Unicorn Saga - The Unicorn Peace Part 20

"No, we'll let them go by," Darius said with evident satisfaction and began to wriggle backward.

Mena.s.sah followed suit until both men could stand without being seen from the road. "I'll pa.s.s the word,"

107.

he said, slapping leaves and earth off his tunic, "but can 1 ask why?"

"You may indeed." Darius was in high good humor "Our archers are good, but a moving target is hard to hit, especially when there are so many of them. Those colored popinjays down there are treating this part of the journey as if it was a hunt picnic. By midafternoon they'll be looking for a pleasant place to make camp and after that the wine will come out. They're traveling light by the looks of it, but I'll wager that they'll be carrying wineskins. The Earls' men will do the hunting for supper and they'll get to drinking later. The men- at-arms will probably stay sober. They're in strange country, so they'll keep the campfires burning, but I doubt they'll post sentries.

"We'll stay back so that the hunters don't trip over us, but once they're asleep they'll be easy pickings. We don't have to catch up with them until dusk and they won't be difficult to find. I want a bowman riding be- hind every saddle. We'll give them an hour's start. Si- lence is to be maintained. Understood?"

"Understood, General."

Nightfall found Darius and his men on the western slopes two and a half leagues north of their base camp.

The archers were crouched twenty feet below the hill- crest- Lower still, the cavalry stood beside their horses.

On the plain, campfires blazed and men settled down to sleep. Their horses had been hobbled and turned loose to graze. Noise drifted up from the central fire, where a group was gathered in a circle. From time to time, shadowy figures moved, feeding the fires. A cheer, mingled with groans, floated up. Darius, lying on his stomach just inside a coppice, was muttering under his breath.

"Degenerate little b.u.g.g.e.rs," Mena.s.sah heard him say, "stop gaming and go to sleep."

108 It took a while for the General's wish to be granted, but, two hours later, the group by the main fire had dispersed, relieved themselves, found a spot and slept.

Darius took a deep breath and worked his way back- ward. Whispered orders pa.s.sed and the archers moved to the crest. They set up in groups of six with ample s.p.a.ce between for the hors.e.m.e.n to ride through. Ar- rows were notched and loosed at the dark shapes on the earth below. Four courses flew before the cavalry swept through the gaps and down the slope. Resistance was futile and escape, with the horses hobbled, impos- sible. The slaughter was total.

By dawn, when Darius, with Mena.s.sah at his side, picked his way through the bodies, the stream that had been the reason for the campsite was running clear again. Flies were already cl.u.s.tering on the drying pools of blood. The archers were methodically going around retrieving arrows. The leaders of the rebellion were easy to spot by their long hair and fine clothes. The two Earls were there, together with a dozen others that Da- rius did not recognize. Each time they came across one of them, Darius signaled for the body to be dragged off to the side. When they had completed the grisly tour, he turned to the Adjutant.

"Any idea which of these"-his hand indicated the sprawled corpses-"is the leader of Duke Paramin's men?"

"No, sir- They don't seem to be wearing any badges of rank."

"Did that Attemill fellow ride with us by any

chance?"

Mena.s.sah gave a grim half-smile. "I insisted on it. I don't trust the man. He's betrayed one master, he can betray another."

"I'm going to get upwind of this stink- See if you can find him for me."

109.

"At once. General." Mena.s.sah saluted and went off at the double- Darius walked carefully out of the killing ground and sat down on a scruffy patch of gra.s.s. He didn't have long to wait.

"Adjutant said you wanted to see me. General." The little man was showing the strains of a sleepless night.

"Yes I do," Darius said, getting to his feet. He winced as his hip twinged, and he walked around a little to work off the pain.

"Know who commanded the Duke of Abercorn's hors.e.m.e.n?" he asked.

"Man called Walter of Huspeth."

"Know what he looks like?"

"Saw him once or twice," Attemill allowed.

"Good. See if you can identify him."

