Fire and Sword (8 page)

“Which raises another problem,” Admiral Setchmar added. “Most of our fleet is laid up. It’s too expensive to maintain all our transports and warships during peacetime. It will take us at least two months to get them ready and crew them all. Even if they were ready sooner, it would be foolish to risk sailing a fleet against winter’s storms; we could lose everything.”

“How many troops can you have on the border with Haxus by the end of winter?”

“Twenty thousand,” the marshal said despondently. “Maybe. Including the regiments that are already there.”

“You’re not including the heavy cavalry, Marshal?” Galen Amptra asked in an arrogant voice.

Lief blushed. “I would not presume ...”

Galen waved him silent and turned to Areava. “Your Majesty, the cavalry from the Twenty Houses can be riding north in a week. That’s three thousand of the best soldiers on the continent.”

Yes, and risk the Twenty Houses taking control of my army in the north,
Areava thought. She hesitated.

“Your Majesty, that is the perfect solution,” Shant Tenor said. The news of Haxus’ mobilization had almost made him spasm with fear, but then the thought of his city’s industries gearing up for war and the profits that would bring Kendra had calmed him remarkably quickly. And the thought of selling the food and extra supplies the heavy cavalry from the Twenty Houses would need almost had him salivating.

“We are going about this the wrong way,” said a new voice, calm and measured. All eyes turned to Father Powl. In the four meetings since he had been one of the council members, he had hardly spoken at all. Even Primate Northam looked in surprise at the priest. He was a small, thin man who often wore a smile but whose hard gray eyes never seemed amused at all.

Areava considered him. “Father?”

“I think sending our army north piecemeal is inviting disaster.”

“But the kingdom is under threat!” Shant Tenor exclaimed. “We can’t wait until our enemies reach the walls of Kendra itself!”

“Which is what will happen if King Salokan is allowed to destroy one regiment here and two regiments there. Even the renowned cavalry of the Twenty Houses could do little by themselves against an army more than ten times its size.”

“He speaks the truth,” Marshal Lief said despondently. “We have been caught by surprise, and our forces are too scattered or not up to full strength.”

“Not completely by surprise,” Father Powl said, “thanks to the offices of Chancellor Orkid Gravespear.” Priest and chancellor exchanged courtesy glances. “And there is a way through this problem.”

Shant Tenor could see all the city’s short-term profits evaporating before his eyes. “With all due respect to Father Powl, I think military planning is best left to the marshal.”

“Go on, Father,” Areava said, throwing the mayor a warning look.

“I suggest we reduce the border garrison to a line of lookouts. The remainder should be sent to garrison Daavis. In the meantime, a proper army is gathered here and sent north as soon as spring comes.”

“But we would be surrendering almost all of Hume!” Galen said.

“Only for a few weeks at most,” Marshal Lief said. “The priest is right. If the forces already in Hume garrisoned Daavis, the city should be able to defend itself against the army of Haxus long enough for our army to relieve it.”

“There is another factor to consider,” Powl said. “Prado and his force of mercenaries. He will be in Hume before winter bites too hard. He could reinforce Daavis, or support those forces we leave on the border.”

“Or change sides as soon as Salokan crosses the border,” Dejanus growled, still stinging over losing the command of that expedition.

“He will not,” Orkid said firmly. “He hates Rendle, and Rendle is with Haxus.”

“I would not see Prado deterred from his mission,” Areava objected.

“If Prince Lynan is indeed with Salokan, Prado’s mission and our need dovetail, your Majesty,” Powl said.

“Thank you, Father,” Areava said. “Your words have made the situation at once less dire and its solution much clearer.”

Powl nodded graciously. “There is one more issue.”

“Yes?”

“Who will lead the army north?”

“I will, of course,” Areava said quickly.

“Forgive me, your Majesty, but that is inadvisable,” Orkid said. “No one can deny your skill with weapons— after all, your mother gave you command of the kingdom’s armed forces—but your place is here, in the palace. What if some other emergency should arise in your absence? And your absence would be a long one. The same applies to the marshal. He needs to be in Kendra to organize the army’s mobilization, and then its continued supply.”

“Then who do you suggest?” she asked the chancellor.

