Kelian leaned back against the wall and looked appraisingly at farmer Mulgrew. ‘Correct,’ he confirmed.
‘I’d come with you, Highness, but my wife has not returned as yet from Chayse.’ He stared out the window. ‘She should have been back by now,’ he muttered anxiously.
Kelian started forward as Araas and Timbul exchanged glances of dismay. ‘Let’s go!’ said Milgorry and he rushed from the room with Timbul.
‘You think…’ Farmer Mulgrew stared at Araas in horror. ‘Surely not! Oh Peta!’
Araas moved to the window. ‘She’s actually less than a mile away,’ he said. ‘No!’ he added emphatically as Mulgrew flew towards the door. ‘I have no idea who else is out there right now, but if Tim and Mil can’t get her home, then no-one can. Don’t jeopardize her safety by giving them a second person to protect if they’re attacked.’ Mulgrew sighed and joined Araas at the window. Five minutes later Peta appeared, flanked by Timbul and Milgorry.
‘Well, if they didn’t know we were here before, they certainly will now,’ Araas stated.
‘You can be sure they already knew,’ said Milgorry.
‘What’s our plan?’ asked Timbul.
‘If Farmer Mulgrew and Peta can put up with us for a little longer, perhaps we should stay for a bit. Gilgarry will have time to recover properly and if we’re attacked, we’re all here together. We can defend this place.’
‘You are most welcome, Highness,’ said Peta graciously. ‘Bedding might be difficult…’
Elena smiled at Peta. ‘We’ve been sleeping on the ground for so long now I will simply be pleased to be indoors. We have blankets and we can use our packs as pillows,’ she said practically.
‘Tsk! I think we can do better than that!’ Peta exclaimed and she bustled from the room.
Chapter 4
Reports
Dale led the group along the remainder of the tunnel, through the kitchen and dining area and up the spiraling stairs to the conference room. He paused at the doorway. General Marnol of Highview was standing next to his wife, Lady Sophie, and they were deep in conversation with Administrator Tappy, Baroness Kielie of Storm Haven, and a young soldier whose face was so much like General Marnol’s it could only belong to his son. Everyone in the room was exhausted. Their clothes and bodies were filthy with dirt and ash, and their faces were lined with grime and anxiety. They turned towards the doorway when Dale and Danil appeared.
‘Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!’ General Marnol exclaimed, shaking Danil’s hand. I’ve never been so pleased to see someone in all my life.’ He clapped Dale on the back and snorted at his appearance. ‘Last time I saw you Baron, you looked like you’d been in a fight,’ he said grinning. ‘Now you just look beaten, scratched, bruised, and dirty and your clothes need washing. You hair could do with a cut too,’ he added as Dale raised his eyebrows indignantly and brushed his dark brown hair away from his eyes.
‘But you’ve kept yourself well, General,’ Dale retorted sarcastically, taking in the soldier’s battle worn appearance. ‘Though from what we saw of the city, you’re lucky to be alive.’
‘That we are,’ Marnol agreed soberly. He turned to Callian. ‘Guardian General, we’ve never needed your help more than now. And I recognize you also,’ he added, looking past Callian. ‘Alexander, isn’t it? One of the better soldiers trained at Highview. You probably remember my son Evan?’ Alexander reached over with a smile and shook hands with Evan. The two had spent many hours training together and though never great friends, each held respect for the other soldier. General Marnol looked at Enri. ‘And you must be Enrique? You look like your mother,’ he said, not waiting for an answer. He eyed Lias curiously. ‘I was about to say the last person I expected to walk through the door was the King’s Marshall, but in actual fact you are the last person I expected to walk through the door. What is one of the fallen doing in the King’s conference room?’
Dale sat himself down heavily at the table and gestured towards the vacant chairs. ‘Sit!’ he ordered and everyone immediately sat. ‘General, if it wasn’t for this free warrior, Lias of Tarl, we would still be in Nyinaku wondering how we were going to rescue Elena, Louisa and Immosey from the fallen, though by now it’s more likely that we would have been caught and killed. As it is, here we are, and even as we speak Kelian and the girls should have crossed the Ice Coast, with the help of yet another of the free. Actually I’m hoping that by now they are very close to either Naraloon or Tarlique. Our escape from Nyinaku was paid for by Lias. There is little chance he will be able to return to his homeland or to his family for a very, very long time – if ever.’
