Darksong Rising (48 page)

head. "No…we have kept the drums hidden from her, and we cannot do that for long. Nor dare

we use Darksong too often. We must ensure that her forces are concentrated in one place, where

we hold the high ground. She must be destroyed all at once. Otherwise, we will fight and fight

and fight, and neither the Liedfuhr nor the Sea-Marshal will send us golds week after week,

season after season."

“The sorceress cannot linger long in Ebra, my lord,” counters the gray-haired warrior. “Many of

the lords of the Thirty-three are less than pleased with her, and should she stay in Ebra too long,

she risks an attack from the mad young Prophet of Music. He, too, is building Darksong drums to

use against her, and he can call upon near on a hundredscore Mansuuran lancers, and two

hundred—score of his own lancers and armsmen. You have far more armsmen than does

Hadrenn. You can afford to wait She will have to leave, and soon.”

“No…I cannot afford to wait I cannot defeat the bitch without Darksong, and I cannot long use it

and still see my way across a room, let alone to a mount. And I must use it while she suspects it

has not yet been raised.”

“Do not use it... wait. Harry Hadrenn’s forces, and avoid the sorceress. She cannot linger,”

counsels Ceorwyn. “She cannot, and have a land to return to.”

“Hadrenn can retreat back to the hills. He sent but half his forces down the river. The sorceress

can send him golds. Then... what will I do when Elahwa rises again, or the SouthWomen send

more golds and blades? Or when the Sturinnese send more than a mere three ships? Will I be

forced to follow Lord Ehara of Dumar’s example? Then, the Thirty-three might well unite

behind her, and even the bitches of the south might send the sorceress golds. So I would then be

fighting half of Liedwahr and Hadrenn.

“Hadrenn is an inexperienced young lord.”

“He is, but his force leaders are not, and he has the wit to listen to them, the dissonant young

puppy." Bertmynn coughs and spits on the ground in the corner of the tent. “So I would be

fighting Hadrenn, the freewomen and the SouthWomen, and the sorceress again. Or I would

submit to being a counter for the Sea-Lords."

‘Those may not happen."

Bertmynn looks hard at Ceorwyn. ‘Think you not?” After a time, Ceorwyn’s eyes drop.

50

Anna stepped into a patch of shade to get out of the already warm morning sun, then glanced

around the group— Jecks, Himar, Hadrenn, and Liende, with Stepan, Jimbob, and Kinor

standing farther back. Behind them were her guards, and a full score of lancers surrounding the

shaded grove where she had laid out the traveling scrying mirror on a fallen tree trunk. To the

west, along the Syne River road, the column was forming, preparing for the ride eastward, to

meet Bertmynn’s forces.

Finally, after a vocalise, she swallowed and cleared her throat, then lifted the lutar and sang:

Show me now and show me clear

a road to Bertmynn with no armsmen near,

Like a vision, like a map...

The mirror displayed an image, almost a topographical map with a light brown line that appeared

to be the river road they traveled—until just short of the juncture of the two rivers, when the path

veered south and around a line of hills.

Ulpp.

Anna suspected the gulp belonged to Hadrenn, but she continued to concentrate on the image.

Himar was sketching rapidly on a sheet of crude brown paper, his eyes flicking from the mirror

to the paper.

“If the glass is correct,” Anna said, “that will bring us out on the higher south side of the valley."

“The last part of the way is narrow.” Himar kept sketching. “There are trees on both sides. We

would not see any lancers until they were upon us.”

“Let me know when you have it drawn out.” Anna could feel the heat building around her, and

within the mirror and its frame. After a short time, Himar lifted his head. “I have enough."

Anna sang the release couplet, and then took a long swallow from the water bottle Jecks handed

her. She thought about waving away the biscuit that followed, but took it instead and munched

through it. Have to keep your energy levels up.

“Let’s see if Bertmynn has planned any surprises.” She cleared her throat and raised the lutar.

Danger from Bertmynn. danger near,

show me that danger bright and clear....

The image showed a line of armsmen, arrayed on a hillside. There was a smaller group, barely a

handful of figures, behind the armsmen, higher on the hillside.

“Are those archers?” asked Jecks. "Or players?”

