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“This pass would make for an excellent ambush site.” Lerryn gazed down at the narrow pass, mentally placing his troops and planning his strategy. They would hit hard and run fast. As long as they didn’t get caught up in hand-to-hand fighting, they should be able to bloody the Kyrinians and get away safely.
It galled him to have to resort to such a strategy. He wanted to stand and fight, but he knew that if he did, his ragtag forces would be crushed.
His forces. The very thought made him grin ruefully. How had he come to this? After the battle of Galsbur he’d set off on his own without a plan, save to somehow atone for the poor choices he’d made. Soon he’d found himself waging a one-man war against the bandits, mostly deserters from the Galdoran and Kyrinian armies, who marauded across the countryside.
And then he’d met Kelvin. Against his better judgment, he’d permitted the young man to join him. From that point on it seemed he could not go anywhere without gaining followers. The single pebble had started an avalanche.
Now he led a respectable force. Most of them were farmers who had lost their homes and families and whose desire for vengeance outstripped their fighting skills, but the lot was far from hopeless. Many of the men were skilled hunters and he’d put their archery skills to use. He’d also collected a number of veterans who had stepped in as officers, training up his makeshift army.
Soon they’d scoured the western lands of bandits and were now working their way east. As they journeyed, they’d continued to gather volunteers, but also some regulars— men who had become separated from their units, or sometimes the remnants of units that had been decimated. Now he finally had a force that could, if not stand toe-to-toe with a Kyrinian unit of similar size, at least acquit themselves well in a fight, particularly if Lerryn chose the ground and fought on his terms.
“Do we have enough to defeat them?” Kelvin asked. “We’ve doubled in size over the last two weeks.”
“Of course not. We can only hope to slow them down until the Galdoran reinforcements arrive.”
“Reinforcements of which there is still no sign.” Kelvin didn’t know Lerryn was or had been, First Prince of Galdora, and Lerryn wondered if the knowledge would change how the young man spoke to him. Probably not.
“They will come. They have to.” Lerryn tried to picture the geography of the region. This pass and the river beyond were the only natural barriers before the invaders would hit rolling, open farmland and have a clear path to Archstone. It was critical that they do what they could to slow these invaders and whittle down their numbers.
“But the soldiers who have joined us...”
“Are soldiers, and thus not privy to the decisions of kings and generals. Archstone will send out forces to meet this threat.” Privately, he wondered if that were true. He hadn’t a shred of evidence that his father was even aware of this invading force, much less that he was sending troops.
Kelvin grimaced but acquiesced. “Max is coming.”
Max was one of the veterans who had joined them. A skilled cavalryman, he led the unit that had dubbed itself the White Fang, named after Lerryn’s elite squad, all of whom had died in defense of Galsbur. He had considered asking them to choose another name but decided it wasn’t worth the bother.
Max halted a few paces away and made a perfunctory bow. “There is someone here to see you, my Lord.”
“You know what to do. Assign him to a squad, give him bread and a spear, and hope to the gods he knows how to use the latter.”
“Begging your pardon, but he says he is here to see Lerryn, First Prince of Galdora.”
Lerryn tensed, his heart drumming in his chest. “Then he is in the wrong place.”
Max shrugged. “He described you perfect-like. Says you’ll know his name. It’s Tabars.”
Despite his annoyance at his identity finally being revealed, Lerryn’s heart leaped. Tabars was alive!
“Send him to me.”
Max peered at him through narrowed eyes. “So it’s true, then?”
Lerryn nodded. “I was First Prince. Not anymore.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Kelvin gaping at him.
“In that case, I hope you’ll forgive us for treating you like one of us. We didn’t know.”
“I didn’t want you to know, and it was a welcome change to be treated like what I am— just a simple soldier.”
“You’re far more than that.” Max bowed again, this time deeply, and hurried away, returning in short order not only with Tabars, but also with Colin Malan, Edrin, Hair, and Hierm Van Derin.
Tabars pressed his fist to his heart in salute. “Highness.”
“I no longer hold that title. You know that.”
Tabars looked down at his feet. “I don’t know what else to call you.”
“Call me Lerryn. After all these years, you’ve earned that much and more.” He greeted each in turn and then stood back, arms folded. “I assume you didn’t stumble upon my by accident. What do you want?”
Hierm cleared his throat. “Your brother sent us. Sent me, Hair, and Edrin, that is. We sort of picked up Colin and Tabars along the way.”
Hierm then launched into a lengthy explanation, by the end of which, Lerryn wondered if perhaps he should start drinking again. Of course, the very thought of strong drink made him want to wretch. Whatever Shanis Malan had done to him, it had worked thoroughly.
He considered all that Hierm had told him: Lerryn’s father was dying, there was no proof of his abdication, the temple appeared to be plotting against the royal family, and Galdora’s forces were stretched to the breaking point.
“You are needed in Archstone, Highness,” Hierm said.
“Don’t call me that.” Lerryn knew how peevish he must sound, but he didn’t care. “I abdicated, remember?”
“As a matter of fact, I don’t recall anything of the sort.” Tabars grinned wickedly.
“Nor do I.” Hierm scratched his head in mock-thoughtfulness. “Does anyone remember hearing anything about an abdication?” Grinning, the others shook their heads. “Unless you have it in writing...” Hierm shrugged.
“Mind your tongue when speaking to your prince.” The words were out before Lerryn even realized what he was saying. No one replied. There was no need. “I can’t do it,” he said after a long silence. He turned a pleading look to Tabars. “You know what I was like.”
“Yes, I do. On your worst day, you were the finest commander and best fighter I ever knew. No one can lead men like you can.”
Lerryn grimaced. “I drank too much, I trusted the wrong people. I was weak.”
“But that’s not who you are now,” Colin said. “I saw what you did in Galsbur. You were the very picture of what a leader should be. And look at what you’ve done here. You raised an entire army without even intending to if the men I’ve spoken to are to be believed.”
“They follow me because I’m a fighter. That’s all I’m fit for.”
“Begging your pardon,” Max said, “but I’m one of those men and it’s a sight more than that. You command, but you also listen and take counsel. You’re fair in your decisions and in the way you treat us. Besides that, there’s just something about you. You make the people around you braver, you make us believe. I should have seen you for what you were.”
“You are meant to lead,” Tabars said. “You can stay out here leading a small group of men and fighting small skirmishes and tell yourself it’s payment enough, but if you truly want to make amends to Galdora for your past sins, real or imagined, do it by serving her in the greatest capacity possible. Take up the mantle of First Prince and give all you are and all you have to your nation.”
Lerryn felt his resistance crumbling, yet he stubbornly held on to his doubts.
“I shall consider what you say, but we have more pressing concerns at the moment. Van Derin, I want you, Edrin, and Hair to get to Archstone with all due haste. I’m sure at least one of my men knows the quickest route to get there. Make certain Larris knows there’s a large Kyrinian army coming at them from the northwest. If our forces are concentrated in the northeast, it’s possible they are completely unaware of this particular threat, despite my hopes to the contrary. Tell him I’ll do all I can to slow them down but I can’t hope to defeat them. Unless he can get help, either from our own forces or from our allies, it will be up to him to defend the city. The entire war might depend on him.”