Markan Empire

  Everything seemed normal and even the most vigilant soldier enjoyed the warm sun. Blue skies and sunshine; bliss if only they weren't working.

  "We will reach that camp soon," said Belaika and shivered. The camp he had escaped from.

  "Very good." Dekran's voice held no emotion, as usual for routine messages.

  Belaika stiffened as Fhionnen sent another report. He stared at Dekran.

  "What's wrong?" asked the Lance Captain.

  "Fhionnen says there are only twenty-five hundred men with Mirrin. It should be three thousand."

  "Five hundred missing." He raised his voice. "Sergeant Yochan!"

  Yochan moved closer.

  "Scouts report that Mirrin's mob is five hundred men down."

  "Ambush, sir?"

  Belaika blinked. Yochan knew the work, but the sylph always marveled how humans sometimes seemed able to read minds.

  Dekran nodded. "Mirrin's discovered where we are." He stood in his stirrups and looked around at the land. He pointed to a small tor. "Make for that and prepare defenses."

  Yochan touched fist to heart and wheeled his horse. He passed the orders on.

  "Belaika, warn the scouts."

  "Se bata."

  Belaika whistled Dekran's intentions to the scouts. He warned them that the army was about to halt and commanded them to wait for further instructions.

  The small army swung towards the tor and the men immediately began to prepare rudimentary defenses. The wagons were hauled into a circle and shallow ditches dug.

  Dekran conferred with his sergeants.

  "The army ahead is missing five hundred men," he explained, quickly. "I suspect they know we're here and have laid an ambush, probably in their camp. We wait here and see what happens."

  Belaika stiffened as Haema made her way towards him. He wanted her to move away from the army and find a scout. Five to one were poor odds. Would their escape be for nothing?

  As another whistle reached him, his earpoints wilted. Velisar reported through Kadhen. The news was not good.

  "Donenya," he began, formally. "Another small army several milas behind us, about three hundred fighting men, most mounted. They are not with Mirrin's mob, and they have families or camp followers with them. But they have come from the west."

  Dekran almost snarled aloud. "Might they have something to do with our missing five hundred?"

  "It has come from behind."

  "Query it. Ask if they are Eldovan."

  "Se bata." He quickly whistled the message back out. The confirmation was almost as quick. "These are soldiers we have not seen before," said Belaika. "Confirmed."

  Dekran drew his sword. Yochan carried the Vintner Banner, slung from a cross-spear and not streaming free as was traditional with lancers. The dragon's head banner on its dark-blue field filled well in the breeze. The Banner Sergeant reined in alongside Dekran. Haema, eyes frightened, joined Belaika.

  The soldiers formed their defensive circle and waited.

  Yochan winked at the sylph. "Probably nothing much," he mouthed.

  "You two stay between us," Dekran commanded the sylphs. "Report all messages."

  "Keep low," Belaika told Haema.

  "Form up!" called Dekran. "Form up!"

  Pikemen surrounded the small tor and the lancers waited on their horses behind them. Dekran looked down at the scout.

  "Anything?"

  Belaika shook his head.

  He wished he did not feel so frightened, but noted with some pride that his earpoints were not wilted. Yet. He glanced at Haema.

  "Never seen a battle," she whispered. "And I do not want to."

  Belaika said nothing. He had no wish to see a battle either. And certainly not from his present position. Despite her wish, she would see bloodshed today. His head came upright.

  "What is it?" Dekran had been around sylph scouts long enough to recognize the signs of an incoming message.

  Belaika met Dekran's gaze and ignored Haema's shivers. "Samel has found the missing five hundred." He pointed to the old encampment. "There."

  As the Eldovans rose from their concealment, Dekran cursed. The enemy already ran to encircle him.

  Belaika knew their only advantage was holding the best available defensive position. He realized the Eldovans' plan had been to ambush the Markans as they entered the old camp. But they had planned without the sylph scouts.

  Human scouts might have missed it, but fortunately the sylphs had noticed something wrong and warned Dekran in time. That report had decided him on a course change. The sylph scouts had proved their worth yet again.

