Uleni's Gamble (16 page)

But ever since she had shared her pleasure with Justin, the first time she had used her power for more than a desperate defense for her life, she had wondered what else she could do. She had put Justin to sleep last night, simply by gently reinforcing his exhaustion and tiredness with the feeling of sleep. She wondered what else she could do.

Could she defuse an angry crowd? Could she simply put someone to sleep rather than killing them? Other ideas which made her much more uncomfortable came to mind. She could influence people, especially if they weren’t sure which way they would jump on an issue, it would be easy. It made her uncomfortable because she didn’t think it would be right.

Protecting her own life, or making sure her intended mate got enough sleep were clear cut enough, but the other stuff? She just didn’t know.

*

Trina’s idea to change seemed to be working for her. She felt like she was growing true friendships with Justin and the other women in Sara’s life. She even started enjoying it. But there was another issue, something else that was changing.

Her guilt had increased a great deal about the life of the acolyte she had taken. She actually felt no guilt at all for the men she had killed, her targets. They deserved a knife between the ribs. It was the others, the ones that either got in her way, or had something she needed to complete the mission.

Innocents.

Those deaths weighed on her heavily. She was afraid to unburden herself as well, what would her new friends, and new lover, think of her then? Surely they would reject her, they were good people after all. She wasn’t sure what to do about it. She knew Sara could feel her emotional rollercoaster, but Sara had no clue why, and wasn’t one to pry.

She had to do something though, she felt fake, like the person she was trying to be was a fake, covering up the monstrous things she had done for the sake of killing people like the ones that had once tormented her.

She wasn’t sure what to do at all… She decided to just put it off until they were done haring across the world on a mission, it wasn’t ideal, but it was what she would do.

*

Riese sighed and decided to give up for the day. He picked up a woman for some relaxation, he needed it after the day he’d had. He’d managed to add another paltry fifty people to the three hundred he had left, but although those converts were strong, they barely knew which end of a sword to hold. He couldn’t say it, or even dare think it too loud, but his new god should have let him kill the Flame when he had the man at his mercy, unprepared and beaten.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad plan though, if he’d killed him right away he would become a martyr for the people to rise up and fight for, but alive the Flame was turning out to be even worse. He had gone for a straight frontal assault, which in hindsight, was stupid. He had underestimated them badly and had lost a second superior force to the cursed Flame of Cytherea. Still, he had this city, and three hundred troops to guard the walls.

They shouldn’t be able to magically take it down, just his warriors presence on the walls should prevent that kind of mischief. He decided he wouldn’t run anymore, even if he had to take them all on barehanded. Not that he had anywhere else to run too…

*

Justin felt a lot better that night, more than that he was up to his duties which really, he considered more of a privilege. Sara pulled him away from the dinner table seconds after he swallowed his last bite. He wound up having to burn some of the magic he regained as they came to him one at a time. Nothing he wouldn’t gain back though, from a night of sleep.

No one really mentioned it, but he guessed they all wanted him tonight because of the coming battle tomorrow. He made love to each of them and there was still more than enough time for sleep, he guessed that’s why Sara pulled him away much earlier than usual.

The next morning they ran into the second group of fifty soldiers in a village close to the city. They were prepared, but still lost thirty four more people. They quickly discussed and dismissed the idea of using the back entrance they had last time they were here. They needed to destroy the rest of Riese’s soldiers, not just Riese.

By midday they had reached the walls, which were crawling with archers. It looked to him like it was almost the rest of the force, although for all he knew these were new people entirely. They stopped about two hundred yards out and he gathered twenty of their best shooters. He, with Anton’s approval, gave orders to start taking down the soldiers on the wall.

They only got about two volleys before the enemy ducked low behind the rampart. He was at a loss on what to do, he would rather kill them at a distance. The mages were one way, but they would be exhausted before they could strike over three hundred soldiers with lightning.

“Anton, what about the fire grenades?”

