Leslie Moore - Griffin's Shadow

“Halt! Who goes there!” a familiar voice barked from the shadows.

Ashinji stopped in his tracks, realizing he had reached the edge of camp. “It’s just me, Aneko, out for a walk,” he answered.

“My lord!” Aneko exclaimed, materializing out of the darkness. “You shouldn’t be out this far.” She gestured with the tip of her spear toward where the Saihama River ran, chuckling and gurgling over its stony bed. “D’you remember the last time we were out here, my lord?” she asked.

Ashinji couldn’t see her face, but he heard the smile in her voice.

“How could I not remember? I almost killed my future wife that day.”

“You knew it even then, didn’t you, my lord? That you and Jelena were meant to be together?”

“I did,” Ashinji replied. “Although it took a great deal of work on my part before I could convince her.”

Aneko laughed. “Lord Ashinji, Jelena loved you from the very moment she laid eyes on you. She just didn’t believe that someone of your high station could love someone like her… a hikui, I mean. It’s obvious now how wrong she was about you.” Aneko paused, then added “She has been truly blessed by the One.”

Ashinji shook his head. “No. I’m the one who’s been blessed.” He made no attempt to disguise the emotion in his voice. “Aneko,” he continued. “There’s something you must do for me.”

“Anything, my lord,” Aneko replied.

“If…if anything should happen to me…” Ashinji had to stop talking for a moment because his mouth had gone as dry as old bones. Aneko waited in silence for him to continue. He took a deep breath.

“Go to Jelena and tell her I was thinking of her and our child…every waking moment. Tell her that my love never faltered, even as I drew my last breath. Promise you’ll do this for me, Aneko.”

“Lord Ashinji, I promise, but you’ll be able to tell her yourself!” Aneko whispered fiercely. Ashinji sensed her body shifting position in the darkness. “My lord, you must take care, watch your back. Kerala needs you too much. Your father needs you!”

My wife needs me even more, and I can’t be there for her!

“Thank you, Aneko, for being a friend to Jelena,” Ashinji said. “I think I’ll head off to bed now, before I fall down from weariness.” He turned to go.

“Lord Ashinji,” Aneko called softly. Ashinji paused. “I know I speak for most everyone at Kerala when I say that we wish things could be different.”

Though she had chosen her words with care, Ashinji understood the unspoken message behind them. He opened his mouth to reply, but Aneko had slipped away, leaving him alone in the dark of a moonless night, with only his thoughts for company.

Ashinji stood under a vault of glittering stars, surrounded by a sea of rustling, sun-dried grass. An acrid odor tickled his nose and he sneezed. Off in the distance, he heard shouts. The sick sensation of extreme danger streamed through his subconscious mind. A voice howled his name.

Lord Ashinji! My lord, you must wake up!

Ashinji’s eyes flew open and he sat up with a gasp. Homan stumbled backward to avoid a collision with his captain’s head and fell hard on his rump.

“Lord Ashinji!” he croaked, his expression grim. “The meadow’s afire! They’ve set it alight, an’ the entire camp’s in danger!”

“Who, Homan?” Ashinji scrambled to his feet, heart hammering in his chest. He grabbed his sergeant’s hand and hauled the man up.

“The Soldarans, Cap’n! You must hurry!”

Ashinji snatched up his sword and buckled it on, then grabbed his helmet. With a jerk of his head, he indicated that Homan should follow him. “Are they coming, Homan? Are they here?” Ashinji shouted as he and the lanky sergeant made their way through the maelstrom of running bodies toward Sadaiyo’s tent.

“Dunno!” Homan gasped. “Might just be a small party sent ahead to burn us outta this field… Sow confusion amongst us so’s we’d be too exhausted to put up a good fight tomorrow.”

A reasonable deduction , Ashinji thought . If the positions of our respective armies were reversed, I might have suggested just such a tactic myself.

The two of them arrived at Sadaiyo’s tent just as he emerged, shadowed by his aide, Lanic. “Little Brother, it seems the humans have gotten the jump on us,” he said. For once, his voice contained not the slightest trace of condescension. “The meadow has been fired on three sides.” Thick smoke now billowed across the elven encampment in stinging clouds. Ashinji’s eyes filled with tears, and a coughing fit lurked at the back of his throat.

“How did they get past the sentries?” he rasped.

Sadaiyo made an impatient gesture with his hand. “That’s just it. The fire started beyond the picket line. They must have known the flames would burn toward us. Damn it!” he cursed. “Get to your horse and form up your company. I want you to ride down to the fords and station yourself there quick as you can. If there’s to be an attack now, it’ll come from there!”

“Yes, Brother!”

Horns blared all over the camp. Sadaiyo’s other captains arrived. Orders were given, and men and women scattered to carry them out. Ashinji and Homan rushed into the smoky darkness. The sky glowed with the eerie orange light that only a wildfire could produce.

“This way, my lord!” Homan shouted, waving his arms over his head, then pointing in the direction of the horse lines. As they waded through the swirl of bodies, Ashinji felt relieved to see that most of the activity, while frantic, appeared organized. The troops seemed focused, intent on getting themselves and their comrades out of danger.

Shrill neighs alerted them to the uneasy state of the horses. Ashinji quickly spotted Kian, a groom at his head stroking the big black gelding’s nose. Kian’s eyes gleamed like wet stones in the ruddy light of the fire. He appeared nervous, but not yet panicked.

“There, there, my friend!” Ashinji spoke soothing words as he approached the horse. Kian threw his head up and whickered. Ashinji took the lead rope from the groom’s hand. “Bring my saddle and bridle,” he ordered. The groom scampered off, returning quickly with the heavy war saddle in his arms, bridle draped over his shoulder.

While the groom held Kian’s head, Ashinji tacked him up. As he worked, his mind feverishly attacked the problem at hand. The Peregrines would have to ride around the fire line to get to the fords. Once there, he would position them on the Soldaran side of the river, and pray they did not have to hold off the entire human army on their own.

Even so, Sadaiyo has given me an order and I’m duty-bound to carry it out… The Peregrines must hold the fords until Sadaiyo can bring up all our forces!

After checking the girth one last time, Ashinji flung himself onto Kian’s back and snatched up the reins. Homan handed up his helmet and he pulled it on. “Mount up quick as you can and get back to the company. We need to ride out now!” He heard Homan call out “Yes, Cap’n” as he spun Kian around and tapped the warhorse’s flanks with his heels, keeping a firm hold on the reins. He could feel the gelding’s mounting excitement through his legs and hands. The big horse wanted to run, but Ashinji held him down to a brisk walk, unwilling to risk trampling a hapless trooper too slow to get out of the way.

All around, companies were forming up. Sergeants screamed orders and troopers shouted to one another. Bedding and dishes lay discarded on the ground, creating a dangerous jumble for Kian to pick his way through. Smoke and ash filled the air. Ashinji tried to stifle a coughing fit, to no avail. His eyes and nose streamed wetness down his face, but he could not wipe them without stopping to remove his helmet.