“Are you alright?” asked Nachun.
No.
“Of course. Everything’s in place.”
“That’s not what I meant. Are you alright?”
Tobin scowled. “You mean, am I thinking clearly after realizing I’ve been manipulated for months, made to look like a fool, and betrayed by someone I loved?”
Nachun frowned. “I didn’t realize it was that serious between you and Odala.”
Tobin forced himself not to hang his head. “I thought it was.”
“I’m sorry.” The shaman cleared his throat. “You know, we never talked about any questions you had over what Soyjid did to you.”
Perhaps it’s because I don’t want those answers anymore.
“It can wait.” Tobin chuckled. “I’d hardly call now the appropriate place to begin that discussion. We’ve wasted enough time here already. Get into position.”
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air until Tobin heard Nachun’s footsteps drifting away.
* * *
Nareash walked off, leaving Tobin to his thoughts. Warriors moved quickly out of his way as they recognized his mood. Nareash understood Tobin had been through a lot over the past few days, but that didn’t make it any easier for him to overlook the brash tone Tobin had used with him.
Nareash reminded himself to be patient. After all, this battle should be the last major challenge. He could talk to Tobin afterward about his plans for the Kifzo.
Walor fell in step with Nareash. The High Mage ignored him.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“How does he seem to you?”
“Angry, moody, and focused—just as you requested.”
“I didn’t want to hurt him,” Walor leaned in and whispered. “I was trying to help him.”
“As was I. But don’t tell me you didn’t foresee this happening on some level. How would you feel if you learned someone had been playing with your mind? Or your woman had been trying to set you up for failure and eventually death?” He quickened his pace. “I imagine that would ruin your mood as well.”
“I understand that, but what about any permanent damage?”
Nareash stopped. “How did you know about that?”
“I didn’t. It was just a guess.”
“Well, don’t talk about it with anyone else. The last thing the men need is to question his sanity.”
“So it is a possibility?”
“Yes, but he’s been too focused to let me look at him. I won’t press the issue until after the battle. Just keep an eye on his behavior.”
“I will.”
* * *
“Everything is just as you said it would be,” said Gidan. He eyed the waves of men pouring out of Feruse to join the thousands already aligned on the field of battle. “And your stalling tactics worked brilliantly. Scouts say we outnumber them by more than two to one now.”
Charu grunted. His eyes were not on his own men, but on the enemy’s across from him. A lone figure stood out on one of the highest rises. Charu turned to his general. “Have there been any messages for me?”
“Just from Jolnan saying that the council continues to support your command, but wants to see big things from you today. Were you expecting any others?”
Yes.
Charu shook his head staring at Tobin’s right wing. He pointed. “They seem thinner there than before. Isn’t that where the Gray Marsh Clan is positioned?”
“Yes. Maybe our estimates of their losses were wrong.”
“Even so . . . .” his voice trailed off. Something didn’t feel right, but the last letter received from their contact assured Charu all was in place.
And Tobin’s lines are exactly as the letter said they would be.
Gidan sounded concerned. “Do you wish to delay the battle until we get more information?”
“It’s too late for that.” Charu pointed. “It’s begun.”
Gidan shielded his eyes from the sun and followed the line of Charu’s arm. “All of Tobin’s lines are advancing together.”
Charu breathed a small sigh.
Just as the message said they would.
* * *
Tobin checked in with Walor, Ufer, and his other captains before scanning his troop’s positioning. Satisfied, he signaled them forward. Thousands of warriors calmly filed past him on the rise. A dozen messengers came up and stood behind him, ready for his orders.
The giant ram horn of the Red Mountain Clan sounded and Charu’s forces began their slow advance. The deployment of Charu’s men suggested that he believed Tobin still operated under Soyjid’s strategy.
Walor moved his men to a sprint. Charu’s men sped their advance, and as expected, an enemy unit separated on the left, intending to sweep around Tobin’s flank.
Tobin turned to his messengers. A shaman stood among them. “Signal the cavalry. Two bursts, separated by a string of smoke.”
“Yes, Warleader.” Two small balls of fire shot up into the air, a snaking trail of smoke connecting them before all dissipated.
Tobin trained his eye on the tree line as hundreds of horsemen burst from cover and sped toward Charu’s sweeping unit. The enemy had more than enough time to respond, and halted to brace themselves. However, the first wave of Yellow Clan Riders carried short bows. They fired on their targets, softening Charu’s left flank. The mounted archer’s peeled away as the heavy cavalry swept in behind them and shredded Charu’s men.
“Three rapid bursts now,” Tobin called over his shoulder.
The shaman obeyed and the cavalry fell back and reformed well outside the battle lines Charu shifted in to support his weakened left side.
In the meantime, Walor had reacted to the mounted charge by slowing his advance to lure Charu’s forces in. The enemy’s ranks continued their charge and as they approached several small rises, pockets of hidden Kifzo took out their opponent’s captains with crossbow shots before sprinting back to the Blue Island Clan lines.
The Blue Island Clan suffered few casualties, and by the time the weight of the two armies came together, they met farther away than where Soyjid had promised Charu, giving Tobin the advantage in terrain.
