Betrayal

Tanya pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders and shivered. The rain had stopped, but hanging around was making her cold. Of the various roles in monitoring the Guards, rotation backup was the one she liked the least. She could not relax, but equally, she could not see the Guards, so she had no idea what was going on. The last whistled signal from the contacts had been over half an hour earlier.

"They've been stopped a long time. Do you think the Guards are making camp for the night?" Sasha Li asked.

Tanya looked at the gray sky. "A bit early. But they probably don't have much idea themselves, the way they've been dithering back and forth the last few days."

"I know what you mean. I've seen Guards before, wandering aimlessly in circles. I hadn't realized they needed special training on how to do it."

Tanya grinned. At that moment a fresh whistled signal from the contacts sounded through the forest. Request officer presence.

After sharing a quick worried glance with Sasha, Tanya signaled back. Question. Danger.

No. Request officer presence.

The signal was coming from the hilltop, rather than the valley where the Guards had been.

Tanya looked at Sasha again and shrugged. "Oh, well. Hopefully it will be something interesting."

"And not just Rikako being a jerk."

Tanya shared a last grin and set off on foot in the direction of the signal.

Although sunset was another two hours away, the forest was gloomy beneath the overcast sky. The breeze through the branches sent bursts of drips splattering down. The air felt heavy and slick. As she got higher, the trees thinned out and the light improved. At one point, she stopped to signal, Where are you? and received a locating whistle in reply.

Tanya reached the open hilltop, largely devoid of trees. Only a thick matting of grass, bramble, and ferns covered the ground. An outcrop of granite marked the summit, a hundred meters away. Standing alone at the base was Loke Stevenson.

Loke had clearly been looking out for Tanya and beckoned her over urgently as soon as she appeared. Tanya wove her way between the waist-high ground cover, wondering what was going on and where Rikako was. When she was halfway to the rocks she met up with more tracks through the dover fern. Clear in the mud was the imprint of Guards' boots. By the look of it, at least ten had passed that way.

"Guards have been up here?" she called to Loke.

"They were. They've gone now. But I've got to show you this."

Tanya cast about the hilltop, confused as to what might be of interest. Nothing out of the ordinary was visible. Then from the corner of her eye, she thought she caught a glimpse of a bush moving, and maybe a sliver of bright red peeking through beneath the fronds. However, when she looked back it had gone. Tanya shook her head and trotted onto the rocks. Loke would hardly be lounging around in the open if Guards were anywhere close at hand.

Loke stood at the side of the outcrop, leaning against the vertical rock face. As Tanya got close, she saw that Loke's clothes were mud-stained. A graze marked her cheek. Despite her casual pose, she was tense. Her eyes were downcast, and her hands were clenched in a tight double fist. Yet only when Tanya stopped two meters away did she realize that something was wrong—seriously wrong. Both Loke's sword and trail knife were missing.

Loke looked up and met her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Tanya had no more than a second to puzzle over the words. A Guard major stepped from behind the rocks, her sword tip touching Loke's ribs. Tanya leapt back, turning, ready to run.

Across the hilltop, the undergrowth burst upward as a dozen Guards emerged from cover, surrounding her. Tanya froze and then backed toward the rocks. She ripped her sword from its scabbard. The odds were hopeless, but she would go down fighting. Around the rocks, the Guards were closing in. Tanya looked toward Loke, partly in amazement, partly in appeal.

Loke seemed lost in a daze of remorse, but then a new firmer expression crossed her face. In a sharp burst of movement, she elbowed the Guard major in the stomach and dived out of reach of the sword. The major was clearly caught out by the sudden maneuver and reeled backward. Loke slid into place by Tanya's side.

Irrationally relieved that she would not die alone, Tanya fumbled at her belt for her trail knife to pass over. She was unprepared for the hand that clenched around her right wrist, immobilizing her sword, and then the second hand that swung into her face as a fist. The blow cracked her head back on the rocks. A sharp wrench dragged her to her knees and loosened her sword from her grip. It fell to the soft earth with a thud.

Dazed and bewildered, Tanya's eyes fixed on her attacker's feet, a pair of Ranger's boots. And then the Guards were upon her, knocking her flat. Her thoughts struggled to catch up with her eyes, but at last the knowledge sank in that her initial assailant had been Loke Stevenson.

By the time Tanya's head had cleared, both from the blow and the shock, her hands were tied behind her. She was dragged to her feet. Wetness covered her lower face, sticky and salty to taste. The punch to the face had given her a nosebleed. She could feel the blood dripping off her chin.

"There. I did it. I did what I said. Now you have to let me go." Loke was babbling.

