Lord of Janissaries (126 page)

A banner showed in the gloom. Green and white, a stylized megaron device—“Ta-meltemos?” He took the sheaf of semaphore messages from his belt pouch and read again. There was no ambiguity.

STRYMON OF TA-MELTEMOS JOINED TO HOST OF DRANTOS AS ALLY

First time I’ve ever worried that somebody cracked the semaphore code.
“Let’s go.”

“Who is there?” someone challenged.

“Eqeta Rick, Captain General of Drantos.”
And I ought to have your arse for letting me get this close.
“Take me to the Wanax.”

An officer rode up hastily. A dozen Guards scrambled after him. The officer stared. “My lord. Your pardon. You were not expected.”

“I sent the message by semaphore.”

“We have received no semaphore messages for two days. Prince Akkilas’ cavalry destroyed the station south of Castle Fasolt.”

“All right. I’m here now. Where is the Wanax?”

The Guard officer turned away, then stammered, “My Lord Rick, we do not know.”

“What? How in hell can his Guards not know where he is?”

“My Lord, he told us to wait, and rode down into the battle.”

“Does he live?”

“We have not heard.”

Oh shit.
“Who is in charge here?”

“Prince Strymon, my lord.”

“Take me to him.”
Holy shit.

* * *

Rick clasped hands with Prince Strymon.

“My lord,” Strymon began. “I—I am pleased to meet you, and apologize for any trouble I may have caused your lady—”

“We haven’t a lot of time, Highness,” Rick said. “I’ve already heard that Lady Tylara is safe. Now what’s going on here?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Jesus Christ. You’re in command!”

“My lord, a quarter-hour ago I was summoned by Lord Balquhain to assume command of the army. It took nearly that long to give Lord Balquhain command of my Division and come here. I arrived to find that the Wanax Ganton is there—” He pointed downslope into the rain and smoke. “I am told that the Third Division is in trouble, but I do not yet know what that means, or what to do about it.”

“Christ on a crutch. Look, can you at least tell me where the Third Division is?”

“At once.” Strymon produced a map from inside his surcoat. He unrolled it. Rain spattered and the ink began to smear.

Rick took the map and tried to orient it.
The enemy is that way. Ah. Here’s the ridge we’re on.
He turned the map so that it faced the same direction as the terrain. “Third Division. This one?”

“Yes,” Strymon said.

“And the other Divisions? What’s in them?”

Strymon shrugged. “Everything. Pikes, horses, archers—”

“I see.”
Damn kid took my lesson in Napoleonic organization too bloody seriously.
“But First and Second are intact?”

“First certainly is. I believe Second is as well.”

“Reserves.” Rick pointed. By now the rain had half-washed away the marks on the parchment. “Tamaerthans here.”

“No longer,” Strymon said. “They were brought around to secure our right flank. Your lady and her father lead them.”

“Good.”
Okay. Right flank secure. Maybe. No need to ask what’s happened to the guns. In this rain we’ll be lucky if they get off a round every hour.
“Highness, you had First Division?”

“Yes.”

“Any action?”

“We were charged by cavalry earlier this morning. The guns dealt with most of it. I took few losses.”

“Have you ever commanded pikemen?”

“Not until this morning.”

Yeah. But as a distinguished ally, you had to have a suitable command. Holding the left flank.
“Your orders were to hold?”

“Yes. I would have preferred a more active role.”

“You’ll get it.” He rose in his stirrups. “Ark!”

Passovopolous rode a mule. Nothing else would carry him for long. “Sir!”

“Take the weapons squad down there.” He pointed off to his right. “Go that way and down hill until you get to the village. Get through it and set up the weapons with a good field of fire.”

“Colonel—”

“I know, I know, you can’t see a damn thing. Just do the best you can. You go set up and wait. You’re the anvil. Someone find me a fresh horse. I have to go get the hammer.”

* * *

It took five minutes for the staff officers to find Teuthras and bring him to the rear of the Second Division. Rick kept glancing at his watch.
Tylara, Tylara. Are you safe? Where are you, my love?
It would do no good to go riding after her. The battle had to be won.
I heard she rode right into the enemy lines at Piro’s Hill. Bull shit. She’s not like that. So why do people tell me that?

