Book 6, Chapter 30: Shield Wall
On cool summer nights, I normally enjoy the full moon. Not this night. The moonlight, though pale, was enough to see by and I knew, I knew, they were coming. They had to stop us before we reached Laemacia, or face terrible losses if Serce could trap them.
Ignoring me entirely, the captain had arranged his soldiers into two groups of fifty. Spearmen in the first rows, archers behind them. It gave us some flexibility in covering both the long rise of the hill and our flanks but left our horses vulnerable if the enemy skirted around us. If they matched us for men, or had less, we’d be fine in this formation. If they had more and attacked as the captain expected, we’d be ok. If they attacked in any other fashion, because they scouted out the battlefield, we’d be in trouble.
I was annoyed. At the captain for not listening, at me for making a show of not needing weapons. Can’t have the goddess walking around with a sword now can we. I wanted a gun. I’d settle for a crossbow. But all I had on hand were really mean glares. Until someone fell, assuming that someone wasn’t me.
“Can you drop fire on them like the mages?” asked Cresida.
“Have you seen Talaren around anywhere?”
“I think he’s with the captain in the other group.”
“Damn. I was hoping he’d stay close to me.”
“Let’s go join them then.”
“Isn’t your husband in this group?”
“No, he’s in the other.”
“Then why . . . wait,” I held up my hand to keep her quiet. “Listen. Do you hear that?”
A man coughed nearby, a bunch adjusted their stances, little metallic clinking ringing out from their chainmail links. Stepping away from her and them, I cupped my ears, just catching the rhythm of hooves. “They’re coming.”
We could have readied ourselves differently. Mounted our horses, but that might lead to chaotic melee. Thus, the captain thought a defensive wall would hold up best.
Stepping further away from the soldiers, I stared past them to where the large meadow ended, where I could just make out their cavalry galloping toward us. We’d run out of time.
“Shit, Cresida,” I hurriedly pushed her forward by her lower back, “let’s get behind the soldiers!”
“Left flank!” shouted one of the spearmen at the front left of the regiment. The entire group repositioned themselves to face the oncoming horses, and we did our best to stay in the middle, behind them, then crouched down. Shields in front and up, spears out, facing the charge, archers behind.
“This isn’t going to work. Come on,” sinking to my knees, I pulled her down, “get down!”
The thunder of hooves grew louder and louder, Cresida looked at me, “What do you mean it’s not going to work?” Beyond her, the soldiers took ready stances.
The twang of bowstrings snapping rang out, horses raced by us on both sides, many shooting backwards. Their line didn’t stop to engage the spears, they rode around like a river meeting an island. I sank lower, head down, hands on my shoulders to protect my lungs as best I could.
Shouts behind us, a man fell beside me, vacant look in his eyes. I felt rather than heard a few more people drop to the ground, and the horsemen continued on, attacking the next group.
I crawled over to the fallen man. Not breathing, eyes staring at the heavens. He had a bow and two quivers.
“Sarah! What are you doing?”
“What?” On my knees near the body and digging around him, I found the buckle for his quiver around his back, undid it, pulled the straps free, then put it on.
“Sorry, I meant Cayce!”
“That doesn’t matter. They’re coming back! I’m borrowing this guy’s bow.”
“What difference is that going to do! Burn them all, quickly!”
Double, I realized. They had double our number, and they were now turning. Our formation was useless.
“Cayce!” She took hold of my arm.
I shrugged her off, “Cresida, shut up! And stay here!” Quickly standing, I ran over the man who’d shouted out the orders earlier. His gaze was fixed on the cavalry, almost done their turn and about to do another pass from the other side, “Soldier! Tell these men I want a shield wall. Around us! Archers in the middle.”
He shouted out, “Archers behind us, spears about face!”
“Those aren’t my orders.” The archers ran through the spearmen, taking up formation behind them, Cresida obviously out of place, but at least she followed them. “I said shield wall, circular!”
“Get behind us, my lady, or you’ll get an arrow in you.”
“Listen to me, you have to form up around the archers.”
“Until the captain – look out!” He shoved me behind him, arrows bouncing off his shield over and over, I heard more strike home as the horses raced past, hoping Cresida was sound enough to crouch low or better still, lay flat.