  Unfortunately for Dekran, the Eldovan commander was astute enough to improvise when he knew his original plan had been compromised.

  "Belaika."

  "Donenya?"

  "Stay close and pass on all messages. All messages."

  "Se bata."

  "Stand ready, men!"

  Belaika joined Haema's shivers and his earpoints wilted. It seemed he had not grown used to battles after all.

  ***

  Captain Jediyah was unsurprised when his quarry suddenly changed course and headed for the small hill. Despite precautions, a sylph scout must have seen and reported his men.

  The enemy immediately headed for the most obvious defensive position. Good tactics and just as he had expected. It didn't matter; he had enough men to encircle and then grind this small detachment down. Always sensible to have at least two plans.

  General Mirrin was right, this should be easy.

  "They are all to be killed, Captain?"

  Jediyah looked down at his sergeant. "Our orders were explicit."

  "Very good, Captain."

  Jediyah wished he could be as happy as his sergeant. He had been told to use his initiative and that meant he could not leave too many of these men to regroup and threaten them again. That tor would become a slaughter ground. Could he really expect his men to kill in cold blood? Except it would not really be cold blood. There would be casualties on his side and men who saw friends die were rarely magnanimous towards their killers.

  He quickly redeployed his troops and sent half around the far side of the hill. Most were archers and not even armored cavalry could stand up to archers. There was little armor to be seen on the tor, which suggested lancers and not heavy cavalry.

  Even easier to kill.

  There were no archers with the enemy force, an oversight they would not live to regret. That lack enabled Jediyah to close the range to his own advantage, rather than the enemy forcing the range from their height advantage. A line of pikemen and the mounted lancers were waiting within. And two officers on horseback at the summit, one the bannerman. Another target.

  This would be a killing field. Once done, he could rejoin General Mirrin sometime tomorrow.

  He wondered where the enemy scouts were now. Would they maintain position once their commanders were slain? Sylphs were usually good only while someone gave orders. But he knew these were not ordinary sylphs. Alone, sylphs should be easy prey, but these scouts would probably be different.

  Ordinary sylphs would run home once their human controllers were dead. Jediyah suspected that these would hold station, reporting to each other, until they made contact with Markans again. But would they go home, or continue to shadow the Eldovans?

  Useless conjecture. He had his orders and it was time to execute them.

  As he drew his sword, he and his men moved forward. He smiled and pointed his sword forward.

  "Strength and victory!" he called.

  The answer came from five hundred throats. "Strength and victory!"

  ***

  Chapter 17

  Evening Chores With Tektu

  "Do you ever think about marriage and children?"

  Neptarik straightened and gave Mya a startled look as his earpoints rose to their fullest extent. They twitched as he considered her question.

  "Yes," he answered. "You?"

  Mya nodded and moved a little closer.

/>   Long past his probation, Neptarik wondered why they had not been separated. He had spent most of last night's free time sewing the red crown onto the breast of his tunics. Perhaps somebody had noticed they worked well together. Neither of them had been tasked with showing newcomers around and teaching them their duties, although more sylphs had entered the Mametain's service.

  "I think of that all the time," she said, voice low. "Your children will be strong and brave, like their father. I also dream of a farm. With plenty of chickens."

  Neptarik grinned. "And a fish lake. And the secret of choca."

  Mya giggled. "Too much choca will make you sick."

  "Be good to get the chance to try," he retorted. "There is never enough choca."

  "No?"

  "Everywhere, not enough choca. Life is so unfair."

  "Bad for teeth and digestion." Mya's eyes sparkled.

  "Yours goes quick on the rare days we get any."

  Mya moved closer still. "Are you happy here?"

  Her eyes were wide, earpoints erect and twitching in a manner Neptarik knew well from other female sylphs.

  "We must live," he replied. "Are any of us truly happy?"

  "We can be," she whispered. Her head moved closer and closer, earpoints sloping forwards.

  Neptarik's earpoints slanted ahead to meet hers. Brows and noses all but touched and his arms snaked around her middle. They touched and pulled slightly apart again. He lifted his head so mouth could meet mouth. Both pairs of eyes closed and –

  "What are you two up to?"

