Even in the darkness, he could see that Qinel was a neglected settlement. The unpaved streets were filled with rubbish that had been thoughtlessly flung from doors and windows and there seemed no dearth of rats. Along the edges of the street there were small deposits of human and animal refuse and a repulsive stench saturated the air. A large number of buildings had been made with stone but were crumbling with age and exposure to the elements, and there were many abandoned huts on the outskirts of the town. One large, flat roofed building close to the center of the settlement was undamaged and it was surrounded by a stone wall. Borgulnay passed by what had been a tannery, turned a corner and entered a small doorway. Thinking to get high enough to see over the settlement, he climbed a set of stone stairs in a building that had once belonged to a cordwainer. The room at the top of the stairs no longer had a roof. Scraps of rough, faded leather littered the corners of the room. A small, high bench was the only standing piece of furniture. On the bench was an old wooden last and the handle of what Borgulnay supposed had been the cordwainer’s half-moon knife. He moved across the room to a window overlooking the walled building. From this height he could see that a number of rooms in the building were lit with wall lamps, but he could see no-one moving about inside. His gaze fell to the grounds around the building. Several men carrying crossbows appeared to be guarding the premises and a few large dogs were loose in the area between the wall and the building. As Borgulnay watched, a door at the front of the building opened and a man walked towards the gates which led onto the street. He spoke to one of the guards. The guard gave a sharp whistle, and the dogs sprang across the ground and followed him into the shadows. Borgulnay lost sight of them as they disappeared behind the building. He was about to leave when a flash of movement caught his eye. Directly below where he stood a man’s head appeared over the wall. Borgulnay stepped away from the window. He cursed under this breath and was about to make a dash from the building when something registered in his mind. The face was familiar. He stood torn between the desire to leave in a hurry and the need to find out whose face was climbing over the wall surrounding what appeared to be a guarded fortress. Curiosity won. He moved back into the darkest corner of the room where he was well hidden by the work bench. He drew his knife and crouched, balancing his weight so as to be able to spring forward in a hurry, should the need arise.
The man climbed onto the top of the wall and stood up. He leaned forward until he was falling towards the window of the room in which Borgulnay was hiding. Without as much as a whisper of sound, he caught the ledge and pulled himself through the window. He slid headfirst towards the floor and pulled himself forward with his hands. Borgulnay held his breath as the man dragged his legs through the window and stood up. Still making no sound, the man turned towards the stairs. He had almost reached the stairs when he stopped. He turned slowly towards the work bench. Borgulnay gripped his knife and leaned forward, standing upright as the man reached under his dark cloak and drew a knife from a leather shoulder sheath. There was a pause for a fraction of a second, as Borgulnay desperately tried to see the man’s face, then the man leapt towards him. Borgulnay dived sideways and rolled towards the stairs with the thought that whoever this man was, he obviously wished to leave the fortified building undetected, so there was a good chance he would not wish to be seen in the street. Borgulnay swiftly regained his footing. He had no desire to kill the man unless he was left with no choice. The man was faster than Borgulnay anticipated and managed to block the stairs. Borgulnay sighed as the man raised his knife and advanced. The man lashed out and Borgulnay sidestepped.
‘Please don’t make me kill you,’ he said softly. The man froze. The knife slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. ‘Good,’ said Borgulnay. ‘Now move away from the stairs. I will leave and you will never see me again.’
The man didn’t move. He stood staring towards Borgulnay as if frozen.
‘If you don’t move away from the stairs, I’ll have to move you,’ said Borgulnay, feeling confused by the man’s lack of action. ‘Please don’t doubt that I can.’
The man still didn’t move.
‘Move away from the stairs,’ Borgulnay commanded with a little more force.
‘Borg?’ the man questioned.
It was Borgulnay’s turn to freeze. ‘Who are you?’
‘I’m Evan of Highview.’
‘You’ve got to be joking!’ Borgulnay stepped forward and peered at the man’s face in the darkness. His jaw dropped. ‘What in the name of His Supreme Majesty are you doing in Qinel?’
‘I was about to ask you the same question.’
‘You’ll have to ask Kelian.’
‘Kelian is here in Qinel?’ Evan’s voice rose in dismay. ‘Why would anyone in their right mind bring the King of Alkira here? Are you out of your mind Colonel?’
‘Why would an Alkiran soldier be climbing over the walls of what looks like a thieves’ fortress?’
‘Can I explain to Kelian?’
