The Grand Crusade (26 page)

Isaura glanced back at the bowl and felt her skin crawl. “No, Mother, I know that as well.”After today, I fear you. And that is more than enough fear for a lifetime.

It struck King Scrainwood as odd that while he had quite a few clandestine meetings with women, none of the meetings were the sort of assignation that would please him. Granted, none of the women were the sort with whom he sought that sort of assignation. Certainly not Tatyana, and not the woman before him now.

He shivered slightly, remembering the times he had spent with Tatyana and never having had a clue as to her true identity. Chytrine had played him well, using Tatyana to measure his loyalty. It amused him ever so slightly to have been the one to pass on to Tatyana the news that Adrogans had dragonels, when Chytrine had told him this in the first place.She must have been laughing mightily inside—if she ever laughed.

The woman bowed before him. “Thank you for granting me this audience, King Scrainwood.”

“Your request was unexpected, Magister Tadurienne.” Scrainwood smiled slyly. “The day you granted in your ultimatum has passed, and another. King Fidelius has not given you custody of Kerrigan Reese. Indeed, the boy is treated as if emancipated.”

Tadurienne’s right hand strayed to the lacy courtesy mask she wore and stroked it over her temple. “We find this yet to be a problem, but we do not see an immediate solution for it.”

The king stood, opening his hands. “I have none either. If this is the reason you have come here, your time is wasted, as is mine.”

“If you will indulge me, Highness

”

“See to it you don’t bore me.” He crossed from his throne to a small side table and poured himself a goblet of wine. Another one waited there to be filled, but

he refrained. Raising it and sipping, he turned and nodded to her. “You may speak.”

“Thank you, Highness.” Though he heard tightness in her voice, the ring he wore did not even hint at hostility. “To us it appears as if Vilwan and Oriosa are facing some similar problems. We have Kerrigan Reese, a son of ours, who shows no loyalty. While he could well be successful, without preparation, our role in his victory will go unrecognized. Our place will be diminished.”

“Indeed, and I can imagine why you would not like that.” Scrainwood sipped again, then lowered his goblet. “You would liken Erlestoke to Kerrigan Reese?”

“I knew you would catch the allusion, Highness. It applies to Erlestoke more than Linchmere, but you suffer the difficulty of a possible compounding of the situation. If both your sons emerged heroes, their popularity would eclipse yours and perhaps end your reign.”

Scrainwood nodded slowly. “You’ve perhaps missed the fact that my reign may be ended in a matter of months. Chytrine or my allies will invade Oriosa. My chances of surviving that sort of onslaught are negligible. You seem to be suggesting something needs to be done to position ourselves to benefit from the aftermath of the war. But unless I see a way to survive, this is a pointless exercise.”

The corner of Tadurienne’s mouth tugged up in a bit of a smile. “We believe there is a way this can be done. Your survival for ours, Highness.”

“If you can guarantee my survival, you are greater magicians than even I could have imagined.”

The Magister nodded. “I have been speaking with many leaders, Highness, and there are certain anxieties that the leaders of smaller nations share. Adrogans’ likely possession of dragonels threatens everyone. Likewise, Alcida’s strong presence is seen as a threat. Why would they withdraw from Saporicia? They will need recompense of some sort for their efforts, and will hold on to key cities until their price had been paid. As they build an empire, the collision between them and the Jeranese empire is inescapable. The nations between them do not feel secure.”

“Fascinating scenario, but I fail to see what it has to do with my situation.”

“A strong Oriosa is seen as the only deterrent to an Alcidese empire. If Oriosa is strong, then it is poised like a dagger that can strike at Yslin and split the Saporician provinces from Alcida proper. The western nations are prepared to vote in council to support the war in Saporicia, provided there is an agreement that no foreign force invades Oriosa. Your eastern neighbors are not going to invade unless they are threatened by Chytrine, and the war in Saporicia should keep her involved.”

