by Duncan Lay
Several other sergeants were listening and shouted at their men to form up.
Out of habit, the men shook themselves into ranks, picked up fallen shields and began to march back towards the city. Fleeing men, seeing the order amid the chaos, were attracted to them, and the company grew by the moment.
‘What are we going to do, sarge?’ Ruttyn asked.
‘Buggered if I know. But I wasn’t going to run. After that, I hadn’t thought.’
Sumiko clapped her hands together as the Forlish dissolved and began to run away.
‘Send back for the horses. We shall ride them down until they beg for mercy,’ she told Oroku.
‘Do we need to? The humans are defeated, their king dead. They will run in all directions and our warriors will be scattered to the four winds,’ Oroku said.
‘So? We will finish it off and walk into Cridianton to take possession of the human lands tomorrow.’
‘But, High One, Rhiannon, Asami and Sendatsu are still out there, with the human Magic-weavers and their own warriors. In the darkness, with our army strung out everywhere, they might try to strike at you,’ Oroku warned.
‘Is it me you are afraid for, or yourself?’ Sumiko sneered.
‘Both, High One.’ Oroku bowed. ‘But it is an unnecessary risk. The humans are finished and we can force them to hand over Asami and Rhiannon tomorrow. Why leave ourselves open when we don’t have to? Sendatsu and the others will be desperate, thinking they have nothing to lose. If they killed you, then they can snatch victory from defeat.’
Sumiko hesitated and Oroku pressed on.
‘Everything we have worked for is about to fall into our lap. We have taken extraordinary risks and they have all worked. Now we don’t need to push our luck. Victory is ours.’
Sumiko looked over the battlefield, at the thick carpet of dead. Her army was being held back by a few hundred cavalry and even they were backing away. She should have been exultant but, until she had Rhiannon and Asami in her hands, she would not be completely happy. Perhaps there was a way to do both things.
‘When the horses get here, send half the clans forwards to kill the humans and drive them to the gates of their capital,’ she ordered. ‘The rest can relax and sleep here, with me at the centre, keeping watch for Asami and Rhiannon. We have enough warriors to do both.’
‘Yes, High One.’
Edmund rode around the men, a flock of marshals at his back, feeling as if he were in a dream — and wishing it were so.
The country here was plump and peaceful, a far cry from the bloody horror a few miles back up the road. He rode across fields, past stone-built farms with neat wooden animal sheds, and could almost believe none of the day’s events had happened. Then he looked around and saw men running for their lives and it all came flooding back up.
‘Hold! Stop here!’ he shouted, raising his hands.
Men parted around his horse and kept going.
‘Spread out, sound reform and recall until you can’t breathe any more,’ he told the trumpeters.
Most of the men were running down the road, few scattering to either side, thanks to the low stone walls that marked the boundaries of the farms. They were useless as defences but surprisingly effective at channelling men back down the road, Edmund realised.
‘Walk back towards the city! Keep hold of your weapons! We are not beaten yet!’ he shouted over the trumpet calls.
Whether it was the thin line of horsemen, with their unspoken reminder of authority, Edmund’s shouts — taken up by the officers and sergeants — or the trumpet calls, but the rabble of running men began to shake itself into some sort of order.
Some had lost their shields, some their helms, others their weapons, some were running off in all directions, but the bulk of them moved back in column and marched towards Cridianton. Their heads were down and Edmund had no idea how they could be made to fight again, but they at least looked something like an army.
Then a different-looking company walked past, all of them with their weapons, and Edmund recognised the sergeant at the front — Caelin.
‘Well done, sergeant!’ he called. ‘Keep them going!’
Caelin saluted and Edmund felt a flicker of hope against the despair weighing him down. Despite what Sendatsu had said to him, he could not see any way they could get out of this. Perhaps they might be able to negotiate some sort of deal with the elves but Ward was dead, the army shattered. He had seen it often enough before. A proud leader trying to snatch victory from defeat only ends up slaughtering his men. Of course, Edmund had usually been the one doing the slaughtering.
