Chapter 81
The march across the plains lasted for several days, a few days longer than usual because Taeron was in no hurry to meet Staefyn's forces. Amyr's father agreed with his suggestion that they not push their warriors, so they moved at a slow pace. While Amyr's nerves were on edge, he saw no sign that Taeron was anxious about the battle which lay at the end of the march. He often dismounted and moved among the men, many of whom he knew from his excursions on Teralon and Varoonya. As Amyr watched him converse easily with the warriors, halting their progress from time to time to demonstrate a move with his swords, Amyr doubted he could have garnered the loyalty that Taeron did with little effort. Many of these men were probably riding to their deaths, and yet Taeron's presence put them at ease.
On the third day Stryfe left the emperor's side to ride with them. His purpose became quickly obvious as he began to question Taeron about his youth. If Trey hoped to gain some insight of his rebellious son through Taeron, he would be disappointed because Taeron would not speak of his childhood with Staefyn. Stryfe did not seem bothered when Taeron steered his reminiscences away from Staefyn, and scanning the scribes cluttered, extremely cluttered, mind, Amyr found only a desire to archive the childhood of the crown prince. No archive could be complete without hearing of Staefyn, so Amyr knew it would fall to his inexact memory of delving into Taeron's past. He could not blame Taeron for not wanting to expose his precious memories to the imperial scribe. As children, he and Staefyn had clung to each other, the former needing support in a world that was hostile to him because of the circumstances of his birth and the latter seeking a brother's love that had been denied him by Amyr's selfish behavior.
After several days, Stryfe left them, but not before Amyr had sensed the scribe's insecurities. He should not have read his mind, but he had made it too easy and Amyr could not resist knowing the thoughts and feelings of his mate's womb mate. He was surprised that Stryfe worried less about Quynn than he did about Taeron, and buried in that worry for his brother lay the despair of the distance that had grown between them because of his position. Stryfe had been overjoyed to discover he had a brother, having secretly hoped for many years that his adopted father and mother would have another son. When that had not happened and Taeron came into his life, he wavered between envy and awe of his true father's son. He had dreams of becoming an imperial warrior, but he soon realized that he would have to give up his scholarly work for that dream to become a reality. Although he held an important position in the empire, he feared that Taeron saw him as less than a man, as so many did. Amyr could not assure him that Taeron was proud of him without exposing his unsolicited exploration of his mind, so he remained silent. Stryfe would have to find out on his own how proud Taeron was to claim him as his brother.
After many more days, the army stopped to make camp and receiving a message to meet with the emperor, Amyr accompanied Taeron. They found him with his wife at his side talking to Lord Duo and Apolo with Stryfe nearby as several warriors set up their camp. The scribe waved to them then crossed to the emperor to inform them of their arrival.
"The scouts have reported that we are near Staefyn's forces," Trey told them when they came to him. "We are close enough that we will have to sleep with one eye open tonight."
Lord Duo snorted. "The light from their campfires will probably make ours redundant."
"Our men are ready and eager to fight," Taeron announced confidently.
Taeron's father cracked his knuckles. "As am I."
Trey frowned and sighed deeply. "Then I suppose tomorrow I will have to face my son."
Arora slipped an arm around his waist and looked up at his face. "We will face him together, Trey."
"You will not face him alone," agreed Apolo. "If you speak to him, it will be with Arora, myself and Amyr beside you. I would prefer to have Shamara as well, but Dagan does not want her near the fighting, and he certainly would not want her near Staefyn."
"You speak as if Staefyn is a dangerous sorcerer," remarked Trey with a troubled glance at Apolo. "He is still my son."
"He is not the boy you dangled on your knee and gave rides on your back as you crawled around on the floor on all fours," Duo reminded him. "Whether directly or indirectly through the manipulation of the Varoonyan warlord and Xuxa, Staefyn has caused the deaths of many."
"You do not deny he has been manipulated," argued the emperor. He looked at Taeron. "You know that he has never had a choice."
"Xuxa has given him little choice," Taeron said, "but he has always had a choice, and yet he chose the easiest option regardless of how he would hurt others." If Taeron was thinking about himself, Amyr could not know because searching his thoughts was like trying to read a blank parchment.
