by Duncan Lay
The Prince stormed across the stage and grabbed a handful of his hair. “There’ll be no last words for you. No fine memory for those sheep out there to tell their filthy little children. We’re going to make you beg for mercy until they shudder when they say your name.”
“You mean the way they do when they speak yours?” Fallon said.
The Prince’s face darkened and he raised his hand … before letting it drop and forcing a chuckle.
“Good try. Hoping to make me so angry I’ll kill you quick. But after what you did to my father, you deserve to linger. Get him ready!”
Fallon glared hatred at Swane as rough hands dragged him towards the bench they had set up, where they would make the last few heartbeats of his life as painful as possible.
He whispered a quick prayer to Aroaril, his stomach lurching at the sight of the sharpened tools lying there, and wished with all his heart he could see Bridgit and Kerrin one more time. He was slammed down onto the bench by Kottermani guards, the breath wheezing out of his lungs. As he lay there, fighting for breath, acutely aware that he did not have many more left, he looked up at the castle tower. Surely it was just his imagination, because it looked as if Bridgit and Kerrin were standing there. Then his view was obscured by a Kottermani with a knife. Fallon could not even cry out as the knife plunged down.
CHAPTER 80
THREE DAYS EARLIER
The ship was silent as a grave as they sailed out of Berry and turned south. Men, women and children sat around, head in hands, or stood at the rail, weeping. Others could not bear to look at the distant land and went below. Nola had been one of those, disappearing before Bridgit could talk to her. Instead she turned to Riona, but her friend simply fled below, her eyes streaming.
“They’ll be happier when they know what’s going on,” Kerrin said.
“I hope so, son,” Bridgit said. She walked up to where Gallagher stood alone at the tiller. She was still five paces away when she saw the tears on his face.
“There is still chance of a miracle. We just have to trust in Aroaril,” he said.
But she could tell there was no conviction in his voice. “Listen, it is time to stop blindly trusting in Aroaril. The only thing that will save us now is ourselves. I need to know you can do what I ask. Do you want to save our friends?”
Gallagher cuffed the tears from his face. “What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to trust in me for the next few days. Now head south.”
“South? But I thought—”
“I’ll explain it all later. Just have a little faith.”
He looked shocked, then nodded. Bridgit turned away and put her arm around Kerrin.
“I’m scared, Mam,” he said.
“We both are,” she replied softly.
She wanted to tell her friends of her plan, tell everyone. But she felt she could only say it once. She summoned over one of Padraig’s wizards, feeling a sharp pain that her father was not there. She nearly lost control then but kept her face impassive.
“Tell me as soon as the other ships are sighted,” she ordered.
“Other ships? From where?”
“Get some birds up and find them. Sailing from the south,” she said shortly.
The young wizard looked more confused by her explanation but she could say no more. Not yet. She had to get control of herself first. It was all a gamble—a mad, crazy risk that could cost all their lives, or win the day. She had seen immediately that Fallon’s poisoned quarrel plan was hopeless. He might have killed Swane but that would still leave a massive Kottermani army in Gaelland. Even without a puppet prince, they would not leave. Not without ships full of Gaelish slaves and every last coin that Gaelland possessed. But if Fallon’s plan failed and Swane took his revenge on the people, it would create a real opportunity. A perfect diversion, in fact.
“How long do we have to wait, Mam?” Kerrin asked.
“As long as we have to,” she said.
She went below with Kerrin, found somewhere quiet for them both and allowed herself to weep for her father. He had not been the best father but she had always known that he loved her and that was enough. His final act was to try and keep Fallon alive, by any magical means possible, until the magic ate him up from the inside. No matter what happened to the rest of them, Padraig was not coming back. And yet he had done his duty with a smile. Then she wept for Fallon, and for Brendan, Devlin, Gannon, Bran, Casey, and Fitz and all the others who might pay the price for her plan. It did not matter that they had volunteered, she had to honor their sacrifice.
She had managed to wipe her face clear again by the time the young wizard found her.
“A fleet is approaching, my lady,” she said breathlessly. “Kottermani ships.”
Bridgit forced a smile. “Excellent. Summon the other ships in close and tell Gallagher to take us right at them.” She saw the bewildered expression on the woman’s face and almost told her what was going on. But, seeing as she had not told Fallon, let alone Nola or Riona, that was not going to happen.
“Tell me,” she asked instead, “what is your name?”
“Laura,” the wizard replied.
“Then stay with me, Laura, for I have more tasks for you.”
She finally walked out on deck to find people beginning to notice a cluster of sails moving towards them. But even that was not enough to get them out of their devastated silence, until the ships were so close they could actually see armed men aboard.
“Get the children below and then every man and woman is to come up on to the deck,” Bridgit ordered.
That led to a whole host of questions but she ignored them, instead walking up the stairs to the higher aft deck, along with Kerrin and the wizard Laura, where they joined Gallagher and Rosaleen. She sent Jason and a squad of his Lunstermen to block the stairs so none could follow her, so a scared and angry crowd looked up at her. The other ships nudged closer as well, until wherever she looked there were people staring up at her.
