13 Day War (36 page)

“We can’t answer that,” Jenneva replied. “K’san certainly had powers that we were unprepared for, and I think the Claws of Alutar are far more powerful than the priests. Certainly Fakir Aziz thought so, and I would never disregard his thoughts.”

“The irritability that has swept this city is certainly not something that we expect to see from the citizens of Tagaret,” mused the queen. “I am willing to entertain the thought that someone could be using spells to accomplish this, but to what end?”

“Chaos,” answered Alex. “It is bad enough that this plague has forced us to confront General Bledsoe with only four-thousand men instead of ten-thousand, but to have the entire city in turmoil cripples us. Without proper armies to go against Bledsoe and then Fortella, we will have forty-thousand enemy soldiers sieging Tagaret. When that happens, we will need every able-bodied citizen helping us to defend the city.”

“It is a clever plan,” conceded the king. “Do you suppose the irritability and the plague are coming from the same source?”

Tanya’s eyebrow rose. “That is a possibility that I had not considered, but it might be worth pursuing. I just came from the infirmary. There are puzzles there that concern me. Jenneva and I have already started discussing the magic portion of that puzzle, but there was a sergeant sent to the infirmary just before I left. He had just come down with the plague, but he also just attacked his superior officer. I now wonder if it might make sense to see how many of the plague patients have also been uncharacteristically irritable. There might be a connection.”

“Two different symptoms from the same spell?” retorted Jenneva. “That is highly unlikely.”

“It might be unlikely,” countered the king, “but I think it is worth investigating. Tanya, why don’t you convene a meeting of the advisors and divvy up this new work among them? I do not think I can face them right now.”

“I think you need to, Arik,” stated Alex. “I know it may be embarrassing, but you need them to know that it was not you speaking this morning. We cannot afford to have dissention in our ranks.”

“He’s right, Arik,” agreed Tanya. “Tell them that you were affected by a spell and that we are looking into it. You need the council firmly behind you at this time.”

“Very well,” sighed King Arik. “I probably also need to address the citizens, too. It is long past time for them to be informed of what is facing us.”

“No,” Alex said curtly. “I do not think that is wise just yet.”

“Why not?” frowned the king.

“I am not sure,” admitted Alex, “but my gut screams every time you mention addressing the people. I tried to tell myself that I was merely concerned that you might act as you did this morning in the library, but I can now see that you have returned to your former self. Yet my gut still screams at the thought of you exposing yourself to danger. I cannot explain it any better than that.”

Arik, Tanya, and Jenneva glanced at one another, but it was the king who spoke. “Your battle instincts are enough to sway my mind, Alex, but we need to inform the people that the Crown is not ignoring their plight. Find a way for me to address them that pleases your gut, and I will hold off on public appearances for now.”

Alex nodded. “Jenneva said that Balamor has been summoned to the palace. As he is a master of illusions, I think he may be the answer. He certainly has an amazing ability for presenting something that is not there, no matter how complex the image might be.”

“That is a good idea,” agreed Jenneva. “He can spend some time with Arik as the king addresses the people in private. Balamor can then recreate that image at any place in the city, and no one will suspect that the king is not there in person.”

“Agreed,” stated the king. “Let’s get the advisors together so we don’t waste any more time than necessary.”

“Tedi’s father might not answer the call,” warned Alex. “He had tried to resign this morning. That is when you attacked him.”

“Then let me put on a pair of slippers,” the king responded. “I will personally go to Alan right now and beg his forgiveness. He deserves as much.”

* * * *

General Somma’s command tent was slightly smaller than General Franz’s tent, but it was still large. Colonel Rotti searched it again, afraid that his superior officer’s body was curled up in one of the corners. The colonel was not anxious to broadcast his concern for the general, but he had run out of options. He stepped outside the tent and addressed the guards stationed there.

“Did you see General Somma leave this tent?” Colonel Rotti asked.

“No, Colonel,” answered one of the guards. “No one has entered or left the tent except you in the last two hours.”

