by Джеффри Лорд
So he drew up his plan in as much detail as he could and presented it that evening to the War Council. «Fantastic» was the mildest word he heard used about it, and if the situation had been less desperate, Blade had no doubt that Pelthros himself would have come down hard on the side of his older and allegedly wiser military leaders and refused even to permit a debate. But the situation was desperate, the debate took place, and in it some of the younger officers who had held their peace while their seniors fulminated spoke up for Blade.
«There is a river in Northcoast Province where we could hide the fleet secure from discovery,» said a young squadron commander. «It’s called the Keltz, and the country around it is so wooded and sparsely populated that we could hide ten fleets and three armies there until they died of old age. And we could make it possible for the fleet to get out again in a hurry, too. There’s only one usable passage through the sandbars at the mouth of the river now, but we could dredge out several more in a week’s work. It’s never been done before because there aren’t enough people up there to make it worthwhile.»
«Very good,» said Blade. «If the pirates have charts of the coast, they will be certain that our fleet could only get out one or two ships at a time. They will probably leave no more than a small squadron on patrol. And so our fleet can pour out and catch the pirates in the rear, and perhaps by surprise.»
That idea made even the most crusted old men sit up and grin gleefully. But the objections were now joined by Pelthros himself. «We see much wisdom in your plan, Constable Blahyd,» he said. «But to draw the pirates inland, we must needs leave a large expanse of our territory and many of our subjects exposed to barbarities which you yourself know well. What say you to that?»
«I say that if we arrange it so the pirates land close to where we have both the army and the fleet, we can strike at them quickly and reduce the damage they do. But I beg you to consider accepting the risk even of great damage. If this plan works, the pirate power will be broken for all time, and next year Your Majesty can even consider leading forth your forces against Neral itself! The name of Royth will shine forever with a mighty glory for having smitten the pirates down into the sea!» Blade wondered if he was developing a weakness of his own for melodramatic statements on all possible and impossible occasions.
«True enough,» said the King. «But if we understand you, what you wish is that both the army and the navy be massed well to the north. What assurance can we have that the pirates will land where we wish, and not make straight for High Royth? The city would be left almost defenseless by your plan.»
«I beg to differ, Your Majesty. High Royth is a mighty city, the jewel of your realm, and heavily fortified. It can stand alone against the pirates for many weeks, certainly long enough for your army to assemble and crush the pirates if they are massed around its walls. It can fall swiftly only through treachery, which Your Majesty’s vigilance has rendered impossible.» After your procrastination nearly rendered it successful, he would have liked to have added, but politeness to kings usually pays dividends. «And if your loyal subjects can be given back their arms and told to hold them ready for use against the pirates, I am sure you can leave High Royth with even fewer soldiers than usual.»
The King contemplated that for a moment, then said, «Likewise true. Or true enough to deserve our consideration. But it would still be an ill thing for our capital to be besieged by the Neralers. Have you a scheme for indeed leading them to some place under the noses of our fighting men?»
Blade swallowed. The War Council had been purged of the treasonous, he hoped, but had it been purged of the garrulous? He-or the half-forgotten Richard Blade of Home Dimension, actually-had seen too many cover stories or ruses blown to smithereens because some fool knew too much and then had one drink too many. But he was in too deep to back out.
«I do. Let the rumor be circulated that the Kingdom’s gold and other valuables from both public and private sources are being moved-for safety-to some place in this area.» He tapped the map in the general area of the northeast corner of the Kingdom. «The thought of carrying away the whole royal treasury of Royth at a single blow will be enough to make the pirates search every hayloft and under every rock for it. And if we also fortify a number of towns and villages in the area, we can provide refuges for the country people and also delay the advance of the pirates until the royal army is ready to strike.»
Pelthros nodded, with a look on his face of a man becoming largely but not yet entirely convinced.
