Mordraud, Book One (82 page)

The
captains muttered amongst themselves, and Adraman froze his breath. The Alliance had always held together thanks to Eldain, above any difference or friction between the various regions. Adraman knew he was asking his people for a huge demonstration of unconditional faith, for support he himself was unsure he deserved. But luck seemed, for once, to be on his side. Nobody objected, or rather, nobody had the courage to do so. Mordraud and Berg assented in satisfaction, raising an encouraging fist towards him to reassure him. Adraman breathed again and picked up his speech, going back to sit on the throne.

“
I thank you all. I will do my utmost not to betray your faith. If we stay united, as we have always been, I am certain that together we will succeed in getting through this painful period!”

“
Sir!”

The
man who’d called him was a captain on the southern front; his name eluded Adraman in that precise moment. He was somewhat youthful, with a full and affable face showing a love of good food. Eldain had probably appointed him to his position, and Adraman immediately felt a burning embarrassment at not knowing who he was.

“
Please, speak.”

“
How do you intend to behave towards the Rinns? Down where we are in the south, things are getting rather... complicated.”

Eldain
had left him not even a scrap of guideline, and so Adraman had had to improvise: the Rinn family was, in his plan, a problem to postpone as long as possible.

“
Please explain to everyone here what’s happening, so that we might find a solution!”

“
Well... The Hannrinn army has managed to seize control of Hann Creek, just north of the first Calhann protectorates.”

The room vibrated like a pane of glass shaking under a thunder
rumble. It was an amazing, unbelievable development. Cambria had lost a county, for the first time since the onset of that endless war. Adraman burst with joy within himself, and struggled to mellow it to a vague smile, which Mordraud and Berg picked up on at once. They’d already discussed the plan together, and that news was the best they could hope to hear.

“
So, if I understand your meaning... Hannrinn has not assailed our men on the southern front, but has invaded Cambrian territories instead...”

“
That is correct, sir. Thus, our defence front is in fact exposed to the back lines of the Rinn army...” the captain went on, “and we really would not want Hannrinn to change its mind and attack us, to have one problem less behind its back...”

“
A first-rate supposition... captain. Before making a decision, I’d also like to hear from the commander on the northern front. Is he present in the hall? I can’t see him in this poor light...”

O
f course the darkness had nothing to do with it. Adraman hadn’t the vaguest idea who he was. Following the Long Winter, Eldain had had to appoint a lot of new faces to command posts, precisely when Adraman had withdrawn from the front.

“
Yes, sir, I’m here. Gallar, at your service, sir!” a soldier called from the back of the hall. A middle-aged man, with a deep jagged scar on his neck and hardly a hair left on his head. If he was half as good as he was ugly, thought Adraman in amusement, then they were in excellent hands.

“
Yes, I have similar news, but our comrade from the south beat me to it... Cambrinn too has moved its forces, and has taken stable possession of the plain on the mountain pass. The Rinns seem to be moving in unison... and are doing it very well, might I say!”

Yet more
brilliant news. Eldain’s little snare was yielding unexpected fare. By allowing the Rinns to leave the Alliance, and by weakening the bordering lands through pestilence, he’d managed to coax them to attack for and with their own means. Mordraud was even more euphoric, and chattered excitedly with Berg.

“
So, in your case too the line of the front is to be redrawn, am I right?!”

“
No doubt about it, sir!” Gallar replied. “And I would like to add, if I may... I’m happy, and so are my men, that you have taken the reins of the Alliance!”

M
any applauded his words. However, not all. Only many.

“
I don’t know what you might have said to those river swine of the Rinns when they threatened to withdraw... but you must have really put the jitters up them! Not only did they wait out until the end of the winter before leaving, but they’ve also taken their own initiative to lend us a hand!”

‘
A smart captain,’ concluded a satisfied Adraman. ‘He’s already worked out what we want to do... That’s how I like it – fewer people to convince!’

A nod of the head called
Mordraud to his side, and the young man stepped up agilely to unravel the roll of maps they’d prepared together. He selected one, and waited patiently, standing near the throne.

“
If nobody else has anything to report...” Adraman waited in silence, but none of those present asked to speak. He and Mordraud looked at each other for an instant, assented, and at last Adraman spoke about what he’d been hatching for days.

“
Given recent developments on the front... I believe it is clear to all that things are changing, and swiftly... Therefore...”

Adraman
slowly exhaled, and seized his courage in both hands. He’d prepared a much better speech than that one, but he was lacking the coolness to handle the audience. ‘Who gives a shit!’ he thought.

“
I’ve decided we will attack Cambria.”

A
deathly silence enveloped the hall. Adraman waited, ready to defend himself from a rabid barrage of criticism, and out of the corner of his eye he saw that Mordraud too was hunched, ready for the onslaught.

Which however did not rouse. T
he silence ensued, as if his suggestion had never existed. Perplexed and confused, he looked about and waited further, yet nobody spoke. Not even a whisper. He and Berg glanced at each other, subtly shrugging their shoulders in disbelief. Mordraud placed a hand on his shoulder, nervously tapping his fingers.

“
Nobody has any objections?!”

A man slowly made his way through the crowd.
Gallar, commander on the northern front. As he passed, all the other captains acknowledged him with a nod of the head and then hung back, out of respect. Adraman felt a clammy shiver creep up his spine. ‘They want him in my place, and now he’ll claim it, in front of everyone...’

