Lomecht looked surprised for a second, then he frowned. ‘I’m loyal, Chief,’ he said. ‘Loyal to Sanang. Is that the same as being loyal to you?’
Agang blinked. He noticed a few of the other delegates were eyeing Lomecht and him. As they were speaking in Sanangka, he doubted that many of them could understand the words they were saying, but it was clear they were arguing.
‘I appreciate your candour,’ he said, softening his expression, ‘and I’ll always have time for the opinions of my officers. All I ask is that you obey me. Will you obey me?’
‘Yes, Chief,’ Lomecht replied, but his eyes gave another answer.
Chapter 22
The Fire Within
Rahain-Occupied Plateau – 16th Day, First Third Winter 505
The boots of the squad crunched through the thick, hard frost covering the ground. The way was steep, and the ravine narrow. They came to the base of a waterfall, caught in a frozen spell of ice, and their breath hung like fog as they gazed at it.
While the Holdings and Sanang members of the squad shivered and complained about the searing cold, the Kellach were bearing it better. Keira had told the other peoples it was like spring back in Kell, and that they knew nothing of proper winter if a bit of frost was upsetting them.
Their squad had been in the second company of the combined battalion to depart the alliance army camped in the flat muddy fields next to the blocked-up tunnel entrance. They had waited two hours for the first company to move up the river, and then departed, the ten squads in their company keeping a few minutes between them. They had been warned about how treacherous the route was. Cliffs, crevices, ravines, all thickly wooded. About halfway up the mountain, the river froze over, and for water they had to start melting ice over fires.
Keira had not said anything about her journey down the same river, when she had fled Rahain the previous summer. She could barely recall the precise route at any rate, as it wasn’t as if she had known she would be coming back.
They climbed a steep ridge to the top of the frozen waterfall. Sergeant Bury gestured for them to keep moving.
‘Another hour till we take a break for lunch,’ she said, before a crossbow bolt struck her in the neck. She fell spiralling onto the solid river, then her body slid off the edge and down the waterfall, leaving a long smear of blood on the ice.
‘Get down!’ Niall shouted, and the squad dived for cover. There was a cry from Keira’s left, and she saw a Holdings trooper hit. Bolts clipped through the branches above her head.
‘We’ve got to get out of here,’ Kylon cried. ‘We’re being cut to shreds.’
‘Pull out,’ Niall called to the squad. ‘Back down the ridge.’
As Keira began to crawl, she stumbled over something. Pushing back the undergrowth, she saw a dead Sanang warrior from one of the squads sent on before them, three bolts protruding from his back. She grunted, and scrambled over the body, slipping and sliding back down the ridge to the base of the waterfall, where Bury lay broken on the ice.
‘Stay close to the side of the cliff,’ Niall shouted, as the rest of the squad piled down the slope.
‘Fucking ambush,’ Keira said. ‘They knew we were coming.’
‘Or they’re not stupid, and they took a guess,’ Niall said. ‘Either way, we can’t go back up that ridge.’
He looked around, counting. ‘We lost four,’ he said, ‘including Sergeant Bury. As corporal, I’m taking command of this squad, you hear me?’
The others nodded, excepting the two Sanang, who still couldn’t speak Holdings.
‘Keilyn,’ Niall thumbed at Fang and Brecht. ‘Tell them.’
‘Aye,’ she said. She turned to them. ‘Boys,’ she said in Sanangka. ‘Niall boss now.’
Leah chuckled.
‘Fucking shut it,’ Keira muttered.
‘I think it’s funny,’ Leah shrugged, ‘that you got picked to learn Sanangka, just because those two stupid apes still can’t speak Holdings.’
Niall nodded at one of the younger troopers. ‘Get back down the track, warn the next squad coming up. Request a mage-scout, we’re going to need to find another way round.’
‘Yes, sir,’ he replied.
‘Don’t call me sir,’ Niall said. ‘I’m not an officer.’
He turned to the Kellach.
‘Leah,’ he said, ‘get up the hillside, let us know if the enemy make any moves down the ridge. Take Bronald to watch your back.’
