Parno's Destiny: The Black Sheep of Soulan: Book Two (37 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

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Callens paced back and forth near the fire, his back to his tent. He and his men had been on site for a week with no word from either Prince Therron or Princess Sherron. He shook his head slightly at his own foolishness in obeying her orders to start with. Now here he was, having led his men in what even the most generous soul would see as treason, with no one to answer to for his actions other than himself.

Not for the first time he cursed his affliction for Sherron McLeod. Damn the woman. If not for her he wouldn't be in this mess. He shook his head again, angry now at himself.

He was in this mess because of his own weakness and nothing else. Again he had the thought that if any of his men were so besot with a woman he'd have long ago gotten rid of them, and this was why. A man addled by a woman was a risk to himself and his fellows, and he'd just proven that be-

“Colonel, the pickets have apprehended a rider,” one of his company commanders interrupted his train of thought. “He claims to be a servant of Her Ladyship.”

“Bring him,” Callens ordered briskly. Perhaps he was about to get some answers after all. Minutes later he was looking at the same rider he'd seen two weeks earlier, though this time looking dirty and disheveled.

“Well?” Callens demanded when the man looked at him.

“Her Ladyship appears to have been detained, Colonel, along with most of her staff,” the man reported. “I observed this from just outside their reach. I cannot confirm that the Princess herself is actual being held, but my fellows have all been detained by Royal Constables inside the Palace.” Callens felt a cold finger trace down his spine at this report.

“So we're discovered then?” he demanded, taking a step forward.

“I do not know,” the man admitted reluctantly. “I know only what I've reported. I cannot ascertain where Prince Therron is, either. It is being circulated throughout the Palace and the city that he is ill, and has been sent South for his health, but. . .that covers a lot of territory. I've found no one that can tell me where he might be. If he truly is ill, then that should narrow-”

“He isn't,” Callens cut the man off. “He's been removed from his place because of his popularity, and that of Her Ladyship.” He watched the man carefully, but all he got in return was a nod.

“I assumed as much,” the servant replied.

“Did you see Her Ladyship at all?” Callens demanded. “In custody I mean?” he clarified.

“No, Colonel. I did not.”

“Probably in her suite, then,” Callens said thoughtfully. “We need to get her out. Do you think you could get myself and some of my men inside the Palace?” he asked.

“I can,” the man said at once. “Fairly easily.”

The faintest glimmer of a plan began to form in Callens' mind. He motioned toward his tent.

“Join me,” he ordered. “We have a great deal to talk about.”

*****

“What are you doing?”

Stephanie turned to see Winnie Hubel standing behind her, watching as one of the soldiers assigned to her escort loaded her bags into the ambulance she used as a transport.

“I'm. . .I'm taking a trip,” Stephanie told her haltingly, resisting the urge to fan away her blush. “What are you doing?”

“Watching you squirm,” Winnie teased. “Where are you going?” she asked more seriously.

“Just. . .off and away for a few days, that's all,” Stephanie waved the question away as if it were a bird or a bug.

“You're going west to see Parno,” Winnie accused. “That's why your doctor's bag is going,” she pointed to the large cowhide bag with Stephanie's initials on it waiting to be loaded.

“I always carry that,” Stephanie reminded her. “And I haven't been to see my family since I got here. I'm caught up in my duties and classes are out until the next batch of students show up. . .and why am I explaining myself to you?” she caught herself finally.

“Probably because of the guilt,” Winnie replied in a conspirator's whisper.

“Guilt!” Stephanie sputtered. “What guilt?”

“About going against Lord Parno's wishes and visiting him at the front, of course,” Winnie replied at once. “I don't blame you for feeling guilty. After all,” she batted her eyes, “you're bound to be a distraction. Right?”

Stephanie felt her face go redder, though she hadn't thought that possible. This had seemed like such a wonderful idea yesterday. Head for Nasil with visiting family as the pretense, then, well since she was so close to the front, no reason not to pop over and inspect the hospital there, make sure everything was up to caliber for Parno- the Kingdom's soldiers. And if she happened to see Parno while doing her inspection, well it surely wouldn't hurt to spend an evening in his company before resuming her trip.

“Fine, you caught me,” she admitted, losing her pretense. “Yes. If I can get there, I'm going to visit. First to inspect the hospital, though. Once that's finished, then if I can see him, I intend to, even if it's just for dinner. Satisfied?”

“I wouldn't think Colonel Leman would let you go,” Winnie remarked, to which Stephanie snorted.

“I do not answer to Colonel Leman, missy,” she replied in a near huff. “For that matter, I don't answer to anyone here.”

“Must be nice,” Winnie sighed, leaning against the carriage. “How long do you think you'll be gone?” she asked suddenly, eyes growing bright. Stephanie looked at her for a moment before grinning suddenly.

“Ten days, perhaps, counting travel time,” she answered. “Be a nice vacation, I suppose,” she added.

“Sure would,” Winnie nodded, looking off into the distance. Stephanie knew that look, having had it herself more than once.

“How long have you been here, Winnie?” she asked suddenly. The girl looked back to her.

“A year, I guess,” she shrugged. “I stopped keeping up with it a while back. One day is like any other around here, most of the time.”

“You haven't left the post that whole time?” Stephanie asked. “Gone to visit your family?”

“Papa is the only family I have,” Winnie said, her voice even. “There's nowhere to go, really.”

Stephanie made a decision suddenly.

“Pack your things,” she ordered the younger woman. “Gather your things and get back here in an hour. I'll see Colonel Leman and make sure he knows where you're going and that it's all right.”

