Tamer, I wish to help.

  The voice catches me a little by surprise. I look up from where I was intently inspecting Ninja’s armour to see Healer standing near me. The Healer who accompanied Flying-blade, that is. The same one who I recently tried to ransom to the red tribe leader for her weight in Cores.

  I was expecting her to be licking her wounds for a while – the emotional ones from her rejection, not the physical ones which are already long healed. But here she is.

  “You want to help?” I repeat with a frown. “How?”

  Healer shrugs with her tail.

  How else? By healing. I am a poor fighter, she admits, though with shame colouring her mental tone that doesn’t make it into her spikes.

  I eye her cautiously. It’s possible that she’s just offering to sabotage us in some way, but I don’t get that impression. Sincerity spills through the Bond between us, along with not a little bit of hurt and frustration. Tree-whisperer’s choice to reject my attempt to negotiate has clearly been the prompt for this offer. But that doesn’t mean I can’t take advantage of it. Frankly, the better our healing, the more chance we’ll make it out of this mostly intact as a village. But first….

  “What about Water-former?” Healer grimaces, her spikes rippling with mixed shades that reflect the conflicted feelings within her.

  She is determined to believe that you are at fault for Tree-whisperer abandoning us. Or that she has a plan for why refusing to negotiate is the best course of action.

  She needs to say no more. I gather that Water-former is no more disposed to help than she ever was. Unlike the Warriors, I’m not forcing the Pathwalkers to fight – I fear what they could do if they found a loophole. With their magic, they could cause significantly more damage than a Warrior who found the same weakness could before being stopped by their ‘manager’. Instead, I’m confining them to quarters. Fortunately, it’s only two of them who I don’t trust enough to allow them into the battle; Water-former will make a third. At least this way we keep weapons out of our enemies’ hands, even if it’s not transforming into a weapon for us. I take a moment to ensure that she won’t be an issue for us.

  Water-former, I start, reaching along our Bond. We’re close enough in geographical proximity that communication isn’t an issue. I feel her reluctant awareness stir beneath my mind’s touch. You are to remain in the hatchling hut with the other Pathwalkers who won’t be fighting. You are not to use your magic or interfere in any way until the battle is decided, unless it is to protect one of my people. You may leave the hatchling hut if it becomes dangerous for you, but you must only move away so far as absolutely necessary. You must not go past where the fence line is now, even if the fence line no longer exists. After all, I don’t want her – or any of them – finding a loophole to mean that they can go through a gap in the fence and escape to enemy lines.

  Water-former’s emotions go through several permutations – anger, outrage, dismay, and an odd sort of relief. I’m not sure why she’s feeling the last and can’t be bothered to dig any deeper to check.

  I hear you, Tamer, Water-former acknowledges reluctantly. I nod unconsciously and turn my attention back to Healer now that Water-former has been dealt with.

  “Alright, you can help,” I agree. “Find Tarra and tell her that I’ve said you can help however she sees fit.”

  Yes, Tamer, she answers, then hesitates before continuing. Thank you. She hurries off before I have a chance to respond. I gaze at her retreating back thoughtfully for a moment before returning my attention to my companion’s armour.

  When I’m satisfied that all of my companions are as protected as they can be while not impeding their strength or flexibility, I stand up.

  “Ready?” I check for a final time, looking around my little force.

  Ready, several of them repeat back to me or send me the impression that they are prepared.

  “Alright, let’s go.” Moving as a group, the fourteen of us pass through the gates with a nod to the Warriors massing there, and then enter the forest proper.

  For this task, the gang is back together and I have to admit that it feels good to go hunting with my closest Bound again. It’s been a while since we did something all together: we’ve all been busy recently. Bastet, Storm, and Ninja are scouting on the ground while Noir and Sirocco scout in the air. Fortunately, they were relieved of their previous duties by Ptera. She’s keeping an eye on the main force from above the canopy, but they’ll soon be coming into view of the various samurans lining their route to the village.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Not everyone will be attacking – some will be doing their best to keep hidden so they can observe the events and pass on the information to the samurans further back. Knowing how well the invaders deal with the traps and whether they’re learning from their mistakes will be important information.

  While the main force is being delayed by the traps, my group is taking the chance to be a strike force that deals with the smaller groups. Once we’ve dealt with the first group, we’ll move onto the second. Although that means potentially not getting to both in time, I think it’s worth the risk.

  After all, it would be a nightmare if a large portion of my Warriors and Pathwalkers moved away to deal with the smaller group, and then left our village open to the attack of the main force of invaders who steamroll faster than expected through the traps. It would be better for both invading groups to attack from different angles than that.

