“I’m having my blacksmiths make four of them. We carry them to the wall ahead of the attack. They lie there hidden. Three are already made; just one more to complete.”
Noyes traced his fingers across the model. “I assume the boys will run across these, but there will be fire burning beneath them from the pit. You’re sure the construction will be strong and stable enough?”
“We’ll be over the pit and the walls in a blink of an eye. And, once over, I can make it to Calia in a day.”
March went cold.
“A day to get there, perhaps, and possibly to take it,” Noyes allowed. “But can you hold it and still be there in two months?”
Harold smiled. “If we take the leaders, yes. We go in hard and fast, straight to the heart of Calidor, and kill or cap-ture Thelonius and his bastard son and every one of his lords. Their bodies will be on display for all to see as we parade through the towns and villages of Calidor. When the people witness what the boy army is capable of, they’ll crumble.” Harold looked at Noyes. “You know my boys can do it, and you know I can too.”
“I don’t deny your ability, Your Highness, but your father won’t allow it. He wants to fight his brother himself. He wants to ride into Calia at the head of the army. That’s been his chief desire for years.”
“And yet you yourself say that he’s lost his focus.”
“I would never say that, Your Highness. I say that his focus has changed to another enemy for the moment. But it will return here, and he will be the one to lead the attack into Calia.”
March didn’t care terribly much if the Brigantine army was led by Aloysius or Harold or a pack of dogs; if they reached Calia, they would kill Edyon either way.
“But, as you said, my father will have dealt with the Pitorians soon enough, Noyes. I can attack the wall now and hold it until he is ready to lead the army into the capital.”
“Perhaps.” Noyes returned to the map. “Where’s the Calidorian army positioned?”
“They’re thinly spread along the wall and concentrated in camps in the west and east, here and here.” Harold pointed at the map.
“If you take the wall, the Calidorians will come to you. How will you fare?”
Harold grinned. “I’ll try to resist destroying the army completely so that my father has someone to fight when he arrives.”
Noyes nodded. “I suspect the Calidorians believe all our focus is on Pitoria. If you can take and hold the wall, and then dismantle it to allow your father’s army through when they’re finished with the Pitorians, your father will see the merit in such a plan. But your father will want at least one section of the main army here to support your attack. And your father will wish to know you’re safe.”
“Then tell him I’ll be out of harm’s way at the rear. I’ll be taking smoke, and with that stuff I’m invincible.”
“Alas, not totally, Your Highness.”
“But you see the plan can work. And the longer we wait, the more likely that Calidor will learn of our positions and strengthen the army at the wall. We need to advance. Send me the smoke. And some troops from the old man’s army if you must.”
Noyes gave the slightest of nods. “I’ll summon Lord Thornlees and his troops down here from the north. They can provide the support of the traditional army, and they can bring the smoke. Thornlees can be here in a week.”
“And where will you be, Noyes?”
“Alas, I will miss the spectacle of your brigades taking the wall. I must return to the north to support your father. The attack on Pitoria will begin soon.”
Harold and Noyes both seemed pleased. They had reached an agreement. March let no emotion show on his face. He stared straight ahead, as he always did, and he thought about Edyon, imagining him safe in Calia, happy with his father, but how much longer would that last?
EDYON
BIRTWISTLE, CALIDOR
EDYON SAT in his room, tears in his eyes. He felt more alone than ever. He needed March to give him confidence, to reassure him that he wasn’t a complete idiot. March had always believed in him. And, even if March couldn’t actually help, Edyon still wanted him. “I miss you,” he muttered as tears ran down his face. “What I’d give for you to be