by Duncan Lay
He looked at Rosaleen and Gallagher but they just glared at him.
“I know we haven’t always agreed over the past couple of moons and I regret that I had to use Gallagher to uncover where Munro was really hiding. But this is Aroaril against Zorva and I need the church to stand with me on this.”
“That wasn’t what you were saying when you took the church’s food and money,” Rosaleen said mildly.
“I’ll give you the money back and throw in a few sacks of oats for the brats of the useless bastards who were helping Munro,” Fallon said angrily. “But I need you to counter the moons of lies that have been spread around this city. You have to preach that I am this country’s only hope.”
“But are you? And do we even know that Swane is on his way here? The Kottermanis pray three times a day to Aroaril, we saw their devotion. Yet you expect us to believe that Swane will have converted them to Zorva and brought them over by the start of spring?” Nola asked.
“He may not have converted them. But he is on his way and he will have a Kottermani army.”
“On the word of Swane’s man Munro, who could be lying to save his skin or protect his master, or both,” Devlin sniffed.
“He knows he has nothing to gain by lying,” Fallon argued. “And we have been unable to find Swane. It all fits. Kemal disappeared and so did Swane.”
“But men will say anything to stop torture,” Rosaleen observed.
“He would not speak to us until we had put him to the test,” Fallon admitted. “But what else did you expect me to do? You would not help me.”
“I would not do your bidding, like some dog that you can order around,” Rosaleen corrected.
“Well then, help me now. Examine this man and what he has to say.”
“But if he has told lies to save himself from pain, they will be mixed up with his real memories and it may be impossible to distinguish between the two,” Rosaleen said quietly. “Extremes of pain have a dramatic effect on the mind. He will believe what he told you is the truth, to spare himself from further agony. Anything I get from him will be tainted.”
“Besides, how did he know Swane was gone, if Swane has not been here since we defeated him at Lake Caragh?” Gallagher added.
“Since I defeated Swane,” Fallon said, holding his temper by a slim thread. He knew he had to eat a plateful of shit to get them to help but they could at least hand him a spoon! “He has been receiving messages delivered by a magicked bird.”
“Which could have come from anywhere,” Rosaleen said.
“It came from Swane, on his way to Kotterman! For Aroaril’s sake, will you not help me? What if I am right and they do arrive?”
“What has really changed? We all knew there would be an invasion and we were supposed to be getting ready for it all winter, except you were obsessed with catching the flea that was biting at you, rather than stopping the man with a crossbow who was coming to kill you,” Nola said primly. “What is your plan now?”
Fallon resisted the urge to thump the table only with the greatest of difficulty. He forced his voice to become reasonable.
“At best they have a puppet prince to install back on the throne, at worst a Fearpriest to lead them. I need the church to speak for us and the rest of you to run the country while Padraig searches for the Kottermani fleet and I train our army.”
“We shall tell the people to prepare for a Kottermani attack and to be steadfast in their faith. But we shall not tell everyone that you are the savior of Gaelland and must be obeyed at all times. Because we have sworn not to lie,” Rosaleen said coldly.
Fallon forced a smile. “As long as they help, that is all that matters.”
Bridgit slapped the table. “Of course we can look after the running of the country. But we have to be left alone and you can’t run around changing what we do.”
“If we get through this, I will do anything you want,” Fallon promised. He would not let them see his gut-wrenching disappointment. He had been so sure his news would change everything between them and it would all go back to the way it was. Yet his friends were still against him. How had it got so bad?
*
“If the Kottermanis sail in here, we’ll send half of them to the bottom of the sea before they can unload their men,” the black-bearded Bran said with satisfaction.
Fallon looked at the new defenses around the harbor and breathed out in relief. Here, at least, was some progress. He had promised to send more trained men to help whip the recruits into shape but one or two days would make little difference, while this could change everything.
The protective blockade across the harbor had been doubled in size and strength, Fallon ignoring the protests of fishermen and merchants alike to create a double layer of boats, chained together, with a hedgehog of sharpened floating logs pointing out between them, ready to ram into the bows of any approaching ship and tear a hole in it.
On the bigger boats in the barricade, double-sized crossbows had been rigged up, ready to send flaming arrows into the sails of any Kottermani ships. More of these had been installed on the harbor walls. Fallon could see them pouring a withering fire onto the decks of warships packed with men.
Rocks had also been piled on the walls, while larger catapults waited on the headlands above. They would not be taken by surprise again. Fallon looked around and felt his face crack into an unaccustomed smile. The Kottermani fleet would be slaughtered if it tried to come into the harbor.
“Keep going. Once you’re finished here, we need to look at the main walls,” he said, patting Bran on the shoulder. “By the time the Kottermanis get here, we’ll be ready to send them packing.”
CHAPTER 61
“We are going to lose men and ships going into the Berry harbor,” Finbar warned.
“We knew we would suffer losses. And nothing good comes easily,” Dina replied. “After all, they are only Kottermani lives. And anyone who appears too loyal to the Emperor can lead the attack.”
