by Peter Kenson
“As you command, my lord.”
***
David’s former company of men, now swelled far beyond their original numbers, were just crossing the canal bridge into the market square as he emerged from Aron’s shop. Jeren and Feynor at the head of the column, spotted him in the crowd and pulled to one side as the rest of the company continued towards the gates.
“Lord David,” Jeren greeted him. “Baltur told me you had returned.”
Noting the tone in Jeren’s voice, David bowed to hide a wry smile. “You were the next person on my list, your Majesty, but I had some urgent business to attend to first.”
“With Aron Golder?”
“Indeed so. I will tell you about it later, but I think this is not a routine patrol you are leading out.”
“No it isn’t. Deribe attacked a caravan yesterday afternoon, on the way from High Falls. She’ll be long gone by now but she must have left a trail. I am determined to find her base and prevent any more attacks before the caravan season gets fully under way.”
“Then I may be able to help you. As I was coasting in last night, trying to keep a low profile, I picked up a large heat source in the hills to the north of here. I angled my flight across it to mask my own trail and I’m fairly certain it was a large body of men and horses. I can’t give you exact numbers but I’d say it was more than fifty.”
“Can you show us where it was?” Jeren asked excitedly.
“Not from memory. But the shuttle will have pinpointed the exact spot. If you’ve got a map handy, I can go back to the shuttle and compare it with the flight path.”
Feynor was looking extremely perplexed at all the talk about ‘flight’ and ‘the shuttle’ but he understood the request for a map and despatched Jaks to summon the captains together with every map they carried. Ash arrived within a minute with the others only a few strides behind. He pulled a sheaf of maps from his saddlebag and held them out.
“The hills to the north of here are very rocky,” he said. “That’s why we keep losing their trail every time. There are also a lot of deep ravines and valleys where you could hide a small army. We add a bit more detail to the maps after each patrol but these are the most up-to-date we’ve got. I don’t know which one you need so you’d better take all of them.”
“Thanks Ash,” David said, taking the maps. “Now if somebody could lend me a horse…”
“Here, take mine, my lord,” Jaks offered.
“I assume you would like to come with me, your Majesty,” David said as he swung into the saddle. “Feynor, settle the men down in the meadow outside the walls. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
As the two of them headed off to the small quarry where the shuttle was concealed, Jeren could not hide his worry any longer. “Have you any news of Rachel?” he asked. “I haven’t heard from her in three days now.”
“I know she arrived safely and is with the Resistance. I wouldn’t expect to get regular reports from her but I know who she’s with and they’re good people. They’ll look after her.”
“I just want to know she’s all right.”
“I know you do. But let’s concentrate on your problems for now. This Deribe’s a pain in the ass and needs to be dealt with. Then I’ll see if I can make some enquiries.”
There were some old workings in the quarry that had been enlarged sufficiently to conceal most of the shuttle from prying eyes, either on the ground or from orbit. The exo-station was still monitoring activity on the planet’s surface but the orbital period meant that there were windows of opportunity when Marmoros was not within range of their scanners. Unfortunately, this was not one of them so David cautiously powered up the absolute minimum to bring the flight computers online.
They spread the maps out as best they could in the cramped conditions of the flight deck and tried to match the terrain under the flight path with landmarks on the map. They were onto their third map before the two started to come together.
“That’s it!” Jeren exclaimed, pointing at a large twisting canyon on the map. “But I review these maps with Ash every few days and I’m sure he sent a patrol through there not three weeks ago.”
“I wouldn’t expect them to stay in one place for too long. It’s not in their nature. They were there last night; they may not even be there tonight.”
“They took some casualties in the raid,” Jeren said thoughtfully. “They may not want to move too far until at least some of them have recovered. In any case, this is the best information we’ve got. Let’s get back and share it with Feynor.”
***
The company’s officers were all clustered around the large map table that Feynor had set up in the meadow. Jorgen was there with as many redcloaks as could be spared from the defence of the palace, Ash had all the scouts who were not already out on patrol, Bern had two full squads of archers and Fran, who had been promoted to Feynor’s old position, had command of the swordsmen.
“I know that canyon,” Ash declared. “It’s a good place to hide but there are only two ways in and out and that’s at either end. The sides are too steep to climb, at least for horses.”
“Then we have a chance of bottling them up,” Jeren said. “If we can block the head of the valley and come in from the bottom, we’ll have them trapped.”
“We have to make it look as though we’re tracking them from the site of the ambush,” Feynor said. “And with a sufficiently large force to make it believable because they will leave scouts behind to watch for us. If they see the king and his redcloaks as part of that force, that should convince them.
“We won’t reach the attack site to start tracking them until this afternoon, but the Shieling at this point is wide open grassland. We should have no trouble following their trail and they should have no trouble watching us from the hills. What we must do is reach the point where their trail disappears into the hills by nightfall. They won’t expect us to track them through the hills after dark so we can make camp for the night.