Anton replied, “We can give it a shot… Even if they dodge, perhaps we can get them far enough apart to start tearing pieces of the wall out.”

Anton called out for the telekinetic talents, and bottles filled with highly flammable oil were brought up as well. The defenders tried a volley of arrows every once in a while, but a two hundred yard open space gave the talents plenty of time to block or divert the arrows.

They sent a large number of the bottles to the top of the wall, setting them on fire and blowing the glass before it got too close for magic to work. A large section on top of the wall was engulfed in flames, as well as the front gates which were made from thick wood.

He wasn’t sure how many enemies died, or how many simply fled that area, but the wall started to break apart in chunks. They cleared a twenty foot gap in the wall below the flames. He could see the fires on the ground now too, some of the oil must have overshot the other side of the wall.

They moved in closer with about fifty of them keeping their rifles pointing at the top of the wall on either side of the fire. A few of the enemy popped up enough to shoot arrows and got shot for their trouble, except they were able to release a volley, and they were too close to the wall now for the arrows to be deflected enough by the wind. Several soldiers cried out as they took an arrow.

He rushed to heal the ones he could, but a number of them took arrows to a mortal area and died before he could get to them. He prayed it wouldn’t get too bloody for them as Anton gave the order.

“Charge! Get through the hole and get some of our men on that wall.”

It was a fierce fight, most of the first men that made it through the wall were killed from arrows, both from the side streets and from up on the wall. But the enemy was severely outnumbered now and fell from air bullets and sharp objects the telekinesis talents sent. One of the soldiers had the idea to use the mines he had made for grenades instead, tossing them around the corners of buildings, taking out the enemies hidden there.

They lost another five hundred men to the defenders that day, leaving just over thirteen hundred left. They had lost more than they killed, but it was still a relatively low butcher’s bill considering they were attacking a fortified city. That didn’t mean he didn’t hate every one of their losses.

There was no way he could defeat Riese at hand to hand combat, he had his rifle and they moved toward the palace. Really, since the god of war had given Riese knowledge and experience on fighting, he didn’t think any of them realistically could come close to killing him in a contest of arms.

Riese did not make them come after him though, when they got close to the castle, Riese came out and dropped a challenge, “Flame, I challenge you to a duel to the death.”

Having no reason to do so, he was about to lift his rifle and end it, when he heard Ross, standing next to him answer the challenge.

*

Ross boomed, “You will fight me kingslayer!”

The hiss of steel calmed him as he pulled two blades.

Riese laughed and said, “Do you truly believe you can fight me Ross? You’re talent with weapons is useless fighting me.”

Ross chuckled. “Fool, did you think I was the best swordsman in Uleni by depending on my talent? I let it guide and teach me, not control me. I demand satisfaction, I challenge you over the murder of our king.”

Riese looked taken back and honestly curious when he asked, “Why? That fool had dangerous ideas, plans to change our most sacred laws.”

Ross said as he walked toward Riese, blades ready, “My sister was a sweet kid. Beautiful, and not an angry bone in her body. She was also a witch and I loved her dearly. So you see, the king not getting a chance to change those laws is exactly the reason I am going to kill you now.”

Ross attacked Riese with stunning speed and agility. His swords were nothing but a blur. But Riese was keeping up, every block, parry, and dodge perfectly done. They felt rage for each other but controlled it, both perfectly focused. They seemed perfectly matched in skills and as the fight drew on he wondered if he would tire first. Riese had both augmented strength and stamina that he could not boast.

Then Riese screamed in anger and started attacking recklessly. He wondered if he would have lost, had Riese not left his sanity behind long ago. Giving in to his anger was the beginning of Riese’s defeat. But whether it was the fool’s reckless anger, or just random chance that killed the fool, he would probably never know.

Riese slightly stumbled on a medium sized rock, throwing one arm wide to regain his balance.

