There might be other options.
“How loyal is your prince to the Monolith?” I asked. We hadn’t been ordered to reduce the city. We had been ordered to penetrate Monolith territory, making ourselves obnoxious as we went. Steel City was a gateway into the Barrier Mountains, and thus the Monolith itself. We couldn’t leave it as a hostile presence behind us. But turning it was an option - as long as it stayed turned.
“Loyal is as loyal does, sir,” the fat man offered, showing for the first time a hint of the brazen guile that led a man to operate a brothel in territory occupied by an enemy army. “There’s favors done for Prince Jeral, weapons and the like, but his rangers do say he doesn’t care to take orders from the Paladins. A proud man, is our prince, and no proud man likes to be told what to do and where to send his troops, isn’t that so, sir?”
“I go where Rockwall tells me,” I said coldly. “But I’m not a prince.”
I hoped the general wouldn’t feel the need to court-martial me for the direction I was going. “Rockwall isn’t interested in vassals. My masters are interested in free trade, and an end to the Monolith’s unprovoked harassment. How do we get an audience with your prince to explain our peaceful intentions?”
Calculation flashed behind Roddib’s eyes as he tried to decide how he could profit, but it was abruptly washed away by fear. “It can’t be done, sir. The Monolith, they’ve got… they’ve got advisors, sir. They’re… well, they’re soldiers, sir, and they wouldn’t let the prince be swayed…”
There was something about the way he said “soldiers” that made my gut clench. “What do you mean? What kind of advisors?”
The weaselly eyes darted furtively to the side, avoiding my gaze. “Well, that is…”
“Tell me!” The tendrils of Darkness eddying around his face thickened. Roddib gave a little cry and slumped to the ground.
“What the hell?” Hake bent over the fallen fat man. “Did you kill him, Minos?”
“No,” I stammered. “I didn’t even touch him.”
The general shook his head. “Looks like the cowardly bastard just fainted. He’s still breathing.”
Hake opened the tent flap, addressing his guard. “Get a detail in here and clear this fat filth out. Dump it back in its… establishment. Doesn’t have to be inside - out on the doorstep in the rain will do fine.”
I tentatively offered, “We might want to keep him around, sir. There may be more he can tell us. And I don’t know that we need to make any more of an enemy of him.”
Hake snorted. “That kind has no more loyalty than a snake. Treat him well, treat him badly, he’ll stab you in the back first time he thinks he can profit by it. I don’t think there was much more to be gotten out of him. And honestly I couldn’t take the stench of him anymore.”
“Sir.”
Still, for some reason what he’d stammered about the Monolith advisors gave me a chill that had nothing to do with the rain.
“It would be ideal if we can turn this Prince Jeral,” General Hake told the group gathered in his tent. Colonel Royce was there, of course, as were the commanders of the two reinforcement battalions, Colonels Raji and Thonn. Hake’s adjutant, Captain Selles, was there. So was Captain Almet. And so was I.
“Our supply lines are too long,” Hake continued. “It’s getting too arid up here to live off the land, and we can’t reliably keep ourselves supplied this far from Rockwall. If we’re going up into the Barrier Range, we need a friendly base here.”
Raji scoffed. “And what makes you think this prince will come over to our side, General? Something a pimp babbled right before your tame monster scared him so badly he passed out?”
The colonel, a tall man with a tan complexion and dark hair, turned to me. “No offense.”
“None taken, sir. And it’s a fair question, with all due respect, General. Jeral’s got all the time in the world behind that wall. We’re not going to take them by storm, and we’ll starve before they do.” The fields around Steel City had been stripped bare. The harvest might not have been ready yet, but whatever there was to eat, they had it, and we didn’t.
“If that fat heap Roddib’s to be believed, we don’t need to win, Lieutenant.” Hake seemed completely oblivious to the irony of him commenting on Roddib’s weight. Although to be fair, the general did somehow carry his bulk with more dignity. He continued, “We just need to be able to give Jeral an excuse. Are you telling me you can’t give him that excuse?”
