First Lord's Fury

CHAPTER 9

“Tribune Antillar,” Tavi said. “I need you.”

Max looked up from his lunch, blinking in confusion at the tone of Tavi’s voice. But though Max was Tavi’s friend, he was also Legion. He rose at once, banged a fist to his chest in salute, and fell into step beside Tavi before he’d finished chewing his last bite of food. As Tavi stalked out of the mess hall, he spotted Crassus pacing across the camp, speaking earnestly to one of the Legion’s centurions.

“Tribune Antillus!” Tavi barked. “Centurion Schultz! With me.”

Crassus and Schultz reacted in almost precisely the same way Max had. Tavi never slowed his steps, and they hurried to fall into pace behind him and Maximus. Tavi headed for the Canim encampment without speaking further, but they hadn’t gone a hundred yards before hooves thundered over the ground, and Kitai swung herself down from her horse, her expression dour. She stared intently at Tavi for a moment, then started walking next to him.

A surge of relief and pleasure at seeing her face briefly suppressed the anger and calculation that drove his current steps. “When did you get back?” he asked.

“Just now, Aleran. Obviously.” She looked at him again, as though to reassure herself that he was still there. “I felt something.”

“Two Canim just tried to kill me.”

Kitai’s lips peeled back from her teeth. “Varg?”

“No way to know for certain. But it isn’t like him.”

Kitai growled. “His people. His responsibility.”

Tavi grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her. “Were you successful?”

She eyed him, and said, not without a measure of scorn, “Aleran.”

Tavi bared his teeth in a fierce grin. “Of course. I apologize.”

“As well you should,” Kitai said. “What do you hope to accomplish?”

“I will get answers from Varg,” Tavi said.

“What?” blurted Max. “The Canim tried to kill you?”

“About five minutes ago,” Tavi said.

“Then why the crows are we walking toward their camp?”

“Because I need to move fast before this becomes something bad,” Tavi said. “And because that’s where Varg is.”

“And if he did send them to kill you, what’s going to stop him from finishing the job when you get there?”

“You are,” Tavi said.

Max scowled. “Oh. I am.”

“Don’t be a hog about it,” Tavi said. “Crassus and Schultz deserve to contribute, too.”

Max let out a growling sound. “Bloody Legions,” he muttered, under his breath. “Bloody Canim. Bloody crazy First Lords.”

“If you want to stay here…” Tavi began.

Max glowered at him. “Of course not.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Schultz is competent. But it would all go to the crows if my little brother was in charge, and he outranks Schultz.”

“Technically speaking,” Crassus said, “I also outrank you.”

“Do not,” Max said. “We’re both Tribunes.”

“I got there first.”

“We got there at the same time. Besides, I got assigned to the First Aleran six months before it formed,” Max replied.

Crassus snorted. “As a centurion. A fake centurion.”

“Doesn’t matter. Seniority’s mine.”

“Children,” Tavi chided. “You don’t see Schultz bickering about such things, do you?”

“If it please the captain, sir,” the plain-faced Schultz said, “I am not a part of this.”

Kitai grinned, showing her canine teeth. “Schultz has the best sense among them. He merits command for that alone.”

Schultz ignored the comment with noncommissioned stoicism.

They strode out from the camp on the hill and went down toward the larger Canim encampment. The gate guards saw Tavi and the others coming. One of the guards, a Cane with whom Tavi was not familiar, held up a hand, signaling for Tavi to halt and be identified, standard procedure for the Canim camp.

Tavi took a deep breath and reminded himself that he was not making a standard visit.

Instead of halting, he called strength from the earth, leaned back, and kicked the wooden palisade gates open with a resounding crash. The two Canim on guard, caught behind the gates as they opened, were flung to the ground on either side—and every set of black and scarlet Canim eyes in view turned to focus on what had happened.

“I seek my gadara, Varg,” Tavi stated in the snarling tongue of the wolf-warriors, loudly enough to be heard by the watching Canim. “Let any who wish to stand in my way step forth now.”

The way toward the center of the Canim camp was abruptly vacated.

Tavi stalked forward, trying to appear as though he longed for nothing so much as an excuse to vent his rage upon any Cane luckless enough to draw his attention. He had enough experience with them to know how important body language and confidence was to communicating effectively with them. His main worry was that some young warrior might believe his stance and attitude were bravado, a bluff, and decide to call him on it.

He had already killed two Canim. Given how implacable Varg and the warrior caste had become about protecting what remained of their people, it might already be too late to salvage anything out of the situation. Once blood was spilled, the Canim could become less than rational.

Come to think of it, Alerans weren’t much different.

Kitai fell into place beside Tavi, her green eyes narrowed, her expression hard. “You do not believe Varg is behind this,” she said beneath her breath.

“No. If he wanted me dead, he’d bring a sword and do it himself.”

Kitai nodded. “Therefore, someone else sent the killers.”

“Yes,” Tavi said.

Kitai frowned thoughtfully for a moment. Then she said, “I see. You fear that whoever sent the killers knew that they would die.”

