by Duncan Lay
‘The gate!’ Rhiannon cried.
Sendatsu looked at her and saw the sweat pouring off her, the strain of what she was doing draining her by the heartbeat. Then he looked up to see the huge wooden gates begin to swing closed and saw there was no way they could get through it in time.
‘I can’t do any more! Asami, help me!’ Rhiannon called.
Sendatsu grabbed hold of Asami and pushed his little magic into her, trying to restore her. The others felt what he was doing and those closest grabbed Asami’s arm or leg, giving her what they could. Her breathing eased and her eyes cleared and she gestured at the gates. Instantly they caught on the cobbles, the base of them swelling so that even the huge winches that moved them could not shift them.
The cart raced towards daylight for another ten paces before the officer at the gate realised the doors would not close.
‘Crossbows!’ The order was roared.
A volley was loosed from the wall above and dozens flew down, converging on the cart.
Ward inspected his defensive positions with a smile, keeping his fears to himself. He had anchored his centre behind a tangle of stakes, which would break up any elven attack while leaving his flanks clear so the cavalry could sweep in from either side. From what Edmund had told him, the elven archers would destroy a cavalry charge, so he would only use it when the elves were locked with his own soldiers and any arrow storm would hit their own side as well.
He knew this was all sensible, and kept his men busy, but where were the elves? He had expected them to be initially furious but for that to die down to a reluctant resignation. Where was the Elder Elf? Why had they not sent a delegation to him, to make a treaty to get their prisoners back? He had seized the Elven Council and the Elder Elf’s wife, for pity’s sake! But while his head was filled with worries, he projected only confidence.
‘Sire,’ Edmund said.
‘Yes, Edmund?’
‘Why have they not come before now? Surely they want to know the fate of their leaders?’
Ward kept his back to Edmund, allowing him to grimace. His son, Wilfrid, had not thought to ask that question. In fact, despite trying to involve Wilfrid as much as possible in the planning and preparations, his son had been running away as soon as the meetings were over. It was almost as if he was trying to avoid being with Ward. He had heard Wilfrid was sending regular messages to his mother back in Cridianton. What possible use they would be, Ward had no idea. He wished there was some way to break the barrier between them but it seemed impassable. He would give up, except, each time he thought about it there was a sharp little reminder at the back of his mind.
‘A good point, Edmund,’ Ward admitted, forcing his mind away from thoughts of his son. ‘I don’t know why they have not sent anyone. I expected something yesterday. I want our scouts sent further out. I want eyes twenty miles to our flanks, in case they are planning to slip around us, trying to cut us off.’
‘Of course, sire.’
‘Where are they?’ Ward muttered. He glanced to his left, where Wilfrid was staring out across the fields vacantly. He felt his temper rise and controlled it with difficulty. It was all very well to make a vow to restore his relationship with his sons but, by the skies above, it was hard work!
‘Father! Look!’ Wilfrid pointed.
Everyone followed his finger to see a small party riding towards them. Ward shaded his eyes. It was elves, no doubt about it — there was no mistaking their bright armour. They rode beneath a plain white flag, and he grinned.
‘They are late, but better late than never!’ Ward chuckled. ‘Get a tent set up just outside our defences and have refreshments prepared for our guests!’
He clapped Wilfrid on the shoulder and patted Edmund on the back. ‘This is the day when men rise to stand equal with the elves. This is the day when we fulfil our destiny,’ he told them.
But less than a turn of the hourglass later, the smile was wiped from his face.
The party of elves had been led by a warrior in magnificent blue armour, which Edmund recognised from the battle outside Dokuzen as the leader of the elven army. From what he had been told, this must be Lord Jaken. He was accompanied by half-a-dozen impassive guards — as well as the two traitors, Sumiko and Oroku.
Ward had been unsure whether their presence was reassuring or disquieting. The fury in the leader’s eyes, accompanied by his silence, was more disturbing.
Nevertheless, they were soon installed in the tent, surrounded by guards from both sides. Ward was accompanied by Edmund and Wilfrid, the elven leader by Sumiko and Oroku.
