“A good man if there’s someone there to ride herd on him,” Jade commented, “but a bad man if left to his own devices. Right?”
“Right,” Cat said. “I suspect his brother kept him under control until recently. Now...”
“I’ll find him something to do,” Alassa said.
She tapped the map. “Do you have any thoughts about our plans?”
Emily looked at the notations someone had scribbled on the map. Alassa’s forces were advancing slowly, her lead elements already moving past Winter Flower to secure the roads and rivers that kept the city supplied. Lord Burrows was doing everything in his power to stop them, but it wasn’t enough. Emily was surprised at his apparent lack of resources, although she knew he’d lost hundreds of cavalrymen during the last battle. He might be having real problems.
“We’ll have the main body of the army in position to lay siege to the city in two days,” Jade said, flatly. “I doubt he’d try to stage a pitched battle, not when we have the advantage. I think he’ll try to withdraw into the city and hold it as long as possible.”
“Which leaves us with a problem,” Alassa said. “Do we storm the city or do we try to starve it into submission?”
Cat leaned forward. “Storming the city will be costly, as Lord Burrows found out,” he said, bluntly. “Even with massed cannon, it will be difficult to limit the costs of breaking through the defenses and charging the castle itself. But, on the other hand, laying siege to the city will tie down our forces for weeks, perhaps months. He’s had plenty of time to lay in a supply of food and expel surplus mouths.”
“He’s already done that,” Jade confirmed. “There are thousands of refugees fleeing in all directions.”
Emily winced. The refugees, expelled from their homes, might as well have been condemned to death. There was no safety outside the city, no one willing or able to take them in. And most of the urban residents wouldn’t know how to live off the land.
“We could invite him to surrender,” Emily said. “Offer him and his creatures their parole if they surrender without further ado.”
“They’d want a deadline,” Cat reminded her. “They won’t want to surrender unless the king has a chance to relieve them.”
“We could always just give them ten days,” Imaiqah pointed out. “What are the odds of King Randor reaching Winter Flower in ten days?”
“Nil,” Jade said. “But they’d know what we were doing. They’d see it as dishonorable.”
“After everything they’ve done,” Emily said, “I’m not inclined to worry about honor.”
“Nor am I,” Alassa said. She looked up, suddenly drawing her authority around her like a shroud. “We’ll give them ten days to either meet us in honorable combat or surrender, or we’ll take the city by force. And if they don’t surrender, they will have no future.”
Jade frowned. “Alassa, the battle will cost us. We could win the city, but lose the war.”
“There’s no other choice,” Alassa said. “Or is there?”
Emily hesitated. There were options. But they were unthinkable.
“We can at least try to push them into submission,” she said, finally. “And if they refuse, we can find a handful of other options.”
She looked at the map, wondering what was going through Lord Burrows’ mind. He had to know that Winter Flower was going to be taken by force or starved into surrender, unless he had more troops up his sleeves than Alassa’s intelligence suggested. Lord Burrows would be well-advised to surrender, in the short term, but in the long term? Tying Alassa down in a protracted siege would give her father time to finish off his enemies, then turn on his daughter. Lord Burrows could not be allowed to prolong the war.
There are options, she thought. We could get over the walls and into the castle...
“I’ll have dinner brought in,” Alassa said, as she waved a hand at the nest of blankets. “I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed. “I understand that you’re trying to show you’re sharing the uncomfortable moments of being in camp,” she said, “but you’re pregnant! You should be in a bed.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Jade said. “But she won’t listen to me.”
“The baby is perfectly healthy,” Alassa said. “And I need to share the ordeal.”
Emily sucked in her breath, knowing that her friend wouldn’t be budged. Alassa was as stubborn as her father in many ways, although both of them would have denied it. She wanted – she needed – to prove she was as good as a man, even if it meant putting the baby at risk. Emily wanted to tell her that she was being silly, that no one thought any less of her, but she knew Alassa wouldn’t believe her. There’d be a very good chance she was simply wrong.
