Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...

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They were headed not by Peyepallo, the Hyerne high commander, but her second.Who still outranks
me , Shkai'ra thought. But as the Hyerne arrived, giving Hot-blood a wary glance, she said in
pidgin-Enchian, "Makalina say you in command until main body comes up."
So, so. The smell of another promotion was in the air; somebody had noticed her sucker-punching that
battalion of Arkan horse last week. Partly luck, but it always was, and she'd done something similar back
in Senlaw, across the Lannic.
The Hyerne deployed to the left of Shkai'ra's cavalry, black and white plumes fluttering in the gusting
breeze. Sova pulled up on her other side and saluted. The Yeoli boy was about seventeen… yes, it was
the one the girl was bouncing the bedroll with.Can't pronounce the name. Can't fault her taste, either
. "A regiment of Schvait, two springalds, three companies of Lakans, andrigaryekrachaseye Makalina
Shae-Sorel are on the way,knyd-hird ," Sova said.
"Good," Shkai'ra replied. To the Hyerne: "The woods. I figure the skirmishers'll come out to meet you,
since they don't want you taking the phalanx in the side. There's Arkan cavalry up on those hills; if they
move down, we'll give three trumpet calls. You retreat sharpish, we'll handle them."
The Hyeme nodded and repeated back the orders to acknowledge. She had a jewelled Imperial
longsword across her back, and a hastily repainted steel helmet that had obviously once protected some
Aitzas .
"Sova, and you-with-the-unpronounceable-name-that-sounds-like-a-sneeze," Shkai'ra said, "stay here
by the standard. If we engage, keep in the second rank. Andlisten for the commands, Sova: I'm
expectingyou to set an example."
The Hyerne ran ahead into position beside her standard, a dolphin leaping over a staff, and gave a long
shrill cry. Her troops sprang up head-high from their crouch, howling in answer, slamming spears against
shields three timeswhamp-whamp-whamp . The thundercracks echoed across the fields towards the
wood, and before the sound of the last died the Hyerne were charging at a bounding run through the
waist-high wheat, plumes nodding, whetted spearheads glinting, cocked back over their right shoulders.
Their shrieking war-cry was like files on metal, endless.
Scarlet and steel glinted along the edge of the woods as the Arkan skirmishers came forward to the edge
of the undergrowth at the foot of the trees. The Hyerne infantry commander barked; the run of the first
line changed to a sideways crab-step. Another shout: heavy javelins flew. Barbed Arkan darts answered,
flying on a higher arch. The second line of Hyerne ran through the first, threw; the third did likewise, and
the first were ready again. The next flight of Arkan spears was ragged, and men in scarlet tunics burst out
of the brush to engage hand-to-hand.
"Stupid," Shkai'ra said, as their charging line staggered under a hail of spears. She handed Sova the
binoculars. "See: the Hyeme had less shelter, but all their ranks could throw. The towhairs couldn't take
the iron. They should have fallen back, where the Hyeme had to come to them on their own ground. At a
guess I'd say their commander couldn't bear to run away from women. Asshole."
The Arkan light infantry had chainmail vests, small round shields faced with steel and double-edged
short-swords; but the Hyerne were twice as numerous, and had a bounding agility the Imperials could not
match. Through the glasses Sova saw an Arkan face spring out, teeth bared in a grin of tension as he
backed before two black women whose spears licked out like the tongues of snakes, striking sparks
from the surface of shield and sword… something flickered behind him, skin-brown and steel bright, his
mouth and eyes popped open, stunned, and he was gone. For an instant all she could see were backs