Sword & Flame: The Sara Featherwood Adventures ~ Volume Two

by Guy Antibes

  For Sara, the end of the ride was a mercy. Her shoulder throbbed and that caused headaches that had been getting worse. Just walking around on solid ground helped her pain, but she found that her hip began to ache a bit again. She watched the men and women of her little army make camp. Stopping here would give her troops some time to drill and rest up. Lisha’s idea should work, but if it didn’t, they all needed to be prepared to flee. Sara couldn’t think of a better strategy. Choster might if he were here. She sighed in sorrow.

  A healer approached Sara with her bag. “Time for another look at your shoulder. Then I’ll take a look at Miss Temple’s arm.”

  Sara just smiled and climbed back into the carriage for a little privacy.

  “You’re shoulder is healing, but it’s more red than I’d like to see. You might have fractured something inside, but since you have full motion, it’s just a matter of time. Your hip is still healing inside. At this point I can only give you a pain powder, if you wish. Once we stop for a few days your pain should go away.” She gave a few packets of power to Sara, anyway. “I know the ride hasn’t been too pleasant for you, milady.”

  “Thank you,” Sara said while getting back into the top of her dress. Tomorrow she’d be back in trousers and carrying weapons.

  Youngman stood close by directing squad leaders. Sara joined them.

  “I’m putting a few of our other injured soldiers in the carriage along with you and Lisha. Miss Waters can lead the women’s brigade rather than one of my soldiers. We’ll put a bandage on the outside of your shirt. There’s no reason to flaunt the fact that you lead us. I’ll be a retired soldier from Stonebridge who just returned from a trading trip west of the Gost and rescued the miners with my few men.” He shrugged. “If that’s acceptable, Sara.”

  “It is. The more normal we look the better. Our women’s brigade started spontaneously in Obridge and we’ll march to Stonebridge as fighting support for your troops, Youngman.” It rankled that the women had to hide behind support duties, but then Sara thought again of the seasoned soldiers who abducted the Duke. They wouldn’t stand a chance against men with years of training and that still included Sara.

  ~

  Youngman called outside of Sara’s tent. The dim light of pre-dawn nearly gave her enough light to see as she crawled out and stood. Klark and the two men he took with him stood with Youngman.

  “What happened?”

  Klark gave Sara half a smile. Maybe that meant that only half of his information was good.

  “We will billet with the Belting Hollow Brigade under Captain Featherwood. How are we going to present you?”

  “As Sara Featherwood, Ben’s daughter.” Sara blurted out a harsh laugh. “So much for subterfuge. I guess I’ll be able to lead the group then, since I’m known as an heir to Brightlings. Ben will know that.” Sara walked on the cold, damp grass, thinking about the situation. “He knows I was in Parth. We’ll say that when we heard of the troubles, you escorted me back home, Klark. Youngman? Ben knows the miners, so our original story won’t do, will it?” She looked at Youngman.

  “I can take my men back to Parth over the pass, but we are yours to command.”

  They all looked at her, waiting for a decision. Sara wondered where her carefree student days had disappeared. She was only eighteen and yet, the weight of the world seemed to press down on her shoulders.

  “I don’t want to put you or your men at risk, Youngman. You can go ahead and do what you think is best. You return directly to Parth or help lead those who want to return back to Obridge and then to Belting Hollow. I’ll write out a note giving you permission to act with Nona in establishing order until Ben Featherwood returns.”

  “Yes, Countess.”

  “Sara,” she corrected him, “Leave now before we get visitors. Are all of your men mounted?”

  Youngman nodded. “I’ll make sure I’ve appointed leaders to all of the groups.”

  “Good luck,” She put out her hand. Youngman took it and saluted.

  Sara ducked back into her tent to dress for the day. With the news from Klark, she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Her unit, underneath Ben—would it be a disaster? Would she feel like running away or shooting him with her gun? She’d know later in the day.

  She already had her traveling clothes laid out. Trousers, vest, blouse, cloak, gloves. Her weapons were locked in the carriage underneath the seat. At least she wouldn’t have to arrive looking like she was wounded, although she wasn’t free of pain.

