The messenger nodded. “They shot at me as I rode out.”
Elkan silently cursed. “Tell me what you observed.”
The messenger’s report matched what the earlier one had described. Elkan heard him out, then sent him to repeat his news to Master Edniel.
Gradually the Tevenaran forces assembled where the road to Elathir left the belt of farmland around Korisan and entered the scrubby forest along the river. Elkan and Tobi waited with Master Edniel and a handful of her direct subordinates in front of the ranks of archers. Behind the archers, the wizards worked to keep their horses calm. Many of them had done little riding before beginning their training and were still not entirely at home in the saddle. Behind them the mounted troops were in better control of their beasts. Only experienced riders had been assigned to the limited number of horses the Herders’ Guild had been able to provide.
Kaniel rode impatiently back and forth among the wizards, then trotted his horse over to Elkan and Edniel. “Nitzana and Cotton are missing. I sent a messenger to the main Hall a quarter hour ago, but I still haven’t heard from her.”
“We shouldn’t wait,” Edniel advised Elkan. “The longer we sit idle, the more discipline will break down. Folks are already getting restless.”
Elkan could see the truth of that in the impatient shifting and frustrated expressions of the waiting fighters. Objectively he knew one wizard more or less would make little difference, but irrational fear gnawed at his heart. What if they fell just a little short of victory because he made the wrong decision?
Edniel watched him, relaxed and confident. She had years of experience leading Tevenar’s watchers. He had to trust her judgement. Reluctantly, he nodded. “Give the word to set out. Nitzana can catch up if she’s not too far behind.”
Edniel smiled approvingly and wheeled her horse. “Advance!” she bellowed. All up and down the ranks of fighters, officers echoed her order. Elkan turned Snowflake to keep pace with Edniel’s mount as she urged it to a brisk walk. Tobi loped beside him, bright-eyed and eager. Behind them the mass of people and horses rumbled into motion.
The miles passed quickly. Elkan spent some of the ride going over the plans with Edniel one last time. After that he rode in silence. Tobi opened her senses to him, and he drank in the varied scents and sounds of the woods and fields they rode through.
They were passing through a thick patch of forest when her sensitive ears picked up the measured tread of many feet. Elkan jerked his awareness back into his own mind. “They’re ahead,” he told Edniel. “Maybe a mile.”
“Good. We’ve got time to prepare.” With a look of grim satisfaction Edniel set about ordering their forces.
When all was set, Elkan let Snowflake grab mouthfuls of the grass that grew between the ruts of the road while they waited for the Ramunnan soldiers to arrive. Tobi sat on her haunches next to the horse. Edniel waited on his other side, with her officers ranged behind. Elkan closed his eyes. Please, Mother, please let this go well—
Next to him Edniel shifted, tensing. He opened his eyes. A group of Ramunnans rounded a bend in the road. They reined in their horses, eyeing the Tevenarans warily.
The one in the most elaborate uniform urged his mount a few steps closer. “In the name of Matriarch Verinna Fovarre of Ramunna, I order you to stand aside and let us pass.”
Elkan cleared his throat. “The Matriarch has no authority here. On behalf of Guildmaster Hanion Watchkin Wizard and the Council of Guildmasters, I ask you to return to Elathir and depart Tevenar.”
The Ramunnan officer laughed. “Hanion is our prisoner and your council is dead or scattered. Tevenar belongs to Ramunna now.” He eyed the archers and mounted fighters behind Elkan. “Whatever pitiful resistance you’ve put together will quickly fall before us.”
“That will be as the Mother wills.” Elkan gathered Snowflake’s reins in one hand and put the other down to touch Tobi’s eagerly upraised head. “This is your final warning. Turn back to Elathir and we’ll let you go unharmed. If you try to proceed, we’ll stop you.”
The Ramunnan sneered at him. “My men will welcome a chance to exercise their skills. Not that peasants will give them much of a challenge.” He half-turned to the men behind him, keeping his eyes on Elkan. “Fall in!” he bellowed. “Present arms!”
