Chapter 14
The morning after the Finger States decided not to get involved in the upcoming Dunre--Landish war, I sat behind the desk in my study and used my powers to visit Jarvo and the high sage.
I found Jarvo in the harem, talking to a couple of female guards. As soon as the guards left, I let my image materialize in front of him until it looked real.
Jarvo's eyes widened in surprise when he saw me. He retreated a couple of steps then did a double take. "Lila?"
"We need to talk." I said the words in my head, then imagined them coming out of my image's mouth.
"I knew you were a seer, but I didn't know that you had this kind of power." Jarvo circled my image. He reached out to touch the image, but his hand passed right through it. "This is amazing."
"I'm not here to show you what I can do. I came to tell you that the Finger States voted against providing military aid to Landish."
"So, we are on our own."
"Have you heard back from any of the envoys you sent to the Land of Nomads?"
"One of twelve has returned. He brought fifty trained horsemen with him."
"That's good," I said. "If the other eleven do as well, that will add six hundred men to your ranks. It will give you a fighting chance."
"I fear they will not return in time. The Land of Nomads is a big country, and the people that live there are not easy to find."
"How is the high sage?"
"Anxious for battle. He believes this will be his finest hour."
"Is he still here?"
Jarvo shook his head. "He left yesterday. At the head of his army. They march west, to the Dunre border. Five hundred strong."
"You said you had eight hundred men."
"We had some defections. The idea of going to war scared some of our men away. And we had to leave a few of our soldiers in the southern part of our country, in the cities located along the Southern Sea. In case Bedard decides to attack those cities with his navy."
I noticed that we had attracted a crowd, female guards, female servants, and the high sage's wives were gathering around us. "We seem to be attracting a crowd."
Jarvo smiled. "You're attracting a crowd. Which is to be expected when you appear out of thin air."
He said something in Old Landish and the women dispersed, albeit reluctantly.
"I came to offer my services as a seer. The King of Dunre has a seer at his disposal. It's only fair that the high sage have one at his disposal."
"Your help will be most welcome, Your Majesty. Although if what our scouts report is true, I doubt if a seer will make much of a difference."
"What have your scouts reported?"
"Bedard has at least fifteen hundred men on our border and more on the way. By the time they invade, they will be two thousand strong. With a four to one advantage, he won't need a seer to defeat us."
"What's happening here in the city?"
"People are packing up and leaving, heading south. I suspect they won't stop until they reach the Southern Sea."
"And the high sage's wives?" I nodded in the direction of the women that were still watching us, albeit from a safer distance.
"They leave tomorrow, for the port of Jovan on the Southern Sea. There is a small palace there."
"They'll travel by sand ship along the edge of the Great Desert?"
"Of course. It's much faster than horseback. Horses must stop and rest."
"What about you?"
"I'll travel south with what remains of the palace guard. Once there, I'll set up the government at the palace in Jovan."
"Is there anything you need?"
"Only for you to know that all court records will travel south with the high sage's wives. Perhaps I should say, his other wives. You are listed in them as the first consummate. Should the high sage fall in battle, you will be next in line to claim his throne. That's been made public knowledge here at court and will be made public knowledge when I reach Jovan.
"Should the Finger States fall when Bedard turns his army on them, you will have a refuge at our palace in Jovan. A mountain range separates our southern ports from the rest of Landish. It will provide a defendable barrier against Bedard's army should he choose to march south. The Nomads will give the remnants of your army safe passage through their lands, so you can join us in Jovan, if you so choose."
"Hopefully, it won't come to that." I let my image fade away.
I opened my eyes to find myself back in my study. I took a minute to relax, then closed my eyes and focused my thoughts, this time picturing the high sage in my mind. A second later, I saw him. He sat on a black stallion, riding at the head of his army, some of which was on horseback, most of which was on foot. He wore black silk balloon pants tucked into black riding boots, a red silk tunic, and a red silk cape. A gold crown sat on his head. It consisted of a gold headband with a leaping lion rising above the front of the headband.
His army was dressed identical to the high sage, except of course for the crown. They carried scimitars on their hips and longbows across their backs. The men on horseback carried black silk flags with a leaping red lion.
I imagined myself sitting on a white stallion. When my image materialized in front of the high sage it caused quite a stir. The high sage pulled his horse to a sudden halt, as did his generals, some of which started mumbling in Old Landish.
"Don't be alarmed." I said the words in my head, then imagined them coming out of my image's mouth.
