Guardians Of The Coral Throne

Chapter 24

Richard Blade sat on his horse in his gilded armor, the red cloak of a general of the Empire whipping around his shoulders in the cold wind. It blew straight from the west, and carried with it the sounds of the advancing Scadori army.

From the top of the ridge, Blade could see the enemy spread out across several miles of countryside. It was not just the warriors of Scador, either. Before the snows closed the pass, the women and children and slaves had come down from the plateau to join their men in Karan. Now they sat in the circles of tents and captured wagons behind the battle line, waiting for the outcome of the day's fighting.

If the day's fighting went against the Scadori, it would mean the end of their whole people, not just their army. If the day's fighting went against the Karani-well, there was nothing in the field between here and the walls of Karanopolis, and precious little to hold the walls if the enemy got that far.

Blade looked behind him at the Karani army taking position to his right and rear. There were three solid masses of Imperial infantry in that battle line, one in the center and one at each flank, about five thousand of them. Behind the center stood the cavalry, including the last Regiment of the Guardians of the Coral Throne. But the rest of the infantry were hastily mobilized and even more hastily trained volunteers of one sort or another. The rest of the cavalry were either volunteers or Nessiri slaves who hoped to kill Scadori and win their freedom today.

The grand total was perhaps twenty-five thousand. It was an army that might fight valiantly. It might also fall apart at the first collision with the enemy, and it certainly could not maneuver well.

Fortunately Blade and Pardes had brought their army to within sight of the enemy, and the Scadori would do the rest. They could not resist the temptation to strike at an enemy offering himself. Over there they would see only that one good blow could give them Karan and final victory over their ancient enemies.

Blade hoped his own army saw that as clearly. But even if they did, it could hardly make up for their lack of training. Well, he had done all he could. Time to take his bodyguard and put himself in position, preferably well forward. This was an army that would like to see its generals getting shot at.

The battle started even before Blade could get into position. The Scadori charged in the center, a solid column of them with their improvised cavalry protecting either flank. Blade and his guards spurred their horses to a gallop, racing along the Karani line toward where the fighting had exploded. The cloak and the silvery plume on his helmet flowed out behind him as he rode, and cheers followed him along the line.

He reined in just out of bowshot of the Scadori and a little in front of the Karani line. The Scadori were swarming forward, slashing with swords and hurling spears. On their left they were meeting Imperial infantry, and they weren't getting anywhere. But closer to Blade they were striking the volunteers from Karanopolis and the frontier farms, tough, battle-hardened warriors against recruits. The Karani lines were already swaying back and forth ominously.

Other men were hurrying toward the threatened section of the Karani line. But that could end up by thinning out other parts of the line too much. Damn! There had to be something to do beside just standing here and slugging it out toe-to-toe all the rest of the day. With an army of Imperial infantry Blade could and would have tried it. But against the army he had now the Scadori probably were better, man for man. The slugging match could lead to a Scadori victory. At best it would end with both armies lying on the frozen ground, dead practically to the last man. That would bring both peoples down in final ruin.

Horns bellowed among the Scadori, interrupting Blade's calculations. A mass of their cavalry. swung out from the flank of the attacking column, moving toward Blade and his bodyguard. Zogades, commanding the bodyguard, looked a question at Blade. He nodded and drew his sword. The trumpeter blew the charge, and Blade and Zogades led their men forward to meet the Scadori cavalry.

The two charges crashed into each other. The Guardians were moving faster and in a better formation, so it was the Scadori who gave way. Thirty of them fell right off their horses at the shock. And many more died, spitted on lances or cut down by swords.

Blade found himself surrounded by the screams of dying men and dying horses and by at least a dozen Scadori. He thrust at one with his lance and saw the man fall out of his saddle trying to duck under the thrust. He swung the lance sideways to panic another enemy's horse; it reared and spilled its rider under the hooves of one of his comrades. Blade's horse shied aside from a mangled, whimpering thing on the ground that had just enough strength to crawl.

Blade realized that he had lost too much speed now to charge properly, lifted his lance in one hand, and threw it like a spear. It missed its target but drove through the neck of the man's horse, which put him out of action just as effectively.

Now Blade drew both swords and swung until they made a blur about him. He chopped off lance heads, spear points, arms that reached up or out for him. He split heads, drove down shields, and batted aside swords. A Scadori ran at him with an axe, swinging at his horse's legs. The horse saw this enemy in time, reared, and smashed him to the ground with both front hooves. Blade kept his saddle, let his swords dangle from his wrists by their thongs, snatched an opponent out of his saddle, and strangled him as he dangled in midair. He roared and cursed and bellowed threats at the Scadori and orders and warnings at his own men. Slowly he cleared a space around him, as Scadori died or grew afraid to approach him.

