Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 (52 page)

“That’s what I want to talk about. Keverin recommended staying behind the walls, but I think that’s a bad idea.”

“It is,” Julia said in amazement.

Why would Keverin say something stupid like that? Malcor would be defenceless against a legion with sorcerers supporting. She would do her best to help, but her ward wouldn’t protect both gates and four walls. She still couldn’t build a ward like Renard used at Athione even with Mathius trying to teach her every day. She didn’t expect matters to change before the Hasians arrived.

“I know why I think so, but why do you?” Jihan said.

“At Athione we had five mages warding one gate and a small stretch of wall. Now all you have is Mathius and me. I couldn’t ward your gate to save my life, but even if I could, the legion will surround Malcor and attack from all sides.”

Jihan was nodding. “Keverin agrees with us on all that, but he feels you would be safer fighting from inside the walls, rather than taking the fight to them.”

That explained why Keverin wanted to fight defensively. She probably would be safer inside the walls, but what about everyone else? The sorcerers would bombard Malcor as they had Athione, but this time they would attack until nothing was left. They knew all about her now. They wouldn’t take the chance of her getting away. She was sure of it.

“Would I be safer inside the walls do you think?”

“Probably, but we would lose in the end. What I have planned is for you, along with Keverin’s men, to hide in the town. Then after the fortress is besieged you attack their mages by surprise. With luck, I will lead my men out to attack while they’re still reeling from your lightning.”

“It might work, but you are relying a great deal on luck. What if they attack immediately they arrive? They could take your gate down in no time.”

“I know, but you’ve seen the plain. There’s no other cover to be had.”

“I should ride to meet them,” Julia said not at all enthusiastic. “If I can take care of the sorcerers again, they might go home.”

“But can you win?” Jihan said in frustration. “They know what you did last time. They will be ready.”

“I won’t know that until I try. I’ll need a couple of your men to show me where they are.”

Jihan was silent. He was trying to find an honourable way out of hiding behind a woman. That kind of thinking was extremely irritating to her. As if one person’s life was more important than another’s was! A guardsman’s death would be just as tragic as a woman’s death to her. Everyone was equal in her eyes, and according to Father Gideon, the Devan’s agreed that this was the case. How then could the men continually insist it was dishonourable to send her into battle?

“You might as well stop squirming Jihan. I know your honour will be bent out of shape by this, but maybe if you look at it differently, you’ll feel better.”

Jihan looked warily at her.

Julia had to grin. “I’m a mage Jihan. Unlike other women in Deva I don’t need your protection. You must admit I can protect myself better than you could protect me.”

Jihan nodded reluctantly. “If you’re sure, I’ll send you with the scouts.”

“That’s fine, but I want to leave tonight—straight away.”

“Is a candlemark soon enough?”

Julia nodded, and Jihan left to talk to his scouts while she went in search of Mathius. She found him talking with Keverin in the dining hall.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need a favour Mathius. Do you know of a way to stop a mage from finding you in the mirror?”

Mathius nodded and Julia’s spirits rose. It might work after all.

“There is a way Lady. It’s a kind of ward.”

Her spirits fell again. “Oh no! You know the trouble I’ve been having with wards. Can’t you show me how it’s done?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do it either. You could ask Lucius.”

If only she could. Julia hadn’t known it was possible to ward against scrying, so how could she ask about something she didn’t know existed? Any way it was too late now. Lucius was at Elvissa, which was half the kingdom away.

“I’ll just have to make do without it.”

Keverin was standing close by silently listening. “Why do you need this thing?”

“I’m going out to attack the sorcerers before they can lay siege to Malcor.”

“No!” Keverin shouted and grabbed her shoulders. “I told Jihan it’s too dangerous. I’ll not let you go.”

“You can’t stop me Kev,” Julia said and disentangled herself from his grip. “This is the only way to give Jihan a chance to beat them.”

“If you won’t see sense, I’ll have to go with you,” Keverin said pulling on his gauntlets and hefting his helmet.

“I won’t tell you no—it’s your decision, but what of your men?”

