The Long War 03 - The Red Prince (21 page)

She poured herself a mug of sweet-smelling tea and glanced behind to see whether Lennifer had followed her. The serving-girl had gone straight to the bedchamber and was busy arranging Gwen’s leather armour.

Xander rose from his seat. ‘Assemble a guard of men, captain. Let’s go and meet Rham Jas Rami.’

‘Aye, general,’ replied Brennan, striding from the tent and leaving Gwen alone with her husband.

‘What do you think?’ she asked, warming herself with the mug in her hands.

‘I think he’s still alive,’ replied Xander. ‘That’s a good start.’

‘But does it mean we can go home?’

He crossed the tent and lunged in for a kiss, his face split into a tender smile. ‘I have no idea.’

‘He’s killed her,’ she responded. ‘How else would he have left the city alive?’

‘He could have run away.’ Xander was not given to needless optimism.

‘Did he strike you as the kind of man who would run away?’ she countered.

‘No, but I’d still rather wait until we know either way.’

She chuckled, stroking his face playfully. ‘Get your armour on.’

He kissed her again, slower this time. ‘Yes, my lady.’

* * *

Captain Brennan had assembled fifty Hawks to accompany them and, mounted on armoured horses, they rode slowly southwards. Daganay, the Blue cleric, had risen only reluctantly but insisted on accompanying them to meet Rham Jas Rami. The rest of the army were striking their tents and preparing to march.

Brennan had sent five men on ahead to check that no surprises awaited them and the patrol was now returning.

‘What have we here?’ mused Daganay, peering at the hastily approaching Hawks.

Xander held up his hand and the men accompanying them slowed their pace, forming up behind the general. They were an hour or so from the city and their camp was no longer visible behind them.

‘General!’ shouted one of the returning patrol. ‘The Kirin is being pursued by Karesians.’

The company of Hawks drew their short swords in unison and retrieved their shields from their saddles. Xander rose in his stirrups to look further south. After a moment of searching across the plains, he smiled thinly and drew Peacekeeper from its scabbard. The bastard sword made a metallic sound as it was drawn and he held it effortlessly in one hand.

Daganay let loose a throaty chuckle. ‘Are we killing Karesians, my lord?’ he asked, drumming his fingers on the hilt of his mace.

‘Unless they surrender,’ he replied.

Brennan motioned for the returning patrol to rein in their horses. ‘How many warriors pursue the Kirin?’

‘Around twenty riders.’ The soldier was out of breath.

Xander nudged his horse and advanced. Gwen followed, drawing one of her heavy leaf-blades, and the fifty Hawks fanned out behind them. Daganay stayed next to the general, wearing only his thick blue robe. He was skilled with his mace, but rarely wore armour.

Gwen caught her husband’s eye and nodded, blowing a subtle kiss. It was a ritual they had been through many times – on every occasion they’d been in battle together. They had agreed that he would never hold her back or tell her what to do, and the trust between them meant she had saved his life as often as he had saved hers. Gwen knew he worried about her and would have asked her to stay behind if he could.

The sound of hooves silenced him but Xander mouthed the words, ‘Stay alive,’ with an intense smile.

They rode quickly now, covering ground at speed, until a single horse appeared before them. The rider was kicking the flanks of his mount vigorously and had a motionless body slung across his saddle. The Kirin held his bloodied katana in one hand and the reins in the other. His Ro companion was unconscious.

‘I could do with some help,’ he wailed as they appeared over an incline.

Behind him, riding in a disorganized mass, were several wind claws and a significant force of Hounds. They numbered two dozen and were accompanied by several riderless horses, indicating that Rham Jas was a dangerous man to follow. They wielded scimitars and kukris, though the wind claws had large, wavy knives and black armour.

Xander motioned to Brennan. ‘Ask them to surrender, captain.’

He raised his chin. ‘We are the Hawks of Ro, stand down or die!’ he bellowed.

The Karesians were outnumbered, but the fanatical glare in their eyes made it doubtful that they would surrender. They shifted their focus from the fleeing Kirin to the mounted Hawks and the wind claws barked orders.

‘Now we’re killing Karesians,’ shouted Xander, when it became clear that they were not going to stand down.

Rham Jas grinned broadly and pulled back on his reins. Kale Glenwood, the man of Leith, was hanging limply over the forward pommel of the Kirin’s horse and the extra weight was hampering their escape. The assassin rode straight past the Hawks, without turning to help.

