Steel and Sorrow (18 page)

A ram horn sounded as the third flight of quarrels sped upward.

The enemy braced as the Blue Island Clan’s lines crashed against theirs with spear and sword. Clashing steel rang out. Enemy javelins sailed over the lines and skidded off the raised shields of Tobin’s men.

Though Charu’s army had flung their weight behind the initial push, they could not penetrate Tobin’s ranks.

The Blue Island Clan’s lines heaved and took the first step forward. A moment later, they took another. Slowly, his men inched upward.

Tobin noticed a lone figure on horseback at the top of the rise. A personal bodyguard of warriors and shamans surrounded him as the man shouted and gestured wildly with his hands.

“Charu looks upset,” said Walor.

Tobin smiled. “He should be. The Red Mountain Clan was said to have better warriors than this.”

“They aren’t fighting men barely out of the cold waves now.”

* * *

Charu swore loudly.

Gidan joined him. “One of your fears has come true, Warchief. The Green Forest Clan’s lack of discipline has rubbed off on our men.”

Though he never intended on winning the war today, Charu hated seeing his forces beaten so handily. “I knew it was a risk to keep so many of our best units at the Green Forest Clan’s capital.”

“It was a calculated risk. I too thought our regular infantry could better stand against Tobin’s men. Should we bring in the reserves?”

Charu watched his captains work to bring order to their lines. The enemy’s weapons, something called crossbows, had been far more effective than his archers.

Just when I think I have their strength gauged, they surprise me.

“No. Have them start organizing a withdrawal. We aren’t trying to stop them today as much as we are trying to slow them. Bring up our remaining shamans and their beasts. Tell them to wait for the horn blow to begin their attack.”

Gidan’s eyes widened. “Yes, Warchief.”

Gidan moved to leave when Charu called out. “One more thing, General. Send a small force of Green Forest Clan archers to the rock formation just north of us.”

Gidan looked confused by the command, but nodded and set off about his tasks.

Charu grabbed the attention of a half dozen messengers nearby. “Alert the captains to make lanes for the shamans when they hear the horn again. Let them know that anyone in the way will get trampled.”

* * *

“What’s Charu doing?” asked Walor. He held a hand over his eyes, shielding the rays of sunlight piercing the canopy.

The man and his bodyguard didn’t fall back as Tobin would have thought, but instead simply moved off to the side.

A horn blast sounded.

“Must be bringing in his reserves to add weight to his front lines,” said Tobin. He smiled knowing he had no need to reinforce his own men.

Deep roars like a blade being raked across rough stone cut through the sounds of battle.

“What was that?” asked Walor.

Tobin shook his head. He watched lanes form in the back ranks of Charu’s men. The Red Mountain Clan horn boomed once more and the roars followed, much louder than before.

Massive brown blurs crested the rise, answering Walor’s question. Thirty giant brown bears, between twelve and fifteen feet tall at the shoulder, heaved themselves toward Tobin’s men. Shamans sat atop each animal, trying to control the beasts.

The bears mauled the staunch lines of the Blue Island Clan, carving through the heavy infantry. Warriors were flung into the air. The Red and Green Clan warriors flowed into the gaps made by the beasts and set to work on Tobin’s broken ranks.

Tobin whipped his reins, galloping toward the shamans at the foot of the hill, behind his lines. “Take those things down!”

“Warleader, their shamans have some sort of barrier protecting them,” said one shaman.

“Then ignore the bears. Focus on one shaman at a time by attacking in groups,” he growled. “Have you become useless without Nachun here?”

“No, Warleader.” He quickly relayed the message to the others. Tobin kicked his mount uphill. Climbing toward the nearest bear, he tossed aside his own men to reach the beast. As he unsheathed his sword, sorcery arced over his head. The shaman atop the bear burst apart into bits of flesh and bone.

Tobin brought his feet up and in one fluid motion launched himself forward. He sailed toward the massive creature as it stood on its hind legs. Tobin’s blade sank into the creature’s chest and a paw swatted him away. His armor protected him from the worst of the bear’s massive claws, but he still crashed into the hard shields of the men beneath him. The bear staggered, trying to remove the sword with his mouth, but could not. It collapsed a moment later and warriors hacked away to ensure it would not rise again.

