‘Gods,’ Hadir murmured. ‘My condolences, sir. Do you know the number you bring with you?’
Screams rang in Mace’s ears. So many losses. ‘Almost two thousand Rankers and Wolves who need rest and healing, though the badly wounded were left behind or died on the journey. Nearly four thousand civilians. I know rationing will be a problem, but I wasn’t leaving them to the Mireces.’
Hadir just nodded, a crease between his eyebrows as he no doubt calculated what they had in stores against the number of mouths they’d be feeding.
‘We got on to the Tears and made it look as if we were sailing for Listre, then sent the boats on and doubled back, through the great forest. Colonel Dorcas and Major Vaunt had another, slightly smaller, group and were going to storm the King Gate and join us. They never showed up.’
There was a long silence and Mace got the sense Hadir was giving him time to collect himself. He made the most of it, closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair, feeling some of the tension run out of his shoulders for the first time since they’d fled. No, since the whole godsdamn mess of a war had started.
‘We’ll hold a full council at dusk, General,’ he said eventually, focusing on Hadir again. ‘All your staff and those among my people who have taken on such responsibility in the last weeks. In the meantime, here’s the quick and dirty version. Let the whole Rank know – we’re a long way past keeping secrets from the men who’ll be doing the fighting.’
Hadir nodded, refilled their cups with water, and began to take notes.
Mace hadn’t slept; he hadn’t even closed his eyes, waiting for the uproar that would signal the remains of the South Rank learning what had happened in Rilporin. What he had allowed to happen.
It hadn’t come. Oh, there’d been noise and disappointment and the bravado of men saying what would have happened if they’d been there, but those men had been stared at by Mace’s surviving soldiers, just stared at, all the horror and carnage they’d been involved in bleeding from their eyes, and the bravado had dried up. Mace had been prepared to break up brawls; this was much more chilling. And far more effective.
Still, the sense of failure was acute, even days after the abandonment of Rilporin. Now he sat in stiff silence while the council room filled up, absurdly grateful that Dalli had taken the seat next to him and given his knee a surreptitious squeeze beneath the table. It took him a moment to recognise Gilda and what-was-her-name, Rillirin, Corvus’s sister, and a moment more to wonder why they were sitting as far from Dalli as they could get. One look at the tightness around his lover’s mouth and he decided not to ask.
‘Thank you all for coming. For those of you who marched with me, I hope you find some ease behind the South Rank’s walls. And officers of the South Rank, let me be frank: the Wolves and civilians in this council are people I trust, people who co-ordinated and led the evacuation with me. They may not hold high office, but they have as much right to be here as you do. I know you will treat them as you would any officer. The royal physician, Hallos, travelled with us, but declined my offer to attend this council in preference to treating those who still bear the wounds of the siege. Though he is not here, I consider him a member of my staff.
‘As for high priestess Gilda and King Corvus’s sister, Rillirin, I am glad to see you both still live, and am most keen to learn what has befallen you since last we met.’ Gilda was tired and haunted, made no attempt to hide it. ‘Your son Chief Lim was a great man, high priestess, and he led his people with honour and fortitude. I grieve with you for his loss.’
‘Thank you, Commander, that is most kind. Especially as we both know how intractable he could be. But I take your words to heart.’
Hadir tapped the table with his forefinger. ‘Commander Koridam, it will be as you say. These people have seen more of war and bloodshed than many of my own; they will be treated accordingly. And if I may, this is Colonel Jarl of Fort Two, Colonel Osric of Three, and Thatcher of Four. We thought it best that this first council include the full staff so that there is no confusion.’
Mace nodded at them in turn. ‘A pleasure to meet you all. Let me begin by thanking you for your hospitality. We bring numbers these forts were never designed to hold, and coexisting is not going to be easy. Both my soldiers and the civilians need time and rest and food to recover from the siege and the journey here. Not to put too fine a point on it, General, but you and your Rank are all that stands between Rilpor and disaster for the next few weeks while the rest of us recuperate and formulate a country-wide offensive to end the Mireces threat once and for all.’
Hadir gave a single sharp nod. Mace put both his hands on the table. ‘Let me be clear: this is not over, not by a long way. We mauled them, and they mauled us, yes. Our king and former Commander of the Ranks are dead, and many, if not most, of our senior officers, but they lost the Dark Lady Herself.’ Just don’t ask me how I know or who did the killing – or why.
‘The claim is incredible, if you will allow me to say so, Commander,’ Hadir said. ‘We are all faithful followers of the Gods of Light, but to suggest one of the Red Gods is dead …’
‘Dom did it. The Wolf calestar. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, I know I wasn’t there but I’ve spoken to some of the witnesses, sirs. Dom allowed himself to be captured by the Mireces and – and he fed them certain information in order to become trusted by Corvus and the Blessed One, and then there are rumours that he killed Rivil in a duel to the death. Later on, when the Dark Lady appeared in Rilporin, he killed Her too. Well, stabbed Her so the Fox God could kill Her.’
All eyes turned to Rillirin and she flushed under their scrutiny but raised her chin, defiant. The story wasn’t hers to tell and she’d put a spin on it that didn’t sit easy with Mace, but they were certainly the facts as he understood them.
‘Aye, maybe he did kill Rivil, and that’s a job well done, but why was the Dark Lady there in the first place?’ Dalli demanded, shoving to her feet and knocking her chair over. ‘Because your precious Dom was torturing Crys! Torture, on the Mireces’ orders. Don’t try and make him out to be the hero of this tale. He did nothing but betray us at every turn and cause the deaths of thousands of people. He turned to Blood and you say we should thank him for it!’
Rillirin stood too, shaking off Gilda’s restraining hand. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she started and Dalli’s eyes bulged.
‘I don’t know what I’m talking about?’ she raged. ‘You said yourself you weren’t even there! Well, I was there and I saw what happened. You think you know Dom because you fucked him, because you’re carrying his poisonous seed? You don’t know the first thing about him, about any of us. You were a Mireces slave for ten years, your brother is their godsdamned king – of course you’ll forgive Dom for turning Mireces himself, it justifies your own weakness, your own treason! Maybe we should be asking about your faith instead of allowing you to sit here in council with us.’
‘Enough.’ Mace slammed both fists into the table hard enough to rattle the cups and cut off whatever Rillirin had been about to scream. ‘Sit down or get out.’ Dalli shot her a triumphant look. ‘Both of you.’ She gaped at Mace and her expression turned murderous; he stared her out and, slowly enough to promise that this wasn’t over, she retrieved her chair and sat. Gilda hauled on Rillirin’s arm and dragged her back into her own seat.
‘General, Colonels, forgive me. The wounds from the siege are still raw for many of us. But let me reiterate – this is a war council. We confine ourselves to the facts and to the plan for victory. If you want to argue allegiances, do it elsewhere. My own thoughts on Dom Templeson’s actions are mixed, but no one can deny that without his aid, the Dark Lady would not have been destroyed. We cannot change his past betrayals and I do not expect that last action of his to make those of you who were there forgive him; I certainly haven’t. But he is not here and arguably he is no longer important. What is important is what we do next.’
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