by JC Kang
Plucking the mirror from her hands, he held open the regent’s robe he had made for her, the one she never managed to slip into. Indeed, her new sash still dangled from her hastily tied knot.
She threaded her arms into the sleeves. “Is it magic?”
He grinned. “You should have learned from these last few weeks that you do not always have to rely on magic.”
Evasive answers yet again. She sighed. “Now what?”
Ignoring her, Xu fiddled with the mirror, and different images flashed across its face. One painting appeared. Was that the Dragon Pearl, in someone’s hands? Her hands? Or was it just a reflection? It disappeared with a sweep of his hand. He pressed the mirror to his chest and looked up. “If I were regent, I would worry about the remnants of the Teleri army and their capable leader.”
She kept her eyes locked on the mirror. “If you were their capable leader, where would you go?”
He lowered the mirror, which now showed only a reflection. “I would hunker down in a defensible location, perhaps behind walls.”
Which likely meant Huajing. Kaiya’s heart sank.
CHAPTER 45:
Mad Dashes
Geros crumpled the messenger bird’s missive. Leina insisted he bring the remnants of his army through Huajing’s east gate instead of the more convenient south gate, yet left no reason why. The city’s south walls rose in the distance, so close.
He looked back at the remnants of his once-proud army. Just ten thousand remained. So many had fallen on that fateful night of battle. The rear guard of ten thousand was unaccounted for, though even faced with overwhelming numbers and superior weapons, they had stalled Cathayi pursuit for a couple of days. His current ragtag band was all that had survived eight days of forced marching with little food and constant skirmishes. The wounded had to be left behind.
He growled deep in his throat. Now, Leina wanted them to leave the highway and traipse through farmland and marsh. She should’ve sent supplies instead. Still, she’d proven reliable in the past. With a sigh, he beckoned his men onto the farmland.
Outside of Kaiya’s carriage, long since repaired, birds screeched at each other as they competed for mates. Horses clopped, and boots marched through along the highway. She had rode at the head of an army too many times for her nineteen years. Hopefully, this would be the last.
She cradled the chunk of fallen star, whose steadfast throb felt comforting, even if its power seemed distant and walled-off again.
Across from her sat Brehane, now recovered from the spear butt to her head. She pulled and stretched Jie’s mysterious armor while Cyrus stared out the window. Perhaps he thought about Sameer, who’d chased after the Golden Scorpion Sohini, and Fleet with him. Also missing was Doctor Wu. Kaiya had searched and searched the battlefield herself, to no avail.
In the far distance, the staccato cracks of musketfire made her heart jump. Even so, the other two showed no signs of hearing it.
Commander Zhuang rode up to the window. “Jie-xia, the capital is within sight.”
At last. It had taken nine days, their pursuit of Geros slowed by the Teleri rear guard’s defense of the central valley’s final gap. “Any sign of the Teleri?
“No, Jie-xia.” The cavalry commander shook his head. “They had a significant lead on us because of their rear guard action.”
Kaiya sighed. If Geros reunited with the garrison he’d left there, they might have enough men and supplies to hold the walls and gates. “Tell General Lu to start making preparations for a siege.” Despite his earlier betrayal, the general had volunteered to lead all the assaults. He had more than proven his worth, and his soldiers adored him. Still, she’d keep a wary eye open.
Commander Zhuang said, “Our scouts reported trampled fields and bootprints up ahead.”
Perhaps Geros had sent men into the fields to forage for food. Still, nothing besides radishes and leafy greens were in season. They must surely be hungry.
More musketfire pattered up ahead, though again, her companions did not appear to have heard it. She looked out the window. Far beyond, Sun-Moon Castle and the Hall of Supreme Harmony stood out above the south walls. Had her brother survived the siege? And even if he still lived, the Guardian Dragon had entrusted her with choosing a capable Tianzi. As much as she adored Kai-Wu, he made a more suitable poet or teacher than ruler. Could she depose her own brother? And would the people accept that decision?