‘I certainly hope you can. Follow me.’ Borgulnay led the way down the stairs to the street. He made a wide circle around the fortified building keeping to the smaller, darker streets. Few structures appeared to be entirely intact even in the center of the settlement. Many had old oilskin sheets stretched across the top to keep out the rain and blowing sand, and some had boards placed atop the stone walls and weighed down by large stones. There was a decrepit tavern near to the center of the settlement. It was surrounded by structures which were used as stalls during the daylight hours, but were unattended at night. The tavern was dimly lit and Borgulnay could see into the windows. He was not particularly surprised by the scene inside. The patrons were mostly rough and bleak looking men who appeared to be drinking only for the sake of seeing how much drink they could consume. Among them sat a small number of less inebriated men who appeared to have some wits about them. Their eyes roved around the room watchfully. Several scantily and gaudily dressed women lounged among the patrons. Borgulnay could see from their expressions they were bored and miserable and probably felt trapped in this town. There were only a few other women in the tavern. They also seemed resigned to their fate as they sat alongside men who were probably their husbands. In a corner of the tavern a group of dirty, undernourished children were playing on the floor with a few filthy, broken toys.
Borgulnay pulled his hood low over his face as they made their way up a small dark street. The buildings on the street were almost all abandoned, but he continued searching until he found one that didn’t look like it was about to fall down. It was on the very outskirts of the settlement where the buildings met the forest.
‘Wait here while I get the others,’ instructed Borgulnay.
‘Others? Other than Kelian?’
‘Quite a few others. Get a fire going.’
Borgulnay made his way back to the beach and soon everyone was hidden inside the small, dirty, hut. In a low whisper Borgulnay described what he had seen. ‘And the last and strangest thing was having Evan climb over the wall into the very room in which I was hiding,’ he finished.
‘What exactly are you doing here in Qinel,’ Kelian asked Evan.
‘May I speak with you alone Majesty?’ asked Evan. Kelian nodded and Evan followed him from the hut. Callian shadowed them and Evan made no objection to his presence.
‘So what brings you to this delightful place? Kelian prompted.
‘I was sent here to complete a mission which was given to me by your father and by the Empress of Tatharlia.’
Kelian was silent as he digested that information. ‘What exactly do you do Evan?’
‘I do whatever the King of Alkira and the Empress of Tatharlia tell me to do. It’s a strange arrangement, but it was actually quite simple how it came about. My mother’s sister is the wife of Captain Mercah. He’s-’
‘I know the Captain,’ Kelian interrupted. ‘Go on.’
‘Well, when I was training as a Private at Highview, we had a visit from Aunt Leana. She works in
the Sanctuary in Tathra. She’s in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly; a bit like one of our supervising servants. Emperor Alem sent her to King Dannicus with the idea of having two people - one from Tatharlia and one from Alkira - to do any special jobs that involved both countries. He wanted someone who had military training, but was willing to do what was required in secrecy. Your father asked my father who he thought was the right person for the job and well, here I am.’
‘What kind of special jobs?’
‘Most of the time that means I have to sort out some kind of problem where both countries are involved. Like here in Qinel. The building Borgulnay described in the center of the settlement is occupied by a man called Rassut. People around here call the place Rassut’s Noose because people seem to go inside and are never seen again. No-one wants to be caught in Rassut’s Noose.’
‘Rassut. That’s an Alkiran name.’
‘It is. He’s originally from Storm Haven, and used to take goods from Tatharlia to sell in the eastern Alkiran cities. As far as we can tell, most of what he sold was stolen. Until recently his crimes haven’t been significant enough to draw attention to himself. But about a year ago his activities took a more sinister turn. When Emperor Alem died and Cahndrech became Empress she asked me to continue to try to unravel what he’s up to.’
‘You said that two people were chosen; one from Alkira and one from Tatharlia.’ Kelian looked questioningly at Evan.
‘Khimerahd. She disappeared into that building two nights ago and I haven’t seen her since,’ said Evan sounding deeply troubled.
‘And what happened, that Empress Cahndrech asked you to continue this work?’
‘Actually, your father sent word that some odd things were happening, all of which pointed to Rassut. Anyone who accused him of selling stolen goods turned up dead, then he moved his base to Ramasp then to Orapba, and now they’re here in Qinel and everyone who had previously worked for him has disappeared.’
Kelian sat down on a low wall. ‘Do you think they’re here in Qinel?’
‘No. I don’t. I think he removed them a bit more permanently.’
‘What were you doing in his little fortress tonight?’
‘I was looking for Khim. We’d been watching the place, trying to work out how many people he has working for him, who they are, what they’re doing. We’re not getting very far. Then Khim saw a covered cart destined to enter the grounds and she decided to find out what it was carrying. I have no idea what happened to her, but it doesn’t look good.’
‘And why doesn’t the Empress just send in soldiers?’