"Everybody relax," the high sage said, holding up his right hand. "It's the First Consummate of Landish and the Queen of Vassa. Not a ghost. I knew you were a seer, Lila, but I didn't know that you possessed the power to transport yourself anywhere you wished to be, let alone bring a horse with you."
"I'm not really here," I said. "I'm still back in my castle in Vassa. What you see is merely an image created by my mind."
The high sage drew his horse alongside of mine and reached out to touch me. When his hand passed through me, he jerked it back, as if he had been burned.
"It's good to see you," the high sage said. "But why are you here?"
"I'm here to offer you my services as a seer."
"If you're offering your services as a seer, then I'm guessing the Finger States have elected not to join us in this battle."
"I'm afraid not."
"We do not need a seer," one of the high sage's generals said. He was a short squat man with a shaved head and a bushy black mustache that hid his upper lip. "And the battlefield is no place for a woman. Or the image of a woman. Or whatever you are. You will be nothing but a distraction."
"The King of Dunre has a seer. He'll tell Bedard how your army is deployed. Without my help, you'll be slaughtered. Although you may be slaughtered anyway. You're already outnumbered three to one and by the time you reach the Dunre border, you'll be outnumbered four to one."
"What would you have us do?" the general said. "Surrender?"
"Head south. You can hook up with your southern divisions and the mercenaries from the Land of Nomads. The mountains that protect your southern cities will provide a defensible position. To meet a larger better prepared army in an open field is suicide."
"We do not retreat against invading armies," the general said. "We meet them head on, no matter how big or small they may be."
"Your help is most appreciated, Lila," the high sage said. "But General DaQuan assures me that we'll be victorious despite the numbers."
"How?"
"We will head north and circle around their army," General DaQuan said. "Once we are behind them, we will bury them beneath a hail of arrows. Their best troops will be at the rear and will fall first."
"It's not a bad plan," I conceded. "Except for one small detail."
General DaQuan glared at me. "Which is?"
"Bedard has a seer. He'll tell Bedard what you're doing. Bedard will split his army in two and trap you in the middle. You'll be slaughtered, down to the last man."
"Perhaps you overestimate the
skills of this so called seer."
"Perhaps you overestimate your skills as a general."
General DaQuan moved his horse beside mine and tried to slap me with the back of his hand. Since I was just an image, his hand passed right through my face. "In Landish, a woman does not question a man, not even if that woman is the first consummate."
I glared at the general. "You're lucky I'm not here, because if I were, you'd be missing that hand."
General DaQuan reached for his scimitar then realized there was no point. "We are wasting time. Tell her to go away, Your Supreme Highness."
"I'm sorry, Lila," the high sage said. "General DaQuan is our most respected military leader. He's in charge of this campaign."
"Don't you mean, he's in charge of this slaughter. Because that's what he's leading you toward."
I opened my eyes to find myself back in my study. Once again, I took a few seconds to relax, then closed my eyes and pictured Maximillian Bedard in my mind. A second later, I saw him.
He was sitting in a large tent made out of alternating strips of purple and black silk. The tent was round and supported by a single pole in its center. Hand woven purple rugs made up the tent's floor. Chairs consisting of wooden frames with leather seats and leather backs were scattered randomly around the tent. Small tables consisting of wooden frames with thick leather tops sat next to the chairs.
Max sat in one of the chairs, sipping wine and eating bread covered with honey. My father sat on his left. Two men sat across from them, military men dressed in the purple, black, and silver uniforms of generals.
The first thing I did was make my presence as small as possible, smaller than a flea, as small as a speck on a flea.
"The high sage has left Istansada City," my father said. "His army consists of about five hundred men."
"That's it?" Max said. "He plans on meeting us in an open field with only five hundred men?"
"He has a couple hundred more men on Landish's southern coast. They will remain there because he fears an attack by sea."
Max smiled. "So all we have to do is cross the border into Landish and wait for them to engage us."
My father shook his head. "The general leading the high sage's army plans to move north, circle around us, and attack us from behind."
"We must split our force in two," the first general said. "Let the Landish army believe they have succeeded in getting behind us. Then we attack them from both sides, smashing them between the hammer and the anvil."
Max looked to my father for approval. My father nodded. "It's a good plan."
"What's happening in the Finger States?" the second general asked my father.
"They've moved a few soldiers up to their northern borders, but that's about it."
"No marshaling of their armies?"
"None."
"Once we crush the high sage's army, we should turn south, attack the Finger States before they have a chance to gather their forces."
The first general nodded in agreement. "Once the Finger States fall, we can split our army in two, send half to occupy Istansada City, leave the other half to occupy the Finger States."
