by Guy Antibes
“As soon as we can replenish our supplies we can be out of here,” Sara said. Klark had started finding wagons and paying for supplies with notes from Sara.
The next morning, the town came out of hiding. The smell of bacon and fried eggs filled the air as tables were set out on the street in front of the Council Chambers. At least they’d head out with a hot meal.
Nona sat across from Sara inside of the hall. “I can’t believe all that’s happened to you. A Countess!”
Sara raised one eyebrow. “Nothing I wanted. The cost was much, much too high, Nona. I don’t know if the town hates me anymore, but now I know the truth about Ben.”
“I noticed that it’s Ben and not Father.”
Sara looked out across the hall. “Not since summer. I couldn’t think of him as my father once he disowned me.”
“He hasn’t brought himself to forgive you, either. Once his injuries were healed, I realized that you were right. The man hates any woman who shows any real competence. Vesty was a perfect match.”
“But I thought you’d try to catch him?”
Nona shook her head. “No.” She looked away. “While I cared for his wounds, I thought there might be a possibility of romance, but as I helped him with the Brightlings accounts, he threw me out. I didn’t have the courage to write to you after that and communicated to you through Natti.”
“Where is Natti?”
“Ben drafted her. She’s cooking for his troops in Stonebridge. She didn’t even have any say, but I’m sure if she knew about West, she wouldn’t have gone willingly.”
Sara paused for a moment. “Will you do something for me?” She took Nona’s hand.
“Anything, Sara.”
“Run the town. Keep Belting Hollow going until the men come back. They will need a leader. You know how to heal people, so I know they’ll trust you since Peppen is caring for the troops, while Nattie feeds them.” For some reason the image made Sara smile. “Make sure people start paying each other for their goods, but keep everybody fed. The Brightlings barn and the storage sheds weren’t burned down. Sell as much as you can find in them and put any money aside for rebuilding the Council Chambers.”
“When will this all be over?”
Sara shook her head. “I don’t know, but we’ll get the Belting Hollow men home as soon as possible.”
Sara had spent a few hours speaking with various women in the town, reassuring them that she would do all she could to return their men to them and confirming Nona’s role as the temporary Head Councilor. She gave her authority to direct the injured miners left behind to keep the village in order. By the time she had finished, Klark had left for Obridge—another scouting trip.
Carts carried the soldiers who couldn’t ride and Sara now thought of them all as battle-tested soldiers. As they went from town to town, her army increased in size. Not all men had left their families to join the Grand Duke and she began her own rolling muster.
~~~
Chapter Nineteen
The Battle of Obridge Gate
By the time they reached sight of the spires and towers of Obridge, Sara’s force numbered nearly three hundred men. Sara wanted some time alone with Klark, but he only had time to return the necklace to her and apologize for his behavior at their last night before the battle. Neither of them had any time for a serious talk.
Klark rode back from another of his spying trips and told them that Red Swallow forces numbered a little over five hundred men. As in Belting Hollow, the Duke had stripped Obridge of its able bodied men. Klark had no idea how many fighters remained in the city.
They stopped and moved their force off of the road, through a track in a patch of woods and camped well out of the sight of the rebels.
Sara now had a small tent to share with Willa. She had just settled for a night’s sleep when Klark called her.
“I’ve got an idea,” he said. “The rebels have the main road covered with most of their forces, so what if we took off overland and attacked the much fewer men that guard the east gate?”
“But that would leave us exposed. If we couldn’t get through, we’d have to retreat across the bridge,” Sara said, but realized that it would enable them to consolidate with whatever fighting men were inside the city without fighting a force that outnumbered them.
“Go on, Klark,” Choster said, joining them.
“There are, at best fifty men on the other side. We’d overwhelm them. Once inside the city, we could obliterate the rebels by throwing the pipe exploders from the walls.”
Sara thought about it. “That might reduce our losses if we did that especially since we have no idea what kind of forces are in the city. Perhaps we could even evacuate over the bridge if necessary. Lets get the men up and start moving.” So much for a night’s rest. She rose, letting Willa break down the tent as she searched for Choster.
Choster smiled. “I thought that might be your answer, we’ve already started to rouse the men. They got a couple of hours of sleep. That will have to do and we’ll move out as soon as we send another bird to Parth.”
A light snow slowed the coming of dawn, but the frozen fields made their going easier than it would have been if it were warmer and muddier. Sara clutched her cloak and put her free hand inside, with her gloved hand holding the reins to her horse. They had made good time and now assembled underneath a small rise. The top of the Obridge wall peeked over the hill, but the men camped outside the gate still looked to be asleep. Their fires hadn’t yet been stoked to cook their morning meal.
Sara clutched Willa’s hand. “Thank you for being here with me. If we can’t make it in the gate, run across the river.”
“And you?” Willa gave her the squint to intimidate.
“I’ll follow you, but I still have to get to Stonebridge.”
“No one wants you to go south, you know that, don’t you?”
She only nodded.
