Tara and Magneblade had remained with the bulk of the Boston forces in the field. They knew there was a good chance that the entire army would be recalled, but the task of ferrying so many men to the field, constructing the base, and establishing intelligence of the area would not be undone on a suspicion.

  Farseer was the noble in nominal command of the soldiers stationed in the hillfort. In the absence of Alya, myself, and, well, Chowwick, there was little chance that they would be contesting Orbs. They had neither the field force nor the adequate team of Griidlords to match against even the most modest of opponents.

  But they were always instructed to be opportunistic. Boston had had a mighty Falling already, but Flows were Flows, and an easy score was not to be ignored.

  Magneblade stood surveying the sky, following the descent of a nearby Orb.

  “It’s tempting…” Tara said.

  Magneblade’s voice was the usual blend of grunts and growls. “It’s mighty tempting. Only a little one, won’t draw much attention. We could strike out, you and me, and just see if we could nab it. Scouts say the area’s quiet.”

  Tara said, “Now?”

  Magneblade shook his armored head. “Not yet. No point. There’s no use in the two of us hanging around beyond the walls of the fort for longer than we need to. If word is gone about that we’re down to just two suits posted here, then there’s always the danger of bad actors. We can wait until it’s closer to touching down, then nip out. If there’s competition, we’ll just come straight back.”

  They stood watching the Orb descend. It lazily crept toward the concealing reach of the nearby treeline. They knew the area well by now; they’d been hunting this region all season. They knew there was a clear path available to where the Orb was descending, a fair avenue where they could deploy Footfields.

  Tara said, “Do you think something’s gone wrong with them?”

  Magneblade said, “With who? With Ti?”

  Tara nodded. “It’s been six days, Wilric. They should have been back in two or three. A day out, a day of healing, a day back. Do you think something happened to them?”

  Magneblade shrugged. “I don’t know what’s fucking keeping them. If they’d been hit by another faction, you’d think we’d have heard. There’d have been ransom, surely. It’s always a possibility, but I’m not inclined to think so.”

  Tara said, “Then what’s the holdup? Where are they? They should have come back to keep campaigning or to recall us all.”

  Magneblade said, “If they take much longer, we’ll have to send you back to Boston to find out what the fuck is going on.”

  He pointed to the Orb as it sank lower. “For now, let’s worry about the things we can control.”

  ***

  Magneblade and Tara disengaged their Footfields more than a mile from where they expected the Orb to land. They didn’t want to announce their approach with the emanations of the fields. They were in no position to do battle with almost any force. They were the last two Boston suits in the field; they could risk no damage. Without them, the army had no means of communication, no means of discouraging harassment from forces supported with Griidlords.

  Even without the Footfields, they moved swiftly. Applying caution and stealth, they still devoured the last mile. The two suited figures crept up the side of a snow-covered hill and peered down into the small valley below.

  As they watched, the Orb was just touching down. Like a soap bubble, it settled on the snow. At first, it seemed to be landing with too little force to even compress the white powder beneath it. But gradually, the mass of the Orb did its work, and it bedded in. It sank deep, revealing a substantial drift of snow.

  “It’s quiet,” said Tara.

  Magneblade said nothing, scanning his head from side to side, slowly considering.

  Tara said, “What’s wrong?”

  Magneblade said, “It’s too easy.”

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  Tara said, “It’s a gift! It happens! It’s only a little one, a fiver probably. What do you want to do? Leave it?”

  Magneblade shook his head heavily. “No, we can’t do that. I just don’t like how quiet it is.”

  Tara said, “This isn’t like you.”

  Magneblade said nothing.

  Tara said, “Has the business with Chowwick put you off?” Her voice was tender, probing, gently testing.

  Magneblade didn’t answer. His response was to start trotting forward. Tara sighed and jogged easily behind him toward the Orb.

  Magneblade said, “You siphon, and I’ll guard.”

  Tara said, “But of course.”

  They approached the Orb. Small or not, it was still a fortune of Flows. There had been years when Boston would have been frantic to claim an unnoticed Orb such as this.

  Tara moved to the Orb. Magneblade turned his back to her, facing the wilds, the direction where enemies might come.

  Snow exploded into the air, a volcanic eruption of ivory dust. A huge form emerged in the dazzling haze, impacting Tara and lifting her lithe form into the air. A small surprised grunt came from her as she tumbled, landing hard by Magneblade. He whirled, his visor suddenly burning with POWER.

