LE Modesitt Corean 06 Soarers Choice (v1.5)

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Reillie jumped to the side and tried to bring the rifle to bear, but Mykel was
faster, although he had to lean to his right to avoid a heavy tree branch, and
slashed with the sabre, using the momentum of his mount to augment the force
of the blade.
As the Reillie went down under the sabre, Mykel s stomach turned. He d
realized, after he d delivered the fatal cut, that the Reillie had been little
more than a girl. She was shooting at you and your men, he reminded himself.
He saw green and red ahead, but reined up when he realized that the Reillie
slumped against the ancient pine was dead. He could only hope his Talent had
been accurate, and that there were no more Reillies. Fighting more than a
squad of Reillies in the frigging trees was stupid. He just hoped Sixteenth
Company casualties weren t too high.
He reined up, looking around. From what he could sense, only Cadmians remained
in the woods.
Sixteenth Company! Back to the road! Re-form on the road. Mykel turned his
mount back northward. He repeated the command as he rode, whenever he saw one
of his men. In less than a tenth of a glass, he was on the hillside slope
overlooking the high road, where the rest of Third Battalion and Nineteenth
Company remained, holding the road. Behind them were the supply wagons and the
rear guard.
Fortunately, there were no more shots. Unfortunately, it was more than half a
glass before all Sixteenth Company was back in formation on the road. Mykel
could only feel a slight soreness in his shoulder, but it was in the back of
his shoulder blade, more from the twisting impact of the bullet against his
Talent shield than from an impact or an actual wound.
Rhystan reined up on the south side of the road. Squad leaders. Report!
First squad, two dead, two wounded, one seriously.
Second squad, two dead, one wounded ...
Third squad, one dead, no wounded ...
All in all, Sixteenth Company had lost only five men, and neither fourth nor
fifth squad reported any casualties. Mykel hadn t expected many, since the
fighting had largely concluded before they had reached the area where the
Reillies had set up the ambush.
After they resumed riding, Mykel looked to Rhystan. Do you have any idea how
many we killed?
Ten, maybe fifteen, but that s a guess. How many did you take out, Majer?
Three. Mykel grimaced. One was still a girl.
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They shoot as well as their brothers and fathers, sometimes better.
I know, but I don t like it.
Women fly with the Myrmidons. That captain of the Myrmidon Seventh Company is
tougher than most of the alectors she commands. That s how I saw her, anyway.
She s formidable. Mykel hadn t cared at all for the way in which Captain
Lyzetta had studied him, not in the slightest.
I still don t see why those Reillies didn t fire a full volley when we
charged, said Rhystan. They could have dealt us far greater casualties if
they had.
Two reasons, I d guess, Mykel replied. First, they were planning to shoot
directly down on the road, so they had to turn, and it was a longer shot, and
they weren t really prepared for it. Second, old habits die hard. They re used
to single-shot weapons. You need staggered fire with them or you re
defenseless if everyone s reloading at once. They probably haven t practiced
that much with their new Cadmian rifles, and they might not have that much
ammunition.
We won t be that lucky again.
They ll still be slower than we are for a while, Mykel said. That s another
reason why we need to clean them up as quickly as we can.
Rhystan shook his head. You did Hamylt a favor, you know?
What? Giving the Reillies the idea that we d come after them into the trees?
Mykel had almost said stupidly, but he d realized before he spoke that there
was no point in undermining himself when the casualties had been low, probably
no higher than they would have been had he and Sixteenth Company not charged
into the trees. I ll have to tell him not to do it, because he won t have a
battalion behind him in case things don t work out. He paused. Then, they
might do more to provoke him.
True.
They rode westward for another glass, and the clouds overhead began to break,
providing intervals of sunlight, but there was no sign of any more Reillies.
You think the main body is still west of Wesrigg? Mykel finally asked.
They could be anywhere around here, Rhystan replied, but I d say so because
there s an old road that leads back toward that town that s off the road
between Dekhron and Iron Stem. Sudon that s it.
Mykel nodded. So they can take it to Sudon or take the south fork to the
bridge across the Vedra to Borlan. And they won t have to fight through us to
get to the road.
Right.
Somehow, Mykel doubted that anything would be that simple.
42
First Company had left Harmony before sunrise on Sexdi and flown for over a
glass before the orange-white light of the sun had cascaded across the forests
and the scattered holdings that flanked the high road north to Klamat. Under a
clear silver-green sky, below the pteridons, everything was white except for
the high road, which was already a dark gray as the snow had begun to melt.
Dainyl had always marveled at how the eternastone intensified the light and
heat of the sun, so that the roads were clear long before anything else had
begun to melt.
With the help of a tailwind, by slightly before midday they reached Klamat,
where they stopped briefly, then left the guidance of the high road behind,
flying directly across the whiteness of the snow-swept Moors of Yesterday.
Much better today, sir, Halya called back. Much, Dainyl agreed.
He d sent a message by sandox from Harmony, saying that the weather had
delayed their flight to Blackstear, and Alcyna would probably receive it late
in the day. Dainyl hoped that First Company would hold Blackstear by then, but
in case they didn t someone should know the reason why they were running late.
The night before, Dainyl and Ghasylt had discussed their planned approach to
the Table and the options they would use. From what he had seen so far, it
appeared as though the sky over Blackstear was going to be clear, and that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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