Faith of the Fallen (Sword of Truth 6)

Kahlan felt her flesh go cold with dread. “They’re coming, aren’t they?”

He nodded. “The entire force. They’re still a distance out, but you’re right, they’re coming. This was just to throw us into confusion and keep us distracted.”

Kahlan stared, dumbfounded. The Order had never attacked at sunset before. The prospect of the onslaught of hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of Imperial Order troops storming in from the darkness was bloodcurdling.

“They’ve changed their tactics,” Kahlan whispered to herself. “He’s a quick study. I thought I’d tricked him, but I was the one who was taken in.”

“What are you mumbling about?” Cara asked, her fingers locked together over her stomach.

“Jagang. He counted on me not being fooled by those troops going around in a circle. He wanted me to think I had outsmarted him. He played me for a fool.”

Cara made a face. “What?”

Kahlan felt sick at the implications. She pressed a hand to her forehead as the awful truth inundated her.

“Jagang wanted me to think I had his scheme figured out, so we would pretend to play along and send out our troops. He probably figured they wouldn’t be sent after his decoy, but would be used instead against his real plan of attack. He didn’t care about that, though. All along, he was planning on changing his tactics. He was waiting only until those troops left so that he could attack before they were in place and while our numbers were reduced.”

“You mean,” Cara asked, “that whole time you were talking to him, pretending to believe he was moving troops north, he knew you were pretending?”

“I’m afraid so. He outsmarted me.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” General Meiffert said. “He hasn’t succeeded, yet. We don’t have to let him have it his way. We can move our forces before he can pounce.”

“Can’t we call back the men we sent out?” Verna asked. “Their numbers would help.”

“They’re hours away,” General Meiffert said, “traveling through back country on the way to their assigned locations. They would never get back here in time to help us tonight.”

Rather than dwell on how gullible she had been, Kahlan put her mind to the immediate problem. “We need to move fast.”

The general nodded his agreement. “We could fall back on our other plans—about breaking up and scattering into the mountains.”

He ran his fingers back through his blond hair. The gesture of frustration unexpectedly reminded Kahlan of Richard. “But if we do that, we would have to abandon most of our supplies. In winter, without supplies, a number of our men wouldn’t last long. Either way, killed in battle or dying of hunger and cold—you’re just as dead.”

“Broken up like that, we would be easy pickings,” Kahlan agreed. “That’s a last resort. It may work later, but not now. For now, we need to keep the army together if we’re to survive the winter—and if we’re to keep the Order distracted from its designs at conquest.”

“We dare not allow them to go uncontested into a city. It would not only be a bloodbath, but if they picked the right city, we would face a near impossible task of dislodging them.” The general shook his head. “It could end up being the end of our hopes of driving them back to the Old World.”

Kahlan gestured over her shoulder. “What about that valley we talked about, back there? The high pass is narrow—it can be defended on this side by two men and a dog, if need be.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” he said. “It keeps the army together—and keeps the Order having to contend with us, rather than being able to turn their attention on any cities. If they try to move around us up into the Midlands, there are easy northern routes out of the valley from which we can strike. We have more men on the way, and we can send for others; we need to stay together and maintain our engagement with the Order’s army until those forces arrive.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Verna asked. “Let’s get moving.”

He gave her a worried look. “The problem right now is that if we’re to make it into that valley before the Order can pounce on us, we’re going to need more time to do it. The pass is too narrow for wagons. The horses can make it, but not the wagons—they’ll have to be dismantled. Most of our equipment is designed to be knocked down so the parts can be portaged, if need be. We’ll have to leave a few that aren’t. It won’t take long to get started, but we’re going to need time to funnel all the men and supplies over that narrow pass—especially in the dark.”

“Torches will work well enough with a steady line of men,” Adie said. “They must only follow the one in front, and even if the light be bad, they can do it.”

Kahlan remembered the handprint made of glowing dust. “The gifted could lay down a glowing track to guide the men.”