«We would prefer to see some reliable way of getting word of the bait to the pirates. If Indhios had not been killed and his faction smashed, we could have dropped hints where he would pick them up and convey them to his allies. Perhaps we could present the rumor as coming from him still?» He appeared to be asking Blade.
Blade shook his head. «I fear not, Your Majesty. Had we smashed Indhios’ faction less publicly, we could expect the pirates not to know that it had gone. But I am sure that boats are already bound for Neral, carrying the word. Indhios not only fell from power, he fell from a great height before a thousand witnesses. Anything that was supposed to come from Indhios, the pirates would know to be a trap.»
Before Pelthros could say anything in reply, Blade went on. «I think the best way for passing word of the bait might be for me to take a small ship, manned by my own men, and sail out to meet the pirates as though I were joining them. Or rejoining them,» he added with a wry grin.
There were murmurs and rumbles of surprise all around the Council table, from younger and older members alike: Pelthros was the first to put his thoughts into words, and shocked enough to let the royal «we» slip.
«I appreciate your-your idea. But-won’t they simply kill you outright before you can speak to them?»
Blade shook his head. «I know the Truce Code of the Brotherhood, which is inviolate. Even a man forsworn from the Brotherhood or outlawed from it can invoke Truce for twenty-four hours once in his life. I admit, some hothead may still put an arrow-through me. But I could be supplied with maps and documents that will get the word to the pirates even if I die. And of course, if they kill me after I have spoken to them, my job will have been done.»
If Blade had, like the late countess, been striving for dramatic effects, he would have been amply rewarded by the spectacle of twenty of the highest statesmen and soldiers in Royth reduced to an amazed silence. And when he saw Pelthros nod slowly, and go on nodding until looks of approval appeared on the faces all around the table, he knew that he had won. He would enjoy honor and influence in Royth second only to Pelthros himself, for his idea had impressed the younger leaders and his grand gesture in laying his own life on the line had impressed the older ones. Whether he would ever live to enjoy that honor and influence was, of course, another matter.
CHAPTER 19
Blade watched the horizon grow sawtoothed with the sails of the pirate fleet. He suddenly realized that at last he was as calm as he had pretended to be since the War Council three weeks ago.
He had been on edge with the strain of waiting all during those weeks, a strain which not even the frantic bouts of lovemaking with Alixa could relieve. The strain was made worse by the fact that he himself had little to do with the preparations for trapping the pirates. His moment would come only when the fleet was reported in sight, and Pelthros insisted that in the meantime he and his crew (actually, Brora’s crew) have a chance to rest, gain strength, and indulge themselves. There was a certain note of «the hearty last meal for the condemned man» in Pelthros’ well-intentioned decision that made Blade feel no better.
So he watched from the windows of his luxurious suite in the palace, with Alixa beside him, as the royal fleet sailed north, a hundred warships and a hundred merchant vessels carrying extra soldiers, supplies, and the labor gangs who would dredge out the mouths of the Keltz. By night, he heard the rumble of wheels, the tramp of soldiers, and the harsh voices of sergeants calling cadence as the Royal Guard and a brigade from the garriso
n of High Royth moved out, northward bound also, to join the army assembling there. In the early morning as he walked through the marketplaces and arcades, unable to sleep or even lie still beside the sleeping Alixa, he saw men polishing pikes and halberds, piling stones and firewood, weaving ropes for catapults. And then he would go home, to sit detached and distant over a breakfast prepared by the King’s own cooks, replying to Alixa’s questions only with grunts or mutters until she sometimes burst into tears.
Then finally word came from a merchant vessel that ran herself frantically on the rocks at the mouth of the harbor in her flight. The pirates were in sight and no more than a day’s sail off the coast. That night, Blade had no trouble talking to Alixa, nor she to him, as they writhed and tossed in a wild passionate agony and then lay feeble as children in the tangled sheets.
