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Deep in the shadow of the mountains, the armies of Ardhan and Melac slept, but eastward, in the ca, it was dawn

"Still four bloody hours from the front!" The cavalry officer dropped the hoof she&039;d picked up and straightened with a groan "Shopkeepers and peasants arethe rear "

"Guarding the king, " her companion reminded her with a jut of his chin toward the starburst pennant hanging liest pavilion His raised eyebrow re&039;s Guard appeared to be out of earshot, things didn&039;t necessarily work that way anyri better by fighting "

"We serve the king best by doing as we&039;re told "

"Right " She peered over her horse&039;s withers and added: "They&039;reout the troops "

Across the caan the march that would take them to the battlefield

"You know, I&039;ve never seen conscripts so willing to meet Lord Death "

"Lord Death is preferable to what they&039;ll meet if they stay behind "

And both pairs of eyes turned again to ( he largest pavilion

"Still, they&039;re only peasants "

He grunted in, agreement and raised a hand to block the sun "Isn&039;t that Lord Elan?"

Even at that distance the lord&039;s stocky figure was un to plead our cause with the king "

"Right "

The looks exchanged said very clearly that both kneas not, nor had it been for soe

"Still, " she bent to lift another hoof, "after losing three wars in as many years, I&039;d follow Chaos himself if it meant we could win one "

"We have taken the valley, Sire, and the battle has moved to the open area beyond "

"Good " The reply ca, but froold curls fell in silken coils about his face as he inclined his head and repeated the words to the wasted body that slumped on the throne

Slowly, hisof Melac raised his head Eyes, sunk deep over axe-blade cheekbones, opened "Good, " he echoed, then fell silent once again

The king&039;s counselor looked regally down at the kneeling lord "Was that all?"

"Sire, " the elderlyhis back on the counselor as was safe, "you nored hi&039;s counselor did not

"Must send the cavalry? Do you dictate to your sovereign? Would you leave him unprotected?"

"Sire, you are still on the Melacian side of the border Still four hours&039; hard ride from the battle Your Guard can protect you Without the cavalry, every foot the arh with the bodies of the dead "

"If the cavalry consists of such doughty fighters, able to turn the battle by their ainst assassination?" Slender hands spread, the tracery of gold hair on their backs glittering in the torchlight "Or do you mean to deny His Majesty protection by the best?" "Sire, I don&039;t "

"Or perhaps you don&039;t feel His Majesty is worth protecting?"

"Sire, of course I " "Then why do you deny him the cavalry?" "Sire, I can only repeat that without the cavalry on the field, we cannot win "

"But we are winning, are we not?" "Are we?" the lord snapped, turning at last to glare at thewhen three out of every five old brows rose "But what better death is there, than to die for your king? There will always be ly? They&039;re driven!" "Really? By what?"

"You know very well by what, you " x "Are you about to criticize me, Lord Elan?" His voice was as soft as the velvet that fell in sapphire folds froer that hung at his waist

For an instant, for just an instant, Lord Elan&039;s jaent out and the hatred that bubbled and seethed below the surface showed on his face For an instant

Then the flesh sagged, the gray returned, and his eyes dropped "No, " he whispered "No, what?"

The hand that rested on Lord Elan&039;s knee quivered "No, milord "

The counselor smiled Lord Elan could always be counted on for a fewbravado That hy he still lived The cavalry was needed at the front, but there was no need to rush, not when the delay kept the old lord so frustrated and entertaining In the meantime, what difference did it make if a few more peasants died

"The cavalry stays here " He paused and his sh ani suddenly pulled hi like dead leaves He leaned forward, pinning Lord Elan with his fevered gaze "Howthe broad wooden arms of the throne "How many have died?"

Hope flared in the old lord&039;s face and he leaned forward as well If the king could be made to care "Hundreds, Sire, thousands even "

"Thousands "He sank back into the cushions, his expression almost beatific

"Thousands And they all died for reed, and only Lord Elan heard the laughter in his voice

"There are just too daar pulled off his hel hair "They&039;ve no need to kill us, we&039;ll die of exhaustion killing them "

Rael snorted and dropped down beside his armsman on the felled tree that served as bench, table, and occasionally surgery "At least it&039;s over for today " He dropped his own helreaves After a an to work at them himself

"They&039;ll jam if you twist them like that, " he muttered, "and I&039;ll be the one who replaces the straps if we have to cut you free "

"Highness "

Rael looked up and ht I should warn you that as prince and heir, you&039;ll be taking the council tonight "

"I&039;ll what?" Rael pulled his leg fro happened to Father?"

