“Form up!” Alpha snapped, stepping onto the crawler’s deck.

  Jaraightened herself, paws at her sides. Today, she and the other leaders gathered in front of the maior. The sword saints, along with their knight captains and warlords, and their wolf hags, stood in two equal opposite lines, without any ons or armor. The Ice Fangs wore their fi doublets and elegant capes, while the Wolfkins dohe sturdy officers’ coats. Together, they formed a weling ittee to greet Houstad’s mayor, a man named Jaquan Kruger, and the local ander of the Provincial Army.

  The elevator doors opened, and the Blessed Mother strode outside, fnked by Captain Cristobo, who was little more than a cub pared to her massive bulk. Ravager moved on all fours, sniffing the air and gng at the assembled Wolfkins, looking more like a caged beast than an honorable leader. Where Cristobo’s steps produced a metallic thud upon the surface, Ravager traversed in plete silence, occasionally lig her lips and blinking slowly.

  “Why are you shaking?” In a burst of speed, Ravager appeared near Anissa and Melina. The light from her eyes illumihe women, and they gave up a st of fear and submission as the giant fangs hem.

  Anissa gulped and said: “It’s cold here, Blessed Mother.” Ravager tilted her head, the speaker as if she were just a gnat. Her amber lights had pletely erased the tiny crimson of Anissa’s artificial eye.

  “We don’t enjoy being around here,” Melina supported her. “The weather is cool; water es from the sky, and there is no prey or danger in sight.”

  Ravager lifted her paw and released a single cw from her index finger. Janine broke ranks, positioning her body to shield her officers, and bravely faced the amber eyes.

  “If my pack has caused you any displeasure, take it on me, Blessed Mother,” Janine said. The floor shook as Alpha and Ashbringer joined her, f a wall.

  “Is that ser stretched out the st word; her cw twitched.

  “Yes, Blessed Mother. You had taught us to respect the military and. I am responsible for the well-being of my pack.” The cw came down, and Jahought her soul was about to leave her body. But instead of cutting, the cw merely tapped her chest, unfolding the folds of the official uniform.

  “Good girl,” Ravager said nontly, standing on two legs. There was a honeyed edge to her voice. “I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t hate our situation, too. We were born for war, sughter, aing upon tyrants, for finding warmth is of our foes as we cleave them open. I find calm in the shattering stockages and fag ining fire head-on. The glory of felling a prey is energizing, the sight of liberated people is intoxig. My heart sings with joy when I see my brave girls bleeding out an arrogant enemy leader or tearing a fortification apart. Bullets flying past our ears, cws weaving the deadly melody, sisterhood and radeship otlefield... These things are known to us, ingrained in our souls. Spirits, I almost wet myself when I heard about our vacation. No wonder we all feel unfortable, stu the crawler like food in a refrigerator.”

  Chuckles met Ravager’s words, and even Leonidas Summerspring smiled, nodding in agreement.

  “But the joy of battle is finite!” Ravager raised her voice. “Every battle, every war ends. ge is iable. The age of turmoil is nearing its end. Mighty is the Recmation Army, and few dare to challenge us anymore. But what do we know of the peace we fight for? Little, my warriors. But love a life without war we must, for we cim to fight and die for it. And we are not liars! The Dynast, in his wisdom, has decided that it is time for us to know peace. So heed my orders. Partake in civilian activities; read these…” She moved her paws, struggling to find words.

  “Books?” Zero offered.

  “Neers?” suggested Macarius Voidrunner.

  “Yes! Both!” Ravager nodded in thanks. “Visit ces you afford. Py games, eat food, speak to the people, learn of their s, fears and hopes, cooperate…” She trailed off, inhaling to stop. “Live. Live, my soldiers. It is time for the Ice Fangs to take the lead for ond help us adapt.”

  “We will obey your wish, oh Blessed Mother.” Leonidas fell to a knee, but a huge bck paw raised him and gave him a friendly pat.

  “I rely on you, sword saints, as I ever relied owins.” Ravager said. “As for the cold, the blood of my blood, you’ll get used to it in a year or tha and Zero attest to that. Don’t worry, we won’t be here that long, so I reend wearing warm clothes. At attention!”

