Omar’s eyes were narrowed. “You have an idea?”
“Several. But it would require me to be in about three places at once, hence why I need your help.” He flashed them a smile. “Gentlemen, I realize that it’s your policy in this country to rotate the generals so that one serves every three months. But for this to work, I need all of you deployed at once. So I hereby propose that during the duration of this war, we abolish the rotational system.”
“Agreed,” Mihr said without hesitation. “To me, it never made sense to begin with.”
Omar slapped the table with a loud bang, startling everyone and announced happily, “If it means getting in the field faster, I’m all for it! What about you two?”
For a moment more, Bahram considered this before finally shrugging. “As long as the chain of command remains clear and intact, I don’t see a problem. Agreed.”
“We’ll go by seniority,” Darius assured him. “I won’t let there be any confusion. But most of the time, you’ll actually be doing separate duties. Other than conferring with each other and keeping the others abreast of your progress, you won’t be crossing paths much. Delshad?”
The man looked around, eyes darting nervously from face to face, clearly uneasy. “W-well, this is highly untraditional.”
Really, Darius had a majority vote. He didn’t need Delshad’s but he also didn’t want the man to just go along with the flow. That usually created problems later. “It’s alright if you don’t agree. But I still need you to be willing to work.”
His nervousness faded and he straightened in his chair to give Darius a level look. “I will always be willing to do that.”
“Good enough. Then here’s my idea.” He stepped away from his chair so that he could lean over the table and trace the route with his finger. “The Tran Highway is the only way for them to approach Niotan. If we ambush them from both sides, using the Elburz Forest for cover, then we can whittle down their numbers that way. If we play our cards right, we can also make the whole army paranoid about sleeping, or eating, or doing anything else that lowers their guard.”
Omar bared his teeth in a feral smile. “A sleep-deprived army makes a lot of mistakes. I like it. How many do you think you can get this way?”
Darius splayed his hands to either side in an open shrug. “I hope five thousand or so. With that large of an army, it will move very slowly, so we should have plenty of opportunities. I also plan on taking out their siege equipment at this stage.”
Reaching out with one finger, Bahram tapped the map himself. “And when they reach the mouth of Dakan Pass?”
“Then it gets more interesting. Here is where I need one of you to take over. I’m sure you all know about the armaments and fortifications I’ve had built up there?” He looked around the table, double-checking that they actually had heard about that. Army Intelligence didn’t always update people as they should and generals had a nasty habit of ‘losing’ recent reports before actually reading them. But he got a consensus around the table, so he continued, “They’re ready, but not armed. I need someone to go up there with the troops and run them through the drills until they’re all sure of what to do.”
Mihr tapped the table in a quick drum of fingers. “I should probably do that. I have a little experience with such fortifications.”
He did? “From where?”
“Hamms.” Mihr flashed him a rare smile, showing crooked teeth. “Product of a misspent youth.”
Ohhh? Is that where Mihr’s sometimes unorthodox strategies came from? That certainly explained a few things. “Then you’re in charge there. Speak with Commander Kaveh. He’s the one that oversaw their construction.”
“I will. What do you have set up there exactly?”
“The fortifications are overlapped so that every angle is covered. You will, of course, have most of the archers. But there’s also several sizes of ballistas up there, and caltraps ready to be dropped into the pass below. Kaveh has several rockslides rigged as well.” Darius went back to the map, tracing the route through the pass with his forefinger. “I believe that we can take down another ten thousand or so in here. But I need someone else to be in charge of the eastern lines. Our men on the mountain and in the forests will be badly out of position to protect the eastern lines. Really, I need all three of you there.” Darius tapped each section as he spoke. “North section, middle section, south section. The line is too long for any one commander to keep track of it, as I discovered personally. But you saw for yourself how the barriers can be used the most effectively. Can I leave it to you?”
“I’ll take the northern section,” Bahram volunteered quietly. “I’m from that area and know it well. In fact, my estate is nearby. We can use it to store supplies if needed.”
Darius gave him a grateful look. “I leave the details up to you, but we can use all the help we can get at this point. Thank you. Omar? Delshad?”
“I’ll take the middle,” Omar said as he leaned back in his chair, making the chair creak. “Delshad, that leaves south section to you.”
With a nod, Delshad agreed, “I’ll take it. General Bresalier, who was your commander over that section previously? I want his input before I plan anything.”
“Commander Ramin.”
“Bresalier, I hate to be the one to point this out, but that still leaves about twenty thousand for us to take care of and I don’t think these barriers of yours can do that much in one push.” Omar scratched at his chin. “Unless there’s some other part to your plan?”
“Well, the troops from the forest and the mountain will come down and do a flanking maneuver to harry their back lines,” Darius assured him. “Of course, I won’t leave the last stage of the battle just to you. But you’re right, it’s a bit much to face. There’s just one thing I’m betting on.” He sank back into his chair with a wry smile. “You see, eight thousand of those Brindisi troops are actually Baiji horsemen.”
Delshad went three shades of pale at this information. “On that flat, open area the horsemen will be deadly.”
