Swords of the Imperium (Dark Fantasy Novel) (The Polaris Chronicles Book 2) (12 page)

Aslatiel tugged at the heels of his gloves. “We must make haste. Word of our battle will spread quickly, and the rebels will pull up roots the moment they hear the smugglers have been captured. Move out.”

“Oh, Emreis,” Lucatiel said. She placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder just as he was about to step out. “I…I apologize.”

Draco flinched. “You, er, what?”

“Until now, I thought you to be delicate and lacking in conviction. A preening beauty unsuited to the rigors of war. But after witnessing your true brutality, you have my lasting respect.”

“Oh!” Draco chuckled weakly. “I don’t know whether I should be mortified or scared or pleased.”

“
Pick the third one, moron,
” Hadassah said.

“Shush! I mean yes! Yes, I’m pleased! I accept your apology and such,” Draco said with a sweeping, awkward bow.

“I expect great things from you in the future,” Lucatiel said with a smile before leaving to make ready.

Taki’s jaw dropped slightly. “What the hell did he do to the man? Do I even want to know?”

“I’ve interrogated a lot of people,” Elsa said, “but this was like nothing I ever saw before.”

“He sat down in front of the man like this,” Hadassah said, miming a bow-legged seat on a stool. “He pulled a knife and just stared at the prisoner for a while. And then, he took a potato and just started silently peeling it. When he was done, he just started on another. Had the rest of us start a fire and find some cooking oil.”

“And all this time, he does nothing but stare at the guy and peel,” Elsa said. “Not that I’m flirting with you or anything, but that gave me shivers, Emreis.”

A frown crossed Mikhail’s features but dissolved quickly.

Elsa continued: “About a half bell later, the prisoner broke down and told us everything. Where Mandate of Heaven is based. How many of them there are. Even that they were intending to use that manticore for a siege of the Potala.”

Taki shook his head. “I still don’t understand, but I guess I missed out on something. What’ll happen to those men now?”

“Smuggling carries a five-year sentence,” Elsa said. “Knowingly aiding rebels and foreign aggressors can get you ten. You can reduce your sentence if you agree to join a liberation army or row for the navy. It’s a rough life, either way, but fair, considering what they’ve done.”

“So what gets you splattered?” Hadassah asked.

“The usual. Rebellion, rape, desertion, various murders. It’s all done with one rifle shot to the head and another to the heart. The first padishah outlawed all other methods. I hear you Argeads did things like having horses tears limbs off and boiling in oil. Totally medieval.”

“But don’t some crimes deserve a bit more suffering than that?” Hadassah frowned. “If someone killed my child, I’d want him to roast in his own juices. Then I’d eat him, because nothing says ‘fuck you’ like eating your enemy.”

“But who decides what deserves certain punishments? Besides, all that gory stuff makes you crazy to look at overlong.”

“Perhaps they should just make you padishah, Dassa,” Karma quipped. Hadassah nodded solemnly and then pinched him hard on the arm.

For the tenth time that day, the Lhasa battalion not only had failed to mimic the basic maneuvers of a pike phalanx but had also tangled the long shafts so badly that two of the troops had been trampled and needed to be sent to the infirmary. Marching on Gyantse Dzong by the end of the week was looking less possible by the day. With a wave of her baton, Lotte signaled for the formation to halt.

Taki’s throat burned. He’d run himself hoarse barking out commands all afternoon, and his feet ached from constantly flitting in and out of the phalanx to correct their errors. His head also throbbed from one too many impacts of errant pike shafts. He was beginning to suspect that some of those hits had been deliberate, though the garrisoners only had bemused smiles for him. All in all, he had become much less enamoured of his title as a line officer.
Because if this is all there is to it, I was better off as a mere grunt.

“Natalis!” Lotte shouted. “Get up here!”

She’s pissed,
Taki thought, and cringed. He knew that the blame for the men’s failure to drill would fall on him.
Godrotting peasants! Why can’t they just do shit right?
He trudged over to the podium, where Lotte fumed and Aslatiel stood silent and grave.

