13 Day War (68 page)

“I apologize,” he said softly. “I should have sent arrows up to you.”

“You could not,” Rut-ki said with a slight smile. “I was too high in the tree. I used my arrows sparingly, targeting only the officers. I think it has helped to keep the enemy confused and without direction.”

“What does it look like from up there?”

“It does not look good,” she replied candidly. “The Zarans are hacking away at the abatis from all four sides, and there are not enough of us left to do much about it.”

Ly-fung nodded silently. He had seen the mounting bodies of his comrades in the area around him, but he had not been sure if it was the same throughout the protected area. He sighed with despair. Colonel Wu-sang had told them that they would not survive the battle, so Ly-fung could hardly complain about his coming death, but he had hoped that their stand would last more than just a few hours.

“What if we burned the abatis?” he asked. “Wouldn’t that stop the Zarans from overrunning us?”

Rut-ki shook her head. “The fire would consume us before it hurt the enemy. Besides, I have only one jar of fire glue left, and it would be needed to start such green wood burning. All we would accomplish is giving the Federation a doorway to walk through the abatis when the flames died out. Do not despair, Ly-fung. The Battle of Lizard Hill is not yet over. Until the enemy finds a way through the abatis, they have not won.”

“But you said that there were not enough of us left to stop them,” frowned Ly-fung. “How can it not be over then?”

Rut-ki smiled. “The sun is fading quickly. While the Federation might be tempted to continue hacking well into the night, I think they can be spooked into retreating until morning.”

“How?” asked the Lanoirian archer.

“While I have flown over the enemy before,” answered Rut-ki, “most of the Zarans have never seen a unicorn. The canopy was too thick yesterday when I dropped fire glue among them, but that is not the case here on Lizard Hill. With most of their officers dead, I think they might break ranks and run back to the safety of their column, but I must wait for it to be closer to sunset. The combination of the coming darkness and the strangeness of the unicorn must coincide.”

Ly-fung brightened and sat straight up. “Then I must replenish my arrows,” he said enthusiastically. “I must do my part to make them feel unwelcome up here.”

* * * *

“Ednor!” shouted General Kolling. “Get in here!”

The Baroukan colonel grimaced as the words reached his ears. He had been avoiding the general, but his luck had just run out. He turned and nodded in acknowledgement, but General Kolling had already turned to reenter the large command tent. Colonel Ednor turned back to watch the men of the 9
^th
Corps straggle towards the camp. He sighed with resignation and marched towards the tent. He entered the tent and hesitantly approached the table set up in the middle of it.

“Why are you just standing out there watching our men return from the battlefield?” scowled the general. “You should be sending them back into battle until the Lanoirians are wiped out.”

“The Lanoirians aren’t going anywhere,” the colonel said cautiously. “They will still be there in the morning, and our men need some rest.”

“Rest?” shouted General Kolling. “They are not paid to rest. They are paid to fight. Turn them around and send them back to the front.”

“They will not fight tonight,” retorted the colonel. “They might have stayed if it wasn’t for that unicorn flying over them, but they will not return to the battle now until the sun returns.”

“They don’t have a choice, Colonel,” snapped the general. “They are to follow orders just like everyone else. Gather the regiment commanders and tell them that I will hang the first one of them who refuses to lead his men back into battle.”

“That would leave you hanging me, General,” frowned Colonel Ednor. “I am the only regimental commander left alive. You don’t even have enough company commanders left to fill the ranks if you were to offer promotions. General, I do not mean to be argumentative, but your army is crippled. If you insist on having the Lanoirians attacked this night, I suggest you order the Aertans to do it. The 9
^th
Corps is in tatters.”

The scowl faded from the general’s face as the colonel’s words registered. He had heard reports of heavy losses, but he had not imagined that his officers had been decimated.

“How many men have we lost?” he asked softly.

“I am not sure yet,” answered the colonel, “but it will not be a number that pleases you. The trench was a ruse to get us to attack rather than bypass the Lanoirians. Their true defense was a ring of abatis atop Lizard Hill, and they are prepared to defend it to the very last man.”

