Back | Next
Contents

Chapter 35

Thera’s army was small in number, yet exceedingly deadly. One volley from Gupta’s gunners had put the defending paltan into retreat. It was unlikely that these warriors of Dev had seen illegal Fortress rods in action before, and even if some of them had, they had been totally unprepared for the thunderous might of fifty-eight of the things.

It looked like only a handful of the enemy patrol had been struck—their guns were simply not that accurate against targets over two hundred yards away—but the smoke and noise, combined with the terrible wounds inflicted upon the handful who had been hit had put the fear into the rest, and the warriors had fled on foot, running toward Akara.

“Should we pursue and run them down?” Ongud had a keen mind for strategy, but he was still a cavalryman at heart. When something ran, he wanted to chase it. “Or do you want me to let them escape to warn their brothers how well armed we are, so the others hesitate long enough to let us finish our work?”

Thera looked toward the sky. It was early in the morning on what looked like it would be a clear, cold day, where sound would carry for great distances. Even if she had Ongud’s horsemen chase the fleeing patrol, somebody else would hear or spot them, if they hadn’t already. The border between Dev and Makao was well traveled. The local garrisons would be alerted soon enough, but it would take time for them to mobilize a force sufficient to challenge the Sons of the Black Sword, and then more to get here.

“Let them go,” Thera ordered. “Fear is contagious.”

“Understood, Prophet.”

Thera and most of her officers sat upon their horses on a bluff that had offered them a good place to watch Gupta’s ambush. This position also gave her a commanding view of the terrain. The high desert to the southwest of Akara was a rugged canyonland of steep cliffs, mesas, and narrow canyons filled with yellow sand and sagebrush.

And through that unwelcoming wilderness stretched one of the most impressive structures in the world.

The mighty aqueduct that loomed just ahead of them was truly one of the most impressive things she had ever seen. It was a stark white line that stretched as far as the eye could see, gently sloping down from the mountains toward the distant unseen Capitol. It was hard to believe that this thing had been built by the hands of man. The Capitol aqueducts were often called rivers in the sky, which was a misnomer, since it was more of a great stone trough a hundred feet in the air, but that didn’t make it any less awe inspiring in person. It was so big that she was having a hard time imagining how they were actually going to be able to break the damned thing.

“What do you think, Eklavya?”

The young warrior was looking through a spyglass and had been so enthralled by the great construction that he hadn’t even watched the lopsided battle unfold below them.

“I’ve seen lesser aqueducts before, but this is ten times that size. I’ve read about the building of these things, but in person…Oceans. The conduit itself is an engineering marvel, wide enough an elephant could swim through it, yet angled so precisely that it’s only dropping but a couple feet over every mile. Each stone in the pillars is huge and cut to such perfection it’ll be tough to get a knife blade between them.”

“We’re not here to see the sights, Risalder. I only care if you can destroy it.”

Despite his joy at seeing such a thing, there was no hesitation. “Absolutely we can. And I know right where to go.” He pointed toward a spot where it crossed over a canyon. “There. That’ll be the point of highest stress and if the whole section falls, the most time-consuming for the Capitol to repair.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am, Prophet. There’re two channels inside the covered conduit, so that way they can keep one open while doing maintenance on the other. It’s heavy but strong. We collapse one pillar, it might hold. We damage the two pillars that carry it over that gap, the weight will do the rest of the work for us. Both channels will go, and once it turns into a waterfall it might even damage other footings before they know to close off the flow from the mountains.” Eklavya lowered the spyglass and looked her in the eye. “I’ve been fascinated by this sort of thing my entire life. I believe this day is why Mother Dawn told me to join the Sons of the Black Sword. I give you my word, that is the place.”

He was just so damned earnest that Thera couldn’t help but believe him. They might be fanatics, but they were her fanatics. And Eklavya was smart; if he hadn’t been cursed by belief in illegal gods he’d probably be well on his way to a prestigious officer position. If he’d been born a worker he’d probably have ended up a banker, and of the first, a judge. So if Eklavya declared that spot to be their best target, she’d take that bet.

“How long will you need?”

“That, I don’t know. I’ve helped bring down castle walls before, but this is an entirely different beast. We could be done by the afternoon if we’re lucky, sundown if we’re not, but I’ve got faith the Forgotten will aid us.”

