All three of Jartan's children stiffened.
Allic responded first. "Heberlin was just a sorcerer until he married into money, and used that to buy a title from Cinta's family. Granted, it's venal, but are you telling me that in your old world such things never happened?"
Storm was next and did an admirable job of holding her temper. "Where ever did you get the idea that Jartan would allow us to grow fat and lazy? If you want to be part of his court, you owe him service. That scum Heberlin only gets in here because he's part of Cinta's clique."
Mark could see he was treading on dangerous ground, but the whole subject of nobility bothered his grassroots sensibilities, and he felt like he finally had to get it out in the open.
"But I've seen some nobility here that are nothing more than drones, living off their subjects."
"You don't have nobility in your country," Ikawa told him, "but when I was living in Boston and going to MIT, I saw hundreds of spoiled brats of the richer class, who had never done a day's work in their life, living off the wealth created by their ancestors. Granted, many of them would become productive, but I met many who were obnoxious bores, who didn't care one bit for anything other than their own pleasure, as if it was their right."
Mark had to concede that point.
"I've served my father for over 600 years," Storm replied, "and have done everything from diplomacy to assisting in the mines to spending thirty very dangerous years on a research team trying to control the focal points by the Sea of Qiaos. I believe I've earned my titles."
Mark wished he had thought a little before opening his mouth. He nodded at Storm and turned to Leti.
"I meant no offense," he stated quietly, "but it's your turn, so let me have it."
Leti stared and slowly shook her head. "Mark, I won't be nasty, but there's a lot you don't know. I fought by Jartan's side in the war against that monster Horat, three thousand years ago, and lost my mother and grandfather before it was all over."
She again shook her head as if trying to shake off a dark mood.
"I served then and I serve now," Leti continued. "I leave tomorrow for a tour as inspector general of the northern coastal defenses."
Leti looked over at Storm. "You did this several years ago, didn't you?"
Storm nodded. "Pirates getting out of hand again?"
Leti stretched and yawned while answering in the affirmative. "Still, I won't be gone more than two or three months," and she turned to smile at Ikawa. "Allic, may I pay you a visit once I'm done?"
Allic got a mischievous gleam in his eye and replied, "Of course, Leti. I'll even attempt to keep Ikawa off garrison duty or patrol during your visit."
He paused, trying to keep a smile off his face. "Still, there could be conflicts in the schedules..."
He got the reaction he hoped for: Leti threw a roll at him and they all broke into laughter.
"I was planning to go back to Landra with you and Mark for a short visit," announced Storm. "I suppose Mark has a tour of duty coming up too?"
Mark saw the quick grin before Allic lowered his head and started pantomiming sorrow. "I don't know. These damned schedules..."
"How about a barrel of wine from my estates to change the schedule?"
"Two barrels."
"Robber! Done."
At that moment the door burst open and one of Jartan's officers came into the room.
"My lord, we've received a message from Landra," he said, trying to control his voice. "A situation has developed..." He looked nervously at Allic,
The mood in the room was still somewhat lighthearted as Allic set aside his goblet and looked at the messenger.
"What situation?" be asked.
"My lord..." He seemed to be grasping for the right words.
Suddenly the room was silent with tension. Allic was on his feet looking at the messenger.
"My lord, there's been a report that your province has been invaded by the Torms. My lord, your country is now in a state of war."
Mark looked over at Ikawa, who returned his worried gaze.
"So again it has found us," Mark said quietly.
* * * *
Trembling with exhaustion, Mark cleared the ridgeline and breathed a sigh of relief. The city of Landra was finally in view.
Mark looked over towards Ikawa, who was struggling to stay in formation. He swung alongside the Japanese captain.
"Only a matter of minutes now," Mark said, trying to encourage him.
Ikawa grunted in reply.
The duration and fatigue of the flight reminded Mark of more than one occasion when he had coaxed an ailing plane back to base with little more than fumes in the tank by the time he landed.
Storm was up ahead with her brother. Mark knew that when it came to flying she had nearly limitless strength, and that knowledge made him push even harder to keep up the grueling pace.
A patrol of sorcerers, dropping out of the cloud cover, swung into an escort position above Allic's party and approached cautiously.
Killing off their altitude, the party followed Allic's lead and turned onto final approach, heading straight towards the main battle gate. Now that war was on, flying parties had to enter the city down this one narrow corridor. Any other approach would be viewed as hostile, drawing immediate fire from the wall defenses.
Mark could see the heavy crystals mounted on the main towers tracking them. It was unnerving―and what a perfect setup this could be for an assassin. But a group of sorcerers with sufficient power could disguise themselves, so even Allic's approach had to be treated with caution.
The aerial security team came close enough to touch them. There was a perfunctory salute from the head of the security team, and pushing forward to the main battle tower, he gave the signal to allow Allic to pass.
Clearing the wall, they soared over the city to land in the main courtyard of the palace, while the security team pulled up and headed back into the clouds.
The courtyard bustled at the approach of the lord. Servants rushed forward bearing refreshments, and were shouldered aside by staff members and court attendants, each one pressing to be heard. Allic and Storm pushed through the crowd, signaling for the staff to follow into the throne room.
