Eijelin tore her gaze away from the plate and looked imploringly at her mother. Queen Aithne smiled in consent, but before Eijelin could reach out her hand, the guardian filled her plate with cakes and nuts and slices of banana, pineapple and mango. He took a passionfruit and spooned the fruit from its skin and deposited it on top of the mango then filled a glass with clear water and set this beside her plate. She stared at the plate in astonishment, noting it now held everything she might have chosen herself, and she looked up at the guardian who was now watching her face with satisfaction, sensing her gratitude.
‘What is your name please,’ she said looking at him inquisitively.
‘Daibhi,’ he replied smiling at her.
‘Thank you Daibhi,’ she said smiling back.
‘You’re welcome, little Princess,’ He inclined his head politely as he turned and began to pile food on a plate for Elliot. He laughed as the little boy also thanked him sincerely. Eijelin and Elliot concentrated on their food and ignored the conversation entirely as Kelian described the recent events and their journey through Nyinaku. Tiernan listened with growing concern as Kelian spoke. Eventually Kelian stopped speaking and Tiernan’s eyes flashed towards Milgorry.
‘You could tell me so much more,’ he stated, staring hopefully at Milgorry. Milgorry looked back at Tiernan and his eyes were filled with confusion and sadness. Tiernan frowned. ‘When you stepped from the boat you opened your mind and I saw enough of your past to make me know I should return you. Why did you allow me to see your thoughts so clearly and so unreservedly?’
Milgorry hesitated before speaking. ‘I wanted you to know that Louisa’s current condition was not forced upon her. Unfortunately the moment you knew she carried my child you assumed I raped her and I cannot blame you for your reaction. If I was in your position, my reaction would have been far, far worse,’ he admitted, staring protectively across the table at Louisa.
‘Your people have always been prone to violence.’
Milgorry huffed indignantly. ‘This, coming from someone who wanted to burn me alive the moment I stepped onto the sand?’ Tiernan’s face darkened and Milgorry raised his hands apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, but you were practically shouting your thoughts at me and if you’d had your way I would have been burned alive, chopped into little pieces, drowned in boiling mud, drenched in honey and tied over an ant’s nest, or impaled alive and staked on the border between Nyinaku and Alkira as a warning!’
Tiernan glared at Milgorry. ‘You just said your reaction would have been worse, and you said you couldn’t blame me for reacting as I did!’
‘I can’t,’ Milgorry admitted. ‘And you are right about my people. We’re not as we once were. We are fallen.’
‘So are you willing to tell me what I need to know? Can you tell me what’s happening in Nyinaku? Will you tell me what Nandul is likely to do now?’ asked Tiernan.
Milgorry nodded. ‘I will do this for the sake of my people. When we were on the beach, you asked me what I wanted from you. What I need is your help. I cannot stop Nandul alone. In fact, I think we also need help from the humans. We need to have a workable plan and that’s not something either of us do well,’ he said adamantly, and Tiernan nodded.
‘I certainly don’t like facing a bunch of enraged fallen warriors without a decent plan,’ Tiernan agreed. ‘They aren’t pleasant if you make them angry,’ he added drily.
Milgorry raised one eyebrow. ‘You have got to be joking!’ he said. ‘The guardians might have an aspect of self-control, and I know you have a lot of laws you cannot break, but it’s fairly commonly known that if you irritate one of the guardians they turn into some kind of demon from hell, unbelievably vengeful and terrifyingly aggressive!’
Tiernan glared at him crossly and he folded his arms across his chest. ‘You know, I’m beginning to regret not returning you when we were on the beach,’ he said grumpily. ‘You’re starting to irritate me!’
Milgorry laughed then his face turned serious once again and he directed his thoughts silently towards Tiernan. ‘I will open my heart, and when you have taken every memory and every thought from me, if you have no choice but to return me – I know your laws – then I place Louisa and our child under your personal protection. Will you accept this?’
Tiernan looked astonished and then he nodded, staring curiously at the warrior as Milgorry opened his heart.
