Wild Sorceress

by Margaret L. Carter

  * * * *

  When the last Novice had departed, eagerly searching for his new company, Aetria walked over to the Duty Officer's tent and asked where the 5th was bivouacked. It was not far away at all, several hundred yards down the main road through the camp. Gathering her few belongings from the transport wagon, she said good-bye to Meloses, wishing him well, and walked swiftly down the road until she found the 5th Support Company. The command tent sat just off the roadway, the light from the inside casting someone's shadow on the hide wall. She requested permission to enter and was called in by a female voice.

  "Aetria! I heard you were returning to us. We can really use your talents.” The red-robed Wilmina was a short, heavy-set woman who was actually younger than Aetria but looked older. Like Pleates, the past four years of the war had aged her also.

  Presenting her orders to Wilmina, Aetria reported for duty. As Wilmina took the orders and read them, Aetria looked around the quarters that should have been hers. The hide tent was about twelve feet square, with a raised wooden floor to keep the sleeping pallet, desk, and chairs out of the mud. A ten-foot main tent pole supported the ceiling, which sloped downward from the pole to meet the sidewalls at about the six-foot level. It was perhaps twice the size of Aetria's last tent.

  Wilmina finished reading the orders and laid them on her desk. She did not look pleased to have Aetria in her company.

  "Welcome to the 5th. Our old commander, Sorceress Halista, commanded the company until a month ago when she became pregnant and was transferred out."

  "I know. I talked with Halista a couple of days ago as we passed through her area. She is doing well."

  Wilmina had something unpleasant to say to Aetria from the way she was nervously wringing her hands. “Yes, we all wish her well, and the baby. Now, I have only had command for a month, being the senior Novice and with no senior sorcerer available to relieve her, so I was promoted. I was her Sub-Commander, and did a fine job, so she said. I deserve this company—yes, I do, and it is mine."

  Aetria cut in, more to ease the growing tension in the woman than to be rude. “So you want me to keep my place and not to try to subvert your position."

  "Yes, exactly. I am your commanding officer now. You are my Sub-Commander. You will follow my orders, like I followed yours when I was in your squad. I would rather you be one of my fellow commanders, but Crusher thought otherwise, else why would he put you under my command?"

  "I understand my place, Wilmina. You have being fighting this war for four years now. I can learn from your experience."

  "Yes, yes you can. I will be happy to help you."

  "Do I have my own quarters or are the women all housed in one tent, like in the old days?"

  "You can take my old tent. Just tell Novice Ulnader that you have been ordered in as the Sub-Commander. He is, or was, my acting Sub. He will be quite pleased to see you as he finds the details of running a company tedious. Yes, he will be very pleased."

  Wilmina's nervous addition of “yes” to everything was getting to Aetria. She would have to try to change that in her new commander.

  "His tent is...?"

  "Second tent down on the left; mine is the first tent."

  "Then I will take my leave and get settled in. See you at morning meal, Ma'am?"

  "Yes, come to my tent and we will talk about how to introduce you to the company. Goodnight, Aetria."

  As she started to leave, Aetria turned back and held out her palm. She presented her hand flame at full intensity. The white hot star of the flame at Adept level cast such a strong light that every shadow in the tent was made bare, and Wilmina gasped in shock and covered her eyes. Aetria put out the flame.

  Wilmina lowered her hands from her face, looking in shock at Aetria, then returned her flame timidly. “I get your point, Sorceress Aetria. You no longer have to present a flame."

  "Thank you, Ma'am. Goodnight."

  * * * *

  Army life had not changed appreciably. It was still a lot of hurrying to go here and there, then wait. It had been a month since Aetria had reported in and she had not been involved in any action on the front. There was an overwhelming expectation that something was about to happen, and training was increased to get ready for whatever was coming. Her days were long, but filled with activity.

  Aetria liked the 5th. It was a really good company. Once they had gotten to know her, the company responded well. Wilmina's fears of losing command were lessened considerably when she saw Aetria performing the role as Sub-Commander earnestly and with skill. As Aetria walked back to the command tent to meet with Wilmina about the supplies they needed, a guard lieutenant intercepted her.

