“Matriarch?” Hetha said, trembling as the others filed in under guard. “Have I displeased you?”
Talitha sat upon the chair next to Jarek’s bed and cupped the old man’s cheek in her palm. He did not wake, but the glimmer of a smile appeared upon his lips.
“Wani, tell me again what is wrong with Jarek?”
“His heart, Matriarch,” Wanikiya said desperately. “He is old. It comes to us all. He will sleep more and more until one day…”
“He will not wake at all.”
“Yes, Matriarch.”
“Where is his medicine?”
“There, on the table.”
Talitha nodded, watching Hetha. “I see it. Is it harmful to me, to anyone not sick?” Hetha paled, and her shaking increased. “If I were to eat some of the powder, would it hurt me?”
“Matriarch, no!” Nekane said, shocked. “Let me do it.”
Wanikiya shook her head. “No, Matriarch. It would not harm you. The bark I use is good for other ailments. Pain in the joints and head… many other things if the right ingredients are added.”
Talitha nodded. “You made this then?”
“No, I mean…” Wanikiya glanced at Hetha. “Hetha makes it for me.”
“I see, and you let no one else care for him?”
“That was your order, Matriarch.”
Talitha crossed the room to the table. She wet a finger and stirred it in Jarek’s medicine. The powder adhered to her finger, and she raised it to her mouth.
“Don’t!” Hetha screamed.
Talitha lowered her hand. “Poisoned. Just as Ishani said. Guards, release the slaves, Wani too.”
Wanikiya stared at Hetha in stricken silence while the guards released the prisoners. Before anyone could stop her, she ran at Hetha and slapped her face. “How could you do this? We swear to do no harm! How could you do this?” She slapped Hetha again, but Tymek shoved her away before she could do any real damage. “How could you?”
Talitha wiped her hand clean upon the bed covers, feeling suddenly even more tired. Even her own people were betraying her. Perhaps it really was time to let the Matriarchy pass into the mists.
Armina squirmed in her arms, and Talitha felt her resolve harden. No, she would find a way out of this mess… but not here, she suddenly realised. Not in Pura. The city garrison were all Tamorin these days. Her only protection stood in this room and others of the palace. Teirnon had insisted that he needed to secure Pura as a link in his supply chain, and she had gone along, seeing his logic. She had foolishly felt safer with Tamorin soldiers guarding the docks and her city against Methrym. It almost made her laugh; she wasn’t safe anywhere Teirnon’s men held sway. Her hilarity died. Armina was no longer safe anywhere in Japura.
Unacceptable! Armina is everything.
“Matriarch?” Tymek said. “What are your orders?”
Talitha took a deep steadying breath. “Kill the betrayer.”
“Noooo!” Hetha screamed, her voice dying away into a gasp as Tymek slit her throat and let her fall.
Wanikiya shook her head, staring at her dying friend. “I don’t understand. Why did she do it, why?”
Talitha watched as Hetha bled out upon the floor. “We must leave the city. Leave secretly.”
“And go where?” Nekane asked.
“Into the countryside. Anywhere free of Tamorin soldiery.”
“There are few places like that any longer, Matriarch.”
Talitha glared at Nekane. “I know, but we have no choice.” She turned to Tymek. “Can you smuggle us out of the city?”
“If I strip the palace of men, it might be possible to get you away.”
“Not just me, all of us. Jarek too.”
“It’s too dangerous, Matriarch,” Nekane protested. “You go. Tymek can surely smuggle a single woman and child out easily, but not all of us!”
Talitha raised a hand to silence him. “I have lost too much already to risk losing you all as well.”
“I wish I were Jarek,” Nekane said grimly. “He would make you see that leaving us here is the best course.”
“But you are not, and you can’t. Tymek, we need to be gone tonight if you can, but no later than tomorrow night.”
“It will be tonight or never, Matriarch. You are forgetting Verner.”
Talitha nodded. “Tonight.”