“My Lord Rick,” Teuthras shouted. “Welcome.”

“Thanks. My lord, what is happening with your Division?”

“Little. We heard sounds of fighting in the Third, but we have had little of the battle for an hour.”

“What are you doing to support Third?”

“What can we do? I have sent cavalry to stand ready in case we are ordered to attack, but—”

“I see.”
Shit fire. For years I tried to get them to obey orders and not just go charging off to the thickest fighting. Now we’d have been better off if they’d never learned any discipline.
“Thank you. My lord, I intend to send First Division across your front, then pivot and move down toward the Ottarn. We will sweep the enemy before us into the star weapons I have placed near the river village.”

Teuthras grinned widely. “How can we help?”

“Second Division will be vital. As we cross your front, the enemy’s cavalry to the northeast will fall on First Division’s rear. When they do, you must move forward to counterattack and cover us.”

“Ah! Gladly.”

“I will also want your pikemen in the vanguard of that counterattack. It may be that I will assume personal command of those pikemen.”

Teuthras frowned. “I would hate to lose them.”

So you would. You know more about pikemen than any of the other Division commanders.
“Belay that. I’ll leave you First Division’s pikes,” Rick said. “What you must do is use the pikes as a walking wall to shield the rear of First Division’s sweep.”

Teuthras looked thoughtful, then grinned. “Aye!” He looked up into the sky and blinked away the raindrops from his eyes. “Alas, we cannot support them properly with archers. But then the enemy cannot attack the pikes with archers, either. Lord Rick—where is the Wanax?”

Beats the shit out of me.
“Rallying Third Division.”

“Ah. That’s Ganton. In the thick of the fighting.” Teuthras grinned widely. “I had not heard you would be here, but well come, my lord. Well come.”

* * *

Balquhain’s shout of welcome left no doubt of its warmth. “You have come to take command!”

“More or less. I left Prince Strymon in charge at headquarters.”

“Have you seen Tylara?”

“No, dammit! And I can’t go looking for her until I get things moving.”

“Aye. What must I do?”

Good man.
Rick held out the rain-spattered parchment. The ink had long ago blurred to meaningless smears. He pointed to the top left blob. “We are here. We’re going to take your cavalry straight east, across Second Division’s front, then pivot on Second and sweep down toward the river. Lord Passovopolous and the weapons squad are set up there.”

Balquhain frowned. “My lord—will the others not come through the gap I have left and attack the others from behind?”

“I was getting to that. You’re making the sweep with the cavalry. As you advance, leave the pikes behind. Teuthras will add his pikemen to yours. I’m leaving two Star Lords with rifles. That’s more than enough to hold this line.”

Balquhain considered that for a moment. “Especially in this confusion. Akkilas cannot know more about this battle than we do. Good. Another question, my lord. We attack from one side, and drive the enemy toward the river, but what is to prevent them from running east?”

“Nothing. I want them to. My lord, we aren’t trying to win any great victory here. Once those troops start running in this rain and mud it will take a ten-day to make a fighting force out of them again. By then the rest of the Drantos chivalry will be here.”

“I see.” Balquhain grinned. “And by then
you
will be in command.”

* * *

Balquhain’s trumpets sounded. His cavalrymen moved out in good formation at a slow walk. Pikemen marched to beat of drums to close across the front the cavalry had vacated. Archers stood behind the pikemen. Most had unstrung their bows to dry the bowstrings inside their clothing.

At first there was no opposition. The rain fell harder.
A hundred yards visibility. If that.
Rick looked around to be sure that a full score of staff officers, mostly young squires from the great houses, were following him. They didn’t look happy to be left out of the fighting, although Rick had told them that communications would be the most important weapon Drantos had. He sent one officer out to the left side. “Just see what’s happening, and be sure the formation’s holding,” Rick said. “And when you see the enemy, ride like hell back here. Don’t get in the fighting.”

“Yes, sir.” The squire didn’t look happy, but Rick thought he’d do it.

The right flankers reached the edge of Second Division. “Here’s where it gets tricky,” Rick muttered. He sent another messenger to the left flank. “Tell them to start the sweep.” As the boy galloped away, he sent a third rider to the right.

“Slower, damn you!” Rick shouted at the troops in front of him. “Wait for the men on your left!” He turned to his messenger pool. “Ride down the line shouting that.”

