Young Lord of Khadora Read online

  “You did not specify which squad I was to use,” blurted Koors. “I must have misunderstood . . .” Koors looked at the smile on the Lord Marshal’s face and knew he was beaten. The way Rybak averted his eyes when he had left the Lord Marshal’s study flashed into Koors mind, and the Cortain knew he was in more trouble than Marak. Marak, at least, had some excuse, Koors did not. The Lord Marshal was never a stickler on how his orders were carried out as long as they were accomplished, but on this occasion he had specifically ordered Marak into the fields. Rybak had squealed and there was little Koors could do about it.

  “Cortain Koors,” addressed Grefon, “you have given long years of service to this Clan . . . over twenty years . . . if I am not mistaken. Lord Ridak would probably not be as impressed with that as I am. I think an officer with your fine service to the Situ Clan should have an elegant retirement party, not a trial. Of course, nobody has made any accusations against you . . . yet.”

  The Lord Marshal handed Koors writing materials and sighed. Koors stared at the paper in Grefon’s outstretched hand and pressed his lips tightly together. Koors took the paper and scribbled a letter of resignation as his eyes moistened.

  Lord Marshal Grefon took the paper and read it. He signed the paper making the retirement official. “If I may make a suggestion to both of you,” Grefon remarked. “If you were to recommend your own replacement right now, Cortain Koors, word could be spread that you had done so. The real purpose of this meeting need not be known, only the outcome. Both of you will look better for it.”

  With tears in his eyes, Koors went through the motions of recommending Marak as his replacement and then asked leave from the Lord Marshal. After Koors left, Grefon turned on Marak.

  “You, soldier, have some rather strange ideas on how an army should be run,” declared Grefon. “I know you spoke from the heart and were ready to take your punishment, so I believe what you said is what you truly feel. It is by sheer luck only that you have escaped the ax man. Personally, I am glad. Officially, you are on notice for aberrant behavior. Next time bring your grievance to me before taking action of your own.”

  Grefon walked over to the wall map and motioned for Marak to join him. “This is Fardale,” instructed the Lord Marshal. “You know from the meeting days of the problems they have. Your Corte is being assigned to Fardale on temporary terms. Your men are more experienced than Marshal Garouk’s and, frankly, I think he is underestimating the Chula. He has orders to wait for your arrival before baiting the cat people. I want you and your men to scout out this Sitari Valley and be the bait he is seeking.”

  “Do we have any information on these cat people?” Marak asked.

  “Nothing over what you have already heard,” clarified Grefon. “I am giving you two weeks to get your Corte in shape. You are going to need a new Squad Leader to replace yourself. Give me suggestions when you have them.”

  “The man for the job is Botal, Lord Marshal,” Marak said unhesitatingly.

  “Very well,” Grefon agreed. “Botal is a good choice. You may inform him, but I will make the formal announcement when your promotion and Koors’ retirement is announced. Send him to see me this morning. That’s all I have for you, Cortain. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you, Lord Marshal,” smiled Marak for the first time since the meeting began. “I will endeavor to raise the proficiency of my Corte to the highest levels.”

  Grefon nodded and Marak turned to leave when the Lord Marshal suddenly spoke. “Cortain, your first orders are to spend the morning with your mother. You may tell your Squad Leaders of your promotion. I suspect that Rybak will not be surprised and his squad should have taken over for Tagoro’s by now.”

  “Thank you, Lord Marshal!,” exclaimed Cortain Marak. “Why do you say Rybak will not be surprised? I have always taken him for Koors’ man.”

  “You have much to learn, Cortain,” chuckled the Lord Marshal. “Rybak’s kind has been around as long as there has been an army. Rybak is nobody’s man but his own. You should watch him closely.”

  Marak felt on top of the world as he pranced out of the mansion and headed for the barren field. The Lord Marshal was correct about Rybak. The man didn’t blink an eye at hearing that Marak was now his Cortain and that he had been ordered to spend the morning with his mother.