“Why not someone from the Twenty Houses?” Galen asked.

“Or Prince Olio,” Father Powl suggested. “It would be fitting for Grenda Lear’s army to be led by a prince of the realm, especially if the enemy army is being led by another.”

There were nods around the table, and then everyone noticed that Olio was not present. He was usually so quiet that his absence had not really been noticed until now. The queen looked puzzled.

“Harnan? Was Prince Olio notified of the meeting?”

“My clerks could not find him,” her private secretary said. “I could send them out again.”

Areava shook her head. “No. There is much for me to consider. I will consult with my brother in private over this matter.” She stood up and everyone else immediately stood as well. “You have served me well today.”

* * *

When Olio finally awoke, the muscles in his back were knotted into painful bundles. The side of his face that had been resting on the tower’s stone floor was numb with cold. He groaned and lifted himself into a sitting position. His head beat with a sound like a hammer striking an anvil. His hand was in something wet. He looked down and saw a great red puddle of wine. He stood up uneasily. He moved toward the steps and his foot knocked aside an empty flagon. It rang on the stone floor, and he had to close his eyes in pain.

“God’s death,” he muttered, holding his hands to his head.

After the pain eased, he made his way slowly down the tower stairway and then along the corridors to his chambers. When he opened the door, he was met by a room filled with light. He squeezed his eyes shut and tottered into the bedchamber, closing the door behind him.

“Leave it open. I won’t stay long.”

“Sister?” He squinted, and could just make out Areava’s tall form sitting in a chair near his bed.

“You missed a council meeting.”

“I’m sorry. I was otherwise ... disposed.” He made it to his bed and sat on the end. “Was it important?”

“Haxus has mobilized its army. We cannot meet it with our full strength. Hume may fall by the middle of spring. Otherwise, no, nothing important.”

Olio shook his head to clear it. It did not work. “I didn’t quite get all of that.”

“You smell of wine. Are you drunk?”

“N-n-no, n-n-not drunk. M-m-my head hurts.”

“I needed you. You weren’t there.”

“I said I was sorry, Areava. Tell m-m-me again. What happened in the council?”

“In four months, maybe less, we will be at war with Haxus.”

Olio’s eyes sprung open. “War?” Areava nodded. “With Haxus?” Areava nodded again. “B-b-but the m-m-marshal and admiral were there, surely? And Orkid?”

“Your name came up.”

Olio sighed. His eyes were adjusting to the brightness.

“What is happening to you?” Areava asked.

He shrugged. “N-n-nothing is happening to m-m-me. I had a b-b-bad night, that’s all.” Distractedly, he ran his fingers through his brown hair.

“I see you wandering in and out of the palace at all hours. We don’t talk anymore. My servants have heard your servants complaining that your clothes always reek with wine.” She shook her head in frustration and asked again, “What is happening to you?”

“N—n-nothing is happening to me!” Olio spat.

Areava gasped in surprise.

Olio moaned and put his hand out to hold hers, but she jerked away from him. “I’m sorry, sister, I didn’t m-m-mean ...” She made no move to take his hand, and he eventually dropped it.

“Clean up,” she said imperiously, standing up. “Get changed. Get shaved. Get rid of that terrible smell. I want to see you in my chambers in an hour. Be there or I’ll send one of the guards to bring you.”

Olio forced a laugh. “Areava, you can’t be serious.”

“Be there,” she repeated, her voice hard, and left.

Orkid knocked on the door of the primate’s office and entered without waiting to be called in. Father Powl was sitting behind a huge desk reading through a sheaf of papers; when he saw Orkid, he stood up hurriedly.

“Chancellor! It’s rare to have you visit this wing of the palace. You’ve missed the primate, I’m afraid. He’s gone into the city.”

“Good. It was you I came to see.”

Father Powl looked surprised. He waved his guest into a chair and sat down himself. “How can I help you?”

“I wanted to commend you on your contribution to the council meeting this morning.”

“I was glad to be of service to her Majesty.”

“You are still her confessor, I understand?”

“Less of late, I’m afraid. Father Rown now relieves me of most of that duty. I’m kept busy with the pressure of office as Primate Northam’s secretary.”