Chapter 12
Experiments
The snakes writhed angrily in the sack and even though the top of the bag was tied securely, Dale held it as far away from his body as he could manage without dropping it. They made for some trees which looked tall and thick enough to hide in and had branches spaced closely enough for climbing. Dale placed the sack on the ground. Tolly boosted Dale into the tree and passed him the sack. Dale tied it securely to a higher branch, and then he reached down and helped Tolly up onto the branch beside him.
‘We should have roped the sack over your shoulder before we started climbing,’ Tolly observed, as Dale untied the sack from the branch. Dale stared at him, feeling stupid.
‘I won’t bother now,’ he whispered and he started to climb through the branches holding on to the sack and using his free hand to climb. They didn’t stop until they were quite high and well hidden. Tolly made himself comfortable and secure on the branch and Dale passed him the sack of snakes, and then took a very long glove from his pack. The glove was made with three layers of tough hide, and had been dipped in a solution of chiniocelle, not concentrated enough to affect humans, but strong enough to calm the snakes for a few seconds. Dale had found it dreadfully difficult to prepare the solution without losing consciousness, but was pleased with the result of his work. Tolly opened the sack slightly and Dale reached gingerly inside. The snakes were immediately still as the chiniocelle took effect and Dale was able to grab one easily just behind its head. He drew the snake from the sack, which Tolly quickly closed. Dale looked towards the enemy nest and frowned. He couldn’t see anything through the branches. They were a lot further from the nest than he had planned to be.
‘I can’t throw it that far,’ he admitted. ‘And even if I could, if I threw it from here, it probably wouldn’t survive for long enough to bite anyone.’
Tolly looked at him worriedly. ‘Dale, I’ve gone along with all of your crazy little schemes. I helped you put dead animals in the stream. I said nothing when you sent - I have no idea how many - different spiders through the Nailmarni nest. I didn’t even bother to object when you wanted to send a stampede of cattle through the nest – it’s actually a pity we haven’t been able to try that - but even if this one works and the snakes bite one of them and they die, I doubt we can find enough snakes to kill this many people.’
‘We just need to find out what effects them badly, Tolly. If they die of this poison, maybe we can get it into their water supply or their food.’
‘How did you get all these snakes?’
‘Alex and Olsen found them. Apparently there are hundreds of them amongst the granite rocks north west of Castle.’
‘I heard they were promoted.’
‘What? The snakes?’ said Dale mischievously, looking at the snake in surprise.
‘Idiot! Alex and Olsen!’ Tolly rolled his eyes.
‘You know, I’ll probably tell Alex you called him an idiot!’
‘Just tell me how you plan to get that snake to bite one of them, Dale.’
‘I don’t think Alex and Olsen want to be bitten, Tolly!’ said Dale feigning indignation.
Tolly huffed crossly. ‘Just answer the question, Baron.’
‘I guess I’ll have to take it down to the nest myself,’ said Dale resignedly.
‘Oh no you don’t!’ said Tolly in alarm. ‘That’s suicide, Dale!’
‘They didn’t come after me when I delivered the spiders. You can wait on the bottom branch, Tolly, and if I come racing past, drag me up into the tree.’ He grimaced as Tolly shook his head angrily. ‘Tolly, you’ve never told me how y
ou served, but you are too good a fighter not to have, so if you want this in army language, consider it an order!’
Tolly glared at Dale. Dale made his way through the branches holding the snake as far away from his body as he possibly could. When he reached the lowest branch, he dropped to the ground and disappeared into the bushes. Tolly watched apprehensively then he retrieved the sack and followed Dale’s tracks through the trees. Dale started in surprise as Tolly appeared beside him, where he lay in the grass looking down upon the nest. It looked almost exactly as it had when Dale sketched the area, with an equal number of sleeping bodies and sentries spaced among them, but there was a horrible smell coming from the pile of dead bodies. Dale spread his hands questioningly as he looked at Tolly in disbelief. Tolly shrugged and tapped the sacks. Dale raised three fingers, made a throwing motion and then gestured towards the trees. Tolly shook his head. Dale inclined his head questioningly and Tolly reached out and drew the shape of a foot in the sand. Dale’s lips formed a circle as he saw Tolly was indicating that they would leave tracks in that direction. Tolly gestured in a different direction. Dale looked back towards the stinking hill of bodies and his stomach churned. Tolly followed his gaze and looked intently at the pile for a moment before turning his face away from the horribly disturbing sight.