“
Sir, this idea... of attacking the Empire... Eldain also outlined it, the last time we saw him alive, seated on that throne... Which has given us the chance to reflect on it. To talk about it among ourselves. Nothing else has been discussed for weeks, both in the north and the south. I also took the liberty – and I hope you won’t be annoyed, sir – of asking the opinion of our allies in the north, as far as the coasts... and the reaction was similar from all.”

“
And... what was the response?!” Adraman inquired, striving not to appear too bewildered.

“
That the time has come to make those turds in Cambria eat some of their own crap... pardon the language, sir!”

“
So...
You all already agree on it
?!”

“
Yes, sir.”

Mordraud, Berg
and Adraman looked at each other, and burst out into loud laughter. The first time since Eldain’s death. It was a great feeling. Adraman called back order with a decisive clap of the hands.

He really might achieve
Eldain’s dream.

“
Well, men... We’ve come up with a plan...”

***

“YOU’RE A PACK OF RAVING MADMEN!”

Adraman
approached her to calm her, but Deanna lashed him with a slap, and then another, and if he hadn’t stopped her she’d have gone on, until flaying her hands. Adraman took it all in silence. Compared to the pain he felt in his heart, those smacks were gentle caresses.

“
We have to. Please try and listen to me, at least for a moment... We must act now. Once Cambria has put the Rinns straight and curbed the disease, it will be the end for us. THE END, do you understand that?!”

“
And attacking a city that hasn’t been captured for centuries, how does that sound to you?!”

“
Cambria’s never been so fragile...” Adraman attempted, but the way Deanna was looking at him made him realise it was hopeless. The woman there before him was not his wife. It was that being that took possession of her when she succumbed to depression. Her voice was different, even her eyes were no longer the same. Whatever he said, she wouldn’t hear.

“
Cambria will squish you like flies...” Deanna replied, an insane smile on her puffed red face. She must have been crying all day, thought Adraman, as he tried to move closer again. Deanna pushed him away with brutal force, knocking him to the wall. Then she sprang back and hurled herself to the floor.

“
Don’t hurt me! Don’t come near me!” she screamed shrilly, scratching her arms without realising it, huddled on the ground. Adraman stood still, shocked by that bleak image. Gradually, he backed off to the door and opened it, yet she didn’t even look up. She just went on rocking on her heels, curled over something only she could see, cradled in her arms.

“
Your daddy wants to die my little one... Your daddy’s going off to war and is never coming back...”

Adraman
left the lounge and ran down the stairs. Adrina was waiting in the hall, worried by all the screams.

“
Is everything alright, sir? How’s Deanna?”

“
Not very well, Adrina” Adraman replied feebly.

“
What should I do? Should I go on...?”

“
Yes, keep an eye on her... And when you can, keep little Mordraud with you... at least for a few hours, even if only to see how he is and change his nappy.”

“
Fine, sir, but... don’t you think we should... well...”

“
No, don’t even mention it!” Adraman exclaimed furiously. “I’m not having my wife carted off by the warden at the nuthouse, Adrina... Don’t even think such a thing again!”

“
I’m sorry, sir... I didn’t mean to...”

“
She’ll get over it. She’s just got too many thoughts bouncing around in her head. Ask the herbalist for some soothing brews, I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self in no time.”

“
Certainly, sir.”

Adraman
nodded, but wasn’t at all convinced of his own utterances. Deanna was deteriorating, and he could do nothing more than order her a couple of herbal infusions. Yet he could not delay his departure simply because of his wife, when the future of the whole Alliance was at stake. The council had decided, and they had to act as quickly as possible. Every day more could cost them dear, very dear.

Just two days to go till
they set off, and if everything went according to plan, another month before they arrived.

“
Deanna, please... try and hold out...” he muttered to himself as he raced towards the castle. “I’ll be back... You’ll see that I’ll be back...”

He
’d have liked to say those words to her, embracing her and consoling her. But that wasn’t his Deanna, not that woman he’d talked to.

‘
She was a stranger...’ Adraman mused, chewing over the word that was as bitter as bile.

Now it was too late
.

For everything
.

***

Flames. Ruins. White spongy smoke, laden with the stench of corpses. A washed-out sunless purple sky. No longer merely two men, as tall as towers, black thorns of night. There were dozens, hundreds, thousands. All circling her, and her son. No, it wasn’t her son. He’d grown up. It was Mordraud, as a lad. He was kissing her, but she’d aged. She looked at her hands. They were covered in blisters, and bleeding.

When
they pulled him out of her arms, she felt better. When she saw them swoop on him, in the most abject ways she could imagine, she didn’t avert her eyes.

Like all the other times
.

Deanna
woke up screaming. Dawn had already broken. Beside her in bed there was no Adraman. He’d spent the night away from home, the last before his departure. He’d stopped by the house at sunset, but she’d let him find her already in bed, and pretended not to wake up. Adraman had shaken her, called her name, begging her to say something, but Deanna had not reacted. She didn’t want to see him. In her mind, they were all already dead. Him, Mordraud, their soldiers. Everyone. Her dreams were condemned to coming true. She went over to her baby’s cot, stretched down her arms to pick him up, but clutched thin air.

Mordraud
wasn’t there.

“
Where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?!” she gasped in dread, tossing away the covers, the pillow, overturning the straw mattress. Mordraud wasn’t there. Deanna looked about, flung the cot away and growled like a wild beast.