“I’ve got more faith in your wits and the strength of those stonecutters’ arms than the blessings of the gods, Kharsawan. Get to work.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Eklavya immediately gave her a crisp salute and rode off to gather his work crew.

The priest, Javed, watched Eklavya go, then said to her, “I should go with them. I might be of some help.”

“No. Stay close to me. If our outriders see anything you’ll be the best one for deciphering what it means in this land. And if we do need to fight, maybe you could do like Keta does and say a few inspiring words to the men before they go into battle. They get motivated by that sort of thing.”

“Of course, Prophet.” Javed seemed nervous. Which was understandable, considering they were currently a scorpion hiding in the Capitol’s boot. They could sting it first, and still might get crushed.

Her officers had already begun moving their forces into the best defensive positions. Shekar had sent keen-eyed skirmishers to every vantage point. The question was not if the forces of the Law would respond, but when, and in what number.

Unfortunately, Thera got her answer less than two hours later.

* * *

The news was dire.

“It’s got to be every warrior from Akara and then some. More paltan flags than I could count, both the colors of Dev, and vassal houses I don’t even know,” Shekar reported. “Easily the same number of foes we faced in Garo, if not more.”

“We’ve won such a battle before,” Toramana said with forced bravado. “Let them come.”

“I wasn’t finished,” Shekar snapped. “That’s closing from this side of the canyon. Another army rides this way from the west. Makao’s coming for us as well.”

“Saltwater.” Makao had been the house that she had been married into, so Thera still held a special hatred for them. It was one thing to die, but it would be extra insulting to die at the hands of the perfumed peacocks of the Makao warrior caste. “How many from the west?”

“They’re farther away so it’s hard to tell, but my brothers guess it’s probably a similar size force, just from how much dust they’re kicking up, riding hard.”

Their hurried meeting was in the canyon near where Eklavya’s workers were busily trying to demolish the aqueduct. She had sent for all of her officers to hear the Somsak’s bleak report. Most of them had arrived in time, and they were all sharing grim glances. The Sons were good soldiers, but against that many foes they’d be slaughtered for sure.

“How could they have gathered so many troops so quickly?” Ongud asked. “We’re half a day’s ride from the nearest barracks.”

“They had to know we were coming,” Thera said.

“How?”

She looked toward Laxmi, who was still standing by as if she was a normal servant, but the quiet wizard girl just shook her head. If the defenders had been warned it hadn’t been by magical means.

“It doesn’t matter now. If they knew there was an attack planned against the aqueduct, but not exactly where, they’d stage in the area and just wait for us to show ourselves. Where’s Eklavya and Gupta?”

“I’m here.” The young risalder ran toward their circle. Eklavya had taken off his armor to join in the labor with his men and was soaked in sweat and covered in dust. “Gupta was still swinging a pick last I saw.”

“How goes the demolition?”

“There’s so much weight bearing down on the stones, they’re hard to split. Both pillars are damaged, but we need more time to bring them down. A couple more hours at least.”

Shekar shook his head. “We’ll be encircled with no chance for escape by then. If we run now, we might be able to make it.”

“Could we hold them long enough?”

“With the gods all things are possible,” Toramana said.

“We’re sadly lacking in gods right now,” Thera responded. “Counting on nothing but ourselves, could we hold off that many troops long enough to bring this thing down?”

“Against that many, in this maze of unfamiliar canyons? We will lose,” Ongud answered.

“You lack faith!” Toramana roared.

“I take no offense at your words, Chief. If the prophet says to fight to the death, I will fight and die a happy man,” their cavalryman responded. “But unless the gods see fit to come down and fight alongside us, this canyon will be our grave.”

Toramana was cunning and fierce, but Ashok had told her that Ongud had the best mind for strategy among the Sons, and she had looked to him for ideas once Jagdish was gone. She had no doubt his take was the accurate one.

“How much time before we are cut off?” she asked Shekar.

He spread his hands apologetically. “Assuming there’s not another flanking force out there we’ve not seen yet, you must decide now, or that decision will be made for us.”

“We should go,” Javed urged. “Scatter into the hills. Hide. Return to the Cove. Live to fight another day.”

