“Here they come!” shouted a voice, and every man turned to look west. A triple line of infantry fanned out across the four hundred yards of the flat plain alongside the road. More men appeared on the smaller buttes on both sides. Yozef could see cannon being pulled forward and crews detaching them from limbers and wheeling them to face the islanders. The infantry line moved fifty yards, then stopped and knelt. Behind them came a score or more of cavalry and then a group of men, one of whom carried a large red flag and other men held banners.
Denes, Luwis, and Yozef all used telescopes to scrutinize the Narthani.
“They’re not coming on,” said Luwis. “Yet anyway.”
“I recognize one of the banners,” Denes said. “We saw it several times since sunrise. What’s the other one? That’s a new one.”
Luwis turned and spoke to a man standing behind him. The man ran off.
“Denes, one of the slaves you brought back wouldn’t leave. He seems to be something of a leader and insisted he stay, in case he could do anything to help kill Narthani. Half a dozen men joined him, and I have them carrying water to our people. I’ve sent for him. Maybe he recognizes the banners.”
“What are they doing, just sitting there?” Denes said, more to himself than asking for answers, then his voice changed. “Are you sure there’s no way to get around behind us?”
“Not quickly,” said Luwis. “Their infantry could eventually work their way to our rear, but it would take a good part of a day. We don’t plan to be here any longer than necessary. I think we’re all secure now. Even if they follow us as we pull out, there’s no way to get ahead of us.”
“Here we go,” said Luwis, as the man he’d sent off returned with a scrawny middle-aged man with fire in his eyes.
“Lonwyn, we’re seeing Narthani banners. I think one is for whoever is leading the pursuit. A second one showed up that I haven’t seen before. Would you recognize them?” Luwis handed over his telescope.
“I worked on the docks for a year, before they sent me outside Ponth to be a farm slave. I probably saw most of the banners of the top Narthani.” Lonwyn put the eyepiece to his right eye and closed the left eye. “The big red flag tells you they’re Narthani. Blood red with two crossed swords. One of them is supposed to be the traditional weapon where they came from, the other one what they currently use. Then there are personal banners for the most senior officers. Yeah. The one on the right is for Colonel Ketin. I think his first name is Erkin. He’s the commander of the Narthani soldiers in Preddi Province and some kind of engineer. I’ve heard from slaves coming from Preddi City the last few months that there’s been a frenzy of construction going on. Trenches and fortifications.
“Uh . . . I can’t make out the other banner. The wind’s got it coiled around the staff. Wait . . . the man holding it is untangling it. There. It’s waving. I . . . well, what do you know? It’s Zulfa’s banner.”
“Zulfa?” queried Denes.
“Brigadier Aivacs Zulfa. He’s the top army commander. General Akuyun is also army, but he’s in overall charge of all Narthani, military, and civilians. Zulfa is the officer who directly commands the army on Caedellium.”
“That’s odd,” said Yozef. “I can see this Ketin being on the scene, if he were dispatched from Preddi to deal with us, but his commander showing up only later? Unless . . . oh, hell! I’ll bet he showed up by ship and brought a shitload more soldiers with him.”
“Could they have put that much together so fast?” asked Luwis. “They could only have gotten word of what we were doing a couple of days ago. In that time, they gathered men, got them on ships, and tried to block our way back?”
“Possibly,” said Yozef. “Remember, this is a professional army. However, there’s another possibility. If this Zulfa led the Swavebroke attack, it could be they were returning or had already returned to Preddi City and got diverted toward us.”
Denes spat to one side. “That doesn’t make me feel too good. That would mean we’d missed being trapped between two forces by maybe an hour. Perhaps minutes.”
“Whatever happened, we’re safe now from direct attacks. They can’t get around us anymore before we reach Dornfeld,” said Yozef. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the general pursuit is over, and they just tail us to be sure we leave Eywell territory.”
Ketin and Zulfa
“Look at the bastards, Erkin. That bunch under the green flag. Standing there looking at us through their telescopes.”
