Master Mage (26 page)

As the fire burned, the soldiers of
both Rane and Farlan gathered around and started telling stories of
those that had died during the battle. For one brief moment, it
didn’t seem to matter where you were from or who you fought for. As
Thad watched, he once again wondered why men felt the need for war.
Why not simply let those who wished to live do so?

CHAPTER XX

Five more days of intense days followed
the first with a break in between each for the burning of the dead.
Thanks to Reeve’s night work of destroying the army’s supplies, the
Rane army no longer had arrows to rain down on them, but that
didn’t seem to slow the slaughter.

With the exception of the first battle,
it had been Farlan that had been forced to retreat. Battle after
battle, their numbers had dwindled to less than four thousand
troops, and now they had even been pushed back to the very walls of
the Farlan capital. It had been a dreary march, and the sight of
their beloved city didn’t seem to help morale. Thad could
understand. Seeing the place, even in all its glory, did little to
dispel the knowledge that they had no place left to fall back to.
If they lost the next battle, the war was lost.

Thad along with what was left of the
other generals gathered in a small hut that had once been used as a
checkpoint for merchants to discuss their next and most likely last
battle. Ironleg, the dwarven general, had fallen the day before,
and Crusher had taken his place. Parson, much to Thad’s dismay, had
also fallen in battle, leaving a young elfin woman named Sharlee in
change. So many had died, and more than a few of them Thad had
known personally.

“We will have ta use the city walls.
They won’t offer much protection, but it’s better than nothing. The
few moments it will take for ’em to be brought down are that many
more of tha Rane bastards we can kill,” Crusher said
adamantly.

Using the city was the last thing Thad
wanted to do. The citizens had no place to go, and there was a
large chance that they would be drug into the battle once the walls
were breached. Thad tried to explain this, but even Bache argued
that the city would have to be used. “If we lose this war, then it
won’t matter if the citizens are drug into the battle or
not.”

Seeing that everyone but him was for
the use of the city, Thad relented, but the decision weighed
heavily on his mind. “The queen is approaching!” one of the young
scouts suddenly yelled through the door.

Thad knew that the queen wouldn’t be
able to keep her nose out of the war once it had reached her own
door, but he had hoped that she wouldn’t have come to visit them
directly. There was always the chance that a Rane assassin might be
looking for her, though Thad doubted any of them would be skilled
enough to get through Reeve and his men.

When the queen entered the small hut,
everyone hit their knees with the exception of Crusher, who gave
the young queen a wink. “Ah, yer looking good today, lass. Did ya
happen ta bring me a cask of ale ta lift me sprits?”

Instead of reprimanding the dwarf,
Maria gave a light laugh. “I left the ale back at the palace, but
you are more than welcome to pay me a visit if you wish for some,”
she replied, giving the dwarf a kiss on the cheek.

Maria no longer wore one of her many
gowns but the set of armor Thad had often seen in his dreams.
Buckled to her side was a thin short sword with an elegantly
crafted hilt. “No reason to stand on ceremony, everyone. I am sure
you are tired enough, and having to bow down to me must not be
making things easier,” she said, offering her arm to Killian, who
looked to be the oldest soldier in the room.

The old warmaster gave the queen an odd
look, then took the offered arm. “You look to be ready for a
war.”

“That I am,” Maria replied, giving Thad
a sly wink. “It is no longer the time for me to hide within my
palace walls. If Rane wishes to take my country from me, then they
will have to face me for it and not just my soldiers.”

“Now that is a queen,” Thad heard Reeve
say admiringly.

“We were just discussing if we should
use the city and her walls during the next battle,” Killian
informed the petite queen.

“If it will give us even the smallest
chance of winning this war, then, by all means, use the city. Give
every woman, man, and child a sword. I would rather see my city
burned beneath my feet than hand it over to my enemies.”

“Well, that settles that matter. Shall
we all adjourn to the palace, where I am sure that the queen has
far better fare than we have seen in a long time, and I, for one,
am famished,” Killian said, smiling for the first time in
weeks.

“Shouldn’t we stay with the army in the
event of an attack?” Thad asked, hoping for any excuse to stay away
from the palace.

“The city is not so large that we could
not reach the walls before an attack could be launched. Not to
mention Rane knows this will have to be our last stand. They will
want to be prepared, and that means more siege weapons,” Killian
replied, walking toward the door. “Even if most of them fail to
work thanks to Reeve,” the warmaster added, almost as an
afterthought.

“Thad, come along. We have a lot to
discuss as well,” Maria said, giving Thad a look that sent shivers
down his pine.

“Might as well give up, lad,” Crusher
said, patting Thad hard on the back. “I think that be one war ya be
bound to lose no matter how hard you struggle,” the dwarf added,
laughing.

Shortly after arriving at the palace,
the queen sent out an order that all residents living within five
hundred yards of the city walls to leave their houses. She had also
ordered that all inns and homes to make room for those who had been
displaced. It was a good move. Not only did it move most of the
people out of harm’s way, but the soldiers could stay in the
abandoned houses. Maybe a few days with a roof over their head
might help with the soldiers’ morale.

After finishing up her business, the
queen showed all of them to the large dining room, where a large
banquet had been prepared. Thad hated to admit it, but seeing the
large amount of food before him was more welcome than even the aid
of an additional army at the moment. It had been days since the
army had more to eat than beans and hard biscuits.

As was customary, the queen sat at the
head of the table. Thad tried to take a place farther down beside
Killian, but Maria would have none of it and ordered him to sit at
her right side. Thad new the importance of the seat as it was
normally held for the queen’s advisors or lover. Thad tried to
argue with her, but when she hinted that he would either sit there
or simply watch the others eat, he quickly gave in.