‘Watch her arse more like,’ Keira smirked.
‘Everyone else,’ Niall said, ignoring her. ‘Stay put.’
The rest of them huddled under the side of the cliff, while Leah and Bronald ran off.
‘Our squad just lost more soldiers than in the whole Rainsby shitfest,’ Niall said, shaking his head.
‘I hope I never see that fucking town again,’ Keira said. ‘Some of the shit those Sanang boys got up to was well wrong.’
‘The alliance should have sent those bastards up here instead of us,’ the young trooper Flora said. ‘Why do we always have to go first?’
‘We’re the Leftovers, remember?’ Niall grinned. ‘We got all the new training, as ground squads rather than cavalry troopers. We’re the best equipped for this job.’
‘Come on, Niall,’ Keira said, ‘we’re fucking fodder. We’re not on the books of the main armies, they don’t care if we live or die.’
‘Then we’ll have to make sure of it ourselves.’
There was a cry from the top of the ridge, and a Rahain soldier fell, landing a yard from where the squad crouched, an arrow in her chest.
Keira glanced over to Leah, and the Lach woman gestured with her hands.
‘What’s she saying?’ Niall asked.
‘Just the one,’ Keira said. ‘Lizards must have got curious, and wondered if we’d fucked off back down the mountain.’ She shrugged. ‘Well, they know better now.’
Niall stared at her. ‘Keilyn,’ he said, ‘I’m making you my second in the squad.’
She grinned. ‘About fucking time someone recognised my star quality.’
‘To be honest,’ he said, ‘back in Plateau City I thought you were all talk, but after seeing you in Rainsby... I know you fought in the war when the Rahain invaded your homeland. Did you have any command experience there?’
Kylon gave her a quick glance.
‘Not really,’ she said.
‘Learn fast, then.’
After an hour had passed, Leah gave a low whistle from where she was hidden.
‘More Leftovers,’ Keira said, watching Leah’s hand signals, ‘coming up the track. One mage.’
They watched as a column of alliance soldiers crawled up the icy slope towards them, keeping to the trees. Niall waved, and soon the base of the waterfall was crowded.
The newly arrived troopers parted, and a Holdings man approached the cliff. He was dressed in dark browns and greens, and his eyes had a hazy quality. On his shoulder was a discreet insignia, marking him as a scout commander.
‘I’m Benel,’ he said. ‘I hear you need a mage?’
The Holdings troopers quietened out of respect.
Benel listened as Niall gave a quick report of the situation.
He nodded, and took a step back, his eyes scanning the cliffs and tree tops above them. He knelt, and an aide crouched by him, whispering in his ear. He nodded to her, then focused his attention, and his eyes went blank.
‘Fucking freaky, that,’ Keira said, watching.
A moment later Benel shook his head, spluttering and coughing. His aide passed him a cigarette and a skin of water.
‘It’s as you feared, corporal,’ he said, looking up at them, his face drained. ‘The first company are dead at the top of the ridge. Looks like they were ambushed while they were eating. There are some survivors up there, lying injured, but I think they’ve been left as bait, as the Rahain could kill them easily if they wanted to.’
He rose to his feet, his aide supporting him.
‘At the top
of the ridge several units of Rahain are dug in on the eastern flank, as the valley narrows. If you go back up there it will be a slaughter.’
‘Is there a way to get behind them?’ Keira asked.
‘Who are you?’
‘Keilyn,’ she replied. ‘Second to Niall.’
Benel looked amused, and smothered a smirk.
‘You got a problem with that?’
‘I hadn’t believed the Kellach Brigdomin were of leadership material,’ he replied. ‘I’m sure you’ll prove me wrong.’
He glanced at Niall. ‘Your squad was here first. You can come with me.’
‘Where are we going, sir?’
‘To do as the blonde lady suggests,’ he said. ‘Look for a way round.’
Niall nodded to his squad, and they left with the mage, picking up Leah and Bronald on the way.
