The Queen Maker

by Kristen Gupton

  The strange sort of drunken ease with which he’d fought lingered in his mind. He never realized how instinctual all the training he’d received during his life had become. While he’d suffered his doubts over his ability as a guard or soldier of any sort, they were finally put to rest.

  ***

  General Danier rode at the front of his regimen, furious over the turn of events. While he didn’t regret running to spare his own life, his men had let him down. The Quitam weren’t as fanatical about fighting to the death as some tribes. However, the immediate surrender by many of his soldiers had cut deep. He wasn’t willing to admit the invasion had been poorly executed on his part, though. His rage was directed at the band of men struggling through the snow behind him.

  There was one more mountain pass to get over before they’d start the descent to the river. There, the terrain changed dramatically.

  While the Tordanian side of the river was green and dense with trees, the northern reaches of the Sador Empire were barren, punctuated by occasional salt flats. Beyond, the desert gave way to more lush tropical landscapes.

  If they managed to escape Tordania, Danier would be happy if he never saw snow again.

  He kept a wary eye over his shoulder. The Tordanians had fallen back and were now out of sight. He knew they were following, however. If he were to allow his exhausted and humiliated men to stop, surely the Tordanians would attack again without mercy.

  His army moved behind him, many on foot. The soldiers who’d managed to get to their horses before they’d fled rode along behind those men forced to walk, encouraging them to go faster. A trail of dead men spread behind them as the Sadori soldiers succumbed to their injuries and illness. Each man who collapsed was quickly stripped of any clothing, the retreating soldiers desperate to keep warm.

  Danier sank into his thoughts. He’d believed the Tordanian King would be too impotent to actually come after him, yet he had. Somewhere behind him, the general knew the vampire was in pursuit. It wasn’t normal for him to be scared of anything, but the worry of Keiran catching up was inescapable. The general had gotten into more than he’d expected.

  Meeting Keiran wasn’t something Danier would soon forget. The general wasn’t used to being confronted by people who lacked any fear of him. In his own land, he was looked upon with respect borne from the knowledge he’d killed or ordered the execution of anyone who dared to defy him.

  Perhaps living a life like that had left him complacent. He still put the blame for their failure on his soldiers, unwilling to really accept his own culpability. Retreating through the Tordan Mountains with his tail between his legs infuriated him.

  A man walking near Danier suddenly fell, succumbing to an injury he’d sustained in the fight. The general barked a curt order for the coat the fallen man wore to be pulled off and given to him. The injured man was left behind to freeze to death. Danier took the coat when it was passed up to him and threw it around his shoulders, trying to ward off the bitter cold.

  He closed his eyes and rode along in silence. The girl was his one ticket out should the Tordanians meet him at the river and try to cut off his escape. A bitter smile touched his lips for just a few seconds. Even if he’d failed in taking the mines, he’d still have a very sweet personal revenge against King Sipesh.

  ***

  Keiran rode at the front of his army with Kanan and Jerris on either side of him. The Sadoris were pushing hard ahead of them, and the Tordanians agreed to fall back a bit. It would serve to allow Keiran’s men to rest before the next conflict.

  The night ahead looked as though it was going to be rough. Keiran and the others believed the environment itself might just eradicate the remaining Sadoris. The invaders were heading into a growing storm unprepared. There was another full day of travel through the mountains before they would descend down to the river, assuming any of them were alive at that point.

  The path the Tordanians followed was punctuated with dead and injured men. Those found alive were taken back to Edinau where some of the Tordanians were setting up camp. The town was going to house their Sadori prisoners until the weather improved, and they could be sent home.

  There were also a number of broken swords on the ground behind the retreating invaders. The quality of their steel was lacking compared to what Keiran’s men possessed. In the extreme cold, the Sadori blades had become brittle, many snapping after use.

  While the evidence of their success was bolstering the Tordanians’ spirits, Keiran was growing increasingly worried. Each body lying on the trail ahead caused a wretched tightness in his gut until he was close enough to see it wasn’t Thana. He repeatedly tried to reach out and sense where she might be but nothing came. All he could do was pray she was faring better than her captors.

  The three men rode along in relative silence. The overall elation of the two guards in flushing out the Sadoris was overshadowed by Keiran’s dread over Thana’s well being.

  Scouts rode ahead and reported back how much distance was between the groups. Keiran listened and conferred with the officers. Together, they decided to wait until the road began to descend into the valley before they made their next attack. Having the Sadoris out in the open with the forest still available to the Tordanians for cover would be advantageous. With this in mind, they hastened their pace just a bit to keep the Sadoris from pulling any further ahead.

  The storm intensified throughout the afternoon. When the snow became too much for the Tordanian’s to push through, it was decided they would stop. Scouts had plowed ahead and reported the Sadoris were also slowing to a stop by sunset. Keiran’s men needed the rest, and another night in the cold without supplies would make the Sadoris easy to deal with come morning.

