The Storm's Own Son (Book 3) (15 page)

She reached her own to his cheek and touched his scar, then dropped it to his shoulder and ran her fingers along the scar there. "I like these too," she said, "and the lightning in your eyes. Everything you have built shows the truth of their meaning, and why I named you my lord."

Talaos smiled again and roamed her with his eyes. Her full lips and golden braids were as lovely as ever. Her fair skin had lost a bit of the light golden tan from sunny Carai, and looked almost ivory before him. Her gray eyes were beautiful. Despite her stern demeanor, she shivered.

She knelt before him, and bowed her head. He put his hand under her chin, and she rose.

"And I'm glad to have you at my side again, in strength and trust," he said to her, "but don't forget that I love you, Katara."

"I love you, my… I love you, Tal," she replied, as sudden emotions flooded her voice.

She looked into his eyes and pressed close, with her hands roaming the muscles of his chest and arms. He put his tight around her waist and kissed her for a long time. They undressed as old feelings unlocked at last, and Talaos led her to his bed.

9. Unleashing

Talaos rode through the crowd inside the great gate of Avrosa in full gear of war. With him went his mace bearers, the standard bearers of the city, and several commanders. The militia and vigiles maintained order, keeping the main way through the plaza clear. Avrosan soldiers were making many farewells to loved ones. It was in stark contrast to outside the gates, where soldiers of the allied army would be looking forward to the chance to go home.

A chance, yes, but first would be war.

Some of the allied soldiers had found lovers in Avrosa, as had many of his Wolves, and they made farewells of their own. Talaos thought most interesting of all was the scene ahead of him. The Madmen gathered as planned near the gate itself. They were dismounted, standing by their horses, and with them were several women.

During their stay in Avrosa, Kyrax had made his rounds with the staff in several places of paid companionship. What was surprising was that one of them came to see him off. She was a short, buxom woman with masses of black hair bound with the traditional wide red fillet of brothels. She had slightly snarling lips, dark, high-arched brows, and hard, glinting eyes. Talaos thought she resembled Kyrax in female form, and suppressed a smile at the image.

Vulkas and Halmir entertained a group of younger women with feats of strength. Halmir supplemented things with bits of intense-sounding northern poetry. Epos had his helmet off, and it reminded Talaos that for as rarely as it was seen, the deadly mercenary had the kind of face women favored. He must also have actually talked at some point, for he was kissing a beauty with long, golden-brown hair.

Much to Talaos’s surprise, Larogwan spoke quietly and closely with Bera, the gambling house owner they'd rescued from the House of the Prophet. Even Firio had found a girl, a short thin, pale young woman with a pretty face and a sly manner. Only aloof young Imvan stood alone, though there were two very young women not far away, shyly watching him.

Talaos had a thought that Imvan, deep in whatever thoughts of his own, might not have noticed them. On a sudden, playful, catlike instinct, he rode his horse to the young women. They gazed up at him with the adoration that had become almost universal among the Avrosans, and bowed low.

"Rise and stand tall, women of Avrosa," he said.

They looked at him with awe and a sudden air of seriousness at being so addressed.

"That young man," said Talaos to them quietly, pointing to Imvan, "is one of my seven companions and brothers in arms, a warrior who has faced death a hundred times and more. He stands alone, and you might think he is too great a mystery and challenge for you. But you could be brave, and go speak with him."

Talaos thought the two young women seemed determined to prove their bravery to the Storm Lord, and they strode boldly forth to talk to Imvan.

He now turned to the Three, as he'd nicknamed them, just riding up to join him. There was Sorya in her black garb, armed to the teeth and riding uncertainly on a black horse. He knew she'd had no practice as a rider in Carai, and doubted she'd acquired much since.  However, her uncanny natural balance and dexterity seemed to somewhat counter her inexperience.

Katara rode expertly in chain armor and gear of war on a brown horse. She wore a steel cap on her head and a keen, almost hungry expression on her face.

Miriana rode a white horse, and had changed into a dress of Hunyos. It was dark Avrosan gray, slit on both sides, and fitted tight at the waist. She had pants underneath, tucked into high black boots. She wore weapons that Talaos was certain her father had helped her fit. Despite her somber garb, her expression was as if they were all going out for a picnic rather than to war.

