Bazil Broketail (26 page)

Slowly the battle tension was leaving him. Whatever might happen in the next few weeks, there was going to be no more fighting tonight or tomorrow. He could allow himself to sleep.

But before sleep could finally claim him, a sentry gave a call and shortly afterwards two slim figures in the all-grey robes of the Sisterhood appeared before him. He struggled to get to his feet. A woman with a cool, gentle voice spoke quickly.

“Captain, you have given all your strength today, do not stand for us. Let us sit with you. We have things to talk about, you and I.”

He looked up at her for a moment and saw a woman of some beauty, with delicate features, a wide face and high cheekbones. She was of indeterminate age, but not young, and though very pale not colorless. It was her eyes that gripped him, however; they were large and luminous and a soft grey.

Her companion was much younger, a mere girl, and quite beautiful with reddened cheeks and lively brown eyes.

“Welcome to you both, Sisters. Sit by me, tell me what news you bring.”

The Sisters, old and young, sat without ceremony and immediately investigated the cook pot.

“Army noodles, I’ve always loved them,” said the older woman.

“I’m afraid that’s all we have to offer.”

“I thank you, Captain, and we will accept gladly.”

The younger Sister filled a couple of small bowls and tipped a little of the local sweet and sour sauce over them before handing one to the older Sister.

“Where have you come from?” said Hollein.

“From the south, climbing old Red Oak all day.”

“Ah ha,” said Hollein. “Perhaps you can help solve our mystery. We heard the horns of some troops in that direction, just an hour or so past, but we have yet to sight them. Did you perhaps pass them on your travels?”

The younger Sister stifled a giggle and looked down into the pot of noodles. The older one shrugged.

“No, we did not. We have been in the thickets. Possibly we were even lost.”

“Hah, now that I won’t believe. The Sisters in Grey are never lost.”

She smiled. “I thank you for the compliment and I wish it were as true as you so confidently proclaim it.”

Hollein, though tired to exhaustion, felt inexplicably cheered by the presence of this woman.

Witch
! he thought to himself.
She has cast some spell here, but my ordinary senses were too crude to detect it
.

“Let me introduce myself, Captain. My name is Les-sis, and this is my assistant Lagdalen of the Tarcho.”

Hollein thought he had heard that first name somewhere, but he could not place it immediately.

“Hollein Kesepton, lady. And over there somewhere is my lieutenant, Sandron Weald. We are the Thirteenth Marneri with elements of the Sixth Talion Light Horse and the 109th Dragons.”

“You fought long and hard today, Captain.”

He swilled down the last of the ale in his mug.

“Damn close thing it was, too close. I wish I could find the other force that’s out there somewhere. I just don’t understand it—they never made contact.”

Lessis smiled again.

“Perhaps what you heard was not made by soldiers.”

“What? But we heard the cornets. Some say it was Asgah, some ancient war god that used to rule these parts, but it sounded real enough to me and no ghostly apparition.”

Lessis cocked her hands to her mouth and suddenly blew into them. Crystal clear, the sound of a Marneri cornet signaling the charge rang out.

Hollein stared for a full three seconds. Then he slapped his palm on his knee and roared.

“Well, I’ll be. So much for Asgah! You were the relief force! Just the two of you.”

She nodded. “I’m afraid so, Hollein Kesepton. We saw that you were in need of assistance, and fortunately the enemy was fooled long enough to enable you to rally your men and dragons.”

He nodded. “Damned right. We cut them to pieces after that. But we were fighting back to back before then.”

“Granted.” She smiled again. “But then our entire enterprise in the Argonath is a close run thing, and we must needs rise above ourselves time after time to defeat our great enemy.”

Hollein’s sense of wonderment overcame his disappointment at there not being a relief force out there in the woods. Just these two Sisters, and one of them a young girl, and they had helped turn the tide of the battle.

“No wonder we couldn’t find anyone! But tell me now, how did you get lost? You must have been close by to hear us fighting in the first place.”

“We were delayed in coming on. I had to find a messenger and teach it how to speak.”

