"Dreamer." Lilias inclined her head.
"Sorceress." For all his body was damaged, he emerged from the Ways with an odd, hunch-shouldered grace, inclining his head. When all was said and done, although he spoke Pelmaran with an accent undistinguishable from her own, he was still half-Ellyl. "I bring you greetings from Darkhaven."
"Is there news?" Raising her brows, she felt the weight of the Soumanië.
"Yes, and no." Ushahin drew a deep breath. "Lady, let us confer."
He followed her through the tunnels into the fasthold of Beshtanag, into the rose-and-amber luxury of her drawing-room, where Sarika knelt waiting to serve them. He spared one glance at the girl, and took sparingly of the offered refreshments.
"The Ways do not tax you as they do the General," Lilias observed.
"No." Ushahin took a sip of water, cool from the cistern. "Tanaros wields a mighty sword, and a mighty command of battle. I have… other skills. It is why I am here. Lady Sorceress, what news of Haomane's Allies?"
"They converge upon Kranac." Nervous, Lilias ran a finger underneath Sarika's collar of Beshtanagi silver, wrought in fine links, felt the girl lean adoringly against her knee, offering her soft throat. Calandor had showed her how to bind them to the Soumanië, to her will. "Is that not in accordance with your Lordship's plan?"
"Yes." The half-breed's eyes uneven pupils shone. "What of Malthus?"
"Malthus the Counselor?" Lilias blinked. "There is no news. Why?"
The Dreamer turned his head, considering the unused spinning-wheel collecting dust in the corner. "Because I have no news of him either," he said softly. "Sorceress, is Beshtanag ready for assault?"
"It is," Lilias said grimly, straightening. "Do you say the plan has changed?"
"No." After a pause, Ushahin shook his head with a susurrus of shimmering hair. "No," he said, strongly. "I leave you to travel the Ways to Jakar, on the outskirts of Pelmar. There, where the forest of Pelmar abuts the Unknown Desert, is a node, a portal of the Marasoumië. There, two units of mounted Rukhari tribesmen await the arrival of our troops. Lord Vorax has sworn it is so. Do you doubt?"
"No," Lilias whispered, asking silently, Calandor?
It is so, Lilias, the dragon affirmed.
"Good," Ushahin said. "There, in Jakar, I will open the portal of the Marasoumië—open it, and hold it. In Darkhaven, Lord Vorax will hold open the other end, and General Tanaros will bring the army through the Ways."
"Can this be done?" she asked him.
"Yes." He gave her a twisted smile. "Not without strain. But with Lord Satoris' aid, Vorax and I will bear the cost of it. Tanaros and his army will be untouched by it. In Jakar, they will rally and prepare to fall on the rearguard of Haomane's Allies."
Lilias looked away. "Jakar is far from Beshtanag, Dreamer. Too far."
The half-breed shrugged. "It is far enough to be safe, Lady. There is nowhere within the boundaries of Pelmar that the army of Darkhaven can assemble unseen, and it is the element of surprise that assures our victory."
"It seems to me it would be a considerable surprise for Haomane's Allies to find them here," Lilias said in a dry tone. "There is, after all, a node of the Marasoumië here in Beshtanag."
"Yes." Ushahin looked at her with something like regret. "There is. And there is a wall to pen us in Beshtanag, and the forest of Pelmar dense around it. A trap must close at both ends, Lady. If we awaited them here, we would have no means of surrounding them, nor of sealing the avenue of their retreat. Do not fear. Jakar is near enough, and General Tanaros' army is capable of traveling at great speed. The path they follow will already have been blazed by the enemy. It will take three days, no more."
She bit her lip. Yesterday, one of the Were Brethren had come—a grey shadow of a yearling, thin-shanked and wary, making his report as the Grey Dam Vashuka had pledged. "Haomane's Allies assemble at Kranac. In five days, they will be here, mounting a siege on Beshtanag." She looked directly at him. "Where will your army be then, Dreamer?"
"On their heels." He returned her gaze unblinking. "One day, or two. Such was the nature of your bargain, Sorceress. Can you hold?"
"What do you think?" Lilias asked grimly. Rising from her cushioned couch, she strode past the kneeling Sarika to the balcony doors, thrusting back the heavy silk curtains that veiled them. "Look and see."
He stepped through the doors and onto the balcony. His crippled fingers rested on the marble railing as he looked down at the mighty wall that encircled Beshtanag Mountain. Gauging by the figures that moved in its shadow, the wall stood three times as high as a tall man.