The knight, the dragon and the necromancer. Daert dilogy-1

...A kick in the side, just under the ribs, threw the girl away from the projector. She didn't even cry out — she was out of breath. Rosa rolled on the ground, lost her dagger. Inhaling convulsively, she rolled over onto her back. A soldier in a green caftan stepped towards her, swinging a long cavalry sword. His face — not young, mustachioed — was twisted with rage. The girl blindly searched the ground for a dagger, or at least a stone. As luck would have it, her fingers closed on a pebble the size of a fingernail. An infinitely long heartbeat later, the figure in black crashed into the soldier. Jeanne struck the enemy in the chest with her shoulder and collapsed with him into the sparse grass. Once on top, knocked the enemy on the teeth hilt of the sword, jumped up. With a short swing of her blade she cut the soldier's throat. Forgetting about him, she turned to Rosa:

— Madame?

— Ou... oh... oh... oh-h-h... I... okay. — The girl raised herself up on her elbows. Her stomach ached terribly, but her ribs were intact, and her liver didn't seem to have burst. The rest was nothing. There were no living enemies in the vicinity, but that wouldn't last long. — That thing! Pull the amulet!

Jeanne knew at once what she was talking about. She put her dagger and sword in their sheaths, knocked a copper pin out of the ground with her heel and kicked it towards the girl. While the young sorceress was discharging the amulet, the guardswoman bent over it and gave it a quick look. She muttered:

— Outside is fine, but I can't tell you about the organs inside. Coughing up blood?

— Not yet. Phew...there is! — The empty shield projector slipped from Rose's fingers. The guardian gave her a hand, jerked girl to her feet. Shook off the student's jacket.

Something whistled over their heads. Rosa turned to the river and shuddered. What she saw was far more frightening than the spectacle of Toad tearing to shreds a band of steppes. Apparently, the cannoneers of the rebels had shot at the fords in advance, and at once laid all the shells in the centre of the enemy formation. The cast-iron balls crushed the bodies of the horses and soldiers as if they were figures made of soft, unfired clay. Only the figures did not spurt blood, their entrails did not spill out and their ribs did not stick out... The cannonballs made bloody gaps in the ranks of the gendarmes. The river turned red, carried the torn corpses downstream, onto the soldiers of the middle column. Rosa averted her gaze — she was already nauseous from the blow. The Toad had bitten people in half, too, but death by the teeth of a predator and by chunks of metal... Somehow there was a difference for the girl here, though she wouldn't say what it was.

— Hold on, we'll put you in the saddle. — Jeanne handed the sorceress her hunting knife and nodded at Toad stomping towards them. The dragoness was returning alone — the surviving cavalrymen from the sappers' escort had thought it best to flee. Don Marius waved to the women, pulling back the visor of his helmet. Climbing the harness straps was more difficult than before — Rosa's belly under her jacket felt like a bruise. But once she was on the green dragoness's back and the straps tightened around her hips, she felt better immediately. She even pulled out a crumpled beret and slipped it over her dishevelled curls.

From the height of the saddle there was a good view. Far to the right, the enemy's middle column had already reached the shore — without casualties. The mounted vanguard was climbing out of the water onto the pebbly beach. The attack on the left flank slowed down. All the cannons of the rebels were now hitting the head of the defenceless column. Under the hail of cannonballs, the gendarmes were mixed up, rushed forward in a disorderly bunch, lashing their horses. The outermost were forced beyond the ford, and they let their horses swim. Auguste's cavalry were hurrying to get out of the narrow neck of the crossing. And Toad was right in front of them, alone, save for the three riders on her back.

— Run, — Don Marius said simply, patting the dragoness on the back. He didn't have to say it again; she turned her tail to the enemy and trotted away from Shaanta. A cannonball from the other side of the river fell nearby, the king's guns belatedly supporting the attack, having chosen a large target. The dragoness didn't have time to scatter for take-off — after a few steps, she almost collided with a cavalry troop galloping towards her. Five dozen gendarmes and three times as many cuirassiers were moving at a trot under a black banner. They were led not by an officer and a standard-bearer, but by two dead bulls.

— Ours! — Rosa clenched Don Marius's sides enthusiastically. — Donna... that is, the marshal... someone sent help!