Benel led them running through the forest to the west of the river, moving fast over the frozen hillside, under the cover of wide stretches of pine and spruce. He turned left, and they climbed a steep slope, scrambling over icy boulders and scree until they reached another line of forest.
Benel raised his hand, and the squad stopped, panting and sweating in their thick clothes.
‘I’m going to take a look,’ he said, looking fresh and unflustered. His aide ran forwards, her cheeks puffing.
Benel sat, and gazed at the top of the mountainside, and his eyes went blank again.
This time he was gone for longer, and when he came to he vomited, and had to rest. His aide kept him supplied with cigarettes, and something that smelt to Keira’s nose like rum.
‘Check him drinking,’ she whispered.
‘He’s the elite,’ Niall said. ‘Mages like him get to do whatever they want.’
Benel looked over, as if he had heard them.
‘I’ve found a way through,’ he said, getting to his feet. He walked over to where Niall, Keira and Kylon crouched under the trees. ‘It’ll be hard going, and there’s only a few of hours of sunlight left.’
He pulled a flask from his coat, and passed it to them.
‘You probably need this more than I do.’
Keira took her turn, and swigged down a gulp of fine rum.
‘That’s the best I’ve tasted in a long fucking while.’
‘Gather the squad,’ he said. ‘It’s time to go.’
They needed their ropes and climbing gear to traverse some of the torturous route that Benel led them on, across razor-sharp ridges of rock and ice, where a fierce mountain wind blew. The Sanang, though hating the cold, were better climbers than the others, their long, thick arms powering them up cliff sides and steep slopes. The Holdings troopers fared worst, except for Benel himself, who seemed unaffected by the exertion.
‘The prick’s using battle-vision, isn’t he?’ Keira whispered to Kylon, as they sat with their backs to a giant boulder, sheltering from the wind while they took a rest.
Kylon nodded.
‘That’s a skill I’d like to have,’ she said.
‘Right now I’d rather he had your fire mage skills,’ Niall said.
‘I don’t have any mage skills,’ Keira said, her eyes wide.
‘Not you personally, you idiot,’ he replied. ‘The Kellach skills. If we had a fire mage up here, we could just blast the Rahain off the mountain side. Job done.’
Benel stood.
‘We’re nearly there,’ he said. ‘Down that valley, and we should come out on top of the Rahain position. Are you ready boys and girls?’
They followed Benel down the icy slope, and through a stretch of pine forest. He stopped them when they reached the edge of a low cliff, and they crouched at his signal.
‘See them?’ he whispered.
Niall nodded.
Keira scanned the valley. A hundred yards below them, she could see the backs of Rahain soldiers, squatting in the undergrowth, watching the area around the waterfall at the top of the ridge.
Niall nudged her. ‘See what I mean?’ he whispered. ‘One fire mage, and whoosh.’
She smiled.
Benel leaned over to Leah, and spoke in her ear. She nodded, and got her longbow ready, unwrapping the skins protecting it from the frost.
‘The rest of you,’ Benel hissed, ‘as quiet as you brutes can manage, after me.’
He climbed over the side of the cliff, and dropped six feet to the bottom, the others following. Keira gestured to the Sanang for silence, and the squad unsheathed their weapons. Benel nodded, and they sprinted down the steep slope, charging towards the Rahain.
An arrow whistled past, striking the first Rahain to turn his head to see what the noise was. Keira leapt into the undergrowth, Kylon by her side, her sword bared. She swung down, scything through a soldier as he tried to get up. The cold and lack of movement made them stiff and slow to respond, and the squad ripped through them, arrows hitting any who were able to level their crossbows.
Benel fought like he was possessed, a short sword in each hand, spinning, rolling, and cutting through a dozen Rahain.
Keira and Kylon followed in his wake, keeping his back clear. Fang and Brecht were causing bloody havoc with their axes, and no mercy was shown. The squad stopped when the last Rahain had been cut down.
Benel sat on a rock, his aide assisting.
