Foretellers (The Ydron Saga Book 3) (30 page)

Boot heels in cadence on masonry resonated throughout barakMacom’s hallways as Ben Haro’s army commander escorted Rodic and Captain Faul to the throne room. Diagonal shafts of amber, thrown by the looming orange sun, itself scarcely visible through the ubiquitous haze, cut across their path, illuminating the gray slate walls and floors with rectangular panels of light. At the end of the corridor, two guards snapped to attention, then threw wide the doors, returning to their posts only after the three had passed through.

No courtiers were here, Rodic noted, and no assembled petitioners awaiting audience. At the opposite wall, stairs rose directly to a throne atop a pedestal with room for it and nothing more: no advisor who might wish to stand beside the warlord nor banners emblazoned with his colors. No fawning underlings waited at the pedestal’s foot. Alone on that gray iron high-backed chair sat Ben Haro, the fingers of his right hand drumming on one arm, while his left hand grasped the other arm tightly enough that his knuckles showed white.

They halted before him, a few feet from the bottommost step. The officer in charge snapped to attention as Rodic and Faul fell into an easier stance. The commander saluted. When Ben Haro failed to acknowledge it, the commander returned his arm to his side.

“My Lord, it is my duty to present Lord Rodic, ruler of Monhedeth, and Captain Faul, his second in command,” the commander announced.

“A lowly captain is your second in command?” asked Lord Haro.

“He’ll soon be General Faul,” Rodic replied. “I’ve not yet had time for a formal commissioning.”

“Quite a promotion,” Lord Haro observed. “Past major and colonel all the way to general in one move?”

“He has earned it on the battlefield. There’s no finer commander of men in all of Monhedeth.”

“Considering the last two lords, I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Agreeing in substance, though not with his manner, Rodic chose to ignore the insult and address his concerns.

“While it will take a firm hand to bring my land into the state it should be, the raw materials abound for the man willing to take them and shape them.”

“It takes a smart man to rule a nation.” Lord Haro said, gazing keenly. “Are you such a man?”

“Smart enough to know who his ally should be.”

“I take it you have little regard for Emmet Lehr.”

“He’s shrewder than my predecessor, but doddering. These days require men of vigor. Power is changing hands all around, demanding men who have the ability to recognize the moment, the courage to seize it and act decisively.”

“And you have such insight, such… courage?”

Rodic locked his hands behind him and met Lord Haro’s gaze.

“Harad squandered many of his troops on a matter of revenge. Fortunately for me, he left the best ones behind. There is but one war worth fighting and it centers around Liad-Nur. Its victors will have all the lands and the wealth they hold at its conclusion.”

Lord Haro’s eyes were slits as he studied Rodic.

“You don’t consider Limast or Meden worth your trouble?”

“Indeed I do. But not now. They are locked in a conflict that reduces their forces daily. By the time they are done, a proper army can march in and take whatever they choose.”

Lord Haro sat staring. Several seconds passed before he asked, “And you’re confident Hath Kael will be that generous?”

“Alone against all his allies, he’d be a fool not to be. You know as well as I that Kael is no fool.”

Lord Haro pursed his lips.

“I like you,” he said in a voice so low it made Rodic wonder if he were talking to himself. Then, much louder, he asked, “How soon can you rally your men?”

“I have two pigeons left that will home to Monhedeth. Harad had ordered the brigades he’d left behind to be ready the moment he returned. If I summon them now, the horse soldiers can be here in a week. The infantry will take a week longer.”

“Good,” Lord Haro said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Only two problems remain: convincing Emmet Lehr to lend us his soldiers and contacting Hath Kael to inform him we are coming.”

Rodic grinned and corrected him.

“Only one problem remains. Sabed Orr and Hath Kael communicated on a regular basis. I’ll have the cavalry bring the remaining birds so we can as well.

“If I understood Harad correctly, Lord Lehr holds you in his highest esteem.” He was lying, but that admission wouldn’t serve him. “I’ll leave that part of the puzzle to you. Speaking of puzzles, something else still seems to be bothering you.”

Lord Haro snorted.

“I’m just wondering where you acquired your acumen and why—I have a difficult time calling him Lord—Harad seemed so lacking. Cunning, perhaps, but his assessment of worldly affairs seemed somehow wanting, at least as Lehr related them.”

Rodic concurred, adding, “It was only his ability to read minds that drew me to him. He was a telepath, you know.”

Lord Haro cocked his head and said, “Well, that certainly explains a lot.”

“That lent him a distinct advantage over his rivals,” Rodic continued. “Now that he’s gone, I’m seeking a more astute alliance.”

Lord Haro rose from his throne and descended the stairs. At their bottom, he clapped Rodic on the shoulder and said, “Let’s find some place comfortable to plan.”

When Haro glanced at Captain Faul, then back again, Rodic said, “I’d trust him with my life, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“A bit of a telepath yourself?”

Rodic smiled and Lord Haro clapped Faul on the shoulder and led both visitors to a room more conducive to relaxed conversation. Rodic understood that, while his own numbers were insufficient to convince Kael to value him as an ally, the addition of Miast and Dar to the mix might be significant enough to make his contribution valuable. He grinned.