Tavi nodded. “Likely, they are already working to spread word among the Canim.”

Kitai narrowed her eyes. “They will accuse you of murder.”

“I’ve got to get to Varg first,” Tavi said. “Before word has time to spread.”

Kitai glared at a pair of warriors in blue-and-black steel armor, golden-furred Shuarans who had never faced Aleran Legions on the battlefield and who might therefore be more willing to challenge the Aleran party. One of the pair looked like he might—but his companion, a larger Cane, flicked his ears in amusement and watched the Alerans pass with unconcealed interest.

Kitai grunted in satisfaction. “And before word has time to spread among the Alerans, too.”

Tavi nodded. “That’s why we’re doing this the noisy way.”

She cast him a single worried glance. “Not all enemies are like Varg. Be cautious.”

Tavi snorted out a breath through his nose and fell silent again as they finished their march through the camp uncontested.

As Tavi approached the center of the camp, he spotted a dozen of the most senior of the Canim warrior caste, their armor covered in so many scarlet patterns that little, if any, black steel could be seen. They were all resting in nonchalant poses around the entrance to the dugout shelter Varg used as a command post.

Several were sitting on their haunches, as if loitering in groups of two and three, passing the time. Two more were playing ludus on an oversized board with enlarged pieces. Another pair were facing one another with wooden practice swords. The two Canim did not engage their blunt blades. One was posed in a defensive stance, blade held across his body. His opposite held his own blade gripped over his head, parallel to the line of his spine.

As Tavi grew closer, the positions of each warrior shifted at what appeared to be precisely the same time. The first Cane slid a step to one side and shifted the angle of his blade. His partner eased half a step forward in dancelike synchronization, turning his body, and brought his own blade down and forward to a full extension, the sword’s wooden tip stopping just short of the other Cane’s blade. They both froze again, only to change positions once more a few breaths later. As the positions settled, the first Cane dropped his jaws open in an easy grin. The second let out a rumbling snarl of disappointment. The two lowered their blades, inclined their heads to one another in a Canim bow, and turned to observe the approaching Alerans as if their contest had concluded when it did by pure coincidence.

Tavi stopped a few feet beyond the range of a long lunge from one of the Warmaster’s guardians, growled under his breath, and called, “Gadara! I would speak with you!”

Silence yawned for a moment, and the dozen guards faced the Alerans calmly, relaxed. Every one of them had a paw-hand on a weapon.

Varg emerged from the dugout in his crimson steel armor, prowling deliberately into the light. Nasaug followed his sire, his eyes focused on the Alerans. Varg came forward, toward Tavi, and stopped a fraction of an inch outside of his own weapon’s reach.

Tavi and Varg exchanged a Canim-style salute, though it was barely detectable, heads tilting very slightly to one side.

“What is this?” Varg said.

“It is what it is,” Tavi replied. “Two Canim just attempted to kill me in my command post. They entered posing as your messengers. One wore the armor of a Narashan warrior. The other wore the equipment of Nasaug’s militia.”

Varg’s ears swiveled forward and locked into position. For a Cane, it was an expression of polite interest, but the stillness of the rest of Varg’s body amounted to the equivalent of an expressionless mask, meant to give nothing of his thoughts away.

“Where are they?” Varg asked.

Tavi felt himself tense at the question but forced his body to remain confident, calm. “Dead.”

Varg’s throat rumbled with a low growl.

“I cannot let such a thing pass unchallenged,” Tavi replied.

“No,” Varg said. “You cannot.”

“I would face the Cane responsible.”

Varg’s eyes narrowed. Several seconds of silence passed before he spoke. “Then you would face me. I lead my people. I am responsible for them.”

Tavi nodded slowly. “I thought you’d say that.”

Nasaug let out a low, rumbling growl.

“Peace,” Varg rumbled, glancing over his shoulder.

Nasaug subsided.

Varg turned back to Tavi. “Where and when.”

“Our forces must leave in two days,” Tavi said. “Is that time enough to prepare such a thing?”

“In addition to what is already under way?” Varg asked. “No.”

“Then we will meet as soon as you have made preparations. Single blade, open field, until one falls.”

“Agreed,” Varg said.

The two exchanged another barely detectable bow. Tavi took several slow steps back, never turning his eyes from Varg. Then he turned, made a gesture with one hand to his companions, and started back the way he had come.

Rumors were already flying among the Canim. Hundreds, if not thousands, of them came to stare at the Alerans as they returned. Though the mutter of basso voices speaking Canish was never a friendly, soothing sound, Tavi imagined that their general tone was considerably uglier than any he had heard before. He walked through the crowd of towering wolf-folk, his eyes focused ahead of him, his expression set in a clenched-jaw snarl. He was peripherally aware of Kitai at his side, of Max, Crassus, and Schultz at his back. They were all walking in time with him, boots striking the ground at the same time—even Kitai, for once.

