Two weeks. Fourteen dawns of training until muscles screamed. Fourteen nights of planning until dreams turned tactical. Now Kael crouched in pine needles, watching the supply convoy wind up the mountain road.
"Two guards visible." Renn whispered beside him. Another refugee. Quick eyes. Quicker hands. "But feel that?"
That. The temperature drop that meant Kiratashi. At least two. Apprentice rank by the feeling. His painter spirit confirmed with subtle reconnaissance. Intermediate rank. Both of them. Stronger than expected.
Should they abort? Signal the others? Six refugees against two Intermediate Kiratashi meant slaughter unless...
"Medical supplies." Mara's voice from his left. Camp Two survivor. Missing fingers from frostbite. From punishment. "See the red-marked crates? Those are spiritual healing compounds. Irreplaceable."
This... they needed those supplies. Three people in the settlement suffering spirit-wounds. Without proper treatment, they'd die slowly. Painfully. No choice but forward.
Kael caught Renn's eye. Made the hand signal. Plan continues. Risky acknowledged. The others would understand. They'd all accepted death as probable outcome when volunteering.
The convoy stopped at the switchback. Perfect position. Horses needed rest. Guards would relax. Momentary vulnerability in their schedule.
Now? Not yet. Let them settle. Let vigilance slip. Let the Kiratashi think this was another boring supply run.
His spirit painted the scene in his mind. Showed angles. Distances. Where illusions would be most effective. Three minutes. That's how long he could maintain complex illusions now. Three minutes to create enough chaos for the others to grab supplies and run.
One guard dismounted. Stretched. The Kiratashi remained mounted but loosened. One actually yawned. Boredom. Routine. Deadly combination.
Now.
Kael's spirit surged out. Painted reality different. The road ahead erupted in flames. Not real but convincing. Horses reared. Guards shouted. The fire spread to trees. To sky. To everything the eye wanted to believe.
"Ambush! South side!" One Kiratashi pointed at nothing. At painted enemies emerging from painted smoke. His spirit began manifesting. Shadow-hound. Hunting illusions.
The other Intermediate released his spirit. Ice-serpent. It tasted the air. Tasted deception. But three seconds passed before it could pinpoint the source.
Three seconds was enough.
Renn and two others hit the wagon from the north. Real approach while attention fixed south. They grabbed marked crates. Medical supplies. Food. Whatever hands could hold.
"Contact north!" A guard spotted them. Turned. Raised crossbow.
Kael painted the bolt's path different. Slight adjustment. It whistled past Renn's ear instead of through it. But the effort split his concentration. The main illusion wavered.
"False fire! Find the Kiratashi!" The shadow-hound oriented on Kael's position. Started moving. Fast. Faster than expected.
Time to go. The others were clear. Supplies secured. His part was done. Except...
The ice-serpent had cornered Mara. She'd gone for one last crate. Greedy. Desperate. Human. Now frozen by the spirit's aura. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. About to become casualty.
This... he should run. Save himself. The mission succeeded. One loss was acceptable. Expected even.
His spirit disagreed. Surged forward without permission. Painted Mara's image ten feet left. Painted her fear there instead of here. The ice-serpent struck image instead of girl. Mara gasped. Stumbled. Ran.
But now both Intermediate spirits focused on him. Shadow-hound charging. Ice-serpent coiling for another strike. His painter spirit exhausted. Seconds left at most.
"Move, idiot!" Darra appeared from nowhere. Official Kiratashi revealing herself. Her spirit... what was that? Smoke? Ash? It billowed out, obscuring everything. Buying time.
Kael ran. Behind him, spirits clashed. Darra buying their escape with her strength. But even Official against two Intermediates... She wouldn't last long. Couldn't last long.
Through the trees. Over the creek. Up the hidden path. His spirit painted false trails behind them. Weak misdirection but maybe enough. The medical supplies bounced in Renn's pack ahead. Mission successful. At what cost?
They reached the first checkpoint. Guards recognized them. Waved them through. Still running. Still expecting pursuit. But...
"They're not following." Mara gasped. Out of breath. Out of belief. "Why aren't they following?"
Because Darra was still fighting. Still buying time. Still paying for their escape with everything she had.
The settlement gates opened. They stumbled through. Vera waited. Took in their condition. The supplies. The missing member. Her expression never changed.
"Darra?"
"Held them. Let us escape." Kael forced the words out. "Two Intermediates. Both fresh. She..."
"She knew the risks." Vera's voice held iron. "You all did. Supplies to medical. Full debrief in one hour. Go."
