The Guardians (Book 2)

by Dan O'Sullivan

  ‘That’s not exactly fair, Callian,’ said Ben. ‘Those two were waiting ahead of you.’ His head flicked sideways. ‘Rez is coming with someone else,’ he said in surprise.

  Everyone waited in silence as Rezon crawled through the gap between the rocks. He turned and held out his hand as a young woman followed him. She stood up, saw the dirty group of men and tried to duck backwards between the rocks. She was a small but strongly built girl, with shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes and dark red lips. Her face was freckled and her skin was browned by the sun, which only served to accentuate the muscles on her arms.

  ‘No-one here will hurt you,’ said Rezon, catching her arm. He ran his huge hand hesitantly over her hair and glanced apprehensively at Callian. The guardian General’s jaw dropped in surprise as he watched the warrior’s face. The girl stopped struggling but looked terrified as everyone watched her. Elena and Immosey rushed forward.

  ‘It’s alright,’ said Elena gently, taking the girl’s hand. ‘You’re safe here. I’m Ellie and this is my sister Immy. Who are you?’

  ‘Raline,’ the girl whispered, ‘daughter of Eli and Allison.’

  ‘You parents have sheep north of Castle,’ said Borgulnay. ‘They’re good people.’ The girl didn’t answer. She clutched Elena’s hand tightly and tears ran down her face.

  ‘I sensed her running through the bush land,’ said Rezon. ‘There were three Nailmarni closing in on her and if I hadn’t followed…’ His eyes lingered on the girl’s soft brown eyes. ‘For some reason I couldn’t not follow her,’ he added sounding confused.

  Raline stared up at him. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

  ‘And the Nailmarni?’ asked Callian.

  ‘Dead,’ said Rezon shortly.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Kelian. He gestured to the log the girls were using as a chair and Raline sat down tiredly. Elena and Immosey sat either side of her. The girl was wearing a linen dress and buttoned apron, typically worn by farming women. The dress tied over the shoulders, and was cut away almost to waist level at each side as it was normally worn over a shirt, with the apron buttoned to the front of the dress. Raline was not wearing a shirt under her dress, probably because she had been working by herself on a warm day.

  Rezon was standing protectively behind her, and he couldn’t help but notice how attractive she was.

  Ben cleared his throat pointedly and Rezon’s face reddened slightly.

  ‘I was in the high paddock when the water came through,’ said Raline. ‘I was miles away from the farmhouse. There’s nothing left,’ she said miserably, ‘nothing at all.’ She rested her forehead on her hands and her elbows on her knees. Rezon drew breath swiftly and turned away.

  ‘I’ll be outside,’ he mumbled, glaring at Ben who was doing his best not to smile at his brother. Rezon picked up his bow and quiver and crawled between the rocks.

  ‘What water?’ Kelian asked in confusion.

  ‘The wave!’ she said lifting her head to look at Kelian. ‘You couldn’t possibly have missed it!’

  ‘We’ve been up here since the Nailmarni overran Castle. How was it they haven’t attacked your farm?’

  ‘We were attacked. But we were hiding on the roof and they didn’t find us. A man called Evan came to the farm and said we had to go to Castle, so Father agreed and we were planning to leave in the afternoon, because Evan said we needed to hurry. But we hadn’t left when they attacked, and Evan had said if that happened we had to get on the roof and be really still and quiet. So we did. Then they went away but they were blocking the road between the farm and Castle, so we stayed on the farm. We had no choice.’

  ‘Now tell me about the water. Did you have a dam burst or something?’ asked Kelian.

  ‘No! A massive wave, higher than the city walls, came rising up from the sea and washed everything away! The farm is gone, everything is gone!’ Her voice lowered to a whisper. ‘My parents are gone.’ Tears trickled continually from her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

  ‘What about Castle?’ Kelian asked, his heart beating faster. ‘What happened to Castle?’

  ‘I could see Castle when I ran into the hills. Or at least, I would have been able to see it if there was anything left.’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ said Kelian, not quiet believing what he was hearing.

  ‘Last I saw the walls were standing and the castle was still there. But it was horrible. I could see everything getting washed away. The water just poured in and kept on coming for such a long time! Then I thought it was slowing and an even bigger wave hit, and the water got higher and faster and what hadn’t crashed down the first time didn’t stand up for much longer.’

  ‘And your entire farm is washed away?’ Immosey asked the distraught girl.