Amyr could see that his father wanted to argue, but his mother squeezed his arm so he let the subject drop. Instead he ordered Taeron to gather the warlords for a meeting and then told Amyr to inform the healers to make their camp ready to receive wounded on the morrow.
"I will go with him," announced Duo.
Trey frowned at him. "Are you going to dally with that hellion when you should be planning a battle?"
Duo snorted. "You think she would dally when she is setting up her field hospital? I am not that persuasive."
"Let him go," said Arora with a pat on her husband's arm. "He knows the plans and doesn't need to hear them again as you relay them to the warlords."
"I would rather have my imperial guard at my side," he grumbled.
"You mean you would rather he not be at Trynity's side." Amyr laughed when his mother pinched his father so wickedly that he bent over gasping. "That is for being such an ass, Trey. I doubt Trynity has had to send Duo into battle."
"During the Cinq Kingdom raid on the Coalition moon base she did," said Stryfe with a laugh that earned him a scowl from his father.
"She wasn't sending him into battle," Trey said as he rubbed his ribs where Arora had pinched him. "She was getting rid of him so she could suit up to kill him." Then he added, "And the rest of us."
Apolo laughed and clamped his hand on Trey's shoulder. "You should tell us the tale some day, Trey."
"I would rather not!"
Duo was laughing as he swung up on his horse. "I will tell the tale some day. As the hero of the tale, I am eminently qualified to do so."
"The hero," Amyr heard his father mutter. "More like the dupe."
Amyr would have preferred accompanying Taeron, but he left with Lord Duo, and they traveled in silence for several moments until Lord Duo remarked, "You have not fought Calabrians. Are you nervous?"
Amyr was more concerned about keeping Taeron safe than thinking about himself. He could not afford to worry about himself when he would need to concentrate on his protection spell. But tomorrow the men he faced would be well trained and probably looking to kill him to take away one of Taeron's advantages. The warriors of house Caron would certainly target Taeron because he had rejected their female, and now that she was joined to Staefyn by oath, Taeron blocked Staefyn's path to the throne that they wanted for their house. Perhaps Amyr should be nervous, but he trusted Taeron has much as Taeron trusted him.
"I am Taeron's imperial guard," he told Duo after several more moments of silence between them during which they rode through the ranks of warriors settling down to rest for the evening. "I have had the finest training in the empire from the finest master. I would not betray your son by falling in battle."
Lord Duo smiled wryly. "Don't worry so much about betraying Taeron as staying alive. But I understand how you are feeling. I felt the same after completing my own training many years ago and found myself facing imperial trained warriors. I fought and killed in my own system, but from the cockpit of a killing machine, so I was unprepared for the man to man fight to the death on the battlefield against imperial warriors. But my training helped me to survive attacks that should have killed me. And there were times when Trey saved me, so don't imagine that Taeron will be oblivious to what is happening to you. If you want to protect him, protect yourself so he does not have to worry about you."
The advice gave Amyr something to think about. He might not have considered Taeron worrying about him. On Teralon, Taeron had no reason to worry about Amyr when Balak's warriors were so poorly trained, but here he would not only have to concentrate on fighting men he himself had trained, but he would have his attention divided with concern for Amyr. He would just have to make sure Taeron had no need to protect his own imperial guard.
When they reached the healers far to the rear of the main forces, Amyr made a wide berth around the canyon beasts although he saw his sister standing beside one, stroking her hand on its thick, hairy flesh.
"He was becoming agitated," announced Lady Trynity who had come to them. "Shamara thought she might be able to calm him."
"Him?" inquired her mate as he dismounted and went to greet her with a kiss against her forehead. "How have you come to that conclusion?"
"By what it was doing to that sickly gray one over there last night." She pointed to another canyon beast that had been separated from the others. "I am surprised you did not hear the female braying for her mate. She kept us awake all night until her handlers put the two together and the sound they made after that was twice as aggravating." She glanced at Amyr. "If Dijana were hear, she would probably give you some permanent injury after realizing how insulting it is to be compared to rutting canyon beasts."
Amyr laughed. "She probably has some idea after seeing them."
