CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Phoenix leapt from his hiding place, closely followed by his battle contingent. Together, they merged with other bands and began a thundering, roaring mass charge toward the northern edges of Bhumaka’s camp. The sound of sixty-thousand male voices screaming abuse and sixty thousand pairs of feet thudding on the dry ground was awe-inspiring. A forest of swords, spears and knives of all description waved toward the brightening sky. Swarms of arrows darkened it again as archers rose to their feet to shoot over the heads of their own men and into Bhumaka’s camp.
Since the idea wasn’t to engage the whole enemy army, they were under orders to stick to the northern border of the camp and make enough noise to rouse all the soldiers to combat. Accordingly, when Phoenix heard Jade’s command in his head, he, along with all the other commanders, slowed their charge and began looking for someone to fight.
They didn’t have long to wait. Half-dressed and bleary-eyed, soldiers came pouring out of their tents and raced toward the fray. Soon there were clashes up and down the line. As the first clash of steel rang out in the clear morning, Phoenix sent an anxious glance along the front row of his men. They were holding firm; faces purposeful and grim.
More and more of Bhumaka’s men appeared and soon he was too busy to spare more than the occasional glance around. A wave of Saka soldiers raced toward him – real ones this time. Their long coats flapped and their pointed hats marked them out amongst the shorter, less well-armed Indian natives. Bristling with weapons, they no longer reminded him of overgrown garden gnomes.
Grimly, Phoenix engaged them. Blood sprayed as Blódbál bit into the throat of a Saka warrior. Leaping the body, he blocked, spun, crouched and slashed at an exposed stomach. With a burbling gasp that was lost in the din, the soldier clutched at his belly and sank to his knees, mouth open in shock. Another took his place. Phoenix caught a fierce overhead blow on his new shield. The force of it numbed his arm and split the thin wood down the middle. He tossed the shield aside and ran the man through as he raised his arms to strike again.
With tingling fingers, Phoenix snatched out his dagger ploughed forward. Dimly, he heard Jade telling him that the men to his left were being pushed back and needed reinforcements. Without wasting the energy on acknowledging her, he yelled a command to his officers and the struggling group were propped up by fresher men.
Screams of the dying and the clash of steel-on-steel rang a harsh cacophony of death in the still morning air. They were echoed by the trumpeting of war elephants being brought up from behind by Bhumaka’s men. The earth shook with the thunder of their feet.
Around Phoenix, his men fell but they took an equal number of Bhumaka’s men with them. The ground steamed and grew slippery with hot blood. Phoenix fought on, blocking his ears to the cries for help and his nose to the scent of fear, sweat, urine and blood. If he thought about what he was doing; the carnage he was taking part in, he was afraid he’d throw up. Instead, he concentrated on Jade’s faint commentary in his head, with Blódbál’s song a glorious, dramatic background to her strained words. Guatamiputra’s men were holding. It was almost time to retreat before the bulk of Bhumaka’s army overwhelmed them.
Even as he thought it, the order to retreat rang in is head.
He began to move back, still fighting as he went. Around him, his officers bellowed their orders and Guatamiputra’s army began stage two of Marcus’ grand plan. Just as Phoenix began to think things might actually work, tall, a grim-eyed Indian warrior leapt forward, scanning the battlefield. Unarmoured, his dark, silken clothing fluttered as he jumped nimbly over his fallen comrades. Behind him slithered fifty or more Naga snake-people. One of them slid forward and spoke into the Indian’s ear. The man’s dark eyes fixed onto Phoenix and he nodded. He looked very familiar, for some reason. Memory surged in. Cursing, he called silently to Jade.
“Tell everyone the fangs are out in force. I’ve been spotted. That Indian from Bhumaka’s tent is with them.”
There was a brief, stricken silence from her, followed by a curt acknowledgement. All around him, his officers lifted their heads to see the new enemy as her warning reached them. He had no time to wonder if his men would break at the sight of the Naga. Their Indian leader wielded a long, curved sword with frightening skill; even hacking his way through his own men as he moved purposefully toward Phoenix.
