The Guardians (Book 2)

by Dan O'Sullivan

  ‘It will be over my lifeless body.’

  ‘Wonderful! That makes me feel so much better. But it brings me to my next concern,’ he added and Timbul looked at him sharply. ‘I felt something a bit disturbing from you a few moments ago. Araas frowned as Timbul turned his face away. ‘What happened, Tim?’

  ‘It’s nothing to worry about.’

  ‘If there’s something wrong please tell me.’

  ‘There’s nothing I wish to discuss.’ Timbul sighed heavily as he finally met his brother’s gaze. ‘Sometimes there are things we have to do that we don’t want to do, but we do them, because that’s what’s required of us.’

  ‘You’ve been given a task? Or is it something more? I know something’s wrong. I worry about you. I don’t want you to do anything rash. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I don’t want you to hide things from me.’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I want the King, the King’s Captain and my brother to stay here, whilst I go look for father by myself.’

  Timbul snorted and then laughed. ‘Well, that’s not going to happen! I have things I need to do, and I won’t get them done by sitting here like a giant slug.’

  ‘What things?’

  ‘Things,’ Timbul said vaguely. ‘Things I’ve been told to do. We all have things we need to do. Things that are our duty to do, things we are asked to do…lots of things. Like I said, I can’t do what I’m required to do if I’m hiding in here.’

  Araas watched his bother suspiciously. He dropped his gaze as Kelian and Gilgarry walked into the courtyard.

  ‘Your Majesty,’ said Araas and Timbul, rising to their feet and bowing their heads.

  Kelian frowned. ‘There’s no-one here,’ he said glancing around the empty courtyard. ‘Could we keep things a little less formal when we’re in private please?’

  ‘Yes Majesty,’ Timbul replied politely.

  ‘Kelian! My name is Kelian!’ Kelian took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry. I just don’t want anything to change. You are two of my best friends, and I can’t stand the idea of not being able to relax, at least when we’re in private.’ He broke off as identical expressions of surprise crossed Araas’ and Timbul’s faces. ‘You were thinking the same thing, weren’t you?’ he added perceptively. ‘Well, right now, some more of my closest friends are somewhere out there, and they all need help, and I have to go and find them.’

  ‘Kelian, what happened?’ asked Araas. ‘You are doing a mighty job of thinking a myriad of random thoughts to try to confuse us, but it’s not difficult to see you’re hiding something.’

  Kelian’s face whitened. ‘I thought I heard Danil calling me. I wasn’t sure, but I need to try to find him.’ He looked from Araas’ to Timbul’s face anxiously wondering if they would think him an idiot.

  ‘Why would we think you an idiot, Kelian?’ asked Araas.

  ‘Because I think I can hear Danil calling. Surely if I can hear him, you can too?’

  ‘Not necessarily,’ said Timbul. ‘If he has chosen only to speak to you, we won’t hear anything. We’d better get going. If Danil’s calling you I’m sure there will be a good reason.’

  ‘Why would he call me? Wouldn’t it be easier to call a guardian?’

  ‘Probably because he’s your King’s Marshall,’ Timbul ventured. ‘But I’m sure that he doesn’t want you to go after him yourself! He must want you to send someone.’

  ‘But what if he does want me to find him? What if he has a reason?’

  ‘Can you hear him now?’ asked Araas.

  ‘No,’ said Kelian. ‘I’ve only caught hints of his thoughts, but each time I try to ask him where he is, he sort of fades away, like he’s almost unconscious.’

  ‘That’s not good,’ said Araas. ‘So we have no idea where to start looking for him?’

  ‘I’m planning to head in the direction of the Nailmarni and see if his thoughts get any clearer,’ said Kelian. ‘What’s the safest way out of here?’

  ‘Follow me. There are several ways that few know of,’ said Araas and he led them towards the beach.

  By mid-afternoon they were moving through the trees east of the Dwellings. Thick fog made it impossible to see far in any direction and drizzling rain quickly soaked their clothing. Fortunately it was a warm day and no-one minded being wet. It was quite dim under the bon-yi trees and the damp ground was soft under foot. They followed Araas to the top of a small rise before he stopped and turned to Kelian.

  ‘Can you hear Danil?’

  Kelian concentrated. ‘Yes. I think I can…yes I can. He’s…awake properly now…I think?’