“Be careful,” she said, finally.
“I always am,” Alassa said. She ignored Jade’s snort. “Now, shall we eat?”
The meal was simple, although filling. Emily ate two platefuls, then allowed Jade to escort her and Cat to their tent. It was right next to the Royal Tent, although there weren’t any guards standing outside. Emily hastily wove a couple of wards around the tent, then stepped into the gloom. There were no sleeping bags, just a handful of blankets. The ground felt hard and cold as she lay down, shifting her body until she found a relatively comfortable position. She still knew she was going to be aching when she woke up.
“Just like old times,” Cat said, softly. “Do you remember sharing a tent with ten of us?”
Emily shuddered. No one had said or done anything to her, particularly after she’d made it clear that she was trying, but it had still been thoroughly unpleasant. Thankfully, they’d often been too tired after forced marches to do more than whisper before going to sleep. Sergeant Miles would have lambasted anyone who stayed up too late, pointing out that they’d have another full day tomorrow. Emily had often slept through the night without waking up until the sergeants started ringing the bell. Anyone who didn’t get up within five minutes would be doing push-ups while everyone else ate breakfast.
“I remember,” she said. “Things were so much simpler then.”
Cat laughed. “We were children until we were booted out of the school at the end of the year,” he said. “I knew boys and girls my age who were married while I was in First Year, boys and girls who were really being treated as men and women. But I was a child until I left the school. I don’t think I want to go back.”
“I don’t want to go back either,” Emily said. She loved Whitehall – the school was her first true home – but she’d outgrown it. She would never be a student there again. If she ever returned, it would be as a teacher. “But...”
She heard a snore and smiled, then closed her eyes. It felt like hours before she drifted off to sleep, then seconds before she heard trumpets calling the troops to breakfast. She opened her eyes to see a green haze, a flicker of panic running down her spine before she realized that it was sunlight beaming through the canvas. Cat stirred next to her and sat upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He hadn’t even bothered to take off his boots.
“Better go get something to eat,” Cat said, as he crawled towards the flap. Emily could hear someone shouting outside. “We don’t want to be left behind.”
Alassa’s army was very efficient, compared to the makeshift force Emily and Cat had put together. The soldiers had finished their breakfasts and started dismantling their tents before Emily and Cat had finished their breakfasts, then started to march down the road towards Winter Flower. Emily had to scramble onto her horse to catch up with Alassa, who was already looking impatient. There was no sign of Jade. It took her a moment to realize that he was probably at the head of the army.
“And we’re off,” Alassa said, as Emily rode up beside her. Her blonde hair fanned out in the wind. Emily winced. Alassa made a very tempting target, despite the powerful wards woven around her. “We’ll be there soon.”
Emily sighed as the army picked up speed. The countryside was j
ust as devastated; indeed, it looked as if Lord Burrows had gone out of his way to make very certain that there was nothing Alassa and her troops could use. She watched the land go by, wondering how Alassa could take it so calmly. Her subjects were on the verge of famine – or worse. But there was nothing Alassa could do.
Alassa has to stop her father first, Emily thought. It made her wonder just what would happen if – when – King Randor fell into Alassa’s hands. Would Alassa be able to sign her father’s death warrant? Or would she leave him confined, a civil war in the making if he ever broke out? Emily wondered, morbidly, if she should kill Randor. What would Alassa make of that?
It was a bitter thought. Randor could not be allowed to live. His crimes demanded punishment, yet there was no way he could be imprisoned safely. An imprisoned king was a constant temptation to the ruler’s enemies. Everyone who disliked Alassa would be trying to free him, just so they could get a figurehead to put on the throne. And yet, Alassa had already passed up one opportunity to kill her father. Emily wasn’t sure if she could kill her father and the bastard had abandoned her so long ago that she barely remembered him. She wasn’t even sure her memories were real. Alassa... had had a father for every moment of her life. How could anyone ask a daughter to kill a father?