“That would help,” the general said. “We’re still left with our basic problem, though. While our men are trying to break down and move all our equipment and supplies, and waiting their turn to go over the pass, the Order will arrive. We’ll find ourselves in a pitched battle trying to defend ourselves while withdrawing at the same time. A withdrawal requires the ability to move faster than the enemy, or at least keep him at bay while pulling back; the pass doesn’t provide that.”

“We’ve kept ahead of them before,” Verna said. “This isn’t the first attack.”

“You’re right.” He pointed to his left. “We could try to withdraw up this valley, instead, but in the dark and with the Order attacking, I think that would be a mistake. Darkness is the problem, this time. They’re going to keep coming. In daylight, we could establish defenses and hold them off—not at night.”

“We already have defenses set up, here,” Cara said. “We could stand where we are and fight them head-on.”

General Meiffert chewed his lower lip. “That was my first thought, Cara, and still an option, but I don’t like our chances in a head-on, direct confrontation like this, not at night when they can sneak great numbers of men in close. We couldn’t use our archers to advantage in the dark. We can’t see their numbers or movements accurately, so we wouldn’t be able to position our men properly. It’s a problem of numbers: theirs are almost unlimited, ours aren’t.

“We don’t have enough gifted to cover every possibility—and in war it’s always what you don’t cover that gets hit. The enemy could pour through a gap, get in behind us in the dark, without us even realizing it, and then we’re finished.”

Everyone was silent as the implications truly sank in.

“I agree,” Kahlan said. “The pass is the only chance we have to keep from losing a major battle tonight—along with a huge number of our men. The risk without real benefit of standing and fighting is a poor choice.”

The general appraised her eyes. “That still leaves us with the problem of how we’re going to get over that pass before they annihilate us.”

Kahlan turned to Verna. “We need you to slow the enemy down to give us the time we need to get our army over that pass.”

“What do you wish me to do?”

“Use your special glass.”

The general screwed up his face. “Her what?”

“A weapon of magic,” Cara said. “To blind the enemy troops.”

Verna looked thunderstruck. “But I’m not ready. We only made up a small batch. I’m not ready.”

Kahlan turned back to the general. “What did the scouts say about how much time we have until the Order is upon us?”

“The Order could be here within an hour, at the soonest, two at the latest. If we don’t slow them down, we’ll never make it out of this valley with our men and supplies. If we can’t find a way to delay them, we can only run for the hills, or stand and fight. Neither is a choice I would make except in desperation.”

“If we just run for the hills,” Adie said, “we be as good as dead. Together, we be alive and at least be a threat to the enemy. If we scatter, the Order will take the opportunity to attack and capture cities. If our only

choice is to scatter, or stand our ground and fight, then we can only choose to stand and fight. Better to try, than to die one at a time out in the mountains.”

Kahlan rubbed her fingers across her brow as she tried to think. Jagang had changed his tactics and decided to engage them in a night battle. He had never done that before because it would be so costly for him, but with his numbers, he apparently wasn’t concerned about that. Jagang held life in little regard.

“If we have to fight him, in a full battle, here, now,” Kahlan said in resignation, “we will probably lose the war by dawn.”

“I agree,” the general finally said. “As far as I see it, we have no choice. We have to act quickly and get as many of our men over the pass as we can. We’ll lose all those who don’t get over before the Order arrives, but we’ll manage to preserve some.”

The four of them were silent a moment, each considering the horror of that reality, of who would remain behind to die. Furious activity continued around them. Men were rushing around, putting out fires, collecting panicked horses, tending to wounded, and battling the few remaining invaders they had trapped. The Order soldiers were greatly outnumbered. Not for long, though.

Kahlan’s mind raced. She couldn’t help being furious with herself at being gulled. Richard’s words echoed through her mind: think of the solution, not the problem. The solution was the only thing that mattered now.