With smoothly practiced efficiency his men obeyed. They formed a tightly packed rectangle, spears bristling between shields around the outside, bows drawn within. “Attack!”
Arrows flew. Strands of golden light burst from the forest on either side, catching the arrows mid-flight and hurling them to the ground. An answering volley of arrows rained on the Ramunnans from archers concealed in the trees along both sides of the road.
Tobi sent the Mother’s power to catch a few stray arrows that made it past the other wizards’ defense. Elkan clamped his legs around Snowflake as she shied from the flash. The Ramunnans had raised their shields, blocking most of the Tevenarans’ arrows. Now, Tobi.
He focused on the Ramunnan officer, who’d joined his men’s formation. They were close enough that Tobi was able to seize his spear and wrest it from his grip. She hurled it aside and fought to rip away his shield, but the officer clamped both hands on the handle and clung with all his might.
Go for the archers, Elkan urged. In accordance with the plan, half the concealed wizards were blocking the Ramunnans’ arrows while the other half worked to disarm them. If the steady rain of arrows could be slowed, more of them could turn their efforts to the other weapons.
Tobi obediently sent the Mother’s power snaking through the ranks of shields to an archer inside the square. He was a bit farther away, so it was correspondingly harder to tear the weapon from his grasp. He couldn’t fire while struggling to keep hold of his bow, but there were more enemy archers than wizards, and those who weren’t engaged were continuing to fire steadily.
Out of the corner of his eye Elkan saw a strand of golden light from another wizard and familiar pair try a different strategy. He flashed the image to Tobi. She immediately understood. With a quick wrench she snapped their archer’s bowstring.
The man’s mouth moved in a curse. He scrambled to retrieve a new string from a pouch at his belt. His grip on his bow loosened, and Tobi yanked it free. She sent it soaring into the trees and went after another archer. All around strings and bows were breaking, and swords, spears and shields were coming loose as the Mother’s power pried fingers open.
Just as exultation flooded Elkan, a Ramunnan voice barked, “Advance!” The whole formation took a measured step forward, then another.
His first instinct was to order the fighters on the road behind him to retreat. But if he did that, the Ramunnans could move faster along the road than the wizards could through the forest. Before long they’d be out of range. But if he sent the mounted fighters against the wall of shields and spears that was still hanging together, people on both sides would be injured or killed. He could vividly picture the impact of metal on flesh, hear the screams of agony, taste the salty tang of blood. He stared at the inexorably approaching Ramunnans, torn with indecision.
Edniel glanced at him. She grimaced. “Elkan, we need to attack.”
He knew she was right. “Yes,” he whispered.
She couldn’t have heard him, but she wheeled her horse. “Charge!” she cried.
The mounted fighters responded enthusiastically to her command. Horses and riders surged around Elkan and Tobi, plunging into the Ramunnan formation with reckless disregard for the danger.
It was every bit as bad as he’d imagined. The Ramunnans held their ground against the oncoming rush, bracing the butts of what spears remained to them against the ground. Horses crashed into them, breaking through with the force of their momentum even as they were impaled. The Ramunnans drew swords and fell on the Tevenarans. Some Tevenarans were able to jump free of their falling mounts and return blow for blow, though it soon became obvious none of them were a match for the skilled and experienced Ramunnan sold
iers.
But numbers were on their side. As Elkan and the other wizards continued to disarm their enemies, the Tevenarans remembered their training and banded together in fours and fives to rush individual Ramunnans. More horses crashed into the crumbling wall of spears. Fewer arrows soared from Ramunnan bows, leaving more wizards free to strip Ramunnans of their weapons. Tevenaran archers picked off Ramunnan soldiers one by one.
Abruptly, it was over. The last three Ramunnans fighting realized their companions were all fallen or captured. One threw down his sword and backed away with raised hands. The other two kept fighting until golden light surrounded them and froze them in place.