“To stop us from reaching Ongchi,” scowled the general.

“Yes,” the colonel replied with a nod, “and they have succeeded in delaying us. Even if we managed to break through their defenses tonight, we would not be marching towards Ongchi before morning. My suggestion is to rest the men tonight and reform the army in the morning. I would then suggest that we bypass Lizard Hill completely. There can’t be more than a couple of hundred Lanoirians left behind their fortifications, and victory over them would be worthless. We should have bypassed them this afternoon.”

“Now you are teaching me strategy?” snapped the general.

“That is not my intent,” the colonel replied quickly. “Things are always clearer looking back on them. I am not judging the decisions made, but rather
 
trying to put things into perspective at this point. If you force me to send the men back to Lizard Hill tonight, they will desert, and I do not have the officers needed to stop them from doing that.”

General Kolling rose from his chair and bellowed, ”Desert? You and the rest of the cowards in Team Barouk sicken me. Get out of my sight!”

The colonel did not hesitate to take his leave. He saluted the general and immediately exited the tent. The guards posted outside the tent gave sympathetic nods to the colonel as he exited, but Ednor did not notice. He returned to the edge of the camp and directed the returning soldiers to make camp for the night. For several hours, he watched the stragglers filing into the camp. There were far less of them than he had hoped for, and he noticed that the men made their camp as far from the large command tent as they could. When an hour had passed with no returning soldiers, the colonel sighed and made his way to one of the fire rings to talk with the returning men to find out what had happened. As he walked across the wide expanse of emptiness around the large command tent, he became aware of how great their losses were. The 9
^th
Corps of the Empire of Barouk was but a shell of its former glory.

General Mobami, the Governor of Sordoa, sighed with frustration as he watched the Federation column march through the valley. He had been hoping to speak once again to General Barbone, but the Spinoan general had not even glanced in his direction, and the governor did not want to call too much attention to himself. The governor turned his horse and rode away from the column. A few minutes later, he rejoined his own men.

“Any luck?” asked Tedi.

“None,” sighed the governor. “General Barbone did not even glance in my direction. I fear that I will not get a chance to talk to him before the attack.”

“How far is it to the next valley?” asked Natia.

“A few minutes hard ride,” answered the governor. “Why do you ask?”

“I think we can draw enough attention to ensure that General Barbone notices you,” answered Natia.

“What are you planning?” Tedi asked, suspicion heavy in his voice.

“Nothing devious,” answered the gypsy princess. “I think our unicorns would catch the attention of the Federation column. If we merely flew overhead and landed in the next valley, General Barbone would be sure to notice.”

“That just might work,” brightened the governor. “It will take the Federation column about half an hour to cover the distance, but I can be in place much quicker. Give me time to get situated and then fly over the Spinoan general. Land near me so that he cannot possibly miss seeing me.”

“I am going with you,” Tedi asserted as he stared at his wife.

“Afraid that I might run off with a Zaran officer?” quipped Natia.

“Afraid that you might poison the entire column,” laughed Tedi. The gypsy prince grew serious and continued, “You might attract more attention than you want, Natia. My staff can even the odds a great deal if we find some overanxious Zarans coming towards us.”

“I have always enjoyed your company,” smiled Natia. “We will travel together.”

General Mobami laughed at the light-hearted banter and rode away. Tedi and Natia leisurely checked their weapons and then mounted their unicorns. At first they flew north, opposite the flow of the Federation column, and out of sight of the Zarans. When they felt enough time had passed, they rose higher in the sky and banked to the east. When they saw the Federation column marching along the Coastal Highway, they banked again and headed south directly over the column. Shouts rang out among the soldiers below, and the commotion rippled forward through the column. Soon soldiers ahead of the unicorns were turning around to gape at the flying creatures.

Natia had anticipated the Zarans shooting arrows up at the unicorns, and she had chosen an altitude that she thought was safe, but she need not have bothered. None of the Federation soldiers even strung their bows. They merely stared up in wonder and pointed.

“There is General Barbone,” Tedi commented.