Blade was up long before dawn the next morning, riding alone through the dark and dew-slick streets to the pier where Brora was putting the final touches on their ship, a light galley named Charger. Brora threw Blade a salute as he rode up, then grinned and said, «Aye, I’m becomin’ too much the naval officer to remember how to be a pirate!»
«You’ll be a better naval officer for having been a pirate, I think,» said Blade. «We can all learn something from a man like Tuabir.»
«Aye,» said Brora. «May Druk keep him an’ be merciful. Perhaps we’ll be findin’ out about Druk’s mercy ourselves before the day be o’er.»
Blade grinned. «Don’t give up the ship until she sinks under you.» He sprang down from the saddle and strode up the gangplank, calling greetings to the men he recognized. That was most of them, for all but a handful of Charger’s forty-odd men had been part of Thunderbolt’s crew or at least of Brora’s action squads in the dockyard.
Half an hour later, with her blue and white sails to a rising dawn breeze and the sky behind her beginning to pale, Charger slipped past the breakwater and plunged out to sea. She was out of sight of land by mid-morning, and the cook had just called the hands to lunch when the foremast lookout squalled his warning. Blade ran forward, and a few minutes later he could see it too-the entire seaward horizon a forest of sails as the pirate fleet rose into view.
He suspected it would be a while before the pirates sighted Charger, small and low as she was. But before too long, he knew that two or three of the pirate galleys would race out toward her from the long line ahead. The interesting part would begin when they recognized his personal code flags and the Truce flags flying from Charger’s masthead. He gave the orders for the crew to pull in their oars and pull on their armor, then went below to his own cabin to equip himself. Seeing Charger completely defenseless might be enough to overcome some of the pirates’ scruples about violating Truce.
When he returned to the deck, he saw that two galleys were in fact pulling out ahead of the pirate fleet and closing on Charger. Blade strained to identify them, shading his eyes from the sun-then gulped as he recognized the badges on the approaching sails. One was the late Esdros’ Spider Prince, the other was Cayla’s own Sea Witch. Gasps and mutterings from the crew as they crowded forward to look told him that they also had recognized the approaching ships. Of all the Captains of the Brotherhood, Cayla was the most likely to be driven by a lust for vengeance to throw caution and tradition to the winds and violate Truce. But there was nothing they could do about it without abandoning their whole plan, except what Brora was already doing-going among the men and warning them to be prepared for anything, with their weapons ready to hand.
Sea Witch was coming up so fast that even from miles away Blade could see the water foaming white at her ram and under her flashing oars. Cayla was obviously eager to come up with him and was driving her rowers along at a deadly pace. Within a few more minutes, Blade could make out every detail of Witch, now miles ahead of her consort-details including Cayla herself, standing on the quarterdeck as rigid as a stone statue. She did not move, nor did any of the other armed men on her ship’s deck. Witch might have been a ship manned by statues, the oars pulling her along moved by magic.
Those oars did not stop until Sea Witch glided to a stop off to port of Charger, and her crew came pouring on deck fully armed. Cayla was also wearing armor, Blade noticed-a crested metal helm and a contoured leather cuirass that yet left her with an oddly sexless appearance.
But the voice that called across the hundred feet of water to Blade was the same as before, except for a new note of deadly rage.
«Well, Blahyd, how has being a traitor suited you?»
«What makes you think I am a traitor?» he shouted back.