Now it truly begins.
Tobin sent orders throughout the day. Walor did not gain any ground, nor did he lose any. The Kifzo’s ranks stood as unmovable as the walls of Juanoq. The shaman behind Tobin continued messaging hidden cavalry to either side of the battlefield that prevented Charu from mounting any flanking maneuvers.
Charu reacted well to the obvious breakdown in the strategy he planned for, deftly using his shamans to negate Tobin’s mounted archers. Nachun stepped in and directed the Blue Island Clan shamans to shift the momentum back to Tobin’s forces by focusing their attacks on Charu’s center.
The battle raged until shortly before dusk. Both sides agreed to fall back for the day and collect their dead. Tobin hated knowing that he had not finished off Charu on the first day. However, his men did not seem upset and when the estimates of the day’s losses came in, he understood why.
Charu’s men had suffered four times the number of casualties.
* * *
Once inside the confines of his tent, Charu released the anger he had tried to conceal from his men. He threw his armor down, kicked over a chair, and ripped the letter he had previously received from his informant.
A throat cleared in the middle of Charu’s outburst. He wheeled. “What?”
Melat eyed him. “Are you done? Because if you aren’t, then finish quickly. Jolnan will be here to see you soon. Of that, I have no doubt.”
Charu swore. “Wonderful.”
One of his guards poked into the tent. “Warchief. Jolnan from the Green Forest Clan is insisting that he speak with you right away.”
Charu eyed Melat. The woman smiled knowingly. Charu turned back to the guard. “Give me a minute and then send him in.”
The guard left and Charu took a deep breath.
Melat began straightening up
the mess without him asking. He took in her beautiful figure as she did so. She spoke without looking up. “Though I’m flattered that I could distract you so easily, might I suggest you focus on readying yourself for Jolnan.” Melat looked up and smiled, taking some of the bite out of her tone.
Such an amazing woman.
Charu sighed. “We’ve been betrayed.”
“Or the more likely scenario is that our contact was found out. You knew both were possibilities.”
Charu rubbed his face. “Yet I didn’t plan appropriately enough. I knew something felt off, but allowed myself to be deceived anyway. Tobin played me perfectly.”
“But it won’t happen again, will it?”
“No. It won’t.”
The guard poked his head into the tent again. “Warchief?”
“Send him in.”
Jolnan entered the tent and watched Melat clean up the last of the mess. “Good, you’re angry. I take it today’s travesty was not part of your plan.”
Charu grit his teeth. “What do you think?”
Jolnan sighed. “The council is questioning not only your strategy here, but now everything you’ve done up to this point. The Green Forest Clan’s forces have lost quite a few men in comparison to yours. They are having a hard time understanding why that’s so.”
“I told you the Red Mountain Clan is better trained,” said Charu.
“Not as well trained as Tobin’s apparently. What happened?”
“I had incorrect information.”
Jolnan raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Jolnan grunted. “Well, do you have the correct information now? I have to convince the council to keep faith in you, and to do that I need to have some faith myself.”
“From here on, things will be different,” said Charu in a flat tone.
“Good. I need to see results and so does the council. Otherwise, we may not be meeting tomorrow under such amiable terms.”
The councilor left the tent and Charu stayed his fury over having to placate the elders of a weaker clan.
Melat coolly walked to a table to pour him a cup of water.
Charu got her message. He needed to calm himself. Tobin had surprised him today and he couldn’t allow anger to rule his decisions.
Charu admitted that Tobin had done well on the first day of battle.
He must have learned what I had planned, just as before I knew what he would do. Tomorrow we’ll see how good a commander he truly is.
* * *
Nareash impatiently watched the second day of battle unfold. Charu had used the night to rethink his battle plan. He placed his shamans within his ranks and battered the Blue Island Clan forces mercilessly. Nareash had done his best to negate the Red Mountain Clan shamans with those Tobin had put under his control, yet Charu still held the advantage. Nareash sent word to Tobin, wanting to step in, but his friend refused him.
He got the message. Tobin wanted to win without his help. His confidence had been shaken after Soyjid’s manipulation and along with the lingering doubts instilled in him from Bazraki and Kaz, Tobin needed to win with no assistance.
Nareash watched Charu and Tobin struggle to outwit the other and admitted both commanders impressed him. Charu relied on superior numbers and the prowess of his shamans to counter Tobin’s better-trained and better-armed forces.
At the end of the second day, both sides suffered relatively the same number of casualties. The exhausted armies drudged back to their camps and Nareash could not help but notice that even the mighty Kifzo warriors looked weary.
Something must change.
* * *
Only the sentries looked alert as Nareash entered the main camp and slipped between the parting soldiers. He liked to think they cleared a path out of respect, but he knew hate and fear motivated them.
Nareash headed straight to the camp’s center. Walor made a move to intercept him, but the High Mage gestured for the Kifzo to wait at the entrance to Tobin’s tent as he went inside.
Tobin stood naked to the waist over a bowl of water. The warleader’s armor lay on the floor beside him. Tobin ran a damp towel over his skin.
“You must have run to get here so quickly.”
The calm tone of Tobin’s voice surprised Nareash. “I thought you might be beating yourself up.”