I felt my face heating. Was this his rebuke for my assumption of his authority when I’d interrogated Roddib? Or was he really challenging my effectiveness?
“No, sir,” I answered. “I can give him an excuse.”
Most of Roddib’s “employees” huddled together in the evening mist shared haunted, furtive expressions that suggested more than just the fear of the moment. A few had the hollow-eyed stares of the hopeless. One redhead had a face hardened into lines of permanent anger, and she was arguing with the fat man.
“Dammit, I know you said we need to be out here in the dark. You still haven’t said why, Roddib.”
I paused as I walked past. The innkeeper flinched away from me. “I’m telling you, Moya, don’t question.”
I looked from one to the other. “Because you wouldn’t want to be inside that building in about half an hour. Trust me.”
I moved on, ignoring the irate glare the woman sent my way. I addressed Groff, who had temporary command of the platoon. “I said it before, but I’m going to say it again. As soon as you see anything moving up on the wall, get off that roof. They’re ready for this.”
Roddib’s establishment was two stories high and built directly against Steel City’s wall. A trap door opened onto the flat roof. From there, it was only ten feet to the battlements, and it had been easy enough to put together a half dozen scaling ladders. Those were waiting on the roof.
Waiting ten feet above on the other side of the wall, hidden behind the crenellations, was a cauldron of oil and a supply of torches. The militia had obviously assessed the potential threat the brothel posed long ago. Rather than demolish it, they’d left it as a trap for besiegers who thought they were clever.
That particular trap was easily detected by the Darkness. But I was still vaguely nervous about the Monolith advisors in the city. I wanted a distraction to see if I could provoke a response.
I also needed to be busy elsewhere.
“Give us thirty minutes,” I continued. “Then get started.”
I put a hand on Cat’s shoulder. “Remember, you keep out of it. I need you watching for any surprises they have up their sleeves.”
The paleo nodded.
“Good.” I addressed my strike team. “Let’s go.”
Sesk, Railes, and Pious were with me. We walked briskly south around the wall, hopefully a small and routine patrol to the eyes of any defenders watching.
“Mile and a half by my pace count,” Sesk announced later.
I surveyed the wall. This section looked a lot like all the rest of it - white, high, and sheer, with torches at wide intervals.
“Guess it’s as good a place as any. They should be getting distracted right around now. You’re sure you can get a grapple up there?”
The hunter gave me a reproachful look.
“Just checking. I’ll clear a space.” Choking the nearest guard into unconsciousness was easy. I even managed to keep him from falling off the walkway he patrolled.
“Remember, we’re not killing people,” I said. This was a dangerous team for the purpose. I’d chosen them because they could climb a thirty foot rope and watch my back on the other side. But it would be against Railes’ nature to fight to stun rather than to kill. I suspected it might be nearly impossible for Pious. I wouldn’t have brought him… if I hadn’t been nagged by the question of what exactly the Monolith advisors might be.
Even with the Darkness enhancing my Select strength, hauling myself up to the battlements was an effort. I paused to gasp in three dee
p breaths when I reached the top, then cast my senses wide. I felt nothing more sinister than the other soldiers to either side, perhaps fifty feet away, visible enough in the torchlight. With five thousand men in the militia, the sentries were posted close to each other.
Of course, as luck would have it one of them turned and saw me. As he opened his mouth to shout, I triggered the Darkness I had already slipped into his body. This was no subtle easing into sleep. A mass filled his windpipe, stopping both his words and his breath. He staggered and clutched at his throat.
There was no time now for stealth. It was all about speed. A stone stairway led down to a courtyard, and I pounded down the steps.
The guard lost his balance and toppled over the walkway’s low railing. He hit the ground with a sickening thud. I hoped he had survived, but wasn’t optimistic.
