Wall of Spears (38 page)

‘Is this some sort of jest? Have you been drinking?’ Sendatsu accused, taking a step forwards.

‘Truly, we have a child. We rescued her in the retreat, for the elves would have killed her along with the others. We need a safe place for her tomorrow.’ The man in the centre took a pace forwards and held out his arms, opening the bundle to reveal a sleeping child.

Asami pulled Sendatsu back. ‘Whatever else this is, they do indeed have a child,’ she whispered.

‘This could be some sort of trap,’ he hissed back.

‘With just three of them?’

‘If you don’t want her, can you show us to the Velsh fires? We’ll be noticed soon, and then they’ll probably flog us and put us in the front rank tomorrow,’ the man with the child said urgently.

That was enough for Asami. She strode forwards, eluding Sendatsu’s despairing grab, and reached out for the child.

The man handed her over a little reluctantly.

‘Her name is Hild. I think there is still a little left in her milk bladder,’ he said.

Asami looked into his face, imagining she could see caring eyes in the hard, scarred face. He also stared at her.

‘Do I know you?’ he asked.

‘I don’t think so.’

‘I have the strangest feeling we met somewhere. But I am sure I would remember your voice. Anyway, thank you for looking after Hild.’

‘You did the right thing. We will keep her safe tomorrow,’ she promised.

‘What is your name, so I can find you tomorrow after the battle, to get her back?’

‘Asami.’

‘I am Sergeant Caelin and this is Harald and Ruttyn. If we live, we will come to get her back. If not, then please take her to Dunholm. We said we’d try to meet the girl’s mother there, if she survived.’

Asami ignored Sendatsu, who was hovering behind her, glaring at the Forlish.

‘I will look for you tomorrow, try to keep you safe with my magic,’ she promised.

‘And when you get to Dunholm, if you could perhaps see your way to putting a spell on my wife’s mother —’ one of the soldiers began, before the other jabbed him in the ribs to silence him.

The one called Caelin reached out a thick finger and gently brushed the little girl’s hair. ‘She will be afraid when she wakes. She likes singing,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Take care of her.’

And then the three of them faded back away into the shadows, Caelin moving so fast that, for a moment, Asami wondered if she had imagined it all. But the weight of the child in her arms put paid to that thought.

‘What was that about? And why did you agree to lend your magic to three ordinary soldiers?’ Sendatsu asked. ‘I thought you were going to be lucky to last through the battle as it was?’

Asami looked down at the sleeping girl and smiled. ‘I thought you’d ask why I agreed to take this girl.’

Sendatsu chuckled. ‘That would be foolish. I know what a powerful spell sleeping children can cast on you. Awake, and crying, that is a different matter. But a sleeping little girl — I was ready to take her myself, if you did not. Mai would love a little sister.’

‘But what about the real mother?’

Sendatsu reached over and tucked the rough blanket over the little girl. ‘Do you think Sumiko would have left any alive behind her? Mercy has not been one of her many qualities.’

‘Then she is all alone in the world, unless I can keep those soldiers alive.’

‘Probably. But how can you keep an eye on three ordinary men, when there will be so much to do, so many to protect?’

‘Because they are not ordinary. They risked everything to save a small child, then to bring her to safety, in the face of death. It gives me hope for the Forlish.’

‘I never doubted them. If they can produce Rhiannon, then they are certainly not all like Ward. Just as we are not all like Sumiko or Jaken.’

Asami hefted Hild in her arms.

‘Time to go back,’ she suggested. ‘I don’t think this night can bring any more surprises.’

Sendatsu laughed. ‘Don’t say things like that! You know something even stranger will happen now!’

Ward woke up early, as he often did. Years of struggling with a bladder that screamed it was full but then refused to be emptied saw to that, even though he had enjoyed a much better time of it since the elves had healed him. He lay there on the camp bed, looking at the roof of the tent, and was reminded of his younger years, when he had forged an empire from nothing. It was easy to imagine this day would be the next step to greatness.