Julia watched him struggle with his duty to his men and felt sorry for him. He wanted to come so badly, but she could see before he spoke that his duty won. It always did with him. It was part of what she loved about him.

Keverin bowed. “Lady Julia, good luck with your attempt. May the God watch over you,” he wheeled and strode away.

“That was hard for him to say, but he’s right,” Mathius said. “You’ll need all the help you can get. I’ll come with you.”

“Thanks Mathius. I appreciate the company. We’re leaving as soon as Jihan informs the scouts.”

A short while later Julia found herself heading north in the company of Mathius and four scouts. The grass was long and dry and puffs of dust rose from the ground choking her. Mathius said the nearest water was Malcor, and that dust was better than travelling through mud and rain, but she wasn’t so sure. There was no proper road, but the moon provided enough light to see a vague trail. When she asked, Mathius told her the traders had used it. They would buy horses in exchange for swords and other metal goods the clans needed.

They continued moving north through the night, and dawn found them making a cold camp in the shadow of a hill. None of the surrounding hills were large, but this one was the best of a bad lot. It was about four yards high finishing in a gently rounded top. Without orders, two of the scouts made their way up and hunkered down in the grass to watch. The other two made themselves comfortable and promptly fell asleep. Mathius sat silently talking with her with his magic.

*Have you decided how you’re going to attack without being seen?*

*They know more than I about magic, Mathius, but so far I’ve only seen them use fireballs as a weapon. If I try that, I’ll be discovered. The only thing I can think of is lightning.*

*At least we can use the hill to see them.*
Mathius said.
*I’ll shield us both.*

*I’m still having trouble with warding things,*
she admitted.
*But I’ve had some success with my own shield. It stopped those sorcerers at Malcor easily enough. You should shield yourself and use your magic to attack.*

*If you’re sure?*

Julia nodded and they both settled down to sleep but she couldn’t rest. The sun was just rising over the hill now, and although she was in shadow, she couldn’t help looking around at the grassy hills. She closed her eyes determined to sleep, but she kept thinking of what she had seen since arriving at Athione.

Visions of life and death, beauty and devastation filled her head. One thing overshadowed all the others—the image of Keverin riding toward her with hair and cloak billowing behind him, and grim determination on his face.

Julia awoke with the sun beaming straight into her face. Groaning and squinting she fumbled around for a water bag. After a lot of cursing that made the scout’s eyes widen, she managed to get the stopper out and wash the sleep from her mouth and face.

“Any sign?”

“Not yet Lady,” Delin said. “The mage is up the hill looking now. There is bread and cheese if you have a mind to eat.”

“Thanks.”

The scout handed her some rations that looked as if they had been baked in a kiln rather than an oven. The bread was so hard and dusty Julia had to soften it with water first. She didn’t say anything. If her men had to eat this vile rubbish so would she.

“It tastes foul doesn’t it?” Delin said watching her trying to chew the iron hard cheese.

Julia swallowed with the aid of some water, “It’s certainly different!”

“There’s a reason for that Lady. There’s one for most everything I reckon.”

“You don’t have to call me lady you know. My name is Julia.”

Delin looked flustered about calling her that, and Julia sighed. Crossing the barrier between noble and common folk would be hard she found. Even Athione’s guardsmen insisted she was a lady. They didn’t class her the same as other noble ladies though. Honour forbade a woman being put it danger, but she had magic and it was needed desperately. They had wrestled with the problem and rationalised it by thinking of her as one of them—a kind of special guardsmen—one that just happened to be a woman.

Julia found that amusing because she wasn’t a noble anyway, but she liked being a woman, and she wasn’t sure now that she liked them thinking of her as something else.

“It wouldn’t be proper lady.”

“You were saying there was a reason for this indestructible cheese.”

“Aye lady. It’s that way because it’s about ten year old I reckons,” he said laughing.

“Ha, ha. Have you a consort Delin?”

“Aye I do, and two strong boys she bore me. A fine woman she is. She had to put up with a lot over the years, what with me being away so much.”

