Powder Mage: The Autumn Republic Part 27

"Do you see this?" Bo thrust a finger at his charred leg. "I'm not smoking anything!"

"You're in shock."

"I'm cooking, that's what I am. Get me whiskey. Lots of it."

The doctor looked to Nila as if for some kind of confirmation. Not knowing what else to do, she nodded.

"The Deliv healers will be here within a couple of days," Tamas said. His face was impa.s.sive.

"I don't think he should wait that long."

"Get a carriage," Tamas snapped to one of his men. "We'll send him to them."

"I'm going with him," Nila said.

Bo gave Tamas a sudden, wolfish grin. "Get me patched up and me and Tan will go after the savage."

"You're going to the Deliv army," Tamas said sternly. "Taniel has already left. Olem is gathering a squad to send after him. And you, my dear"-he turned his eye toward Nila-"you're staying here."

"What do you mean? I'm not leaving Bo alone."

"He's a grown man." Nila didn't like the dangerous glint in Tamas's eye. "You," he continued, "I'm going to unleash on the Kez."

CHAPTER.

23.

Taniel rode alone into the night.

He urged his mount as hard as he dared-the horse would have to carry him for as long as it took to catch up with Ka-poel's captors and he couldn't risk riding it into the ground. He stopped frequently for water and once to give the horse long enough to eat. The eastern sky began to grow from black to blue, heralding the morning.

He carried two rifles, four powder horns, three pistols, and enough provisions for two weeks.

The Kez had a seven-hour head start on him, taking the road northwest toward the Black Tar Forest. It was a curious direction, as their main force was to the south, but Taniel thought that they would follow the road into the forest and then turn south, thus avoiding the bulk of Tamas's army that camped on the plain.

Catching them wouldn't be easy. They had planned for this, after all-a dash into the camp with less than two hundred grenadiers but four Privileged, torching everything in their way until they reached Ka-poel and then immediately retreating. They would have a nearby camp, including spare horses and maybe even more men.

The chain of command left in charge of the Adran forces was still in some confusion after Hilanska's betrayal, and they had not mounted an immediate expedition. Nor should they have. Without powder mages their men would have been torn apart.

And now the Kez would be fleeing with the fear of G.o.d in them, knowing that Field Marshal Tamas and his mages would be on their heels.

The sky grew light as Taniel continued on, sleep held at bay with the low buzz of a distant powder trance. The terrain grew more jagged as he neared the mountains, the air warmer as dawn approached, and he worried for his weary horse. He stopped at a farm just off the main road, where a sleepy farmer confirmed that he'd heard a large company of men on horseback pa.s.s in the middle of the night.

Despite the rea.s.surance he was on their trail, Taniel began to worry more with every mile. Was Ka-poel even still alive? If they knew about her and about Kresimir, why wouldn't they have killed her outright? How did they know about her? What was he going to do once he caught up with them?

The doubt began to work its way deep and to spread. There were too many of them. Even after the damage Bo did to their party-it was doubtless a surprise for them to find a Privileged in the Adran camp-they still had at least three Privileged and fifty men. One Privileged and a squad or two, Taniel could handle. Pit, he could take two Privileged. But three was too many.

It was made all the worse by the knowledge that he'd left his best friend to die alone. No one could survive that kind of damage, not even a powder mage. Bo may be hardier than most Privileged, but he would be dead within a day or two, and Taniel hadn't even said good-bye. He had left in a panic to try to retrieve Ka-poel and he knew he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

He forced the thought out of his mind. There was nothing he could do about it now. He had to save Ka-poel.

Tamas said he would send help, but Taniel knew whoever Tamas sent would move too slowly.

Taniel rode across the farmlands of Adro for another hour before the sun finally rose over the Adsea behind him, illuminating the Charwood Pile Mountains ahead and the Black Tar Forest, which spread out at the mountains' base. At the top of a particularly high rise, he sniffed a pinch of powder and squinted across the fields.

Something moved in the distance.

He took another sniff to sharpen his eyes, increasing the strength of the trance. He could make out a trail of dust from a large group of riders off in the distance. They were at least fifteen miles away and they would be inside the forest within an hour.

He was curious why they had not tried to cut across the plains, but decided that his initial suspicion was correct. Once within the forest, they would turn south at the Counter's Road, taking them to Surkov's Alley and the protection of the Kez army. They would be inside of Kez-held lands within two days, even taking this roundabout way.

Taniel considered cutting across the farmlands to the southwest himself. But there was no good way to do it. Trying to navigate the forest would slow him down and he might miss them entirely. Far better to come up from behind and pick them off one by one from a distance. But even then, could he do it quickly enough before they reached the main army?

