Heritage of Cyador (saga of recluce Book 18) (44 page)

A second chaos-bolt follows swiftly, but is not quite so powerful, and Lerial manages to redirect the fire across the defenders directly before the Mirror Lancers.

The first lancers are within a few yards of the stone barricade when Lerial can sense mounting chaos, not just from the wizard who has twice loosed chaos, but also from the other unshielded wizard. Lerial immediately begins creating a triple ten-line return pattern.

Two chaos-bolts merge and flare toward Lerial, one of the most powerful bolts he’s felt since he has arrived in Afrit, but the thirty lines of patterned order
twist
the chaos back at the nearer chaos-wizard. A pillar of reddish white geysers skyward, and silver mists flow over Lerial, evidence of the deaths of the wizard’s guards and the wizard.

Lerial is staggered, and unsettled from that reaction, when another chaos-blast, far weaker, arches toward him. Instinctively, he order-parries it and returns it.

A smaller wave of chaos rises.

Lerial reins up, not wanting to charge across another fifty yards or so of open ground to reach what was likely the inner wall around the old fort, once likely more than two yards high, but now more like a yard and a half or a yard and a cubit high in most places. Most of the Heldyans who survived the redirected chaos and the Mirror Lancer charge are either behind that higher wall or scrambling back to reach it.

The third chaos-wizard has vanished—at least from Lerial’s order-senses.
Because you’re getting tired? Or does he have a different kind of shield. You can’t have stunned or killed him. He wasn’t even near the others.

He looks back across the shore road, where he sees a score or more of the Afritan Guards moving out—far too slowly—and heading toward the now-undefended stone barricade. Then, belatedly, he turns and surveys the river. He swallows as he sees several more flatboats, separated by close to thirty yards, and headed toward the temporary pier. All three flatboats have shield walls on the shoreward side.

What can you do?

Without drawing on a white wizard’s chaos, he can’t use chaos against the men on the boats, and without knowing where the last chaos-mage is, he can’t use order-chaos separation effectively because, unless he uses it near the mage, the mage’s shields are likely strong enough to withstand the destruction.
Unless you push matters, and then you’ll end up destroying the Heldyans, the mage, your own men, and a chunk of Swartheld … and yourself … and the mage might still survive.
And he can’t do much more with order-diversion because he is getting too tired to focus accurately.

Even in those brief moments of thought, he sees yet another flatboat, shielded on the shoreward side, moving in behind the first three, all angling toward the makeshift pier on the point.

At that moment, he wants to slam his palm into his forehead.
The frigging pier, of course!
While he knows he is stretching his reach and his abilities, the last thing he wants is to allow even more Heldyans to land, or land easily, particularly any more wizards or mages.

As carefully as he can, despite his blurring vision and aching head, he extends his senses to the middle of the covered flatboats that serve as the makeshift pier, then begins just a small order-chaos separation of the planks in the bottom of one of the flatboats … as well as a tiny order-chaos separation in the leading flatboat.

Chaos and steam erupt from the middle of the pier, then race in both directions, with flame and more steam. Squinting to try to make out whether the destruction he has wreaked has been adequate to accomplish his goal, Lerial finds himself even more light-headed … and weaving back and forth in the saddle.

“Ser?”

Fheldar’s voice seems all too far away, so far that Lerial can barely hear him.

“Send a messenger to the subcommander … that we’ve destroyed the pier and a flatboat … that … will make … landing reinforcements … more difficult.” As he speaks, Lerial is aware that each word requires more effort. “Archers … need … to target men wading … ashore…”

Why so hard to speak…?

And then there is just blackness …

XXX

Lerial wakes stretched on a pallet lying in a large room that smells of wood … and more wood. His head is throbbing and his vision blurry, when what he can see is not blocked by sharp flashes of light. A young Mirror Lancer ranker sits beside him on a stool.

“Here’s some lager, ser,” says the ranker, whose name Lerial cannot remember, although he knows it … and knows he does.

Lerial slowly gathers himself into a sitting position, takes the water bottle, and begins to drink the lager. The first sips are hard because his mouth is so dry. After several sips, and then somewhat larger swallows, the throbbing drops from being excruciating to merely exceedingly painful.