“Hey!” Now the cry went up, and I wasn’t in a position to stop it. I concentrated instead on the task at hand - an ancient wall of polished marble, timeworn but still smooth and bright. As the Darkness ate at the rock, I heard the sounds of a struggle above.
“Alarm!” Another voice bellowed. “Call the patrols! We’re breached!”
I had done what I came to do. It wasn’t fine work, but the message was clear. I set my palm to the stone and burned a black imprint into the marble. Then I rushed back up the steps, taking them two at a time.
I arrived, puffing and blowing, to find Railes and Pious engaged with three guards and more enemies rushing toward them. One sentry already lay crumpled at Pious’ feet. My sergeants wielded clubs rather than swords, but the downed man looked very still. I had no doubt Pious’ unnatural strength could kill with a length of wood almost as effectively as with his pick.
I bulled into one of the guards as he rushed past me to engage Railes. I slammed him into the battlements, punched him in the gut and in the face. He folded up in a heap. Pious hammered another man’s sword arm so hard I heard the bone crack. He wailed and fell back, dropping his blade.
There were two between me and Railes. The sergeant took a step forward, feinting toward the nearer opponent’s face as if his stick were a rapier. When the man blocked high, Railes jabbed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. I jumped the other from behind and he pitched forward, off balance. I rapped his head on the flagstones.
“Back down!” I bellowed.
“That’s it?” Pious complained.
“That’s it. Get moving.”
More enemy soldiers were approaching, more cautiously now. Pious flung his stick at the nearest and went over the side like a monkey.
“You too,” I said to Railes.
“What about you, sir?”
I grinned. “I can take care of myself.”
As the other sergeant disappeared over the edge, I lashed out to either side with waves of Darkness. I wasn’t trying to harm, but merely to frighten and confuse. I must have accomplished that goal, because the defenders came to a stumbling halt.
“Torches!” someone called.
That wasn’t good. It was time for me to make a retreat myself.
I got down without incident, though I misjudged the distance and fell the last six feet. “Come on, let’s get out of range before they bring up bows or guns. Good job covering me. I did what I needed to do.”
“What exactly was that, sir?” Railes asked.
“I carved ‘Isn’t it better to talk than to fight?’ into a building. Hopefully Prince Jeral will get the point that we can breach his defenses whenever we want to.”
We were a couple of hundred yards from the city wall, and had slowed to a walk. Railes said tentatively, “Sir? Obviously you’d know better than me, but couldn’t you have done that from out here without actually going inside?”
I managed to process the question without breaking stride. Just barely. “I needed to go in to prove we were actually inside and could take out his guards. I didn’t want them killed, but it needs to be clear we could have killed them if we’d chosen.”
I thought that sounded pretty convincing. The truth was, Railes had a point, and it hadn’t even occurred to me. A number of people had told me over the past year that the Select weren’t as smart as we thought we were. I was starting to wonder if maybe they were right.
“Lieutenant.”
I blinked against the morning sunlight. For the first time in a week it wasn’t overcast.
“Lieutenant.”
The silhouette standing over me resolved into Captain Selles, Hake’s adjutant. I pulled myself to my feet and produced a half-hearted salute.
“Jeral’s negotiators showed up this early?” I asked. We weren’t under attack. The logical conclusion was that last night’s raid had produced the desired effect.
“Not exactly, I don’t think. But two… persons… are here, and they asked to speak to you. They’re in the officers’ mess tent.”
When we’d turned into a full-fledged brigade, a lot of logistics had come with it, including a full quartermaster’s company. I usually ate with the Shadowed Hand, but I knew where the officers’ mess was set up.
“You’re being mysterious about our visitors, Captain.”
“I’ll let you form your own views, Lieutenant.”
The remains of Roddib’s place were still smoldering fitfully. The diversion had gone as planned. None of my men were hurt, but the burning oil had reduced the building to a pile of charred timbers.
Then we were at the mess tent, and I found myself unexpectedly reluctant to go in, even with two of our guards at the door. As if there were two people in Steel City I couldn’t handle in a fight.