As they ate, the queen bombarded the
small group of soldiers with questions. Most of them were about the
war and their view on the coming battle, but every now and then,
she would sneak in a question about Thad and his activities during
the previous battles. When she had heard that he had often taken
the lead in assaults, the look on her face clearly showed her
displeasure. Thad had been sure to leave off most of the details in
his reports, only sticking to the bare facts and not the details
that he knew she would sure to be displeased with.

As the meal winded down and Thad had
eaten well more than his fair share, he tried to excuse himself. “I
think after such a long series of days, it is high time I got a
good night’s rest.”

“Wait a moment, Thaddeus Torin. I need
to hold a council with you regarding the coming battle. As you are
the person I have selected to lead my armies, there are a few
things we need to discuss. The rest of you fine gentlemen and
ornery dwarf will have rooms awaiting you. When you wish to retire,
just find a staff servant and have them show you to your
accommodations,” the queen said, standing from her chair. “Now,
Master Torin, would you mind following me?”

Giving out a mental sigh, Thad followed
the queen into her study. As soon as the door was closed behind
him, she turned on him, quickly letting him know of her
displeasure. “It is one thing to be present on the battlefield. I
haven’t even ordered that you watch from a distance like most
commanders, but it is something else entirely when you rush
headfirst. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she asked, her
tiny frame barely holding back the tempest that Thad could see
raging inside her.

“I just thought—” Thad started to say
before Maria cut him off with one icy glare.

“Thought? When was the last time you
thought? I don’t care about what objections you have tonight. You
will be spending your time with me. It doesn’t matter if you simply
sit in a chair and read, but you will be doing it in my company. Am
I clear?” Maria demanded, making it obvious that to disagree might
just land him chained to a wall.

Not in the mood to read, Thad decided
it was past time him and the little queen had a nice long chat. He
wasn’t sure what topic to talk about, so he simply asked her a few
questions, thinking she would take the lead in the conversation. He
was right. With only a little prompting, the queen started spotting
off everything that was on her mind. She went into great detail
about anything that seemed to bother her, especially where he was
concerned.

Time seemed to drag on, and for the
first time he could remember, Thad started to wish that the Rane
army would attack and save him from the endless banter. It wouldn’t
be so bad if Maria wished to talk about something relevant, but the
only thing on her mind seemed to be his faults.

“Well, I’m starting to get a bit tired.
Should we retire to my bedchambers?” Maria asked offhandedly after
one of her tirades about how much one of the countesses had done
something to her displeasure.

“Sounds like good idea to me,” Thad
answered, his mind fading in and out of the
conversation.

“Then let’s go, shall we?” Maria said,
grabbing Thad by the arm and practically dragging him
along.

“Wait … what?” Thad said, his mind
starting to comprehend what he had just agreed to. Maria stopped
for a moment and gave him a deep look, her eyes so wide it was as
if he could not see the bottom of them. Knowing that he had lost
just as Crusher had predicted, Thad looked and gave the queen a
defeated smile.

When Thad awoke the next morning, he
found Maria staring at him intently. Thad pulled the covers up
around his chest, garnering a laugh from the small queen. “You
might want to get used to it,” Maria said with a risqué
tone.

“I best get to checking on the men. No
telling what they have been up to in my absence. Not to mention I
need to check on Tuck. He has been trying to get back into the
fight even after losing his leg,” Thad said, quickly pulling on his
clothes.

“Tuck lost his leg?” Maria exclaimed.
“When were you planning on telling me?”

“Did you want to know every last
casualty and injury?” Thad asked. “I think we have a list
somewhere, but it will take a few days to go over every last
one.”

“Very funny,” Maria said, throwing a
pillow at Thad. “I at least would like to know about the ones that
I consider friends.”

“I will endeavor to do better in the
future,” Thad replied, throwing the pillow back at the queen. “Now
I really must go before the men find the drink in town too much to
their liking.”

Thad quickly escaped through the door,
hearing the pillow slap against the door as it closed. Laughing,
Thad ran down the spiral staircase and out the front door of the
palace and headed for the stables. If he would be back at the
palace, he might as well get some use out of his horse. The
stableboy already started saddling Lady before Thad even had a
chance to laugh.

Thad purposely rode by his house. He
gave a brief thought of stopping, but he knew that it would be
empty. His charge had long since left along with many others for
one of the southern towns. Thad had known that the war might come
to the palace, and he had not wanted her anywhere near the
fighting. She had complained some, but in the end, Shariel had
relented to his request.

As soon as he reached the city wall,
Thad climbed on top of it. He could easily see the Rane forces
preparing for the battle, though they did so well outside of easy
reach. Killian had been right about plenty of warning if they had
decided to attack. It would take them an hour just to get within
range of their siege weapons.

Turning around, Thad looked at his own
forces. Weary and tired, they still worked, doing everything they
could to help ensure victory. Houses were torn down, and siege
weapons were built where they had stood. The rubble moved to the
thin wall to help reinforce it.

The elves and dwarves were each using
their own unique skills to help as well. The elves were using their
nature magic to grow large trees in the place of towers as the
dwarves used their earth magic to create stone pillars for every
few feet to reinforce the wall.

Looking at everyone working and
preparing, Thad knew that even should they lose the war, they would
make sure that Rane didn’t find it an easy win.

“Even if we lose this war, there will
be another,” Thad heard Reeve say from behind him. “Until the
Brotherhood is brought down and the magical races and men of
magical decent are allowed to live without fear of death, there
will always be another war brewing.”