by Duncan Lay
Rhiannon squeezed her shoulders. ‘I know only too well about that,’ she said grimly.
‘Now Gaibun is acting as though we truly are married, while Sendatsu is wild with jealousy.’
‘How did he find out?’
‘Gaibun arrived back apparently so happy to survive that he could not help but taunt Sendatsu,’ Asami said bitterly. ‘It was almost as if everything was designed towards that end. I do not know if I can trust him, while I fear Sendatsu is so angry that I don’t know what he will say or do …’
She dissolved into tears, the exhaustion of so much magic on top of everything else sending her over the edge.
Rhiannon hugged her. ‘You have nothing to feel guilty about. Gaibun has been a dear friend to you, as well as a husband. And Sendatsu does not have the right to be angry with you. He did not hold back when he was married to that other elf, Kayiko, now did he? He has two children from that! He needs to open his eyes. You did not take an oath to stay pure for him when you both married other people. You could have slept with Gaibun every night and he could say nothing about it. He was the one who refused to run away with you when he had the chance.’
Asami wiped her eyes clear and smiled. ‘You are a good and wise friend. I needed to hear that, although I knew it already. I don’t know what I would do without you. I have no other friend like you.’
‘Or I you.’ Rhiannon smiled.
‘And as for Sendatsu, Gaibun told me he admitted to sleeping with humans while he was out there!’
Asami felt Rhiannon go rigid beside her and looked at her friend, seeing her horror-stricken face. For a moment she did not understand why this was so terrible, then she made the connection.
‘It was you, wasn’t it?’ she said softly, hoping Rhiannon would deny it.
‘Asami, please, listen to me, it’s not what you think —’
‘Then what is it?’ Asami asked, eyes shiny and hard. ‘Tell me, friend, have you been laughing behind my back when we talk of Sendatsu and the joys you have experienced but I have not?’
‘Sendatsu nearly destroyed me!’ Rhiannon hissed back, her worry and fear and concern melting away in her anger. ‘He seduced me and tricked me and I was ready to cut off his elfhood, or his tongue, or both!’
Asami jumped to her feet. ‘So why didn’t you tell me?’ she demanded. ‘I thought we were friends, I thought there were no secrets between us?’
‘I wanted to tell you but did not want to hurt you. We are friends! I regret everything about my time with Sendatsu. I was a young fool, with my head stuffed full of nonsense about the elves, and he took advantage of that. What happened was to a different Rhiannon. You and Sendatsu were so happy to see each other that I could not destroy that for you. Not after what I had gone through.’
‘Oh, so lying to me was for my own good, eh? Well, that explains a great deal! I suppose I should thank you!’
‘Yes, you should! Because I am a friend and have tried to do what is best for you.’
‘If that is what a friend does, then I would hate to see what an enemy does to me.’
‘You would not want me for an enemy!’ Rhiannon yelled.
‘Well, I don’t want you for a friend!’ Asami stormed away, leaving Rhiannon seething.
Neither saw the other’s tears.
‘The Forlish have to know that time is running out for them. Our warriors are racing back to the forest, every turn of the hourglass brings them closer. That means several things,’ Jaken said calmly, his voice carrying clearly to all seated around. It was a mixed group: the Velsh leaders, a few elven warriors, Magic-weavers, Gaibun, and Sendatsu sitting as far away from him as possible. Asami sat somewhere in between the two of them and Rhiannon sat with the Velsh, as far away from Asami as possible.
‘First, the Forlish will not try any elaborate manoeuvres. They are going to use their numbers to roll over the top of us and storm into Dokuzen. We have blocked up the forest to either side but left this as an enticing target. They want to finish us fast. That gives us an advantage. That is the good news. The bad news is we cannot exhaust our Magic-weavers in fighting the Forlish, or we will have nobody able to open gateways to bring our warriors home. So while we can use magic, and will use magic, we cannot use as much as we would like. Much of this will come down to the bow and sword.’
Jaken paused for a moment, looked around to see all were following him, then used an arrow to point at a rough map scratched into the dirt.