"Your father, " Belkar paused, and his voice beca, has ridden out with a patrol to prevent us being flanked by the enemy "

"Father has?"

"Yes "

"But that&039;s crazy "

"So I told hi off with patrols in the dead of night! Did he take his Guard?"

"I believe some members of his Guard rode with the patrol, yes "

"What if he gets killed out there, miles from anywhere?"

"I asked him that question y and tactics "

"That&039;s it?"

Belkar&039;s lips twitched "Except for so directed at reat " Rael stepped past Belkar Stopped Returned And threw himself back down on the tree He had a sudden vision of what his father&039;s reaction would be if he took the Elite out after hi back into Rutgar&039;s reach

Now this is ht, lips pulled back fro beneath his plain iron helm He lifted his sword and flicked the point left The nearest ainst the broken shadows of the forest, nodded and passed it on, then the linetoward them-had been able to hear them for soht on top of them Raen ducked under a low branch and hoped hiswith the same amount of noise as the Melacians

The Ardhan line advanced, three feet, four, then a bellow of astonishht, closely followed by the clash of steel on steel While the Melacians dealt with the idea of an enemy patrol where no patrol should be, the Ardhans overcaet so close! Raen blocked a spear with his shield, slashed low to take another ed a blow that would have re an instant to rae into the downed man&039;s throat, and bellowed the Ardhan war-cry The rest of the Ardhan patrol picked it up and the woods rang Dark adapted eyes could tell friend froh that the silhouettes were un chances Besides, the King of Ardhan preferred a noisy fight

So I&039; at his feet But I haven&039;t lost it yet

The flash of blue light at his gut attracted his attention seconds before the pain hit He glanced down to see a spear point, glowing eerily sapphire, pressed up against his breastplate just under his navel Tih the steel plate and into his belly He grunted, the pain so intense it closed his throat, preventing a screaers

The head of the spear the astonished expression hich it had greeted the blue light

"Sire!"

As the spear was snatched away the pain lessened, becoainst a tree, Raenand find his voice He tried to sound reassuring, but the words ca whisper "Not as bad as it looks " His probing fingers discovered this was the truth His breastplate was holed but the wound beneath it was through skin and ed his cloak forward, ripped off a strip a handspan wide and shoved the ball of fabric up under his armor

"Sire, your breastplate "

"Was obviously badly forged " He bent and retrieved his sword, teeth gritted against the wave of dizziness "Well, come on " He forced his treacherous voice closer to normality "There&039;re more of theloith the power of other worlds, as did his son&039;s, but the worldly power they held was quite sufficient

"Yes, Sire I&039;ll re-for&039;s tent, wiping her hands on a towel

"His Majesty, " she said to Rael and the Duke of Belkar, "is not a young man"

Rael winced

"He is also, " she continued, "an idiot Had he returned directly to ca heads thisti to like that, " Rael pointed out

The surgeon glared at the prince "Too bad, " she said, and pushed past hio, her back ra

The duke shook his head,and irritated at the saht Lord Death every foot of the way and if he wins, she&039;ll spit in his face I almost pity him " He draped his arm around Rael&039;s shoulders and pushed him toward the tent "Don&039;t worry, lad, Glinna&039;s the best surgeon with the arer, she never would&039;ve left him " "But his breastplate "

"Flawed And it still absorbed h unflawed steel like it was paper, but that&039;s beyond the rest of us poor , but he carefully kept Rael fro with the breastplate except for the hole punched through it as though the steel had been paper

Rain during the first three days on the Tage Plateau kept fighting interht The fourth day the sun shone and the killing began again The strength of the Elite fell from fifty-five to forty men The Duke of Cei lost half his Guard but the remainder held The Duke of Belkar lost twenty archers when their position was overrun The Duke of Hale lost his life

"Then who is Hale now?" Rutgar asked, his fingers digging the tension out of the prince&039;s shoulders

Rael rolled a blue glass bead between his thuer He&039;d found it near where Hale had fallen He couldn&039;t iine the duke with an unbeaded ine the duke dead "The eldest son, just ten this suar?"

"It&039;s Hale now "

The Melacians died by the hundreds, but h the pass

"Father, are you sure you should be out of bed?" Raen glared at his son "I&039;ll not lie in bed, while my people die "

"It won&039;t help the put his foot in the stirrup and pulled hi, " he growled and turned his warhorse toward the battle