“I told the council,” he answered. “Once we were in Shidonee’s Gap and they informed us of their plans, I felt I had to tell them.”
But he hadn’t told me.
I would let it pass. He had a good reason, I had no doubt.
Taro turned back to Aryne. “But why are you here?”
“If they take Gifford from his position,” Druce said, “the council want to replace him with Aryne immediately, get her settled while the Premiers are still in Erstwhile. They don’t want to risk having to send for her. With so much distance to travel, something might happen to her on the way. Or there might be some kind of coup in Erstwhile during the wait.”
“The Triple S council seems certain of their success,” Taro commented.
“They can’t afford to fail. Gifford can’t be left on the throne.”
Sometimes I wished I’d been born earlier, lived more of my life under the Empress’ reign. She’d been much more sane.
“And what about you, little one?” Taro asked Aryne. “Do you even want this?”
I was ashamed that I’d never thought to ask her that myself.
She looked down at her boot and picked at a seam with the tip of her finger. “It’s not like there’s anything else I can do,” she muttered.
An Empress who didn’t want to rule. At least she wouldn’t be a power-hungry maniac. We didn’t need another one of those. On the other hand, she might try to avoid responsibilities because she didn’t want to bear them.
Well, I wouldn’t want to be stuck in Erstwhile for the rest of my life, either, dealing with all those politicians and Council members. I was looking forward to being transferred back to Flown Raven.
“But Druce,” said Taro, “why have they brought you? Do they know you’re Bonded?”
“Kai,” said Aryne. “We told them when they were talking about sending me here. We were going to tell them soon, anyway. They were thinking about giving up on sending Druce to Matchings because she’s getting so old.”
Druce lightly swatted her up the back of her head. Aryne grinned at her.
“How are you two doing?” I asked. “Are you getting enough to eat?”
Druce frowned. “Aye.” Her tone suggested it was an odd question.
“The shortage of supplies is a constant problem for Gifford,” I explained.
“We heard he was stealing everything he could get his hands on.”
“Aye. He started out with a great deal, too. It hasn’t been enough.”
“Aren’t people sending him supplies?” Aryne asked.
I frowned. “Sending him supplies?”
“People have been helping us of their own accord.” Aryne turned to Taro. “Like your cousin, Lady Westsea. She’s sent a whole lot of things. Dried meat and fruit and cheese. Leather, cotton, and linen. Horses. And people. Huge people who could probably pound anyone into the ground. And blacksmiths, cobblers, all sorts.”
Then she gestured at me. “The Malloroughs, they sent goods and people, too. So did a family of traders called Bisher. And another group called Lightor.” My family did business with both of them. “A bunch of others. And some Marcus Pride fellow. Were you really going to marry him?” She scowled at me.
I was too flabbergasted to address that accusation. “Since when did everyone love the Triple S so much?”
Druce tilted her head. “I don’t think it’s about the Triple S. I think it’s about you and Shintaro.”
“I can’t believe all of these people would give so much to the Triple S because of Taro and me.”
“Healer Browne told us Lord Tarce returned to Flown Raven saying Gifford had gone crazy, changing all of the laws and executing titleholders. Even though many people are disenchanted with the Triple S, few believe we’re violating the law. We still perform our duties, where Gifford is seen to be abandoning his. The Triple S provides an essential service. A monarch can be replaced.”
That last sentiment chilled me, just a little. “That doesn’t have anything to do with Taro and me, specifically.”
“Many feel it does,” said Druce. “It started with your families, right? Then their friends. They influenced others, convincing people that it was in their best interest to support the Triple S.”
It was overwhelming to learn people thought so well of Taro and me that they would get involved in something as horrible as an actual war. I would feel responsible for every life lost.
“They won’t let Druce and me do anything, though,” Aryne complained. I got the feeling this was on ongoing annoyance to her.
“She’s disappointed that she doesn’t get to wear the uniform,” Druce added with a grin.
Aryne pushed her over.
Druce pushed back. “They want to make sure she isn’t confused with one of the soldiers.”
“Good,” I said.
Aryne lifted her chin stubbornly. “There are people younger than me fighting.”
“They’re fighting for you. It’s all meaningless if you’re killed.”
“Still doesn’t seem right.”
“Sometimes common sense must rule over principle,” I said.
Aryne scowled.
“Time for bed for all of us.” Taro clapped his hands. “We have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow. We might get dragged out of our tents in an hour or two.”
Aryne rolled her eyes. “Fine. Father.”
“It’ll be decent to give Carl and Jyle a rest, too,” said Druce. She then explained, “They’ve got some people following us around to make sure Aryne stays out of trouble.”
“We’re not supposed to know,” Aryne added. “They think we don’t notice we’ve got two bruisers following us everywhere we go. Why does everyone think we’re stupid?”
“They think you’re young,” I said.
“That’s supposed to be the same thing?”
“To some people.”
Druce had been looking about. “Do you two need anything? Your tent looks a little barren.”
“Right now, all we need is sleep,” Taro answered pointedly.