Beside him, Mildrith stirred and mumbled, reaching out for him. He felt her hair brush across his chest and, again, it made him think of the past. They had not shared a bed for years but he had found her waiting in his tent last night, wearing only a light robe. Without speaking she had kissed him. He had thought about sending her away — if he wanted a woman he only had to order a young one sent to his bed. But then he realised he no longer wanted someone in his bed who was motivated only by fear.

Ward had found it incredibly liberating not to be worrying about the way his muscles no longer rippled whenever he moved, about all the grey hairs and the way he could not last long any more. It reminded him that there was more to a bed partner than soft skin and bright eyes. It was almost like the first days, when he had burned for his young queen and never imagined they would grow apart. But while it was pleasant to lie there, he had other things to do that day. He kissed Mildrith’s head, stretched and rose. Before he had a chance to do more than yawn and scratch himself, a pair of servants rushed forwards with a robe, clothes and a plate of food.

‘Food first, then I shall dress. I want my armour, and have my castellan meet me here as soon as I have finished.’

‘Yes, sire.’ They bowed and hurried to obey. He sat down at the table and began to eat: soft, fresh bread, eggs and cheese, all of them brought out from the city before dawn, ready for him.

‘My lord, I am pleased to see you on this day.’ Mildrith rose and pulled her robe around herself.

‘Sit. Eat with me,’ he ordered. ‘Did you sleep well?’

‘Better than I have in years,’ she said with a warm smile, reaching out to hold his hand. ‘I asked Wilfrid to break his fast with us this morning, so we could eat as a family.’

‘A good idea.’ Ward smiled, turning as Wilfrid was led in by a servant. ‘Sit, my boy. Eat. How did you sleep?’

‘I slept very well, Father,’ Wilfrid replied, helping himself to bread and eggs.

‘I could never sleep before a battle. Afterwards I would sleep like the dead themselves. But before — never. I always imagined what could go wrong. In the early days, when I knew most of the men in the army, I even worried about who would make it through alive.’

‘Things are very different now,’ Mildrith said, crumbling a piece of cheese between her fingers.

‘Yes, they are,’ Ward said quietly.

‘We cannot lose, Father. If the Velsh hold off the elven magic, then our soldiers cannot be beaten.’ Wilfrid stuffed a huge chunk of bread and egg into his mouth.

Ward watched the egg yolk dribble down his son’s chin and glanced at Mildrith.

‘He is eager to prove himself to you,’ Mildrith said.

‘Keep your men in hand, follow my orders and fight with your head, not your heart. That is all you need to do.’ Ward took another bite of bread but his appetite was no longer there. ‘I must dress.’

He slipped behind a partition in the tent, where his servants waited with his armour. First came a soft leather jerkin, then the mail vest: hundreds of overlapping iron rings all polished to a silver brightness, backed by a harder leather vest. Over that came the forearm protectors, etched in swirling patterns; the gloves with iron plates sewn onto the back of each finger but made so carefully that he could clench his fist and not have them touch. His tall boots had iron strips in them to protect his feet and ankles and knees. They strapped a steel cup across his groin. ‘Not that I really need that any more,’ he grunted.

The servants worked on in silence, handing him a tall helm with a burnished wolf crest on the top, then buckling on his sword belt and a second belt for a dagger. These weapons were handed to him and he inspected them carefully, testing their razor-sharp edges before allowing the servants to slip them into the scabbards. He rolled his neck to either side, feeling the weight of the helm, much more than the usual crown.

‘I am ready,’ he said.

The servants bowed and he strode out to see Wilfrid finishing the last of the cheese.

‘Are you ready? We go to mark out our positions now,’ he snapped.

Wilfrid jumped up, his mouth still full.

‘I will meet you there in a moment,’ he said as he ran out.

‘He is still young. He lost track of time,’ Mildrith said hastily.