He felt the weight of despair in his stomach like lead shot. He wasn't going to be able to get her back. They would kill her and free Kresimir, and then Adro would fall. Mihali-Adom-wasn't here to protect them anymore.

A movement a few miles off caught his eye. He blinked several times to let his eyes refocus, and scanned the horizon. He saw just an old farmstead. Short, with stone walls and a thatched roof. He likely saw the farmer making his morning rounds. Nothing to get excited about.

Taniel was just about to dismiss the farmstead entirely when something new caught his eye. Near the edge of the farmhouse, he made out a uniform of green-on-tan, with a tall black cap with red accents. The man was crouched by the side of the building, staring straight toward Taniel. Without a powder trance, it was unlikely he could even see Taniel.

An ambush. How many men, Taniel couldn't say. He would guess at least a dozen. He opened his third eye and looked again, but was unable to see any sign of a Privileged anywhere near the farmstead. Did they have air rifles? He wished he had asked about that before he left the Adran camp.

Taniel would need to get closer to find out.

He threw his bedroll down and caught an hour of sleep before he continued on, knowing it was his last chance at rest in the near future. Back in the saddle, he crossed the distance of a little over three miles at a trot so that the sun would be just over his shoulder as he approached.

When he was a half mile away, he checked with his third eye again. No Privileged and no Knacked. But these men would be grenadiers-as with Adran grenadiers, they would be bigger, stronger, and better trained than the average soldier.

At a quarter mile, Taniel slid from his saddle and staked out his horse so he could approach on foot. He put two pistols into his belt, fixing the bayonet onto his rifle and holding it across his chest.

He reached out with his senses, looking for powder, and he found it quickly. Powder horns, charges, loaded weapons. He sorted the information in his mind, a.s.sessing the a.r.s.enal of each man, and guessed there were six grenadiers.

A p.i.s.s-poor ambush. Likely just meant to slow down pursuers, not stop them entirely.

Either way, these six were not ready for a powder mage. They were in for a d.a.m.ned big surprise... unless one of them had an air rifle. Then Taniel was in for a surprise. But nothing he could do for that.

He could sense the first grenadier behind a haystack a hundred and fifty yards away. Taniel took a deep breath, set his rifle to his shoulder, and pulled the trigger. He burned a little powder behind the bullet to make sure it went through the haystack. The crack of his rifle was quickly followed by a scream.

Two grenadiers immediately came around the corner of the farmhouse. Their muskets cracked and powder smoke rose over their heads, but they weren't going to hit anything at this distance. Taniel had already rammed a bullet down the end of his rifle, sans powder, and lifted it to his shoulder. He burned a powder charge in one pocket to propel the bullet and took one of the grenadiers through the eye. The second threw himself back behind the house.

Taniel broke into a sprint toward the farmhouse. He rolled as a grenadier appeared from a nearby ditch. The man's musket belched smoke and Taniel heard the bullet whiz by. Too far to ignite the man's powder, but close enough...

He let go of his rifle as he came out of his roll and drew a pistol. He fired, adjusting the trajectory of the bullet with his mind in the fraction of a second it took to cross the distance and lance the man's heart. The grenadier fell.

Three down, three to go. Taniel's heart sang as he moved, blood pounding in his ears, feeling the rhythm of the battle. A bullet skipped off the ground beside his foot, and he looked to see the grenadier hidden on the roof of the farmhouse. Taniel hesitated between reloading his rifle and drawing his second pistol and decided instead to finish his sprint toward the cover of the house. Another grenadier rounded the corner of the farmhouse just as Taniel reached it. The soldier raised his musket.

Taniel ignited the grenadier's powder horn and used his mind to warp the blast away from himself.

A slight movement above him was his only warning as the grenadier from the roof leapt down, knife drawn.

Taniel caught the grenadier's knife thrust with the stock of his rifle. He shoved, trying to push him away in order to thrust with his bayonet, but the grenadier grasped the musket with one hand and stabbed again. Taniel was only able to avoid the thrust by throwing himself against the stone wall of the farmhouse.

The grenadier followed through, his face furrowed in anger as he caught Taniel's bayonet under one boot and bent for another jab. Taniel let go of his rifle and s.n.a.t.c.hed the grenadier's wrist, slamming his opposite fist into the man's knee.

The grenadier screamed. Taniel wrenched on his wrist, pulling him down to the ground, and rolled on top of him. He had the grenadier's knife now, and he wrapped one hand around the hilt and slammed it into the grenadier's face.

"Where's Ka-poel? The savage girl! What have you done with her?" Taniel waited a moment, then punched him again. "Tell me!" Why was he doing this? He already knew. What could this b.a.s.t.a.r.d possibly tell him? Taniel drew his second pistol and pressed it against the grenadier's forehead. "Is she still alive? Tell me now!"

