Captain's Fury

Chapter 14

"This is outrageous!" Maximus sputtered, his words oddly flat-sounding within the windcrafting that kept their conversation private. His horse danced nervously at the fury in his voice. "We should hand the son of a bitch his head for suggesting such a thing!"

"Unfortunately it isn't a suggestion," Crassus murmured. Max's slender brother rode on Tavi's other side and was a good deal less ruffled. "It's an order."

Max's hand flew to the hilt of his sword. "I've got the proper response to that order, right here."

Crassus cast his brother a resigned look, and said, "You aren't helping."

"Crassus is right, Max," Tavi said quietly. "This isn't a problem we can hack to pieces."

"Just you watch me," Max growled. His horse half reared in response, one hoof striking out as if to crush some unseen foe. Acteon snorted at these antics, but his pace never wavered, and Tavi was grateful that his mount did not seem inclined to the same spontaneous displays of physical prowess of most war-horses. Max calmed his horse with an expert's casual skill, and said, "I'm not letting anyone kill those townies."

Tavi glanced over his shoulder, where the prisoners were being walked out of Othos as ordered, surrounded by Valiar Marcus's Prime Cohort. Tavi had deliberately ordered a slow pace, but some of the elderly among the prisoners were having trouble even so. He caught Marcus's eye and flicked a signal at the First Spear. Marcus slowed the pace even more.

Just as well, Tavi thought. It would give him a little more time to figure a way out of this mess.

"We aren't going through with it," Max growled. "Right?"

Tavi shook his head slowly, more a gesture of irritation than anything else. "The children are clear, at least."

Crassus frowned in thought, then glanced at Tavi. "Age of accountability?"

"Exactly," Tavi said.

Hoofbeats approached. Araris came trotting down the line of horses and offered a thick book to Tavi.

"What's that?" Max asked.

Tavi held up the book, titled, simply, Military Law. Then he flipped it open and started searching for the proper reference.

Crassus smiled. "You came prepared, eh?"

"Gift from Cyril," Tavi replied.

"Age of what?" Max said.

"Accountability, you illiterate thug," Crassus said. He flashed a small smile at Max. "Legally speaking, a child under the age of twelve dwelling in an adult's household cannot be held accountable for most crimes. Their parent or guardian is responsible for their behavior."

"So that gets the kids out of trouble," Max said.

"It isn't enough," Tavi said. "It just means we'd have to execute their parents twice." He held up the book. "Arnos has to adhere to the letter of the law. As a Legion commander in a war zone, he's got full authority to pass summary judgment on enemy troops and support personnel."

"With no trial?" Max asked.

"Not if they aren't Citizens," Tavi said. "And Arnos is interpreting the definition of support personnel to include any Aleran who has cooperated with the Canim in any fashion. He says the fact that they let those Canim into their town makes them traitors."

"Against Nasaug's army? They had no choice," Max spat. "Look at them."

Crassus shook his head. "Legally speaking, they had a choice. They could have fought the Canim and died."

"That's suicide."

"But legal." Crassus frowned at Tavi. "Captain, do you think the Senator's sentence will stand up before a tribunal of review?"

"He isn't ordering the execution of any Citizens," Tavi said, scanning pages in the book. He found the proper section and it confirmed his fears. "Crows. Technically, he's acting within the bounds of the law. So it will come down to politics."

Max growled. "If he's successful against the Canim, his judgment will probably be supported."

"And if the campaign goes badly," Crassus said, "his enemies will use it to eviscerate his career."

Tavi ground his teeth. "Not that it will matter to the people of Othos by then."

"There's got to be something we can do, Captain," Max protested.

Tavi grimaced. "If Arnos had put half as much planning into the assault on Othos as he had into this, he'd have taken the town without a man lost." He snapped the book shut rather harder than was necessary and looked at Max. "Legally speaking, my only options are to carry out the order or resign."

"Which is what Arnos wants," Crassus said quietly.

Tavi glanced aside at Crassus, surprised that he would bring up the point. The young Knight Commander had rather pointedly remained entirely silent during any conversation touching upon politics more than indirectly. It was hardly surprising, considering that Crassus's mother had betrayed them all at the Elinarch and his uncle was leading a rebellion that had ground on for most of two years. His father, High Lord Antillus, commanded fully half the forces of the Shieldwall, the vast edifice that walled away the threat of the Icemen in the savage north, and was one of the most respected men in Alera.

All in all, that made Antillus Crassus into a potential wildfire, politically speaking. Tavi had sent the First Lord strongly favorable reports regarding the young lord's skill, capability, and loyalty. If he hadn't, Gaius might well have made sure that a young man with such volatile potential was transferred to a less inflammable post.

All of that meant that Crassus had tactfully remained aloof from the intrigue that touched upon the First Aleran, except where it directly affected his ability to perform his duties. It had not meant, however, that he had closed his eyes to what was happening, and Tavi's respect for Max's younger half brother went up another notch.

"Which is probably what he wants," Tavi agreed quietly. "Either way, he's arguably within his rights, and I've got no legal recourse to refuse the order."

