The Blood-stained Belt (21 page)

Sharma’s eyes
flashed and he retorted, ‘That’s my business!’

‘All right,
have it your way, damn it! If you don’t want to talk about it –
well, then, don’t!'

Sharma sat up
and rested his chin on his knees. He said slowly, ‘I like her.’

‘That’s not the
point.’

‘I want
her.’

‘That’s not the
point, either.’

‘No? What is
the point?’

‘The point is,
if you go on seeing her, you’ll have her old man’s boot coming down
on your neck. And, as I don’t need to remind you, her old man is
the king. When he brings his boot down, you’ll feel it. In fact,
it's likely that you are already are -- but just a gentle nudge,
this time.’

Sharma didn’t
say anything for a while. He just hugged his knees and looked out
over the plain. Then he said with feeling, ‘Jina, I’m telling you,
I don't want to lose her.’

‘Do you like
her enough to risk what Vaxili will do to stop you?’ Sharma didn’t
reply. He just tugged at an ear. However, by the set of his jaw I
could see what he was thinking carefully. I said, ‘Come back to the
real world, Sharma. She’s not the only fish in the sea. You can
trawl your net and catch just about as many fish as you like any
day of the week.’

Sharma said, ‘I
won’t find another one like Mecolo.’

‘Oh, that’s for
sure. You won’t find another one whose old man could do you serious
if not fatal harm. If you go fishing elsewhere, all that you’ll
find is a lot of girls with parents who'll think how nice it is
that their beloved daughter is seeing such a well-known,
up-and-coming young man like you.’

‘I told you,
man! I don’t want to give her up.’

‘Of course you
don’t! You like the challenge, don’t you? You like the risk. Well,
let me remind you that this time you’re not engaged in a surprise
attack on the Dornites or dealing with a bunch of Usserdite
bandits. This time you’re completely exposed, out in the open,
where every move you make can be seen. You remember Gandonda? You
remember what you said, about how Vaxili exposed us to superior
force without sufficient protection? Well, I can tell you that
where Mecolo is concerned you’re in an even worse position than we
were at Gandonda. At least there you had armour and weapons. Here,
you have no protection. Nothing!’

After a while,
Sharma said regretfully, ‘Maybe you’re right.’

‘Yes, maybe I
am.’

‘I’ll think
about it.’

‘You do that,
Sharma! Oh, yes, you do that!’

Of course,
Sharma didn’t change his mind and he didn’t change his behaviour,
either. Vaxili couldn’t keep Sharma penned up in the camp all the
time like a dog tied to a stake. Sharma was entitled to leave and
time off just like the rest of us and, as a free citizen he was
entitled to go wherever he wanted when he was off duty.
Predictably, he went on seeing Mecolo whenever he could. He did try
to keep his affair with Mecolo quiet and out of the public eye --
but how could anyone keep a thing like that away from the attention
of the king, if the king made it his business to know about it?
Sharma pushed his luck, his relationship with Mecolo deepened, and
Vaxili fumed and plotted his response. Of course, the matter came
to a head soon enough, as it was bound to. But before that, there
was another battle with the Dornites – not a sneak attack on one of
their towns, but a regular head-to-head confrontation, just like
Gandonda.

The next
full-scale Dornite attack came about six months after our attack on
Asjolorm. Why did the Dornites take so long to mobilise? Perhaps
they were distracted by their squabbles over appointing a new
military commander. Perhaps they were arguing about strategies.
Perhaps they wanted to prepare an even more powerful force, one
that would inflict decisive damage on Keirine and on the Keirineian
army. Whatever the reason, the delay gave Keirine time to prepare
for the Dornite onslaught.

One morning, in
the middle of drill parade, our unit was ordered to relocate to the
south-eastern border. As we headed out of camp, Zaliek rode beside
us, bellowing, ‘Get your line straight! Sit upright in the
saddle!’

As Zaliek drew
abreast of me, I asked, ‘What’s the emergency, commander?’

‘Emergency? Who
said it was an emergency? Maybe we’re going to have a picnic
somewhere on the frontier. How about that, eh?’

‘It doesn’t
feel like a picnic, commander.’

Zaliek reined
in his horse so that it trotted alongside mine. He said, ‘We’ll get
our orders when we pass through Koraina but it’s my guess that the
Dornites are on the move.’