  Camp was set up, most of the tents housing more men than usual in the interest of conserving heat. Keiran’s tent was in the center of the grouping, but it was only occupied by the vampire and his guard. Kanan had stayed elsewhere, opting to allow Keiran and Jerris the opportunity to discuss the day’s events. The younger men seemed more apt to speak freely without the elder guard around, so he’d chosen to give them their space.

  The two sat close to the small fire within the tent, multiple blankets pulled around their bodies. Sleep wasn’t coming easily to either of them. Jerris was concerned about the next round with the Sadoris even though the first encounter had gone well. There had been plenty of worry on his part before the action had started, and he was still coming off the adrenaline of the day.

  Keiran, meanwhile, had retreated into his own mind as was typical. Though he was able to talk to Jerris for a while about his fears regarding Thana, after a time, he’d quit speaking all together.

  Keiran was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. He closed his eyes, but it only made him envision the worst-case scenarios. His brain absolutely wouldn’t stop, and he wished desperately Jerris had brought something strong to drink. Anything that could have stopped his mind from obsessing over the woman would have been welcomed. As it was, the few bottles of ale the other man had packed in with him were already gone.

  Sometime after midnight, Jerris’ exhaustion got the better of him, and he keeled over into a snoring heap. Keiran, however, couldn’t get any rest. He tried to keep still and not wake Jerris from the precious sleep he was getting.

  There were a few times when he wandered out of the tent and into the snow, checking the progress of the storm. He never dared to go more than a few yards from the tents, not trusting even his sharpened senses to get him back in the whiteout conditions.

  Standing outside, Keiran let the snow drive into him. The wind was bitterly sharp, and there were no sounds beyond it roaring through the pine trees above. Snow blew around in great sheets and swirls, the shifting patterns playing havoc with his fatigued mind. Even though he was sure there were no animals out, given the conditions, Keiran swore he saw something moving now and again. He continued to strain his eyes, trying to see better, but to no avail.

  He decided he definitely didn’t
like the feelings overtaking him. Keiran retreated back to the tent to tend to the fire while Jerris continued to sleep.

  ***

  Thana awoke without the faintest idea of where she was. After she’d slept off the drugged tea she’d been given, she’d been allowed to eat and drink freely. Several hours later, however, a hood had been placed over her head again, and she’d found herself in a wagon, rattling down the road.

  The trip seemed to go on for hours, and though she’d been dressed in something heavy, the cold had cut away at her. She fell asleep for a time, the exhaustion and stress wearing her down. She only awoke when physically lifted out of the wagon and carried a short distance.

  The hood was removed when she was placed in a small, wooden room. After the door shut, she’d been cast into complete darkness. Thana groped her way around the space looking for any possible route for escape but found none. She made her way back to a small bunk protruding from the wall of the room and settled in. The only thing of any use that Thana found was a metal bucket that she assumed was left as her only means of bathroom facilities.

  Thana didn’t know if it was disorientation from being in darkness and overly stressed, but it seemed the room moved slowly around her. Part of her wondered if she’d been drugged again, but her mind remained clear.

  She heard the wind howling outside, indicating the severity of the weather now brewing. While the room was cold, it wasn’t deathly so. Thana curled up as best she could on the bunk and tried to think.

  ***

  By morning, the blizzard had abated. The Sadori camp was a dismal place, the area littered with dead and dying men. The survivors were completely dispirited, huddled in tight groups around the meager fires they’d managed to start.

  No one left alive had slept the night before, most of the dead having succumbed to the cold while trying to sleep. Dry wood for their fires had been terribly hard to come by in the storm. The lion’s share of what they did gather went to Danier’s own fire.

  Danier didn’t care about the state of his men. He was only concerned with getting back to his empire. The horrible truth was most of those still living were little more than entry-level soldiers and not worth sacrificing his life for. Other than himself, there was no one left who wasn’t expendable. The low-ranking members of his military weren’t from powerful or important families that could cause him any sort of grief. Some of his officers were a different story, but there were very few of them left by then.

  The situation was bleak. Danier wondered if the caravan transporting the captured girl had managed to get down to the river before the blizzard had set in. He knew she was the only thing that would salvage his reputation after failing to hold the mining territory. Perhaps Emperor Betram would forgive him for disobeying orders since he’d found a living Aroothi woman. Unless he could get down into the river valley before the next night fell, however, Danier knew he’d be dead.

  He made up his mind and rose, going to saddle his horse without saying a word to anyone. The general was strictly in survival mode, and he would allow nothing to interfere with getting out of Tordania.

  Dressed in two coats, having taken yet another from a dead man, he got onto his horse and headed out alone. He didn’t care if the others followed, and if the Tordanians came upon any men who gave up or stayed, it might slow them down. The longer it took for the Tordanians to realize he wasn’t amongst the remaining soldiers, the further down the road he’d be able to get. If none of the others lived, he could make up a story of his heroism and narrow escape.

  Though he hadn’t kept a hold of the mines, it hadn’t been a fruitless endeavor. His ships had cleared out a significant amount of coal from the storehouses near the docks. As for the liberation of the Sadori woman, he knew it was possibly going to be counted as his greatest triumph. The resurrection of her bloodline would surely garner him great favor within the empire. Danier knew it was quite possible that despite his failures, he may yet become the next leader of his beloved empire.