Max let out a chuckle with a hard edge on it. "Like you've ever let little things like laws get in the way."

Tavi frowned. It was true enough, he supposed, but that was before he'd been made aware of the fact that he might be the one expected to uphold and defend those laws one day. Law was what separated civilization from barbarism. Law was what enabled a society to protect the weak from the strong who would abuse or destroy them.

He looked over his shoulder at the poor people of Othos.

The law had been made to defend them. Not to murder them.

"We might have to get creative," he said quietly. He squinted up at the sky. "What I wouldn't give for a storm right now."

Max gave Crassus a speculative look, but the young lord shook his head. "Amos lost some of his Knights Aeris, but the rest of them would sense it if we tampered with the weather."

Tavi nodded. "We need to stretch this out until dark."

Max grunted. "Why?"

"The Canim like to operate at night. Once night has fallen, who knows? We might be attacked by a force of raiders, and in the confusion the prisoners might escape."

Max pursed his lips, then broke into a smile. "Those crowbegotten Canim ruin everything, Captain."

Crassus frowned. "We'll be ordered to pursue them. There's no way that group could escape any competent pursuit."

"I know," Tavi replied. "We do it anyway."

Crassus rode in silence for a few pensive seconds. "I'm with you, sir. But all you'll do is delay things by a day or so. At most. Then you'll be right back where you are now."

"A lot can change in a day or so," Tavi said, quietly. "Either of you have a better idea?"

Neither spoke, and Tavi closed his eyes for a moment, ordering his thoughts. "The first thing we need is time. We're going to double-check all of the prisoners' identities."

"Sir?" Crassus said.

"Amos can't possibly fault me being careful to make sure we aren't subjecting a Citizen to an injustice."

Crassus narrowed his eyes and began nodding. "And he'll figure you're doing it to protect yourself from legal consequences. Because that's why he'd do it."

Tavi nodded. "Crassus, confirm their identities and be thorough. Make it take until sundown. Go."

"Yes, sir," Crassus said. The young commander banged a fist to his chest and turned his horse, nudging it into a rather listless trot toward the prisoners.

"Max," Tavi said. "Get Schultz, and tell him to pick two spears of men who can keep their mouths shut. You'll take them and stage a raid tonight, once it's full dark. Something noisy but not too spectacular, and leave a couple of the Canim weapons we've recovered lying around. Amos will have sent some men to keep an eye on things by then. Handle them, but don't kill anyone if you can possibly avoid it."

"Understood," Max said. He lowered his voice, and said, "Crassus is right, you know. The Senator will only send you after them and relieve you for incompetence when you don't bring them back and carry out the order."

"Let me worry about that, Max. Get moving. I'm going to send word to Cyril to find out if-"

"Captain," Araris interrupted.

Tavi glanced back at the singulare, who nodded down the line. Tavi turned to see Kitai thundering up the column toward him, with Enna and a dozen Marat trailing her. As they slowed, Max released the windcrafting that surrounded them, saluted Tavi, and turned his horse to head back down the column.

The Marat came to a halt in a blowing, disorderly clump all around them as Kitai drew her horse up beside Tavi's, her lovely face expressionless. The Marat called to one another, trading what were apparently gibes and boasts in their own tongue. Several of the younger riders, as restless and energetic as their mounts, continued dancing in circles around the larger group, their horses shaking their heads and rearing from time to time.

Tavi turned intent eyes to Kitai right away. It might have looked sloppy and exuberant, but the Marat had long since worked out their own method to veil conversations from any windcrafters who might be attempting to listen from afar.

Kitai's leg bumped against Tavi's as their horses walked, and he could sense the tension in her. They stretched out their hands to one another at the same time and briefly entwined their fingers. "Chala," Kitai said. "I worried for you during the battle."

"You worried for meT Tavi asked. He couldn't help but smile a little. "You were the one leading an attack on an enemy position."

Kitai sniffed. "That was nothing. I didn't get close enough to lift a blade." She cast a general glower around them at the Marat of the Horse Clan. "They got there first."

"Still. It was well-done."

She arched a pale eyebrow at him. "Yes. Of course it was." Her haughty expression faltered, though, and she glanced around them, making sure that no one was close enough to overhear them through the cacophony of the Horse Clan. "There is something you must see."

Tavi nodded at once, flashed a hand signal to the First Spear, and turned his horse out of the slow column of marching men. Kitai's horse wheeled perfectly in time with his, and he supposed that an outsider looking on would have thought that he was leading her and not the other way around. The Marat escort joined them as they cantered to the east and away from the column.

They rode for most of two miles, by Tavi's estimate, the sharp rise of the bluff on their right, until they reached a small copse that had grown up where a burbling spring spilled water down from the higher ground. Two Marat horses were grazing on fresh spring grass outside the trees.

The little company rode up to the copse and dismounted. Tavi passed Acteon's reins over to Enna, and followed Kitai into the trees.

"We took a prisoner, chala" she said without preamble, her pace never slowing. "An Aleran. A messenger."

Tavi hissed in sudden excitement. "Yes? What did he say?"

"That he would speak only to you."