Phoenix turned aside the first strike with Blódbál and spun away as a Naga sliced through where he’d been standing. One swift blow despatched the snake-man before the Indian had time to get close again. Then the Indian leapt forward, slashing a furious flurry of blows at Phoenix’s head, forcing him backward over the uneven ground. Even with Blódbál’s magic to aid his skill, Phoenix was barely able to fend them off. Confused, he skipped away, trying to see if there was something wrong with his sword. His enemy followed. What was going on? With Blódbál he was supposed to be pretty much invincible against another swordsman. The sword’s song rang in his head as strongly as ever.
Again the tall Indian attacked. Phoenix twisted his wrists to let the curved blade glance off Blódbál and used the rebound momentum to add power to his overhead blow as he stepped to one side. It should have been a killing blow but it swished through empty space. The man had moved. The extra awareness granted by Blódbál’s magic gave him just enough time to turn and drop to one knee as that lethal, curved blade sang over his head from behind. Seizing the opportunity, he struck upward with his dagger. It caught on cloth. There was a tearing sound and the Indian spun aside with an angry cry. Phoenix rose and they circled each other warily.
He glanced briefly at his dagger but the blade was clean. No hit then. This guy was fast, and there was something familiar in the way he moved. Phoenix’s eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion. He looked up again and realised he had made a fatal mistake in taking his eyes off his opponent even for a second. In that moment, his foe had jumped forward, covering the distance between them faster than he would have believed possible. Now only inches away, the Indian slid that curved blade between his ribs with a deft turn of the wrist. Then he grinned as Phoenix stared up at him, wondering why it didn’t hurt yet.
As Phoenix dropped to his knees, he heard Jade’s terrified cry in his head before it was masked by the sound of the Indian’s voice in his ears. He leaned in and whispered.
“So you see, my master was compassionate indeed. His spells cured my leg and also counter your pathetic barbarian sword-magic.” Yajat, the assassin, withdrew his sword from Phoenix’s body with a contemptuous smile. “I have fulfilled my master’s orders and my own honour. Now I go to kill your companions.” With a swift bow and a mocking salute, he gestured to his Naga troops.
Breathless with the pain that now flooded through his body, Phoenix collapsed to the ground; just one more dead amongst the thousands that littered the battlefield.
*****
High above, Jade cried out and clutched her head. Instantly, Brynn was at her side.
“What is it?” He glanced at the war below.
Jade grabbed at his hand, struggling for breath as she tried to separate her mind from those of the dying. “Phoenix has lost a life. He’s gone for the moment. I’ll try and contact him when he wakes up. Cadoc has lost one too but he’s recovered. Vasi is ok and Marcus.. is alright but,…oh,” she glanced up at Guatamiputra who had come to kneel by her side also.
“I’m sorry, Sopaniputra is dead, sir,” she said in a choked voice.
The Raj betrayed his emotion by only the merest flicker of an eyelid and the whitening of knuckles on his sword hilt. He stood again and faced the field of battle. Around him, his generals exchanged worried looks.
“Tell Vasi, he and his men are getting left behind. The retreat must be together or the plan will not work,” the Raj remained calm.
Jade nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. Pushing aside her fears for Phoenix, she steadied her racing heart and closed her eyes. Phoenix’s best hope was for her to help the Raj win this w
ar. She contacted Vasi and relayed the instructions. In her minds’ ear, more men died, crying out to their gods and loved ones until her head rang with their pleas for salvation and tears drowned her eyes.
It was becoming harder to organise the communications. The death of the commanders and captains was something none of them had really considered. As each leader died, Jade had no way to contact his replacement. They had now lost about a fifth of their communications network and the retreating front grew ragged as commands were missed.
Seeing it, the Raj growled his next order through gritted teeth. “Tell them to break and run. We cannot wait any longer.”
“My lord,” one of the generals pointed at the enemy camp. “Bhumaka has only committed three quarters of his army. The war chariots are still held in reserve, as are half the elephants.”