Cream always rises to the top
, he thought.

“What are you doing here?”

Pandy raised her head and opened her eyes, trying to comprehend her surroundings. The vision had enveloped her so completely she had lost track of everything else. Waking from the dream, she fought to retain the details, then relaxed as it continued to play, leaving her distanced but still looking in.

“I asked what you’re doing here.”

Pandy sat and pulled a piece of straw from her hair. She glanced toward the voice and noticed a man in a leather apron standing a few feet inside the door.

“I… ,” she began, but the man cut her off.

“No one’s supposed to be in here.”

“These are my endaths,” she said.

“
Your
endaths?”

“Yes,” Pandy said as she rose to her feet. She brushed the straw from her clothing and explained, “They belong to me… and a friend.” As the man eyed her skeptically, she asked, “Would it be too much trouble to put a window in one of these walls? There were windows here before. It’s not right to keep these animals locked in total darkness.”

Pointing toward the longest wall, he replied, “That’s the outer wall. We can’t knock a hole in the outer wall.”

“What about this one?” she asked, indicating the nearer one. “It was windowed before and would open onto the yard.”

He shook his head.

“The activity outside would upset them. That’s what I was told when we bricked the old ones over.”

“Something has to be done. They can’t live like this. I think I’ll ask Lord Sitheh.”

“Lord Sitheh, you say? Good luck getting him to talk to you.”

“We talk all the time,” she said and headed outside.

He raised his brows as Pandy brushed past. As she made her way onto the courtyard, she heard him say, “Really?” Too distant to respond and preoccupied with the newest revelation, she was turning toward the warlord’s quarters when she spotted him conversing high on a parapet. Taking the steps in pairs, sometimes pausing to turn sideways to allow a descending soldier room to pass, once on the uppermost walk she halted and caught her breath. Hands on her knees, she took three deep inhalations, blew the last one between pursed lips, then stood upright.

She took a moment to get her bearings. She was on a side wall facing toward the fortress’s front. Lord Sitheh and General Barral were gazing onto the plain, making broad sweeping gestures. Upon reaching them, torn between the urgency of imparting what she had learned and her desire not to interrupt, she stood half a dozen paces to one side and waited for one of them to notice.

She looked where they were gesturing and realized how much things had changed just since her arrival. It had been several days since Barral brought them here and she was struck by the increase in the forces that had amassed. BarakMall faced northwest and the battalions had divided themselves into several orderly encampments spreading from the far southwest, nearly to the limit of her sight, past the fortress and, almost as far again toward the northeast in the direction of the Han’nah mountain range. Here and there a rider, whom she suspected to be a courier, was galloping either toward the fort or back onto the plain. Broad avenues where supply wagons rolled separated each group of tents. Flags and banners indicated each battalion’s origin. Of the two on her left still erecting structures, one flew the green and white of the late Essem Cargath, and Pandy wondered if the second one’s blue and gray belonged to Tai Comer. If so, then Colonels Hol and Kanagh had arrived and her effort had been successful.

She smiled.

Raising her eyes, she scanned the plain beyond. Envisioning what she had feared, she approached the two as General Barral was saying, “I expect Kael will arrive in another week or so. That will give us enough time to… ”

“He’s arriving today,” she interrupted, pointing toward the horizon and the dust cloud that was forming. “He plans to wait until most of his reinforcements arrive… Actually, all the ones he’s aware of.”

When they turned back to look at her, she explained, “The armies of Miast, Dar and Monhedeth are on their way to join him. Monhedeth is sending a pigeon to Chadarr to inform Kael of their intentions. Once the bird arrives, a courier will ride here, to Kael’s encampment, to convey the message. After that, he will wait long enough for their cavalries to reach barTimesh, just in time for the initial engagement. Their foot soldiers will arrive in time for the second.”

General Barral and Lord Sitheh exchanged glances.

“If you can’t find additional support, that one will finish you.”

“All of our allies are accounted for. There’s no one else,” said Lord Sitheh. Looking to the general, he asked, “Is there?”

Barral shook his head.

“There is a way,” said Pandy. “It’s complicated and there is a lot that can go wrong, but there is a way.”

Raymond Bolton lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife, Toni, and their two cats, Georgie & Sophia. Reviewers have been generous with praise, offering such comments as, “Mr. Bolton's imagination is truly unique and rich - his characters feel like old friends, his settings are vivid, and the plot is exciting and well-paced. Perhaps my favorite aspect of his writing is that he trusts his reader to follow him into the world he has brought to life, and what a treat it is!”
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1387968540

I hope you’ve enjoyed
Foretellers
. If you’re hoping for more episodes to follow this one, I won’t disappoint you. I am working hard to finish
Telekine
, the third volume of
Awakening
’s prequel trilogy, due out at the beginning of 2017.

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Thanks for purchasing this book. I look forward to joining you as we continue to explore the Ydron saga. It’s a truly vast land with an amazing history and this trilogy does not represent the last of the stories!