by Candy Rae
CHAPTER 21 (Northern Continent)
Kolyei, a white-faced Tara at his side, appeared at Jim’s daga. Kolyei poked his head through the doorway. Jim turned to look at them.
“Communications ready?” he asked of Kolyei.
“Yes.”
Jim looked at Tara, pity in his glance. She would be the youngest member of their army and he so regretted the necessity of having to take her. She looked very small and vulnerable standing beside Kolyei, clad in leather armour, the small sword strapped to her belt. Jim hoped she would not have to wield it. If she did, and the Larg armies did reach the rear lines, they would have lost the battle. Then it would be every creature for himself. Kolyei would, however, do all he could to escape with her to the west. Kolyei was known for his fleetness of paw.
“The medics are assembling as well,” volunteered Tara.
“Let’s be about it then,” decided Jim and led the way out of the daga. He glanced over at Afanasei, Elda of pack Zanatei’s Lindar. Afanasei, incongruous as it may seem, winked at Jim. The two had a good rapport. Zanatei Lindar would fight close to Jim and Larya; they were positioned in the battle plan at the very centre of the battle-lines.
It had taken Jim some time to fully understand the Lindar chain of command.
Zanatei was his pack’s Chief Elda; that was how the pack came by its name. When Zanatei died or retired, the new Chief Elda would bring his or her own name to the pack but Zanatei was not in command of the Lindar. Afanasei held that position. In the field he outranked Zanatei. Other Lind, subordinate to Afanasei, commanded each of the three lines, or ryz, in the Lindar. Zanatei commanded the middle ryz. Tarmsei, honoured amongst the Lind for having been the first with Kolyei to find their human friends, commanded the front. A part-white Lind whom Jim did not know led the first-timers at the back.
The smaller packs could field around three hundred warriors, others, like pack Zanatei, over six hundred. Over forty packs had sent their Lindars in defence of the rtathlians. Some had already arrived in the woods above the settlement. Jim had the Lindars, the untried Vada cavalry, at his disposal and Robert Lutterell’s thousand. Over four thousand would man the settlement walls. Against them it was estimated there would be a comparable number of Larg, if not more, plus Murdoch’s ten thousand men.
Larya and Afanasei by his side, and followed by Tara and Kolyei, Jim joined his troops.
The sight that met his eyes was one of organised chaos. The humans were saying their goodbyes and there were calls of good luck and the like. In contrast, the traditional farewells from the Lind family groups were silent. Touching nose to nose they had no need for words, their telepathic abilities more than enough to say all that was needed.
Radya approached Kolyei as Tara was readying his harness prior to mounting. The Lind female looked sad but had lost that look of annoyance she customarily wore when Ustinya was anywhere around.
“Keep safe,” she uttered quietly. She then touched her nose to Kolyei’s, a long lingering touch. Tara, standing watching all this, was reminded of her own parents gazing at each other. She realised then that, if she and Peter had not appeared in their lives, these two might well have mated by now. Young as she was, she understood the pairing rules. Perhaps, when they were a lot older, she might think of Peter the same way.
“I do hope so,” she thought. “Otherwise Radya and Kolyei will never be able to mate.” She knew that she was too young to be considering a permanent attachment at thirteen but she would keep it in mind. One never knew what would happen in the future. So much had happened to her during the first thirteen years of her life so far. She still, however, thought of Peter as a little boy and would for some years to come. However, the seed had been planted now and Tara was growing up.
But first they had to deal with the Larg.
Whilst she stood there, lost in thought, Radya slipped silently away.
Zanatei Lindar was ready. Afanasei raised his snout as he prepared to utter the leaving howl.
The families moved away.
“Mount,” ordered Francis.
The Zanatei Lindar began to leave the clearing. Francis waited until the last disappeared through the trees, a young female off to fight her first battle against the Larg. Only when her bushy tail had swished out of sight did he order the vadeln of his Vada to follow.
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As the Vada moved across the plains they could see signs of the passage of the other Lindars. Occasionally they caught sight of them in the distance. Each Lindar would make their own way to the rendezvous, where they would meet up with Robert’s infantry from the settlement before settling down to wait for the Larg.
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