‘The road they are following leads them right to us. Beyond us, behind this ridge we stand on now, is Dokuzen. If we let them get over the ridge, then all is lost. So we have to stop them here. They will see the wall we have built and be drawn to it, like bees to honey. There the Velsh will wait for them. Their shield wall cannot march through solid stones, so we shall use the stream and the height of the wall to break up their lines. We shall draw up every elven warrior we have to the right of the wall, use the stream and stakes to again break up the Forlish, where our warriors will cut them to pieces. Behind us will wait the elves who can draw a bow but are not able to wield a sword. Those arrows, as well as the crossbows the Velsh have brought, will hold the Forlish back.’
‘And to the left of the wall? What there?’ Sumiko asked.
‘That is where you and every Magic-weaver you can find must stop the Forlish. We don’t need to defeat them utterly, we just need to hold them long enough to bring more warriors through. And we can do that easily enough.’
Nobody spoke as they looked at the rough map, imagining eight thousand Forlish storming out of the trees and at them.
‘And we have another advantage. Archbishop Fushimi and his priests will be here with us. Not only will their prayers strengthen our warriors but they will be able to heal our wounded, so they can return to the battle.’ Jaken gestured and the old priest, dressed in golden robes, bowed slowly. ‘The Forlish will think it impossible to kill an elf and lose heart!’
The elves rumbled their approval at this but Huw prepared to stand, only for Sendatsu to hold his arm and keep him down. ‘Leave it for afterwards. My father will not want to be contradicted in public at a time like this,’ he hissed.
Jaken glanced at them but when nothing more seemed to be happening, he continued. ‘They might have four times our number of warriors but only a few of them can attack at any one time. And we can throw back those who come. This is our land, left to us by our forefathers, and we shall teach them a lesson tomorrow, show them that the barrier was there not to keep them out but to keep us in!’
The elven warriors, led by Gaibun, roared with approval.
Jaken waited until that had died down, then turned to where the Velsh sat.
‘And after tomorrow, you shall enter the pages of our histories. What you do shall not be forgotten,’ he told them. ‘We shall change your lives for the better and your children, and their children, will thank you for it!’
The Velsh cheered also, but Huw stayed silent.
When the various warriors and Magic-weavers streamed back to their fires, Huw stood and, with Sendatsu, hurried over to where Jaken was talking quietly with the archbishop.
‘Lord Jaken, what of the Velsh wounded? Can they not be healed as well?’
Archbishop Fushimi was the first to react. ‘I am sorry, young human, but such a thing is impossible. Aroaril is not God of humans, only elves. It would do your men no good.’
‘You could try,’ Huw said, itching to use the knowledge he had about humans and magic, and the treachery of the old elves.
Fushimi shook his head doubtfully. ‘It may kill your men, not heal them. They are not used to magic.’
‘They were able to walk through an oaken gateway without harm,’ Huw said. ‘Lord Jaken, this could be the difference between winning and losing the battle.’
Jaken, who had been silent until then, stirred himself. ‘Huw is right. What if you were to try, with one human who was to die anyway?’
‘We cannot waste our time and efforts on foolishn
ess.’ Fushimi snorted.
‘Not even to save Dokuzen?’ Huw challenged.
‘Leave it with me,’ Jaken said. ‘I shall talk to the archbishop and we shall decide. If it means the difference between victory and defeat, we could try something.’
Huw saw he was going to get nothing more, so offered a short bow before turning away.
Jaken beckoned to Sendatsu.
‘Walk with me,’ he said.
Sendatsu felt his heart beat faster, as if he were a small child caught out doing something wrong. It irritated him and he forced himself to look impassive as his father waited for him to catch up.
‘You have done well, my son,’ Jaken said, a slight smile around his face.
Of all the things Sendatsu had been told over the years by Jaken, this was the most surprising. He did not know what to say, so said nothing.
‘Thanks to your actions, we have brought together a force with a chance of saving Dokuzen. Tomorrow will be bloody and desperate and we could still lose but I wanted you to know, no matter happens, you did the right thing and I am proud of you.’
