Defiance (Rise of the Iliri Book 3)

by Auryn Hadley

  Dominik and Ilija watched the exchange between the females, and Jase slipped to her side, greeting Blaec as he did so. Then he bent and kissed Sal before pulling up a chair. Dom just shook his head, and Ilija grinned. At that moment, the tent opened again, and another man in black slipped in. The small meeting area was starting to get crowded. Arctic entered carrying a tray laden with slices of pork and a large carafe.

  "Roo said breakfast, and I ran into some guy in the mess yelling that the King needed coffee, but no one believed him. So I grabbed it for him, you, whatever."

  "Thanks, Arctic," Sal said, gesturing to the only open table in the room. "Rragri, Dom, Ilija, help yourselves. Roo out did herself. Arctic, can you start finding me a section leader for each segment of the Anglian army? Archers, mounted, infantry, medics – especially the medics. I'll need them in the mess hall in, let's say, half an hour?"

  "Can do, demon," Arctic said, ducking back out of the pavilion.

  "Ok, so Rragri's scout said we have four groups of Terrans coming at us, right?" Sal asked. Rragri nodded. "He told me it looks like a standard move to surround the prey when they don't expect it. Have them update me if anything changes, Orassae, but I expect that Terric will send a moderately sized group to our former front line – where we had the battle – for negotiations. While they do that, the other three groups will be flanking our camp, expecting us to be relaxed and unprepared."

  Dominik dropped his head and sighed. "Sal, I don't even know why you bring me to these meetings. I'm useless here."

  "Roo ooman Kaisor," Rragri said as if that explained everything.

  "Yeah, you're the King, Dom, so those men are yours first, mine second. You have the right to tell me I'm wrong, and you need to know what's going on because you're going to be involved."

  Dominik nodded.

  "How big are the groups?" Blaec asked.

  "Will ahsk," Rragri said.

  "The message I got this morning made it feel like even splits. His mental image was too spread out for an accurate count, though," Sal told them. "I expect the false army will be a quarter of the force, and the other three-quarters will stack up on the east, west, and south of us. I'm hoping the southern contingent doesn't try to push into Dorton. Rragri, would you ask your scout to let me know if they appear to be doing that?"

  The Kaisae nodded.

  "What I want to do is get the humans ready and geared up, but keep them in camp. We have about eight hundred men in fighting shape here. I'm leaving Roo with the medics to keep her and the pups out of harms way, but also to work as a mediator between humans and grauori. We'll have a safe area set up for you, Rragri, and I'd appreciate it if you can spare a few healers for the humans?"

  "Zah na," Rragri agreed. Of Course.

  "Thank you," Sal said, honestly meaning it. "I want the King, the Blades, and the Shields to negotiate with the northern group. If they're evenly split, that'll be about fifteen hundred in each segment. I hope that by meeting them with only twenty of us, it will confuse them. Ilija, standard V formation, mounted. I'll be point. I want Jase to my left, Blaec to my right, then alternate Shields and Blades. Dom will be behind me, tucked in the arc with Hwa at his side. Place Risk and Shift as close to Dom as possible."

  "We're short a horse, Sal," Ilija told her. "Vanja lost his to a pike in the last battle."

  "Then pick the best from the heavy cavalry's lines. Blaec, all your horses sound?"

  "Yes, Kaisae," he said respectfully, and Rragri whuffed in amusement.

  "Jase, check our girls. I know they have some minor injuries, so get someone to patch them if there's anything too bad."

  "Yes, Kaisae," Jase said, and Rragri ducked her head, hiding the grin.

  Your mates are well trained, I see why you chose them, she told Sal.

  Sal grinned at her but kept going. "Ok, so we'll meet the north, and we're going to use the humans as bait. I want the men to be armored and armed, but they can dice, game, or whatever, just no drinking. Ilija, find me a hard ass Major to keep an eye on that. Any man caught drunk is on latrine duty for a month. If he's too drunk to fight, have him assigned to carrying the wounded to the medics – of all species."

  "Yes, Kaisae," Ilija agreed.

  "Rragri, can you have the grauori stay out of sight? I know that's a lot to ask with so many of you. And I want to use Roo as the link hub, since she'll be safe and out of the way, plus she can handle the human minds." Sal gestured to Ilija.