“I see him,” replied Natia. “Let’s slow down so he sees us bank into the valley.”

Far below, General Barbone gazed up at the unicorns. He remembered seeing similar creatures the night that the black-cloaks died, and a shiver raced up his spine. He watched anxiously as the creatures flew overhead and then banked into the next valley. When he reached the valley, he gazed towards the west and saw the unicorns on the ground. He also saw the now familiar Governor of Sordoa. The bald-headed Sordoan sat on his horse staring at the column, just as he had earlier in the day. The invitation to talk was obvious, but the presence of the riders on the unicorns concerned the general. He moved out of the column and sat staring at the three figures at the far end of the valley. Before he could make up his mind about chancing a meeting with the governor, Colonel Pineta appeared at his side.

“What do you make of that?” asked the colonel.

“The bald one is General Mobami,” answered General Barbone. “I believe he wishes to talk, but I do not know the other two.”

“He is showing no flag of truce,” remarked the colonel. “Besides, why would he want to talk to just you? Shouldn’t he be talking to General Omirro?”

“He has already spoken to General Omirro,” replied General Barbone. “Omirro threatened him while under a flag of truce.”

After a moment of silence, the colonel said, “If you are thinking of going over there to talk to the governor, I will be going with you. I do not trust the Sordoans to treat you fairly.”

The colonel’s offer tipped the general’s decision towards the meeting. He nodded in acceptance of the colonel’s offer and started riding towards the western end of the valley. The colonel rode by his side. The two Zarans halted before the three Alceans, but said nothing in greeting.

“You asked for proof, General Barbone,” opened General Mobami as he untied a sack from his saddle and tossed it on the ground before the general’s horse. “I said that I would deliver it.”

Colonel Pineta looked at his general questioningly, and Barbone nodded towards the sack. The colonel dismounted and walked to the sack. He opened it and gasped.

“What is it?” General Barbone asked impatiently.

The colonel pulled out the head of General Ritka and held it up for General Barbone to see. The general merely nodded and looked up at Governor Mobami.

“What about Gattas and Montero?” asked General Barbone.

Governor Mobami untied two more sacks and tossed them towards the colonel. The colonel opened each in turn and held up the heads of the deceased generals. General Barbone sighed and nodded.

“You have proved the worth of your words,” he stated, “but that doesn’t change anything. General Omirro is the leader of Team Caldar. You must make your demands to him.”

“And I shall,” replied Governor Mobami, “but Omirro has a hard head. It will take more than the proof of my words to sway him. It will take a great deal of bloodshed as well. I am trying to save the lives of your men, Barbone. I wish you had as much concern for them as I do.”

“Do not lecture me on my responsibilities, Governor,” retorted the general. “I still do not believe that you would treat my men as well as you say. In fact, I see your ploy for what it is. You wish to split Team Caldar in two to make it easier to fight against. I will not betray my country to make it easy for you.”

“Ertak is hardly your country,” interjected Tedi. “And if you meant the Federation when you spoke, that is hardly your country, either. Spino is treated as a lesser member of the Federation. Even Queen Samir understands that.”

“What could you possibly know about Queen Samir and how she feels about anything?” snarled General Barbone. “Do not play childish games with me.”

“Actually,” smiled Tedi, “I have spent time in Queen Samir’s sitting room with Natia. We sold her that huge diamond that she enjoys showing off.”

“Plus the DeCardia figurines,” grinned Natia. “Don’t forget them.”

General Barbone frowned as he looked from Natia to Tedi and back to Natia again. “Just who are you people?”

“I am Tedi and this is Natia,” answered Tedi. “We are Knights of Alcea, but we are known as merchants in Zara.”

“Knights of Alcea?” echoed the colonel.

“The Knights of Alcea speak for King Arik,” explained Governor Mobami. “They are authorized to act in his behalf.”

General Barbone raised an eyebrow. He had indeed heard about the queen’s large diamond, and he knew people who had purchased DeCardia figurines from the queen, but he could not imagine that the two people before him had actually been to Valdo.