“These wouldn’t be those Monolith advisors Roddib didn’t want to talk about?” I asked.
“That would be my guess,” Selles replied, and held the tent flap open for me. He didn’t follow me in.
It was dim inside, light filtering through the canvas rather than being admitted by any windows. Two gray figures stood a few paces away, looking at me.
They weren’t gray only because of the lack of light. They were Select.
“I’m Lalos. This is Tarc.” They were almost indistinguishable in the gloom. Both were a bit taller and bulkier than me. Their white hair was cut short. It was hard to tell the age of Select, especially in the dark, but I guessed they might be around forty.
I ventured a little smile. “Haven’t seen another Select in a while.”
“No,” Tarc said. “I’d think not. And that’s the point. This absurdity of yours with the Shadowed Hand. It has to stop. You’re endangering us all.”
My eyebrows went up. “I’m sorry. Did you just walk into my camp to tell me to call off my operations? I thought mercenaries would be a little more… professional.”
Lalos held up his hand. “This goes beyond today’s dispute between the Monolith and Rockwall, Minos. This is about the survival of the Select, which must always be our highest calling. Minos, there’s enough prejudice against our race as it is. But to use the Darkness - it makes our employers wonder whether the Select are allies of hell.”
Blood rose to my face. “Really? Or does it make your employers wonder why I can rout an entire battalion with one platoon, and you can’t? Are they questioning your morality, or your competence?”
Tarc snarled, “You egotistical little puppy!”
Lalos touched his arm. “Minos, you have to understand it’s the interests of all the Select we’re defending.”
“Again, really? The way you defended Grigg so well he was sent halfway across the continent on a suicide mission?” That surprised them. Their black eyes widened. “You idiots. Who do you think made me what I am? I was trained by Grigg. And by the one who trained him.”
Tarc took a step toward me, raising an accusing finger. “Corruption! Embracing the Darkness, consorting with paleos! You’re a disgrace to our race.”
“And here I thought a couple of sell-swords who would whore themselves out to a nation that calls us soulless and damned might be a disgrace,” I growled.
“You?” I burst out laughing. “My betters?”
The Darkness formed around me.
“Your Darkness has no power over the Select,” Tarc spat. But he took a step back.
“You think so? Shall we test it?” The black mass seethed, pulsing to the furious beat of my heart. “You think because some thin cloud might not possess you, you can face someone taught by Yoshana?”
They were both scrambling away, and I realized my voice had risen to a roar. I throttled the Darkness back before it tore them apart. It clawed at my control.
“Because you’re Select, I’ll let you go,” I ground out. “Don’t presume on my goodwill again.”
The two edged around me and bolted from the tent. I stayed inside until I could pull the roiling cloud back into my body. By the time I stepped out, they were long gone.
“Negotiations didn’t go well?” Selles asked.
I nodded tightly. “Let’s say no and leave it at that.”
General Hake approached me some time later. Something in my face must have warned him, because he said very carefully, “So I suppose they weren’t looking to surrender, eh?”
“They thought because I was Select they could convince me to withdraw the Shadowed Hand.”
“Ah. And you told them…?”
“That if I saw them again I’d kill them.”
“Ah.” He turned to go, then glanced back. “I imagine that was hard for you, Lieutenant. Thank you.”
I said tightly, “I’m loyal to people who are loyal to me, General. You’ve treated me fairly. I don’t owe those two anything.”
I was still seething that evening when Hake returned. There were three times as many torches on the walls as the night before.
“Are you going in again, Lieutenant?” he asked.
“I’d prefer to let them stew for a night, sir.” I took a deep breath, and added, “I’m not sure I could limit casualties this time. It might do more harm than good.”
The general could choose to believe I was afraid of facing stiffer resistance. I was more worried about holding back the Darkness in my present frame of mind. In any case, he nodded and let it go. I went to bed early, and spent nearly an hour meditating to settle my mind.
Passing Through Darkness- The Complete Cycle Page 49