Crystal King (Riland Throne Book 1) Page 21

  It didn’t take long. There, across the other side of the road and up into the sparse trees he spotted a pair on foot. They moved without a sound, eyes dodging back and forth to scan the area. He tapped his partner and pointed, whispering, “I’ll get them. Watch for more on this side.” He ghosted his way from shadow to shadow until he came up a few steps behind the rear man.

  The first one was easy, since he trailed a few paces behind his partner. Adrian grabbed him across the mouth and slipped a knife between his ribs and into his heart. The man tensed and sighed out his last breath, and it was over almost before it started. Adrian crept up within a few paces of the second man when his target turned, saw Adrian and pulled a short blade.

  He took a deep breath to yell, and Adrian threw his knife. It hit the scout at the base of his larynx. His eyes widened as he dropped his sword and reached for the protruding dagger, but he fell over before he could remove the fatal blade.

  Such a pitiful waste of life made Adrian’s heart ache. This was why he preferred sneaking and spying to killing. So much potential, so much life to live, snuffed out before it was due. In other circumstances, the two dead men might have told war stories to their children and grandchildren. It wasn’t fair Adrian got to decide so many fates, but it was the job he had been given, and his actions gave his own people the chance to see their children and grandchildren. He would take the exchange.

  Adrian was almost back to Van when he heard the rapid clash of steel on steel. The trees thinned as he approached their hiding spot. Van circled, armed with a cutlass, facing a man with a longsword. The opponent’s longer reach didn’t bode well, but Van held his own defensively, stalling for time. Stalling for Adrian’s return.

  Adrian was almost there when he saw the swordsman’s partner down on the ground with a cut across his thigh. The injured man fired a crossbow into Van’s back before Adrian could draw a breath to shout a warning.

  Adrian watched Van crumple with blood coming from his mouth and held silent his rage. The swordsman lowered his guard, not noticing as Adrian came up behind him and ran a knife across his throat. He dodged to the right, past the collapsing man, and reached the crossbowman, who tried to reload with shaky hands. Adrian kicked the crossbowman in the face, breaking his nose with a crunch and knocking him unconscious.

  The crossbowman’s leg injury hadn’t hit an artery, so there was a chance he would survive. Adrian had to preserve their ruse, so he killed the man and set the stage with dozens of footprints as if the man had been ambushed by a large armed team. He packed up the dead man’s weapons.

  It was time to gather the rest of his men and get between the two halves of the Graven army. A few trees felled across the road might help, once he got around the force that had followed him. With a bit of luck, the pursuit would continue down the road for a while before they found there was nobody to chase. Forcing luck was his specialty. He hoped his team had delayed these men enough to make a difference for the caravan.

  Gerald Stoutheart was in a delicate position, and it had little to do with riding on the wagon beside King Ithan. He knew he had to act soon, but the timing had to be perfect.

  King Ithan said, “I want both groups of refugees destroyed. We’ll make an example of them.”

  “Are you sure it was wise to send so many men to chase the group that broke off? Based on the tracks going this way, the group that split off may be smaller than we thought.”

  King Ithan scowled. “I know what I’m doing. The footmen will have their hands full. I saw the shod hoof prints mixed in with the wagon tracks. They could have found some cavalrymen. I know the reputation of Riland cavalry. If you want to help, then tell me why the devil they would try to get behind us.”

  “But a full third of our army, Your Majesty? The refugees must have a plan. Lacking more information, I can only guess what it might be. The men are about to drop after marching for two days and a night.”

  The men with crystals were exhausted. The king had ordered many of them stacked in wagons or strapped them to their animals for the past thirty-six hours. The losses in footmen and among the war animals were unfortunate, but acceptably small. The forced march had brought them up within striking distance of the evacuation.

  “Very well. Increase the rear guard. We haven’t seen anyone else break off to the sides, so pull in the side patrols and reassign them.”

  Gerald nodded and climbed off the wagon without waiting for it to stop. “I’ll see to it immediately.”

  They were burning through their supplies quickly, but it paid off in speed. All they had to do was reach the remainder of the caravan, and their supply woes would end. With luck, Gerald would find his son and save him from the slavery or death others would face. His plan hung in a delicate balance, but he held the critical parts all in his mind as the time of action approached.

  He pulled himself up onto another wagon to sit beside the master of the duty roster. The duty schedule was usually out of his control, but this was an opportunity Gerald hadn’t counted on, and he wouldn’t pass it up. “The king needs a few of his trusted men to keep a larger watch behind us.”

  He dickered back and forth about various names until he had what he wanted, with the king’s most trusted men sent back out of Gerald’s way. The king hadn’t asked for his best to hang back, but a little exaggeration worked wonders. He sent the order, and several of the king’s guard stepped off to the side of the road to wait for everyone to pass. Gerald smiled at how easily fate could be bent to his will.

  He had seen the king mobilize the full army of war animals only for the attacks on Greenvale and Richland, but those two instances gave him the information he needed to make his plan. The king kept guards at his wagon, but would be short-staffed with the guards Gerald had sent to the rear. Gerald would throw his loyal men at them at just the right point near the end of the coming battle. He would lose several men, but sometimes you had to make sacrifices to succeed.