Talaos rode up to them with greetings, then addressed Miriana, "Are you sure?"

"I'm safer with you than anywhere else," she said brightly, "not to mention the biggest army in this entire part of the world!"

He smiled, and then turned to her father. "General Auretius," he said, "I'd be honored if you'd join my command group as an advisor."

"I would be honored to do so," Auretius replied, long-buried emotions visible under his cool demeanor. "It has been a long time since I've ridden with an army… Not since I retired, before Miriana was born."

The old officer had been given a full kit of gear by the Avrosans, including a gray tunic and cloak. Aides in the army had cleaned and polished his armor. Armorers had taken out the old knocks and dents, and had fitted it with new straps. He looked very much at home in it all and rode tall in the saddle on a strong black warhorse.

While the army formed up outside the gates, Talaos talked with his commanders and wrapped up final plans for the army’s departure. Some rode out to their units while others returned. Adriko arrived, sorted out a few things, and quickly left.

After some time, Kurvan rode up on his huge, thick-set horse. He had his great axe on his back and a craggy grin on his face. His shaggy black hair looked wilder than ever. Out on the plain behind him, his troops were swarming in to rejoin the army. "Hail, Talaos!" roared the warlord.

"Kurvan, welcome!" replied Talaos. "What news from Ipesca?"

"It was ugly, but we got the job done," Kurvan replied. "The Prophet's people locked the town up tight. Your lad Iadro found some friends to open the gates late at night. I'd thought things would be bad in there, but they were getting food from across the mountains. No idea where the gold was coming from to pay for it. They had a lot of pyres though, with wooden stakes. Burning all the time. Like they were trying to get it done before somebody stopped 'em."

Then Kurvan made a grim, dark smile, and growled in a harsh way that reminded Talaos that, friend though he was, the warlord also made a terrible enemy.

Kurvan went on, "We stopped 'em all right! Had to crack a lot of heads to do it. When those were dead, we sent the rest north. They were singing prayers for your death. The people left in Ipesca are definitely on our side."

Talaos saluted him with a fierce smile of his own. "Well done. One city and one town clear, now only thirteen cities and a hundred towns to go."

"You're a ray of sunshine, Talaos!" growled Kurvan. Then his eyes turned to Talaos's new companions. He scratched his craggy chin.

"Kurvan, this is General Auretius, who was a commander in the army of the Republic during the war with Dirion."

"Dirion!" answered Kurvan, eyeing Auretius's armor and white hair. "I was a boy when you were fighting that war. Thank you for getting those bastards' boots off our necks. Guess it didn't help 'em that pretty much every city, town, and clan in Hunyos refused to send our armies to join theirs. Dirion pulled so many of their own men away to fight you, they didn't have enough to stop us when we started killing their tribute collectors."

Auretius nodded.  Kurvan gave him a solemn salute, then turned to eye the three armed beauties on their horses. He made a low, quiet whistling sound, then looked curiously at Talaos. "Talaos, now you've got madwomen to join your Madmen?"

Miriana shouted back in a sprightly voice, "We're his wives!"

Kurvan burst out in a huge, growling laugh.

Talaos was caught by surprise by Miriana’s words. The thoughts they conjured up were anything but domestic, and he suppressed a very wicked grin. Sorya flashed a sudden surprised glare at Miriana, then recovered and managed a smirking lopsided smile. Katara gave no reaction except a slight, thoughtful nod of her head.

The men elsewhere were moving into place, and now things would require his direct attention. Talaos raised his right hand, and all around silenced. "Officers and standard bearers of Avrosa and the allied army, form up to depart! Bearers of the maces, The Three, Madmen, to me!"

As the Madmen scrambled to join him, he noticed happily that the girls he'd sent to Imvan gave the beaming young hillman patriotic kisses before departing. He smiled, rode forward and took his place in the growing line. At the front were the Wolves, then the Madmen. Firio sat backwards on his special saddle behind Larogwan, and gave Talaos a merry grin. Talaos himself was next, flanked by the mace bearers. Behind him were Sorya, Katara, and Miriana, then the commanders and the standard bearers. After them rode a large body of aides, messengers, and musicians with trumpets and drums.

Talaos raised his right hand again, then motioned them all forward.

