It was a rhetorical question, but I answered it anyway. “General Irina has a nice ring to it.”
He laughed and stood. “There’s only one general in this whole outfit, sweetheart.”
“And who is he?”
“She is General Jael. Not only does she command the army, but the very air. And she has a nasty temper. I’d suggest you stay far away from her.”
Worry for my sister swirled. Jael had taken her on as a page. They were together every day.
The major extended his hand. “Welcome to Axe Company, Sergeant Irina.”
“How about Lieutenant Irina?”
“Let’s see what you can do first, and then we’ll talk.”
I shook his hand. “Deal.”
Lieutenant Thea eyed me critically. She matched my height, which was a bit of a surprise since, at five feet eight inches, I was on the tall side for a woman. Her no-nonsense demeanor hid her opinion about me. I had the feeling she wasn’t the type to make a quick judgment.
“First stop, the supply tent.” She led me to a huge canvas structure that was more like a building than a tent.
I was given two sets of the daily uniform—basic green camouflage fatigues—they were very smart to change from red—with the sergeant stripes stitched onto the upper sleeves, a thick leather weapon’s belt, a pair of brown boots manufactured for rough terrain, a backpack also camouflaged, underclothes and a dress uniform, which consisted of a button-down collared shirt, jacket and a skirt all in the same bland khaki color. The dress shoes had a two-inch heel.
“Heels and a skirt?” I asked Thea.
Humor sparked in her blue eyes, but it didn’t reach her face. “The dress uniform must be worn when meeting with high-ranking officers, priests and priestesses. I doubt you’ll have need of it.”
“Thank the creator!”
This time she smiled, but it only lasted a second. Back to business, she asked, “Weapon of choice?”
I glanced at her belt. She wore a sword on her right hip and a dagger on her left.
“I don’t need anything.”
She gestured to me. “That stiletto won’t be enough to defend yourself.”
I brandished a couple of my throwing knives. “How about these?”
Thea shrugged. “They’re only good if you know how to use them.”
Aiming for the center post, I buried four in a neat row.
“That’s handy.”
“Keeps the gentleman callers away.”
Another fleeting smile. I considered it a minor victory.
“I’ll show you to your quarters.”
I grabbed my knives and followed her. We walked past tents and around training areas. At first the camp looked as if it had been haphazardly planned, but as Thea pointed out the various platoons, a pattern emerged. Each company had been grouped together.
My quarters ended up being a tent occupied by two other female sergeants.
“Your roommates are also assigned to my platoon.”
“How many soldiers do you command?”
“I have fifty-six. Five squads of ten soldiers with one sergeant commanding each squad.” She cocked her head. “And you.”
I dumped my uniforms onto the empty cot.
“Bed linens can be found in the storage locker.” She pointed to the large trunk at the foot of the cot. “Get dressed and I’ll introduce you to the other sergeants.” She left.
As I changed into the fatigues, I wondered how the other sergeants would react to my sudden … assignment. Stuffing all my things into the trunk, I locked it, then tucked the key into my pocket.
Lieutenant Thea waited for me outside. “My platoon is in training right now. We’re not on patrol duty for another two days. Will that be enough time to teach them?” She led me to one of the open areas used for practice.
“Not all of them.” I considered. Since I’d never taught anyone the skill, I wasn’t sure how long it would take. Or if I could. I suppressed the doubts. Too late to worry about them now. “I might be able to train one squad if they’re quick learners.”
“And if they cooperate.” Thea gave me a tight smile that almost resembled a grimace.
“Because I’m new?”
Thea raised a finger. “That’s one of the three things against you. The others are that you’re a young female and that you haven’t earned your place here. All of my sergeants have been promoted up through the ranks. Not assigned a rank.”
I understood two of the three. “Female? General Jael’s in charge, and the last time I checked, she’s a young female.”
“She’s also the High Priestess’s daughter-in-law and an air magician.”
“And I’m not.”
“Correct. Plus we need to rebuild our population. Women of childbearing years are already in short supply, and my lady sergeants are older.”
I caught on. “They don’t want us getting killed in battle.”
“Yep. It’s all about our future survival.”
“But if we don’t stop Tohon, we won’t have a future.”
“These guys are quite confident we’ll win.” Thea stopped at the edge and watched the men practice. “They have to be, in order to do their jobs.”
I studied the fighters. Most had stripped off their shirts in deference to the afternoon heat. Some of them held wooden swords while others fought with knives. The clangs of metal blades sounded as a few used real weapons. Sweat coated muscles and stained their sleeveless undershirts.
After a few minutes, Thea whistled and three men and two women broke from the knots of fighters and headed toward us.
As they approached, I wondered if the male sergeants in Estrid’s army had to be over six feet tall and solid muscle, because these guys made Kerrick seem small—something I’d thought only Belen could do. I glanced at Thea.
“Don’t let them intimidate you,” she said under her breath.
Too late.
When they reached us, they saluted the lieutenant.
“At ease, Sergeants,” she said.
They dropped their hands, but their tight postures were far from relaxed. All wore their hair buzzed short, even the women. All glared at me. And their nonverbal message was clear. Go away, stranger. You don’t belong here.
I fought my desire to step back, reminding myself that I’d faced down Kerrick. But there were five of them. Kill. Me. Now.
Thea introduced me. “Sergeant Irina, this is Sergeants Liv, Ursan, Odd, Saul and Wynn.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
They remained silent and unfriendly.
Thea’s voice took on her no-nonsense tone. “Major Granvil has assigned Sergeant Irina to our platoon to help with our special operations training.”
“We don’t need help,” Sergeant Ursan said.
His named sounded familiar—something about jumping jacks.
“That’s not your decision,