The captain dismounted and strode to Joss, then grasped his arm, hand to elbow, and grinned with genuine pleasure. "Well met. What news do you bring me?"
"These are Volias and Kesta, reeves out of Clan Hall. They've brought two flights, sixty in all. You can see some of them."
Anji shaded his eyes with a hand and surveyed the sky.
Joss said, "The rest are spread out to oversee the land. What of your task?"
The captain dropped his hand. Dried blood spattered the back of his fingers. "The ambush succeeded. They were lax, and lazy, accustomed to easy pickings. I myself would always put my best soldiers in my strike force, and if that is so, then this army is strong only in numbers. However, I can't be sure their generals act as I would."
"So the strike force is wiped out."
"Some escaped. That was to be expected. But as a unified force, they are broken. How far behind is the army? How large is it?"
"A day's march behind. The Devouring woman had it right. About three thousand fighting men, formed into cohorts."
Anji nodded at Volias and Kesta, to invite their attention and input. "So, it is as we discussed when the council got the news and came to us begging for our aid. We've accomplished the one commission, the one we agreed with the Greater Houses through Master Iad."
"What of the greater battle?" Joss asked.
"There are far too many of them for us to hope for a victory in the open field. With the strike force destroyed, we have three choices. We can retreat to Olossi, where the council should already be calling in the townsfolk and preparing for a siege. We can run entirely, and abandon both city and land to the invaders. We can stay outside the walls and harass the army when it invests Olossi with a siege, as we must expect it will do. If the latter course, then we would hope eventually to wear them down, starve them, deny them battle, and make it dangerous for them to move about the land to forage and raid in small bands. To carry out this plan, we must ourselves disperse into bands so we can supply ourselves and appear to be everywhere at once. They must never be able to find and pin us down. But for this choice to work, we must have the advantage of speed and sight. We must be able to cut off all messages running between the army and Argent Hall, and between the army and whatever allies they hold in the north. Otherwise, we have nothing they do not already possess, and, as well, the reeves who cooperate with them can seek out and discover us as we move across the land."
Kesta was devouring the captain with her gaze, listening as if each utterance was a jewel that must be caught. She seemed smitten.
Joss said, "I've seen no reeves besides our own today. How did the other part of the plan go? What happened to the reeve from Argent Hall?"
His words cut like an axe. There was a pause, as though he had said something shocking. A horse snorted. A hawk skimmed overhead and shied off, spotting the eagles.
Then all seven of the Qin-stolid, serious men-laughed until they wept.
When he was done, Anji wiped tears from his face. "Aui! That woman is dangerous. She knows more than one way to kill a man."
"She murdered the reeve?"
"No. But he got all tied up in his honor."
Chief Tuvi snorted, and they all chortled again.
Anji finally found his voice. "He wasn't able to alert Argent Hall. But my own tailmen ran into a man who rode a horse that had wings, and could fly. This man they shot with many arrows, and a javelin, yet he did not fall. My tailmen do not exaggerate. What do you make of it?"
"There are no winged horses," said Kesta. "It's a tale for children."
"What tale?" asked Anji. "For I can tell you, my men were shocked at the sight of a winged horse. Of a man who would not fall no matter how many arrows he had in him."
Kesta said, "The tale is a simple one. The gods brought forth the Guardians to bring justice to the land. They gave them seven gifts, and departed. After that, the Guardians acted as judges at the assizes. But it's only a story. There are no Guardians."
"It's not a story," said Joss. "Many people's grandparents remembered seeing a Guardian when they were children."
"A little lad may see all manner of things in shadows and in wishful dreams," retorted Kesta. "What do you think, Volias?"
Yet Volias, who never on any account liked to agree with Joss, remained thoughtful. "I think the testimony of this man's soldiers must be taken into account. They aren't the only rumors I've heard in recent months."
"When folk are frightened, they'll see and say anything," objected Kesta. "Not that I blame them. But that doesn't mean what they say and see are true things. Only that they're frightened."
Joss shook his head. "Zubaidit saw winged horses, too, when she was in the enemy's camp. So she reported to me, when we met in Olossi. But she saw no Guardians."
"Could you recognize a Guardian if you saw one?" Kesta asked with a sharp laugh.
"Excuse me, if you will." Anji shifted to look down the road, back the way he had come. The front rank of his company rode into view. "We have little enough time. What do I need to know about winged horses, and these creatures you call 'guardians'?"
Joss nodded. "Kesta is right. According to our tales, the nine Guardians served as judges at the assizes for many generations. Then, they vanished. No one alive today has met a Guardian. We have good reason to believe they're all dead. Remains have been found. Bones. I think they're gone. But, according to the tale, among the gifts given them by the gods were winged horses,'formed out of the elements so that they could travel swiftly and across the rivers and mountains without obstacle.' "
"A useful skill," said Anji, indicating the resting eagles. "As we have seen."
"We've got a flag," said Volias suddenly.
Joss looked over his shoulder to see all three eagles staring at the sky, but not at the two reeves circling overhead. After a moment, he saw a speck in the southern sky that quickly grew until he could make out an eagle and reeve moving in fast.
Joss turned to Anji. "Remember that no eagle can descend on you if you and your men and horses take cover in woods. And at night, eagles are blind."
Pari and Killer landed at a prudent distance, and the reeve unhooked and ran over to them. He was panting as he came up.
"The eagles are flaring," he said. "There's at least two flights approaching out of the north. It must be Argent Hall."
Joss looked at Volias, and Volias looked at Captain Anji. The Qin troop had halted on the road behind him. They waited in neat ranks, with their remounts and grooms in the center of the marching order.
"If we draw them off," said Volias, "these have a hope of getting to Olossi before the army catches up. Or of scattering, without the Argent reeves marking their movement."
"What will you do?" asked Joss. "What meeting place will we arrange?"
Anji looked toward Pari. "This man wears different markings than the others. What does that mean?"
Volias said, "Pari, back aloft. Alert Ulon that we'll be drawing the Argent Hall reeves off toward the escarpment. We'll meet up with you shortly."
"Don't you trust me?" demanded Pari. In the distance, Killer gave a twitter of anger, seeing a change in Pari's stance. The feathers were rising on the back of Scar's neck as he swiveled his head to stare at the smaller eagle.
"Best go," said Joss. "I don't want a confrontation between those two eagles."
Pari gave way.
As the young reeve walked off, Anji, rather like the fierce-eyed eagles, watched him go. "Can you explain that?" he asked.
"He came to us from Argent Hall," said Joss, "with troubling stories of their marshal and their activities. He claims to be on our side, and I believe him. But I think it best not to discuss our plans in front of him."