“The rest of the company will circle round through the hills to the head of the valley and seal it off. That gives them the rest of today and all night to get into position. Then, in the morning, the tracking force breaks camp and heads for the entrance to the valley. We ignore any trails or false trails they may have laid and head straight there. It doesn’t matter if they see us coming because, if the canyon walls are that steep, they’ll have nowhere else to go except up the valley towards our own ambush.”
“There’s only one problem,” Ash stated. “You won’t get the ambush party in place by tomorrow morning. That’s very rough country and they would have to go a long way round to avoid detection. They wouldn’t get there before nightfall and, if they try to push on after dark, they’ll have broken bones, lost equipment and maybe even some deaths. And finally, even if they get there by morning, which I seriously doubt, they’d be too exhausted to fight. Give me two days and I can get them there, but not by tomorrow morning.”
“Two days is too long. As soon as we break camp tomorrow morning, they’ll start to move up that valley. Once they’re out of there, we have to start all over again.”
“What if we don’t head straight for the valley?” Jeren asked. “We could try to follow their trail for a day. Pretend we’ve lost it.”
“We’ll still be operating very close to them,” Feynor said. “If they get nervous they’ll move anyway. Are you sure you can’t get there in time?” he asked Ash.
“Not a chance. And certainly not with a force in any condition to fight.”
“How well do you know that valley, Ash?” David asked.
“I know it well. I’ve lead a patrol through there three times now.”
“The head of the valley. How many men would it take to seal it off?”
“It narrows down quite sharply. We could block the actual trail with a rockslide. Then twenty good archers could hold that with a handful of swords and spears to give them close protection. Say thi
rty men in total.”
“Oh hell,” David muttered. “I suppose I might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.”
“I beg pardon, my lord.”
“Nothing. Bern, Fran, I want you to handpick thirty of your best men. Men who aren’t going to panic about being locked in a steel box for an hour.”
Jeren’s eyes lit up as he realised what David was proposing.
“No way, your Majesty. I’ll take Bern and Fran but you need to be seen with the main force.”
“No I don’t. As long as they see the redcloaks there, they’ll believe that I’m with them. And the men you’re taking will worry a lot less if they know their king is sharing the experience with them.”
Despite himself, David had to admit that Jeren had a point there. “Okay, Fran choose ten of your best to stay behind but you go with Feynor in the main force. Bern, you and twenty of your men are with us. They can stand down for the rest of the day. We leave after dark.”
Feynor and the other officers exchanged enquiring looks across the map table but nobody had any answers. David frowned as he saw their expressions.
“Gentlemen, there isn’t time to explain. All I can do is ask you to trust me. I will catch all kinds of hell if I’m caught interfering in your private little war but I will put that ambush party in position for you before dawn. If you don’t trust me, trust your king. He knows exactly what I’m planning to do.”
As one, they all turned to look at Jeren who nodded slowly. “Lord David is right. There is no other way to do this and it’s our best chance of catching that witch Deribe. I have travelled with Lord David before and while it is unusual, exciting even, there is no risk to your men.”
There was a long pause before Feynor spoke. “Right then. Fran, Bern, choose the men for the ambush party. Ash, you take command of the archers who are coming with us. We move out in ten.”
***
As they rode back to the palace, Baltur was careful to put David between himself and Jeren before he spoke. “Well at least you won’t have to cancel today’s court now,” he remarked casually. “Lord Grekan will be happy”.
The look that Jeren threw in his direction would have brought down a bird in flight. Then he saw the broad grin on his friend’s face and ruefully forced a weak smile in return.
“You’re right, I suppose. If only because we’re going to be busy tomorrow. But I’m going to cut it short and, while I’m in there, I want you to find Lady Marilyn and that merchant of hers. I’ll see them straight after.”
At the palace they handed the reins to a pair of grooms and walked in through the newly repaired and highly polished bronze doors. Inside they were met by Izzy with a look of surprise on his face.
“Your Majesty! We were not expecting you back today.”
“Change of plans, Izzy. Commander Feynor’s gone on ahead with the company but we’re not leaving until tonight. So track down Lord Grekan and inform him that I will hold court this morning but not this afternoon. We will wait for him in the audience chamber.”
As Izzy vanished on another high speed run, David turned in the direction of his quarters.
“I need to catch up on some sleep, Jeren. I was up all last night and it appears I will be up all tonight as well. I’ll work out an exact departure time later and send you word.”
David opened the door to his chambers to find Mo sitting on a chair by the window and looking very disconsolate. She looked up as he came in and ran across, throwing her arms around him and pressing herself close. He bent to give her a kiss which she returned with such passion that it was several minutes before either of them could draw breath.
“That’s quite a welcome, Mo. Did you miss me or something?”
For answer, she raised her head to kiss him again. She was still pressing her body tightly against him and David could feel himself starting to be aroused even before her hand found its target. Without breaking the kiss, she drew him towards the bed and pulled him down on top of her. There was no time to shed more than the minimum of clothing necessary to allow them to come together and then they were lost in the passion of the moment.
