He didn’t get very excited. He didn’t brag or boast. That, Lanius had seen, was not his style. But he had ways of doing the job. In all the history of Avornis, had anyone just settled down and done the job so well? Lanius had read a lot of that history. He had his doubts. Grus might have been the best.
Corvus was also trying to do his job. Only a couple of days after Grus’ army burst out of the Maze, horsemen began shadowing it. They weren’t there in any numbers; they couldn’t have hoped to beat back the army or even slow it down. They simply hung off its flank and kept an eye on it. Lanius presumed they reported to Corvus or to Corax or to both of the brothers together.
Grus presumed the same thing. He asked Lanius, “Are you ready to do what I asked of you, Your Majesty?”
Lanius sighed. “I suppose so,” he answered.
Grus laughed at his hesitation. That was, Lanius supposed, better than having Grus get angry. Grus said, “Do try to conceal your enthusiasm. Otherwise it might sweep me off my feet altogether.”
“Er—yes,” Lanius said, not sure what to make of Grus in a sportive mood.
To his relief, Grus didn’t stick around. He just went on tending to his business. Riders loyal to him went out and skirmished with Corvus’ scouts. They drove the scouts back, killed a few of them, and captured two or three. The captives they brought before Lanius.
Those captives looked scared to death. That was almost literally true. They had to expect their heads to go up on pikes as soon as Lanius finished gloating over them. He did take a certain amount of pleasure in letting them know that wouldn’t happen. “Hear me, and you’ll be free to go,” he told them. Their eyes widened. They didn’t trust him or believe him. He went on, “All you have to do is take word back to everyone who follows Corvus and Corax that King Grus is my legitimate co-ruler, and that Corvus and Corax are enemies to Avornis and deserve whatever happens to them. No matter what they say, they aren’t for me. They’re against me. Their rebellion is bound to fail.”
Calling Grus a legitimate king left a bad taste in his mouth. The rest of it? To his own surprise, he discovered he meant the rest of it. One of Corvus’ riders said, “Grus is making you say that. Tell us the truth.”
“I am telling you the truth,” Lanius said—and, on the whole, he meant that, too. When he added, “The nobles you follow are the ones who’ve lied to you,” he thought that was the truth. He repeated, “Go back to your friends. Tell them what I told you. Tell them there’s safe-conduct and amnesty for anyone who leaves the rebels’ army. And tell them whoever doesn’t leave it will be very sorry.”
The riders seemed surprised when they got their horses back. They seemed amazed when they got their sabers and bows back. Escorted by Grus’ troopers, the rebels rode out of the camp.
They kicked up a small cloud of dust as they trotted off after their fellows who’d escaped.
Now, who will believe them? Lanius wondered. Then he wondered how much of human affairs everywhere turned on that question.
Scouts came galloping back toward King Grus. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” they cried, and pointed westward. “The rebels’ army is over there, less than a day’s ride away.”
“Ah,” Grus said, a sound full of eagerness, and then, “Do they know you’ve been shadowing them?”
“Probably,” one of the riders answered, while two or three more shrugged and nodded. The fellow who’d spoken added, “You know how it is.”
“Oh, yes.” Grus nodded, too. “I know how it is. Now we’re going to show Corvus and Corax how it is, eh?” The scouts grinned. Grus asked, “Any sign of Hirundo’s army?”
“No, Your Majesty,” the men chorused.
“Too bad,” Grus said. “If I knew what he was doing—if I could get hold of him—we’d smash the rebels between us. Well, maybe scouts from the band he leads will show up here before too long.” He made himself sound hopeful.
A rider said, “If you like, Your Majesty, we could go out to the west again, ride around the rebels, and see if we could join up with him.”
Grus shook his head. “Not you boys personally. You’ve already been working hard. Take a rest. You’ve earned it. I’ll send some other men out to the fellows who’ll be shadowing the rebels. Some of them can try riding around Corvus’ army to see if they can find Hirundo.”
A couple of the horsemen looked disappointed. A couple of others looked relieved at not having to gallop straight out again. Grus had expected both reactions. He sent the scouts away. None of them looked sorry at the prospect of dismounting, getting some food, and maybe even grabbing a little rest.
“Trumpeters!” Grus called. When the men with the long brass horns looked his way, he added, “Blow Column left. We’re going straight after the rebels.” The soldiers who heard him raised a cheer.
He rode over to King Lanius. To his younger colleague, he said, “Well, Your Majesty, we’ve found them.”
“A good thing, too, seeing that they’d already found us,” Lanius remarked.
“Uh, yes,” Grus said. Sometimes Lanius, though still a youth, could make him feel he was running in circles. He tried again. “Before we go into battle with the rebels, I’ll want you to ride out in front of the army and tell the lot of them what you told those scouts.”
“Oh, you will, will you?” Lanius said tonelessly. His head pointed toward Grus, but, whatever he was looking at, it wasn’t his fellow king. After half a moment, he seemed to remember where he was. He deigned to give Grus one word. “No.”
“But, Your Majesty, this is why I asked you to come along,” Grus reminded him. “Or do you want the rebels to win?” How good was Alca’s wizardry? he wondered. What is lurking in Lanius’ heart?
“No, I don’t,” Lanius said. “But no, I won’t go up in front of the army before a battle, either.” He sounded very determined.
“By the gods, why not?” Grus exclaimed.
“I’ve seen one battle up close. That was enough to last me a lifetime. I never want to see another one like that.”
So many young men were pantingly eager to blood themselves in the field. Grus almost asked Lanius if he were a coward, but something in the young king’s eyes made him hold back. Whatever troubled him, Grus didn’t think cowardice was it. He sighed and said, “Tell me more.”
“There’s nothing more to tell. If you want to bring enemy prisoners before me and then turn them loose, I’ll tell them I’d sooner have you as my protector than Corvus. That’s the truth. It would be the truth even if I weren’t married to your daughter. But maybe you can make me go out in front of your army. Once you’ve made me do what I truly don’t want to do, though, can you be sure what I’ll say?”
Grus eyed him. Yes, Lanius looked very determined. Did he mean what he said, or was he bluffing? Can you afford to take the chance? Grus asked himself. He’d expected the young king to be a puppet, not a bargainer. He’s growing up. That realization startled him almost as much as it had about his own children.
“All right, Your Majesty.” This one time, he let irony seep into his use of Lanius’ title. “Have it your way, since that’s what you’re bound to do.”
“I… will.” Lanius was relieved, and still young enough to show it.
“Have it your way,” Grus repeated. “Just remember, having it your way means giving Corvus a better chance to beat me.”
Lanius grimaced. But after a moment’s pause, he said, “If I weren’t confident in you as a general, would I want you for my protector?”