The Devil's Deuce (The Barrier War) (19 page)

Danner listened to Gerard’s stream of thoughts and wondered
at the man’s ability to piece so many things together and plan so quickly.
Within moments, he’d shaped several training exercises to gauge the fighting
and stealth abilities of the denarae and was working through possible scenarios
to enact based on the results of those exercises. He discussed his plans with
them and used their feedback to sculpt and refine his plans. Having so recently
completed their own training, they were able to tell him how they would react
to the techniques he wanted to employ, and Trebor was able to give him input on
how his people would likely respond to Gerard’s methods.

“Sir, you have to remember they won’t react to things like
most humans would,” Trebor said patiently. “Trying to manipulate them into
thinking or reacting one way won’t work, because they can look into your mind
and see what you’re really after. They can tell when you’re mad because you’ve
had a bad day or when you’re just acting to make them work a little harder to
avoid your wrath. They won’t be fooled by a false show of anger or surprise,
and false praise and unjust condemnations will only turn them against you in
ways you don’t want. You have to realize that most of them will be able to know
your thoughts almost as soon as you do, and those who don’t have that ability
will just be told by the ones who do. There will be no secrets, no tricks, and
no pretenses.”

“So up-front honesty and clarity will be the rule of the
day, eh?” Gerard said. “Well, I’ve never been one to back down from a
challenge, and I’m sure as bloody Hell not going to start now. I’ve been
wanting something new to spice up the training process anyway.”

- 2 -

They met and planned for the rest of the Sabbatha, then
waited for
Onday
morning before they left to meet
with the denarae troops. The seven of them gathered at dawn inside the front
gates to the Prism chapterhouse and rode out together. Gerard rode Sabor, a
thick-bodied, vicious-looking red dakkan, and even in its runner form Danner
couldn’t help but compare it with the demon he’d seen months ago on the road
from Demar. The rest of them rode in
Faldergash’s
buggy, which the gnome had decided to lend them on a more or less permanent
basis. Danner had protested the gnome’s decision at first, but Faldergash had
cheerfully announced his plans to construct another, better buggy for himself.

The new paladins had been fitted for platemail armor, which
the Prism would provide them as soon as possible, but for the time being they
wore only new, leather armor that had been easier to obtain. Their cloaks
billowed out behind them in the wind, and Danner felt an intense surge of pride
as he appeared in public for the first time as a full paladin in the Prismatic
Order. The sights and sensations of the city had gained a new vitality, and he
looked on with a new feeling of confidence as he sat behind the wheel of the
buggy. He glanced over and saw that Marc was sitting a bit straighter than
usual, and Flasch’s chest was puffed up slightly.

“You noticed it too, eh?”
Trebor kythed to Danner.

“Can’t really blame
them,”
Danner replied.

“Them?”

“Okay, us.”
Danner couldn’t keep a hint of worry out
of his mental voice.

“Danner, you don’t
have to tiptoe around me,”
Trebor kythed, his mental voice calm and
reassuring.
“I’m happier than you can
imagine that the five of you made it as paladins. It’s not your fault that I’m
not wearing a cloak, too. I’ll find some other way to make my dreams come true.
Don’t worry about it.”

Despite Trebor’s words, Danner knew his friend would still
feel a twinge of pain every now and then just seeing them in their cloaks and
armor. But if Trebor could ignore it, Danner resolved that he could too, if
only to prevent things from becoming awkward between them all.

Danner steered the buggy and followed Gerard through the
streets toward the east gate of Nocka. Following the fiery-red Sabor was easy.
The few people they passed on the streets practically leapt out of the way of
the mean-looking beast. Danner hid a smile as he thought perhaps Gerard was
even more vicious looking than his mount, and it was
him
the people were
avoiding rather than the dakkan.

They reached the gates and were immediately waved through;
Danner noticed two of the guards staring with thinly disguised hostility at
Trebor, who was ignoring them. Danner stayed silent, and the seven of them rode
into the early morning sun bathing the grassy plains with a baptism of light.
Danner squinted against the brilliant yellow orb rising directly in front of
them, and he nearly ran over
Sabor’s
tail when the
dakkan suddenly stopped in front of him. Danner swerved to the side and pulled
up beside Gerard as if he’d been planning all along to do just that.