“Really?” Winnie looked like a small girl for a moment. “How will you do that?” she asked.

“I'll pull rank,” Stephanie grinned. “Hurry now,” she shooed the girl away. “I want to be on the road soon enough we can get off the mountain before dark.”

Winnie ran away without another word, heading to the small house she shared with her father when he was present on post. Stephanie watched her go, then steeled herself for a trip to see Colonel Leman.

She did hope he'd listen to reason. She hated to pull rank.

*****

Parno watched the setting sun sink slowly behind a distant tree line, his mind racing ahead to consider his options. He didn't really have many.

Truthfully he didn't have any at the moment. While recent events had been good, the timing wasn't the best. He had several thousand trained men coming north to bolster the army and give him the strength he needed to try and launch a counter-attack, but they weren't here now. Wouldn't arrive for ten days or more. And while he had no real proof of it, his instincts were screaming at him that he didn't have ten days. He was almost certain that he could expect the Imperial Army to come calling with the return of the sun.

He had three infantry divisions, two of which had suffered heavy losses in the fighting to date, along with two mounted infantry divisions in support. One of those had also suffered losses in the retreat to this point, leaving him only two intact divisions on line while the others were hovering at just over half strength for the most part. Those losses had been made good, to a point, with the addition of militia units, but those units were not near the caliber of the men they were trying to replace. Still, it was better than nothing.

He also had four cavalry divisions, the three that had been involved in his own attack a few weeks prior plus the one on loan from Raines command. All three of Davies' divisions had suffered losses in the earlier action, and Parno had taken Beaumont's brigade from one of them. For that matter he had attached a mounted infantry brigade to Beaumont's command as well, which took their strength from his main lines. For a second he wondered if he'd done the right thing with that effort, but shook off the thought almost as soon as it had formed. Right or wrong, it was done now so there was no point in rehashing it.

He had known the Nor would attack again sooner or later. He'd given them two sharp surprises that had bought him time, but that couldn't last forever. In all honesty he was a bit surprised that it had taken them this long to get back on line. He had to assume that the length of the delay had been used to strengthen the Imperial Army and close up the weak areas that Parno had already exploited.

There were two full battalions of artillery armed with Roda Finn's 'gadgets', ready to pummel the attacking Nor with fire and iron. The others would use traditional shot and pitch to supplement that fire. There were also nearly one thousand mines ready, with half of them already deployed for use. And two full battalions of longbowmen armed with the Hubel arrows would also help disrupt the Nor attack plan.

But this wasn't the Gap. He did not have terrain on his side here as he had there. He could be flanked if he wasn't careful. The odds were far better here than he had faced at the Gap, but he had a lot more ground he had to cover. And his command had to survive this time. He could not afford to sacrifice the army the same way he'd been forced to plan sacrificing himself and his men at the Gap. There were no reinforcements close enough to catch the surviving Nor as they pressed southward should he fail or fall.

The army had to hold here. Period. They had to stand strong and prevail until Herrick and Freeman arrived with their Corps. Once they were here, Parno planned to take them and the cavalry he hoped to preserve during the coming battle and strike north, attempting to drive the Imperial Army back as far as possible. With luck he could push them all the way back to the Ohi. If he could trap them against the river, so much the better. There might be an opportunity to destroy them with their backs to the water.

And that would leave the north wide open to invasion. He would marshal his armies and strike into northern territory, destroying anything he could and leaving ruin in his wake. If he showed the Nor the horrors that the southern kingdom had been forced to endure, then perhaps the people there would resist future efforts to strike south for fear of reprisal. And Parno planned to create a buffer zone of Imperial territory controlled by the Soulan Army that would protect their home against future invasion efforts. They would have to fight through their own nation and people just to get to his.

If he couldn't manage to destroy the Imperial government completely. He had been very careful not to reveal all of his intention in the brief glimpses he'd given others of his plans, but Parno had every intention, should he find it possible, to conquer the north completely and bring it under Soulanie rule. There would be no more Imperial invasions because there would be no more Imperial anything if he managed to get his way.

But all of that was for the future. For the present, he had to make sure that the Soulan Army survived the coming battle and threw back the Imperial attack. After that was done, then he could start thinking about how he would conquer the north once and for all.

*****

General Wilson slipped away from his headquarters before sunset to ride the length of his lines, accompanied by his aide and three men as an escort. He didn't let anyone know he was going and kept a low profile to avoid any fuss over his presence. He wanted to see his men and get an idea of how they were faring on the eve of battle.

Until the cavalry attack a few weeks prior the Imperial Army had had things pretty much their own way for the most part. Yes, they had suffered losses, but time after time they had forced the vaunted Soulan Army to give ground. Something no other Imperial force in recent or recorded memory could honestly lay claim to.

Since that cavalry attack however, things had stalled. They had suffered heavy losses in that battle and the men's confidence had been shaken. Add to that the increasing strain on the supply efforts and the drain of manpower that had caused, and you had a recipe for poor morale and slipping attitudes.

Wilson needed to get things back on track and do it quickly. In order to make that happen, he needed a victory. A major victory. A decisive victory. He needed his army to deliver for him.

He quietly made sure that his men were being well cared for, receiving hot food and rest. They would be awakened around one in the morning to begin preparations and forming ranks. By four in the morning they would be on line, preparing to move forward.

By sunrise they would be in battle.

Guard posts were being manned by men from the reserve Corps, unassigned regiments replacing the normal standing guard so that everyone would be well rested. He hoped not to need his reserve units in the coming battle, but if he did they would have to make do. His combat units had to be rested and ready.