Army of the Dead (19 page)

“They need another hour,” Polema finally reported. “All of the infantry is safe across the trench, but the mages are still not completely across.”

“Another hour?” gasped the lectain. “That is not possible. The men can’t hold that long, Lord Rybak. It is impossible. We are like acorns floating in a sea of red. You can’t ask them to try to keep this up for another hour.”

Lord Rybak stood silently staring down at the battle as the cavalry ran another charge into the enemy’s flank. The southern Motangan flank halted slightly to repel the attack, but the rest of the enemy army continued onward as if unconcerned with the conflict. The minutes dragged on, as the crest of the hill remained shrouded in silence. Eventually, Lord Rybak tore his eyes from the destruction below and turned to face the lectain.

“Gather the men, Lectain,” ordered Lord Rybak. “Break off the attack and gather them all in the clearing to our west. I will meet you there in a few minutes.”

The lectain saluted and retreated down the hill. Polema looked curiously at the Situ lord.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I am going to do what I must,” Lord Rybak replied vaguely. “Your services are no longer required east of the trench. I want you to ride to the central bridge as fast as you can. Get those mages across the trench in any manner possible.”

“You are not coming with me?” questioned Polema.

“I will travel with my troops,” replied Lord Rybak, “but you have important work to do. After you have gotten all of the mages to safety, I want you to report directly to Emperor Marak. Tell him of our experiences here. Explain the problem of timing when we have older women as mages. They simply cannot move fast enough for an effective withdrawal. This information will be critical when we need to evacuate the other zones.”

“I shall do as you request,” frowned Polema, “but you did not answer my question.”

“I did answer your question,” retorted Lord Rybak. “I will be riding with my men. Besides, my words were not a request. I gave you an order, and I expect you to carry it out. Get on your horse and ride swiftly.”

Polema’s brow creased heavily, but she mounted her horse and rode swiftly down the hill. Lord Rybak turned to gaze once more at the flood of red uniforms streaming westward. His lips pressed tightly together as he mounted his own horse and rode down the hill. By the time he reached the large clearing, hundreds of mounted Khadoran soldiers sat waiting for him.

Lord Rybak’s eyes scanned the multitude of clan colors before him. A smile came briefly to his lips as he admired the way the clans had united to fight the enemy, but the smile did not last. He saw that the men were tired and many of them were wounded. He had asked much of the men under his command, and they had not faltered in the face of overwhelming odds.

“You men have done more for Khadora than anyone could have hoped for,” Lord Rybak said loudly. “I want to thank you for your devotion and courage, but this battle is not over yet. The northern and southern bridges over the trench have been destroyed. Only the central bridge remains. It remains because we have mages stuck on this side of the trench. The battle that we have been fighting has been to buy time for those mages to get to safety. We need to buy them another hour before our task is done.”

Groans rippled through the clearing, as the men understood what was being asked of them. They were not groans of protest, but rather groans of weariness. Lord Rybak felt sympathy for their feelings, but he saw no other option.

“Mages are a valuable weapon for Khadora in this war,” Lord Rybak continued, “but they cannot be effective standing in the middle of the enemy. They would never survive such an encounter. Their art requires distance between them and the enemy troops. We must have them on the other side of the trench. While I can demand that each of you follow me into battle to buy that extra hour that the mages need, I will not do so. You men have shed enough blood for one day. I will, however, implore each of you to ride with me to gain the needed time. Those who do not wish to stay and fight may leave immediately and cross the trench.”

“Are you truly going to lead the charge?” shouted one of the soldiers. “Or will you be safe upon the hill watching us die?”

“A fair question,” Lord Rybak nodded. “While my duties as commander of this force are best performed in a position that gives me full view of the enemy’s movements, there are far too few of us left to make observation worthwhile. I will not ask of you what I will not do myself. I will lead the charge.”

The soldier nodded in satisfaction with the Situ lord’s answer. The clearing remained silent and motionless for several minutes before Lord Rybak spoke again.

“I asked that those not willing to fight further leave us,” Lord Rybak said loudly. “The time to leave is now. Think quickly and make your decision. We do not have much time.”