  Youngman had roused the camp and by the time Sara had put on her weapons, keeping the exploders and guns under the seat, while he had assembled his men.

  “You might want to order your men, Youngman. That will be your responsibility again when all this is over. Good luck,” Sara said.

  “And the best of luck to you, Countess. Meeting up with Featherwood will only be the beginning of your adventure in Stonebridge.”

  “I’m sure.” She saluted Youngman and the exposure of her situation caught her by surprise. She now could only completely trust Willa, Lisha and Klark.

  He wheeled his mount around and ten of the best soldiers left her army.

  “Tea,” Willa said. “And you’ll need to eat a good breakfast today. We all will.”

  “Is everybody as nervous as I am?” she said.

  “Yes, indeed, Sara. All of us.” Willa gave her a cup.

  Sara took a sip of the hot drink and let its warmth seep into her body. “Assemble all of the group leaders, Klark.”

  In moments, twelve men and two women stood around Sara. “We are joining up with the Belting Hollow brigade under the direction of Ben Featherwood. You may join in the Grand Duke’s cause if you wish, but we’ve been through a lot. Some of us fought the rebels at the mines; others have joined us along the way and fought at the Battle of Obridge. We don’t want to be told how to live. I don’t know what the Grand Duke’s cause is, but I know that the King doesn’t need to have Shattuk Downs knuckled under by repressive leadership.

  “The decision is yours. All I ask you is that you don’t tell them that I am here on a different mission. We saved Belting Hollow, we saved Obridge but I don’t think we’ll be able to save Stonebridge. Just let me go off and do what I need to do. When this is over, we’ll all be able to return to our own pursuits. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of your coming with me. We’ll know more in the days ahead. Thank you. Now let’s go.”

  Sara walked back to the carriage. Someone had already broken down her tent. She wished she could have done it herself. Perhaps in her father’s camp she could assume a lesser role. None there would be calling her Countess and none would look kindly on her presence. How would she explain Belting Hollow to Ben?

  Klark helped her into the carriage and then he climbed in to join her. Lisha had already boarded and Willa would be riding with the women’s brigade.

  “Keep your gun hidden, Klark. We’ve only got four more exploders.” She leaned out of the carriage window. “Proceed.”

  The carriage led the party. One of the men who accompanied Klark sat up with the driver. They turned back towards the main road and proceeded to Stonebridge.

  As they approached the city, Sara looked out at the sea of tents. Thousands of men were camped on the fields of Stonebridge. Above the old buildings outside the city, she could see the massive wall. Even more than Obridge, the rear half of the city backed up against the river where the stone bridge that gave the city its name sat.

  She snorted. How could her little army fight amidst all of the men and against such a large city? What had they talked about the size of the Parthy’s army at the other end of the Narrows? Fifty thousand, and she had three hundred men and women under her command? Sending some of them home had been the right thing to do.

  The carriage left the main road and traveled east along a dirt track. The carriage began to bounce and Sara’s shoulder ached. She took a packet of pain powder and leaned back, trying to will the pain away and soon fell asleep. Klark
nudged her.

  “Here we are, Sara. I’ll help you out. Remember you’re wounded.”

  “That’s something I don’t need to be reminded of.” She could feel the stiffness in her shoulder as she grabbed a roof strap and slid across the seat feeling the stiffness in her hip. She’d be the last to exit. Looking out the window, Ben Featherwood stood, his face unreadable, his arms folded. She recognized the men with him. Peppen Swallow, Belting Hollow’s senior healer, stood at his side.

  “Hello, Father.” It was the first time she’d talked to Ben Featherwood in nine months.

  “Master Brownhill told us all about your adventures. The field to the north of us is empty. Your people can camp there.” No greeting of a long lost daughter or hailing of a heroine. Ben kept his face in the same frown.

  A chill went up Sara’s spine the way Ben said ‘your people’. He wasn’t very happy that they had arrived. One of Ben’s men came forward and took over directing her troops. She followed Ben to a large tent. Four folding tables had been clustered together to make up one table. Rickety chairs were set up in the trampled dead grass that made up the tent’s floor.