Tobin’s chiseled torso rose and fell with each breath. “Why would you think that?”
“I thought you might lament over the lack of success or the loss of life, given casualties were great on both sides.”
Tobin shrugged his thick shoulders, curling them up his neck until they practically touched his ears. “The lack of success means nothing. Today went as I expected it. Charu impresses me.” He sneered. “Even without Soyjid’s help, he’s a worthy opponent. I knew the battle would not end today, not unless Charu did something foolish. Today was meant to buy time. Tomorrow Charu will make his mistake.”
Nareash raised an eyebrow. He thought he had been in on all of Tobin’s plans, but it would appear not. He’s lost his trust in me as well. “And how will you accomplish that?”
“You’ll have to wait and see. The men I sent out should be coming back at any moment. If they weren’t successful, there are other ways I can achieve the desired result, though none quite so impactful.”
Tobin went back to washing.
“What about the loss of life today? In the past, that bothered you.”
“I don’t want to lose warriors, but I don’t take the losses as personally as I used to.” Tobin looked up. “I mean why should I? They once hated me. Then they loved me. But, when things started to sour because of Soyjid, some began to hate again. They’re too fickle.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I’ve been treated like a tool by everyone I’ve come in contact with. Why shouldn’t I think of others in the same way?”
Nareash’s brows furrowed. “You said everyone’s treated you like a tool?”
Water dripped from Tobin’s arms as he met Nareash’s stare. He spoke in a deadpan voice. “Everyone.”
Nareash blinked in surprise.
Shouting outside the tent, followed by three Kifzo stepping inside, kept Nareash from asking Tobin for clarification. One carried a sack over his shoulder. Muffled grunts sounded from inside. The three warriors suffered scrapes and cuts all over their bodies. They bowed.
“It was a success, Warleader.”
Tobin smiled. “Put her down on my bedroll.”
The warrior dumped the sack and unlaced the string. The burlap fell away revealing a beautiful lighter-skinned woman with an olive complexion. She swayed as if in a daze. Her eyes widened, betraying her fear as she saw Tobin. She scooted away.
Nareash waited to ask his question until after Tobin dismissed the Kifzo. “Who is this?”
“Charu’s lover.” Tobin frowned. “He cares for her deeply and it won’t be long before he receives the message I sent him. He’ll know who has her.” He gestured to the woman’s heavily bandaged left hand.
“You cut off her finger.”
Tobin grinned. “More effective than a penned note. He’ll be enraged and unable to think clearly tomorrow. You approve?”
Nareash grunted an affirmation. Though it seemed very little of the man he first met in Munai still existed, the High Mage could not deny the effectiveness of Tobin’s decision. “Cruel, but sound.”
Too bad your father can’t see you now. Bazraki would be proud.
Tobin faced Melat and stared intently. The coldness in his voice disturbed even Nareash. “I know cruel. Losing a finger isn’t cruel.” Tobin kneeled down and extended his hand toward her. She flinched away from his touch, but Tobin persisted and ran his fingers gently down her face. “You may leave now, Nachun,” he answered without looking back.
Nareash left the tent without a word. He had done awful things in his own life, so who was he to judge Tobin. Still, he found it sad to watch his friend walk such a dark path—especially because it had been
Tobin’s unwillingness to go to such places that the High Mage had once admired. In a way, Tobin had balanced out Nareash’s own tendencies with his desire to avoid inflicting punishment on the innocent.
The damage Soyjid inflicted is worse than I thought.
Walor seized Nareash by the arm after a dozen steps. “I’ve been calling your name, Nachun. How is he?”
Nareash looked down at his arm. “Don’t ever grab me like some child again.”
Walor released his grip. “Fine. I’ll go talk to Tobin myself.” He turned to leave.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You won’t like what you see.”
“Why? What’s going on in there?”
“A transformation.”
Nareash left Walor to weigh his words.
* * *
Charu awoke drenched in sweat. Light from flickering campfires seeped into his tent through cracks in the canvas. The relative silence of his men made sense given the sun would not rise for hours. Yet, something felt wrong and his stomach twisted in knots as he considered what it could be.
Nerves.
He knew tomorrow would be the turning point in the struggle against the Blue Island Clan and he had gone over his strategy meticulously to ensure he held the upper hand.
That has to be it. Just nerves.
He eased his head back onto his pillow, hoping to snatch some rest before his aids roused him at dawn. The bed felt too large without Melat at his side. He had ordered her to return with Jolnan to the safety of Feruse’s walls. She had refused, saying that no place was safer than at his side. Yet, Charu thought that after Tobin’s failings in the second day, his enemy might try a night raid. Too many things could go wrong under the cover of darkness and he would not risk the woman he loved.
His eyes shot open as the echoing call of his name cut through the still night. He threw off his sheet, rose, and marched outside.
Gidan sprinted toward him, carrying something in his hand. The man was out of breath and filled with panic.
“What is it? An attack?”
“No, Warchief.” Gidan swallowed hard and breathed deep. The man struggled to find the words. “It’s . . . a message.” He handed Charu a pouch.
Steel And Sorrow (Book 2) Page 31
