192 A Thousand and One Hands (2/2)

He raised an eyebrow at me. ”Why's that?”

”It doesn't matter to me whether I had a hundred or a thousand… My tactics are at a scale big enough to affect the battlefield,” I reasoned. ”We proved as much in the last war.”

Redbull laughed out loud.

”Do you hear that, April?” he nodded to his left where his adjutant rode on her swifthart. ”This cheeky human's got a pair of balls on him!”

”I'm human too, sir,” April reminded him before turning an icy stare on me. ”But I agree, he is cheeky.”

---

Half an hour after we began our march, and we finally sighted our target.

”General, the enemy is within sight,” April Valentine called.

Redbull's adjutant alerted us to the enemy that had just appeared in front of us in numbers so great that they covered the horizon from one end to the other in their yellow and red banners.

”There are more of them than the reports mentioned,” I whistled.

At a glance, I assumed they were at least eighty-thousand strong.

”They must have received reinforcements on their side too.” Redbull reached back for the handle of his battle-ax strapped to the side of his mount. Then he pulled out the wicked-looking thing and raised it forward while laughing out loud. ”It doesn't matter. We'll kill them all!”

I don't think he meant for it to sound like a battle cry but the soldiers around us began to cheer together, ”Kill them all! Kill them all!”

”Well, Dean,” Redbull turned his gaze on me, ”You think whatever you have planned will work against that?”

”Possibly…” I grinned. ”So long as you do your part, General.”

”So you expect me to do the heavy lifting, huh,” he laughed out loud. ”This kid has such big balls, don't you think, April?”

April Valentine, who was riding beside Redbull, nodded her head. ”Perhaps that's why General Llewellyn wants to bed him…”

This caused Redbull to laugh at my expense.

My eyes darted nervously toward Aura once more, and this time I noticed the slight smile on her lips.

I face-palmed myself because I knew I was going to get it later — if not from Aura then certainly from Luca or Edo or Varda or Qwipps or whoever else Aura decided to reveal this secret to.

”A-anyway,” I stuttered to change topics quickly, ”If you can get their right vanguard to move forward, that'll really help me out, General.”

Redbull laughed. ”Cheeky brat… alright, I'll be your bait! You better get the job done though.”

”Yes, sir,” I said in all seriousness. ”We'll nab you a general's head for your trouble.”

Redbull's laugh got even louder. ”As I said, you've got big balls, Dapper.”

”Don't be too cocky, Dean Dapper,” April warned. ”The enemy general of the Dominion's right army is nearly famous for being a defensive general. He's a strategic type like you.”

Redbull nodded. ”They call him Amon, the Shield of Rah.”

”Why does everyone get a cool nickname but me?” I wondered out loud.

”Boy Touched with Fire doesn't really sound intimidating, huh,” Redbull agreed.

No, I wasn't worried about this 'Shield of Rah' as I'd faced off against dozens of strategic-type commanders before. The biggest one being Ardeen Spellweaver, the fairy responsible for giving me my lame nickname.

”The more well-known they are, the easier it is for us to make them slip up,” I reasoned.

”Well, show me what you can do then, Dean,” Redbull ordered. ”Bring me a general's head.”

”Roger,” I answered.