Legacies (45 page)

Two days later, under the midmorning sun of early summer, a sun that, with a cloudless sky, promised almost blistering heat by later in the day, Alucius and second squad rode along the narrow canyon road. The old road wound back toward the southwest high road, following the path of Spring Creek. Alucius pushed back his felt hat and blotted his forehead with the sleeve of his tunic, then eased the hat back forward to shade his eyes from the intense sunlight.

Second squad was headed southward toward the southwest high road. Alucius judged that they were less than two vingts away. Second squad's patrol duty was simple—to warn the rest of Fortieth Company if any Lanachronans appeared, particularly any forces of a size to present a danger to Fortieth Company and the engineers. The engineers—working to shift the course of Spring Creek—were two vingts behind second squad to the north and a good seven or eight vingts eastward of where the southern boundary road crossed the high road. Occasionally, Alucius could hear muffled explosions as the engineers moved soil and rock.

He glanced to his left. The ground, half rock and half sandy soil covered with brown pine needles, rose steeply enough that twenty yards into the pines, the roots of the trees were yards above Alucius's head. Then, the pines became fewer—because the uneven slope gave way to a series of sandstone escarpments, out of which grew but scattered and twisted pines. On the right, the ground—also heavily wooded—dropped sharply to the narrow creek. Beyond the creek farther to the west, the broken and sheer sandstone rose even more steeply than on the east side of the road. Alucius disliked the narrowness of the canyon, but it would be another vingt or so before it widened into something more like a wooded valley closer to the high road.

So, far his Talent had shown him little besides deer, a mountain cat, handfuls of rodents and birds. He'd felt no other people—troopers or others—and there were no signs of the brownish green wood-spirits. Still, he kept scanning the trees on both sides of the road, and the narrow creek running to the right of the road, a good five yards below the road level. In the next day, the engineers had said, they hoped to turn the existing creek into a dry streambed that would deny the Lanachronan camp its water supply.

Alucius blotted his forehead again, and then reached forward for his water bottle—the first one, although, with the creek near, he didn't have to be quite so careful, at least until the engineers completed their work. He took a long swallow and replaced the bottle in its holder.

Behind him, he could hear some of the murmurs of the squad.

“…pick us?”

“…better than sitting around back there, waiting for someone…”

“…was a scout…want someone who knows what to look for…”

Another quarter glass passed, and the creek kept flowing, but Alucius had heard no more explosions behind them. Were they far enough south that the detonations didn't carry? Or were the engineers doing something else?

Then, faintly, Alucius could sense riders…a good distance away, too far for his Talent to feel anything but their presence. He eased out the water bottle and took another swallow.

Before long, he could tell that the riders were headed up the canyon toward them. He held up his hand. “Squad halt. Quiet.”

From what he could tell, the oncoming riders—he felt there were two, Lanachronans with black auras—were less than two vingts away, and heading northward toward second squad. He shook his head. “Nothing. Squad forward.”

He leaned forward in the saddle and patted Wildebeast on the shoulder, then settled back and tried to sort out what he could do if the Lanachronans kept closing on second squad. He had less than a quarter glass to decide.

He glanced ahead, looking for a spot where cover would be possible. Taking second squad into the trees on the east side would keep the oncoming riders from immediately spotting the Matrite troopers, but the pines were set far enough apart that, once the riders were within a hundred yards, the easterners could easily make out the troopers of second squad. About a hundred yards ahead of second squad, farther south, the road and the canyon curved slightly eastward, just enough that a rider coming north would not be able to see into the trees until he passed the gentle curve.

“Squad halt.” Alucius turned in the saddle. “There's someone riding this way. If you look closely, you can see a little haze or dust over the road. There's no real cover from a distance. Armon, you and I are going to slip forward, riding along at the fringe of the trees here. The rest of second squad—you're to pull back at least ten yards into the trees here, and wait. Hansyl…you're in charge.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If there are a lot of riders, we'll be back in a hurry.” Alucius grinned. “And then we'll all be in a hurry. If there are only a handful, and we can, we'll let them ride past us, and try to capture them. Armon and I will close from the south.” Alucius looked at Hansyl. “If anything happens to us, you're acting squad leader.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now…into the trees.” Alucius looked to Armon. “Ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

Alucius guided Wildebeast toward the left shoulder of the road, until his shoulders were almost brushing the pine branches. The two rode another fifty yards before Alucius eased his mount around a pine trunk and slowly worked his way southward, until they were just short of the point where the southernmost part of the curve in the road ended.