“As you are doing to them, Aivacs,” said the older man. “If I was them, I’d be taking a break after being pushed so hard these last fifty, sixty miles. And why not rest? They must know they’ve gotten away from us. There’s no way we can force the position they’re in, not with no room to maneuver and how it looks like they’re dug in. We have to accept they’re going to get away with the raid.”
Zulfa glared at Ketin, who returned his look calmly.
“Oh, all right, Erkin. I know you’re right. I’m just irked that we missed them. Kalcan’s not going to be pleased either. He offered, and I accepted, that he beach the transport ship carrying our cannon. He had his men cut a hole in the side to get the cannon out. They should be halfway here, with men on foot pulling them with ropes and manually turning the spokes. First, it was through a couple hundred yards of sand, then over this damned rocky ground. Now I have to tell the men it was all for nothing.”
“And tell them to turn around and take the cannon back to shore to . . . what? Put them on another ship?”
“No. Kalcan says they’ll have the hole repaired and tow the transport off the beach at high tide. You’ll take the cannon by road back to Preddi City.”
“Which I suppose I should start my staff organizing. All right, we’ll take your cannon. There’s no rush now. I’ll have two cavalry companies shadow the islanders and be sure they leave Eywell territory, unless you think there’s still a chance to make them stand and fight where we can maneuver?”
“No. No chance that I see. Your two companies are more than enough to keep eyes on them. Let’s head back to Preddi.”
CHAPTER 39: NO TRUCE
Kolsko Estate, Caernford
After the last sixday, the trip back to Keelan seemed leisurely once the clansmen confirmed the Narthani had quit the pursuit. Scouts reported that the main Narthani force had headed back to Preddi, leaving a few cavalry to follow the islanders’ withdrawal. The scouts also reported that five miles back west, a Narthani naval squadron reboarded a thousand or more troops amid a flurry of activity, as two frigates prepared to pull a beached transport back to sea.
Traveling the hundred miles back to Caernford took six days. Two days to reach Dornfeld on the Keelan/Gwillamer border, taking it easy on the horses and encamping in a defensible position just within Eywell territory, a day to rest at Dornfeld, then three days at a moderate pace back to Caernford.
Yozef rode most of the way on Mr. Ed. The moderate pace let him take his mind off events by concentrating in his horsemanship. Mr. Ed was younger than Seabiscuit but had a similar sedate manner. By the fourth day, Yozef forgot to concentrate on staying on his horse, as it became more natural.
He felt a strange unease develop, as he got nearer Caernford. By “home,” he still thought of their house in Abersford. The new house in Caernford was now scarred by associations with the night of the attack. He thought of the hole in Aeneas’s nightshirt, a few inches’ difference and . . . he tried to shut out the memory. Anid was dead. Norlin and Mirramel, dead. Ceinwyn with the horrible wound to her face. Culich, losing the lower part of a leg. Yozef thought of the men he had killed, windows broken, doors smashed, holes in walls, attackers’ bodies, blood everywhere. His own bloodlust. Could he ever get those images out of his mind?
And himself? For the first time, he had killed other humans. He knew he should agonize over what he had done, no matter whether the men deserved their deaths. He should hope he never had to kill again. He should feel guilt. He should . . .
Instead,
he only wished he could kill them again.
They arrived in Caernford in late afternoon. A gray overcast sky and an intermittent drizzle too closely matched Yozef’s mood. He only half paid attention, as words were spoken and men peeled off the column. He later remembered saying something to Denes about the next day, then rode alone the few miles to the house. Yozef hesitated as he passed Keelan Manor, seeing horses tied to the front rail and a one-horse carriage under a tree. He should see how Culich was doing. Were Maera and Aeneas staying with her family? Despite images he couldn’t avoid, he needed to see their house.
He came to the turnoff to their drive, and his throat tightened. His heart seemed to beat faster and harder, and his hands felt cold.
The house stood empty, with no horses or carriages in front. No sounds came from within, as he climbed the stairs onto the veranda. A gap took the place of the front door, although someone had repaired the part of the jamb damaged when the shotgun blast took out the lock. He walked into the foyer. Bodies, splintered wood, and bloodstains were all gone. Sections of the flooring had been replaced.
