“Because I love her.”
The young woman took a long moment to reply. “I…see. But I also see that she wears a promise ring. How does her partner feel about your love for her?”
“He is my partner,” Mari said. “Mage Alain is my promised husband.”
This time the silence lasted longer.
“I find myself lacking for words,” the young woman finally said.
The elderly man had been silent for a while, but now pointed at Mari’s armband. “You’re all wearing those, and your ships fly banners with the same design. We thought it just the emblem of a pirate, but you called it the banner of the new day. What does that mean?”
“The new day,” Mari answered. “The new day when knowledge will no longer be banned and the grip of the Mechanics Guild on science and technology is ended. The new day when Mages are free to see others as real. The new day when all the people in the world will be free if they choose.”
“That banner will fly over Tiae?”
Mari glared at the man. “That banner will fly over my forces. The green and gold of Tiae will fly over Tiae. How many times do I have to say this? I will not rule Tiae. I want Tiae as a partner in bringing about the new day. That’s all.”
The young woman looked around at her comrades, judging their feelings. “Against all of my preconceptions, I find myself believing you. Perhaps I am even beginning to believe in you. Tiae has had no hope for so long that it is hard to recognize it even when it stands before us. I believe that you do not want the crown of Tiae, Lady Master Mechanic, and that is well, since you would never be offered that crown.”
“It is you,” Alain said, surprising Mari.
The young woman smiled slightly. “It is me. Lady Master Mechanic, daughter, I will offer to place the forces of Tiae, the resources of Tiae, at your disposal, following your direction just as these Mechanics and Mages do, with the understanding that you will use everything to further the goal you have promised—the rebirth of Tiae as a unified and peaceful country—and that you will allow Tiae’s people to rule themselves. In return, Tiae will offer the home you seek to challenge the control the Great Guilds exercise over the world. And to prevent the Storm you fear. The world would not help Tiae, but Tiae will help the world.”
“You’re personally committing everything in Tiae?“ Mari shook her head in bafflement, turning to Alain. “What did you mean, it is you?”
“She is the ruler of Tiae.”
“But they’re all dead…“ Mari stared at the young woman.
“One survives,” the young woman said. “And as long as one survives, Tiae survives.”
The others behind the table stood up and bowed to the young woman as the old woman spoke with quiet formality. “May I present Her Royal Highness, the Princess Sien of Tiae.” The old woman’s expression reflected both pride and tragedy. “The last surviving member of the royal family of Tiae.”
Mari wondered how she was supposed to acknowledge the introduction, finally settling for a half-bow toward Princess Sien. “You don’t look like a princess,” was the only thing that Mari could think to say. She had always imagined princesses to be pampered, fragile things. This princess looked like a battle veteran resting briefly between campaigns.
“My survival has often hinged on not looking like a princess,” Sien said. “And what title should I use for the daughter?”
“Not the daughter, please,” Mari said. “I prefer Lady Master Mechanic or just Lady Mari. That’s who I am.”
“Then, Lady Mari, we have the deal you wished for. The details can be worked out, but I freely admit what you surely already know. The defenses of Pacta Servanda are being sorely stressed by the so-called army of a warlord who styles himself General Raul. Any assistance you can immediately provide to our defenses would be most welcome.” Sien looked down, then back at Mari. “Understand this. If I have erred in my trust of you, then my life is finally forfeit, and Tiae’s last hope is gone.”
“I have my faults, Princess Sien,” Mari admitted. “Plenty of them. But I never break a promise, and I never abandon anyone.”
“Not even a Mage,” Alain said.
* * * *
That night Mari and Alain walked along the wall of the town, looking out at the fires that marked the encampment of “General” Raul’s “army.” Accompanying them as both bodyguard and escort was the female officer who had first met them at the landing. “Half of Raul’s fighters are scum,” she told Mari. “The other half are men and women forced to fight, or be killed.”
“Can he be reasoned with at all?” Mari asked.