  “Too fucking soon, nitwit!” a voice growled as another Griidlord rose from the snow. This one was further from the Orb, beyond where Magneblade had been standing. “You could have waited till the bitch was locked onto the Orb.”

  A third figure rose slowly from the snow, completing the triangle that surrounded them.

  The Griidlord that had slammed into Tara spoke in a deep rumbling voice, his Shield suit hulking before them. Rythek Bonefrost of Buffalo said, “She was gonna step on me. I had to move.”

  Magneblade spun, constantly moving, keeping all three of them in sight as much as was conceivably possible. Tara rose slowly alongside him.

  Magneblade said, “What are you playing at?”

  Jythorne said, “We’re hunting. More than Flows.”

  Something in his tone, in the way he spoke, made Magneblade grow still. He said, “You have advantage here. We concede the Orb.”

  They had a Shield to overpower Magneblade, a Sword to take advantage of Tara, and an Axe just for good measure.

  Jythorne said, “There’ll be no yielding today. We’ve come for blood.”

  Tara said, “What gripe have you got with us? Because we thrashed you so badly last time?”

  Jythorne shook his head. “We’re not holding grudges. You know why we’re here.”

  Magneblade shot a glance to Tara, trying to understand. But that was the last moment of the pause. As one, the three Buffalo Griidlords launched themselves.

  Magneblade naturally tried to intercept Jythorne, but it was the Axe, Snowfang, who made first contact. Magneblade twisted in the air, their glowing blades clashing, the light that flashed between them shocking the eyes. Snowfang staggered back from the impact, Magneblade charging at him, pressing what advantage he had. But Snowfang’s charge had done its job. He had diverted Magneblade, separating him from Tara. Bonefrost came from the side, his shield ramming into Magneblade. The magnified force of his type advantage crushed into the Axe’s form, pistoning him sideways into the snow. Tara shot forward, clawed hands crackling with energy, but she skidded to a halt as Jythorne stepped in. His blade clipped her, the power of CUT searing her, sending her tumbling away.

  Magneblade and Tara were seasoned. Their eyes sought escape. The Buffalo Griidlords were too close to afford them the chance to deploy Footfields.

  Magneblade roared. He leapt forward, engaging his phasing skill. He vanished through the form of Bonefrost. Jythorne didn’t see him coming, hadn’t accounted for him. He should have been contained and distracted by Bonefrost and Snowfang.

  Magneblade’s axe hammered into his new target, the force ripping him from the ground. Tara responded, darting for Bonefrost, trying to get her own type advantage into play.

  Magneblade grunted, “No! Get out of here.”

  Tara made no sign of having heard him. Her claws raked into Bonefrost, the titanic suit roaring in pain. Snowfang fired his Stasis Beam at Magneblade, but the veteran was ready for it. He skipped aside, the Stasis Beam exploded in the snow, capturing nothing. It remained a shimmering, sinister haze.

  For a moment, there had been a chance. Tara clawed at Bonefrost, desperately trying to land a blow that would incapacitate him and even the odds. Magneblade bounded toward Jythorne, similarly trying to remove one piece from the equation.

  But, skill wasted or not, Snowfang remained a free agent in the battle. Weapons clashed and armor screamed from the rending impacts of god striking god. But it only took moments for Snowfang to smash the berserker Arrow from his ally. She hit the ground with another thud, sparks and power leaking from new wounds to her suit. Magneblade turned to protect himself from the charging Bonefrost, but it was Jythorne who downed him, landing a terrible CUT as he turned.

  Magneblade fell to his knees, clutching the wound to his neck. He could feel the heat of his suit radiating from the opening. Worse, he could feel blood—too much blood—gushing between his fingers. He tried to rise, but his body could only tremble as he failed to find his feet.

  Bonefrost booted him onto his back. The snow around him became a tapestry of blood as it sprayed from his flailing hand. He clutched his neck again as Bonefrost stood over him. He turned his head and could see Tara pinned beneath Snowfang, Jythorne standing over her with his weapon raised.

  Jythorne spoke. “It doesn’t bring me any pleasure to do this. But you’ve been marked for death. We have no choice.”

  Magneblade felt the shadow of Bonefrost’s shield rising above him, preparing a killing blow, as Jythorne raised his sword above Tara’s head.

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