“They don’t have as many players as we do, if they’re players, and less than a score of archers

won’t change things." Anna frowned. “Whatever danger there is... it looks like it will be when

we meet.”

“I worry about those folk...” Jecks gestured toward the mirror, speaking in a voice meant only for

Anna’s ears.

“So do I, but we can’t just ride away because we don’t feel things are quite right.” She forced a

light laugh.

Jecks tightened his lips.

“I need to talk to Liende.” Anna motioned to the chief player, and then to Himar, and to Stepan,

waiting for them to approach more closely before continuing. “As soon as we can get within

vocal range of Bertmynn’s forces, we’ll use the long flame song—that’s the one for weapons that

might be spelled against us.”

“The long flame song,” Liende repeated.

Anna looked at Himar. “Do you think his lancers will attack quickly?”

“Either quickly, or they will wait for us to attack.” Himar fingered his chin. “They would have to

come down from higher ground and then charge uphill. I would wait, were I in their position.”

“Does it look like our bowmen can lift arrows far enough to reach their position? If we form on

the southern ridge.”

“I cannot tell.” Himar shrugged apologetically.

“Well... we’ll hope so." Anna looked back at Liende. “We’ll plan on the arrow song second. If

the arrows reach them, we’ll do it several times.”

“The arrow song for the second spell,” Liende confirmed.

“And I may need the short flame song, almost at any time.”

A frown crossed Liende’s face, then vanished.

“And possibly the short arrow song, the one I used against Sargol.” Not that it did any good

there. She turned to Himar. “Are we ready to ride?”

“Yes, Lady Anna.”

Anna nodded, and recased the lutar, then looked toward the mirror, but Jecks had already packed

it and was strapping it to Farinelli.

Hadrenn took along, thoughtful look at Anna, before turning to follow Himar.

Liende glanced at Anna as the others moved through the dappled shadows of the grove toward

their mounts, then asked the sorceress, “You will not let Kinor ride with the lancers?”

“No…I told him and Jimbob that they had to help my personal guards. There’s some danger

there, but... less, I would judge."

“Kinor... he would prove he is worthy.”

“I know. But he has to see what happens in battles, I think. People die, and most battles...” Don’t

have to be fought? Except they do, because people’s beliefs aren’t the same, and someone

always wants to force other people to believe differently. After a moment, Anna found the

question coming back. Are you any different? Aren’t people dying because you want to force this

world to treat women better?

“You are silent, lady.”

Anna sighed. “I’d like to think I’m different from others who rule, but I’m not. I fight for what I

believe in, and so do they. I just have to hope that what I believe in is worth the deaths.”

“Life is not what we wish, lady, but I believe you do the best you can. That is why I ride with

you.” Liende smiled sadly.

"Thank you,” answered Anna softly. “I try.” As Liende turned, Anna carried the lutar toward

Farinelli, and Jecks.

“Can you bring your spells against the players—if that is what they are?” The hazel eyes of the

white-haired lord radiated concern.

“You’re worried, aren’t you."

“For you, my lady, not for me.”

Anna reached out with her free hand and squeezed his shoulder, firmly but gently. “I’ll try to

think of something as we ride.” You’d better... when he’s worried he’s usually right. She

strapped the lutar behind her saddle, then patted Farinelli, and mounted.

51

Anna brushed a strand of silver-blonde hair out of her eye. A cooler breeze blew out of the east,

and although high gray clouds had appeared on the horizon a glass or so earlier, they seemed no

nearer than when Anna’s force had resumed the ride along the River Syne. The sorceress eased

back her brown hat and glanced ahead at the scouts on the road, then at the vanguard waiting at

the junction to a lane that sloped down and to the south.

Anna touched the spelled shield at her knee, but there was no energy, no sense of sorcery there.

“We should head south here.” Himar glanced back past Rickel and Lejun, who had their shields

out and now rode directly before Anna, while Blaz and Kerhor rode behind Jecks, Jimbob, and

Kinor.

“I’d like to take a last look in the mirror,” Anna said, reining up. “Before we get too close to

where Bertmynn is.”

After Anna dismounted, Jecks laid out the mirror on the browning grass by the shoulder of the

river road, and she tuned the lutar. Her guards and Jirnbob and Kinor remained mounted,