“Aye, aye, relax,” said Aryne, and they left.
I really hated that they were there. I didn’t care how many people were guarding them, watching them. They would be a particular target.
Because if the Triple S and its followers knew that Aryne was of Imperial blood, so did Gifford and Green. I had no doubt of it.
I sat beside Taro, putting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my waist. We were finally out from under Gifford’s thumb. I had come to believe it would never happen.
But it had. All because Taro was good at flirting.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I was yanked from my sleep by a hand shaking my shoulder. I was disoriented. It was dark. It took too much time to understand what was being shouted at me.
“Move it! They’re coming!”
But it was night. It had been raining for three days. It made no sense for them to – What were they doing, attacking? Taro and I got in each other’s way as we struggled out of our blankets.
They felt damp. Everything felt damp. And the black leather uniform that had been imposed upon me was a terribly uncomfortable thing to wear, night and day, surrounded by rain and mud.
Taro looked gorgeous in it, though. It matched his colouring and made him look sharp and dangerous.
I grabbed up my pouch of casting ingredients. Taro and I stepped out of our tent and into pandemonium. Dark figures running around. Orders – some of them conflicting – were being shouted from everywhere. The few lanterns bobbing about barely cut the pitch-black air.
“What’s going on?” Taro demanded of the woman who had roused us.
“They’re attacking! Get moving!”
After the first clash, the Commissioner had chosen not to retreat so far as Slick Side, only as far as a nameless part of the plain that enabled us to cast again. During that time, Taro and I had been busy. We met with the Commissioner, his adjuncts, Murdoch, and the Premier Pair.
Much of our time involved briefings on how the various units of the Triple S forces were organized and to be used during a clash, including the Pairs and casters.
I had asked the Commissioner about Mazin and Postel. They’d run off shortly after they’d learned they wouldn’t be getting any of the things Taro had promised them. Possibly back to Gifford, to tell him everything about our forces. They’d have to admit to helping us escape, though. I didn’t think that would be too healthy for them.
I worked with the casters, learning what they could do all over again. I was a little worried that while their power behind their casts was stronger, they hadn’t developed any new spells.
The group had changed a little since I’d worked at them at Shidonee’s Gap. Some people had left, some new people had joined. What was surprising was learning that Fiona had sent ten casters to us. I never would have expected that, despite the generosity she had already shown.
Kebit and Ming weren’t among their number.
I hunted down Risa, who was in good spirits. While she had plenty of complaints about the difficulties involved in the journey from Shidonee’s Gap, her enthusiasm for the confrontation itself was undiminished.
My mind was skittering all over the place. I needed to focus on what was going on right now.
The other Pairs surrounded us.
“You all know what to do,” said Taro.
“It’s raining,” said Devereaux. “We didn’t prepare for rain. Some of our tactics might not work.”
“I know,” Taro conceded. “We might need to improvise. We’ll start off according to plan and see where it goes from there. Just remember to focus on the Pairs. Let the soldiers handle the soldiers and the casters handle the casters. Let’s get moving.”
Gods, this was all insane.
The Pairs were arranged to stand behind a single line of infantry. The idea, I’d been told, was that the soldiers were to protect us from physical attack, but would be able to quickly move out of the way should the Pairs – and the casters, lined up to the right of us – need to see what we were doing to act. There were another three rows of infantry behind us, and we were to let them through to fight with the others, should it become necessary.
Strands of my unbound hair, rain soaked, slid into my face and wouldn’t stay behind my ears when I tried to tuck them out of my way. Damned stuff. I should cut it off. When I got a chance. If I got a chance.
And then I saw it. Light. Not lanterns, not fire. A sort of glowing cloud that seemed to be creeping towards us, perhaps two dozen armlengths above the ground, illuminating everything below it. It was the result of a spell created by Gifford’s casters, I could feel it. A cast I’d never heard of. Damn it.
But after a few terror-struck moments, I could see the effects weren’t perfect. The light created weird shadows that made it difficult to focus completely on the figures moving about. And once the two forces clashed, the light would help us just as much as it helped them.
Our Pairs and casters weren’t riding this time. All of the horses had been reserved for the cavalry.
“Arms!” a lieutenant called out, and I heard the slither of rapiers being pulled free.
Lanterns flickered five times, and we started running towards Gifford’s force, slipping in the mud.
Time twisted and tore. I couldn’t guess how long it took for the two groups of soldiers to meet. But meet they did, attacking each other with their weapons. Some engaged in what looked like the sort of encounters one might see on the stage, an elaborate dance of attacks and counterattacks. Others had their swords slapped out of their hands. Sometimes a fighter was stabbed after this. Sometimes the two figures ended up grappling with each other on the ground.
I saw some soldiers standing over fallen opponents, kicking them in the face again and again. I saw eyes being gouged out. I saw blood spurting from slit throats. The blood looked black under the weird light cast by the unnatural cloud.
Orders were being shouted from every direction. I couldn’t tell which came from our people and which came from Gifford’s. I ignored them all.
The cavalry on both sides were afraid to move quickly, all of them aware of the ability of the Pairs to trip them up.
