Bastion

carefully shown no interest in you. I wonder why they think . . . ah, I have it.” He sighed, but did not elaborate. “Pity I will have to kill them.”
    “You already did, two of the three,” Mags told him. “Or you and I did.”
    Bey gripped his arm, and Mags stopped talking. This time the Sleepgivers were making no effort at all to hide their activities. Down came the men on the ropes that were already there. Once they all had gathered, they pulled something out of their belts, and there was a flare of fire. Mags scuttled across the cave to his place, as Bey took up his, and they waited.
    Except this time there were four of them. And the flare of fire meant that they came with crude torches.
    Well, that’s a complication. It was a complication they were prepared for, but this could end their ability to mount ambushes. Oh, well. We knew it was going to come to a straight fight sooner or later.
    He backed up, deeper into the shadow, and farther around the corner. There was a niche . . . he backed along the wall, feeling for it, until he found it, and pressed himself back into it. This was going to be tricky. And it wouldn’t be silent. With luck . . .
    Bey began to whimper and call in a thin voice that sounded uncannily distant. I have got to learn that trick! Mags thought, as the man nearest him turned away from him, and held out his torch in the direction of the sounds. Mags knew that was the only chance he was going to get.
    He launched himself at the man, and let Bey’s memory take over, because this was certainly nothing he had ever done in his life. But somehow . . . it worked. Somehow he managed to land a blow to the back of the man’s neck that stunned him, caught him, twisted his head viciously and broke his neck, and lowered him to the floor.
    All in the space of about a heartbeat.
    But the torch clattered to the ground, and the noise attracted the other three, who spun and saw him crouching over their fallen comrade. Without thinking, Mags whipped out his knife and threw it while he had a good and clear target. It slammed into the left eye of the one nearest him, and the assassin fell with a gurgle, while Mags was already sprinting for cover.
    He got out of reach of the torchlight and abruptly changed direction just in time to avoid the two knives thrown at him. One came close enough to graze his ear.
    Then he shoulder-rolled and avoided a third knife that clattered into the darkness next to him. He sprang up and onto his feet, reaching for his own knives. But there wasn’t anyone for him to hit; just four torches burning on the floor, and four bodies, one of which Bey was standing over.
    “Oh, my cousin,” Bey sighed softly into the sudden silence. “What a Sleepgiver you would make!”
    •   •   •
    Bey was disposing of the bodies again. The next assault would be a frontal one. As far as Mags could tell, none of the noise they’d made in the second ambush had gotten up to the top of the hill to warn the others, but after losing two teams, the Sleepgivers had to understand they’d been ambushed. There were now five of them, versus the five the Sleepgivers were aware of in the cave—but three of the five were women, and they knew that, and in their land, women were never taught to fight. So they would only expect resistance from Mags and Bear. And they wouldn’t expect a Companion.
    Mags took one of the torches to light his way to the others and met them at the barrier to explain all of this in person. Jakyr was lying on the bedding in the straw; the vanners were at the very back of the tunnel behind him. The rest came up to the barrier, huddled against it, eyes dark and solemn and in the case of Bear and Lena, a little frightened. Lita looked angry. Amily looked determined.
    “This is where we finish this,” he said. “Bey’s settin’ up the main cave for it. We can’t afford for any of ’em to get away.” He looked at Lita. “How’s your shootin’?”
    “In a cave by firelight? I’ll hit one of you,” she said with regret. “I was never that good when I was young, and my eyes are older now.”
    “Then you stay here and shoot anything that comes at the barrier that ain’t us.” Bear, he already knew was of no use, because of his weak eyes. Lena was no good with a bow. “Let’s get the firewood down and Dallen and Amily out.”
    He led the two of them back out into the main cave, where Bey was waiting. It was very nice to have Dallen at his back