She sighed again. The Tiger’s Eye must be weakening if she considered choosing fraternal feelings over a logical choice. In any case, the decision would need to wait until they controlled the capital.
In the distance, horse hooves pounded the pavestones.
Commander Zhuang appeared at the window again. “A messenger, Jie-xia, riding with the flag of the Tianzi.”
“Send one of your men to meet with him,” she said. They’d met too many spies and imposters for her to take a risk of getting to close to this messenger.
Just north of Cherry Blossom Boulevard, Ming sat astride his horse, with Tian, Shu, and Ma Jun at his side. Waiting. He turned his dagger over in his hands. The wait was going to kill him.
Unless Tian killed him first. His brother’s hands clamped down on his. “Stop it. You are driving us insane.”
Ma Jun nodded.
A messenger ran up and dropped to a knee. “Jue-Ye, the Teleri have passed through the east walls. Maybe ten thousand.”
So the fake message had worked. Ming grinned at Tian. The combined forces of Linshan Province, the imperials, and his own Dongmen Province had attacked the remnants of the Teleri occupation over the last several days. Though they had captured key positions, the Bovyans still held out near the south gate. The last thing they needed was the emperor to join up with that group.
He then addressed his generals. “Wait until they are at least six blocks from the east gate before the ordering the cavalry to cut off their escape. Sound the horn when they are in position, and we will attack their flank.”
“As you command, Jue-ye!” the soldiers all said in unison.
Ming turned to Tian. “You know what to do.”
Tian crept along the rooftops as he approached the Teleri column. They marched twenty abreast along Cherry Blossom Boulevard, weapons at the ready as if they were launching an attack themselves. Ten thousand, two hundred and seven in all.
At their head, predictably, rode Emperor Geros. He was taller than the rest, with a scar on his cheek, just as Ming had said. His eyes swept back and forth, and like most people he didn’t bother to look up. He pursed his lips, his stiff shoulders and jerky motions suggesting he knew something was out of place. Even still, he rode high above everyone else, an obvious and inviting target.
Taking aim, Tian fitted one of Ming’s elf arrows and pulled the bowstring taut. He loosed.
A horn blared.
The Teleri kept their orderly ranks, but froze in place with their shields facing out. Geros pulled his horse up. The arrow cut right through the mount’s head. As it tumbled, Geros leaped from the saddle and into the mass of Bovyans.
Tian cursed to himself. Not that he would’ve hit Geros anyway. It should’ve been Ming, the master archer, taking this shot, only he refused to climb a rooftop and get his uniform messy. At least the poor beast didn’t suffer.
Provincial soldiers flooded the side streets on the northern edge of the boulevard. They stopped at point-blank range and fired into the Teleri column. Enemy officers barked out orders, and Bovyans on the interior loaded crossbows. Those on the edges bulged out into squares to charge the side streets. One more command, and the front rows knelt and the crossbowmen shot. The last row of Hua musketmen fired a volley, and spearmen surged forward.
They crashed into the Teleri with spears and swords. Still, the Bovyans held their line. Tian nocked another arrow, searching for Geros in the fray. In close-range pitched battle, the Metal Men might have the advantage, despite being outnumbered two-to-one. If only musketmen could fire from rooftops!
Another hor
n pealed from the Teleri rear. Ming’s cavalry.
And there was the emperor, taking command of his exhausted troops. Tian took aim.
“Hold the line!” Geros yelled, his heart thumping at a steady beat. “Do not let the histories say we lost to merchants, no matter how many bodies they throw against our spears!”
They sure were throwing a lot. How many in total was impossible to know without accurate intelligence, and apparently, that traitor Leina had lured them into a trap. Once they reoccupied the capital, he would be paying a visit to her home.
A high-pitched horn screeched from somewhere near the rear of his column. The feminine squeal certainly wasn’t a Teleri horn, though it carried above the clanking of metal and screams of men.
Yellow flashed in his vision a the Eye of Geros warned him of danger. He involuntarily leaned his head back. An arrow zipped by his face and lodged into one of his men’s arms. Geros turned to see where it had come from.