Half a dozen Guardians now rode up on each side of Blade. He saw that the bodyguard had driven the Scadori cavalry in all directions. Twenty Guardians were down, but five or six times that many Scadori. The enemy's cavalry was now too scattered to protect the flank of their attacking column.

Blade snapped out orders as his Guardians drew back. «Zogades-quick, ride back to the infantry lines and say I order an attack on this flank of the column. Gallop!» Zogades and four others spurred their horses away. Blade waited as the minutes passed and the men around him began to fidget. Then he saw the Emperor's purple banner move forward to stop just behind the Karani line. The drums of the Imperial bodyguard joined the trumpet calls, and the line surged forward, the banner moving with it.

A whole mass of the volunteers was swarming forward to the attack, three thousand or more, the Emperor riding with them. They caught up Blade and his Guardians in their charge and swept them forward, jostling them until they found it hard to stay in their saddles. The volunteers seemed too caught up in the excitement of the charge to be frightened. They shouted and screamed and waved their spears and swords so furiously they were almost as dangerous to each other as to the Scadori.

They struck the Scadori column in the flank so hard that scores of men were trampled underfoot and hundreds driven back by the first shock. Then the two sides went at it, hacking, thrusting, tearing at each other like two packs of rabid wolves. There was no room for a cavalry charge in this mad tangle of fighting infantrymen. Literally no room-a mouse could not have got in close to the Scadori now, let alone a horse.

Jores rode up and hailed Blade. «Is it not magnificent, how grandly they fight for vengeance and a return to their land? How can we lose?»

At least he wasn't saying they were fighting for him. That showed wisdom. But it would show more wisdom not to start counting on victory so soon. The enthusiasm shown now might not survive long hours of hard fighting and heavy casualties. Blade said as much. He added, «I would urge Your Majesty to stay behind the lines for the moment.» He pointed toward the Scadori main line. «Suppose they launch another attack while you are exposed out here?»

Jores didn't withdraw, but the Scadori main line didn't attack either. Instead what was left of the attacking column drew back into its own lines. The Karani also reformed. Nothing was left from the first collision of the battle except two or three acres of ground, covered with drying blood and piled high with hacked corpses already stiffening in the cold.

Another Scadori attack now came in at the other end of the Karani line. Pardes was in charge down there, and he could easily fight his battle without Blade looking over his shoulder. Blade had plenty of time to count the bodies. He didn't like at all what he learned from that count. Except in the cavalry fight, the Scadori had managed to kill about two of their enemies for every warrior they lost.

That was a death sentence for the Karani army and the Empire if it went on too long. Blade rode back into the shelter of the Karani line and waited until the attack on the other flank died down. This time the Imperial infantry went in and gave better than they got, but the volunteers suffered just as badly. Just to add to the scene, it started to snow. Stinging little flakes rode in on the wind, rapidly growing larger and thicker.

The third Scadori attack was the largest yet, and the warriors came on more fiercely than before. Once again it was repulsed. But this time a good many of the volunteers drifted away toward the rear. Blade and his bodyguard alone rounded up at least fifty and herded them back into line. A few ran, and Blade had a hard time keeping some of his Guardians from nocking arrows and shooting down the fugitives.

By now the Karani line was getting ominously thin. To make matters worse, the Scadori were stretching farther and farther toward the right, forcing Blade and Pardes to spread their shrinking army over an increasing front.

The snow was coming down thick and hard by the time the fourth enemy attack came in. This time a large part of the Karani army showed signs of simply turning and running. Pardes and Blade and their bodyguards rode furiously up and down, herding the panic-stricken volunteers back into some sort of battle line. After that Pardes decided to post a thin line of Imperial infantry behind the whole Karani right flank. But that was only postponing disaster, rather than preventing it. The snow was still getting thicker, and Blade began to wonder if they were going to end this battle in a blizzard. In another half hour visibility would be less than a mile.

Low visibility meant a chance for surprise by a fast-moving force. A fast-moving force-like the Karani cavalry. The thought leaped into Blade's mind, and after it a series of ideas lined up as neatly as a freight train. He rode over to Pardes and the Emperor.

«Pardes, can you spread the Imperial infantry out behind the rest of our line? They wouldn't have to hold that position for long.»