* * *
17 ~ Wardenvale
Contrary to Gydrid’s expectations, Analise had not decamped for home after her disastrous meeting with the king. Malcor was her destination, or it had been until the news of Malcor’s fall reached them on the road north. It had been surprisingly easy to persuade Captain Ballard to escort her. Not that she would have taken no for an answer, but his arguments had lacked conviction and were easily countered. That was not at all like the man, and it worried her. Every morning of the trip north, she had expected him to snap out of his funk and make her turn east for home, but he hadn’t, and it was far too late now.
The road had long turned to mud when Analise, riding at the head of her column, came upon the first signs of the war. It wasn’t in the form of guardsmen marching or riding to battle the way many stories began, instead it began by sighting abandoned villages. Analise bid her men to ride on through without stopping, and they did so happily. The empty buildings made them all uneasy. The next day they began seeing increased traffic on the road, but the nature and direction of it surprised her.
“It is to be expected,” Captain Ballard said, rousing from his distraction enough to answer her comment. “Battlefields attract vultures.”
“Vultures?”
“Camp followers.”
Analise looked doubtfully upon the carts ahead of them. “Strange looking camp followers.”
Ballard shrugged. “It takes all kinds, and they’re not all bad. These are probably from local farms, hoping to sell their produce to the army. They will too, and get a good price for it. Armies eat a lot, my lady.”
“I can see where that is true.”
“Yes, our baggage is more than two thirds food for the men and mounts. An army can strip the land bare in days. Without good supply by river and road, our army would wither to nothing.”
Analise nodded, remembering Gydrid’s worry about just that kind of thing. She wondered if he had departed Devarr yet. It seemed likely that he had, and the King with him. Thoughts of the King she did not want. Her humiliation at the hands of Gylaren still angered her, and it had not lessened by placing distance between them.
“Way there! Make way!” Ballard bellowed. The farmers looked around, and then eased their carts as far to the right of the road as they could.
Ballard led the column safely past.
A short time later, the scouts returned with nothing to report except more mud and empty villages ahead. Analise listened attentively, but relied upon Ballard to make the right choices. That was, after all, why he was here. He questioned the scouts closely about the state of the roads, obviously concerned about their baggage train. A washed out road, or a mudslide could lose them days as they backtracked, looking for another route around the obstruction. The weather had not been kind to them on this part of the journey. The further north they travelled, the more it seemed to rain. Ballard thought it unusual for this time of year, but the storms had not slowed them unduly.
Ballard dismissed the men, and another group left the column to scout the last part of their journey as they descended into the Vistal River valley that Lord Gelain held as his own.
It was good land and prosperous, or it had been before the war. Wardenvale was famous for its wines; its vineyards were its lifeblood and the source of Lord Gelain’s wealth. Analise had never met Gelain, nor his consort Lady Direlle. She wondered how they were fairing now that Lord Jihan had decided to fall back and defend the valley. The thought of his vineyards trampled under an army’s boots must be awful for him to contemplate.
“Would you have done it this way, would my father?”
“What, defe
nd Wardenvale do you mean?”
Analise nodded.
Ballard snorted. “No I would not! I doubt Lord Garth would have either. Jihan has given away a huge advantage. Malcor is the biggest and strongest fortress in Waipara. He could have held out against the Hasians for seasons without straining his supplies. What has he gained by retreating? Nothing as far as I can see.”
Analise frowned, remembering how much Gydrid admired Jihan. “There must be a reason for his choice. By all accounts, Jihan is an excellent fighter.”
“Being good with a sword means nothing here. You don’t think General Navarien does his own fighting, do you? Of course not. What makes him a great general is his ability to plan winning strategies and inspire his men. Jihan is young, not that much older than you are. He has never fought a war.”
Analise nodded, but not many of Deva’s lords had done so. The four great fortresses of Deva had the only fighting men with experience of real war, but Malcor had not joined Athione and the others to throw back the Hasians last time. Collectively, those battles were called Julia’s War. It wasn’t Jihan’s fault that Malcor had failed to defend the realm back then. The story of how he had ridden to warn Lord Keverin of betrayal at Malcor was well known. Later, Jihan had challenged his father and duelled with him for Malcor’s lordship.