  ‘Can you ask him where he is, or tell him to let you see what he’s seeing?’

  Kelian concentrated for a moment and then his eyes widened as a scene came into his mind. Araas placed his hand on his shoulder and reached out towards Timbul. Timbul placed his own hand on Gilgarry’s shoulder.

  The place Kelian could see in his mind was dark. All around him, within arm’s reach, he could see stone walls. The walls were curved and seemed to stretch far above his head. At the top of the wall he could see a disk of light. He would see the dim outline of two other people who were leaning against the walls as if asleep and he saw they were Tiernan and Borgulnay. His heart accelerated as he noticed Borg’s uniform was stained with huge patches of blood. Tiernan opened his eyes momentarily and Kelian automatically reached out with his hand. He gave a start when Araas spoke.

  ‘I think I’ve seen that place before.’

  ‘It was as if they’re down a well,’ said Kelian. ‘Only it wasn’t a normal round well. It was slightly oval shaped. I don’t ever remember seeing one that shape.’

  ‘Ah. Now I remember…East Inlet,’ said Araas.

  ‘You mean to tell me, they are down the well at East Inlet? Which well? The new well or the old one?’ asked Timbul.

  ‘The old well,’ said Araas. ‘I remember it. The new well is slightly larger and perfectly round.’

  ‘You remember it? You’ve been down the well?’ Gilgarry asked skeptically.

  ‘I have,’ said Araas. ‘After the fallen attacked East Inlet, we found a lot of bodies in the well.’

  ‘Did they climb in there to hide?’ asked Gilgarry in surprise.

  ‘No. I think they were pushed,’ said Araas bleakly.

  Kelian stared at him, appalled. ‘Were they soldiers?’ he asked, horrified at the thought.

  ‘No. They were mostly women and children.’

  Kelian stared at him for a moment longer then turned away. ‘Let’s go,’ he said, and his voice was barely a whisper.

  ‘Er…where are you going?’ asked Timbul as Kelian turned back towards the Dwellings.

  Kelian stopped walking and turned to face him. ‘If I’m going to East Inlet, I’m not walking, Tim. I’ll take a ship.’ He started walking again.

  Timbul looked surprised then he grinned. ‘Good plan!’ he said and he strode ahead to walk beside Kelian. ‘Should I ask Enri to join us?’

  ‘Do you want him to come to East Inlet? Why?’

  ‘No, I want him to join us now. I don’t like the idea of him staying a hundred paces behind us.’

  Kelian stopped walking once again. ‘You’re not joking are you?’ he asked, and Timbul shook his head. ‘You’d better go and get him.’

  Timbul was back a moment later, leading a very sheepish looking King’s Knight through the trees.

  ‘Enri?’ Kelian prompted.

  ‘According to King’s Marshall Danil,’ said Enri formally, ‘my duty is to guard the King in any and every possible situation, and to be prepared at any moment to defend His Majesty from possible attack…there was a lot more. I’m sure if Dale was here he could quote Danil’s entire speech, but I remember enough to know that here is where I’m supposed to be.’ He stared at Kelian determinedly. ‘And there was also what Borg – Colonel Borgulnay – said about serving King and country and about loyalty. Even if I hadn’t taken oath I would have followed you. I can’t b
elieve they let you out of the Dwellings in the first place!’ he finished, looking accusingly at Araas and Timbul.

  ‘The King will decide for himself where he goes,’ said Timbul obstinately, ‘which is more than I can say for myself,’ he added under his breath.

  ‘True,’ said Enri. ‘And I’ll bet he gave you a roasting when you tried to stop him,’ he added with a grin.

  ‘Let’s head back,’ said Kelian, ignoring Araas’ and Timbul’s nods of confirmation. He gave a little gasp as Danil’s thoughts suddenly flashed through his mind.

  ‘What is it?’ Enri asked anxiously as Kelian’s face whitened.

  ‘A warning,’ said Kelian ominously. ‘Could you see Danil’s thoughts this time?’ he asked.

  ‘That time I caught his thoughts,’ said Araas, ‘though the message was meant for you.’

  ‘What message,’ Gilgarry asked impatiently.

  ‘It was the fallen who put them in the well, and Danil’s quite sure they haven’t left East Inlet. It might not be so easy to get them out of there,’ said Timbul.

