The Wizards' War

by Angela Holder

  “Back up so we can see them and us both,” Meira said. Elkan had Tobi adjust the window. Meira studied it for a few minutes. “I think they’ll come to meet us. They’ll reach the Mother’s Hall long before we will. I doubt they’ll stand around and wait.”

  “I agree.” He frowned at the image. The Ramunnans surrounding the weapons far outnumbered their column. “Tobi, back up and show us Jaron’s column. Can they join us before we meet the Ramunnans?”

  Meira leaned forward eagerly. “I’m sure they could. There’s a street that cuts through, see?”

  Elkan’s heart leapt. “I’ll send a messenger.”

  As soon as the message was on its way he returned to Meira’s side, checking its progress frequently until it reached the next column. Jaron read it, growing still and tense as he absorbed its import. When he finished, he stared into space for a moment, then looked in their direction. “If you’re watching, Master Elkan, we’re on our way.” He turned back to his column, shouting orders.

  Elkan dropped his hand as the window faded. “Thank the Mother.” He dug his fingers into Tobi’s fur and tried to plan a strategy. Weariness made it difficult to think clearly. It would be easier if he could stop somewhere and spread out a map, but he didn’t dare take the time. “They should get here well before the Ramunnans. Should we press on and get as near to the Mother’s Hall as we can, or stop and wait for the enemy to attack us?”

  “Wait,” Meira answered promptly. She looked tired, too, but not with the dragging fatigue caused by extensive use of the Mother’s power on top of significant blood loss. “Choose our ground. Open another window so we can look for a good place.”

  Elkan dragged up reserves of energy from somewhere deep within and put out his hand. Tobi popped open a window with disgusting cheerfulness and sent it scanning ahead. Elkan took deep breaths and tried to focus on what Meira was saying.

  “The problem is, the Mother’s Hall is at the highest point in the city. We’re going uphill. Not much, but enough to make a difference in the weapons’ range. Their shots will go a little farther, ours a little shorter. If we can find a stretch of road that’s level, or close to it…” She bent to study the window intently.

  Elkan closed his eyes and trudged along blindly, letting Tobi handle the window on her own. He didn’t regret a moment he’d spent awake last night, but right now he wanted nothing more than to lie down and make up a little of the sleep he’d missed.

  Meira touched his cheek, jolting him back to wakefulness. “You didn’t hear any of that, did you?”

  “Um, no,” he admitted sheepishly. “Sorry. Could you repeat it?”

  She cupped her hand around his under the sagging window and supported it. “Right here. The road runs level for several hundred feet before it goes around this bend. I think we should place the weapons here.” Her fingers dipped into the image, taking on a ghostly quality as they indicated a wide area where a smaller street crossed the main road. “They’ll have clear shots all the way to the curve. The Ramunnans will have to bring the stolen weapons around the bend to fire at us. It’s pretty narrow there. Their crews will get in each other’s way, plus the weapons will block their fighters. The wagons will have to stay back, which will slow them down because they’ll have to carry powder and shot a long way. Tobi, move out a little.”

  His familiar complied. Elkan did his best not to be distracted by the graceful movement of Meira’s fingers as they danced around the window. “They can send fighters this way to attack us from the side. But they won’t be able to approach along the street where the weapons are, because we can turn and shoot at them. They’ll have to filter through these narrow paths and alleys where our fighters can take them on a few at a time. Now, if they go all the way around here, they could come at us from behind. So we need to put most of our mounted fighters in the rear.”

  Elkan forced his mind to focus. Meira’s strategy was excellent, much better than anything he could have devised. He jerked his head at the window, wishing he had a hand free to join hers in the warm tingle of the Mother’s power. “That building on the corner, with the tailor shop below and apartments above, and the one across the street with the bakery—”

  “I see them.”