“It’s hopeless,” Lotte growled. “If the enemy goes for a push of steel, our side will get massacred.”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Taki huffed.

“Shush, Natalis. I didn’t call you up here to speak.”

Aslatiel was impassive. “Can
any
of them drill to your satisfaction?”

“Precious few, and only with good line support. Perhaps enough for
one
square, and a small one at that. The rest, I wouldn’t trust to march in formation even if I threatened to string up their mothers. We have to think of something else.”

“What do you suggest?”

Lotte narrowed her eyes to slits and scanned the awkwardly positioned men and women. “I know we were given enough to equip several tercio, but these people simply
won’t
fight like one. They’re skirmishers and horsemen at heart…” She trailed off.

“Continue. Please,” Aslatiel said.

“We should ditch the heavy armor for all but the actual pikemen. Let the rest wear their usual cottons and leathers, because they need the mobility. Use the surplus equipment in trade with the local merchants to exchange for more horses, muskets, and even bows and arrows if we have to. The bulk of our forces should be either mounted light cavalry or skirmishers who can harass their flanks and retreat quickly if needed.”

“And if the rebels deploy heavy cannon?”

“Then it’ll be up to our squads to stop them. We’ll need to have everyone mobile and ready to take down any that crop up.”

Aslatiel nodded. “Then we will do as you say. I’ll talk with the rector. Hopefully we can complete the barter in less than two days.” He made as if to leave.

“Wait, Imperial,” Lotte said. “Are you sure about following me blindly on this?”

“We’re running out of time, so we have little choice. I received word from the magistrate at Gangtok that a handful of the prisoners escaped. If they make contact with the rebels, then we’re out of luck. And I also trust you. You have much greater experience with field maneuvers than I, and you have a gift for discerning the character of your troops.”

“Oh,” Lotte said. “By the by, do you remember much from our battle in Pristina?”

“I do.”

“I insulted you then.”

“What of it?”

“I’m not sorry for it, of course. But perhaps I disparaged you too much.”

Aslatiel smiled. “We are both warriors. Your taunts did not cost me any sleep, but…I appreciate your sentiments. And I would like for you to call me Aslatiel. We are peers and fellows in arms.”

“Fine, I’ll call you Aslatiel. I suppose in fairness you can call me by my name, too.”

“Do you still distrust me?”

“A little. Old habit, I guess. You know, I was once an archangel of the Temple. We prayed every day for the death of your people.”

“Do you still wish for that?”

“I’m not an archangel anymore. I prayed, and no one answered. So it’s a little hard to throw myself behind your Way or your padishah.”

“You were a worthy opponent and now are a worthy ally. That’s all I could ask for.”

“Right,” Lotte said, and clenched her jaw.

“I’ll be off, then,” Aslatiel said. With his characteristic efficiency of movement, he turned and left.

Lotte marched over to Taki and shook him by the shoulders. Despair was written on her features. “I didn’t expect it to go that way!” She threw up her hands.

Taki stared back, dumbfounded. “With all due respect, Captain, it sounds like you…got your way. Why do you look so flustered?”

“I’m not flustered!
I’m angry!”

“But he agreed to your suggestions.”

“And that’s what pisses me off! And the fact that he was so civil about it and listened respectfully. I wanted to crush his gob!”

Taki gasped for air, as she was now clutching him by the collar of his jerkin. “Captain…did you need me for anything?”

“I wanted your support, damn you. For when he inevitably tried to belittle me.”

Taki swallowed. “But he was right. You
are
a fine warrior. The finest I’ve ever served.”

To his surprise, Lotte’s cheeks reddened for a moment. She let him go and turned away. “Go dismiss the men. See that they put their pikes away properly this time. Then make sure the rest of the squad’s not just dithering away.”

“What should I have them do?”

“Something. Anything! Just leave.”

