‘Democracy is shit,’ Shella said. ‘Only marginally less shit than the alternatives. And, I’m still the high mage, and the commander of the new army, and of all the defences, so it’s not like I’ve sunk back into blissful obscurity.’
At the bottom of the hill was a new food silo, ringed by housing that was thickly occupied despite being only half-finished. There were a few tents left over from when all domestic building had ceased, and work on the defensive lines and fortified positions had begun.
Her brown-uniformed soldiers, volunteers in her new army, guarded the silo, each with a short bow, a flint-tipped pike and a shield. With the entire city focussed on war production, weapons had been constructed in their thousands, supplemented by every Rahain crossbow or sword they could get their hands on. There were now fifty thousand in uniform, five divisions, each assigned to a sector of the city, two on the more densely populated northern bank, and three engaged in the skirmishing on the mudflats making up their southern flank. Hundreds more men and women were joining up daily, and were rushed through a harsh five-day training programme devised by the Kellach Brigdomin. If they were lucky, they got the northern bank, if not, the mud.
They saluted her as she passed the silo, and she nodded back.
She had given away her power, but she knew she could take it back any time she needed to.
‘I’m pretty sure Leah fancies you,’ Shella said, her glass of rice-sprits held out in her right hand.
‘She doesn’t,’ Kylon muttered.
‘Well,’ Shella went on. ‘What about Kilynn? I mean, I know she never seems to leave her brother’s side… What’s all that about?’ She squinted at Kylon, but he ignored her. ‘Anyway, I’m sure she’d make a good lover for you.’
‘She wouldn’t.’
‘Look, I know you’re pining for your locked-up fire mage,’ Shella said, leaning over the side of her chair towards him. ‘But I worry about you, not getting any.’
‘What about you?’ he growled back at her. ‘I’ve not seen any evidence of you “getting any” either.’
Her face drooped.
‘You’re right,’ she said, taking a drink. ‘No man will come near me. Afraid of what I might do to them if I lose my temper.’
‘It’s a pity,’ he said. ‘You’re a fine-looking woman, you know, for one of the wee folk.’
‘If that’s an attempt at a come on,’ she said, laughing, ‘then I’m totally up for it. I promise I’ll try not to kill you.’
‘You have that in common with Keira,’ he said. ‘The ability to kill effortlessly. I often wondered what she might do if she lost it with me while a fire was burning close by.’
‘Talking about your girlfriend is a real turn-off,’ Shella said. ‘I’ve changed my mind, you’re too vulgar for me. And much too hairy.’
‘Then I guess we’ll both have to remain alone. Your loss,’ he muttered, turning his head away.
‘Ha!’ she shrieked. ‘Caught you smiling!’
He turned back to face her, the smile transforming his face. She saw how young he was, and how handsome, in his gigantic way.
‘You’re a strange woman, Shella,’ he said, shaking his head.
‘And you’re a mysterious man,’ she shot back. ‘I must have told you a hundred stories about my family, and life, while you’ve said almost nothing. And don’t say it’s part of your tradition or anything, because I’ve heard the others tell their own tales. You talk about your woman Keira often enough, but you never say anything about yourself.’
His smile vanished, and his dour expression returned. He shrugged, and turned from her.
She swore. Why did she have to do that? Could she not just have enjoyed the moment with him?
There was a knock at the door.
‘Yeah?’ she called out, sitting back into her chair, while Kylon brooded next to her.
The door opened, and Bowda entered.
‘Mage Commander,’ he said. ‘Apologies for interrupting at this late hour, but there is an urgent report from the hill-scouts, stating that several companies of Rahain soldiers have been seen on top of the northern range.’
She put down her glass and stood.
‘Numbers?’
‘The messages are confused,’ Bowda said. ‘A few thousand is my best guess.’
‘Have you summoned the staff?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Let’s go, then,’ she said, walking to the door. ‘Kylon, move your hairy ass.’