  Proudly snapping her fingers, Ravager left to join Cristobo, and Alpha, along with Janine, returo their posts. The n was nearing Houtstad’s outskirts, moving along the specially structed road that had been built to aodate the military forces. Despite this, cracks ruihe smooth surface, for the Iable’s weight was so great that even the reinforced crete could barely support it. The cracks widened even further as the Ice Fangs’ smaller mobile bastions followed the massive mae. Behind them trailed artillery units, infantry trucks, and at the far end, tanks moved in to secure the rear. Their long journey was nearing its end.

  All around them, a nd of wonders was unfolding. Rich fields, teeming with wheat, shared borders with vast pastures where livestock grazed. And not just any livestock! Cows—actual, living, breathing cows, restored by geics—grazed the grass, their tails zily spped at swarms of flies. Janine licked her lips, eager to taste their white milk, so supposedly soft pared to the tough green of the cusacks.

  There were no lizard hens anywhere, but thousands of trees, carrying heavy harvests of apples, grew within sight. Far beyond them were greenhouses of the Oakster family, the rgest food suppliers iire Recmation Army. Colorful and nice barracks frant workers stood he greenhouses where exotianas, lemons, and es were grown. Dozens of smaller trucks stood ready to take the workers to the distant sughterhouses and tanneries, but for some strange reasoood empty as the workers and several Oaksters on six-legged horses shouted greetings and waved their hats at the soldiers.

  Rivers appeared on the horizon, surrounding Houstad like trenches. Only instead of being filled with sand, sharp iron spikes, and mines, cubs of various ages filled the calm waters or swam to shores, fighting over binocurs to survey the approag mountain of steel. Janine’s eyes weren’t as sharp as her cousins’, but she spotted people in green uniforms herding families away from the main bridge as the growing crowds fshed their terminals.

  Above them, a pne, proudly flying Iterna’s celestial blue colors, desded to an airport iy. Jaiced Zero g and ung her fists, trying to stay calm. She sympathized with her sister. The Recmation Army had almost no aviation, and the st time they had seen Iternian pnes was when they had bombed them.

  “Is this a delivery of sorts?” Predaig inquired, fog her gaze on the pne.

  “Nah,” Martyshkina whispered to her. “Iternian goods e by nd. These are tourists.”

  “The who?” Janine asked.

  “My fellow citizens who travel to another tries seeking thrills, recreation, or for business,” said Jaakarevich. The obnoxious Iternian dressed in the simple clothes of a Recimer infantryman, but cut off all military insignia. His camera hovered nearby, filming the ander. “The Great Nations have signed many treaties, including treaties oreatment of tourists, and Houstad has even reopened and rebuilt the a airport to aodate pnes. It works both ways, by the way. Drop by Iterna; it’s not that hard to get a tourist visa for our try.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks, pal,” Zero hissed.

  “The world truly bees a less savage pce…” Janine said proudly. It seemed that just yesterday, they were dragging Iternian prisoners from the downed pnes. And now they wele them as guests.

  “It sure is.” Jaodded. “Anyway, if you ge your mind, our embassy is in the south, close to the Oathtakers’. There aren‘t even queues pared to the lio get a visa into the nds of your neighbor.”

  “’t imagine why,” Zero mused, cheg her helmet.

  “The Oathtakers have an embassy here?” Martyshkina asked. “Jani, think Lyudochka …”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Marty,” Janine replied. “We haven’t had a letter from her in a long time. She probably moved on and is w in a b somewhere.”

  Janine could sehe curious eyes of her daughter and others burrowing into the back of her head. Let them guess—this secret didn’t belong to them.

  A sound of a limousine rag from the city attracted her attention. The car stopped briefly beside the crawler to unload two passengers, then moved aside as the soldiers led the new arrivals to one of the outer elevators. The first to step onto the upper deck was a dark-skinned elderly gentleman in a stern gray business suit and a small gold key emblem on his pel, marking him as mayor. He hurried toward Ravager; his scarless face fshed a broad smile to everyone.

  His panion had a more serious and dignified look. She was a tall woman a standard gray field uniform. A simir gray overcoat hid the carapace body armor; on her chest was a golden medal earned for bravery. Her skin had an unnatural pale hue, the result of a painstakingly long healing process from extreme burns. The top left er of her head was hairless, briefly revealing ugly scars before the woman donned an officer’s cap.

  “ander Ravager, what an honor!” The mayor said in a fident voice. “Jaquan Kruger at your service.”