The major walked forward, massaging her stomach where Loke had struck her. "You attacked me. That wasn't in our agreement."

"If I hadn't, you'd never have taken her alive."

"Maybe." The major stood in front of Tanya. "I am Major Kaur of the 16th Company of Temple Guards, and you are Tanya Coppelli. Daughter to the self-styled Captain Coppelli, leader of the ragtag mob that call themselves Rangers among the heretics."

Tanya said nothing. She glared over the major's shoulder at Loke, unable to credit the depth of the betrayal.

"Won't you even answer to your name?" the major jeered.

Tanya looked at her. "I am Corporal Tanya Coppelli of 2B Patrol of the Westernfort Rangers. I will tell you nothing else."

"Maybe you won't tell me, but you will tell someone. I can guarantee that. The Intelligence Corps in Landfall are good at getting answers."

"She's the captain's daughter, all right. You can take my word on it."

Major Kaur sneered at Loke with clear contempt. "I wouldn't dream of taking your word on anything. None of you heretics have the first idea of honor. No Guard would betray her comrade as you've just done."

"Why, Loke?" Tanya could restrain herself no longer. She needed answers. "What are you getting from this?"

Loke would not meet her eyes. "They caught me. I said I'd help them catch you if they let me go. I'm sorry. I couldn't face—" She broke off, breathing harshly. "I told them that your mother was captain. That you'd be more valuable than me. I'm sorry."

"When I put on this uniform, I become just another Ranger. You don't know the first thing about my mother if you think she'd make a single concession on my behalf that she wouldn't make for any other Ranger."

Loke shrugged awkwardly. "It's up to the Guards now. I'm done with Westernfort. I'm getting a pardon. I'm going back to the Homelands."

Major Kaur swung to face her. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You did. You swore you'd let me go and give me a pardon if I helped you capture Tanya. And you're a Guard. You always keep your word."

"I swore I'd let you go free, here and now. And a pardon for spying on me today. I'm sorry if you think I implied it, but I promised nothing about your sins in the past."

Loke looked dumbstruck. "So what do I do?" she blurted.

"You go back to Westernfort and carry on as before." Major Kaur smiled. "This has really been a most useful exchange. Not only do we have the leader's daughter as hostage, but we also have an agent inside the heretic stronghold who'll do exactly as she's told."

"What will you want me to do?"

"I think that it's time for another assault on Westernfort. You'll make sure that the gate is opened when we attack. When Westernfort falls, then you'll get your full pardon."

"I won't be able t—"

"Otherwise your Captain Coppelli will find out exactly how her daughter became a prisoner."

Loke fell silent, but from the blankness in her eyes, she was panicking. "But everyone will have heard me signal. They'll know I called her into the trap."

"That's not my problem."

"You said you want me as an agent inside Westernfort. I can't do that if I'm dead."

Major Kaur stared at her disdainfully. "They heard one of your rabble signals. Is there any way to be sure which one of you it was?"

"No, apart from knowing who was where and who could have signaled."

"Then I suggest you find somebody in a suitable position to frame."

 

Riki yawned and leaned against a tree. The absence of activity among the Guards was startling. About a third of them were engaged in a prayer meeting, which was their main hobby when not standing in straight lines, but even this looked to be half-hearted. The sentries were less alert than normal—if that was possible. Riki pursed her lips. The whole camp had the air of demoralized troops lacking guidance from officers.

A soft noise made Riki slip into cover, but the person who appeared a few seconds later was Loke. Riki waited for her to pass, then stepped out behind her and coughed. She made no attempt to hide her grin when Loke jerked around, startled and angry.

"Where are the Guards?" Riki asked.

"They're on their way back."

Riki was about to ask what they had been doing but was diverted by the sight of a raw graze on Loke's cheek, and her cloak torn and splattered with mud. Obviously, Loke had been in some sort of trouble.

"What happened to you?"

"None of your business."

"Was it anything to do with what you wanted to talk to Tanya about?" Riki had heard Loke's signals a while earlier.

"I said it's none of your business."

Riki's grin broadened. Judging by Loke's excessively sharp tone, whatever had happened was too embarrassing for her to want to reveal.

"Fell down somewhere? Did you need Tanya to pull you out?"

Loke merely glared and fumbled at her waist. "I've dropped one of my gloves. Go and get it for me."

"What!" Riki's amusement turned to outrage.

"You heard me."

"I'm not your errand girl."

"No. You're a private and I'm a leading ranger. And I'm telling you what to do."

"I don't know where your glove is."