Dismissed. Just like that. One of their six Kiratashi probably dead and Vera showed nothing. But as Kael passed, he caught something in her eyes. Grief? Rage? Both buried deep but there.
Medical building. They handed over the crates. The healer, Ben, actually smiled. First time Kael had seen that. "Spirit-healing compounds. Proper ones. This saves lives. Thank you."
Saves some lives. Costs others. The mathematics of resistance.
They gathered in the main building. Five who'd gone out. Five who'd returned. Vera listened to their report. Each detail. Each decision. When Kael described saving Mara, she paused.
"You risked the mission for one person."
Was that criticism? Approval? Impossible to tell. "She would have died."
"Yes. She would have." Vera studied him. Studied his spirit. "Your painter grows faster than expected. Tactical thinking. Protective instincts. Interesting combination."
"Where's Darra?" Marcus-different-Marcus asked from the doorway. "Heard the team came back but..."
"Darra engaged two Intermediate Kiratashi to cover retreat." Vera's report was clinical. "Status unknown. Presumed captured or dead."
The room went quiet. Darra had been here from the beginning. Trained half the refugees. Saved dozens of lives. Now probably feeding some spirit herself.
"She knew the plan." Vera continued. "Understood her role. Executed perfectly. Her sacrifice secured medical supplies that will save multiple lives. Mathematics of war."
Mathematics. Lives reduced to numbers. But what else was there? Emotion wouldn't bring Darra back. Sentiment wouldn't heal the spirit-wounded. Only results mattered. Only survival counted.
"Dismissed. Except you." Vera pointed at Kael.
The others filed out. Mara squeezed his shoulder as she passed. Thanks and sorrow mixed. His spirit painted something small on her hand. Flower maybe. Comfort offered in pigment.
"Your growth rate is abnormal." Vera circled him. Studying. "Two weeks from Low to almost Intermediate. Your spirit evolves rapidly. Why?"
"I don't know."
"Thorne bloodline maybe. Natural affinity." She stopped in front of him. "Or desperation. Trauma. Need. Spirits respond to all three. Feed on all three."
This... was she threatening? Testing? Both?
"Can you control it? When it grows. When it hungers." Her own spirit manifested partially. Still smoke and ash but with eyes now. Watching his painter. "Every spirit eventually demands more than its Kiratashi can give. Yours accelerates toward that point."
"I control it."
"For now." She dismissed her spirit. "Continue training. Continue missions. But watch for the hunger. When it comes... and it will come... decide quickly. Feed it or cut it loose. Middle ground kills Kiratashi."
Warning delivered, she turned to maps on her desk. Conversation over. Kael left, found his room, collapsed on the bed. His spirit emerged fully. Larger again. Fed on combat stress. On fear. On success.
It painted Darra on the wall. Brief image. Already fading. But remembering. Someone should remember her. Her sacrifice. Her mathematics.
Elena entered. Sat on her bed. Said nothing for long minutes. Then: "Heard you saved Mara."
"Delayed her death maybe."
"Maybe that's all any of us do. Delay. Postpone. Buy time." She pulled out her salvaged medical supplies. "But time matters. Days matter. Darra bought us time. You bought Mara time. It counts."
Did it? The mathematics said yes. Three spirit-wounded would heal. Settlement would continue. Resistance would grow. All because Darra chose to fight instead of flee.
"She smiled." Kael remembered suddenly. "When she appeared. When she saved us. She was smiling."
"Going out fighting instead of feeding. Some consider that victory." Elena began preparing salves. "We all die. Choosing how matters to some."
His spirit painted agreement. Also painted Darra smiling. Fighting. Mattering.
Tomorrow they'd train harder. Plan better. Grow stronger. Without Darra. But because of her. Mathematics of sacrifice. Economics of rebellion.
Outside, Vera called assembly. Announced Darra's loss. Announced three lives saved by medical supplies. Announced nothing changed. Training at fourth bell. Always training. Always preparing. Always growing.
Because that's what Darra bought. Time to grow. Time to matter. Time to maybe eventually balance the mathematics in their favor.
His spirit painted the settlement again. Added defensive improvements. Showed weak points. Suggested solutions. Always thinking tactical now. Always planning survival.
Good. They'd need every advantage. Every edge. Every sacrifice properly leveraged.
For Darra. For everyone feeding spirits while they trained. For the mathematics to ever balance.
It had to balance. Someday. Somehow. The fed demanded nothing less.