  After they had sat down, orderlies came in with tea. Sara took a sip. It was more hot water than tea.

  “You’ve come at an awkward time, Sara. We haven’t received much in the way of food for five days. We’re about to starve and have been thinking about leaving Stonebridge.”

  “And what’s to keep you from going?”

  “Nothing, but now it’s your men who have made it awkward for us to leave.”

  Sara had to pause. She could see he was reaching for an excuse to demean her arriving with a number of troops, but if she could solidify his desire to desert, then what was to keep the rest of the thousands of other men from leaving? They wouldn’t starve waiting for something to happen and the army would shrink by the day. The Grand Duke might have made a serious miscalculation. “My men and women have a full month’s supply of food. Why don’t you take them north? We brought them down here to find your brigade and observe the state of Stonebridge.”

  Ben put his hand to his chin and leaned back on his chair. His brows furrowed and looked out beneath them at his men. “Your man, Klark, told us about the troubles up north. It seems there’s been nothing good happening anywhere in Shattuk Downs. We haven’t been told a thing, just to wait for the King’s Army, then we fight for the Grand Duke,” Ben said. His demeanor hadn’t changed as Sara encouraged him to leave.

  “For what? The King didn’t start this. Anton Rider left Stonebridge and made it to Parth. That’s how we found out about all of this unrest. Did Klark tell you about Brightlings?”

  Ben glared at Klark. “Only that Doctor West is dead and you retook Belting Hollow. Edmond Heartfly had brought in a man to look over things while we were gone. I didn’t think…”

  Sara couldn’t believe her ears. “Doctor West was the man who murdered Vesty and nearly killed you.”

  “I didn’t recognize him. He wore a handkerchief over his face.”

  “I told you when you were sick, but I guess there were a lot of things said that weren’t heard.” Sara wanted to go farther much farther. How could Ben leave Belting Hollow so exposed? Sara wanted to shake her head in dismay, but restrained herself. She was tempted to tell him about her adventures in Parth and claim Brightlings right there, but realized how inappropriate it would be. She now knew the immediate mission—to get this man and his troops as far away as possible.

  “West burned Brightlings to the ground out of spite and June died inside. He hated the nobility and took advantage of all of your men leaving for the south. He took over the mines, killing the King’s soldiers, and brought his men into Belting Hollow, terrorizing the women left behind. ”

  She had finally penetrated his impassive expression. “Burned it down? Gone? June dead?” Ben looked like someone had punched him in the stomach and shook his head at the news. “I can’t believe Edmond would let another man do such a fool thing.”

  Sara shook her head. “West ran Belting Hollow by the time we got there. Edmond Heartfly didn’t seem to have any say. The rebels who remain are being held under watch in the town. I left Nona in charge.”

  Ben’s eyebrows rose. “Nona! She’s a scheming…”

  Sara raised her hand to silence him. “She is respected by the town and has a level enough head on her shoulders to keep the town together while you’re gone. Seb and Enos are safe in Obridge. We lost some good people fighting for the city, but we won. There are still rebels in the north, but they are leaderless. I suggest that you go ahead and return to settle things down. The same goes for Obridge. They need their mayor.”

  Ben leaned over and looked at his hands. He paused for a moment in front of everyone and then looked up. “You’re quite the heroine, as Klark describes it.”

  “I’m a Featherwood. Everyone looked up to me because you were gone. Now that we’re here, you are in charge.”

  Ben scowled and turned his head away. “I’ll never be in charge of you.” He gulped down his tea and turned away. Sara couldn’t quite read him and looked at Lisha, who barely shook her head.

  “Take whoever chooses to go back north. Are the men from Obridge very far away?”

  “No.” He still didn’t look at Sara.

  “Take them as well. The Grand Duke won’t follow if he thinks the King’s Army is near. The women of Obridge fought in the streets to defend the city and their children. They are yearning to see their husbands, just as Belting Hollow waits for your return.”