The officer spat over the wall. “No. Nor would anyone want to. Ask around about Raul’s victims. He’s not human.”
Screams suddenly came drifting on the winds from Raul’s encampment. Mari felt her blood chill at the sound.
“We hear that sort of thing most nights,” the officer remarked, staring into the darkness as if her gaze could deal death to Raul and his minions.
“Prisoners from this town?” Alain asked.
“No, Sir Mage. Raul tortures prisoners from the town in daylight, where we can see them. Those screams might be some poor soul who got caught in the countryside and was brought back for the amusement of Raul and his officers. Or one of Raul’s fighters who ran during the last fight and is being made an example of. Or just someone picked at random.”
“There is a Dark Mage at the warlord’s camp,” Alain said. “The Dark Mage has power, but little skill at hiding his presence. I did not sense him earlier this day. He must have arrived recently.”
The officer glared into the night again. “We have little defense against Mages.”
“You had little defense against Mages,” Alain corrected. “Lady Mari’s Mages can surely stop whatever the Dark Mage intends.”
Mari had not been happy about having to make an attack on Raul a priority. She had considered just waiting out the warlord by repelling attacks until Raul gave up and went away.
Not anymore. She felt the chill in her blood replaced by a growing heat. “Alain, how soon can we take him apart?”
Alain pondered the question, gazing out across the land. “How will Raul respond if attacked by many Mechanics with their weapons, supported by Mages?” he asked the officer.
“Do what damage he can, then run,” the officer replied. “Or maybe just run. He’d head for some other place, maybe a village, tear it apart for the fun of it and to keep his scum happy.”
“We have to trap him, then,” Alain said.
The officer gave Alain an appraising look. “Raul has survived a lot of fights.”
“He has not fought us.”
Chapter Fourteen
The sun had barely risen before Mari called a planning meeting. She had slept poorly. If Mari had not already guessed that she looked as irritable and upset as she felt it would have been obvious from the cautious attitudes of everyone around her. Calu and Alli were suppressing yawns. Alain appeared to be tired but ready to keep going for as long as necessary. Three officers from the forces defending Pacta Servanda also sat around the table, which had a map spread across it.
“How many reliable rifles do we have?” Mari asked Alli.
“Forty-eight,” she replied before stifling another yawn. “And there’s plenty of ammo. A lot of the stuff we got out of the armory at Edinton had corrosion on the brass, but Apprentices have been cleaning that off since we left the city.”
Calu studied the map. “Raul’s just encamped out there, huh? No fortifications?”
One of the officers shook his head. “Raul’s forces don’t build, even to defend themselves. They only destroy.”
“I’ve heard,” the female officer added, “that Raul thinks building defenses would cause his fighters to think defensively. So he just depends on attacking. Or running.”
“Does he keep sentries posted?” Alain asked.
“Only facing the town,” the third officer said. “That we know of.”
“The
“In the flank,” the first officer agreed. “Yes. But there’s no way to get around to the left of Raul’s camp without being spotted well in advance, and his right is protected by this swampy, wooded area that runs right down to the harbor.” The officer ran one finger across a brownish patch on the map. “A force could get through there during the day, but their boats would be seen by Raul’s sentries out front as they passed along the coast.”
“What about at night?” Calu asked.
“It would be pitch black under those trees. There’s no way to orient yourself at night. We’ve tried sending in scouts, and they all report that finding your way forward in the night is impossible.”
Alain leaned forward suddenly, his eyes on the map. “Last night, as we watched the camp of Raul, I sensed a Dark Mage there.”
“You told us. That’s another problem,” Mari said, sighing with aggravation.
“It is an opportunity,” Alain said. “Remember that Mages can sense other Mages who do not have enough skill at blocking their presence.”
Mari realized what that meant while the others were still puzzling over it. “You could use that Dark Mage like a compass? Tell where he was and by that know what direction it was to Raul’s camp?”
