by Pam Uphoff
"While they were sloshed?" Mogan was snickering.
Inky grinned. "Yep. Might have been a bit of competition and showing off going on as well. The results are awesome. The stuff in the wine doesn't just guarantee a pregnancy, it selects for the most magical genes. And if it's got lots of choices of genes among various sperm, it can mix and match genes between the sperm, and even the egg. So, say a woman with very little magical potential has two magical lovers, her child is likely to be a blend of the genes of the two men, with little contribution from her."
"You are kidding me."
"Nope. So, my mother, who is a pretty strong witch, was gang raped by a bunch of Oner spies, killed them all, and then had sex with the God of Just Deserts. So, basically I've got genes from seven parents, including one of my X chromosomes being from One World. Oh, Mom and Dad have the majority of the genetics, but I didn't get this black hair from either of them. All four of us are that way." She grinned over at him. "Poor man. Witches just don't care the same way ordinary people do."
"Right. So your sisters. Lady Azure . . . "
"Oh, no. She and Beige are a couple of years older than us quadruplets. They're twins and we've got triplet brothers."
Yellow was biting a knuckle to avoid laughing. Or maybe crying, because under all Inky's insouciance was terror and a fluttering sort of awareness of the potential for loneliness. Something Inky'd never considered possible.
"Twins, quadruplets and then triplets. And you have two sets of triplets." Vinz's eyes were crinkling at the corners. "All right. I officially believe you when you say your mother is a minor fertility goddess. I'm not sure yet about the God of Just Deserts."
Easterly and Yellow swapped looks.
"Unfortunately, mere disbelief won't save you." Easterly straightened and listened. "I think they've found my scouts."
Yellow heard running horses, and steered to the side of the road at Easterly's gesture. He pulled a short lance from the holder under his leg, and the troops copied him. They weren't exactly hidden, but the low brush screened them from view long enough that the running horses were beside them before the riders could react. The scouts, one hunched painfully, were past them before they pulled up, and the ten bandits pursuing them weren't expecting to meet an equal number of troops. Easterly didn't have enough space to get up much speed, but the horses leapt forward and the lances hit the surprised raiders from the side before any sort of shield or deflection was possible. The trained troops took out eight with the short charge and teamed up on the two survivors with their swords. Neither man would surrender, and both were cut down swiftly.
Yellow gave the injured scout a drink and was able to feel the tissues around the jagged bolt in his side. She pushed the flesh away from the barbs mentally and pulled the bolt out smoothly. Vinz and Mogan gawped as the wound closed behind the barbed war point.
"That's that wine?" Mogan asked.
"Umm, and some witchery to clear the barbs. Lanny, you better take it easy for few days. Anyone else?" Two minor slashes healed with a sip of wine and being pressed together.
"It's infuriating stuff." Inky said. "It'll heal anything, but for a woman – well you'd better not have anything to do with men for a couple of months or you can guarantee a pregnancy. And these boys are going to be randy for hours. Which I've heard doesn't mix well with riding."
Easterly snorted, and looked at the scouts. "What happened?"
"I don't know, it was like they knew we were there. We didn't trip a lookout, it was an ambush laid on for us. The horses were still so spooky, mine jumped at the right time and they missed me." The uninjured man looked apologetically at the other, who shrugged.
"Mages maybe?" Easterly looked more absent minded than usual for a moment. "Xen's warned your people and, huh, he's got Garit and his troops there, they're coming out to get them. Why don't we go play too? Inky can you cover Vinz, Mogan and Lanny with unnoticeable and hang back? Yellow . . . "
"I can sort of fog ahead so they won't see us, but they may feel the magic."
"Do that. Form up." Easterly grabbed two lances from the ground, handed them to his troops and pulled another out of a body for himself.
"Hey! We're not going to sit this out." Vinz protested.
"You don't have any training coordinating with us, if you must come, hang back a good ways and keep anyone from escaping. Lanny, check these guys, tie up anything with a pulse."
"Yes, sir."
