he had thought his way through his frustration and fear.
“What are your plans, Highness? Shall we ride forth and meet them?” I asked.
Eric’s eyes moved again to the base of the hill and studied what dust and brush lay there. He walked quickly toward our horses and turned again to us. “Gonnaban, you and the men have seen the size of their ships and you’ve seen that some of their folk are soldiery and some are not. What does it mean for our estimates?”
Gonnaban glanced at his four ship experts.
“I’d say if the pattern holds to what we’ve seen, then more than 50,000 people, but hopefully only 30,000 trained fighters. I’d like to know more about what of that will be cavalry, particularly with the steeds we’ve seen, but that’s what we can say so far.”
The other cavalrymen nodded in agreement.
Eric nodded as well, and he looked at me and held my gaze, trying to read my impressions. It was at times like these that I felt my pride in my family. Eric, steady, thorough, and careful, saw me as a general whose opinion shaped and forged his own.
“We go back to the city,” he said at last. “But we will return here at first light—and in full diplomatic regalia…and with our 5,000 cavalry. We will take their measure across the table.”
Eric nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied that he had considered everything. Without another glance in our direction, he moved to his horse.
***** ***** *****
Three hours later put us reaching the outskirts of Abringol. Before we had moved far from our secretive hill south of the quay, Eric had sent our four sea-loving cavalrymen to the beaches to spy on the fleet with the farlook. Our men reported that some of the larger galleons were fanned out in an arc protecting the rest of the fleet. Admiral Pulgatt’s ships had moved to within sight and had fanned out in a pattern similar to the guest’s ships. The demons’ ship count remained close to two hundred, perhaps a touch more, still far more than our own navy, even at the height of its numbers some years ago.
“And with fore and aft castles that high,” said one cavalryman, “our sailors will be facing a hail of arrows before they could get near enough to board. And that’s setting aside if those ships launch Sea Fire, like our boys.”
Eric merely nodded and glanced at me as we rode.
When we approached the palace gate ablaze with torchlight, we saw an aglindor, one of my father’s royal messengers, sitting atop a mount still steaming from the road. He had his back to us as is the custom. In olden days, these messengers were corrupted and used as assassins against both the king and his enemies. Tradition now demanded that an aglindor put his back to his intended recipient to await the approach. Even with that precaution in place, it was rare that a messenger was approached by the recipient himself. Gonnaban rode to meet the aglindor and called forth Eric’s title. Gonnaban returned promptly with the small golden cylinder that bore the royal seal and my father’s message.
The cavalry took position around the aglindor and they entered the palace ahead of us. They were well out of sight by the time Eric and I dismounted. My brother was already scanning the parchment rolled inside the messenger’s cask. He finished quickly while nodding to himself and then chuckled.
“Father has guessed our deployment plans. He’s gathering the Central Guard. They’ll be ready in two days, but still three days’ march from Abringol,” he said, a strange glint in his eye. He moved toward me and put his hand on my shoulder. “And he wants you to speak for the kingdom.”
“I—I am a general. Your hammer, should you choose to use it. These are your provinces,” I protested. “You must serve as our father’s voice.”
Eric’s eyes held no resentment, no accusation, which was strange given the recent tensions that still hung between us. Again, I reminded myself that there are currents in Eric I have never been able to see, eddies that rise to my view only when he wished.
“We have our father’s voice here,” he said, raising the parchment to view, “and you shall be its instrument.”
He smiled again and left me in the torch-lit courtyard, shadows playing in the tiny cracks and crevices of the cobblestones.
***** ***** *****
After only a few hours’ rest, I sat on a horse north of Abringol, my 5,000 cavalry stirring in