The sun continued to inch toward its zenith. Quinten exhaled deeply through his nose, leaning back in the chair and letting his head rest against the wall behind him.

  His eyes were closed, and he’d used the last twenty minutes to get some meditation in while he waited for the captain’s secretary to say she was ready for him.

  Breathe in… and out.

  He’d grown lax in the art and now was as good a time as any to practice. It was that, or accept his annoyance at being made to wait so the woman could make a point.

  In for six—out for four.

  “She’ll see you now.” Came the self-satisfied voice from behind the desk across from him.

  Quinten opened his eyes slowly and rose to his feet. He stepped around the desk and stopped. Bending down beside the young man, Quinten murmured. “She’s never going to go for you.” Standing to his full height, he pushed open the captain’s door.

  Quinten didn’t care if he came across as a dick. Twenty minutes of the man’s lust and jealousy beating against his mental barrier left him tempted to throw the secretary through the open window.

  To Quinten's surprise, Captain Leduc was not sitting behind her desk, either busy, or appearing to be busy. Instead, she stood off to the side, leaning against the large wooden surface with her attention locked on him.

  Their gazes met, and another connection formed instantly. In the months since his Empathic gift manifested, never had he met someone so easy to establish a link without physical contact.

  They were too far apart the night before, and there was too much going on for him to notice her eye color, but in the late morning light filtering into the room, their sparkling blue depths shined.

  Her expression and the irritation he felt from the woman was much less pleasant. “A wall? You had to bring up a stars-cursed wall?”

  Quinten's jaw clenched, his lips pressing into a thin line. “I’d apologize, but I wasn’t aware the suggestion was off limits, nor do I believe I’m wrong.”

  The blue narrowed, intensifying in its focus as Captain Leduc glared at him. The action, a contrast to the satisfaction she felt at his answer. “Well, at least you aren’t a spineless coward. The jury is still out on you being an idiot.”

  Quinten blinked. “Excuse me?”

  The captain turned her back on him. It gave him a great view as she fell gracelessly into her chair. She leaned back, setting the heels of her boots on the corner of her desk.

  “In my experience, fresh lieutenants come to me either scared or stupid. I do what I can to beat that out of them. If they survive, they are of real value to the Core.”

  “I’ve never been called an idiot—not by anyone I respected.” Quinten admitted, taking a seat at her wave.

  Her laugh—a rolling, hearty thing, caught him off guard. “A funny one, it would seem.” Her eyes flicked to the papers strewn across the rest of her desk and she sighed, going through a visible change as she shifted topics.

  “Battle Mage Canton is good stock. I’ve put in for her promotion to lieutenant if another slot opens up. You’ll have her here for two more days before she heads back to her own duty station. Be sure to get a complete hand-off before that happens.”

  “Yes, captain.”

  “Good.” She said, pushing a few loose papers together and stacking them neatly. “Once you have your feet under you. You can get started.”

  Knowing she was playing him, Quinten shifted in his seat before biting. “Get started with what, captain?”

  “Building your wall, of course.”

  *****

  “You have the captain’s permission?” Demanded Harper later that evening, practically jumping up and down at the thought.

  Quinten spent the remainder of his day buried in reports until Nell returned from the days uneventful patrol. He’d hit her with one question after another until even he was getting annoyed with himself. At that point, Quinten sent Declan off to find Harper, inviting her and the rest of the Core Lt. to dinner that evening. He’d considered inviting Barty, but with the way the big man and Mallory had interacted… It was probably best to keep the pair separate.

  “Not—exactly…?” He said with a wince.

  Harper frowned, her eyebrows drawing down in a way that made her large nose stand out. “Why did that sound like a question?” She asked Mallory sitting beside her.

  Quinten raised both hands in a calming gesture and said, “Not officially is more accurate. She agrees that it needs done, but she said it wouldn’t look well on anyone if the Mage Core and Army senior leadership are at odds.”

  “I don’t think the Rivennans that die when a wall could have saved them will care.” Ronan said, killing the excitement Quinten's news created.