‘Welcome to my tent. Naturally you are here to discuss the return of your prisoners and I want to tell you they have been treated with honour and kindness —’
‘No,’ Sumiko said harshly.
Ward glared at her. ‘I am talking to your leader. Not you.’
Sumiko smiled mirthlessly at him. ‘I will be conducting this discussion. I speak with the voice of the Elder Elf.’
Ward nodded briefly. ‘So be it. Here are my conditions. You will receive all the prisoners back, unharmed, once you have —’
‘No,’ Sumiko interrupted.
‘You have not even heard what I suggest,’ Ward growled.
‘There is no need. This is what will happen. Tomorrow our army will be here and you will either lay down your weapons and surrender, or you will be slaughtered. We require your entire treasury, as well as ten thousand strong young men and women to serve as our slaves. You will swear fealty to Dokuzen and everything you have, everything you are, will become our property. Fail to do this and we shall lay waste to your entire country, destroy every city, town and village and kill every man, woman and child. You will give up your crown and will be the personal slave of the Elder Elf.’
Ward sensed Edmund shift angrily beside him and held up his hand.
‘And your prisoners? Attack us and they will all die,’ he said grimly.
‘Kill them all. We care nothing for them,’ Sumiko replied.
Ward stared at her but could read nothing on her face. He turned to where Jaken sat, unmoving, almost like a statue.
‘Would you like me to tell the Elder Elf the truth about our attack on Dokuzen?’ he asked, anger making his voice clipped.
‘Why not?’ Sumiko said.
‘Lord Jaken, Sumiko promised to give me the treasures and secrets of Dokuzen. She planned the attack on your city and had her servant, Oroku, lead our men in and out of Dokuzen. Without them, we could not have done it. They even told us the targets to be captured,’ Ward said.
He expected the mask of the Elder Elf to crack and his silence to be broken by fury. Yet he still sat there.
‘Can you hear me? Can you understand me?’ he asked, frustrated.
‘He cannot speak. Can you, Lord Jaken?’ Sumiko said pleasantly.
All eyes turned to Jaken, who sat immobile in the chair, only his eyes burning with anger. Sumiko stood and patted Jaken on the shoulder. His eyes blazed and his body trembled slightly, as if trying to break free of bonds, although there were none visible.
‘Ssh, Lord Jaken. Don’t try and fight. You cannot break free and you will only hurt yourself,’ Sumiko purred, patting him on the head.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ Ward hissed. ‘Why this display?’
Sumiko smiled. ‘I wanted Jaken to hear this. I wanted him to sit here and know humiliation. I wanted him to suffer. And now I want you to understand this is your fate if you defy me.’
‘And your people? Will they be happy you have done this to their leader?’ Ward asked angrily.
‘Thanks to your attack, they now despise him and think I am the one who can protect them. With the Elven Council gone, there is none to stand against me. They fall at my feet and every day makes my position that much stronger,’ she told him.
‘We will never be your slaves! We are a free people and you have no right to rule us,’ Edmund said.
Sumiko’s smile vanished in an instant.
&nb
sp; ‘This was not for you. This was for Jaken,’ she told them. ‘You can give up or you can fight and die but the end result will be the same. We have magic and you do not and we will crush you utterly. You have used your strength to rule, so how can you complain about me doing the same? Every human country is terrified of you and when they see what we have done to you, they will be swift to fall on their knees before us. You will be the tale that I use to frighten every other ruler into submission.’
‘You can’t fight us all. There are too many of us,’ Edmund said furiously.
‘We have magic and you do not. Numbers mean nothing.’
‘So this was your real plan. We have helped our own destruction by helping you,’ Ward said.
‘Indeed. Very clever. You will make a good slave. Now, this little game is at an end. We are leaving but we will be back tomorrow. Your men can surrender when they see us, or when they are surrounded by the broken bodies of their comrades — I don’t care which. I expect you to be bitter and angry. But think about it overnight and you will realise you must bow to me.’