  That made the bitch's ears flick up in shock. You have humans in the link?

  "Yeah, it's a trick the Blades' linker can do. We'd like to train the grauori, but it will take a few days, if not longer."

  Then yes, we will let the rafrezzi hold the link instead of a nacione.

  Sal sighed. "You know iliri don't care about shades, right?"

  Rragri nodded. It is strange since nacione are stronger, but there are so few of you, it makes sense.

  "That," Sal told her, "and my strongest talents are in my rafrezzi. But that's beside the point. How many grauori do you have, Orassae?"

  Not many. Only those who were close. Maybe seventy-five?

  "There were more than seventy-five of ya the other day, Orassae," Jase pointed out.

  Hundred, Ahnor. Seventy-five hundred.

  Jase grinned, but Ilija and Blaec looked shocked.

  "You all know that I'm not getting half of this, right?" Dom pointed out, seeing their expressions.

  Sal giggled. "Rragri has about seventy-five hundred grauori. Terric has six thousand or less, and we know their plan, Dom. You're going to owe the grauori a lot for this, but I think Orassae Rragri just won your war for you."

  Dom shook his head. "The battle, yeah. And yes, I owe her my kingdom – her king... fuck. Anglia. I can't really owe her something that's hers by right. But we both know that this won't end this war. I do listen, Sal. We might kick Terric from our borders, but they'll come back." Dom sighed. "This shit isn't going to end unless we do a lot more than throw soldiers down the mountains at them."

  Blaec nodded. "And pull the Emperor from his throne."

  Sal waved them down. "That's all for the future. Today we just need to worry about this hunt. Orrassae, can you have your section leaders meet us at the mess tent? I'll need one for each side of this battle I think."

  Rragri nodded at her.

  "Ok," Sal said as she stood, "let's get things moving. The clock always ticks faster when we're not ready. Ilija, Shields on the King. I sent his guards to sleep."

  "Yes, Kaisae," he said as the men stood.

  With a final nod at them, Sal left the pavilion, making her way across the camp. Rragri trotted beside her. When she reached the mess tent, the area was crowded. Sal tapped on the back of a large man in front of her, and he ducked out of her way quickly once he realized who it was he blocked.

  "Make way for the Kaisae!" he called to the men in front of him, and a path cleared before her.

  "Thanks, soldier." Sal smiled up at him, patting his arm.

  She found herself in the middle of a large group, bodies packed together tightly, with voices raised to a fevered pitch. Again she tapped the shoulder of a large man, and when he turned, she held out her hand to him, with a nod to the table. The soldier bent closer to her.

  "May I keep my nuts, Kaisae?" he asked grinning, and Sal laughed.

  "Yeah, I suppose. I'd just rather not crawl my way up there with this many eyes on me."

  The man carefully placed his hands around her waist, lifting and turning in one smooth motion, to place her on the table. When her feet were secure, he grasped her hand and kissed it, whispering, "Laetus, Kaisae," as he bowed his head.

  Rragri, you're welcome beside me. It keeps the human feet from your toes and tail, Sal told the grauori bitch. With almost no effort, Rragri hopped onto the table and squatted next to her. When she squared her shoulders and turned to the soldiers crowding the space around them, the voices fell silent.

  "Ok. I assume this many bodies means that you'v
e already heard. Terric thinks they're pulling a fast one on us, but they have no idea of who they're messing with," Sal said, gesturing to Rragri beside her. "This battle appears to be a bait and pinch. You humans are going to play the bait. Terric believes that we only have eight hundred men, and they have nearly six thousand coming at us with the intent to circle and crush us." Sal paused as angry voices swelled decrying the thought of such an easy defeat. "I believe they still do not know about the grauori, or they assume it to be no more than a handful of them. This is our secret weapon, men. Your fellow countrymen -"

  "I thought most of them were ladies, Kaisae?" a soldier called out.

  Rragri whuffed in amusement. "Ree let arr males figh' too," she yelled back. The humans laughed at that, and Sal was shocked to see how easily the grauori had been accepted by the soldiers. Then again, months of being drilled by Roo and Hwa had gotten them comfortable with the idea of talking beasts. Beside her, Rragri just shrugged.