Chapter Sixteen
Summer 1398
Section Twenty, Southern Divide Territory
Garit fought down the creeping sensations engendered by having the best swordsman in the West behind him. Xen is a friend, damn it! He'd gotten really good about keeping thoughts hidden from Quicksilver, in and out of bed, and was being very careful to keep himself mentally pulled in while he was around Xen.
He'd caught Xen giving him some odd looks.
He won't take this away from me. I'm magic, and I'm going to stay this way. And I'm in command. He always follows my orders, but he always does it his way, he finds some twist, some further action so he looks like the Hero. Well, today he can be seen by everyone to be watching my back, not commanding anyone. A lowly body guard.
He had the century of bowmen out first, backed up by Captain Kaster with fifty lancers. Break up the opposition's formation quickly, so they couldn't get their crossbows in operation, then take them out with pure numerical superiority. Lieutenant Jeff Lovett was with the scouts and would advise the archers about the approach of the enemy, and also coordinate with Easterly.
No doubt Xen would keep him advised. He patted Acrobat, his most staunch ally and friend, and mounted. With Xen at his heels he formed up with Captain Brewster and they led the rest of the century up the dirt wagon trail.
Two hundred against sixty. Like as not they'd never draw swords. But he was going to enjoy this, even if he didn't get a chance to strike a single blow.
"Jeff has sight of the Organtes troops Easterly encountered . . . they've halted and are waiting . . . umm, more troops coming in from the north . . . no. Bandits. Lots of bandits. Jeff thinks he's spotted the White Witch."
"The Gold Gang has never stood and fought before." Garit lifted his reins and Acrobat moved out. "Let's tighten up, it looks like we could have more of a fight than we'd expected."
Xen scowled suddenly. "Q's jumped in, she says they've got magicians, probably Sea Wolves. If she get's herself killed, my parents are going to disown me."
Garit concealed a wince. And what Uncle Rufi would do to me. And . . . I'd deserve it. "Trot out, can't let Kaster have all the fun."
Brewster called the orders and the column picked up speed.
"Q says the Archers are all in the brush south of the road. A nice wide grassy area. She has an illusion over them . . . and the Organtes troops have spotted the lancers . . . Kaster's spread his front, ten wide."
Garit cursed himself for letting Kaster get so far ahead. "Any count on the bandits?"
"Q says well over a hundred, some semblance of order, crossbows and short bows, swords, no lances."
"Damn, even odds, with more swordsmen than we have." Garit squinted ahead. "We'll need to concentrate on the Organtes. I suspect the bandits will break and run as soon as they see us."
Xen nodded. He appeared to have his eyes closed. "Q says the Organtes are riding forward, getting their crossbows out . . . and our archers are up and firing. Kaster's stopped to give them time to get off a few more volleys . . . Q says the Sea Wolves are shielding, not much getting through.
"Kaster's moving."
Garit nodded. "Xen, your job is to take out all the Sea Wolves you can. And any other magicians. We need to be able to hurt them. And killing the White Witch would be really, really good."
He turned to Brewster. "I'll keep twenty men, to hit them where needed. You take the rest of the troops. As soon as we see the battle, we'll head up one side or the other, opposite Kaster and try to hit them from both sides at once."
/> Brewster grinned hungrily and dropped back to give orders.
He'd been hearing screams and curses faintly over the sound of their own horses hooves. Suddenly the pounding of a charge, crash of mounts and shriek of metal on metal. They topped a slight hill to the usual chaos of a battlefield close to them, and untouched enemy troops pushing in from the west.
Kaster was rallying his outnumbered troops to the south for another charge. Garit waved right and put heels to Acrobat. The troops streamed after him aiming for the Organtes' exposed flank.
Pyrite flew past him. Xen pointing left handed. Something like an arrow of light streaked across the field. A man crashed off his horse. More flashes of light on the far side of the scrum. Q?
Garit waved again and the troops turned and bore down on the Organtes. He gritted his teeth and hung back, sorting apparent chaos. Kaster charged from the southeast as Captain Brewster's men hit them from the northeast. The archers were aiming at the enemy west of the main fight, and now the arrows were getting through.