Elkan lifted his hand from Tobi’s head and patted Snowflake’s sweaty neck. He could feel her trembling between his knees. He felt much the same. “Round them up,” he ordered hoarsely. “Wizards, get to work on the wounded.”
He swung down and strode to the side of a Ramunnan with a spear through his shoulder. The rest of the wizards were pouring from between the trees. “There’s enough of us we shouldn’t have to triage. Leave the horses for last.”
He knelt at the fallen Ramunnan’s side, put one hand on Tobi and extended the other over the place where the spear entered. We’re going to have to break off the point to get it out.
Tobi agreed and went to work. Elkan pulled his mind away from the bitter screaming flare of the man’s wound and looked around. Each of the wounded seemed to have at least one wizard and familiar working over them. Some of the pairs were turning their attention to the most badly injured horses. The Ramunnans who were still standing were being herded into a cluster by Tevenaran fighters under Edniel’s direction.
With a sigh of relief he surrendered to the flow of the Mother’s power. The spear shaft cracked in half under Tobi’s determined pressure and he drew it out. It had penetrated one of the man’s lungs, which had collapsed. He guided Tobi through the steps of sealing and re-inflating it, then directed her through the repair of severed tendons and muscles. It was a huge relief to feel competent again, to lose himself for long minutes in the work he knew and loved and was called to do.
When the Ramunnan was stable, his wound closed but not yet fully healed, Elkan had Tobi stop. They were both tired, and the enemy soldier would be easier to deal with if he remained weakened. The Ramunnan groaned as he sat up, flexing his arm carefully. He looked around at his captive companions and scowled at Elkan. “Filthy demon-lover.”
Elkan flinched. Of course. These were Ramunnans; there might be Purifiers and Faithful among them. He hadn’t remembered to ask if the man wanted to be healed. “Forgive me if we violated your beliefs by healing you.”
“Save the sarcasm.” The man grunted as he climbed to his feet. “I’m no Dualist. If a demon wants to save my life, I’m not stupid enough to say no. But don’t think that means I won’t cut its throat if I get the chance.”
Tobi curled her lips in a snarl. The man stepped back. “Keep that monster away from me.”
Elkan put his hand on Tobi’s head. “Over there with the rest of the prisoners,” he ordered.
The soldier insolently obeyed. A number of wizards had retrieved their mounts and formed a circle around the disarmed Ramunnans, hands on their familiars in case any of them made a move to escape.
Elkan looked around. A few wizards lingered over patients. A half-dozen horses lay dead, but he saw no other bodies.
He went to Snowflake, who was patiently standing where he’d left her as she’d been trained to do, and mounted. His limbs were heavy with the familiar leaden weariness caused by prolonged use of the Mother’s power, but his heart was light. He found Edniel ordering the officers to get their groups together and head back to Korisan. He waited until she finished to speak. “Did we really stop them with no loss of life?”
“Looks like it. There were a few close calls, but your people pulled them through.” She frowned at him. “Don’t get used to it.”
“I won’t,” he promised. This was a fluke, only possible because they’d faced so few enemies and had been able to set an ambush that gave the wizards close access to their foes. But knowing that no more deaths had been added to the many that burdened his conscience was a tremendous relief. “Did any Ramunnans get away?”
Edniel nodded grimly. “In the middle of the fighting. A handful of Ramunnans grabbed some of our horses and rode toward Elathir. A few archers spotted them breaking away and tried to shoot them down, but they used those shields. By the time they got a wizard’s attention they were out of range.” She looked down the road. “They’ll have too big a lead by now to catch them before they get to the city.”
“So Benarre will know we’re here.” The thought sobered him.
“He suspected already, or why would he have sent such a big force?”
“He can’t have guessed our true numbers, if he thought three hundred would be enough.” Elkan grimaced. “I shouldn’t have brought so many. Now he’ll find out we’re stronger than he thought.”
“They can only tell him what they saw. Half our people never got far enough down the road for the Ramunnans to spot them through the trees. None of the foot fighters even drew a weapon. They’re already grumbling about marching all the way out here for nothing.”
