The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold (26 page)

“
I know the timing leaves something to be desired,” he said in a louder voice, acknowledging what had almost ignited between them, and acknowledging that it was passing by. “But there is so much about you that draws me. I’ve seen what a strong person you are time and time again. I wish I could…” he stopped himself. “There’s so much about you…” he trailed off again, recognizing that words weren’t suitable now.

The moment was broken, and Imelda pulled her shift up in front of her. “I think maybe we almost had a moment,” she said. “But now isn’t the time, and I’m not the girl you need to talk to anyway; I saw you and Bethany together, and I know that you two are perfectly suited for one another.

“
But now is not the time for that. We’ve got other things to talk about. How did you know?” she asked in a different tone, signaling a change in topic.

“
How did I know what?” Alec asked, caught off-guard.

“
There’s a large force of lacerta heading this way from the front. They’re coming up the river; they must have gotten pretty hungry, and I suspect they’re on the way to find out where all their food has gone,” Imelda said, taking an unconscious step closer to Alec. “Didn’t you know? Why did you burst in here?”

“
We took a captive on the last boat. She’s a member of the lacertii royal family who fell out of favor because she opposes the war, and she’s in exile now,” Alec said quickly, looking into Imelda’s eyes.

“
You have a captive lacerta?” Imelda asked incredulously. Alec saw her face shift as the emotions of the moment battled one another and the new information they were sharing required new calculations. “What were you thinking? Why take a captive?”

“
Kinsey said she sensed something on this particular boat, and i turned out to be Rosebay,” Alec replied.

Imelda still held the shift in front of her. “Turn around,” she commanded, and pulled a shirt over her head. “Okay,” she said to signal her readiness. “We need to move out of here. The lacertii are on foot, so we have some time, but they’ll be here in the morning. We need to pack up and take to the saddle after nightfall. Do you want to take your captive lacerta back to Goldenfields, or leave her here with the other lacertii, or something else?”

Alec wavered. Other possibilities were present in his mind, but they seemed too fantastic to say out loud. “Let me think for a moment; I know we don’t have much time,” he quickly interjected to cut off protest. “Why don’t you send a couple of riders back to the main army to tell them what’s happening here, and that a portion of the lacertii army has been drawn off?

“
I’m going to go talk to Nathaniel and Kinsey and Rosebay. I’ll be back in less than an hour,” Alec postponed his decision for a short span. He turned his back on Imelda and pulled back the blanket that was her door. Before he stepped through he hesitated, then turned back to her. “You are a special person, Imelda. I hope we can find a better time,” and after saying that he left the tent.

Nathaniel stood silently outside, and Alec wondered how much he had heard. “There’s a lacertii force coming from Goldenfields, and they’ll be here shortly. What do you recommend we do?” he asked as they began to walk.

“
It’s time to saddle up and head out,” Nathaniel said. “The question is whether we go home, or just move up river a little ways and start attacking boats from there. We can keep doing this for quite a while, you know,” he suggested.

“
What do we do about Rosebay?” Alec asked.

“
We,” Nathaniel began before he looked at Alec closely, and started over. “We leave her here for her own kind.”

“
Let’s see what Kinsey has to say,” Alec commented as they reached the edge of the river and their horses rode through the chilly water.

Kinsey and Rosebay were sitting apart from everyone else. As they approached, Kinsey looked at Alec steadily, in a searching manner that irritated him. She sensed his emotional turmoil after meeting Imelda, he suspected. He had been unsteady in that tête-à-tête, he knew, and perhaps driven past good sense by the many emotions that roiled within him.

“
Here’s the situation,” Alec said before he even dismounted, and he explained the approaching force. “So Rosebay,” Alec finished up, “What do we do with you now? The prudent thing for us to do is to ride home to Goldenfields, and leave you here for your soldiers.”

“
Sire! Sire!” a voice called, and Alec looked up to see a young cavalry rider galloping towards them. “More news, your majesty. It’s urgent,” the rider said.

Rosebay stared at Alec, as he left her to speak with the rider. “There is a second force of lacertii coming down river from the east, the scouts report. We’re going to be caught between the two unless we depart very soon, Captain Imelda said to tell you.”