Mostly bandits, back there. Look at the little groups turning to run for it.
And then the middle section of the enemy troops wheeled and charged right at him.
Garit grinned, and pulled his short lance out of the case beneath his knee. "The big guy in the middle is mine! Let's go!"
Acrobat leaped forward, the others a half a step behind him.
The distance was barely far enough to get up speed. The big guy tried to get out of the line of Garit's path but Acrobat veered to match. The man cut desperately at Acrobat's face as the lance embedded itself in the big man's chest. Acrobat threw her head up to avoid the slash, and crashed into the other horse. Staggered, and as Garit snatched out his sword, she reared and struck out, knocking a rider from his mount. Garit swung his sword back at movement in the corner of his eye, deflected a sword thrust, wheeled Acrobat out of the way. The man spasmed, and fell as Keri jerked his sword out of the man's back.
One of Garit's troopers screamed and fell.
A quick sweeping glance over the battlefield. Clear to his left. "Wheel right! Form up!" He slotted Acrobat between Kuri and another trooper, and they charged a disorganized rabble. We've run out of soldiers, these are just bandits.
The bandits were more interested in running than fighting. Garit called his men back, and aimed them back at the flank of the heavier fighting. The horse on his left went down. A bandit charged at him, grabbing his horse's mane and swinging a long sword low, to take down Acrobat.
Garit tried to get his sword across to his offside, tried to spin Acrobat away, threw up his left hand as if it could ward off the blow to Acrobat's foreleg . . .
Bandit and horse jerked back, staggered.
A uniformed man on a chestnut thundered by, reaping the bandit's head in passing. Xen. He wheeled around and dived back into the fight. Garit send Acrobat in his wake, taking advantage of the path of carnage Xen left behind.
The bandits had broken and tried to run, but something had turned them back. Easterly. With less than a dozen men, he'd probably found a narrow spot and held it.
The panicked bandits broke to the north, crashing through brush with no regard to their horses' well being.
Fifty maybe. No sign of the White Witch.
Garit led the troops in a final charge into the bandits, but pulled them back from the rough ground and limited visibility.
Brewster trotted up, grinning. "I'll bet less than twenty escaped." He looked back at the battlefield. "Those Organtes were tough bastards. We've lost a lot ourselves."
Garit nodded, as his energy suddenly ebbed. He turned and eyed the carnage.
Easterly was trotting in from the west, waving several people . . . that would be Yellow, and the other woman in civvies looked like one of her sisters . . . off to where the troops were starting an aid station, while others checked the bodies on the field. There was Xen, with a bottle of wine. Excellent. Save our wounded. This was too close. If they'd had more soldiers and fewer bandits, we might well be the ones fleeing through the brush.
"Well. Let's go help with the clean up. I think the bandit problem has been cropped well back."
"Yes, sir."
***
"I am a soldier, not a bandit."
Garit eyed the man. Pale, a combination of injuries and fear. He was doing a fair job of hiding that last, nose in the air, confident voice . . . hardly any shake to it.
"You are out of uniform. Don't think we won't hang spies." Garit looked past him, to see what the God of Spies thought of that.
"Spy my ass. This was a cold-blooded criminal raid. That you'd have taken your part of the loot home to your Amma matters not a bit to us."
Not much apparently.
"Well, you may be worth a few diplomatic points, alive. I think we'll send you to Karista. And then if your ambassador repudiates you, we'll hang you there." Garit turned away with a shrug. "Captain Kaster, transport him to Karista and hand him over to General Rufi."
Garit looked over to where Q was waving her left hand and the dirt she'd scooped out an hour ago dropped out of nowhere on top of the enemy bodies. The bandits who'd survived had been hauled off to Southern Hell to face a judge.
"So when did you learn the push spell?"
He twitched. Xen. Behind me. Old Gods! Stop this! Wait . . . "Push spell?"
"I saw you swat one man; staggered his horse."