  “You want me to leave so you can take my glory?” His words lashed out as anger propelled him to stand. “You want me to show cowardice?”

  Sara willed herself to remain calm. Didn’t he even listen to what she had to say? “No. Take the troops I brought. Most of them are your miners and farmers who we picked up along the way. I’d rather you protect Belting Hollow. West didn’t treat it nicely and the women were all in shock when I left. Farmwives feared for their lives and their personal respect. The miners were being kept as prisoners up in their shacks. You have more of a duty to Belting Hollow than you do to the Grand Duke—especially if he won’t even feed you. You were going to leave if I came or not, remember? Don’t worry, I won’t follow. My business is in Stonebridge, not north.”

  Her pleading seemed to settle Ben down. He turned to look at her. “You’re right as hard as it is to admit it. When all of this is over, we’ll have to have a serious talk. A serious talk.” Ben stood up. “Men, all of those who would return to Shattuk Downs raise your hand.”

  All of their hands shot up. Sara couldn’t detect a bit of hesitance.

  Ben turned to his healer. “Peppen. You’re respected among the Obridge men. I know the Mayor isn’t keen on being away from his city, so let them know that we’re leaving tonight. There’s no reason to stay a minute longer than we have to.” Ben had rarely shown such a grim face before. Why couldn’t he even show a shred of appreciation? She thought she knew her father before her mother died, but the man before her acted like a stranger—an unfriendly stranger.

  “We’ll leave you to your preparations. There are a few who would stay with me. I know Klark has family in Stonebridge and now that I know you’ll be returning, I’ll find another way back to Parth. I know I’m still not welcome in Belting Hollow.” Sara nodded to her father and his men and left the tent. She restrained herself from looking back.

  She told the driver to take the carriage on to their camp without her, as she wanted to walk through the Belting Hollow camp, unescorted. Some men smiled and others grimaced as she made her way through the tents. Mr. Glimmer and Pol rose to say hello.

  “How’s my wife?”

  “Safe. She helped us get the town back.”

  “Town back, what happened?”

  “Rebels took the town over in collusion with Edmond Heartfly. We fought to take it back and your wife is anxiously waiting for you to return.”

  “I know there’s a number of us
who don’t like you much, Miss Featherwood, but I’m not one of them. Thank you.” He put out his hand and Pol patted her on the shoulder. Sara winced.

  “Is something wrong? I’m sorry, Miss Sara,” Pol said, concerned.

  “I put myself in danger and paid a bit of a price. I’ll be fine. Ben’s decided to move north. Don’t celebrate until you’re on your way, but you’ll soon be headed back to your wife.”

  Mr. Glimmer beamed and wrung his hands. “Thank you, Miss Featherwood. You come round the shop and I’ll always put something extra in the order for you.” He winked as Sara moved on. His words brought a smile to her face. Perhaps there were still a few in town that didn’t think she was an evil woman. The thought helped dispel some of the anger she felt for Ben.

  When she reached her camp, Sara gathered her leaders around her. “I dragged you all down here just to give you the opportunity to return. I’m sorry, but I think that our showing up actually helped make the decision of the Belting Hollow men to return north. It’s likely that the draftees from Obridge will do so as well. That will leave us here without any allies. I’ll only need a few to assist me to gain entrance into the city with Klark.”

  Her army’s faces brightened up. They’d been willing to follow her, but if the others they came to join retreated, the men and women were more than willing to retreat with them. Sara’s shoulder began to throb while she fielded questions. The pain powder had begun to wear off.

  She dismissed them and suddenly felt weary. She thought she’d rest for a few minutes. Sara had slept what was left of the day in the carriage until Peppen Swallow woke her up in the dim blue twilight.

  “I hear you are wounded. Why didn’t you tell your father?”

  Sara didn’t want her father to know. “The time wasn’t convenient.” She yawned.

  “I suppose it wasn’t. Let me take a look at it.” He rolled down the window covers and turned up his lamp so he could see her wound. She unbuttoned her blouse and let it slide off of her injured shoulder. “Not much I can do there.”