Page 64 of Prince of Tides
“I see,” she said.
“I doubt it,” I said softly without reproach, pointing at one of the markers in Lord Crest’s area. “Each one of these represents a hundred members of the clan. Most of them young, within the first decade of coming into their powers.”
Laurie stared at me in horror. “You send your children to fight?”
“We have to,” I explained. “It’s the only way we hold them back.”
“But that’s … barbaric. They’re just kids!”
“Dragons come into their power with the onset of puberty. True children stay home. But a dragon’s bond to the sea is strongest when they first begin to shift,” I told her. “The older we get, the more precise we get with our control. The stronger we are outside of the sea. But controlling vast amounts of water? That is a job for the young or those blessed with magical weapons, such as the Lords of the Deep or myself.”
“I …” Laurie was shaking her head.
“Think of it as a young student versus the old master. Which one can punch harder?”
“The young student, I suppose,” she said.
“And which one knows preciselywhereto punch?”
“The master.”
“Exactly. Out there, the harder punch matters most once the battle is joined. But knowingwhereto put your punches is up to the older dragons. They command the units within each regiment and the regiments themselves. But for sheer power, the closer to the first shift, the stronger a dragon is in the sea.”
“But they’re so young.”
Laurie’s hand started to go to her belly, but I jerked my forearm to stop it. She looked up at me in confusion, not understanding. All I could do was give her a tiny shake of my head and hope she understood.
“Suh,” I said, changing the topic as I studied the map. “Why were no forces sent to cover the gap in Crest’s defenses?”
“They were, sire,” Suh said. “Until you returned, I didn’t want to dramatically shift our personnel around. So I sent the Royal Guard to cover the gap.”
I stiffened, looking up at him sharply. “Are they still there?”
“Yes, sir. I dispatched them four hours ago. They should be arriving soon.”
My head snapped around to stare out the far side of the War Room, through the giant panes of glass, and into the Bay of Summoning.
“Did I do something wrong, sir?” Suh asked quietly.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Not at all. You did exactly as we have always done after a large-scale attack where reinforcements are needed while we shift other forces around more permanently. You played it by the book.”
Suh shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“I know,” I said, turning to a nearby sergeant standing guard against a wall. “Gather the Palace Guards. Every reservist. Anyone who can fight and get them down to the Bay of Summoningnow. I want those barges out of the water ASAP.”
The sergeant leaped to obey.
“What is it?” Suh asked.
“They knew,” I hissed. “Theyknewwhat our response would be, Suh, and they planned for it. The attack against Crest was a diversion.”
“A diversion? How could they know?”
A tight smile spread across my face. “I don’t know, but they did. Maybe they’ve been studying our usual responses. We’ve gotten complacent. Either way, they know the Royal Guard is way out on the east coast. They think we’re vulnerable. But they made one mistake.”
Alarms began to ring, signaling that the outer defenses of the Bastion were under attack.
“What mistake is that?” Laurie asked, gripping my forearm tighter as the War Room leaped to a new level of frenzy as reports came in via the sonar trumpets.