  Gerald listened in on scout reports that confirmed the location of the enemy camp on an upcoming rise.

  The march ground to a halt, and some soldiers took the time to set up camp while others collapsed where the march left them. Such blatant lack of discipline annoyed Gerald. At least those caring for the animals managed to organize the cages.

  The effort to travel two days and a night with no rest left both the refugees and the army with no option but to camp. Reports were that the refugees had no large war animals at all, which meant this was to be one of the most one-sided fights he had ever been part of, despite his son’s people having the advantage of high ground. Perhaps the king would get sloppy about his security and make things easier for him.

  Their animals needed rest before combat as much as the men. King Ithan ordered the men to eat and prepare for battle the next day. Food was one of the few motivators the men still responded to after the march. Once the camp was settled in the valley below the refugee camp, Gerald visited his bear and checked on her battle armor. It was mostly leather, but had some steel scales sewn into decorative patterns. Armor wasn’t needed against peasants, but the rumors of cavalry had spooked the men. They were taking no chances on this ragtag caravan.

  “Gerald. I figured I would find you here.” King Ithan and a pair of armed and armored guards had approached before he was aware of them. “The rear scouts haven’t heard from our footmen. They spotted smoke at two locations early in the day, so it’s clear they’ve seen action. We’ll move early enough tomorrow that they won’t be back, even under the best of circumstances. We will need every animal except for my reserve team on the front line first thing in the morning. I realize your son is with this rabble, but I expect your best effort, as always.”

  Gerald understood the undercurrent of the comment to mean the king had a critical eye on him, even more than normal. The king hadn’t asked him a single question. The entire purpose of the visit was to keep him in line. The king wouldn’t need him as a guide through this territory for much longer, and Geral
d hadn’t provided much information since leaving Stoutheart Barony.

  “I understand how the outcome tomorrow is critical. I’ll give this fight my absolute best effort, Your Highness.”

  Saleena listened to Draken’s plan for a night raid involving all the small animals in the slim hope of finding a way to weaken the enemy. They all stood to stave off sleep.

  Draken said, “If the raven can get us the camp layout, we still have to worry about their guard patrols. Once we’re past them, we need to get to their war animals. Assuming that works, our task is to take crystals from them. Any failure in the chain and our whole plan falls apart.”

  The longer Draken spoke to the assembled Crystal Cabal, the worse the plan sounded, but Saleena couldn’t think of any other way to help.

  Draken said, “We sent a rider ahead to the capital on horseback when we left Richland, but the people at the capital may not be able or willing to help us. We don’t know what state the capital is in, or how organized they are. We could use the horse here, but Baron Stoutheart felt it more important to send the messenger. We must plan with whatever we have. The baron will be monitoring the battle to issue orders, and won’t be controlling an animal. It turns out that he’s got a gift for strategy, which makes up for his other, shall we say, missed educational opportunities.”

  Despite the seriousness of the mood, Saleena giggled when she saw Gavin roll his eyes. She’d heard Draken berate Gavin for years, but Gavin didn’t rise to the bait as he had in the past.

  Gavin took a cue from Draken and said, “Adrian’s decoy has bought us better odds, which is a chance. It’s still only a slim chance, so we’re going to do our best to even things up a little more. At the top level, the plan for tonight’s raid is straightforward. We have to do something to disable their fighting force. The only way to do that, without losing most of our people, is to take some of their war animals out of the fight. As Master Draken so eloquently put it, I’m not equipped to tell you how to do that. You are. All of you as a group. You each have valuable input because of what you can do, especially in the areas the enemy doesn’t know about. You are our secret weapon. You know what each of our animals is capable of and how you can play your part in the plan.”

  It made sense, but Saleena was still unhappy at the risk. “What’s our final count on animals we can use for this?”

  Draken pulled out a paper, sighed, and read from the list. “Our assault team consists of the three Cats of the Apocalypse, one raven, two rats, two badgers, and a squirrel. They’ll either never know what hit them, or they’ll die laughing as they squash our team like bugs.”

  He waved over at a second group. “The medium-sized animals will be at the ready as well, but they need to hang back where they won’t be spotted. Those are my wolf, Runner, four other farm dogs, and two half-wolves. Does that account for everyone here?”

  His gaze swept over Saleena and the others as they nodded. He continued, “The rest of our crystals are for larger animals like the cattle and oxen. The dog-sized group can get in close, but not close enough to do the actual work tonight. They are the backup and distraction in case things go horribly wrong. This sounds cruel, but getting even those small, weak crystals back is more important than the life of any of our animals.

  “Shards. I’d trade a person’s life in an instant if it saved more lives. Some of you are not used to a military point of view. To be blunt, lives are a resource. Sometimes they get spent. It’s your job to minimize the losses of your families, friends, and neighbors through your actions tonight. It’s also your job to minimize those losses during our sneak attack. Don’t waste a life, but don’t hesitate to spend it if it will save the caravan.”