  ‘Everything! Our farmhouse wasn’t made of stone, and it was washed away like a pile of sticks on the beach. There was nothing left! The house and the barn and all the sheep yards and the fences…everything was smashed to pieces and left scattered everywhere. And the animals were swept away. The poor things! They had no chance!’

  ‘We need to go back for a look,’ said Dale.

  ‘No. I want you in Emerald,’ said Kelian. ‘We have no idea what’s happening down there.’

  ‘Who are you?’ asked Raline curiously.

  ‘Kelian of Castle,’ Kelian replied and Raline’s eyes opened wide with surprise. Kelian introduced everyone and Raline studied each face in turn.

  ‘Highness, it’s difficult to recognize you. You’re a bit dirty,’ she said and Kelian laughed. She turned to Elena. ‘Where is your other sister?’

  ‘She’s at the Dwellings, which is where we are headed. You will have to come with us to the Dwellings,’ Elena told her, ‘or go with Dale to Emerald.’

  ‘Emerald please, I have family there.’

  ‘We have no idea what the situation is in Emerald. It could be very dangerous,’ said Danil.

  ‘It couldn’t be any worse than Castle,’ said Gilgarry.

  ‘It could be terrible!’ said Danil emphatically.

  ‘We have no idea what’s happening at the Dwellings,’ Jival pointed out. ‘For all we know, the place already could have been overrun with Nailmarni.’

  ‘True,’ agreed Kelian. ‘Go south with Dale. How long have you been running through the bush land? When did the wave hit?’

  ‘It was about midday yesterday…perhaps later. I was so frightened that I just ran and ran. It’s strange, I grew up here, playing in this bush land, and yet I got lost after I crossed the River Ringo! After a while I worked out exactly where I was, and I’ve come a lot further south than I expected. I hid in amongst the rocks last night and started walking back towards the farm this morning, then those horrible white creatures came after me and if that big man hadn’t come to help me they might have caught me. Who is he?’ she asked.

  ‘Rezon’s one of the free warriors,’ said Kelian, watching to see how she might react to this information.

  ‘One of the free,’ Raline exclaimed. ‘I wondered. He has the dark eyes.’ Her gaze wandered over their faces once again, lingering on each set of almost black eyes. ‘Where is he?’ she asked.

  ‘Just standing outside,’ said Ben.

  ‘Why?’ she asked curiously.

  ‘He was having a little difficulty with your…dress,’ said Ben and Raline blushed deeply.

  She wrapped her arms around herself and dropped her head. ‘I didn’t want him to go away,’ she admitted and seconds later Rezon crawled back through the gap in the rocks, ignoring the expressions of amusement on almost everyone’s faces. Without saying a word he peeled off his shirt and pulled it over Raline’s head. It was enormous on her, but he helped her roll up the sleeves and accepted a piece of rope from Dale which he tied it around her waist bunching the shirt together and making it a little less awkward to wear.

  ‘You need to eat and sleep,’ said Rezon. ‘We aren’t leaving until first light tomorrow.’ He rummaged in his pack and handed her a travel cake.
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br />   She looked up at him gratefully and blushed as she took in his massive chest and the muscles rippling across his shoulders and arms. He led her away from the group and made a little bed for her. She lay down and the reality of her situation hit her once again. She had nothing. Her parents were gone and she was alone. Tears gushed from her eyes and she rolled away. Rezon put his hand on her shoulder and she turned her head back to look at him. She wondered how in all her grief and misery she could still notice how striking this man was. His curly hair, which hung around his shoulders, was the exact same shade as his almost black eyes and his body was even more browned than hers. She stared into his eyes and saw pity and concern, and she wondered why he cared about her, and why she felt her heart would shatter for a second time if he were to disappear. She turned away once again, wondering if she was going crazy to think she could love someone she barely knew. She wondered if this was the infatuation her mother had often warned her of, or if this was normal when a human fell in love with one of the free. She knew only what her parents had told her of the free, which was very little as they knew almost nothing. Rezon stood up and Raline closed her eyes, fighting her tears. Pity was also in Callian’s heart. He moved to Rezon’s side and looked questioningly at the warrior. Rezon nodded and Callian brushed his hand over the girl’s face. Rezon stood looking down at the sleeping girl.

  ‘What’s happening to me, Callian? I don’t understand. No-one can fall in love with another so quickly! I can sense it in Raline’s thoughts also.’