"I . . . thought you did that . . . I . . . " He glanced across at Q. "I drank something. Q said it looked like Teri's spells all dumped together. I've been feeling . . . odd since then."
"Teri's . . . " Xen reached out toward him, stopped when Garit stepped back.
"Sorry . . . Q said paranoia was part of it." Garit braced himself and stepped back.
"Oh . . . well, no doubt Q's stopped everything . . . so you've started gathering power?"
Garit shook his head.
"Oh, man, you're going to need lessons. Real soon."
"Maybe after the paranoia goes away. I worry about what I might do, sometimes. And with magic . . . I could get pretty nasty." He hesitated, and from somewhere, the trust came. "Ambitious. Sometimes I feel like a huge weight is pressing on me."
"Oh. That's the collective subconscious. You always did have a lot of the magic genes, just not a power gene. If you've got power . . . yeah, you could be in trouble."
"Xen . . . I keep dreaming about killing my father and taking the throne. When Laughlier called you the Black Prince, I felt like you'd stolen that from me."
"Oh . . . shit. Garit . . . if you get desperate, duck through a gate. I'll show you the maze . . . and talk to you about some ideas I have. There could be a lot of places to apply that ambition, outside of the kingdom."
"On other worlds?" Garit blinked. King of the Earth? Or there's those vampire priests in Arbolia . . . The place with steam driven automobiles . . . The Empire of the One . . .
He shook himself. "Well. Let's finish up here, then talk about it. Did you see the White Witch?"
"No. If she was with the bandits, she ducked out early. I suspect she hung back to see what happened and departed ahead of the rout."
Chapter Seventeen
Late Summer 1398
Section Six, Three Rivers Province
Princess of the One Rior, one of the most magical humans in all creation, was feeling less princess-like by the day. Her stupid, stupid gang had imagined an easy conquest of a mining operation and walked into an ambush by the Army of the West.
Ordinarily she could have helped.
But those glowing points of power . . . A witch had interfered with the shields the Sea Wolves raised to stop the archery barrage. A single wizard had taken out the top Sea Wolf before they had time to form a compass. The other seven hadn't had a chance against his incredible, trained, pinpoint power. The other two local magicians had been nearly as strong . . . then four more magic users had come up behind them and blocked escape to the west . . . She'd left quickly, and made it to Southern Hell ahea
d of anyone looking for her. corridored to Lucky Strike and headed for the mountains.
She'd crossed the mountains on rough trails, to find the Wallenton River dry. She'd run out of water. The horse had died four days ago, leaving her to face the waterless expanse of the desert on foot. Her naturally superior stamina and a thunderstorm, had gotten her across the dry plains and she'd waded the summer shrunken Karista River. Drunk until she could finally make herself stop. Then the diarrhea had hit. She hadn't walked more than a few miles after that. She felt so weak. She tried to think around dehydration. Now that she was getting close to civilization – local variety – what was her plan?
Food. New clothes. Hair dye. She frowned down at the cluster of buildings. Four rundown houses. Shabby barns and sheds. Perhaps a mile away. It would be better to find one house alone, but she was so hungry . . . weak. She hadn't found water that morning. She must move normally, not allow any weakness to show. She could not collapse a few feet from her goal. She would walk this last mile.
Out Take One:
The Pale Woman
Erica set the last bottle on the shelf.
"There. Now people can see them, and buy them." Everyone knows they're taking a chance buying anything from Mom. Ericka fanned herself in the summer heat. She'd sold fifty lots, most of them with houses built by Oldham Engineering—Q or one of the people she had working with her. I'm rich. And I'll keep doing those silly exercises until I can do magic.
She tilted her head, listening. No, false alarm, the baby was still asleep. She looked back at her mum.
"You've tried some potions yourself, haven't you?"
Susto nodded vaguely and fished through her pockets. Her clothes were all too tight, she'd gained an awful lot of weight. She yanked a small bottle out of her pocket. Just plain, nothing fancy about this one. The label just had the letter Q on it.