Gwen held her weapon with the blade pointing downwards and clamped her thighs to her horse, maintaining balance as they plunged forward. The ground was covered quickly as the two groups neared each other. She hunkered down on her saddle, lining up the nearest Hound. Xander was in front and standing tall in his stirrups, holding Peacekeeper steady.

The first blow was struck slowly. A wind claw, his reins held in his teeth and wielding two long knives, met the Red Prince of Haran. Xander drove his bastard sword through the man’s chest with precision and strength, sending the spluttering and bloodied Karesian to the grass.

Then the forces clashed. Gwen ducked under a scimitar and cut at the man’s neck, taking a chunk of flesh as he rode past her.

Horses in distress and metal striking metal made the melee a confusing one. Xander removed a man’s head. Daganay and Brennan flanked the general and killed two more with effortless skill. The Hounds were outmatched and most of them died as the line of Hawks rode them down. Heads were severed and horses maimed, many of the beasts bolting across the plain. Bodies were flung to the ground and blood covered the grass, staining the green with vibrant red. A few Karesians survived the initial clash and were now duelling with Hawks. Two men of Ro had fallen already, but no more of them met their deaths as their heavy short swords ran skilfully through the remaining Hounds.

‘Yeah!’ offered Rham Jas, mockingly raising his arms in celebration.

‘Keep your mouth shut, Kirin,’ grunted Daganay, finishing off a Karesian with a solid strike of his mace.

‘Get this finished,’ ordered Brennan, dismounting and putting a bloodied wind claw out of his misery.

The wailing of men in pain was quickly silenced as the wounded Karesians were swiftly despatched. Apart from a few cuts and bruises among the Hawks, and two men who had been run through, the encounter had ended swiftly and decisively.

‘You!’ Xander pointed Peacekeeper at the Kirin. ‘Report?’

Rham Jas looked confused for a second. ‘I’m not a soldier, you can talk to me properly.’

This comment caused several of the Hawks to glare at him, but the general merely laughed. ‘Did you kill her?’ he pressed, silencing a rebuke from Brennan with a wave of his hand.

The assassin nudged his horse round and, with a vacant grin, approached the company of Hawks.

‘Yup,’ he replied casually. ‘Dead as a dog with no head.’

A ripple of smiles passed over the faces of the men of Ro, and Gwen found herself eager to hear how Rham Jas had accomplished such a thing. The Kirin dismounted and carefully removed his torpid companion, laying him on the grass. His head was bloodied, with a torn length of cloth round his forehead.

‘What happened to the forger?’ she asked, sheathing her leaf-blade.

‘Too much sea air, I think,’ he replied. ‘And he got hit on the head by a metal torch-holder. He’ll live.’

‘Tell us of the witch?’ demanded Daganay, accompanying Xander and Gwen to meet the Kirin.

‘She was in some catacombs under Ranolph’s Hold – chanting and shit with a load of followers. I shoved my sword through her chest. She’s dead.’

‘Followers?’ queried Gwen. ‘Who?’

He shrugged. ‘Some Karesian women and a whole lot of Ro nobles.’

Gwen and Xander locked eyes. This was troubling news. They had known that the Seven Sisters could sway people’s actions, but not that they could convert so many in so little time.

‘She’s built herself a cult,’ guffawed Daganay, emphasizing his disgust with a chesty laugh.

‘This is serious, Dag,’ snapped Xander. ‘I don’t want to have to kill the nobles of my duchy.’

‘You won’t need to,’ interjected the Kirin. ‘I don’t know how the enchanting works exactly, but the ones I didn’t kill looked scared and ill after a few seconds of frenzied violence.’

The Red Prince glared at him, and the assassin turned away. Xander nudged his horse close to the Kirin. ‘You killed nobles of Haran? I assume you had no choice?’

‘Well, I gave them a choice. A few took it and a few just curled up on the floor. Don’t worry, your dukeness, you still have plenty of up-their-own-arse nobles to suck your royal cock.’

Daganay put his hand to his mace and looked ready to strike the Kirin, but Xander raised his hand again. ‘I owe you thanks,’ he said through a pained smile. ‘And I will remember that. Though I ask you to show more respect. This may just be another kill for you, but for us it’s our home and our people.’

The assassin’s face contorted into the caricature of a guilty child and he averted his eyes. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, clearly not meaning it. ‘Have I been bad?’

‘Look at me, Rham Jas Rami,’ said Xander.