“They’ll get their chance. Now that Benarre knows for sure where we are, it won’t be long before he sends his whole strength against us.” He tightened his fingers on the reins. “Somehow we’ve got to stall him until the weapons are ready.”
“How long will that be?”
“The smiths need at least two weeks after we give the word to forge the remaining nine. Meira’s not willing to have them go ahead until we figure out why we’re not getting the range we need. If we find out we need to change the design it will take longer, because we’ll have to test one of the new type first.”
“Can Savir pull off some sort of uprising in the city?”
“Maybe.” That conflict would be far from bloodless, which was why Elkan had urged Savir and his allies to hold back so far. But giving the word for them to unleash the disruption Savir had detailed in his messages might be his only option.
“That should keep them occupied. But can he hold out long enough?”
“I think so. I hope so.”
Edniel looked at him gravely. “More importantly, can Meira and Josiah solve the problem with the weapons quickly enough?”
“They have to.” Elkan turned Snowflake toward where the other wizards were prodding the captive Ramunnans into motion. “Everything depends on it.”
Twenty-Four
Meira pushed through the big double doors into the Mother’s Hall. It was even louder and more chaotic than it usually was when she picked up Ravid. Work at the mill was going so well Master Rada had urged her to stop at the usual quitting time instead of staying another hour or two the way she did most days. She’d agreed, eager to spend the extra time with her son. Guilt gnawed at her for the way she’d been neglecting him since they arrived in Korisan. Her work was so urgent she’d had little choice but to leave him for long hours at the Mother’s Hall with the rest of the children. He was always tired and cranky when she picked him up, and the hour or two she had with him each evening was spent standing in line waiting to be served their supper, taking a quick turn in the crowded public bath house, and getting him ready for bed. She fiercely missed their long, relaxed mornings together at her mine. No matter how often she told herself this was only a temporary arrangement, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing a big chunk of her child’s life. She clung to the certainty that defeating the Ramunnans was worth even that sacrifice, but it was getting harder every day.
So when the mill had run for an unprecedented three hours without a breakdown, producing more than forty pounds of blasting powder, she’d jumped at the chance to leave early. She hadn’t realized it would put her at the Mother’s Hall during the busiest time of the day. The whole place was packed with tired adults looking for their children and shrieki
ng, crying children looking for their parents. Usually Ravid would run to her as soon as she came in, but today she didn’t see him anywhere among the milling bodies.
She worked her way through the crowd to one of the adults in charge. She had to raise her voice for him to hear her over the noise. “Where’s Ravid?”
He smiled at her in a harried fashion. “Last I saw he was over there somewhere,” he said, gesturing vaguely toward the far side of the room. Before she could question him further, he turned to deal with another equally annoyed parent.
Meira sighed. This was ridiculous. She was going to give Elkan a piece of her mind about the situation. He should never have let matters get this bad, no matter how many other things were demanding his attention. She headed in the direction the man had indicated.
Finally she spotted Ravid. He was standing in a corner, clutching a dirty rag doll, crying with a hopeless tone that told her he’d been miserable for a long time. Children ran past him, oblivious to his distress. No adults were anywhere nearby.
She hurried to him, dropped to her knees, and gathered him in her arms. He clung to her, sobbing.
Cold wetness seeped through her tunic. She pulled back and examined Ravid. His breeches were drenched, and the ground was wet where he’d been standing. Many small feet had tracked liquid away from the puddle.
Rage swept over Meira. She picked up Ravid, trying to get as little of the dampness on herself as possible. She had to backtrack when he dropped his doll and screamed, but after she scooped it up and gave it back to him she went in determined search of the adult responsible.
The man she’d spoken to before was talking to another parent. She thrust herself between them. “Look at this!” she demanded, her voice rising with each word. “How did this happen? He’s been wet so long it’s gotten cold, and no one noticed?”
The Wizards' War Page 35
