“Particularly if I accompanied her,” Jade agreed. “People would talk.”
“Yes,” Emily agreed. She didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “People would.”
Millie shifted against her, then started to cry. Alassa took the child, opened her dress and popped the baby to her breast without batting an eyelid. Emily shook her head, wondering when Alassa had become such a good mother. Most aristocratic women relied on wet nurses to suckle their kids. It couldn’t be easy to breastfeed a child while handling matters of state.
“The other option is leaving the army long enough to teleport into the enemy base,” Alassa said, seemingly unbothered by the child on her breast. “Could you do that?”
“I doubt it,” Emily said. “I couldn’t have teleported into Heart’s Eye when Dua Kepala was in residence. There was just too much tainted magic there. And the Blighted Lands are glowing with tainted magic. We might have problems opening the portal and keeping it open. I think we’ll have to draw power from the Heart’s Eye nexus point to open the link.”
Jade grinned. “I dare you to explain that to Mistress Irene.”
“Just bear in mind you’re not a schoolgirl any longer,” Alassa advised. “I have to keep reminding myself I’m not a princess any longer.”
Emily gave her a surprised look. “Really?”
“As Crown Princess, I had certain... authorities...that came with the title,” Alassa said. “I was the High Justice, allowing my father a certain degree of separation from some of my decisions. Everyone knew I followed his lead, sometimes, but it was never openly admitted. Now... everything rests with me. I can’t deny everything and blame it on my daughter.”
“Not yet, anyway,” Jade said. “Millie isn’t anything like old enough to serve the crown.”
“No,” Alassa agreed. “And that limits what I can do without nailing my colors to the mast.”
She looked almost wistful, just for a second. Emily felt a pang of... something. Randor could have raised his daughter properly, if he’d wished. He could have given her a role in running the kingdom from the moment she was old enough to understand the stakes. And everyone would have understood his reluctance to override her in public, even if they didn’t think Randor hadn’t dictated her decision. They could have been partners, not... enemies. They shouldn’t have fought a war over who ruled the kingdom.
“I don’t have any siblings,” Alassa added. “Not as far as everyone else is concerned, anyway.”
“I know,” Emily said. “Your half-brother would be too young, even if you did acknowledge him.”
Alassa smiled down at her daughter. “I’ll send a message to Sir Roger,” she said. “Like I said, if you can take him and the others off my hands, I would be grateful. And I’ll see what else I can scrape up, as I said. The other kingdoms will probably send at least a token force to Alluvia, if they know I’m doing it too. And if you’re... accompanying the army...”
She stood. “Can you wait?”
“I can,” Emily said. “Jade will look after me.”
Alassa laughed. “Jade will take you to the green room,” she said. “You can chat there, then join us for dinner before you go. Jade and you can go through the plan together.”
And see if it’s workable, Emily added, silently.
“Come this way.” Jade stood, brushing down his trousers. “Have you heard from Cat?”
“No,” Emily said. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Cat had abandoned her when she needed him. She understood why, she understood his feelings, but she wasn’t inclined to forgive. Not in a hurry, anyway. He hadn’t so much as written to her since he’d left. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you need him,” Jade said, flatly. “This mission? It’s just the sort of thing he’s trained to do.”
Chapter Eight
“I DON’T KNOW IF I NEED him,” Emily said, as she followed Jade into the green room. It was a nicely laid out, but completely neutral meeting chamber. There were no flags, no coat of arms, no sigils to suggest the room was inside a queen’s castle. “There are others...”
“Not like Cat,” Jade said. “And you two did work well together.”
Emily made a face as she sat at the table. “He left me,” she said. “And...”
She shook her head. Cold logic told her Jade was right. She’d need someone with her when she walked into a necromancer’s lair and Cat... Cat had, technically speaking, done it once already. He’d accompanied her into Randor’s castle when the king had revealed his necromancy for the world to see. And they had made a good team... her heart twisted in pain. She’d enjoyed their relationship - and she’d known it wouldn’t last, he’d said so himself - but he’d left her at the worst possible moment. If he’d stayed...
