Chapter fifteen

A Copse South of the Great West Road

 

Viola had only the faintest idea how to set up an ambush but Potentilla claimed to have been taught exactly how to do it on this sort of terrain.

‘It’ll be easy’ she said, ‘we outnumber them three to one and they have no idea that we’re here. One swift blow and…’

‘We’re trying to capture one, and scare the others’ Viola interrupted, ‘as far as I’m concerned they are Imperial soldiers in revolt, and so we should give them an opportunity to surrender to us’

Kath, who, as a civilian wasn’t meant to enter into these discussions at all, sighed loudly. Viola couldn’t resist turning towards her.

‘Do you have something to add?’

Kath shook her head but said something anyway.

‘Isn’t it clear that they are enemies, or, at the very least, deserters? Rem and I had real problems with them before. Wouldn’t we better off avoiding them?’

‘Or, even better, striking a decisive blow!’ ventured Potentilla. This produced a guardedly enthusiastic response from some of the other, slightly bolder, soldiers.

Viola clapped her hands to quieten them. Kath and Potentilla shut up, both reluctantly.

‘I want to get some intelligence from these elves, and I want to find out what’s going on in Portalis. There’s little risk, I’d say, particularly if we plan well’

Kath stared back down the hill to where the riders would be emerging. She shivered slightly – she had no desire to meet the Portalis elves again.

‘You’d better hurry, then’ she said, weakly. Viola flashed her a look and after that, for a while, Kath kept her mouth shut.

 

Viola talked animatedly to Potentilla for a few minutes. Then she led the whole group to a little copse slightly downhill of where they had made the first sighting of the enemy.  Potentilla was in her element, estimating sight lines and obstructions, placing the archers in an optimum position, and constantly passing on her wisdom to her leader. Kath did wonder, however, if this was exactly as she’d been taught. Her anxiety levels, high as they had been before, rose, as she worried about what they would do with her. She wouldn’t be expected to fight would she?

‘What are we going to do with Kath, ma’am?’ asked Potentilla

Viola folded her arms. She walked over to Kath and inspected her. She didn’t like what she saw at all. Kath imagined that she looked like a hippo.

‘I’ve never been taught how to run an ambush with a human involved…’ continued Potentilla

‘I don’t think that we can, Lieutenant’

Viola smiled apologetically at Kath.

‘You really are incredibly noisy…’ she said, and then stopped abruptly.

‘I mean, humans, not particularly you… well, I’ve only known three humans, but you were all very loud…’

Potentilla came over and patted Kath on the head. It was time to act.

‘You’ll have to move, pronto, Kath’ she said in Ethian.

Kath stared at her.

‘No need to patronise me, elf. I’ll move – I know clearly enough when I’m a spare part…’

Viola shook her head vaguely. She didn’t have the time to sooth her friend’s hurt feelings.

 ‘Right, Ajuga’ she ordered, ‘take Kath somewhere safe on the other side of these trees and hide her until the ambush is finished’

Kath had enough sense to obey Viola, but now she had multiple grievances against elves in general. She could have been drinking cold beers in Amansk by now, waiting for a friendly human merchant to pack her things in his coach and take her north.  Ajuga lead her away scowling and sullen.

Viola turned to Potentilla, irritated at how she had managed to make things slightly worse.  

‘Lieutenant – you join the archers. And hurry – we need to get into position now’ 

 

The plan was to lure the approaching riders into the copse by a single call from an archer at the front of the woods, who would then run towards the other archers along the narrow trail that they had made as they entered the woodland. The riders would be on a very narrow path and would have to travel in single file – this would allow the front horse to be isolated from the others by the archers, who would fire at them immediately after the lead horse had passed them. They had orders to shoot at the horses and not at the elves in the hope that they would be scared off. Viola and Sedum would then pull down the lead horse and capture its rider.

They waited in the November chill, the thin birch trees providing just enough cover. They were completely silent; any human passing would never have known that they were there.

Viola stared anxiously through the trees to where she knew Hedera, the look out, was waiting. About ten minutes passed like this, as they shivered noiselessly. The cluster of archers had their bows ready, with arrows cocked. The only one of them that Viola could see was Potentilla, who revealed herself by the occasional rustle she made as she moved. Viola wished she’d keep completely still, like all the others.