Colonel Rotti nodded and walked away. He knew that the guards had been changed two hours ago, so further questioning would get him no additional information. He was tempted to wander around the camp again, but the encampment was huge. The general could be almost anywhere, and the colonel would not find him. Rotti was worried. After two days of riding alongside that huge lake, General Somma had appeared ashen, and Rotti was sure that the general was not sleeping well. Although he agreed with most that Somma was not fit to be a general, Rotti liked the man. He was just in over his head. He knew there was a story behind Somma’s ascension, but the colonel did not have the nerve to ask the general about it. Colonel Rotti sighed anxiously and kicked the dirt in frustration. A murmured complaint reached his ears, and the colonel looked and saw that he had kicked dirt at a sleeping soldier. He apologized and decided to move towards the camp’s perimeter.

As he approached the northern perimeter of the camp, one of the colonel’s men called to him. The moon was bright and the colonel recognized the man. He walked towards him.

“Anything going on out there?” asked the colonel.

“Not a thing stirring,” Colonel,” answered the perimeter guard, “but I am a bit concerned about the general.”

Colonel Rotti’s eyes widened. “Why are you concerned about the general?”

“He left the camp,” answered the guard, “and he has been gone for hours. I offered to provide him with a protective detail, but he refused. He should have been back a long time ago.”

“Which direction did he go?” asked the colonel.

“Towards the river,” answered the guard.

“Towards the river?” the colonel echoed with alarm. “Are you sure?”

The guard merely nodded.

“I am going out to look for him,” stated the colonel, “and no, I do not want a detail, either. In fact, do not tell anyone else that either of us is outside the perimeter.”

The guard nodded silently and moved the barricade aside so that the colonel could pass through it. Colonel Rotti walked slowly, not wanting to miss any sign of the general’s path. Thankfully the moon was bright, and visibility was excellent. After just a few minutes of walking, he saw the general sitting on the riverbank. The colonel’s face clouded with confusion as the riverbank was absolutely the last place that Rotti would have looked for the general. He walked silently towards the river and quietly sat down next to General Somma. The general hardly noticed him.

“You had me worried, General,” Colonel Rotti said softly. “What are you doing down here?”

General Somma’s hands were shaking with fear. He tried to hide them by gripping his legs, but that action only made his legs quiver as well.

“I don’t know what I am doing here,” quaked the general. “To tell you the truth, I do not belong here, especially in this uniform. I am not a general, Rotti. Everyone knows that, even you, but you at least have not mocked me, at least not to my face.”

“Nor behind your back,” declared the colonel, “but that is not what I meant when I asked why you were here. I meant, what are you doing on the riverbank? I know that you fear the water. Why torture yourself like this?”

“I have suffered a great deal of humiliation because of my fear of water,” the general explained, “but no one has ever treated me as cruelly as Franz. That man takes great delight in seeing me quiver. Several times a day he orders me to the riverbank just to watch me cower. I want to kill him.”

Rotti’s eyes widened in surprise. General Somma had just uttered a treasonous speech, but what surprised the colonel was the raw hatred expressed. He had never heard Somma speak ill of anyone.

“That would not be a good career move,” the colonel quipped, hoping to bring a bit of levity into the conversation to lift the general’s spirits.

“Career?” scoffed the general. “Do you really think there is any higher position suited for me? I should not even be a general, and I wouldn’t be if Queen Samir had not demanded it.”

“Why did she demand it?” asked the colonel.

“Two reasons,” frowned Somma. “The position brought prestige to my family, and the queen was able to extract a healthy fee from my father for promoting me, but the true reason was to punish another officer. He was a talented officer, and he demanded to be promoted. He was also the queen’s lover. She felt he had exceeded his bounds and was taking too much for granted. She squashed his large ego by promoting the most unlikely candidate instead of him. Now you know the quality of the man you serve under. Are you disappointed?”

“No,” answered the colonel. “I have never thought of you as a great general, but I have recognized a good man within you. You are just ill-suited to this life. That does not make you worthless in my eyes. It merely means that you need to follow the path that appeals to your talents instead of one chosen by the queen.”

“You are a good man, Rotti,” replied the general. “I have known that from the start. That is why you are my favored colonel. It is you who should be wearing this uniform, not me.”