But the sight of Caelin’s company made him think they might be able to fight again.
Behind Caelin came Wulf and his cavalry, riding slowly back, looking over their shoulders the whole way.
‘Well done, my friend,’ Edmund greeted him. ‘You let us get away.’
‘For now,’ Wulf said. ‘I couldn’t let them slaughter our boys, but I don’t know what we are going to do without the king.’
‘Sendatsu says he has a plan. He wants us to get clear and he will speak to us closer to the city.’
‘The exiled elf? Does he think to magic men out of thin air?’
‘I don’t know,’ Edmund confessed. ‘But I cannot just give up. Not after what they did to the king.’
Wulf snorted. ‘There’s plenty down south who will be glad of it — and would fall down on their knees before the elves to be free of us. There’ll be celebrations if they hear King Ward’s head is stuck on a spear.’
‘True enough. But the elves aren’t going to let everyone live free in fellowship, are they? They’re going to be worse than we are.’
Wulf sighed. ‘That is beyond me. I only know what we need to do to stay alive for a few more days. The elves didn’t have their horses close but they’ll bring them up and come boiling along after us. They’ll be riding us down before sunset. We’ll be lucky to get half of this lot away alive.’
‘Not good enough,’ Edmund said immediately. ‘We need every man we can save.’
‘How do we do it then? My lads are riding some very tired horses. We’ve been pretending to charge all afternoon, then fought a rearguard action. I can’t get much more out of them.’
Edmund looked at the sky. ‘It’ll be dark in two turns of the hourglass. They won’t be able to chase us then.’
‘They can do a lot of damage in half that time,’ Wulf warned.
Edmund turned and peered down the road, where stone walls marked the sides for the next mile or so.
‘Then we use what we have. Some of the men marched away in good order, brought their crossbows with them. We’ll line them up here with your boys behind. They can ride double to get away.’
‘I don’t think any of us will be getting away,’ Wulf said softly.
Edmund was stopped from answering by a small party galloping towards them.
‘By the stars above, it is the queen,’ he gasped.
Mildrith was accompanied by a pair of mounted servants, their saddlebags heavily laden. Edmund guessed they were filled with the luxuries he had seen in Ward’s tent the night before.
‘Captain Edmund! Where is my son? Where is my husband?’ she demanded. ‘I heard rumours …’
‘Those were not rumours,’ Edmund said stiffly.
‘What do you mean?’
‘My lady, your son, Prince Wilfrid, and husband, King Ward, were both killed by the elves.’
‘No!’ She swayed in the saddle, looking deathly pale. ‘He promised to bring him back to me!’
‘He tried, my lady. He led a desperate charge to save your son. But the elves used magic to bring him down.’
‘Perhaps they hold him still, perhaps if we offer them …?’
Edmund steeled himself. ‘They were waving his head at us, impaled on one of our own spears.’
Mildrith gripped the reins tighter. ‘Then we must take revenge. I shall take command and I expect you to support me.’
; ‘My lady, King Ward named me as his heir, and ordered me to take charge,’ Edmund said.
‘You? But there is not a scrap of noble blood in you! The throne should be mine and the nobles will support me, as they will not support you.’
‘But the army is with Captain Edmund. And that is all that counts right now,’ Wulf said.
‘We shall see about that,’ Mildrith said furiously.
Edmund was saved from finding the right words for her by the arrival of the Velsh.
Sendatsu was relieved to see Edmund had imposed some order on his men and they were marching away, towards the dubious safety of Cridianton. He was less pleased to see Queen Mildrith arguing with the two Forlish officers. She would only complicate things — and they were going to be hard enough as it was. He had been thinking as they rode away from the bloody battlefield and could see only one way forwards. Huw, Asami, Rhiannon and Gaibun had agreed, with varying degrees of reluctance. Now he had to persuade everyone else.
‘Good work,’ Sendatsu told them as he rode up. ‘Now we need to find somewhere close to the city where we can make a stand tomorrow.’
‘A stand? With what? We just got smashed, if you weren’t paying attention,’ Wulf said caustically.