She nodded to Oroku and signalled to Jaken, who rose at her bidding and moved jerkily away, as if fighting against her the whole time. She did not look back.
‘Should we take them now, Father? They are at our mercy,’ Wilfrid muttered.
Ward waved him away. ‘We have seen their magic. We would be the ones killed.’
‘We have to fight them. We cannot become slaves to her!’ Edmund hissed.
‘We have a strong position here, Father. They want us to give up because they are afraid of us!’ Wilfrid said.
Ward held up his hand and walked out of the tent to watch the small party of elves ride away.
‘What did their magic do to our men in Dokuzen?’ he asked Edmund.
‘They burned men alive in their armour, set birds and insects on them, used tree branches as spears — they used anything and everything you can think of against us,’ Edmund said.
‘That’s what I thought,’ Ward said. ‘If we stay here, they will destroy us. We shall pull back now. They might have all the magic in the world but they can’t match our men for marching.’
‘But they will follow,’ Edmund warned.
‘We need to buy some time,’ Ward said. ‘Wilfrid, you need to ride south as fast as you can and bring up the elven prisoners we took. If we free them and turn them over to the elves, things might change.’
‘Get them to fight Sumiko?’ Edmund asked.
Ward scratched his chin. ‘That is my hope,’ he said. ‘We are going to have to fight the elves for mastery of these lands. Submit to them? Be their slave? They do not know men. We shall never fall that low. But I want to weaken them first. No matter what, we will suffer greatly but victory will unlock a new age for Forland.’
He looked back at their careful work, all wasted now.
‘Come, we have no time. We must break camp and get the men moving. Wilfrid, get those prisoners back here as fast as you can. Go!’
Rhiannon reached up and the crossbow bolts flew in all directions, striking sparks off the cobbles or bouncing off the walls. The cart raced on, its occupants and the donkeys all untouched as they tore through the gate, making a handful of merchants leap for safety.
‘Get back to the tree as fast as you can. There will be more cavalry racing out of the castle at any moment,’ Sendatsu called.
Rhiannon needed no encouragement, urging the donkeys along the path they had followed earlier. Flocks and herds scattered and merchants and farmers leaped for their lives, staring in astonishment at the racing cart.
They rattled into the trees, Rhiannon allowing the exhausted donkeys to stop beside the oak tree they had arrived through.
As they clambered down from the cart, Sendatsu swore he could see the gasping donkeys looking at each other in disbelief at what they had done.
‘Can we keep them? They’re the best!’ Mai said excitedly.
‘I think they need a rest now,’ Sendatsu said carefully.
‘Asami, how much have you got left? Those crossbow bolts were the last straw for me. I’m almost out,’ Rhiannon said shakily, cramming food into her mouth the moment she finished speaking.
Sendatsu helped Asami down from the cart as she almost fell.
‘I don’t think I can open a gateway. Not without resting first,’ Asami replied.
‘We don’t have time to rest. There would be cavalry pounding down from the castle as we speak. It’s a matter of moments before they start searching for us — and there’s about five hundred people who can point them in the right direction,’ Huw said.
‘Maybe we should use the cart to get further away, find a place we can hide and rest?’ Noriko suggested.
They all turned to look at the donkeys, who were panting like dogs in the midday sun, down on their knees, steaming with sweat. A moment later the cart fell to pieces, chunks of wood raining down on the ground.
‘A gateway it is then,’ Noriko spoke for all of them.
‘It’s easy. All we have to do is channel our power, use whatever we have to give energy back to Rhiannon and then she can open the gateway for us,’ Sendatsu said.
Ichiro whirled around. ‘Sendatsu, I’m sure it is just the strain of what we have been through, but I could have sworn you just said we need to help this human so she can use a magic gateway — something none of us apart from Asami can manage.’
‘That’s right.’ Sendatsu walked over to Rhiannon and placed his hands on her arm. ‘Asami showed us how to do this. Give a little of your energy to her this way.’