“We are waiting for our orders,” retorted one of the soldiers. “No Khadoran soldier will leave the field while his commander is still upon it. What will you have us do?”

Lord Rybak nodded in satisfaction at the response of his men. He smiled briefly and addressed the troops.

“There is a thick stand of forest between the Motangans and the bridge,” explained Lord Rybak. “I intend to ignite it into a blazing inferno.”

“The Motangans will go around it,” a soldier pointed out.

“Yes, they will,” nodded Lord Rybak, “and that is when we will attack them. We will divide into two groups, one north of the stand and one south of the stand. We will stand and fight for one hour and then turn and flee.”

“If any of us are still alive to retreat,” remarked a soldier.

“If any of us are still alive,” Lord Rybak echoed with a grim nod.

The air shimmered with heat from the burning forest as the vanguard of the Motangan army came into view. The Motangan soldiers walked warily, expecting an ambush at any moment. Their fears were fully justified.

“Charge!” shouted Lord Rybak as he pointed his sword at the enemy army.

Hundreds of hooves pounded the ground as the Khadoran cavalry charged into the vanguard of the enemy army. Arrows flew by the horsemen as the Motangans reacted rapidly, but their targets were moving swiftly. Lord Rybak had seen the Motangan armies from many hills since the invasion began, and he knew their numbers were vast, but his perspective leading the charge was entirely different. As he charged into the enemy ranks, his eyes saw nothing but an endless sea of red before him.

Lord Rybak slashed left and right with his sword as he made contact with the Motangan soldiers. The first row of soldiers slashed back, and Lord Rybak felt stinging cuts to both of his legs, but he ignored the pain as he tried to ride deeper into the enemy army. His horse balked with nowhere to go. The Motangan ranks were so thick that many of the enemy soldiers could not raise their weapons to fight. The Motangan advance faltered as the northernmost columns turned southward to confront the ambush.

Lord Rybak’s horse backed slowly as the Motangan army pressed forward. The Situ lord could feel the horse’s unsteady footing as it stepped over bodies on the ground. Lord Rybak delivered another killing blow to the neck of a Motangan solder as he felt his horse going down. Fear briefly swept through his mind as he threw himself off the dying horse. Lord Rybak landed on top of a Motangan soldier, knocking the man off his feet, but there was no room for him to fall to the ground. Lord Rybak swung his sword into the necks of the Motangan soldiers around him even as he felt the sharp blades penetrating his body. His body suddenly felt limp and refused to respond to his commands. His sword fell from his hands, and his vision turned to darkness. The sounds of battle slowly faded to nothing, and Lord Rybak issued his last prayer to Kaltara.

* * *

“Are you sure of this?” Goral asked HawkShadow as the assassin adjusted his black cloak.

“I have never been surer of anything,” replied HawkShadow. “Stop asking me that.”

“Sorry,” Goral said sheepishly. “As much as I want StarWind back, I do not want to lose another friend. Perhaps I should go with you?”

“And what would we disguise you as?” asked HawkShadow. “A krul perhaps? Look, Goral, I understand your concern, and I appreciate it, but I am not throwing my life away. I am the best chance of escaping that StarWind has.”

“I know that,” nodded the giant, “but even you must admit that this mission is impossible.”

“Improbable,” corrected the assassin, “but not impossible. I will just have to be careful.”

“You will not even get past the sentries,” frowned Goral. “They almost stopped StarWind, and in a way, I wish they had. She would have been close enough for me to go to her aid then.”

“Stop punishing yourself, Goral,” HawkShadow replied soothingly. “You should have no guilt over this episode. StarWind is the best at what she does, but that does not make her infallible. She knew that as well as you and I do.”

Goral remained silent as he gazed up at the dark night sky. HawkShadow finished his preparations and stared at the dimly lit encampment.

“I will not be walking into the encampment if that eases your mind a bit,” HawkShadow offered softly.

“What do you mean?” asked Goral.