  With a squeak, they sprang apart and turned to face the newcomer. Neptarik's rebuke died unuttered as Tektu strode toward them.

  "This," she continued, unimpressed, "is a place of work. If we want to hear small sylphic feet pattering, we will arrange a transfer to stud farms." She gave them a humorless grin. "Separate stud farms."

  Mya twitched her earpoints in an uncomplimentary manner. She looked away.

  Neptarik looked at Tektu and refused to be intimidated. It needed a lot of effort. She made up for her lack of height with sheer personality. Her presence almost overwhelmed him. Despite appearances, knowing that Tektu was not a sylph made it harder to stare at her, even with her attention fixed on Mya. Even humans were terrified of Tektu. Neptarik refused to play along.

  Tektu decided Mya was sufficiently contrite and turned her full attention to Neptarik.

  Perhaps he might play along some.

  "Done staring?" she asked him, mildly.

  Neptarik took the hint, shrugged and averted his eyes a little. No more than enough to be respectful.

  Tektu nodded. "Good. After the evening meal, meet me on the walls beside the northeast tower, north side. If you are unsure where that is, your girlfriend will tell you."

  With a final sneer, Tektu turned on her heel and walked away.

  Mya looked at her companion with a mixture of pity and fear. "Hope you are strong enough for this," she said. "Most sent to work for Tektu, or summoned by her, leave the Mametain's service soon after."

  Neptarik forced a smile, angered at how much force he needed. How could Tektu intimidate him so? Armies had failed to do that.

  "I am strong enough," he assured her. He hoped he told the truth. "I might find out what Tektu is. Nobody else wants to tell me."

  Mya threw her hands in the air and waggled her earpoints. "You will not leave that alone."

  Now Tektu had gone, Neptarik's smile came more easily and he shook his head. "I want to know, so I will not leave it alone."

  Mya gave him an unreadable look. "For the likes of us, knowledge is dangerous."

  "Knowledge is never dangerous," retorted Neptarik. He snorted and changed the subject. "This floor will not clean itself," he said, and indicated the bucket. "Children and farm must wait."

  Mya laughed.

  The male sylph smiled. "Hearing you laugh makes me feel better."

  They mopped and dried and cleaned. Mya muttered that tomorrow she would be working in the kitchens, which would be uncomfortably hot and sweaty. At least she would be fed first and best.

  "What about me?" asked Neptarik.

  Mya looked at him and her eyes grew solemn. "Those who work with Tektu usually enjoy the following day free."

  A smile slowly spread across Neptarik's features. "It gets better and better," he announced. "There is advantage in everything."

  Mya stared in disbelief. "Wait until you've worked with her."

  ***

  Tektu watched Neptarik and Mya discreetly, certain they could not see her.

  Those two were definitely getting too close and their budding romance might threaten their work. She had not lied when threatening them with separate stud farms; she would arrange exactly that. Though the Mametain had a soft spot for sylphs, Tektu envied them any enjoyment.

  Worse, Neptarik persistently asked the wrong questions. She must be careful not to reveal any answers. She had lost owners before whenever someone revealed her true identity, and acquiring a new owner could be painful.

  Whoever managed to kill Nijen would become her new owner and quickly discover that he or she – Tektu had had female as well as male owners – would then be the center of all that negative attention. If her owner died naturally, she passed to that owner's nearest relative. She had served Nijen's ancestors for five generations and served them well. To save herself from pain, she must keep her secrets close and exercise discretion.

  As owners went, Nijen was fair and even-handed. She'd had worse. Now, she must take more care than ever before.

  She glanced again at the two sylphs. They worked hard now; perhaps these two were too useful to lose to stud farms. A slow smile spread across her face. If she separated them and gave them chores at opposite ends of the castle...

  Her smile broadened. Now that could be a suitable punishment. Having seen enough, she turned and hurried back to the Mametain's quarters.

