by Auryn Hadley
Sal nodded and opened her mind to her pack, sending the information to them.
"It looks like they plan to come down the foothills, and they're headed for Dorton. They came across Gallicor. At least six thousand men, sir. There's a forward unit moving fast, probably between five hundred and a thousand, mounted."
"Maast, how soon until they are here?"
"Two, maybe three days. They can't be that far behind me, sir. I ran the first horse into the ground. The second just got me here." He was visibly shaken. "They killed everyone, sir. Citizens, military, everyone." His eyes begged her to understand.
Sal spotted a stable hand, and yelled, "You!" A girl turned and looked, her eyes wide in fear. "Do you work here?" Sal snapped.
"Yes, ma'am."
Sal ignored it this time. "Run to the library and tell that old man, I forget his name, to get me all the current maps of northern Anglia. I want them on the desk in my office in an hour."
"Me, Kaisae?" she asked, stunned.
"Yeah, you. If he doesn't like hearing from a woman, he needs to get over it pretty damned quick, because I'll be the one in his face next. Now run girl, I don't have all night."
"Yes, Kaisae!" she replied, and took off as fast as her legs would go.
Sal turned back to the soldier before her. "I can give you an hour, but that's all. Go to the barracks, tell them to get you a clean uniform, and I recommend a hot bath. Have one of them show you to my office when you're done. I'll need you to tell all of this to the King and Council, so save the drinking until you get there. I'll make sure you're fed, either in the barracks or in my office, so don't worry about that."
His head bobbed quickly. "Thank you, sir," he said, pulling himself away from the wall.
Sal didn't wait to see which way he went, but turned and headed back for the ballroom, reaching for Jase. You get all that?
Yeh. Maast! We need ta organize tomorrow and head out. I'm with Ilija, want me ta fill him in?
Yeah. Hwa? Sal asked, reaching for the grauori and feeling both click into her head. If you can, get Dom away from the nobles long enough for the Colonel to speak to him without causing a scene. Roo? How are you feeling little one?
I'm fine, Sal, why?
Because we're going to war, my sister. Tomorrow. You know better than the rest of us, can you take it?
Roo thought before she answered. Yes, Kaisae, I think I can.
Ok, because your pups mean more to me than your teeth. If you can't, just speak up. I mean it, Roo.
I will, Kaisae. I promise.
Chapter 26
When Sal slipped back into the throne room, the ambiance was startling with the knowledge she carried in her head. Visions of war danced in her mind's eye as people sipped at their wine, twirled, and laughed. Sal knew the Terran Empire was coming ever closer, but she hadn't known they were on their doorstep yet. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Ilija's hulking form. Spotting it, she made her way toward him. He stood with Jase, in a corner away from people, their heads close and their words were soft. At the sound of Sal's feet, they both looked up quickly.
"It's true?" Ilija asked.
"Seems to be," Sal said. "Jase, I'll want you to check."
"Yeh, I fig'red."
"Look," Ilija said, "I don't know what you all do, but I know there's something. I don't give a shit either, ok? Tell me when we have time or don't, but we need to know if this threat is real."
"Jase, he's in the barracks, go grab him and see?"
"I'll let ya know as soon as I get my hands on him, kitten." He kissed her and slipped silently into the crowd.
"We'll know for sure in minutes. Let's assume for now that it's real. He looked pretty shaken," she told Ilija.
"As many as a thousand, only a few days away? Yeah, we can leave the main force to organize, grab the Shields and a few of the units that passed your tests. Can you get a thousand from just that?"
"No, damn it. Maybe three hundred at best."
"Ok. So Jase said mounted? Then we'll need the cav, pikes, and archers," Ilija said thinking out loud.
"I can grab about five hundred if I take everyone that was even half way decent. We had about twenty units pass at last count and another ten that could live through this. That puts us halfway there. What do you know about the mounted units? We didn't get to test many of them."
"I can think of at least another two hundred then that I'd trust to follow orders and be able to pull it off."
