Soarers Choice (57 page)

Mykel
was the first in the officers’ mess. He set the map on one end of the large
table and looked up as Culeyt appeared.

“We’re
getting word on the Reillies, sir?”

Mykel
nodded.

Shortly,
Dyarth and Fabrytal joined them, followed by Captain Hamylt and Undercaptain
Sendryrk of Fourth Battalion. The last to arrive were Rhystan and Jasakyt.

“We
might as well sit down,” said Mykel, following his own suggestion. “Jasakyt,
tell us what you found out.”

“Yes,
sir.” The lanky scout remained standing. “The Reillies are breaking up from
that big gathering they had. The only ones that are leaving are the older women
and small children, and a handful of graybeards. They look to be heading back
into the higher hills to the west of Wesrigg. Yesterday, a bunch of Squawts
rode in, but most of them rode out early this morning. Two heavy wagons came in
late yesterday, too.”

“Supplies
or ammunition,” murmured Culeyt.

The
wagons bothered Mykel, because they suggested an outside provider of provisions
or ammunition. While he hoped that such a provider was not an alector, if he
had to wager, he would have bet that the provider was either a rebel alector or
one of the High Alectors with the goal of weakening the Cadmians. Otherwise,
the earlier smuggling of Cadmian rifles to Dramur, and even the creation of the
Alector’s Guard in Tempre, made little sense. And Mykel was quite certain that
the alectors seldom acted without a definite purpose.

“What
about mounts?” he asked.

“They’ve
got more mounts than possible fighters, sir.” Jasakyt stopped for a moment,
then added, “The younger women carry rifles, too, and so do the older boys.
It’s hard to tell, but some of the young ones might be older girls. They all
dress the same, and their hair’s about the same length.”

“So
we have to shoot women and girls, too?” asked Fabrytal.

“If
you don’t,” replied Mykel, “they’ll shoot you.” He glanced at his own shoulder.
“They don’t care much for any of us. As I can tell you.”

There
were several chuckles from the officers.

“How
many Reillies are there?” asked Mykel.

“I
couldn’t get a good count, sir, but somewhere over five hundred of fighting
age. If you count the young ones with rifles, might be as many as eight
hundred.”

That
was more than Mykel had left in Third and Fourth Battalions combined — and
didn’t include whatever force the Squawts added. “Did you get any
i.e.
of where they’re headed?”

“They
sent a party, not sure you could call ‘em scouts, down that southeast road, the
one that leads to the west of Sudon toward Borlan. No one was headed toward
Iron Stem.”

That
made sense to Mykel. The locals were going to force a confrontation. They knew
the Cadmians would likely have to protect Borlan, and if Mykel didn’t, they’d
take the bridge across the Vedra and raid the town. He’d thought that was the
most likely possibility all along.

“It’s
already winter in the hills, and they want to fight now?” asked Dyarth.

“Why
not?” replied Rhystan. “They like to fight, and the harvesting and gathering’s
done. They’re used to the snow, and we’re not. Besides, we don’t have any snow
on the ground here, not yet. So, if we chase them back into the hills, we’re at
a disadvantage, and they can scatter.”

“We
don’t let them scatter,” said Mykel. “We have to win decisively, or Third
Battalion or some other Cadmian battalion will be fighting the same people next
summer and fall. Do any of you want that?”

The
murmured “no, sir” gave an answer, although Mykel would have wished for a
slightly less resigned tone from his officers.

He
leaned forward and unrolled the map. “Here’s what we’re going to do...”

Dainyl
had finally taken the Table from Elcien to Dereka a glass before noon on Novdi.
He’d felt guilty about leaving early, although the Hall of Justice was largely
deserted by then, since most alectors in Elcien regarded all of Novdi as a full
end-day and not the half end-day practiced by the Myrmidons. He’d arrived in
Dereka a glass past noon, local reckoning, but Jonyst’s second driver had been
glad to take him to the RA’s complex. He still found the ancient construction
odd, with the extended quarters for the RA running practically to the outer
wall, and effectively splitting the rear courtyard in two. Once more, he also
wondered why the original structure had been built half over a Talent-dead
area. Had the builders not considered it? Or had the area not been Talent-dead?
Or had they been less perceptive?