  ‘Don’t you see?’ asked Callian, smiling at him. ‘This is what’s meant to happen to your people. You are supposed to fall in love with a human. For the free, if you find the one who is meant for you, the love comes almost instantaneously. It’s often this way with the guardians. I remember how shocked King’s Marshall Danil was when he fell in love with our Lady Valeska. It happened so fast he wondered if she had done something to him. And she had. She had fallen in love with him. She found the one meant for her. Your people have spent so many years raping women and then murdering them once the child is born; you have forgotten how to fall in love. I doubt most of you even remember what love is.’

  ‘No, I haven’t forgotten,’ said Rezon, his face turning hard. ‘Did you know that I had a human brother, Callian?’

  ‘I didn’t know.’ Callian looked at him curiously.

  ‘My mother had a child before my father took her. A boy called Peter. He looked a lot like Ben and me but he was tiny - barely six feet tall! But Nandul killed him and for that alone I will see the bastard dead.’

  ‘What happened to your own father?’

  ‘I have no idea why Nandul returned him, but it was just as well, since I couldn’t seem to finish the job,’ said Rezon coldly. ‘I so badly wanted to destroy him.’

  ‘Because he killed your mother?’

  ‘That and more. He murdered a lot of women. Women he took only for momentary pleasure.’ Callian’s face darkened as Rezon spoke. ‘I tried time and time again to return him, but I couldn’t.’

  ‘Do you know why?’

  ‘Mil told me what Tiernan said; that we couldn’t return our own parents or our children.’

  Callian let out a sharp breath of air. ‘It’s just as well. The way your people seem to want to murder everyone in sight, there would be none of the fallen left by now, though that might solve a few problems,’ he said crossly, feeling exceedingly disturbed by what Rezon had told him of his father.

  Rezon looked at him coldly. ‘Tread carefully, guardian General.’

  ‘I’m sorry Rez. I’ve seen your mind. I know you’d never do what your father did.’

  ‘Never!’ Rezon spat. ‘If I ever become like that, hunt me down and return me!’

  ‘Rest assured, I will,’ said Callian confidently and Rezon looked at him appraisingly.

  ‘Coming from anyone else I would laugh,’ Rezon admitted. ‘But I know you could.’ He sighed. ‘When I was old enough to know what my father was doing, I made a vow never to take a woman by force.’ He gazed down at the young woman sleeping on the rocks before him, with tears staining her freckled face and his huge shirt engulfing her body.

  ‘Good choice!’ said Callian, slapping his shoulder and walking away. Rezon stood still, wondering if Callian meant his choice in women, or his choice of behavior.

  ‘Both,’ Callian’s thoughts came to him, and Rezon smiled contentedly as he lay protectively beside the sleeping girl.

  Chapter 29

  Enroute to Emerald

  ‘Fallen? Which way are they going?’ asked Dale, failing to see the tracks Rezon was indicating. They were moving south as quickly as they could, and this wasn’t the first time they found tracks crossing their path. Dale had been leading Leon with the horse carrying the greater part of their gear and Raline had ridden the mare. They avoided farms and towns, as Dale was sure the people of Alkira wouldn’t react well to his dark eyed companions. He was also concerned that they may be followed by the fallen, and any people they had contact with might be targeted, so skirting around civilization seemed the best plan. Callian had been growing uneasy and now he turned aside from their path to ascertain whether or not they were being followed. Rezon and Dale accompanied him as he circled around their camp, looking for any indications of activity.

  ‘North-east,’ said Rezon. ‘Heading for Castle, I suppose.’

  ‘I hope Kelian is gone from there before they arrive,’ said Dale anxiously.

  ‘I don’t like this at all,’ said Callian. ‘This looks like the tracks of about seven or eight warriors. What do you think Rez?’

  ‘That seems about right,’ Rezon agreed. ‘And not the most skilled warriors I can imagine, leaving such obvious tracks.’

  ‘What about the tracks you can’t see from the more skilled warriors?’ Dale asked ominously. ‘And what if they deliberately left these tracks to make us think they went this way, when in actual fact they may have gone somewhere else?’

  ‘There’s nothing we can do about it now. Let’s get back to the others,’ said Callian decidedly. He suddenly swung around and stared into the trees. ‘No!’ he shouted and he sprang forward. Rezon sprinted after Callian, leaving Dale to follow them as best he could.

