The other soldiers had taken to watching their sparring sessions often. It was entertainment and a release from the long journey of each day for them.
Elisa now fully understood she was also a source of inspiration for the men. To see the daughter of their exiled Emperor working so hard to keep fighting would help push the men onward. It would make their packs a little lighter. It would push their feet just a little faster and farther each day.
She still had her doubts about herself, about Erlon’s chances of survival. She was able to bury most of them in her mind, but Elisa always knew they were there. She was only a little better at appearing confident and strong on the outside now than before.
The activity with Lodi at night helped as a distraction, as did the conversation during their travels like their discussion today.
“The pirouette works well against the Kurakin, especially the soldiers with axes,” Lodi continued.
Elisa often just let the Lakmian ramble. It passed the time quite well usually and proved no different on this day.
That evening, she helped the wounded set up their tents. There were only a few soldiers with lingering injuries left—a broken arm that still needed time to mend or an injured knee that flared up with the long days of riding. Elisa helped where she could and tried to make the soldiers’ lives a little easier.
After her normal session with Lodi, she ate a quick dinner with the soldiers. A sharpshooter who’d broken his arm in the fight with the Kurakin soldiers stood and told a story of a battle from long ago against the Wahrians. It sounded like the Battle of Stetton or some other fight from before Elisa was born.
Elisa watched Mon while the story was told. The old general nodded at certain parts and smiled at others. He grimaced often too.
Another form of distraction for Elisa had been her returning to the questions surrounding the farmer turned general. She’d tried to ask the remaining guardsmen about Mon’s military record and when he’d left the army, but had received the same responses that Lodi and the others had given her. They would talk about the early battles of the war and their time with Mon, but as they approached the latter parts of the empire’s glory years, their faces would fall and they would refuse to continue discussing Mon.
She knew now that she should’ve just asked Mon directly long ago. But she thought her friend and mentor should want to tell her about his life. She wanted him to come to her himself and tell her about his relationship with her father and why he’d kept it hidden from her.
And why everyone’s eyes fell when she asked why he’d left the army.
It seemed like a pointless topic, given that they were on the run from foreign invaders riding wolverines while the empire collapsed around them. But Elisa was thankful for the distraction. She needed to think on other things besides what came next when they found the army, what came next if she escaped the Scythes that chased her.
Or what would happen to her if they couldn’t escape from the Scythes at all.
“Lodi’s unit held strong,” Mon said, interrupting the sharpshooter’s story. “That was the center of the battle, the entire thing swung on their spears.”
Lodi nodded over at Mon.
“That’s true.” Marshal Lauriston leaned forward into the firelight. “We’ll need that kind of stance again in this war, I fear.”
“And the Lakmians will provide it.” Lodi raised his cup and the Lakmians around the fire mirrored him.
“As will the guardsmen.”
Heads around the circle turned towards Mon. The old general raised his bottle of wine up in another toast. The few guardsmen left in the group did the same with their cups.
“As will everyone.” Even Elisa was surprised when her voice cut through the group. She usually stayed silent during dinner and preferred to listen to the jokes and the old stories from the men.
Something felt different about tonight. Hearing Mon’s proclamation had made her want to speak up. It made her want to lead.
“We’re all guardsmen now.” She looked around the group and into the eyes of every soldier. Lodi and Lauriston and Desaix and everyone met her gaze. A grin grew across Mon’s face. “We’re all that’s left to guard the people of Erlon. We fight on. Always onward.”
“Onward.” The voices were low and in unison and the word carried out into the night beyond the fire.
The entire group raised their glasses. Mon held his bottle high before taking a long swig. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve after and smiled even wider over at Elisa.
It was dark outside of their fire and the nights were getting colder, but Elisa felt a hope wrapping around the group. These soldiers were ready to fight. Elisa would fight with them.
They were almost to the army. It was almost time for the Erlonians to march to war again. It was time for Elisa to put what Lodi and Mon and Lauriston and everyone had taught her to use.
* * *
Elisa’s head hurt as she mounted her horse the next morning. She’d taken a few too many pulls from Mon’s bottle the night before around the fire. From the looks of the soldiers in front and behind her, a lot of the group was the same way. They would recover quickly enough—they always did.
She rode next to the sharpshooter with his arm in a sling. Lodi, who rode up at the front with Lauriston this morning, said the soldier would be able to remove the sling soon. The arm was almost healed.
This was good news. The group was going to need all the healthy soldiers they could get.
The scouts returned near midmorning. Elisa’s legs were already aching and she listened to more stories of past campaigns from the sharpshooter as a distraction from the throbbing of her thighs. She wasn’t aware a scout had returned until Lauriston called a halt for the group.
Elisa slowed her horse and looked up the line of men. The trail inclined slightly and gave her a good view of Lauriston’s face as he talked with the scout.
It was clear instantly that something was wrong.
Lauriston grimaced in response to something the scout said. The marshal was always stoic. He never reacted like that.