He turned his attention to Shamara, noting that the leg of the beast was twice as high as she was tall and that her touch probably did not get through its thick hide. The creatures and their handlers had been supplied by house Vaan whose mountainous territories to the west were rife with them. There were canyon beasts in the Guerani Hills as well, but no one dared approach their habitat because of their ferocious reputation. If a gigantic pile of their dung was discovered, warnings were placed to keep people from going too close to them. Amyr had once seen such a pile, and poking out from it had been a human bone, so he stayed as far from the carnivorous beasts as possible. The men of house Vaan were brave to capture and train them as beasts of burden, and he was glad that one of them was standing near his sister. Amyr was relieved when Shamara left the beast after a short conversation with its handler.
She came to them rubbing her hands together and then on her skirt that became befouled. "I think he will settle down now. Apparently his female is walking too close to the other male."
Amyr raised his brow. "You can read the thoughts of canyon beasts now?"
His sister laughed and put her hand on Amyr's shoulder, and he was annoyed to see that she had wiped the greasy sweat of the creature on him. "Hardly! His handler told me that they are very jealous males."
Lord Duo grunted. "I hope they do not stampede before we want them to on the morrow."
Lady Trynity frowned. "I am against the plan of charging them into battle."
"Charging? More like lumbering at a slow pace," scoffed her husband. "Only a fool would not be able to outrun a canyon beast."
"They are actually very swift and nimble," said Shamara. "So if you see one of them coming, Lord Duo, you had better get out of its way. They will probably charge once and head straight for the Guerani Hills because it will be impossible to catch them."
"If they disorient the enemy, then once is enough."
"My father wants you to prepare for battle," Amyr told Lady Trynity who did not seem pleased by his announcement.
"I was hoping he would attempt some negotiation," she remarked. "Staefyn is not irrecoverable and once Taeron defeats Kai, the men he has enthralled would be released from his hold. I have discovered that he must use a lobe of his brain to send waves to his …"
"Babe," warned Duo. "As proud as I am about you discovering what enthralls his warriors, there is nothing we can do about it."
"If we had more time, we could confer with the scientists on Bayman to make a distortion generator that could …"
"You are assuming the those men want to be released," said Duo. "Taeron told us that on Varoonya as many men wanted it as were forced. Being his thrall meant they had a boost in power as well as an elevation in status. I imagine dangling the hope of leaving the hills to live as lords was a good incentive to the Calabrians he enthralled. I don't want you treating any of those men."
She looked as though she wanted to argue. Lady Trynity was a healer whose first reaction was to relieve the suffering of others. Amyr hoped she understood that Kai's thralls were not suffering, that a great majority of them had been outlaws fleeing imperial justice for heinous crimes that made them all the more useful to Warlord Kai.
"And besides, that distortion soundwave will not have any effect at all on house Caron," pointed out Lord Duo.
She sighed deeply. "You are right. I suppose we should set up our field hospital then."
For the remainder of afternoon until the suns had set, Amyr and Duo helped the two dozen healers, men and women alike, set up the tents and roll out pallets for the wounded. Lady Trynity had crates of medicines already prepared so that her healers need not brew them individually. Amyr overheard her telling Duo that they would be able to treat all manner of injury, and if a warrior was beyond their help, she promised that she would ease their suffering. Amyr knew that would be a hard promise for her to keep, but he was sure that she understood the consequences of trying to use her weak healing powers to save a man's life. She had almost died once doing so and this time she would not have a creature with godly powers around to save her own life.
Once the healer camp had been set up, Shamara and Lady Trynity went with them back to the emperor's camp. Although he had pitched tents on the previous nights, there was no tent this night, and after taking a bowl full of food, Amyr joined his family who sat around the fire. He joined Taeron on the ground while Shamara sat near Stryfe who was trying to write something on a parchment. When he was not looking, she knocked over his pot of ink, but he did not notice because Queen Neria and her husband had arrived, landing gracefully nearby. Stryfe left his place to chase down any feathers that fell from their wings.
"Our people are prepared," Roehan announced with a respectful nod to Trey. "My wife intends to fight."
"Of course," grumbled Trey. "I don't think anyone can tell that female what to do."
He was sitting with his wife in front of him, his arms around her, and she turned her head to look at him. "And you think you can tell me what to do?"
Duo laughed from where he sat with his own wife, his arm around her shoulders. "I don't think we have ever met a female that can be dictated to. Why do we ever try?"
