The Shasht War by Christopher Rowley Read Free Book Online

giving orders.
    The young mor's eyes were glazed. She was breathing in little shallow gasps. Thru hugged her to his chest.
    "What's your name?" he whispered.
    "Issa."
    "Issa, I want you to start taking long, deep breaths... Start now..."
    Thru showed her how to calm her breathing.
    "Just think about the air you're breathing."
    The mor's breathing began to deepen.
    They heard more shouts. She tensed once more in his arms.
    And then suddenly there was a loud increase in the shouting. She dug her face into his shoulder as if to block it out.
    Then they heard feet running back the way they had come. There was a great urgency to the running, a voice shouted something that Thru did not understand, and then there was silence.
    Seconds ticked by, then a minute. Thru crept up the steps and peered out the window in the front room. The road outside was empty. He whispered down to the others that the men seemed to have gone.
    He pulled the front door open a crack.
    And then there came other footsteps, stealthy, moving along the side of the house. Thru closed the door, drew his sword, and waited behind it.
    Figures were passing by the house. Thru peered through the cracks in the window shutter and saw mots, with bows drawn, cautiously moving down the street, scouts from Colss's force.

CHAPTER SIX
    Thru found Brigadier General Colss in a barn on the southern edge of the town. Beerg and little Issa waited by the door. Colss took in Thru's torn coat and ruined trousers with pursed lips and raised eyebrows.
    "Welcome, Colonel Gillo. Your regiment will be glad to see you."
    Thru had to accept that he deserved the implied rebuke.
    "I hope so, General. I'm sorry I wasn't there when the call came. Here is a message for you from the Meld."
    "And I'll bet the old Meld gave you hell, too," said Colss, taking the scroll.
    As he read it, Colss's demeanor underwent a dramatic change. Before he'd finished reading he'd unrolled the map resting on the portable table to check various positions. When he looked up again, it was with considerably more respect.
    "The Meld says you know the situation and can advise me."
    "Yes, sir." Thru pointed to the map. "As you can see all the roads meet at Shimpli-Dindi. We ran into an enemy patrol about here." Thru pointed to the woods northwest of Chenna. "That leads me to think the enemy army is massed somewhere between here and Shimpli-Dindi."
    Colss pointed to the Sow Hill. "The Meld is positioned here?"
    "Yes. His regiments are too raw for anything more than defensive work."
    "And the enemy may number as many as six thousand?"
    "Some estimates put it that high. Possibly a second force was landed without our knowledge."
    "Mmmm. So the enemy is in the middle between our forces. You think he will attack the Meld?"
    "I thought so, but those scouts that chased us here will report your presence. That may change things."
    Colss nodded thoughtfully. His big brilby brows were furrowed in concentration as he thought about the battle that was coming.
    "The little mor?" He said with a glance over to the door where Issa waited beside Beerg.
    "We found her in the forest The men had captured her and her sister."
    Colss paled around the eyes, waiting for the rest of the story.
    "They killed and ate her sister."
    Colss stared off into nothingness for a moment while he tried to master his anger. "They shall have nothing from us except cold steel. I will take no prisoners."
    They returned to study the map. After a few minutes Colss ordered more scouts to pick their way north along the road. He wanted to know the location of the enemy force.
    Issa and Beerg, meanwhile were given food and medical care. Beerg had some cuts and scratches. Issa was very hungry, not having eaten properly for days. Thru stopped briefly beside the young mor, who was emptying a bowl of hot bushpod paste.
    "Go with the spirit's blessing, young Issa."
    "Thank you, sir. Thank you for what you did."
    They clasped hands for a moment, and then he left her in the