  “If we put wizards and familiars up on the second and third stories they’ll be out of sight and protected from arrows, but still close enough to disarm and disable the Ramunnans. They might even be able to reach the captured weapons. They won’t be able to do much with something so heavy so far away, but maybe they could nudge them enough to throw off their aim. Or blow out fuses and scatter priming powder.”

  “Perfect.” Meira’s hand tightened on his. “And the archers can go up on the roofs.”

  He grimaced as he spotted a flaw in what he’d said. “Some of the wizards will have to stay with the fighters and heal the wounded.”

  She nodded. “Everyone we send back into battle is like having another fighter on our side. The Ramunnans will lose fighters much faster than we will.” Her voice was bright with eager savagery. “We’ll wipe them out.”

  Her enthusiasm swept him up until he could almost forget they were talking about people’s lives. “All right. That’s what we’ll do. You tell your crew, and Jaron when he arrives. I’ll meet with the leaders of the fighter groups.”

  She reached to gently disengage his hand from Tobi’s back. The window vanished. “Let me talk to the leaders. You’re about to fall asleep on your feet. Get something to eat and then go lie down in the first ammunition wagon. You’ll be far more use against the Ramunnans if you nap for a little while.”

  She was right, he knew, but he hated to abandon personal responsibility for the column, even temporarily. “You’ll wake me immediately if anything changes?”

  “Of course.”

  “Make sure to come get me at least half an hour before the Ramunnans arrive. It takes me that long to wake up enough to function properly.”

  She quirked an eyebrow and dropped her voice. “Not that I noticed.”

  He pulled her close. “Care to come lie down with me?”

  “I’d love to, but someone’s got to be in charge.” She gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. “Go. Or we’ll be there and you’ll have lost your chance.”

  He sighed. “I suppose I’m just following the Law, for a change. Master Dabiel would be proud of me.” His heart caught at the thought of his master. “I wish you’d met her. You would have liked her, and I know she would have liked you.” He swallowed. “She’d have handled this whole mess far better than I have.”

  “I doubt that.” Meira kissed him. “Now go.”

  He left her reluctantly, found the food wagon and devoured a hasty snack, then climbed aboard the half-empty ammunition wagon and stretched out among the crates of iron balls. Tobi jumped in and sprawled beside him, her warm bulk comforting. The wagon jolted and jerked so much he was sure he’d barely be able to doze, but within moments of closing his eyes he was fast asleep.

  * * *

  Meira waited until the last possible moment to rouse Elkan. Only when Dathion’s window showed the approaching Ramunnans a scant few blocks away did she climb into the wagon and lay her hand on his cheek. “Wake up, sweetheart,” she murmured. “It’s time.”

  He reached for her and pulled her close for a lingering kiss. “Do you have any idea how much I wish we didn’t have to fight this burnt-and-blasted war right now?”

  “Probably about as much as I do.” She ran her fingers through his hair.

  “Tonight I’m going to take you to my room in the Mother’s Hall. My bed’s nice and comfortable. A little narrow, so we’ll have to snuggle close.” He sat up and stretched. “We can think about what we want to do after Ravid gets here. There are quarters in the Hall for couples and children, but most families prefer to live in the city.”

  Meira’s heart leapt. He was already thinking of them as a family. She hadn’t been sure if her strategy had worked—he hadn’t said anything about standing up wit
h her, and she hadn’t dared bring up the subject for fear of frightening him off—but this was proof he wanted a long-term relationship.

  For a sweet instant she let herself fantasize about the future. More children, Elkan’s children, with their father’s deep eyes and level brows. She almost wished she hadn’t gone to the Mother’s Hall in Korisan and had them adjust her cycle so she wouldn’t be bleeding during the battle. Although it would be nice to have a while together before dealing with a pregnancy and a new baby. But she didn’t want to wait very long, either. She wasn’t getting any younger.

  Ruthlessly she dragged her mind back to the present. They had to make it through the day before any of that became relevant. “I’m going to need a house appropriate for a guildmaster. Assuming you keep your promise and persuade the Council to approve the Blasters’ Guild.”

