***
Dark had fallen before the Chesians sent a messenger to deliver their terms to the garrison at Fort Demitas. Kasimir's forces had been replaced by Niklos' better rested troops but he had remained at the ramparts, waiting for the ultimatum that everyone knew would be coming.
The terms were more generous than Kasimir would have expected: everyone would be allowed to return to their homes once the government at Cestimir surrendered to the Chesian army. The officers were offered commissions in the Chesian Army and the upper officers were offered lands in the wealthier Chesian districts.
"Trying to fucking bribe us," Niklos said as he threw the offer into the fire. "Do they think that they can pay for the years of service and loyalty with gold and lands?"
"Apparently they do," Kasimir said with a shrug.
"Of course they think they can; otherwise they wouldn't have sent the offer," Niklos said harshly. "We should send our response back with a headless messenger."
"Sir, the rules of warfare are rather clear on the treatment of messengers," Kasimir pointed out.
While there were no international treaties governing the rules of war, there was a set of unofficial rules that everyone knew and adhered to. Messengers were considered untouchable; sent at the behest of their commanders, they could not be held responsible for being sent, nor for the contents of the messages that they carried. Only couriers came close the protections that messengers were afforded.
"I'm aware of the rules of warfare, much better than you are," Niklos pointed out. "Have a letter drafted in response. Inform their commander that we refuse their offer and will entertain no further messengers."
"Yes, sir." Kasimir nodded and stepped out into the chilly night.
The moons of Zaria cast a sharp light over the fortress' yard. Sentries paced along the top of the walls and small groups of soldiers huddled around fires. Karel Shor leaned against the wall of a nearby building and hurried over when he saw Kasimir emerge from the lounge.
"Draft a letter for the Chesian messenger to take back to his commanders," Kasimir ordered. "Inform the honored commander that we will not be accepting their offer of surrender and that we will entertain no further messengers. Have it sealed and give it back to their rider."
"Yes, sir," Karel said and hurried to his office.
"So what of it?" Jarak asked as he emerged from a shadow.
"You should be sleeping, Junior Commander," Kasimir said as he looked to see if anyone was near.
"As should you, Commander," Jarak countered. "Out with it."
Jarak and Kasimir had served together for five years across multiple deployments. They had grown to be friends during their first deployment together and had kept in touch, even when they were assigned to different areas of Malkala. If anyone knew Kasimir's mind, it was Jarak.
"They offered us all the chance to go back to our homes," Kasimir reported. "After the war is resolved, of course. The officers were offered commissions in the Chesian Army and Niklos and I were offered lands in one of their wealthiest districts."
"And how did the old man take it?"
"Exactly as I expected him to," Kasimir said. "Threatened to behead the messenger and send him back with our answer."
"Ruler save us," Jarak whispered.
"I have a feeling that this is going to be a fight to the death. All of our deaths," Kasimir said somberly.
"Nothing to be done about it."
"They won't attack until dawn," Kasimir said. The moons were directly overhead; it was midnight. "If we hit the racks now, we should get about six hours of sleep."
***
Kasimir woke to a commotion outside of his quarters. He heard shouting, the clang of steel on steel, and then the crack of a shattering chair or table. He pulled his revolvers out of their holsters as he stood and took a step toward the door.
The garrison commander of Demitas had a split second to realize what was happening as bodies crashed through his door in a shower of splinters. The sight of gold and red was all he needed to know and he brought his revolvers up with lightning speed.
The first Chesian soldier had less than a heartbeat to realize that they hadn't taken their target asleep. The man was enormous, for a Chesian, with broad shoulders and thick arms. The boom of the pistol deafened everyone in the small room and the lead bullet slammed through his forehead. The men behind the charging bull blinked at the spray of blood and brains, but had barely more time than their ill-fated comrade before the revolvers thundered again and they fell beside their leader.
Five Chesians fell before the others were able to push their way back into the common room and out of Kasimir's line of sight. In the room beyond, Kasimir could see Chesian and Malkalan bodies piled together in the center of the common room.