  "Lieutenant Maneles, congratulations!"

  "Thank you, Ma'am. You came through on your word I would not be blamed for breaking orders. The commander promoted me two weeks ago to fill Lieutenant Nemos’ position."

  "I don't suppose you are making calls on your old friends to tell them of your good fortune?"

  "No, Ma'am. Commander Pleates wants to see you immediately."

  "Let us not make the regimental commander wait any longer, Lieutenant. Lead on!"

  * * * *

  "You want me to take orders from a sergeant?” Aetria stared at Crusher.

  "That is exactly what I said, Aetria. Sergeant Borlock is the general's bodyguard and responsible for his welfare. While you are on this mission, you will take orders from her. I don't want any discussion from you on this; these are my orders to you and you will obey. Any questions?"

  Aetria looked at the mercenary soldier's leather armor lying on Crusher's table. “And I am supposed to wear that instead of my sorcerer robe? I don't understand why I am being sent on this ‘secret’ mission, Sir."

  The Adept sighed gently and walked over to Aetria. When he touched her arm, softly rubbing it at the shoulder, Aetria almost leaped backwards away from him. If he had struck her, he couldn't have shocked her more.

  "Aetria, Aetria. Why must you and I always be at war with each other? When we first joined the army, you were the brightest and most enthusiastic officer I had. I went out of my way to give you the most challenging assignments because you would always do them with the most superb performance. I trusted you then, and I am willing to trust you now, but you need to trust me on this assignment."

  His words almost did not enter her brain because she was concentrating on what he was doing as he spoke. He had moved behind her and was now massaging both of her shoulders, his lips only inches from her right ear.

  Is he trying to seduce me?

  Aetria turned to face him, bringing her arms upward and slowly outwards, gently sweeping his hands off of her, before stepping back a step. “Sir, I'm sorry my questions appear argumentative to you. I am thankful for what you did for me in the past, and appreciate very much your sponsorship to Sorcerer level. But as I am going out alone, unsupported by sorcerers, I think I need to know more of this mission than you have told me."

  He almost reached for her again but stopped when she moved her right arm away from her side. He smiled at her. “I have seen you doing your defense exercises, Aetria, and I know how well you can take care of yourself. That is why I feel safe sending you out alone with the general and Sergeant Borlock. All you have to do is escort the general to his destination. Where he is going is his business, and you don't need to know where. The sergeant and you are posing as mercenary escorts to a merchant. Think of the uniform as a disguise. Why would a merchant have an army Sorceress riding with him?"

  She lowered her arm back to her side and shrugged her shoulders. “He wouldn't. I understand I am to escort him in disguise, but why are we doing this in the first place? He could have his Royal Guard cavalry escort him, with as many sorcerers in support as he deemed necessary."

  Pleates walked over to his desk and picked up something. “The general's Royal Guard will be escorting an officer dressed like the general. I will be supporting them. You may need this on your journey,” he said, handing her a sourc
e box. She looked at it and realized it was his personal source.

  She tried to hand it back to him. “You will need this more than I do, Sir. It is more likely you will come under attack than I."

  He refused to take it from her. “I think you will need it more than I, Sorceress. Are you defying me again?"

  "No, Sir."

  "Then keep it. It was made for me just before I went on my quest for a new spell. Take care of it and be very careful using it. It is time for you to leave and meet the general. He will be waiting for you at the crossroads north of our billet. Don't keep him waiting any longer than you have to. Remember, tell no one of your mission."

  "Yes, Sir. Thank you for the trust, Commander. I will not let you down."

  CHAPTER 6

  Aetria wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose with a backhand swipe of her sword hand glove and grimaced as the metal studs scraped her skin. Letting loose an oath that would have made a real soldier proud, she glanced quickly over at the battled-hardened sergeant riding to her right, waiting for the quiet rebuke she knew would come.