“No, I mean we could be destroyed there. Fallon has strengthened the defenses to the point where we could be defeated,” the wizard said.
“Then use magic to break them.”
“We shall need enormous amounts of magic for that. And, remember, they have both the church of Aroaril and their own wizards helping them. It could turn into a slaughter.”
Dina sighed. They were getting close to Gaelland but sometimes it seemed like new obstacles were thrown in their way every day. “But we need to take Berry. Crush Berry and the country is ours,” she said.
“We can still crush it,” Durzu said. “We don’t have to attack from sea. We can attack from the land side.”
“We should surround it and demand Fallon’s surrender. That way we capture it intact,” Swane added.
“But the nearest port that can take a fleet this size safely is Lunster,” Dina warned. “It is a quarter-moon’s march south of Berry. That is a long time for Fallon to find some way of stopping us. And even then, many of the ships will be forced to anchor outside, at the mercy of the seas.”
“The solution is simple. We shall split the fleet up, taking only what could fit into Lunster harbor and sending the rest to seize other ports around the country. We will still have more than enough men to take Berry, and the rest of the country will be ours at the same time,” Durzu said, leaning over the map.
“You don’t know Fallon,” Dina said. “If we split up our forces, he will try and defeat us in turn. He could come up with some way of winning.”
Durzu chuckled. “I can respect an opponent but this is ridiculous! We have tens of thousands of the Empire’s finest soldiers. How many will Fallon have?”
“A few thousand, at best. Most of them unblooded,” Swane said. “He only had a few thousand at Lake Caragh. The word we had from our agents in the city is his attempt to create a larger army is not going well. Even if he puts 10,000 up against us, they will mostly be the fyrd—peasants armed with pitchforks and wood axes.”
Durzu chuckl
ed nastily. “The Empire’s finest will enjoy ripping them to pieces. So, if he tries to meet us we shall destroy him and if he attempts to hold the city we shall bring the walls down around his ears.”
“It will not come to that,” Dina said dismissively. “As soon as we threaten the people, he will buckle.” She watched Durzu carefully for his next reaction. He had been enjoying the sacrifices a little too much for her taste. She saw it as a means to an end, while Swane and Durzu were acting as though it was the whole point. Perhaps it would be better to get rid of the pair of them. One at a time, of course. As long as there were enough men to obey her every order, then it should not be too hard …
Durzu shrugged. “As I said, no matter what he tries to do, we shall have his measure. But it will be useful to see him bring an army into the field. Because then we shall enslave all who defy us. Nothing will entrench me better as the new Emperor than bringing an army of slaves back to Kotterman. And there needs to be some fighting as well, otherwise there can be no glorious death to explain the disappearance of the nobles and the deaths of my father and brothers.”
Dina glanced at Swane, who nodded imperceptibly. “Then it shall be so,” she said.
“Good. Now, how many ships can we fit into the Lunster harbor?”
Dina thought quickly. Those were not the kinds of details she enjoyed, for there were always little people to do calculations for her. “We have a hundred ships, I would say we could fit half of them into Lunster harbor, perhaps a few more,” she said. “Say sixty of them to be sure.”
“That would give us eighteen thousand soldiers to march on the capital and the rest to be spread around the country. Is that enough to deal with Fallon?”
Dina laughed. “About twice as many as we need to crush Fallon. Kemal had less than three thousand and almost defeated him.”
Durzu raised his glass. “Then I think we can drink to our new Empire.”
*
More than a hundred ships weren’t easy to organize, even with the system of flags that the Kottermanis were using. Gemici took advantage of that to add their ship to the mass heading straight for Gaelland, instead of the ones sailing off in different directions.
Feray felt the tension aboard the ship but refused to let it show. As long as she seemed calm, then the others would not panic. Still, when Gemici called her over, it was hard not to keep her heart from hammering. It was one thing to say you had to risk your life. It was another thing when you actually had to do it.
“Highness, I don’t think they are heading for Berry. We’ve taken a course that is too southerly for the Gaelish capital,” he said softly.
Feray did not bother asking if he was sure. His knowledge of the Gaelish coast and sailing routes was unquestioned.
“What’s the next biggest port where this many ships can put in?” she asked.
“Lunster. It has to be,” he replied.
She thought quickly. This could be their opportunity. They had always planned to slip away and use their greater speed to get ahead of the fleet, so they could learn where the Kottermani prisoners were being held and use them to free Kemal. She could not see why they were bypassing Berry but it was too good a chance to pass up.
“As soon as it is dark enough, fill the masts full of sails and head for Berry,” she ordered.
“My lady, I don’t know how well the ship will cope with that. And, if we leave the fleet, we shall also leave their protection. A storm could strike before we arrive.”
“This is not the time for worrying about risks. We just have to do it,” she said simply. “Either Aroaril will listen to us or He will let us die. It is in His hands.”
Gemici’s face twisted. “I would like to think that my skill would have something to do with it, my lady,” he said.
She smiled in response. “That was, of course, what I meant,” she agreed.