  "Well, the grauori, then – better?" Sal asked. The men just laughed, their spirits buoyed by adrenaline. "They'll be waiting for Terric to entrap you. Once they Terrans are committed, the grauori will surround them, and both you and they will crush the 'purple men' between you. Here's the problem."

  Sal looked around at the men seriously. "Grauori typically fight without armor. They will be down range from your shots. For them to do this shows a lot of trust in you all. How many years have you all killed them as mere animals? How many of you survived yesterday because of them? Either from Hwa and Roo's training, or the Orassae's soldiers rushing to slaughter the Terrans? So this is your chance to show them that things truly have changed. Do not take a shot if there is the chance of harming your allies! Is that clear?"

  "Yes, Kaisae!" the soldiers shouted enthusiastically.

  "Good. We'll have a combined medical facility set up both here and in the medical tents. Most likely, we'll separate the grauori and the human injured. Be careful men. Grauori may become feral if they're injured, but they are only reacting to the pain. The word you all want to use is 'ayte'. It means help. You can either ask for help or offer it with that word, and it should – I stress should – cut through their pain frenzy. We have a language barrier between our people, but remember that word and repeat it until it's automatic."

  Around her, Sal listened to dozens of voices whispering the Grauoran word for help under their breath.

  "When the grauori engage the Terrans, they'll give voice to the battle. I'm not sure if any of you have heard their battle cries?" Some men shook their heads, and Sal looked down at Rragri. Would you be willing to demonstrate?

  The Orassae nodded, tilting her short muzzle to the sky to let out an eerie, shrill howl that sounded like the cry of a banshee. In the distance, voices met hers, and the humans murmured in awe. I asked the pack to answer so the humans could hear it from a distance.

  "Thank you, Orassae Rragri," Sal said. "That is the equivalent of a Grauoran battle horn. Clear?"

  "Yes, Kaisae!" The soldiers called out.

  "Now, I'm going to make this very, very simple for all of you. If I hear of any human taking this battle as an excuse to harm grauori, I will feed him to the grauor wolves myself. Do you understand? Any man who stands by and watches while a human slays his allies will be brought before the army, and I will cut his throat." Sal turned and looked at Rragri, "Any grauori harming Anglians will be executed as well, and his or her pelt given to the family in compensation. Understood?"

  Rragri ducked her head and dropped her gaze. "Ya, Kaisae Sal. Dey ha' alreada been tohld."

  "Good, because the last thing we need is to battle Terric and ourselves. Ok men, I want you all in full armor, ready to go. I will be briefing a leader for each section, and you will get specific orders from them. If the section leaders will meet me in the medical tent – both species – we can let the humans finish eating." Sal walked to the end of the table, pleasantly surprised to find two men offering their hands to assist her down. Rragri casually hopped to her side, and together they made their way to the next tent over, a small group of humans following in their wake.

  Once inside the infirmary, Sal gestured to the medics. "I don't know how much of that you heard over here," she said when they closed around her.

  "Most of it, Kaisae," a smaller man said.

  "Ok, good. Now, here's the situation for you -"

  An aged man in the back interrupted her. "You aren't going to tell us how to heal now, are you?"

  Rragri growled at him, a low rumble that reverberated in their chest. Sal reached down and touched the grauori's head in understanding. "Yes, I am. Orassae Rragri is loaning us a group of healers. You will need to remove bolts and arrows, and do the preparations for them. Anything that is not life threatening can wait, or you can deal with in your own way. With the grauori here, I do not want to see you chopping off limbs to save a man. Anyone that is too far gone for the grauori to save? Treat him with kindness and as much of whatever it is you give them – either species. Is that understood?"

  Most of the medics nodded, but the old man just glared at her. Sal sighed. "You didn't get to see what the grauori can do, did you?" she asked.

  "Oh, I saw. Doesn't mean I like it, though. Damned beasts," he grumbled, glaring at Rragri.

  "Fine, then you're dismissed. Head to the mess tent. I'm sure you can manage to brew coffee and deliver water."

  "You can't do that!" he spat at her.