  ***

  Keiran prepared to head out about the same time Danier was abandoning his camp and men. The snow was deeper, but with the wagons converted into sleds, the draft horses would still be able to make progress. This would allow them to move enough supplies to establish another base of operations in or near Lodain. Camping near the water would be easier than camping in the mountains as there wouldn’t be any snow to deal with.

  The vampire was in a simmering state of rage and worry by then, concerned only with finding Thana and bringing her home. He figured the Sadoris were going to leave Tordania, whether he followed them to the river or not. They had been ill-prepared for the cold, and they wouldn’t last long in the forest if they were foolish enough to try and wait it out.

  Keiran ignored his officers and generals, opting to ride on point with only Jerris and Kanan directly with him. Being away from the larger mass of soldiers allowed him better clarity with his emotions as he tried to sense Thana or anything of use.

  They hadn’t ridden long when they found where the Sadoris had stayed the night. In fact, it was so close to their camp that Keiran grew frustrated with himself for not having pressed on just a bit further the night before. His senses swept out as they neared the camp, but he felt nothing that indicated Thana was there.

  It was immediately evident the camp wasn’t abandoned when they reached it. Though Keiran’s men drew their swords and crossbows as they approached, the men remaining were so sick, cold, and depressed that they offered no resistance.

  With their leader abandoning them, their spirit was broken. Many of the survivors were little more than boys, not yet twenty, their illusions of battle-glory shattered by the previous day’s action. They were now resigned to their fates, clustered around the fires they’d kept burning. They sat wrapped in all the clothes they’d been able to pillage from the dead.

  The Tordanians swept through the camp, disarming the Sadoris in short order. They offered no sincere resistance to it, instead begging in Sadori for food.

  Kanan moved to the young king, having secured the camp in mere minutes. “What do you want us to do with them?”

  Keiran looked across the site, weakly shrugging his shoulders. “How many are alive?”

  “Only thirty-seven by my count,” Kanan replied.

  Keiran thought for a moment, knowing if the tables were turned, the Sadoris would have killed them without a second thought. He couldn’t give such an order, however, seeing the complete apathy amongst the disgraced Sadori army.

  “Take them back to our camp,” Keiran replied. “We’ll hold onto them until we can get them transported down to the river and out of Tordania with the others. These damned fools have no idea how to survive in the cold.”

  “It’s not what they’d do for us,” the elder guard stated.

  “I know, but they are absolutely no threat to us in their current state.” Keiran sighed and looked around. “So much for the great Sadori army never giving up and always fighting to the death.”

  Kanan gave a small nod, remembering the fighting he’d done with them two decades earlier. It had been much different. They’d never needed to take prisoners as the Sadoris back then preferred to die rather than being captured. Many had even committed suicide to avoid being taken into custody.

  Keiran noticed the older man’s expression and could pick up on what he was feeling. “Besides, even if I ordered such a thing, you’d never be able to carry it out.”

  The old man’s left eye twitched for a second, a faint smile creeping up. “Aye, you’re probably right. These are just boys who want to go home.”

  Jerris had been sent out into the camp, trying to find any whom he could communicate with. The young man returned to where his father and Keiran were talking. “I’m surprised how much a freezing man will talk if you offer him a little hot tea.”

  Keiran’s attention snapped to his friend, a brow quirking. “What did you learn?”

  “The man who took us to see Danier yesterday
is still alive. He said General Danier left this morning by himself. Ran away, abandoning everyone. The others felt moving any further in the cold was suicide, and none of them had the strength or will to follow.” Jerris lifted a hand toward the rear of the camp. “There’s a path through the snow, just one horse, heading toward the river.”

  “By himself? Then where is Thana?” Keiran asked, a twinge of fear racing down his spine.

  “He said he didn’t know for certain,” Jerris replied, looking back to his friend. “He thinks she was taken down toward the river with the last coal wagons heading out of Edinau yesterday morning. They must have made it through before the snow got too deep for the wagons to pass.”

  Keiran gave a slow nod, gaining some hope from Jerris’ statement. His eyes fixed on Kanan. “I’m going after General Danier, and I’m getting Thana back.”

  “Like hell you’re going out there alone,” Kanan shot back.

  Jerris moved to face his father, standing at Keiran’s side. “We’ll take a number of men with us.”

  Kanan looked at the two young men for a moment, debating whether or not he should let them go without him. However, someone needed to oversee the movement of their multiple captives. Besides, they’d held their own against the general before.

  “All right, the two of you can go, but as Jerris said, you will be taking some men with you. I know he’s just one man, but there is a good chance there are others between here and the river. He surely had supply wagons coming up here from the water on a regular basis, and they could be anywhere along the route up here. There will be multiple men down at the docks, regardless,” he said, his gaze switching between the two. “Don’t go forward until you have the men to do it. Once I get the prisoners out of here, I’ll start down toward you with as many men as we can spare.”