“I never reveal myself,” chirped Peanut as he climbed out of the pocket and landed on the rock ledge.
Sergeant Treman’s eyes grew large as he stared at the tiny man, but he did not speak.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” chuckled Clint. “I have a mission for you, and it is urgent.”
“Urgent is my middle name,” quipped the fairy.
“You only have one name. Now be quiet and listen. I need you to find Colonel Hardi’s men. Tell Colonel Hardi that he is to return to the caves and hide. Our group has been destroyed, and the remaining Badgers are hunting for us and the women. I do not want the colonel’s men found. If necessary, they are authorized to move further northward. Tell Morro that I want him and Minitari to find the women somewhere north of here. They are riding on Aeron, and I am sure that the Badgers will be chasing them. He is to use Aeron and Minitari to get the women to safety. Getting them to Despair is no longer an option. Once he has done that, he is to use Sparky to find Sergeant Treman and myself. We will need a way to get out of here. Have you got all of that?”
“What of the rest of your men?” frowned the fairy.
“They are dead. Carry the message with great haste, Peanut. I may need your skills before this night is out.”
A look of profound sadness filled the fairy’s eyes. He offered no quip as he saluted and shot into the air.
“Tell me that I am dreaming,” the sergeant said softly.
“You are going to learn some things this night that must not be revealed,” replied Clint. “The fairies are but one of them.”
“What are the others?” asked the sergeant.
“Aeron and Minitari are unicorns. They have the ability to fly. That is why I insisted on putting the women on Aeron. He will keep the women from being captured by the Badgers, but even unicorns must sleep sometime. That is why I have called for Morro’s assistance.”
“Who are you, General Forshire? You must know that you have the undying devotion of your men, but you are no Federation general. Who are you really?”
Clint looked at his sergeant and smiled thinly. “It is time we remained silent. The Badgers may be approaching us at this very moment.”
Chapter 41
Treman
“The women are just ahead,” Sparky said excitedly. “Are you going to let them see a flying unicorn?”
Morro frowned. “No, that would not be wise. It is bad enough that I shared your secret with Colonel Hardi. I will reveal no more secrets. Can you keep all three of them asleep at the same time?”
“They already looked tired,” mused the fairy. “I think I can do it.”
“You think?”
Sparky puffed out his chest with pride. “I can do it. It is not much of a challenge.”
Morro smiled inwardly. “Then get to it, master magician. I want to get those women away from here before the Badgers close in.”
Sparky saluted stiffly and then darted away. Morro ran his hand gently over the flying unicorn. He cast his thoughts to his partner.
It is time to return to the ground, Minitari. I want to make sure that the women are asleep before you show your wings again.
You are wise, Morro. The little people can be boastful at times. Where are we taking the women?
I do not know, but we need to get them somewhere safe and do it quickly. I do not like the idea of Clint fleeing from the Badgers on foot.
The unicorn banked sharply and glided towards the ground. For a brief moment, the treetops sped past as the unicorn maneuvered into a large clearing and then they were on the ground. Minitari left the clearing and moved through the trees without instructions from Morro. A few minutes later, they entered another large clearing. Morro glanced at the three women and Aeron, the darkness of evening already making it difficult to see. The two younger women were still sitting upon the unicorn, their heads bowed in sleep. The older woman was stretched out on the ground, her eyes closed.
“What happened, Sparky?” asked Morro.
“She fell off,” frowned the fairy. “It was not my fault. I thought it was impossible to fall off a unicorn.”
Aeron snorted. When we are flying that is true, but I cannot dip lower to balance them when I am on the ground.
“Levitate her up to me, Sparky” ordered the elf. “We have no time to lose.”
The fairy immediately levitated the unconscious woman, lowering her onto Minitari in front of Morro.
“To the air,” ordered Morro.
Both unicorns spread their wings as they raced across the clearing. With a mighty leap, they were airborne and skimming the tops of the trees.
