[This post is from Marin’s point of view.]
Hecate found her voice first. “Well, that’s reassuring,” she said, her tone measured and voice quiet. She was staring off over the camp below, almost seeming to get her bearings—as if she knew what was going to be asked of her.
Honestly, she probably did. It wasn’t that hard to guess, especially when she’d practically volunteered for it the day before.
Matt glanced at her, then at me. He seemed to avoid looking back out over the camp again, as if he were suddenly regretting the idea to come in the first place. “What’s your plan?” he asked, lips thinning. “I’m assuming it’s mostly based on the camp being a hell of a lot bigger than we anticipated.”
“The camp’s bigger,” I agreed. “But I don’t think the army’s really that much bigger, just more spread out. We’ll need to bunch them up for maximum effect and sow chaos in the ranks.”
“We’ve got no way of knowing how disciplined they are,” Thordin murmured, his gaze trained on the camp below. “No idea if they’ll cut and run or stand.”
“It’s Orcus,” Phelan said. “Odds are that any army he’s put together is going to stand and fight, one way or another—either out of discipline or pure fear of him.”
“It’s a wise fear,” Hecate said, shaking her head slightly. “So how do we bunch them up without losing our edge?”
“That’s where Matt and Phelan come in,” I said quietly, glancing at the two of them. “I need you two to force them toward the center of the camp.”
Matt blinked at me. “How?”
“You know how,” Phelan murmured. “So do I.”
“Can you do it?” I asked him.
Phelan glanced out at the camp again, studying it for a few moments before he answered. “Yeah. Yeah, I think we can.”
“Good,” I said, ignoring Matt’s almost stricken look. “Because that’s what we need you to do as soon as we’re in position to start the assault.”
Smiling grimly, Phelan nodded.