As
Dainyl left the coach and walked up to the outer door under a sky covered with
high gray clouds, he tried to put aside his worries. At the moment, there was
little he could do, and worrying wouldn’t help. For all that, he couldn’t stop
the broad smile when Lystrana opened the door herself.

“I
thought it might be the High Alector.” She opened the iron gratework door and
stepped back.

“The
High Alector is in Elcien. Your husband is here.” Dainyl gently wrapped both
arms around her.

“Is
that a promise?” Her words were muffled against his shoulder.

“So
long as the regional alector doesn’t show up. After I tell you one thing.”

“Just
one thing?”

“One
of the dual scepters is somewhere in Dereka,” Dainyl murmured in her ear. “The
other is in Lysia.”

Lystrana
stiffened. “How did you ...”

“Khelaryt
told me. That’s why Sevasya — “

“And
Jonyst... and the separate building here for the recorder. It has to be there
somewhere.”

“That’s
what I thought.” He kissed her neck. “That’s all, but I wanted you to know.”

“So
you’ll stop being the High Alector now?”

“I
can manage that.”

For
a time, they held tight to each other, before Lystrana freed herself. “I need to
breathe ... and close the doors.”

“Let
me.” Dainyl closed and locked both before turning back to her.

“You’re
still carrying that greenish Talent. Is it stronger when you haven’t eaten?”
She paused, then asked, “Have you eaten?”

“Enough
for now. I’m not hungry.”

“Come
and tell me what’s happened. I’d like to sit down. We can use the sitting room.
I hadn’t realized how isolated an RA could be.” She headed across the foyer,
but before she reached the archway, she winced, ever so slightly.

“Is
something the matter?” Even with Talent, Dainyl couldn’t tell whether the pain
came from Lystrana or their daughter.

“Kytrana’s
upset,” Lystrana admitted.

“Is
she ... ?” Dainyl didn’t know quite what to ask.

“Growing
pains. It happens. Sometimes they sense things. It doesn’t have to be bad. It
can even be a strong feeling.”

“Like
seeing your husband?”

“Or
hearing about a scepter.” She nodded. “But it takes her a while to settle
down.”

“When
does it look like?”

“Not
until the middle of Duem, maybe Triem — three months from now.” She stiffened,
almost imperceptibly.

“Why
don’t we take a coach ride? Might that not help?”

“Using
the coach for personal ends?” Lystrana raised her left eyebrow. “On an
end-day?”

“Isn’t
one of the drivers on duty? He’d rather be driving than sitting doing nothing.”

“She,”
corrected Lystrana. “It’s still personal use.”

“Have
you actually toured Dereka since you got here?”

“No.
I haven’t had time.”

“Don’t
you think you should? You are the RA, you know? Do you want the reputation of
being aloof?” Dainyl grinned.

“Or
not knowing where things are?” His stomach growled.

“You
need to eat,” she replied. “Go get something from the kitchen. I’m sure you can
find something. I’ll let Dunneta know we’ll need the coach.”

“Yes,
dear ... and regional highest.” He grinned.

“Go.”

Dainyl
went.

He
found some white cheese and some flaky rolls. Only after he’d eaten three rolls
and a goodly amount of the cheese did he admit to himself that he had been
hungrier than he’d thought.

“So
... you’d eaten enough?” Lystrana stood in the doorway to the expansive
kitchen, furnished with two large porcelain stoves, a large water cooler for
the cheeses and other items, and a fully-stocked walk-in pantry larger than
their kitchen in Elcien. She wore a light jacket over her loose but heavy tunic
and vest.

He
shrugged. “I was mistaken.”

“You’re
still carrying that Talent-green.”

“I
don’t know what to do about it. I’ve been shielding it as much as I can.”

“You’ll
think of something. The coach is ready when you are.”

Dainyl
swallowed the last of the cheese, chasing it down with sweet cider, then used
the kitchen sink to wash his hands. “I’m ready.”

They
walked out to the private entrance — the only one Dainyl had used — where the
coach was waiting.

Lystrana
stopped and looked at the driver. “Drive us north along the boulevard, Dunneta.
We’ll go all the way to the north end of the city.”

