The Vampire & Her Witch

”Our war will begin as soon as the festival ends!”

Nyrielle’s words landed in the room like a torch thrown onto a puddle of oil, igniting strong reactions in everyone present. A few eyes turned to Hauke, wondering if the Vale of Mists’ recent alliance with the Frost Walkers was the reason that Nyrielle felt confident to press for war as winter approached.

For decades, the Vale and the Lothians had fallen into a stalemate where the heavy snows and bitter cold of winter constrained both sides, preventing Nyrielle and her progeny from exploiting their greater reach during the long nights of winter. While it was true that Nyrielle and her progeny had more ability to move, any attempt to bring her army along with her was likely to result in more deaths from exposure to the cold and difficulty transporting supplies than they would suffer at the hands of the enemy.

It was the same for the humans. While they could try to lay siege to the Vale or other Eldritch strongholds during the winter, they would be placing themselves at the edges of their ability to manage supply lines and deep within the striking range of Nyrielle and her progeny. Enough of them massed in one place might deter the powerful vampires but doing so would certainly leave them exposed somewhere else without the ability to quickly send reinforcements through the harsh weather.

But when people looked to Hauke as if the young Frost Walker lord was the key to the strategy behind Nyrielle’s announcement, he looked just as confused as everyone else. Other people at the table, however, were freer with their thoughts.

”Finally,” Savis growled. A fearsome, predatory grin formed on his face as he bared his fangs, clutching his claws in anticipation of heated battles in the days to come. The battle against the Frost Walkers had been a shameful affair, and even though his Black Wolf Brigade had acquitted themselves well, it was far from the unrestrained slaughter that he and his men yearned for in these human lands.

”Already?” Ollie said softly, blinking in surprise and turning to face Ashlynn with a puzzled look. Hadn’t she said that they would need the winter to study witchcraft and prepare for the war to come? If the war was going to begin in the fall, how could he prepare himself for something that would surely be much, much worse than the nightmare he’d faced in the trial that Ashlynn had given him?

”My Lady,” Commander Bassinger said in a deep, rumbling voice that cut through the chatter coming from other members of the war council. ”My men are capable and blooded, and they will follow any order that you give. But they have just spent the summer fighting a campaign against Liam Dunn and Loman Lothian’s forces. The men are tired, and even though we fought well, there were losses to be mourned. It may be too soon to press them into battle again.”

”They’ve fought one season, and they need to rest for two before they can fight again?” Savis sneered. ”What kind of soft soldiers are you training in the Vale?”

”Soldiers whose lives are too precious to expend on uncertain actions,” Bassinger shot back. ”Each life in the Vale is worth twenty human soldiers, and I won’t trade one for less than that. To do so is an insult to their sacrifice and a price we can’t afford. You may have the luxury of expending your men’s lives carelessly, but we do not.”

”Gentlemen,” Ashlynn said softly, tapping the table with a finger and sending a ripple of soft, soothing power down the length of the massive piece of cedar. ”Mistress Nyrielle has yet to explain our plans. Wait until you’ve heard what we have to say, and then you can make your arguments,” she said firmly. ”And when you do, please remember that everyone seated here is a brother or sister in arms. You may question an idea, but save your insults for our enemies.”

”My darling is right,” Nyrielle said, sweeping the table with her midnight blue gaze. ”We need to save our energy for fighting our real enemies, not for fighting among ourselves. To that end, before we discuss our plans, it’s time to make the first of many changes to the leadership of the Vale of Mists,” she said, startling several people at the table to sit up straighter.

”Commander Bassinger, you have served the Vale well for decades,” Nyrielle began. ”You’ve been my guard, my captain, and the commander of all the soldiers of the Vale, and for that you have my deepest thanks.”

”The honor has always been mine, my lady,” Bassinger said in a deep, rumbling voice as he placed his hand over his heart, bearing his sharpened claws as if demonstrating a willingness to rip out his own heart and offer it to her if she required it. ”If you need something of me now, you need only to ask. These hands will always be yours to command.”

”It’s good of you to make that offer,” Nyrielle said with a smile. ”But from now on, you and your claws answer to another.” The statement, in and of itself, didn’t draw much surprise, and many heads were already turning toward Ashlynn when Nyrielle spoke again, and this time, nearly everyone at the table was taken off guard.

”Our army has grown too large and too complex for a man of Commander Bassinger’s limited experience to lead,” Nyrielle said. ”We need to swiftly integrate members of several different clans and traditions, and at the same time, we must quickly learn to make use of their unique strengths while finding ways to compensate for their individual weaknesses. To that end, the Vale of Mists will create a new position with the title of Lord General of the Vale of Mists.”

”Every soldier within the Vale will ultimately answer to the Lord General,” Nyrielle said, pinning a sharp gaze on several people around the table to ensure they accepted her pronouncement before she continued. ”There is one man here who has fought at my side through more wars than anyone else, and I can think of no one better suited than him to lead our growing army.”

”Thane,” Nyrielle said, turning to face the vampire sitting at her right hand. ”Our people are worried that the forces we’ve raised will become a chain around their necks, dragging the whole of the Vale to ruin. I believe that you can do more than just prove their fears unfounded. Will you take up this burden and lead our forces to victory in the battles to come?”

”I swore my sword to your service long ago, Mistress,” Thane said, sitting upright in his chair for the first time since the meeting began. ”When I did, you bestowed the Voice of Command on me so I could give your soldiers the courage and discipline of knights with nothing more than a spoken word.”

”Today, our men already have the courage of knights,” he continued. ”They will fight to the last man to defend the home they’ve reclaimed from the ruins of High Lord Torbin’s Vale of Mists. But the discipline to fight, and the ability to fight together with men they barely know... Mistress Nyrielle, if this isn’t the best use of the power you’ve given me, I don’t know what is. Of course, I’ll take up this burden.”

”In that case, Lord General Thane,” Nyrielle said with a faint smile as she led the conversation in a direction that had clearly been prepared in advance. ”I think everyone gathered here would benefit from understanding your plans. You must attack and wage war when supplies are scarce, you must teach the Lothians and their vassals that they are no longer safe huddling behind their walls though the dark months of winter, and you must deliver decisive victories before the humans begin to receive reinforcements from across the sea next year.”

”So please, Lord General,” she said, her dark eyes twinkling with a mix of pride in her progeny and anticipation for how he would rise to the challenge of this moment. ”Tell us your plans for the coming war.”