  They made their way towards the Dwellings as the fog cleared giving way to late afternoon sunshine. It was almost dark when they came to the cliffs. No-one was in sight, so they slipped over the edge and climbed down towards the sea. When they reached the bottom, they waded into the ocean and swam around the base of the cliffs into the harbor.

  Chapter 43

  Exodus

  ‘Two hundred and four, fifty two, two, one, four, one, one and five,’ Administrator Kyoredes announced tiredly as the last of the citizens of Emerald passed through the city gates and made their way along the eastward leading road.

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ said Dale from where he sat on Leon.

  ‘Two hundred and four citizens, fifty two soldiers, two Princesses, one Baron, four junior Squires, one guardian, one visiting lady, and five…er…Free warriors,’ he explained.

  ‘That’s everyone then?’

  ‘Everyone!’ said Kyoredes emphatically, leaning forwards and rubbing his horse’s neck.

  ‘Two hundred and seventy people! Are we are sure we can feed them all?’ asked Rudiger. He was calmly turning his agitated horse in tiny circles, gradually allowing the animal’s panic to dissipate. The horse Dale had provided for him was fractious to say the least, but the warrior didn’t appear particularly perturbed by the fact.

  ‘The people did bring a lot of their own food. And the first carts are all food,’ said Dale. ‘It could be the most boring trip imaginable as far as meals go, but according to Baker Ricard, seventeen men and women each baked about one hundred and fifty travel cakes each day for three days. So as I said, boring, but we should have enough to keep everyone alive.’

  ‘Not as boring as you might imagine, Baron Dale,’ said Baker Ricard enthusiastically, turning his horse to walk beside Leon. ‘Did you know I had each person use a different recipe? We have plain oat cakes, honey cakes, fruit cakes and salty cakes. Farmer Levin brought in huge sacks of dried grapes and his brother arrived with dried apples, tomatoes and mangos. And my brother Boyd had pumpkins and lemons. And dozens of ladies brought in preserved and dried fruits, so you could eat a different type of travel cake for each meal over the next four days and you still won’t have sampled them all!’ he finished proudly.

  ‘Exactly how many cakes did you make?’

  ‘Seven thousand, seven hundred and twelve!’

  ‘Excellent!’

  ‘Would you like to try one?’ Baker Ricard asked hopefully.

  ‘I’d love to, but I’ll wait with everyone else.’

  ‘How many carts are there?’

  ‘Forty-nine,’ Dale replied.

  ‘Forty-nine!’ Baker Ricard was astounded.

  ‘Sixteen, twenty-six, four, two, one,’ Dale said with a smile.

  Baker Ricard rolled his eyes. ‘Alright, explain please?’

  ‘Many carts are filled with everyone’s belongings, blankets, clothing and everything else they decided to bring. There are some food barrels in those ones too. Those are fairly large and have at least two horses yoked up. Most people did exactly as asked. They packed very little and all families are sharing carts. The soldiers are carrying everything they need themselves. The next wagons are for the citizens to ride in, because by about midday some of them will be absolutely exhausted. Then we have wagons packed with your travel cakes, barrels of water and other food. Some are carrying every weapon we could lay hands on in Emerald, every spare sword, every bow, every arrow, and every knife. The last cart is full of medical supplies and other bits and pieces we threw in at the last moment. Every cart has the fittest horses pulling, and others tethered behind carrying fodder. We’ll swap them over so they can rest. That way I hope we have to stop less often. And many carts have bonnets we can attach if it rains heavily, so the people can have a dry place to sleep, though the soldiers will sleep under the carts.’

  ‘I counted fifty carts as they passed,’ Administrator Kyoredes observed.

  ‘I didn’t want to mention the cart Lerise and Jade are sleeping in,’ said Dale quietly. ‘It’s in between two of the massive food carts and we covered it so it looks exactly the same as the others, except for the soldiers surrounding it.’ He yawned widely as he remembered the thick soft bed they had made in the cart for the Princesses. He’d had very little sleep as he ran to and fro organizing the mammoth exercise of preparing to evacuate the entire town, and no sleep since the encounter with the Nailmarni. Now he felt he could barely keep his eyes open.

  ‘I see the carts you prepared for the citizens are large enough to hold a fair number of people comfortably,’ Callian observed, ‘and a lot of the citizens are still walking, or riding their own horses, so there’s no reason you couldn’t have a sleep in one of the empty carts.’