Up on the rooftop of a two-story building stood a Cathayi man, now nocking another arrow. The Cathayi man. The Angel of Death, whom Geros had killed once before. Now back to claim him. Geros cackled and snatched a loaded crossbow from a nearby soldier. How similar it was to the faceoff at the fortress in the Wilds. He took aim, just as the Angel of Death loosed another arrow. Yellow flashed in his vision.
Dao flashing, Ming smashed into the Teleri rear with the rest of his cavalry. They lumbered through the enemy’s interior lines almost unopposed, hacking and slashing through crossbowmen. While his plan hadn’t worked exactly as he hoped, they were dealing a significant blow to the exhausted Teleri troops. As long as they kept this returning army from linking up with the former occupiers, they could slowly strangle and starve them out.
From astride his horse, Ming saw Emperor Geros toward the front, crossbow in hand, barking orders. Ming’s free hand strayed to his bow. It would be quite a shot from this distance, but not beyond his superior archery skills, and certainly faster than wading through the Bovyans.
Not far ahead, Bovyans dropped crossbows and drew swords and spears. One Teleri at his side tried to drag him off the horse, but Ming kicked him in the face.
One of his officers sidled over. “Jue-ye, if we go much deeper, we will be trapped.”
Ming looked to the fore, where a forest of blades awaited, and then behind him, where the Teleri swarmed around the horses. His man was right. In these close quarters, they would eventually get dragged down. It would be better to veer onto a side street. Hua spearmen clogged up the streets to the north of the boulevard, so he waved his sword southward. “Linshan cavalry, to me!”
They chopped a path through the Bovyans. When Ming reached the side street, he paused and glanced further up the Teleri lines. Somewhere in the mess, Emperor Geros shouted out orders.
There he was. An arrow flew down and lodged into his shoulder, just as he took a shot into the rooftops. The bolt zipped upward. Ming whipped his head to follow its path. Tian snatched it out of the air.
Ming could only gawk at his little brother’s skill.
“Protect the emperor!” a Teleri yelled. Others repeated the call until thousands of voices chanted it like a mantra. Their rectangular shields came together and their spears jutted out like a centipede’s carapace. The entire column wheeled and lumbered southward down a side street.
Ming wiped sweat from his brow. Hopefully, Linshan Province’s troops had succeeded in overwhelming enemy-controlled points along White Duck Stream, and could cut the Teleri off from the rest of their army.
Cheers erupted to the north and west. Hua cheers. They must’ve surrounded the emperor.
An aide rode up. “Jue-ye, news from the south gate. The princess has returned, bringing two hundred thousand men.”
Ming stifled his grin. The Teleri numbers must have dwindled to around ten thousand in total by now, paltry compared to the imperial reinforcements. Still, it was a lot of Hua soldiers to bring through the gate, and they might not get enough to keep the two pockets of Teleri resistance from joining the main army.
Tian ran along a street parallel to the Teleri retreat. At every intersection, he looked over to see how quickly the column of Metal Men moved. Somewhere, behind the marching wall of shields and spears, the Teleri Emperor must be laboring with an arrow in his shoulder.
Hua musketmen, both provincial and imperial, stood in three-rank lines in the side streets, shooting at will. The closest rank knelt, the second stood, and the third reloaded muskets. The Metal Men took casualties at each intersection, though any man falling on the outside was immediately replaced by another.
Perhaps the emperor had already bled out, since it seemed more logical for the column to turn down a side street, crash into the thin lines of musketmen, and break out from the path where they took constant fire.
Tian looked up ahead to see a large battalion of Hua troops marching toward him, their banners a white ship on a black field. At their head rode a helmeted man in a black-and-white uniform and a steel breastplate. Those color, that sigil… Zhenjing Province? Why were they here?
Hurrying over, Tian bowed. “Sir—”
Two men thrust him to his knees. “Address Lord Wu of Zhenjing with proper manners.”
Appropriate terms… “Jue-ye, The Teleri could break out of any of these streets.”