Lady Sophie sighed and rested her head on her clasped hands in relief. ‘Are you sure they’re safe Baron?’
‘I hope so, Lady. Now would someone please tell me what’s going on? What happened to the King?’
‘To be honest, we’re not entirely sure,’ Lady Sophie admitted worriedly.
‘First tell us what happened in Nyinaku,’ Baroness Kielie suggested. ‘Then we will try to describe what happened here.’
‘Before I do, does anyone know where Leon is?’ Dale felt guilty asking after his well-loved horse, having seen the terrible carnage littering the city.
‘Your cantankerous beast is being kept in the stables near the city gates,’ said General Marnol. ‘I thought its name was Crocodile - which defines its temperament perfectly. I’ll have him brought back here if you wish.’
‘No. Leave him there for now. I’ll see to him later. I was just a bit worried he might have been forgotten. We were gone for a long time.’
‘So what happened?’ asked Lady Sophie.
‘After Elena, Immosey and Louisa were taken from the barge at East Inlet, we went across to Warbilla and through the Khynol gap. We managed to join with Prince Kelian and his men, who were also trying to find the girls, so we went south together.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Evan interrupted. ‘Why were the ladies taken in the first place?’
‘From what Lias has told me, the fallen abducted Louisa because she is of the Daoine Maithe,’ Dale explained. ‘Apparently the guardians and the fallen were once the same race, but they were supposed to be servants or guards or something like that. But some wanted their freedom, and they got it, but they had to sacrifice some of their abilities to keep this freedom. The Daoine Maithe call them fallen, but the fallen call themselves free. So the guardians were sent to keep an eye on them, to make sure they didn’t interfere too much with the humans. That explains why the guardians can do all kinds of weird and ridiculous things, and the fallen are not as fast or strong as they might be.’ He stopped as he noticed that both Callian and Lias were looking offended. ‘That’s not exactly what I meant. I’m sorry. That sounded insulting. Both of you can hear my thoughts as easily as you wish, so you know I have only the highest respect for you. Lias is strong enough and fast enough to be more than a little frightening, and Callian’s gifts are remarkable.’
‘It’s true,’ Lias conceded, grinning wickedly. ‘Callian is definitely ridiculous and weird.’
Callian huffed indignantly. ‘You really shouldn’t insult someone you’re too slow to run away from, Lias,’ he said drily.
‘Enough,’ said King’s Marshall Danil, barely hiding a smirk. ‘Continue please Dale.’
‘Callian could probably explain this better, but it’s believed that if a guardian was to mate with one of the fallen, their child would possess the freedom of the fallen and the power of the guardians, and the fallen believe such a child would be able to return to the fallen all of their lost abilities. Nandul of Tarl seeks to make this happen. The guardians know that if he’s successful, the fallen will have the ability to wipe out every human in this land, and the guardians would be hard pressed to stop them. But Nandul kidnapped Louisa for this very purpose, and he took Elena and Immosey to make sure Louisa didn’t try to escape. So, we snuck into Nyinaku, stole his captives and left as quickly as we could, some of us with Lias and some with M
ilgorry of Tarl.’
‘I’m surprised you were offered help by anyone in Nyinaku,’ said Lady Sophie.
‘The craziest thing is that Milgorry is Nandul’s son,’ said Dale and General Marnol’s jaw dropped.
‘That really is crazy,’ said Marnol. ‘I wonder what his motive was.’
‘Love,’ said Dale, smiling as he remembered how smitten the warrior was with Louisa.
‘You have got to be joking!’ Marnol exclaimed. ‘What do you mean, ‘love’?’
‘You know. ‘Love!’ Where fallen warrior meets captive guardian and they fall in love and she finds herself carrying his child,’ said Dale drily.
‘Whoa! I wonder what the other guardians will think of that!’ Marnol exclaimed, turning questioningly to Callian.
‘I don’t believe Dale has finished explaining what happened in Nyinaku,’ said Callian coldly.