Probably where bloodstains couldn’t be completely removed.
He wandered through the rest of the house. It was the same everywhere—repairs in progress. He’d missed the workers, who had already left work for the day. Despite what happened, Maera started cleaning up and getting repairs done almost immediately. I suppose it was a way to take her mind off what happened.
The thought of Maera’s sister brought regret that he hadn’t been here for Maera. The regret mingled with sadness at Anid’s death, renewed cold anger at the Narthani, an emerging sense of urgency to do something permanent to cleanse Caedellium of the invaders, and a sudden yearning to see and hold his wife.
He walked Mr. Ed back to Keelan Manor, conflicted by the need for Maera and reluctance to once again be “Yozef Kolsko.” Someone must have seen him pass by the first time, for when he came to the manor drive, Maera was sitting on the veranda, holding Aeneas. His pace quickened enough for Mr. Ed to shy to one side, not knowing whether Yozef wanted him to move into a trot.
Maera descended the stairs. He dropped the reins, and they embraced, his arms around her, one of her arms around him, the other arm holding Aeneas between them.
They wandered away from the house and sat on a bench within a grove of trees. Maera told him about Anid’s funeral, how hard it had been, how Culich broke down and wept from the bed he’d been carried on into St. Tomo’s Cathedral for the service, how Ceinwyn cried, mewing through the bandage on her face, how the cathedral had been packed and overflowed outside, how no one had anticipated the way Anid had so much been another symbol of the Keelan family, and how the firestorm of anger against the Narthani burned fiercely throughout the clan.
When Yozef asked Maera how she was doing, she cried in his arms, sobbing so hard he wondered if this was the first time she had let herself go totally into her grief. She subsided when Aeneas made his desire to feed known by nuzzling a breast through her dress. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, slid a shoulder free of the dress, and guided Aeneas to her nipple. He latched on quickly.
“Life goes on, Yozef. Anid is gone, yes. Aeneas is still here. I sometimes envy the little dear for not knowing what happens around him. Even during the attack, I can only remember him looking around as if wondering what all the commotion was about.”
Maera glanced down at Aeneas, then back to her husband, her face sad more than grief-stricken. “Yozef, when we have a daughter, could we name her Anid?”
“Of course. It’s a beautiful name, and I’m sure her namesake would have been pleased.”
The first stars shone when they walked back to the manor. For the first time, Yozef noticed guards whom his distracted mind had ignored when he’d first passed. Two guards stood at the entrance to the drive and three at the front of the manor.
“There are four more in the back, and you’ll notice weapons left more in the open within the manor than before. It’s a different life now than we had before, and I know I’ll come to hate it. For now it’s comforting, or as much as anything can bring comfort.”
Mared met them at the door and jumped to hug Yozef in a fierce, quiet embrace.
“The meal is waiting,” Mared said. “We didn’t want to disturb you.”
The manor dining room held a surprise. Instead of only the Keelan family, as Yozef had assumed it would be, with family members spread out at the large table, the table was crowded. The first person he noticed was Carnigan, naturally since he was the largest object at the table. Yozef quickly surveyed the others seated. Only Serys, their cook, was missing. Otherwise present was everyone who had been at their house the night of the attack. All of those still living. Culich and Breda, Mared and Ceinwyn, Balwis, Wyfor and Teena Kales, Anarynd holding Dwyna, dead Mirramel’s daughter, Gwyned, holding Morwena.
Yozef felt relieved to see that Balwis and Wyfor had survived his rash idea to send them after Erdelin. Assuming they had turned back, he knew he would hear details later.
“Serys is visiting family,” said Maera, as if reading his mind. “So many people wanted to hear what happened on the raid, we decided to have everyone from that night here for evening meal. Father and Balwis wanted to talk with you after we eat. It’s also a little strange, but we all seem drawn to one another more than before. Maybe it was the shared experience . . . horror of that evening. I don’t know.”
Yozef sat with Maera on his right, Culich on his left. He glimpsed the hetman’s bandaged stump. Culich appeared pale and winced every time he shifted his body.