Lord Wu waved him off the street. “Out of the way. Go back to your home.”
Tian brushed his hands over his clothes. Of course, he wore civilian garb. Still— “If you attack them now, you can break them in two.”
With a wave at his men, the commander said, “We are to cut off possible escape routes to the west, under orders from the regent herself.”
The regent was in the city… He had come so far looking for her, to satisfy Yuha and his spirits. The column had come up from the south, so she must be there.
Kaiya entered the city at the head of the army, astride a horse, keeping her chin up as musket shots rang out in the distance. Beyond the nearby rows of two-story buildings, several plumes of smoke rose above the southeastern part of the city. Teleri casualties lay strewn around the gatehouse and walls. The stench of sulphur and burning charcoal hung in the air. Though her nausea had subsided in the last couple of weeks, it threatened to rise again now.
General Tang, at the head of an imperial guard contingent, rode up and dismounted. He dropped to a knee, fist to the ground. “Jie-xia, thank you for coming in our relief.”
She searched among his command staff. “Where is General Shan?”
“Killed at the north gate in the initial assault, before you left.”
Kaiya heart sank, even through the Tiger’s Eye. “I am sorry to hear that. General Shan had been a wise and courageous leader.” She sighed, resolve firming again. “What is the Teleri army’s status now?”
“Lord Zheng Ming tricked Emperor Geros into entering the city from the east, to prevent him from joining with their garrison here.” He gestured to the south gate. “We recaptured the gate not long ago and have pushed them east. I have word that Lord Zheng is driving Geros south, while the rest of our armies hold White Duck Stream to prevent him from going west.”
Zheng Ming…had survived Teleri capture, and the orders she’d given Jie. Kaiya nodded, even though she only had a vague idea of the map. Better to leave strategy to the professional military. In the meantime, there was something only she could do. “General, how dangerous are the roads to the Temple of Heaven?”
General Tang looked to the east. “The Bovyans are nowhere near there right now. I will personally escort you.”
Kaiya patted her saddlebag, where the fallen star hummed its unfaltering tune. One of her ancestors’ first acts was to erect the temple in an auspicious location, and then place the star there. She would return the relic to its rightful place.
She turned to General Tang. “Send Emperor Geros my terms for his surrender…”
The wound on Geros’ right shoulder had stopped bleeding, but it still seared with pain.
Especially after the healer had applied a balm. Each time the man tied another stitch, Geros had to hide his wince. He scanned the grassy basin and stone seating around him. It looked similar to an Estomari coliseum, except that the stands only lined one side.
Low ground to be sure, but defensible enough from the stands and also the barricades his men had erected along the side streets feeding into the plaza. The garrison had managed to meet up with them, not only bolstering their defenses but also bringing much-needed food and supplies. If they rationed everything, they could hold out a week or more until reinforcements arrived from the North.
Wishful thinking. He laughed out loud, drawing the stares of his men, who immediately averted their eyes. No, it had been Dongmen provincial soldiers who had attacked. Either Lord Zheng had turned on him, or the son must’ve grown some balls and learned a little military strategy. There would be no reinforcements.
Geros pushed the healer off and stood. All his men snapped to attention.
“My friends, this is our last stand. No help is coming. But we will make them remember the day they fought the Teleri Empire. Their descendants will quiver at our name.”
The men broke into cheers. Every last one of them would die for honor. Him, too. In any case, without the fallen star to give to the Altivorc King, he only had a few months before his thirty-third birthday and inevitable death soon after. It had been a good life. His only regret was not to have conquered Cathay for Kaiya and left a stable and peaceful realm for their son to rule.
General Baros called from the top of the stone seats. “The regent has sent a request to parley. She demands our immediate surrender and Emperor Geros to turn himself in to her. The rest of us will be allowed to return home.”
Geros snorted. Undoubtedly an attempt to turn the men against him, and in any other army, the terms of surrender would not be shouted out for everyone to hear. But they were Bovyans, and their response was predictable.