"I took them off in the open at the top of the hill, where the trees end. You're supposed to be so good at tracking, I'm sure you'll be able to find it."

Riki was tempted to tell Loke just where she could stick her glove, but it would probably be breaking some frigging regulation.

"Right," Riki snapped and turned away. Arguing was pointless.

"And run. The Guards might move off as soon as the others return. I don't want to be waiting for you."

"Then you should have taken better care of your gloves."

"I didn't ask your opinion. Leave your cloak here. You'll go quicker without it."

Riki stripped off her cloak and tossed it at Loke. In truth, after an hour of watching the Guards do nothing, a run up the hill and back was not such an unattractive idea. Loke bossing her around was what pissed Riki off. There was no doubt about it—Loke definitely made Tanya look like a wonderful human being. The patrol corporal would never be such a total asshole.

Riki jogged between the tree trunks. At one point, she heard the returning Guards in the distance, but they were some way off and she saw no warning red through the trees. At the top of the hill she reached the open space Loke had spoken of. Riki started to track around the perimeter, looking for the glove or for traces of Loke being there.

Soon she found the line of boot marks made by the Guards, cutting through the vegetation toward a granite outcrop at the summit. Nearby was a lighter single track made by a Ranger. Riki followed this route. The wet ground was soft and muddy. Riki was midway to the rocks when she saw the lost glove, lying in the center of a well-scuffed patch of ground. She was tempted to tread it further into the mud, but it was a childish impulse, of the sort that generally got her into more trouble than it was worth.

Riki retrieved the glove and trotted down through the forest. By the time she got back to Loke, the Guards were clearly setting up camp for the night. Already the major's tent had been erected. It was immediately apparent that the atmosphere among the Guards had changed. Now, they appeared excited and alert.

Riki handed over the glove and gestured to the Guards. "What's got into them?"

"Who knows?" Loke grunted the reply. "Here's your cloak back."

The second Riki took the cloak, she knew something was wrong. Most of the mud had been scraped or brushed off, but even in the poor light, the torn corner was a clear giveaway.

"Hey. This isn't my cloak. It's yours."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've switched cloaks."

"No I haven't."

Riki glared at Loke in furious disbelief. This time she had gone way too far. The cloaks were nominally identical standard issue. Rangers were responsible for maintaining their own uniform, and making good any loss or damage. Maybe Loke was hoping that she could avoid being docked pay to replace her torn cloak.

Only common sense restrained Riki from physically grabbing her own cloak back. She did not want to get into a fight. Regardless of whether she won, she was sure that nobody would believe her story. And it was not necessary. Presumably, Loke had called Tanya in response to whatever difficulty she had got into. In that case Tanya would have seen the state of Loke's uniform and would have no trouble sorting out which cloak belonged to whom.

Riki directed another contemptuous scowl at Loke and pulled the torn cloak around her shoulders without further protest. When they got back to camp that evening, Riki would formally appeal to the corporal to get the matter resolved. Tanya Coppelli might be a stuck-up, overrated idiot, but she would not let a subordinate be swindled so blatantly, regardless of her personal feelings about the victim.

 

Riki had been back for about ten minutes when she again heard someone approaching through the woods, but this time the rustle of footsteps was accompanied with the chirped whistle of a Ranger identifying her location. The arrival was expected. Tanya and Sasha were due to take over the watch rota, while Riki and Loke went back to stay with the horses.

However, when the backup arrived, it consisted solely of Sasha. She in turn seemed just as surprised to see only two other Rangers waiting for her.

"Where's Tanya?"

"Why isn't she with you?" Riki asked.

"She never came back. I thought she must be staying up here."

"Where did she say she was going?" Loke directed her question at Riki.

"When?"

"After she left you."

Riki frowned. "When?"

"When you called her."

"I didn't call her. You did."

"No, I didn't. And what did you want to talk to her about? You never said."

"I..." Riki's gaze shifted between the other two. Both looked as confused as she felt. "It was you, up the hill who called her. I was down here, watching the Guards."

"What? You weren't—" Loke broke off. "Oh, it can be sorted out later. We need to let Gerry know that Tanya's missing." The look Loke shot at Sasha was the exasperated indignation of an adult catching a child in a tiresome and potentially dangerous prank. "Are you okay watching the Guards on your own? They look to have set camp for the night."

"Yep. I'll be fine." Sasha's response was directed to Loke.

Riki noted the brief eye contact the leading rangers shared that made it quite obvious whose version Sasha was more inclined to believe. It was not fair, but hardly surprising. Riki said nothing more until she and Loke were on their way back to the horses and out of

Sasha's earshot. Maybe Loke would tell the truth, without an audience to sway.