It was more than enough of an opening for Ross to finish things. He drove a blade into Riese’s chest and while dodging around a desperate stab he brought his other blade whistling around severing Riese’s head in one powerful blow…

Chapter 13

They all made their way into the castle, Justin’s mind moved quickly and he looked at Anton, a glimmer of an idea formed in his mind. Going back to destroy the altar was important, but there was an opportunity here that shouldn’t be thrown away.

He waited until they were eating, the scared servants jumped to keep them happy which just reinforced the idea in his mind. He considered Ross and the three mages, and wondered if he would have any issues there, but he dove in and made the suggestion.

“Anton, I think you should keep the troops and talents we brought with us, and the two mages, and claim the kingdom of Egeria.”

At the shocked look on everyone’s face, he thought maybe he should have led up to it a little better. Still, it seemed obvious to him. He glanced meaningfully at Sara, who looked calm, so he hadn’t ruffled any feathers from the Uleni yet.

Anton coughed and said, “You think what?” Anton looked a little shocked at the idea.

He blew out a breath, then said carefully, “Well, let’s look at the state of things. Riese killed or converted all the mages here, as well as the nobility. The kingdom of Egeria needs direction and a strong hand. If we make it yours, Abelaweth gains a peaceful neighbor to the south that until now has been a threat. You are already royalty, so no one is going to argue with you too much since you have the only troops in the area as well as the strongest magic.

“On top of that, this place needs to move away from its brutal practices toward women, a view I know you share with me. What better way to do so, than to lead them from the top. It won’t be easy, but it will happen over time. Especially with your troops coming from Abelaweth, they won’t look the other way when a man rapes a woman or beats her like others from Egeria who grew up expecting it.

“None of it would be easy, I would understand if you refused, but really, if you do the people down here will remain downtrodden, and your enemy. Did you see how terrified the servants looked? Or the towns we passed through? The city? With a firm but gentle hand you could turn this place around, make them an ally. The common people certainly won’t complain, and there aren’t enough of the entitled left to squeak.”

Anton said dubiously, “I had always expected to rule Abelaweth when my father passed. What if we simply absorbed Egeria, made it ours?”

He frowned and shook his head. “There are a few issues with that. One, the people will resent it, they are Egerians. Instead of a new king they could trust, they would be conquered in essence and never truly feel a part of the kingdom.

“Second, it’s too much ground to properly rule from so far away, we are two weeks from the capitol in Abelaweth, things wouldn’t change as quickly, and your father couldn’t deal with them as effectively as you could close up. There are too many problems here to clean up at a distance.

“Lastly, and I think Ross might back me up on it, if Abelaweth swallows this kingdom, the new peace which is still fragile with Uleni might break. For those not here, the decision will seem to be self serving and your father seen as having plans to rule the whole continent. They would be suspicious of your father’s true intentions. Keeping it a separate kingdom will be hard enough for them to deal with.

“There is still time on the succession issue it would cause in Abelaweth. You should think about it, but not too long, you’ll need to move quickly on it if it’s going to work.”

Anton turned to Ross and asked, “How do you feel about this, and if I do what the Flame suggests do you think Uleni would object?”

Ross looked thoughtful for a second, then smiled, “Not if it was a joint effort, if you would appoint me as the head of your military?” Ross rubbed his chin thoughtfully then continued, “And perhaps one of these two mages on your council? I think Uleni would trust we wouldn’t attack them if you did those things. Just a suggestion… your majesty.”

Anton frowned, and they all ate in silence as the young man thought it over. It was a shit storm he had offered him, but also a chance to make a real difference. He liked the idea of Ross, the man had grown on him, and he certainly wasn’t against woman mages, or the abuse of woman.

Anton scowled at him when they finished lunch, but immediately started making plans.

“Very well, Ross, I need you to prepare twenty troops for each town with either a fast moving shape shifter or air talent in each. I am going to go over the laws, make changes, and give them to the groups tomorrow. If any of the village elders have a problem with the changes, they should send back a report. Either way, the soldiers should stay a month, make sure they have enough cash to pay their way, they should be examples of how we want the people to act, understood?”