Darius was loath to follow the man back among the bodies, but he forced himself to it. It took about ten minutes before Attemill shoved a body with his foot.

"This 'un."

"Excellent," Darius said. "I'm obliged to you." He turned to Mena.s.sah, who had rejoined them. "Have this one taken over to where the others are. Then I want their heads cut off."

"General?" The Adjutant's voice rose in inquiry.

"Make sure the blades are sharp," Darius said dis- pa.s.sionately. "I want a neat job done. I've a use for those heads."

"Yes, General." Mena.s.sah had recovered his profes- sional composure. "Should we bury the bodies, sir?"

"No, I think not." Darius' voice was cold. "Ground's baked too hard at this time of year. It would take too long. We need to get back." He looked up at the sky.

"This area's uninhabited," he added, "and the kites are waiting. We'll take the heads back with us. Have their horses rounded up and see that their swords are col-

110 t JOHN LEE

lected. No sense wasting them. Report to me when we're ready to ride."

He turned on his heel and strode off up the hill, leav- ing the two men staring after him.

"Well if that don't beat all," Attemill said.

Once the party was back at base, the word of the victory spread quickly. Spirits were lifted and men who had been slouching around in boredom two days before walked with a spring to their step. There was one grue- some piece of work, however, that gave all who saw it pause. The General ordered a dozen stout saplings cut down and then firmly planted in a line across the ene- my's route. Each sapling was crowned with a head. The following morning the archers and some of the foot sol- diers were mounted on the captured horses and posi- tioned among the trees along the hilltops to await the enemy.

By midafternoon, the van of the column was in view.

The spygla.s.s revealed a disciplined company of pike- men in the lead. More of the Duke of Abercorn's men, Darius thought. The rest of the force trailed back in an unwieldy straggle. There was no way of estimating numbers accurately in the cloud of dust that billowed around them. Darius lowered the gla.s.s and went to make his final arrangements.

An hour later, the pikeman reached the line of heads and pulled up in obvious consternation. They peered up at the hills, but Darius' men were silent and hidden.

Those at the back of the lead company came up to see what was amiss, and the well-controlled ranks broke down into knots of arguing men. The rest of the column began to catch up and the area of pandemonium spread.

The level of noise rose steadily until it was cut off by a blast of trumpets. As the men on the plain turned to look uphill, Darius rode out from the trees under a green flag of truce, a group of officers around him. As III.

he moved down the slope, the hors.e.m.e.n came into view behind him, forming a solid line along the hilltops.

There was no resistance. Men without leaders do not fight for a cause that is not tneirs. A good number of the rebels threw down their weapons and fled. The rest surrendered. Darius took their weapons and turned them loose. He had no stomach for further slaughter.

The captured weapons were loaded onto the baggage train and sent north. The heads were collected again, put in a sack and flown to Spa.r.s.edale by cloudsteed with a letter to Otorin suggesting that they be dropped into the manor's inner court.

A fortnight later, Darius was in sight of Castle Spa.r.s.edale. His spygla.s.s had already shown him that the royal standard was flying over it so that, when a small party of hors.e.m.e.n appeared riding toward him, he spurred forward without hesitation.

"Welcome back, General," Otorin of Lissen said as he reined in. "I understand that you are to be congrat- ulated on yet another great victory."

"I see that Spa.r.s.edale is yours," Darius replied. "I trust you haven't drunk all the good wine in celebra- tion. I could do with a flagon of that rascal Elfreg's best. Then I want a hot bath and a sennight's sleep."

Otorin smiled. "Not only have I made certain that there is a sufficiency of more than pa.s.sable a.s.sara-I took the precaution of sampling it to be sure-but I have, ah, persuaded our ever-genial host to donate it as a thank offering for the restoration of peace."

"He'll be the only one sorry to see us go," Darius remarked as Otorin turned his horse's head and they moved off in the direction of Upper Waltham.