Viola began to worry. Where were they? It surely wouldn’t take this long for them to get here? She stared ever more anxiously up along the trunks of the trees. She saw Hedera moving rapidly ahead, but she’d heard no cry from her to trigger the ambush.

Hedera ran back towards them, waving her arms.

‘They’ve gone the other way,’ she hissed, ‘round the other side’

Fear gripped Viola. She drew her sword. Where were Kath and Ajuga? She crashed through the brambles and saplings desperate to get to them. The others followed just behind her. She heard horses nearby and then Ajuga shouting ‘help me!’

She staggered into a clearing. The four riders had surrounded Kath and Ajuga. Her corporal had her sword drawn but she was no match for the mounted elves. With two brisk sword blows she was cut down. The other two riders were attempting to lift up Kath and carry her off. Kath, however, was struggling wildly. This resistance was so extreme that one of the Portalians slipped in the saddle as he grabbed at her. He came crashing to the ground.

‘Hold!’ said Viola, in Visneorian, ‘in the name of the Emperor, hold!’

The three elves who were still on their horses stopped, realising that there was now a group of imperial archers almost surrounding them. The fallen rider, however, jumped up to his feet and drew his sword, all in one graceful motion.

‘We are no servants of the Emperor’ he shouted, moving rapidly forward to engage Viola. Kath lay still on the ground, trying to make herself look as small as she could. She could hardly bear to look.

Two of the mounted elves sped off through their only remaining way out with a volley of arrows following  them. Potentilla had had the third rider targeted, but then had changed her mind about shooting her. Instead she shot the horse in the haunches. The horse bucked and the rider toppled to the ground, straight on to her head with a horrible thud. She lay still. The horse careered away into the open plain.

Viola instantly remembered the last time she had fought with a sword; it had resulted in the death of her opponent. Since then she had practised constantly and now she realised – there were few with her reflexes and many who would underestimate her. Her heart was cold and her stomach sick, but she knew again, if really necessary, that she would kill.

Their swords met and they circled round, the Portalian constantly probing, seemingly unaware of the archers and the sheer weight of numbers of his enemies. Viola parried and waited – it was only a matter of time.

 ‘Surrender’ shouted Viola, ‘you cannot win’

The Portalian laughed savagely and struck at Viola again. Once again Viola parried. She could see doubt beginning to form on her opponent’s face. How could this short, plumpish, female elf be so quick? Viola allowed herself a little bitter smile – how many times would she have to replay this?

‘You are outnumbered’ said Viola, ‘lay down your arms and we will not hurt you’

‘Never!’ snarled the enemy elf, ‘we fight to avenge our god!’

Viola nodded to Sedum and two other of her elves who had their swords drawn.

‘Disarm him’ she commanded, still parrying and still not making any attacking moves herself.

Sedum lumbered forward, waving his blade threateningly. The Portalian stepped sideways and thrust at him. Sedum had no time to parry and the blade slashed his upper arm. He stumbled and the enemy’s blade rose again.

Viola sighed – she would have to do it now or her lieutenant would be in grave danger. She drove her sword up into the Portalian’s rib cage, repeating almost exactly the blow that she had killed Flavia with, all those weeks ago.

The effect was broadly the same. There was a crack of bones and a sudden, sickening, gush of blood. The stricken elf dropped his sword and stood there transfixed. A smile came over his face and he held his arms out.

‘I go to my Sun God. I will serve him now forever!’

He tottered slightly and then fell; the smile fixed permanently on his dead face.

 Kath jumped up and ran to Viola. They both looked down at the blood-soaked corpse.

 ‘That was extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary’ said Kath, shivering with fear; adrenaline making her chatter uncontrollably, ‘you’re very good at that, you know… scarily good’

‘So it seems’ said Viola, quietly, dropping her sword on the ground, ‘but it’s a gift that I did not covet and would gladly forsake.’

Viola stepped away from the body and forced herself to take stock. Two elves had fallen, one on each side, and one of her troops was badly wounded, but they did have a prisoner, who was unconscious, but did not look too badly hurt.  The ambush had been a horrible success.