Ward could not look at her. ‘You could have reminded him that there are more important things at stake today than his stomach!’

‘But you always said it is better to fight on a full stomach, that a hungry army is ready for defeat. Please, do not be too harsh on him. He wants so much to impress you.’

Ward sighed. ‘Deeds are far better than words.’

‘And he will show you today.’

Ward forced a smile onto his face. ‘We shall see you afterwards,’ he said.

She rushed over to him, kissed him, pressing herself against his armoured body.

‘Keep him safe, and both of you return to me,’ she begged. ‘Promise me.’

He stroked her hair. ‘I swear it,’ he said lightly, but realised he truly meant it. The thought of not protecting Wilfrid turned his stomach.

She held him for a moment longer, then stepped back, letting him walk out to where the castellan, Edmund, Wulf and his captains waited with a score of marshals, each marshal carrying a small banner of one of his regiments. Servants held horses for them all but Ward had to be the first to mount up. By the time the others had all clambered into the saddle, Wilfrid had come rushing back, his armour thrown hastily on, cramming a helm onto his head, a servant running behind with his sword. Ward pretended not to see him as he led the marshals out to the battlefield.

Around him the camp was coming to life, sergeants waking up the laggards. Men were eating heartily and hurriedly, shovelling down eggs, meat and bread as fast as it could be brought up from the firepits.

‘Make sure we have enough water,’ Ward said. ‘It will be hot work today.’ One of the marshals rode away at that order, handing his staff to another.

The sky was clouded over, although not with the dark grey that hinted at rain. Ward led the way across to the right, trying to judge the space they would need for the infantry, and how much space would suit the cavalry.

‘Captain Wilfrid’s cavalry wing here,’ he ordered, and the marshals for those regiments rode out, marking where all would form up.

He then began riding back, signalling where he wanted the infantry regiments, finishing out on the left, with Wulf’s cavalry, leaving the last of the marshals there.

Accompanied only by the captains, the castellan and his last son, he rode back towards the centre.

‘Anyone see anything I missed?’ he inquired.

‘The Velsh Magic-weavers and their guards. Where do you want them, sire?’ Edmund asked.

Ward nodded. ‘Of course. I want them in the centre, where they will be out of danger and where I can get to them if they cause me trouble.’

‘I shall see to it, sire,’ the castellan said.

‘Good. Let the men eat and then move them up. There is no rush. The elves are nowhere in sight.’

‘Make sure our warriors eat well. Double rations for them all,’ Sumiko ordered.

‘But, sensei, we will barely have any food left after that,’ Oroku warned.

‘That does not matter. We shall destroy the Forlish army and then eat their food.’

‘But what if —’

‘They will face us and die. There is no other possibility.’ She wondered if Jaken would do this but shrugged to herself. He was dead and she needed her warriors to be strong for the battle. ‘And make sure all the Magic-weavers eat until they are fit to burst. We shall need them tomorrow. Their first act is to gather in as many birds as they can find and then send them at the humans. We shall see if Asami and Rhiannon are able to stop us then.’ She smiled to herself at the thought. The humans would be full of bravado. Today they would learn who their real master was.

Sendatsu, Gaibun and Asami joined the Velsh in lining up behind the powerful Forlish army. Most of the attention was on the Forlish child that Asami had collected. She was being looked after by the female Magic-weavers, who were taking turns to pass her around. The child wanted the Forlish sergeant back and they had to use a little magic to soothe her.

The Forlish were all sitting or lying down, the cavalry dozing underneath their horses. There were cavalry patrols two miles down the road, as well as flung out far to either flank and they expected that would give them the first warning of the elves.

Ward, accompanied by Captain Edmund, had ridden over to see them and confirm they were ready to protect the Forlish from anything the elves might try. He had looked magnificent in his armour, while none of the Velsh wore anything more protective than a tunic.

‘Will the elves seek to kill you? Or will we be seen as the bigger threat?’ he asked.