Alucius studied the pines and then edged Wildebeast farther east, but to where he had a clear line of sight at the road—from behind a thick pine trunk that afforded some cover. “We'll wait here. It won't be that long.”

“Yes, sir.” Armon had also eased his mount behind a pine trunk.

“If they ride past us without seeing us, we'll follow. If they shoot, we shoot back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alucius blotted his forehead once more, before taking out the water bottle for another hurried swallow. Then he waited, knowing the two Lanachronans were still approaching and almost within sight.

Another quarter glass passed before two dim figures appeared on the road, their mounts raising but small clouds of dust. Alucius swallowed. “Rifles ready. Just in case.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two Lanachronans, standing out in the bright midday sun in their blue uniforms, continued to ride toward the two Matrite troopers half hidden in the pines.

For a time, Alucius thought the two scouts might ride past without noticing them. But the eyes of the lead rider, less than fifty yards south of Alucius, swept across the pines. Then his head turned back, all too casually, even as he grabbed for his rifle and hissed something to the second trooper. He raised his rifle and ducked, even while aiming toward Alucius. The second fumbled for his rifle.

As the first Lanachronan fired, Alucius raised his own weapon and squeezed off a shot,
willing
it to hit. The Lanachronan pitched back in his saddle, his rifle flying free, and the void of sudden death flashed past Alucius. The second trooper wheeled his mount, clearly trying to flee.

Alucius took two more shots before the man flailed out of the saddle, also dead.

Alucius lowered the rifle slowly, then turned to Armon. “There aren't any more. We need to drag the bodies into the trees. See if they had any dispatches, orders, anything like that.” Without saying more, he turned in the saddle and began to ride toward the two dead Lanachronans.

After a moment, Armon followed.

The two rode side by side for almost fifty yards.

“Sir…?”

“Why did I shoot the second trooper?” asked Alucius. “What was I going to do? Have him ride back and report that we're up here along the creek? Have them send a company or more?”

“If the engineers do their thing…they'll find out.”

“But they won't know for certain, and we won't be here when it happens, outnumbered, with our forces split.”

Armon was silent.

Alucius reined up by the first body, then dismounted and handed Wildebeast's reins to Armon. He picked up the dead man's rifle and extended it to Armon. Then, he turned over the trooper, a dark-haired and bearded man a good ten years older than Alucius, probably an experienced scout. He carried nothing in the way of orders or dispatches, and Alucius dragged the body into the trees, a good ten yards back and uphill. He was sweating profusely and breathing heavily when he finally walked back to the narrow road and remounted Wildebeast.

The second rider was far younger, and more muscular. Alucius swallowed. For a moment, the dead trooper had reminded him of Vardial. Was Vardial still alive? Serving in the militia? Alucius swallowed again before quickly searching the body, and then dragging it into the trees. His eyes burned for a moment as he laid the figure beside a tree. Then, he blinked and took a deep breath before walking quickly back to Armon. It took him longer to find the second rifle, beside a pine tree root on the western side of the road.

Both Lanachronan mounts had stopped two hundred yards south of the second trooper. Alucius managed to project enough reassurance to keep them from spooking again, and, without being asked, Armon took charge of the riderless horses.

Then Alucius and Armon rode slowly and silently back northward, around the gentle curve in the road. Absently, Alucius noted that Spring Creek still flowed unabated.

“Hansyl!” Alucius called as they neared where he had stationed the squad. “Second squad! Form up.”

As the troopers eased their mounts from the pines and onto the road, Alucius could hear some of the comments.

“…two mounts…four shots…just shot 'em…”

“…think this is leschec…a game?”

“Form up!” Alucius repeated. “We're headed back to the engineers.”

The afternoon, as he had feared, continued to get hotter, and he drank more water, sweated more, and collected more road dust.

Alucius kept his eyes and ears—and Talent-senses—out searching, but for the entire ride back upstream, for more than two glasses, he could find no sign of anything except wildlife, his own troopers, and, as they neared the work site, the engineers and Fortieth Company.

Tymal had clearly posted lookouts, because he rode out alone in the late afternoon to meet second squad. His eyes widened at the sight of the captured mounts trailing the squad, and he reined up, waiting until the squad neared before speaking. “Squad Leader Alucius. I'll need a word with you.”