“Have you visited Wardenvale before? I don’t remember Father ever mentioning it.”
Ballard nodded. “A long time ago.”
“Is it a big place?”
Ballard shrugged. “Big enough.”
“Bigger than Chaidren Ridge?”
“It’s hard to say. Wardenvale is different. Its not as tall as Chaidren, it’s spread out more, and it has a water-filled moat, not high cliffs to keep it safe.”
“Height is better,” Analise said firmly.
“I agree, but not everyone does. Wardenvale is far richer than your lands, my lady, because of its location down here in the valley.”
Analise nodded. The Vistal River brought all manner of trade to Wardenvale, and provided a quick route out of the Valley for Lord Gelain’s wines. It was little wonder he had prospered. She wondered if the river was high on Lord Jihan’s list of concerns. It should be. The Vistal River was a tributary of the Anselm, a mighty river indeed, and better than any highroad if one wanted to reach Devarr quickly. The Hasians were bound to realise it.
They stopped to rest the horses at midday.
Analise cut her apple into quarters and sheathed her knife at her waist. She ate one quarter, and drank some watered wine, before nibbling on a second piece. The sound of distant thunder made her pause and study the sky. The clouds did not look threatening. The thunder came again, and then again. Analise stood and dusted her dress. She gave the rest of her apple to her horse before wandering away to find Ballard.
Analise found her captain frowning into the distance. “Rain again?”
Ballard shook his head. “Thunder usually heralds it, my lady, but I cannot feel rain in the air.” He wet a finger and raised it. “The wind blows south. If rain there is, we should outpace it.”
Analise nodded and went back to get her horse. The men were already gathering up their things and remounting. They should reach Wardenvale before nightfall.
They heard thunder repeatedly on the final leg of their journey, but no rain came. Strangely, they saw no lightning at all. As the sun slowly lowered in the sky, the horses began to fret, and Ballard issued extra patrols to ward the column.
“A fine time to be attacked by wolves,” Ballard grumbled.
“You think wolf spoor is spooking them?”
Ballard shrugged. “Something did.”
“The thunder perhaps?”
Ballard shrugged again.
Their progress slowed to a crawl a couple of candlemarks later when the road became choked with wagons attempting to reach the army’s quartermasters. Ballard cursed, but there was nothing to be done. They didn’t dare leave the road for fear the wagons would get stuck.
“You could ride ahead with Ernan and some men.”
Analise knew instinctively that was the wrong course to take. “No, it wouldn’t be fair on the men.”
Ballard nodded approvingly. “I’ll send a pair of scouts ahead with word of our arrival.”
“Yes,” Analise said. “Have them request a meeting between myself and Lord Jihan. I want to know where he proposes we camp, and how we are expected to fight a war we cannot reach.”
Ballard grinned.
Thunder rumbled, and flickers of light flashed on the horizon; the horses fretted, side-stepping and stamping their hooves nervously. Analise watch the scouts ride ahead, and enter the town, wondering at the strangeness of the weather hereabouts.
“Lord Jihan has things well organised, I’ll give him that much,” Captain Ballard said later that day.
Analise nodded, watching her men finish setting camp. Jihan had greeted them himself when they presented themselves at the castle. Jihan often used it like a watchtower, it being a convenient high point to observe the battlefield and make his plans. He had been leaving the castle when Analise and Ballard rode up to the gates.
Lord Gelain had offered Analise rooms in the keep, and she had surprised Ballard by accepting the offer. Before taking up residence in Wardenvale’s women’s quarter with Lady Direlle, Lady Ahnao, and she hoped Lady Julia, she had wanted to see Ballard and his men settled. Jihan immediately agreed, and assigned some of his men to escort them to their assigned position in the defences he had planned. He hadn’t seemed surprised when Analise stated her intentions to ride along with the men, nor did he object. That had been a refreshing surprise, though not for Lord Gelain. His expression had been easy to read, and his disapproval obvious. Perhaps Jihan’s close association with Julia was the cause for his modern attitude. Analise hoped so, because Julia was her last hope and the reason she had not left for home after her meeting with the King.