“The priest is right,” Murugan said. “The Voice must live. Without you, there is no rebellion.”

All eyes were upon her.

Surely the gods wouldn’t have sent their own army to its doom? Or was she just a fool who had made the wrong call? If they fled, the Capitol would feel no pain, and would continue its mad slaughter of the casteless until they were extinct. A fury built inside her. Rage at the helplessness, at the constant fear, at the impotent gods, and most of all against the terrible Law that had stolen so much from her.

This was the best chance she’d ever have to hurt it, to make the first get a tiny taste of what they had forced upon her.

“We stand and fight.”

“No, wait!” Eklavya begged. “There’s another way. Give me a bit more time and as much of the Fortress powder as you can spare, then go. With the stress we’ve already caused, if we pack it into the right places, it should do.”

“How would you set it off?” Ongud asked.

“There are ways,” Eklavya assured them, but Thera could tell he was lying. Having been a smuggler she knew far more about the dangerous material than the others. Eklavya intended to sacrifice himself, but Thera said nothing yet.

Ongud considered the ramifications, before saying, “The Sons can hold off the Dev advance while you do this, and then retreat before Makao arrives, but we must reposition our forces now.”

No amount of righteous anger could keep things from spiraling out of control, and Thera once again felt that awful sensation of being overwhelmed, like when she’d been thrown into the sea. All eyes were upon her.

“Do it.”

Her risalders sprang into action, running back toward their paltans and shouting orders.

Murugan began walking toward where their horses were tied. “You should be ready to—” Then her bodyguard realized that she was following Eklavya toward the pillars, and Murugan was forced to go after her. “What are you doing?”

“Helping. Laxmi, come with me.” She waited long enough to make sure the wizard girl followed, as did the priest, who seemed confused but had nowhere else to go.

The cutters were working feverishly, breaking the gigantic stones at the base of the pillars by driving a line of steel spikes into them with hammers. Each time they struck a spike, it would go a little deeper, cracking the stone a bit wider. They were working in teams, taking turns so that there was no delay between impacts. It seemed to Thera nothing was happening at all, until with one more hit, the crack suddenly spread, splitting a stone in two hard enough to cause dried mortar to burst out around the seams.

Once he was beneath the shadow of the aqueduct, Eklavya began shouting orders. “Here! This one. Concentrate on this one. Now! Hurry!” The team of stonecutters immediately complied and did as they were told, setting their spikes and striking them into a central stone. “Gupta, get over here!”

The other risalder came running, totally covered in mortar dust. “Why are my gunners heading this way?”

“New orders. Gather their powder. Keep enough for a few volleys. We’ll stuff the rest in the hole the cutters are making now. We’re nearly out of time.” The young man didn’t realize his prophet was right behind him until he caught sight of Thera out of the corner of his eye, and spun about, surprised. “You can’t be here.”

“I’ve used Fortress powder more than any of you. I used to smuggle it, remember?”

Poor Eklavya was desperate. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Especially if you do it wrong. Listen, it needs to be contained tight. If it’s loose, it’ll blow outward and be wasted. You’ll just get a big stinky cloud.” She’d used that trick to escape the Law a few times over the years. “For the most boom, get it covered tight.”

“Like it’s contained inside the barrel of a gun to direct the force,” Gupta said. “We know, Prophet.”

Of course they had figured it out. They weren’t fools, and they’d been thinking hard on this for a while, but offering needless advice hadn’t been why she’d come down here. “I know what you’re going to do, Eklavya, only you’re not indestructible Ashok, and this isn’t the House of Assassins. There’s no coming back from being buried beneath this.” She waved her hand at the wonder towering above them.

“I’ll pour a trail out on the ground, light it, then get away before it explodes.”

“The hell you will, Kharsawan. We both know that’s not certain enough for you. You won’t waste that much powder on the ground, nor risk it not going off. You intend to stay and stick a match in that hole yourself.”

He was caught, but his lie had been to comfort her, not him. The decision was made, and Eklavya was committed to his glorious warrior’s end. “If we’re to complete the mission, it must be done, so I’ll do it. I’ll not order another man to die in my stead.”