He glanced up once at the Red paladin, then followed his
gaze to the north and east. On a series of low hills was a large encampment,
far enough away that those just waking up were little larger than Danner’s fingernails.
The morning fog still lingered on the ground, creeping ever steadily back
toward the distant trees. Gray tendrils of mist wrapped through and around the
encampment, then gradually they released their hold like a creature of fog
reluctantly yielding its prey.

“That’s them,” Trebor said needlessly. “How are you planning
on handling this, sir?” he asked. It had already been agreed that Trebor would
not invade the privacy of Gerard’s mind without either prior permission or else
what Gerard called a “bloody damn good reason.”

“As I said before, Trebor,” Gerard said. “Plain honesty is
what you suggested, so that’s what I’ll give them. If you will do the honors of
announcing our imminent arrival.”

As they started forward again, Trebor kythed a mental warning
to everyone who could hear him. By the time they arrived at the camp, three
hundred gray-skinned denarae had assembled in a loose formation on an open
expanse of grass a dozen yards from the nearest tent. There was a general stir
at the sight of Gerard on his dakkan followed by the buggy full of young
paladins. There was even some surprise over the sight of Trebor arriving in
such company; either some denarae hadn’t gotten the complete message or else
they hadn’t entirely believed it.

For a moment, no one spoke. Danner wasn’t sure what the
protocol was in situations like this, so he wasn’t sure if Gerard was waiting
for something or just testing them. As it turned out, neither was true. Gerard
was turning his own thoughts toward the group of denarae as his first step of
establishing his authority. A few seconds later, Trebor included Danner and the
others in the mental broadcast Gerard was giving the denarae.

“I know many of you
can hear me,”
Gerard was saying mentally.
“If you would be so good as to pass this message on to those who
cannot, I think we can proceed with at least the beginnings of trust and
openness.”

He waited a moment to be sure everyone had received the
message, then Gerard called loudly, “Now, are there any doubts that I know
something of your people?” His booming voice carried even to the denarae
farthest away in the crowd.

No one answered. The faces staring back at him were hostile
and stiff as though affronted at his knowledge. A few ugly stares were even
directed toward Trebor as the presumed source of that information.

 “As many of you have no doubt already discovered,”
Gerard continued, “my name is Gerard Morningham, paladin of the Red Facet, and
I have been given the task of creating a military unit from you who have
volunteered. I want there to be no misunderstandings between us. I do not like
denarae any more or less than I like my fellow humans, and I don’t give a damn
whether you like humans or hold some deep racial grudge against us for whatever
wrongs you perceive have been done against you.”

He paused for a moment. Danner meanwhile was barely
maintaining a straight face. Whatever he’d expected Gerard to say to the
denarae, this certainly was not it.

Gerard went on. “I know you can discover the truth from me
as easy as breathing, so I will be as honest as I know how. I did not ask for
this position, nor would I have chosen it had it been offered to me, at least
not perhaps until recently. I don’t care about your history, and I don’t care
about your people.” He paused again, and took the time to scan the entire crowd
of assembled denarae. Gerard gauged their reactions from their facial
expressions, some of which were incredulous while others bordered on naked
hatred.

“But I do care about
you
,” he said, his voice losing
none of its accustomed harshness. “I care that every one of you trains to be a
valuable part of this unit, and I’m going to train and use you toward that end,
for the protection of this city and by extension the entire world. I care that
each of you fulfills the potential within you, and I care that each of you
survives every day you’re in my charge a little more easily than you survived
the day before. I will not play games with you. Everything I do will be toward
the purpose of building this command as the most God-awfully lethal fighting
force the world has ever seen. You will all be trained and crafted as warriors
in
my
deadly image, and I swear to God Himself I will push all of you to
your breaking point and haul you back again stronger than you were before, then
push you right back out again. If a single damned one of you thinks I’m too
bloody awful, you can get your cursed hide out of my unit and haul your
ash-dark ass back to your mommy and ask her to milk you up some courage. You’ll
be doing nothing that either I haven’t done before or won’t be doing with you,
and you’re allowed to fail only after I do.