“Yes, sir.” Alucius turned in the saddle. “Second squad, hold here.” He shifted his weight in the saddle and urged Wildebeast forward on the narrow road. Behind him, he heard some of the murmurs.

“…in for it…wager Tymal told him not to shoot anyone.”

“…what was he going to do…let 'em ride back and tell where we are…”

“…had to do it…”

“…doesn't miss much…”

“What happened?” Tymal's voice bore equal traces of resignation and curiosity, but his eyes were intent and focused on Alucius.

“We ran into two Lanachronan scouts. We'd hoped to surround and capture them…but they saw us and fired, then tried to escape.” Alucius shrugged.

“You shot them both?” asked Tymal.

“There wasn't any way to catch them,” Alucius replied. “There weren't any others with them. No tracks of other mounts nearby. They were under orders to get information and report back. I couldn't let them get back with it.”

Tymal shook his head. “I suppose you couldn't.”

“No, sir. Not if we want what the engineers are doing to work.”

“I'll have to tell the captain.”

“Yes, sir.”

Far too much was getting reported to the captain. Yet…if Fortieth Company did not survive, the odds were poor that one junior squad leader would.

Decdi came and went, and so did Londi. Alucius and Fortieth Company had returned to Zalt. They waited…and waited. Spring Creek had dried up, but the Lanachronans remained behind their earthen berms beyond the southern boundary road. On Londi, second squad had ridden a patrol, but the Lanachronans had been silent, and even with his Talent, Alucius had detected no movement, no preparations.

Long after the sun set on Londi, Alucius had finally drifted into sleep, a sleep filled with dreams of shadowy figures with unseen weapons, and words that he could never quite hear.

“Sirs! Senior Squad Leader Tymal needs to see you! Northeast corner of the mess.”

A light-torch flashed across Alucius's face, and he struggled into a sitting position.

“What glass is it…?” he mumbled.

“A good glass before dawn,” Pahl snapped from his bunk farther down the bay. “It figures. Keep us waiting, and then attack before dawn.”

Alucius lurched out of his bunk and struggled into his uniform, making sure the nightsilk undergarments were smooth against his skin, not that such was the problem, since he hadn't gained much weight since they'd been tailored for him. Then he hurried down the dim corridors of the barracks toward the mess, following Yular, and with Pahl and Rask behind him.

The mess was brightly lit, and ration packs had been laid out on all of the tables.

Tymal stood at the end of a mess table in the northeast corner, shifting his weight from one boot to the other. His eyes had dark circles under them, and he snapped, “Over here!”

Within moments, all nine Fortieth Company squad leaders were gathered, their eyes on the senior squad leader.

“We've had scouts watching their camp,” Tymal said. “They let the cookfires burn out last night, and they didn't relight them this morning. They're forming up and will be ready to ride in less than a glass. Have your squads mounted and ready with double cartridge loads in less than a half glass. You'll have to take the ration packs to your squads yourselves.” Tymal glanced around. “The three full reinforcement companies will be in the center, as will Eighteenth Company. Fortieth Company will be to the left of center, Thirty-second to the right, and the auxiliaries in the rear, to be dispatched where they are most needed. The Fifteenth Foot will hold Senob Post. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Take your squad rations and move!”

Like the other squad leaders, after gathering up seven ration packs, Alucius practically sprinted to the barracks wing holding the troopers. “Second squad. On your feet! You've got a quarter glass to get to the stables. I've got your ration packs here.”

“…frig…”

“…dog-chewing bastards going to attack…”

“Get suited up!” Alucius ordered. “Get your gear; and pick up your ration packs here. Draw double cartridge loads. Double cartridge loads. I'll see you in the stable.”

After that, moving as quickly as he could, Alucius reclaimed his own gear, and cartridges, before heading out of the barracks to saddle Wildebeast.

The courtyard of Senob Post was crowded, and names and orders flew above the stones, in the dim light that was barely brighter than night—without either moon high in the sky. Selena had long since set, and Asterta was but a thin green crescent in the west.

For all the commands, and with six different horse companies forming up, second squad was still ready in ranks within the half a glass set by Tymal—if barely, as Druw eased his mount into the last rank just as Tymal rode toward the front of Fortieth Company. The hubbub in the courtyard had already begun to die away. Only moments behind Tymal were Captain Hyrlui, Undercaptain Kryll, and Undercaptain Taniti.

