But he would hear about it. Jazana Carr was sure of that. She smiled, not happily, and hoped that the news of her victory here would soon reach her old lover. The hole he had left in her still ached, and that surprised her. She hoped that taking Andola would be a needed first step in stemming that pain.
But to Rodrik Varl her plan made no sense, and as her trusted bodyguard came up behind her she could sense the uncertainty in his gait. She wished he would walk on past her, but he did not. Instead he came to a stop nearby, mimicking her as she surveyed their loop of armies. It was an impressive assemblage; even Rodrik admitted that. But he had questioned her every step of the way. She had seen very little of him in the past month while he recalled his mercenaries and summoned the Norvan dukes from their cities. And in the past three days they had still had little time together. Yet somehow Rodrik had found the time to be discouraging.
‘It’s a fine host, my lady,’ he trilled, ‘but overconfident to be sure. The Liirians aren’t like Dugald thinks, and Count Onikil has the same streak of stupidity. I worry.’
‘Yes, you worry too much,’ said Jazana. She was tired of his warnings. ‘Now especially is not the time for such talk. There’s a task to be done. Let’s have at it quick and clean.’
The mercenary adjusted his beret and nodded. ‘Aye.’
Not far away, his horse and escort awaited him. Soon he would ride out to the southern front and rouse his men to war. The southern bastion was Andola’s best defence, and like the eastern wall it was well fortified with men and arms. They could take the whole city, but until they took the bastion their battle would not end.
‘Dark,’ Jazana commented absently. There were very few lights visible in the buildings of the city. She supposed the people were hiding, dousing their candles and lanterns to keep her hordes away. For a moment she was sad for them. This wasn’t a fight for slaves or gold or even territory. This was something different.
‘Pride.’
The word slipped past her lips before she could stop it. Rodrik regarded her strangely.
‘Ravel,’ Jazana explained. ‘He could have avoided all of this if not for his stupid pride. Such a foolish man.’
Rodrik Varl smirked. ‘Pride isn’t the purview of men alone, Jazana. Not only men are ruined by it.’
‘Oh, just say it, Rodrik. Before you ride off to kill people, please — let’s have the mercenary’s lecture on morality.’
‘All right,’ said Rodrik gamely. ‘I’ll tell you. I think this is a mistake.’
‘So you’ve said, many times.’
‘Not because I’m afraid for Liiria, but because I’m afraid for Norvor. You’ve bent your whole life toward winning Norvor, and now you’ve turned your back on it.’
‘Jealousy,’ she sighed dismissively.
‘No.’ He grabbed her hand and yanked her around to face him. ‘Listen to me. You’re playing a dangerous game, and if anyone here is jealous it is you. You think to lure Thorin back to you by destroying his family? His country? What about your own country? Norvor needs you, Jazana.’
She pulled free her hand and would not look at him. ‘Norvor is mine. I fought for it. No one can take it from me now.’
‘But the people must see you! They must know you care. Otherwise you’re just another tyrant, just another Lorn the Wicked.’ Rodrik shook his red head, exasperated. ‘You’re battling ghosts, Jazana.’
‘Rodrik, I have ghosts that never quiet,’ she said. Suddenly she was desperate to be away from him. ‘Just a little more,’ she whispered. ‘That’s all I need.’
Rodrik Varl’s lamentful sigh told Jazana Carr his disappointment. ‘Jazana, I do not understand you any more.’
‘It’s a jewel, Rodrik. The greatest jewel.’ Jazana’s eyes focused not on the city but on the nation beyond. Great Liiria, with all its riches and history. Even fractured, it was the centre of the world. It was important, in a way that Norvor had never been.
‘Ah, but how much is enough? How many jewels does it take to satisfy you, Jazana?’
Jazana Carr smiled at her bodyguard. ‘Sweet Rodrik. You’re right — you don’t understand me. You’re a good man, but you have a stunted imagination. Let me help you. .’ She put one arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. Then, with her free hand she pointed out toward Andola. ‘What is beyond Andola?’
Rodrik thought for a moment. ‘The Liirian shires.’
‘And beyond that?’
‘The Novo valley, I think.’
‘And beyond that?’
‘Koth.’
Jazana Carr grinned. ‘And what’s in Koth?’
‘Breck and his men,’ said Rodrik sourly. ‘And trouble.’
‘The library, Rodrik. The library! And all its knowledge, and all that it can teach us. That’s what made Liiria great. That’s what made Akeela a great king, why people remember him. He was a madman, yes? Yet people deify him! They speak his name with reverence, as if they’ve forgotten the ruin he brought them. And why? Because he made them see the stars.’
Rodrik Varl blinked silently.
‘This is no different than winning Norvor,’ Jazana went on. ‘It’s the same war. We’re bringing good to the world, just as Akeela did.’
Whether or not he believed her, Rodrik merely nodded. ‘My men are waiting,’ he said finally. He pulled himself from her embrace. ‘Don’t expect to hear from me too soon.’
‘I want reports, Rodrik. As soon as it’s safe enough, I intend to ride forward.’
His smile was wan. ‘I’ll do my best for you, my lady. You know I always do.’
With a slight bow Rodrik Varl dismissed himself, leaving her alone in the shadow of her pavilion. He did not turn back to her, nor say a word to his waiting men. He simply mounted his horse and rode off, toward the danger of the southern bastion.
On the roof of the southern bastion, Colonel Bern watched as dawn crept over the world. To the east, where a battalion of his men secured Andola’s eastern wall, the sun struggled over the distant hills. The sky blushed with the coming morn. The night breeze was fading and the air was still, rank with the smell of lamp oil and pungent smoke from the brazier behind him. Like a furnace, the giant brazier coughed up a thick, blanketing smoke. Colonel Bern could feel the heat from the fire against his back and neck. The brazier, he knew, could be seen for miles, like a defiant fist raised against the Norvans. At last, his enemies were moving. Reconnaissance had reported at least a thousand men on the southern front, and now Bern could see that monster beginning to stir, a great, dark, undulating mass. Inside the bastion he had less than five hundred men to hold them off. Bern licked his lips uncertainly. He had good men stationed through the city, more soldiers than he should have needed, but Jazana Carr’s pockets were deep indeed, and even he had been stunned by the force she had gathered.
The old Royal Charger adjusted his cape about his shoulders. The morning was fair, yet he was chilled. Nearby, his many archers stood ready on the rooftop. Like their brethren lining the catwalks below, they had trained tirelessly for this day. They would do a proud job, Bern was sure. It would not be an easy victory for the Diamond Queen. She had endless amounts of gold, apparently, but Baron Ravel had opened his own coffers wide. At Bern’s command were four battalions of men, armed and well supplied. Against a normal siege they could have endured for weeks.