"They won't know what hit them," the second general said.
I decided it was time to make my presence known, before my father gave them the go ahead to attack the Finger States. Maybe I could bluff them into thinking we weren't as unprepared as they thought.
I pictured myself standing in front of the four men, dressed in black leather breeches and a red silk shirt. I thought of the words I wanted to say then imagined them coming out of my image's mouth. A second later, my point of view shifted from above the men to directly in front of them. As my image materialized, I heard myself say, "Go ahead, father, give them permission to attack the Finger States."
Three of the men leapt to their feet. Only my father remained sitting, not the least bit bothered by my sudden appearance. The generals drew their broadswords. Max slid behind my father for protection.
"She called you father," Max said. "You didn't tell us that she was your daughter."
My father rose to his feet and forced a smile. "Your powers are most impressive, Lila."
"You haven't began to see the extent of my powers. Attack the Finger States and I'll show you things you've never dreamed of, my dear father."
I let my image disappear in a puff of imaginary smoke. Okay, so it was a bit over the top, but it did manage to make Max and his generals jump. I never left their tent though. I just shrunk my presence down to something smaller than a flea, a speck on a flea.
When they thought I was gone, Max started to speak, but my father held up a hand, silencing him. He began to probe around the tent. When I sensed him probing in my direction, I moved my presence to another part of the tent. I'm not sure how to describe his probes. It kind of felt like he was looking in my direction, even though his eyes were closed. Eventually, the probing stopped and he opened his eyes. "She's gone."
"How can you be sure," Max said. "You didn't even know she was spying on us, not until she revealed herself."
"Her powers are greater than I realized."
"We need to kill her. The sooner the better."
My father closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, his voice had that odd timber to it, making it sound like two people were speaking at once. "I will take care of the Queen of Vassa myself. You concentrate on destroying the high sage's army."
Max and his generals didn't argue. They just turned and left. I wasn't sure how my father controlled them. I only knew it was one of the gifts he got from the being called the Prince of the Air.
I opened my eyes to find myself back in my study. Once again, I took a second to relax, then closed my eyes and focused my thoughts on Jarvo. A second later, I saw him. This time he was striding down a deserted hallway. My image materialized beside him. "General DaQuan wants to circle around Max's army and attack them from behind."
"Sounds like a good plan." Jarvo didn't even flinch at my sudden appearance. He just kept walking. "Considering they're outnumbered four to one."
"The problem is, Max and his generals know what DaQuan is planning. They're going to split their army in two and crush the high sage's army between them."
"Tell them that."
"I did, but DaQuan won't listen to me, he has a problem with women, thinks they don't belong anywhere but on their backs."
"What do you want from me?"
"Order everyone to evacuate the city then burn it to the ground. Don't leave anything for Max to claim except scorched earth. Cave in your gold mines, don't let him capture them. This part of Landish is lost, it will soon become a part of Dunre."
"Everyone who wants to leave is already leaving. I can't order the city burned because some people refuse to leave. This is their home and they intend to stay here regardless of who's in charge. I will order the gold mines collapsed and the palace burned before I head south. That's the best that I can do."
"I'm sorry your kingdom is collapsing. I wish that I could do more to help you."
"You could make an appearance in Jovan. When the high sage is gone, the people will need to see a new leader, as first consummate, that duty falls to you."
"When the high sage is gone, Max and his generals will turn their eyes on the Finger States, I fear I'll be too busy to journey anywhere."
"You could appear as you are now, no one will know the difference."
"I make no promises." I let my image fade and opened my eyes to find myself back in my study.
Idy was sitting on the other side of my desk, having just joined me. "Mind if I ask where you've been?"
"In Istansada City talking to Counselor Jarvo. With the high sage and his army marching toward the Dunre--Landish border. In Maximillian Bedard's camp along the Dunre--Landish border. And then back in Istansada City."
"What did you learn?"
"Max's generals know about the high sage's plan to try and circle around their army and attack them from behind. They're splitt
ing their army in two, so they can trap the high sage between them. He's outnumbered four to one and will be destroyed."
"You warned them of this?"
"I did."
"And they didn't listen?"
"The high sage's commanding general doesn't put much stock in what women say. Northern Landish will soon become a part of Dunre."
"And then the Army of Dunre will turn their eyes on us."
"Before that happens, my father is going to make another attempt on my life."
"How?"
"I don't know." Idy still looked worried, so I smiled. "Relax. He'll be way too busy to come after me until the high sage is dead. I'm safe until then."