“We need to turn and run!” the grizzled old fisherman Donnchadh bellowed from the deck, which received a roar of approval.
Bridgit crossed to the rail and looked down on them. “We will do nothing unless I say so!” she shouted and they quietened down. “If you trust me, then be silent and I shall explain all soon.”
There were a few doubtful looks but they rapidly closed the gap on the dozen Kottermani ships.
“Drop all sails!” Bridgit ordered and, a few moments later, the Kottermani ships followed suit, so the two fleets eased towards each other. Now they could see most were filled with Gaelish people—not prisoners—but Gaelish armed with a motley variety of weapons.
The leading ship, however, had just Kottermanis. This one slipped alongside Bridgit’s ship, her people backing away from the rails. Bridgit and Kerrin, however, hurried down to the side, where a woman and two young boys were waving.
“Tie us up!” Bridgit ordered.
Men rushed to obey and then Feray, Asil and Orhan stepped across to their ship, where the two women embraced and the boys grinned at each other. Bridgit signaled to the young wizard and turned to see everyone aboard all the ships waiting and watching expectantly, a mixture of confusion and fear on many faces.
“I lied to you,” she said, her voice booming across the water with the wizard Laura’s help, which quietened them instantly. “We are not running and hiding. We shall not live in fear, waiting to see if Swane will come for us. Swane thinks he has won. He thinks the world is his. He thinks he can sacrifice children to his foul god and all will bow before him. He is wrong!” She paused and could feel them hanging on her every word. “We are going back to kill Swane, rescue our friends and take back Gaelland!”
The answering roar made the ships tremble and she had to wait because it never seemed to die down.
“Princess Feray and the Kottermanis who fought against us in Berry are now on our side. They have brought many of our people from Lunster, who have tasted life under Swane and ar
e willing to die rather than see that again!”
Again the crowd roared their approval, swearing they would not stop while Swane still lived and she let them cheer until they finally calmed down.
“We shall wait here until Swane lets down his guard and then we shall make him pay. Just be ready to follow our orders!”
She left them cheering madly and signaled to Feray, and to her friends. There, that was the plan, she thought, as her friends gathered around. Now she had to make it happen.
“When were you going to tell us?” Nola demanded.
“When I was ready,” Bridgit replied evenly. “I could not risk anyone back in the city knowing, for they could be made to reveal it. And then we are all dead.”
“But—” Riona began, only for Bridgit to cut her off.
“I made you suffer and weep and I apologize for it. But remember, my husband is in the city also. Now, are we going to bicker or are we going to save them?”
“Save them, of course. Tell us everything,” Rosaleen said.
Bridgit looked over at her Kottermani counterpart carefully. They had used the birds to communicate but had not really talked. Their sons were friends and that was a good start, though the fact that both their husbands would be killed unless they worked together was a better finish.
“Well, it will not be like the stories of old. Here, the women have to come riding to the rescue,” Bridgit said. “First, Feray, we will rely on you to get us into the harbor without a fight.”
“My people will always obey orders if they think it is coming from rank,” Feray said. “We can pretend your men are slaves and then we are in the city.”
“Good. Swane will want to sacrifice Fallon and any other prisoners in front of everyone. He’ll be unable to resist it. That is our chance,” she said, placing her palms flat on the table. “Feray and I will take the castle from the rear. Then we shall free the prisoners and capture Swane and the Emperor. Kemal and Feray will order the Kottermanis to lay down their arms and it will all be over, just like it was in the first battle of Berry. It is all about using a diversion to distract them and striking when they do not expect it, as we originally intended to do.”
She looked around the cabin and was met with silence.
“But what if the men are already dead? What if they are not taken prisoner?” Nola whispered.
Bridgit bowed her head. “If that happens then the plan is the same. Only we kill Swane and his allies in revenge for our menfolk,” she said harshly. “And if something goes wrong on the day then we die fighting with them. I know Fallon set great stock in Cavan’s island but I will not run away and hide from evil.”
This time when she looked around they all met her eyes, and nodded grimly.
“We shall use the birds to watch what happens,” she said. “Once we know for sure, we shall make our move, one way or the other.”
“That’s if our foolish husbands haven’t killed each other before we get there,” Feray added with a wry smile. Then it faded. “But what happens afterwards? I have not spoken to Kemal properly since he tried to destroy you. You could be exchanging one enemy for another.”
“Well, let’s save their skins and then worry about it,” Bridgit said. “If Kemal still wants Gaelland after all we have been through, he is welcome to it. All that matters is stopping Swane.”
“It is risky,” Gallagher said.
“How many risks have we taken to get here?” Bridgit asked.
Feray laughed. “Too many to number!”
“Then what is one more? There is no other way. Victory or death.”
“Well, I know which one I prefer,” Feray said.
*
The flotilla of ships stayed clustered together for safety, off the coast, waiting to see what would happen in Berry. And while that was hard for everyone, it was torture for Bridgit. The wizards kept a steady stream of birds circling over Berry. It let them see Fallon’s poisoned quarrel plan had failed—she did not tell anyone how she and Kerrin had secretly loosened the flights on Fallon’s quarrels because Swane had to live for her plan to work. They heard how the Kottermanis had taken the castle after a bitter fight but there was no way of knowing how many had survived the battle, or who they were.