“Your advice at the council came as something of a surprise to most of us. After all, one hardly expects a cleric to demonstrate such a clear understanding of military strategy.”

Father Powl spread his hands. “I have been a student of knowledge since entering the priesthood. Our library here deals not just with religious subjects; there are histories and biographies, accounts of journeys and myths, records of previous military campaigns. The appropriate course of action seemed obvious to me, and it would have been remiss to remain silent. I am quite sure the marshal would have offered the same advice eventually.”

Orkid smiled easily. “Lief is an old soldier who came into command during the great years of peace following the Slaver War. Before that, he was a fine field commander. Grand strategy was never his strong point.”

“He may learn,” Father Powl countered.

“He will have to,” Orkid said dryly. “However, his burden will be eased by good advice. Advice from the queen. Advice from me. And, I suspect, advice from you.”

Father Powl looked shocked. “Chancellor, I would never bypass the council.”

“I was not suggesting you would. But there are times when the council may not be the appropriate forum.”

“Forgive me for being abrupt, Chancellor, but I’m at a loss to see where you are going with this.”

“I would appreciate being the beneficiary of your learning.”

“You are suggesting I go to you with any contribution instead of the council?”

“Indeed not. The queen relies on her councilors to speak directly. But if, for example, you had some insight that might bear on urgent events, there is no need for you to wait for the council to be convened. If you were to come to me, I could convey your advice directly to the queen herself.”

Father Powl rested back in his seat and made a steeple out of his fingers. “I would have to clear this with the primate.”

Orkid shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Let this stay a matter between you, myself, and Queen Areava. Better that way. Fewer channels to slow things down.”

“Let me state your position clearly, so there is no misunderstanding between us. I am to have direct access to you?”

“Yes.”

Father Powl smiled over the steeple. “I feel honored.”

“Do you agree?”

The priest nodded. “I agree. I think this is a relationship that will benefit both our offices.”

And those that occupy them
, Orkid thought.

Areava tried to sit as regally as possible, but it was not possible in front of her brother. Olio stood before her, scrubbed and ashamed. He almost looked like an innocent young man again. She wanted to wet her hand and dampen down his unruly mop of hair.

“If my words seemed harsh—” she started, but Olio interrupted.

“M-m—my apologies, sister, for m-m-my b-b-behav-ior,” he blurted. “I cannot explain why you saw m-m-me in that condition—not yet—b—b-ut it will not happen again. I p-p-promise.”

Areava sighed and took his hands in her own. “I was worried. I have never seen you like that before. So much is happening now, and I need you strong by my side.”

“I will always b-b-be at your side, Areava. You know that.”

She nodded and smiled up at him. “You are to be a general.”

Olio blinked. “A general?”

“We are creating an army to counter Haxus. We believe they will march south into Hume as soon as winter eases. Their army is already massing on the border. There are rumors that their captain is Lynan.”

“My God.” Olio shook his head. “I don’t believe it. Not of Lynan.”

“And I, for one, would never have suspected Lynan capable of murdering Berayma!” Areava snapped. Olio opened his mouth to object, but Areava spoke over him. “We are ordering what forces we have in Hume to hold the province’s capital against a siege. Our army should be ready to march north in the spring; it will have contingents from all the southern provinces, and the heavy cavalry from the Twenty Houses. It needs a leader who will be higher in rank than all its captains, a leader all will obey. I must stay here in Kendra. That leaves you. It will be a close-run thing, Olio.”

“I understand. I will do it, of course, b-b-but I have no experience in soldiering.”

“So few have, brother. We have been at peace for a long time. But the same applies to the army of Haxus. In that at least, we are equal.”

“What m-m-must I do?”

“Be near me. Give me your advice. Liaise with the marshal and Orkid. They will advise you.”

“When will this b-b-be announced to the p-p-people?”

“I’m arranging for couriers to be sent to all our provinces; they will leave this afternoon. By then everyone in Kendra will know. Councilors like Shant Tenor and Xella Povis are hardly likely to keep quiet about it.”

“Are you going to declare war on Haxus?”

Areava shook her head. “Let them make the first move. Let all of Theare know who is the aggressor in this matter. It will not be Grenda Lear.”