THE DAM PLAN

The wind picked up after sundown. Megan never appeared, so Karigan set out at midnight on her errand to reach Zachary. The ride through the middle city was uneventful. Units of the guard patrolled, seeking remnant invaders. If there were any left, they were keeping a low profile.

Portions of the lower city, however, had become another world with the unfamiliar shapes of burned buildings lending a forbidding atmosphere. Ash and smoke swirled like banshees in the light of streetlamps. Odd knocking and scratching sounds, and wind whistling amid the ruins, made her hair stand on end. The dim streetlamps only seemed to make the darkness beyond their glow more mysterious, denser, otherworldly. Though tempted to use her moonstone, she did not because she didn’t want to alert Second Empire that something was afoot. If the moonstone flared as it had during the fire, it would certainly draw unwanted attention.

It was with relief when she finally approached the main city gate with lanterns and torches set around it, and blacksmiths and carpenters at work to repair it. Guards stood up on the towers and wall, keeping watch. They would not be able to stop a forceful incursion by Second Empire, but they could certainly defend against smaller-scale attempts or, at least, slow them down.

Rubble still filled the street, which would provide ready-made projectiles for the catapult Second Empire had left behind, which now stood facing outward, ready to fling havoc upon the enemy that had made it.

The gate did not look too bad. She guessed it was the mechanical parts that had taken the most damage under the assault of the ram. Sparks flurried from the blacksmith’s anvil as he hammered on a molten piece of metal.

She halted Condor as a guard approached her. “Heading out, Rider?” he asked.

“Yes. How are things out there?”

“Not much moonlight to see by,” he replied, “but we haven’t seen anything unusual, maybe some Second Empire patrols in the near distance. I reckon there are enough of those about that you’ll want to be real careful, but the king seems to be holding the main army’s attention.”

She nodded. “Thanks for the warning.”

“Think your horse can fit through the pedestrian gate? It’ll draw less notice than if we start cranking open the main gate. Right now it’s real hard to operate and takes longer. Makes a lot of noise, too.”

“No need to announce that someone’s on their way out,” she said.

To her relief, Condor was narrow enough to fit through, and he just had to bow his head a little to clear the lintel.

When she reached the other side, the guard said, “May the gods be with you, Rider.”

He closed the pedestrian gate, and suddenly she was alone on the midnight plain that lay before the city. The enemy no doubt had her in view, or was otherwise aware of her. She mounted up quickly and squeezed Condor forward. Once she was away from the light by the gate, she called on her ability.

She felt as though she floated disembodied until her vision adjusted to the dark. Off in the distance, hundreds of fires belonging to both armies twinkled like stars on a black tapestry. Closer by were the rotting corpses no one had dared to collect from either side. She pulled up her scarf to help alleviate the reek of putrefaction.

She halted Condor and sat stock still at the sound of scurrying, fearing a scout of Second Empire had found her, but then she thought she saw an animal scavenging a meal off the corpses. She recoiled in disgust when she realized it was a feral-looking man going through pockets and belt pouches of the dead. He placed his treasures in a sack before moving to the next corpse, from which he removed the boots.

She shuddered and urged Condor on. Once away from the city, the wind blew away the stench of the dead.

They traveled slowly, Condor seeming to pick up on her need for quiet. Voices and camp noises came to her from across the dewy grasses, even as she gave Second Empire a wide berth. Crickets chorused in waves, and occasionally bats weaved about her. As tempted as she was to drop her fading, she was all too aware the enemy could be nearby keeping as quiet as she. She’d have to endure the headache and fatigue of using her ability until she reached Zachary.

It paid off. She heard a horse nicker close by. Probably it sensed Condor, but Condor, being the intelligent horse he was, did not respond in kind. She halted him and sat while whoever the horseman was swept the area. Only when she thought him well away did she resume her journey.

It felt like it took forever to reach the Sacoridian camp. She dropped her fading before she encountered the outlying sentries and sagged in relief. She was ushered into the encampment and found her way to Zachary’s tent. Either someone had awakened him ahead of her arrival, or he had never gone to sleep. In any case, he was waiting for her.

When they came face-to-face, at first they just gazed at one another, and feeling a little shy, she glanced down and bowed.

“Your Majesty, I bear a message from General Meadows.”

He smiled and it lit his eyes. He looked good and strong. No injuries she could see, and his demeanor did not suggest he was under the influence of any spell. She was relieved.

“I am very glad to see you,” he said quietly, and he took a step toward her. “More than—”

At that moment, Counselor Tallman entered. “Your Majesty,” he said, “the others are on their way.” Then he nodded to Karigan. “Good to see you again, Rider.”

“Sir,” she replied, disappointed her moment with Zachary had been so brief. “If you haven’t summoned General Hixon, you will want to.” The general oversaw the engineers.

“It happens that I have,” Counselor Tallman replied.

They waited for all of Zachary’s advisors to file in.

Lord Penburn paused before Karigan. “Ah, the lady of the light has found her way to us.” He bowed deeply.

Karigan’s cheeks warmed.

Connly nodded to her as he entered the tent. He looked shrunken to her, his forehead creased with worry.

“We’ll speak afterward,” he told her.

“Yes, Captain.”

Finally, when all were assembled and watching her expectantly, she turned to Zachary again and said, “Your Majesty, General Meadows wishes me to convey to you that one of his scouts discovered a possible weakness in Second Empire’s position.”