  Quinten put his arm around his friend and gave him a quick squeeze. A flare of frustration hit him from across the room and his head whipped up in the direction he felt it coming from. There, leaning against one of the tavern’s support beams, was Lt. Wells. The man was staring daggers at Ronan and Quinten until he realized he’d been spotted. Quinten watched him pull a few coins from his pocket and toss them on a nearby table, walking out the door a moment later.

  He seemed to be the only one to have noticed and chose to keep it to himself, filing the information away for later. His arm fell away from Ronan’s shoulders and he used it to replace the cup of wine before his friend with one of water. It would do his friend no good to drink with his mind in such a dark place.

  “You’ve the right of it.” Quinten agreed. “Which is why we are going to do it without Commander Aldric’s blessing. I’d rather ask for forgiveness from the living than permission of the dead.”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  *****

  Two days passed before their schedules aligned and Barty could cash in on the drink Quinten owed him.

  They were in the same tavern he met the others in a couple of days before. They were several drinks in and Quinten was much better informed on local politics and the way of things around Northreach.

  He leaned back, happy their table was placed against a wall. It gave him something to rest against. He could have used his gift to burn off the alcohol, but chose not to. The last two days spent going over one report after another started wearing him thin. On a positive note, with BM Canton leaving the next morning, that was about to change.

  When Quinten judged the timing and their mutual drunkenness to be about right. He sat forward, placing both elbows on the table.

  “I need your help.”

  Barty blinked at him slowly, a smile spreading across his face. “Of course you do!” He said, his face scrunching a moment later. “With what?”

  “I’ll need you and the other Cavalry Lt. to fill in for me over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be riding out with you all, but I won’t be able to lead our units like they deserve.”

  Nodding, Barty took a drink of his ale. “Glad you’re thinking of the men. If you aren’t leading, what are you doing?”

  And Quinten told him. Detailing out the plan that Harper, Mallory, and Talia helped put together. It was Lianna, surprisingly enough, that pointed out the flaw in their plan.

  Eventually, the Drakovians would notice the wall’s construction. If the mages exhausted their Gifts, it left them vulnerable for an attack without magical support. Quinten came up with a solution, but it would mean longer days for everyone.

  “You want us to change our routes?” Barty asked as they worked through what he wanted to do.

  “Ehh.” Quinten said. “They already change to keep the enemy guessing. We will need to adjust them, but only so we can swap mages. We won’t want a mage with an empty Gift well riding around. So, we’ll time it so those with elemental gifts raise more of the wall before they swap out with someone fresh for the next patrol. Then, those who can transmute it to stone will do so. I will be out there daily filling in where I’m needed and the rest of the Lt. are going to send their mages, who can help when they can spare them.”

  “We can’t have each patrol end wherever your wall is currently being worked.” He started moving cups and plates on the table, arranging them to show what he meant. “There is no way we could cover our entire range and make that happen.”

  Quinten nodded, his enthusiasm growing. “They won’t have to. And this is where the planning is going to be key. We’ll be building the wall in sections. We have three locations picked out to start. Then we can slowly bring them together as we fill in the space between points.”

  Barty frowned, and Quinten motioned for him to move his hands. He arranged four cups across the table and placed a utensil between each cup until eventually the link was complete. The big man looked up with raised brows. “You think we can do it?” He asked.

  Sighing, Quinten picked up his drink from the middle of the example and downed its contents.

  “If we want to end this war anytime soon. I’m not sure we can afford not to.”

  *****

  Each step left the scent of crushed grass in Quinten's wake as he walked with outstretched arms. Before taking on this project, he’d never had reason to exhaust himself day after day, mile after mile, as he and the other Core mages of Northreach worked together. His focus sat nestled deep within his gift, channeling the energy with as much control and efficiency as he could. The earth rising behind him like a snake charmer playing their song.

  Today was a Raising Day for Quinten. With the mages coming in on the next patrol to transmute it all to stone.

  He continued for another ten minutes, adding another fifty feet of turned earth, standing ten feet tall and five feet wide. Once transmuted, it would blend in seamlessly with the mile and a half of wall already completed.