I grabbed his shoulder, speaking over it, “If you don’t listen to me, we going to lose more men until we’re all gone!”
“The captain-”
“Who cares what he said! I’m your empress and I’m right here!”
“Right, miss, but-”
“Circular shield wall, archers in the middle and we’ll return arrows. Now!”
“Let’s just do it!” shouted the guy beside him, pointing at the bodies of the archers who were left on the field in front of us. “We’re getting hammered! They’re coming round for another pass!”
“Uh . . .”
“Lieutenant,” I slapped his chest, “protect your men!”
He shook his head, looking to me, then to the charging cavalry and yelled, “Circle the archers, shields low and up!”
The ranged cavalry racing back at us, our spearmen broke formation, rushing to encircle us. As the circle tightened until the soldiers were shoulder to shoulder, we backed up, squeezing together. The spearmen ducked their heads under their tower shields, a smaller, second line of spearmen held their shields up higher, horizontally. The hooves pounded past us, arrows peppering the shields.
As soon as the second row dropped their shields, I aimed, took a rider in the back of the neck. Aimed, hit another between his shoulder blades. Aimed, loosed, and didn’t see what happened as they rode past the captain’s group.
I shouted, “How many archers left?”
A few seconds passed, then a man answered, “Perhaps thirty.”
“Listen up,” I continued shouting, “this is what we’re going to do. Loose at them as they’re coming, then shields up, wait till they pass, loose at them as they’re leaving. We’ll keep doing that until we wear them down, all night if we have to!”
A few ma’ams, but mostly archers nocking, standing ready.
I was taking a page from Richard the Lionheart’s third Crusade, at the battle of Jaffa. Surrounded by horse archers, he formed a shield wall circle and outlasted the enemy. But he had crossbows and used two-man teams. One to reload, one to loose. Something like only two of his men died that night, but over a thousand on the other side.
It was good for both Richard and I that we didn’t face Mongols. But I wished we had crossbows tonight for their punch-through-armor power.
The outer spearmen kept their tower shields up, still crouching behind them, not even looking, as the cavalry bore down on us.
I loosed, taking a lead horseman in the eye, sending him off his horse. Loosed another, neck. Another, chest. Ducking then, horizontal shields going up, hooves pounding the ground beside us, an arrow slipped through a gap, hitting a man’s shoulder. Hardly grunting, he grabbed his arm, dropping his bow. The hooves pounded past, shields up, and I began loosing again.
Other archers joined me but weren’t as accurate. Probably, this body had spent decades training. Or, this subconscious. What an annoyance! It felt like I was living a borrowed existence, an unearned, borrowed self.
One man was outright staring at me as I took aim, whispering something to his friend, who then looked. Their attention threw my aim off and I took the horseman in the shoulder, and he managed to stay on the horse, riding away from the group and into the tree line below.
Huh. They must have a camp down there.
Instead of riding back on us, they circled the other regiment, aiming at their archers. The Laemacian captain still hadn’t formed a circular shield wall, making them the safer targets for the enemy.
“Damn,” I muttered, walking to the lieutenant. “We have to help them!”
“They haven’t called for us.”
“Our mage is in that group! If he dies, what do you think the emperor will do to you?”
The color drained from his face and he gritted his teeth, “Ma’am, I have to follow orders! The captain hasn’t given me any yet!”
I’d already told him my rank and he was ignoring me. I therefore turned to the man who didn’t. “You! You’re now ranking lieutenant of this regiment. If we survive, I’ll make you a captain. Now, order the troops to engage those horsemen!”
“My lady,” he bowed very slightly, looking from me to the lieutenant to me, “with respect, you don’t command us.”
It dawned on me then that I hadn’t seen any of the scared men here, nor the one who’d sworn to serve me, whom I’d promised many children. Serce! Damnit. Either he didn’t tell his troops of my position or I didn’t have one. It really would have been nice to have godly powers right now.
With a clenched jaw, I said, “Have the archers move between the spearmen and loose on the enemy.” I stepped forward, nocked and took an attacker in the neck. Then another, another, another. And tried not to think about what this all meant and how we would survive the night.
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