"Why indeed?" sniffed Neria. She approached the food and Amyr saw her lovely brows furrowing with disgust. "Is there anything on this platter that was not clinging to the underside of a rock?"
"There is some dried murkwater spider in my pouch," suggested Amyr and he exchanged a smile with Taeron when Neria's face paled.
"I am not going to eat murkwater spider." She lifted a shapeless mass. "Is this sand slug? I have heard much about it." She held it out to her husband. "Eat this and tell me if it is palatable."
Taeron choked on his laughter along with Amyr to see the look on Roehan's face.
"Neria! By the gods! I will do many things for you, but you have gone too far." Roehan took a step back from her and the sand slug in her hand that he viewed with revulsion.
"It has a nutty flavor," Stryfe announced. "And since these are roasted, you can imagine you are eating a nut, a very tasty nut."
Neria turned back to Roehan. "Did you hear that? Now try it."
He glared at her mutinously for a moment and then he snatched the food from her hand and popped it in his mouth. Amyr watched in breathless anticipation along with the others around the fire, expecting him to vomit, but beyond an initial gag, he crunched down into it, chewed slowly for a moment and after forcing himself to swallow, he held out his hand.
"I need to try another to be certain if it is edible for you."
Trey chuckled. "Don't listen to him, Neria. If you do, he will eat it all and you will have nothing to eat but murkwater spider."
Neria narrowed her eyes at the hand he held out to her. "You would not do that to me, knowing how hungry I am?"
He did not respond, so she took another and put it in her own mouth. After an initial reaction that was similar to her husband's, she finished it and they sat down together after taking a reasonable helping from the platter.
"I remember my first experience with Calabrian cuisine," remarked Lord Duo. "We were imprisoned on the pirate satellite and all they served us was what they found crawling or clinging in the nooks and crannies."
"Knowing you," said Shamara, "you decimated the population of what was crawling or clinging on the entire satellite."
Trynity laughed. "I remember it was one of the first things he remarked upon when we were allowed to be together again after our capture."
"Are you sure you don't want to try the murkwater spider?" Taeron asked Dijana's parents and Amyr was not surprised to see them wince.
"I will tolerate these Calabrian creatures, but I am not going to eat Teralonian spiders." Neria shuddered. "We shall save them for you."
Lady Trynity tossed a pouch to Neria. "Sorry, I forgot that I had some dried fruit and nuts."
The furious look they gave her made the rest of them laugh, and after a moment they also laughed. "I suppose I should learn to appreciate this food since my daughter is going to be living here." She smirked at Taeron. "I shall visit often."
Roehan chuckled at the sour look on Taeron's face. "That is an empty threat. Once we return to Teralon, she will be too busy to bother you and Dijana."
"Be that as it may," said Neria with a glower at her husband, "I shall expect my grandchildren to visit me. I imagine they will demand to be served murkwater spider during their stays with us."
Amyr was glad they were talking about the future as if there were not facing insurmountable odds of survival the following day. He could see the sea of flickering campfires not so very far away, but he did not look at them for long because he did not want to think about how many men were sitting around those fires sharpening their swords.
"Where is Meridon?" Trey suddenly asked. The old chieftain usually joined them, but this night he had not, nor had Darlac.
"His men have a ritual before battle," Taeron told him. "They will meditate this night."
"Meditate?" grunted Trey. "Are you sure they are not drinking their brew because if they are I want to join them."
Arora slapped his arm. "I want you sober."
Duo laughed. "That was a hell of a hangover at the fortress!"
Trynity pursed her lips and then said, "I shall have to refine the recipe."
Amyr's mother made a sound of disgust. "Don't bother. Refine it and they will only drink more. Just don't make anything he can smoke because I find that habit even more abhorrent."
Trey held her closer in his arms. "I promised I would not and I have kept that promise even knowing that Trynity's garden probably has some delightful plants growing in abundance."
They fell silent then, but in the distance they could hear men singing a Calabrian battle song, and for several moments none of them spoke before Arora remarked, "I do not wish to cross swords with any of the men who have served in the palace."
Although the house guard was changed monthly, Amyr knew that his mother made it a point to get to know the men regardless of what house had supplied them. She knew from whose house they served, their names, their own houses and all there was to know of their families. Because they had the responsibility for their welfare she thought it important to know whatever she could about them.