‘Alright,’ said Marnol, looking crestfallen. ‘Continue please, Dale.’
‘There’s not a lot more to tell. When we arrived back here, I thought this mess was Nandul taking revenge for our actions, but Lias doesn’t believe this is the case, and I trust his judgment.’ Dale glanced at Lias as he said this and the warrior raised his eyebrows skeptically. ‘So,’ he continued, ‘I would love to know who is responsible for what happened here.’
‘Dale, we have no idea who they were,’ Baroness Kielie admitted. ‘They were not fallen. I would have known. The fallen killed my husband at East Inlet.’ She gazed at Lias with a mixture of sadness and anger in her expression. Baron Scott had been killed by the fallen in the attack on Dale’s home town of East Inlet, in the same battle where Dale’s parents had been killed.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Lias sincerely. ‘The destruction of East Inlet was an atrocity which should never have happened. I wish now that we’d had the sense to stop Nandul before he brought so much pain to so many people.’
Kielie stared at Lias with confusion in her eyes. ‘Were you there, warrior?’ she asked.
Lias inclined his head sadly. ‘I was there.’ He stared into her sad eyes for a moment and his guilt and grief was tangible. ‘Lady,’ he said and his voice was almost a whisper. ‘My people took your husband, and so my life is yours to take. If you can find peace through my return, I will offer this.’ He ignored the look of disbelief and perplexity coming from Callian. Kielie stared at Lias, and her huge eyes sparkled with tears.
‘No,’ she said softly. ‘That only brings more grief. It’s too late.’ She continued to look at Lias with sadness and confusion. She felt profound anger towards him and yet she felt a strange urge to reach out and touch his face, as even in her resentment her heart felt compassion towards this warrior who had little chance of returning safely to his home and family. Her heart pained with sympathy towards him. She heard his sudden intake of breath and she blanched and dropped her gaze. She stared at the table, embarrassed that he could sense what she felt. She wondered how she could have any compassion towards someone whose people had killed her husband and an intense feeling of guilt surged through her. Lias continued to stare at her with a similar look of uncertainty and unhappiness.
‘What happened here?’ Dale prompted once again.
‘Well, none of us saw it coming, that’s certain,’ said General Marnol. ‘The King and his sister, Princess Elizabeth went with her husband Duke Li, to see him on his way back to Emerald. They never even got as far at the city gates.’ He paused as a soldier with bright red hair appeared in the doorway. ‘Private Leonard. Report please.’
‘Bluey!’ Evan and Alexander exclaimed simultaneously, leaping up and shaking hands with Private Leonard.
‘Good to see you, Bluey!’ Evan added with a grin and the men laughed and slapped each other on the back.
‘Bluey?’ Lady Sophie looked questioningly at Evan.
‘It’s the red hair,’ Evan explained. ‘No-one at Highview wanted to be in Bluey’s training team because the ‘enemy’ could always see his white skin and red hair. Then someone would shout out ‘good to see you Bluey!’ and the game would be up,’ he explained.
‘It’s not my fault I have red hair!’ Private Leonard said indignantly.
Alexander grinned. ‘As I recall, you got hold of some foul smelling black paste and tried to paint yourself black, hair included. The horrible stuff was all over your bed and stank out the entire barracks.’
‘It wasn’t one of my better moments,’ Private Leonard admitted sheepishly.
‘Bring your report Private,’ said General Marnol and Evan and Alexander returned to the table.
‘Sir, everyone who wanted to come has been brought into the keep. I have the men with no families using the barracks and families with women and children are on the third above level,’ he said, referring to the third floor of the keep, well above the motte which ran around the base of the castle. ‘What should we do with the ones who are refusing to come?’
‘They have no choice. Make sure they are aware of this,’ said General Marnol adamantly.
‘Yes sir,’ Private Leonard answered, looking worried.
‘Perhaps they would be willing to come if they were given a little more information,’ Lady Sophie suggested. ‘After all, they aren’t soldiers.’
‘True,’ General Marnol conceded. ‘Alright, make sure they know that there is likely to be disease, with all the dead bodies and not enough soldiers to bury them quickly enough, and remind them that we have no idea whether we will be attacked again or not.’