Aeron tossed his mane with a flip of his head. Where do we go?
Morro had been pondering that question since receiving Clint’s message. He knew that they were supposed to be delivered to Despair, but the Ranger had been clear that such a destination was no longer a possibility. Clint’s message also expressed concern for the rest of A Corps, so hiding the women in the same caves as the soldiers made no sense. The elf knew that every minute in the air brought the chance of exposing the abilities of the unicorns, so he made a snap decision.
“To Tarashin.”
The unicorns banked immediately, spiraling upward into the night sky to gain the height necessary to cross over the peaks of the Barrier. Even though the Bloodwood was near the southern edge of the continent, the chill grew brisk as they gained altitude. As they climbed above the mountain peaks, a blast of frigid air slammed into them. Morro began to shiver as the cold enveloped him. He wrapped his arms around Janay to keep them both warm, fearing the effect the cold might have on the emperor’s daughters. He began to have second thoughts about heading towards the dwarven land of Tarashin, but the blast of cold air suddenly diminished as the unicorns tilted downward, gliding out of the worst of the frigid wind.
The sides of the snowy peaks sped by as the unicorns banked first one way and then the other, weaving their way between the lesser peaks of the Barrier. Still shivering from the cold, Morro sighed with relief as he saw the ledge of Tarashin come into view. The unicorns glided to a halt upon the ledge and several dwarves immediately appeared.
“Are ye bringing gifts now, elf?” laughed one of the dwarves.
“Karicon!” Morro greeted his dwarven friend. Turning suddenly serious, the smile fell from his face. “We need to get the women to the Doors. I have a fairy keeping them asleep, but I need him elsewhere.”
Karicon called back into the tunnel and several more dwarves appeared. They gently took the women off the unicorns and hurried into the tunnels with them. A moment later, Pebble appeared. Morro dismounted and addressed the fairies.
“Pebble, keep those women asleep. I will join you at the Doors in a minute.”
The female fairy nodded wordlessly and darted back into the tunnel.
“Sparky, I need you to guide the unicorns to Clint. Waste no time in getting to him. His life is in danger.”
Morro did not wait for a response. He turned and ran into the tunnel. Using his gift of speed, the elf rushed through the tunnels and arrived in the large chamber just after the women. He pushed past the dwarves and opened the Door to Herinak.
“Bring them through,” ordered the elf.
Morro stepped through the door into Sidney Mercado’s office to find Sidney sitting at a desk. The merchant looked up in surprise.
“Is anyone in your sitting room?” Morro asked.
“There should not be,” Sidney answered with a frown as he rose and moved around the desk, “but I will check.”
Sidney opened the door to his sitting room and waved for Morro to follow him. While Morro waved the dwarves into the room, he followed the merchant. Sidney locked the door to the corridor so that no one would walk in unannounced. He then turned to see the dwarves carrying three women into the room. One of the dwarves placed Janay’s body on the couch. The other two dwarves looked around in dismay.
“Put them in my bed,” Sidney offered as he waved towards the ot
her door leading off his sitting room.
“We will need another fairy,” frowned Morro. “Pebble cannot keep them all asleep if they are in different rooms.”
Sidney nodded and woke up Pixy. He instructed her to keep the women in his bedroom asleep as the dwarves returned to Tarashin.
“Who are they?” asked the merchant.
“They are the emperor’s family,” answered Morro. “Clint rescued them from the Badgers, but his A Corps men were wiped out. He cannot get them to Despair. He needed a safe place to keep them.”
Sidney raised an eyebrow in surprise, but he did not voice any objections. He moved to the door to the corridor and unlocked it. Without a word, he exited the suite and returned moments later.
“They are making up the suite across the hall,” the merchant announced. “They will move a bed into the office so that there are two bedrooms. Where is Clint?”
“He is hiding with his sole remaining man, Sergeant Treman. I have sent the unicorns to save him.”
