The Bond - 23. Chapter 23

Carl was there when the fighting began. He had only been at the camp a short time before it all broke out – he hadn’t even had time to find Alex, or any other commander besides the two Nandras that he had traveled with. He had admired the location of the camp from afar, but reevaluated when he had finally arrived and war broke loose.

Evidently, Alexander had chosen to go for a high visibility, fully open layout for the armies he commanded. The Orr estate was essentially one giant wall, built into a hillside that had been carved into a palace hundreds of years before Nabius had even existed. Its great wall of sandstone faced north, looking down upon a vast clearing of cracked ground that was littered with intermittent shrubs and patches of grass. The expanse was almost completely flat, and large enough to house the many tents of the Di Coteau military. To either side rose thick forest with trees taller than any Carl had ever seen. He estimated that one could only see 30 or 40 feet deep into the green before it became too thick to make anything out, and saw immediately why Alex had opted for the unprotected valley that was exposed to the sun. Being out in the open would be better than being in the midst of all that vegetation… setting up camp there alone would take days. Too much brush to clear… and besides that, there’s no way anyone could coordinate within that mess. Half of our men would probably get lost within an hour…

That was what he had thought, at least.

When Carlisle had reached the camp, the sun had almost entirely sunk beneath the horizon. Mosquitoes were buzzing everywhere, and a couple of campfires had been lit. A couple of soldiers trotted about here and there, but for the most part everyone seemed to be in their tents. Alexandre’s tent was large and circular, dyed in shades of grey and red in the traditional Nabian colors. His emblem had been painted on the sides and top, a clear symbol to those looking down upon them from the Orr estate’s wall. His banners streamed lazily in the light breeze that blew, and Carl thought the quiet was almost peaceful as he made his way towards the general’s tent at the end of camp that was closest to the wall. The light was orange as the sun set, and it glared brightly at eye level. When Carl had reached approximately the middle of the camp, he raised a hand to block the light that was so bright that he couldn’t even make out the General’s tent.

He was caught entirely off guard when the deafening blaring of war horns sounded from all sides. Men screaming and horses galloping erupted in his ears, and the yells of soldiers and rings of steel on steel clanged loudly. It appeared that they were caught off guard, entirely unprepared for the onslaught of riders coming at them. Carl drew his great-sword off of the scabbard on his back while atop his horse. Enemies were flying past him on both the left and right, lobbing lances and shooting arrows through the tents that formed straight rows through the camp.

Are they coming from the forest…? He looked around to see the head of his army fighting with enemy Nabians that were indeed coming from the trees. He wondered how they got horses to ride through that kind of terrain, but didn’t have much time to think. Ahead of him, Laura Nandra launched a savage punch at the head of a passing rider with her iron fists that he knew would be fatal. Behind him, Almanita Nandra cracked a whip that latched around the neck of another horseman who was quickly jerked out of the saddle and on to the ground.

Alex.

He looked towards the front of the camp and saw that the majority of enemy horsemen were charging towards the largest camp. They were coming at the structure from all angles, and he knew that anyone inside stood virtually no chance. No. No no no. He kicked his heels into his horse, urging it onwards, and deflected the passing sideswipe of a combatant. I have to get there in time.

He had almost reached the outermost ring of enemies when a flaming arrow fell out of the sky and onto the general’s tent. The next thing he knew, he had been thrown to the ground, winded, and heard nothing but a faint, high-pitched ringing. He lay gasping on the ground, coughing in the smoke and dust that was now everywhere. He noticed charred bits of flesh and armor around him, and the mangled hoof of a horse nearby.

What… his head hurt and his vision was blurred as he struggled to make sense of what was going on. What did they do? They’re all dead… where did this fire come from? Where is Alex… Alex? He heard the grunting of a voice so familiar, and the war cries that he had heard so many times during training at the Di Coteau household. You’re… behind me?

When Carl twisted his head around to look towards the source of the voice he was desperate to hear, he saw a blood-spattered vision of a man in shining silver armor.

“Carl, get up! Get up!” his lover cried. Carl was on all fours, and looked away for a second as a stripe of blood flew threw the air and slapped his face. The hook on the end of his left-handed blade had wedged through the eye socket of a man and protruded through his temple. Alexandre spun, ripping the blade free and opening the mans face, and his right-handed hook sword lodged itself into the neck of a swordswoman coming towards him. He kicked out the leg of a third enemy, who fell to one knee, and yanked both blades together horizontally to cleanly decapitate this outmatched enemy. “I need you!” he called out, all business and no emotion.

Later. Right now, he’s right.