"Ok." She closed her eyes, running through the possibilities. "Then get with Ricown, and find out which units of archers are the best. Any that have melee or cross training I'll consider. Any he recommends, put them on the rolls. Get me a list, Ilija."
The Colonel nodded and turned to leave when Jase brushed her mind.
"Wait," Sal said, and Ilija turned back.
He's the real deal, Sal. Saw the massacre himself. He's shaken, and he does na want ya ta know he was with a farmer's daughter in her loft when it all happened, Jase sent.
Ok, that's all I needed. Thanks, lover, now let's get this shit in gear, Sal thought to him before turning back to the large man before her. "It's real, Ilija. The soldier saw it with his own eyes."
"Do you know that, or did he say that?" he asked.
"We know it. Jase read him, there's no way he could lie."
"Fuck. Ok, I'll get Rico and you tell the King."
Sal nodded, and they both moved away in different directions.
Hwa? Can you get Dom alone? she asked.
Yeh. I just need a second. Meet by Roo?
Headed there now. Thanks.
She put on a smile as she slipped between the nobles and shook her head at a few who asked her to dance. As she neared the throne, she angled toward the wall, making her way to the door of the King's private office where Roo waited patiently. Not far away, the King smiled at a young woman, but Hwa pushed his head against his hand. Dom looked down at the grauori. When Hwa turned to face Sal, Dom followed his gaze. His eyes landed on Sal, and she tilted her head at the door, opened it, and stepped inside.
He's coming, Hwa told her.
Sal walked behind the desk and poured herself and the King a drink. Whiskey for him, mead for her. When Dom slipped inside, she handed it to him.
"You want to sit down for this, Your Majesty," she said, gesturing to a chair.
"Bad?"
"Yeah." She waited for him to sit behind his desk then took the chair across from him. "Dom, Terric's in Anglia. They crossed Gallicor and took out a northern outpost a few days ago. A rider just arrived. He said the entire northern border is breached. They're following the foothills south, and headed here."
Dominik lifted his glass and took a long drink before saying anything. "Yeah, that counts as bad. Damn it. Ok, what do I need to do now?"
"Their advanced force is between five hundred and a thousand men. They'll be here in less than three days. We need to meet them before they reach Dorton. Ilija's getting me a full list of units, we have about seven hundred off the tops of our heads, so we'll be fine there."
"Ok. Sal, I don't know much about war. I'm a bastard's son. I wasn't supposed to get anywhere near the throne! I need you to walk me through this," he begged.
"I will, Dom. In an hour, I need your council in my office. Maps are being brought now, and I'll have the soldier there to be questioned. What you need to do is tell the people. I'm sorry, sire, but you have to tell them tonight. Make them hopeful. Don't allow them to be scared. If you can convince them to be angry, that's even better. Anglia has the largest army on the continent, keep that in mind. The Conglomerate is hitting Terric hard from the south, and Myrosica will help us push them back to Gallicor. If you allow it, I'll send to the Blades tonight and make sure the Conglomerate is notified, but they can't do much with the knowledge besides try to punch through."
"Do it, Sal. Shit, do whatever you need to."
"Ok. Then I'll have the units remaining here begin military recruitment. I'll be accepting men
and women, are you ok with that?"
"Yeah," Dom said nodding. "You're a good example of what female soldiers can do. I think that won't be a problem at all."
"And first thing in the morning, we'll need to start the troops moving. With your permission, I'd like to tell the soldiers tonight." Sal took a long drink of her mead. "You won't understand, but we have a tradition. The night before we go to die, we drink or we remember, but it's something we need to do. The men need this, or they won't fight as well. Will you let me tell them and list the units who are going?"
He nodded. "I'll do you one better. I'll buy the drinks for them. Before you go to the barracks, send a page to the cellars and have them keep the drinks flowing until, say, midnight?"
Sal smiled. "Thank you. That'll mean a lot. Shit, hang on," Sal said, reaching for Jase.
Killer, have a page run through the Palace and get all the soldiers to meet me in the main barracks in thirty minutes?
Good idea. I just passed a kid, he replied.
"Sorry, I'm gathering the soldiers now," she told the King.
