‘Madj has allied with Fayez. Against us,’ I finish stiffly, wondering if I should be flattered or if I’m to begin digging my grave now. ‘At least they assume we have only one banner.’
Arezu crosses her arms. ‘How do we fight two entire squadrons?’
My mind slows and I imagine a saktab board again. I find it easier to breathe by simplifying it.
‘Master?’ Arezu says nervously, as the rest of the squadron exchanges uneasy looks.Inspire their loyalty, Katayoun’s voice penetrates my thoughts.
She was right. I cannot do this alone.
‘Heed me carefully,’ I say. ‘In Za’skar, our true school is not of texts and parchments, stooped over our desks in a life of philosophy. The application of these lessons, the simulations of history, and the living personalities of conquerors and the fallen: that is Za’skar.’ I am starting to realise as I speak it. ‘How a warrior leads, and how the weak fall. TheMarka may appear as a gameboard – and I might have called it as such – but it is not a game. This is an abstraction of war. Za’skar... is the study of man and how to conquer them.’
I level a grim look at my underlings and then out to the enemies. ‘We are baby tits surrounded by herons, foxes, snakes and vultures. Your monks will not save you. The powerful here win. And to have power,’ I point at each of them, forcing them to hold my gaze, ‘you must steal it. Three squadrons have fallen, yet we remain. But we are not going to fight anyone. We would lose. For now, we steal banners and run as if hordes of magicians are at our backs, leaving destruction in our wake.We can win.’
As Arezu forms more cacti, with Sharra’s counsel, I formulate our plan. At my orders, she leads the pazktab students to the north while Sohrab sets the last of his metal around the perimeter. He extends the metal into tall spears, sweat streaming into his eyes. I reflect nur into the metal spears until light criss-crosses across the territory in beams, blinding the two and a half squadrons within its vicinity.
I re-enter the square plane containing Madj’s banner. To taint our opponents’ expansion of Heavenly bonds, at my command, Arezu summons sand-shrooms, a stout flower I studied in Azadniabad that emits toxic fumes. The poison will weaken our opponents’ sensory abilities, but not disable them.
I light the sand-shrooms with nur. The line catches like a blaze ignited on dry twigs.
Madj’s troops split at the sudden light. ‘Retreat to the west flank!’ Madj barks, diverging from Fayez’s lines.
Meanwhile, Yasaman’s scorpions scamper to the banner, fortified against rocks and dirt and guarded by a soldier. Quickly, their claws tear it away during Squadron Three’s hasty retreat. Sohrab moves between them and replaces it with another ruse of a banner, takes the real flag and flees to Territory Five, where Sharra and Yasaman await.
‘Arezu, using the left flank as cover, bring a small handful of students to me. When Fayez charges, they will close the gap,’ I command them.
As Aina leads Firat and the remaining pazktab students around as my reinforcements, Fayez and his soldiers enter the chaotic battlefield, a sheer force of numbers.
The captain shoves through his squadron lines, clutching his left eye, shot red from sand-shroom fumes.
I study his formations. I might as well be nipping at his squadron’s skin instead of inflicting bodily harm. Like any adept general, he’s adapted to form three flanks – two wings and one at the tail to pull from. I didn’t see it before because Fayez used Madj’s troops as a buffer, rather than using his own soldiers to weaken my numbers.
Fayez raises two fingers in command code. An enraged Negar – tunic damp with piss yellow – flattens her hands against the sediment, a tremor shooting through. With little preamble, the ground beneath me gapes open, obliterating Arezu’s flora and any way for my underlings to hide.
‘Fall back,’ I bellow to Sohrab, yanking Yahya against me as the entire south-east is uprooted.
Fayez begins calmly but the strength of his voice carries. ‘You are cornered by two squadrons. Surrender now to prove that even an Azadnian is capable of an ounce of dignity.’
I rub dirt from my cheek. ‘I’ve thought about it. No thank you.’
His jaw clenches before his fingers raise again. A line of twelve warriors charges, aiming for us.
Leaving a gap wide open in the back, the banner exposed. Fayez’s tail soldiers rush forward, slightly delayed.
With Aina leading, our subordinates close on the rear while the captain fixates on my presence. I flicker nur to bait him toward me. My eyes blur as Fayez’s affinity ripples through him. It’s the Three-Feathered affinity, allowing him to take on forms of one of the three aži sky creatures. His skin morphs into luminous amber scales, pupils forking white: he has the strength and muscles of an azhdahak serpent.
In a blink, I shove Yahya away just as Fayez smacks me against the dirt. My left leg twists beneath me and I hiss from the old injury. From beside me, Sohrab foolishly charges the captain.
‘Get back,’I yell, but there is no need because Yabghu is suddenly there, twisting Sohrab’s injured arm, dragging him away.
Straddling my hips, Fayez uses the spikes along the azhdahak to crush my torso; my organs clench, even as I thrust my arm out to lessen the pressure. He cocks his head, almost curious at the sight of my helplessness. But the curiosity must be a tangle of darkness because he lets me struggle, enjoying it. His taloned iron-fist rears back.
Instinctively, my head turns as it slams into my jaw, nails raking three bloodied lines. White spots dance across my vision.
‘You hardly resist me; how canyoube a Za’skar warrior?’ Fayez asks quietly before slamming my head once, then twice, against the clay, causing me to see stars.
‘Using children is cowardice.’ Overseer Negar looms above me, watching Fayez slam my head again.
‘Enough!’ Cemil runs to the captain, yanking him off me. ‘She could die.’
