Alutar: The Great Demon (59 page)

“I am confused,” admitted the general. “You supposedly have the ear of Emperor Jaar, and now you claim to know the inner workings of the Alceans. Just who are you, and what do you want?”

“I want the same things that the Alceans want,” answered Natia, “and I am guessing that those are the same things that you and most Aertans want. The Federation sent 240,000 men to Alcea, General. Their intention was the total destruction of Alcea, but that is not the way it played out. The Alceans were victorious in every battle, and now they are about to destroy the Federation completely. The difference, General, is that the Alceans are not bent on conquest. They seek no spoils from the war, but rather a lasting peace. General Alden has spoken to the Alceans, and they have agreed in principle to the goals of the war, but General Alden is not the King of Aerta. He is only the heir, and he doubts that his father would agree to any terms with the Alceans. That leaves the Alceans in a difficult position. They are willing to forego an attack on Giza if your army promises not to attack them or their allies. The same offer will not be extended to the 33
^rd
Corps who reports only to Grand General Kyrga. The Alceans would not be willing to show their backs to such an army.”

“Their backs?” echoed the general. “Are you suggesting that the Alceans would pass us by and drive further into the Federation to attack other cities?”

“If you guaranteed that they would not be attacked,” Natia nodded.

“I can’t do that,” frowned the general. “I am not the king, and I am duty bound to obey his orders.”

“Then we have a difficult situation, General,” said Natia.

“Would King Anator actually send us outside the city to fight the Alceans?” asked Colonel Fisker. “I would suspect that he would not. He would want our men manning the walls to repel an invasion, but the Alceans would not be attacking. This just might work after all.”

“I agree,” sighed the general, “but the Alceans are asking for a guarantee that I cannot give. I can counsel the king not to make such a foolhardy gesture, but he will be under tremendous pressure from Despair to attack the Alceans. What if he actually does order us out to attack the Alceans? How could I go against either my king or my word?”

“How have you managed to guarantee my exit from the city?” asked Natia.

“The king has no idea that we are meeting,” answered the general. “There was no reason to inform him.”

Natia smiled.

“Do you realize what you are asking of me?” scowled the general.

“I am asking you to save the lives of your countrymen, General,” Natia replied. “Is that not worth a bit of wrath from the king for not informing him of a message from Despair? What are the odds of King Anator ordering the attack without a demand from Despair?”

“He would not do so,” the general admitted. “He would seek my advice, and I would give it to him. Just what kind of army is heading towards us that we even need to discuss such topics?”

“Twenty thousand Occan lancers,” answered Natia, “along with three thousand Alcean Red Swords.”

“Mercy!” exclaimed the general. “How is this possible?”

“Magic,” answered the Knight of Alcea.

General Antero rose from his chair and walked to the window. He peered out for several minutes before returning to his chair and sitting down.

“I would never want to meet such an army on the open road,” he declared, “but the lancers will not find it easy to attack a walled city.”

“A walled city?” retorted Natia. “I seem to remember a hole being blown in your walls last year. One Alcean mage acting alone did that. Your walls won’t stand before the Alceans, General. You also will have to deal with the Red Swords. They, along with two thousand other men, were responsible for the defeat of both Team Mya and Team Miram. No offense, General, but I do not think your troops have much of a chance if it comes to battle. The sad part is that such a costly battle can easily be avoided, but you do not appear to be receptive to such an offer.”

The general’s eyes narrowed. “For someone who is supposed to be dedicated to Emperor Jaar,” he said accusingly, “you appear to be favoring the Alceans over Zarans. One might even suspect that you are an Alcean spy.”

“You are assuming that Emperor Jaar was in favor of attacking Alcea,” retorted Natia. “In fact, the last I knew, he was working to cancel the invasion. That is probably why they killed him.”

“If he truly is dead,” countered the general. “You are asking me to put a lot of faith in your words alone. I cannot possibly do so. You could just as easily be an Alcean spy trying to get half of the soldiers out of Giza to make it easier to conquer the city. What proof do you have that any of this is true?”

