The Guardians (Book 2)

by Dan O'Sullivan

  ‘Yes sir. If that’s all, we’ll move on,’ said Captain Levin. He turned and gave a signal and one by one, the carts began to move south.

  ‘What were the other things you wanted to tell me?’ Dale asked Eibhear.

  ‘There was a soldier hanging from a tree near the gates of East Inlet. I have no idea where he came from, but you can be sure he didn’t hang himself by the neck from a tree. It’s a warning.’

  ‘Against what? Entering the city?’

  ‘Against interfering in any way. He’d been messed up badly before they hung him up, too.’

  ‘Messed up?’

  ‘Well, a lot of his uniform was missing, along with quite a few bits of his body. And there was a lot of blood. They didn’t want him to die quickly.’ Eibhear rubbed his forehead wearily. ‘They must have tried to find out where he was from and what his was doing.’

  ‘They might have stopped torturing him if he’d told them what they wanted to know,’ said Dale sadly. ‘Perhaps he wouldn’t talk.’

  ‘I doubt they would have stopped. They probably just wanted to hurt him,’ said Eibhear grimly. ‘If I had to make a guess, I’d say it was Nandul’s handiwork. He doesn’t need an excuse to make someone die in screaming agony. I’ve seen it time and time again. The only thing Nandul would have felt was disappointment when the man died and he couldn’t torment him any longer.’

  ‘There’s not a lot of challenge in killing one lone human soldier,’ said Dale disgustedly.

  ‘Nandul would have killed him whether he was a soldier, a farmer, a woman or a tiny child. It’s not about challenge. It’s about power. It’s about pain. It’s about revenge. A small child might scream for mercy, which would be just what Nandul would want to hear - for a very long time. For as long as he could draw out the pain.’

  Dale shook his head. He couldn’t understand someone gaining pleasure from another’s pain, yet it seemed all too common amongst the fallen. ‘The third thing?’

  ‘There were quite a few human bodies within the keep,’ said Eibhear.

  ‘More soldiers?’

  ‘No,’ Eibhear turned away and stared into the distance.

  ‘Who were they Eibhear?’ Dale demanded.

  ‘Women,’ said Eibhear shortly. Dale didn’t reply. He felt sickened by the thought of innocent women being dragged into the keep to be abused and killed. He swallowed hard, feeling more determined than ever to get the citizens of Emerald safely through to the Dwellings. Eibhear shrugged. ‘Once Tiernan knows that, he might just decide to wipe them all out after all. Someone’s going to have to do something about them.’

  ‘And the last thing you wanted to tell me?’

  ‘She’s still following you.’

  ‘The fallen woman?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But you’re not letting her reach me,’ Dale stated, wishing with all his soul he could bring himself to ask Eibhear to free his heart and allow the woman to find him. The sensation of her searching his heart was something so unique and intense, and so incredibly pleasurable, it was all Dale could do to keep his mind on his task and not go running off to find her. He pictured her as a little bird, flitting along happily as she followed him through the trees.

  It was late afternoon before the last of the carts left the road and moved up the southern track. Dale waited until they were out of sight amongst the trees, and then he, Rudiger and Eibhear started towards East Inlet. Dale led them towards the city along the northern cliffs. He remembered several hidden approaches to the keep, and he sincerely hoped things had not changed too much. As it turned out, nothing had changed with the route he chose. The keep was built on the very edge of the massive cliffs which looked over the inlet after which the town had been named. Dale led them to the brink of the cliffs then startled Eibhear and Rudiger by sliding confidently over the edge. They followed him and found themselves standing on a rough ledge. Dale climbed boldly along the face of the cliffs, using small ledges and cracks in the rocks for support. Rudiger and Eibhear said nothing as they followed him, but they were surprised by the ease with which Dale scaled the rocks in the darkness. As they neared the walls of the keep, Dale began to climb towards the ocean. He eased his body over a strangely shaped protrusion then he disappeared entirely. Rudiger and Eibhear exchanged glances before scrambling after him. It wasn’t until they slid over the peculiar rock formation that they could see where Dale was hidden. He was sitting comfortably at the bottom of a deep niche in the rocks. Stairs had been cut into the rock face, and they rose almost vertically, disappearing into a hole in the rocks above their heads. On the seaward side, the cliffs angled outwards so it was unlikely anyone would see the steps from any direction, unless they could grow wings and fly across the cliff face. As soon as they reached him, Dale stood and began to climb.