Dale raised one finger and Tolly positioned the sack at the top of the incline. He raised a second finger and both men rolled onto their knees. Then he raised a third finger and flung the snake towards the nest. The snake flew through the air, closely followed by Dale’s glove. With a flick of his wrist, Tolly upended the sack. The two men leapt up and ran. They raced through the trees, avoiding places where their tracks might be easily discernible. For some distance they ran without stopping and once they were certain they were not being followed, they circled back towards the nest. At one point they thought they saw movement ahead, but no-one appeared so they continued forward and scrambled into a convenient tree and hid amongst the foliage. They settled on the branches, and waited with hearts pounding and adrenalin rushing through their bodies. After a few minutes Dale started to relax. As with his previous visits to the nest, no-one had chased them. He wondered whether the experiment had been successful. He had experienced such terror the instant he threw the snake, that he had not even dared to pause and look back as he ran, but now he wished he had.
‘I think I’ll go back and see what happened,’ he eventually whispered.
‘Now there’s the worst plan I’ve ever heard!’ a voice said from above, and Dale fell from the branch in shock. His body bashed into each branch as he bumped his way towards the ground. He finally hit the sandy soil, screaming in pain then his cries turned to tremulous groans.
‘Fallen!’ Tolly snarled angrily as he drew a huge machete from his leather scabbard, and looked up towards the voice.
There was a flash of movement beside Dale and his body was lifted from the ground and borne back up into the tree. He gave a whimper and he wondered how many bones had to be broken for a person to feel so much pain. He opened his eyes and gave another shocked cry when he saw Tolly sitting on a huge branch with his back to the trunk of the tree. A fallen warrior with very black eyes was holding Tolly’s machete against the Kitchen Master’s throat. Two more warriors were perched above Tolly, and Dale could see movement in the higher branches. The one who was carrying him gestured and two swung down beside him. They straddled one of the branches and the man carrying Dale placed him between the two other men. ‘I wish Milgorry was here!’ the man murmured. ‘He was the only one of us who I ever saw heal anyone.’
Dale gasped, both in pain and surprise. ‘Milgorry of Tarl?’ he asked, and the man’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Who are you? Are you one of the free?’ Dale managed to ask before his eyes closed as he succumbed to the pain.
Tolly’s eyes narrowed and he looked calculatingly at the man holding his machete. The man shook his head slightly. ‘We didn’t come here to kill you, so if you give us your word that you won’t try anything stupid, I will give you back your knife,’ the man said.
Tolly glanced down to where the two men were holding Dale’s body and he raised his hands reluctantly. The warrior immediately returned his machete and Tolly slid it into its scabbard. ‘Who are you?’ he said, repeating Dale’s question.
‘How do you know Milgorry?’ asked the warrior who had carried Dale.
‘I don’t know Milgorry,’ Tolly retorted. ‘But obviously Baron Dale does.’
‘Baron Dale!’ the warrior exclaimed, and Dale’s eye opened slightly.
‘Wasn’t he was one of those that Prince Kelian said was wandering around Nyinaku with a bunch of guardians?’ asked one of the men holding Dale.
The warrior nodded. ‘I’d give a great deal right now to have either Timbul or Araas show up. Either one could help this poor man.’
‘I will help him,’ a voice said and Danil heaved himself up onto the branch beside the warrior. The warrior flinched at the sight of the guardian who was wearing the uniform of the soldiers of Castle with a sword belted to his side next to a wicked looking knife.
‘Guardian,’ said the warrior uncomfortably, regaining his composure. Danil ignored him and settled himself on the fork of a branch in front of Dale.
‘I’m sure you can hear me Dale. Try to relax.’ He reached out his hands and placed one on Dale’s upper arm and one on his wrist. A soft light flushed through Dale’s arm and wrist and they grew hot. After several minutes Danil moved his hands and placed them over Dale’s shin, repeating the process. Then he cupped Dale’s forehead and chin in his hands and the Baron’s eyes opened wide as his face grew warm. Danil remained still for over ten minutes, and then he withdrew his hands. Finally, he reached out and took hold of Dale’s hand and leaning forward he grabbed his toes. He reeled forward feeling suddenly and unexpectedly weak and the warrior who was crouched on the branch beside him caught him and held him steady. Danil glanced at him gratefully before he continued. Finally he withdrew his hands and looked questioningly at Dale.