CHAPTER 62
Fallon ducked his head in the bowl and poured a generous measure of icy-cold water over his head. He felt the shock of it wake him up but it could not push the tiredness away completely. The last few days had been infuriating and exhausting. The harbor defenses were completed and, while they had taken resources, men, money and time, he felt much more comfortable knowing they were there. He just needed to sink a dozen Kottermani ships and the rest would be unable to get inside. And, for all their bright armor, they would die like rats once they were bottled up.
But everything else was not going nearly as well. His men around the country were having no more luck than he was in putting an army together. They were working the new recruits harder than ever but their progress was still painfully slow. On the positive side, they had found a pair of Munro’s men, although they had proved to know little more and certainly were not senior enough to have met or heard from Swane.
Fallon patted his face dry on a rough towel. He cursed himself for not killing Swane when he had the chance. Or maybe it was Dina who was behind Swane’s sudden change from poor opponent to master strategist. There was another one who should have been finished when he had the chance.
He looked into the bronze mirror and had to glance down. He had made so many mistakes. All his life he had wanted the chance to be a hero but it was proving far more difficult than he imagined. Even when things went right, such as destroying Swane’s army and catching Munro, they seemed to lose their luster quickly.
He sighed. There had to be a way to make up for all of this. If he couldn’t save Gaelland then he had to save Bridgit, the baby, Kerrin and his friends.
CHAPTER 63
Gemici had taken them into the coast, as close as he dared. The sea was slate gray and sullen but the waves were calm and that was a blessing as it allowed them to launch one of the rowboats. Feray had been tempted to send some of the Gaelish Ely had rescued instead of Ely herself, but while she knew these Gaelish sailors were against Swane and Durzu, she could not be sure they were entirely for her, either. It was a risk but everything was now.
“Keep your heads covered and pretend to be fishermen,” Feray told the four sailors who had volunteered to row inside. “Say nothing. Just grunt if anyone asks you anything and hand them silver.”
They nodded and she turned to Ely.
“Don’t stay long and don’t take any risks. Ask a few questions and see if gold loosens some tongues. Your story is you want to get out of the city and find a little farm to buy but you don’t want to be anywhere near the Kottermani prisoners. Only talk to the richer-looking people and, if you feel scared, just come straight back and I will go. Now, are you sure you want to do this?”
Ely had been nodding vigorously as she talked but now she stopped.
“I don’t want to do this but I will anyway,” she said. “You cannot go. If they discover who you are, they will use you as a hostage.”
Feray knew that was true but it still felt wrong not to be taking the risk herself. She embraced Ely. “You are a brave girl,” she said simply.
She watched the girl descend the rope ladder smoothly, the oarsmen helping her into the rowboat as it rode the small waves in the sheltered side of their ship. She sent another prayer up, that the girl would find someone who would help her. It was all she could do. Everything else was up to Ely.
*
“And who do we have here?” Fallon asked, rubbing at eyes that seemed to refuse to stay open.
“Looks like a spy,” Craddock replied. “She was picked up in the market. Speaks with a Kottermani accent and she was asking questions about the men we took off Kemal. And while she doesn’t have any ration details, she’s carrying a bag of Kottermani gold.”
Fallon looked at the young woman who stood shivering before him, flanked by two burly villagers. He had seen some strange people since leaving Baltimore but he doubted this one was a deadly killer. But what was she?
“You don’t look like a Kottermani but you don’t look Gaelish either. And you must have been asleep for most of winter because you obviously don’t know what has been going on in this tow
n,” he said. “Are you one of Munro’s? Or are you some slave, escaped from a Kottermani safe house?”
The young woman looked back blankly, terror in her eyes.
“Well, answer me! What is your name?”
“Ely,” she whispered, eyes downcast.
Fallon blinked. That name seemed familiar to him for some reason but his tired mind could not come up with any connection.
“What are you doing? Who are you working for?” he demanded.
“I am free. I am no slave,” Ely replied, in little more than a whisper.
“I don’t have time for this,” Fallon declared. “There’s a score of vital matters that need me before noon. Throw her in a cell and leave her there until she wants to tell us what’s going on.”
He waved them away and Craddock hustled the girl out of the room. He picked up the first of many parchments, lists of men, arms and armor at Rexford ready to fight for him. It was a short list.
*
Bridgit smoothed her dress over her growing belly and wrapped a thick cloak around her shoulders before going to look for Fallon. Not talking to Fallon was ridiculous and things had gone on for too long. She shouldn’t have stepped aside. Maybe the baby had affected her more than she thought or maybe she just needed to step back to see what was really going on. If Fallon was incapable of being sensible, then it was up to her to fix things. As usual. She would just have to stroke his ego a little, flatter him and tell him he was doing the right thing, then gently, gently steer him.
She strode quickly down the corridors, partly driven by a desire to confront Fallon and partly because there was still a fearful wind that whipped through the castle at odd moments, sending shivers down her back. As she got closer, she saw Craddock and a couple of others escorting someone away. She slowed down, not wanting to have them ask her questions, then caught a glance of the woman they were escorting.