Carl shook his head, still feeling dizzy from the force of whatever it was that had hit him, and stood up to join the fight. He cut diagonally from where the shoulder meets the neck down to the stomach region of an attacker, and then pressed back to back with Alexandre to continue fighting.

***

Jezebel slit the throat of a door guard from behind silently, catching the body before it hit the ground to mask the sound. Too easy. This is pathetic.

She slinked through the Du Vance estate silently, with just four other soldiers following behind her. Her cloth shoes made no noise on the polished stone floor, and she had armed herself with nothing but a few daggers. The long hall that she suspected led to the General’s hall was almost entirely unguarded, and she wondered where the majority of Jack Du Vance’s army was. Or does he even have an army beyond his personal guards? Fucking useless… as she walked the halls of the estate that was soon to be hers, she looked on at the statues and artworks that filled alcoves and various frames. As she passed a nude depiction of Saint Koba with a large snake, she paused. Maybe it won’t be all that bad… but it’s definitely not Orr’s palace or army. My family will pay for this insult.

The soldiers behind her were annoyingly noisy, and she walked quickly to try and distance herself from them. They quickened their pace to keep up, much to her chagrin. She reached a great set of wooden double doors that was where she figured was the general’s study, and slowly pushed one open to look through the crack that made. A single guard and an old woman… that’s who he has around him for protection. Unbelievable. She could see the old general eating from a bowl at the desk that was at the head of the room. A spearman sat near him, and what looked to be a maid tended over his meal. Jezebel rolled her eyes and pushed the two doors open full force, no longer caring about making a stealthy entrance.

“Time’s up old man,” she shouted as she strolled in. The general stood up shocked, spilling some of his food in the process. An arrow whizzed by Jezebel and hit Du Vance’s bodyguard in the chest, where he fell to the ground gasping.

“What is the meaning of this?” The General demanded angrily.

Gods. He even sounds old. The fact that he’s been allowed to have this position for so long is actually disgusting in itself.

“What do you fucking think? Do you know who I am?” Jezebel continued walking, right up to his seat, and stopped just across from the deck. She flicked a finger, and another arrow flew from behind her into the elderly maid, who tried to make a run for it. General Du Vance was startled at that, and stared open mouthed as she fell to the ground. He looked around, seemed to shake, and focused on Jezebel’s face after what felt to her like an eternity. He squinted, and realization began to dawn on his face.

“Di Coteau… you’re a Di Coteau. Jezebel or Talia, I don’t know which.” That annoyed Jezebel greatly, and she resisted the urge to lunge at him. He pulled a knife from his belt and aimed for her gut, but Jezebel caught his hand and wrenched the weapon from it in a flash.

Much too slow. Quicker than I thought and definitely ambitious, but slow. She pushed the knife back at him, sticking it straight through his hand and pinning it to the grand wooden chair that he had previously been sitting in. The general howled in pain, and thrashed his legs out as he fell to the floor. He tried to smack her with his free hand, but Jezebel caught that too and held against him.

He’s so weak, she thought. He barely has any strength left at all.

“Why?” he panted out, cold sweat beginning to form on his brow. “I voted against your cousin, but I’ve supplied no armies to his enemies. I’ve allowed passage through my lands… I’ve done nothing to harm any other general in years.” He looked pleadingly up at the Di Coteau noblewoman, and she sneered back at him.

“You harm Nabius by having existed so long. Even this shithole you call a territory has some value, and it’s going to be mine for the time being.” She licked her lips, and pulled out one of her own knives, spinning it lazily between her fingers. “Any last words?”

She looked down again at Jack Du Vance to see his face display a whole range of emotions. Initially, he showed defiance, and pride. This progressed to realization of defeat, then sadness, and finally a kind of stony resilience. He had accepted his defeat, and eventually spoke to address it. It wasn’t the absolute horror and panic that Jezebel typically liked to see in the eyes of her enemy, but it was satisfying nonetheless. Another one down.

“I will bequeath this land to you and accept my defeat, Jezebel Di Coteau. Honor it, and do Nabius proud with your reign as a general.” Jezebel grinned cruelly, and he continued. “The position of General is the highest that one can achieve in this great nation, and by taking my life and presenting yourself as a replacement to the thirteen, you will take on several duties. These include: hosting the next conclave of the thirteen should you still be the most recently appointed general at that time; overthrowing at least one Ironian faction, Tomacian stronghold, or tribal leader of the provinces within one year of your appointment; establishing trading routes with – “

“ – You’re stalling old man,” Jezebel said. “I know the duties.”

“With the Frays of the Illjard or whomever may be in power at the time of your reign; identifying a Saint of Nabius of your choosing that – “

“ – Silence” she spat.