His eyebrows rose of their own accord. Witch-speaking!

“Well, I won’t ask you more about that!”

“It is not as difficult as you perhaps think,” she murmured.

At that moment Weald came round the cook fires and joined them.

“Duxe has posted sentries, and we have a half dozen farmers with horses riding down to the landing to bring in more reports.”

Hollein nodded acknowledgment of this news and then gestured to the two Sisters in grey.

“Prepare yourself for a surprise, Lieutenant.”

Weald looked up, his sand-colored eyes alert.

“Surprise?”

“This is Sister Lessis and Sister Lagdalen. They were the ones who saved our skins a couple of hours back.”

Weald goggled. “They what?”

“They can blow their own comets.”

Lessis blew another short cornet note in her hands.

Weald scratched his head. “Well now I’ve heard everything.”

“Hardly, dear sir,” said Lessis. “But let me congratulate you on your performance today—you all fought extremely well.”

Weald recovered. “My lady, we fought well because we would have been annihilated if we had not. We came close to ending this day as troll meat, all of us.”

“Well do I know that, Lieutenant Weald.”

For a moment they fell silent, the men astonished, Lessis mulling over her next approach.

“Well, I have a feeling that you want something of us, lady,” said Kesepton at last.

She nodded and seemed to consider her words very carefully.

“Indeed I do. I am going to ask you to accept a most hazardous mission and to render service far above the call of duty for I don’t know how long. You will be exposed to dangers that may even make this grisly day seem pleasant by comparison.”

She said this so clearly and flatly that for a moment the men just stared back.

“Well,” began Hollein, swallowing heavily. Now what was he getting into? His native caution was roused.

“No, you must hear me out, Captain.” She raised a slender hand.

With a feeling that he was going to regret this, he sat back and listened.

“First I must explain. We are in pursuit of a most dangerous agent of the enemy. This agent has abducted the heiress to the throne of Marneri, the Princess Besita.”

“She lives then?” said Hollein, surprised. “We had heard that she was dead.”

“No, she was abducted by this man. All winter we have chased him through the cities of the Argonath. Finally we sprung a trap in Talion, but he was forewarned by a traitor and escaped us. Now he approaches the forest road through Tunina, We must intercept him there.”

“What strength has he?” said Hollein.

“He will meet with a force of imps and trolls that lingers in the shadows of Mt. Snowgirt. That is why we need your assistance.”

Hollein nodded. The winter campaign, then this terrible battle, and now more fighting in the ancient forest of Tunina. There was no respite.

“We are much reduced in strength and barely fit to march, let alone fight.”

“I understand that, Captain. However, you are the only force within range that can be brought to bear on this enemy before he gets past our defenses and escapes onto the Can. Our chances of capturing him there and recovering the princess are very slight. And once she has been taken into the City of the Skull she will no longer be fit to rule in Marneri.”

Hollein shrugged. “So Erald will be king, as is the king’s wish now. Everyone knows it.”

“Erald is a willful cretin; he is young and playful and to an extent quite vicious. He cannot be allowed to sit the throne of Marneri.”

Hollein bit his lip before speaking. “Should not the will of the king and his people be respected?”

“Of course, but in some cases the people are ignorant of the truth in such a matter. Erald has been made popular by distribution of largesse, by his father’s manipulation of opinion. On his own Erald would soon be overwhelmed by his advisors, and these he will never choose wisely. I know that the men of Argonath resist the guidance of the empire in these things, but for now that guidance is necessary. All we have achieved still lies in the balance and our great enemy rouses itself once more.”

“The men of Marneri have no wish for women’s rule. Else they would go to Cunfshon and accept the yoke.”

Lessis snorted and looked down.

“The men of Marneri have survived by their strength and their guile. What little rule there has been from the isles has surely not caused any great harm.”

Hollein nodded. “No, you’re right. But I bristle at the idea that the witches will so casually interfere in the succession of the throne.”

Lessis sighed and shrugged. “It would be better if we did not, I grant you that. But in this circumstance it would be a disaster of the first rank if we allowed Erald to become the next King of Marneri.”

