Darknesses (17 page)

“Aellyan
Edyss has at least some pteridons,” Alucius said evenly.

“Pteridons?
You expect me to believe that? They’re make-believe…mythical creatures…”

Alucius
shrugged. “All right. Edyss has something that routed the legions of Alustre
and killed the Praetor, and has the Lord-Protector worried enough to send five
companies of horse to support the Landarch of Deforya.”

“If
he’s that worried, why is he sending any companies at all…Oh…” Feran grimaced.
“Sander shit! Offspring of diseased rats…There’s only one company of Southern
Guards, and the rest are from the Iron Valleys.”

“We’ve
got heavier rifles, and he can get a report on what Edyss does, as well as get
rid of the best of the militia if Edyss isn’t a threat. Even if he is,
Lanachrona doesn’t lose that much.”

“All
because that fornicating bunch of traders in Dekhron never had the masculinity
to raise the tariffs to pay for the militia…”

“Aellyan
Edyss might be moving in our direction anyway, sooner or later.”

“But
we wouldn’t be the ones in front if it weren’t for those cowardly coin-lovers.”

“They’ve
sent two wagons full of cartridges for our rifles,” Alucius added. “I’d like to
see if we can work out at least some idea of target practice at something in
the air—maybe string a line between poles or trees and pull something along it.”

“You
really think…?” Feran looked hard at Alucius.

“Yes.
The majer does, too. He was assigned because he’s fairly smart, but arrogant
enough not to realize just how dangerous this task is. We’re supposed to see if
the pteridons are a real danger, reassure the Landarch that the Lord-Protector
is his ally, and, if at all possible, either kill the pteridons or discover
how.”

“They
don’t want much, do they?”

“You
said that you’d do anything to avoid going north to Eastice.” Alucius smiled.
“I’d say this qualifies as almost anything.”

“Next
time—if there is one—remind me that the cold isn’t so bad.” Feran shook his
head, with such an exaggerated expression that Alucius laughed.

After
a moment, so did Feran.

A
s
Majer Draspyr had predicted,
the other two Northern Guard companies
arrived late on Quinti, when the sun had touched the horizon to the west at the
end of a hot and dusty day. Alucius hurried out to meet them as they rode
through the gates of the road fort. He had hoped to meet Heald by himself, but the
majer was already there, along with Captain Clifyr.

Overcaptain
Heald reined up opposite the majer. He still had the deep dark circles under
his eyes, and his face was thinner than Alucius recalled.

“Majer,
Overcaptain Heald and Captain Koryt reporting.” Heald inclined his head.

“It’s
good to see you, Overcaptain,” Draspyr replied. “You made good time.”

“We
thought it best, sir,” Heald replied.

Draspyr
gestured toward Alucius. “I believe you may have met Overcaptain Alucius…”

“Indeed
I have,” Heald said warmly. “We served together at Soulend, and I’m very glad
to know we’ll be working together here.”

While
Heald’s words surprised Alucius, the warmth behind them surprised him even
more.

They
clearly surprised the majer, who paused before replying, “I am very glad to
know that.” After another moment of silence, he added, “After you get your men
settled, Overcaptain Heald, I’d like a few moments to brief you. In the
conference room here. Then, you and Overcaptain Alucius might want to discuss
anything you think useful. Tomorrow, we will be doing some joint maneuvers, and
we’ll set out on Septi. Captain Clifyr and his senior squad leader will show
you where your troopers will be quartered.”

“Yes,
sir.” Heald inclined his head, then looked directly at Alucius and smiled. “It
is good to see you.”

“You,
too,” Alucius replied, half-surprised that he meant it.

After
Heald had turned his mount and begun to direct Second Company, Draspyr looked
at Alucius. “You did not mention that you were friends.”

“We’ve
never spent much time together, sir, but we share mutual respect.” Alucius
didn’t feel that was stretching the truth too much.

“That’s
good. It’s useful in an effort like this will be.” Draspyr was both concerned
and pleased. That Alucius almost could have read without his Talent. “If you
will excuse me…”

“Of
course, sir.” With a nod, Alucius turned and walked back toward his own
quarters.

A
glass later, there was a knock on the door to the small room where Alucius was
reading the single history he had brought with him. He stood and opened the
door.

Heald
offered a friendly smile, if tentative. “Alucius…”

“It’s
good to see you,” Alucius replied. “I have to say I was surprised.”

“So
was I, but you’re where you belong. You should have been an officer from the
first.”

“I
don’t know that I would have learned what I needed if I had been,” Alucius
replied, closing the door behind the other.