“Why is that?”

“Lord Athlone used us scouts as messengers, Lady. I had to travel all over with his scrolls and such. I ain’t got a clue what was in ‘em, but there was a mighty lot of ‘em!”

Julia frowned. What could Athlone have been doing that needed so many messages to be sent and received? “Does Lord Jihan know about the messages?”

“Don’t know lady... don’t think so. The Lord was mighty careful about us being seen. He always sent us out with regular patrols so we could slip away.”

Julia didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Where did he send you?”

“To the Lords mostly,” Delin said. “I was sent to Devarr more than once—to the Chancellor. Mostly it was the Lords though. Ascol, Penola, Godstone, Herstal, Kelvadon—I been to most of ‘em at one time or another I reckons.”

“What about the fortresses?”

“Never been sent to the Four, lady. Strange when I was sent everywhere else ain’t it?”

“Yes... strange,” Julia murmured.

Julia only knew four lords, and Delin hadn’t been sent to any of those. That made her foreboding even worse. Keverin said the Lord Protectors were the only truly honest lords in Deva—excepting Athlone of course. He was a traitor through and through. Whatever those messages were about, they couldn’t be good for Deva.

Julia was still trying to guess what Athlone had been planning, when Mathius interrupted her thoughts by sliding down the hill.

“They made good time. They’ll be here in a candlemark or so.”

“Will they camp, or press on through the hills?” Julia said.

Mathius frowned in thought, but then shrugged. “No way to know.”

“It’s not even midday, Lady,” Delin said. “I reckon they will press on and camp late.”

Julia nodded as she thought about message scrolls and consorts. “I have an important job for you and the others Delin. Lord Jihan needs to know all you can tell him about his father’s dealings. You and the others are the only ones who know where those messages went.”

“What messages—” Mathius started to say but broke off at her raised hand.

“I want you four to ride hard to Malcor and tell Jihan everything you told me.”

“But Lady! You need us here,” Delin protested.

“Mathius and I can protect our selves with magic. You four cannot. This is important, Delin. Jihan has to know what Athlone was doing.”

Delin struggled to find a way not to obey, but his upbringing worked against him this time. Devan men didn’t like opposing a woman unless they knew she would be hurt, but she was the all powerful Sorceress of Athione, Julia thought bitterly. If only she was. She might then be able to take control of her life.

“If you orders us, Lady, then we must obey,” Delin admitted finally.

“Good. Tell the others and be on your way as soon as you can.”

Delin nodded and rushed off.

“What are you doing now?” Mathius said impatiently.

“You heard what I…” Julia began but Mathius stared at her steadily, and she felt her face heat. “All right. Delin has a consort and two children. Besides, what will four scouts do against an army of ten thousand?”

“About the same as two mages I should think—nothing much.”

“I’m not going to die today, Mathius, but a lot of people will,” she said coldly.

“I didn’t mean—”

“I know. If force is all they can understand, then I will have to supply it. We can’t keep fighting off a new legion every few tendays. They need to be made to see that attacking Deva from now on is
extremely
unwise.”

Before Mathius could say anything to that, the scouts came down from the hill and saddled their mounts.

“You are sure, Lady?”

“I’m sure. You ride safe, and report to Jihan.”

“The God watch over you Lady—you too mage,” Delin said and mounted up. A moment later all four galloped away.

Shit!
She should have told them to go slow at first. The dust rising from their galloping mounts would be seen!

“That’s torn it,” Mathius said also seeing the danger. “They will see the dust for sure. We better get up there.”

That was easier said than done. Although the hill was gentle, Julia still had trouble climbing up the slope. The Earth was loose and when she grabbed tufts of grass to pull herself up she ended up with a hand fall of dead grass and no higher up the hill. The problem was solved eventually by kicking her boots off and digging her toes in.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Mathius panted as they reached the top of the hill and lay flat. He was covered in dust. His robe looked more brown than green as if he had been demoted to an apprentice.

“This is nothing. You should try ballet practise sometime,” Julia said absently as she searched the hills for the Hasians.