GODS AT THE CENTRE ( EDITING)

CHAPTER VII, VAXES: LOOKING UP

Vaxes studied the map in her hands, an eastern wind stirred the thin leather sheet, causing the drawn lands to rise and fall like a wave.

She raised her eyes from the sheet, the wind blowing at her face and stared at the cliff faces that loomed ahead.

She sighed. From northwest down to the southeast the great highlands ran.

Rising high above the plains were sheer cliff faces, towering peaks behind and above them, like an impassable wall running northwest to southeast.

With just one pass, the Throat!

Vaxes gnashed as she looked straight on where the ground went higher, sloping past screes, up a path bordered by boulders, up to the wide cleft between the two lowest cliffs. That was her only way into the Alamaria.

And that was the problem. High above her she saw the accursed red and black banner of Alamaria flapping, raised high in the cleft.

An army stood in the pass, waiting and taunting her.

She clenched her fists. They had beat her to it! They had reached the pass before she did.

All her marching and speed, stealth all for nothing.

She had hoped to reach here first.

As a last hope she had expected the Alamarians to give her battle on the plains, in a bid to prevent her from reaching this close to their capital, but they had shrewdly chosen this single pass hewed by nature into this wall of stone to defend.

They had chosen the higher ground.

Very clever. She sighed.

What to do, what to do? The Throat wasn't the only way, somewhere to the southeast the ranges gave way to lower lands.

But that was too far off. To close to Onia and the Alamarian cities on the coast, many a day match with Alamarians in front and behind. No! It had to be this way.

She breathed, struggling to stay calm. She had come all the way across the bay, among the fishing villages to the east, leaving Kuvi with the ships.

Or rather he chose to. The fat coward had grinned. "That I maybe the first to run swiftly to the queen bearing news of your victory."

More like the first to run away! Coward. Across fields and farms she hurried, pillaging as quickly as possible, because she knew news of her would have gone ahead. She didn't wager they would be able to marshal such forces in time! They weren't supposed to be ready.

In her fantasies she imagined taking Alamaria as easy as spitting, cutting down useless defenders and setting her banners on its walls.

Well, that was in her dreams, anything was possible, this was reality and she had a problem.

What would father do?

Idly, she fingered the plain ball pommel of her sword, firstly his sword-Meat.

She had asked her father why he gave his sword such a name, why wasn't it as adorned as befitted his rank and prowess.

He had scoffed. "Men who put jewels on swords make it more attractive to thieves and less fearsome.

"A jeweled sword is a heavy thing, makes you slower, makes you meat in battle. I call my sword Meat because that's what he makes of men. Once he tears into you and tastes your blood, you're meat.

" I wouldn't be giving my sword fancy names like light or bright, there's nothing bright or nice about what she does. He kills, spills blood and that's dirty, nothing more..."