Klark rode up and kissed her hand. “The carts will be left here except for the one that carries the pipe exploders. If it comes close to being captured we’ll have to blow it up.” Klark waved his gun and looked a bit scared. His usual bravado had been tempered by the danger of his assignment.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Sara patted a saddlebag. She carried four exploders, all wrapped in cotton wool. Willa carried four more. “Good luck.” She leaned over and kissed him. She thought she’d get a little thrill, but all she got was a measure of comfort that Klark still cared for her. She had accepted the carriage whistle back. Her regard for him turned to worry as soon as he wheeled his horse and rode towards the exploder cart.
“Are your exploders secure?” Sara said to Willa, who nodded back. The time had come to move out.
The column got as close as the gentle rise would permit and then the late dawn allowed them to get closer. A rebel sentry yelled and the Battle for Obridge Gate began.
Sara and Willa hung back towards the path around the wall to the other gate with twenty men. Choster led another contingent of riders through the rebel camp to the other side to prevent men escaping to warn the greater rebel forces around the city wall. Youngman led the rest of her army into a confrontation with the rebels. It seemed like everything went to plan until they spotted the main gate force running towards them. How could they have gotten ready so quickly?
“Go to the gate!” Sara yelled. “We’ll be caught in a vice if we stay here. Our duty is done.” They charged the forces fighting at the gate.
Sara’s voice became hoarse as she tried to alert the Obridge side to open the gate. No one even poked his head over the wall. She pulled out her gun and fired. The gate began to open just as her forces had overpowered the fifty men. The rebels had no chance, but Sara’s forces would soon be outnumbered. She bullied the men to run through the gate and set up a defense on the inside of the wall.
Choster’s forces were already fighting the larger force. He motioned for her to go through the gate.
“Willa g
o inside. Get the men ready to fight while they get the gate closed again,” Sara said.
Sara gave her the exploders she carried as she reloaded her pistol. The fighting began to gradually increase. Her forces now held the front of the gate. Choster and five or six of his mounted men were struggling to reach the pipe cart. The man argued with Klark and then shooed Klark away.
Klark rode to Sara’s side. “Inside. Choster has to explode the cart. He sent me here to protect you!”
Sara fired her gun again and pulled out her sword after she tucked her gun inside a cloak pocket.
“Choster!” she screamed.
Her butler and man-at-arms turned to her and touched his knuckle to his forehead from across the battlefield as he reached the cart. He pulled out his gun and shot into the cart. He disappeared in a huge ball of flame, shards of pipe and splinters.
The explosion took out every man who fought close to the cart. Sara’s horse reared up and dropped her on the ground. She began to run towards the gate, screaming, being pulled along by a bloodied Klark. Once inside, the gate immediately closed. Whoever didn’t make it inside Obridge was lost.
Sara ran into a guard tower and flew up the steps. Her ears didn’t function. She looked at the devastation on the other side. A circle at least one hundred feet in diameter only held the dead and dying. The cart and where Choster fired had become bloody debris. She couldn’t resist the tears and the sobs.
Her hearing began to return, but everything sounded odd, like they were speaking in a barrel. Klark came to her side and held her.
“How many men made it through?”
“We lost nearly fifty men.”
“And Choster.”
“And Choster,” Klark repeated. “It should have been me.”
“He was in command,” Sara said.
“You…” Sara put her finger to Klark’s lips.
“I helped. You helped. He was our commander and he’ll be remembered for it. The Battle of Belting Hollow and the Battle of Obridge Gate, not to mention the skirmishes at the mines. He will be missed,” she said.
“More than missed. How will we continue?”
Sara gazed at the men still milling around and crossbows began to rain bolts on them until they retreated out of range. “We’ll manage, I’ll command for now and our only focus is that we have Obridge to defend. But if we lost only fifty men, and,” she noticed guards on the walls. “We’ll fight our way out if every woman in Obridge carries a weapon.”
“A women’s army?”
~~~
Chapter Twenty
Women Warriors
The cold wind blew snow into drifts in the Obridge Market. Few stalls were set up and fewer buyers braved the harsh conditions. Sara brought her men into the area and let them rest. Women healers flooded into the area to help the wounded as the weary soldiers began to upend abandoned wagons to provide shelter.
The cobbled pavement didn’t allow tent pegs to be driven into the ground so the camp looked like a ragtag collection of tarps and shapes. Sara sat in the midst of it all on a water fountain’s edge, silently mourning the death of Choster. The final moment of his demise, the salute and the explosion. She’d never forget the hollow feeling of absolute loss mixed with horror.
“Don’t dwell on the explosion, Sara. Think of him as he led us from Parth to Obridge,” Willa said. “Save the grieving for later. We don’t have the luxury.”
The woman spoke with the wisdom of experience. Sara recognized it, but it didn’t make the pain go away. She had to pull herself together in order to lead these men. Few of them had come south to Obridge before, yet they fought for their land every bit as much as Sara fought for Brightlings. She could nearly hear Choster’s voice reminding her she would stay here as he traveled south to Stonebridge to save the Duke. She couldn’t stay here now. She would get the men healthy and then fight their way out. She focused on the cobbles and lifted her head when a pair of women’s shoes was in front of her.
“Lisha!”