"Yeah, that's a useful trick. Ok, Sal, I'm hereby giving you approval for everything you need to do. Don't ask, just do it. I'll get something written up for it, but it's yours already. Tell me step by step what exactly I need to do now."
"First, go out there, and tell the people. Make a big and pretty speech – you're good at those. When you're done, answer the questions you can. For anything you can't, just tell them you have a council meeting and you'll know after that. I'm leaving the grauori with you, but I'm taking the rest of the soldiers. The mutts will let you know when, and we'll meet in my office outside your rooms. I'll take care of everything else."
Dom let out a relieved breath. "Thank you, Sal. Shit, Kaisae, I can't thank you enough. We're going to win this, right?"
"That's my plan. I'll do everything I can to make it happen."
He nodded, then tossed back the rest of his drink before standing. "Kiss me for luck?" he joked.
Sal stood, reaching up for his face. "Yes, Your Majesty," she said and pulled his face to hers, her lips just brushing his. Without another word, she turned and walked to the door.
"Sal?" Dom stopped her.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, "Yes, sire?"
"Don't do that again," he said softly. "And that dress is truly evil."
She grinned at him, her teeth flashing, and stepped quietly through the door. Leaning against the frame, Ilija waited for her.
"Ricown gave me the men we need. Here's your list," he said, passing her a scrap of paper.
"Good. I need you to get a page to the cellars. Dom just authorized the drinks to flow freely in the barracks until midnight."
"Wow, that's a damned nice boon," Ilija said, pulling himself away from the wall.
"When you're done there, I already had Jase get all soldiers to meet in the main barracks. Tell any you see along the way. I'm sure the rumors are already flying."
"Can do. You headed there now?"
"I have to tell the councilors, then I will be," Sal said, scanning the crowd.
"Good luck with that, Kaisae. I'll try to beat you there. I want to see what happens when the men see you in that dress."
"What is it with the dress?" she asked.
Ilija smirked at her. "I think you'd have to be a man to understand," he said and walked away.
Sal shook her head at his back before pushing into the crowd. She spotted Lord Tor's wife and made her way over.
"Ria!" Sal called, waving to her.
"Sal," she said, "I love that dress, you look amazing."
"Thank you. Yours too, and thank you for the help this afternoon. I only wish I could get more use of it. Is Cillian around?"
"Yeah, he's fetching me a drink. Said he'd be right back." Ria looked at her closely. "Something's happened hasn't it?" she asked, catching on quickly.
Sal just nodded. "I need you to do me a favor. Tell Cillian to get the council and meet in my office after the King speaks."
Ria's face turned serious. "This is bad, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. I have to get to the barracks. Tell Cillian that. He'll understand. I can't say more, just make sure he knows, ok?" Ria nodded as she left.
Sal slipped between groups of people, pushing toward the door when she heard the herald's staff begin to bang on the stone floor. The crowd fell to an expectant hush. Sal glanced over her shoulder and saw Dominik walk slowly to his throne, all eyes turned to him. His face was grave. She didn't wait to hear the speech, slipping through the servant's door again to come face to face with Jase.
"He's about to speak," she said, trotting down the stairs. Her lover followed closely.
"Yeh, and we should have nearly all the men either in, or near the barracks by now. I'm sorry, kitten, I did na wanna leave ya ta walk in there alone. I do na trust human men that much."
"It's ok, Jase. I actually appreciate it. Ilija's on his way, too. Dom agreed to open the cellar to the men for the night, and he gave me complete power over preparations."
"Well, there's that at least," Jase said, reaching ahead of her to pull open the door.
She smiled, acknowledging his chivalry, and stepped through. Neither slowed their pace as they talked.
"I need you in the meeting tonight, killer. We have to find a good place to make a stand, and I'm not confident I can do that on my own."
"Yeh, I'll come. We've done this a few times b'fore ya joined, harrying larger forces. I think I know what we need, but ya know ya'll do fine."
"And I'm going to get a link to Blaec tonight. Shit, Jase, I wish he was here." She caught his hand.
"Yeh, I can honestly say I agree with ya," Jase muttered, as they came to the barracks door.