Mon sat on his horse next to Lauriston and looked at the ground and shook his head. After the scout had finished, Lauriston turned and said something to Lodi. The Lakmian pulled his reins around and rode down the line.
He swung around wide and stopped next to Elisa. “The Scythes are close.”
Elisa hadn’t expected good news, but the words still stung the air around her.
“Desaix’s men just saw the hawk south of us.” Lodi looked to the sharpshooter next to Elisa to make sure the message would be passed farther down the line. Everyone around them was suddenly quiet and stern. “It’s flying again. They’re close. They’ll find our trail soon.”
Andrei
Andrei closed his eyes and felt the joy of soaring above the world once again. His hawk screeched and rose higher on the wind and watched the forest stretch over the rolling hills below.
The screech wasn’t a warning or a message about the enemy they tracked. It was an expression of jubilation at being able to glide up to the clouds again.
Andrei wanted to laugh and yell and screech along with his bird, but he held it inside. The other Scythes were around him on the ground and waited for their instructions.
The hawk soared higher and moved east with her eyes on the forest below. No sign of the girl or her protectors yet.
They would find them soon. Andrei was confident.
Back on the ground, a Scythe coughed. A wolverine gave a low growl and pawed impatiently at the ground. Andrei ignored them.
He only focused on the wind ruffling through his sakk’s feathers and the green landscape rolling along underneath him.
The bird’s eyes couldn’t see through the thick canopy, but there were gaps in the trees every so often. She kept her focus on these spots and waited for movement.
There. A flash below the trees.
Andrei’s heart picked up in unison with his bird’s. The hawk tilted its w
ings and made a wide loop. She focused on the spot where movement had been seen and waited.
Another shift. The hawk was in better position now. She saw a horse and a rider wearing blue clearly pass below the canopy.
Andrei smiled. He felt the Scythes around him react to the smile. They knew what that smile would mean. Someone’s wolverine pawed at the ground even harder.
The hawk made one more loop. Andrei calculated the distance between that position and the Scythes. Not far. Not far at all.
Andrei opened his eyes and smiled fully, showing the fangs of his teeth to his soldiers.
“We’ve got them.”
A wolverine growled. A few Scythes drew swords.
Andrei smiled even wider. “Ride. Today is a fighting day.”
More growls came from their mounts and the Scythes turned east and followed Andrei into the trees after their prey.
Chapter 22
Only a certain kind of creature can survive a Kurakin winter. This gives the Horde a natural advantage over the northerners.
History of the Southern Expanse
Anton von Zach
Lauriston
Lauriston ran over the plan in his mind as they galloped along the ridge. He wasn’t fully comfortable with the idea yet, but it was all they had.
The morning had been quiet. They’d traveled through lunch and Lauriston had almost believed they were safe and could escape being seen by the enemy bird through the thick canopy of the forest. Then the screech from the Kurakin hawk came down from the sky.
Lauriston would split his men up and use their knowledge of this part of the country to their advantage. The Scythes were good trackers, but they were on foreign territory.
Take advantage of your advantages.
Emperor Lannes used to repeat that while on campaign. Lauriston knew his group’s only chance was to lose the enemy in the deep and densely forested hills. They needed to somehow hide or escape from the trackers on their tail.
The idea had come from Desaix. There was a watering hole nearby used by cavalry messengers moving through this part of the country. If the Erlonians could throw the Scythes off their direct trail, they’d be safe to hide there.
They’d need luck on their side. Throwing wolverines off the trail with a hawk tracking above them would be tricky.
The group flew along the ridge. Lauriston felt the ground rolling forward in front of him as the land crested and dropped. To his right was a rock wall protecting the climb up the far hill. Branches whistled by his head.
He heard his first roar of an enemy wolverine.
Fear gripped him, but not from the sound the beast made or approaching death. By the time a man became a general, he was much beyond that kind of fear.
Lauriston was instead afraid his plan was a mistake, and he knew that was the worst kind of fear for a general.
He’d thought he was done doubting himself.
They could be heading directly where the Scythes wanted them to go. It could all be a trap. A funnel to corner the Erlonians. Lauriston could be leading his men to death.
He snapped his reins and pushed his horse faster. It was too late to second-guess himself.
Lauriston had a sudden flashback as they galloped further down the hill. He saw Lannes’s army retreating across southern fields, heading north towards warmer climes and the safety of the empire. He saw generals and marshals riding beside Lannes and making plans to get back to safety.
He saw them making the wrong plans, the wrong decisions. They split up to outsmart the enemy and Lauriston led the main army onward, never to see his friend the emperor again.
Lauriston snapped back to the present and saw the fork up ahead. The ridge broke off into two, with one shelf shooting down into the valley on the left and the other continuing at the same level.
Lauriston glanced back from his saddle. He caught Lodi’s eye and received a nod. The Lakmian would take the princess and one part of the group. Desaix and Lauriston would take the other. The marshal got a nod from Desaix as well.