“Spy is such a harsh word,” smiled Natia. “If it is proof that you want, let me borrow Colonel Fisker for a couple of days. I will personally take him to the army approaching the city. He will be able to verify their numbers and intent and report back to you.”

“A couple of days would waste a great deal of time,” frowned the general. “If we are indeed going to be attacked, preparations must be made immediately.”

“Oh?” retorted Natia. “What proof do you have of an impending invasion? You are quick to believe my words when it suits you, General, but you seem to pick and choose which words you will believe. That is unacceptable. If you start to make preparations to repel an attack, you will have forfeited any chance you might have of getting rid of the 33
^rd
Corps, and that will result in a definite attack on Giza. Is that truly what you want?”

“General,” Colonel Fisker interrupted gently, “I have known Natia for a long time, and her words have always been proven right. If two days of my time will save the lives of my fellow Aertans, I am more than willing to take the chance. Give me leave to go with her.”

General Antero sat silently for a while and then sighed and nodded. “Go, Fisker,” he said softly, “but I will make preparations to defend this city while you are gone. I feel confident that I can do so without alerting the 33
^rd
Corps. Waste no time,” he warned. “It is nearly high sun now. At high sun two days from today I will no longer feel bound to remain quiet.”

Colonel Fisker saluted and escorted Natia out of the Royal Palace. He told Natia to get ready for the trip and that he would meet her at the stables of the Palace Keep Inn. They parted company and Natia hurried to the stables where Tedi was waiting for her.

“We have little time to talk,” Natia said quickly. “I am taking Colonel Fisker to meet with King Arik. General Antero has refused to push the 33
^rd
Corps out of the city for now, but I think he is pliable. The danger lies in General Hedstorus discovering the coming attack. Get together with Headman and Azara as soon as you can. See if you can find a way to get the 33
^rd
Corps out of the city.”

* * * *

In the quiet weary hours before dawn, two men walked through the halls of the Royal Palace in Giza. The men wore the uniforms of the 23
^rd
Corps of Aerta, and they talked softly and gaily as they passed the sentries posted throughout the building. While their faces may not have been familiar to the sentries, their actions were those of two soldiers returning from a night’s leave in the city. The sentries paid no particular attention to them as they meandered through the corridors. When they entered the area reserved for the king’s residence, their façade no longer protected them from suspicion. There were no valid reasons for soldiers on leave to be near the king’s quarters.

“Where do you think you are going?” demanded one of the sentries at the entrance to the residential wing of the palace. “This area is restricted.”

“It’s a shortcut,” one of the soldiers replied with a perfected slur in his speech. “Shh,” he added with a finger to his lips.

The sentries looked at one another and immediately drew their swords. Before either one of them could move closer to the drunk, two knives flew from the hands of the quiet soldier, and the sentries fell to the floor, their swords clanging loudly on the floor.

The drunken soldier frowned and shook his head. “Be quicker the next time,” he scowled at his partner. “Those sounds might have alerted the next set of sentries.”

The quiet soldier nodded as he retrieved his knives and dragged one of the bodies to an alcove. The drunken soldier also dragged one of the bodies and hid it before they reunited for the journey deeper into the residential wing. The soldiers abandoned their talkative deception and moved silently through the corridors until they came to the area where the door to the king’s residence awaited them. Two more sentries stood guard outside the door, and the assassins halted before they could be seen. The one who had pretended to be drunk removed a scroll from his pack and clenched it in his fist. With a nod to his partner, he straightened and strode purposefully towards the king’s door. Both sentries immediately stiffened at the approach of the messenger. The messenger purposely halted before the door in such a manner as to cause the sentries to turn away from his partner who was still hidden.

“I do not know you,” one of the sentries stated with suspicion. “Who gave you leave to enter this area?”

“General Antero,” stated the messenger as he held the scroll up to capture their attention. “This message just arrived from General Alden. The king is to be awoken immediately.”

One of the sentries backed away from the door and swiftly drew his sword. “Place the scroll on the floor,” he ordered, brandishing the sword in the messenger’s direction. “General Antero would never send an unfamiliar face to the king. Put it down and back up against the opposite wall. Failure to do so will result in your death.”

