Page 26

Chapter 26

Step 2: Sneaking

Conceiving, planning and initiating the theft of a priceless religious artefact from a holy fortress protected by supernaturally blessed guards isn’t the sort of undertaking one rushes into. Unless, of course, there’s a parade involved.

‘Worst. Fucking. Plan. Ever,’ Corrigan muttered as the two of us marched alongside our Glorian brethren through the streets of Radira.

‘Stop complaining. You look good as a blond.’

Sneaking into line among the Glorians hadn’t been especially difficult. We’d simply appeared at the very back, among some of the shabbier human recruits, and begun berating them for various invented violations of protocol.

‘Speck of dust on the right pauldron,’ I said to Corrigan as we shoved past one of the proud human soldiers who’d no doubt been imagining himself about to be immediately promoted into one of the Glorian orders and blessed with any number of wondrous abilities.

‘Two demerits?’ Corrigan asked in an officious tone. Given his own rebellious inclinations, he’s remarkably good at putting on military airs.

‘Three,’ I said, pointing to the recruit’s open-mouthed confusion. ‘Failure to maintain proper bearing.’ I stuck my finger under the recruit’s chin and raised it fractionally. ‘Regulation angle of lower jawbone is ninety degrees from the line of the neck, recruit. As the Edicts teach us, “A true warrior of the Aurorals is neither arrogant nor submissive, but rather evokes determination and fortitude with every bone in their body”.’

That’s not an actual Auroral Edict, of course, but with seventeen hundred and seventy-seven of them, who’s to remember?

‘Scabbard clanging at the hip,’ Corrigan said of another recruit as we made our way forward along the parade line. ‘Are you trying to draw attention to yourself, recruit? Do you consider yourself so magnificent as to draw the eyes of our fellow Mortals away from the Sovereign and down to yourself?’

‘Uh. . . no, sir,’ the recruit stammered, grabbing hold of his scabbard with his left hand. ‘Must be a problem with the hanger straps on the belt — ’

Corrigan stopped, turning to face the recruit and making those behind him stumble to a halt. ‘The hanger straps ?’ he asked ominously. ‘Poor equipment, is that the problem, soldier? The Lords Celestine failed to provide you with gear worthy of your stature?’

‘N-no, sir! The fault’s all mine!’ The recruit scowled at his own hip as if discovering for the first time that it was somehow deformed.

‘Four demerits,’ Corrigan said, then turned away and the two of us resumed our advance through the ranks.

‘Remember not to use the demerit thing on the actual Glorians,’ I said to him.

‘Why? You don’t think I can come up with a suitably convincing flaw in one of your precious fellow Glorians?’

‘There’s no such thing as demerits among the higher orders.’

‘How do you maintain discipline, then?’

I thought back to my early years among the Justiciars. ‘When you get out of line, your comrades beat the shit out of you.’

We passed through the front ranks of the recruits. Ahead of us were a troop of Glorian Ardentors. ‘What the fuck do we do when they challenge us?’ Corrigan asked.

‘Simple,’ I replied with greater confidence than I felt. ‘We tell them exactly who I am.’