Harry Turtledove War Between the Provinces 01 Sentry Peak

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

of Broadpath saw.
"There's no help for it, Bell," James said sadly. "He is the commander of
this army. He gives the orders. Even if they're stupid orders, he has the
right to give them. I've argued till I'm blue in the face, and I had no luck
getting him to change his mind. If you've got any notion of how to get him to
do what plainly needs doing, I'm all ears."
He was just talking; he didn't expect Bell to come up with anything. What
with the horrible wound gods, Bell couldn't even have fully recovered from the
mangled arm he'd got down in the south less than three months before and the
potent drug, that Bell could talk at all was a minor miracle. The other
Page 144
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
officer looked up at him from the cot and spoke with terrible urgency: "Let
the king know, your Excellency. If the king knows, he'll do what needs doing."
Gently, James shook his head. "Remember, Count Thraxton is Geoffrey's
dark-haired boy. If it weren't for Geoffrey, Thraxton wouldn't have held his
command out here even as long as he has."
He wondered if Bell even heard him. "Let the king know, James," the wounded
man repeated. "The king has to know."
"All right," James of Broadpath said. "I'll let him know." He didn't mean it,
but he didn't want to upset poor Bell. The wound might still kill him, or
fever might carry him off. No point tormenting him with refusals at a time
like this.
But then, as James left the tent where Bell lay, he plucked at his beard in
thought. Coming right out and speaking to King Geoffrey would surely fail; he
remained convinced of that. Even so . . .
"How could I be worse off? How couldwe be worse off?" he murmured, and
hurried away to the pavilion the scryers called their own.
One of the bright young men looked up from his crystal ball. "Sir?"
"I want you to send a message to Marquis James of Seddon Dun, over in
Nonesuch," James of Broadpath said.
"To the minister of war? Yes, sir," the scryer said. "You will, of course,
have cleared this message with Count Thraxton?"
"I don't need to do any such thing, sirrah," James rumbled ominously, and
tapped his epaulet to remind the scryer of his own rank.
"Yes, sir," the fellow said he was just a first lieutenant, an officer by
courtesy of his skill at magecraft rather than by blood or courage.
Technically, he was in the right, but a lieutenant technically in the right in
a dispute with a lieutenant general would often have done better to be wrong.
The youngster had the sense to know it. Licking his lips, he bent low over the
crystal ball. "Go ahead, sir."
"To the most honorable Marquis James of Seddon Dun, Minister of War to his
Majesty King Geoffrey, legitimate King of Detina: greetings," James said,
declaiming as if speaking to the minister of war face to face. "May I take the
liberty to advise you of our conditions and wants. After a very severe battle,
we gained a complete and glorious victory the most complete of the war,
perhaps, except the first at Cow Jog. To express my convictions in a few
words, our chief has done but one thing he ought to have done since I joined
his army. That was to order the attack. All other things that he has done he
ought not to have done. I am convinced that nothing but the hand of the gods
can help us as long as we have our present commander.
"Now to our wants. Can you send us Duke Edward? In an ordinary war I could
serve without complaints under anyone whom the king might place in authority,
but we have too much at stake in this to remain quiet now. Thraxton cannot
adopt and adhere to any plan or course, whether of his own or of someone else.
I pray you to help us, and speedily. I remain, with the greatest respect, your
most obedient servant, James of Broadpath."
"Is that . . . all, sir?" the scryer asked. James of Broadpath nodded
brusquely. The scryer had another question: "Are you . . . sure you want me to
Page 145
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
send it?" James nodded again. The scryer didn't; he shook his head. But he
murmured over the crystal ball, then looked up. "All right, sir. It's on its
way." By his tone, he thought James had just asked him to send an earthquake
to Nonesuch.
James hoped the scryer was right. As far as he was concerned, an earthquake
was exactly what this army needed. But all he said was, "The minister of war
should hear my views." He strode out of the scryers' tent.
In striding out, he almost collided with Baron Dan of Rabbit Hill and
Leonidas the Priest, both of whom were striding in, grim, intent looks on
their faces. "Oh, by the gods!" Dan exclaimed. "Don't tell me he's got you,
too?"
"Don't tell me who's got me for what?" James asked.
Dan and Leonidas both started talking at once. Leonidas used language James
would not have expected to hear from a hierophant. But he was the one who
calmed down enough to give a straight answer: "Count Thraxton has ordered us
removed from our commands, may he suffer in the seven hells for seven times
seven eternities."
"He's done what?" James of Broadpath's jaw dropped. "He won't move against
Guildenstern, but he will against his own generals?"
"That's the size of it, your Excellency," Dan said bitterly. "That's just
exactly the size of it. And if he thinks I'm going to take it lying down, he
can bloody well think again. King Geoffreywill hear of this."
"He certainly will," Leonidas the Priest agreed. "And so will the Pontifex
Maximus back in Nonesuch. Thraxton needs to be placed under full godly
interdict." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

pobieranie @ do ÂściÂągnięcia @ ebook @ download @ pdf