Emily shook her head. If I have to make the decision to kill him, I’ll make it when there is no other choice, she thought, grimly. And if we’re lucky, I won’t have to make it at all.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“IT’S A BIG CITY,” CAT MUSED, as they peered at Winter Flower. “And a tough one.”
Emily nodded in grim agreement. Winter Flower was the second-largest city in the kingdom, a towering monstrosity of mansions, apartment blocks and slums ringing a giant castle and surrounded by high stone walls. Lord Burrows had been busy, steadily hacking down anything that could be used to cover the army’s advance. Emily dreaded to think how many men would die if they marched across an open killing field.
And we don’t have enough time to build up a collection of siege engines, she thought, morosely. Lord Burrows had had years to prepare for civil war. All we’ve got are the cannons and a handful of tortoises.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied the walls. They were in good repair, lined with spikes, arrow slits and guardhouses. She could pick out a handful of carefully-crafted runes drawing on magic to reinforce the structure. There would be eyes watching them right back, she was sure, making it impossible to sneak up on the city. Some of them would be magicians with night-vision spells. There was little hope of getting close under cover of darkness. If they attacked the city, it would be a brutal slaughter.
Cat nudged her. “Did Alicia have anything useful to say?”
“Not really,” Emily said. “Lord Burrows is still in command, but otherwise” – she shrugged, heavily – “Alicia isn’t told very much.”
“Very wise of them,” Cat said.
Emily gave him a sharp look. “If they suspected her, she’d be under house arrest at the very least.”
“Not if they hope to mislead us at some point,” Cat said. “You can feed someone false data in the knowledge they’ll pass it on, in the certain belief that they’ll think they’re telling us the truth.”
“I know,” Emily said, tiredly. Alassa might enjoy courtly intrigue – she would have run her own spy networks if she’d had the time – but Emily had little patience for it. Questions of status – and who had the right to take a bow or a curtsey from whom – had never interested her. This time, at least, it was genuinely significant. “We’ll just have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
She turned her attention back to the city, trying to find a way to get close to the walls without being detected. Nothing came to mind. Jade might have some ideas, she hoped, but otherwise... Alassa would have to settle down for a long siege or bleed her army white trying to break through the walls. Either way, King Randor would have all the time in the world to finish the Noblest and bring his might to bear on his errant daughter. Alassa might survive the coming slaughter, at least until she gave birth. Emily had no illusions about what would happen to everyone else.
Cat touched her arm. “Chin up,” he said. “Someone’s coming.”
Emily turned, just in time to see a messenger running towards them. He looked to have come from Alassa’s camp, which was pitched some distance from the city. Jade had insisted that Alassa didn’t take the risk of going any closer and, for once, Alassa had agreed without argument. A single lucky shot from an enemy archer would ruin everything. Emily liked to think the Levellers could continue the war without Alassa, but she had to admit it was unlikely. There were too many factions, all bickering over the shape of the post-war world... all putting the cart before the horse. They hadn’t won yet.
“My Lady, My Lord,” the messenger gasped. “There are hostile magicians by the bridges!”
“Then we’ll go there,” Cat said, grandly. “Inform Her Highness that we will take care of it.”
Emily had to smile, even though she knew the situation was serious. The bridges to the east of Winter Flower had to be cut – or at least secured – if the siege was to take effect. She’d seen the maps. The river was large enough for sailing ships, ships big enough to carry reinforcements and supplies to the besieged city. No wonder Lord Burrows was making a fight of it. If he could keep his supply lines open, he could keep Alassa from taking the city.
“Well,” Cat said, as the messenger hurried off. “Shall we go?”
“Once more into the breach, once more,” Emily misquoted, gathering herself. Her body ached from the riding – and she’d drained some of her magic casting spells to make the ride easier – but she could fight. “Let’s go.”