Alec felt a physical jolt causing his body to flinch, and the world went dark. He lost his vision. Alec gasped at the suddenness of the blackness that appeared more quickly than any curtain could fall. He cried out, but couldn’t hear his own voice, or any voices around him. After a moment of panic, he heard again the voice of the prophecy John Mark had told him in his dream, as though John Mark was speaking to him again:

His vision returned. He looked around and realized that no one else had heard the prophecy or was even aware of his extraordinary experience. It was as if time had stopped. But he knew, in that instant, that his warrior ingenaire powers had been restored to him.

Alec drew a deep breath. “Thank you. Go tell Imelda I’ll have an order for her shortly,” Alec commanded the cavalryman, and he returned to the others.

“
He called you ‘sire,’” Rosebay commented. “You’re the youngest one here among many young warriors. Why is a prince out here in the wilderness commanding these men?”

“
We don’t have time for that,” Alec brushed her question aside. “There’s another force of lacertii coming down river out of the mountains towards us. I need an answer from you quickly, and it’s not an easy question. There are a lot of lives resting on this.”

Alec took another deep breath. “Would the lacertii forces from the Goldenfields front follow you in opposing and ending the war if you met them here and asked them to? Are the soldiers, and the officers leading them here, ready to stop this and return home with you?”

Rosebay looked at him. “I believe,” she said at last, “that the common soldiers want to return home and stop fighting. However, I believe the officers, the top officers, will not allow that to happen.”

“
And what about the force coming from the mountains?” Alec continued. “Would those soldiers follow you?”

“
I don’t know,” Rosebay replied.

“
What are you thinking, Alec?” Nathaniel asked in a low voice.

“
I have an idea, but if it doesn’t work, a lot of good people are going to die,” Alec said, turning back to Rosebay. “So before I gamble a lot of lives, I have to know if you think the soldiers will follow you, if we remove the officers?”

Alec couldn’t read the features of the lacerta he needed to depend on, but he saw the anguish on Kinsey’s face, which he suspected reflected the anguish Rosebay felt. He didn’t look at Nathaniel, although he suspected he knew the warrior ingenaire’s opinion.

“
I spoke with many soldiers back in Chanradala, and they almost always told me they did not want to go to this war, that there was no reason for it. They had no reason to leave their families for this. The battle they wanted to fight was to protect their own homeland,” Rosebay said. “I believe they told me what they truly feel, and I think that they will follow me if I give them a chance to return home and restore peace there,” the lacerta woman said, and then took a deep breath.

“
Alec, what do you have in mind?” Nathaniel beseeched him. “We can’t possibly do anything here but leave safely as quickly as possible.”

“
Nathaniel, come with me for a moment,” he asked, and led his friend on a silent walk away from the others. “I am convinced of another plan. If you will follow me, then you and I will escort Rosebay to meet the leaders of the lacertii force coming from Goldenfields. We will persuade them to turn over command of their forces to Rosebay who will lead them back to the mountains. The lacertii will leave their battle with the Dominion and return to defend their home. I am convinced this is what we are meant to do.”

“
Excuse me for a moment,” he said as a feeling like intoxication ran through his veins. Alec found himself going through the conscious efforts to find his ingenaire powers in a brief fraction of a second, and then felt the power burst forth within him. He ran with all his energy a hundred yards away from Nathaniel, and then ran back.

“
It’s happened!” he shouted with joy to his friend. “My powers have been completely restored, here and now, just because and for this occasion. I’m certain of it. Oh Nathaniel, I feel whole again! John Mark prophesized to me in a dream that this would happen. Nathaniel, it had to have happened for a reason.”

“
Alec, you are the crown protector; before that you were my friend,” Nathaniel said slowly. “I feel that you’re asking me to go to my death for the sake of a lacerta. But if that is what you want, I will do it for you.”

“
I feel compelled to do this, and I do not believe either of us will die,” Alec said fervently. “Let’s go see if Rosebay is willing, and then ask Shaiss and Alder.”