Much to Taki’s great lack of surprise, the majority of his squad was nowhere to be seen, save for Hadassah, who appeared to be lounging in the shade. One glance from her, though, and Taki decided against ordering her to some menial task. Instead, he simply sat down nearby her on the same bench and rested his head on the ramshackle table before him. Irulan sat across from the two Polaris, hard at work on sharpening her blades.

“You know, I thought Aslatiel von Halcon had the world’s biggest stick up his ass when I first saw him,” Hadassah said. “But in reality, he’s a total gigolo. All ‘I trust you, and you have a gift.’ How utterly shameless! But then again, Lotte needs to get laid more than any of the rest of us, so it’s cool.”

“He’s not trying to flirt with her,
”
Irulan said. “It’s just that Asl—the oberleutnant is earnest, and he gives praise where praise is due.” She whisked the blade of her rope dart against a sharpening stone, but her distraction made her furl the edge.

“I see. So how long have you been sleeping with him?” Hadassah winked conspiratorially.

“Don’t be rude,” Irulan sniffed. “We’re intelligent, powerful women. Probably the most powerful warriors in the world. We can talk about something
other
than men.”

“And what do you wish to discuss that doesn’t involve dongs?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you why you insist on wearing a dress at all times. Isn’t it a bit cold up here in the mountains?”

“It’s a code.” Hadassah said. “Deuteronomy forbids me to wear pants, just like Natalis and Draco can’t wear skirts, though they’d look super cute in them.”

“But leggings are better for mobility and comfort, especially in our trade.”

“When wearing a dress, people can’t foresee your movements as much in a fight. Also, it’s also a matter of modesty. My fine legs can’t be shown to any old asshole, just like my hair shouldn’t be seen by anyone but my husband.”

“You’re not married, though.”

“Maybe I just like wearing a hat?”

“Are you sure it’s not to hide animal ears?”

“I’ll bite you.”

“Sorry, it was a bad jest.”

“Oh, it’s fine. People have said my vagina has fangs and that I drink the blood of babies. Compared to that, I actually don’t mind when people ask me about this stuff.”

What, you don’t have a vagina dentata and drink blood?
Taki huffed to himself, but decided against actually saying anything.

“So do you eschew pork as well?” Irulan asked.

“No, because
you
try turning your nose up at old bacon grease when you’re starving in some shithole fortress trying not to get screwed sideways by Templars.”

Irulan shuddered. “Ugh, Templars. Those
things
are creepy. Do you think the rumors are true? That they’re made of the sewn-together parts of other people?”

“That’s what Draco said. Though I never got to check, because the only time I had a downed one in front of me, I couldn’t pry his armor off. There were a ton of landsknecht after me too, so it’s not like I could rig something up to do the job. Still, it just didn’t look human at all. Not what I was able to see.”

“After we’ve crushed the rebels here, we’ll probably be facing Templars in battle.” Irulan shook her head. “I’ve seen a few before, from afar. They filled me with a really loathsome feeling. I wish I could be totally fearless about it, like Lucatiel.”

“Speaking of the Prince, do you also have a cool title?” Hadassah asked, eyes widening.

Irulan laughed and shook her head. “No, that’s only Lucatiel. I wasn’t in Alfa when she earned it.”

“What did she do? I must know!”

“You should ask her.”

Hadassah slapped the table. “I tried, and she won’t tell me. She just acts all demure and shit. It pisses me off.”

“She’s a modest person. She doesn’t like to brag.”

“Just tell me what happened so I can get a title before Draco does.”

Irulan looked around first, as if to rule out an eavesdropping. “All right. The story is that she was tired of the slow progress of the siege on Hisn al Akrad. It was a brutal fight, with lots of wounded on both sides. She walked up to the gates and demanded to challenge the fortress commander to a duel. The Shah of Halab, who held the fort, looked over the walls and shouted that he’d commit various obscenities on her body, to which she responded: ‘But it is
I
who will be raping
you
! Prepare your anus, shitlord!’”