They rode out of the gates as crowds cheered them from the city and to the vast body of soldiers assembled on the plains beyond.  All around, soldiers were packing up tents and supplies. Porters from among the prisoners helped load pack horses, then hoisted loads on their own backs. Scouts already rode ahead. As they went forward, commanders and messengers rode out to units, and others joined his command group.

The vanguard of cavalry under Adriko, three thousand strong, began to ride. Talaos and the command group rode behind them and past the waiting troops. Hadrastus and his five hundred shock troops then took their place behind the command group. Next, the lead elements of heavy infantry under Lurios filed into place. They marched in good order with uniforms and round shields in the colors of many cities and towns.

They rode on, north up the road, as the rest of the army completed preparations to join them. Behind the main body would be the baggage train, and then a rearguard of three thousand more cavalry.  Swarms of hillmen and irregulars walked in scattered groups on either side, with the larger part of them inland, on the left under Kurvan.

As they advanced, a storm gradually gathered ahead of them. It rolled slowly north on an upper wind. Sorya and Katara looked up at that storm with surprise. Miriana beamed. Soldiers throughout the army watched those clouds with awe, but without surprise, for they knew their commander.

Talaos himself felt a moment of grim, harsh, vengeful pride. He smiled, with eyes blazing bright blue-white, and hints of power crackling around him. The Prophet had sent three sorcerers and six warriors to kill him with a mob of thugs at their back. Now, here he was with nearly forty thousand, the largest army fielded in the Westlands in forty years, marching to war against the Prophet.

Hunyos, all of it, was before him, and he would sweep it from south to north.

~

The vast camp sprawled out across the plain under the fading light. Behind them to the south stretched the line of hills, and before them the road ran north to the crossroads, with its routes to Teroia and Aledri. Irregulars patrolled the perimeter on watch, while beyond it numerous random camps of hillmen made any quiet approach unlikely. At its center the camp was organized like a town, with rows of tents like houses. Tescani had suggested the idea of using the stakes from around Avrosa to make a palisade perimeter. Talaos had approved the idea. They'd supplemented the stakes with a shallow ditch, and so their town was a fortified one.

In the very center, the black, purple, and gold allied command tent sat surrounded by standards and banners. In front of it spread a cleared square.  Smaller personal tents for individual commanders stood elsewhere around the square. Talaos had raised his personal tent in a spot directly opposite the command tent, near his close companions like the Madmen and The Three.

However, he now stood in front of the command tent itself, facing a group of chosen volunteers. He’d organized them into teams of three. Each consisted of an Avrosan civilian as his personal representative, and two representatives of the allied army. One military representative in each trio was from a city or town in the alliance of Teroia, the other from the alliance of Idrona and Kyras. All of them watched as he spoke.

"Some of you can expect friendly welcomes in your home cities, and others likely not. Presenting such a broad, united front will show the honesty of our position, and that may sway some. Even so, you are taking a great risk, particularly those of you whose cities are now in turmoil. Anyone who wishes to leave may now do so.  All who remain will make oath."

None of them left.

Talaos administered the oath, leading them with words in the old form. "I swear on the honor of my soul to spread word of the liberation of Hunyos, and to call upon those for whom I bear message to cast away the faith of the Living Prophet and expel all who follow it. I am prepared to die in this task."

All present, more than three hundred of them, made the vow with him.

Then Talaos presented each of them with a copy of a message he'd had drafted. The messages each opened with a general call to throw off the faith of the Prophet, a series of arguments against what the Prophet's followers were doing in Hunyos and a suggestion to administer and enforce an oath of loyalty in the form he'd used in Avrosa.

The latter part of each message was tailored to its target city or town, discussed known specifics of its situation, and depending on what those were, gave promises or warnings. If the first part of the messages was a velvet glove of appeal and reason, the latter was an iron fist of force, and to free those places already in the grip of the Prophet, he was prepared to use both.

Once all were handed out, he walked among them and gave each the military handshake. As he took each messenger's hand, he put forth a bit of power, and that messenger showed the slightest flash of light in his or her eyes. While each was small, the cost to him in total was great. However, his power replenished far faster now, and he bore it lightly. When it was done, he returned to the front of the tent and concluded, "Now, each of you will need neither sleep nor rest for the next several days. You will go on foot in your trios, by whatever route is expedient, but different trios will not travel together. Now, be ready."