  “After what your weapons have accomplished today, they’d shout me down if I tried to persuade them not to.” His smile faded. “Although I was rash to make a promise I may not be able to keep. It’s Guildmaster Hanion who’ll present the issue to the Council. After the way I defied him I doubt he’ll be willing to do me any favors.”

  Meira stood up and extended her hand. He grasped it and climbed to his feet. “After we win this battle, Hanion will have to defer to you or the Wizards’ Guild will throw him out and elect you in his place. They may anyway.” She climbed over the side of the wagon and jumped down.

  Elkan followed, Tobi bounding down behind him. “The last thing I want is to cause dissension in the guild.”

  “No, the last thing you want is for the Ramunnans to conquer Tevenar. Let’s make sure they don’t. There’ll be plenty of time later to worry about what happens next.”

  There would be plenty of time, she vowed fiercely. For all of them.

  The weapons and fighters were arrayed around the intersection according to her instructions. She looked up to the rooftops on either side and confirmed that the archers had taken their positions along the edge. In every window of the two buildings wizards waved down at her. She tried to think of some good reason Elkan should join them in relative safety instead of remaining at street level, but nothing came to mind that might persuade him. Certainly concern for his own welfare wouldn’t.

  “They’re just around the bend,” he told her, nodding at the window over his hand. “I’m going to go organize the healers. If you need a wizard’s help up here, send word.” The window vanished and he put a hand on her shoulder. “May the Mother be with you.”

  “And you.” She met his kiss with ardor, then pulled reluctantly away and went forward while he went back.

  She checked with Jaron, who confirmed that his weapon was in order, and took her place beside hers. Each member of her crew was at their station, tools and supplies ready. She got out a fresh coil of fuse and lit it. It would smolder for three hours. If the battle lasted longer, she’d have to find a pause to light a new one.

  Shouts rose from all around. She squinted ahead and spotted a black snout poking around the bend. She grinned, the excitement of battle surging in her blood. “All right, folks. Let’s make those blighted thieves sorry they ever touched our weapons.”

  Smoothly her crew went to work. Kirla plunged the wet mop deep into the bore and pulled it out. Otas placed the bag of blasting powder in the mouth, Avine added the wadding, and Tezel rammed them in. Shomin heaved the iron ball into the opening and Tezel rammed it down, with Shomin and Otas lending their strength to pack everything tight. Javil sighted along the barrel and made fine adjustments to the aim. Finally Dailon poured a precise portion of blasting powder into the vent. Meira stepped forward, called for everyone to stand clear, and touched the glowing end of the fuse to the priming charge. She backed away as the powder sparked.

  Boom! The weapon hurtled back in a burst of flame and choking smoke. Javil waved to clear the air and peered down the street. “Hah!” he exclaimed in satisfaction. “Right where we wanted it. Took out at least three of them.”

  “Good,” Meira said. She’d instructed her crew not to shoot at the weapons themselves, because she still hoped to recapture them. Only if they started taking serious casualties from the stolen weapons would she order them targeted. The iron tubes were nearly indestructible, but a well-placed shot could shatter the carriage it rested on, rendering it useless until a new one could be built.

  Jaron’s weapon roared and more Ramunnans fell. They kept advancing, though. Their first weapon rounded the bend and its crew labored to load it. The other weapon crawled around the corner.

  Meira’s crew swarmed over her weapon, reloading. She was just about to light it when the first Ramunnan weapon spat fire. Gold flickered, dim in the bright sunshine, and a spray of stone fragments burst from the building on her left.

  The wizards had better be careful or they’d bring their own buildings down. But she couldn’t worry about anyone’s task but her own. She lit the primer and moved clear. Her weapon discharged, dealing more death to the enemy.

  The rhythm of loading and firing consumed Meira’s attention. She ignored the frequent impact of the Ramunnans’ shots all around. Even when one escaped the wizards and plowed through the fighters behind her, she refused to divert her focus from her work. The only way she could help her fellow fighters was to kill Ramunnans until none were left to threaten them.