The workers were busy striking the rock, moving between the embedded spikes with perfect rhythm. Gupta, seemingly unsurprised that his friend was willing to blow himself to bits, went about gathering most of his men’s powder satchels and horns. If it was a warrior’s path to seek the sort of death that they’d write songs about, then it was a worker’s to make sure the job got done.

“No one has to die if we have a wizard who can make fire appear out of thin air from some distance away.”

“Where—”

Thera grabbed Laxmi by the arm and pulled her forward. “Here you go.”

“Your cook?”

“And wizard in training before the assassins made her into a mindless slave. That’s broken now. She told me Omkar taught her three patterns. The fire pattern is one of them.”

The poor girl looked as overwhelmed as Thera felt, yet she spoke with courage. “It has been a long time, but I can do this.”

“From far enough away to not be blasted or crushed?” Eklavya asked, incredulous, and clearly unwilling to sacrifice some poor girl in his stead.

Laxmi gave him a resolute nod as she took one of the several bones Thera had given her from where it had been hidden in her coat. “With enough demon, yes.”

“Thank the gods!” Eklavya broke into a grin. “I truly didn’t want to die today, but I didn’t see much choice.”

Her father had once told her that you could tell the true measure of a warrior by what they were willing to die for. If that was true, the Sons were paragons of their caste. Andaman Vane would have been proud of her army, and hopefully proud of her as a leader. “Laxmi is under your command, then.”

“Yes, Prophet!” the wizard and the warrior said simultaneously.

Murugan was looking at the growing pile of Fortress powder containers with increasing horror. When separate, it was not so fearsome. Together, it became powerful. The black powder was sort of like rebellion that way. “You need to be away from this,” he insisted. “Now.”

From her bodyguard’s tone, she had no doubt that if she stayed there any longer he’d pick her up and carry her off, status be damned. The boy had an obligation to fill and she certainly wasn’t making it easy for him. “Agreed, Thao. Let’s go back up the ridge so I can at least watch the battle.”

Murugan clearly wanted to tell her that wasn’t wise but talking her out of it would be impossible. He was lucky she didn’t want to be at the front line, damaged hands and all. She was surprised when the priest didn’t immediately go with them. Agitated, Javed was watching the line of gunners drop off their satchels. He reached for one that had just been put down, as if wanting to help.

“Come on, Javed. There’s nothing you can do here.”

Reluctantly, the priest followed.

* * *

High atop the ridge, Thera, her bodyguard, and her priest watched as the Sons easily held off the lead paltans of Dev. It was only small groups of riders for now, testing their defenses. Her risalders were keeping the Sons of the Black Sword clustered around the canyon entrance, while Ongud’s cavalry was guarding their flank and making sure their escape route remained clear.

“Sparing that patrol earlier was the wise choice,” Murugan said. “See how the enemy phontho holds back his infantry? I bet he was told about how many Fortress rods we have and he doesn’t want to send his men in to get threshed like wheat.”

“Maybe…” Only Thera was unconvinced by that. Infantry could only march so far in a day, and a goodly portion of the force arrayed against them was on foot. Which meant this army had already been camped nearby. With the armies of two houses headed their way, it was clear they’d been warned in advance, and if the great houses had known they were coming here, surely they would have known about their illegal weapons as well.

A chill wind had come from the south. It made the multitude of enemy flags dance. Thera’s hood was down, and it caused her long hair to whip about in the wind. That was the closest thing the Sons had to a banner. A few hundred yards below the ridge, her men looked up toward her, and though she would be nothing but a darkened silhouette against the sky from there, they would still be comforted that the Voice of the gods was watching over them.

“Or the Dev phontho heard about what we did to the Akershani in Garo, and he’s afraid of us,” Murugan said. “As he should be. It’s right across the river from their lands. He’s probably scared.”

“I admire your confidence, warrior, but don’t let it outrun your sense,” Javed warned. “They’ll come for us. No phontho will be willing to bear the shame of letting one of the Capitol’s great works be destroyed under their watch. That’s the sort of shame that gets even those of status exiled or executed.”

“With Makao drawing near, our forces are split. We’re badly outnumbered on both sides, yet still they hesitate.” Thera wished that she had the wisdom of an experienced tactician, like her father, or someone gifted for such things, like Jagdish. The best strategist she had currently was occupied riding around the cold desert, and as usual the god in her head was no help at all. “They can’t know how fast we intend to destroy the aqueduct, but they have to know the longer they wait, the more damage we inflict against it. Yet they’ve only sent harassers while their main body does nothing.”