  Draken’s practical outlook on spending lives shocked Saleena, but war was a new experience for her. Saleena followed up, hoping to clarify some of the details. “If you need to relay information, Gav— Baron Stoutheart and I will be here watching over you. We won’t wake you from your trance unless it’s critical, but if you notice anything we need to do, wake yourself to relay the message to us. We can’t approach the men and take crystals from around their necks, so your best option is to take crystals from the animals and bring them back here. Your second-best option is to take their crystals and hide them.”

  Saleena mentally reviewed the emergency military training from Draken. It was little more than a few simple tactics and hand signals designed to work while controlling animals. Failure would doom the entire camp, and even if they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, it would fall to her to provide their biggest offensive and defensive wall with nearly forty head of cattle tomorrow.

  Fear of failure was new to her. She had always found a way to succeed. When the cattle had been threatened by wolves and mountain cats, her family had made crystals and trained the cattle into a defensive force. This was the same, wasn’t it? Just another threat, but deadlier. She understood threats.

  She and her friends were going up against people with trained war animals and experience in combat. Her friends knew everything she could share on using animals as a team, but fear lurked in the back of her thoughts over their chances for success. She was tired to her bones, and her friends showed shadows under their eyes. She couldn’t let her doubt show, or it would spread to the others. Gavin trusted her, and the Crystal Cabal trusted her. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

  Saleena said, “We can do this. Is everyone ready? Like we planned, Brother Cleo, you go first and report back on the location of our best targets. Then everyone else will join in once we make the final assignments.”

  The first time Brother Cleo entered a trance with the raven he’d done an odd meditation with his bare feet and hands all pressed together as he sat and hummed. He was able to control the raven a short time later, so it must have done some good to help him focus as he attuned to the crystal.

  Today, Brother Cleo lay back on a bundled blanket and closed his eyes. The tension grew as they waited. The plan was for him to be gone for no more than ten minutes, but the trip stretched to fifteen, then twenty. Soon he would cut into the time they needed for their ground-based expedition.

  As Saleena was about to force Brother Cleo awake, the raven flew in and dropped a chain next to the lamp hung from the side of a nearby wagon. Brother Cleo stirred, and then sat up. “Sorry for taking so long. Nighttime isn’t the best for a raven, so I had to get close. Then I found that even in the dark, ravens are exceptionally good at spotting shiny things. Once I had the information on patrols and positions, I found this.” He grinned and he leaned over to the lamp, picking up the crystal on a chain.

  Brother Cleo continued, “It was set aside while one of their men performed some cleansing ritual or other. I never did study Northern practices, and I couldn’t stick around to watch.”

  Master Draken swore. “They’ll know something is up as soon as they see this master crystal is missing. We need to go now, or the whole thing goes into the latrine. At the first sign of alarm, get out. The only exception is if you find something worth losing your animal and its crystal to accomplish. Once they figure out what’s happening, they will spot you, and they will kill your animal. Then they will go after the rest of us.”

  Brother Cleo sketched out the camp and gave his report. “Their animal cages are set up on the east side of the center of their camp. They have regular patrols all along their perimeter with no more than five minutes between passes. The enemy campfires make it easy to see.” He continued with details on the timing and location of guard patrols. The patrols would be tricky since he didn’t have a lot of time to watch them. Master Draken broke them down into teams with specific assignments.

  With the overview complete, Saleena inspected the group as they settled into comfortable positions, waiting for the command to begin their assignments. Their stern looks let her know they understood the burden they bore. Everyone wore a crystal for tonight’s mission except for Gavin and herself. She joined him, standing near the lamp and picked up the cr
ystal on the chain. “I’ll try this crystal to see if I can acclimate to it fast enough.”

  Gavin said, “Hold on. It might take too long, and we need you here.”

  “Well, if it takes too long, I won’t be able to go into a trance, and I’ll be here to help anyway.” She slipped the cord over her neck. “I’m the best choice. It might be the bit of good luck we need to succeed. I’ll switch back to wearing the cattle crystals as soon as the mission is done.”

  Gavin nodded, but he didn’t look convinced.

  The bare beginnings of a new connection formed rapidly in the back of her head. “The other end is there. I’ll let you know how it goes.” Saleena’s experiments with other crystals showed that acclimating to a crystal took longer for the beasts that were either a lot larger or smaller than herself. Size mattered. It was likely common knowledge among those accustomed to training with different sized animals.

  A few minutes later everyone wearing a crystal except for Saleena entered a trance. Their first offensive action as war animals was on.

  Saleena watched the animals scurry down the hill together, splitting off from the main group as their team’s assignment required. Some of the smaller, slower animals rode on the backs of the faster dogs and wolves until they got close to the enemy camp. They were out of sight in the darkness almost immediately.

  Brother Cleo went back out with the raven to watch from above. He had taken to the raven far more easily than she thought he would. He attuned to it quickly, but there was more than that. He must have had more experience he wasn’t talking about. As she considered the raven, the new connection in her mind blossomed unexpectedly from a hint to a full window all at once, ready for her to take control of whatever was on the other end.