She described that the land they stood on was low lying between the mount upon which Sacor City was situated and the Sleeping Waelds, a hilly upland to the south of the city. That meant that often in spring, between snow melt and rains, the ground could get boggy. If summer brought a lot of rain, it could remain boggy into the fall. It was one reason why the area had not been farmed.

“Second Empire has placed itself in something of a bowl near streams that run off the hills,” she said.

“Easy access to drinking water,” Counselor Tallman said. It was imperative for any army to have such access.

“This is all true, Rider,” General Washburn said, “but it is not spring, nor have we had a lot of heavy rains.”

“That is correct, sir,” she said, “but the scout grew up hunting in the Waelds and has climbed them all. He says there is a murky lake dammed up back there—”

“A lake?” General Washburn demanded. “What lake?”

“I wonder . . .” Zachary said, looking off into the distance.

When his words faded, they all waited for him to finish his thought.

Finally, he said, “I think that may be the fish pond my great-great-grandfather King Geoffrey had made. He was, it is said, quite fond of casting a line.” He cleared his throat. “Which is neither here nor there. Please continue, Rider.”

“Yes, sire. The scout said that the dam is old and neglected and sure to give out in a handful of years. When it happens, all the water will flow downward into the streams between the hills and directly where Second Empire has set up camp, and fill it, like, well, a bowl. It is enough water that it would swamp the ground.”

“You are suggesting,” General Hixon said, “that our engineers make the dam fail sooner.”

“General Meadows is suggesting it, sir,” Karigan replied, “but with caution. Second Empire’s scouts and some units have worked themselves into the hills. Also, he says the water may choose some other course to flow than the one desired.”

“If the land does flood as he suggests,” General Washburn said, “it would mire the enemy’s movements and make life very difficult for them.”

“The dam would have to be broken at night so it happens before they are aware,” Counselor Tallman said.

As the king and his advisors discussed the possibilities, Connly sidled over to Karigan. “Well done,” he told her. “How is everyone in the city holding up?”

“Weary, and working hard, but very happy the king has arrived at last.”

“Megan gave us a rundown when she returned last night, of all that was happening in the city. But . . . do you have any news of Trace?”

Karigan was not surprised this was foremost in his mind. “From what I hear, she’s still unconscious, but Ben is confident she will soon awaken and be her old self.”

Connly visibly relaxed. “Thank you. It has been difficult.” He swallowed hard and still looked lost, but the creases on his brow eased, and his demeanor brightened. “I’ve sent for Tegan so she can show you someplace to rest while they—” he pointed at the king and his advisors “—debate what to do.”

“I do have one more thing for the king,” Karigan said, “but of a personal nature from the queen.”

“You’d best present it now. You may not have a chance later.”

He got Zachary’s attention, though she wasn’t sure his attention had really ever left her. She’d been aware of his gaze returning to her even as he spoke with his advisors.

She withdrew the case from an inner pocket of her coat. “Your Majesty, for you from Her Majesty the queen.” She passed it to him with a bow.

He received it with a look of curiosity. He studied the case, then found the clasp and opened it. He was a master at concealing his thoughts, but now all facade fell away revealing surprise and amazement. Emotion rippled across his features.

He glanced up at Karigan. “These are them? My children?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He found a chair and dropped into it, staring at the pictures. “Zachary Davriel the Second,” he murmured, “and Esmere.” Then he looked to his advisors and showed them. “My son and daughter.”

They patted his shoulder and congratulated him.

“The young prince looks ready to take on a pack of groundmites,” General Washburn said.

“It would appear they take after the queen,” Lord Penburn said, “which is fortunate for them.”

There was good-natured laughter, and Zachary glanced once more at her. “Have you—have you seen them?”

“No, sire,” she replied. “Circumstances have not permitted.”

“Of course. Thank you. Thank you for these.”

“I only carried the case,” she said. “The queen had the foresight to have the miniatures made.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Karigan.” And he returned his attention to the pictures.

“I think you can leave now,” Connly told her. “This was just the boost to his morale he needed.”

Tegan awaited her outside, looking as if she’d been awakened from a deep sleep. She hugged Karigan and led her back to her tent.

“Dawn is in a couple hours,” she said, “but you might as well relax while they decide whether or not to send you back. Brandall is taking care of Condor, and I’ve brought your gear back to my tent.”

“If they don’t decide what to do soon,” Karigan replied, “I won’t be able to go back until tomorrow night.”

In Tegan’s tent, instead of sleeping, the two sat in the dark and caught up. Karigan described the ruin of the lower city, and Tegan spoke of the chaos of battle.

“We haven’t participated directly yet,” Tegan said of the Green Riders, “but have provided support in various ways.” The Riders, she said, had helped mind the horses of the heavy and light cavalries, and carried messages between the various unit commanders. “And, the king calls upon those of us who might have a useful ability, of course. I get to give daily weather updates.”

As though mentioning her ability were a summons, Connly spoke to them from outside the tent. “Glad I’m not waking you,” he said.

“Are they ready to send me back to the city?” Karigan asked.

“No,” he replied. “They want to know the forthcoming weather.”

“Huh,” Tegan said. “A little earlier than usual. Tell them clouds building in throughout the morning. Drizzle and light rain becoming heavier in the afternoon and through the night. Not the best for battle.”

If the king and his advisors were going to use the lake of King Geoffrey to their advantage, Karigan thought, the weather conditions Tegan foretold would be perfect.