“You still haven’t answered my first question,” the colonel said. “Why are you sitting on this riverbank? Shouldn’t we go back to camp and talk inside the tent?”

“No.” The general shook his head vigorously. “I am here to conquer my fears. I cannot take any more of Franz’s bullying. If I cannot walk away from this river without fear then I deserve to die here.” The colonel did not know how to respond, and the general continued talking. “For the past two days, I survived by hoping that the Alceans might kill Franz for me, but look at this dam. Have you ever seen a more pitiful excuse for a dam? If this is the best the Alceans can do, there is not a chance in this world of Franz dying.”

Colonel Rotti glanced at the massive dam. There was truth to Somma’s words. The dam was crude in every sense of the word. It had not been so obvious when they were looking at it from the lake side of the dam, but on this side, the evidence was hard to miss. The dam was constructed of crudely cut trees, and they were stacked in what looked to be a haphazard manner. Still, the colonel reasoned, it did a fairly decent job of keeping the water contained behind it, and that is all it was supposed to do. The bright moonlight illuminated what appeared to be a chain coming from the bottom of the dam. The colonel stared at it and wondered what it was for, but a nearby splash tore him from his musings. He whirled around and saw General Somma standing in the water. He leaped into the water and took hold of the general.

“You do not need to do this, General,” the colonel said soothingly. “You need not prove anything to Franz or anyone else. Your fear is not of your own making. Do not torture yourself over it. You let me handle General Franz.”

Twerp shot down through the trees, his tiny eyes glanced around the dim clearing. He saw Wylan sitting up with his back against a tree, and he shrieked with delight. He darted towards the Knight of Alcea and landed on Wylan’s raised knee.

“You are alive!” the fairy chirped rapidly as he jumped up and down on Wylan’s knee. “I thought I had lost you. I made it to the Rider’s Rest and sent the fairy there on to Tagaret for help, but they forgot about me. I was stranded in the inn until just now. Forgive me for not being here.”

“Slow down, little man,” Wylan replied, the barest of smiles upon his lips. “There is nothing to forgive you for. Your tireless efforts brought the best healers a man could wish for. I owe my life to your efforts.”

“Yet you do not seem very happy,” frowned Twerp as he gazed around the clearing in the predawn dimness.

Twerp saw Wesik lying on his side, the sleeping bodies of Zalaharic and Podil near the unicorn. Zalaharic was stirring, as if the fairy’s excitement had awoken him. Nearby, Sinora lay on the ground, two other unicorns standing above her. At the other side of the clearing, Sheri’s body lay in isolation. The fairy noticed Wylan gazing at his former mate.

“I guess I should be thrilled to be alive,” Wylan said softly, “but I feel nothing but sadness in my heart. I am happy that Sinora and Wesik have survived, but I cannot imagine life without Sheri. I would gladly trade places with her. She has always been the one with joy in her heart.”

Tears came unbidden to Twerp’s eyes, and he abruptly turned away from Wylan so that the Knight of Alcea would not see his weakness. He need not have bothered. Wylan’s own tears began streaming down his face as if merely talking about Sheri brought fresh pain to his heart.

“Tears are good for washing the eyes,” Zalaharic said softly as he gently shook Podil and then rose to his feet, “but they can also blur your vision.”

Wylan blinked at the words. The Knight of Alcea was not sure if the elven healer was stating another of his wise platitudes, or if he was issuing a warning to Wylan about his extremely sensitive eyes. Zalaharic had cured Wylan’s blindness after the Battle of Watling Flats, but the cure had left the Knight of Alcea with very sensitive eyes. Wylan usually wore eye patches with tiny holes cut in them to minimize the amount of light that reached his eyes.

“You are wanted in Tagaret,” Twerp said to Zalaharic. “There is a plague running rampant through the city. You are to return there immediately.”

Zalaharic frowned as Podil rose and moved to his side.

“What are we to do with our patients?” asked Zalaharic. “We cannot just leave them here in the forest. That is unacceptable.”

“Wesik is strong enough to walk now,” answered Podil, “and Wylan can ride Sinora. They can make it to Caldar.”