Before Gene could ask why, a soldier came racing from the gate as if flying.
“Adjutant! There’s trouble! An army is in sight!”
For an instant, Gene failed to understand and asked again.
“An army? Do you mean the general has returned?”
“No! The Jandana army!”
Gene’s eyes widened. Why were the Jandana here? Their encampment was two days away, and beyond the Jand River at that. The army that had departed today was to cross the river and make camp for another day. Had the enemy departed first and their paths crossed? Even so, they would have had a much greater advantage waiting on the other side and attacking the Epherium army as it crossed. Why had they crossed the river and come all the way here?
“How many?”
“We aren’t certain yet, but there seem to be a thousand. There’s no end to the dust they’re raising!”
Without realizing it, he clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw trembled. The commands that burst out next were almost shouts.
“Go at once and close the gates! Tell every other soldier you see to come up in front of the inner keep! Dalsad, go and have the bell rung! The people will know at least what the bell means, won’t they? Have everyone who can fight gather in the small square! Let no one up onto the outer wall! And call Zamallik! Quickly!”
Gene himself turned and ran toward the inner keep. As he ran, he realized he had given orders even to Dalsad, who was not his subordinate. Strictly speaking, the acting lord was Dalsad, not Gene. Though he was a member of the army from the capital, a mere adjutant could hardly shout at an acting castle lord. It would be another matter if he revealed he was a prince…
Suddenly, he realized that would be impossible. What would happen if the Jandana learned that a prince of Epherium was in the castle they had surrounded? Would they not dance with delight at such a windfall? Whether they sought to kill the prince for revenge or take him prisoner to bargain, either would be cause for jubilation. The capital, on the other hand, would not have suffered such a humiliation in a long time…
At that thought, the faces of his father, the queen, and his mother came to mind, and his face reddened with shame. In that instant, Gene decided. Rather than becoming a captive, a sacrifice to a negotiation over his ransom, he would simply die a wretched death.
A heavy gong began to ring from the small square. Perhaps it had not been maintained for a long time, for the bell sounded rather odd. Every so often, a clanging noise mixed in, making it almost ridiculous. But what was troubling was the reaction of the people who heard it. Some pointed toward the belfry, some tilted their heads and went back to what they had been doing. Some even covered their ears. Others chuckled and muttered.
“What’s happened? Is Lady Dalsad getting married?”
When Gene reached the inner keep, Zamallik was waiting and saluted. His face was tense too.
“The order to assemble all troops has been delivered! Everyone is present except five. Of the five, one is at the stable, and the remaining four have gone to tell the soldiers here to assemble. Adjutant, give us your orders!”
All troops amounted to twenty-two men. They were in no condition to fight or do anything else. Saemgeuneul’s soldiers could barely be called soldiers, but even if he accepted Dalsad’s word exactly, they did not amount to half the enemy’s number.
“We abandon the outer castle. Bring women, old people, and children into the inner keep. Have the armed men gather in the small square, and have the others build a barricade in front of the keep’s door. Requisition the supplies and utensils needed for a siege from the houses surrounding the small square and bring them all into the keep. Above all, we must inform the general of what has happened. Who will volunteer?”
Before their eyes even met, Hanbun stepped forward.
“I will go. A letter…”
Gene took a ring from his hand.
“There is no time to write a letter. Take this, give it to the general, and ask him to return immediately. Leave this instant!”
Hanbun took the ring, put it on, and ran toward the stable. The other soldiers scattered too. Then Dalsad returned. Gene asked,
“How much food is stored in the keep?”
“If we include the original residents and your unit, about five days’ worth. There is nothing to feed all the people. They will have to bring what they will eat themselves…”
Dalsad’s voice sounded mocking, but Gene had no attention to spare for that.
“You are the acting lord, so direct the requisition of supplies. There is no need to go beyond the small square. Anything farther away, whatever it is, abandon it.”
“So you are indeed giving up the outer castle. It is only natural, but somehow it seems a shame simply to abandon it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Won’t the Jandana take everything we leave behind and hold a feast? Since we are abandoning the outer castle anyway, it would be less of a waste if we could at least do a little damage to the enemy.”