The Oriosan king set his goblet on the table and clapped politely. “Spoken as someone who has no understanding of warfare whatsoever. The fact of it is simple. As Alexia presses in the north, Chytrine simply must engage in another attack. She will go through Oriosa to strike at Narriz and cut off all supply from

the south. Alosan and Vegan troops will pour into the north—we can but hopet hey slaughter each other, since there is little love lost there.“

“We do not disagree with your analysis, Highness, but we would point out that if the battle moves quickly enough to Muroso, Oriosa is no longer a viable option for Chytrine.” Tadurienne pressed her hands together flatly. “We have organized a legion of our finest warmages and will make them available to Princess Alexia. They will be under her orders, of course, but will be in a position to turn the tide in key battles. Others of our people will be available to facilitate transport of personnel and materiel, such that the move into Muroso should be swift.”

“Provided Chytrine does nothing unusual.”

“Oh, Chytrine will, certainly.” Tadurienne shrugged. “We will be there to oppose her. We will also give you, quite in secret, another legion of mages versed in a variety of arts, for you to use as you need to maintain order. If you need them to destroy infestations of Aurolani troops, they will. If you need them to extract information from suspected collaborators, they will.”

“If I need Aurolani sympathizers killed?”

Tadurienne nodded. “They are yours to command.”

“So, you will actively guarantee my place on the throne by providing me secret marshals to rid me of my enemies. The price for this will not be small.”

“No, but hardly beyond that which you can pay.” The grey-robed Magister folded her arms, slipping her hands into the opposite sleeves. “As Kerrigan Reese indicated, after the days of Kirun, Vilwan diluted the power of its students. That clearly was an error, but it was done in a time when many feared a sorcerer of great power. Kerrigan Reese himself has such power, and we cannot discount the idea that something he may do will result in a regeneration of that fear. If our role in the defeat of Chytrine is seen as minor, then it might be possible to suggest we are done away with.

“What we would want of you is simple: your support in demanding Vilwan again become strong. You will point out and promote our activities against Chytrine. Your support, and your invitation for us to set up a satellite school in Oriosa, will prompt other nations to do likewise. We all benefit.”

“Indeed, we do.” Scrainwood turned and filled the second goblet, then extended it in Tadurienne’s direction. “Please, enjoy my hospitality.”

The Magister gestured and the goblet floated to her outstretched hand. “You are most kind, Highness.”

“No, in fact, I am not, but you knew that. If you did not, you would not be here.” He raised his cup to her. “May what we plan come to fruition in the best way.”

Alexia sat back in the chair and groaned as Crow’s strong fingers began to knead the muscles of her neck and shoulders. “Oh, do not stop.”

“As you command, Highness.” His thumbs worked up along the back of her neck, forcing her head forward. They pressed in hard there, releasing tensed muscles, then she felt a light kiss. The kiss fell over a mark he’d left there during their lovemaking the previous night, and it made her smile. “It is almost time for you to come to bed, you know.”

She groaned again. “I want to, Crow, very much, but there are so many reports to read through. All these units, and I have to compare what officials say about them, then what you, Peri, and Dranae say about them. And then we have all the supply reports

”

“All of which will wait. You will benefit from a good night’s sleep, and I mean to see you have it.”

She turned her head and glanced back at him. “You’ll be sleeping elsewhere, then?”

He laughed. “I would prefer to hold you, my love.” His voice dropped. “And I think you would sleep better if you did not harbor the secret you have been carrying for the last two days.”

Alyx stiffened. “What do you mean?”

Crow’s hands left her neck, as he shifted to her left and dropped to a knee. “I know you. When we were discussing the strategies for the war, you told Resolute you never dreamed during your dream raid. You lied to him. You did dream, and that dream has come back to you these last couple of nights. You need to let it out. You can tell me what it was.”

“No, I can’t, Crow.”

“Why not?”

She turned in the chair and took his hands in hers. “Because if it comes true

” Alyx pressed her lips together in an effort to forestall tears, but one leaked down her right cheek regardless.

He squeezed her fingers. “Shhhh, it can’t be that bad.”

“Yes, it can.”

“Tell me, Alexia. If it has something to do with me, you have to let me share the burden.”

“No, because if I don’t believe it, it can’t be true.”

Crow smiled up at her. “Darling, if it disturbs your sleep, you already believe it. Tell me.”

She drew in a deep breath, held it, then exhaled quickly. “I was seventeen at the time, so there was much of it I didn’t understand. It was confusing, just like a dream is supposed to be. I was lying on my back, in bed, with my lover sleeping beside me. We held hands.”

