Chapter 3
The Way of War
Once they arrived back at headquarters, Herk sent Pru and the other females to clean up and deal with those that they’d brought back with them. Those that weren’t prisoners, at any rate. The war had truly begun and it was an ugly thing.
It was painful, but even more so because his sweet mate Pru was dragged into the middle of it. While he knew she and the other females had seen death before, what had happened today was as bad as anything he’d seen in his long life. This was the kind of thing that ate at the soul and took away hope.
The leaders would be here soon for the meeting and he had a suspicion many of the female leaders like his own sweet mate would be back for that meeting. Both Pru and Janel would insist they be part of it even though Julio would be present. Talk about awkward and uncomfortable.
Everyone took a brief time to clean up and change into something more casual while the staff set up the meeting room. A buffet went along one wall and staff would serve drinks to all as needed. Once the meal was underway, the staff would leave until they were summoned back after the talks concluded.
Herk was in the shower with hot water running over him. The dirt and blood ran down to the shower floor and finally down the drain. If only his pain at taking so many lives could go down the drain with it. Such loss in a short time was more than he’d experienced even in his long life. Those witches were unbelievable in a battle and much more effective than he’d anticipated.
Clean, he exited the shower and dried off vigorously. He wished his witch was here with him so he could take her and relive the need and stress that rolled over his body. It made him wonder where she was, but he would see her soon enough. Maybe she was avoiding him so he couldn’t tell her not to attend the meeting. His mate had her ways of doing as she wished.
Dressed and ready, he headed to the meeting room. “Julio! You got here fast.” He greeted.
“I had nothing to do but shower and dress.” Julio admitted.
“Jespers and Apollo, come sit by us.” Herk called out as they stepped inside the room. They took their seats with Apollo a seat down from Herk leaving a seat for Pru. “Apollo, know something I don’t?”
“No, you know she’ll be here with Janel. Don’t pretend you don’t.” Apollo accused.
Herk knew he was right, but he’d hoped Pru would keep Janel away to make things easier. Looking up, he saw the two of them enter the room. Just his luck they had arrived early. Almost like Apollo’s comment conjured them, Pru and Janel appeared in the doorway. Looking at Janel, Herk felt cold hit him like an artic wind.
There was no warmth in her as she looked at Julio. On the other hand Julio felt like a tropical breeze as he stared back at her. The heat manufactured from his friend’s need obviously ran only one way. Julio’s eyes were lit with flames while icicles showed in Janel’s. Herk found it hard to blame her because as bad as he had been himself, Julio was worse.
Janel moved to sit next to Apollo even as Pru sat next to him. Others began to trickle in sitting wherever they chose to. Many spoke to those sitting near them until there was a dull roar of background noise. Pru poked him in the side.
“Don’t tell Julio a thing. She’ll have her say in due time.”
“He’s not asked and I’ve not said.”
“And you won’t say.” Pru insisted.
Herk nodded. He didn’t expect it to be a problem. Why would Julio ask about something he knew nothing about? Did females always worry about such unlikely things? Standing, Herk looked over the group of leaders collected for this meeting. As they noticed he was standing, the talk began to die down until you could hear a pin drop.
“Welcome everyone. I wish to thank each and every one of you for your commitment in the war that is now upon us. War is never something we seek, but now it has been thrust upon us and we must stand firm and do our duty. We had a victory and our losses weren’t heavy, but losing even one warrior is painful and their sacrifice must be acknowledged.”
The gathered leaders cheered and Herk held up a glass to toast the fallen and celebrate the victory. “To our fallen brothers!” They all shouted as they took a drink. “To victory!” was the next toast. “To Hubolla’s defeat and the freedom of our lands.”
“Now that the toasts are done, let us feast.” Herk said happy to have the speaking part over. He didn’t mind leading, but speeches were not one of his better talents nor did he enjoy giving them.
Everyone lined up at the buffet saving the front spots for Herk and Pru. There was a good variety of the best foods with meats being the largest selection available. They moved through the line quickly piling their plates high. Once the edge was taken off everyone’s appetites, discussions began again around the room.
“You witches did an amazing job.” Jespers praised. “I didn’t know much about your talents.”
“None of those are abilities used in everyday life. We’ve been lucky in the supernatural community to be at peace for many centuries. Now we are forced to adapt our skills to fighting.” Pru replied.
“It is sad that it was necessary, but lucky for us you were able to adjust so quickly.” Jespers admitted.
Herk saw the admiration the young male had for both his mate and Janel. The look of aggravation Jespers sent his brother, Julio, told a lot too. Julio had no support in the decision he had made to set his mate aside. That decision would be even harder to understand once Janel began to show.
Shifter babies generally were born in five months. Witches carried like humans unless mated to another with a shorter carry like shifters. It would be hard to estimate a due date then. The healer had told him and Pru that it could be anywhere from five to nine months. Herk had thought that prediction unhelpful. He suspected it would be closer to five than nine for both Pru and Janel. Already he thought he saw a slight thickening of their waists.
That was no surprise since if they birthed at five months, Pru was halfway there and Janel nearly so. He hoped she would tell his friend about the baby soon. A witch came up to talk to Pru and Janel including Apollo since he sat between them. Herk couldn’t hear the conversation but was sure it was about offspring. Many knew Pru was expecting even though she barely showed.
“Ready to be a father?” Julio asked.