From the far side of the courtyard Mark saw Younger and Giorgini and several of the Japanese rushing forward to greet their leaders.
"How was it?" Younger called. "And where's Kochanski?"
"More important right now is―what happened here?" Mark replied.
Ikawa came to Mark's side, and the question that had been burning in him ever since Allic mentioned it during the flight back finally came out:
"Imada and Yoshida," Nobuaki answered. "They've been reported overdue for nearly a tenday. Valdez said they were most likely cut off due to the invasion and that it was the least of his worries at the moment."
Ikawa grunted. It was war again and he had to harden himself. Always he struggled to harden himself, to not get attached in any way to his subordinates. But still it hurt, especially with Imada.
"Where are the rest of the men?" he asked.
"They were sent to join the southern army," Nobuaki replied.
"Who sent them?"
"Valdez. He also ordered Younger and Giorgini and the three of us to stay behind." Nobuaki's voice trailed off as if it was an admission of guilt that they had not been sent into the fight.
Ikawa could see why. Valdez probably realized that it was best to keep Younger and Nobuaki away from the heat of combat while their immediate superiors were not present. Fire at Macha's warriors could just as easily be directed against a former foe. And as for Shigeru and Denzo, they just were not experienced enough with flight. Again Valdez had shown his superior judgment of men under arms.
"What reports are there on the fighting?" Mark demanded.
"There's no sense in my going over this twice," came a sharp voice from the back of the crowd. The men parted as Valdez pushed through.
He gazed at Mark and Ikawa, judging t
heir exhaustion after what must have been a harrowing high-speed flight in Allic's wake. The faintest flicker of a smile crossed his lips. These men were tough if they had kept up with Allic when he was angered.
"Come on. I'm making my report to Allic right now. You might as well get it straight from me, rather than a collection of half-witted rumors from this rabble."
Valdez scanned the crowd for a moment and could sense the bristling at his insult. Good, they were toughening. They'd have to be tough if they expected to survive what was coming.
* * * *
"How bad?" Allic asked quietly, looking across the table to Valdez.
Valdez pointed at the map on the table and Ikawa was struck immediately by its similarity to combat situation maps back home.
"They hit across the border six days ago," Valdez began, "and are estimated to be in excess of thirty-five thousand. The southern army was overwhelmed by the end of the second day, losing half its total force, and was forced to completely abandon our holdings below the escarpment."
Valdez looked towards Allic, but the ruler said nothing.
"They hit us hard, full surprise, and managed to put out a jamming screen so messages could not get through. A number of their demons and sorcerers were posted as a curtain behind our army so that no information could get in or out."
"Without your presence here, my lord, there just wasn't the power to detect what was happening. They had already broken our forces before I learned of the attack."
Allic nodded. "What have you done in response?"
"I sent them any reinforcements we could spare. Eight thousand foot, which cut our city garrison in half. Fortunately they were on maneuvers two days march north of the pass. They should already be there."
"Sorcerers?"
"All of the offworlders except five, and the two who are missing. I also sent along all the sorcerers whom I could hire from the guild, though the price was high. Our primary battle team stayed here. The others, I hope, will be able to buy time for us." Valdez looked across the table to Mark and Ikawa, expecting a response.
"Why our people?" Ikawa asked coldly, not caring at all for the comment about "buying time."
"They're servants to Lord Allic," Valdez said sharply. "Your men were available and I used them. I will not commit my elite reserve in a battle which might only be the opening stage of a wider war."
"You did correctly," Allic replied smoothly, and he gave his two lieutenants a gaze of warning not to challenge Valdez's decision.
"Has the enemy crested the escarpment?" he asked, pointing to where the blue lines representing his forces were traced in.
"Our last report came in yesterday, saying that our force was being flanked on both sides at the base of the escarpment, and was starting to pull back. We were lucky to even get that information before their jamming stopped us again. We haven't had word since. I gave the orders for the reinforcements to start digging in at the top of the pass and prepare fortifications for our retreating forces. We've been in the blind since then, my lord."
"Let's assume the worst," Allic said.
"It could be quite bad, my lord," Valdez said softly. "Assuming the worst, the position has already been overrun. They could already be through Wolf Pass and coming into the realm. I've already taken the liberty, my lord, of recalling our armies stationed on the eastern and western frontiers. But neither army can get back here for nearly a tenday."
"I'm afraid to say, my lord, that if the southern group is finished, Macha could very well sweep right up to the city, burning and looting the entire province. We could lose everything there, thousands of lives, along with the entire wealth of the region. Macha knows that he doesn't have enough sorcerers to beat our defenses from above, but he certainly could make it hell out in the countryside."
"Damn them to the fires!" Allic roared. "Why this knife in the back? I've lived to our agreements."
"It could be an alliance between the Torms and Sarnak," Storm suggested. "Macha alone we can handle, but the two of them together... You know the figures―we've looked at them often enough. If Macha goes over to Sarnak, they'll have superior numbers in the air."
"Macha? Never. I've always thought him a bit too coldblooded, but he's nobody's fool."
