Song of the Fairy Queen (75 page)

“The one difficulty is that if you’re hit, we feel it, too,” Kyri said, “so please duck now and then.”

A few people chuckled.

“Most of us contributed to these, to spread out the effect and so no one of us finds ourselves featherless,” Kyri said smiling. “There’s one for each here, as you would be the most likely targets.”

“Tomorrow,” Morgan said, “we’ll start drilling, getting all these people working together, because I want to be the one who picks the ground where we fight, not Haerold. I want to be here…” Morgan tapped the map…” and ready, when Haerold gets there.”

Gawain looked at the map.

“Why there?” he asked.

Looking at the boy, Morgan said, “Here’s a lesson in tactics and strategy. If at all possible, you always want to choose the land where you fight. Look at it. It slopes down toward the direction Haerold will be coming from. When you’re actually there, it looks fairly level, but it’s not. They’ll be running uphill, tiring themselves, while we’ll be running down. This little rise here is where we must be, if we’re going to win.”

He pointed to the hills to each side. “Those will keep Haerold from being able to easily flank us and the woods there will give us a place to hide our cavalry, where they can ride downhill against Haerold’s flanks. It also concentrates Haerold’s forces into one place, which means half his fighters are ineffectual, those who are in the center. It makes their greater numbers more manageable.”

“If I were Haerold,” Oryan said, “I’d have archers behind that front line if I could and some of those long bows that were so effective against Kyri behind them.”

Kyri nodded. “The advantage we have is our arrows have to go down, how high we are and how much force they have when they hit is the only issue. We’ll be wary of that though.”

The debate began, working around the plan, adding a few things, arguing for position and advantage or disadvantage.

“Oryan, I’d like us all to ride out in the morning, to get a good look at this from the ground,” Morgan said.

Nodding, Oryan looked to Geoffrey, who went to make the necessary arrangements for horses and food.

It was a fairly large party that rode out into the pale light of dawn the next morning, with a Fairy escort in the air, although Kyri herself and Galan went mounted. The sun hadn’t even cleared the horizon. A light fog drifted over the ground.

Kyri and Galan flanked Gawain, Morgan and Oryan riding ahead with the Caerdonian Ambassador .

“All right,” Kyri said. “How is your head for heights, Gawain?”

“Why?” he asked warily, eyeing her.

She grinned.

“Galan and I are going to take you for a ride,” she said. “Higher even than the chasm.”

He looked at them uncertainly. There hadn’t been much time to think then, but the chasm hadn’t been too bad and it had been over quick.

“What are you going to do?” Gawain asked.

“Show you what we see, what it looks like from up there,” Kyri said, pointing, “so you understand what happens down here.”

“How?”

“You’ll see.”

Both she and Galan dismounted and took wing, circling, her wings glinting crystalline in the sun, Galan’s tinged with gold.

Coming back around, Kyri called, “You’ve done this before, remember? Just hang on, Gawain.”

“It’s a little awkward, but actually kind of pleasant,” Morgan said, grinning.

“How would you know?” Kyri laughed, “Half the time you’ve only done it was when someone was chasing you.”

“Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much,” he said but sent an image of her skirts fluttering around her thighs to her.

Heat shimmered between them.

She laughed as she and Galan caught Gawain’s hands.

It was definitely awkward but impressive as they drew Gawain up with them.

Gasping at first, a bit frightened –
what if a hand slipped?
– and then astonished, they carried him up high enough for him to see the clouds moving over the landscape.

From above it.

The view was incredible, Gawain stared in amazement at clouds like puffy sheep drifting above the landscape below. From here it looked like a broad carpet.

“You see how the clouds move,” Kyri said, “from west to east, that’s the natural current. If you draw from the north or south, that goes against that current…. If you’re going to change the weather, always remember that what you bring here, you take from somewhere else. If you change the natural currents, then chaos reigns for a time as it tries to return to its proper flow. That can cause horrible storms. What you can do, though, is speed up the natural process. That’s good for a short time, but if you want long term, then you have to move things a bit.”

They flew down again, dropping Gawain neatly in his saddle.

Kyri circled, coming in over her strolling horse, folding her wings just in time to do the same.

“Show off,” Morgan said, smiling.

“It’s much easier when it’s not galloping,” she said with a grin and turned back to Gawain. “We want it to rain and steadily, along Haerold’s path, make the ground wet and sticky.”

“It would also help if the day itself was a little overcast and cool, people won’t tire out as quickly,” Morgan suggested.

Kyri nodded. “It’s a good time of year for it.”

“All right, Gawain,” she said quietly. “Look now at the clouds to the south. Remember how you Healed. This isn’t that different. Picture what you want to see…”

After a time, far to the south, clouds began to drift from the west and south toward the center of the plains. First one or two and then more gathered over the distant plains to the south and east. Gawain grinned as a cooler breeze blew.