They walked back to where Kinsey and the lacerta were waiting with clear trepidation. Alec saw that Imelda and others were on their way across the river, and he knew time was passing rapidly. “Rosebay, there is one opportunity we have to make something positive come out of this. If you are willing to go meet with the force that is coming from the battlefront, I and Nathaniel will go with you to protect you and enforce your offer to take command of the army and lead it back to your homeland in the mountains. That will allow you to bargain with the other Regents to end this war. Are you willing to take this chance, or do you want to ride with our army as we flee for our lives?”

Rosebay stood still, and shut her eyes. “Do you believe that there is tly a way for one woman and two warriors to convince an entire army to change their battle plans?” she asked plaintively.

“
I believe that we have a great destiny laid out for us by our Savior, and we must follow his plan. I believe that this is what we are called to do, and we will not fail,” Alec said. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Imelda had crossed the river and was just moments away.

Kinsey gasped as she sensed Rosebay’s emotions. “I will do as you ask, Alec,” she said quietly. “Just a couple of hours ago I was a trussed up gift to be tossed to a general. Because you have saved my life, I will trust your suggestion that this is all planned by some higher power.”

“
Very good. We will prepare ourselves,” Alec said. He turned as Imelda arrived and dismounted.

“
Alec, we have to get ourselves packed and moving quickly if we’re going to be able to break out of the middle of this trap,” she said, staring at him intently.

“
Imelda, have everyone pack up what they can in the next hour, and prepare to ride straight east to get out of range. Have everyone gathered at the corrals and ready to go in one hour; I’ll meet you there. Ask Yula, Armilla, Shaiss and Alder to come down here right now,” he said in as preemptory a voice as he could command.

“
What do you need the ingenairii over here for?” Imelda asked suspiciously, looking at Rosebay.

“
I am going to take an escort with Rosebay to parlay with the army that is approaching from the Goldenfields front. We hope we will convince them that it is time to put an end to this war,” Alec said evenly.

“
Alec don’t be a stupid, stinking idiot!” Imelda exploded. “There are 500 warriors coming from the front and more than that coming from the other direction all with the intention of killing us! You aren’t going to parlay; you’re going to be massacred. You’re the ruler of the Dominion, not some adventure-seeking teenager out on a lark. Are you going off the deep-end because I rejected your advances? Now get hold of yourself and get us out of here!”

“
Listen,” Alec replied immediately back, just as loudly. “My abilities are gifts that have been given to me by God, and he has safely guided me through many impossible quests these past two years. A prophecy told me about this very situation we’re in right now; what I’m planning is what is destined to be. What I go to do, I don’t have a choice in.

“
This,” he stopped, and slowed down, “this is a way that can lead to less bloodshed. There was a reason we were led to this lacerta. Rosebay is a leader among the lacertii who opposes this war and she believes many of the warriors oppose it as well. We can help Rosebay lead the lacertii away from war, instead of fighting the long bloody siege we expected. This is the way I expect it to happen. Now go get everyone ready and lead them east. If we are successful, Shaiss will send a beacon of light up into the sky as a signal, and you can expect to see us soon thereafter.”

Imelda stood her ground and maintained a steady gaze on Alec as the otheran lead the tableau shifted their feet uncomfortably, except for Kinsey, whose spiritual ability seemed to leave her awash in the emotions of the participants in the debate and almost trembling with energy and anxiety.

“
I understand the skepticism many people here feel,” Rosebay said. “I also find it hard to believe that this gambit can work. But I will put my faith in this man, Alec,” she gestured, “because he has earned my trust.”

Imelda let out a noisy breath. “Alright, I will gather our forces together and we will evacuate the bluffs, and we will hope to see you afterwards. And if you do not return, I will be known throughout the rest of the history of the Dominion as the captain who lost the ruler. Alec, do you remember when we freed the Duke from imprisonment in the palace at Goldenfields? Do you remember how he wanted to stay in the Palace and try to fight, but we persuaded him that he had to flee to live to fight another day?” she asked, her voice softer. “I’m asking you to put your value to the Dominion higher than anything else and live to fight another day. Can you do that for me?”

Alec looked at the cavalry commander. He saw the plea in her eye, and knew that being forced to ask him instead of ordering him had cost her a great deal. “Imelda, I said it just a little while ago; you are a very special person. I wish I believed I should ride away with you, but a higher power makes me believe otherwise. Please, take yourself and the others to safety, and stay there and wait for us to come to you when this is all over.”