‘She tried. That’s why Rassut’s no longer in Orapba. It was like he had warning. He was gone from Orapba before we could blink. The people that the Empress put in charge of trying to remove him from Orapba are all dead. ‘
‘What about Khimerahd? How do you plan to find her?’
‘I was going to sneak into the building and have a look around, but those damned dogs aren’t making it easy. They’re trained to not take bait, and they won’t obey any but their own masters. Even if we had a bunch of soldiers, we can’t just descend on the place indiscriminately. There are people inside who I’m sure are being kept as slaves. There are women and children.’
‘I know you said your job was supposed to remain secret, but I think it’s time to get help.’ Kelian glanced towards the hut.
‘I’d be grateful,’ admitted Evan. ‘You have arrived at the most opportune time and I see you’re surrounded by a fairly powerful entourage.’
‘Captain Mercah said when we arrive in Tathra we would be met by someone we could trust. Would that have been you?’
‘I don’t know. I was supposed to be back in Tathra by now.’
‘So who in Alkira knows of your work other than your father?’
‘Just King’s Marshall Danil and your father also knew of course.’
‘That’s about to change,’ stated Kelian, standing up and walking back towards the hut. ‘It will have to change if we have any chance of finding your friend.’
‘She’s not just my friend, she’s my cousin. Aunt Leana is her mother.’
‘Have you hope that she might be alive?’
‘I hope. Perhaps stupidly, but I do hope, which means I have to try to find her.’
‘Yes.’ Kelian nodded seriously. ‘We do. Where’s your daughter?’
‘She’s with Aunt Leana, back in Tathra. How I miss my baby girl, Kelian. Callum was right. It’s a hard life for the child of a soldier. It’s not easy for Norah.’
‘Well, the sooner we find Khim, the sooner we can all go on to Tathra,’ said Kelian decidedly. ‘Let’s talk to Borgulnay and see if we can come up with a somewhat workable plan.’ They reentered the hut and Timbul, Araas and Milgorry looked expectantly at Kelian.
‘Since I’m sure you’ve all been following my private thoughts-’ Kelian began.
‘Surely you couldn’t think we’d just let you wander around Qinel without keeping an eye on you.’ Timbul raise an eyebrow as if this was obvious. Kelian ignored the remark and turned to Borgulnay.
‘Did these rogues fill you in on our discussion?’
Borgulnay had the grace to turn red as he nodded.
‘Good. I want some kind of plan to get Khimerahd out of Russet’s Noose. Work with Evan and see what you can come up with.’
Callian regarded Kelian worriedly. ‘Kelian, I don’t think you, Elena, Immy or Louisa should stay here in Qinel. I think you should set out for Numher.’
‘I most wholeheartedly agree,’ said Administrator Tappy adamantly. ‘And Colonel Borgulnay and Captain Gilgarry should stay with you. The rest of us don’t matter, but you must get through to Tathra. Something’s been niggling at me about the Empress’ request. I can’t put my finger on it, but I know it is imperative you don’t let her down.’
Kelian considered Tappy’s words. ‘I don’t like it,’ he said eventually. ‘I don’t like sending people into a dangerous situation whilst I waltz merrily up the road to Numher.’
‘That’s something you might have to get used to, Majesty,’ said Tappy seriously. ‘There will be situations where it will be necessary for you to send men into danger. Just remember that the men you command have sworn to protect their Kingdom...and their King. They gave oath by choice. And the guardians, in actual fact you have no true authority over them, but by their nature they are duty bound to follow your command. I guess that’s one of the idiosyncrasies of being a guardian.’
Kelian stared around the faces of his friends. ‘So who is going into Russet’s Noose?’
‘Just me, Tim, Araas and Mil,’ said Callian. ‘If Evan will allow us to take his thoughts we’ll have some knowledge of the place.’
‘I can take you in there,’ said Evan.
‘No,’ said Callian. ‘If something goes wrong, it might be difficult enough getting Khimerahd out safely.’
‘And you don’t want me to slow you down.’ Evan tried not to look hurt and failed.
‘I want you to get Kelian to Tathra if the rest of us are returned,’ said Callian seriously. ‘If there are only humans inside, and Khimerahd is alive, getting out is almost a joke. If they have a whole lot of the fallen cluttering up the place...well, it may not be quite so easy.’
‘So we find each other in Numher?’ asked Gilgarry.
‘No. We’ll catch up to you long before you reach Numher.’ Timbul walked to the window of the hut. ‘The night is passing. This changes our plans, so perhaps you should get some sleep.’
Copyright
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
This first digital edition published by Dan O’Sullivan in 2014.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in this novel are the work of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Published by Dan O’Sullivan
Copyright © Dan O’Sullivan 2014
Dan O’Sullivan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
The Guardians (Book 2) Page 49
