Shadowheart

'Yes,' said Izack. 'Right now, he's holed up here.' He tapped the map of the land between Xetesk and Julatsa. 'He's made the right decision. He's got about fifty with him but they are in no condition to fight. Better he rests a day and attacks the rear when he can. We'll be in contact so I can direct him.'

'I'll trust your judgement,' said The Unknown.

'On a brighter note, we know that the allies have moved from their siege positions south and west of Xetesk and are coming to reinforce. They'll be here a day after the Xeteskians, all things being equal. Now Xetesk will know they are coming so they'll be pushing very hard when they attack which, I think, we all believe will be tomorrow. But it could be late this afternoon, so we have to be prepared. Agreed?'

There were nods around the table.

'Right, General.' The Unknown winked at Darrick. 'Since you're a wanted man but Izack doesn't seem too keen on taking you into custody and his men have searched high and low but can't find you, perhaps you'd like to repeat what you suggested to us last night.'

'Be glad to,' said Darrick. 'All right by you, Commander Izack?'

'I'll only arrest you if I don't like the plan.'

Darrick almost smiled. 'All right. Well, it doesn't take much to see that the numbers don't add up. This college is too big for us to hope to defend the walls from the inside. We simply don't have the forces.

Not only that, not all of our skills suit defence of this nature so I'm advocating a split approach.

'You, Izack, need to hide the cavalry outside of the college. There are good stabling facilities to the north of the central market and there's little reason to believe you'll be found. Even so, we are going to do a general sweep of some areas with ClawBound, should they agree, before the Xeteskians arrive in force.

'Second, the TaiGethen are masters of the hit-and-run, and of close-quarters hand-to-hand. So, I'd like most of them outside these walls. Same goes for the ClawBound. This leaves us with all the mage strength, the Al-Arynaar archers and old warriors like Hirad to keep the walls and gates clear. We're presuming they'll try and breach the walls with spells, because they won't have siege ladders or the time to build them, and roping up is suicide. What we have to do is stop those spells and I'll go into how to do that in a moment. Remember, they have to get in fast or risk us not just raising the Heart but being rested as well.'

He stopped and poured himself a goblet of water.

'Are you all right with this, Izack, or do I consider myself under arrest?'

Izack shrugged. 'No General, you remain a free man. It's the plan I would have suggested. My only comment so far is that we must be mindful of Chandyr's cavalry. He has kept it out of sight during the march so he may be anticipating this sort of move.'

'It's a fair point. Now, I'm assuming, Pheone, that the investiture of spells in the walls and doors is healthy?'

'It's solid. We've been lucky. The problem we could face at any time, mind you, is the inability to reinforce should the mana focus fail. We just can't rely on it.'

'Also, if there has been an attempt to raise the Heart, we'll have a lot of tired mages and little spell capability,' said Denser. 'Don't forget that.'

Darrick paused and clacked his tongue. 'When are you attempting the rising?'

'Any time,' said Pheone. 'We've been ready since mid-morning now that everyone has been reminded of the casting.'

'So why has Chandyr not pushed on faster, I wonder,' said Darrick. 'If he knew you could act almost immediately.'

'I very much doubt he did,' said Pheone. 'Look, all colleges have castings for this eventuality but only in Julatsa is it woven into the basic lore and structural teachings from a student's first day. In Xetesk, they'd have to study from scratch, isn't that right, Denser?'

Denser nodded.

'But here it's different. It's a question of history. When Julatsa was founded, we were under threat for years. So the ability to bury and raise the Heart had to be at the middle of everything, just in case. And now it's our way of getting a student started. The construct is very basic. The energy we have to pour in is not.'

'Good,' said Darrick. 'And how long does it take?'

'Under normal circumstances, no time at all. Today? I'd hate to guess.'

'Then if you don't mind taking an order from an ex-general, go and start now. Maximum time, maximum rest.'

'You don't need me?'

'Not that much,' said Hirad. 'Get on and good luck.'

Pheone nodded and left to calls for good fortune from around the table.

'Right,' said Darrick. 'Let's wrap this up and go and watch. It fascinates me.'

'Hold on,' said Hirad. 'We're forgetting one thing on the magic front, before you go on.'

'Which is?' asked The Unknown.

'Sha-Kaan,' said Hirad. 'There's a casting to get him home. That has to happen before the battle. Denser?'

Denser turned a carefully neutral face to him. 'Why must it be done before the battle?'

'Because we can't take the risk of dying and leaving him stranded here. Not now we have the knowledge.'

'Old friends dying is a risk of war, as you so ably pointed out yesterday morning,' said Denser. ‘Ineed my stamina to protect this college. He'll have to wait.'

Hirad stood quietly for a moment, Izack watching his face. It betrayed no anger though his body had tensed.

'That isn't acceptable,' said Hirad.

'Rough justice,' said Denser. 'If he can wait six years, he can wait another few days.'

Hirad thumped the table. 'No!' he shouted. 'He has to go now, today. I spoke to him last night. The flight nearly killed him. He has so little left that a few Xeteskian mages could take him down. Think, Denser. And do the right thing.'

'Hark at you, Coldheart.' Denser shook his head. 'The right thing is what you think at the time, isn't it? Well, no dice. This time, I'm in the chair and I decide. And there's nothing you can do about it.'

Hirad breathed in deeply. His shoulder muscles bunched then relaxed and he held up a hand. 'Denser, please. If there is one innocent in all this it is Sha-Kaan. Gods, he was trapped here saving us and now he has to go home. He's not a part of this war. If you want to take out your anger about what I did, then do it on me. Don't use him as a pawn. He deserves better than that from all of us. He deserves to live and if you don't send him back now, you might be condemning him to death. Please, Denser.'

Denser looked at Hirad askance and then turned fully to face him. 'You know, Hirad, I'm genuinely impressed by that. And I'll not often say that after hearing you talk. Look, let's get this meeting over with and I'll go and check the texts I took from the catacombs. If I'm right, it shouldn't take too long. All he needs from me is a line to follow, after all.'

Hirad beamed but then remembered himself and nodded solemnly.

'Thank you, Denser.'

Denser shrugged.

'And I'm sorry, all right?'

'Later, Hirad. Let's discuss it later.'

Hirad slapped the table. 'So, General, what's the big idea?'

Chapter 39

Erienne listened to them for as long as she could. Men standing round maps discussing the futures of other men. Who lived and who died being tossed around like an orange stolen by children in a market. She wondered if they ever actually stopped to think about what they were doing. That positioning that man there and that man there actually condemned one man and saved the other.

Probably, they didn't. And a part of her didn't blame them because they made the same decisions about themselves and lived or died by them. But the larger part thought of them as playing gods because they mentioned her name and assumed her compliance without knowing any longer what she was capable of doing. They remembered her Dordovan magical skills. She didn't think she could use them any more.

She tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen. All they could find to say was that they would help her, that they would be there and that they were The Raven. So instead she walked out into the sunlight to watch the attempt to raise the Heart. She didn't feel much of the warmth of the sun and everything seemed a little detached. She knew why. The One was probing her senses, keeping her away from the people she needed in any way it could. It was trying to deprive her of her humanity. Her hearing, her sight and her touch all seemed to be under attack.