The Kirin raised his head. His skin was swarthy and his hair lank, making him appear grubby and low-born. The katana at his side and the Dokkalfar war-bow across his back were both of fine materials and of considerably more value than his clothing.

When Xander regained eye contact with the Kirin, he sheathed Peacekeeper. ‘I hope you are telling me the truth. If not, I won’t forgive the insult, or the lies.’

‘She’s definitely dead,’ he replied. ‘Whether either of us like it, we’re on the same side. You, me, her, him, them... Brom, who’s my friend, remember?’

The general narrowed his eyes and a slight smile appeared on his lips. Gwen could read her husband well and she knew he believed the assassin’s words.

‘Very well,’ he replied. ‘But excuse me if I don’t let you leave just yet.’

‘I have an important appointment in Ro Weir,’ said Rham Jas, with a mischievous smile, showing no fear of Xander. ‘If my appointment goes well, things in your country should improve rapidly.’

‘Do you want a fucking knighthood?’ spat Daganay. ‘You’re going to our camp until we have the city back.’

‘Easy, Dag,’ interrupted Xander.

‘I don’t trust him. The witch is probably still alive,’ offered the Blue cleric.

Rham Jas’s grin grew even more mischievous as he looked through his dirty hair at Daganay. ‘I go where I like, fat man. She’s dead... go minister to her body.’

An eruption of expletives came from Daganay’s mouth. He hefted his mace and Xander wheeled his horse sharply to cut off the cleric’s attack.

‘Enough!’ ordered the general. ‘Rham Jas, do as we ask... if you’re a truthful man, you’ll be on your way tomorrow. Brennan, back to camp and rouse the men. March them here. Dag, you too. Move!’

‘Yes, my lord,’ he said solemnly, grasping the reins of his horse.

‘Seriously? I have to go with this idiot?’ asked the Kirin, blowing a kiss at Daganay.

‘He’s my friend. Be nice,’ said Gwen.

‘Can I bring my friend?’ asked Rham Jas, pointing to Glenwood. ‘He’ll only grumble if I leave him here.’

Brennan and Dag pointed their horses northwards and waited for the Kirin to heft his companion back into the saddle. Rham Jas was reluctant, but Gwen suspected that his insufferable cockiness masked a keen mind.

‘They were in the catacombs,’ said the Kirin, more serious now. ‘If you want to see if any of your nobles are alive, they’ll be there.’ He paused, looking at the grass. ‘Something else, maybe. I heard a weird sound and...’ He trailed off.

‘Make sense, man,’ prompted Xander.

‘Do you know what a Dark Young is?’ asked the assassin.

* * *

Five thousand men rode across the plains of Haran. With Alexander Tiris in the lead and Gwen riding next to him, they plunged south towards the city. Dozens of supply wagons and smithing equipment followed, guarded by their auxiliaries, and the Hawks of Ro moved with a rare purpose. Ro Haran was now visible and she felt a warmth enter her body at the thought of a hot bath and cosy bed.

The city looked small, with only the High Towers standing out against the grey sky and blue ocean. Steam and smoke rose from the dark stone and the castellated lump looked ominously quiet. No guards were visible and, though a few carts could be seen around the main gate, the city had no life.

‘What’s she done to it?’ mused Xander as the army approached. ‘No banners, no guards. They should have seen us coming and sounded a horn by now.’

‘There’ll still be Hounds there, my lord,’ said Daganay.

The general nodded in agreement. ‘Set cover round the main gate,’ he ordered.

‘Dag, Gwen, come with me. Brennan, let’s go and see how welcome we are.’

Gwendolyn joined the detachment that broke off and two hundred Hawks rode slowly towards the main gate. The rest of the army crawled into line across the eastern plains, taking up position in organized ranks facing Ro Haran. The camp servants and supply carts moved behind the lines.

Xander kicked the flanks of his horse and reached the road, hooves clattering on stone. Looking up at the guard towers, Gwen could not see men on duty or any indication that the city was defended.

‘Careful,’ she muttered to her husband.

Xander scanned the walls, but didn’t slow down as he rode straight for the main gate. ‘Brennan, announce our return.’

A loud bugle was blown by one of the accompanying Hawks and Captain Brennan roared, ‘General Alexander Tiris returns.’

‘Onwards,’ grunted Xander.

Their pace slowed as they formed into a column narrow enough to pass through the gates. Once inside, Gwen gasped and held a hand to her mouth and nostrils.

‘Plague,’ growled Daganay. ‘What has the witch done?’