  "Better to let it drip, Sorceress, than damage that pretty face."

  "Better to take this blasted helmet off than sweat to death, Lady Grunt."

  Heaving a sigh of exasperation, the short, lean woman dressed in the plain garb of an auxiliary cavalryman rubbed the back of her own neck and replied, “For one who was hired for her skills as an Illusionist, you don't seem to grasp the importance of maintaining a disguise. Soldiers do not ride down the road with their hair floating in the breeze, unprepared for crossbow bolt or bowman's arrow. Furthermore, they don't swear aloud at every inconvenience encountered in doing their duty."

  Aetria straightened up in the saddle, her pride slightly wounded by the hardened soldier's swipe at her professionalism. Admittedly I'm not from the elite Royal Guard, as Sergeant Sonja Borlock is, but still...

  "I wasn't ‘hired’ for this job, Sergeant Borlock. I am just as much part of this army as you. My branch of service doesn't rely on physical protective devices so I am not adept at dealing with chafing leather armor."

  The sergeant smiled at her discomfiture.

  "As for my skills as an actress, I don't make any claim to those either. I may be overacting, but every oath is heartfelt."

  "I can teach you some of the things you need to know to pass at a glance as a real soldier, Sorceress, but you should avoid, as much as possible, drawing attention to yourself. This mission is not about you; it is about getting General Mythrian safely to the king."

  Aetria turned slowly in her saddle, moving her body instead of her neck, trying to keep from further inflaming her raw neck on the leather vest's rough edge, and looked back at the purpose of their mission with a mixture of awe and disdain.

  The fabled conqueror of the Three Domains, Commanding General of King Phyrlatus’ combined armies, Alenso Mythrian, was a huge man, heavily bearded, with weather-roughened features. He seemed to overflow his horse, looking more like a man riding a child's donkey than a general sitting astride a war charger. He was not obese, as his appearance suggested. Dressed in flowing merchant's robes, his well-muscled body's bulk was enhanced by the chain mail he wore underneath. An impressive figure when dressed in the gold plate armor he normally wore, his image in her eyes was now tarnished by her previous evening's experience with him.

  To say he was fond of wine, woman, and song was to state it lightly. His appetite for all three was grossly demonstrated by the brawl he had involved them in.

  "I'm not so sure how successful we can be getting that man safely anywhere when he breaks up a tavern and gets us pitched out into the cold night."

  Sergeant Borlock shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe it is part of his plan. The enemy will be searching for a large escorting force moving swiftly through the country, the way the fake escort is doing off to our east. Not a merchant enjoying himself on his way home with his ill-gotten profits, protected by two women auxiliary soldiers."

  "Perhaps, but I doubt he was acting the part. I swear he was enjoying himself overly much.” The Sorceress began a careful search of her side of the road ahead, scanning her eyes from left to right as Borlock had taught her. The road was winding its way through a hilly forest thinly populated with trees. It was a smooth, well-traveled road. There was a good chance of being ambushed here because of thick, waist-high brush that covered the forest floor.

  On her side of the trail, the sergeant was busy doing the same. “For as long as I have known him, nigh unto ten years of service, he has always enjoyed himself when not occupied with the business of killing."

  Aetria stopped scanning the tree line ahead. A thought suddenly hit her. “Ill-gotten profits? Was he letting it be known he is carrying money? By the Power, isn't it enough we have to protect him from enemy soldiers, let alone bandits and thieves!"

  The sergeant's answer was obscured by a loud clang by Aetria's left ear and a blinding white flash of light behind her eyes. Stunned, Aetria struggled to stay upright on her bucking horse. She was barely aware of the screams coming from ahead as a swarm of men poured out of the woods. Borlock spurred her horse forward and met the dozen or so men with slashing sword and kicking horse. Two or three went down in moments, but the others ignored the soldier and continued their rush for the general, who had drawn his own sword. He drove his horse forward, trying to cut his way through the horde and ride down the road.