  Releasing his Gift, he sat heavily on the ground, leaning against the halfway completed wall with his eyes closed. They’d been at it for three weeks now, and this stretch was already half-finished. The other two sections were weren’t as far along, but Quinten was happy with the progress. If things continued as they were, the wall would be finished in less than a fortnight.

  Horse hooves clopped nearby and something landed between Quinten's legs with a whomp. He was too tired to react and felt around with his fingers until they wrapped around a corked skin. Popping the top, he drank heavily from its contents, the water cooling his parched throat.

  “You scare them, you know.”

  Quinten cracked open an eye, happy to be on the shaded side of the wall. He looked up, and up, at the towering figure of Barty mounted on some poor horse.

  “Who, the horses?”

  Barty barked a laugh, saying. “Aye, them too. But I meant the men. They see how much more wall goes up when you’re Raising, and don’t think they don’t notice the extra feet you add on when you think no one is watching.”

  “They aren’t the only ones to notice,” Quinten said, leaning around the side of the wall. His eyes scanned into the distance. There, a half-mile out, two mounted Drakovian scouts watched on.

  “How long until they try and stop us?” Barty asked, following his gaze. The leather of his saddle pommel creaking in protest as he leaned on it with his considerable weight.

  “I’ve no idea.” Quinten said, before taking another drink. He felt the cool water go all the way down and sighed in satisfaction. He wiped the mouth of the skin and plugged it, floating it back to its owner. “You’re the experienced cavalry officer, you tell me.”

  “Well… we’re already changing the patrols to take advantage of the sections of wall already in place. Which we know is really starting to piss off the Drakovians. Three raid interceptions this week.” The man sat upright in his saddle, chest puffed with pride. Raising a brow, he added. “You do realize the Fort Commander isn’t going to believe that this is all just a string of good luck, right? Eventually, he’s going to start suspecting you’ve done something.”

  Quinten pushed himself to his feet and brushed the dirt from his hands.

  “That, my friend, is a problem for future me. He can worry about it when it happens.”

  *****

  How does a cavalry unit go through so many horseshoes? They are riding on grass for the love of stars!

  Quinten pushed the requisition form away from him in disgust. The stack of similar requests looming over him like a rainy day.

  Pounding feet on wood echoed outside of his office. They were light steps, not the heavy tread of boots required by those working around large animals.

  Rising to his feet, Declan burst through his open doorway, sliding on the polish wooden floor and slamming into the back of a couch in his haste.

  “Barty sent for you, my lord. He thinks Lt. Carter’s patrol is in trouble. They can see smoke from the walls.”

  Quinten rushed to the exterior wall of his office, pausing only to snag Astraea from her mounting peg beside his desk. He planted a booted heel on his windowsill and leapt to the stone-lined streets below, augmenting his bones and joints to absorb the impact. He landed in a roll and took off toward Layla, strapping on the sword as he ran. Layla pulled firmly on the saddle’s girth before checking the other straps and buckles for tightness.

  With contact with the enemy coming more and more regularly, the men and mages of NRLC wore their armor while on duty, regardless of is they were scheduled for patrol that day.

  This may have only been the second incident that week, but Quinten could feel it. There was something different this time.

  Layla stepped in front of Star to clear the way for Quinten as he scrambled into the saddle, trusting that the groomswoman had her ready for battle.

  “Thank you, Layla.” He said, taking the reins from her.

  Smiling up at him, she replied, “Good hunting, my lord.”

  Quinten guided Star out front. Where he could see the NRLC’s reserves quickly forming up. Barty rode up beside him and asked. “Do you feel it?”

  Shifting in his saddle, Quinten nodded. The last of his mages form up beside the block of regular calvary and he nodded once more to Barty.

  The big man led his horse forward, bellowing. “NRLC! Your brothers and sister seemed to have gotten themselves into some shit. It’s up to us to get them out of it!”

  The combined roar of the men and women behind them shook the stone walls as they rode through.