“Where’s Captain Tenragan?”
“He’s not here.”
“Who’s the ranking Defender officer then?”
Almodavar looked a little annoyed at the man’s insistence on following Defender protocol.
“If you have news man, out with it.”
The Defender looked as if he was going to argue the point, but weariness won out over procedure.
“I have a message from the Lord Defender,” he said. “The Kariens crossed the border two days after you left. The Defenders were ordered to throw down their arms. The Kariens have control of the Keep.”
Almodavar nodded, unsurprised by the news. “Jenga ordered you to founder a horse just to tell us that?”
He shook his head. “No. He sent me to tell you that two hundred Kariens were dispatched south at the same time. He thinks they know about the princess. Cratyn is leading them himself.”
Adrina’s heart skipped a beat. Surely they had enough lead on them to escape? The Kariens could not travel as fast as their troop and they were making excellent time.
Almodavar nodded and glanced at Adrina. Her expression must have betrayed her thoughts. “They’ll not catch us, your Highness.”
“Not if we keep moving,” she agreed.
Adrina left the rest of it unsaid. Almodavar knew, as well as she, that a force of a thousand Defenders was blocking the way south.
Chapter 59
From a distance, the northern plains looked as flat and featureless as a tabletop. The view was deceptive, though. In reality the plains were a series of low rolling folds that concealed as much as they revealed. Tarja, Damin and the Hythrun scout, whose name was Colsy, dismounted some distance from the Defenders. They led their horses off the road for quite a way, before leaving them to fend for themselves as they scrambled up a low hillside, dropping on their bellies as they neared the summit.
“Gods!” Damin muttered as they reached the top.
Tarja studied the scene below, forcing down a wave of despair. The column of Defenders was stretched out along the road in a snaking line that stretched for half a league or more. At its head, rode a Karien knight, displaying a coat of arms on his shield that he could not make out from this distance.
“Do you have your looking-glass?”
Damin nodded and handed Tarja the instrument from the pouch he carried on his belt. Tarja aimed it at the knight’s shield. As the three silver pike on a red field slowly resolved into focus he swore softly, then handed it back to Damin.
“Well, at least that answers the question about the whereabouts of the Duke of Setenton.”
Damin took the looking-glass and followed Tarja’s pointing finger.
“And where the order for the surrender came from,” Damin agreed. “What’s he doing leading half the damned Defender Corps north?”
Half was a gross exaggeration, but that near a thousand Defenders marched under the command of a Karien knight was cause enough for concern.
“If he was waiting at the Citadel when R’shiel arrived...” Tarja did not finish the sentence. He was afraid to put his thought into words.
“I wonder who’s in the carriage,” Colsy added, pointing at the elaborate vehicle drawn by six matched horses, which trundled along behind the Kariens.
“That’s the First Sister’s carriage.”
“That’s all we need,” Damin groaned. “Joyhinia Tenragan, in all her vicious glory. I thought you destroyed her wit after Dacendaran stole it?”
“So did I.”
Damin returned the looking-glass to its case and rolled onto his back. He put his hands behind his head and stared at the pale sky for a moment then looked at Tarja.
“They’ll be on us by nightfall.”
“Or so close it won’t matter.”
“I’ve always fancied myself a brilliant warrior, Tarja, but odds of ten to one are a bit much, even for me.”
Tarja nodded. “There’s nothing to be achieved by engaging them.”
“So what do we do? Hide until they ride by? Head overland?”
“If we turn off the road, it’ll take a lot longer to reach the river and even more time to find a place where we can cross. Cauthside is the only place with a decent barge this side of Testra.” He didn’t add that going overland meant turning west. Damin knew it without having it spelled out for him.
“Then it seems we have no choice. We hide until they pass by.”
“That may not be as simple as you think. Terbolt might be in command, but the Defenders won’t let that interfere with their normal routine. They’ll have scouts out, you can be certain.”
“I didn’t see any,” Colsy objected.
“That doesn’t mean they aren’t out there,” Tarja warned.
Damin nodded in agreement. “The reputation of the Defenders is well earned. All the more reason not to take them on.”
“If we’re careful, we should be able to avoid them,” Tarja suggested.
The Warlord smiled wistfully. “Remember the good old days, Tarja? When you and I knew exactly who our enemies were? I miss them.”
“I remember them well. You were the enemy, as I recall.”
“And you were always one step ahead of me. I always meant to ask you how you managed that.”
“I probably shouldn’t disillusion you, but it was luck as much as anything.”
Damin grinned. “I don’t believe you. Nobody could be that lucky.”
“Alright, if it makes you happy, it was my sheer tactical brilliance.”
“Just as I always suspected,” Damin agreed. He rolled over and stared down at the advancing Defenders. “I have to tell you. The sight of those Defenders has completely ruined my day, you know that, don’t you?”
“You’ll get over it.”
“Eventually,” Damin sighed. “Let’s get back to the others.”
“Aren’t we going to do anything?” Colsy asked, obviously disappointed.
“We are going to hide, young man.”
“Hiding is for women.”
“And very smart men,” the Warlord retorted.
It was late afternoon before they located Almodavar and the rest of their band. The Hythrun captain had done an excellent job of concealing their presence. But for some scattered tracks heading toward the tree-line, there was nothing to indicate that more than a hundred men were concealed among the trees. Tarja looked around the camp with approval. The Hythrun seemed to lack discipline, but when it really counted, they did exactly as they were ordered.
Adrina hurried forward as they rode into the camp. The change in her was quite remarkable, Tarja thought. She seemed to have shed her spoilt outer shell. She had ridden without complaint, as though she was trying to prove she was worthy of the danger they had placed themselves in by offering her protection. Her face brightened at Damin’s approach, revealing far more than she meant to.
Tarja was wary of Damin’s relationship with Adrina. It was fraught with danger and long-term ramifications that did not bear thinking about. Despite the insistence of both Damin and Adrina that the relationship meant nothing, Tarja could see the danger signs. Adrina never strayed far from Damin and he was prepared to risk his life to keep her by his side. Tarja understood what it was like to be willing to lay down your life for someone you loved. He wondered how long it would be before the Hythrun Warlord and the Fardohnyan Princess worked it out for themselves.
“Cratyn’s coming!” Adrina cried as Damin dismounted.
Damin looked over her shoulder at Almodavar who approached them at a much more dignified pace.