The knight saddled his pet, turning towards the river again. Auguste's gendarmes made no attempt to chase the dragon. They hastily reorganised, turning their ranks along the bank. The Loyalist cavalry, on the other hand, swept around the Toad in two streams, formed a wedge with bulls at the tip, and galloped. The rebel guns shifted their fire to the infantry, but now the shells of the king's bombards were raining down around them.

— After them! — Marius ordered the dragoness. But his winged dragoness could not keep up with the riders. The small wedge crashed with a rumble into the loose formation of the crown troops, splitting it in two. The gendarmes fell from their saddles, falling with their horses. Rosa saw the necrobull lift a stallion with a soldier in the saddle on its horns and topple it into the river. One of its horns broke, but Donna Vittoria's contraption slammed into the side of the next enemy without delay. Auguste's cavalry pitched backwards, clashing with his own infantry. The Loyalist gendarmes were trampling on the pikemen trying to get ashore, and a haze of gunfire rose from the infantry, though the bullets were clearly hitting their own. The cannonballs continued to fall into the thick of the soldiers, scattering pieces of bodies, severed heads, and fragments of pikes. The young knight stopped Toad. He said in a low voice:

— There we... will be more of a hindrance.

— Where are Auguste's dragons? — Rose asked, throwing back her head. The lizards she'd seen at the beginning of the battle were still hovering high above the enemy camp.

— Afraid of dragon-piercing artillery, I think. — The young man looked up as well. — There don't seem to be many of them.

The onslaught of the Loyalist detachment could not last long — having driven the enemy's vanguard into the river, the riders under the black banner at the signal of the bugle turned their horses round. Together with them one bull came out of the battle. The second was nowhere to be seen. Don Marius shrugged his shoulders and suddenly said resolutely:

— Signoras, it's safe for now. Please dismount.

— What? — Rose frowned. — Milord, you...

— Please.

The girl sighed:

— All right. Take care of Toad.

After letting the women came to the ground, the knight let the dragoness lead the way. De Cotoci's gendarmes and cuirassiers reorganised again, this time around Toad. Before the enemy could restore order to the vanguard, the dragon-enhanced squad struck again.

— They are not firing at us, — said Jeanne suddenly. Indeed — the thunder of the cannons had not ceased, but the whistling of the cannonballs had almost ceased. The royal artillery had fallen silent, and the rebel guns were probably aiming at Auguste's other columns. Taking advantage, it would have been wise to try to run to the nearest fortifications, but Rosa stayed where she was. She watched with bated breath as the Toad crashed into the mess of enemy troops, along with the Loyalist cavalry again throwing them off the bank. The infantry tried to meet the attack with a wall of long pikes, but their ranks were too jumbled, and the soldiers closest to the shore were standing waist-deep in water. A minute or two later, the ground beneath Rosa's feet began to shake — almost as if it were Toad's footsteps. A new troop of cavalry, much larger than the first, was approaching from the south. All cuirassiers without full armour, but more than a thousand in number. Rosa was not at all surprised to see Colonel de Beaulior, who was familiar to her, at the head of the troop. And beside him, Donna Vittoria on her raven stallion. De Beaulior's regiment rode past the women at a trot, swords drawn, but the necromancer said something to the colonel and rode towards her apprentice. As she settled her horse beside her, she smiled:

— Good work.

— Thank you. — Rose cleared her throat, looking up and down at her mentor.

— All right with you?

— Anyway... yeah. — The girl rubbed her stomach. The pain from the bruise was dull, aching. It was definitely worth putting ice on it, but where would she get it? — Thanks to Jeanne.

— At your service, — the bodyguard maid said nonchalantly, her palm on the hilt of her sword.

— It seems we have won this battle for the marshal and duke. — The red-haired donna rose in her stirrups, glancing round at the continuing fight on the shore. — But I'd like to know for sure.

Soon Toad and her rider returned to them — the arrival of help had made it too crowded for them in the neck of the ford. Vittoria greeted the knight with a nod and asked:

— Do you still have the strength to take to the air, Don?

— Yes, milady. — The young man was breathing heavily, but he looked unharmed. The dragoness was also unharmed from the battle, though Rose made a mental note to examine her carefully later. An accidental bullet from an arquebus could get lodged under the scales and cause a lot of problems later.