“I don’t know if I can rely on him,” she said. “He...”
“I understand,” Jade said. There was an edge to his voice that made Emily wonder if he’d already...discussed... the issue with Cat. “However, I think you need him. You do need him.”
“There are others,” Emily said stubbornly, although she suspected it was a losing battle. Jade was perhaps the only other person, with the possible exceptions of Lady Barb or Sergeant Miles, who might accompany her into a necromancer’s lair. And... Alassa would kill her if she so much as suggested Jade went to the war. “I...”
She ran her hand through her hair. “Where is he? Do you know?”
“The last I heard, he was in Kwantung,” Jade said. “I can send him a message via chat parchment.”
“He said he was going to hunt Jacqui down and kill her,” Emily said. “I haven’t heard anything from him since he left.”
She shivered at the memory. She’d been powerless, completely at Jacqui’s mercy. If her rival - her unknown rival - had been a little smarter, she’d have killed or enslaved Emily right there and then. The only thing that had kept her alive and free long enough to escape was her opponent’s stupidity. But then, Jacqui had probably wanted to rub Emily’s nose in her defeat. Idiot.
“He might not have caught her,” Jade said. “Jacqui might have vanished before he reached her home.”
Emily winced, inwardly. Jacqui had hardly been a failure - she’d studied at Whitehall for six years, but she’d been nowhere near as capable as Melissa, Alassa, Jade or Emily herself. She could have abandoned her home, snatched everything she could carry and vanished before Cat - or someone else - tried to catch up with her. The Nameless World was huge. All she’d have to do, if she wanted to remain undiscovered, was change her name and appearance. She certainly had the skills to earn a living without making waves...
She looked down at her hands. Cat... had knocked some sense into her. She admitted as much, although she’d promised to castrate him if he even thought of doing that again. And he’d been there for her, at least at the start. She understood why he’d left - he’d never been one to take inactivity or helplessness well - but she found it hard to forgive. They’d been more than friends, or so she’d thought. It stung to know they’d never been anything more than friends with benefits. She wanted something a little more in her life.
She felt a sudden pang of envy for Alassa, who’d found someone to complement her perfectly. Was there anyone like that for her? Jan was nice, but she didn’t know him that well. They hadn’t had the time. Cat had left, Caleb had been unable to... she shook her head. There was no point in woolgathering. Jade was right and that was all there was to it. She could put her personal feelings aside, for the good of the mission. Everything else came second.
“Message him,” she said. “Ask him to contact me, as quickly as possible. If he comes here, direct him to General Pollack and Master Lucknow. I’m sure they’ll be glad of him even if I’m not.”
Jade grinned. “General Pollack already knows Cat,” he said. “Is that going to cause problems?”
“I hope not,” Emily said. She had no idea if General Pollack and Cat had ever been formally introduced. Cat had been an apprentice, back during the war. �
��Why would it?”
“Well.” Jade’s grin grew wider. “You were dating his son, then Cat...”
“Don’t remind me.” Emily cut him off, quickly. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“You might have to,” Jade said. “What’ll you say if you get asked?”
“Mind your own business,” Emily said, curtly. She snorted. She’d heard rumors that linked her name with just about every magician of her generation, male and female alike. She had no idea where some of them came from, let alone why they lingered. She’d never met some of her rumored partners. They’d never even gone to Whitehall! “I think that’ll have to do.”
There was a knock on the door. Emily straightened, pasting a composed expression on her face as Jade snapped his fingers. The door opened, revealing Sir Roger. Emily stood and nodded to him as he bowed, then motioned for him to take a chair. Sir Roger looked to have aged twenty years in the last fourteen months. He was still handsome, in a way, but the zest for life she recalled was gone.
“Lady Emily,” Sir Roger said. He sounded older too. It was hard to believe he’d ever been considered a match for Imaiqah. “I understand you wanted to speak to me?”
