Chapter 25
When the attack came, it was so perfectly ill-timed that I knew we were being observed. Myta and I were exhausted from the effort to expand her spirit body. Myta was not the only fighter we had, but she was far and away the best. Alarm horns roused the camp at least, sonwe hadn't been caught entirely unawares. I stumbled to my feet in Tarun's household shrine, completely naked, and reeking of sex. My vas didn't even stir, so exhausted that even the bellowing horns and the early screams from outside couldn't wake her.
I was exhausted myself, but at least I still had some mana remaining. Myta was terribly vulnerable, and I was loathe to leave her. But the enemy were likely to have a sorcerer with them, and no one else in the camp was prepared to face off against one.
*Peace, veth. I will tend to this.* Ket uncurled herself from where she lay at near the entrance of the room. *Fighting for you is not part of my task, but I will not let such disrespect for the ceremony of becoming to pass. You may repay me later, by showing me how to track these vermin.*
With that, the spirit was gone. Settling back down, I opened my spiritual eye as wide as I could. While I didn't know Ket's true capabilities, she had felt supremely confident, and my precious flame still needed protecting. Even aside from her exhaustion and depleted mana reserves, her newly formed anima was still weak, and soft.
Ket was a blur to my spiritual sight. I had known that she carried some aspect of blood, but now she was shrouded in shadow, or mystery. Her concealment was not as complete as that of a ward, but tracking her was not too different than following the wake of one. She was more of a moving distortion than a presence. I felt the sorcerer I'd expected as well. I was certain they were the one who has assaulted Myta in Nesratin. Their sprit still carried the marks of my attack, their lancet had been cut away completely, to allow them to heal the wound. My attack against them had been filled with rage and killing intent, and they must not have been skilled enough to cleanse the wound. I took a grim satisfaction in knowing they'd had to maim themselves to survive.
All around the estate, I could sense that enemies had tried to move through the perimeter, but their scout had apparently underestimated the effectiveness of our traps. The spirits of many men were surging with pain and fear, and I could sense the caustic fire essence of the demon brambles affecting the majority of those. Our flanks were safe, for the time being at least. There was a real combat taking place on the entrance road, however. I couldn't tell much about how it was going, none of those who were fighting had distinctive enough spirits for me to identify them. As the battle continued, it stirred up the local mana, filling the area with swirling clouds of anger, pain, and fear aspected mana. Obscuring the battlefield further.
That wasn't where I wanted to focus in any case. Ket slipped around the battle, making her way straight toward the enemy sorcerer. Chances were they had mundane guards, but if so their presence was overshadowed by the oily aura of the more dangerous opponent. They had a fairly well developed spirit, or at least a fairly substantial one. The clarity and strength of their anima left much to be desired. All the better for us.
I expected Ket to project her mana, perhaps rend the enemy with projections of blood. It would be difficult without a physical focus, but if there were guards as I suspected, then drawing the first drop of blood would be easy enough. Instead, I was able to witness something I had never seen before. The leopard spirit gathered up all her presence to her skin, somehow infusing the extra mana into the anima that defined her shape. It became so dense, so heavy, that it warped the natural mana of the forest around it, drawing it in like a whirlpool. I took a moment to understand what had happened. Ket had incarnated.
Now physical, the cat burst into action, confirming my assumption of guards by pulling one off into the woods. I was sure these warriors had weapons of the same quality as we had looted, weapons capable of harming a spirit, but from what I saw this one never had a chance to use them. Ket dragged them into the wood, and took far too much time in killing them. She absorbed all the essence of blood, and fear, that was produced. Restoring whatever strength she had used to manifest. My throat went dry, and I struggled for a moment to swallow. Ket was able to harvest mana from another's death. She was a reaper, which meant she was even more dangerous than I'd given her credit for.
She pulled a few more guards away, drawing each into the woods in turn. I had the distinct impression that she was playing with them, which was only to be expected, she was a cat, after all. The sorcerer tried to flee, and the spirit gave chase, clearly drawing out the hunt. Eventually they passed beyond my spiritual sense, and I turned my attention back to the estate.
It was still difficult for me to determine how the battle on the road was faring. But I could tell that Tarun had joined the conflict, rallying his guards. My familiarity with him allowed me to pick out his spirit. His mana was calm and controlled, though that didn't tell me much. Despite his relatively casual demeanor, the captain had a will of iron. I doubted I'd sense much distress from him before the battle was hopelessly lost. What I did learn was that most of the enemy who had been encircling out perimeter had given up. They seemed to be heading back toward the road. I took that as a good sign. The entranceway front seemed to have nearly the same number of combatants, and I felt that if our side had lost enough men for that math to work out, we would already have been overrun. I could sense our wounded inside the camp, clearly those who had borne the brunt of the initial assault, sent to recover when more of our fighters were roused from their slumber. I wanted to go and provide care, but there was a more pressing concern.
Not all of the enemy had abandoned our perimeter defenses. A group was gathering on the far side of our camp, opposite the road. They had managed to make their way through the demon bramble, and our sentries should locate the group soon. I wasn't inclined to wait, however. The intruding force was too close to my location, and Myta too vulnerable. If the enemy had been waiting to attack until now, then she and I were likely the primary targets. Tarun's home had a back entrance off the kitchen, and I made my way there swiftly. Short of there being a sorcerer deeply skilled in stealth with them, I could handle this group myself.
The kitchen was redolent with spices. Tarun didn't maintain a large staff, but he prioritized his food. The scent of turmeric hung heavy in the air tonight, and I had to suppress a sneeze as I passed through. The back courtyard was airy and clean, so I took a few precious moments to clear my sinuses. I was no master of stealth, but even I knew that sniffling in the darkness would give away my approach. The back gate was latched, and rather than open it and risk a screech of its hinges, I went over the wall. Even the least physical of sorcerers benefited from an enhanced physique, and the wall was only a few feet taller than my head, so I was able to ascend with little difficulty.
I made my way across the yard, light enough on my feet to avoid stumbling in the dark. I was no spirit, to guide myself by mana alone. Even so, a sliver of moonlight gave me just enough light to manage, The area just around the building had a broad yard of cleared space, no doubt to hinder nighttime skulkers. Probably wise, but I deeply regretted Tarun's tendency toward security right now.
Refocusing on my spiritual sight, my heart leapt to my throat. I had hoped the infiltration party might head toward the battle, to flank Tarun's forces. Instead they had moved toward the house, toward the back entrance. They were practically on top of me, and only luck, and the fact that they were also seeking to avoid attention, had prevented me from running straight into them. I raced toward the other side of the courtyard, trying to put the curving wall between us. Every step I took seemed thunderous in my ears, but I didn't stumble.
In moments the enemy were at the back gate. This close, I could see their spirits distinctly. A half-dozen soldiers, none of them with any great spiritual strength. They were professional, however, immediately beginning to help one another over the wall after confirming that the gate was closed and latched. I edged closer to them, trying to keep the arc of the wall between us, while extending my lancet.
For me the lancet was a tool of healing, but I had never been blind to its potential as a weapon. Over the years, I had extended the meridian it was attached to, a long and painful process that gave it a reach of about thrice my own height. Not quite enough to reach the enemy without coming into sight of them. But enough to keep me mostly concealed at least. I targeted the man being boosted over the wall first, and the whisper thin blade shot forward like a striking cobra, splitting his root. The man fell, trying to muffle his cry of pain, legs suddenly unsteady.