“I can’t wait even though it scares me as much as it excites me.” Herk admitted.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what being a father will be like for you.” Julio declared. “It’s too soon for me unless he was a unicorn who could run beside me on the plains.”
“Someday you’ll wish for the little ones. They are a true joy. Your life will be dull without them.” Herk informed.
“Right now it is filled with enough excitement.”
“And your mate? Is that too much excitement too?”
Julio looked away and didn’t answer. It seemed he hadn’t decided anything or he planned to leave things as they were. Herk thought his friend a big fool. When he finally realized what he had, it might be too late to reclaim it. Glancing at Janel, he saw her looking everywhere but at Julio.
The meal was over and everyone went back to their rooms. Herk escorted Pru and Janel to the upstairs hallway where their suites were. He waited as Pru hugged Janel and tried to reassure her that things would work out for the best. Hopefully she was right, but he wasn’t so sure. So far in Julio’s and Janel’s personal life nothing seemed to go right.
He wished he could say how Julio would react if he found out his offspring rested under Janel’s heart. The problem was unpredictable was the only way to describe how his friend had been acting lately. Most of their kind was thrilled to find their true mate and would do anything to keep them. He’d thought his mate’s sister, Gertie and her true mate the unbelievable exception. Now he knew that wasn’t true.
It seemed when true mates became rare, those who found them no longer realized what a gift they’d been given. Even he had needed help to see that a gift like that couldn’t wait. They made love as they did most nights and as they lay together, he gently stroked the belly where his offspring lay.
The movements he could feel warmed his heart. It saddened him that Julio was missing out on the connection to his developing young. Right now Herk felt helpless to do anything about it. It was Janel’s place to share her condition with Julio and right now she wasn’t ready.
A few days passed as Intel came in about the communities and small towns where their enemies gathered. It was time to meet with the leaders and plan their next move. There hadn’t been much time to recover from the heartbreak of the last battle, but they had to move fast to recover the ground they’d lost by not arriving here soon enough.
The meeting room was set up much as it had been the last time except this time it was early morning and breakfast was being served. The scent of coffee moved through the room mingling with the aroma of bacon and other breakfast foods. Everyone was at their place with plates piled high and mugs in their hands, most filled with the stronger form of coffee served here.
Herk looked around at his leading soldiers. Each had their group they were in charge of with him being the leader of them all. Pru and Janel lead all the witches with two others helping them. Julio, Jespers, and Apollo led the horse shifters. He also had wolves, cats, and a group of humans that he was still getting to know.
As he looked at each leader, he saw determination and a strong will that had overcome the recent losses they had been dealt. They were all he could ask for and he prayed their forces would be enough to complete the tasks set before them.
“You all see the information that has been given to us. In the morning, we will hit the next target. We need to decide what that will be. For your consideration, the top three sites are the ones to decide between.”
“Why not just take Amarisa? It has the highest amount of enemy activity, it is the nearest to our location, and it has an obvious weakness in its protection.” Jake asked. He was the human leader.
“There is something about that obvious weakness that smacks of a trap.” Julio admitted. The other leaders nodded and looked at the information closer.
“Why don’t we use their trap against them?” Janel asked.
“How do you propose we do that?” Herk asked.
“We have the strength to completely overrun them, but we need to use our head. Why not send in a ghost force first to test things out and be prepared to attack once they get things started?” Janel suggested.
“That’s a great suggestion. We have enough witches to do it too.” Pru commented.
“What is a ghost force?” Herk asked.
“We conjure an army to attack them. It will seem real in every way but will have no substance. As long as we are within sight of the ghosts, we can make it seem as if they can move things or even attack someone.” Pru explained.
“Why didn’t someone suggest this before?” Herk asked.
“Because it will take all our energy and you will not have our protection when you attack later. It is draining on our magic. But if the trap is a good one, we can cut and run risking nothing but our strength for a few days.” Pru admitted.
“To drain all our witches for days is a serious thing to risk.” Julio offered. Herk had to agree that their protection and their attacks against the enemy had saved many of their soldiers.
That is a serious consideration.” Jake agreed and the others nodded in agreement.
“If we decide against the first option, which of the remaining two would we agree on?” Herk asked.
“The second option is the next best. It would be a heads on attack with the time and the direction we attacked from all we would need to decide. There are only two directions of approach. I would advise approaching from both.” Julio suggested.
“That would be best to stop them from escaping or attacking us from behind.” Jake agreed.
Only a handful of the leaders made any observations or suggestions. “Anyone else want to add anything?” Herk asked. “You should all add concerns you have because we are all risking our lives and those of our soldiers.” Silence ruled. “We’ll attack the second site driving our force to come in from both directions. Rest and relax, but be ready before dawn.”
He dismissed his leaders and he hoped the morning would see them all in their top form. His wish was that the gods would give them strength and support their fight. It had been a long time since he’d prayed to the gods. They’d left long ago and gone to another place, but many believed they still heard prayers. Herk hoped it was true.
They had their plan of action now so he dismissed the meeting. Most rushed away, but Julio, Jespers, Apollo, Pru and Janel stayed behind. “Few had much to say.” Pru observed.
“They are putting their faith in us to make the right decisions.” Julio informed.
“Let’s hope we don’t disappoint them.” Herk declared.
“We can only do our best with the information we have at hand.” Apollo noted.
“It is so soon to be going out again. Are you sure our witches are properly rested?” Jespers asked.
“No guarantees, but they said they feel ready and that is all we can ask of them.” Pru replied.