“Yes,” Alain said. “Mages could lead the Mechanics through the darkness.”
“Is this the best we know about Raul’s camp?” Calu asked. “That’s a pretty rough drawing.”
“We couldn’t afford to lose scouts just to get a nice picture that we did not have the means to make use of,” the third officer commented bitterly.
“Why can’t we send up Mage Alera?” Alli asked. “Can she make her Roc here, Alain?”
“There is much power,” Alain said. “Mage Alera is rested and should have no difficulty.”
“Great! We send her up to look around, and she can tell us everything we need to know.”
“Mage Alera has a Mage’s view of the world,” Alain said. “I have learned that Mages do not always see the same things as Mechanics or commons. We see some things they do not, and do not recognize other things they see easily.”
“That’s not a problem,” Alli said. “Calu can fly up with her. He’ll spot anything important.”
Calu stared at Alli. “I can what?”
“Get up on the Roc and fly with Mage Alera and tell us what you can see of Raul’s camp,” Alli explained.
“In the air? High in the air? Above a bunch of murderous thugs? On the back of an imaginary giant bird?”
Despite her lack of sleep, Mari found herself smiling. “Calu doesn’t appear to be too enthusiastic about your idea, Alli.”
“No, Calu is not enthusiastic,” Calu said. “Isn’t it traditional for new wives to wait a little longer than this before they shove their husbands into life-threatening situations?”
“I’ve done it already. I guess I could go this time too…” Alli said.
“What? No! You are not going to guilt me into this, Alli!”
“Or maybe Mari could go. If you don’t feel up to it,” Alli added with exaggerated concern.
“I— You— All right!” Calu slumped back, looking cross. “Does the condemned man at least get a decent breakfast?”
Alli gave him a smile. “Actually, dearest, having been up there myself, I’d kind of suggest not having a full stomach when you fly on the Roc. You might not be able to keep that breakfast down.”
* * * *
Alain stood beside Mari as Mage Alera prepared her spell. He knew that Mari had never seen a spell-creature illusion come into existence and covertly watched her expression, taking a secret pleasure in Mari’s astonishment, as the air suddenly shimmered with dust that coalesced into the huge shape of a Roc.
“This really is impossible, you know,” Mari said to Alli.
“Yeah.”
“But you’re sending your husband up on that bird anyway.”
“Yeah.”
Many of the inhabitants of Pacta Servanda were watching from a distance, enjoying the spectacle. Word had apparently raced through the town that these Mechanics and Mages and commons had come to help, and the people were no longer as sullen and silent.
Alain saw Calu trudge up to the Roc with the expression of a martyr, climbing up with the assistance of Mage Alera.
“Don’t look so gloomy!” Alli called. “I know you’ve been wanting to do this! It’ll be fun!”
“Hey, Alain!” Calu called back. “Could you do me a favor? If I don’t come back, would you remind Alli at least once a day for the rest of her life that those were her last words to me?”
Alain barely had time to nod before Mage Alera gave the Roc a command and the bird leapt skyward. He had a brief glimpse of Mechanic Calu hanging on with a terrified expression, then the shapes dwindled too quickly to make out faces.
“I’m going to go to the wall and watch,” Alli said. “Are you coming?”
“I’ll wait here,” Mari said. “I’d be too nervous if I was watching them fly over Raul’s camp.”
Mari waited until Alli had gotten out of earshot, then took a deep breath before turning to face Alain. “I’m going along tonight. I’m going to lead the force that attacks through the swamp.”
Alain realized that he had been expecting to hear just that ever since the meeting, but had managed to suppress his certainty. “Mari, it will be extremely hazardous—”
“I know.”
“It would not be wise for one so important—”
“All right, first of all, I am not more important than anyone else,” Mari said, her voice low and intense. “I can never afford to believe that of myself. Everyone is important. Secondly, you know I don’t like that kind of wisdom. I’m going to be employing a different wisdom, the wisdom that says I should not be sending people to do things that I would not be willing to do myself. The people of Tiae will not respect me if they think I’m the sort who refuses to run the risks I demand of others.”