"There have been so many of them from house Caron," she said with a sigh. "Just like that night when Caron attacked."
"Mother," spoke up Amyr. "Do not talk of that night."
"Why?" she asked. "Does it make you uncomfortable to be reminded of why we are fighting the battle tomorrow? I will talk about it. The men who defended the palace against Caron and his sons were his own men, place there by Caron himself to make it easier for him to gain access. But they did not make it as easy as he had hoped. They had made an oath to protect me and kept it to their deaths. Caron was merciless in slaughtering them for what he perceived as betrayal."
Taeron let out a long sigh. "Oaths have lost their meaning."
"Perhaps only for house Caron," said Trey. He spread out his arm to indicate the men of their camp. "Those that follow us into battle tomorrow do so because they made an oath. They would all rather be going about their daily lives, but they swore to serve the emperor and they are fulfilling their oaths."
Arora leaned back into the circle of his arms. "You have made their lives better, Trey. There are many men of house Caron who have told me that they prefer living in Imperia because change has been slow in coming to the south."
"When we have dealt with this threat," said Trey with a glance at Taeron, "change will go swiftly to the south. I have been remiss in challenging house Caron in the past and have let far too many transgressions go unpunished. I will no longer overlook them. I will need a governor in the south to keep house Caron in line, if there are any left after tomorrow."
"There will be one left with a certainty," pointed out Shamara. "She is married to Staefyn."
Duo snorted derisively. "Married? How can she be married to him when he is bonded to another female?"
"Shamara is right," said Arora. "Even if Staefyn cannot bond with her, he made an oath as did she. Whether we wish it or not, Staefyn has brought Keilana into our house."
"You are welcome to her," said Duo. "Better your house than mine. I would rather have a birdwoman as a daughter-in-law than one that drops the temperature in the room when she walks in."
"My daughter is not a birdwoman," sniffed Neria. "We have wings. We do not build nests and lay eggs."
Duo waved his hand dismissively. "I meant no disrespect. You are a beautiful birdwoman."
"You seem to have a knack for insulting and complimenting in the same breath," said Neria with a glare.
"I have never heard anyone accuse my husband of having any tact," remarked Trynity.
Neria looked as if she wanted to say more, but Roehan stopped her. "No one has ever accused my wife and queen of humility either."
"Before a fight breaks out in this camp, I think we should probably get some sleep," suggested Trey. "I would rather not be bruised and yawning when I meet Staefyn on the battlefield."
Since there was no tent, they remained around the fire, wives and husbands huddled together, and while Shamara went to lay with Apolo, Taeron pulled Amyr into his embrace and they lay together under his cloak.
"Are you afraid just a little bit?" Amyr whispered to Taeron.
"I would like to hear that answer as well." Stryfe joined them and Amyr might have told him to leave if the addition of his cloak and body heat did not make him more comfortable.
"I am always afraid before a battle," Taeron admitted. "Afraid that I will shame the emperor, afraid that I will shame my father's house, afraid that I will never see those I love again, and now I am afraid that Caelitha will never know me."
Amyr felt sad at his confession, realizing that the child Quynn carried might never know him either.
"The fear makes me determined," Taeron told him softly. "I will survive the battle, and I will return to Dijana. I will not shame the emperor or my father's house, and I will not shame my own."
He sounded determined so Amyr believed him. Yawning, he flung an arm around Stryfe. "They will not harm you, scribe, so if I do not survive, I leave it for you to make sure my daughter will know who I was and that I loved her."
Expecting Stryfe to tease him, Amyr was surprised to hear his serious tone. "You will live tomorrow, Amyr, of that I am quite certain. But in the unlikely event that I am wrong, you may rest with the knowledge that I will tell your daughter everything there is to know about you so that she will not even realize that she did not know you." After a moment of silence he added, "However I vow to do the same even if you do live through the battle and I doubt you will be happy then. I have already completed a few scrolls that you might wish were hidden from her."
Hearing Taeron's chuckle, Amyr could not bring himself to be annoyed. "At least I know that you are honest."
They did not have a chance to speak further because Amyr felt a calming magic permeate their camp and he suspected his mother, Apolo or both of having cast it to put them to sleep. Before he drifted off on his own contented slumber, he took Taeron's hands so that he could fall asleep taking Taeron's worries away.