“If they choose to fight,” Darius lifted a finger in a correctional fashion. “I plan on having a little one-on-one talk with their commander and negotiating. The Baiji have always been very unwilling allies and if they can find a way to get out of fighting, they’ll take it. If we offer them a free surrender and a safe passage home, I think they’ll agree.” Although his first proposal would be something radically different. But this was the one he’d fall back to and accept if it came to that.
“Surely not,” Omar objected.
“Trust me,” Darius assured him with a sour grimace. “I learned this from personal experience as well. I once had four thousand Baijians in my command that worked out a separate agreement with the opposite force and walked away without lifting a single blade.”
For the first time since entering the room, Sego asked, “So what did you do?”
Darius turned enough to answer, “Not much I could do at that moment. I had my hands full of some very upset barbarians. I cursed Darr for his interference, vowed to strangle their commander later, and went back to fighting.” Although he never did manage to get his hands on that commander. “The point being, if you approach a Baijian in the right way, with the right offer, he will abandon Brindisi in a heartbeat. They’ve never taken being ruled by the Sovran well. If it works, it evens the odds considerably in our favor. If not, I tried.”
“If not, we’ll add another layer to the barriers just in case,” Bahram corrected. “We have time to do that, I think.”
“You do,” Darius approved, relieved they were thinking ahead.
“So how should we divide up the troops?” Omar asked. He tapped the map with a blunt finger. “Parts of this will take a lot of manpower, I think. How many do you need for your ambushing, Bresalier?”
“A thousand should do it, I think.” Darius sat back and started counting things off on his fingers. “There are, technically, eight thousand able bodied soldiers that we can call upo
n. But one thousand of that are in vital guard positions and I do not dare leave the capital completely unprotected.” He had nightmares of doing that after what happened in Brindisi. “And five hundred of them are still dealing with the captured armada.”
“So really we have sixty-five hundred to deploy,” Mihr finished with a frown. “We’ll definitely have to fight smart, otherwise they’ll just flatten us. You said a thousand, Bresalier?”
“Yes, but they’ll serve a dual purpose,” Darius assured him. “After I’m done within the Elburz Forest, I’ll retreat into the mountains and at that point, the men I have with me will be at your command.”
“Hmmm.” Mihr leaned forward and stared at the Dakan Pass for a long moment, the wheels clearly turning in his head. “So all I really need is enough men to get comfortable with the routine up there and to finish up anything left undone. In that case, I’ll take five hundred with me. I think that fifteen hundred can handle the pass with all of the fortifications that are in place.”
Darius had to agree. That was roughly the number he’d figured as well. “So the front lines have five thousand at your disposal.”
Delshad dragged his hair away from his face with both hands. “I think the bulk of the troops should go to the northern section. They’ll be hit the hardest.”
“That is a point.” Omar looked up at Bahram. “How many do you think you’ll need?”
“How many do you think you can spare?” Bahram countered. “I’ll take as many you as you can give me.”
“Let’s divide it up this way,” Delshad suggested with an uncertain look between the two men. “I’ll take a thousand. Omar, you have fifteen hundred and Bahram, you take twenty-five hundred. Will that do?”
Bahram took a moment to think about it before nodding slowly. “Actually, it might be perfect. I won’t give a final agreement to that until I can look at the land myself, though, and see how those barriers are laid out. If we need to shift some men around, I’ll let you know then.”
“Fair enough,” Omar agreed. “In fact, let’s go together so we can talk about it more on-site.”
“That might be for the best,” Delshad agreed, clearly relieved that his suggestion had been taken so well.
Darius blew out a secret breath of relief himself. He hadn’t been sure if these three could cooperate considering their very opposite personalities, but they were all professional enough that their different views wouldn’t cause problems. Thank Shaa for small favors. “Good. Is there anything else that we need to discuss?”
Mihr cleared his throat slightly before saying, “You are aware that while you were at your estate, Feroze and Angra started an active campaign to have you removed from your position?”
He couldn’t quite bite back a groan. The two generals had been sneakily maneuvering behind his back for quite some time, practically since his instatement. But the most open thing they’d tried had been that dinner with their friend dueling Darius between the tables. They’d had a drastic setback at that moment and hadn’t been as outspoken since then. Darius had mistakenly assumed that he could safely ignore them for a while longer.
“No, Mihr, I had not been aware of that. How serious is this?”
“They didn’t make any headway with Queen Tresea and I’ve spoken to them personally.” Mihr didn’t sound happy which meant the talk hadn’t gone well. “They might stir up the men a little to cause you some trouble, though. I would watch your back.”
He could do that. But hopefully they wouldn’t be able to make much headway with the soldiers now that he wasn’t the one personally commanding most of them. Involving the other generals might be more of a godsend than he’d initially thought it would be. “Thank you, Mihr. I shall.” Taking a breath, he mentally flagged that potential problem and moved on. “Gentlemen, we have very limited time to prepare, as I’m sure you’re aware. This plan of mine is rough. Do you have any suggestions?”
A moment of silence fell before Mihr spoke up. “I think we need to survey the areas and talk to your commanders before we can say one way or the other.”
“Probably best. In that case, meeting adjourned. We’ll meet again in a week’s time.”