“But Princess Sien—”
“Princess Sien! Alain, did you look at her? That girl is as tough as nails. I will bet you anything that Princess Sien has been on the walls of this town helping to fight off attacks. I want her to respect me as well.”
Alain sought another argument. “The daughter of Jules—”
“Which you are never supposed to call me to my face,” Mari said, pointing an angry forefinger at him. “Jules, Alain. Did she sit in her palace and send other people out to fight for her? To stop people like Raul?”
“Jules did not have a palace,” Alain said.
“So not the point, Sir Mage! I’m going. End of discussion.”
He considered her arguments and her attitude and realized that further debate would be useless as well as possibly misguided. “You may be right about the need to demonstrate your leadership in this way, Mari.”
She folded her arms across her chest and gave him a flat look. “I may be right? I’m your wife.”
Alain realized his mistake. “You are right.”
“Better. You’re planning on going along with the attack force tonight, too, aren’t you? Uh-huh. I knew it. Because you’re needed. So am I.”
“You must get some sleep before then,” Alain said, sure of his ground this time.
She hesitated, then nodded. “As soon as Calu gets back and we hear his report, I’ll try to sleep through the afternoon. I probably ought to stay up to monitor bringing our Mechanics and equipment ashore, but Master Mechanic Lukas and Professor S’san are running that, so they don’t need me. And Mage Dav is making sure the Mages are finding places. It’s more important that I be ready for tonight.”
“I will wake you in time to prepare for the attack,” Alain said.
Mari smiled at him. “I know you will. I knew I didn’t have to remind you, or warn you not to try to let me oversleep. One of the nice things about knowing how much my husband respects me is that I don’t worry about whether or not he’ll respect my decisions.”
“Do you know how much he worries about you?” Alain said.
Her expression softened. “Yeah. I’m sorry. It’s the whole ‘daughter of Jules, everything is going to be destroyed, got to change the world’ thing. If not for that, we could just go somewhere and be happy. And that’s what we’ll do, Alain.” She enfolded him in a hug, speaking gently. “When this is all over. When we’ve won and everyone is safe. We’ll find a quiet place to live and be with each other and try to forget everything bad that happened.”
“We will do that,” Alain said, his voice steady but his mind remembering the awful foresight vision of a motionless Mari with blood on her jacket. “We will survive, and we will find a good place.” He said it as a promise to her, and as a vow to himself.
* * * *
Alain could not sleep that afternoon. He waited for some sign from his foresight, but nothing came. He knew that meant nothing, that the foresight might not warn of even the greatest dangers, so the lack of warning brought no comfort.
His restless steps took him to the town wall, where he looked across the fields toward the camp of the self-styled General Raul. Mechanic Calu, his legs wobbly and his stomach unsettled but smiling nonetheless, had provided more information about the layout of the camp and where sentries were posted. Mage Alera had confirmed that there was only one Dark Mage in the camp, expressing her contempt for the Dark Mage’s inability to conceal himself. “He was surprised when Swift and I flew over,” Alera said, making a point of saying the new name of her Roc. “His sense of other Mages is very poor.”
From there Alain went to the waterfront. Most of the buildings there had been dedicated to the trade which once flowed through Pacta Servanda. With that trade nonexistent for so many years, those buildings were vacant, to Alain’s eyes standing like grave markers for the hopes and dreams of those who had once built them. It was not nearly as depressing a sight as the ruins of Marandur, but sad enough as a sign of how much had been lost when the government and society of Tiae had collapsed.
The Pride and the big merchant ship Worthy Son had tied up to the town’s long-disused pier and begun disgorging the supplies and Mechanic equipment they had brought from Edinton. Many of the Mechanics had come ashore and were working around the ships and their equipment, engaged in activities that Alain found incomprehensible.
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