‘I will be out for a while now,’ he said to them. ‘Send someone to the waterfall, tell them it’s safe to come up.’ He looked at the squad, a faint smirk on his face. ‘Good job everyone.’ He nodded to Kylon and Keira. ‘Thanks for watching my back. Actually, you were all rather useful. I may have another job for you tomorrow…’
His head slumped, and his eyes closed. His aide lowered him onto a blanket.
‘We need to light a fire,’ she said. ‘We must keep the mage warm.’
Niall pointed at a trooper. ‘Get to the waterfall, let the others know.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Don’t call me… never mind. Off you go.’
He rubbed his hands together. ‘Let’s get a fire going, before we all freeze.’
The next morning, the squad were awoken by Benel calling out to them.
‘Wake up boys and girls,’ he singsonged.
He smiled as heads began to poke out of their tent.
‘Get some breakfast, then we’ll be off,’ he said. ‘And wrap up warm.’
Three hours later, the squad were scaling the face of another ridge, ten miles from the waterfall. The rest of the Leftovers were making their way along the valley floor, but Benel had led the squad away from the main path, and across wild and barren mountain slopes, heading further east, towards the summit.
The wind had picked up, and was blasting snow across the mountain. They were now above the treeline, and had only rocks and cliffs to shield them from the elements. Keira pulled her scarf closer to her face, her eyes squinting from the alternating dark and light patches, rock and snow. Even Benel was looking tired, his efforts of the previous day having a lingering effect.
By noon, they had started their descent, coming down the southern flank of the mountain. In the distance Keira could pick out the valley below, where thirds before she had hidden in Leon’s wagon. Down there lay a fort, she remembered, and a labour camp filled with clansfolk.
The weather eased as they re-entered the treeline, and went through a still forest, where the wind dropped. They stopped for lunch, then walked in silence for the rest of the afternoon, making their way down the snow-covered slopes.
The sun dipped below the high horizon to their right, casting the valley into shadow. Benel halted the squad when they reached the edge of a line of trees.
‘I suppose you want to know why I’ve dragged you over the mountain today,’ he said. He pointed at the bottom of the slope, where a track was visible, running along a wide ledge. ‘That path is where the rest of the battalion will appear, probably this time tomorrow, after they have gone the long way round, and if they can get through the thousand Rahain soldiers that are blocking the pass.
>
‘Before you ask, we’re not going to their assistance. Instead, we’ll snatch this opportunity to strike while the eyes of the enemy are on the pass and the three thousand Leftovers that are approaching it. Directly below us is the entrance to the tunnel that has been blocked at the other end. I intend to unblock it.’
‘How, sir?’ Niall asked.
‘We’ll see when we get there,’ Benel said. ‘The garrison of the fort guarding the entrance is considerably bigger than our little band of twenty. I need you to distract them, while I go ahead into the tunnel. You must hold them off so I can get to the other end, a distance of about six miles. Once I’ve opened up the far entrance, alliance troops will flood through, and relieve you.’
Niall looked away, his face bitter and angry.
‘So you brought us up here to die?’ Keira said.
‘Don’t be foolish, blondie,’ he said. ‘The squad will have the element of surprise, and will only need to draw the enemy’s attention while I slip into the tunnel. After that, Niall can lead them a merry dance through the forest. I’m not asking the squad to just stand there and get killed. Do you think I’m a savage?’
‘Not sure yet.’
He smirked. ‘I’m getting to like you.’
He knelt on the icy ground and with a stick drew out a plan of the fort and the tunnel entrance.
‘We can get down here,’ he pointed, ‘but sentries will see anyone past this point. I suggest that you create a diversion on the other side, over here, near the remains of a shanty village and labour camp.’
‘Remains?’ Keira said. ‘Is no one there now?’
‘None,’ he replied. ‘Presumably they moved on when the tunnel was completed. There’s only the garrison left, along with the reinforcements watching the pass.’
‘How many are in the garrison, sir?’ Niall asked.
‘A full Rahain regiment,’ Benel said. ‘Two thousand. And a squadron of winged gaien, so stay under cover after you have grabbed their attention.’
‘They have winged gaien, sir?’ Flora asked, her eyes wide.
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