“What time is it?”

“Second glass of the afternoon, ser.”

“Did everyone get clear?”

“Yes, ser. Squad Leader Fheldar had us take care of the Heldyans who remained, then withdrew.” The ranker’s lips turn almost sardonic.

Lerial wonders about that, and is about to ask when he realizes that, for some reason, his hip, the part right under his knife, feels warm, almost as if it were sunburned. That thought leaves his mind as he sees Fheldar walk through the doorway of the lumber or timber factorage, or cabinetry shop.

“Good to see that you’re still with us, ser.” The senior squad leader gestures to the ranker, who backs away. Then Fheldar continues, “Begging your pardon, ser … but … if you won’t think of yourself … would you think about what would happen if I have to report to Duke Kiedron that you got yourself killed in Afrit? Or who would defend Cigoerne against that bastard Khesyn?”

“I
thought
I was being careful, Fheldar. I misjudged. How many men did we lose?”

“Six dead, eight wounded. One likely won’t make it.” Fheldar’s mouth twists into a disgusted expression. “Ser…”

“What is it?”

“The Heldyans retook everything we cleared out. Less than a company of the Afritans advanced, and then they withdrew after a single blast of chaos. Just a little blast, and it didn’t even come close.”

“Was there more chaos-fire after that?”

“No, ser. And the Afritans didn’t even try another advance.”

“At least the Heldyans couldn’t land any more mounted forces.” Lerial pauses. “Could they?”

“No, ser. But they did get another company of foot ashore. The Afritan archers picked off a few of them wading in from deeper water.”

Lerial takes another, deeper, swallow of the lager.

Fheldar extends a small loaf of bread. “Didn’t have any biscuits. Thought you might need something to eat.”

“Thank you.” Lerial has no doubts that he does, especially before meeting with whoever is in charge of the Afritan forces—which he intends to do. “I just hope the Heldyans don’t come to know my weaknesses as well as you do.”

“What you do takes a lot of food. I’ve never seen a fat mage or wizard, and you all eat a lot.”

“Would you find out who the majer in charge of the battalion that didn’t follow up is … and where he is?”

“Yes, ser. I can do that.”

It is a good half glass later when Lerial meets with Majer Fhaet at an empty shop that once likely held a coppersmith or tinsmith. Fhaet is a slightly rotund and fresh-faced blond officer.

“Overcaptain Lerial … How gracious of you to let me know of your presence.”

“I was perhaps too interested in stopping the Heldyans from overrunning you. I had hoped that the captain I had informed would relay my intentions.”

“That is scarcely the usual procedure, for a captain to order a majer.”

These aren’t usual times.
“You’re absolutely correct, Majer, but might I ask why, once it became obvious that we had cleared out the Heldyans, your men didn’t follow up?”

The majer does not meet Lerial’s eyes. “As I indicated, you never told me what you were doing, ser.”

“I told the captain of the company nearest to us.”
As well as Subcommander Drusyn.
But Lerial does not mention Drusyn, since that would only make Drusyn look bad, and matters with Drusyn are already touchy. Besides, Lerial has to admit, he should have talked matters over with the majer first.
You really should have.
Once again, his desire to resolve the situation before it worsened led him into acting, rather than talking, and his inexperience in dealing with fragmented and regimented command structures has complicated matters even further.

“I didn’t know that, ser … and the other captains said there was too much chaos-fire.”

Your other captains are idiots, then.
Lerial manages not to blurt out those words. He also ignores the implication that the majer overruled the one captain and pulled his company back, while refusing to let the others advance. Instead, he massages his forehead, and then the back of his neck. “The area on the other side of the stone barricades was cleared. All they had to do was advance to the stones and use them for cover. The chaos-fire isn’t very effective against stone.”

“I listen to my captains, ser.”

Much as Lerial wants to strangle the majer, he nods. “Obviously, you do.” He smiles politely. “I will make sure you know the next time we have to clear out the Heldyans.” He pauses and adds. “For a second time. Good afternoon.” He does not wait for a response, but turns and leaves Fhaet.

“What did the majer say?” asks Strauxyn as Lerial walks toward his gelding.