A fierce chorus of elation erupted from his men. He pulled free the throwing axes at his belt, and led them against the next animal.

* * *

Charu watched in awe as the giant bears barreled past him. The musk and savagery of the creatures hung in the air. He felt relieved as the last of the beasts cleared the rise and joined the battle. His shamans had managed to cull them two days ago and spent a great deal of energy keeping them subdued.

The shamans maneuvered the giant animals between the opening lanes. As expected, some of his men suffered from their lack of haste.

The Blue Island Clan’s warriors did not even flinch as the bears approached. Charu’s respect and hatred for them grew. He could not understand how warriors could be trained so thoroughly. Yet for all the Blue Island Clan’s skill and courage, they could not withstand the full force of the animals at impact.

Charu’s captains followed the beasts’ charge and pressed into the Blue Clan forces, finally inflicting damage on the fractured lines. His men died, but Tobin’s died in scores. A war of attrition would be his best chance to achieve victory.

And it’s working,
he thought as blue and gray armored soldiers sailed through the air with each sweeping bear arm.

One of his shamans exploded before his eyes. The riderless bear stood up on hind legs in response, suddenly aware and confused by its situation. A warrior who had worked a horse through the tangled mass of soldiers launched himself through the air.

Tobin.

Against anything else, the man might have dominated the scene, but against the bear, the warrior looked insignificant flying toward the creature like some annoying insect. Tobin managed to impale the beast with his sword a moment before a paw tossed him aside. The animal struggled for only a few seconds and fell dead.

The Blue Island Clan warriors cheered as Tobin fought among them. Two more of Charu’s shamans died.

Charu leaned into the shaman next to him. “Tell the others to leave the bears behind and withdraw.”

The shaman closed his eyes as he relayed the message to the field. Even without someone directing their movements, the bears would maim and kill. Charu pressed the massive ram horn to his lips and blew four quick blasts to sound the full retreat while the Blue Island Clan reeled.

The shaman next to him opened his eyes and Charu gave him a final command before moving up the trail. “Stay with the others in our rear and mask our retreat. See that we’re able to put some distance between us and the Blue Island Clan army.”

The red-robed man bowed. “It will be done, Warchief.”

* * *

Tobin yanked his sword free of the pungent bear carcass—the first he had killed. The battle had ended and his enemy had retreated, leaving the Blue Island Clan to bring down the massive beasts rather than pursue them. Blood covered Tobin’s arms and torso. Sweat hung from his nose.

He tried to wipe the dripping sweat, but the back of his hand only smeared crimson across his face. Tobin took a deep breath, hoping to clear his mind and still his racing heart. He gagged on the smell of fresh gore.

“Warleader.”

Ufer favored his right side. Tobin saw a streak of blood near his rib cage.

“Do you need a healer?” asked Tobin.

“It can wait. I have an early estimate.”

“How many?”

“We lost two thousand men.”

Tobin swore. “And them?”

“Closer to four.”

They suffered more and we gained the field. So, why do I feel like we lost.

Tobin gazed out as men searched for survivors. Those too far gone had their screams silenced with a blade to the throat.
An honorable death.

“We cannot afford to keep fighting like this,” said Tobin.

“No. We can’t. Not when Charu keeps escaping from us,” said Ufer.

Walor walked up scowling deeply. “Where was Soyjid during this? If his men had flanked Charu as planned, they would have been unable to retreat.” He gestured with his hand at the bear carcass. “We could have pursued them after finishing off these nightmares. He needs to answer for this.”

Soyjid?

In the aftermath of battle, he had forgotten about the boy leader.

“Walor is right, Warleader. How is he any better than Mawkuk? You need to dissolve their army, incorporate those who will not cause any problems into our ranks, and then send the rest back to Cypronya.”

Tobin squeezed his hands into fists. “I’ll consider the suggestion. Get word out that Soyjid is to see me immediately.”