“Yes,
Highest.” The darker-skinned indigen woman nodded.

Dainyl
opened the coach door for his wife, then joined her, sitting beside her on the
narrow bench seat. The seat cushion was at least yielding.

As
the coach pulled out through the gates, Dainyl glanced back through the opening
in the goldenstone walls at the massive structure. “Do you really need a
building that big?”

“No.
When it was built, the
i.e.
was that there would be
an administrative center in the middle of Corus, one to match Alustre in the
east.”

“It
didn’t work out that way. Was that because of the lack of water?”

“That...
and no alectors wanted to live here. It makes most alectors uncomfortable.”

“Does
it bother you?”

“At
times. By the end of the day, though, both Dyena and Garatyl can’t wait to
leave. Going back to the quarters is a relief for me. It’s strange how such a
short distance makes such a difference.” Lystrana eased down the coach window
on her side. “Would you?”

“You’re
hot? It’s chilly here, far cooler than in Elcien.”

“Pregnancy
makes even alectresses a great deal warmer, dearest.”

Dainyl
eased his coach window down, and surreptitiously fastened his jacket.

Behind
the RA’s complex, to the east, Dainyl caught sight of the narrower gray
eternastone aqueduct that ran northward, parallel to the paved yellowstone
boulevard. He glanced farther north along the boulevard, catching sight of the
gold eternastone building of the recorder, and the larger one to the north of
it. Beyond both rose the green eternastone tower, and the aqueduct of the
ancients that ran westward to the Upper Spine Mountains, paralleling the main
eternastone high road, although the road had been built by alector engineers to
follow the aqueduct.

“Who
uses the other ancient building?”

“It’s
used as a warehouse. No one really wants to live or work in it. Half is for
grain and crop storage, and it does seem to preserve them better than most
granaries.”

Dainyl
glanced past Lystrana to look at the shops on the west side of the boulevard,
realizing that the boulevard was really three streets — the main one in the
center, down which they drove, and narrower ones on each side for pedestrians
and street merchants, separated from the wider center section boulevard by two
yards of raised stone.

The
shops were of yellowstone, with roofs of split dark slate and narrow windows
that required less wood for their shutters. As gray as Dereka often seemed,
Dainyl couldn’t help but feel how dark the insides of those structures would
be, especially for landers and indigens without an alector’s night sight.

Ahead
loomed the ancient aqueduct, but before the coach reached it, they crossed the
eternastone high road that began in the west at Elcien and spanned the
continent to end at Alustre in the east. To the north of the high road, the
boulevard became eternastone as well.

As
they passed under the arch of the ancient aqueduct, Dainyl looked up, studying
it with both eyes and Talent. There was indeed a faint Talent residue — an
amber-green within the very stone — and he wondered how many thousands of years
before it had been built.

He
shook his head.

“What
is it, dearest?” asked Lystrana.

“Oh
... just the aqueduct... and the goldenstone buildings. The ancients are small,
tiny compared to us, yet they built all this who knows how long ago, and they
still stand. They have at least one city with soaring towers on the Aerial
Plateau, where pteridons cannot even venture. Yet most of the High Alectors
dismiss them as little threat at all.”

“It
isn’t just the aqueduct, is it?”

“The
ironworks and the dam that served it were totally destroyed this past week, by
a directed flood and an earthquake. Earlier, the Vedra flooded and ripped out
all the piers in Dekhron and Borlan. I’ve seen them destroy two pteridons.
Noryan watched them destroy another pair. But they aren’t a threat.” Dainyl
couldn’t keep the bitter irony out of his voice.

Less
than half a vingt north of the aqueduct, Dereka ended. There were no more
dwellings or shops, only the high road heading north to Aelta, and off to the
northeast some thousand yards, the gray walls of the Cadmian compound.

“You
can head back south now, Diinneta!” called Lystrana.

The
driver guided the team around the turnout and headed back southward.

“How
is Kytrana feeling?” asked Dainyl.

“She’s
settled down. The coach ride was a good idea.”

“I
do have some, you know,” Dainyl replied with a laugh. “Does Dereka seem to
upset her? Or your headquarters?”