“There's only one reason anyone ever wants to avoid a war, Hab; they think they'll lose. A few months ago the Chosen didn't know anything about our army; I would guess that they've learned a little since then. They may have spies, or maybe someone from Marshside talked to them. Or maybe it's something here in Spiritus; maybe there's been trouble in their army. Anyway, they think they'll lose if there's a war, that's plain."
“You're right, John-that's got to be it. And that's why they want us to fight the Heaveners-so they can take on the survivor while he's still weak."
John nodded. “I'd say so."
“But in that case, we need to attack the Chosen first; after we're done with them we can worry about the Heaveners. The Chosen are a lot closer to home, John, and truce or not, they've been our enemies for years, while the Heaveners don't even know yet that we exist. If we take the Chosen now, then take a year to rebuild, we should still be able to take on the Heaveners; but if we take the Heaveners now, as soon as they're defeated the Chosen will take us from behind, before we can get our men back across the New Jordan."
John shook his head. “I think you're right about most of that, Hab-but I'm not sure that we will be able to take on the Heaveners after a year's rebuilding. If we don't get them now we may never have the strength."
“You don't have the strength now!” Miriam spat.
The three men looked at her.
“You'll never take the Heaveners on; none of you have the guts. They'd blow you all to bits, squash you like bugs."
“Oh, shut up,” Peter said.
“Why? Will you hit me if I don't? You're all so brave against a woman, but when it comes to facing those machine guns you'd probably all turn and run! Where's the strength of your faith now? I thought God was on your side!"
“God is on our side,” Habakkuk said calmly, “but God helps those who help themselves. We mustn't depend on miracles; that would be the sin of pride. We can only accept them when they come."
“And if they don't come, you'll just let these Heaveners walk all over you? You won't defend Godsworld against the heathen unless you're sure you can win? Oh, I am just overwhelmed by your integrity!"
“Shut up, woman,” Peter said again.
“Some defenders of the truth! You're afraid of the truth when you hear it! Godsworld is going to be taken over by the Heaveners because you haven't got the guts to fight them-and when they do run everything, and they don't have to play nice any more, I'll watch them skin you alive and I'll laugh!"
“Why would they skin us if we don't fight them?” Habakkuk asked placatingly.
“For your effrontery in claiming to have the true faith, when you won't fight for it!"
Peter slapped her; to his astonishment she responded by punching him in the belly with her closed fist. He doubled over as John and Habakkuk grabbed her.
When order was restored and Miriam securely bound to one of the beds, John said quietly, “She's right, you know."
“About what?"
“We have got to fight the Heaveners. They're the real threat to God's way, and we all know that. Even if we don't have a chance, how can we call ourselves Christians if we don't fight for what we believe? We know the Chosen aren't a real danger now, but the Heaveners are. We have to fight them. God will see to it that the Chosen don't stab us in the back-or that if they do, we'll triumph in the end all the same."
Habakkuk shook his head. “I don't like it, John."
“It's what's right, whether you like it or not. And besides, if we wipe out the Heaveners we may capture some of those weapons they have-if we do that we can handle the Chosen even if we've lost half our army. I'll send messengers out, see if we can recruit some allies other than the Chosen, but even if we can't, by September I intend to be the lord and master of the Citadel."
Chapter Ten
“Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."-St. Luke 21:10
It was amazing, John thought, how readily the small tribes signed up when they were promised booty and did not need to choose sides between empires. Faith did not come into it, really, although his messages had made an appeal to defend Christianity. Ordinarily, when recruiting allies, the other side would also be recruiting, so that the small tribes would not join for fear of later reprisals against the losing side; the Heaveners, however, seemed totally ignorant of the preparations being made against them. Furthermore, they had a reputation for incredible wealth-which meant good looting-and no reputation at all for fighting. The True Worders had been a long-standing threat for most of the small tribes; the Heaveners were newcomers no one had learned to fear. With the Chosen swearing neutrality, John had had no trouble in picking up dozens of volunteer companies.
Of course, he had made a point of the decadence and evil of the Heaveners, while downplaying their armament.
His own armament had increased significantly; bombs that would probably have been of little use wasted in open battle against the Chosen would be quite effective against the hillside defenses of the Heaveners, so John had appropriated the entire True Worder stockpile.
The final result of his preparations was the largest, most heavily-armed army Godsworld had ever seen, all prepared in incredible haste under his command. By the third of August John was finally satisfied; on the morning of the fourth of August, after the necessary invocation and brief dedicatory service, he led his troops out of the immense camp one day's march east of Marshside, and on toward the Citadel.
In the hectic days of gathering and equipping his forces he had had no time for lesser concerns; as a result, Miriam rode beside him. He had never decided what to do with her; for some reason he could not define he was reluctant to send her to New Nazareth as an ordinary captive, to work and be taught the true faith. He told himself that she could be useful, and simply brought her along wherever he went, even though in fact, she had as yet been of no use whatsoever.
He called a halt at noon, for lunch and a rest, and watched with pride as the vast company neatly settled to the ground. Glass-tipped spears flashed redly in the sun; harness jingled and blades rattled. A murmur of voices began.
Satisfied, he swung down from his own mount and was reaching for his provisions when he heard the sound, low and harsh, but growing quickly louder. It was a little like the whir of a spinning wheel at first, but by the time he looked up to find its source it was already rising into a screaming roar.
Motion caught his eye; he turned just in time to glimpse something huge and glittering. Before he could focus on it it howled directly overhead, the sound plummeting from an ear-piercing shriek to a dull rumble. He whirled, trying to follow it, but it was gone over the horizon before he could make out anything but a shining blur.
The murmur of voices died, then was reborn as a babble that quickly mounted into shouting chaos. The one question that he could hear clearly, over and over, was, “What was that thing?"
John felt a cold uneasiness in his belly as he remembered Isaac Fisher's words: “There were weapons back on Earth that make machine guns look like children's slings."
Then the thing reappeared on the horizon and swept toward him again; the sound followed a moment later. John began a loud prayer. “Oh, Lord, we are gathered here to fight in your name…"
He paused; something was happening. A small piece of the thing was splitting off, dropping down toward him. He forgot his prayer and started to call a warning, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the thing passing overhead.
The smaller part did not pass overhead in a flash; instead it slowed and dropped nearer, until it was hovering over the army's vanguard. It was almost flat, roughly triangular, and black and silver in color-silver around the edges, black at the center. John could not be certain of its dimensions against the empty sky, with nothing to give it scale, but judged it to be four or five feet across.