That was the worst day. She had to put on a brave face for everyone else, especially Kerrin, but inside she was dying, waiting for news. She had done many terrible things but being the first to see who had lived and died was easily the equal of every child she had lost. She insisted nobody else could be around to receive the news, not even Kerrin. This was something she had to bear alone.
“Touch the raven’s head and close your eyes,” the wizard Laura said uncomfortably. In Padraig’s absence, Bridgit now called for her. “It will be as if you are there.”
Bridgit took a deep breath and did so. Instantly she thanked Aroaril she was sitting down, for it felt like she was flying. The castle of Berry swam into view and she began to circle it, seeing scores of bodies hanging from the walls. She felt her heart skip a beat then the bird went in closer and she could see faces, see the hideous wounds that had killed each one. Although her eyes were shut, tears streamed down her face as she recognized man after man. The sight of Fitz made her gasp aloud. But when she saw her father hanging there, it was as if she had been stabbed in the heart. The other men had followed Fallon to their death, but Padraig had gone there at her own request. She gritted her teeth and pressed on, going around not once but twice until she was sure Fallon, Devlin, Brendan and Kemal were not there. She let go of the bird’s head but kept her eyes closed.
“Are you all right, my lady?” Laura asked.
“I shall be. Leave me, please Laura,” Bridgit said, amazed she could even speak. “Send in my friends.”
Riona and Nola were waiting outside and rushed in, looking as bad as Bridgit felt.
“They are alive,” she told them and only then did she let herself go, sob out the fear and relief with her friends. He was alive! They were alive! Her mad gamble could work.
By the time she was ready to face the others and pass on the good news, she had also learned the Kottermanis were rounding up Gaelish men and women as slaves and stealing, beating and raping indiscriminately. And while that was hard to watch, she knew it was also playing into their hands and when reports came back that Swane was building a stage outside the castle, she allowed herself to relax, a little. Her time was taken up with constantly refining their plans, based on the information they were getting from the magicked birds.
Gallagher was now to free the slaves being held at the food warehouses, and arm them. Between them, the ones who had escaped Berry and the ones who had arrived from Lunster, they would have thousands of angry men.
Both Gaelish and Kottermani had to work together if they were to overthrow Swane and it was a mark of how desperate things were that everyone seemed to accept the alliance, even though both sides had fought against each other only a few moons ago. Feray’s officers, Nazim and Mahir, and her spymaster Abbas were more than happy to work with the Gaelish.
With the execution stage now built, it was obvious they had to strike immediately, for surely Fallon and the others would be killed on the morrow. Bridgit ordered all the ships to come in close, where she could speak to the people. There she told them they could fight and win, or fight and die. It was up to them. The thought of rescuing their friends and stopping Swane had them fired up and their cheers rocked the ships.
Early the next morning, the first part of the plan went well, with Feray using bluff and arrogance to take the fleet of Kottermani ships into the Berry harbor. It helped that almost all the officers had been ordered up to the castle square and the handful of junior men left behind thought it was merely a fleet of slaves—until those “slaves” and their “guards” turned on the Kottermanis who were guarding the harbor and stripped them of arms and armor before tying them up and locking them in an empty warehouse.
Bridgit helped organize everyone into groups, except for a few do
zen of the oldest men and women, who would stay behind on the ships to watch the children. Every man and woman carried a weapon because they had to fight, or die. That was the choice. Yet Bridgit could not bring herself to bring the children into a battle. Even Kerrin, although he complained bitterly, had to be left behind.
*
There was no gate at the back of the castle but the wall was low enough that it was not a true barrier. There were a score of Kottermani guards posted there but they were looking out for trouble from the Gaelish, not for a company of perfectly dressed Kottermani archers to march in impeccable order up to the wall and calmly begin to form pyramids and clamber over.
At first bemused, and then confused, the guards shouted questions but were told by Nazim, unquestionably a Kottermani corbaci, that they had orders to do this. By the time the bewildered junior officer in charge decided he should sound an alarm, it was too late and they were swiftly overpowered. A couple of soldiers who tried to run were picked off by expert archers and then Nazim waved the all-clear. Feray, Bridgit, Nola, Riona and Rosaleen trotted out of cover and across to the wall, where Kottermani soldiers gently helped them up and over.
“Remember, you find Kemal and get him out, then take over the whole castle, so Swane has nowhere to run if he escapes us in the square. You have to be ruthless. If anyone stops you, they must die,” Bridgit said.
“We know what is at stake,” Feray said calmly. “We will not kill ordinary soldiers unless we have to, because they are just obeying orders. But nothing will stop us.”
Bridgit nodded and waved to the two score of archers that were her escort. They were the best bowmen Nazim had, and had honed their skills providing food during a harsh Gaelish winter. They had better not miss Swane this time, she prayed. Her plan had already cost her father his life—although he had given it willingly enough—and she could not bear to lose Fallon as well. The archers did not speak Gaelish but she had a couple of Abbas’s men with her, who did speak some.
