches set. The Hoskali were accustomed to night raids. The darkness of the blighted lands allowed the nomadic people to approach other camps unseen, where they would otherwise be spotted from a long distance across the empty prairie in daylight.
    Rafe wanted to attack the raiders, but Tiberius insisted that they wait. Rafe was well on the road to recovery but he had to admit that even at full strength he wasn’t a match for forty men.
    “How long do we wait?” Rafe asked.
    “A few hours, maybe more.”
    “Can’t you cast your spell now?”
    “Yes,” Tiberius said. “But it takes a few moments for people to fall asleep, and the whole band is spread out. Some would be bound to notice that the raiders were falling asleep early and raise the alarm.”
    “Let them raise it,” Rafe said. “I’d rather crack skulls than sit idle for hours.”
    “You need the rest.”
    “And you don’t?”
    “Yes,” Tiberius said. “So that’s another reason to wait.”
    “You drive me crazy, Ti.”
    “Look, we know what we have to do. There’s no sense in speeding it along.”
    “What if your plan doesn’t work?”
    “It will.”
    “And if the Hoskali refuse to kill them?”
    “That’s their business.”
    “It’ll be ours if they come back,” Rafe warned. “You can’t always forgive your enemies.”
    “I agree, but I won’t slaughter them in their sleep, and we can’t pick them off a few at a time.”
    “One big spell and you could wipe them all out.”
    “I won’t do it,” Tiberius said. “We couldn’t guarantee that we killed them all and we