“Tell me what happened.”
* * * *
Sergeant Treman felt the general place his hand on the sergeant’s forearm in a quieting way. The sergeant nodded in acknowledgement of the need to remain silent. He listened carefully, but he could not hear what had alerted the general. The general slowly slid his pack off and opened it. From the pack, he took a short quiver and strapped it onto his waist. The sergeant watched curiously as the general extracted a reed and a quill from the quiver. The quill was slipped into the reed, and the general moved stealthily towards the edge of the ledge they had been hiding on. Then the sergeant heard the noise. It was faint, but it was unmistakable. Someone’s boot had scuffed a rock not far below them.
Clint slowly inched across the flat rock ledge, being careful not to make any sounds. Knowing where the head of the Badger would appear, Clint brought the reed to his lips and waited. He heard a soft grunt as the enemy pulled himself up. A moment later, the head appeared. Clint blew the quill into the man’s face and immediately reached and grabbed the man’s hair. Straining to hold the weight of the Badger’s body with only one hand. Clint shoved the reed back into his quiver so he could use both hands. He did not want the body to tumble down the side of the mountain.
Sensing the general’s dilemma, the sergeant quietly moved across the ledge. He reached down and grabbed the man’s arm. With agonizingly slow movements, they managed to pull the body onto the ledge. Sergeant Treman lay back, staring up at the black sky. He listened intently, trying to hear any other Badgers attempting to climb up to their hidden perch.
“I think he was alone,” General Forshire said softly, nodding towards the Badger’s body.
“Where is your fairy?” asked the sergeant. “Couldn’t he tell us who is out there?”
“He could, but I sent him to make sure that the women were taken to safety. He will return soon.”
“Where will Morro take them?”
“I am not sure,” sighed Clint. “Morro is resourceful. I trust him with the women. Wherever he takes them, they will be safe.”
The two men lapsed into silence for awhile, but the sergeant was still troubled by all of the secrets being exposed.
“The men are puzzled by you, General. We ride in the uniforms of the Federation, yet we freed the elves from the reeducation center in Despair. That made us think that you are really working against the Federation. Now you are rescuing the emperor’s family. Why can’t you explain the truth to us?”
Clint remained silent.
“You must know that we will follow you no matter who you are,” pressed the sergeant. “You are the only officer to ever treat us as humans. Beyond that, you have taught us and trained us. You have made us what we are, and we are proud to have achieved what we have. It hurts not to be trusted by you.”
The silence continued. Long minutes later, General Forshire spoke softly.
“I am proud of the men of the A Corps. You have shown a dedication rarely seen in men who have been abandoned by their own, but I walk a narrow path, Sergeant. I stand on the razor’s edge, and one slip will be fatal. I keep my secrets for several reasons. The men are told what they need to be told to perform the tasks assigned to them. Mentioning anything beyond that is foolish because any one of them could be captured and tortured. That would be fatal for them and for me.”
“That is understandable,” sighed the sergeant, “although the men would die before they betrayed you. Still, you said you had several reasons, but you gave only one.”
Clint sighed heavily. Over one hundred of his men had just died following his orders, but he felt sure that not one of them tried to surrender to save his own life. The A Corps was devoted to him as few military units could be. Did he owe them the truth? Could he afford to tell them the truth?
“There are two thousand men under my command,” the general said softly. “I have to imagine that there are many conflicting loyalties among them. If one single man betrayed me, all of us would pay the supreme price for his betrayal. Are my secrets really that important to you? Can you not just continue to have faith in me as you have in the past?”
The sergeant pondered the questions and eventually nodded. “We will remain loyal no matter what. I think you already knew that before you asked, but your point has been made. I will not pry any further, but I am glad that I did pry so that you understand the only thing about you that can be seen as negative by the men. There is hurt from your secrecy, but not enough to matter in the end. We will fight and die for you no matter where your true allegiance lies.”