When the first surge of passion was spent, they lay together comfortably in each other’s arms with Mo still snuggled in as close as she could get and her head on his chest. David softly kissed the top of her head.
“What is it, Mo? What’s going on?”
There was no answer and David was beginning to think that she had drifted off to sleep when he felt the wetness of a tear land on his chest. Gently he cupped his hand under her chin and lifted her face to kiss away the tears that were streaming down both cheeks.
“What is it, Mo?” he asked again. “Tell me.”
The tears redoubled as she sobbed, “I’m so sorry, my lord.”
“I’m not your lord, Mo; I’m just David. Now tell me what’s wrong.”
“I should have been here when you returned this morning. But I didn’t know when you would be back and…”
“And…?”
“It’s just that, without Leyla and with you away, I was lonely.”
“You were with someone else?”
Her slim body was racked with sobs as another flood of tears burst forth. “I’m so sorry, my lord… David. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
“Hush now.” David held her close until the sobs began to subside. “It’s all right, Mo. I’m not angry with you.”
Mo looked up at him doubtfully. “You’re not?”
“Do you remember what we talked about that first night, when you and Leyla came into my tent? I’d just killed Manny and you were trying to tell me that, because of that, you were my property now. And I said that you couldn’t be my property but that I had a responsibility to look after you and provide for you, until you decided what to do with the rest of your lives. Well I didn’t look after Leyla very well, did I?”
“Leyla’s death was not your fault, David. You mustn’t blame yourself for that.”
“But I still do. However, I will try to do better with you. Now tell me about this new someone in your life.”
“His name is Ramis. He’s been very kind to me.”
“I’d slit his throat if he hadn’t been. Does he love you?”
“He says he does. Yes, I think so.”
“And do you love him?”
“I don’t know, David.” Mo started to sob again. “I’m still your woman. I’m not allowed to love anybody else.”
David took hold of both her shoulders and pushed her back far enough so that he could look into her eyes.
“Mo, I could slap you for saying something as incredibly stupid as that.”
Her eyes opened wide in surprise as David continued. “Love is not something that requires permission from me or from anybody else. It just happens. Being together sometimes requires arrangements to be made, but love is a force of nature; not something you can turn on or off at will. So let me ask the question another way. If I was not around, would you love Ramis?”
“Y…yes, David. I think I would.”
“Good! Then when I get back tomorrow, come and see me together. We will share a meal and if, at the end of it, I believe that he loves you and will look after you properly, then you will have my blessing and a dowry, as I promised you that first night.”
Mo’s eyes shone as she blinked away the remaining tears. “Thank you, David.” She pushed his hands aside so that she could lean in and kiss him.
“You’re very welcome, my dear. Now get out of here and let me get some sleep.”
“Oh no you don’t,” she said, wriggling her body on top so that she straddled him. “I haven’t thanked you properly yet.”
David could feel himself stiffening again under her ministrations.
“Besides,” she added mischievously, “what was it you told us once? Plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead.”
Chapter 21 - Marmoros
David woke to find himself alone i
n the bed. The hollow space next to him where Mo had been curled up, was still warm but she was nowhere to be seen. He lay quietly for a moment thinking back over the time since they first met. He had just killed Manfred Redblade to take control of the fighting company and Leyla and Mo had tried to tell him that he had ‘inherited’ them as they were part of Manny’s property.
His forehead creased in a frown as he thought of Leyla. Blonde, buxom, full of life and dying with a spear thrust in her belly as she tried to defend the circle of wagons at High Falls. She had so wanted to see the city of Marmoros that everybody had spoken about but instead, she had arrived here in a coffin to be buried with the rest of the fallen from that battle with Kraxis.
He had grown very fond of Leyla and Mo while they had been together but it was never going to be a relationship that would last. He had been on a mission to find Rachel, heir to the throne of Ystrad. Of course, nobody knew it was Rachel they were looking for at the time or even that the missing heir was a girl. She had finally revealed herself by using her unique powers to protect Jeren from assassins but in doing so, had exposed herself to attack by her enemies. He had been forced to call in some specialist help to protect both Rachel and Jeren and inevitably, had become very involved in their lives and their personal struggles. That was all part of being an undercover agent.
But that mission had ended when Rachel had left Marmoros to lead her own people in their war against the Belsi. So what was he still doing here? He had been ordered to leave the planet once the mission was over, so his continued presence in Marmoros was illegal. The powerful Department of Exo-Affairs had banned all contact with the planet and had gone so far as to install a monitoring station in orbit to enforce their ruling.
He was officially ‘on vacation’. He was fairly certain that Khan knew, not only that he was lying about that, but exactly where he was spending his vacation. However, he was less certain that Khan’s blind eye would extend to activities such as flying military personnel into position to lay an ambush for Jeren’s enemies. He was also not entirely sure what his uncle, Baron Frederick Held, would think about committing his trading company to a 100 million credit loan for the purchase of a beaten up battle cruiser. Especially as the loan was ‘secured’ against the promise of future trading profits from a Biridium mine that Rachel did not yet control.