  ‘Where do the steps come out?’ Eibhear called up softly to Dale.

  ‘In the lowest room beneath the keep. There’s a trapdoor at the top of these stairs, but I have to release the locking lever before we can raise it. It’s hardwood with iron banding, and it’s very difficult to move, even if you are lucky enough to know the secret to releasing the locking lever in the first place.’

  ‘What will you do if someone’s blocked the way and we can’t get through?’

  ‘We’ll have to try to get up on the wall. There are places where it’s low enough for you to throw me up.’

  ‘And how exactly are you planning to get back down if you’re seen? Eibhear asked drily.

  ‘I have a huge piece of rope tied around my waist. Surely even you couldn’t be stupid enough to think I was suddenly this fat around the middle?’ said Dale.

  ‘Oh. Are you wearing rope? I couldn’t see any difference,’ said Eibhear innocently.

  ‘Very funny. Can you hear my thoughts?’

  ‘Rudi is hiding your thoughts, shielding them.’

  ‘Rudi, can you let Eibhear hear my thoughts too, but no-one else?’

  ‘I can do that,’ said Rudi confidently. ‘I guess that means you want us to shut our mouths?’

  ‘I do,’ Dale thought.

  ‘Should I go ahead of you?’ Eibhear’s thoughts came to Dale. ‘If there’s any danger waiting at the top it’s probably better if you don’t arrive first.’

  ‘You can’t pass me on this ladder, though I’d like to see you try,’ Dale thought challengingly. ‘It’s too steep for someone to pass and too difficult to hold on to the rocks.’ There was swift movement below him and Dale peered down to see Eibhear reaching towards his foot. He stifled a shout as Eibhear grabbed his ankle and pulled him downwards. He lost his grip on the steps and desperately flailed his arms as he fell away. Eibhear reached out and grabbed his arm as he fell, and holding him firmly by his wrist, he proceeded up the steep steps.

  ‘Eibhear!’ Dale managed to gasp, though almost mute with shock. ‘You’re breaking my wrist!’

  Eibhear swung Dale back towards the steps and waited until he gained his footing before he let go of him.

  ‘You ought to know by now that you shouldn’t tell one of the fallen they can’t do something.’

  ‘Can we just get to the top of these damned steps,’ Dale grumbled, his heart still racing from his fright. ‘My arms are going to fall off at any second.’

  ‘Just don’t land on Rudi if you fall,’ said Eibhear. ‘He’s carrying my favorite knife, and I wouldn’t want to lose it, if he fell into the sea.’ Rudiger immediately drew the knife, flicked it past Dale, narrowly missing his ear, and Eibhear caught it deftly and slid it into his own belt sheath.

  ‘Stop fooling around!’ growled Dale. He hadn’t recovered from the shock Eibhear had given him. He was relieved when they reached the top of the ladder and stepped into small stone recess. Above their heads was a massive wooden trapdoor, overlaid with iron bands. From above Dale knew it was almost impossible to find, unless you knew exactly where it was, as it fitted snugly into the pattern of the wooden floor in the room above. He reached his arm deep into a crack in
the rocks until he found a steel lever. With all his strength, he pressed hard on the lever until it gave way. ‘We should be able to get inside now,’ he said, stretching upwards and pushing the trapdoor. It gave a slight squeak and Dale paused, using both hands to hold the weight of the door to prevent it from slamming closed. He struggled against the awkward weight. Rudiger reached up with one hand taking the weight of the heavy trapdoor and Eibhear grabbed Dale and lifted him so he could peer through the crack. There was no-one in sight.

  ‘Push me up,’ whispered Dale, and Rudiger opened the trapdoor fully. Eibhear shoved Dale upwards. Dale stifled a shout as he was thrown into the room. He reached down to help Eibhear and Rudiger, but Eibhear grabbed the edge of the floor and dragged himself into the room. Seconds later Rudiger followed.

  ‘This way,’ Dale thought, and he walked across the room towards a door in the southern wall. He opened the door and passed inside with Eibhear and Rudiger close behind. There were two massive boards lying on the floor just inside the room, and Dale picked them up and slid them into metal brackets, preventing the door from being opened unexpectedly.