“That
may be, but…it’s well that you are. Especially now.”

After
a moment of silence, Alucius asked, “How is Third Company?”

“There
aren’t too many troopers left that you knew. You were close to Kypler and
Velon, as I recall. Velon was mustered out last fall, and he was happy to get
back to his orchards and mill. Oliuf was wounded, and his leg was broken. He
was mustered out. He’ll always limp, but he’s all right otherwise.” Heald’s
face turned sober. “Young Kypler…he was killed in one of the last fights before
the Matrites pulled out of Soulend. I’m sorry.”

“I
appreciate your telling me.”

“Oh,
and they made Geran an undercaptain last fall. He’s in charge of Seventeenth
Company. He’s not too pleased that he’s being sent to the far north road
outpost they’re reopening. I saw him in Dekhron, and he sends his best.” Heald
paused. “Is it true that you wiped out an entire company of raiders last
winter, and then reduced two companies to less than two squads later in the
spring?”

“We
were fortunate.”

Heald
laughed, heartily. “You’ve told me that far too often. You make that kind of
luck, and it takes hard work.”

“Hard
work—and luck,” Alucius half agreed.

“That’s
what comes of being a herder.” The older overcaptain hesitated. “You were there
at Pyret. You know…Dysar made my life…less than pleasant.”

“He
never understood the situation you were in.” That was true, and Alucius had
thought that then, and even more as he’d considered the Soulend campaign in the
light of his own later experience.

“He
never understood anything except that the militia cost too much,” Heald said
bluntly.

Alucius
laughed.

“No
one talks much about it, but the story is that you got him so upset his heart
stopped.”

“I
did get him upset. That’s true. And his heart did stop.” Not for that reason,
but Alucius wasn’t about to say more. “He wanted to have us all executed for
desertion because we’d been captured or left for dead and didn’t have the
decency to commit suicide rather than wear a Matrite collar.”

“Those
as bad as they say?”

“Worse.
They quit working, and that was how we could escape. When they were working,
any officer could kill any man just by pulling on a little noose on her command
belt. If you attacked an officer, you died right there. If you tried to remove
the collar, you died, too.”

Heald
shuddered.

“We
were lucky that the collars stopped working, and we ripped them off before they
could get them working again. I don’t know if they did.” Not for sure, Alucius
thought to himself. “So we rode for home, and when we got there…and finally met
with Dysar and Colonel Clyon, I suggested to Dysar that, if he didn’t want to
treat us fairly, we’d have to seek other redress—like take refuge with the
herders.” That wasn’t quite correct, but close enough. “And then I suggested to
Colonel Clyon that after all the trouble we’d gone to—and all the silver
collars we’d brought back—that the Council would have trouble if we were treated
badly. He agreed.”

“And
Dysar couldn’t stand that thought?”

“He
couldn’t stand something,” Alucius said. “He turned red and fell out of the
saddle.”

“I’m
not surprised. He had a terrible temper.” Heald paused. “Anyway…after that,
things got better.”

“Until
the colonel got sick and died,” Alucius added.

“
If
he got sick.”

“We’ll
never know for certain,” Alucius pointed out.

“No,
we won’t. No matter what we think.” After a moment, Heald added, “Oh…and Koryt
won’t be a problem. He turned white when he heard you were here.” He laughed
again. “I asked him about you, and do you know what he said?”

“I
couldn’t even guess,” Alucius admitted.

“He
said that the Council had made a horrible mistake because they’d picked the
only officer in the militia who was meaner than a dustcat and tougher than a
sander.”

Alucius
couldn’t help but frown.

“Then
he said,” Heald went on, clearly enjoying himself, “that it was a mistake
because they clearly wanted to get rid of us all, and no one could get rid of
you. The Council, Dysar, the Matrial, and the Southern Guard had tried, and
they’d all failed.” The older overcaptain raised his eyebrows. “Is that true?”

“I
don’t know about the Council,” Alucius said slowly. “The others…well, I did
survive battles against all of them. I was fortunate.”

Heald
shook his head. “You use that word too much. I recall your first scouting
expedition. Somehow, three-quarters of a Matrite patrol died. Was that
fortune?” Heald grinned.

Alucius
shrugged. He certainly didn’t want to be thought of as a solution to
everything. “It probably was…but we won’t have that kind of luck against the
grassland nomads.”

Heald’s
face sobered. “I know that. I’ve got a good company in the Third. Feran’s
solid; everyone says so. Twenty-first Company is probably worth two, if not
more, and Koryt would charge one of those Matrite spear-throwers rather than
upset you.”