“Hopefully it won’t matter. The instant that bomb goes off, we’re moving out.” Murugan emphatically gestured toward where their horses were tied to a stunted desert tree nearby. “No debate, Prophet. We should already be leaving. Your risalders know to retreat as soon as they hear the explosion or see the smoke. After that, getting you back to the Cove safe becomes our only priority, and that’ll still take a miracle because they’re sure to hound us the whole way home.”

“You’re a faithful bodyguard, Murugan Thao,” Javed said. “That is a difficult obligation to fill when your charge worries about others more than herself and feels no fear.”

Thera laughed. “I’m not Ashok. I’m terrified right now. I’m just good at hiding it.”

There was a noise behind them, and Murugan spun about, hand flying to his sword. Except it was just the wind blowing through the sage. Their horses were stomping nervously, tugging at the branches they were tied to. They’d sensed something. Probably the smell of blood from the clashing skirmishers.

“You feel responsible for every one of them, don’t you?” Javed asked, so quietly that it was difficult to hear him over the wind. “Every man who fights for you, you’re as loyal to them as they are to you.”

“Of course I am.” She gave him a curious look, but Javed kept his mood inscrutable. “Only I’m also responsible for every casteless the Capitol would murder if we stood aside and did nothing. We might lose today, we might all die today, we might spend the rest of our lives running, but it’ll be because we tried to do the right thing, and that has to be worth it.”

“You are not at all what I expected, Thera Vane.”

That just made Thera shake her head. She’d never wanted any of this. The bolt from the heavens had sent her on a path of woe and the Voice was a curse. It had taken everyone she’d loved and left her nothing but the barest survival. Now, after years of only worrying about herself, somehow, here she was, trying to save an entire people.

“Oceans, priest, I’m not what I expected either!” She turned her nervous attention back to the enemy army, and muttered, “What are they waiting for?”

After a long moment, Javed said, “A decapitation strike.”

“What?”

“They’ll infiltrate, seize the commander, secure any objectives, and then give a sign for the obligated warriors to begin their assault during the confusion. It is a standard witch hunter tactic.”

“How do you know that?” Except there was movement to her side, barely caught in the corner of her eye, and by the time she turned, she was face-to-face with a tiger.

Its fur was already covered in blood.

“Assassins!” Murugan drew his sword and flung himself at the beast in front of Thera, but another tiger had slunk up from behind, and it leapt upon his back, carrying him face-first into the ground. Its jaws clamped around Murugan’s shoulder and teeth bit deep into meat.

Thera reacted without thought, tugging the small throwing blade that was strapped to her wrist free, and hurling it at the cat atop Murugan. Despite her crippled hands, despite hours of failure in practice since she’d been burned, the instincts of Vane were still in her and the little blade hit true, slicing into the tiger’s cheek. It reared back, and Murugan rolled over, swinging his Thao broadsword.

That tiger let out a terrible scream—almost a woman’s scream—as the blade was planted deep into its neck.

Except the first beast crashed into her, a paw upon each shoulder, and Thera was driven against the ground so hard with the weight of the cat atop her that the air burst from her lungs.

For a moment she was helpless. The beast’s claws could have sliced her wide open, but didn’t. They were trying to take her alive. One of her arms was pinned, but with the other she went for a knife on her belt. A swiping paw effortlessly caught her, and a single claw extended, piercing deep into the muscle of her forearm.

Thera cried out, but then she went to thrashing and kicking, trying to free herself. Another paw landed on her, crushing her cheek hard into the sand, as if it meant to suffocate her, but she bit one toe as hard as she could. The tiger looked down at her and snarled.

Murugan slammed into the distracted tiger’s side, driving his sword straight through its belly. “Die, beast!” With shoulder flayed wide, and blood droplets flying in every direction, Murugan somehow shoved the tiger off her. “Run, Thera! Run!

As soon as the weight was gone from her chest, Thera sprang up. The chunk of fur in her mouth turned back into human skin and she spit it out, still tasting demon magic and blood.