“His captains felt it was too dangerous to advance, and he listens to his captains.” Lerial mounts, then looks at Fheldar, Strauxyn, and Kusyl. “We can’t do anything more this afternoon.”
You
can’t anyway, and there’s no sense in risking Mirror Lancers when the Afritan officers won’t risk their own men.
“There’s obviously some confusion among the Afritan senior field officers. So I need to go talk to Subcommander Drusyn.”

*   *   *

A third of a glass later, after Lerial and the Mirror Lancers have made their way along back streets to the shore road and then back to Drusyn’s temporary headquarters, Lerial walks slowly into the factorage.

“I didn’t expect you back so soon. You’ve taken care of the chaos-mages?” Drusyn smiles warily.

“Two out of three, and we managed to destroy the temporary pier and two flatboats. After we had accomplished that, unfortunately some of that chaos came back and stunned me. Then there was a communications problem. Although we had cleared all the Heldyans from their forward line, and the last chaos-wizard was unable to attack, only one Afritan Guard captain followed up, and the battalion majer called back everyone.” Lerial shrugs. “So I didn’t feel like sacrificing my men without support … and the Heldyans have reoccupied their former lines.”

“Majer Fhaet reported that he did not have clear orders and that there was too much chaos flying.”

Already?
Fhaet must have sent an urgent message with a fast horse and rider, Lerial realizes. That tempers his reply. “The majer is partly correct. I did not make our maneuvers clear to all your officers, but only to the captain of the nearest company. The majer is perhaps excessively cautious, since after I was stunned, there was only one single small chaos-bolt launched.”

“You did not return to the fight, later, then?”

“Subcommander…” Lerial takes a slow deep breath. “My head is splitting. I can barely see. The effect of trying to redirect chaos leaves few marks—unless one fails, and then there are no marks at all, just a pile of ashes. Attempting something that would have turned me into ashes would scarcely benefit either Afrit or Cigoerne. We did destroy a good battalion’s worth of Heldyans, the pier and two flatboats. Perhaps I’ve missed something, but I haven’t seen either much effort or much in the way of results from the Afritan Guard so far.”

“We do not have your skills.”

“That is true, but it is your land and your city.” Before Drusyn can say more, Lerial continues, knowing he has once again antagonized the subcommander.
But you’re hurting and angry, and if it weren’t so critical in terms of stopping the Heldyans quickly, you wouldn’t even be here. Either in Afrit or Swartheld … or talking to Drusyn.
“Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will attack again, with the goal of removing the last chaos-wizard here. If we are successful, you and your men will be totally responsible for dealing with the Heldyan armsmen.”

“While you take another half day to … recover?” Drusyn doesn’t conceal the edge to his voice.

“No. So that the Mirror Lancers and I can ride north, hopefully before the four or more chaos-wizards that are moving toward the Harbor Post inflict too much damage on Subcommander Dhresyl’s forces—those remaining after the traitor-caused explosion that killed Commander Nythalt and injured or killed more than two battalions of Afritan Guards. You might not have heard, but I was with Twenty-third Company when we were the ones to discover the forces landing north of Swartheld at the tileworks. We managed to destroy a battalion of them, perhaps more, before they mustered four chaos-wizards and three more battalions, but that was enough to delay them a day or more.”

Drusyn’s mouth almost opens. He is silent for several moments. Then he says quietly, “You did not mention any of that.”

Even though his head is still pounding, if slightly more dully, Lerial offers a wry smile. “No. That’s another thing I forgot to mention, but I didn’t know you didn’t know. I’m not in your chain of command.” What Lerial feels he cannot mention is that he would have felt rather strange telling Norstaan and Rhamuel what to put in the arms-commander’s orders to his senior officers, and in all the confusion following the explosion at the palace and Rhamuel’s injuries, Lerial wonders what else he should have written or had conveyed … and whether conveying in writing what he did would have been a good idea in the first place—if he’d even have thought of it … which he hadn’t.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Drusyn admits. He takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I,” replies Lerial. “I trust you can see that I’m not trying to avoid things or leave you in an impossible situation, but the arms-commander felt that if the Mirror Lancers and I could act quickly here and remove the worst threats, then you could contain and handle the Heldyans, while everyone else tries to stop the larger force to the north.”