"What game are you playing? You were the one who called Tanya."

However, Loke merely sneered in her direction and marched on. When they reached the horses, a kilometer from the Guards, Loke untied one and pulled it around, ready to mount. Only then did she speak. "Stay here and mind the other horses. I'm going to tell the sergeant."

"And make sure you get to tell your lies first? Not fucking likely. I'm coming too." Riki was losing her temper.

Loke swung into her saddle and leaned down. "You stay here. If you come along, I'll tell Gerry that you disobeyed orders and left Sasha unsupported, which won't be a good start for you. Don't worry. You'll get plenty of chance to tell your side."

She wheeled around and rode off. Riki untied her own horse, preparing to follow, but then stopped and stood, trying to work out what to do for the best.

Loke was pulling some weird trick. But what? She must know that as soon as they found Tanya it would all get sorted—which could only mean that Loke did not think Tanya was going to be found in a fit state to reveal the truth.

Riki's guts clenched and her hands went cold. Murder was a hell of a big leap to make, but if that was what Loke was trying to cover up, she would fail. If Tanya was dead, it would mean a full public trial with all the evidence presented. It would take more than one Ranger's word against another to swing a conviction, even if one of the Rangers was a troublemaker with well publicized hostility to the victim.

Riki chewed her lip and stared both ways through the forest—the direction Loke had gone, and the route Tanya would have taken to the hilltop. She did not like Tanya, but her dislike was nowhere near severe enough to wish her serious harm. But was she dead? Or injured? Or in need of help? Riki almost started to run and find her.

Common sense returned in a wave. Riki stopped and shook her head. She had to be misreading the signs. There had to be some other explanation. The idea of murder was melodramatic and absurd. Loke had no reason to kill Tanya. She was simply being her typical stupid asshole self.

Before long, the sound of horses announced Loke's return, bringing the rest of the patrol with her.

Gerry Baptiste jumped down from her horse. "Private Sadiq. Where were you when you called Corporal Coppelli?"

Riki noted the use of rank and last name—something that had fallen into disuse in the wilderness, but she did not need the hint to know that things were serious. "I didn't call her, ma'am. It was Leading Ranger Stevenson."

Loke joined them. "That's what I told you she'd say."

"Because it's the truth. Stevenson left me watching the main body of the Guards while she followed a small group that went uphill. I heard her signal from there. She came back about half an hour later. I haven't seen Corporal Coppelli since the switchover this afternoon."

Gerry scowled at her. "We seem to have two different versions. But it can wait. We need to find Corporal Coppelli. Presumably she'll know which of you she met with. At least you agree that she was called to the hilltop."

Riki glanced at the sky. The clouds were breaking up, allowing a little more light through, but there was still less than half an hour of decent visibility before dusk. She appreciated the need to hurry, not least because she wanted her own chance to read any tracks that might have been left.

One Ranger was left minding the horses and the remaining five set off through the forest. Twice Riki spotted footmarks that clearly had been made by Tanya earlier. Gerry only nodded when she pointed them out.

After ten minutes, they reached the open hilltop. The sergeant now took the lead, looking out for any sign of what had happened there. They soon reached the Guards' pathway through the ferns, and then the spot where Loke's glove had lain. Gerry raised her hand, making the group halt. She crouched by the mud.

"Private Sadiq. You say you stayed downhill, and Stevenson followed the Guards up here alone?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I'm thinking that this print was made by a Ranger's boot, and it looks a little small to be either Leading Ranger Stevenson or Corporal Coppelli."

"Er...yes, ma'am. Stevenson sent me up here after she returned, to collect a glove she'd dropped. That would be when I made the footprint."

Loke gave a contemptuous snort. "Do you need me to deny that, ma'am?"

Riki shot an angry glance at her and advanced to Gerry Baptiste's shoulder. "If you look, ma'am, my footmarks are on top of the Guards'. I was here after they'd all gone."

"But no proof of how long after. And I hardly thought that you'd have been walking along together, holding their hands."

The sergeant continued leading the way toward the granite outcrop at the summit. Once they got there, the signs of much activity were clear. Snapped branches and crushed leaves showed where someone had fallen into a clump of honey bramble. Guards' boots had trampled the weaker ferns flat. It looked as if at least a dozen of them had been milling around for some time, but the marks were too confused for any coherent story to be drawn.

Riki spotted more Ranger footprints in the mud. "There. Those are too big for my feet. That would be Leading Ranger Stevenson."

"Or Corporal Coppelli," someone said.