“Fortieth Company will be sixth in the line of march,” Tymal announced, “right after Twentieth Company. Squad leaders, hold your position until commanded.”

Time seemed to pass ever so slowly, but Alucius doubted that even a quarter of a glass had passed before the first commands to move out were called forth.

By the time second squad followed Tymal and the officers of Fortieth Company out through the gates of Senob Post, the sky was pale gray, rather than dark gray, and a hint of orange played across the peaks of the Coast Range to the east. Behind them, the gates closed, the first time Alucius had ever seen the gates closed. The three companies of auxiliaries were drawn up on the high road, waiting for Fortieth Company, before following.

There was a light and warm wind out of the east, blowing gently into Alucius's face, and carrying the grit and road dust kicked up by the hundreds of riders already on the road in front of Fortieth Company and second squad. Alucius definitely preferred being in the front of the column. Still, the Matrite forces did not travel that far—less than three vingts east of Senob Post—before the column came to a halt. With the wind so light, what dust there was settled almost immediately.

As he waited, wondering why the force had halted, Alucius cast out his Talent-perceptions, trying to see where the Lanachronans were. From what he could tell, they were riding eastward on the high road—on and beside it. The Lanachronan strategy seemed clear enough to Alucius—just punch through any resistance and take Zalt.

Likewise, the Matrite strategy was equally clear—stop the attack.

It would have been difficult for the Lanachronans to take Senob Post, Alucius knew, even with cannon, but Zalt itself was not fortified, and the Lanachronans could easily lay waste to the town without taking the post. So the Fifteenth Foot was holding the post—for now.

Was that to keep the Lanachronans from moving on or consolidating a position in the event the Matrite forces were overcome? To fight a holding action until more Matrite companies arrived?

As more dust rose, Alucius could see that the Matrite companies were beginning to re-form, the Thirty-second Company riding southward in a line perpendicular to the southwest high road. Then another company followed, and Fortieth Company moved forward on the high road, then came to another halt.

In time, after receiving some order from Captain Hyrlui, Tymal turned his mount. “Fortieth Company to the left, keep pace with me. Follow the lane.”

“Second squad! Column turn left onto the lane. Column turn left!” Alucius ordered, keeping station on Tymal as second squad rode down a narrow lane between fields.

After little more than two hundred fifty yards, the senior squad leader halted. “Fortieth company, right wheel, halt in place.”

“Second squad, right wheel, halt in place!” Alucius ordered.

“Double ranks, double interval,” Tymal commanded. “Second squad first, third squad directly behind second. Fourth squad to the left and abreast of second…”

Alucius was definitely not pleased with the “honor” of being in the front rank, although he had thought that second squad would have been positioned directly next to Twentieth Company. Instead, second squad and third squad were the ones holding the left flank of the entire formation.

With slightly fewer Matrite troopers, it appeared to Alucius that Overcaptain Catryn was simply trying to keep her forces in position to avoid being easily flanked, but not so thinly spread that a heavy attack could punch through the center of the formation.

Alucius looked eastward. In front of him was a field filled with low green sprouts, with no fences, not that there were many fences anywhere in Madrien. The field stretched eastward, and farther east was another field, with shoots of a darker green.

Alucius shifted his weight on Wildebeast and waited…and waited. He took a long swallow from his water bottle and kept waiting. To the east, he could see the dark mass that was the Lanachronan force, but the enemy horse had reined up, a good half vingt away, out of easy rifle range, and also waited. The sun slowly crept up, until orange flooded the ground, glaring almost directly into the eyes of the defenders.

A single trumpet blast came from the east, its echoes wavering and dying away. The signal was repeated twice more.

Alucius had to squint against the brilliance of the rising sun to make out the dark mass of the Lanachronan troopers, not hurrying at first, but moving forward at a measured pace.

“Fortieth Company! Rifles ready!”

“Second squad, rifles ready. Prepare to fire!” Alucius checked his own rifle once more, then watched and waited.

At a range of around a hundred and fifty yards, the Lanachronan horse broke into a canter, sweeping forward. Alucius still waited, knowing that his troopers were most accurate with their rifles at less than a hundred yards.

“Prepare to fire at will!” he ordered, again, studying the attackers, calculating before he finally ordered. “Fire!” He raised his own rifle, and fired, then cocked it and fired again…and again. He got in almost seven shots before the Lanachronans were within thirty yards.