  ‘Good plan,’ said Dale. He moved slightly in the saddle and Leon trotted forward. Administrator Kyoredes, Baker Ricard, Callian and Rudiger kept pace as they came to the empty carts. Dale leapt from Leon’s back and tied the horse behind one of the carts as it moved along the road. He slid into the cart and lay down, flat on his back without even finding something to use as a pillow.

  ‘Do you want some blankets? Or some milk. It has a soporific affect,’ Baker Ricard suggested. ‘Baron?’ he prompted when he received no reply.

  ‘He’s asleep,’ said Callian smiling and Rudiger laughed.

  ‘He can’t be!’ said Kyoredes in amazement, staring at Dale.

  ‘He is,’ Rudiger confirmed. They walked their horses behind the cart as Dale lay on the bare boards snoring. After some time Kyoredes shrugged in concurrence.

  ‘I might not have believed it possible, but he truly is asleep. How could he sleep like that? He doesn’t even have a pillow! He’s crazy!’

  ‘I wouldn’t start listing his faults, Administrator. He seems to be able to hear just as well asleep as he does when he’s awake,’ said Callian.

  ‘What faults?’ Dale mumbled without opening his eyes.

  ‘See what I mean?’ said Callian drily.

  ‘Will we make it to the Dwellings?’ asked Baker Ricard.

  ‘We will if we’re not attacked,’ said Callian casually.

  * * *

  To Baker Ricard’s surprise, they saw neither fallen nor Nailmarni until they were close to East Inlet. Dale decided they would make for the abandoned keep, so the people could sleep inside before moving on to the Dwellings. This idea was greeted with enthusiasm by all, as they had been plagued by bleak and rainy weather for almost the entire journey. A few citizens complained that it might have been better to remain in Emerald, but most simply endured the discomfort, looking forward hopefully to the safety and comfort of the Dwellings. Even the few disgruntled folk ceased grumbling when the rain eased for a short time and they saw haze appear in the sky behind them on the western horizon. Dale was in two minds when he saw the smoky cloud. He was quite certain it was coming from Emerald, he had seen distant smoke from a burning city before and it was all too fami
liar. His heart grieved to think of the city in ruins, but the elation that came with knowing he had led the people away, perhaps just in time, was enough to spur him on.

  Chapter 44

  East Inlet

  ‘I wonder if we should leave the ship here,’ said Enri as they drew into the narrow harbor which led towards East Inlet.

  ‘Actually I’m torn between leaving the ship here and going in without being seen, or having the ship close enough to be able to make a quick escape,’ said Kelian staring through the rain towards the shore.

  ‘Maybe we could do both,’ Enri suggested.

  ‘Explain.’

  ‘Some of us could go ashore now. Captain Gillam could hold the ship here until he thinks we’ve reached East Inlet and then come after us. Surely Araas and Timbul could let him know once we’re getting close to the keep. That way we could sneak in and find Lord Tiernan and the King’s Marshall and King’s Colonel, and if anyone’s watching – and we can be sure they’ll be watching – they might be too busy keeping an eye on the ship to notice when we slip in the back door…if they can even see the ship through all this rain.’

  A smile appeared on Kelian’s face. He crossed the deck and spoke to Captain Gillam. Kelian turned back to Enri and waved for the King’s Knight to join him. Minutes later, they stood on the quarterdeck with Captain Gillam, Timbul, Araas and Milgorry.

  ‘It’s a good idea,’ said Araas.

  Enri shook his head. ‘I can’t think of anything without you knowing, can I?’ he said, sounding more intrigued than annoyed.

  ‘Not a thing,’ Araas confirmed. ‘Enri, normally I would avoid intruding on your thoughts – it’s rude, but in a situation such as we have here,’ he glanced worriedly at Kelian, ‘I’m unwilling to find I missed something vital because someone didn’t voice their thoughts.’

  ‘And you’re on the lookout for traitors,’ Gillam added very quietly, inclining his head knowingly.

  ‘Yes. I am.’

  ‘So every thought I have… What if I was thinking about a girl? What if I was thinking.-’ Enri stopped speaking and shook his head a second time. ‘Never mind,’ he said and his face turned bright red as Araas laughed. ‘So, who’s going ashore besides me?’ asked Enri, deliberately changing the subject.