Sendatsu felt as though somebody had slammed a heavy weight on his head. His mouth opened and closed but nothing came out.
Jaken patted him on the shoulder. ‘I suppose we have both been waiting a long time to hear me say those words. But better late than never, eh?’
‘Indeed, Father,’ Sendatsu managed to say, his voice raspy.
‘The Velsh will be the key. The first stroke, the heaviest stroke, will fall on them. We have given them the wall but they must hold it against a horde and, although I know you trained them, they are still very young. Can they hold?’
Sendatsu found his voice then. ‘They held against the Forlish before — they have beaten a Forlish force that outnumbered them, rode into them after me without question.’
‘Good. That is what I needed to know. And of course you will lead them. I know I can depend on you.’
Sendatsu nodded. ‘We shall not let you, or Dokuzen, down,’ he vowed.
‘I know.’ Jaken patted him once more on the shoulder. ‘It will be a pleasure to draw swords with you tomorrow.’
Sendatsu walked away, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He desperately wanted to talk to Asami, but she was nowhere in sight and he did not want to see, let alone speak to, Gaibun. But he had to talk to someone about this.
Edmund reluctantly called a halt. He had hoped to reach Dokuzen as night fell, break into the city in the dying light and then use the darkness to his advantage, send forwards ten columns to ravage and destroy, so the remaining defenders would not know where the attacks were coming from. Then he could have the city in his grasp when dawn broke and impose his will on the elves. It would be the dawn of a new day for not just the Forlish and elves but for all the lands.
But the attacks had slowed them down and they were going to fall just short. He did not want to blunder through the trees and into a trap in the dark, on land he did not know. He would camp for the night, rest his men after the frantic pace of the march and take Dokuzen in the morning. The night was the time of greatest danger, so he ordered swarms of patrols and scouts to surround the camp and probe into the woods, looking for elves — and Dokuzen itself — anything that would help them tomorrow.
‘Why are we doing this?’ Harald whispered as they crept through the woods.
‘Because these woods are probably full of elves thirsting for our blood and the captain doesn’t want to wake up tomorrow with his throat cut,’ Caelin hissed.
‘Well, I don’t want to wake up tomorrow with my throat cut either, which is what will happen if the elves find us out here,’ Ruttyn muttered.
‘Would you like to wake up with my boot stuck up your backside?’ Caelin asked him.
‘Not really, sarge, no.’
‘Then shut up! You’ll bring every bloody elf down on us!’
Silence fell again.
‘Sarge!’
‘I warned you! This is going to hurt you more than it hurts me …’
‘There’s something moving out there!’
Instantly Caelin lifted his crossbow and signalled to the other scouts in his squad. They kept low and kept quiet, eyes scanning the dark woods.
‘Why are we back out here again?’ someone whispered.
‘Because there is nobody else to do this,’ Gaibun replied without looking around. ‘Count yourself lucky. The Elder Elf has sent us out first, which means we shall sleep while other patrols keep watch for the gaijin.’
‘Well, if we find the gaijin, we shan’t be the lucky ones,’ the same warrior muttered.
Gaibun looked back and the warrior fell silent, abashed. Gaibun stared at the rest of the patrol, just a dozen of them.
‘You are out here because you are the best that is left. Do not let me, your families, your Elder Elf or Dokuzen down.’
They all nodded, every one of them and, satisfied, Gaibun turned back to the darkness. He did not think the humans would have rushed forwards in the dark, especially after what he did to them the previous night but the stakes were too high to take any risks. The last reports from the previous patrols said the humans were making a camp for the night. Gaibun was tempted to raid it yet again but he did not have the numbers — and they would be ready for tricks this time.
He led his warriors in a loop, seeking to find the edge of the human patrols. These were easy to spot, for they carried flaming torches and crashed through the bushes and undergrowth as though they wanted the elves to know they were there.