“Do we have everything we need here, Captain? Fresh water, firewood, food for the horses? What about—”
“Lord Jihan has foreseen everything, my lady. His quartermasters are a wonder. We weren’t here a candlemark when the first extra supplies began arriving. Oats for the horses I think.”
Analise nodded. “What do you think of Jihan now that you have seen all this?”
“My opinions of him have not changed, my lady, but my hopes for this campaign are much higher than they were.”
“That’s good, but if Jihan did not impress you, what changed your thinking?”
“The latrines, my lady.”
“The latrines?”
Ballard smiled. “Disease is an army’s greatest enemy, my lady. Lord Jihan must realise it. His men have pre-dug latrines for us and for the King’s forces when they arrive. He had them placed safely away from our water supply and sleeping areas. That order impresses me, if anything does, about this situation.”
Analise shook her head slowly. If digging holes in the ground impressed him, he must be very impressed indeed. Jihan’s men had not limited themselves to digging latrines. There were all kinds of new construction going on, and all of it seemed to depend upon holes in the ground. There were trenches designed to break cavalry charges everywhere, with mounds of soil thrown up behind them covered in sharp stakes. Here and there wooden towers rose into the air, with men perched atop holding colourful flags. As if this weren’t enough, there were bunkers roofed with logs and sod dotted around in no order she could determine. Analise had no idea what the bunkers were for; she didn’t want to ask for fear of appearing foolish.
“It’s time I rode back to the castle. Lord Gelain is hosting a dinner in my honour. Jihan and Ahnao will be there. Julia too I hope. I need you with me, Captain.”
Ballard nodded. “I assumed you would. Do you want to tell me why we came here?”
“The war—”
“Has nothing to do with why you came, my lady. We both know there is more to it.”
Analise regarded him thoughtfully. He di
dn’t seem angry about her insistence on coming here and never had. That he had resigned himself to the situation so easily still surprised her.
“And if there is more to it, what will you do about it?”
“Follow orders as always.”
“My orders?”
Ballard inclined his head in a brief bow. “Yes, my lady. Lord Garth was my friend and my lord. Chaidren is my home. I want what is best for it, and that means what is best for you.”
“Many would dispute that,” Analise said bitterly. “The King for one.”
“I do not blame him for that. He does not see that times are changing. He does not see you as I have come to.”
“Oh and how is that?”
“I see that you, like me, love Chaidren and its people more than anything, and you are the daughter of my friend. I need to know nothing further to follow you.”
“I do love Chaidren and her people. I will do anything for them; even marry Llewyd if I have to. That does not mean I want to.”
“I understand, my lady. There is nothing wrong in wanting a little happiness.”
“Tell that to the King.”
“I would, but I doubt he will understand. By all accounts that I have heard, he did not want to be King, my lady. He saw it as his duty to take the throne. He will not be sympathetic with anyone he judges to be doing less than their duty.”
Analise nodded. “Be assured I will do my duty to Chaidren, no matter what that might be, but I will judge when and how best to do so.”
“I never doubted it, my lady.”
She looked at him sharply, expecting mockery, but found none. She nodded slowly. “We should ride for the castle. You’re sure Captain Ernan can manage without you?”
“I’m sure.”
Lord Gelain and his Lady had spared no effort in provided a proper welcome. After taking some time to bathe and change clothes, Analise entered the hall with a hand on Ballard’s arm to find everyone waiting upon her arrival. All eyes were upon her as she curtsied to her host, Lord Gelain.
“You look delightful, my dear,” Gelain said.
“I hope your journey wasn’t too frightful,” Lady Direlle added, giving her a brief hug before stepping back. “Fancy riding all this way alone in such company. I could never do it.”
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