‘You will be, at first. But when we stop them, they will look to us. Sumiko has tried, and failed, several times to kill us all,’ Huw replied.

‘Then keep back. If the elves get close, I will have a company stand over you with shields. But I would prefer to keep them in the line.’

‘We can also protect ourselves,’ Huw said.

‘No doubt. But better safe than sorry, eh? We will let you know when the elves are sighted.’

He had ridden away then.

Huw sniffed. ‘A company of men, eh? So they can cut us down when the Elfarans are fleeing.’

‘It is a good idea. A company is no threat to us,’ Sendatsu said mildly. ‘And the Elfarans will not flee easily.’

‘We’ll see when they get here.’

But nothing happened for turns of the hourglass. The cloud prevented them seeing the sun but all guessed it had climbed almost all the way to noon without a sign of the Elfarans. Above them, a dozen eagles flew casually in loops, kept there by a pair of Velsh Magic-weavers, in case Sumiko sent birds to spy on them.

Then Asami saw a different cloud, a dark, forbidding shape flying towards them. She pointed. ‘What is that?’

Others looked, not just the Velsh but the closest Forlish as well.

‘That’s no cloud. There is not enough wind to move anything that fast,’ Sendatsu said.

‘Prepare yourselves!’ Rhiannon cried.

The Velsh jumped to their feet, their actions alerting the nearby Forlish, although the rest of them slumbered on, not caring about what happened over their heads.

Within a few heartbeats, it became obvious this was not a cloud but a flock of birds, moving purposefully together.

‘We’re going to need more eagles,’ Sendatsu said grimly.

At a signal from the Velsh, the eagles soared across to dive into the flock of birds — but they proved to be not mild-mannered pigeons and the like but instead birds of prey, big ravens and crows, all ready to fight back.

The eagles were swallowed up by the flock and the screeches and cries and dead bodies falling out of the air made even the sleepiest soldier sit up. The fight could only go one way and the flock flew on, sweeping down across the top of the soldiers, forcing them to duck and raise their shields. On the flanks, the horses had to be held tight as birds swooped low at their eyes.

‘Break in — send them away!’ Rhiannon cried.

Wherever she looked, birds stopped swooping and turned and flew away. But for many of the Velsh Magic-weavers, breaking the hold of another Magic-weaver was not so easy.

‘The bird’s mind is in there — find it and set it free!’ Rhiannon shouted, as dozens of birds still looped and dived down at the Forlish. ‘Protect the horses first!’

Asami was already concentrating on the ones on the left flank. It took a few moments to lock onto an individual bird, then a few more to flick another mind from inside its head, like scooping an oyster from its shell. But there were scores of birds and she could only do so much.

Ward raced over on his horse, helm jammed tight on his head, a pair of guards flanking him, holding shields over his head.

‘I thought you were going to protect us!’ he roared.

‘We are.’ Huw pointed to where the last few birds threatening the horses were soaring away as fast as their wings could carry them. ‘Without us, your horses would be running for their stables even now.’

Ward looked back to where his soldiers still ducked and swore, shields held over their heads.

‘But what about the rest of my men?’

‘Can take care of themselves for a little longer, unlike your cavalry. But we will have them swept away soon,’ Huw promised.

With both Rhiannon and Asami helping, and the Velsh becoming better at freeing the birds with each attempt, the last of the birds were sent away and nervous soldiers put down their shields and looked around.

‘I thought you would provide us with a magical barrier of protection,’ Ward growled.

‘It is not that simple. We will defeat their attempts to stop you with magic but it will not be easy,’ Rhiannon told him.

‘Then what good is that?’

‘Would you rather we called all those birds back and had them start tearing out the eyes of your horses, Lord King?’ Rhiannon asked sharply.

Ward glared at her but merely nodded before saying, ‘Work faster next time.’

Huw stepped forwards to have his say, only for Sendatsu to hold him back. Before Huw could step around or protest, shouts came from the Forlish lines and Edmund trotted over to join them.