  ***

  Neptarik grew less and less confident about that evening's work as the afternoon wore on. He tried to hide his growing unease from Mya, but sylphs usually struggled to hide their emotions. She could sense his apprehension and he knew it.

  "Why," he suddenly asked, after they finished a particularly long corridor, "do so many sylphs leave after working with Tektu?"

  Mya glanced at him. "They never say," she replied. "Some of us have got enough sense to never come to her attention. We know working with her is not worth the day off." Concern shone in her eyes. "Most of us say only fools consider that a fair bargain."

  "Thanks for that," muttered Neptarik.

  "One girl ran screaming from the Mametain's rooms and had to be restrained in the cells until they could let her go the next day. Others go sullen and ask to be released from their collars." Mya shuddered. "I do not know which is worse; working with her, or asking to be free from the collar."

  Neptarik's earpoints twitched and sagged, then recovered. If nothing else, he could finally progress the task that had brought him to Castle Beren in the first place. "She cannot be all bad," he muttered, a touch defensively. "Siaba likes her."

  "Well," said Mya, brightly, "you keep asking what Tektu is. Perhaps you will find an answer tonight."

  The male sylph grinned. "Now there is a thought."

  Mya grew serious again and stepped closer. "Be very careful," she whispered.

  Neptarik patted one of her hands and gave her his most reassuring smile, though his earpoints failed to match it. "I intend to be," he promised.

  ***

  Later, from above the sylphs' dining room, Mya watched Neptarik slowly saunter along the wall to the northeast tower. He walked with an assurance bordering on arrogance, and she wondered why it seemed so familiar.

  The answer came after a moment. He walked like a soldier.

  The days had drawn out enough for her to watch and she hoped she stood far enough back to be out of sight. The arrowslit gave good cover, but sharp sylph eyes might be able to penetrate it.

  N
eptarik never glanced back and Mya admired his apparent nonchalance. Most sylphs – herself included – dreaded a summons from Tektu. Better him than her.

  Yet she still felt concern.

  Standing up for the stableboy had brought Neptarik to Tektu's attention; she hoped he would not end up like most of the others. A small, forlorn hope. She trusted he had the strength to last one night, at least.

  Her breath caught as Neptarik reached the northeast tower.

  A shape detached from the tower's shadow. Tektu. The smaller, yet more powerful sylph greeted Neptarik and ushered him inside.

  Before entering it herself, Tektu glanced up at the sylphs' tower.

  Suddenly terrified, Mya dropped her eyes, afraid that even here she was in danger from the Mametain's personal sylph. When she looked up again, she and Neptarik had gone. Surely Tektu had not seen her? She couldn't have!

  Mya wondered why she felt so bad now Neptarik had disappeared with Tektu. Was she falling for him? She could do without the entanglement, especially as she still hoped for rescue.

  She still prevaricated over staying in the Mametain's service or not. Perhaps release might be easier. Could she make her own way to Trenvera? Or had Mikel sent someone to return her there?

  But she suspected she was on her own.

  She looked at the northeast tower again and thought of Neptarik. She had seen his reactions; he returned her interest.

  Would he be happy returning to a traveler's life? For all Mya knew, it was incredibly hard, and sonething she could not compare with any of her own experiences. Perhaps she should stay.

  After all, there were worse owners than the Mametain. At least he seemed to have a soft spot, if not a genuine liking, for sylphs. If not for Tektu, Castle Beren would be a paradise for sylphs. They were certainly well cared for.

  Mya winced. She should not think about Tektu. Thoughts were dangerous when they touched on her. She seemed to know everything a sylph was thinking, especially when she looked directly at one.

  Mya had been like Neptarik when she first came here and publicly wondered what Tektu was. She had since learned such questions were best locked in the depths of her mind and never allowed to touch her lips. Perhaps Neptarik would learn tonight.

  Mya hoped he would be all right as she turned away from the arrowslit. She made for the sulking room and her daily prayers for her dead owner.

  ***

  Neptarik followed Tektu up the spiral stair, higher than Mya had taken him on his tour. Tektu moved quickly and never looked to see if he was still with her. Perhaps she had no need to check.