“Don’t you think I can see that?” Guatamiputra snapped. “I would wait longer if I could but the day depends on a slip of a girl who looks like she’s about to collapse and the untried invention of a mad foreigner. If I don’t give the order now then I will lose thousands of men for nothing and the day will be lost. If we have any chance of defeating Bhumaka, we must execute the next stage now.”
Grim, the general stood his ground. “I’m only concerned, my Raj, that we may have been betrayed. Why would Bhumaka withhold his troops unless he suspected a trap?”
The Raj stilled, eyeing his general with blank hostility. He switched his gaze to Jade for a long moment. She returned it straitly, having nothing to hide.
Guatamiputra drew a long, slow breath. “It is possible but if it is so, then so be it. We cannot change our plans at this late time. Send the order, girl.” The Raj crouched before her, his face mask-like. “But if I find you or one of yours has betrayed me I will make sure you all die a slow, painful death devi or not. Do you understand?”
Jade grabbed at Brynn before he could leap to her defence, holding the boy at her side with Elven strength.
“It is impossible for me or my friends to betray each other or you,” she returned.
Without waiting for his response, Jade closed her eyes and sent out the command to break and run. There was a backwash of such relief from the men in her head that Jade reeled and would have fallen but for Brynn’s support. The mind link broke as the spell faded.
“Here,” Brynn pushed a wine skin into her hand. “Drink and eat. You have a few minutes before they engage again. Do you need your herbs?”
She shook her head. “They have to be a last resort or I’ll burn everything I have before this is over.”
He sent her a wide-eyed, frightened look. “Is it time for Marcus to bring up the onager yet?”
She looked down at the chaotic scene below. “I’m not sure. Run and ask him so I can relay the order to the other hills. I need to renew the spell before I can mind-speak again.”
Brynn nodded and raced off.
Below, Guatamiputra’s men turned and ran full-tilt toward the gentle, lower slopes of the hills. Bhumaka’s men, after a moment of astonishment, chased after in exultant enthusiasm. There was a gap of fifty or more metres between the retreating forces and those following.
The battle disintegrated into scattered, running skirmishes. Screams, made thin by the distance, echoed and rolled off the slopes of the low hills. The clash of steel rang true. Horses ran loose, trailing reins and skittering away from any who tried to catch them. As the sun rose higher and the day warmed, the scent of death drifted up until even those on the top of the hills gagged on it.
Looking away from the carnage, Jade was disturbed to see the general was right. Fully a third of Bhumaka’s men, most of the Naga and most of his elephants and war-chariots were simply standing in formation at the northern edge of the encampment. They had not joined in the chase. They seemed to be waiting for something.
Fear clutched at Jade’s heart, stealing her breath. Somehow, Bhumaka must have found out about their plan and just waited for them to spring it so he could counter with his own. But what was he intending? Just withholding troops wouldn’t prevent him from being outflanked.
Muttering the spell, she tentatively reached out.“Phoenix?” There was a sense of blankness, pain and weight as Phoenix’s consciousness returned.
“Jade?” His mental voice was weak. “Oh man…that one hurt.”
“What happened?”
“Yajat,” his short reply conveyed a wealth of anger.“The man from Bhumaka’s tent was Yajat. He killed me. He’s so damned fast! Keep an eye out. He said he was going to come after you lot, next.”
Jade clutched at her own throat. Brynn had explained who the assassin was and how Phoenix had bested him on the night of her attack. That he should return so quickly and be able to defeat Phoenix was frightening. It meant not only was Zhudai still a power in the area, but also that Phoenix was not as invincible as he thought – even with his sword in hand.
“Where are you?” She finally asked. “You must be behind the enemy lines now.”
“Under about five bodies, by the feel of it,” He grunted mentally and she sensed he triedto shove the dead off himself. “What’s happening?”
“The retreat is in progress. I’m waiting to hear from Marcus,” she tried to stay calm. “You have to get out of there before they start the onager.”
“No, really?” His reply was sarcastic.