Sharma leaned
over and asked, ‘What’s our role going to be, commander?’

‘Scouting,
mostly – that's my guess.’ Zaliek shrugged and added, ‘Perhaps
we'll make some attacks on the Dornite’s supply lines. Who knows?’
He shrugged again before he grinned sardonically and said, ‘Let’s
hope they don’t want to use you as cavalry in a regular battle.
That could be the end of you lot.’

There was an
edge to Sharma’s voice when he asked, ‘Don’t you think we’re good
enough?’

Zaliek looked
at Sharma appraisingly and asked, ‘What did I say about courage
during basic training? Remember?'

Sharma looked
away sulkily and pretended to be adjusting his horse’s bridle.
Zaliek chuckled knowingly and asked, ‘Do you remember, Deputy
Commander Jina?’

I replied, ‘You
said that courage isn’t enough. You said that it’s enough to get
yourself killed but it’s not enough to defeat the enemy.’

Zaliek snapped
his fingers. ‘Exactly! You’re a light mounted unit while the
Dornites use heavy cavalry. They’ll run over you in a head-to-head
encounter.’ Zaliek snapped his fingers again and growled, ‘You see,
Deputy Commander Sharma, it has nothing to do with your own,
personal, precious, celebrated courage! Are you satisfied?’

Still looking
sulky, Sharma replied with something between a grunt and a muffled
acknowledgement.

Zaliek leaned
over and asked sharply, ‘I asked, are you satisfied?’

‘Yes,
commander! I am satisfied.’

The rain
started about half an hour after we left the camp. Although it was
just a persistent drizzle weeping morosely from a low sky, ahead of
us, to the south, lightning flickered over the hills and the clouds
were swollen and molten black with menace. I cursed, adjusted my
headgear, put my head down and drew my coat tighter across my
chest.

Sharma said,
‘Don’t curse the weather.’

‘Why not? It’s
damn miserable.’

‘If this rain
keeps up, it’s going to be even worse for the Dornites. Their
chariots will be bogged down in the mud and their cavalry won’t
find it much easier. It will reduce their mobility by half.'

I grunted
despondently. It was a small consolation amidst the discomfort.

The rain was
pelting down by the time we rode into Koraina. While Zaliek
reported to headquarters to receive orders, we dismounted and found
shelter wherever we could. That was difficult because the place was
in a ferment of activity. Carts and wagons were being loaded with
supplies, troops were assembling under full packs, and orderlies
were running around with harassed expressions. There was noise and
activity everywhere. Sharma looked around, hesitated, and then
asked me, ‘Will you look after my horse for a while?’

‘Where are you
going?’

‘Just look
after my horse. I won’t be long.’

‘Don’t be a
fool, man. If you’re not here when Zaliek gets back –‘

‘I won’t be
more than a few minutes!’ Sharma shook my hand off his arm and
headed away from me at a fast jog.

I called after
him, ‘You won’t find her, man! You haven’t got the time.’

Sharma didn’t
give any indication that he heard me. I stood there holding his
horse’s reins, cursing him for being such a pig-headed fool.

Zaliek returned
within a few minutes and ordered us to mount. Then he saw the empty
saddle and bellowed, ‘Where’s Sharma?’

I replied,
‘He’ll be back right away, commander.’

‘I didn’t ask
when he'd be back! I asked where he is.’

I said,
truthfully, ‘I don’t know, commander.’

Someone said
with a snigger, ‘Perhaps he’s gone to answer a call of nature.’

Zaliek looked
around grimly and said, ‘It depends on which part of his nature is
calling, eh?’

Just then
Sharma appeared at a run. Zaliek glared at him and shouted, ‘Where
did you go to, deputy commander?’

Sharma replied
calmly, ‘I was just getting some exercise, commander.’

Zaliek shouted,
‘In future, you stay with your unit until I give you orders to
disband. Understand?’

‘Yes,
commander.’

We headed
southwards out of Koraina. After a few minutes, I asked quietly,
‘Did you find her?’ Sharma shook his head. I continued, ‘It’s just
as well that you didn’t.’ Sharma grunted and I said, ‘You need to
focus on what’s waiting for us. Forget about Mecolo, just like you
forget about everything else that gets in the way of what you have
to do. Focus on what you have to do. Your life could depend on it –
not to mention the rest of us, as well.’