‘Thank you Danil,’ Dale murmured weakly.
‘Danil?’ The warrior looked tensely at the guardian. ‘King’s Marshall Danil?’
For the second time Danil almost fell from the branch. He hadn’t expected just how much of his strength would drain as he healed Dale’s injuries. The warrior grabbed him once again and gestured to two of his companions who swung down and held one each of Danil’s arms. Even when crouched on the branch, Danil could tell that one of the men was well over six feet and eight inches in height.
‘We have to get out of here!’ said Dale hoarsely.
‘Where do you want to go?’ the warrior asked.
‘Castle,’ Dale replied and the warrior sighed worriedly.
‘I can’t take you to Castle,’ he said. ‘Your soldiers would want to return us all!’
‘I doubt it,’ said Danil. ‘Lias has been inside the keep and no-one tried to return him.’
‘Prisoner?’ asked the warrior angrily, staring at Danil.
‘Don’t be stupid!’ said Danil impatiently. ‘Guest. He made his own choice to go with Callian to the Dwellings, but he’s free to leave whenever he wishes to go. He said he’d wait for Milgorry and return to Nyinaku with him when he goes back.’
‘Alright, we’ll go with you to Castle, but we’ll not be staying. There are things we need to take care of here. I’m guessing that horse we passed belongs to Dale, so he can ride it back to Castle.’
‘What about the others?’ asked one of the men holding Dale.
‘What others?’ asked Tolly.
‘They can’t be moved, but they’re as safe as they can be for the moment. We just can’t take too long,’ the warrior replied, ignoring Tolly’s question. ‘Let’s go.’
They scrambled to the ground and moved through the trees very slowly, allowing Danil time to regain his strength. Leon was waiting patiently where he had been left, and once Dale was seated securely in his saddle they made their way tow
ards Castle. Once they left the hidden valley, Danil and Tolly moved to walk beside the warrior who was obviously the leader.
‘Why are you in Alkira, warrior?’ asked Danil, and the warrior stopped walking.
‘Because war is about to break out in Nyinaku, and we need help,’ he said warily.
Danil looked at the warrior in alarm. ‘War with who?’
‘As the Lady Immosey would have put it – war between the fallen and the free,’ replied the warrior.
Danil’s eyes opened wide at the mention of Immosey’s name. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.
‘Rudiger of Morlee,’ the warrior replied. ‘My brother, Eibhear,’ he said gesturing towards another warrior who turned and grinned at Danil. ‘And these are Jival, Lars, Ben, and his brother, little Rezon,’ he said, gesturing to the particularly huge warrior.
‘What were you doing up in our tree? Tolly asked.
‘We were actually heading for the Dwellings. I know that sounds like a stupid thing to do, but something has to be done about Nandul. So we were going to the Province of the guardians when we stumbled across…people who shouldn’t be in this land at all. And they were all placed in a nasty little circle around the southern side of Castle. Well, we killed about twelve of them before we got through their line, and then we found their nest. Then you and the Baron came rushing towards us and we slipped up into that tree so as not to be seen. Unfortunately you chose to hide in the very same tree.
‘I’m guessing you didn’t tell Nandul you’re in Alkira,’ said Danil.
‘Nandul thinks we’re doing a little reconnaissance. He wants us to check out how well Castle is defended since he’s absolutely bursting to attack Prince Kelian’s city.’ Danil, Dale and Tolly glanced at each other in alarm as he continued. ‘What Nandul doesn’t know is that the information he gets from us will be highly inaccurate, which of course won’t be our fault since before now none of us have been to Castle – not that Nandul knows of anyway - so how could we possibly know we had the wrong city?’ He grinned then his face turned deadly serious. ‘And you can be sure your King will be informed of any attack Nandul might be planning. So much easier if someone else returns the stinking bastard for me!’ he said emphatically.
The Guardians (Book 2) Page 9