“There’s more,” she hesitated, loath to tell him.“I think someone betrayed us. Bhumaka has kept a third of his men, most of the Naga, elephants and chariots back. I’m pretty sure they’re out of range of the onager, too. He knows, Phoenix. Somehow, he knows.”
There was a burst of subliminal swearing and mental images that were too quick and gruesome to follow as Phoenix vented his feelings.
“Maybe I can sneak in, kill Bhumaka and end this thing. How long have I got?”
Before Jade could reply, Brynn came running up, panting and nodding.
“Now,” he gasped. “Marcus says do it now.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jade frowned, staring down at the body-strewn sweep of land below. Somewhere out there, Phoenix was injured and half-buried. If she gave the order to fire the onager, he could die – again. If she didn’t, tens of thousands of the Raj’s soldiers would die instead. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes. Sending a fleeting apologetic thought toward Phoenix, she reached out to the remaining commanders and the onager operators and sent a simple, one-word command:
“Fire.”
Immediately, loud creakings and groanings filled the air as the sixty plus onager were wheeled to the front of the hill-command stations. Within moments, they were wound back and loaded with rocks; hot gravel and sand; clay balls filled with small metal spikes; wicker balls filled with rocks, metal spikes and burning rags. In short, they were filled with every conceivable method of killing and destroying that was available in ancient India.
Sixty great arms flung their fatal loads skyward, thumping almost in unison as they hit the crosspieces at the top of their swing. Arcing gracefully through the blue sky, sixty payloads rained fire and death onto Bhumaka’s men.
Jade swallowed hard and turned her face away as the screams redoubled. Sick guilt weighed in her stomach, making her want to retch. Surely there must have been another way to complete their quest. Her hands shook as she accepted a drink of water from Brynn. She was weakening fast. Unless this war ended soon, she would lose another life just trying to keep Guatamiputra’s communication lines open for him.
She reached out for Phoenix again, raising her head to try and see him in the melee below. Relief flowed as she felt his familiar mind-touch. “Are you ok?”
“Sure, as long as you consider killed, buried, blood-soaked and in peril of dying – again - while stuck behind enemy lines, ‘ok’,” his faint, acerbic reply reassured her.
Guatamiputra interrupted her connection, tapping her on the shoulder as he pointed out over the vast plain.
“Marcus has done well. The onagers have destroyed m
uch of Bhumaka’s army and my men have made it safely behind these hills. But why does Bhumaka still wait with the rest? I am loathe to commit to the flanking manoeuvre without knowing if the man has another trick up his sleeve.”
Jade followed his finger and, with her long-sighted vision, saw Bhumaka himself standing in one of the war-chariots. With arms folded across a leather and iron breastplate more decorative than functional, the Kshatrap surveyed the slaughter without emotion. Beside him in the chariot swayed the head of a large, hooded cobra. Manasa.
She shrank from those penetrating, lidless, bottomless dark eyes.
The Raj knelt before her. “You have met Bhumaka.” It was a statement, not a question. Jade nodded.
“Can you find out what he is thinking?” Guatamiputra let his excitement shine through as he realised the potential her ability might have.
Jade stared at him in horror. What was she supposed to do? There were too many things happening at once and she didn’t have enough power left to deal with any of them effectively. Phoenix was in danger and so was she. If she touched Bhumaka, there was a chance that his pet goddess would sense her intrusion and try to control her again. The thought of being taken over by the snake-goddess made her shiver. The Raj was right, though, if she knew what Bhumaka planned, they might be able to prevent any more losses this day. Things were rapidly coming to a head and she had to make the right decision. This war had to be done with today so they could recapture Pune and return the Sudasharna to its rightful place. Tonight was the last night of the dying moon. The war had to end now.
Sighing, she nodded and closed her eyes. A second later, they flew open again as something Phoenix had said suddenly registered in her tired mind. Guatamiputra was staring at her expectantly. Ignoring him, she grabbed Brynn and whispered in his ear, handing him the Hyllion Bagia. The boy opened his eyes wide then nodded and grinned.
The Sudarshana Page 15