The other sentry drew his sword and the messenger looked perplexed. He shrugged in indifference and bent over to place the scroll on the ground. When he did so, the other assassin threw a knife at the sentry closest to his confederate. The knife struck the sentry’s chest and his sword fell from loose fingers. The messenger immediately bolted upright, bringing a hidden knife up before him. He drove the knife into the second sentry and then eased the body to the floor. The messenger went to work on the door lock as his partner moved the bodies away from the door. Within moments, the door was unlocked. The assassins opened the door to the king’s quarters and slipped inside.

The king’s chambers were vast, and it took a while for the assassins to find the bedroom, but the king was still asleep when they entered the room. They immediately split up with one assassin on each side of the large bed. They drew their swords and the messenger reached into his pouch and extracted something. He kept the object concealed in one hand while his other hand moved the sword to the king’s neck. When the cold steel touched the king’s neck, he awoke with a start. He stared up at the soldier holding the sword, and his eyes glazed over with confusion.

“Greetings from King Bartomir of Candanar,” smiled the assassin as he threw a golden brooch on the king’s chest.

King Anator glanced down and saw the symbol of the Badgers. He gasped in understanding as the assassin’s sword pierced his neck.

Fakir Aziz stooped in the water just offshore of Giza. His hands stretched into the water and his eyes closed to avoid staring into the rising sun. As the gentle waves washed over his legs and arms, the Mage nodded thoughtfully. He opened his eyes and rose to his feet. Leaving the sea, he sat down on a rock and dried his hands and feet with the hem of his robe and then pulled on his boots. He walked back to the slums of Giza, neither tarrying nor hurrying, his mind leagues away from the cluttered streets of the Aertan city. Almost as if in a stupor, the Mage walked into the camp set up by his fellow mages in the slums. It took him a moment to recognize the presence of an old Alcean friend.

“Theos?” Tedi asked as he stared at the illusion surrounding Dorforun, the dwarven mage from Tarashin. “I thought you were in Tyronia.”

“Tedi,” the Mage called out to prevent the Knight of Alcea from realizing that he was looking at an illusion. “What brings you to our humble camp?”

The Knight of Alcea immediately turned away from Dorforun and approached Fakir Aziz. “I was looking for you,” Tedi admitted. “I had heard that a group such as yours arrived a short time ago. It is not a safe time for you to be in Giza.”

“I heard that King Anator was assassinated last night,” Fakir responded.

“It is more than that,” Tedi said softly. “War is coming to this city in mere days. You will not want your people in the middle of it.”

Fakir smiled and raised an eyebrow at the Knight of Alcea. “Do you fear for our safety?”

Tedi’s face reddened with embarrassment. “I know that I should not worry for you,” he replied, “but it is my nature. I would not want events to sneak up on you without warning.”

“Your thoughts are most warming,” Fakir Aziz smiled in a fatherly fashion. “The truth is that my group will be leaving Giza this very day. It is time for us to be moving on. Will you and your lovely bride be leaving as well?” The Mage looked around and frowned. “Where is Natia?”

“She is on a mission,” answered Tedi. “We are negotiating with General Antero to surrender Giza without a fight, but that would require getting General Hedstorus to leave the city. Natia is escorting a colonel to meet with King Arik, and I am here trying to figure out a way to move the 33
^rd
Corps outside the walls of the city.”

“Where they will be slaughtered?” asked the Mage with a hint of disapproval in his voice.

“Where they will be slaughtered,” Tedi sighed as he nodded. “We have taken great risks to keep the killing down as you requested, but not everyone will surrender. The armies loyal to Grand General Kyrga are among those who will not surrender.”

The Mage sighed heavily and nodded. “Such is the way of men,” he said in a weary tone. “I have noted the successes that King Arik has accomplished, and they are impressive, particularly with his ability to avoid too much bloodshed, but I think it hardly matters any more. The threshold that Alutar requires has been met. Still, it is prudent to avoid the wholesale killing of Zarans. Tell the Warrior King to continue along his path, although I doubt that he needs to hear my words to do so.”