"But you must face the question of Sarnak in all of this, and plan for that possibility," Storm replied.
Allic looked at Valdez who nodded.
"We've always known that we don't have the people to match the combined strength of Patrice and Sarnak, while also keeping a watch on Macha as well. We thought our diplomacy could keep him out of a fight or even swing him in on our side. Damn it all, I can't imagine what pushed him into this; he hates Sarnak nearly as much as we do. We now have to assume Patrice is in this too, and waiting like a vulture to help pick over the corpse." He grimaced.
"We do have the tactical advantage of the offworlders," Allic replied.
"Wait a minute," Mark interrupted. "There's something here I still don't get. What about Jartan? He's your father."
"True. And he'd trigger a full conflagration in the process," Storm replied. "If he comes in, Minar, who is Macha's father, will come in. Or if Jartan should move against Sarnak―and we all know that he wishes he could―that would bring Tor into the fight."
"So what? This Tor isn't a god," Mark said.
"But he is the only surviving child of Horat," Valdez told him. "Tor came from the marriage of a god to a demigod, and his power is nearly as great. Jartan must not move against any other god's descendant, not even Horat's. It is a delicate balance that has managed to keep a semblance of the peace."
"The balance," Storm continued, "has managed to keep for thirty centuries. So my father will stand out of this one as long as the other gods do. Besides, we're not children. It's up to us to fight this out."
"Damn it," Mark replied, "this isn't some game. Real people are dying out there. If the gods have all this power, at least they could stop it."
"You still haven't grasped it," Ikawa said softly. "In the end it is nothing more than a game, an illusion. That is why we Japanese can die in battle without fear, for what we believed back on Earth has been proved to us here. All that counts is honor, Bushido, which we carry with us into the next world."
"Easy for you," Mark said. "Remember I'm still an American at heart."
"I know," Ikawa replied, looking straight into Mark's eyes.
"Enough of this," Valdez growled. "There's a battle to be fought."
"The answer is obvious," Allic said evenly. "We leave before the middle of the night."
"What do you plan to commit?" Valdez asked.
"Everything here, every sorcerer, except for you and the oldest men of the reserve. Ander will be coming back in from patrol and when he does I want him to handle air cover over the city while you prepare the town for the worst. I plan to put the rest of my sorcerers there." Allic pointed to the position at the edge of escarpment.
"But my lord, the forces there might already be annihilated. Logic demands that we keep our main complement of sorcerers here in reserve until the rest of our ground armies move up. Then we can drive Macha back. The southern army at this point can only slow them down, not defeat them."
Ikawa felt his anger rising but kept it in check. This man had sent nearly all of his people out there, and it seemed as if he had simply written them off as a delaying force. The coldblooded logic of it was correct: to put out enough to slow the enemy down while your dispersed forces were pulled back in. But this was not an exercise, and his men, nearly all that were left from his old world, were out there.
As if Allic was reading Ikawa's mind, he said, "Valdez, go tell the men out there that logic has written them off."
"Never reinforce defeat, my lord."
"You did by sending up the contingent of offworlders."
Valdez was silent.
For the first time Ikawa felt a vague sense of disquiet about this man. Could it be that he wanted the outsiders pared down a little bit? Was th
ere a fear that the new group was growing too powerful? Or was there another reason?
"All right, I'm taking half the wall crystals and I'll leave twenty sorcerers of the reserve to hold the city."
"That leaves Landra all but naked," Valdez warned.
"The first contingent from the western army will be in the city in eight days. We'll keep Macha's people in front of us, and fight our way back through the pass. With the additional sorcerers, we might even push Macha back."
"But what about Sarnak or Patrice?" Valdez argued.
"Look, damn it. I know who the enemy to my front is: Macha." Allic's voice rose so that all could feel his anger.
"I go to the enemy. I'll not hide back here waiting for a possible threat to materialize while there is a threat for all to see to my south. I want Macha's head for this; Landra will have to take care of itself. Prepare to leave at once. This discussion has ended."
Without waiting for a response he turned and stalked out of the room.
Valdez shot a quick glance at Mark and Ikawa, as if expecting a challenge.
Mark was tempted to say something, but in his heart he knew that Valdez had only followed the correct logic. It might mean the lives of his men―but command could not be swayed by the question of lives. He nodded towards Valdez, signaling that there was no challenge. The battle chieftain turned and left the room.
"Not to hurt your masculine pride," Storm said, approaching Mark, "but will you be able to keep up? I mean, I can take you two in tow if need be."
"As a matter of fact, it would hurt my masculine pride," Mark said, trying to smile.
Storm turned away and looked at the map.
"I hope he knows what he's doing," she said softly. "Allic tends to charge ahead the moment he sees what he thinks is his foe. Someday it'll be his undoing."
Mark would remember that comment in the days to come.
Chapter 15
"Christ almighty, here they come!" Walker shouted.
Goldberg looked over his shoulder. He wanted to rise for a better vantage point, but the Torms had air superiority now and anything that moved even a foot off the ground this close to the battle line was hit by concentrated blasts. After they had lost several sorcerers, word had come down from Pina that men could only go airborne to protect the ground troops if they were attacked from above.
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