Clint frowned. “Tell me, Sergeant, what do the men think of my allegiance?”
“Many thoughts have been discussed,” answered the sergeant. “At first, we believed your tale about demanding loyalty because of the threats from competitive generals, but those thoughts didn’t last long. From then until this mission, everyone thought that you were one of the rebels we were supposed to be hunting. Now we are confused again. There would be no reason for a rebel to go into battle to save the lives of the emperor’s family.”
“The men followed me thinking I was a rebel against the emperor?”
“General,” grinned the sergeant, “the A Corps would fight to put you on the throne if only you gave them the order. Whoever you are, we want you and people like you ruling the land. Is that wrong?”
“You are taking quite a gamble revealing yourself to me like this,” warned the general. “A true patriot of the Federation would be forced to report you to the emperor for such seditious talk.”
“I am taking no gamble. If I am so far wrong with my assessment then waste no time reporting my words. Slay me now.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“We all know how the emperor rules the Federation. Are you so quick to forget that you recruited us out of his prisons? While your authority can be stern and demanding at times, it is never unjust. There is no way that you could support such a repressive regime. That is why we are puzzled with the rescue of the emperor’s family. It makes no sense.”
The general sighed under the weight of the sergeant’s candor. “I fear that if I am discovered so easily by you, that I must also be transparent inside the Imperial Palace as well.”
“No, General. No one understands you like we do. In fact, I think we are the only ones who get to see the real you. I doubt the Imperial Palace has any idea what you do once you leave the grounds.”
“They may soon discover the truth,” frowned Clint. “The men are still carrying the insignia of the A Corps, even if they are not wearing it. I am sure that the Badgers will search the corpses we left behind. They will carry that news back to someone in Despair.”
“Actually, we are also still carrying the insignia for the V Corps. Will that confuse them?”
Clint raised an eyebrow. He had forgotten that these men had posed as General Garibaldi’s men when they freed the elven children.
“It might,” smiled Clint. “It just might.” Clint looked at the s
ergeant in a new light. The man had been promoted because of his skill and proven leadership of squads, but Clint saw more promise in the man. He decided to confide in him. “I am more than a rebel, Sergeant. I am an Alcean. In fact, I am an Alcean Ranger.”
“Alcean Ranger?” echoed the sergeant. “What is that?”
Before Clint could answer, he felt a weight land on his shoulder.
“The unicorns are waiting,” announced Sparky. “They cannot land on such a narrow ledge, so I am to levitate you onto their backs. Who will go first?”
“Sergeant Treman,” Clint answered without hesitation. “Send Minitari down for him. I will be ready as soon as they leave. Stand up, Sergeant.”
The sergeant promptly rose to his feet, but his brow creased in confusion. Unexpectedly, he felt his body lifting off the ground. The sensation disturbed him greatly, but the general’s smile was reassuring.
“Spread you legs,” ordered Sparky. “You are not supposed to stand on Minitari’s back.”
The sergeant promptly complied and a unicorn glided underneath him. The fairy released the spell and Treman dropped onto the unicorn’s back without Minitari even having to slow down. The unicorn immediately flapped his huge wings as he powered upward. The sergeant quickly grabbed the unicorn’s mane and then sheepishly released it as if it might offend the creature. Minitari sensed the uneasiness of his passenger.
You may hold my mane if it comforts you. There is no pain for me, but I will not let you fall in any event.
The sergeant did not know how to respond. Before the unicorn prompted him further, General Forshire appeared alongside him on his own unicorn.
“I am taking you into my confidence, Sergeant. You will not speak of what you learn tonight without my leave. Is that clear?”
“Very clear, General. You have my pledge.”
* * * *
Morro, Sidney, General Forshire and Sergeant Treman sat around the table in Sidney’s sitting room.
“I am really sorry, Clint,” apologized Morro. “You said to take them someplace safe. I knew that they would be safe from the Badgers here.”
Heirs of the Enemy Page 52