Before she could enter, he reached up to adjust the jewels in her hair, smiling at her. "Ya look amazing. At least ya know the men will pay attention." Then he reached for the door, opening it when she nodded.
She strode through with her head high. The soldiers inside fell silent, only a few hushed comments passed between them. Ilija stood in the center of the room, a long table cleared in front of him. That's where Sal headed. She reached up and touched his arm gently. The big man turned.
"It's the best I could do on short notice," he said, tipping his head to the table. "Your dais Kaisae?"
Sal giggled at the foolishness. "Hand me up, Ilija."
"Fuck, Sal, I'm taking advantage of rank on this one," he said and lifted her into his arms. The soldiers laughed heartily as he placed her gently on the table.
Sal found herself grinning at him as all eyes turned to her. "I'll let you keep your nuts intact this time, Ilija," she teased, "but I don't recommend anyone else try that."
The men laughed, and she could hear the tension. One called out, "I hear the Ahnor gets that privilege!"
Sal nodded at him. "Yeah, and only my Ahnor." The men laughed again. "Ok men, I'm not going to call you to attention for this, so grab a seat if you want." A few did just that, but most began to pull in closer.
"A northern guard rode in today. I'm not going to sugar coat this. He said that Terric has taken an outpost and crossed into Anglia." She paused for the murmurs she knew would come. "There's roughly six thousand Terran soldiers riding down the mountains toward us. They've been indiscriminately killing soldiers and civilians alike as they come. We're lucky one man was able to make it here to let us know. Sure, he may have killed my chances of making the most of this dress..." She gestured to her gown and the men all laughed.
One called out from the back, "Yeah, but we wouldn't have gotten to see it!" and more laughed.
"Fair 'nough," she replied. "But it gets worse. There's about a thousand men, most mounted, pushing hard for Dorton." Sal saw heads nod, and grim faces, but oddly there was no fear. "We're at war, men. There's no more playing around. Recruitment is now open, and I will assign officers from each division to handle applications and training. I warn you, though. This is no longer just a man's army."<
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"It hasn't been for a while now, Kaisae!" a voice called from the back.
"I'm glad you noticed." She grinned in his direction. "But I plan to allow women to join as well as men. Do any of you doubt that a woman can hold her own in combat?" A few were already shaking their heads. "If you do, ask the Colonel here. No, not every woman who applies will be allowed. I'm sorry, guys, your whores probably won't make the cut." They chuckled.
"We begin mobilizing tomorrow. I'll be taking forty-five units, and we'll ride at the King's side to protect Anglia. Those of you who stay behind, I expect you to mount a full guard of Dorton. We will be sending scouts out in all directions. If Terric managed to sneak in from the north, who knows what else they're willing to try."
Sal looked over the men before her. Many of them were young, and few of them had seen real combat, but they were all eager, and all were good soldiers. She felt the responsibility for each of them weighing on her shoulders. "Jase will call the list of units, and we will have a list placed..." Sal glanced around.
"Assignment board's over there, Kaisae," a soldier yelled out, pointing.
"Thanks. I need to learn to come in the same door each time. I'll have the list placed there. I promise I'll have it written in Glish, too." She got more chuckles from that. "And, I do have some good news for you all. Our King has generously offered to buy a few rounds for his men. The royal cellars will begin rolling casks over any minute now, and all of you are welcome to as much as you'd like. I warn you, though, there will be no sympathy for your sore heads in the morning. You're free to come and go as you'd like, and all duties for the night are suspended. The grauori have agreed to guard the King while you all celebrate."
They cheered. The prospect of free alcohol was the way to every soldier's heart. When the noise began to die down, she spoke again. "Men, I have pushed you hard. I came from the Conglomerate and expected to find backwards farmers with pitchforks and manure shovels. Instead, I've found the best group of humans I've ever had the pleasure of working with. I am proud of you all, and I can honestly say that I know why Anglia is revered across the continent. You have made me proud to be your Kaisae, and I swear to you that I will not let you down. I am not perfect – no officer is – but with you all at my back, we will win this war."