  Barring having the superior force in terms of numbers, my group is the best bet to win even when outnumbered. And if we can mop up our targets fast enough to go and deal with the other group, then all the better.

  Other than the scouts, I have Lathani, Pride, Honey, Hades, and Persephone joining me for quick, mostly melee-range damage dealing. Fenrir and Catch are our tanks and Dusty and I are the designated ranged-attackers of the group. Not to say that the others might not use their magical skills too, but those will be our focusses.

  I do miss having River at my side, but her skills are currently being used elsewhere. And, to be fair, in this situation, we need another ranged attacker, not an additional melee one. I wish that we could have brought Yells with us for her enhancing and reflecting abilities, but she’s also being used elsewhere – creating traps out of nowhere in minutes is a difficult task, but one she makes easier.

  Although our opponents outnumber us, I know that there are only three Pathwalkers in the group along with seventeen Warriors. And with any luck, our initial strike will take several of the Pathwalkers out, leaving the Warriors vulnerable to our attacks. Honestly, I think that our odds are pretty good. But we’ll find out.

  We travel through the forest as quietly as we can. I even activate Stealth, a Skill that I’ve barely touched in recent months. Normally travelling in a group obviates the use of it, but in this case where everyone else is trying to be stealthy too, it has more purpose.

  Eventually, after long enough that my attention is starting to wander, Sirocco sends through a warning – the enemies are ahead.

  We immediately stop and quickly retreat a little. Then, guessing where they’re most likely to go, we set our own trap. After all, I warned them that continuing to travel through this forest would mean no quarter would be given. A trap will hopefully reduce the risk they pose to us.

  Everyone helps to prepare the trap and quick hands make quick work; we’re done long before the party of samurans come into view.

  We hide in the trees around, going as still as we can. That’s the advantage of working with beasts and hunters, I find – they all understand the importance of being still. Dusty might not be a hunter now, but she certainly used to be one and still remembers most of the techniques.

  Noir perches on a sizeable branch high above the forest floor. He’s probably the most obvious, but that requires someone to look up, which isn’t the usual reflex. Unless one of the Pathwalkers orders a Warrior to do something and they tilt their chin upwards in submission, of course. Then again, if they look up, we’ll have more problems than just them seeing Noir.

  I gnaw on my lip as I consider that possibility. Then I dismiss it – I’ve been in enough battles now to recognise pre-fight jitters. We will adapt to whatever happens.

  The samuran force comes into view. As expected, the Warriors are surrounding the Pathwalkers protectively. They’re all moving warily, their eyes looking around in all directions – not up, I note.

  We wait.

  The samurans don’t seem to realise that there’s anything wrong. They continue stepping forwards with no hesitation, just the same wariness.

  We wait. A drop of sweat beads on my forehead as the tension rises.

  The samurans pad forwards lightly on their clawed feet. They’re almost in the right spot.

  Then one of them grunts an urgent call to wait.

  “Look at the ground,” he urges his companions. I follow his pointing claw and silently curse – we didn’t sweep the ground properly and there are a couple of footprints.

  Two of the Warriors gather closer to the one who first noticed the footprints, examining them with him. The others look around at their surroundings with even more caution than before. I see eyes sweep over the bush in which I’m hiding, but they don’t pause – Fade has come through for me. My other Bound, bless them, are as still as the plants around. There’s not a single shift even as they silently ask me whether it’s time to move yet. Our Bonds truly offer an ability to communicate that any military would kill for.

  Wait, I reply. They’re not fully in position. Only a third of them are where we need them to be. Perhaps they’ll think the footprints are from a previous hunt in the forest and therefore nothing to worry about.

  “They’re fresh,” one of the Warriors announces grimly to his companions. My heart sinks.

  The Warriors all switch to even higher alert, pulling out their weapons. In a moment, we’ll have lost all control of the situation. I curse silently to myself again – if we don’t trigger the trap now, there’s no guarantee we’ll get a chance later.

  Now! I cry silently. There’s a swishing sound in the trees above which sends several samurans’ gaze upwards. Their eyes widen as they see what’s falling towards them, but they’re too closely packed for many to dodge successfully.

  The net lands and tangles up seven of the samurans – six Warriors and one Pathwalker. In the disarray and alarmed calls, I stand up and nock an arrow to my bow swiftly and smoothly. Aiming, I let it fly.

  here!

  here!

  here!

  here