It was an unexpected and poorly received defeat, but Alkon knew when to cut his losses and live to fight another day. He had been given misinformation and had ignored several important warnings that he had assumed would only have been a problem if he had attacked first. He had not expected Waikor to be so hostile. He would need more time to prepare, next time. And now that he understood his enemy, he would not be defeated again.
Once he had issued his final orders, Alkon remained as silent as Waikor had been in the early hours of the day. He was in the back of a vehicle with his jaw tightly shut and his eyes lowered, as if unable to cope with the shock of what had just happened. What should have been an easy victory or a newly formed alliance had ended in his worst defeat ever.
Liet ordered for him to be taken ahead as he himself took command of the military unit. They returned to base a few miles away and met with the remaining force, and then made their way south to Raiulun to meet with General Xosis Tigon’s forces. When all had been done, Liet called for Kobin to ride with him, and the Callibrian-born ally soon joined him in the back of an empty personnel carrier, where they were able to speak in private.
‘He has lost,’ said Kobin bluntly.
‘The battle was never going to be won.’
‘I was not referring to the battle.’
Liet regarded the man in front of him for a moment, unable to see anymore than his cheekbones, as there was no more than a single beam of light from the front entering the compartment. ‘You will claim this as part of your plan?’ he asked.
Almost a minute later, Kobin responded. ‘No,’ he said finally. ‘It was by his own doing. I simply made sure that his mind was clouded enough to be blind to the obvious. He believed I could not be trusted. He did not listen. When I told him the truth, he assumed the opposite.’
‘Master of webs,’ said Liet.
Kobin chuckled. ‘You will see the extent of my web when we stand before the High Council at Raiulun.’
‘The High Council will be there?’
Kobin bowed his head so that the solitary beam of light showed his eyes. ‘I have requested it,’ he said, and then sat back against the wall, saying nothing more for the remainder of the journey, as both reminisced about what had happened that morning.
The siege on Waikor had been lost. The great General Alkon Zaccarah had fallen. The Daijuar had proved they were still very much a part of this war, and the Waikor people had chosen for their city to be destroyed entirely by the Alliance upon its return.
* * *
Within the walls of Waikor City, Multias Waidusk sat with the other leaders. Even with the victory over the Alliance, their mood was grim; all had their eyes lowered save for Hayden, caretaker of the north, who appeared to be in extremely good spirits.
‘Bet you’re glad we didn’t ally with them now, huh, Yahtai?’ he said to the slender man.
‘Unlike some, I do not wish to see any damage at all done to this city,’ retorted Yahtai, ‘even if it is your district getting damaged.’
Hayden laughed, ‘Damage? It was a scratch.’
‘Half of the buildings are rubble.’
‘We’ll put a bandage over it; it’ll be healed in a couple of days!’ Hayden said confidently.
‘Gentlemen,’ interrupted Multias, ‘put aside your differences for a moment. You’re both right, and both wrong.’
‘Why would they be wrong?’ asked Anthon, caretaker of the west.
Multias looked around at each one of them and began with a sigh, ‘We will celebrate today but begin moving tonight.’
‘We should stay,’ Hayden interjected. ‘They cannot defeat us. I will be the first to admit that after all the stories I had heard of their might, I would have preferred to leave. But after seeing their unit today ... they must be joking! How did that bunch of buffoons take half the globe?’
Multias looked at him with sombre eyes, ‘I’m sorry, but I have received word that the force in the south is far bigger, far more dangerous and it will be far more prepared than this one was. I do not make this decision lightly, but we must flee this great city of ours. I trust you will all understand that I did not wish for it to be this way. Once you leave here, your path will be your own. I will be remaining behind with some of the other Daijuar. We will do what we can to make the Alliance believe most of our people have remained here. We should be able to buy you all more time in your escape. Sentinels Adonis and Blair will accompany you to ensure your safety.’
‘No, that is madness! Reset the EMP mines, reload the missiles, victory is ours!’ said Hayden. ‘We can fight them!’
‘As always, I admire your spirit,’ said Multias, ‘but it is over. The wars have reached us, and now we must join the fight, or leave to a distant land where we may continue to hide from them.’