Artesans of Albia: 02 - King's Champion (33 page)

It was mid-afternoon before Sullyan woke. She smiled over at Kester, who crouched beside the fire brewing fellan. His sheer bulk, coupled with the fellan’s distinctive aroma, reminded her forcefully of Bull and she had to fight down a sudden lump in her throat.

A commotion on the edge of their camp caught her attention and she looked up in surprise as General Ephan rode in. She watched him dismount and ask a question of one of Marik’s sentries. The man pointed her way, and Ephan strode over to her. She was about to rise when he gestured at her to remain seated. Foregoing the usual formalities, he seated himself by her fire, wordlessly accepting Kester’s offer of fellan.

While he drank he glanced appraisingly round her well-ordered camp, noting the men who were resting, seeing to the horses, or cleaning gear. He studied Robin, who was moving more fluidly now that the soreness of his side had eased, and he watched Marik, who was doing his rounds of the sentries with Nazir.

Finally, he turned to Sullyan. “So, Major, I see that the tales of your military expertise were correct. The Lord General was right to trust in you. I received the Captain’s reports of your success, but I wanted to see for myself.”

Pleased with his praise, Sullyan inclined her head. “What is the position of Rykan’s main force now, General?”

Ephan gazed at her. “That is the other reason for my visit, Major. In the light of yours and other units’ successes, and the arrival of more of the Hierarch’s reserves, Anjer has called a war council. You are required to attend.”

She nodded.

“Leave your men to continue their strikes, and present yourself to the Lord General at dawn tomorrow. He has set up a field command ... here.”

Anjer’s location appeared in Sullyan’s mind. Then she noticed Ephan regarding her narrowly and sharpened her attention.

“Bring an honor guard, Major, and also ... Count Marik.”

She raised her brows. “So he can pledge his allegiance?”

Ephan nodded.

“I will bring him, General.”

The tall man rose and returned his cup to Kester. “I must congratulate you, Major. You have done well so far. Anjer is impressed. His Majesty is also pleased, though I know he will be concerned to hear of your injuries. He charged me to tell you to be careful.”

She smiled at him. “They were only minor wounds, General. I would contact his Majesty myself and reassure him, but I dare not risk alerting Lord Rykan to my presence. That could be disastrous.”

“Of course,” said Ephan. “Never fear, Major, I will be your messenger. I will see you at dawn tomorrow. Don’t be late.” Turning, he strode back to his escort.

Sullyan spent the rest of the day organizing the men and planning more raids. Ky-shan would lead in her absence, although he surprised her by being torn between the desire to kill more of Rykan’s men and what he saw as his duty to her. At his request, she accepted Almid, Kester, and Xeer as an honor guard, along with Robin. Unable to refuse her Captain’s whispered plea, she also reluctantly accepted Jay’el. The young seaman had been intensely relieved to hear that Ki-en should eventually make a full recovery and hadn’t left his friend’s side since. He was nervous when he learned he was to be a part of the Major’s honor guard, but he left Ki-en’s side in a happier mood.

Marik was also nervous, but he understood the necessity of making the trip. He hadn’t yet formally pledged allegiance to the Hierarch and was a loose horse in Anjer’s eyes. His men cheered when they learned why he was going, each one eager to take revenge for their involuntary conscription into Rykan’s forces. They knew they would ultimately gain by Marik’s declaration of loyalty, and readily accepted Nazir as second-in-command while Marik was away.

Sullyan led the small group out before dawn and they arrived at the command camp, along with many others, just as daylight broke. Jay’el and Xeer were left to care for the horses and Marik to await his summons. She and Robin, with the twins flanking them as ostentatious bodyguards, made their way to the Lord General’s tent. Ephan and Kryp were already there and both greeted Sullyan, although the portly General’s nod was grudging. Sullyan honored them both with a respectful salute, as did Robin. Almid and Kester waited outside.

As soon as Anjer arrived with the commanders of the other field units, the council was convened. Sullyan and Robin were regarded with unveiled curiosity, but the Major was relieved to see no obvious resentment. Anjer afforded her a smile of greeting as she and Robin participated in the general salute, and Sullyan returned the grin.