"Sergeant." One of the Rangers called Gerry over. She was crouched by the base of the rocks. "This is blood. And there. A handprint in the mud. Someone was lying on the ground here, bleeding from a head wound."

Riki was aware that two Rangers had moved in behind her. They were not going to seize her yet, but they were manifestly getting ready to do so on the word from the sergeant.

"Ma'am. It was nothing to do with me. I never came this close to the rocks."

The sergeant rose and stood before Riki, appraising her. Gerry's expression was angry and worried, but a shade of uncertainty remained. Her eyes bored into Riki. "You're sure you've no idea what went on here?"

"Yes, ma'am. I nev—"

"Sergeant. Over here." Loke was standing by a trampled honey bramble. "Someone left something behind."

Gerry marched over and carefully reached in between the thorns. Gently she teased out a triangle of green material.

In an instant, Riki realized what the material was, and how it would be interpreted. "This isn't my cloak, ma'am. Loke made a switch when she sent me for the glove."

Gerry said nothing but stalked back and reached for the edge of the cloak that Riki was wearing. She pulled it up, revealing to all the numerous small tears in the fabric, clearly the result of something very similar to bramble thorns, and most definite of all, the missing corner. Gerry placed the section she had taken from the bush into the gap.

"Are you sure you've been nowhere near these rocks?" Her tone made it clear she thought it a rhetorical question.

"Yes, ma'am. This isn't my cloak. Loke switched it with me."

"I don't be—" Gerry broke off sharply and pulled another section of the cloak up, tilting it to catch the last of the evening light. Even in the gloom, the splattering of blood was unmistakable. Gerry let the cloth drop from her hand and nodded to the two Rangers behind Riki, who now grabbed her arms.

Riki could see that all Gerry's doubt had gone. The fury and outrage ripped through. "What did you do to her?"

Everyone was now staring at Riki, so she was the only one to see, over the sergeant's shoulder, the expression of smug triumph that crossed Loke Stevenson's face.

 

Riki inched across so that she sat more fully in the patch of early morning sunlight. With her hands and feet bound, she could not move around to keep herself warm. Sasha Li, standing guard, eyed her suspiciously but said nothing.

Riki gazed bitterly at the rope around her wrists and then across the camp to Loke, who was standing and talking to Gerry Baptiste in a voice too low to be overheard. At the sight of her sickeningly earnest expression, Riki's shoulders slumped. She could not believe how slow she had been. Why had she not challenged Loke over the switched cloak? Why had she agreed to find the supposedly lost glove? Why had she let Loke go alone to give the first report?

Or as a last resort, why had she not added the evidence up, so that she could have given her explanation as soon as the sergeant and the others arrived and before her footprint and the piece of ripped cloak had been found? Her story would have sounded far more convincing if it had not been pulled from her as each new incriminating scrap of fabricated evidence was found.

Two Rangers rode into the camp and leapt from their saddles. "Ma'am. The Guards have broken camp and moved out. And—" The Ranger broke off and looked at her companion, as if seeking support.

"And?"

"They have Tanya...Corporal Coppelli, prisoner. She's alive."

Riki let her head drop into her bound hands, unable to restrain the groan. From the sounds around the camp, others were reacting to the news in a similar fashion. Captured alive by the Guards was worse than dead, and there was no hope of a rescue. Even if they sent a messenger off with spare horses to use in relay, and riding the animals into the ground, the news would not get to Westernfort for at least twelve days. By the time Captain Coppelli could assemble a large enough force of Rangers to tackle the Guards and bring them out this far east, well over a month would have passed. No matter how much the Guards might dither around, they would surely be back in the Homelands long before then.

"Was she badly injured?"

"We couldn't tell, ma'am. But they left this nailed to a tree."

Riki looked up. The speaker was holding up a sealed letter.

"On the outside it says, To Captain Coppelli, concerning your daughter. "

Sergeant Baptiste strode across the camp, reached down, and grabbed Riki's jacket, close to her throat. She jerked Riki's face to within a few centimeters of her own. "So it wasn't some sort of accident. The Guards didn't just ambush the pair of you. You fucking called her into a trap and you told the Guards who she was as well."

"No. I didn't. I—"

The sergeant raised her free hand in a fist. Riki tuned her head aside. She had no way to duck the blow, but then the grip on her jacket relaxed.

"You fucking pile of shit." The voice was a snarl of contempt. "I knew you hated her, but I never thought you'd pull something like this. I'd like to gut you here and now. But I'm going to do something much worse. I'm going to take you back to Westernfort for Captain Coppelli to deal with. I just hope she lets me watch whatever she decides to do to you."