“
I will prepare the troops to leave, immediately,” Imelda said abruptly, turning and departing without another look or word for Alec. He stood and watched her mount her horse to ride away.

Alec turned back to the others, and they set immediately in motion feeling awkward after the scene they had just witnessed. All began discussing arrangements for meeting the approaching army, as they walked towards the river. By the time they crossed the river, the people Alec had summoned arrived to meet them, and Alec explained what they proposed to do. All of them were silent, except Yula.

“
Alec,” she said in a strangled voice, and then lapsed into silence. Even without spiritual powers, Alec could sense the fear and resistance she felt towards being forced to participate.

“
Yula, I am asking you to come because I believe I may need your powers. We are so compatible in energy that I want to have you near. I will watch over you and protect you. After this, I will not ask you again to be my extra support, I promise you,” he told her. She said no more, though her eyes showed a teary bitterness, and the group proceeded to head towards the oncoming encounter. As they walked out of the hills and onto the plain, the approaching army was clearly visible now, and Alec knew that Rosebay must have already been spotted. The rest of them walked in two tight clusters around the light ingenairii, who were bending the light around them to make a bubble of invisibility that shielded the humans from view.

Rosebay carried a white parlay flag with her as she moved to intercept the army, and a small band of soldiers approached her in front of the main column. She stood a few feet above the army, upon a shelf on the side of a rocky knoll. The ingenairii, nearby, listened to the conversationfont>

“
You are required to come with us and explain why you are out here in the wilderness alone,” their ranking member told Rosebay.

“
I wish to speak with your commander, but I wish to do it here,” she said. “Come no closer.”

They continued to approach her. “I warn you, if you come closer, you may be harmed. Now stop and go invite your commander to come speak with me here,” Rosebay repeated.

The delegation laughed at her. “You’ll come with us and you’ll learn to follow our rules,” their leader said, as he reached out to grab her arm.

Suddenly an arrow appeared out of nowhere to pierce his heart, and another struck the flesh of his companion with a sound that made the others cringe. The two lacertii fell, and the four remaining looked in astonishment at their bodies, then at Rosebay.

“
Please come retrieve their bodies, and take them back with you,” Rosebay instructed. “I didn’t want them to suffer, but they didn’t want to listen. Please bring back a senior leader who can negotiate on behalf of your force. I wish to take you under my command and return to Chanradala to negotiate with the other Regents to end this war. We need to stop wasting so many lives needlessly out here, when our own land requires protection. Now go, and tell the leaders I will wait a little while, and then I will grow impatient,” she instructed, as she stepped back away from the bodies on the ground.

Gingerly the other lacertii approached and picked up the two dead messengers, then carried them back across the plain to where the army column rested.

Twenty minutes later another, larger group of warriors approached Rosebay, and stopped at a distance of thirty yards. “You are instructed to come peacefully with us to an interview with our leaders,” their commander called to her. “Come with no weapons,” he added with a note of uncertainty in his voice.

“
I would like for your leader to come to me,” Rosebay called back. “No harm will befall him while he bargains in good faith. We can discuss the opportunity to return to Chanradala and bring an end to this senseless war,” she said loudly for good measure.

“
Your proposal would subject us to charges of treason. We will not have any such discussions,” came the response. “Come to us peacefully and we will treat you respectfully. Otherwise, you will suffer the consequences.”

Rosebay waited a moment. “My only offer is to discuss with your leaders a return to home for purposes of peace and protection of our homeland. I will wait here until you agree.”

“
You leave me no choice,” her adversary replied. He turned to his men for a moment, and issued a brief order. Within seconds a flight of arrows left the cluster of infantry and arced towards Rosebay.

As the arrows flew, a single arrow appeared from nowhere to strike the breast of the officer who had ordered the assault, and he toppled dead. A moment later, Alecpeared as if by magic to stand in front of Rosebay and deflect the arrows aimed her way, using his shield and sword to leave her unmarked, and then he disappeared from view again.

The lacertii goggled in disbelief at the inexplicable sight. “Let’s move a few yards,” Alec said quietly to Shaiss, “so they don’t try to draw a bead on our location, now that they’ve seen where I appeared and disappeared from,” and the small group of Shaiss, Alec, Yula, and Armilla moved several yards left of Rosebay.