  Sal pinned her ears and snarled, her lips pulling back, the points of her teeth showing. Slowly, she walked toward the man, his eyes growing wider as he backed away from her. "I can. I have. I will not let your stupid human pride jeopardize the entire country's best chance of winning this war because you are too stupid to understand that they're as intelligent as any human. My packmate will be here. She will be watching, and I will tell her to rip your throat from your body if you do anything that harms or interferes with the health and well-being of my army. As the Sergeant at Arms of the Anglian military, I have the right to execute anyone jeopardizing the safety of this army as guilty of treason. Do you understand?"

  He swallowed loudly, bobbing his head up and down.

  "So go to the mess. Now!" The aged man scampered from the tent, glancing back once before he was out of sight. Sal bit back her growl. "My apologies, men. You will have both grauori and humans flooding in here. I just can't take the chance of prejudice being what loses this battle."

  "I understand," the small man said. "Now, what do we need to know about the grauori?" he asked Rragri.

  Rragri looked up at Sal and gestured for her to speak. "Glish is hard for their tongues," Sal explained. "Grauori can not be beside humans who are bleeding. If they're in a battle frenzy, their instincts will cause problems. I recommend that you either divide the infirmary or use the mess tent. I'm going to assume that we'll have more human casualties than grauori, simply because of the positioning, and they'll have medics moving among them. The mental healers will need stimulants. Keep in mind, your dainty cups are difficult for their hands, so soup bowls will probably work better. Have the kitchens keep some undercooked soups going. Your food is too well done for them. The more energy they have, the more healing they can do."

  "Makes sense," the doctor said. "That's how we work at least. Ok. What about the language issue?"

  Sal sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "You're going to have to wing it. They understand Glish – most of them at least."

  "Rai ha' a male tha' cahn speak Griss. Hre iss," Rragri said, pausing to find a word, "fohnd a oomans."

  The doctor smiled. "Well, if his Glish is as good as yours, we'll be fine, Orassae. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm Doctor Meino." He knelt and offered his hand to Rragri in greeting, but held her gaze.

  The Orassae glanced up at Sal before answering, "Rragri."

  "Doctor Meino," Sal said gently, "holding a grauori's gaze is considered a challenge. It's polite to glance down as a sign of respect. Due to your position, you may look i
n her eyes after that."

  The small man smiled and looked to the ground quickly. "My apologies, Orassae Rragri. With humans, it's considered rude not to look in their eyes."

  "Rai wrill make sure tha grauori know tha'," she replied, her tension fading.

  Sal exhaled in relief. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to arrange the strategy. Thank you, Doctors," she said, touching Rragri gently before turning to the mixed group of officers and grauori behind them. "Ok, soldiers. Let's figure out the best way to kick some ass."

  Chapter 39

  The early spring sun was starting to warm the air, and fat black clouds polka dotted the overly blue sky. It wasn't quite midday, but all of the preparations had been handled and the grauori said the Terrans were close. Sal swung onto her horse, hoping for a bit more height to see over the heads of so many humans. Jase moved Raven next to her left knee. Blaec pushed Scorch close to her right. The rest of her men sat casually behind them.

  Roo, open us up, she asked.

  Slowly and gently, their minds spread. The Blades merged easily, each of them locking into place like a well-made machine. Geo and Audgan blended with Sal only a moment slower than the rest. The Shields seemed to ooze into the meld. Sal closed her eyes as she reached for each of them. She embraced Ilija and wove him into their pack, then Ricown. With the officers as a foundation, she guided the other minds into the whole. When the last man relaxed into the group, she could almost feel their link humming, the emotions of them blending into a harmony.

  Rragri? Sal asked. What's the status of the Terran army?

  Just like we expected, Kaisae. Divided into even groups. The leader is headed to you from the North. They seem to have no idea we're even here.

  Thank you, Orassae.

  "Helms on, men. Let's put on a show," Sal said softly. She felt her anticipation rising, yet a deep anger began to grow inside her. She knew it was from Blaec.

  Squeezing Arden forward, the men fell behind her in a V, the King tucked carefully between them. Hwa trotted faithfully at his side through the muck of the churned meadow. In the center of the battlefield, Sal halted. The men alternated between black and nearly white armor. Dominik's was trimmed in green, marking him as different from the soldiers around him.