She smiled at him, then caressed his cheek. “I didn’t know who it was then, and never thought about who until the last couple of nights. He had white hair and a beard, just like you. He was you;isyou. I was happy. Then there appeared a figure and I was paralyzed. I could do nothing. She took the pillow from beneath your head and placed it over your face. You could do nothing either, you did not struggle. She was smothering you.“

Crow’s eyes widened. “Okay, now there’s two of us hoping your dream doesn ot come true.”

“But it doesn’t end there.” Alyx swallowed hard again. “Like I said, it was a dream. My father appeared and he destroyed the person smothering you. That’s impossible, I know that, but that is what I dreamed.”

“Anything after that? Did we survive?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing after that. Other events intervened and I never had another chance to sleep that night. When Mischa told me his dream, I couldn’t tell him mine. I didn’t lie when I said I made my dream up. I did.”

Crow rubbed a hand over his jaw and tugged on his beard. “I don’t like the dream but, as with the Norrington Prophecy, things have to be right for that stuff to come true. Perhaps we take steps to make sure the circumstances are not right.”

“So youaresleeping elsewhere tonight?”

“Let’s not be insane, shall we?” He slipped his fingers into her hair and drew her down into a kiss. Their lips met, parted. He licked softly, she reciprocated and gave in fully to the kiss. When finally they broke it, they both smiled.

“Oh, Crow, I much prefer this feeling to one of dread.”

“I quite agree.” He stood and pulled her up into his arms. He hugged her around the small of her back, bringing their hips and bellies together tightly. “Do you recall, in that dream, feeling as if you had made love before you fell asleep?”

“At the time, Crow, I had no idea what that felt like, so, no.”

“Good, so having that feeling is not part of the dream.” He kissed her throat and murmured against it. “Which means

”

“

that instead of sleeping apart, we have to sleep very much together?”

“My thinking exactly.”

Alexia smiled. “I can see now how you’ve survived a quarter century of war with Chytrine.”

“Animal cunning, really.” He glanced toward their bed. “Well, my dear, shall we be on the safe side?”

“As everyone is counting on me to save the world, prudence would be best.” She smiled and kissed him on the ear. “Thank you, lover, I shall sleep very well in your arms.”

Kerrigan listened to the instructions Princess Alexia gave the gathered soldiery, but with only half an ear. Though seven days had passed since his victory over Chytrine’s spell, he still did not feel comfortable in his skin. Seeing his toes was still a novelty, and there was a lot more loose skin than he could have imagined. He just sagged everywhere and that took a lot of getting used to.

There was also a lot more muscle to him than he would have thought— though, in an odd way, it made perfect sense. He’d built up a lot of muscle just hauling his own bulk around. He no longer massed as much as Dranae, and his ordeal had just drained him of fat and hadn’t given him anything to replace it. It was true that he felt better and could move more quickly, but he found that distracting at a time when distracted was the last thing he needed to be.

The undertaking Princess Alexia described was fascinating, but he’d heard the briefing before, and had even helped her work out the numbers. Under her command she would have thirteen thousand troops. Three thousand would go with Erlestoke on his mission, though she did not mention what his command would be doing to the assembled officers. A second subcommand under the Salnian General Pandiculia would draw off three thousand troops as well and move considerably west to theVarasena Riverand head north along it. Crow’s two battalions would operate in the hills and had been supplemented by a legion of Vilwanese warmages, making them more effective than just elite cavalry alone.

The bulk of the force, under Alexia’s direct command, would head up theDelasena Rivervalley. There they would wait for Pandiculia’s force to sweep east, then they would push toward Fronosa. If everything went perfectly, Alexia’s force would reach Bacirro five days after leaving Narriz, and fourteen days later

pandiculia’s troops would arrive after their long trek. Another five days’ march would bring them to Fronosa, approximately a month after quitting Narriz.

The problem was that there were all manner of things that could go wrong. Leaving Narriz, the army would consist of roughly three thousand cavalry, including replacement mounts and supply wagons. The cavalry column would stretch for twelve miles, so the last unit in line would move out four hours after the first had started on the road. Moving at that pace the cavalry would far outstrip its supply wagons, but arrangements had been made to ship fodder up along the river and cache it.