‘But humans cannot be that powerful. This one might have a little magic but she cannot be better than us,’ Retsu said.
‘Yes, they can. Trust me. How else did you think we managed to escape?’
‘Well, I assumed Asami was doing it, especially when you asked us all to help her,’ Ichiro said.
‘She did help, but Rhiannon was the one moving the cart,’ Sendatsu said.
‘But humans cannot be more powerful than elves at magic!’ Retsu repeated.
Sendatsu turned on them all. ‘We are all humans. That is what I discovered, what Sumiko seeks to hide and why I left Dokuzen. There is no such thing as elves. All of us in these lands have the potential to use magic, although only some have the ability, as it is in Dokuzen. Rhiannon has as much magic as Asami.’
‘It is true,’ Asami added.
‘That is not what the histories tell us,’ Ichiro objected.
‘What you have been told is a lie. I can show you the truth,’ Sendatsu promised. ‘But perhaps later, when we are safe?’
Horns sounded from the city and they saw dozens of cavalry pouring out of the gate and spreading in all directions.
‘Later it is then,’ Retsu said.
He and the clan leaders hurried over to Rhiannon, placing hands on her arms, helping her pale face return to a normal colour.
‘Get through fast. We’ll be coming out in Vales, so don’t be surprised if you don’t recognise the area,’ she told them, then thrust an oaken staff into the heart of the tree.
Sendatsu glanced over his shoulder to see the cavalry heading in their direction, being spurred on by the pointing fingers of a score of traders.
The clan leaders hurried through, followed by Asami and Huw.
‘Get going. I’ll keep an eye on Rhiannon.’ Gaibun pushed him forwards. ‘I still owe you a life.’
‘Now is not the time to repay it,’ Sendatsu told him.
‘I intend to owe you for another fifty years.’ Gaibun winked.
Sendatsu gathered up his children and stepped through into the clearing near Patcham. He stepped away automatically, allowing Cadel, Bowen and Gaibun to follow and then, after a nervous few heartbeats, Rhiannon emerged, falling to her knees, gasping for breath.
‘Get some food into her,’ Asami urged.
Huw jumped to obey and Rhiannon looked up at them with a smile.
‘I’d rather not do that again for a few days
,’ she said tiredly.
‘Good. It will give us a chance to learn the truth,’ Retsu said. ‘I was there when Sumiko challenged the human in the Council Chamber but thought it more of Sumiko’s posturing. Now I know different.’
‘Everything you thought you knew about humans and elves is wrong. While we wait for Rhiannon to recover, I shall show you,’ Sendatsu promised.
‘And what then?’
‘Then we go to see my father and take back Dokuzen from Sumiko. My father is not fit to rule any more and the Council must replace him with Lord Retsu,’ Sendatsu said.
The clan leaders looked around at each other.
‘You are right. We shall do as you say,’ Ichiro said.
Sendatsu looked at Huw and Rhiannon and smiled. Then he looked at Asami and Gaibun and his smile faded. Sorting this out was going to be more difficult than persuading the clan leaders that humans were their equals.
21
Some people will smile to your face, pat your back and then pour lies into your ears. Most people think of themselves first. You need friends you can trust. Finding out who your real friends are can be the real difficulty.
Ward was proud of his men. They were marching almost thirty miles a day, day after day, without complaining, while carrying a heavy load of weapons and food. It had taken moons of training before his men were able to march so hard and fast and still arrive with enough energy to fight at the end. It was a weapon he had used, time and again, in his campaigns against the southern nations. The soldiers stopped briefly at noon, and ate and drank like madmen when the order to halt for the day was given but, for the rest of the time, they marched, kept in line by the loud-voiced sergeants.
Yet they could not keep doing it for long. More than ten days and they would be dropping like flies, muscles and tendons just giving way. The retreat was being screened by his cavalry, who were watching the elvish advance carefully — the elves were chasing them but not catching them. Anywhere around here was going to be fine for a battle. All he wanted was open ground for his cavalry and as few plants as possible for the elves to use against him.