“Rifles away! Sabres at the ready!” He waited just a moment. “Charge!”

While the Matrite fire had reduced the number of attackers somewhat, Alucius felt more than a little outnumbered as second squad rode forward.

When the first trooper in blue slashed at him, Alucius parried and back-slashed, then ducked and took on the rider following the first, and then another, before turning Wildebeast and bringing down yet another Lanachronan from behind.

Horses wheeled, and some screamed. The reports of rifles died away, and blades flashed, seeming to flicker in the dusty air. Men grunted, and swore. Dust was everywhere, fine and pervasive enough to blur the outlines of anything beyond the circle of struggle that surrounded Alucius.

A lull of sorts filled the area, and Alucius could see no Lanachronans—or rather, they had seemingly been carried toward the center of the fray.

He marked the lane, a good fifty yards behind him, and called out. “Second squad! Second squad! Re-form on me!”

Figures emerged out of the dust, which had begun to settle. Alucius counted six. Keval was missing.

“Back to the lane and re-form!” Alucius cleaned his blade and sheathed it.

Somewhere to his left, he heard a similar command from Yular.

No sooner had second and third squads re-formed into a more solid formation, again defining the left flank of a battle that had looked disorganized and chaotic, than Tymal galloped up.

The senior squad leader reined in his mount and shouted, “Second squad, wheel to a line oblique! Staggered spacing. Fire a full magazine. Leapfrog back and reload.” Then the senior stood in the stirrups and repeated the orders to Yular and third squad, telling them to take station on second squad.

More dust appeared to the east, and now that the sun was far higher, Alucius found it easier to make out the blue tunics of the Lanachronans galloping toward Fortieth Company. An even greater mass of troopers had hurled itself toward the center of the Matrite line.

“Wheel to a line oblique!” he snapped. “Staggered double file so all troopers can fire. Rifles ready.”

As second squad wheeled, Alucius glanced to his right. There, the leftmost squads of Twentieth Company had already formed into an oblique firing line.

Crack! Crack!…
A line of fire from Twentieth Company raked the oncoming easterners. Troopers in blue pitched forward, but the charge continued. A second volley, and then a third, followed.

“Second squad,” Alucius called. “At my command…fire!”

Crack!
The reports from his squad were almost simultaneous.

“Fire!”

By the end of the commands, the Lanachronans—those still mounted—had broken.

Alucius looked around. All six remaining troopers of second squad were still mounted. Alucius saw no reason to withdraw immediately. “Reload and stand ready!”

To his right and to his rear, he heard a similar command from Yular.

Alucius stood in his own stirrups, trying to see what was happening toward the center of the line. He could sense that something was not as it should be. Twentieth Company seemed to be pulling back—away from the center where the Lanachronan attack had been concentrated.

Alucius wanted to do
something
, but leapfrogging back seemed useless, since no one was attacking, and there was even less chance to support the center from farther back. Circling forward around Twentieth Company would leave a gap in the line, and his small squad was unlikely to make that much of a difference—and he didn't want to collapse the line more so that they could be flanked.

So…he waited. “Stand ready!” Ready for what, he had no idea.

Out of the turmoil in the center of the line, slowly, slowly, the Lanachronans were pushed back. Then the trumpet sounded, three short blasts, and then another three.

Alucius watched, through the dust, as the blue clad Lanachronans swung their mounts and pulled back.

Alucius became aware of a slight ache in his right forearm. He glanced down, taking in the slash in his tunic. The nightsilk had stopped the blade, turning what could have been a nasty slash into a bruise—probably a nasty one, but a bruise rather than a sabre wound.

He shifted his weight in the saddle and fumbled out the water bottle, taking a quick swallow, even as he surveyed the area around him. There were horses down in places, but more bodies in green and blue than mounts, many more. Alucius didn't count them.

The Matrite horse companies were already re-forming. Alucius smiled to himself, glad that second squad was already in order, although that had as much to do with the battle moving away from the left flank as anything he'd done.

Tymal rode down to the end of the line, less than five yards from Alucius. “Reload now, if you haven't already. Make sure your men drink!” Then he was moving back toward the center of Fortieth Company.

“Second squad, reload!” Alucius called out. “Make sure your magazines are full. Then take a drink. We may not have much of a break.”

“Break, sir, what's that?” asked Beral, grinning.

“It's what we're not getting much of,” Alucius replied.