Mindbender (62 page)

“I implore you, call in the constable and let us resolve these serious allegations properly—with evidence, a jury, and due process.” He hung his head in feigned sorrow as he finished his impassioned plea.

Alexander saw the colors of triumph and exhilaration wash over the Chancellor and also saw that many in the chamber were in agreement with him. Deception was the most dangerous weapon on the battlefield, even if no blood would ever be spilled. Cassius Ithilian was a masterful deceiver.

The room broke out in murmurings as the delegates began discussing what they had just heard. It took several moments for one of them to realize that no one had stepped forward to speak for the assembly. The delegate who took the initiative puffed up with self-importance before he spoke.

“Lord Abel, this is most irregular. I am inclined to agree with the Chancellor and I must request that his shackles be removed immediately. You of all people know we are governed by the rule of law and it must be obeyed by all. I move that the constable be summoned to investigate the charges that have been leveled here today.”

“I second,” another delegate said over the din of the crowd.

“All in favor?” the first said, followed by a chorus of “Aye!”

“All opposed?” he said. The room fell silent.

Abel looked a little worried. The assembly was playing into Cassius’s hands but Alexander didn’t care. He had known it would probably come to this and he welcomed the opportunity to make a demonstration.

As he approached the podium, Cassius gave him a look of triumph that faltered when he saw the golden anger glittering in his eyes. With a flinch, Cassius stepped aside and gave Alexander the floor.

He gazed across the gallery and took in the colors of the delegates. Most were corrupt or self-serving. All knew that the status quo protected them and any change to a different process of dispensing justice, especially against one of their own, would be a threat to their power, not to mention to their wealth and freedom.

Alexander knew that many in the room were political allies of the Chancellor and stood to lose influence themselves if the balance of power were altered. He didn’t care about their balance of power. The room grew silent under his withering glare. When the delegates started to fidget nervously, he began.

“Cassius Ithilian is a liar and a traitor. I know this because I have seen him associate with Prince Phane’s imp familiar. He provided the enemy information about our battle plans. Can I prove this to your satisfaction? No, but then you have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

“I know that he is a traitor because I have heard the account of his treachery offered by Wizard Petronius, who while under the influence of dark magic, colluded with Cassius Ithilian to facilitate an invasion of your homeland by a hostile enemy force. Would his testimony persuade you? No, but then your power is at stake in this matter.

“I know that he is a traitor because I have heard him confess his crimes. He admitted that he conspired to abduct Princess Evelyn. He admitted that he provided Phane with our battle plans. He revealed the participation of Wizard Petronius in the plot, leading us to summon and then kill Phane’s familiar. Would the corpse of the demon that Phane used to deliver orders to his agents all around the Seven Isles convince you of these allegations? No, but then you don’t want to be convinced.

“You are on trial here as much as Cassius Ithilian.”

One of the delegates started to object but Alexander silenced him with a challenging glare.

“You have all enjoyed wealth and privilege because of the offices you hold. You are all so desperate to maintain your hold on what power you have that you have forgotten your duty to serve the people. You claim fealty to the law and hold it up as sacred while you defile it in the shadows. You have forgotten that there is a law higher than the statutes that you pass to benefit some at the expense of others. You have willfully chosen to ignore the Old Law, to subvert it at every turn, to scorn the limitations on your power that the Old Law demands.”

Alexander withdrew the Sovereign Stone and let it fall against his tunic. It glowed with a soft, deep-red aura of power.

“This confers upon me the title of Sovereign of the Seven Isles, but that is not the title I call upon here as my authority to resolve this matter. I claim the title of Champion of the Old Law. I claim it because the Old Law must have a defender. I claim it because I don’t want power but it has been thrust upon me in spite of my wishes. I claim it because I see injustice rule and deceit reign and it makes me angry. I claim the title of Champion of the Old Law because no one else will, and there must be someone to stand for those most basic principles that underlie any civilization worthy of being called
civil
.

“Hear me now. Let it be known throughout the Seven Isles that all who choose to govern over others, all who choose to rule and all who claim any noble title are subject to my authority and my justice.”

With blinding speed he drew the Thinblade and lopped off Cassius Ithilian’s head in a single stroke.

The room gasped and then fell silent as Alexander pointed the bloody sword at the now terrified delegates. The Chancellor’s head rolled to a stop and blood began to pool around it, bright red in the fall of sunlight through the skylights as his body crumpled to the floor.

“You will obey the Old Law or I will take your heads. For those who seek power over others, you will face my justice and mine alone. You will have no trial. You will receive no jury. I will judge you and decide your punishment and my sentence will be final.”

He gave the room one last sweeping gaze, then turned and strode out without looking back. His friends trailed behind him along with Abel and his royal guard.

***

An hour later they were riding toward the Gate with Conner and his honor guard. Abel remained in the city to deal with the aftermath of Alexander’s actions. The assembly was shocked and frightened at the sudden turn of events. Many demanded that Alexander be brought to trial, but Abel dismissed their demands and instead established a board of inquiry composed of a number of wizards and several ranking officers from his army to investigate any further corruption within the assembly. Alexander’s aggressive approach had blunted any criticism and sent the delegates into a scramble to cover their own corruption.

Chapter 34

Alexander arrived at the Reishi Gate late in the afternoon just ahead of the two legions marching from Grafton Province. The Gate legions were busy making preparations for the assault into Ruatha. The soldiers in the encampment had been idle for so long that they were eager for the opportunity to fight. Alexander knew all too well that their enthusiasm would soon be dampened by the very real horror of war.

