13 Day War (41 page)

“Have you discovered anything useful?” asked the general. “Are we any closer to discovering where this Cordonia is that we are in?”

“No,” reported the black-cloak, “but there are developments to report. We have lost three more mages, one from the 19
^th
Corps and two from the 20
^th
Corps.”

“Are you sure that they are dead?” asked General Ross. “Is it possible that they found something and decided to stay there and investigate it?”

Baku frowned. “Anything is possible,” he sighed, “but I am growing concerned. That is now nine of my people that are missing. I could understand one or two of them doing something stupid, but not nine of them. I think something is hunting them.”

The general’s forehead creased as he considered the words used by the mage. He found it curious that Baku used the word something rather than someone, and the reference to being hunted signified a creature of some intelligence. The general had no idea what kind of power it might take to slay a black-cloak, but he knew that Baku was upset, and that concerned Ross.

“Perhaps you should start having your people patrol in pairs,” suggested the general.

“I have already issued that order,” replied Baku.

“What else do you have for me?”

“There have been people in this land before,” answered the black-cloak, “although it may have been years ago. One of my men was searching beyond the West Mountains and found some old stone fire rings. There were also trees with obvious hatchet marks on them, but the marks were overgrown. He thought they might be as much as twenty years old.”

“Nothing more recent?” asked General Ross.

The black-cloak shook his head.

Far to the east, among the peaks of the West Mountains, two Alcean Rangers sat in the shadows, gazing out over the vast plains of land known as Cordonia in their Universe.

“The black-cloaks are traveling in pairs now,” reported the corporal. “That is going to make it impossible to continue killing them without being detected. I think we need to start teaming up ourselves. No one man can get off two arrows quickly enough to kill two black-cloaks.”

Captain Steffen nodded silently as he watched the sun sliding towards the distant horizon. When he eventually spoke, it was with a tone of contemplative hesitancy. “The problem is much worse than that Kojar. In this sector, they have not only paired up, but one of them remains high in the sky while the other swoops down to investigate. No archer will be effective against such a wary stance as the higher one will be beyond an archer's range. We have hurt the black-cloaks considerably, and they are not used to feeling vulnerable. Killing the remaining fifteen mages will require new tactics.”

“What are you thinking?” frowned the corporal. “Surely, you do not plan to raid their camps at night while they are sleeping? There are only ten of us.”

The captain shook his head, but his eyes sparkled as if a sudden thought had come to mind that pleased him. “We still have the dragon. If the attack was timed correctly, a Ranger could kill the black-cloak who swoops down to investigate, while the dragon snares the mage flying high in the sky.”

Corporal Kojar shook his head vigorously. “Dragons are forbidden to eat humans,” he protested. “King Arik would not be pleased if we ordered Kinelli to abandon that directive. The dragon is here solely to scare the Federation soldiers.”

“Kinelli would not be attacking a human,” Captain Steffen replied with a slight smile. “She would be attacking a bird. Besides, she need not devour the black-cloak. All she has to do is kill it.”

The corporal thought for a moment, but he still appeared to dislike the idea. “There is only one dragon,” he pointed out, “and ten of us. That would require Kinelli to spend a great deal of time in the air traveling from one of us to another. She would surely be spotted and tracked, and her travels would eventually reveal our locations.”

“We would have to abandon all of the other posts and concentrate on one area,” replied the captain. “As wary as the black-cloaks are now, they will start plotting where their people go missing. They will then spend more efforts investigating that particular sector.”

“Yes, they will,” agreed the corporal, “but that may not be to our advantage. They may end up sending more than just two mages to investigate.
 
Remember, while we can kill the black-cloaks easily in their bird forms, just one of those mages in human form could kill all of us quickly. We have no mage of our own.”

“Then we must choose the battleground carefully,” replied Captain Steffen. “We will need a steep canyon with ample hiding spots among the vertical cliffs. We will lure the black-cloaks down into the canyon so that even if some of them remain high in the sky, they will be within range of our arrows.”

“That just might work,” mused Corporal Kojar, “and if one remains even higher, Kinelli can take care of him. I will search the West Mountains for just such a location.”