‘I was watching, as were you. And the elves used up almost all their arrows. That is their main weapon gone. And we will have more men to replace our losses. The Velsh will be brought down by magic, and we shall also arm your slaves, the ones from the southern armies you defeated —’
‘Madness!’ Mildrith snarled. ‘Who are you to suggest such a thing?’
‘It is the only way. Ward is dead. Unless we do something desperate, we will soon follow.’
‘They will never fight for us,’ Edmund said. ‘We destroyed their cities, defeated their armies and made them slaves. And it was me who did much of that, under Ward’s orders.’
‘Well, we won’t tell them that,’ Sendatsu said. ‘But they will fight for freedom and the chance to have magic in their lives. They will fight when they learn that I shall be leading you.’ Sendatsu stared carefully at the Forlish officers as he spoke.
There was stunned silence, broken first by Mildrith.
‘You? A dirty elf? Why would they follow you?’
‘Because we need a leader who is above the petty fights between your people,’ Sendatsu said forcefully. ‘The Velsh and Forlish hate each other, the southern countries don’t trust each other and they all hate the Forlish as well. If one of you tries to command, we shall end up with the same problem we had today. We were on the same side but we were working for different aims.’
‘What do you mean by that? Did you not give us the magical protection you promised?’ Edmund growled.
‘And are you going to tell me you weren’t still planning to conquer Vales when the elves were done?’ Huw fired back.
‘See? This is what I mean. I must lead you tomorrow, if we are to fight together,’ Sendatsu insisted.
‘Forlish soldiers will never follow an elf. And I will not see my husband’s work destroyed to feed your arrogance and lust for glory,’ Mildrith told him.
‘Everything will be destroyed if you don’t do exactly as I say. All of you,’ Sendatsu declared, looking at Huw as much as the Forlish. ‘You need to make me your leader or we shall walk away and leave you to Sumiko’s mercy. Your men will follow if they see you obeying my orders.’
‘This is even more ridiculous than the idea a commoner could become king of Forland!’ Mildrith snapped.
Sendatsu stared into Edmund’s eyes, willing the man to agree. Unless they came together tomorrow, they would be finished.
‘And you really think we can win?’
‘I know it. I have the plan that will defeat them,’ Sendatsu said.
‘I thought you were confident before, had a plan for today?’ Wulf pointed out.
‘I did,’ Sendatsu admitted, ‘but King Ward had other plans. If he had not ridden out recklessly, we would still be there now, holding the elves back.’
He saw Edmund and Wulf exchange looks.
‘You had better not be thinking of agreeing to this!’ Mildrith warned.
‘We have no choice,’ Edmund said heavily. ‘He is right. We are defeated otherwise.’
Sendatsu bit down on his sigh of relief.
‘If Ward was here now, he would see you impaled for your treachery! He will betray us and let the elves win. How can you trust him?’
‘Because we have no choice!’ Edmund roared at her, silencing everyone. ‘Sendatsu is right. We have to try anything and everything. And freeing the slaves does not hurt. If we lose, they will only become slaves to another master.’
‘But the city walls. They were built to withstand siege by Ward’s father —’
‘Siege by a human army. The elven magic will reduce them to rubble, and everyone inside the walls. Besides, to fight there will doom the people of Cridianton. We do what Sendatsu says.’
‘You will pay for this. The nobles will never allow you to rule after handing power to an elf,’ Mildrith told him, her voice shaking with anger.
Sendatsu leaned over and grabbed her reins, sensing she was about to ride back to the city and begin causing trouble. She recoiled from him, staring in revulsion at the blood splashed thickly over his arms and chest.
Her two servants urged their horses forwards but Gaibun intercepted them. His hands were empty but he was also painted with dried blood and he tapped his right thumb on his sword hilt and smiled.
Sendatsu forced Mildrith to look at him. ‘I know what you must be going through, having lost your son and husband, seeing your dreams turned to dust. But I swear to you on the life of my own children that I do not seek to rule you. And we still need you.’