They spent a long morning discussing the state of the war. The Duke had been prevented from spreading out to throw a ring of men around the Citadel, and his orderly columns were now scattered and disorganized. The Hierarch had called in all his reserves, most of which were now mobilized. They were only missing around two thousand men, and these would arrive within two days.

Anjer proposed that they now begin moves to ensure that Rykan had to fight the Hierarch’s forces on equal terms. All the generals and commanders had their own ideas as to where the decisive battle should take place, and these were put forward with their relative merits.

Sullyan sat quietly throughout the discussions, not contributing, merely listening. Anjer glanced her way more than once, inviting comment, but she held her peace. As they began chewing over the merits of the various sites, he addressed her directly.

“Major Sullyan, have you no comment to make?”

All heads turned her way. She met Anjer’s black gaze calmly.

“My Lord General, the plans for the next phase of the battle are well enough. My command will play its part as before. However, this discussion over where the final meeting of the two forces should take place is irrelevant.”

There was a restless stir. Few of the men in that tent would care to use the word ‘irrelevant’ to Anjer. Yet the huge man merely raised his brows and gestured for her to continue. “Why irrelevant, Major?”

“Because, my Lord, there is only one place where the Hierarch’s challenge may be made, and that is on the Plains before the Citadel gates.”

Voices were raised in protest, Kryp being loudest. Anjer sat back with folded arms, studying her calm face while he waited for the noise to die down. When he finally had silence, he said, “Would you care to explain to us why, having spent the last week preventing Rykan’s men from approaching the Citadel, we should now invite them onto the Plains like guests?”

She smiled faintly. “We will not ‘invite’ them, my Lord. In fact, we should do just the opposite. As we all know, the purpose of our tactics over the last few days was first to prevent the Duke from besieging the Caer, and second to allow the Hierarch’s reserves time to deploy. In this, we have succeeded. Our next task is to convince Rykan that the Plains are his choice for the final confrontation, not ours.”

Anjer frowned. “Please explain, Major.”

“What we must not do is let Rykan realize he is being manipulated. If he does, he will pull back, retreat to a place of safety, and formulate another strategy. He must continue to believe that he has the superior force, as he would have were we not aware of his numbers. This means concealing his Majesty’s reserve troops and feigning a withdrawal. Retreat before Rykan’s supposedly superior numbers so that he pursues us right to the Citadel gates.”

“That’s unnecessarily dangerous, Major! Why on earth should we allow Rykan that close to the Caer?”

Her voice dropped as she held Anjer’s gaze. “Because the Hierarch must make his challenge in person.”

Protesting voices rose once more, and even the Lord General reacted angrily. The commanders were clearly horrified at the thought of exposing their ruler to such danger, and Kryp appeared to be on the verge of drawing on her. Robin rose to his feet, his hand on his own sword hilt, but Sullyan touched his arm and he relaxed. He still kept a wary eye on Kryp, though. Sullyan sat calmly through the storm of outrage, and eventually Anjer regained control. He rose to his feet, his huge frame towering over her.

“Does his Majesty know of this ridiculous plan, Major?”

She kept her tone mild. “Of course, my Lord, but it was no idea of mine. I believe it was Baron Gaslek who unearthed the protocol. His Majesty is fully aware and prepared to fulfill the terms of the challenge. It is vital that the proper customs be observed in order to bind the Duke to acceptance. This has to be definitive, my Lord. If we are to remove Rykan’s threat to the throne, we cannot allow the plan to fail because of concerns for his Majesty’s safety.”

Anjer gave an exasperated sigh. “I wish his Majesty had seen fit to inform me of the plan!” He threw Sullyan an irritated glance, but she didn’t react. He subsided. Resuming his seat, he began issuing orders to initiate first a push on Rykan’s troops, and then a staged retreat which would bring them all to the Plains below the Citadel walls.

Sullyan took no further part in the discussions, merely accepted her orders as they were handed out. When the meeting broke up and the other commanders departed, leaving only Anjer, Ephan, and Kryp, the Lord General called to her as she was about to leave.

“Major Sullyan, would you do us the courtesy of remaining to witness Count Marik’s Oath of Allegiance?”

She was both flattered and surprised by the invitation. “Certainly, my Lord, if you wish.”

“This is your doing, after all,” said Anjer. “It is only right that you witness it.” He turned to Robin. “Captain, would you ask Count Marik to attend us?”