No time to second-guess anything anymore. All a leader could do was act in the moment.
Lauriston let out a yell and pointed his horse towards the left path. He felt his stomach lift as they dropped into the valley at speed. The others, Lodi at their front, chose the right-hand path. Lauriston’s eyes caught the tail of the group as they passed out of sight around a bend above him.
The group was separated now. Just like when Lauriston had separated from Lannes. No going back now.
Lauriston saw a rush of shadow to his left lower down the hill. Three Scythes on wolverines were moving fast parallel to them. Lauriston leveled his pistol and fired a wild shot. There was no accuracy at this range, but the hope was to get the enemy heads down and slow their rush.
Lauriston’s horse pounded down the path and tried to put distance between them and the beasts on their tail. There would be more Scythes out there. Lauriston’s hope was that the rest of the enemy would converge on his group instead of Lodi and the princess.
More shadows appeared in the trees below them. Lauriston pressed on. More pops of pistols came from his men behind him and Lauriston focused on reloading his own weapon.
The map of the land stretched out in his mind. The farther they galloped down this path and to the east, the more space they would put between these Scythes and the princess.
Another roar ripped through the trees towards them. Lauriston’s horse broke through a clump of trees and found the ground leveling off. There was an open space here. A crack in the forest where tall grass had grown across the land.
Lauriston was halfway across the field when he saw the movement on his periphery. Behind him over his right shoulder, a wolverine burst from the trees. It made a line for the last soldier in Lauriston’s group.
The marshal broke off and waved a hand signal for the others to keep going. At this speed, his horse made a wide turn. The last soldier wasn’t going to make it. Lauriston was forced to watch as the horse bucked with fright as the wolverine lunged.
The soldier was flung into the air. By the time Lauriston had completed his turn and brought his pistol up, it was too late.
The wolverine was on the Erlonian before he hit the ground. Lauriston yelled and leveled his pistol. He aimed at the mount but saw the Scythe shift at the last second. The enemy soldier had seen Lauriston and lifted his musket.
Lauriston snapped his arm up and his shot took the Scythe rider in the throat and flung him backwards. His body crunched to the ground, but his wolverine had already torn into the Erlonian soldier Lauriston sought to save.
The marshal brought out his other pistol and fired at the beast. The ball struck its eye and caused a roar of pain and drew its attention. It was too late for the man, but Lauriston could still kill the animal that took the soldier’s life.
Lauriston replaced his pistol in his holster as the black beast charged him. He brought out his musket from the right side of his saddle. He spun the weapon up to place the butt against his shoulder socket.
This was his last shot. There’d be no time to reload.
If he missed now, things would be over for him.
The wolverine’s claws tore through the dirt. Its mouth open and full of blood. Its teeth sharp and ready.
Lauriston fired. The ball went into the other eye of the beast and dropped him.
Momentum carried the wolverine forward, sliding through the grass. The animal growled and clawed at the ground and kicked and convulsed. It was done. Only the dying was left.
Lauriston let out his first breath in what felt like minutes. He strapped his musket down again and jerked his horse back into a gallop. There were still plenty more Scythes out there.
He caught up to the group. The enemy was sweeping up the side of the hill behind them now. The climbing skills of the wolverines was impressive.
Lauriston would give them the higher ground. He just needed space to gallop deeper into the hills. Their horses would outrun the ene
my on flat terrain.
They rounded the base of the slope. The trees were thin here and it became easier for their horses to run at speed. They’d almost made it.
“Fly!” Lauriston called out and the men and horses pushed faster.
They galloped and got the space they needed. The Scythes came down off their hill but fell far behind in flat forest.
The horses split up again and confused any trail they would leave before circling around the valley and reaching the hidden watering hole among the rocks of the hills.
The trees became thick again and Lauriston hoped it would be enough to hide their movements from the hawk still circling above them. He said a silent prayer to the Ascended One and hoped that the other group hadn’t run into trouble while away from his decoy.
He approached the spot and held his breath. There were streams running from the top of the hills to the east. They gathered into a strong run of water down the sloping land and rocks jutted out of the earth to form cliffs. A waterfall fell and a pool sat at the base of the formation.
Behind the waterfall was a cave system. It was a picturesque enough scene, but secret and hidden from all but the Erlonians.
Lauriston’s group led their horses on foot around the edge of the pond and passed through the falling water. He didn’t hear anything of the others over the noise.
The marshal held his breath once again. He took the last step into the cave and stopped.
Where were they?
His eyes adjusted to the light and he stepped farther forward and saw the outlines of his friends and soldiers in the far shadows.
They were all safe. Even the princess, who sat happily at the far end against a wet wall and smiled at Lauriston as he walked deeper into the cavern.
Andrei
The wolverines calmed down. They still had a scent, but the bloodlust that made them so fearsome would abandon the beasts after a while. Now they were tired and annoyed and difficult to control.
The Fall of Erlon Page 25
