"They're charging!" One of the wizards shouted. We'd already killed hundreds, but even I could see that some of Arvil's wizards were poor shots. They could see the enemy; they just couldn't hit them. That left holes in our defense. If we'd had Bel and the others there, we wouldn't be having this trouble. We didn't have Bel—Delvin had lied to his friends and now worked for the enemy.
My rifle emptied just as the spawn were about to hit us. Cruel-mouth raised his hands to send out blasts, but even I knew that was useless. Arvil was screaming for someone to get him out of there when I used the butt of my rifle to knock the spawn back that seemed determined to get to Arvil San Gerxon. I kicked the next one and punched another in the face before a fresh rifle was tossed to me. I started shooting just as fast as the weapon could fire, mowing down anything that came near us.
Arvil might have still been shrieking, but I shut it out after only a few ticks, concentrating on killing spawn. A fourth rifle was handed over when the third ran out, and I killed the last three that rushed us. "Fuckers," I muttered angrily, slinging my rifle over my shoulder and going to examine a deep pile of spawn dust in front of us.
Aurelius had said four feet to me once. This pile was nearly as tall. I remembered that I'd asked him to teach me his measurements. There'd been no time for that. We'd had no time, Aurelius and I. Tory and I barely knew one another. I missed both of them with an ache in my heart. I thought of Teeg, too. I wished I could truly call him friend—that we could be that, if nothing else. I had no friends. Not on Campiaa, anyway.
"Not bad, huh," Delvin clapped a hand to my shoulder as I examined the piles of dust surrounding us. "Not bad at all. Even for a girl."
I turned so swiftly toward Delvin he didn't have time to blink. "Bastard!" I shouted and punched him right in the face.
"Reah, he guessed." Delvin held the piece of cold steak to his eye inside my kitchen. Arvil San Gerxon was grinning hugely—he had a new toy to play with—me.
I wanted to hiss at Delvin and hit him again. I couldn't—Arvil had already informed me that he would forgive the hit I'd delivered to Delvin's left eye—I was allowed one punch after killing most of the spawn attacking his fields. I wanted to tell him they weren't attacking his fields, they were attacking us. Arvil had warned me not to hit any of his wizards again, unless he ordered it. That was just perfect.
"Reah, that's a pretty name—Reah," Arvil grinned at me. "From now on, you can dress any way you want. And grow your hair out. Nobody will touch you unless you want them to. Years ago, Erland Morphis had a female bodyguard. Nobody got past her. Now, I not only have a female cook, but she can protect me, too. That's priceless." Arvil sat down, still beaming at me. I didn't give myself away when he mentioned Ry's father, but I did wonder how Arvil knew of Erland Morphis.
"It would be better if I bought her more of those black leathers," Delvin said. He removed the steak from his eye for a moment, revealing the black and purple bruise beneath. "A more feminine version, anyway. You'll be ready for anything," Delvin chuckled at the look on my face.
"Sure, leathers are so comfortable to cook in," I said sarcastically.
"Now, now, children, mind your manners," Arvil still sounded gleeful.
"Well, you can wear normal clothes when you cook," Delvin conceded. I wanted to thank him for giving his permission in the most sarcastic way I possibly could, but Arvil might be running out of patience soon. I had no desire to see anyone else burned to a crisp while screaming in agony. Especially if the warlock was aiming at me.
I went to bed shortly afterward, but before I futilely attempted to sleep, I drew out what I'd held in the pocket of my leather pants and examined it. Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was my death. I'd tripped over something when I'd gone to examine spawn dust in the field surrounding us. It turned out to be part of a sprinkler pipe.
I'd lifted a piece of it up after nearly tripping over it in the damp soil, and then slid the small chunk carefully into one of my pants pockets. It held a serial number—most things did that were manufactured by the Alliance. Contacting Lendill, who was grumpy at being wakened, I sent the serial number to him through mindspeech. I hoped he was awake enough to record it for research later—he was certainly interested in the fact that there were more fields of drakus seed somewhere.
"Re, what's this?" Teeg came in the following morning. I was exhausted since I'd gotten in late and then was unable to sleep afterward. I didn't bother with a jacket today and wore a stretchy, sleeveless shirt—it was summer on Campiaa and warm inside the kitchen, even early in the morning. My br**sts, such as they were, were visible under my top. And when my ni**les hardened at Teeg's appearance, it made me flush with embarrassment.
"I'm a girl. Master Arvil discovered that fact last night, even with my best disguise. There," I muttered, turning away to tend to something on the stove.
"He didn't touch you, did he?" Teeg was turning me back to face him, a look of concern on his face.
"No." My reply was sullen.
"I'll kill him if he does," Teeg's hands clenched. I stared at him in shock—where had that come from?
"Don't worry," Teeg said. "Go back to your cooking. The countertops will be delivered sometime today. They couldn't give me an exact time."
Neele chose that moment to wander in and he grinned at me. "Delvin told me," he laughed.
"Of course he did," I muttered.
"Nice black eye you gave him."
"He deserved it."
"Probably," Neele was still laughing. "I hear you're Master Arvil's new bodyguard, as well as his cook."
"I'm so lucky," I snapped.
"Re," Teeg warned.
"It's Reah," cruel-mouth sauntered into the kitchen. He stared at me the whole time I fixed breakfast. Teeg checked the plumbing. He checked all the new appliances. Checked the new cabinets and made sure he had enough supplies to lay the new countertops. Cruel-mouth finally left.
"Neele, is there any furniture polish anywhere?" Teeg asked my assistant.
"I think the housekeeper has some," Neele replied. Arvil's housekeeper was likely in her twenties and looked as if she hopped into bed with Arvil whenever he snapped his fingers. Her long dark hair and pretty face hadn't gotten past Neele either. "I'll go ask," Neele trotted out of the kitchen.
"Reah, if that wizard so much as looks at you wrong," Teeg didn't finish his statement. I wasn't sure why Teeg would be concerned, or what he could do if cruel-mouth did look at me wrong.