“I am going to sneak past the sentries,” explained HawkShadow. “You could be of help if you promise not to endanger yourself.”

“I will do anything I can to help you,” offered Goral. “What do you want me to do?”

“I could use a diversion when I get close to the sentries,” answered HawkShadow. “Nothing big and alarming. Just something to draw the curiosity of the sentries when I get close to them. I do not want the whole camp alerted.”

“I understand,” nodded Goral. “How will I know when to act?”

“Give me an hour,” replied the assassin. “Make the diversion slightly to the east of the sentries. I only need them to look away for a few moments.”

“I will provide what you need,” assured the giant. “Good luck.”

“Give me your prayers while you wait for me to return,” smiled HawkShadow. “I have found them more effective than wishes for luck.”

Goral smiled broadly as the black-cloaked assassin faded into the darkness.

HawkShadow moved stealthily down the hill and dropped to his stomach when he reached the bottom. The assassin knew the terrain of the Sakova better than any other person, as his main task had been to patrol this land for the past few years. He crawled silently until he found the small gully that he needed to make his approach to the enemy encampment.

With painstakingly slow and deliberate movements, HawkShadow crawled along the gully towards the sentries. While his eyes could see nothing but the gully, HawkShadow’s ears were attuned to the noises of the forest. He listened intently as he crawled.

Well within the hour he had requested, HawkShadow reached the area of the sentries. He listened carefully to the subtle sounds of the sentries and waited for Goral to make his diversion.

HawkShadow smiled when he heard the distant howl, the noise sounding like a wounded wolf. Immediately the closest sentries started moving restlessly. HawkShadow waited patiently. Moments later the howls came again, but this time they were considerably closer.

“What is that?” one of the sentries asked softly.

“Some wounded animal,” shrugged the other sentry. “What are you worried about? Do you think the animal will attack us? It is probably afraid of humans. It will run as soon as it gets our scent.”

Moments later the howl came again, much louder and obviously much closer.

“Its nose must be clogged then,” one of the sentries declared sarcastically. “That thing is heading straight for us.”

“Look!” the other sentry said excitedly. “Look at the size of it! It is almost as large as a krul.”

“That is no wolf,” the first sentry said softly. “It looks almost human. We should sound the alarm.”

“And end up looking like fools,” spat the other sentry. “Do not include me in your plans. Just keep your eyes on it.”

HawkShadow smiled and started crawling past the sentries.

“I can’t see anything but a dim outline,” frowned the first sentry. “It does look human, though.”

The voices of the sentries faded as HawkShadow continued crawling along the gully. When he reached an area where no human sounds reached his ears, the assassin rose and stuck his head up. He looked around quickly and saw that he was in the middle of a group of tents separated by the small gully. Smoke still rose from some of the campfires, but no one appeared to be awake.

HawkShadow climbed out of the gully and brushed the dirt from his cloak. He took a moment to get his bearings and then walked between the tents to the large pathway that Goral had pointed out earlier. When he reached the path, he turned towards the center of the encampment and walked purposefully. Several soldiers moved along the pathway, but they paid no particular attention to the Motangan mage. HawkShadow thanked Kaltara for their lack of curiosity.

The encampment was huge, and HawkShadow walked for over an hour before he found the large tent that was his target. He did not even know if StarWind would be inside the tent, but it was where he had to start his search. On his first pass, the assassin walked past the tent, noting the four guards stationed in front and behind it. A smaller tent alongside the big tent also had two guards posted outside its front entrance. He wondered about the need for guards on the smaller tent, but he appeared uninterested as he walked by it.

HawkShadow made a second pass in front of the two tents, memorizing the faces of the guards that he could see. He knew that was all the passes he could get in a short span of time without arousing suspicion, so he strode off to check out some of the rest of the encampment.

One area of the encampment was awake and alert, their campfires burning brightly as soldiers sat around the flames talking softly. HawkShadow noted its location and continued onward. As he approached the perimeter of the encampment, he saw a makeshift fence of black fabric attached to posts in the ground. The makeshift fence even had a gate in it. His eyes narrowed with curiosity as he approached it.