Breaking the Gloaming (21 page)

“I would now hear your counsel, Cid. I trust it will be as inspiring as this crown.”

“May I stand while I speak?” the man asked.

“Of course, you have our attention.” The boy king reclined on his pillow. Jezebel clutched his arm. Her face was still pale, but a glimmer of hope showed in her eyes.

Cid stepped into the middle of the circle of men. “I must first explain myself, so that you understand the weight of my words. After losing my family,” his face beamed toward Jezebel, “I spent much of my life adrift. I have been an outlaw, but I can still help you. Remember, if I once did you harm as an enemy, I could likewise do you good service as a friend.”
 

Cid turned smoothly as he spoke, his eyes fixing on each man in the circle. When Cid’s eyes set upon Ravien, she felt within his grip. His gaze was compelling. Even the silent warriors seemed taken by his performance.

“I have long dealt with the Valemidans,” he continued. “I savored their wine and their women. I know much about our opponent. I urge you to use me for your advantage. Some have been alarmed at my smuggler’s life of wealth and license. Set aside the habits of my private life, and hear the wisdom of my counsel on the conduct of war.” Cid faced the king, as if channeling all his charisma. “In his divine wisdom, His Excellency understands that, while we cannot determine the exact point at which the Sunan empire shall stop, we must try to extend it. If we cease to rule others, we risk being ruled ourselves. Here is how to show the Valemidans how little Sunan cares for the peace that our nations have long enjoyed.”

He lifted one of his hands in a fist. “This is the city we will conquer first, Valemidas, the gateway to the continent’s rich lands.” He cupped his other hand under the first. “This is the River Tyne to the south of the city. The river is deep enough for our ships by the north bank, but it is too shallow in its southern half. We must sail into the river along the north bank, anchor our ships there, and set camp upon the beach beneath the walls of Valemidas.”

“No,” Dassa interrupted, standing. “This is the same counsel of the foreign woman.” He pointed to Ravien. “You and she would lay a trap for us. We are vulnerable on the beach. We would lose the strength of our fleet. We must sail into the harbor to the east of the city, where the wall is low. We can penetrate and gut the city from there. All the warriors here are agreed.”
 

Dassa motioned to the silent warriors, and to Seban. The priests and merchants had stayed out of this debate.

“Dassa,” Cid replied, “I see you have changed little, aside from a few more scars. Listen to me, all of you. They expect you to sail into the harbor. They have built up their defenses to the east, but they believe their walls are impenetrable to the south. On the beach, we spread our forces and surround much of the city. We look bigger. We force them to surrender without losing as many men. The beach also preserves our options, for we can board our ships and sail away if things do not go well. We must sail into the river. We must preserve our forces to conquer the whole continent. Anything less would be a failure for our divine leader.”

Cid fixed his gaze on the king and spoke no more. Ravien hid her joy at this ally of her cause. Dassa’s and Seban’s position had pushed her mission into stalemate. No matter how much His Excellency trusted her and wanted her, the boy was reluctant to decide against Dassa’s plan. Cid’s argument might tip the balance in her favor.
 

“I will decide now,” the king said. “All of you stay in the circle. Kneel and pray to me in silence.” He motioned for Ilias and Malam to join him as he stood and stepped to an altar facing a window looking out over the sea.

Ravien had grown used to this, but she still found it odd. Whenever an important decision was needed, the boy would kneel on this altar, his high priests at his sides. The priests were like an angel whispering into one ear and a devil into the other.
 

She wondered what went through the young man’s mind. He never seemed to doubt that he was divine. Ravien figured that, with everyone around him always believing it to be true, it made some sense that a boy would come to believe it, too. If only she believed that she were god, she would smite down all these men except Ilias, and maybe Cid. She might also keep His Excellency around as a servant.

A few minutes passed before His Excellency returned to the circle. Ilias looked pleased. Malam looked furious, but with a devious glare suggesting he had extracted some compromise.
 

“My Sunan fleet,” the young man said, “will sail into the River Tyne and set camp on its north bank.”
 