* * *

“You wanted to see me?”

Tobin looked up as the tent flap parted and Soyjid strode through it. A spray of blood caked the oversized breastplate he wore and mud covered his boots. A sheen of sweat sat on his forehead.

So he ended up close to the action after all.

“Tell me everything and do not leave out any details.”

Soyjid nodded and began his tale. His regiment circled around north as planned. However, the terrain was worse than originally thought as they climbed piles of rock. Charu had positioned what Soyjid estimated to be a thousand men from the Green Forest Clan at the top of a cliff face. The angle was much steeper than what Tobin had dealt with and Soyjid could do little but wait and avoid the hail of arrows.

Eventually, Soyjid noticed the Green Forest Clan slipping away in pieces and he made his move. They rushed the position in a sweeping mass once they knew it to be undermanned. By that point the enemy’s numbers had deteriorated to the point where Soyjid only lost a handful of men. They killed only a hundred of the Green Forest Clan with no prisoners taken.

He had been ready to rip into Soyjid, but after hearing the facts better understood the situation.

Tobin drank from a skin of water during the report and gnawed on a piece of bread. He felt lightheaded for some reason. Even after a day of fighting, the sensation felt peculiar.

When Soyjid finished, Tobin nodded. “You did well, given the circumstances.”

“Your commanders don’t feel that way, do they?”

Tobin rubbed his temples and then shrugged. “It matters little what they think. They aren’t warleader.”

* * *

Confident that Tobin would not immediately pursue his retreating forces, Charu finally moved toward the front of his army. He rode past limping soldiers covered in blood who looked up with tired eyes to salute their warchief. He gave each man a small nod or gesture to acknowledge their effort.

He passed shaking supply wagons creaking over the uneven dirt and stone path the army tread upon. Muffled screams preceded carts carrying the dying where healers hacked away at mangled limbs and shamans rushed to close oozing wounds.

Charu found Melat at the head of the column. She had her head down and her face a mask of sorrow. A loud grunt came from one of the carts carrying the wounded, causing her to flinch at the noise.

“Are you alright?” he asked, reining in beside her.

She smiled. “Now I am. You’re here.” She looked over her shoulder. “It’s just a lot to take in. There were wounded before today, but never so many.” She lowered her voice, concerned. “Was the latest letter inaccurate?”

“No. The information was helpful. But the tides of battle cannot be predicted. Once the pieces are in place, anything can happen. And you can’t have war without dying. Tobin’s men suffered as well.”

Melat sighed. “Well, I guess that’s something.”

“No. It’s everything.”

Chapter 14

Elyse scanned Olasi’s most recent letter. As usual, the duke began by discussing matters of war. She enjoyed learning from his perspective, and at times found herself rereading his insight. However, it was the personal touch Olasi closed each letter with that meant the most to her. Despite the distance separating them, she felt a genuine connection to the old duke. Just like at her father’s funeral, following Jonrell’s death, Olasi’s concern and sincere condolences helped ease her heavy heart. Since then, their communication included personal matters along with those of the kingdom. He closed this letter with a brief mention of his health.

And even though it seems he isn’t feeling well, the emphasis is on his recovery, not on his current state.

She set the letter down as a sigh passed through her lips. She no longer had the distraction of Olasi’s letter to take her mind off the morning.

Elyse had given Lobella the morning off and in hindsight probably shouldn’t have. Today would be the first council meeting since the army had marched out of Lyrosene several days before. She had wanted time to collect her thoughts alone.

She had plenty of time to think the night before, sleeping little as morning inched ever closer. In the first few days since the army’s departure, she had busied herself with meetings and other tasks that needed tending in order to take her mind off her worries. The strategy worked for a time, but by avoiding her feelings, it only made the night before the council meeting that much harder.

She had lain awake thinking of the soldiers she had come to know while making rounds with Kaz, especially Jonrell’s Hell Patrol. Lyrosene had been eerily quiet since their departure and it became apparent to her now just how much she missed them. The sun had cleared the horizon moments ago and she realized she also missed the sounds of men and women training in the yard below.