"Surrender!" a voice shouted, thick with a Chesian accent. Kasimir answered with a pair of pistol shots through the open doorway. "Your fortress is taken. You have no choice but to surrender."
"Why don't you come in and tell me that to my face?" Kasimir shouted defiantly. He kept one eye on the doorway as he slid new cartridges in his revolvers' chambers.
"Kasimir, you are surrounded!"
"General Hollatz?" Kasimir's eyes were wide and he dropped a cartridge.
"Throw your revolvers out the door and we'll talk about it!" the general ordered. "There's been enough bloodshed already, there doesn't need to be any more."
They must have taken him prisoner, Kasimir thought.
It was the only way that the general would order him to surrender his weapons to an enemy in the middle of his fortress. Even a man as respected and brave as him would do as told when there was a pistol shoved in his face.
Kasimir wondered how the Chesians had been able to breach the fortress walls without anyone sounding an alarm. The sentries would have been able to see any force crossing the open fields, especially under the double full moons. He tried to remember who had had left on sentry when he realized that all of his troops had been sent to the racks just after dark. The well-rested troops from Aldris had taken over watch and had been put on sentry duty.
The two regiments had escaped a cavalry force more than ten times its own size, but how? Chesian heavy cavalry was the most ruthless and feared cavalry in the western nations and would not have given up easily. The regiments had escaped completely intact.
"How much did they pay you to sell out your nation?" Kasimir demanded.
"It wasn't like that, Kasimir," Niklos said, his voice suddenly less harsh. "They had Aldris under siege, with more soldiers than I've ever seen in one place. One volley from their artillery would have crushed the fortress walls and it would have just been a matter of cleaning up the bodies at that point. They offered me a way out of all of that bloodshed. A way to keep my soldiers alive."
"Yet you completely refused them when it came time for me to have the same offer?" The general didn't answer. "Cat got your tongue, old man?"
"Why don't you just throw the fucking pistols down and surrender. I can still get you a commission with the Chesians. It's not too late for you."
"What about for all of the soldiers that you killed tonight? What about all of the soldiers that are going to be killed because you handed our enemies two of the main fortresses that stood in their path?"
The fortresses beyond Demitas would not be ready for an assault so early. They would have expected Demitas to hold the attackers at bay for days, and the garrisons would still be on the road to their strongholds. If the Chesians were to make their move before those soldiers made it to the safety of the inner fortresses, it would be a massacre.
"It had to be done, Kasimir. They sent a merchant to talk to me last year. They told me that they would kill every man in my garrison if I didn't go along with them," Niklos said. "They offered me a way out and I took it."
"And what happened to the rest of the garrison at Aldris? What happened to those who stood against you?"
"There were losses at Aldris, far gr
eater than there were here. I tried to convince the commanders to surrender the garrison and play their part. Commander Garis tried to raise the alarm; I had to shoot him in the back."
Kasimir grimaced. Florian Garis had been in the same class as he had in the Malkalan Officers’ Academy. They had studied tactics and artillery together.
"This is your last warning, Kasimir," Niklos said as he leaned into the doorway. He pulled back when Kasimir brought his pistol up. "I don't want to have to sacrifice any more of these men to get you out of there. They have families too, Kasimir, remember that."
"What assurance do I have that they will honor what you promise me?" Kasimir asked as he stood. He crouched and pulled back the hammers on his revolvers.
"They will honor my promises," Niklos said.
"You're going to have to do better than that." Kasimir pressed his heels against the wall of chamber opposite of the door. He wasn't the fastest soldier in the Malkalan army, but he was deadly accurate with his revolvers and he would have the element of surprise.
"His promises will be honored," a Chesian voice said. "I am a captain. My word will stand before our generals."
"You'll forgive me if I don't trust either of you," Kasimir said. He breathed deeply to steady himself. He would not survive this, he knew, but at least he would do a part of his duty before he was killed.
"What do you want then?" Niklos asked, and Kasimir smiled a wry smile.
"I want you dead," he said as he pushed off from the wall.
Several feet separated the wall from
The Red Dragon's Gold Page 4