The eunuch frowned. «I could. But they'd better not have to stay there. The next attack could rip us to pieces that way.»

Blade nodded. «I want them there more to hold our own people in position than to fight. I'm going to take all the cavalry around our right and hit the Scadori on the flank. If the snow gets much thicker I'll be able to make the move a complete surprise, and roll them up from the flank.»

«I see,» said Jores. «But you'll have to take the cavalry off to the rear to do that. The recruits may think they're being abandoned, and-«

«That's exactly why I want the Imperial infantry behind the main line. If they can prop it up for just about another hour…»

«You'd better move fast, then,» said Pardes. «Before too much longer the snow will be too thick on the ground for the cavalry to charge.»

Blade nodded and spurred his horse off toward the rest of the cavalry without another word. Pardes was right. There was no time to do anything except put his plan into action. It should work, for the Scadori could not stand against an all-out charge delivered by surprise. Of course, if it didn't work, it would hardly be honorable for him to survive. But if it didn't work, his chances of surviving were too small to worry about in any case.

He moved out with just over three thousand men, about equally divided among Guardians, volunteers, and Nessiri. He would have liked a few hundred more, but sheer numbers weren't going to be the decisive thing now. It would be a surprise charge, driven home with all possible force, or it would be a disaster.

They rode off into the swirling snow until the battle line was out of sight, then swung to the left. Trees and baggage wagons acted as landmarks and helped Blade navigate. Three miles in a straight line, and then another turn, once again to the left. Still another three miles, the hooves of the horses now thudding on snow covered ground. The cavalry was not only moving invisibly, it was moving as silently as an army of ghosts. They could hardly hope for a better chance for surprise. If they could only drive the charge home in the right place-

Now they were moving back in toward where the Scadori flank and rear should be. The snow drew a swirling gray curtain across the countryside and the wind whipped any battle sounds away before they reached Blade. He led his bodyguard out in front of the advancing column and spread it out in front of a wide scouting line. Word went back through the column: check your saddle girths and weapons, be ready to swing into line at the signal from Duke Blade's trumpeter. Blade knew none of the cavalry except the Guardians could really maneuver, but sheer enthusiasm could get them lined up fast enough. They all had reasons to fight-dead comrades, freedom, or lost homes. Blade wiped melting snow off his face and checked his own weapons.

They rode on, and still the gray curtain swirled across the countryside ahead of them. Here there were no convenient landmarks to tell them how far they had come. Blade found himself trying to count the steps of his horse. He also found himself trying not to hold his breath, like a nervous child in a dark room, or think about what would happen to Karan and its army if he wound up leading the cavalry aimlessly off into the blizzard. At this rate the snow on the ground would soon be too deep for the cavalry to charge or the infantry to retreat, then-

Then he saw them, less than half a mile ahead-a circle of wagons, tents, and draft animals. Another circle lay beyond it, then a third that was only a faint dark smudge against the snow. It was the Scadori baggage train, with the women and children. Now Blade knew where they were, and where the Scadori army should be. Unless the Karani had collapsed in the meantime, and the Scadori were chasing the fugitives away across country. That could have happened. But if he rode on any farther to find out for sure, he would certainly lose the surprise he needed.

Blade knew that here, in these few moments on this snowy field, he held the fate of both Karan and Scador in his hands. He did not let his mind dwell on that fact for more than a few seconds, though. He turned his horse until its head was aimed off toward where the Scadori army ought to be. Then he gave Zogades a thumbs-up. Zogades signaled to the trumpeters. They raised their long trumpets to their lips and started blowing the call to form line for the charge.

They blew longer and louder than Blade thought human lungs could manage. By the time the last blast died away the line was practically formed. As Blade had expected, the formation was ragged, with volunteers and Guardians and Nessiri all shoving and jostling each other. But he had never felt such a spirit in any army as he felt in the three thousand horsemen behind him.

He waited a moment longer, to give the trumpeters a chance to catch their breath. He drew his sword and raised it high over his head. Then he slashed it down through the snow flakes. The trumpets sounded again, blowing the charge, and the three thousand horsemen surged forward.

At first Blade had the impression of watching a silent film run in slow motion. The horses had trouble working up to a gallop, and until they did the snow muffled the thunder of hooves to a faint murmur.

