A Facet for the Gem Read Free Page B

have we had cause for that.”
    “I suspect we have for a long while,” replied Valdis. “And only today will we begin to learn just how much. Something of this magnitude tells me he razed the tower itself, which both armies united never came close to capturing.”
    “He?” asked Clodion, with a curious turn of his head.
    Valdis sat up more rigidly, indignant at having to utter the name. “Felkoth,” he said. “The only man I’ve ever seen step among the shriekers and come out unscathed.”
    Their faraway country shrank from view when the Eaglemasters finally passed over Korindelf’s outer territories, which appeared to be free of any intrusion, and they descended to the frontier bordering the Dead Plains. The king and three princes sat at the front ranks, and the banners of their realm flew high on either side, showing a silver eagle with a spear of crystal clasped to its chest, flying against a red sky.
    The ground shook as Korindelf’s cavalry rode toward them, numbering over five thousand, clad in bronze, yet Korindelf’s flags were nowhere to be seen among their battalions. They halted opposite the Eaglemasters with mouths tightened in displeasure and noses wrinkled as though wading through manure.
    Prince Felkoth, their commander, wore dark robes over sleek iron armor, forsaking the colors of his kingdom, and was quite pale, with long black hair that rested on broad shoulders. His eyes delivered a chill to Valdis that even the smothering heat of battle couldn’t stifle. No matter how quickly he met them, they always seemed to have been trained on him long before, and he felt them now like constricting coils.
    “Where are your flags?” Valdis spoke calmly, trying to suppress his contempt at Felkoth’s lack of greeting. “Do you not wish to celebrate your kingdom in the ashes of its worst foe, so far ahead of schedule?”
    Felkoth sneered at him. “The celebration has only just begun, Valdis. We’ve a great feast ahead of us, and though it is customary that uninvited guests pay tribute to warrant their presence, I’m afraid poultry was not on our list.”
    Valdis jumped down from his eagle to stride with dwindling patience toward Felkoth, who remained on horseback, indifferent to his approach. “I assure you,” the king said, projecting his words for all to hear, “had I allegiance to you as I do your father, we would have come last night for fear that you might suffer drastic loss of life in such a rash advance. Instead we arrive now, flying to fulfill our pact with Korindelf like those before our time, against the enemy we share. But, if we intrude here, mark your line where I’ve overstepped, and see if I withdraw.”
    Felkoth laughed, unthreatened. “You and my father,” he mocked, “both drawing your plans so long for this with trusted advisors, forgetting that we alone hold the ground you see each day on parchment. But, as I am sure your ever-watchful spies ascertained last night, victory has already been had, and your late attempt to claim a portion of it only makes us uneasy about what else you might try to take. And, when we grow uneasy, we may act even more rashly.”
    Valdis’s pulse was steady, and he paced casually to observe Felkoth’s men. “Victory indeed,” he praised falsely. “Why, I can count no scratch on any of them, no limbs lost though I’ve seen many stronger and more tested torn clean, armor and all. Outnumbered at least three to one, you must have employed some ingenious strategy that none in nine centuries before you ever dreamed.
    “Yet,” he continued, “my scouts report the army was encamped here when the smoke broke out, which I am more inclined to believe, as it surely would not be the first time you engaged the shriekers singlehandedly and came to no harm.”
    Felkoth appeared pleased by the implication. “This preoccupation with my activities sounds quite consuming,” he replied. “It’s no wonder your realm lies stagnant within shrinking borders