That jerked her violently into silence for a moment and caused the men on Witch’s deck to look at her and then at each other. Another moment, and she shouted back:
«You slay Indhios, slaughter his picked men like sheep, and now you come and say you have not betrayed the Brotherhood? Indhios would have given us Royth like a roast pig on a platter, and now he is dead. Dead at your hand, you traitor!» Her voice had risen to a scream, and Blade saw her crew drawing swords and nocking arrows to their bows. He motioned his own crew to do the same, then replied, making his voice sound full of injured innocence:
«Indhios was as much of a traitor to the Brotherhood as to Royth. Or at least he would have been. And the Brotherhood would have been destroyed in discovering this.» Cayla’s head jerked in astonishment, and Blade pressed his advantage, his voice becoming more urgent. «Indhios didn’t want to rule Royth as the puppet of the Brotherhood. He wanted to rule it in his own right. He would have betrayed Royth, all right, and let you do all the hard work of destroying his enemies. Then he would have turned on you with his own men and destroyed you or driven you out. Then he could have ruled Royth as its savior from the pirates.» Blade had a stack of carefully forged documents below in his cabin to prove his arguments. He wondered if he would need them. Such a double betrayal would have been just like Indhios, and he suspected that the wiser heads among the pirates knew that already. But the experience of the other Richard Blade, the top-ranking secret agent, was guiding him now, with memories of how important it could be to support a lie as fully as possible.
Blade couldn’t read the expressions on the faces staring at him over Witch’s railing. But the total silence on the other ship’s deck made him hope his words had left some sort of impression. He saw heads turning toward him, then Cayla waving one hand in a chopping gesture. Witch’s men slipped their arrows back into the quivers and their swords back into their scabbards. Blade took a deep breath. Cayla hailed him again:
«You have invoked Truce, Blahyd. And you bring word that might best be laid before the Council of Captains. Otherwise I would take your ship and kill your men before your eyes, then send your cods to your high-born doxy! You will follow me.» She turned her back decisively to bark orders to her crew, who began dropping down to the rowing benches. Sea Witch swept away while Charger turned under Brora’s orders to fall in astern of her, and Spider Prince curved round in a great circle to take up a position at the very rear. Like a convict and two guards, the three ships set off for their goal, the ever-growing pirate fleet that now blackened fully half the horizon.
At the brutal pace Witch set, they came up with the advance guards of the pirate armada within half an hour. Blade saw familiar badges on the sails of the galleys as they fell behind and saw their crews pointing and staring at his own flags and the Truce banners flying from Charger’s masts.
Beyond the advance guard lay a stretch of open sea, then the main body. Four hundred ships now seemed a conservative estimate of its total strength, Blade felt. There seemed to be an endless arc of galleys interspersed with high-prowed merchant vessels, now stretching completely across Blade’s field of vision, and seeming to reach around to either side to engulf the three ships racing up to it. He could see the sun winking on helms and weapons aboard some of the merchant vessels, the intricate frames of catapults and ballistas on the high castles of others, skiffs and pinnacles with bright orange and blue and gol
d sails darting back and forth among the larger ships, like swallows around cliffs.
Blade soon saw that Cayla was leading them toward a particular ship, a huge merchantman even larger than Khystros’ long-gone Triumph. From its three masts streamed the green and white banner of the Captain’s Council of the Brotherhood, the same that Blade had seen over Council House on Neral. As Charger drew closer and the flagship loomed higher and higher over him, Blade saw that her decks were crowded not only with armed soldiers, but with Captains in full battle gear, as well as their ceremonial white baldrics and green cloaks. It appeared that Charger had arrived in the middle of a full meeting of the Council itself. Blade wondered what the Captains had been discussing before and smiled at the havoc he would be wreaking on their carefully planned agenda. Those Captains senior enough or distinguished enough to win seats upon the Council were also often old enough to have developed a taste for complicated paperwork and tidy agendas.
The seniors were out in even greater force than usual, judging from the amount of gray and white in the beards that appeared at the railing as Charger ranged alongside the flagship. A rope ladder plummeted down onto Charger’s deck. Blade caught it nimbly and scrambled up to the deck of the flagship.
As he stepped onto the deck, so did Cayla on the other side of the ship. The mercenaries and even the Captains eased themselves out of her path as she strode toward Blade. He could read her expression now-suspicion, hatred, and sheer cold fury mixed in constantly changing proportions. She too was now wearing the emblems of a Council member, a sight that made Blade even warier. She must have been rising fast and far in influence to take a seat on the Captain’s Council while still barely thirty.