Another lacerta stepped forward. “We cannot speak to you on the terms you ask. I say again, you should come with us for a discussion. Are you working with the humans to have us killed?” He asked with a genuine, plaintive note in his voice.

“
And I say again, we will discuss matters here,” Rosebay replied. “Send someone senior enough to speak and commit your force to following the right course for all of us. You don’t want to stay forever stuck in this war far from home, watching your fellows die, waiting for your turn to die, starving and living in poor conditions, do you? Let us all return home, turn our backs on this land, and fight the good war to protect our families and neighbors. I can work with the humans to end this war and give us all better lives,” she added in an oblique acknowledgement of Alec’s appearance.

The lacerta stood in his place, apparently uncertain about what he should do next. After a minute without comment, he turned to the troops and gave an order. Two of them picked up the body of the fallen officer, and then the group retreated back to their column, which had watched and heard the whole event, just as Alec had hoped.

More time passed, and Rosebay remained a solitary figure, waiting for the column to send forth its next effort. This time, four squads left the lacertii force and spread out wide. The outermost groups swung rapidly left and right, then approached at right angles, while the front two groups divided less dramatically, and approached Rosebay.

“
You have attacked our officers,” a new leader said sternly from a distance of forty yards. “You have also sought to spread dissension and treason among us, and you have collaborated with the enemy. For these alleged crimes you must be judged,” the new officer said sternly. “Walk towards me so that we may escort you back to our force for a fair trial to take place.”

“
I have a simple request,” Rosebay answered immediately. “I wish for your good soldiers to join me in returning to our homeland, so that we may put an end to this unfortunate war they are trapped in. I would like for your leaders to come meet with me to discuss the terms of taking this force towards Chanradala. Why have you failed to do this simple thing?”

The officer raised his arm high above his head for a long moment, then dropped it abruptly.

All four groups of lacerta soldiers began charging towards Rosebay, their swords drawn, more than two dozen converging towards the target in the center.

Three things happened simultaneously: an arrow appeared from nowhere, again, and struck dead the leader of the attack, again; Rosebay stepped sideways and disappeared;and, several arrows suddenly shot forth, one by one, from behind a large stone, striking and falling among the group of lacerta that were charging from Rosebay’s left. Two of the six there fell, and the remaining four altered course to spread out and charge towards the boulder.

As they reached the stone, a last arrow struck down one of the armed attackers, and then Imelda jumped out of hiding and stood on top of the craggy rock, wielding her sword to protect herself from the attackers.

“
No!” a voice cried from an invisible throat, and suddenly a blur resulted in Alec arriving at the small, intense battle as a lacerta sword pierced Imelda’s abdomen, by sheer luck finding the breach that was an opening between the overlapping sections of her leather armor and penetrating deeply within her.

All eyes turned to the tableau, as Alec struck three times quickly, dispatching the remaining lacertii, and then caught Imelda as she tumbled to the ground.

Alec laid her out on a flat stretch of ground, and began to examine her.

Nathaniel, meanwhile, began letting a shower of arrows fly rapidly towards all the targets he saw still moving forward. Several more lacertii fell to the ground, while others stopped in their tracks, and some started running back towards their column.

As that occurred, Alec intensely focused his health vision on Imelda. Her shallow breathing was noisy, and bubbles of blood were forming at the corner of her mouth.

“
No, Imelda, no, no,” Alec moaned softly as he tried to mentally catalog all the damage to organs that the single unfortunate sword stroke had caused.

Imelda opened her eyes at the sound of Alec’s voice. “I had to stay to protect you; I couldn’t live with the thought that I was leaving you behind to die at the hands of the lacertii,” she labored to say.

“
Yula! Yula! Come to me now, quickly,” Alec bellowed loudly.

“
Already calling in the next pretty girl to kiss and cuddle?” Imelda said with an attempt at irony.

Yula suddenly emerged into view and ran towards Alec. As she did, a single lacerta sent an arrow flying towards her. The head of the barbed shaft plunged into the back of her thigh. Yula let out a scream of pain and fell face first to the ground, while Nathaniel let another arrow fly to kill Yula’s attacker.