“ – will be publicized as the dominant saint to whom prayers must be cast for your corresponding – “

“- Shut up!” Jezebel shrieked. She grabbed the knife that was currently pinning Du Vance’s hand to his chair and twisted it free of the wood that it was lodged into. This caused him to wince in pain. Jezebel relished that, and plunged the knife into his arm again, this time lower. She aimed for directly below the wrist, meaning to push the blade between the two bones of the forearm. She missed slightly, feeling the metal bounce off of bone and slide jaggedly through the muscle. Du Vance yelped out in pain, but to his credit did his best to remain composed. Indignantly, he spoke out .

“As a general, it is my right – “

“You have no rights,” Jezebel hissed. “You’re a dead man.” She removed the knife from his arm, and moved it to his cheek. With delicate precision, she razed a piece of skin off the length of her thumb. She used one hand to hold the knife, the other to pull off the skin, and her knee to press against the old general’s face against his chair. He squirmed, but didn’t give her the satisfaction of yelling out.

“Tough dead guy, huh?” she asked. Du Vance looked up at her from his position now half in the chair and half on the floor, his eyes full of defiance once more.

It’s almost like my stopping his speech made him more angry than my coming to kill him. What kind of a pompous old –

“OW!” She screamed out, looking down horrified at the old general. He had bitten a chunk of skin out of her leg just above the knee, smiling savagely at her as blood ran down his face from the corners of his mouth. “FUCKING PRICK,” she yelled as she crammed that same knee back into his nose.

From that point on, it took Jezebel almost three more hours to finish off the once great Jack Du Vance. His flesh was burnt, melted, exposed to acid, or removed almost entirely, and he eventually gave into her urges to break him down. Jezebel smiled when he peed himself, but wrinkled her nose in disgust when his bowels finally gave way and his life left his body. All this was done there in the hall that now belonged to General Jezebel Di Coteau, and she wondered if the stains that she had made would come out of the floor.

It wont do to have the floor looking so tarnished directly in front of my seat. How annoying.

She wiped her hands onto the shirt of one of the guards that had accompanied her to take over the Di Coteau region, and left to inspect the rest of her new home.

“Clean that shit up,” she told the remaining soldiers.

***

“But how did you know?” Carl asked while Alexandre was pressed up against his chest in a hug that had lasted far too long already. Alex thought there was something almost funny in the way that Carl had been so amazed by a battle tactic other than just charging head on.

Tomacian as ever… so well read and knowledgeable, but still so far removed from real life.

“You know this one, my love. The wall palace has seen many a war, long before General Orr inhabited it.” He looked at Carl, thinking, and watched as some sort of clarity made its way into his face.

“The wall is easy to defend, and armies that camp out before it have usually all fallen. They’re subject to artillery from above and sweep attacks from the sides.”

“Exactly.” Alex could tell Carl still did not understand, so he explained further. “I took the risk that Orr would try and sweep us from the woods while we appeared to have retired to our tents. He did, and thus we set the trap.” Carl nodded, and kissed the top of his husband’s head. His hair was matted and filthy from sweat, dust, and the gore from the battle he had fought earlier that day, but Carl didn’t care.

“You filled the General’s tent with – what was it again?”

“It’s a black powder that Mikhail and his father’s forge had been producing. It’s highly combustible, and made with charcoal and the saltpeter in the caves by the bloodlilly fields. You’ve been there before. It’s where you almost went swimming in a flower pit.” He saw Carl grin with embarrassment, and nod.

Probably not easy to forget a time that you almost jumped into a pit of acid…

“I remember the place.”

Not the only time I’ll save you either. Alex thought of the long war ahead that would have to be fought, and he was not looking forward to it.

“The generals of this estate have used the woods and clearing to their advantage for years here. It’s in every book that the wall palace must be approached from the south to wage any kind of war against it. I’m sure Tomacian histories indicate the same. Most armies that approach in this clearing are ended with a pincer maneuver.” Carl shrugged and grinned sheepishly, indicating to Alex that he probably hadn’t read too much on the subject. Somehow, Alexandre wasn’t surprised. He continued on.

“Anyway, with the largest tent filled, all of our troops crammed into the tents towards the back. We had hoped to get more of the cavalry in the blast, but when I saw you riding towards the front of the camp…”

“You fired the arrow before I could get too close.”

“I’m glad your horse wasn’t faster. You aren’t hurt, are you?” Carl rolled his eyes, smiling down.

“For the thousandth time, I’m fine. My ears are still ringing a little bit, but I feel lucky in comparison to the soldiers that were closer to the blast. Besides, I wouldn’t worry about me being hurt now, while you’re in my arms. There’s plenty of opportunity for that in the upcoming few days.”