  ‘That should at least slow anyone down whilst we decide where to go from here,’ thought Dale.

  ‘Does that mean you don’t have a plan?’ Eibhear thought indignantly.

  ‘Of course I have a plan,’ Dale’s thoughts sounded mocking. ‘Get inside, find out what they are up to, and get out alive.’

  ‘Wonderful,’ Rudiger seemed as pleased as Eibhear had. ‘You’re starting to sound as useless as the rest of us! Aren’t humans supposed to be strategically minded?’

  ‘Trust me,’ Dale whispered aloud.

  ‘We’re here aren’t we?’ said Eibhear, shrugging. ‘Where do we go now?’

  Dale knelt in front of the huge empty fireplace and leaned across the hearth. ‘This castle was built by my great, great, great grandfather. Apparently he was completely mad, extremely paranoid, and had more enemies than a guardian in Morlee.’ Eibhear and Rudiger laughed. ‘There are hidden passages and strange little hidey holes all over the place. Mother and Father were never convinced we found them all, but I’m sure I found most of them.’ He leaned forward until he was lying on his stomach and reached forward. There was a small clunking sound then Dale slid backwards awkwardly holding a very heavy, rusted iron plate. He placed it aside and crawled forward into the fireplace, which now had a yawning black hole at the rear. He slid through the hole and stood up. Rudiger and Eibhear followed him one by one and Eibhear reached back to replace the iron plate.

  ‘Don’t,’ Dale advised. ‘It’s impossible to open from this side. I’d rather be sure we can get out the other end before we block what might turn out to be our only escape.’

  Eibhear hastily placed the iron plate back at the side of the fireplace. He looked questioningly at Dale who pointed upwards. He placed his shoulders against one wall and his feet against the other and began to push himself up the fuliginous wall. The stonework was rough and he had no difficulty finding footholds. The only hindrance was the layer of soot which fell away from the stones, coating their bodies with thick, black, powdery particles. They climbed about thirty foot up the shaft and reached an opening in the chimney. Dale twisted around and dragged himself through the hole and rolled out onto the floor of another larger room. Relief flooded through him as he saw the room was empty. He stood waiting as Eibhear and Rudiger slid through what turned out to be another fireplace.

  ‘Why isn’t this end blocked?’ asked Eibhear.

  ‘After my parents were killed, this is where I hid. I left this end open, in case the other end was blocked, then I tried to go further up the chimney but I lost my grip. I hit my head as I fell and when I woke up I couldn’t hear a single sound. The whack on the head must have been a beauty, because I remember nothing of when I was unconscious.’

  ‘Ha! Like a normal human,’ Eibhear muttered drily.

  ‘I suppose so,’ Dale shrugged. ‘When I finally worked up the courage to leave the chimney, I found that everyone I knew was dead. I was too scared to leave the keep and go out into the town, so I went down the trapdoor and across the cliffs.’ Dale could feel a profound sense of guilt coming from each warrior and he knew from the expressions on their faces that they had both been involved in the attack on East Inlet. ‘It’s a strange thing that I should be standing here now with the two of you,’ said Dale. He stood silently staring at the empty fireplace, remembering the life he had lived here, and he felt removed, as though he was looking back on a story rather than reality. Eventually he sighed and shook his head. ‘Once, all I wanted was to return here and rebuild. Now I’m here, I just want to get away as quickly as I possibly can. Let’s do what we came to do, so we can leave. I don’t want to be here a minute more than I have to. Let’s try to get across to the kitchen near the courtyard without being seen.’

  ‘Why the kitchen? Eibhear asked.

  ‘I’m hungry,’ said Dale as if this was obvious, and Eibhear raised an eyebrow. ‘And the kitchen is a good vantage point to watch the courtyard. There’s a way we can get from here to the kitchen without being seen. Follow me.’

  Chapter 46

  The Old Well

  Araas, Timbul, Kelian, Enri and Milgorry crouched on the top of the wall. Araas lifted his head and peered into the courtyard. He froze. A feeling of celebration and satisfaction was thick in the air. Timbul sat concentrating on their minds.