‘What does that mean?’ Mildrith hissed.
‘We need you to stay with the army. Tomorrow, before we fight, they need to see you, so they can remember all they have lost and what they need to avenge.’
‘And I cannot cause you trouble in Cridianton if I am here,’ Mildrith said. ‘I am not a fool.’
‘No. But you will stay with Captain Wulf.’
‘I thought I was fighting a rearguard action here to protect the rest of you?’ Wulf asked, pointing to the stone walls that lined the road.
‘There’s too many elves for that. They’ll just ride around you. We need something else, a river or a small wood, something we can fill with crossbowmen and use the trees as weapons if the elves get too close.’
‘There is a bridge, perhaps two miles down the road, beside a stream. That would serve,’ Wulf said.
‘Good. We can hold them there, let the rest of the men get away without sacrificing hundreds.’
‘We shall be pushing it to get there before the elves are upon us,’ Wulf warned.
‘Then we must stop talking and start moving,’ Sendatsu said crisply. ‘Wulf, take the queen and get her away. Sumiko cannot capture her, because she will use her against us.’
Sendatsu looked at Wulf, who in turn looked over at Edmund. Edmund nodded and Wulf urged his horse forwards.
‘We shall treat you like the queen you are, my lady,’ Wulf said. ‘If you would come with me, we shall get you away to a safe distance.’
‘Why is she not staying with me?’ Edmund asked.
‘Because you are coming with me, Huw, Asami and a Velsh Magic-weaver back to the city, to get the slaves. Gaibun will take care of the rearguard.’
‘Another elf!’ Mildrith snorted.
‘One who slowed down Edmund’s advance on Dokuzen by enough so that you lost there,’ Sendatsu replied sharply. ‘You also need to send a patrol out to the east. The cavalry that were with Ward, whose horses were driven away by magic, will have their beasts back under control by now. We need to find them and lead them back. They could be the difference tomorrow.’
Edmund signalled to the marshals, pointing to his aide, Orsa, who had been by his side since that fateful march into Dokuzen.
‘Orsa, take a dozen
of these marshals and cut out to the east. Ride all night if you have to, but find them.’
‘Sir!’
‘Come on then. We shall be cutting it fine,’ Edmund said, not looking as Orsa grabbed marshals at random, making them throw off their gaudy red tunics.
Sendatsu let go of Mildrith’s reins and she followed Wulf docilely enough.
‘She will be trouble later,’ Edmund said.
‘She can be as much trouble as she likes later. We just need to get through a few more days.’
‘Can we really beat the elves with what we have left, as well as a bunch of slaves and Velsh?’ Edmund asked softly.
‘Of course,’ Sendatsu said. ‘You have to believe that, or it cannot happen.’
‘Easier said than done.’
‘First stage is to give them back confidence. We need to hold them up and win a small victory. That will change how they all feel.’
‘A small victory? You think holding back the elves from slaughtering us for a few hours will change everything?’
‘Yes. Now come on, we are wasting time we don’t have.’
‘Sergeant Caelin! There is a bridge a couple of miles down this road. Get to it and hold there — the Velsh will join you and use magic and your bows to hold back the elven pursuit.’
Caelin did not have much breath to reply, so merely saluted as Captain Edmund rode past with a couple of Velshmen, an elf and that elven woman who had taken Hild. He wanted to ask her about the girl but then they had rushed away.
‘Sounds like another shit job. We attract them like flies,’ Ruttyn muttered.
‘Are you saying we smell like shit?’ Harald said. ‘Or did you just mix up your sayings?’
‘Well, you stink.’ Ruttyn cleared his throat and spat. ‘And how is Velsh magic going to stop a few thousand elves on horseback?’
‘Do you think anything else is?’ Caelin said. ‘Keep marching. If we don’t get there, we’re dead men.’
The Velsh rode alongside and behind them, moving slowly as they rode double, a young warrior and a Magic-weaver on each horse.
‘I heard they fought well today. Held their own against the elves, while that Sendatsu was unstoppable,’ Ruttyn said.