  “The honor is all mine, Jaquan,” Ravager said pleasantly, and Janine almost bit her tongue in surprise. The Blessed Mother’s voice differed from her usual self; she kept a paw behind her bad extended another for a fingershaking, as Jaquan could fit in her palm. As he touched her, Ravager’s left pupil colpsed into a dot and the lips parted, revealing fangs and drool. “My apologies,” Ravager said in a strained voice. “A headache. Still acclimating. Troops! Greet uests!”

  “No! No need for ceremonies, my friends. I will have none of that from the brave defenders of our safety.” Jaquan quickly spoke, preventing the Wolfkins from kneeling. “It is I and the people of Houstad who owe you and the founder a debt of honor for our city’s very existence!”

  “I founded nothing!” Ravager snapped suddenly, stopping her fangs just short of the man’s face. His smile never wavered, a on his gsses to shield his eyes from the light. “I am jumpy today, Jaquan. My deepest apologies for the se, but we had very little to tribute to the creation of this magnifit den.”

  “Then only the brave defenders. You ’t dispute that,” the officer said cautiously, ing closer. She er and saluted to the captain. “Captain Cristobo! I have heard much about your aplishments in the recmation efforts. It is an honor to meet you in person, sir. We have received word of an atta a settlement ier Lands. Do we know anything more about the invaders?”

  “ive, Lieutenant.” Cristobo shook her hand. “The raiding party was pletely wiped out. Warlord Onyxia is currently trying to find any clues about the whereabouts of the attackers.”

  “Jaie, give it a rest. I am sure uests will tell us everything ter, after they have had a well-deserved rest.” Jaquan pced a hand on the lieutenant’s shoulder. “How about we all trate on the ining parade instead? Ah, I already see it! The Wolfkins of both groups marg side by side, with ander Ravager at the head, giving a speech…”

  “Not ied,” Ravager said in a hoarse voice. “Hail to you and all that, kind mayor, but just tell me where our dens are, and I’ll leave the city for a nap.”

  “But this just won’t do!” Jaquan protested. “Some of your soldiers have families in Houstad, and the brave Ice Fangs own several enterprises. No doubt everyone would like to see the Third arrive in full glory, and this is also a perfect opportunity to show solidarity and unity among the people of our nation.”

  “You have a point,” Ravager said, gently toug his back, drawing the mayor to the elevator. “But the Wolf Tribe seldom parades, and I myself will spoil the beautiful day. How about I meet you halfway? I’ll thank the citizens of Houstad for having us, and we’ll cut down on the parade.”

  “Cut it short?” asked Jaie. “ander Ravager, this is a joyous occasion, and the mayor, the provincial army, the police, and the Iigation Bureau have spent siderable resources to secure the avenue leading to the base. If you respect our efforts in the slightest, then the least you do to repay our efforts is to ply with the mayor’s idea…”

  “Please, Jaie…” the mayor started.

  “Don’t ‘please’ me, Jaquan!” the lieutenant snapped bad stepped closer ter. “ander, despite our differences, we respect the Third. Your soldiers have just returned from this foolish endeavor; they are weary; the ghosts of the fruitless war no doubt still haunt them. Let them join in the celebration. No one even demands perfect footwork from your soldiers; just be yourself…”

  Foolish? Fruitless? The fur rose at the back of Janine’s neck, but she said nothing, suppressing the desire to bite the imperti female. Is this how the people of the Core Lands feel about their quests? Thunder Emperor, Blood Graf, Teo-Queen… did they believe these threats would not reach them ohey had finished pying with the Outer Lands? There could be iation, no reasoning with someone pnning to cim you, only an immediate respoo prevent a future camity from happening in the civilized nds.

  She was hoo see the fsh of indignation in the eyes of Macarius and Leonidas. But Ravager, surprisingly, reacted kindly, ing her sed paw around the lieutenant’s bad nodding for the Iternian to follow.

  “You won’t like it, believe me,” Ravager mused cheerfully.

  “ander, a show of force will instill a sense of safety…” Jaie insisted.

  “Mayor Jaquan, Lieutenant Jaie, call me Ravager, please. I am open to iations,” Ravager sighed. “I appreciate your efforts to give us a warm wele. We have something prepared on our side as well. Camelia! Cristobo!”