'I suggest you dress yourself first,' he said.
CHAPTER XIII
FELL. LAY AWAKE, Siganii's sleeping body pressed closely against him and her head upon his shoulder. Lady lay at Sigarni's left, her black flanks gleaming in the firelight. The coals in the iron brazier were burning low now, and the cabin was bathed in a gentle red glow.
Fell had stood at the back of the meeting hall and watched the faces of her officers as she outlined her battle plans. At first they had been shocked, but they had listened to her arguments, delivered quietly but forcefully, and had offered no objections. Each of the officers had been given a task - save for Fell.
He had returned to the cabin with Sigarni, and their lovemaking had been tender and joyous. No words spoken throughout, but both experiencing an intensity that led to tears. Fell had never known anything like it; he felt both complete and fulfilled. In all his adult life he had dreamt of moments like this, to be at one with the object of his love.
The night was quiet, and the entire world consisted of nothing more than the four walls he could see and the glowing fire that warmed the cabin. Tomorrow the great battle would begin and, God willing, after that he and Sigarni could begin a new life together. Once the Baron was defeated, they could send emissaries to the Outland King and end a war neither side had truly wanted.Then he and Sigarni could build a home near the Falls.
She moaned in her sleep and he stroked her silver hair. She awoke and smiled sleepily. 'You should be asleep,' she said.
'I am too happy for sleep,' he told her. Her hand stroked down his warm belly and arousal flared instantly.
'Then I shall tire you,' she said, sliding her body over his. Her mouth tasted sweet and he smelt the perfume of her hair, felt the warmth of her body.
At last the passion subsided and he sighed. 'Are you ready for sleep now?' she whispered into his ear.
'You held them, Sigarni,' he said proudly. 'All those warriors and greybeards! They stood and listened and they believed. I believe! It is so hard to think of you now as the huntress who lived alone and sold her furs. It is as if you were always waiting to be a queen. Even Bakris Tooth-gone speaks of you with awe. Where did you send him, by the way?'
'South,' she said.
'Why?'
'To cut their supply lines. God, Fell, I wish this was over. I don't want to be a Battle Queen.'
'We can end it tomorrow,' he said. 'Then we'll build a house. You know the flat land to the west of the Falls? I've often thought that it would make a splendid home. A little back from the pool, so that the noise of the Falls would be filtered by the willows. There's good grazing land close by, and I know Grame will loan me some breed cattle.'
'It sounds ... wonderful," she told him.
'There's good hunting too.'
At the sound of their voices Lady awoke and pushed herself between them. Sigarni stroked the hound's ears. 'It is a fine dream,' said Sigarni. 'Now let's get some rest.'
'What do you mean, a dream?' Fell asked.
'The war will not be over with one battle,' she said sadly. 'If we sin, the Outlanders will see it as a blow to their pride. They will have no alternative but to send another army north.'
'But it makes no sense!'
'War makes no sense, Fell. Let's talk about it all tomorrow.'
'Aye, we'll do that,' he said. 'I will be proud to stand beside you.'
'You won't be beside me, Fell. I need you and your men to take up a position away from the battle, on the right. They will break through on the western slope, and head for the encampments. They must be stopped. Destroyed. Hold the right, Fell. Do it for me!'
'Oh, God!' he whispered, his stomach knotting.
'What is it?' she asked, concern in her voice.
'Nothing,' he assured her. 'It is all right, just a little cramp in my leg. You are right, Sigarni. We should sleep now. Come, put your head on my shoulder.'
Sigarni sat up and pushed Lady away. 'Back to your blanket, you hussy!' she said. 'He is mine alone!'
Settling down beside him with her arm across his chest, she fell asleep almost immediately. But for Fell there would be no rest that night. He remembered the night at Gwalchmai's cabin, and the drunken words of the Dreamer.
'But I know what I know, Fell. I know you 'll live for her. And I know you 'II die for her. "Hold the right, Fell. Do it for me!" she 'II say. And they 'II fall on you with their swords of fire, and their lances of pain, and their arrows of farewell. Will you hold, Fell, when she asks you?' Gwalch looked up, his eyes bleary. 'I wish I was young again, Fell. I'd stand alongside you. By God, I'd even take that arrow for you.'
No house by the Falls. No golden future in the sunshine on the mountains. This one night is all there is, he realized. He felt the panic in the pit of his belly, and in the palpitations of his heart. Fell so wanted to wake Sigarni again, to tell her of Gwalchmai's prophecy. Yet he did not.
Instead he held her to him and listened to her soft breathing.
'Will you hold, Fell?'
Aye, he thought, I will hold.
*
The loss of a group of his scouts was not entirely unexpected, and the Baron had despatched four more men to scout the Duane Pass. Only one returned - and he had an arrow wound high on the right shoulder.
'Well?' asked the Baron.
The man's face was grey, and he was in great pain. 'As you predicted, lord, they have taken up a position on the flat hill. A wall of shields. I estimate there are almost three thousand warriors there.'
'Their full force?' The Baron laughed and turned to his officers. 'See what happens when a woman leads? What fools they are!' Swinging again to the wounded scout, he asked, 'What of the western slope?'
'Around a hundred men hidden in the trees. I got pretty close before they saw me.'
'To the east?'
'I saw no one, sir.'
'Good. Go and get that wound seen to.'
'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.'
The Baron gathered his officers around him. 'You have all studied the maps, and you will realize that their position is a strong one. We must first encircle the hill; that will stretch us thin in places, but it is too high for them to make a swift sally down upon us.' He fixed his attention on a tall, lean cavalryman. 'Chaldis, you will take half the cavalry and a thousand foot. Kill the defenders on the western slope and attack their encampment and the surrounding Pallides villages.'
'Yes, my lord,' Chaldis responded.
'Where is Cheops?' asked the Baron.
'Here, my lord,' answered a short, stocky figure in uniform of brown leather, pushing forward from the back.
'You will take your archers to the eastern slope and pepper them. I will initiate attacks from the western side. Be wary, Cheops. I would sooner your arrows fell a little short than sailed over the defenders and struck our own men. Nothing so demoralizes a fighting man as to fear death from the shafts of his own archers.'
'You can rely on us, my lord.'
'Leofric, you will command the cavalry wing. Skirt the hill and continue sporadic raids from the north side. Use only the heaviest armoured lancers. The enemy will have good bowmen on that hilltop. Do not push too far. Hit hard, then break away. It will be the infantry who apply the hammer blow.'
'Understood, my lord.'
'Gentlemen,' said the Baron, with a rare smile. 'A magnificent opportunity lies ahead of us. In the south there is a great panic concerning these rebel Highlanders, and when we have defeated them the King will make sure you are rewarded for your efforts. But remember this, though they are barbarians and scum they still know how to fight. I want the woman alive; I will send her in chains to the capital. As to the rest, slaughter them to a man. God is with us, gentlemen. Now let us be about our duties.'