  Shouts alerted her when enemy fighters appeared in the streets to either side and began to battle their way toward the intersection. As long as their own fighters kept them well back she ignored them, but when they approached too near her precious weapons she barked a change in orders. The crew on the wheels swiveled the weapon to face down the side street. Jaron’s crew did the same on the other side. The Tevenaran fighters took a frustratingly long time to move aside, but when the street was clear except for blue Ramunnan uniforms she lit the primer and the shot crashed through their ranks. Her crew swung the weapon around to fire forward again. The Ramunnans had taken advantage of the distraction to roll their weapons a dozen feet closer.

  After that they regularly swung back and forth to fire in both directions. Ramunnan and Tevenaran fighters ventured into the space between the two sets of weapons, so they had to wait for their allies to move clear before firing that way, too. Eventually the smoke grew so thick Meira couldn’t see well enough to be sure all the Tevenarans had heeded the shouted warnings and gotten out of the way. The first time, she waited and waited, praying for a vagrant breeze to give her a moment of clear sight, but none did, and the Ramunnan weapons continued to boom. Eventually she set her jaw and touched the fuse to the primer. After that she didn’t hesitate. If in the chaos of the battle some Tevenarans fell at the hands of their friends instead of their enemies, so be it. It was better than being so cautious they let the Ramunnans win.

  They emptied one ammunition wagon and waited while a full one took its place. Not long after that a new powder wagon replaced the old. Still the Ramunnans kept coming. They were completely surrounded. Screams of people and horses came from behind, where the mounted fighters were battling an attack from the rear.

  Abruptly the Ramunnan weapons stopped firing. Meira wiped sooty sweat from her brow and blinked stinging eyes. What were they doing? They couldn’t have run out of blasting powder or shot yet, not if they’d captured the other two columns’ wagons along with their weapons.

  She and Jaron took full advantage of the lull, blasting shot after shot forward and to both sides. The fighting was retreating down the side streets. There was less noise from behind. Meira fought the hope that dawned in her heart. They hadn’t won yet. It could be fatal to relax her vigilance too soon.

  The two Ramunnan weapons boomed almost in unison. One shot plowed straight ahead as usual. A wizard deflected it into one of the battered buildings. Meira didn’t know what had happened to the other until a thud from behind made her swivel around. An iron ball rolled across the pavement next to one of the ammunition wagons, not far from where a ring of fighters guarded the wizards w
ho knelt over the wounded and bathed them in golden light.

  Meira frowned. They must have raised the mouth of the weapon and fired high into the air. But why would they do that? The ball hadn’t done any damage on the way down, and the chances of it landing directly on a worthwhile target were slim.

  A flash of sparks gave her the answer. An instant later the shell exploded. Flames and smoke burst in all directions. People fell, screaming, burning, bleeding. One wheel of the ammunition wagon disintegrated and its bed caught fire. It lurched sideways, sending iron balls spilling out and rolling everywhere. Rescuers running to help those burned or impaled with flying bits of metal tripped and fell, adding broken wrists and ankles and heads to the ranks of casualties.

  Meira clenched her fists and turned back to her crew. “Target the weapons,” she told Javil. He nodded grimly and adjusted his aim accordingly. Their first shot missed. Another shell arced overhead and exploded behind them.

  Javil nudged the tube a few inches lower. This time they came close. One of the Ramunnans crewing the left weapon fell. Javil cursed. “Barely clipped the wheel. A touch more to the right.”

  He waited while the crew reloaded. The Ramunnan weapons fired again. Meira tried to track the soaring shell’s flight, but lost it in the sun. That must be why the wizards weren’t catching them.

  A squelching crunch from much too close froze her heart. She spun to see Otas staring down at a gushing hole in his chest. Far more slowly than seemed natural he crumpled to the ground. The bucket full of charges he carried tipped over and spilled blood-soaked bags of powder onto the cobbles.