They were met at the Gate by a young officer who escorted them to their tents.

Alexander sat down to meditate and soon found his awareness floating on the firmament. He moved his focus to Ruatha. From high over the enemy position he assessed their defenses. They had constructed a stone wall in a semicircle around the front of the Gate, joined by a straight wall that ran just behind the Gate with a ramp on either end allowing access to the top of the wall. Atop the wall were several heavy ballistae and at least two hundred archers, all well stocked with arrows.

Alexander drifted in closer and saw that the ground enclosed by the front wall was covered with wooden stakes pounded in at an angle with their sharp points facing the Gate. Upon closer inspection he found that the points of the stakes were coated with dung and that the ground around the stakes was layered with several inches of oil-soaked straw. The entire Gate platform was haphazardly covered in boards riddled with six-inch nails pointing upward.

Outside the wall was a horde of twenty thousand soldiers. First heavy infantry, then a band of archers surrounded by the remaining soldiers, who were all facing outward. The entire position was encircled with a hastily constructed berm lined with wooden spikes and ringed by a trench.

Alexander shifted his focus high overhead and found the position of the Ruathan assault force not two miles away. They were camped with Blackstone Keep to their backs and still working to prepare for the battle to come.

Alexander next shifted his awareness into the Keep and looked at his message board. There was only one message: “We are ready to attack.” He moved to the sleeping room. His message was short: “Attack at dawn.”

When he opened his eyes, Chloe was sitting on his knee watching him and Jataan was standing several feet away, hands clasped behind his back. Alexander stood up and left the tent, trailed by Jataan. Jack caught up a few moments later as Alexander headed for the Gate.

“What’s happening?” Jack asked.

“I’m going to stir up the enemy,” Alexander said.

“Can I watch?” Jack asked with a broad smile.

Alexander just chuckled.

As he stopped at the Gate and stared at it for a long moment, several of Lieutenant Wyatt’s Rangers formed up around him. Tomorrow he would lead an army through the Gate into his homeland and begin the battle for the survival of Ruatha. For now, he just wanted to give the enemy something to worry about. The entire ancient gateway was made from black stone and consisted of a gently sloping platform thirty feet square with a wall jutting up from the side opposite the ramp. Cut into the stone wall was the outline of an archway. Etched into the right side of the outline was a map of the Seven Isles and an indentation in the form of the Glyph of the House of Reishi that exactly matched the butt of the Thinblade.

“Everyone stand to the side of the Gate,” Alexander ordered. “They’re probably going to send quite a few arrows through as soon as it opens.”

He took a torch from one of the Rangers and handed it to Jataan. “Stand here,” he said, motioning to the very edge of the arch, “and throw that torch through as soon as the Gate opens. Make sure you throw it hard enough to clear the stone platform.”

Jataan nodded and took his position. Alexander went to the opposite side of the Gate arch and looked to Jataan for confirmation before he touched the outline of Ruatha. A moment later the stone shimmered briefly and then disappeared, opening a passageway to Ruatha.

Jataan tossed the torch through.

Alexander waited for just a moment until he saw the oil-soaked straw ignite with a whoosh. He touched the straight bar etched into the Gate arch beneath the map of the Seven Isles. With a shimmer, the stone wall returned, closing the Gate.

“I doubt they’ll get much sleep tonight,” Jack said with a chuckle.

“Let’s hope not,” Alexander said. “We need to talk to General Brand about our strategy. We’re going to lose a lot of men trying to break through the wall they built around the Gate.”

“Perhaps we should capture the wall, rather than break through it,” Jataan suggested. “If we could get our archers onto the wall, we could do significant damage to the infantry beyond while risking few of our forces.”

“They still have a lot of archers within range of the Gate,” Alexander said. “Even if we take the wall, they can put more than enough arrows into the air to kill everyone on or inside the wall.”

“Mage Dax might be able to offer a solution,” Jack suggested. “I’ve spoken to Lieutenant Wyatt at length about his time here. He speaks highly of the mage.”

Alexander nodded. “Better go find him. We need a plan or tomorrow is going to be bloody.”

They found Mage Dax with Conner and General Brand along with a dozen other senior advisors and Lieutenant Wyatt in the command tents standing over a sketch map of northern Ruatha.

“Ah, Lord Reishi,” Conner said. “My messenger was quicker than I expected.”

Alexander shook his head. “I didn’t receive a message. I just came from the Gate. We need to develop a plan for the initial thrust into Ruatha.”

He stepped up to the map with Jack beside him. Jataan took up a position a step or two behind, watching the other officers for any sign of danger to his charge. Alexander took a piece of charcoal and quickly drew the wall and the positions of the enemy soldiers as well as the location of the Ruathan forces that were ready to attack.

“The area inside the wall has been prepared with spikes and oil-soaked straw. We just set it on fire, so the ground might be a bit less dangerous by tomorrow morning,” Alexander said. “The wall is lined with archers and ballistae. Once we take the wall, the archers surrounding the Gate are at perfect range to send a sustained barrage of arrows at us from all sides.

“Ruathan forces will attack at dawn and attempt to drive a wedge to the Gate, but they’ll meet heavy resistance, so we should view their attack as a distraction. We need a plan, and I’m open to suggestions since you know your capabilities better than I do.”

They debated their options late into the night, considering every possibility and exploring every option at their disposal. After an exhaustive evaluation of every imaginable plan, Alexander selected elements from a number of suggestions and formulated his battle strategy.