“There are some that would say I commit treason by even speaking to you concerning this.”

“Indeed, but they would be wrong, as you know.” She spread her hands. “Come, Captain Kesepton, be honest with me. Surely the best interests of the city of Marneri and thereby of the entire Argonath would be served if a rational, sane person sat the throne there, rather than a confused child who will be preyed on by the corrupt and ambitious.”

Hollein shrugged. “Well, yes.”

“Then will you accompany us into Tunina?”

“I’ll need orders concerning this. My current orders restrict me to this side of the Argo.”

She pursed her lips. “Of course, I understand that. We will send my messenger to Fort Dalhousie tonight and tomorrow he will return with your orders.”

“Dalhousie is three, four days ride from here.”

“My messenger does not ride upon the land, Captain.” She cupped her hands again and blew, but this time, instead of the bugle call of the Marneri cornet, there came a curious hoot. A few moments later with a soft flapping of enormous wings a great owl flew in and landed on the top of Kesepton’s tent pole.

Lessis blew again and held up her staff. The owl gave a flap and landed beside her.

“This is my messenger, Chinook of Red Oak. He has an active mind but one that is hard to reach with human concerns.”

Hollein stared at the owl. It was enormous. Suddenly the head swiveled and the huge eyes stared back at him. What kind of understanding lurked within those ferocious orbs? Hollein was impressed.

“Well then,” he said. “Dispatch him and let us see what the authorities in Dalhousie have to say about this.”

How an owl was going to communicate with General Hektor was something Hollein remained curious about.

Lessis spoke to the owl in little mews and hoots and whispers while she scribbled a note on a scrap of parchment and tied it to the bird’s leg with a piece of string. It shifted uneasily and lifted its foot and pecked at the parchment but did not dislodge it. Lessis spoke some more and passed her hand over the huge eyes, and it blinked then stretched its wings and flew away on huge, soft wing beats.

Lessis turned back to Kesepton. “We will have your orders by tomorrow, but we cannot remain here and wait upon them. We must move across the Argo tomorrow morning. We have a long way to go to reach the intercept point.”

“You ask much of me, Sister Lessis. Without orders I cannot do this. I would face a court martial.”

“You will have orders, Captain, from myself. Believe me when I tell you no one will challenge you on this.”

Hollein whistled. “To the contrary, I think it would mean the end of my career in the legion.”

Lessis tone became steely.

“Captain, do not mistake me in these simple grey robes. I am a direct representative of the Imperial Council. In legion rank I would be a general officer, do you understand? You will be operating under my command from here on.”

He swallowed again, this promised to be more trouble than any battle. His command to be given up to a witch?

What would Liepol Duxe and Yortch have to say about this?

Lessis was speaking again. “We must move tomorrow because we have an appointment with my friends in the forest.”

“Friends?”

“Yes, the elves of Matugolin. They have scouted the road and will have news of the movements of the enemy.”

Hollein felt his blood cool. “The elves of Tunina are no friends of the Argonath, a wild strange breed, hostile to all.”

Lessis accepted this with a weary smile.

“Alas, the folk of Matugolin have been much abused over the years. These good people of the Argo have not behaved well towards the elves. As a result the folk of Matugolin are cursed and reviled; that is the guilt in people coming to the fore. But I can assure you that the green folk are still ready to fight the power of the enemy.”

“You speak as if you know them well, these wild elves.”

“I do.” She said it simply, and he believed her.

He saw that the younger Sister was looking at him with a gleam of interest. She was an attractive young woman. Hollein could not resist looking at her more carefully. She blushed then and looked away from him.

She lingered in his thoughts, however. How young she seemed. And yet she was an escort for this Lessis. And with Lessis Hollein knew well that he was in the presence of one of the Great Witches, a legendary force. Such witches were very few in number but their influence was enormous. This girl was thus made privy to great secrets. She was being groomed for that world of spies and agents and mysterious errands through the netherworlds that went on somewhere just beyond the perceptions of the rest of the people.

Hollein wondered if she would survive the challenges ahead of her. Would she be a Great Witch someday?