Jack Whyte - The Eagles' Brood

"What about the records?"

"The fact is no one has checked very closely for some time. The last count I remember placed our numbers around four thousand, but that was some years ago."

"How many years ago?"

"Four, perhaps five. Our main priority at the time was to grow enough food to feed everyone. We cleared more land and recultivated several of the abandoned farms around our perimeter. If you remember, you were worried at the time about the extra patrolling that would be involved."

"I recall it well," I said. "But I think you'll be surprised, when you check our rolls again, at just how much we have grown."

Uther interrupted me. "You've sidetracked yourself, Cay. You were talking about my four hundred cavalry. What was the point you were going to make?"

"That they should stay here, to defend the fort. In the meantime. I'd like to send another thousand horsemen secretly out of the Colony."

"A thousand?"

I shrugged. "They may not all be astride cavalry mounts, but I'll wager we have the horses, and we have the men to ride them. The men won't all be fully equipped, either, but they'll be able to sit on a horse and hold a spear and they'll frighten the spirit out of Lot's army when they appear unexpectedly at their back!" They were both looking at me, their eyes begging to be convinced. "Uther. Where are your four hundred billeted now?"

"Victorex's old place. But we dismissed them for forty- eight hours, remember?"

"Damnation! Well, that's acceptable. They'll stay and be recalled here on duty when their leave is over. Damnation! They are our best. I had hoped to replace them with other, lesser troops, but no matter. When it comes time for them to strike with us they'll be invaluable. Please see that they are back on duty here tomorrow night. I'll raise our extra thousand from the other camps and farms.

"I want a column of a thousand mounted men on the move to the north-east by noon tomorrow. More, if we can manage it. The commissariat will have to be instructed as soon as possible to prepare rations for ten days for at least that many men. We'll have to disperse them in a fan. I don't want the tracks of a thousand horsemen to be visible. I don't care how that's done, but it's essential. If I'm right, Lot's people will come in from the south and west. Ours will have a chance to get out to the north and east if they move quickly, but if they leave visible evidence of their passing, Lot will know they're out there.

"In addition to that, I want to recall every man from every outpost on our borders. That will seem suspicious to Lot, I know, but we'll declare a festival of some kind. I don't care. I just want them back here, within walking distance of the safety of the walls. Remember, we're supposed to think the danger's over for a while. We can relax our vigilance."

Another thought occurred to me. "How are our stores? Can we sustain a siege, Father?"

"Yes, for at least a month."

"Good. We won't need that long, with any good fortune. The stores and supplies down in the villa buildings should be loaded up during the next few days, ready to move up here to the fort at the first sign of trouble. Have I missed anything?"

Uther spoke up. "What about our people? The colonists here in the fort? Shouldn't we warn them?"

I considered that briefly and vetoed it with a terse shake of my head. "Can't afford to, Uther. It's too dangerous. They have to behave normally, for the benefit of the watchers. All we can do is bring as many of them in close as we can. Of course, if we declare a holiday, a celebration of our victories and your safe return, then that will get them here. That could be done tomorrow, too. We've never done anything like that before."

"Not so suddenly, at any rate," said my father.

"All the better, then." I had that good feeling that comes of recognition of a right idea. "So this is unprecedented. A spontaneous holiday. Let everyone believe the feasting will start tomorrow night and continue the following day. Father, you'll have to make your invitation sound genuine, and yet peremptory. Everyone is to attend. You'll have to inform the Council of what's afoot, too."

"I'll have to do that, anyway."

"Then do it early, as soon as possible, but send the word out first. We need our people safely here as soon as possible. If worst comes to worst, how many people can we hold in Camulod?"

"More than we have. Far more. No problem there."

"Good. Our colonists have been training for this for years. Now we can only hope the training has been adequate."

Titus announced his arrival at that point with a soft cough from the open door, and Flavius came up behind him.

"Come in, both of you," my father said, "and close the door at your back. Pull up that chair, Titus. Flavius, you'll find an extra one in the other room. We have an emergency situation on our hands."

it was approaching midnight by the time we got out of there. Everyone knew what had to be done, and his part in the operation, and each of us was aware of the need for speed and unobtrusiveness. We were launched on a major campaign, and the very existence of our Colony depended ·on the speed and the efficiency with which we handled it.

My own initial part was simple and straightforward. I had to alert Ludo and the commissariat to the urgency of the unexpected requirements we were placing on them. It was also my responsibility to make all the arrangements for the removal of extra stores and supplies to the fortress on the following day. This I could handle without raising any suspicions. Since I had already made arrangements to conduct my census, the people at all our depots were expecting me. No one would be surprised by my arrival.

Over everything else in my mind, however, hung a shadow I had placed there with my own words earlier in the evening, when I declared that only those we could see or hear could be presumed to be still alive. Cassandra's safety haunted me. I knew that her refuge was well hidden and far removed from the beaten track. Lot's marauders would not be seeking signs of life on her hilltop. But the image of the faint track down through the valley to her hiding-place terrified me, and I knew I could have no peace of mind until I had assured myself that there were no visible signs of my entry or egress there. Although I knew I had always taken the greatest pains to leave no sign of my movements there, I determined to be there with her before daybreak, to check her safe concealment again.

I left my father's quarters and went straight to the kitchens, where I found Ludo still active. As I entered, I met one of my own men emerging. It was his misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I sent him down to the villa with a message to Strato, our masseur, to have the fires banked and the steam room ready, and to be prepared to give me a complete working over within the next two hours. I also told him to have my horse saddled and waiting for me with the guards at the main gate.

Ludo was surprised to see me at that hour. He had been supervising a general clean-up of his kitchens and was just on his way to bed when I arrived. The refectory was empty. I sat him down and told him what I required of him and his face wrinkled wryly as he realized that he was likely to be more busy than he had anticipated over the course of the next few days. I left him taking a renewed interest in his inventory, and went to visit Questus, our senior quartermaster, to tell him the story. He at least had managed to sleep for several hours prior to my disruption of his schedule, and he accepted the situation philosophically, recognizing the urgency involved and moving immediately to accommodate it.

My next stop was at the quarters of Lucanus, our chief medical officer. Since the affair of Cassandra's disappearance, he and I had been on terms of mutually respectful civility, but we would never be friends, I thought, or more than formally cordial in our dealings with each other. He, too, had been asleep for hours, but his discipline had accustomed him to being called upon at any time, so he was alert and already thinking ahead as I brought him up to date. I could see him mentally taking stock of bandages, splints, medications and the like as I spoke. To him, as to each of the others, I was careful to emphasize the necessity of concealing all preparations from the eyes of the visiting envoys.