~~~
Darius felt beyond tired. Really, after a day like this, he should have just fallen face first into his bed and fallen asleep. But strangely enough, his mind wouldn’t settle.
He retreated instead into the garden, cold and still at this late hour of the evening. After a day of sitting, he avoided the benches and instead paced aimlessly around for a meaningless stretch of time before he eventually slowed to a stop of his own accord near the doors.
Darius almost started as someone caught his hanging hand with an iron grip. He turned sharply to find his wife staring up at him with worried eyes. He squeezed her hand and managed a smile for her in reassurance. “It’s about to get interesting, beloved.”
“I’ve only been hearing bits and pieces,” she responded, bottom lip caught between her teeth. “Brindisi is coming.”
He’d never sugar coated the truth for her before and he wouldn’t do it now. “Thirty-five thousand troops.”
Her eyes closed in horror, grip on him tightening.
“I can win.” Her eyes shot back up to his. “I can win,” he repeated, confidently. “But I can’t fight the way I did the last time. I can’t meet them on the eastern front. If I do, we stand no chance.”
“Then how?”
“I have to harry them, ambush them, whittle down their numbers before they even reach the Dakan Pass.” He looked back out at the moonlit garden, letting the serenity overflow his tired mind. “It will take them another month to gather all of the troops and supplies together before they can start the march here. It will take three months for them to actually reach Niotan’s borders. If I leave here in a month, I can make the logistics of this work. But Amalah, this won’t be a quick campaign, not like the last two. This can take anywhere between five to seven months, depending on what they do.”
She drew in an uneven breath, chin lifting in determination. “Then it takes seven months.”
He knew her well enough by now to know that she wouldn’t demand, or whine, or even show any doubt. He also knew that inside, her heart must be shaking in terror. His certainly was, despite his confident words. If this didn’t work, if the general they sent against him was one that knew his tricks and moved to prevent them, then his job became that much harder. If the other generals, the ones that didn’t support him, decided to move against him and use his absence to their advantage, then he didn’t know what would happen.
For her sake, and his, he wrapped both arms around her and just soaked in the feel of her for a long moment. She returned the embrace, hands clenching in his shirt hard enough to threaten the seams.
“Your commanders, they looked determined as they left the office today,” she said softly.
They’d spent five hours in that room, going over ideas and making plans. Payam and Sego were both run off their feet fetching reports, maps, and the like. Darius had a very broad outline to go off of now, but nothing finalized enough to give to Queen Tresea. Although she had already demanded he come to her tomorrow afternoon and give her the plan anyway. He’d have to get up early tomorrow to finalize what he could before then.
“Let’s go to bed,” she suggested, pulling away and tugging him along with her. “You’re exhausted.”
“Exhausted enough to warrant an oiled massage?” he asked hopefully.
She glanced back over her shoulder with dancing eyes and gave a low laugh. “If my raj-husband so wishes.”
He followed her docilely into their bedroom with a grin on his face. The day might have started out horribly, but it would certainly end well.
~~~
For eight days, he planned and schemed and researched and reported to Queen Tresea. That morning, he and Amalah were up with the sun, both focused on getting dressed before his staff arrived so that he could begin another day of planning. But even though
his mind was so focused on war, he couldn’t help but notice that his wife fairly glowed that morning. In fact, did he hear humming?
She had been worried and trying to hide it for the last several days until…yesterday come to think of it, when she had abruptly gone out and then came back with a bounce in her stride. Beyond curious, he snuck up behind her as she started pinning her hair up and swooped her up in his arms.
“Darius!” she protested, half-shrieking, half-laughing. “Put me down!”
“Not until you tell me what that happy smile is about, wife.” He belied his own words almost immediately by returning her to her feet.
She looked at him with calculating eyes. “I’m not sure if I should just now.”
“I will tickle you,” he threatened, lifting a hand and wiggling his fingers in a threatening manner.
Amalah eyed the appendage in apprehension. “Err, I planned to tell you tonight….”
“We have a few minutes until my commanders arrive,” he assured her benignly. “You have time.”
For some reason, that made her roll her eyes. “A few minutes, he says.” Blowing out a breath, she shrugged in resignation. “Alright. Darius, I’m with child.”
For a moment, the words didn’t make any sense. Amalah? With child? That couldn’t be. They’d only been married two months or so. He’d expected they’d have children in the future, of course. The semi-distant future, that was, after he’d secured Niotan’s independence and they had a chance to properly renovate their home estate. Then he wanted to have a whole passel of children, or at least as many as his wife would be willing to give him.
But now? He lifted his hands and gently cradled her face. “Are you certain?”
She put her hands over his, eyes shining with joy. “Yes. I went to a midwife yesterday and she confirmed it. She said I’m almost two months along, and perfectly healthy.”
Two months. The plan he had would take nearly five. Perhaps more, if things went a little askew. Five months of leaving his wife on her own during her first pregnancy. He’d been nearly ten when his youngest sister had been born and he remembered how hard those last three months were on his mother. She’d assured him it was normal, but if that was normal, then Amalah would face the same. He did not like that idea one bit.
Kingslayer Page 33