Gene narrowed his eyes. It was not only because of the sunlight.
“Are you saying we should set fire to the outer castle now? The people haven’t all escaped yet.”
“If they’re so deaf they can’t understand a bell, they won’t be too late even if they start running now. If they don’t get inside the keep in time, there’s no point staying alive outside. They’ll only become chunks of meat in the Jandana’s hands.”
“Those people are your subjects!”
“What did you say to me earlier? Everything outside the small square, whatever it was, was to be abandoned, wasn’t it?”
While Gene glared at Dalsad, the people poured into the small square. When the women saw Dalsad, they ran to her and knelt, crying out.
“My lady, what will happen to us now? Will the goddess protect us? And you too, my lady?”
In his hurry, Gene realized he had not discussed the chain of command with Dalsad. Dalsad spoke to the women.
“Of course. But for now, you would do better to pray to him. He will look after us even before the goddess.”
The women looked at Gene, but perhaps because he was so very young, and only an adjutant, they did not seem to place much trust in him. The grandmothers, however, approached, kissed the back of Gene’s hand, and spoke.
“May the goddess Nui watch over you, Adjutant.”
“So young. So young, and he has to look after burdensome old people like us.”
Gene looked at Dalsad.
“You are the acting lord, so you take command. I will command only my unit.”
“No. That will only create confusion. Until the castle is safe, I will give you my authority, Adjutant. But as an adviser, I strongly recommend the operation you spoke of earlier. That is the way for even one more of the people who have entered the keep to survive.”
Now, when they did not know when the general would return, there was every possibility that after enduring a bitter struggle, they would be slaughtered by a hairsbreadth before the relieving force arrived. That depended on Hanbun’s fast horse, on the soldiers’ sweat and blood, and on the force of the Jandana’s offensive. One stone, one arrow could undo every effort. The instant he thought so, Gene made up his mind.
“Zamallik, we will set fire to the outer castle. Select six soldiers and send half onto the eastern wall and half onto the western wall. Have them wait to either side of the gate. The moment the first Jandana breaks through the gate and comes in, they are to set the fires and run back. Do not close the gate completely, to draw the enemy in. And mind the rabbit’s jump.”
Zamallik smiled.
“Understood. I’ll take charge, so you can leave it to me.”
As Zamallik ran to call the soldiers, Dalsad suddenly took Gene’s hand.
“Since you have received my authority, put this on.”
Dalsad removed the long ring she wore and slipped it onto Gene’s finger. Judging by its shape, the ring seemed less a personal possession of Dalsad’s than an emblem of the castle lord. As she let go of his hand, Dalsad wore an odd expression.
“But your wedding ring has disappeared.”
The ring he had given Hanbun was indeed his wedding ring, but he had never told Dalsad that. Nor had he said that he was married. In fact, there were not many married men Gene’s age. Before Gene could answer, Dalsad vanished into the keep.
The castle burned, the bell stopped, and the Jandana filled the small square.
The keep was packed with refugees. Children crying, arguments, curses, prayers, and weeping echoed from every direction, making it difficult even to convey orders properly. When they tried to send those who could not fight down below, the women wailed that they were afraid, and the old people resisted, asking why they had to go down when they had committed no crime. The basement of the keep had been a prison. But there were no prisoners now. It was simply the only place that would not be caught in the fighting, and he could not understand how they could refuse so stubbornly.
With only a little over twenty proper fighting men, forcing order upon hundreds was no easy thing. Above all, the commander was merely an adjutant, so they seemed disinclined to obey his orders. He could have summoned Dalsad, but they did not listen particularly well to her orders either, and a little earlier she had entered the castle lord’s room. Perhaps she feared her father might die of shock if he suddenly learned how the battle was going, for she had asked that no one enter that room.
“If we let even one Jandana in here, you’d run like your tails were on fire.”
The words spat out by one soldier expressed exactly what the others felt. But not a single one of the Jandana in question had yet approached the keep. If they had attacked in this confusion, the keep would have fallen into their hands easily. Yet after putting out the fire in the outer castle and surrounding the keep, they only milled about grinning, as though waiting for something.
Gene too finally saw the Jandana up close. What the soldiers had told him was true to some extent.
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