The grenadier spit blood in his face.

Taniel felt the pistol jerk in his hand, the crack of the blast in his ears, and the grenadier's body beneath him stiffened then sagged. Slowly, he climbed to his feet and tossed the spent pistol aside.

He'd wanted answers. He'd wanted to hear his fears confirmed.

Taniel looked to one side as the sixth and final grenadier came out of his hiding place and advanced, musket leveled. Taniel took a deep breath. s.h.i.t. In his excitement, he forgot about the last one. Too far to ignite the grenadier's powder, and too close for the grenadier to miss him.

A stupid mistake, and it had just gotten him killed.

Taniel flinched away as the grenadier jerked to one side and fell. His musket landed on the hard-packed road with a clatter, and blood seeped from his head to pool on the ground. Taniel took a shaky breath and squinted into the sun, but couldn't make out anything in the glare. His backup must have arrived. No one else was close enough to make that kind of a shot. He would have sensed them.

Tamas must have sent another powder mage. But who? Had the rest of the cabal caught up to Tamas? Had Tamas himself come? Taniel felt some dread in the pit of his stomach, because he thought he knew who it might be.

No use staring into the sun, trying to see who had shot the grenadier. Taniel checked the bodies more closely and found each of the grenadiers dead or very near so. His knife finished the job on two of them. No sense in letting men suffer, and they weren't going to answer questions in their state.

He finished his inspection, checking for other grenadiers he might have missed, and gathered and reloaded his weapons, then walked toward where he'd left his horse. He was just climbing into the saddle as the rest of his hunting party crested the nearest rise. He bent over his saddle, eyes closed, resting as he waited for them to catch up.

"What are you doing here, Captain?" he asked when he heard their hoofbeats come to a stop nearby. He opened his eyes.

Vlora reined in her mount and signaled for the others to stop. "It's 'Colonel,' actually."

"That's quite a promotion." Taniel had known, of course. And she knew he knew. He had called her "Captain" out of spite.

Vlora's cheeks flushed, but she only lifted her chin. "I'm here to help. We're going after those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds."

"I can't give orders to a colonel," Taniel said. "And I don't think you should lead the expedition." The words came out harsher than Taniel had meant, but he had wanted them to sting. It felt like years had pa.s.sed, but she'd been his fiancee less than seven months ago, when he found her in the arms of another man. Ka-poel's capture already had him on edge. He wasn't ready to deal with Vlora.

"You've been promoted as well, Colonel," she said, holding out her hand.

He took the colonel's pin and held it up to the light. "First major, then this? I don't deserve it."

"The field marshal feels otherwise. And he needs to fill spots from officer casualties, so..." She trailed off. "You're in command, Colonel."

Taniel pinned the bars to his lapel with some reluctance.

He put Vlora out of his mind to examine the rest of the group. Gavril, the Watchmaster, which was a surprise. Taniel hadn't seen him since he left the South Pike Mountainwatch to pursue Julene and the Kez cabal. In addition to Gavril there were three more powder mages, and a dozen more soldiers wearing the emblem of Olem's Riflejacks. The Seventh and Ninth must have arrived not long after Taniel left, and Tamas had sent his best men.

The despair began to melt away and Taniel felt his resolve harden.

This wasn't a hopeless cause anymore. He could-he would-get Ka-poel back.

CHAPTER.

24.

Tamas was livid.

He guided his horse through the Adran camp at a walk, only half listening to Olem as he gave his morning report.

Ipille had betrayed him under a white flag. There were certain rules of war that Tamas found idiotic and others he found sn.o.bbish. He would openly flout such rules if it suited him, but the white flag of parley was sacrosanct. It was how peace was made, and for Ipille to have attacked Tamas's camp even while he sat in truce with Tamas was...

Tamas couldn't find words to express his anger.

The remnants of the Seventh and Ninth that had survived their march through Kez had arrived just an hour after Taniel had left. Colonel-now General, as of his arrival at the camp-Arbor had double-marched the men throughout the afternoon and much of the night to arrive far ahead of schedule. Tamas had immediately taken volunteers from among his best men and powder mages and sent them after Taniel, and now the rest of his two best brigades were sleeping off their long march as he tried to decide what to do with them.

Tamas drew up on his reins. Olem had stopped talking. "Go on," he said.

Olem immediately drew a cigarette from his pocket and clenched it with his lips. "You're doing that thing you do, sir." He produced a match and lit his cigarette.

"What thing?"

"Where you pretend you're listening but you're thinking about something else."

"I was not."

Olem puffed on his cigarette. "Whatever you say, sir."