“Does anyone have any questions?”

The silence now was more stunned than expectant, and Danner
looked at the assembled denarae apprehensively. Many wore stony expressions,
some were shocked, and others were nearly murderous as they stared at Gerard.
Surprisingly, a few he saw were actually smiling, and Danner thought perhaps
these either didn’t take Gerard seriously or else saw through to what he was
saying and were anxious to begin. Either way, Danner thought they were idiots.

Gerard broke the silence once more.

“Now, just so there is no confusion, I have the acting rank
of colonel, and as far as this unit is concerned, there’s God then there’s me.
Only the Prismatic Council and the Almighty Himself have the right tell me what
to do, and I assure you I won’t let either one stop me from achieving my goals.
The five paladins you see before you are my captains, as is Trebor Dok, who
some of you may know.” Here Gerard paused again for a brief glance back at
Trebor. “Understand, he is no longer your friend. He is your commanding officer
as I am his, and when he speaks, you can count his words as if they came from
my mouth. The same goes for these others. They are the angels of command
through whom you will hear many of my orders, and they are the angels of wrath
who will discipline anyone who disobeys those orders.

“You all have now heard who I am and what I intend. I hold
nothing back, and I don’t intend to change that policy. I will put all of my
sweat, blood, and soul into making this unit, and I expect and demand that each
of you do the same. If there is anyone who cannot accept my absolute authority
over you or has any other complaint or reservation, let him step forward now
and speak. I don’t punish honest queries, just disobedience and disrespect.”

Danner was expecting what happened next. Gerard had, in his
stream-of-consciousness ramblings the day before, said there would be at least
one who tried to stand up to a new leader and pull him from his horse ─
figuratively speaking, of course. Just as the Red paladin had predicted, one
bare-chested, muscular denarae stepped forward with three others close behind
him. The foremost was not one of those who had looked on with hatred during
Gerard’s speech, but instead was one of the stone-faced denarae who revealed
nothing of his inner thoughts.

 “Here’s where he either wins or loses them all,”
Michael muttered in Danner’s ear. Danner nodded.

The quartet of denarae stopped a few feet from Gerard’s
dakkan and stood looking up at him. Gerard had placed himself far enough away
that to directly confront him, they had to noticeably separate themselves from
the larger group, and the three in the back looked less and less certain as they
moved further away from the protection of their fellows, but they had come too
far to back down. All four of them carried swords at their sides.

 “You have a question or problem?” Gerard asked
harshly.

“Why do we need a human to command us?” the denarae asked.
“We can fight on our own without the help of some pale-skinned, God-fearing
freak.”

Gerard stared at him a moment, then swept his leg over and
slid down the side of the dakkan. He landed smoothly and walked the two steps
to stand an arm’s length from the foremost denarae. Danner idly noted that
Gerard was unarmed.

They stared at each other a moment, and Danner began to
wonder if Gerard wasn’t talking to his opponent telepathically. Just as Danner
started to ask Trebor if he knew what was happening, the large denarae facing
Gerard reached down to draw his sword. He got so far as to put his hand on the
hilt and had the blade half drawn when Gerard’s outthrust palm caught the
denarae’s forearm, pushing his arm back just as the hilt was crossing his chest.
Gerard added force and direction to the motion, and the upcoming hilt caught
the denarae in the chin and felled him instantly. Before anyone could react,
Gerard stepped forward and put the heel of his boot on the fallen denarae’s
groin.

“If anyone else wants to make trouble, I suggest you
consider this man’s future as a father,” Gerard said without menace. There was
a long, troubled silence. “I said I don’t punish honest queries, but if any one
of you draws a blade on me without cause from this moment on, I will leave you
broken and bleeding on the ground and wishing you’d never even heard of a
sword.”