The Company of Shadows (Wellington Undead Book 3) by Richard Estep Page B

noted with almost clinical detachment; hot arterial blood jetted from the ragged puncture wounds made by the creatures’ teeth, many of which were even more rotten than the rest of their bodies were starting to become.
    They are strong, and feel no pain, Jamelia thought as she watched the feeding frenzy impassively. She had been one of the originators of the undead plague, helping to introduce blood that had been blessed by the Dark Mother to enemy soldiers after the assault on Ahmednuggur. They had impressed her then, just as they impressed her now, and revolted her all the same. These creatures simply cannot be stopped—
    And yet they did, every one of them. At the same time. It was downright uncanny, the way all eight of the flesh-eaters stopped what they were doing at precisely the same instant and stood up straight, even going so far as to drop whatever body part they were chewing or tearing up in the process.
    Then they turned to face her.
    Jamelia let out a low, throaty growl, exposing her wickedly-curved teeth and preparing to fight. But the creatures just stood there, dumbly staring back at her as though they were expecting her to do…what?
    Step back, she thought to herself.
    Amazingly, the creatures obliged. Each stumbled backward exactly one step. A couple of them tottered unsteadily, but all of them obeyed her command.
    Obeyed…
    Overcome by a sudden suspicion, Jamelia decided to test it out. Narrowing her eyes, she took a moment to gather her thoughts, drawing all of the threads of her focus together into one carefully directed thought.
    Turn.
    In unison, once again, they obeyed.
    The tigress grinned wolfishly. This must be one of the gifts of which the Dark Mother had spoken. Time and time again, Kali had referred to an army of the dead, which would drive the hated British from Maratha lands once and for all. One could not have an army without there being a commander, after all, or it would be nothing more than a mob.
    Throwing back her head, Jamelia roared her exultation at the skies. The creatures didn’t respond, instead simply standing there, waiting for their next command.
    Follow me.
    Jamelia broke into a confident stride, not bothering to look back and see whether they were obeying her mental instructions or not.
    These would be the first recruits of many to the cause of her goddess.
     
     
    As the sun rose ever higher toward its zenith, the line of stragglers stretched from horizon to horizon. The remnants of the Maratha army were still plentiful – in fact, more than adequate to smash the inferior British force, reflected Daulat Rao Scindia with a sneer – but not this day. Probably not tomorrow either.
    An army was more than physical strength, manpower, and numbers, he knew. Morale was a key factor, arguably the key factor, and the morale of his men had been sorely tested this past night…and found wanting.
    Scindia was no military man, preferring to play the role of potentate and politician, rather than general. He had, as the saying went, people for that: principle among them was the vampire officer Pohlmann, architect of their campaign. Thus far, his performance had been exemplary…but that had all ended on the plain of Assaye last night, when the accursed Wellesley and his red-coated battalions had launched their suicidal assault and broken the Maratha forces, sending them running from the field and into the cold grey light of dawn.
    “I simply cannot believe it,” said his companion, riding alongside on a grand chestnut gelding. “How could this have happen to us? How?”
    “Be at peace, Berar.” Scindia spoke calmly, the measured honey in his voice meant to soothe his fellow potentate. Between them, Scindia and Berar were capable of amassing more than a hundred thousand fighting men. Word of their alliance, although uneasy and fragile at times, had soon reached the ears of the British high command; afraid of the implications that it held regarding the balance of power in the