Emily studied him, thoughtfully. Sir Roger had been a loyalist, loyal to his sovereign until King Randor had betrayed them. She wondered, idly, why he’d stayed in Zangaria. He was one of the first officers to command a detachment of musketmen, to lead them in battle against orcs and rebels alike. There were plenty of kings and princes - and even magicians - who would have paid good money for his services, even if they’d never fully trusted him. And his family would probably have been relieved if he’d left the kingdom. It would be a great deal easier to pretend Sir Roger had never existed if he hadn’t been lingering around like a bad smell.
She felt a flicker of understanding, even sympathy, mingled with a grim understanding of how his former comrades felt. A turncoat could never be fully trusted, whatever his motivations. Turning one’s coat was felt to be habit-forming. A man who betrayed his lord couldn’t expect mercy, let alone trust. And yet... Emily’s heart twisted in pain. Sir Roger had had no time to send a formal defiance, to renounce his oaths and declare war on his former master. He wouldn’t have survived long enough to flee.
And he was raised from the very lowest levels of the nobility, she reminded herself. Sir Roger’s family didn’t have the influence to overcome his disgrace. Their position had depended on a king who was now dead. It was how Randor kept him under control for so long.
“There is a war brewing,” she said, calmly. She outlined the situation, wondering how much Sir Roger already knew. Master Lucknow and his quarrel had been sounding the alert for weeks. “Her Majesty has given her permission for you - and your men - to join the army.”
Sir Roger didn’t look pleased, although it was hard to be sure. Emily didn’t blame him. He was a liability, as far as Alassa was concerned. She’d probably breathe a sigh of relief if Sir Roger died during the war. She could honor him in death, without having to worry about a turncoat turning his coat again.
“I see, My Lady,” Sir Roger said, when she’d finished. “And you believe the plan can work?”
“I think so,” Emily said. “It wouldn’t be the first time I entered a necromancer’s lair.”
“We barely managed to stop them when they attacked a city with high walls and solid defenses,” Sir Roger pointed out. “Can we keep them from overrunning us if we invade their lands?”
Emily took a moment to consider her answer. It wouldn’t be easy. The necromancers would rain orcs on them like... like rain. They’d throw hundreds of thousands of orcs into the fire, hoping to bury the invaders under a sea of bodies. A modern army with tanks and machine guns would be able to stop them, but the Nameless World was a long way from designing and building even a very basic tank. She’d seen plans for steam-powered tanks, yet even they would take years to produce. They simply didn’t have the time.
“I think so,” she said. “If we take a solid position and fortify it, we should be able to hold long enough to distract them from tearing a path through the mountains.”
Sir Roger frowned. “Is that even possible?”
“They think it’s possible,” Emily said. It was a brutally simple solution to their problem. In hindsight, the real wonder was that no one had thought of it earlier. “And I have good reason to think they’re right.”
“I see.” Sir Roger didn’t press for details, for which she was grateful. “How do you intend to proceed?”
“I intend to make a formal proposal to General Pollack and Master Lucknow, once we’ve worked out the basics,” Emily said. “If they refuse to approve the plan... at the very least, you and your men will assist in building defenses along the mountain range.”
“And you’ll be accompanying the invasion force,” Sir Roger said. “That’ll be a point in your favor.”
“No one doubts Emily’s courage,” Jade said, crossly.
Emily hid her amusement with an effort. There were few advantages to living in a world dominated by sexist double standards, but one of them - she had to admit - was that women weren’t expected to be brave at all times. Even a combat sorceress could refuse to join a war without facing an endless torrent of mockery. She could propose a retreat without charges of cowardice and endless challenges to duels. And if she accompanied the army, it would be the clearest possible sign she believed the invasion would succeed.
As long as I can master the bilocation spell, she reminded herself. If not, the plan might need some revision.
She glanced at Jade. “Do you have some paper?”
