Lindet sighed, then crossed the tower to stand next to him, looking to the east, along the northern coast of the Hammer. “You’re not worried about your reputation? Mad Ben Styke, brother to the ruler of Fatrasta? You’re no longer a loose cannon, a force of nature. They’ll know that you came from someplace. That your sister is the most powerful woman on the continent. Family connections tend to … dim the perception that others have of your accomplishments.”
“I’ve never really given a shit what anyone thought about me,” Styke replied, twirling his lancers’ ring on his finger. “You’re not worried about your reputation?”
“I sent my own brother to the labor camps for a decade.” Lindet shrugged. “I think that goes rather well with my reputation.” He saw the flicker of a smile at the corner of her mouth and rolled his eyes.
“I should throw you off this tower.”
Lindet lifted her hand, placing it on Styke’s arm. “I know. Your healing, did it go well?”
“It did, thanks.” Styke instinctively rolled his shoulders, feeling the tightness from the healed cuts on his torso and the bullet wound in his shoulder. “Have you found the Dynize Army?”
“I have. They pulled back once your men threw open the doors of the citadel. It seems they didn’t want to attack a field army and a fortress at the same time, and during a storm no less.”
“Your ships?”
“I lost two to the storm. Three to the citadel guns. The fleet is in surprisingly good shape, considering the circumstances.” She paused, her eyes narrowing as if something had pained her. “I … I would have lost the war if you had not come in after me. The Third would have been crushed, my fleet scattered, and my person either captured or executed. Thank you for that.”
Styke remained silent. He couldn’t remember the last time Lindet had thanked him for something. Not since childhood, certainly.
Lindet continued. “I have two gifts for you. The first is command of this citadel. Your lancers have earned some rest. They can get drunk off the nearby caches and sweep the coast of any Dynize landing parties. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“You want to put me in command of a city?” Styke asked flatly.
“A city without any people in it, yes. I’ll leave a garrison large enough to man the walls, and your lancers. I think this is a good spot for you … for now. I’m going with the Third first thing in the morning, and we’re going to sweep the Dynize off the Hammer. Once we’re ready to head into the mainland, I will summon you.”
Styke couldn’t quite manage a thank-you. It was too obvious that Lindet was giving him the command so she could keep an eye on him. Not a lot of places he could go, sitting out here on the end of the Hammer. “What’s the second gift?”
“The second gift is stored in a vault about seven miles southeast of here. You probably rode past it during your recent adventures.”
Styke perked up, his heart quickening. “What is it?”
A self-satisfied smile cracked Lindet’s face. “Your armor. All of it. Three hundred sets, plus another two hundred that I’ve gathered since the war. They don’t all match, not like the originals, but I don’t think that will matter to you.”
Styke’s mouth was dry. “I knew you were lying about destroying them.”
“I knew you knew I was lying.” Lindet gave a shrug, as if it didn’t matter. “Tell me about the Riflejack cavalry among the lancers.”
It was Styke’s turn to be coy. “I picked up a few friends along the way.”
“And your goals in this part of the continent?”
Styke gave her a thin smile.
Lindet rolled her eyes. “You’re looking for them, aren’t you? The other godstones?” She waited just a moment for an answer, then made a dismissive gesture. “The one on the Hammer. I’m guessing you didn’t find it?”
“I did not.”
“Good. You should keep your distance from the stones, Benjamin. You may be mad, but you don’t want anything to do with them.”
“And you do?” Styke asked, unable to keep the petulance out of his voice.
“Hmm. Tell me, where is the bone-eye woman who killed Dvory? What was her name?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
All trace of emotion left Lindet’s face. Her jaw tensed. “I’ve had my men looking everywhere for her, yet she seems to have disappeared without a trace. Your Mad Lancers are pretending she never existed.”
“Odd, that. It’s as if she never did.”
Lindet snorted. “I’m leaving, Benjamin. You will stay here, and you will protect the coast from the Dynize. When I summon you, I expect you to have your armor and I expect you to have moved past this godstone nonsense. The stones will remain unrecovered until this war is won. Do you understand?” She turned on her heel and left the tower without waiting for an answer.
Styke leaned on the battlements, feeling tired, and watched the ships anchored out past the breakers. There were transports, ships of the line, commandeered merchantmen. It was, as he’d suspected, everything that Lindet had left in this part of the country. Now they crouched in the shadow of Starlight’s guns, knowing they were the only protection against the roving Dynize fleets.
Less than a minute had passed before he heard footsteps again. They belonged to Ibana, and she joined him at the battlements immediately and glanced out to sea before fixing him with a sidelong stare. “I passed Lindet on the way up here.”
“Yeah.”
“Sister, eh?”
“Yeah.” Styke didn’t really much feel like talking about it. The conversation was going to be a long one, and very uncomfortable.
To his surprise, all Ibana said was, “That explains a lot. So what’s our plan now?”
“Lindet has left me in charge of Starlight.”
“She wants to keep an eye on you.”
“That she does.”
“So what will you do?”
“She also told me where my armor is. There’s a vault seven miles from here. I want you and the lancers to head out immediately and fetch it.”
This got Ibana’s attention. A grin slowly spread across her face, and he could see a hungry look in her eye. “We have our armor back.”
“That we do. We’re going to wait until Lindet’s been gone for three days. Then we’re going to commandeer her fleet and invade Dynize. Sound good?”
Ibana straightened, a fierce grin on her face. “With our armor? That sounds wonderful.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have to start with thanks to my fantastic editor, Brit Hvide, and her guiding hand throughout the process of writing this book. Sequels are always tricky, and Brit stepped in as editor on the second book in a series without losing a beat. Thanks to my agent, Caitlin Blasdell, for her continuing support. She and her colleagues at Liza Dawson Associates help make sure I can keep writing for a living, which is one of the best gifts a guy can get!
Thanks to my wife, Michele. She sees every piece of mine before anyone else, and her fingerprints are all over the Powder Mage books. I couldn’t dream of writing them without her help.
My appreciation goes out to my beta-readers, Mark Lindberg, Joshua Mulligan, Sam Baskin, Wyatt Nevins, and Peter Keep. Thanks to all the awesome staff at Orbit, who continue to help me put out great books. And finally, thanks to all of you for reading and continuing to support me! I couldn’t do it without you!