Satan's Gambit (The Barrier War Book 3) Read Online Free

paladins being escorted by Green Platoon), and then Danner, and finally
Flasch. Violet Platoon was the furthest away from any potential action, because
they were the most mobile and adaptable of the denarae warriors and could be
anywhere at a moment’s notice.
    “Cut it off,” Garnet said wearily as he fought against the pounding in his head. He’d held on
to the shared vision longer than he should have, but he should be fully
recovered in only a moment.
    “Alright, I
want Blue Platoon to split and move in, infiltration pattern alpha,” Garnet
ordered. “As soon as Danner calls it clear, notify me, then relay red and
yellow to move in, following blue’s lead. Hold green until we’re engaged, then
assault from the south on my order only. I want orange to hold north and look
for stragglers. Violet is on standby. Relay to Flasch, he’s on his own unless
specifically ordered by me. End.”
    Even as Garnet
was sending his mental orders to Brican, the denarae officer was passing them
on to their intended recipients.
    “Oh, and
relay to Danner, he is NOT to go angel unless absolutely necessary,” Garnet
thought sternly. Danner had shown a strong tendency toward unpredictability
where demons were concerned, and Garnet didn’t want things to suddenly get out
of hand.
    “All orders
received,” Brican reported, then he added, “and Danner’s thinking some
rather unflattering thoughts about you right now.”
    “Fine, just
so long as he follows orders.”
    Garnet paused a
moment to review the layout of the battle in his head, looking for any
potential hazards that could cost his company. At the point where he started
trying to second-guess his own doubts, he clamped down on his thoughts and
brushed aside everything but what was to come.
    “Execute,” he barked mentally.
    - 2 -
    While Danner
took Blue Platoon forward, Garnet moved carefully down from the rocks he’d been
standing on and wound his way toward Green Platoon. He nodded briefly to
Brican, but made no other greeting. The denarae was typical of his race, if
larger and more heavily muscled than average. His skin was the color of dark
slate, his hair and eyes were dark, and he kept his hair cut short in a style
reminiscent of the Merishank army. Brican’s face showed evidence of the rogue
that lay inside, covered by layers of pain and mistrust toward a world
dominated by a people who hated him. There was some familial resemblance
between Brican and his cousin Trebor, but it was hard to see behind Brican’s
racial animus.
    Garnet left
Brican behind him, trusting the denarae to keep hold of his feelings and do his
job.
    The Red paladin
had learned a valuable, if unintentional, lesson from Gerard: he never planned
out or ordered company formations from within any of the platoons if he could
help it. Standing with one platoon, it was too easy to view the battle from
just their perspective, rather than examining it from every possible angle and
strategic viewpoint. Separating himself allowed Garnet to keep his attention –
his self of perspective – unencumbered by a single point of view. It was
something Gerard had done instinctively and hadn’t thought to tell Garnet, and
had Garnet not been using the denarae ability to kythe him their sight from the
first days of his command, he might not have truly appreciated the instinctive
genius of his mentor.
    As a bonus, the
silent ability of command lent an aura of mystique to Shadow Company that kept
many in awe of them. They occasionally had someone pretend to relay orders by
voice alone, just to keep up the pretense and hide the denarae ability to read
and send their thoughts. Historically, this ability had turned humans against
them with such vehemence that the denarae had spent centuries regarded as the
most despised of all races. Even after the rest of the world had forgotten the
reason, still they hated with mindless adherence to institutionalized bigotry.
Garnet and the other humans who associated with Shadow