He had a right to be pleased.

Kyri smiled. “Very good.”

“There it is,” Morgan said, after another few hours ride, nodding his head in the direction of the slope.

From the ridge where he intended their people to wait for Haerold’s, beyond the little rise in the center, it was like a huge, very shallow bowl tipped slightly toward the south and east.

To each side were stretches of woods, deep enough to hide their cavalry.

Oryan looked, letting out a sigh. This was where it would all end. Finally.

“It’s as good as we can make it.”

With a nod, Morgan said, “This is where I want you to stay, Oryan, sitting here where both your people and Haerold can see you.”

“Most targeted spells can’t hit you from there to here,” Kyri said. “Distance dissipates them.”

“Reassuring. And I stay how long?” Oryan asked dryly.

Morgan looked at him evenly. “Until you need to. You’ll know when to lead the final charge, or when to come in to give inspiration.”

His gaze went to Gawain. “And the same to you. You’ll know the moment.”

For the first time, Gawain felt a flicker of fear.

Morgan saw it and glanced at Oryan.

“It’s about time,” Morgan said, with relief. “I wondered how long it would take.”

Oryan said, reassuringly, “You’ll be fine, Gawain. Just fine. Anyone who isn’t afraid before battle is a fool.”

Frowning, Gawain glanced from his father to Morgan.

“It’s true enough,” Morgan said. “Just don’t think about it if you can. The chance is there that you could die, you just determine that you won’t.”

“All right,” Kyri said, to lighten things. “Gawain, let’s make Haerold’s life and troops miserable. See the clouds there? Concentrate on them, start moving them from the south to where Haerold is, envision them going that way.”

Drawing power from the earth, she focused it on the clouds. “Like this.”

“How come you can’t do that all the time?” Gawain asked.

Puzzled, Kyri said, “What do you mean?”

“Um…” he turned a little pink and she had an instant visual of herself in chains that made her shiver a little.

“Iron, iron and stone,” Kyri said. “It’s the only drawback Fairy have. Cold iron negates our magic. Stone will dampen it. You, however, don’t have that limitation. One of the advantages of being human and a wizard.”

“I can’t fly, though.”

She grinned. “There’s that, everything in life balances.”

Morgan drilled them all endlessly, from morning to night, getting everyone in shape and used to endless marching. An all-day battle was what he tried to prepare them for and hoped they’d survive long enough to actually achieve that.

Once darkness fell they often found themselves in Oryan’s tent, talking, rehashing the battle plans until everyone was too tired to do anything but sleep. Almost everyone. Other times found them walking singly or in odd groups or pairs, around the campfires, talking to the troops – whether John’s, Jordan’s or Patraic’s, no group was spared a visit from the King or Prince, or both, always with an escort, usually with Morgan and Kyri and their own liege lord. The soldiers were free to ask questions or talk, hunkered down around the fire. The same was true for the Marshals, rebels and the Fair.

Settled around a brazier one night, mugs of wine in hand, they talked of Gwenifer to her son, telling the same stories they’d told on another night.

On other nights they simply told tall tales until everyone laughed. Especially Detrick. Reunited with Gaia, he seemed lighter than he had.

It rained on Haerold’s troops from the day after Kyri and Gawain had called it down on them, a cold steady drizzle that soaked everyone and everything and it continued to rain until they were mired, slogging through mud.

It did successfully slow their advance.

Messengers from Porter, Finn and the others indicated that there had been some desertions.

The day finally came when they had to leave, though, if they were to reach their chosen ground before Haerold.

Forming up before their individual troops, with Oryan, Gawain and Morgan at the lead, they rode out.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the air with a little of the bite of autumn. It would be cool, a little brisk and dry with all the dampness redirected south. Already, though, Kyri and Gawain had released the clouds. More came in from the west though, toward them, high thin cirrus clouds and cooler temperatures. Just as Morgan had wanted.

They reached the spot before nightfall and set up camp.

At the end of the day, with the tents set up Oryan dismissed his personal staff to do as they pleased, fight or stand aside. Most joined the army, taking their places around a fire somewhere, knowing that every hand with a sword was needed. Oryan couldn’t help but sigh. Only faithful Geoffrey remained at his side, a sword on his round hip.

Morgan stood with Kyri on the rise, his arms around her shoulders, her head turned slightly toward him, his cheek brushing her hair. It had grown almost all the way out again.

In the far distance they could see Haerold’s fires.

“I love you,” Morgan said quietly.

Her hands curled around his arms. “I love you, too.”

They walked back to their tent, stopping to greet friends.