He held up his hand to stop the men from interrupting. “Cid will sail before us with his swift ship. He will inform the prince of Valemidas that I request a meeting on the open field north of the beach, west of the city, outside archers’ range. The prince may bring two witnesses, and he must not be armed. I will do the same.”
 

The decision surprised Ravien. Never before had the Sunans hinted at diplomacy. Cid’s smile was gone. He looked like he had lost an all-in bet.

“If the prince does not show up on the field, or if he comes armed,” His Excellency glanced toward Ravien and Jezebel, “Cid and the prince will watch these women die slow and painful deaths.” The young king’s voice lacked emotion, as if he were a callous god issuing divine judgment.

Chapter 21

A TRAITOR TO ALL

“Truth resides in every human heart,
 

and one has to search for it there,
 

and to be guided by
 

truth as one sees it.
 

But no one has a right
 

to coerce others to act
 

according to his own
 

view of the truth.”

I stood on top of the Gloaming, with grass, dirt, and stone separating me from the horrors down below. The empty hilltop overlooked the sea and the fog drifting above it. As I walked, my memories were colder and harsher than the winter wind.
 

A year ago I awoke in my bed with Tryst holding my sword, Zarathus, to my throat. It had been a full year since he and Ramzi had exiled me below to die. Now Tryst had been there longer than I had. While my focus had been on preparing for war, I had come to tolerate the slow progress by the minister of prisons. We were mere days away from getting Tryst and the others out, but guilt still gnawed at me.

My advisors were arriving at the opposite side of the hilltop, beside the palace walls. I squeezed Lorien’s hand and turned toward them. She walked at my side, steady and quiet. I had found myself relying on her strength more and more, and her presence and growing belly had become my only consistent sources of joy.

We greeted the group—Ulysses, Jon, Justus, Ryn, and Sebastian. Two knights, two nobles, and a spy. I led them up to the top of the palace wall. As we walked its southern rim, the River Tyne was a dizzying drop
below. The palace spires were beautiful to our right, and the city spread out beyond to the north and west. I could even see the Hibernia Glade far upriver.
 

“You all know how I want this to end,” I said. “I want peace. I would avoid a fight if I could. I would surrender myself if it meant the Sunans would sail back to their shores. They have come to make us pay our debt. There is justice in that. Father Yates says if we can pay and send them back, there is no reason for war. Valemidas has all it needs here. We have no need for conquest. I agree.”

“My prince, the priest is wrong,” Sebastian answered, with unusual passion in his voice. “The Sunans will not be content to take our gold, much less a promise of repayment. Their king is seen as divine. He has decided on war, and he will bring it until we have defeated Sunan.”

“I agree,” Justus said. “The only way we can secure peace is through battle, through victory.”

“Aye,” Ryn’s voice was brooding and bitter. It seemed he still had not gotten over Tryst’s defeat, nor my return. “This war can be good for Valemidas. Our city and our people are soft. The Lycurgus was a step in the right direction. You should not have given up the boys being trained. In a generation, our power might have been restored. We might have been the ones bringing this war, rather than having it brought to us.”

I was growing tired of this debate. It was the same as always against these hawks.
 

We had reached the southernmost part of the wall, its highest point with the best view in all directions. I stopped and faced my two knights. “What about you, Jon and Ulysses? You have been commanding our men, focused on defense, but I want to know if there is a way without a fight.”

Jon looked deep in thought.
 

Ulysses spoke first. “I think some fight will be necessary. Our men are growing stronger, but we need more numbers. The newest recruits will be little help. The only ones with any real experience are those who fought in Icaria. It has been generations since Valemidas has needed to defend itself.” He paused. His old eyes looked weary. “If the Sunans sailed this far,” he said, “they are not backing down without a fight. Our reports,” he glanced at Sebastian, “say their force is larger and more disciplined. They have little reason to negotiate.”

“Ulysses is right. You’re all right, but—” Jon looked toward the sea. “But let’s not forget that Ravien and my brother are likely working for our cause among the Sunans. I wish I knew more of their plan, but we may be missing something. If we could somehow put our best warriors against Sunan’s best, I like our chances.”