‘I hope that’s enough, sir. Some have been adamant in their decision to stay in their burnt out homes.’
‘Perhaps you just need to remind them that there’s food in the keep?’ Evan suggested.
‘Good plan!’ General Marnol agreed. ‘Continue Private.’
‘I’ve arranged to have all salvageable food and clothing, and anything else useful, brought into the keep and a group of the older children are sorting it for us. Some of the older ladies wanted to look after washing blankets and clothing and there are some young men and women who are willing to hunt to keep our food supplies up.’
‘Who do we have in charge of food supplies and preparation?’ asked General Marnol.
‘Kitchen Master Tolly,’ Private Leonard replied and Dale smiled, relieved to know his friend was alive.
‘And who were the men I saw earlier at the docks?’
‘They were fishermen. I asked them to try to find some boats. We’re going to need a lot more food, at least until we get a decent shipment through, so I thought it might be good if we could get some fish, sir.’
‘Good. Who is organizing the burial of the bodies?’
‘I am sir, with the help of Trainer.’
‘I want you to get someone else to supervise this. I need Trainer Larrence up here.’
‘Yes sir, will there be anything else, sir?’
‘Yes. Organize for someone to relieve Lieutenant Callum, he’s guarding the tunnel behind the baker’s door, and send him to me please. Then spread the word that all soldiers are to assemble within the keep precisely at sundown. That will be all, Sergeant.’
‘Er, I’m Private Leonard, sir.’
‘I know who you are Sergeant,’ said General Marnol. ‘Ensure you change your uniform vest immediately so everyone else knows.’
‘Thank you, sir!’ Sergeant Leonard exclaimed as he dashed from the room.
‘You’re welcome,’ said General Marnol drily, to the empty doorway.
‘Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of ceremony when a soldier is promoted?’ Lady Sophie asked, staring bemusedly at her husband.
He nodded. ‘When all this is over... Where was I? Ah yes. So the King, Princess and Duke were somewhere between here and the city gates, surrounded by King’s Knights of course, when we heard the alarm bells from the harbor watchtower. Next thing there were three ships in the harbor, but they were our ships! They’d taken our ships! So as you know, our vessels are all armed with massive crossbows fitted to the ship’s bulwarks.
And they weren’t just firing arrows. They were shooting out massive flaming bolts, and they sat out in the middle of the harbor and what didn’t sink outright ended up burned down to the water line.’ He leaned forward and rested his head in his hand for a moment. ‘It was terrible. The entire crew of each ship was gone.’ General Marnol stared sadly down as the table, lost in memories. ‘We managed to sink one of the boats.’
‘Really?’ Dale was impressed. ‘How?’
‘The ballistae on the harbor side of the outer curtain wall were able to reach the nearest ship. We decided to send a few of our own flaming bolts back at them, and down it went. Unfortunately we couldn’t even get close to the other two ships. Meanwhile we were being invaded from the southern side of the city. What’s really strange is that no-one saw them coming. One moment everything’s going along as per normal, then suddenly all hell breaks loose and we have a city full of murdering pyromaniacs.’
‘And we have no idea who they are?’ asked Dale. ‘What did they look like? How were they dressed? Did anyone hear them speak?’
‘They were about the same size as humans, but very pale like they’d never been in the sun, white hair and almost colorless eyes,’ Evan answered. ‘I think I was one of the few who actually saw one and lived to tell the tale.’
‘You got that close?’ General Marnol asked incredulously.
Evan nodded grimly. ‘They were quick,’ he said. ‘They managed to kill a lot of people in a short time just because they moved so fast, maybe not as fast as the guardians, but a lot faster than us.’
‘What else did you notice?’ asked Dale.
‘Well, you asked if we heard them speak. That one’s easy! No. They didn’t speak. They didn’t shout. They didn’t make the slightest sound at any point of the battle. It was kind of eerie actually.’
‘And their clothing? Uniforms?’
‘The one I saw was wearing a kind of brown leather skirt, and I heard that a few were wearing clothing I think they had stolen, probably from people they killed. No shoes, nothing on their heads.’
The Guardians (Book 2) Page 3