She walked to her command office, where the generals of the two northern divisions were already waiting, along with several other staff officers. She had transferred the retired police officers back to their old jobs, and had promoted rapidly through the ranks. Their inexperience was painful to behold, but Shella had thrown in anyone with a spark of potential to become the officers of her army.
‘Polli,’ she said. ‘Report.’
Her chief of staff stepped forward a pace.
‘Latest accounts from the northern hills say that the Rahain flew in four waves of troop-carriers, dropping them off over a three-mile stretch of the ridge.’
‘We must prepare the city defences, Commander,’ General Darra said, her brow creased, ‘for imminent attack.’
‘There can’t be more than a few thousand of them,’ Shella said. ‘They’re not going to attack. Polli, where they landed, does it overlook the city?’
‘It does, Commander,’ she replied. ‘They are positioned directly above the northern bank.’
‘Then they probably want to dig in, and fly their catapults up there,’ Shella said. ‘So they can hit us down here. Well, we’re not going to let them. General Darra, assemble your division, and have them ready to move out, to re-take the northern heights.’
‘Move out?’ she said. ‘All of them? At night?’
‘Would you prefer to wake up to the sound of ten-tonne boulders landing on the northern bank? Yes, all of them, and yes, at night. Spread them over a five-mile front, and march them up the fucking hill, General Darra. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Commander.’
‘General Barri,’ she said, walking towards her other northern officer. ‘You remain here, split between guarding the western and eastern fronts. All new recruits are assigned to you until further notice. Kylon, what do you think?’
‘If we hit them fast enough,’ he shrugged, ‘before they can get settled.’
‘Good enough for me,’ she said. ‘Go get Bedig, Leah and Baoryn.’
‘Are you joining the assault, High Mage?’ Bowda asked, as he watched Kylon leave the room.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘If speed and surprise are needed, I should be at the front.’
She turned to the officers and staff.
‘I’m departing as soon as Kylon’s crew get here,’ she said, her heart racing at the prospect. ‘We shall be first up the hill, with any hill-scouts we pick up along the way. General Darra, you will be close behind. Get them up that hill as fast as you can, then envelop the Rahain from both flanks. We must push them off the ridge, tonight.’
‘No quarter to be given,’ she whispered as they ran up the barren hillside in the pitch black of night. They hadn’t found any of the hill-scouts, who were probably wandering lost in the darkness, but the Kellach Brigdomin seemed to possess an uncanny ability to see at night, and they led her half-stumbling towards the Rahain positions.
They came up over a small ridge, and the torches of a Rahain camp shone before them. Shella heard Leah notch her longbow, as Kylon crouched and gestured for them to stop. Shella stared at the busy camp. There was a row of fires, and in the light at least four dozen soldiers were digging trenches along the top of the ridge.
‘How far away can you use your powers?’ Kylon whispered.
Shella closed her eyes and reached out with her mage skill, feeling for the fluids inside the Rahain bodies a hundred paces away.
‘About half this distance?’ she guessed.
He pulled the shield from over hi
s shoulder, and nodded for the others to do the same. ‘Leah, you’re with Shella,’ he said. ‘Cover her until she’s close enough. Baoryn, you’re on Bedig and me. We’ll circle round and distract them from the other side, you rush them from here once we’re engaged.’
‘Okay,’ she said.
‘Everyone,’ Kylon whispered. ‘Silence on the approach. Let’s get this done quietly, we don’t want to alert the whole hill. Ready?’
They all nodded.
Shella and Leah stayed crouched, while the others started running away to the left through the darkness.
‘Now we wait,’ Leah said.
‘No shit.’
‘You stay behind me when we run, okay?’ Leah went on. ‘Yell at me when you’re in range.’
A shout came from the far edge of the camp, and Shella saw Rahain soldiers stop and look about in confusion.
‘Now!’ Leah cried, and launched herself into a sprint, her shield held out in front.
Shella got up and ran as fast as she could, her feet almost tripping over the loose stones in the dark. Leah was racing ahead, Shella panting and stumbling behind.
‘Stop!’ Shella called, but not loudly enough, and Leah continued, unhearing.