That
wasn’t necessarily good, Alucius reflected.

“If
you tell him to be cautious, he will be,” Heald said.

“You’ll
have to,” Alucius said. “Majer Draspyr has indicated that neither of us will be
considered senior to the other.”

Heald
nodded. “I’m not surprised. We both got promoted at the same time. That will
work.”

Alucius
hoped so. “Did the majer tell you about this Aellyan Edyss and his weapons?”

“The
pteridon bit? Yes. What do you think?”

“He’s
telling what he believes is the truth, and I can’t see any reason why the
Lord-Protector would deceive him about that. It also explains why we’re here.”

“We’re
considered expendable in the new and enlarged Lanachrona…and we’re used to
heavier rifles.”

“We’re
not used to shooting up, though. I was thinking about some target practice with
targets pulled along in the air…”

“You’d
have to have them move fast…”

The
discussion lasted for well over a glass.

T
he
northern high road
to the east was long—even longer than the midroad
from Iron Stem into the middle of Madrien. Even though the road fort at
Senelmyr was more than a hundred vingts east of Salaan, that left more than
four hundred vingts to Dereka. After nine days of riding, the companies were
just entering the foothills leading to the Upper Spine Mountains that formed
the natural barrier between Lanachrona and Deforya, although the actual border
was slightly to the east of the midpoint of the range.

Feran
and Alucius were riding together, at the head of the part of the column that
encompassed both the Twenty-first and Fifth Companies, at that point bringing
up the rear, just before the ten supply wagons. The gray eternastone pavement
was as unmarked by time as any high road, but dustier than most Alucius had
traveled, since there had been no rain along the road, perhaps not since the
turn of spring. Alucius and Feran, and many of the troopers, sneezed often.

Alucius
glanced at the dark stone peaks rising beyond the hills through which they
rode, peaks whose snow-tipped summits towered far above the road ahead,
straight as it was in its course through them. “I wish we’d had more time to
practice with the moving targets.”

“We
got the men to think about it. You should have seen the majer’s face. But he
didn’t say anything.”

“What
could he have said?” Alucius smiled, momentarily. “We still don’t know any more
than when we left Senelmyr.”

“Does
the majer know something he’s not telling us?”

“I
don’t think so.” Alucius lifted his water bottle and took a healthy swallow.
“His troopers are solid, but Longyl was asking around. They’ve all had
problems…good fighters, but they don’t do well when they’re not on duty. Heald
told me something like that last night, too.”

“So
what was the majer’s problem?”

“I’d
guess that he’s well enough placed that he can’t be dismissed, but not in the
Lord-Protector’s favor. Like the rest of us.”

“If
we succeed in learning something and surviving, all is well and good. If not,
well…the Lord-Protector has sacrificed five companies for his friend and ally,
the Landarch…Is that it?” Feran added quickly. “I’d say that’s charitable. It’s
probably worse than that, especially for you.”

“Me?”

Feran
eased his mount closer to Alucius. “You’re a herder. You’re more than a herder.
I’ve seen enough.” The older officer raised a hand to hold off any objection
Alucius might offer. “I’ve been around. Heard a few things, like the
Lord-Protector having folks with Talent who can use a strange mirror to find
out things. How else would they know to pick you?”

“Misfortune?
Mine?” suggested Alucius.

“It
might be, but don’t count on people thinking you’re just a young and simple
captain.”

“I
can try.” Alucius grinned.

“Try
all you want. I won’t say anything. I’ll take any advantage we can get. It’s
not going to be good.”

“No,”
Alucius agreed. “If our rifles are more useful against the pteridons—or
whatever the nomads have—then the Lord-Protector will have an excuse to throw
every militia—Northern Guard—company into the fight
if
the nomads head west.”

“Will
they head west, though?” asked Feran, as if he knew the answer.

“I
don’t think so. Not for a while. There’s a great advantage for them to take
Deforya, because they’d hold both passes and control all land trade to the
east, but I don’t see what they’d gain by attacking Lanachrona immediately.”

“This…expedition…smells
worse than a week-old carcass in midsummer. Do you have any ideas about how we
get out of this?”

“Outside
of defeating ten times our numbers and pteridons, or something just as bad…no.
Not yet, anyway.”

“Keep
thinking. You’re the bright one.” Feran forced a grin.

“Thank
you,” Alucius replied dryly.

“You’re
also the overcaptain. I’m just a mere captain, following orders, trying to do
his humble best.”

“You
could spread that a little thicker,” Alucius retorted humorously. “I’m not sure
how, but, if there’s a way…”

They
both laughed.