Sharma shot me
a quick look and pursed his lips before he muttered truculently,
'It's all right for you. You don't have --' He stopped and looked
away.

I felt like
leaning over and slapping him hard across his face. Slap? In fact,
I felt like punching him so hard that his words would be driven
right back to where they came from. I clenched my fists on the
reins, bit back my anger, got a hold of myself, and said, ‘I don’t
want you to get injured or killed, Sharma.’ He shot me another
quick look but still said nothing. I continued, ‘It’s a damned
nuisance, dealing with injured comrades. Do you think that I want
to haul your body off the battlefield when I should be fighting the
Dornites? So my advice is that you focus on what we have to do and
forget about everything else. All right?’

By way of
response, Sharma just grunted and looked sulky.

That night, we
camped at our old base on the escarpment just north of Gandonda.
The huts were empty because the soldiers who had been occupying the
base had left that morning to join the army which was on the march
somewhere to the west of us.

We settled in,
grateful to have warmth and shelter and relieved to be able to
stretch our stiff limbs. Gusts and squalls propelled the rain so
fiercely that it felt like miniature arrowheads of ice. We laid out
our cloaks to dry – not that there was much chance of that
happening – and settled down to munch at our field rations. Just
then, Zaliek appeared. His eyes flickered with amusement when he
saw us glumly munching on our rations. He said, 'Not like the soft
and easy life of camp, is it? Almost like doing something useful
with your lives, eh?' Then he barked, ‘Sharma and Jina! I want to
see you as soon as you’ve finished eating.’

‘We’re coming,
commander.’

‘Finish your
meal first. You’ll need it for what’s coming.’

A few minutes
later, we joined Zaliek, huddling with him in the lee of one of the
huts, pulling our greatcoats tight against the swirling wind.
Zaliek got straight to the point: ‘The Dornites are on the move
down there.’ He nodded eastwards towards the coastal plain.

Sharma asked,
‘Are they in full force, commander?’

Zaliek nodded.
'The scouts say it looks like they have a bigger force than they
had at Gandonda.’

I asked,
‘What’s our role, commander?’

‘Eager to get
into action, eh? Don’t you ever lose your appetite for gobbling up
Dornites?’

‘Not while I’m
serving Keirine, commander.’

Zaliek
chuckled. ‘If Keirine had a few more like you, the Dornites would
have been driven into the sea by now.’ Then he said somberly, ‘This
is where I leave you. You’re on your own from now on.’ Zaliek
jerked his thumb towards the escarpment and the rain-veiled plains
beyond it. He said, ‘Your orders are to harass the Dornite supply
lines. You’ll divide the unit into two sections. Each of you will
command one of the sections. Liaise with one another and try never
to operate separately. After three days, you will link up with the
army. Any questions?’

My blood raced
faster. I would be commanding my own unit for the second time – but
now we would be facing Dornite soldiers not a bunch of bandits or
confused, panicky civilians. I had a score of questions but I
suspected that Zaliek wouldn’t be able to answer them. The simple
fact was that we were on our own from now on.

Sharma and I
led our units out at first light. The air was moist and heavy, the
clouds were low, and the ground was sodden but at least it had
stopped raining. Our plan was to make our way over the escarpment
following the path that we used on our approach to Asjolorm. After
that, we would turn south towards the main highway on the
assumption that the Dornite army was somewhere in the vicinity of
the pass at Gandonda.

Just after we
linked up with the highway at about mid-morning, we intercepted a
Dornite trader who was on his way to Asjolorm. He was an elderly
man with a large paunch, a bald head, and a squint, wearing a cloak
and a tunic made of material that was so coarse that it felt like
the sacking that my father used as wrapping for his bales. When we
hauled him off his donkey, the pathetic fellow actually pissed in
fright so that the disgusting yellow liquid ran down his legs,
steaming in the cold air. We searched his packs but found nothing
of any significance. Privately, I pitied the fellow for his
poverty. I remembered my father's wagon, piled high with wool and
hides and for a moment I pitied the man even more. Then I shrugged
these diverting thoughts aside – this was war not a sociable
meeting – and ordered my men to interrogate the trader. A knife
held to his throat elicited the information that late the previous
evening he passed a large Dornite detachment heading for the
pass.