Alex frowned, knowing that was true. “At least the odds are evened out a bit more now. We were able to clean up most of Orr’s ground troops after today, but even when outnumbered he should be able to put up a fight with the defense of the wall.” Carl said nothing, only nodding solemnly. “I wish we didn’t have to be out there ourselves. If either of us falls…”

“We won’t,” Carl said steadily. “We can’t. And if we can’t even fight for ourselves, we can’t expect others to.”

“I know.” Alex made eye contact with his lover, and sighed. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” They pressed together closer, and simply enjoyed each other’s presence. Carl tilted the young general’s chin up with one hand, and their lips met gently. They kissed long and deeply, and Alex felt Carl’s fingers running through the back of his hair. Alex felt himself stirring, and let one hand drop to grab Carl between the legs. He was also hardening, and Alex began to rub his hand slowly over the bulge in Carlisle’s undergarments.

“Alex… now?” Carl was at a whisper, and looked around to see if anyone was near the openings in the tent that they were currently within. Alex was exhausted, down to the bone, but had suddenly found new energy when breathing in to Carl at such close quarters. He kissed his husband once more, this time a little sloppier, and then began to work his way down the taller man’s body.

“No,” he said between kisses. He went from the neck down the front of Carl’s torso, kissing and licking gently as he descended. “This is just the first course. We’ll do much more later, when we have more privacy.” Alex had made his way down below the navel now, and Carl let out nothing but a heavy breath in response.

I’ve gone too long without tasting you.

Alex released the leather ties on Carl’s undergarment, and his erection sprang out eagerly. Alex kissed it gently, and began to swirl his tongue along it’s stiff shaft.

“It’s been a while since… I might… not last,” breathed Carl.

“I don’t care,” said Alex, muffled. He slid Carl’s length into his mouth, relishing every moment. His right hand spun circles around the bit that he couldn’t get all the way in, and his left was providing much needed self-pleasure. It only took a couple of bobs of the head, and Carl moaned out.

Hot ropes of seed exploded into Alexandre’s mouth, and he felt himself burst in his own hand at the same time. He held Carl in his mouth until the prince reached his final pulse of ecstasy, and then slowly slid off while swallowing down the essence of his man. Alex got off of his knees, and kissed Carl once more.

“Come on. Lets go to the bathing tents, I’ve got much more to discuss with you.”

“And to show me,” replied Carl with a devilish grin that showed some serious satisfaction.

“Exactly.”

***

Talia had heard the blast from the other side of Orr’s wall, from the supply room that she had been in for almost two days. It had been shockingly easy for her to infiltrate Orr’s estate, so much so that it had concerned her at first. She had only needed to kill two of the estate guards, whom she then stripped and framed as if they had fallen to common robbery. With their post abandoned, she was able to don a kitchenmaids uniform and shuffle around the palace with her face hidden. It only took a few hours to locate the closet that she was now hidden within, which was chosen for the amount of dust inside. Evidently, this area wasn’t checked frequently. Talia lay in wait for two days, listening and waiting, only sneaking out to gather information each night when it was late. Sleep came and went, but Talia never truly felt rested, as she perked up and all of her senses spiked whenever someone came near to the door, at any second potentially walking in to find her. Two days had felt like forever with nothing to do but sit in a closet and listen to passersby, but she knew that much longer stakeouts were possible. Still, she grew tired of eating the stale biscuits she had brought on her journey, and sitting next to a bucket of her own urine.

The glamorous life of an assassin, she thought.

When she did finally hear the boom, she knew that something big had happened. The intense beating of Alexandre’s war drums had sounded just hours before, announcing the arrival of the rebelled territories. Talia estimated that sometime around sunset was when the noise had startled her, and she knew for certain that war was going on.

What the hell was that?

She thought back to an earlier discussion with her brother, where he simply informed her that he “had a plan” when it came to the siege of the wallpalace. She knew of the powder that Mikhail had been synthesizing, but didn’t realize that Alex was already planning to put it to use in terms of warfare.

Actually, that’s stupid of me. That’s probably the first use he thought for it. And I suppose in large enough quantities… Talia had seen how quickly it took to flame. Interesting.

With that noise as her signal, Talia stood up off of the ground, and began stretching out her cramped muscles. It’s time. She did a few quick breathing exercises, and tuned in to her most honed senses. Her pupils grew in size, the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck spiked up, and she quietly pushed open the door just a sliver.