Jade opened a drawer under the table. “Here,” he said. “Where do you want to start?”
“At the beginning,” Emily said. “The objective is to distract the enemy, not to conquer the Blighted Lands.”
She allowed herself to relax, slightly, as they started to draw up the first draft. She’d been in the wars, as had Jade, but Sir Roger had more experience in commanding and supplying troops than either of them. He knew how important it was to keep focused on logistics, to ensure the men had everything from food and drink to bullets and gunpowder. Emily took a second sheet of paper and started to list everything they’d need, making notes General Pollack and his staff could turn into a logistics system. They’d practically have to run a railway line through a portal, just to ensure they had everything in place before the enemy realized they were there. The portal would be the first target when the shit hit the fan.
They’ll want to cut us off, Emily mused. And this time, there’ll be nowhere to go.
“We would like hundreds of cannons,” Sir Roger said. “How many are we going to get?”
“It depends,” Emily said. “But we should have enough for the war.”
Her lips quirked. The foundries were churning out hundreds of cannons and thousands upon thousands of cannonballs, as well as muskets, pistols and bullets. Every kingdom and city-state worthy of the name had kick-started a gunpowder weapons production program, trying to devise newer and better ways to kill people. No one could dispute the value of gunpowder weapons, not after the Zangarian Civil War. Change was coming, no matter how the kings and princes tried to slow it down. They should be able to source weapons and gunpowder from all over the Allied Lands.
“I hope you’re right,” Sir Roger said. “One thing we did learn was that we burnt through our supplies faster than we dreamed possible.”
“We’ll keep shipping in more,” Emily said. “As long as we keep the portals open, we can move supplies behind their lines without interference.”
Jade nodded. “And now you have to decide if you want to go,” he said. “If not...”
Sir Roger looked displeased. “I’ll go,” he said. “And I’ll see how many of my men want to go too. I won’t take anyone who doesn’t.”
Emily raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. Kings, princes and aristocrats normally didn’t have any qualms about forcibly drafting unwilling conscripts
into their armies. And yet, it wasn’t uncommon for their armies to shatter after a defeat, for the unwilling soldiers to throw down their weapons and go home... Sir Roger had clearly learnt some of the right lessons from his experiences. If nothing else, a discontented army with guns could turn nasty very quickly. They might even gun down their leaders and disperse into the wilds.
“I’m glad to have you with us,” Emily said. She picked up the papers and folded them carefully. “Prepare your troops. I’ll be in touch about when and where we’ll assemble the army.”
“General Pollack will want to assemble somewhere near the mountains,” Jade said. “They’ll want to be ready if the necromancers complete their plans before we complete ours.”
Emily nodded. “Makes sense,” she said. “But we’ll try and get there first.”
“I have orders to ensure you join us for dinner,” Jade said, as the wards flickered an alert. “Sir Roger, we’ll discuss the details before you leave.”
“Of course.” Sir Roger stood and bowed. “And, with your permission, I’ll take my leave.”
Emily felt a stab of guilt as Sir Roger left the chamber. It felt wrong to exclude him from the dinner table, even though local politics made it inevitable. Alassa couldn’t show open favor to the man who’d betrayed her father... Emily snorted, inwardly, as Jade led her through a corridor and up a flight of stairs. Aristocratic protocol still struck her as faintly absurd. The queen shouldn’t have to take political considerations into account when she chose her dinner guests. But merely being chosen to dine with the monarch was a sign of favor.
Alassa stood as they entered the room, Imaiqah right beside her. Emily ran forward and gave her friend - her very first friend - a hug. Imaiqah looked to have recovered completely from the cursed blade, her tinted face flushed with life. She’d grown out her hair too, allowing it to hang down to the small of her back. Emily had to smile. Her friend had practically copied her style.
“It’s been too long,” she said, as she released Imaiqah. “How are you feeling?”
Oathkeeper (Schooled in Magic Book 20) Page 8