— Could you assess the battle from above? — The Necromancer gestured elegantly, adjusting the light blue cloak on her shoulder, fastened with gilded clasps to her breastplate. There wasn't a speck of dust on her costume, though the donna had ridden with the cuirassiers. — I don't want to connect with my crows directly right now. I need to lie down for that, and this isn't the best place....

— Yes, milady.

— I'm with you again. — Rosa stepped forward with determination. — Jeanne, you stay.

No one stopped her. The girl climbed into the saddle, strapped herself in, and pulled off her glove to place her bare palm on Toad's scales. Touched the dragoness's mind. Barely out of the fray, she was already completely calm, which Rose had expected. "Share it with me," the young sorceress asked mentally. As Marius's pet scattered and took off, the girl calmed the nervous trembling in her hands. Her body felt warm and the pain in her stomach receded — though she did not give it to Toad.

They rose higher and higher, cutting a spiral. The horizon line moved away, and the battlefield came into view. Even without a telescope it was possible to assess the general balance of forces. The soldiers of Auguste's left column had faltered and were now rolling back across the ford in complete disarray. The centre and right groups were unable to link up — a regiment of cavalry had wedged itself between them. The right column had bumped into the fortifications, the centre column was still moving, but its flanks were exposed. The artillery was piercing the enemy's ranks with fire from three sides. Just below the soaring Toad, Colonel de Beaulior divided his forces. One-third of the cuirassiers continued to press the panicked soldiers, while two-thirds rode along the shore, forming a narrow wedge. In the centre, Auguste's troops did not expect a complete defeat of their neighbours, and began to deploy a line of pikemen too late. The forest of pikes failed — de Beaulior's wedge crashed into the flank of the column like a dragon's fang into soft flesh. From behind the ramparts and trenches, the rebel duke's own infantry sprang out, moving towards the enemy in slender ranks. Finding themselves between the hammer and the anvil, the middle column began to crumble before their eyes. Through the noise of the wind and the rumble of battle could be heard wildly blaring trumpets. Over the river rose columns of coloured smoke, rose on thin flagpoles multi-coloured pennants. The left column of the royal army, having failed to take the fortifications, fell back, framed by a white fringe of gunpowder smoke. The centre rearguard, cut off from the main force, followed suit. Auguste's dragons, which had been circling under the clouds for the whole battle, finally swooped down. Fortunately, they ignored Toad. Bursting through the black bursts of anti-dragon cannon bombs, the lizards dived to the ground, swept away a dozen rebel soldiers, and went up again. None of them were willing to fight on foot like Toad. On the whole, the outcome of the battle was clear even to Rosa, whose familiarity with warfare was limited to reading books about the role of animals in war. Marius guided Toad down.

The knight dismounted and hurried to report to Donna Vittoria. Rose, feeling infinitely tired, leaned on Jeanne's arm. The black-haired woman supported her with surprising gentleness, almost tenderly. Said sullenly:

— Looks like we survived the fight. That's a shame.

— Why? — Rosa still had the strength to wonder.

— I was hoping you'd be killed before I could get attached to you, madame. — The woman shrugged. — Or me. I was starting to like you now.

— S... thank you, — she said uncertainly. The guardswoman gently hugged her and patted her on the shoulder:

— I'll try to die first in case of emergency. A bodyguard's duty allows for that. Then there will be no grief.

The cannons continued to rumble, but the clang of steel, the shouts of men and the voices of battle trumpets faded away, faint. The battle of Chaant was drawing to a close.

Chapter 9

Rosa woke up in the middle of the night. She was sick — nauseous, headache. The effects of stress and strain on her magical powers. In addition, her bruised side was aching for warmth. She lay there for a while, staring thoughtlessly at the spot of light in the far corner of the tent, then found her glasses. Girl wrinkled her nose when the cold metal temples touched her ears. The spot immediately changed to an oil lamp on a chest, and the dark mass beside it to Jeanne sitting on her bed. The black-haired woman, fully clothed, only without armour and gloves, was drilling Rose with her steel-burning gaze.

— Wh-what?... — The student mumbled sleepily, suppressing an involuntary shiver. — Why are you awake? What time is it?

— Midnight, — the guardswoman replied quietly, not changing her posture. The light of the dim lamp reflected in her eyes with dancing orange dots. — You were stirring in your sleep, saying something. No fever?

— No. — Rosa ran her palm across her forehead and found herself sweating. — It's... not a disease. Don't worry, I'm fine.