‘Stop!’ she shrieked, this time so loudly that half the camp turned to look.
Leah halted, and knelt down onto the rocky ground, her shield propped up against her left shoulder, her head down. Shella kept running, as Rahain soldiers reached for their crossbows. Sweat was pouring into her eyes. She dived to the ground just behind Leah, as several crossbow bolts flew past. One struck Leah’s shield, punching its steel head an inch through the thick wood.
Shella crawled the last few yards, and took shelter behind Leah as more crossbow bolts whistled through the air.
‘What fucking took you?’ Leah scowled.
Shella picked some grass from her mouth, and wiped the dirt from her hands. She peered around the edge of the shield. At least twenty Rahain were in their half-dug trench. They had abandoned their shovels, and all held crossbows.
She reached out with her power, but not too quickly. The last time, in the palace, she had assumed that Rahain bodies were similar to those of the Rakanese, and she had been spectacularly wrong. This time she took a moment to feel out the pathways of the fluids flowing through the flesh of the soldiers.
‘They’re so fragile,’ she whispered.
‘Hurry the fuck up!’ Leah grunted.
Shella smiled. Their hearts, she thought. They’re weak.
She swept her hand in an arc, and Leah jumped back in alarm, as all twenty Rahain soldiers convulsed for a second, then collapsed.
‘Come on,’ Shella smiled, getting up. Now that she knew how easy it was to kill these Rahain, she was eager to do it again.
She walked through the camp. As Rahain troops fled in panic, she flicked her finger out.
Head, she pointed at one, who fell, his eyes bleeding.
Lungs, at another, who instantly drowned.
Leah caught up with her, and watched her back as she stalked the camp, killing any soldier that entered her line of sight.
She pointed at another, finger raised. She stopped. Baoryn.
The renegade Rahain’s face went white, and Shella laughed.
Kylon moved into the light, looking around at the scene of carnage. His gaze lingered on the corpse of a soldier that Shella had killed by forcing his guts out through his rectum.
‘Pretty fucked up, Shella.’
‘Oh dear,’ she said. ‘Does Kylon disapprove? Does Kylon only want me to kill Rahain while leaving their bodies unblemished?’
‘What Kylon wants,’ he growled, ‘is none of your fucking concern. Are you enjoying this?’
‘No!’ she cried. ‘I make jokes, but the truth is I hate it, I hate killing.’ She waved her arms at the scattered bodies. ‘All this was just so I could work out the easiest way to kill as many of them as possible. Their bodies are not like ours, and I was… experimenting. Luckily for those with a weak disposition, a simple heart attack seems to require the least effort.’
Kylon nodded, but his eyes were unconvinced.
Shella’s stomach churned. She felt nauseous, not from all the death, but from the realisation that Kylon was right. She had enjoyed killing the Rahain soldiers. Their lives had been nothing to her, and she had thrilled inside at thinking up new ways to destroy them.
Heart attacks only from now on, she thought. And no more jokes.
‘Let’s work our way along the ridge,’ Kylon said, and they set off.
Shella soon lost count of the Rahain slain by her hand. Kylon’s crew were in the thick of it too, fending off attacks, while swathes fell to the power of the dark mage. She felt like she had been up on the hill for hours when they heard the first sign of Darra’s division approaching.
Shella found the nearest officer.
‘Captain,’ she called.
‘Commander!’ the captain shouted, as her soldiers arrived behind her. ‘What are our orders?’
‘Advance to the nearest trenches,’ Shella cried, pointing. ‘Leave enough to secure them, then send messengers up and down the line, telling everyone else to do the same. We’re going to occupy the entire ridge. Companies coming up from behind, direct to the east, the Rahain have been cleared for a mile to the west of here.’
‘Cleared? How?’
‘She killed them all,’ Leah muttered.
‘There’s plenty left for everyone,’ Shella said.
The captain looked away.
‘Have you seen General Darra?’ Shella asked. ‘Where was she in relation to your company?’