* * * * *

R
obin found the Count waiting nervously with Jay’el and Xeer and relayed Anjer’s request.

“Don’t look so worried, Ty! Anjer’s not so bad. It’s the fat one you have to watch out for. If he takes a dislike to you, you’ll know all about it.”

Marik grimaced. “Thanks for the optimism. It’s alright for you two. You’re heroes of the hour. Everyone’s talking about you and the Major.” He suddenly lowered his voice, making Robin frown. “I’ll tell you now, though, I’ve heard some ugly stories circulating concerning what Rykan did to her. I don’t know how it got out, but you might want to warn her.”

Robin’s heart fell as he watched Marik stalk toward the tent where he would pledge his allegiance to Andaryon’s Crown. He knew how adamant Sullyan was that the true reason for her being here should remain concealed. She would be furious if someone had let the information slip. In uneasy contemplation, he strolled back to the giants, who were sitting with Xeer and Jay’el. Kester was brewing fellan while Jay’el polished Sullyan’s sword. None of them commented, but Robin thought he caught a glimpse of something in Kester’s eyes as the man passed him a steaming mug.

The Major appeared after half an hour and told them that Marik was in talks with Anjer. They would leave now, and the Count would follow later. By mid-afternoon they were back in the field medics’ camp, but Robin still hadn’t mentioned Marik’s concerns. Sullyan was preoccupied with her orders and he let her be. They wouldn’t meet up with Ky-shan and the rest of their company until tomorrow, so he hoped there would be time to broach the subject later that night.

* * * * *

A
s soon as they arrived at the medics’ camp, Sullyan went to check on Ki-en. Jay’el trailed her like a whipped puppy, convinced she would leave him behind. When she entered the tent, she saw the injured lad was fully conscious and drinking from a mug of spice-tea. His face lit up when he saw them both, and he turned adoring eyes on Sullyan.

She sat on the edge of his bunk and took his hand. “How are you feeling, Ki-en?”

He grinned, a lopsided look full of pleading. “I am very well, Lady. My leg is a little sore, but nothing that won’t come right after a bit of exercise.”

She frowned and his young face paled.

“Lady,” he begged, leaning forward and clasping at her hand, “please don’t leave me behind. I am well enough to ride a short way. I can sit double behind Almid or Kester. They said I could. Even if I can’t join the fighting for a couple of days I can still be useful round the camp. I can look after the horses. I’ll look after your horses, Lady! You and the Skipper saved my life. I want to thank you by serving you. Please, please don’t leave me here!”

She studied his face in silence, her eyes dilating as she verified the truth of his words. Satisfied, she gave him a small smile. “Very well, Ki-en. When we leave tomorrow morning you can ride with one of the twins. Jay here will look after you and see that you take no further harm.”

She gave Jay’el a hard look. Ky-shan’s son looked relieved, and her familiar use of his name gave the lie to the firmness of her tone. Grinning at Ki-en, he remained behind as Sullyan left the tent.

It was nearly dark by the time Marik returned from his swearing, and he immediately sought Sullyan out. She and Robin were sitting with the twins and Xeer, but she rose to embrace the Count as he approached. He was smiling, exuding a new air of confidence, and she was glad to see it replace his former gloom.

“I take it all went well with Anjer?” she asked, releasing Marik and settling back down beside Robin.

Marik sat too and exchanged a brief look with Robin that Sullyan didn’t understand. Robin made no remark, and Marik launched into an account of his meeting with Anjer, so she soon forgot the odd look.

“He wants me and my men to form a separate company,” finished Marik, his eyes intent on Sullyan’s face. “One of Kryp’s commanders was badly injured and has had to return to the Citadel. Anjer’s asked me to take the leaderless men and incorporate them into my own command.”

Sullyan smiled in genuine pleasure. “That is exceptionally good news, my friend. Anjer is showing his trust in you and giving you the opportunity to win the people’s respect.”

Marik nodded, yet his long face didn’t reflect the pride she expected him to display. In fact, his melancholia suddenly returned.

“What is it, Count? Surely you do not doubt your ability to lead these men?”

He shook his head and raised clouded eyes to hers. “I’ve been ordered to take my command over to the southeastern flank, if I can work them between Rykan’s lines. I won’t be able to guard your back any more.”