“This is a war,” Ryn said. “Ranks and ranks of soldiers crashing over walls, pouring into our city. This is no game of melee for young knights.”

Jon’s face flushed.

“Ryn speaks true,” Sebastian said. “His Excellency will move with full force against us.”
 

The other advisors stared at the spy, a few mouths hung open. Even I was taken aback by his phrasing.

“His Excellency?” I asked.

“The leader of the Sunans,” Sebastian replied. “I was invoking their name for him. Perhaps it came out in the way I learned it as a child. You know where my loyalty lies.” He looked around the group, as if daring someone to challenge him.

“Yes, they lie with me.” My words met skeptical faces, and an awkward silence followed.
 

Lorien and Ulysses had continued insisting I could not trust him. Ulysses had even claimed Sebastian had kidnapped the nun who served Father Yates, though the nun herself had been silent on the matter. The woman Page, from the archives, had confessed to it. These were strange things, but the spy had done nothing to make me doubt him. He had served me faithfully, and I had given him good reason to continue. He would have my delegated command over the Sunans if we defeated them. We alone among this group had Sunan blood.

“You may all be right,” I said, “so assume for now we cannot stop the war. Are we sure the Sunans will sail into the River Tyne and camp on the north bank?” I looked over the long stretch of sand far below, between the cliff and the water.
 

“My network still reports they will sail into the river,” Sebastian said.
 

“They will sail into the river,” Justus agreed. He and Sebastian had been strangely aligned on this point.

“That would make sense,” Ulysses nodded, “and so would camping on the north bank.” He peered over the wall. “The river is only deep enough on this side, and the flat ground makes for a good camp. They will stay outside arrow range and can retreat quickly. We should concentrate our defenses at our southern wall.”

“You may both be right, but our defenses must be agile.” Lorien put my thoughts into words. She had earned the respect of these men. “We should also keep a force by the harbor,” she said. “The Sunans cannot approach from the north, with its jagged shores, and though the harbor is too small to fit them all, perhaps they will attack from both directions.”

“The princess speaks with the wisdom of a general,” Ulysses said. “Our small fleet can resist whatever ships they manage to squeeze into our harbor. The bulk of our army must remain stationed in the southwest.”

“Must they remain on my estate, without more payment?” Ryn asked. He seemed to have more affection for gold than for our city’s survival. “Even in war, we set a bad precedent by letting the government take from the nobles and the people.”

“A fair price must be paid.” Justus was nodding.

“A fair price is that we defend the walls, that we keep your estates from burning to the ground.” Lorien glared at them. “Besides, you
are
the government. Must we cover this same ground again? Like the prince, the nobles serve Valemidas, not the other way—”

“A ship!” Jon shouted, pointing down at the river.
 

A dark vessel was emerging from the fog where the river met the sea. The vessel did not have the look of a Valemidan boat, and it moved upriver at an impressive pace. I could see only one man on the deck. He was rushing to draw the dark sails as the boat ran ashore, just where the city’s southern wall turned north. The man jumped from the boat and began running in the direction of the northwest gate.

“I’ve never seen a boat like that,” Ryn said.

“Jon,” I said, “go to that man now, bring him to me.” The stranger was moving fast. Jon had the best chance of reaching the gate before the other man did.

He bowed and took off in a sprint. No questions. I needed more men like Jon.

“We will continue this conversation later.” I conveyed displeasure as I looked to Ryn and Justus. Lorien was right, as usual. Everyone, nobles included, had to sacrifice for us to have a chance against the Sunans.

“Sebastian, go inspect this vessel. Learn what you can and report to me soon. Ulysses, back to our men. They need your training, your leadership. We will meet again soon.”

I took Lorien’s arm. She smiled at me as we walked back towards the palace. Sometimes I wondered if she should be leading. After the Gloaming, after revenge, after abandoning Tryst, I had little stomach left for battle. Something about this man’s arrival told me I needed to summon whatever I had left within me to fight.