Theodosius Valkorion's Arc

Chapter 16 of 22

Thraxes's rider came in at first light. The forward column had pulled back a mile and dug in. The other two enemy columns had closed the gap in the night. Together they held nine thousand spears against a bloodied legion and four hundred peacekeepers still standing at the breach. Heinrich's column and the fresh spears from the five lords were a full day out. The wall would not survive a second assault. Theodosius stood at the map table and set his palm on the pass. He had no more troops within a day of the keep. He had himself, and the men in white plate at the door. Master Guardsman Albert Longhall stepped in from the hall. His beard was still damp from the basin. The blue stars on his shoulder caught the lamp. He had spent the week watching his own ranks for the knife he was sure was there. "How many can ride now?" Theodosius asked. "Three hundred. Full plate. An hour to saddle." "You leave the keep bare." "You leave the keep bare," Longhall said. "I ride where you ride." Theodosius did not argue. He needed the Adamantine Guard at the breach by dusk. Three hundred in heavy plate behind the cannon was worth twice their number in tired peacekeepers. Arcturus Zanator came in behind Longhall, still in his scuffed light kit. He had ridden back from the wall in the dark to report his losses in person. His eyes were red. The small four-pointed star on his chest was dented. "Two hundred of mine are dead," Zanator said. "Four hundred hold the south stretch. They will hold again if you give them a spine to stand on." "The Guard is the spine," Theodosius said. "You ride with us. You place your men where Longhall tells you." Zanator nodded once. He did not ask about the roads he had stripped bare. They rode within the hour. Three hundred Adamantine Guard in white enamel plate, blue stars on every pauldron, the lotus-and-star banner at the head of the column. Theodosius rode under it with the lightning-wrapped blade at his hip. Longhall kept two lengths behind him and watched the men at his own back more than the road ahead. They reached the breach an hour before dusk. Thraxes met them in the gap. The red accents on his plate were black with dried blood. He saw the banner and the three hundred behind it and gave one short laugh. "Then we hold," he said. The columns came at full dark. The cannon fired four times. The Guard held the breach in a wall of white plate. The peacekeepers held the south stretch. The enemy broke on them for three hours and pulled back at moonrise, leaving a thousand dead in the rocks. Heinrich's column arrived at dawn. The pass was kept. The capital stood bare of its Emperor's Guard, and Longhall's traitor, if he existed, had ridden every mile with them under the banner.