  As a Cortain, Marak was free to speak with his mother or any slave, but the Lord Marshal’s orders were still necessary in order to relieve her of her duties and for Marak to be able to take her away from the overseers. He gently led her across the creek to his personal practice field and started the encounter with a kiss and a long embrace. Glenda's tears rolled down her cheeks as Marak told her about his promotion. For hours the two talked and hugged, as they had not been able to for years.

  After a couple of hours into the encounter a smiling, but sheepish, Tagoro entered the field with a picnic basket for the two of them and a message from Lord Marshal Grefon. The message stated that Lord Marshal was amending his orders and Marak should utilize the entire day with his mother. Enclosed in the pouch with the message was a single lituk blossom for Glenda. The day passed quickly for both Marak and Glenda and it was long dark by the time Marak escorted his mother to the slave compound. Marak went immediately to his keepbox and withdrew his father’s necklace and put it on. He remembered his vow to her, which he made the night he sneaked into the slave compound, as he fell asleep.

  * * *

  Marshal Garouk looked out the window at the rising sun as Lord Lashendo paced the floor of his study.

  “I don’t care what they said in Lituk Valley,” the Lord ranted. “They treated us like we did not know how to handle our own affairs. You said your plan was solid. Why should we wait for some young pups from Lord Marshal Grefon to come help us out of our problem?”

  Marshal Garouk shook his head. “The only reason to wait is because they told us to wait,” he stated.

  “That is not entirely correct,” whirled Lord Lashendo. “The Lord Marshal ordered us not to make any further attempts at clearing Sitari Valley. Although I bristle at being given orders by anyone other than Lord Ridak himself, the fact is that nobody told us not to spring our trap. The Lord Marshal said he planned on sending men to reinforce us, but he did not say that we had to sit and wait for them.”

  “What exactly are you proposing?” questioned Marshal Garouk.

  “If Lord Marshal Grefon’s men come in here and your plan works,” explained Lord Lashendo, “they will get all of the credit and we will look like incompetent fools. If, for some reason, it doesn’t work, it will be because our plan was incomplete or foolhardy. It is a situation in which we cannot win. The only way we come out of this looking good is to solve our own problems and you already have the plan in place. I say we institute the plan immediately. Send a squad into the Sitari Valley. No lumbermen, no wagons, just a squad of soldiers.”

  “A lone squad will be wiped out,” protested Marshal Garouk. “If we wait for Grefon’s men, we can send them into Sitari Valley and not worry about the losses. Who cares about the credit for success or failure? The end result is that we have the valley and the cat people are dead.”

  “I care about the credit!” screamed Lord Lashendo. “I can not just apply for another job as Lord of somebody else’s estate. If I look bad here, Lord Ridak will replace me. He will replace you, too, in case that makes a difference to you. The point is that you have presented me with a plan for solving our problem. I am still the Lord of Fardale and I have accepted your plan. I am ordering you to institute your plan without delay. There is no more discussion needed on this matter. When you balance a suggestion from Lord Marshal Grefon against my direct order, you really do not have a choice. Get the defenses set up and choose a squad to go out to Sitari Valley.”

  “As you command, My Lord,” Marshal Garouk recited.

  The Marshal of Fardale walked out of the study trying to choose which squad he would send to their death. Getting the defenses ready would occupy his mind and keep t
he rest of the men from brooding on what they all knew would happen to the squad sent out. He had actually proposed the reinforcements to Lord Marshal Grefon in the hopes that the Lituk Valley men would not be aware of what waited for them when they left for the Valley of Death, as the Fardale men had been calling it.

  Chapter 5

  Learning

  The squad of yellow and green clad soldiers rode hesitantly into the Sitari Valley. The Squad Leader discussed the available options with his men and they decided to try to draw the Chula out after them instead of sacrificing their lives for the Situ Clan. Their orders were to arouse the Chula into attacking and no one mentioned the need for the squad to commit suicide. The Squad Leader decided to sneak into the heart of the valley and then raise a ruckus as they galloped back out. Hopefully, the Chula would be incensed enough to chase them all the way home to the Fardale mansion.