Yet a third tiger came seemingly out of nowhere and hit her from behind, and this one swiped her with its claws. Pain like fire rushed down her back as she was hurled violently into the brush. Before she could even understand what was going on, teeth locked around her boot heel, and she was being dragged away on her face. Desperate, she grabbed for anything she could, but branches broke off in her hands, and her fingernails tore off against rocks.

Despite the blood gushing down his armor, Murugan got up again and bellowed, “Let her go and fight me, wizards!”

The one dragging Thera released its jaws from her boot—and left her there gasping—to go after Murugan. The two wounded tigers were back up and circling, still alive despite the terrible wounds Murugan had given them only because of the incredibly powerful magic upon them.

In the swamps of Bahdjangal, Murugan Thao had been overcome by fear and run from a demon, abandoning his brothers. That had been a shame he had worn ever since. But on this day, he stood defiant between three magic tigers and his prophet, brave as any mortal warrior there had ever been.

The one with the neck injury leapt first. Murugan sidestepped and slashed, but the tiger he’d run through was right behind the first, and it bit him on the sword arm, mercilessly tearing it to the bone. Except Murugan had no quit in him, and rather than let the witch hunter take him down, he dragged the thrashing monster to the edge of the cliff even as it savaged him, and wrapped his remaining arm around its head.

The bodyguard looked right at Thera, as if to say he’d done his best, and then he took them both over the edge.

“Murugan!”

Her bodyguard was gone. There was nothing to do but run. Her back and arm were in agony as she got back up and tried to get away.

This time it was human hands that grabbed her. She drew another knife, but her strike was easily blocked, and then her wrist was trapped in a crushing grip. Another hand grabbed her by the collar and swung her around so that she could see her attacker.

“Javed?”

“I’m sorry that I’m not what you expected either.”

Enraged, she tried to hit him, kick him, but it was no use. The traitorous priest was too strong, and far more martially skilled than any of them had expected. He struck her once, a hammer blow to the side of the head, and Thera went down, stunned.

As the desert spun around her, the remaining two tigers turned into a man and a woman, who had one hand pressed hard against her bleeding neck.

“The rebels are about to destroy the aqueduct.” Javed flipped Thera over and expertly bound her hands behind her back with a length of cord.

“We know. Orders are to let them,” the man said.

“Way to help out, Javed,” the woman said through a pained grimace.

“I had to hide my magic.” As soon as Javed said that, the man threw a chunk of demon toward him, which Javed caught and stashed in a pocket. Then Javed dragged Thera to her feet by her bloody arm. “They’ve got a sensitive among them.”

“Yeah, as soon as we got close a wizard girl sensed us and sent a runner to warn this one. We killed him on the way in. Let’s go.”

Over the ringing in her ears, Thera could hear the roar of charging armies. This was what the enemy had been waiting for. The battle was joined. Nobody was coming to save her now.

“You’re a traitor, Javed.”

“Can’t betray something I never believed in.”

“You believed. I saw it.”

Javed just kept dragging her away. “Shut your mouth.”

“You saw the Forgotten. You know it’s real.”

“Their wizard’s making the fire pattern in the canyon,” the male witch hunter warned.

Javed spun Thera around, so the aqueduct was in view in the distance. “Might as well let you see the fruits of your effort, though if Omand is letting this happen, it must benefit him somehow.”

“You’re a liar.”

“And you are a flea riding on the back of a monster beyond your comprehension. All your work was for naught.”

She spit in his face.

Javed wiped it away, and for just a moment, she thought she saw regret there, but then it was gone.

Laxmi’s magic worked true. The packed Fortress powder went off with a boom that echoed through the canyons. The mighty structure shuddered. Water splashed from the top.

Yet it stood.

Had Eklavya and Gupta been wrong?

Except then the aqueduct began to crumble, as cracks spread across the upper stones of first one pillar, and then the other. They began coming apart, slowly at first, but then rapidly in a cascade of increasing destruction. Water sprayed from the seams. The upper conduit buckled and the entire span across the canyon collapsed. Tons of stone crashed down and shook the entire desert. A great cloud of dust rose but slicing through the middle of it was a river of water, falling, to be wasted upon the sand.


Back | Next
Framed