The first question, from Carnigan, was about the raid, but Culich deferred such questions until they finished the main meal. While he ate, Yozef stole glances at the other diners: Wyfor, with his bandaged hand, Ceinwyn sipping broth with a crude straw, so she didn’t have to work her jaw; the three babies; Breda with deeper lines and, Yozef could have sworn, a few more gray hairs; Carnigan, eyeing him back. For the next hour, their inconsequential conversation soothed, until it died out toward the end of the meal, there being only so many times the recent and future weather could divert their attention.
Finally, Culich said, “All right, Yozef. Give us all a summary of how the raid went.”
And so Yozef did, eliciting grunts of satisfaction when he recounted how Denes’s men had burned their way across southern Eywell Province and over the border around the Preddi city of Ponth. Then, concern followed by relief about news of the withdrawal and Denes’s close call of with the Narthani. A sharp look and a sigh of frustration came from Maera, as Yozef described the only part of the raid he had taken an active part in, moving a company and a battery of 12-pounders forward to provide Denes with a support position should the Narthani press him too hard. He assumed he’d hear more about this later from Maera and Culich.
People asked questions as he talked, and as he went over the return trip, Breda and Mared helped Ceinwyn return to her bedroom. Anarynd and Gwyned took the three children elsewhere in the manor.
Culich pulled Breda’s chair closer and rested his three-quarter leg on a cushion that had lain by his chair. “Balwis, there’s a bottle of Yozef’s amaretto over there on the counter. Please bring it here, along with some glasses. I’m not normally for stronger alcohol, but somehow it seems appropriate.”
Balwis complied, and when they all held small glasses filled with the amber liquid, Culich raised his glass. “To those missing.”
They all drank.
“Death to the Narthani,” Balwis said in a grating tone.
All glasses emptied, then were slammed to the tabletop. Maera rose and filled every glass again, then sat. She looked at Yozef, something in her eyes. A connection sparked between them.
Yozef raised his now refilled glass. “Despite all that’s happened, we can’t forget the good.” He raised his glass even higher. “TO LIFE!” he pronounced.
After a second of silence, everyone present uttered the same pronouncement, and a subtle shift occurred in
the mood of the table.
Yozef set his glass down. “I’ve told you about Denes’s raid. What about the one in the north, and what about Erdelin?” As he said the last words, he glanced at Maera. He hadn’t been here for her reaction when she learned he had roped Anarynd into recounting all she remembered of Hanslow and Erdelin’s residence. Maera looked back serenely.
“The raid in the north didn’t go as well,” said Culich, “although I think it succeeded in the objectives. Certainly, the raids in both the north and the south make the Narthani know Eywell is vulnerable, and losing Erdelin has to have shaken their confidence.”
Yozef jolted up and looked at Balwis. “You got him!?”
Balwis nodded. “I’d just as soon not try the same thing again, but yes, we got him. Me, Wyfor, and the other three men, only one of whom we lost. Wyfor had the honor, and I doubt we would have succeeded if he hadn’t been along.”
Kales waved off the compliment. “We might not have succeeded if any of us hadn’t been there.”
Carnigan snorted. “The two of them have been in a love-fest ever since they got back. If Wyfor wasn’t already married and Balwis wasn’t so disagreeable, I’d wonder when the wedding announcement would come.”
The ensuing laughter washed over the table as a stream of water rinses away dust, perhaps not cleaning a surface, but at least revealing what had been hidden.
“The northern raid, Culich? You said it didn’t go as well.”
“We’ll need more details from Hetman Stent, but on the second day, the Narthani sallied out from Hanslow. Stent had divided his force to cover more ground and raze more villages surrounding the city. The Narthani surprised three companies north of Hanslow. The companies weren’t of mixed clansmen, as with Denes’s regiment. These were Stent, Moreland, and Orosz companies. Welman reports they were working their way free of the Narthani when the Moreland company abandoned their position in the withdrawal. Both the Stent and Orosz companies found themselves isolated, and both lost half their men before escaping.
Heavier Than a Mountain (Destiny's Crucible Book 3) Page 54
