Captain's Fury (Page 38)

Bernard looked up at the First Lord, his eyes steady.

"Count Calderon," Gaius said calmly. "Please believe me when I say that I will proceed. Either with you-or through you."

Bernard regarded him without blinking. Then he said, "Your feet are swollen, and those boots aren’t going to fit. We’ll need to let you rest for a day or so, and I’ll try to make your footwear a little more comfortable before we move again." He turned to Amara. "Can you find us a spot to camp, out of sight of the trail? There’s no sense loitering here until someone stumbles into us."

Amara rose and went to Bernard’s side. She touched his shoulder briefly, and said, "Thank you."

Gaius exhaled slowly, and bowed his head gently to the Count of Calderon. "Aye, Bernard. Thank you."

Bernard glanced from Gaius to Amara, frowning. But he said nothing.

Chapter 14

"This is outrageous!" Maximus sputtered, his words oddly flat-sounding within the windcrafting that kept their conversation private. His horse danced nervously at the fury in his voice. "We should hand the son of a bitch his head for suggesting such a thing!"

"Unfortunately it isn’t a suggestion," Crassus murmured. Max’s slender brother rode on Tavi’s other side and was a good deal less ruffled. "It’s an order."

Max’s hand flew to the hilt of his sword. "I’ve got the proper response to that order, right here."

Crassus cast his brother a resigned look, and said, "You aren’t helping."

"Crassus is right, Max," Tavi said quietly. "This isn’t a problem we can hack to pieces."

"Just you watch me," Max growled. His horse half reared in response, one hoof striking out as if to crush some unseen foe. Acteon snorted at these antics, but his pace never wavered, and Tavi was grateful that his mount did not seem inclined to the same spontaneous displays of physical prowess of most war-horses. Max calmed his horse with an expert’s casual skill, and said, "I’m not letting anyone kill those townies."

Tavi glanced over his shoulder, where the prisoners were being walked out of Othos as ordered, surrounded by Valiar Marcus’s Prime Cohort. Tavi had deliberately ordered a slow pace, but some of the elderly among the prisoners were having trouble even so. He caught Marcus’s eye and flicked a signal at the First Spear. Marcus slowed the pace even more.

Just as well, Tavi thought. It would give him a little more time to figure a way out of this mess.

"We aren’t going through with it," Max growled. "Right?"

Tavi shook his head slowly, more a gesture of irritation than anything else. "The children are clear, at least."

Crassus frowned in thought, then glanced at Tavi. "Age of accountability?"

"Exactly," Tavi said.

Hoofbeats approached. Araris came trotting down the line of horses and offered a thick book to Tavi.

"What’s that?" Max asked.

Tavi held up the book, titled, simply, Military Law. Then he flipped it open and started searching for the proper reference.

Crassus smiled. "You came prepared, eh?"

"Gift from Cyril," Tavi replied.

"Age of what?" Max said.

"Accountability, you illiterate thug," Crassus said. He flashed a small smile at Max. "Legally speaking, a child under the age of twelve dwelling in an adult’s household cannot be held accountable for most crimes. Their parent or guardian is responsible for their behavior."

"So that gets the kids out of trouble," Max said.

"It isn’t enough," Tavi said. "It just means we’d have to execute their parents twice." He held up the book. "Arnos has to adhere to the letter of the law. As a Legion commander in a war zone, he’s got full authority to pass summary judgment on enemy troops and support personnel."

"With no trial?" Max asked.

"Not if they aren’t Citizens," Tavi said. "And Arnos is interpreting the definition of support personnel to include any Aleran who has cooperated with the Canim in any fashion. He says the fact that they let those Canim into their town makes them traitors."

"Against Nasaug’s army? They had no choice," Max spat. "Look at them."

Crassus shook his head. "Legally speaking, they had a choice. They could have fought the Canim and died."

"That’s suicide."

"But legal." Crassus frowned at Tavi. "Captain, do you think the Senator’s sentence will stand up before a tribunal of review?"

"He isn’t ordering the execution of any Citizens," Tavi said, scanning pages in the book. He found the proper section and it confirmed his fears. "Crows. Technically, he’s acting within the bounds of the law. So it will come down to politics."

Max growled. "If he’s successful against the Canim, his judgment will probably be supported."

"And if the campaign goes badly," Crassus said, "his enemies will use it to eviscerate his career."

Tavi ground his teeth. "Not that it will matter to the people of Othos by then."

"There’s got to be something we can do, Captain," Max protested.

Tavi grimaced. "If Arnos had put half as much planning into the assault on Othos as he had into this, he’d have taken the town without a man lost." He snapped the book shut rather harder than was necessary and looked at Max. "Legally speaking, my only options are to carry out the order or resign."

"Which is what Arnos wants," Crassus said quietly.

Tavi glanced aside at Crassus, surprised that he would bring up the point. The young Knight Commander had rather pointedly remained entirely silent during any conversation touching upon politics more than indirectly. It was hardly surprising, considering that Crassus’s mother had betrayed them all at the Elinarch and his uncle was leading a rebellion that had ground on for most of two years. His father, High Lord Antillus, commanded fully half the forces of the Shieldwall, the vast edifice that walled away the threat of the Icemen in the savage north, and was one of the most respected men in Alera.

All in all, that made Antillus Crassus into a potential wildfire, politically speaking. Tavi had sent the First Lord strongly favorable reports regarding the young lord’s skill, capability, and loyalty. If he hadn’t, Gaius might well have made sure that a young man with such volatile potential was transferred to a less inflammable post.

All of that meant that Crassus had tactfully remained aloof from the intrigue that touched upon the First Aleran, except where it directly affected his ability to perform his duties. It had not meant, however, that he had closed his eyes to what was happening, and Tavi’s respect for Max’s younger half brother went up another notch.