  Callian snarled as he reached the clearing. His heart hammered in his chest at the sight that met his eyes. The lifeless bodies of Lars and Jival lay sprawled across the ground. Lias, Ben, Rudi and Eibhear stood back to back fending off attackers on all sides. There were seven of the fallen attacking them, preventing their desperate attempts to reach Raline, whose screams pierced the air as a warrior threw her onto the ground.

  Rezon burst into the clearing and a roar of rage bellowed from him. He leapt forward and with one hand he wrenched the man away from Raline and flung him to the ground. The man gave a shout of recognition and terror as Rezon’s sword destroyed his manhood. Rezon hesitated for a split second as the man screamed, then he took his head cleanly from his shoulders with one massive stroke of his sword. He turned and in a flash two more warriors fell. The rest of the fallen tried to run, but Callian returned two in seconds, leaving Eibhear, Ben and Rudiger free to return the remaining warriors.

  Rezon flung his sword to the ground and dropped to his knees beside Raline, who had her eyes closed as she sobbed. He gathered her into his arms, but she struck out at him desperately, bringing up her knee hard and managing to hit his thigh. He grunted and held her tightly so she couldn’t move. Her sobs became even more terrified and frantic and eventually he lowered her to the ground and stepped back.

  ‘Callian, do something,’ he said desperately. Callian knelt beside Raline and brushed his hand over her face. Instantly, she fell silent. ‘That’s not good enough,’ said Rezon angrily. ‘When she wakes up, she will remember! She mustn’t remember!’

  Callian shook his head. ‘We’re not supposed to do that unless it’s unavoidable.’

  ‘You have to! She’ll see every one of us as a threat!’ Rezon glared at Callian and the guardi
an stared down at the girl. ‘Please Callian!’ Rezon begged. ‘She’s so young! I don’t want her to remember this!’

  ‘I don’t think he had time to do anything to her,’ said Callian.

  ‘You know how terrified she was! She thought she was seconds from death! She knew she would be raped and killed or left to die!’

  ‘Rez, of the few times I’ve removed someone’s memories it’s created more problems than they started with.’

  ‘But you can take them! She might hate me because of what they did!’ He crouched down beside Raline and brushed the hair away from her cheek.

  ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea,’ said Callian reluctantly. He reached out but as his hand touched Raline’s forehead she opened her eyes wide and stared up at him. Rezon leaned over her, feeling he had failed her and not quite knowing what to say. She reached up and took his hand.

  ‘I’m sorry Raline,’ said Rezon, his voice breaking.

  ‘Don’t leave me,’ said Raline croakily holding his huge, warm hand against her face. She closed her eyes and he could feel her tears on his hand. ‘They killed Lars and Jival,’ she cried softly, overwhelmed with fear and shock. She reached up with both arms and wrapped them around Rezon’s neck, dragging herself up right. ‘Where’s Baron Dale?’ she asked looking around.

  Callian leapt like he’d been bitten by a snake. With a look of dismay he tore back into the bush land with Lias close behind him. It didn’t take them long to find Dale. He had done his best to follow Callian and Rezon, but he had been far too slow and lost track of them very quickly. He was quite confident he knew the way back; however he soon saw that Callian and Rezon had chosen a path suited to their own abilities but not to his. He came to a cliff face and he could see by their footprints that they had climbed the rocks, but he knew there was little chance he could follow them. He headed south along the cliffs and found a maroong tree which had grown almost against the wall of rock, so he dragged himself up into the tree and began to climb. Once he was above the level of the top of the cliff he began to inch his way along a branch towards the rocks. The branch was rough and covered in green needles, and it began to bend dangerously as he moved away from the tree trunk. He found himself holding his breath in anticipation of it snapping beneath him. But the branch held and he managed to maneuver himself close the rocky edge of the cliff. He reached out and fingered the rocks until he securely gripped a crevice, then he leaned forward and stretched out his other hand. There was an ominous cracking sound and the rocks began to fall away from the top of the cliff. Dale gave a cry of consternation as a huge piece of rock hit the end of the branch, dragging it heavily downwards. The branch gave way with a horrible snap. Dale desperately grabbed for another branch as he began to fall. His hand closed around a bunch of needles which did nothing to stop his momentum, then the back of his head smacked the limb he had been sitting on and he tumbled through the coarse branches until he hit the ground with a resounding thud. He was still unconscious when Callian and Lias found him. Callian knelt beside him, but did not move his body.