  ‘They think to hide their thoughts,’ he said, speaking to himself, ‘but I can still…’ He stopped speaking. An expression of acknowledgement spread over his face and he nodded to himself as though he had come to a decision.

  ‘Fifty…seventy…maybe a hundred fallen,’ Araas whispered. ‘And I’ll bet there’s more out of sight. It might not be as easy as I’d hoped to get to the well.’

  ‘Where is it? How do we get there?’ asked Enri.

  ‘It’s at the lower edge of the courtyard,’ said Araas. ‘This fortification has the largest courtyard I’ve ever seen. The well is built at the lower edge, quite a distance from the keep.’ He peered cautiously between two merlons. ‘You can see from here how sharply the ground slopes away, and how far it is to the curtain wall. The well is built very close to the wall.’ He pointed across the courtyard. ‘It’s not a good design,’ he added. He pulled his head back sharply as several of the fallen walked across the courtyard.

  ‘I wonder if they’re still in the well’ Enri mused. ‘Can you hear Danil, sir?’

  ‘Not at all,’ replied Kelian. ‘We can only hope they’re still alive. We have no choice but to try the well first. If they’re not there…let’s hope they are there.’

  ‘Sir, wouldn’t they be sitting in water, if they’re at the bottom of a well? Wouldn’t they drown?’ For a moment Enri’s face betrayed his fear.

  ‘The old well has been useless for more years than I can remember. The new well is against the northern wall, but father said Baron Daarin said it wasn’t much better than the old well, and water was often carted from the well in the city.’

  ‘So do we have a plan?’

  ‘I did, until I saw the number of fallen littering the courtyard,’ said Araas.

  ‘We need to walk around the walls and then try to get inside when we’re closer to the well,’ said Enri practically. ‘If we could somehow distract the fallen, we might at least have time to find out if they’re still in the well.’

  There was a silence as everyone considered Enri’s suggestion. ‘It could work,’ said Araas. ‘But we will need more time if we actually find them in the well. How can we make a distraction that would take their attention away for long enough to carry out a rescue?’

  ‘I can,’ said Timbul, shrugging as if this was obvious. ‘What do you think will happen if they see me standing on the top of this wall spying on them?’

  ‘Every fallen warrior from here to Larnuk will come tearing after you,’ said Araas indignantly. ‘It’s too dangerous Tim.’

  ‘I don’t think i
t is. If I head straight across the Province, I can draw them after me. I have a plan.’

  ‘I don’t like it,’ said Kelian. ‘I agree with Araas. It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘You don’t even know what my plan is. And they can only catch me if I let them.’

  ‘Not necessarily,’ Milgorry disagreed. ‘You can’t be certain all will go as planned. Even the smallest mishap might give them the chance to return you.’

  ‘I think it’s worth a try,’ said Timbul stubbornly, ‘unless someone can come up with a better plan?’ He crossed his arms challengingly across his chest.

  ‘I can’t,’ Kelian admitted. He stared at Timbul suspiciously as he unexpectedly found himself wanting to go along with the guardian’s suggestion.

  ‘I’ll stay here until I see you on the wall near the well,’ said Timbul, ignoring Kelian’s troubled expression. ‘Then I’ll make sure I can be seen and when they come after me I’ll drop from the wall and start running. I’ve no doubt they’ll follow me.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Enri. ‘Why would they all follow you? What if some of them stay behind? Won’t they leave guards?’

  ‘No. They’ll all follow him,’ said Araas. ‘I’ll bet if they see Tim, they’ll think he’s leading an attack force. They’re not so stupid as to come after him with only half their warriors. I doubt they’ll even leave anyone guarding the well, and even if they do they’ll probably be few enough for us to remove. They are arrogant and overconfident.’ He gazed sadly at Timbul. ‘You’re up to something, aren’t you?’ he said resignedly.

  ‘Listen, if you want a distraction, I can give you a distraction. It just happens to fit in with my plans. I don’t see a problem.’

  ‘Araas?’ said Kelian, feeling confused by Timbul’s words.

  Araas frowned when his brother turned away warily as if studying his escape route. ‘Let’s do it,’ he eventually said. ‘I’ll see you back at the Dwellings, Tim?’

  ‘Goodbye Araas,’ said Timbul. He smiled at his brother and gave a cheerful wave, then settled his back against the stones to wait.