She followed Cat as he walked around the city, making sure to stay under cover as much as possible, and headed towards the bridges. A handful of bodies lay on the ground, all fighting men who’d been caught in the open by enemy archers. Emily said a silent prayer for the dead, knowing it would be a long time before the bodies could be recovered and buried in a mass grave. She kept her wards at full strength, tightening them whenever she could see the city out of the corner of her eye. Sergeant Miles had made it clear that if she could see the enemy, the enemy could see her too.
No arrows came hissing through the air as they reached the King’s Road and walked down to the bridges. Emily felt a thrill of admiration as she saw the bridges for the first time. They were impressive, all the more so for being built without magic; they were high enough to allow ships to pass through without hindrance, yet low enough to seal the river without difficulty. Alicia’s father and grandfather must have had at least one eye on keeping the monarch out of their barony. The kings were the only people who could deploy a significant naval force and force their way into Winter Flower.
A mass of midsized boats were making their way downriver, fleeing the city as the noose tightened. Emily sucked in her breath as she saw archers – friendly archers – shooting flaming arrows at some of the boats, trying to set them on fire and sink them before they got out of range. Others fired at the castle in the middle of the river, where enemy sorcerers were clearly visible. They were shooting fireballs whenever an archer exposed himself, trying to buy time for Lord Burrows to evacuate the city.
“We have to deal with them,” Cat said, as the sound of gunfire grew louder. Someone had set up a handful of cannons nearby and was bombarding the castle, slamming cannonballs into its stone walls. “They’ll be a real problem if they’re allowed to run free.”
“Understood,” Emily said.
Cat found the officer in charge and spoke briefly to him, issuing orders. Emily wanted to listen, but the chaos spreading across the river waters distracted her. A boat caught fire, flames spreading rapidly out of control. Her crew and passengers jumped into the water a moment before their vessel disintegrated into a flaming wreck. Emily hoped they’d have the sense to let the river carry them away from the advancing army before they tried to get
out of the water. Alassa might have ordered her troops to refrain from atrocities, but the men wanted blood. There were just too many rumors about what had happened to men unlucky enough to fall into enemy hands for the soldiers to want to treat prisoners gently.
“This way,” Cat said. “Hurry!”
Emily shot him an annoyed look, then followed him to the nearest bridge. Up close, it was far more impressive than she’d realized, although she was uneasily aware that hundreds of men had probably died building it. Alicia’s father had never struck her as the sort of man to hire magicians when he had thousands of expendable peasants. She pushed the thought aside, sharply, as the enemy magicians came into view. There were four of them, moving in eerie unison. They’d clearly been training together for years.
Cat ran forward, throwing a destructive curse at the enemy magicians. His targets took one look and linked their wards, forming a shield that absorbed the curse. Emily shivered, then threw a spell of her own. The magicians jumped back as the spell started to steadily break down their wards. Emily had to smile as their unity shattered, although she had to admit they’d done well. She doubted she and her friends could have held the wards together for so long.
She caught a fireball on her wards, then threw back a series of curses... one aimed at the ground beneath her target’s feet. His wards coped – barely – with the curses, but the force of the blast aimed at the stone bridge sent him flying. He crashed against the castle’s wall and lay still. His comrade let out a string of blistering curses, then wrapped his magic around him like a shield and charged at Emily. Emily thought she could have stopped him, if she matched her magic against his, but there was no point in taking the risk. She launched herself into the air, jumping over the magician’s head. If she was lucky...
An enemy magician reacted quickly, trying to knock her out of the air. Emily cancelled the spell reflexively, allowing gravity to yank her down and out of his line of sight. She landed neatly, using magic to slow her fall. He came after her, howling as he directed spell after spell at her wards; Emily took a breath, then fired back a single overpowered spell of her own. The magician went flying over her head and straight into the river. Emily doubted it would kill him – there were plenty of spells for breathing underwater – but it would put him out of commission for the moment. She took a moment to catch her breath, then went to find Cat.
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