The Canim did not try to stop them although Tavi spotted a large mob coming their way as they reached the edge of the camp, led by half a dozen ritualists in their mantles of pale human leather. He tracked it from the corner of his eye but did not alter their pace. If the Aleran party appeared to the Canim around them to be fleeing, it could trigger an attack—and no matter how powerful the individuals with him might be, they were only a handful of people, and there were hundreds of Canim around them. They would be torn to pieces.

Tavi went back through the broken gates and past the two guards there, both of whom were on their feet again and looking surly. Neither met Tavi’s gaze or attempted to challenge him, though, and the ritualist-led mob was still a hundred yards off when Tavi went through and started back up the hill. It wasn’t until they were out of range of a Canim-thrown stone or spear that he allowed himself to begin to relax.

“Bloody crows,” breathed Schultz, from behind him.

“Crows and bloody furies,” agreed Max. “Did you see that group with the ritualists? They’d have jumped on us in a heartbeat.”

“Aye,” Crassus said. “That would have gotten ugly.”

“Which is why the captain broke the gates on the way in,” Kitai said. “Obviously.”

“I’ve never regretted making sure I had a quick way out,” Tavi said. “Centurion.”

“Sir,” Schultz said.

Tavi nodded to the legionares on duty at the gate to the First Aleran’s camp as they passed through. “I want you to speak to your Tribune. Let him know that I want the Battlecrows for detached duty. That’s all he needs to know.”

“Sir,” Schultz acknowledged.

“Pack them up for a mounted march and take them up to the engineering cohort’s position. It’s on a beach north of Antillus. Secure the engineers and keep an eye out for any suspicious Canim. If they’re going to make trouble for us, it will be at the staging area, so I want your men on station before nightfall.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir,” Schultz said seriously. He saluted and turned to start walking. “On my way.”

“Max, take the cavalry with him. Keep one wing ready to respond to an attack at all times. Don’t be subtle about it, either. I want anyone who thinks about interfering with the engineers to know what they’re in for if they try it.”

Max nodded. “Got it. What are we guarding again?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Tavi said. “Crassus, I know they aren’t going to like it, but I need the Knights to pretend they’re engineers again. The next couple of days are going to be difficult. Go with Max and Schultz and report to the senior engineering staff.”

Crassus sighed. “At least it won’t be more ice ships.”

Tavi glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Not… exactly, no.”

Max and Crassus traded a look.

“Does he know how annoying that is?” Max asked.

“Oh, absolutely,” Crassus said.

“You think we should say anything about it?”

“The burden of command is heavy,” Crassus said soberly. “We should probably let him have his sick fun.”

Max nodded. “Especially since he’s going to do it anyway.”

“He is the mighty First Lord,” Crassus said. “We are but lowly legionares. We obey without question.”

“We do?”

“That was a question. You’re questioning.”

“Right,” Max said. “Sorry.”

“Just get up there, both of you,” Tavi said. “The vord will be here in force in two days. We need to be on the move by then. I need you to help make it happen.”

The brothers rapped fists to breastplates and marched off, continuing to bicker lightly with one another as they walked.

Kitai watched them for a moment and smiled. “They have become friends. I like that.”

“They’re brothers,” Tavi said.

She looked at him, green eyes serious. “It is not the same for everyone. Blood draws some together. Their blood came between them.”

Tavi nodded. “They weren’t always this way, no.”

Kitai smiled faintly. “They are your friends as well. They went when you asked them to go.”

“They know what is at stake. They’re afraid. Schultz, too. That’s why they’re joking.”

“They’re joking because they just followed you into a horde of angry Canim and walked back out again in one piece,” she replied. “The battle energy had to go somewhere.”

Tavi grinned. “True.”

She tilted her head. “I’m curious. What did you accomplish, other than arranging a duel with one of the more dangerous beings we have encountered?”

“I started a conversation,” Tavi said.

Kitai eyed him for a moment, then said, “They are right. It is annoying when you do that.”

Tavi sighed. “It’ll work, or it won’t. Talking about it can’t help.”

She shook her head. “And your other plan. Will it work? Will we get there in time?”

Tavi stopped walking and regarded her. “I think there’s a chance. A good chance.” He turned to her, bowed formally, and asked, “Ambassador, would you do me the pleasure of joining me for a late dinner this evening?”

Kitai arched a white eyebrow. A slow smile spread over her lips. “Dinner?”

“It is the way things are properly done,” he said. “You might wear your new gown.”

“Gown?”

“I had it delivered to your tent while you were gone. I think it’s lovely. Tribune Cymnea assures me it is elegant and tasteful.”

Both her eyebrows lifted now. “In all of this, amidst everything you are doing, you made time to get me a gift.”

“Obviously,” Tavi said.

Kitai’s mouth curved up into another slow smile. She turned and sauntered away, hips swaying a little more than was necessary. She paused to say, “There is hope for you yet, Aleran.” Then she continued on her way.

Tavi frowned after her. “Kitai? So… you’re coming to dinner?”

She didn’t answer, except to laugh and keep walking.