  The members of the squad were jumpy and every sound caused someone to shout or cry out. The Squad Leader cursed under his breath as he gave up hope of sneaking into the heart of the valley. The musty smell typical of a fargi forest hung over the trail and even the horses seemed to sense death all around the party. The Squad Leader decided that the center of the valley was too great a risk to take and set his new goal at the small clearing where the last group of men had been slaughtered. From the description given to him by Togi, the one lumberman to escape the massacre, the Squad Leader knew he was close and they could turn around soon. He hoped the cat people would chase them as he had no stomach for making this trip again.

  The Squad Leader saw the slight notches on the fargi trees and looped around the clearing so his men would have room to turn around. As soon as he started heading back out of the clearing, he saw them. Six nearly naked men with spears sat upon tigers blocking the trail back home. The Squad Leader could not imagine how they had gotten into position to block the trail without anyone hearing them. They were only about six horse lengths behind the last rider in the column. The horses reacted to the presence of the tigers and tried to back away. The other soldiers finally saw the barbarians and their large cats and started cursing.

  The Squad Leader looked frantically left and right for more of the Chula and breathed a sigh of relief that they were only facing six of them. He waited for his men to regain control of their horses as the barbarians just sat there. It suddenly dawned on the Squad Leader that there might be more Chula on the way and he must act quickly if he was going to survive. He shouted the order to charge at the top of his lungs and started forward to give his men the start they needed. He immediately halted his own horse as the first of his men went racing past him towards the barbarians.

  Smug that he did not need to lead the charge, the Squad Leader watched in horror and fascination as several twirling masses of light lanced towards his group from the bushes. The masses of light flattened and transformed into blue-white blades twirling around a center. Even as he watched his lead men going down with barbarian spears in their chests, he saw the whirling blades slice through their first victim. The blades sliced cleanly through clothing, flesh and bones. Even then, the blades continued on to their next victim. More of the twirling blades came flying out of the bushes surrounding the clearing. The last thing the Squad Leader saw was the growing pile of body fragments, both human and equine, as the whirling blades slashed into his chest.

  * * *

  A shout rang out from the main gate to the Fardale estate and Marshal Garouk ran out of the mansion with Lord Lashendo close behind. They stood on the porch and watched a lone horse trot through the gate and head for the stables. Marshal Garouk needed no confirmation of the meaning of the returning horse. The animal’s back was covered in blood, the blood of its rider, no doubt.

  “It is started, then,” Marshal Garouk declared. “Now we shall wait.”

  “When do you think they will attack?” queried Lord Lashendo.

  “I doubt they have the ability to strike quickly,” mused the Marshal. “It is close to sundown now. I think we should expect them in the morning if they can get it together that quickly. If not tomorrow, certainly the next day.”

  “Well, I shall be sure to find my bed early this evening then,” chuckled Lord Lashendo. “I do not want to miss this massacre.”

  “That is an excellent idea,” remarked Marshal Garouk. “I will check our defenses one more time and leave an order for an early wake up.”

  A pair of kittens wandered through the main gate of Fardale while everyone’s attention was focused on the bloody horse. They didn’t wander aimlessly, nor did they walk across the open stretch of ground before the mansion. Instead, they hugged the wall single file until they reached an old shed and found entry through a damaged wall board. They climbed among the garden implements until they found a high shelf with sufficient room to lie down. There they curled up and went to sleep.

  The sun set and gradually more and more of the Situ Clan went to sleep. After a time, the only yellow and green warriors who were awake were those on guard duty. The kittens rose and stretched lazily. Casually, they leaped down from the perch and split up, each taking a different path into the dark night.

