Heirs of Empire

oncoming enemy.

“All right, boys!” He raised his voice but kept it calm, almost conversational. “Let ’em get a little closer. Wait for it. Wait for it! Wait—” His brain whirred like a computer as the range dropped to two hundred meters, and then he rose in his stirrups and his sword slashed down.

“By platoons—fire!”

The sudden, stupendous concussion rocked the Temple, and a pall of smoke choked the morning. First Brigade had sixteen hundred men, a total of eighty platoons, in a line four hundred meters long and two ranks deep, and the standard reload time for Sean’s riflemen was seventeen seconds. But that was the minimum the drill sergeants demanded; an experienced man could do it in less under the right conditions of weather and motivation, and today, Folmak’s brigade did it in twelve. The fire and smoke started at the line’s extreme left and rolled down its face like the wrath of God, each platoon firing its own volley on the heels of its neighbor to the left; by the time the rolling explosion reached the line’s right end, the left end had already reloaded and the lethal ballet began afresh.

One hundred and twenty shots crashed out each second—all aimed at a target only eighty men wide. Only superbly trained troops with iron discipline could have done it, but First Brigade was the Old Brigade. It had the training and discipline, and cringing ears heard nothing but the thunder, not even the wail of the pipes or the screams as whole ranks of Guardsmen went down in writhing tangles. Sheer weight of numbers kept the men behind them coming, but the shattering volleys were one smashing, unending drumroll. Waves of flame blasted out from the square like a hurricane, and the Guard had never experienced anything like it. The shock value of such massed, continuous, rifle fire was unspeakable, and the Guard’s charge came apart in panic and dead men.

* * *

High-Captain Kerist’s head whipped up. The whiplash crack of massed volleys was faint with distance, but he’d seen too many battlefields to mistake it. He jerked up out of his camp chair, wine goblet spilling from his fingers, and twisted around to stare in horror at the Temple’s walls.

He was still staring when another sound, lower but much closer to hand, snapped his eyes back to his immediate surroundings, and he paled. The sound had been the cocking of gunlocks as an entire regiment of heretics appeared out of the very ground, and he looked straight into the muzzles of their bayoneted weapons.

The honor guard froze, and sweat beaded Kerist’s brow. Horrified gasps went up from the priests and bishops, but the Guard officers among the hostages stood as frozen as Kerist, and unbearable tension hovered as a Malagoran officer stepped forward.

“Drop your weapons!” The honor guard hesitated, and the Malagoran snarled. “Drop them or die!” he barked.

The guards’ commander turned to Kerist in raw appeal, and the high-captain swallowed.

“Obey,” he rasped, and watched the Malagoran riflemen tautly as his men dropped their weapons.

“Move away from them,” the Malagoran officer said harshly, and the Guardsmen backed up. “Any man who’s still armed, step forward and drop your weapons. If we find them on you later, we’ll kill you where you stand!”

Kerist squared his shoulders and moved forward. His sword was peace-bonded into its sheath, and he slipped the baldric over his head and bent to lay it with the discarded pikes and joharns, then turned to his officers.

“You heard the order!” His own voice was as harsh as the Malagoran’s, and he breathed a silent prayer of thanks as the senior Guardsmen walked slowly forward to obey and no shots were fired. The Malagoran waited until every sword had been surrendered, then raised his voice once more.

“Now, all of you, back to the central pavilion!” The hostages and their disarmed guards obeyed, stumbling in fear and confusion. Only Kerist held his position, and the Malagoran officer’s lip curled dangerously. He advanced on the high-captain with sword in one hand and pistol in the other. “Perhaps you didn’t hear me.” His voice was cold, and metal clicked as he cocked the pistol and aimed it squarely between Kerist’s eyes.

“I heard, and I will obey,” Kerist said as levelly as he could, “but I ask what you intend to do with us?”

A faint flicker of respect glimmered in the Malagoran’s eyes. He lowered his pistol, but his face was hard and hating.

“For now, nothing,” he grated. “But if Lord Sean and Lord Tamman are killed, you’ll all answer with your lives for your treachery.”

“Captain,” Kerist said quietly over the distant musketry, “I swear to you that I know nothing of what’s happening. Lord Marshal Surak himself assured me your envoys would be safe.”

“Then he lied to you!” the Malagoran spat. “Now go with the others!”

Kerist held the other man’s eyes a moment longer, then turned away. He marched back to the huddled, frightened hostages, his spine straight as a sword, and men scattered aside as he made his way directly to Bishop Corada. He could smell the terror about him, yet there was no terror, not even any fear, in Corada’s eyes, and somehow that was the most terrifying thing of all.

“Your Grace?” The high-captain’s voice was flat, its very lack of emphasis a demand for an explanation, and Corada smiled sadly at him.

“Forgive us, Kerist, but it was necessary.”

“His Holiness lied?” Even now Kerist couldn’t—wouldn’t—believe God’s own shepherd would perjure his very soul, but Corada only nodded.

“We are all in God’s hands now, my son,” he said softly.

* * *

The shattering roar of massed musketry faded into a terrible chorus of screams and moans as the last Guardsman reeled back, and Sean coughed on reeking smoke. He hadn’t really thought they could do it, but the First had held. The closest Guardsmen were heaped less than twenty meters from his line, but none had been able to break through that withering curtain of fire. Thank God I listened to Uncle Hector explain how the Brits broke Napoleon’s columns! This was the first time he’d actually tried the tactic, and sheer surprise had done almost as much as the weight of fire itself to break the Guardsmen.

Which means the bastards won’t be as easy to break next time, but—

“Lord Sean!” He turned in surprise as Captain Harkah approached him. The Guardsman was pale as he stared out at the carnage, but his mouth was firm.

“What?” Sean asked shortly, his mind already trying to grapple with what to do next.

“Lord Sean, this has to be some madman’s work. Lord Marshal Surak personally assured my uncle you and Lord Tamman would be safe, and—”

“Time, Captain! I don’t have time for this!”

“I—” Harkah closed his mouth with a click. “You’re right, Lord Sean. But the last thing my uncle told me to do was guide you safely to the Chancery. Whatever’s happening here, those are my orders—to see to your safety. And because they are, you have to know that the Guard maintains an artillery park only ten blocks in that direction.” He pointed east, and Sean’s eyebrows rose in surprise, for he was telling the truth. Brashan’s orbital arrays had mapped the city well enough for Sean to know that.

“And?” he said impatiently.

“And if they bring up guns, not even your fire can save you,” Harkah said urgently. “You can’t make a stand here, My Lord—not for long. You must move on, quickly!”

Sean frowned. Improbable as it seemed, perhaps the young man was telling the truth about his own ignorance. And perhaps it wasn’t so improbable after all. Harkah and, for that matter, all the hostages, could have been sacrificial lambs, sent to the slaughter themselves to lead him to it.

But whatever the truth of that, Harkah was right. He might be able to hold off pikes here—as long as his ammunition lasted—but it was a killing ground for artillery.