  Aetria instinctually kicked out at a face that appeared beside her horse and dimly cheered in her mind when the man clutched his crushed throat and collapsed beneath her horse's hooves. A strange thought drifted through her mind that she could never have done that with her felt sorceress slippers, and she was glad for the armor she wore. She struggled to free her sword and looked wildly around, trying to figure out what had happened and where she needed to be. A wave of panic surged through her as she saw the bridle of the general's horse being grabbed by multiple hands as the bandits struggled to stop the escaping “merchant” and haul him from the saddle.

  The spell exploded from her mind before she had a chance to form it properly. Her last thought before she pitched forward off her horse was the disappointment her mentor would have with her lack of control.

  * * * *

  Sonja swept down upon the bandits surrounding Alenso's horse. She slammed her speeding mount into the pack, hearing the screams of pain as the horse's mass knocked aside the men like so much chaff, but knowing she would not be able to clear the men from the General before they brought him down. Her sword flashed across her body as she swung right and left into the sea of flesh. In the far field of her vision, she saw the sorceress fall off her horse and cursed for a moment the decision to include such an ineffectual escort. She really needed a seasoned cavalryman now.

  As if in answer to her prayer, the blare of trumpets from over the trail behind her announced the arrival of a squadron of troops. The thunder of their mounts’ hooves shook the ground. Who was more startled, she or the bandits, was indeed a question, but she recovered first and broke through to Alenso, clearing the bandits from around his horse's head.

  Seeing a quick victory snatched from them, the remainder of men fled into the forests, leaving wounded and dying comrades behind. Sonja urged Alenso to flee up the trail towards the arriving squadron as quickly as he could, leaving her to ride to the assistance of the sorceress, lying comatose on the ground.

  Scanning the unconscious woman for wounds, Sonja saw Aetria's helmet had a good-sized dent in it just over the left ear. She removed the helmet and found a swelling lump, but the skin was not broken. She looked over her shoulder to assess how soon help would arrive from the rescuing horsemen and was puzzled that the squadron had not crested the hill even yet. With a gasp, she realized what had happened and struggled to pull Aetria upright.

  Although muscled from years of sword practice and hard riding, she had a tough time getting Aetria shoved prone across the saddle. She considered lashing her in place, but the desire to flee
the area was so strong she settled for leading the two horses on foot back up the hill in the direction the General had fled. A few steps up the trail, the sargeant noticed a slightly flattened lead sling bullet on the ground and picked it up.

  "This should prove to the sorceress she'd better pay more attention to me."

  * * * *

  Aetria slowly became aware of her surroundings as she dropped out of a very deep sleep. She was very comfortable, warm, lying on her right side in a bed, and snuggled up against another body. A large arm was draped over her and a hand tucked under her right breast. With a strangled screech, she jumped out of bed and backed away from it in horror.

  "By the Power, what is going on?” she gasped.

  Sergeant Borlock arose from a chair by the door and picked up a robe lying on a table, tossing it to the sorceress. “You were ice cold and I had to warm you up somehow. I couldn't do the honors, because someone had to watch over the general. So I fed him a few bottles of wine and tucked the both of you in for the night."

  "He ... he didn't..."

  "No, of course not. I wouldn't have allowed him that liberty. Not that he didn't want to, but I reminded him of the danger of bedding a sorceress—being drained of all his sexual drive for life."

  Aetria pulled the robe around her, angry the sergeant had taken the liberty of putting the general in bed with her, but seeing the need to keep her alive. One of the aftereffects of grid burnout was that one's body temperature dropped to a minimum. “That's an old wife's tale—"

  Sonja cut her off. “Created by the women of your order."

  With a sniff, Aetria jerked her head erect in offense. “Not the women, Sergeant. The men invented that one, back before the Sorcerer War. Said they were the only ones who could safely bed sorceresses. It also gave them cause to be very selective when testing for new candidates—just another way of deselecting women and accepting only men. They said having too many sorceresses around was dangerous. The early sorceresses went along with it because it offered some level of protection from rape by non-sorcerers, but we don't need that excuse anymore."