Army of the Dead (17 page)

“I learned nothing yesterday,” frowned StarWind, “except that the mages have no idea what is going on. I have to get closer to the army officers to learn anything interesting.”

“And how will you do that?” Goral shook his head. “The mages know nothing because the army does not trust them, yet you are going to sneak in there dressed as a mage. The whole idea is foolish.”

“Do you have a better idea?” retorted StarWind, perhaps a little too harshly. “They have no women in their army. I cannot impersonate a soldier. This costume is my only chance to spy on them.”

“I would suggest sending a man in your place,” shrugged Goral, “but even that is foolish. I doubt the premer shares much information with anyone.”

“Then it is the premer that I must spy on,” shrugged StarWind. “Stop worrying about it. Take the extra cloak with you. I would not want them to discover it. Hopefully, I will be in and out of there in a few hours. Have my choka ready for me in case I need a swift exit.”

“I will be here,” promised Goral as he sighed with defeat. “May Kaltara watch over you.”

StarWind smiled at Goral and left her position of concealment as she pulled the black hood over her head. She walked towards the huge encampment and saw the sentries look questioningly towards her as she approached. She felt her teeth grating and willed her body to relax. When she got close to the guards, she saw them stiffen and move to intercept her. She had anticipated the move.

“What are you doing outside the encampment?” asked one of the sentries.

“What are you doing questioning one of Vand’s chosen?” StarWind shot back. “I follow my orders just as you do. My orders required a journey outside the perimeter. Do you wish to make an issue of it?”

“We were not informed of anyone outside the perimeter,” retorted the guard.

“As if you have a need to know,” spat StarWind. “Stand aside, or I shall inform Premer Doralin of the reason for my delay.”

The sentries exchanged anxious glances at the implied threat. One of the sentries shrugged and returned to his post, but the other stood defiantly for several long moments. StarWind was about to speak again when the remaining sentry finally shook his head and walked away. The Sakovan spymaster smiled inwardly as she walked past the sentries and entered the encampment.

StarWind gazed about at the thousands of tents and campfires. She chose a wide path through the encampment that looked like it headed towards the center where she expected to find the premer’s tent. So many people were moving around the camp that she was unaware of the black-cloaked person following her. She hadn’t walked more than a hundred paces before she felt her body freeze. She tried to turn around to view her attacker, but her body would not respond. While her head was the only part of her body that had movement, she could not turn it enough to see behind her. It mattered little. Within seconds, a black-cloaked man walked around her and flipped the hood off of her face.

“What have we here?” the mage smiled cruelly. “Do you think a black cloak makes you invisible in Vand’s encampment? Who are you, and what is your mission?”

“Release me this instant,” snarled StarWind. “How dare you attack me in this manner? Premer Doralin will learn of this outrageous behavior.”

“How dare I?” smirked the mage. “My, my, how original. You may think we Motangans are stupid, but you will soon learn differently. No Motangan mage is allowed to enter or leave the encampment except through the mage entrance. Everyone knows that, except Sakovans.”

The mage walked completely around StarWind in a leisurely manner, feeling completely in control of the situation. He stopped in front of her and lifted up her cloak to view what the Sakovan was wearing underneath.

“At least you were not foolish enough to smuggle a sword into the camp,” smiled the mage. “Seeing as you claim to be so close to Premer Doralin, I suspect that is where I shall take you. Besides, only he can authorize me to do what I want to do to you. Before I am done with you, you will provide every secret the Sakovans hold dear to their hearts, and if you think you can escape the torture by killing yourself, think again. You will never be allowed to harm yourself or anyone else. You will answer every question without fail. That is Zatho’s promise to you.”

The mage summoned some soldiers nearby who had stopped their activities to witness the incident. Zatho instructed them to fetch a cart for the prisoner, and several soldiers dashed away to comply. The mage stood in front of StarWind and smiled as he stared into her eyes, as if they would reveal something to him. The minutes dragged on for StarWind as she wondered if she would get a chance to kill herself before she revealed too much.