Good, she thought. No one’s near. Most of the soldiers are probably down on the offensive below, or manning the wall. And Orr… his bedroom or his study? Talia had studied the layout of the place well on her way there, and knew exactly how to orient herself. This is a general of Nabius, and a pretty successful one too. Odds are, he’s in his study. She walked down the right corridors, making turns and avoiding house servants as necessary. When she was getting closer to her destination, she could feel the presence of guards around the next corner. She breathed, put a hand on the hilt of the dagger at her waist, closed her eyes, and listened.

There’s only two of them in this hall. One is closer to the corner, and one is further along down the corridor. She exhaled, and made her move.

When she ran, she was almost silent aside from the shuffling of weapons that were strapped down to her body. The nearest guard let out a small noise of shock when he saw her, but she was much too quick for him to react. She ran and jumped straight at him, thighs wrapping around his head. She was practically sitting on his shoulders, and she drove a knife through his left eye. As he fell, she ducked into a somersault forward. She used that momentum to launch a knife as she stood up, which spun neatly into the neck of the second. His armor was heavy and made an unfortunate racket as he fell to the ground, but Talia would never have been able to make it all the way down the hall to him to drop him quietly before he had alerted the other guards.

“What was that?” she heard from around the next bend, close to where the door to General Orr's office would be.

Now or never.

She again took off in a bolt, ducking down to remove the blade she had thrown from the neck of her most recent victim. She turned the corner ducked and low, her head at the knee level of the soldier that was coming around from the other direction. Her knife slid easily into the soft area of flesh just above the kneecap and below the quadriceps, which made the poor man howl in pain and bend over as a first reaction. Talia took advantage of this, locking her elbow around his Adam’s apple and then rolling sideways back to back over his bent over stance. The pressure created by her rolling over the man caused his neck to twist up and around, and a couple of crunching noises let Talia know that he was finished. The next guard had made his way almost all the way to her more quickly than she had thought, and she had to duck from a vicious swing of his sword. She unsheathed the blade of the man behnd her as his body fell to the ground, and parried the next blow that came her way. A few sword strokes later, Talia let loose a savage horizontal swipe that opened up the belly of her opponent, who looked down, stunned. She took the opportunity to shove the sword upwards through below the chin, where the tip of the blade emerged from the top of his head. He dropped slowly, and Talia let loose a breath of relief.

Whew. And the General’s office door is open. Here goes nothing.

She felt the many throwing daggers that were placed on her thighs, torso, back, and arms, and steeled herself for a battle with a Nabian general. Though she had never truly envied her cousin Jezebel before, she admitted to herself that the prospect of fighting Jack Du Vance versus Dmitri Orr was a lot more desireable.

She rounded the corner, and burst into the office of the general. She had expected him to be sitting at his desk, or brandishing his weapons, ready to take her on, or even to have tried to catch her off guard with an attack at the moment she walked in. Instead, she froze.

Oh fuck. There were somewhere between thirty and fifty crossbowmen in the room, all nocked and pointing their weapons at her. The general stood in the middle of them, wearing a stony, but pleased expression. His stern gaze and dark hair with streaks of gray reminded Talia for a brief moment of her father, but his crooked nose and bald patch on the top dispelled the illusion when she focused in on him.

I can’t win this. Her hand twitched briefly, and she wondered if she could land a dagger in his face before he could react. Doubt it. And I think odds are at least one of these people will let an arrow fly before recognizing me as their new general. Oh shit, this is bad. Nothing had been said yet, until Orr broke the silence and appeared to read her mind.

“Don’t even try it girl.” He clicked his tongue in disappointment. “It was a nice effort, but you’re cornered now. Try to run, and we’ll mow you down. Try to fight, and you’ll be riddled with holes.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“You’re Talia I assume?” Her throat felt dry and cracked all of the sudden, and she could only nod as an answer. The general looked her up and down, and a look of general disapproval crossed his face. “Di Coteaus. You’re all the same.” He shook his head to the side. “So very predictable. Did you think the oldest trick in the book would turn my men and win you this fight?” She said nothing. “I knew your father, and his father before him briefly. Your family has used the same tactics for years, and I’ve seen them work countless times. You should have known better than to come for me with that.” Dread was now starting to set in, and Talia wondered if she was about to lose her life.

“I…” was all that she managed to say.

“You nothing.” The older general sighed, and turned his back on her, more relaxed.

“Chain her up boys,” he said while walking back over to his desk. “Every bit of her. Give this one an inch, and she’ll take a mile.”

Talia dropped her knives, and soldiers approached her from all sides with chains and cuffs. A few moments later, she was encased in metal links that were secured tightly enough to break a rib if she took too deep a breath.

“Alex,” she cried out softly as she was shoved to the ground, and men began dragging her away by the feet.