The ground shifted beneath us, and Taro almost fell as his feet sank into a newly created hole. This was immediately followed by his being encircled by a tight cyclone. Two of the soldiers in front of us noticed and shifted as though to come closer to us.
“No!” I said sharply. They would only get caught up in the cyclone and get in our way.
I stayed a couple of feet away myself, difficult though that was. I needed to keep clear of the cyclone, too. “Taro!” I shouted.
Despite the din, he heard me, lifting his head in my direction. He took the risk of lowering his protections.
I raised my Shields. I could feel that two Sources were attacking Taro at once. They’d gotten better at working together, apparently. Taro split his attention, fending off both of his attackers. Barely.
“Little help here!” Taro called out.
There were cyclones happening all around us while the ground continued to shift and break apart. Everyone had their own battles. But Santham on one side and Devereaux on the other spread their focus, their minds merging with Taro’s, and all three of them held off all of their attackers. The ground beneath of all us stilled and the cyclone around Taro disappeared.
The Pairs around us were varied in their success. Some were effective in disabling Gifford’s Pairs, some were whipped off their feet by cyclones and swung into the people around them. The sight of it was disheartening.
Our casters attacked Gifford’s casters with black clouds. Gifford’s casters responded in the same manner. Right beside me people were collapsing, shrieking and twisting in agony, and there was nothing I could do for them.
I stared at the casters on Gifford’s side. Could I risk trying to cast while protecting Taro?
And then one of Gifford’s casters – Dench – seemed to aim a cloud at another caster, one of his own, calmly watching her die.
It looked like he had deliberately attacked one of his own people.
That couldn’t be right. I was just confused by all the commotion.
We weren’t winning this clash, despite our superior number of Pairs and casters. Something was going wrong.
We had underestimated the abilities of Gifford’s people. Badly.
Another black cloud appeared, but not around any of our casters. Around five of our soldiers, all within a single cloud. All of them reduced to screaming at once, trying to scrape the lightning bolts from their skin. The cloud shifted as they moved, stretching around them as they fell.
My gods. I’d never thought of a cloud surrounding more than one person at a time. Why hadn’t I? It seemed such an obvious progression.
How was it being done? Was one caster strong enough to do it, or had they finally embraced the value of working in unison, enabling them to come up with something even more awful than all of the awful casts I’d seen developed?
Or was it the ashes? Were the ashes working?
Screaming. I was surrounded by screaming. It flooded my mind. Tears coated my eyes. I couldn’t do this.
If they could kill our soldiers by the handful, our Pairs and casters would quickly be vulnerable to physical attack, in addition to everything else.
Maybe. I didn’t know.
Screaming. I couldn’t bear it. I almost covered my ears.
Hang on to Taro and don’t let go.
Taro would be a target soon. The most important Source. The casters couldn’t seem him, yet, there were too many soldiers around us, but once the casters determined where he was in the group, they would take down the soldiers shielding him and they would set their clouds on him.
So I had to do something to them, something they had never imagined.
And the idea came to me. It was a horrible idea. Not the first time I’d had it, though.
I grabbed Taro’s arm. “Creol!
” I shouted into his ear.
He stiffened, then nodded. That one word was all he’d needed to hear. The experience had left a mark on him, too. He lowered his shields.
A moment later, he said, “I can’t find Tenneson.”
This suggested Tenneson wasn’t participating in the clash. I would wonder why later.
“Segal?” I suggested. Segal had been the second-best Source within Gifford’s group.
Taro didn’t speak, he just let the forces flow.
Through him, I found Segal, fighting a tightly bound hurricane. Through Segal, I found Segal’s Shield, Orien, and her protections around him. Shields needed to be able to allow the forces to flow through the Source, to some extent, while keeping the undirected forces, those untouched by the Source, from falling into the vacuum created by the Source’s interference. It was a difficult balance to maintain, and if it went wrong, the uncontrolled forces would crush the Source.
I had discovered a way to interfere with another Shield’s protections. I could prevent the forces being channelled from leaving the Source’s mind and body.
So I did. I trapped within Segal the forces he was trying to manipulate. Immediately, they began to coil within hm, pressing for an escape.
Shields didn’t combat each other, they only helped their Sources work. Orien didn’t understand what I was doing, and she clearly didn’t know how to respond.
The interior forces began to build up within Segal, trying to break out. The exterior forces pushed in. They pressed against my Shields, which stretched out and became thin.
Segal tried to break off the engagement himself, without success. Caught between the external forces and the Shields placed by Orien and me, he was helpless.
His heart began to tear, struggling to control blood bearing against weakening veins. His brain expanded, crushing itself against the inside of his skull. Harder and harder and harder.
The soldiers immediately before me dropped, surrounded by a cloud. I had to ignore them.
Creol had been out of my sight when I had done this to him. This time, I could see the result of my actions. I could see Segal well enough to see his body explode. The skin over his stomach erupted first, right through his clothing, exposing ropy innards that slithered to his feet. Then his skull burst open, bone flying out.
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