  One kitten walked around the mansion, avoiding the guards at the doors, until he found the smell of the kitchen and leaped up onto the window ledge. The kitchen was dark and empty and the cat jumped easily to the floor. With an extremely small flash of light, the kitten transformed into a young Chula shaman. The shaman looked around the kitchen and plucked a large meat cleaver from the worktable and padded to the doorway that led to the rest of the mansion. Silently, keeping in the dark, the shaman made his way out into the hallway and began his search for the Lord of the estate.

  The shaman wasted no time examining rooms where the doors were placed close together. The Lord’s suite was obvious as there was no other door nearby at all. He gently turned the handle of the door and stepped into the empty sitting room. After a few moments, he found Lord Lashendo asleep in his bed. The shaman did not require the meat cleaver for his task as he had other methods of killing his foe, but the warning had promised that those who sent the next invaders would have their blood flowing upon the ground.

  Ever since the Chula had given their warning, scouts, in the form of cats, had kept watch on the estate. The Chula knew who the Lord was and the location of the officers with plumes who commanded the soldiers to invade the Sitari Valley. This shaman’s other targets included the officer with plumes of green and yellow and the officers with the green plumes who lived in a separate building. The other shaman would make the rounds of the barracks, eliminating all of the officers with yellow plumes.

  The shaman quickly located Marshal Garouk and left the meat cleaver behind as he once again took the form of a kitten. Dashing through the corridors and hallways as quickly as his four little feet could carry him, the shaman leaped out of the kitchen window and made his way to the building of the green plumed officers. This time the shaman used one of the officer’s swords to decapitate his victims. Having completed his task, the shaman paused and wondered if his partner needed any assistance. He gazed out the window and saw her in the form of a kitten heading back towards the shed. Quickly, he transformed himself and followed her.

  At the shed, the kittens transformed themselves into tigers and leaped to the top of the shed. Together they let out a mighty roar and waited for the guards to notice them before leaping onto the wall and jumping down to make their escape. Part of their mission for this night was to make sure the Situ knew who had struck this night and why. Having accomplished their mission, the tigers ran towards the Sitari Valley to report to the others.

  The guards noticed the tigers, but their eagerness to chase the tigers into the dark night was nonexistent. One of the guards ran to inform the Marshal about the sighting and ran into the first bit of evidence that the Fardale branch of the Situ Clan was without leadership. Within moments every member of the Situ Clan in Fardale who was capable of waking was awake.

  * * *
/>   Marak’s mother, Glenda, stood at the edge of the orchard, apart from the gathered soldiers, watching the ceremony. Lord Marshal Grefon had given the order which excused her from the fields for the short duration needed to attend. Marak stood on the porch in front of Lord Ridak and Lord Marshal Grefon to receive the yellow plume, which marked him a Cortain in the Situ Army. The presentation was short but very solemn. Attaining the rank of Cortain was considered a lifetime achievement and all of the soldiers not on duty were in attendance. Lord Marshal Grefon had already announced the retirement of Cortain Koors with a glowing speech for his long years of service.

  As soon as the ceremony was over, Glenda returned to her duties in the field. Marak had arranged to meet with her each evening and would not otherwise interfere with her duties. After congratulations from the soldiers in attendance, Cortain Marak called a meeting of his new Corte. Botal had been quietly elevated to the position of Squad Leader in the Lord Marshal’s office and had taken over command of Marak’s old squad. Squad Leader Tagoro had long followed Marak’s lead in training his men and the purpose of the meeting was to bring Squad Leader Rybak into line with Marak’s philosophy.

  The Lord Marshal was correct in his assessment of Rybak and the Squad Leader welcomed his new Cortain with open arms. Any thought of allegiance to Koors was dead and Rybak was falling over himself to praise the leadership skills of his new superior. Rybak’s men seemed genuinely interested in learning and training with the other two squads and the meeting was over quickly. Marak’s Corte was officially off the duty roster for the next two weeks in order to provide him with time to work the three squads into a cohesive unit. Marak ordered Tagoro to lead the three squads to their private practice field and begin integrating Rybak’s squad into the training sessions.