‘About half a mile to the east, Commander.’
Shella nodded at Leah. ‘Let’s go find her.’
Shella and Darra pored over the map in silence, as the dawn light spread its way into the command tent. Shella was spent. She had used her powers for hours on end, and felt like she had aged a year in a night. In the end, she had had to retire to their makeshift command post, and let her soldiers take over the struggle in the more traditional manner. Traditional for the Rahain, she thought. For the Rakanese, this was the first pitched battle in their known history. It had been a painful birth into the world of war. Well organised Rahain crossbow detachments, dug into their hillside redoubts, had held out against much higher numbers of Rakanese, slaughtering them as they had charged up the steep slopes.
A messenger appeared at the entrance.
‘Commander, General Darra,’ he nodded. ‘Major Grego reports that all Rahain resistance has now ended. He reports that he has taken four hundred and ten prisoners, and sustained losses to his own battalion of two hundred and ninety-three.’
Shella nodded at the young man. ‘Thank you, soldier.’
He smiled. ‘We won, Commander.’
‘Yeah.’
As he left, Darra removed the last red token from the map, replacing it with a black one.
‘That makes it about three thousand casualties altogether, Commander.’
‘It had to be done, General,’ Shella said. ‘We couldn’t allow them to take the heights. And now we hold them.’
‘But such losses,’ she replied. ‘Three out of every ten.’
‘Think of the slaughter,’ Shella said, ‘had the Rahain managed to get a hundred catapults up here, each firing day and night into the heart of the city. Imagine it, every citizen down below living in terror, their houses pulverised into rubble. It was a high price I know, and the loss of every soldier is painful, but they did their duty and protected the city. They are heroes. You, General Darra, are a hero. You commanded the Rakanese army to its very first victory in its very first battle, and saved the city.’
Darra nodded, but her eyes were empty.
‘I’m heading down the hill,’ Shella said. ‘You’re in command up here. Finish the work the Rahain started, and get the trenches linked up. I’ll make sure you’re supplied by this evening.’
‘Do you think the Rahain will be back?
’
‘I’m sure they will,’ Shella said. ‘They’ll no doubt send their flying snakes over in the morning to take a look. Then they’ll have to decide if they think it’s worth another assault. If you can ensure the division is securely dug in along the whole ridge, then that might be enough to dissuade them.’
Shella kicked the chair next to her, and Kylon grunted from where he sprawled.
‘Battle’s over,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’
‘You look tired, Commander,’ Polli said, as she gave her a glass of water.
‘It was a tough night.’
‘A fine victory, though,’ Bowda said, a rare smile on his face. ‘The entire city stayed awake last night, watching the army march up the hill, and then waiting for news. We beat them! We beat the Rahain!’
‘Try not to sound so surprised.’
‘I am surprised,’ he said, chuckling. ‘An inexperienced, barely trained division, climbing a hill in darkness to fight the world’s most powerful army? The shock the Rahain generals must be feeling round about now, when they hear the news. Two thousand Rahain troops killed or captured, while the same number retreated ignominiously! Ha!’
‘Yeah, well hopefully it’ll teach them to stay behind their lines from now on,’ Shella replied, Bowda’s gloating setting her nerves on edge.
Shella looked around. ‘Where’s Rijon? I wanted to ask him if he could contact the Holdings for me. I think they would be very interested to hear about last night’s events.’
‘Ahhh,’ Bowda sighed, looking away.
‘What do you mean “ahhh”?’ Shella snapped. ‘Where is he?’
‘He’s gone, Commander,’ Polli said.
‘Gone?’
She sat, a wave of exhaustion overcoming her.
‘Yes, Commander,’ Polli said. ‘We sent someone to his office last night, but he wasn’t there, and all of his things were missing. I went to his apartment myself, but…’
‘Shit.’
‘Don’t worry, Commander,’ Bowda said. ‘We don’t need him. The Holdings were never likely to come to our rescue, and we can now see the enemy with our own eyes. Rijon was useful, but he was never one of us.’
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