“You won’t die anytime soon,” Zatho promised with a chuckle as if he had read her mind. “I am supposed to advise you to cooperate fully so things will go easier for you, but I actually prefer to find you stubborn and obstinate. There is nothing quite so satisfying as a reluctant talker.”

StarWind remained silent and eventually two soldiers arrived with a caged cart. Zatho instructed the soldiers to grasp StarWind as he removed the freeze spell. StarWind’s hands were immediately bound behind her back with rope, and she was lifted onto the cart. The cage door swung shut and was barred from the outside. Zatho paused to gaze once more at the Sakovan spymaster before he climbed onto the seat of the cart and instructed the soldiers to take him to Premer Doralin.

StarWind instinctively gazed at her surroundings as she was carted deeper into the encampment. She took small comfort in the fact that her body had not been searched. Although she had left her sword with Goral, she still possessed numerous stars and knives secreted in various places. All she needed was a chance to get her hands on one of them, and she would deprive Zatho of his intended pleasure.

Eventually, a large tent came into view, and StarWind knew that they had reached their destination. The cart halted in front of the large tent, and Zatho climbed off the seat and marched to the rear of the cart. Several soldiers immediately converged at the rear of the cart and opened the door to the cage. They hauled StarWind out of the cage.

“I wish to present her to Premer Doralin,” declared Zatho. “She is a Sakovan spy.”

The soldiers ignored the mage as half a dozen hands began roving over StarWind’s body. The Sakovan spymaster cringed as each knife and star was discovered and tossed to the ground.

“Does she know magic?” asked one of the soldiers.

“I do not know for sure,” admitted Zatho, “but I highly doubt it.”

“We take no chances with the premer,” retorted the soldier as he placed a heavy black sack over StarWind’s head. “You may enter the tent, Zatho. We will bring the prisoner in as soon as Premer Doralin requests her.”

The mage nodded and marched into the premer’s tent. Doralin was in a meeting with a large group of generals. He looked up with annoyance at the intrusion.

“Pardon the interruption, Premer,” smiled Zatho, “but I thought you should be made aware immediately. I have captured a Sakovan spy.”

The premer’s annoyance instantly gave way to curiosity. “Bring him in immediately,” ordered the premer.

“It is a she,” corrected the mage as he signaled to the soldiers outside the flap.

Doralin nodded as he turned his attention back to the generals. “I think this meeting can be concluded now,” he said with finality. “Think about what I have said and bring me your recommendations as soon as possible.”

Most of the generals nodded and turned to leave the tent as StarWind was dragged in.

“What about our supplies?” asked one of the generals before leaving. “Food is starting to run out. When will our next shipment be?”

“Soon,” Premer Doralin replied distractedly as he watched the Sakovan being brought in. “We have had to take extra precautions to eliminate the chance of any more poisonings. Duran is now staffed by over a thousand men to protect the food. Our first shipment should be arriving in just a few days.”

The general nodded and joined the others leaving the tent. StarWind was led to a chair and forced to sit down. She was swiftly tied to the chair to prevent her escape.

“Is she magical?” asked Premer Doralin as he walked away from the table and stood in front of the captive.

“We don’t know,” shrugged Zatho. “Your men put the sack on her head just in case.”

“She had quite an assortment of weapons on her body,” offered one of the soldiers. “Still, we do not like taking chances with your life.”

“Understandable,” nodded the premer, “but I want to gaze upon her. Remove the sack.”

The soldier moved hesitantly, but he obeyed the order. He removed the special sack from StarWind’s head, but he remained poised to immediately replace it. The premer stared at StarWind for several moments before speaking.

“You are quite an attractive woman,” stated the premer. “What is your name?”

StarWind toyed with the idea of refusing to talk, but she knew that the torture would gain the Motangans whatever knowledge they desired. She decided to be cooperative up to a point.

“My name is StarWind,” the Sakovan spymaster replied. “May I assume that you are Premer Doralin?”

“I am,” the premer smiled. “You certainly appear calm in your current situation. May I presume that spying is something that you have done for some time?”

“It is my vocation,” nodded StarWind. “Or should I say was?”