Then the battle lines of the two armies loomed out of the grayness, half a mile ahead. The trumpeters blew again, without orders, for sheer delight in making noise. The noise seemed to lift the whole charge forward like a physical force. The horses moved up smoothly from a trot to a canter to a gallop, swords came out, lance points dipped, and now the thunder of three thousand sets of hooves pounded at Blade's ears. He waved his own sword and roared out:

«For the Emperor! For Karan! For your homes and your lands and your dead! Onward, and strike them! Onward!» The cheers that rose behind Blade drowned out the sound of the hooves and the swelling roar of the battle ahead. He went on shouting, though he could no longer hear himself. He went on shouting, because it somehow seemed that if he stopped shouting the whole charge would fall apart and he himself would fall down into the snow. That was a mad thing to believe, but Blade knew that in this moment he was just a bit mad.

He went on shouting and the men behind him went on cheering as they swept past the Scadori baggage train. A few spears and arrows shot out from the wagons and tents as they passed-Scadori women and old men doing what little they could. Blade was still shouting and the men behind him were still cheering when the charge struck the Scadori at a full gallop.

Blade had organized and delivered the kind of charge that can win a battle in a matter of minutes. This one did just that. The entire battle turned against the Scadori in the three minutes after Blade's charge struck home, as their battle line folded up on itself like an accordion. The charge trampled or slashed or speared down four thousand warriors in those few minutes, without losing more than a handful of cavalrymen. Of the other hand, Scadori half lost their formation and piled up in a tangled mob. Most of the rest lost not only their formation but their nerve. They started to drift, then to run, toward the rear.

Then Pardes and the Emperor together led the Karani battle line forward at a run, Imperial regiments and recruits all mixed together. Nobody was bothering about formation, nobody was afraid any more, nobody was thinking of anything except closing with the Scadori and killing and killing until there weren't any more to kill.

In half an hour the battle was over. Blade could never remember a single detail of what he did from the moment the charge struck home. The first thing that stuck in his mind was sitting on his horse as Pardes and the Emperor rode up to him, grinning triumphantly. He had lost his lance, and his sword was back in its scabbard. He drew it, and realized that he hadn't struck a blow with it in the whole battle. Well, there were enough Scadori dead without his help.

There would be a good many more before long, he was afraid. Through the snow he could hear the screams of women as the Karani swarmed through the baggage wagons. The details were mercifully blotted out by distance and the swirling snow. Blade thought of saying something to Pardes and the Emperor about this, then realized it was pointless. This wasn't just the end of a battle. It was the end of a war more than two centuries long. Hadn't he himself said that defeat today would be the end of the Scadori as a people?

But he still felt very little joy in the victory as he listened to the screams. He was about to turn his horse away, when Zogades rode up. The captain's own horse was lathered white and his armor was hacked and scarred. In one bloody hand he held a sword by the tip.

«My lord Blade, I had to beat some greedy-guts infantry off to get this for you. But you're the one who deserves it, by the gods. It's the Scadori general's sword. A prisoner told me what it was, before I killed him.»

«Before you-«Blade began, then a thought suddenly struck him. «Did he say who the general was?»

«Named Degar, I think he was. Least that's what it sounded like. You know these Scadori names sound funny,»

Blade nodded. So Degar was gone too, and perhaps mercifully. He would hardly have wanted to survive seeing his people destroyed and learning what had happened to his daughter. But-Blade put further thoughts along those lines firmly out of his mind. He could wish that the Karani had a great many good qualities they didn't. Perhaps Jores could do something about that, if he became the Emperor he might be and could control Pardes and others like him. But even as they were, the Karani held more hope for this Dimension than the Scadori. In helping them to their victory, he had made the best of a bad lot, but what else could he have done? He reached out his hand to take the sword.

Then it seemed as though someone was pounding the earth under him like a gigantic drum. Blade felt the trembling and vibration reach him through the body of his horse and work up through his own body. As it reached his head, pain exploded in his skull.

It was a pain so agonizing that Blade gasped out loud. His fingers clutched at Degar's sword, but couldn't close tightly enough. The sword slipped from his grasp and fell point down to the ground. The snow was deep enough now to catch it and hold it upright.

But the pain was also a familiar pain. From far away in Home Dimension Lord Leighton's computer was gripping at his brain, ready to twist his awareness and bring him back to England.

The computer's grip tightened, the twisting began, the pain soared higher. Blade saw the world of Karani and Scadori and the snowy battlefield fading away around him.

The last thing he saw before blackness came down was Degar's sword standing upright in the snow. To Blade's fading vision it looked like a cross on a grave-the grave of the Scadori people.