They brushed through a few yards of undersized evergreens that hid whatever was beyond them from view. When they emerged, Tavi found himself in a small clearing, where a pair of Marat warriors stood with bows in hand and arrows on strings, calmly regarding a man seated on the ground between them.

Tavi blinked and lifted his eyebrows, recognizing the man-the rebel scout he'd subdued back at his aborted ambush of the Canim column. The man was wearing the same clothes, minus all his gear, which had been placed in a neat pile several feet away from him.

The scout glanced up at him and blinked twice before his own eyes widened in recognition. "You," he said. "Bloody crows."

Tavi felt one corner of his mouth lift in a smile. "Good afternoon," he said. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

The scout looked uncertain for a moment, then barked out a short laugh. "Aye, m'lord."

"I'm no lord," Tavi replied. "Rufus Scipio, Captain of the First Aleran."

The man bowed his head slightly. "Captain. My name is Durias. I'm a centurion of the First Freehold Legion auxiliaries."

"Freehold, centurion?" Tavi asked.

"The capital city of Free Alera, Captain." He lifted his chin with a slight but undeniable glitter of defiance in his eyes. "Our capital. The freemen's capital."

Tavi nodded. "I see. I'm told you bear a message."

The man nodded and slipped a hand inside his tunic.

Both Marat drew their bows, and the deadly steel tips gleamed as they oriented on Durias. In the same instant, Kitai's sword hissed from its sheath.

Durias froze, his eyes very wide. He licked his lips, glancing back and forth between the weapons and Tavi.

"Slowly, centurion," Tavi said, keeping his voice calm. "You'll have to excuse my friends. We've had problems with more than one assassin, and they tend to err on the side of caution."

Durias swallowed and-very slowly-withdrew a small bundle of cloth from beneath his tunic. He bowed his head and offered it out to Tavi on both of his upturned palms. "Nasaug bade me give you this," he said quietly.

Kitai stalked forward and took the cloth, then returned with it to Tavi's side. Tavi frowned down at the cloth. It looked vaguely familiar. Then he realized what he was holding. A plain, worn tunic-specifically, Ehren's tunic, the one he'd been wearing when Tavi had last seen him.

Tavi's fingers trembled a little in their hurry to unfold the cloth, revealing the tunic's contents. Two ludus pieces resided within. One was a white le-gionare, the missing piece from his own set. The second was a Knight of black stone, from a much larger, less finely carved set.

Tavi chewed on his lower lip and nodded absently to the Marat guards. They eased back on their bowstrings, relaxing once more, their expressions never changing.

"I recognize it," Tavi said quietly. "Did he send anything else with you?"

Durias nodded. "Nasaug said to tell you that in most games, this would be a poor trade, but that it is one he is willing to offer, provided you-and only you-come to speak to him."

Tavi frowned at the messenger. "Where? When?"

"Immediately, Captain," Durias said. "He is nearby. I am to lead you to him."

"And if I refuse?"

Durias smiled a little and spread his hands. "Then Nasaug will have exchanged a legionareiox a Knight, and profited thereby."

Tavi considered the pieces on Ehren's tunic for a moment. "Nasaug plays ludus well," he said. "Surely he would think me a fool to sacrifice a First Lord for the sake of a Knight."

"He offers you safe conduct, Captain."

Tavi folded the tunic back over the pieces. "And what does he offer as a guarantee?"

Durias regarded Tavi steadily. "His word."

Tavi drew in a deep breath. This could very well be a trap. The Canim were cunning and ruthless when it came to warfare. It was, in fact, a point of pride to them. In war, there was no such thing as cheating, no rules, no mercy. Tavi had no doubt that Nasaug would not hesitate to deny his enemy a valuable resource like Ehren-unless there was a greater gain to be had in keeping him alive.

Simultaneously, though, the Canim of the warrior caste seemed to adhere to a rigid standard of honor. They respected strength, courage, and skill, and Tavi had somehow managed to demonstrate all three during the first desperate days of battle at the Elinarch.

Tavi clenched a fist in frustration. This wasn't merely an offer to parley. It was a test of his commitment to the concept. Nasaug would not make a second offer. To say nothing of the fact that Ehren's life hung in the balance.

Tavi could not afford to let this opportunity pass by, and Nasaug knew it.

Which made it a perfect trap.

Which, in turn, made it a perfect test.

Which made it an opportunity he could not afford to…

Tavi shook his head before the circular logic made him dizzy.

He had to try.

"Chala," Kitai whispered, brushing her fingers against his arm. "Are you sure?"

He turned to look her in the eye. "No."

"But you'll go anyway."

"They have Ehren," he said.

She scowled at him, clearly unhappy with his response. "This is foolish."

"Maybe," he agreed.

"Stubborn. Proud. Stupid." She sighed and leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the mouth, her lips warm and sweet. She settled back again, and said, "I would hit you on the head with a rock and drag you away from this. But it would only shatter the rock."

Tavi gave her a quick, warm smile, and turned to the captive scout. "Very well, centurion, get your gear. Whatever happens, this ought to be an interesting conversation."