“You are eager to taste death?” asked the premer.

“No one is eager for death,” shrugged StarWind, “but I know when I have failed my mission. I know that you will never let me leave this camp alive.”

“True,” nodded the premer, “but I may allow you to live within the camp, providing you tell me what I want to know.”

“Premer Doralin,” cautioned Zatho, “do not trust this woman. She will try to take her own life to avoid giving us the information that we want. Let me extract the information from her. You know that I never fail to get what we want.”

“Your talents are well known, Zatho,” nodded the premer, “but I will give this woman a chance to avoid the needless pain of your interrogation. She is such a beautiful creature that I am hesitant to watch you disfigure her.”

“There is little that I can offer you no matter which method of interrogation you choose,” interjected StarWind. “I told you that I was a spy and have been so for many years. My task was to spy on the Omungans before they were defeated. As such, I spent my life in the Omungan cities plying my trade. There is much that I can tell you about those cities, but I fear that is not the type of information that you are seeking.”

“I am sure that there is much that you can reveal,” smiled Premer Doralin. “You know enough of the geography of the Sakova to find our encampment. My maps could use much updating in that regard. Are you willing to disclose what you know without torture?”

“I will reveal what I can,” nodded StarWind, “but there is little that I can offer in terms of Sakovan secrets. The Star does not confide in me.”

“She is faking her cooperation,” Zatho blurted out. “She will fill you with lies and misinformation. Only my methods will get to the truth. Do not be tricked by her pretty face.”

“I suspect that you are right, Zatho,” sighed the premer. “Still, I am tempted to give her a chance. The armies are not marching today, as they need their rest before another major battle. I will give the Sakovan only this day to tell me what I need to know. If I am not satisfied by morning with her level of cooperation, I shall turn her over to you.”

“You must keep the sack on her head,” warned Zatho. “She might have magical abilities.”

Premer Doralin sighed and nodded to the soldier beside StarWind. The soldier placed the sack over StarWind’s head, and the Sakovan spymaster knew that she would not be able to talk her way out of her predicament.

Lord Rybak stood on a rise west of Raven’s Point, large columns of smoke rising high in the sky as the Khadoran fields burned to deny the enemy any food. Through the smoky haze he watched the Motangan boats still pouring fresh troops onto the shore. He slowly moved his gaze closer to the rise that he stood on and saw the Situ cavalry engaging the vanguard of the Motangan army. Mounted Situ soldiers charged the Motangan lines in an attempt to slow the advance, but the red-uniformed soldiers continued to push steadily westward.

“What is the situation in the north?” Lord Rybak asked.

“Lord Saycher has retreated,” replied Polema. “His people are safely over the first trench, and he has destroyed the northern bridge spanning it.”

“And the Motangans up there?” asked Lord Rybak.

“They are not pursuing Lord Saycher,” advised the air mage. “He suspects that they have turned south to flank our troops.”

“He suspects?” snapped Lord Rybak. “That is not acceptable. Contact him again and tell him to get scouts out. I must know where those Motangan troops are heading.”

Lord Rybak returned his attention to the battle below while Polema contacted Lord Saycher. He saw his cavalry harassing the enemy, but the solid sea of red uniforms all the way to the coast ensured that he would have to retreat soon. Already the cavalry losses were easily visible.

“He already has scouts out,” Polema interrupted his thoughts. “He just hasn’t heard back from them.”

Lord Rybak thought about ordering more scouts to be sent out, but he knew there was not time for that.

“What of our own evacuation?” he asked Polema. “Did you find out what is holding up the retreat?”

“It is the mages,” Polema reported softly. “Many of them are not as physically fit as the soldiers are. They cannot move swiftly. They have the central bridge clogged, and the infantry is behind them. It will be hours before they are safely across the trench.”

“We don’t have hours,” scowled Lord Rybak. “Our cavalry is being decimated. If we can hold another hour, that will be the best that we can do.”

“Should I advise them to destroy the bridge in an hour?” asked Polema.

Lord Rybak stood silently for a long time, his eyes viewing the carnage below. Finally, he sighed heavily and shook his head.