The trouble with great turning maneuvers was that the troops at the pivot had to stay in position while those at the end covered a large arc. Since everyone wanted to get it over with, there was a tendency for those nearest the pivot to move too fast. This could leave gaps in the line. Worse, the whole front might bow backward.

The first squire Rick had sent to the left galloped back. “Enemy in sight. Light cavalry ahead and to the left.”

“Which way was that?”

The boy thought for a moment, then pointed.

“Good. Now go tell Lord Balquhain please to send a company of the reserves to watch them. Watch and nothing else.”

They continued at a fast walk. Rick peered ahead into the rain. Suddenly a man on his left shouted. “There they are!”

They were dead ahead, a ragged line of heavy cavalrymen. They were nearly flank on to Rick. The far end of the enemy line was visible in the gloom. “Trumpeter! Sound the trot. Have at ’em!”

The enemy commander tried to rally his troops, but it was too late. Caught in the flank, fifty men of the enemy right faced a thousand of Rick’s heavies. Before Rick’s cavalrymen could reach the enemy’s right flank it dissolved as first individuals, then whole squads turned to ride away into the rain. Within minutes there wasn’t an enemy to be seen. “Sound the walk,” Rick said. “And get the goddamn line dressed again.”

* * *

“It’s the waiting I hate,” Drumold said.

“Yes.” Tylara cupped her hand behind her ear and listened. Definitely closer, she thought. There were at least a hundred men out in the swamp.
Probably many more. It would be foolish to send only a hundred.

“I’m thinking we may be too many here,” Drumold said.

Tylara shrugged. “We can only guess.”

“Aye. I know.” Drumold pointed off to his left front. “And that way the ground is solid enough, if it’s needed that we join the main battle. I think you’ve chosen well.” He hunched his shoulders and drew his cloak closer around him.

He looks old today.

A rider came up behind her. “My lady! Lord Rick has come!”

“Rick!”
Prayers are answered, then.
“Where is he?”

“My lady, he asked after you, then took command. He goes to bring the First Division down to the aid of Third.”

“I see.” Tylara closed her eyes and brought up a mental picture of the battlefront. She could see First Division sweep around Second, move down and to the right—“Where are his star warriors?”

“They were sent to hold yonder village.”

Tylara frowned. Why would Rick do that? She brought up her mental picture again.
Ah. To be certain the enemy does not get past us.
“Well done, kinsman. Now, if you will, go find Lord Rick and tell him where we are and in what strength. Tell him also that Mac Clallan Muir and the Eqetassa of Chelm await his commands.”

* * *

Rick rode up to Balquhain and drew his horse to a walk. “The tricky part’s done,” he said.

They’d run into three more enemy formations. Two had run. The third had a more able commander. He rallied his soldiers into something like a charge, but couldn’t get them into a useful formation. They’d struck in driblets rather than all at once, and were driven away like the others.

Rick pointed ahead. “Now all we have to do is go forward. Teuthras can guard our rear. Our left is vulnerable, but not if we keep the reserves out there. The important thing is not to use up the reserves chasing shadows.”

A messenger rode up. “Lord Teuthras says the pikes are now in line.”

“Good. Now go up and report to Prince Strymon. Tell him where we are, and where the pikes are, and anything else you know.”

“Yes, sir—” The boy rode away.

“He’ll be thinking this a strange kind of war,” Balquhain said. “All riding and no fighting.”

“I’ll be glad enough if we’ve done all the fighting we’re going to do.”
We haven’t, though. When we start closing this box—

Another messenger came up.
Ha. That’s the boy I sent looking for Rudhrig.
“Report, lad!”

“Lord Rick! I bring commands from the Wanax.”

Well I will be go to hell.
“Uh, what would His Royal Majesty like us to do?”

“He said to greet you welcome in his name, and say that you should come to his aid.”

“Thank you.”

“Generous of him,” Balquhain muttered.

“I expect he’s in trouble,” Rick said quietly. He raised his voice. “Where is the king?”

“He said to say: ‘I stand where the banner of Third Division stood as the day began. There are enemies a hundred paces away.’ ”

Aha.
“That would be near the center of the old square. Lord Balquhain, I think we must shift to our right.”