“No.” Captain Steffen smiled with a sparkle in his eyes. “Find us a spot in the Boulder Mountains. The black-cloaks continue to search ever farther from their base camps. If we can lure them far enough away from the Federation soldiers, they will not have time to return to camp each day. At that point, they will be forced to set up their own camp for the night.”

“Leaving us with an opportunity to sneak into their makeshift camp and finish them off,” grinned the corporal. “Either we lure them into a canyon of no return, or we strike while they are sleeping. Either way, they all die. I like it, Steffen.”

Night had fallen over the Lanoirian camp on the banks of the Chi River, and General Somma sighed wearily as he turned away from the sight of the last prisoner wagon leaving the banks. It had been a long and harrowing day for the Spinoan general, and he was ready for some sleep. He made his way to the command tent of Colonel Wu-sang. He opened the flap and paused as he glanced around the room. Colonel Rotti sat at a large table with Colonel Wu-sang. Both men were eating the evening meal, and the general crossed the room and sat down. Colonel Rotti rose immediately and dashed off to get food for his general.

“You look tired, General,” Colonel Wu-sang said sympathetically. “You should have gotten some sleep hours ago.”

“It was my duty to make sure that all of my men were treated well as they were sent off to the prison camps,” answered the Federation general.

The Lanoirian colonel nodded in understanding. He could have retorted that the Alceans had no intention of harming the prisoners, but he knew that the Spinoan general was aware of that. General Somma was merely trying to fulfill his obligation as a general, and Wu-sang admired him for that.

“They will be safe,” the colonel said reassuringly. “I have had mats set up in this tent for you and Colonel Rotti. If you need anything, you only have to ask. My men have been instructed to extend to you every courtesy possible.”

“You have been a most gracious victor,” General Somma replied as Colonel Rotti entered the tent and placed a plate of food before the general. “I know that my men will be cared for properly.”

Colonel Rotti sat down, and the room lapsed into silence as the general ate his meal. Several minutes later, the flap moved again and Rut-ki entered the tent carrying two sheathed swords. She handed one to Colonel Rotti and placed the other on the table near General Somma. The general nodded his thanks wordlessly and continued eating, but Colonel Rotti stared at the sword suspiciously and then glanced at Rut-ki questioningly.

“Why are you giving this to me?” the Spinoan colonel asked.

“An officer without a sword will be seen as a prisoner,” answered Rut-ki. “I want your comrades to understand that you have volunteered to work alongside the Alceans. It will better help them to understand that you are truly trying to save their lives.”

“She is right,” mumbled the general as he pushed his plate away, the strain of fatigue evident in his face. “Appearances will be important tomorrow.”

“As will having your wits about you,” frowned Colonel Rotti. “You need to get some sleep, General. Morning will come all too quickly.”

“We will be leaving within the hour,” declared Rut-ki as she placed a belt knife on the table. “I found this knife embedded in the body of General Franz. I believe it belongs to one of you?”

Colonel Rotti’s eyes widened nervously. He reflexively glanced at the general and immediately tore his eyes away. He reached for the knife and claimed it.

“It is my knife,” he admitted. “Thank you for its return.”

“I killed Franz,” confessed General Somma. “Do not let this young pup suffer on my account. Whatever crime that death constitutes, I will stand for its punishment after we manage to get the other Federation armies to surrender. Rotti had no hand in the slaying. How did you know it belonged to one of us?”

“Several of your men witnessed the attack,” answered Rut-ki. She did not add that those men thought more highly of Somma for having done the deed.

Anxious to change the subject, Colonel Rotti asked, “Why are we leaving tonight? The general is in great need of rest.”

“It is best if we travel at night,” Rut-ki answered. “The general can sleep along the way, but we have a great distance to cover before morning. I will wait outside for you. We will leave as soon as both of you are ready.”

Rut-ki turned and left the tent. Colonel Rotti picked up his sword and pulled the sheath over his head. He frowned as he looked around the big tent. Colonel Wu-sang appeared quite at ease with two enemy officers in his midst, and the delivery of the swords did not even raise an objection from him. There were no other Lanoirian soldiers in sight. He shook his head in confusion.