Each patrol was a score of men and they were a tempting target. But behind each one was another and Gaibun feared being hunted through these woods by more and more humans, especially as none of them seemed to be pushing towards Dokuzen. He circled out farther but could see no way of getting closer to the human camp without going through the ring of patrols.
‘Back! We go back!’ he ordered. No sense in risking their lives out here, when every blade would be needed tomorrow. Besides, he had to show he was the true hero, not Sendatsu. No matter what Jaken said, Gaibun knew the real battle would not be with the Velsh but out on the flanks, where he had to hold back the Forlish without any help from walls. The stream was wide enough but, at this time of year, was barely knee deep. It would slow the Forlish but not stop them. Then all would see who was the better warrior. And by that that he meant Asami would see.
He needed to talk to Asami. She was upset, and needed comforting. And, of course, this could be the last night any of them saw. Not a time for a husband and wife to be apart.
His thoughts were on that until a hissed warning made him instinctively drop. Awareness returned and he could hear someone stumbling through the undergrowth towards them, the sort of crashing they had come to associate with humans.
‘Take him alive!’ Gaibun whispered.
The patrol melted into the trees, waiting patiently. Not that they had long to wait. A scruffy figure stumbled out, clad in rags and with a long beard. Gaibun sprang on him, stunning him with a blow from the flat of his sword, and then two other warriors pounced on the fallen man, flipping him over.
‘Don’t these gaijin ever bathe?’ one complained.
Gaibun levelled his sword at the man’s throat and then nearly dropped it in surprise.
‘This is no gaijin,’ he said.
‘What?’
They crowded around, looking down at the fallen figure.
‘This is Hanto,’ Gaibun said, his mouth dry with shock. His mind raced, trying to think what this meant. Should he even bring Hanto back? The warrior had tried to kill Sendatsu and knew Rhiannon had magic. He could ruin everything.
One of his warriors screamed in shock and agony and he spun to see him staggering back, clutching at a crossbow bolt buried up to the feathers into his chest.
‘Down!’ Gaibun ducked behind the stunned Hanto as another bolt hissed past his head.
The rest of his warriors leaped for cover as more bolts flew in. Gaibun drew his sword
but there was no sign of a rush of gaijin attackers. They seemed content to wait in hiding and loose bolts at anything that moved.
‘Can you see the gaijin?’ Gaibun called.
Nobody answered and he swore.
‘Back! Bring this fool as well!’
They melted into the trees, pursued by several bolts, two of the warriors dragging Hanto along.
‘They ran, sarge!’ Ruttyn exulted.
‘Thank the stars above they did,’ Caelin agreed. ‘But who was that one they grabbed, running through the forest? He wasn’t one of ours.’
‘Who cares? We met the elves and survived!’ Harald grinned. ‘Did you see? I got one! Put a bolt right into his heart!’
‘It was a fine shot. Now, as long as we’re around to say that we survived tomorrow night, I’ll be happy.’ Caelin buffeted him on the head. ‘Stop boasting and reload. Who knows if they will be back?’
31
But a brave Tadayoshi elf called Sendatsu stopped the bad elves. He put up a barrier around our city of Dokuzen, named by the forefathers, to keep the bad elves in and protect the humans.
Sendatsu’s song
Hanto slowly came back to consciousness to realise he was being hustled along, dragged by two strong warriors, and his first thought was he had been captured by the gaijin.
‘Let me go, Aroaril curse you! Let me go or I shall use my magic on you! I swear you will all die horrible deaths unless you release me now, foul gaijin!’
They did not pause for a moment, so he swept his legs to the left, then right, bringing both warriors down in one move. He pounced on the one to his left, trying to draw a sword. Once he had a sword, he would show these gaijin a thing or two.
It was a moment or two until he realised the sword he was trying to draw was in fact of elven design. He looked in the face of the angry warrior and gasped in surprise and delight.
Next moment someone grabbed his long hair and hauled him to his feet.
‘Hanto! There are gaijin all around us and if you yell like that again I shall have you gagged with your own foul clothes!’ a familiar voice hissed.