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"Roger will be fine," Pahner replied. "Despreaux will make him put on his armor, and nothing the Krath have will get through that. But the rest ..."
He leaned over the edge of the battlements and looked around until he spotted a human.
"Turner! Find Rastar. Tell him to take all the Vashin to Mudh Hemh; it's under attack! Spread the word!"
"This is most unpleasant." The Gastan lowered his binoculars. "They're burning my town. If they think this is going to improve negotiations, they are sorely mistaken."
"Worry about that after we find out who's alive and who's dead," Pahner muttered.
* * *
"Erraah!" Despreaux butt-stroked the Krath so hard in the face that it smashed her rifle, but it didn't really matter. She was flat out of ammo ... and just about out of time.
"Son of a vern!" Pedi yelled as she blocked a strike from a Shadem staff. She drove forward in a windmill of steel that ended in a kick which sent the Shadem stumbling back over the edge of the wall. His intestines slithered after him.
"Pedi!" Despreaux gasped, and threw her broken rifle past the Shin like a spear.
Sor Teb blocked the missile with one of his swords and snarled.
"I'm going to enjoy sending you to the Fire, you Shin witch!" the Scourge commander told the Gastan's daughter. He was just about the last Krath on the battlements. But, then again, they were pretty much alone, as well.
"You'll have to manage it first," Pedi said, and darted forward.
From Despreaux's perspective, the engagement was nothing but a vortex of steel. The sound of the swords grating on each other sounded like so many sharpening steels in action, and neither combatant was paying attention to any of the other battles going on around them. They were in a focused, private world of steel and fury, and as Despreaux watched the deadly, flashing blades, she realized to her amazement that Pedi's reflexes were just as extraordinary as Roger's or Sor Teb's.
They broke apart for moment, as if by mutual consent, just as Cord limped up to them, and the shaman shook his head.
"Wrist! Keep your wrist straight!"
"Thanks," Pedi panted. "I'll keep that in mind."
"No, I was talking to him," Cord said. "His technique is awful. Your wrist is perfect, darling."
"Darling?" Pedi looked over her shoulder at him.
"I'm sorry," he said. "It just slipped out."
"I'm going to feed you, your boyfriend, and your get to the Fire," the Scourge panted.
"You talk big," Pedi replied, focusing once more on the task at hand. "We'll see who's going to the Fire today."
"Yes, we will."
Sor Teb gestured with his left false-hand. Pedi's eyes flicked towards it for just an instant, and that was when his right false-hand moved. It threw a handful of dust into her face, and he drove forward right behind.
Pedi flung up a false-arm. She managed to stop most of the powder, but some of it still took her in the eyes and mouth, and she buckled as instantaneous pain and nausea ripped through her. But she still managed to drop to one knee, and she drove upward with both swords as the Scourge's downward cut sliced into her shoulder.
Sor Teb looked at the two swords buried to their quillons in his stomach and coughed out a gush of blood.
"No," he muttered, raising his off-hand sword.
Cord raised his spear, but before he could drive it forward, Dogzard—who'd had enough of this stupid single-combat and fairness stuff—crashed into the dying Krath's chest and settled matters by ripping out his throat.
Despreaux darted forward and caught Pedi as blood from her shoulder poured out.
"Damn it, why is Dobrescu never around when you need him?" she demanded of the universe.
"Pedi?" Cord went to his knees beside her, ripping at his hated clothing until he tore off a strip and wadded it into an impromptu bandage. "Pedi, don't go away from me."
"I ..." She shuddered. "It hurts."
"The healer Dobrescu will be here soon," Cord said. "He's a miracle worker—look at me. Just hold on. Don't ... don't leave me. I don't want to lose you, too."
"You won't ... darling," she grimaced a smile. "I have too much to live for. You ... and your children."
"Mine?" he repeated, almost absently. Then grabbed his horns in frustration. "Mine? How?"
"I ... I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "You were so hurt, so needing. You came into your season while you were injured. I couldn't stand to watch you in such agony, and you were calling for your ... for your wife. I— Ahhh!" She panted in pain. "I love you... ."
"Look, this is touching and everything, but are you going to let me work on her shoulder, or not?" Dobrescu demanded.
"What?" Cord looked up as the medic tapped him with a foot, then stood. "Where did you come from?"
"I said I don't have much use for civan," the warrant officer replied. "Never said I didn't know how to use one," he added as the first of the Vashin appeared on the walls.
"Oh," he added. "The cavalry's here."
* * *
Roger opened his eyes and groaned.
"Crap," he muttered. His ribs hurt like hell.
"Water?" Dobrescu inquired sweetly. The medic had dark rings around his eyes, but he looked as mischievous as ever.
"Well, since I'm alive, I take it we won." Roger took a sip from the proffered camelback, then grimaced. "What was the egg breakage?"
"Pretty hefty, Your Highness," a new voice said, and Roger turned his head just as Pahner sat down beside his bed. The captain looked as if he hadn't slept in far too long, either.
"Tell me I look better than you two," the prince said, and winced as he levered himself very gingerly into a sitting position.
"Actually, you probably do," Pahner replied. "Doc?"
"Four broken ribs and contusions, mainly," the medic said. "Which is no big deal with His Highness." He gri
"It hurts like ... heck," Roger noted.
"That's good," Dobrescu told him, and stood. "It might keep you from doing stupid things."
He tapped the prince lightly on the shoulder and walked out, leaving him with Pahner.
"You're alive," Roger said, returning his attention to the Marine. "That's good. How are we doing otherwise?"
"Just fine," Pahner replied. "The breakage was bad for the Shin, both in Nopet and Mudh Hemh. But they'll survive. The Gastan is talking about letting some of the Krath settle in the valley, since the Shin own both citadels again."
"The company? Diasprans? Vashin?"
"Low losses," Pahner reassured him. "We didn't lose any Marines, not even Despreaux—who, I note, you haven't asked about. We lost two Vashin, and a Diaspran. That's it."
"Good," Roger sighed. "I was going to ask about Nimashet as soon as I'd asked about business."
"I won't tell her about your priorities," the captain said with a rare smile. "But I'll note that I approve. And at least we've solved the whole problem with Cord and Pedi."
"What problem? I knew something was going on, but I couldn't tell what."
"Ah, you were asleep for that." Pahner's smile segued into a grin, and he shook his head as he pulled out a bisti root and cut off a slice. "The Gastan wasn't all that happy, either, although he wasn't showing it. It turns out she's pregnant."
"Pedi?" Roger asked. "When? How?" He paused a moment, then shook his head, an almost awed expression on his face. "Cord?"
"Cord," Pahner confirmed. "While he was recovering. He didn't have any memory of it."
"Ouch. Oh, and the whole 'I ca
"Yes," the captain said. "Which was why she couldn't tell him whose child—children—they were. He assumed she'd had ... a fling, for want of a better term. Add to that that she was considerably less than half his age but that he was ... interested in her anyway, and—"