“It is obvious that you do not expect us to use these swords,” Rotti said as his confusion built to an unbearable level. “I can imagine that our escort will be quite numerous tonight, but you do not even seem concerned about being alone with us. Why is that? What am I missing?”

“Perhaps you have not yet learned to trust us,” Colonel Wu-sang said with a laconic smile. “Having survived a harrowing day, would you foolishly endanger your lives now merely to kill one insignificant Lanoirian colonel? As for your escort tonight, you and the general will be traveling with just Rut-ki. A Knight of Alcea needs no further escort.”

“I have heard that phrase before,” commented General Somma. “What exactly is a Knight of Alcea?”

“A Knight of Alcea is one of the most dangerous people in the world,” answered Colonel Wu-sang. “The Knights of Alcea are the world’s best warriors and magicians. There are only about a dozen of them, and they report only to King Arik and no one else. Rut-ki is one of them.”

“That little slip of a woman?” gasped Colonel Rotti. “You can’t be serious?”

All traces of humor fled from Wu-sang’s face. “You once again are underestimating your opponent, Colonel. Rut-ki was an instructor of martial arts in the Imperial Palace of Lanoir before she became a Knight of Alcea. She would need no weapon at all to dispatch the three of us if it became necessary. Cling to your sword and knife if they give you comfort, but do not even think of raising either one with malicious intent. You would not live long enough to use it.”

The Lanoirian colonel rose and stiffly exited the tent. Rotti looked at Somma questioningly.

“He seemed offended,” the colonel remarked.

“He was offended,” sighed General Somma as he slung his sheath over his head. “I imagine that Rut-ki is a provincial hero to the Lanoirians, and you have discounted her worth. The Alceans have been extremely gracious to us. Why do you keep testing them?”

“I do not know,” admitted the colonel. “I met Rut-ki last fall, General. She portrayed herself as a blushing bride, her new husband a poor fisherman. I can see now that it was just an act to get close to Kerk and me, but it was very convincing. It is just hard to think of her as some kind of great warrior.”

“Was the fisherman called Bin-lu?” asked the general.

“Yes,” nodded Rotti. “How did you know?”

“Bin-lu is also a Knight of Alcea,” answered General Somma. “He and Rut-ki designed the trap that snared our armies. I had the chance to talk with Wu-sang this afternoon, and I asked him about the dam. The Lanoirians had thousands of men working on it all winter, and all of this was done just because Bin-lu and Rut-ki demanded it. That proves to me that the Lanoirians take these Knights of Alcea very seriously. I suggest that we do the same. Now, I am really in need of sleep, so the sooner we get started on this journey, the sooner I can get some sleep. If you are ready, I would like to leave now.”

Colonel Rotti immediately stood and sheathed his knife. When General Somma rose to his feet, the two officers exited the tent to find Rut-ki standing with three saddled horses. She handed reins to each of the men and then mounted her horse.

“This is silly,” Colonel Rotti thought as he mounted the horse. “No matter how great a fighter Rut-ki might be, she can’t possible stop both Spinoans from merely riding away from her during the night’s journey.”

You have much to learn, Zaran. You are not in control.

The words had sounded inside the colonel’s head, and he glanced around in alarm. The voice had been feminine, but the only female in the area was Rut-ki, and she was not even paying any attention to the colonel. Rotti gazed upward in search of one of the fairy people, but the voice had been too full-bodied to be a fairy. He pulled on the reins to turn the horse around so he could get a better view behind him, but the horse refused to obey his commands.

The feminine voice chuckled in his mind.

“I am confused,” said General Somma as he mounted his horse. “Team Elmor should be traveling along the coast. It will take us days to reach them, especially if we only travel at night, but you indicated that a trap awaited them tomorrow. How can we possible be there in time?”

“We will be with Bin-lu in a couple of hours,” smiled Rut-ki as she mounted her horse. “You may sleep on the way if you wish. Your unicorn will not let you fall.”

Rut-ki’s mount sprouted wings and leaped into the air. General Somma’s mount immediately mimicked Rut-ki’s unicorn and Colonel Rotti’s jaw fell as he watched the magnificent beasts take to the air.