“I had to come and see for myself. There were rumors that you came with the men.”
Willa stood. “She led them, lady.”
“And you are?” Lisha said.
Sara stood and stretched her sore back. “Her name is Willa Waters. She’s my personal assistant, Lisha, and a graduate of the School.”
Lisha peered at Willa and then put her hands on Sara’s arms. “You can take over Obridge with your men. There might be fifty or sixty guards—barely enough to man the city. The rebels don’t have enough men to storm the walls and no siege engines, but they are out there and we remain within the walls.”
“Figures,” Sara said. “We need to eliminate them. Those are all Red Swallows. Probably all that are left. We obliterated their Belting Hollow headquarters and killed their leader.”
“Save your story for later. The Grand Duke drafted most of the men in Obridge and that included the College students. There are over four hundred empty beds. Bring your men to the College and they can sleep in beds tonight.”
Sara hadn’t even thought to find quarters for her men. Choster would have. “That will be wonderful. Is there food?”
“Enough so that we won’t lose so much food to spoilage. Come on. I’m sure we can find plenty of time to talk once your men are seen to.”
After finding Youngman and telling him to organize beds and meals for the men in the school, Sara headed for the College. Now the streets were nearly deserted. Women hurried along in the gathering darkness going where they had to and not talking to anyone.
“How long have the men been gone?”
“Two, three weeks. I’m the dean of a school without students or faculty to speak of. Your brothers are still here. The women teachers at the Abbey school aren’t doing as much teaching as baby sitting.”
Sara could only nod. They walked through the empty Precinct and on to Banna Thresher’s office. Lisha brought the chair by the desk to the fire for Willa. Sara soaked up the heat. She hadn’t thawed out properly on their trip south from Belting Hollow.
“So you said maybe fifty men. How many women are in town?”
Lisha squinted. Sara realized that the squint was the same intimidation pose that Willa used and smiled. “Why do you ask?” Lisha said.
“I need an army. If we’re to break out of Obridge, we need to take the fight to them. Get them wounded. If we don’t have expertise, we need numbers. It would be dangerous, but who knows when the men of Obridge will return?” Sara said.
Klark poked his head in the door. “Sara. There you are. I brought Hirold Gateman, Captain of the Guard.”
“Bring in some chairs,” Lisha said.
“I was asking Lisha if we could turn some women into soldiers. We need bodies to fight the rebels.”
“You do. Their scouts must have seen you before you arrived at the River Gate and their entire force converged on your forces. We could only watch,” Gateman said. “I’m sorry. At least I made it to the gate and had my men open it for your retreat.
“We lost nearly fifty men and our leader.”
“Co-leader,” Willa said.
Sara didn’t respond. She didn’t want to be the leader. She wanted to be sitting next to Choster giving him her perspective so he could make the decisions. The men had looked up to her, so now she would take the mantle of their little army. She didn’t have to worry about convincing him to take her to Stonebridge, but she desperately wished that she still did.
“So now we are only outnumbered two to one,” the Captain said morosely.
“No. We will train the women who want to fight. How many are in the town?”
“Five thousand or so. The Grand Duke took those sixteen and older, so we might be able to bring in a few hundred boys.” Gateman shook his head.
“Enough to even the odds?” Sara said.
“Perhaps we can talk two or three hundred boys and women into risking their lives. Everyone knows that if those rebels had a real leader, they’d be in the city by now
.
“They drove us off with numbers, earlier today, pinching us between the two forces. Their numbers have been reduced more than ours.” The explosion alone claimed a lot of rebel lives and more than a few of her troops. “Even sharp sticks as spears can be used effectively if the women work together. It’s been done before,” Sara said.
Gateman smiled. “Pentath’s Fourth Campaign. You study history, Miss Featherwood?”
“I do. It can work here. We need a few days to scrounge what weapons still exist in the city and then a week to train our volunteers. The women and the boys…” Sara’s stomach dropped to realize that Seb and Enos would want to fight. “…will be put in the safest of positions, but can follow what was successful for Pentath. The women advanced as a bubble surrounded by soldiers. Their sticks pushed off the forces of Duke Barrier and the Pentath army flew in and out of the protection of the women’s pikes to take the day.”
Gateman added, “And against a larger force. The mayor took my younger men, but I have my trainers left. You have men that can take their places on the wall. Let’s get started.”
Sara rose. “Lisha, I need the women of the School to spread the word. Every woman needs to make a choice, but they won’t be forced, especially women with children. Same for the boys twelve and over.”
“I’ll get on it immediately.” Lisha sprang up and rushed out of the office to talk to the women who worked outside.
“I’m heading up to my room, if it’s still vacant.”
Willa accompanied Sara up the flights of stairs to the Duchess wing. Her door was locked, but Sara had hidden a key in the bathroom and hoped it would still be there. She retrieved it and opened the door.
Analea jumped up from her bed. “Sara!”
Sara’s knife flew into her hand. “Sit down.”
“Who’s she?” Willa said as she drew her own.
“Analea is an agent of the Red Swallows.” Sara stood over the girl. “Why are you here?”
