‘I can hear your heart,’ he said softly. ‘I wish you would let me…’
Louisa continued to gaze at him, mesmerized by how much his presence affected her. She wondered for a second what would happen if one of the fallen caught them in the clearing, particularly if she was wrapped in those beautiful strong arms. Her resistance completely dissolved.
In the instant Louisa unshielded her heart Milgorry’s emotions flooded in. It was as if a piece had been missing from her very existence but now that piece was found and suddenly she felt complete. It seemed the most natural thing in the world when he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her from the ground and holding her against his chest. He stood holding her like this for several minutes then gently leaned forward, letting her feet find the ground. He smiled when she refused to let go.
‘What now?’ Louisa whispered into his ear, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine.
‘Well, unless you want to see my body pinned by arrows to the nearest tree,’ he whispered, ‘I need to put you back where you are supposed to be and return to my job of pretending to guard you.’
Louisa let Milgorry’s neck go and he straightened up, still smiling. There was a scuffling sound right behind Louisa and she leapt back into his arms with a squeak of fright, her heart thumping.
‘Just a goanna,’ said Milgorry calmly, rubbing his hand up and down her back and she blushed, embarrassed by her fright.
‘Since you were listening in,’ she said tensely, ‘you know I’m going to help Elena and Immosey escape. It’s my duty and even if it wasn’t my duty, I would do this. They’re my sisters.’
‘I know. You won’t succeed. You cannot help them escape.’ He paused. ‘But I can.’
‘No. I won’t allow this. Telas would try to return you if he so much as suspected that you were helping us!’
‘Telas hates me and would be delighted to return me, but he won’t face me if I have a sword in my hand,’ said Milgorry confidently. ‘Unless he catches me practically unarmed, he will do as I say.’
‘And if he does catch you unarmed?’ asked Louisa apprehensively.
‘We’ll find out, won’t we,’ said Milgorry practically.
‘Find out? Oh Mil, don’t let him catch you unarmed, I truly don’t want to find out!’
‘Relax. I don’t wander around Alkira unarmed, at least, not since that little incident with Orpel. We’ll probably never find out what would happen. And you really shouldn’t care, my little guardian,’ he added mischievously. ‘You should have tried to strangle me when you had your sweet, strong hands around my neck. You should want to return me. That’s part of your duty, is it not?’
‘I have no idea,’ said Louisa crossly. ‘I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. I know I have to protect Elena and Immosey but I don’t know how and I don’t know how to escape. And even if we did escape, I don’t even know where we are, or where to go, or how to get food for them. We would probably run through the forest for days and then they would die of starvation or thirst or something!’
‘Shh! Calm down. You won’t be going by yourself.’ Abruptly he looked away. ‘Get back to Elena and Immosey now! Telas will be there in seconds. He’s not as wary with his thoughts as he should be.’
Louisa was gone in a flash, surprising even herself with a sudden burst of energetic speed. She was beside her sisters in seconds, sitting on the ground like she had never left. They said nothing as she raised her finger to her lips. About half a minute later, Telas, Amil and Garret entered the clearing. Louisa could now see Milgorry leaning against a tree near the top of the slight incline. He had placed his bow and quiver on the ground and was watching the girls as though bored.
‘Get up. The horses are rested,’ said Telas abruptly.
‘Could we have more water please?’ asked Louisa. She wasn’t hungry but was beginning to feel very thirsty.
‘You were given water,’ said Telas.
‘There wasn’t enough,’ said Louisa calmly. ‘We’re human. We need more water than you need.’
Telas looked at her skeptically. ‘You will survive,’ he said coldly.
Milgorry suddenly appeared beside Telas. ‘Get more water if they need it,’ he ordered. ‘It will only take a minute.’
Telas turned and glared at him suspiciously. ‘Is this any concern of yours?’ he asked.
‘You will do as I say, Telas!’ said Milgorry angrily. ‘As I’ve said before, there’s no advantage if one of them dies before we make it to Weema.’
‘So considerate, aren’t you,’ Telas sneered. ‘You do seem overly concerned about the humans. They need more food! They’re cold! They need more water!’ His voice was a malicious impersonation. ‘Perhaps we wouldn’t need to be so concerned if there were less of them to look after.’
Abruptly he grabbed Elena and lifted her to her feet, dragging her backwards and shoving her to her knees. He drew his sword. Immosey shouted and threw herself towards her sister only to find herself pinned to the ground by Garret. Garret clamped his hand over her mouth and twisted her arm behind her back. There was an ominous crack and Immosey began to scream in agony. Garret stared down at her as if surprised by the fragility of her body. The last thing he ever saw was Milgorry’s sword flashing towards his neck. In the same instant Amil found himself flying backwards as Louisa grabbed him by the back of his leather vest and slammed him headfirst into a tree. There was a horrible crunching sound as his skull shattered and then his body slid into the dead leaves and his eyes stared unseeingly towards the sky. Milgorry and Louisa turned towards Telas and he backed away, his eyes flicking between Milgorry and the infuriated guardian. Milgorry drew a long knife with this left hand and passed his sword to Louisa who took it uncertainly whilst watching Telas.
Louisa felt Milgorry’s thoughts. ‘Get them out of here. In a minute this place will be crawling with warriors.’ Milgorry’s eyes didn’t leave Telas. ‘If anyone follows you, use the sword.’
Louisa dragged Elena to her feet. She picked up Immosey, who was crying in pain, and began to run towards to bushes, taking care to keep the sword away from the injured girl. It was impossible to keep the broken arm still and Immosey sobbed as Louisa ran. A look of pure malice came over Telas’ face as he saw Milgorry’s sword disappear with Louisa.
‘Well…isn’t this ironic,’ Milgorry muttered clenching his knife and not taking his eyes from Telas’ sword. ‘We actually will find out…’
Louisa and Elena ran until they were reasonably sure no-one was following them, and then they stopped and looked in the direction from which they had come. Minutes later Milgorry appeared beside them, holding his bloodied knife in his hand and the quiver and bow which he collected from where he’d been standing guard at the top of the hill.
‘Keep running!’ he said sharply. He slung his quiver onto his back and took the sword from Louisa and slid it into its sheath. Then he scooped up Elena, and swung her onto his back, as he noticed she was leaning over with her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Louisa darted forward again and she could sense Milgorry’s approval as she felt her paces change into long easy strides. They came to a wide, shallow stream and they ran awkwardly up the middle of it for a while, then Milgorry turned aside. They ran uphill for another ten minutes, and then stopped.
‘Keep shielding your thoughts,’ he said, as he set Elena down and took Immosey from Louisa’s arms. He placed her gently on the ground and examined her arm. He shook his head and then looked at Louisa uneasily. ‘Do you know if you can heal?’ he asked.
‘Heal?’
‘The free are barred from using this gift, but once…there was a little girl who had been cruelly injured and for some reason I was allowed to heal her. I don’t know why...’
Milgorry stared down at Immosey who gritted her teeth and tried not to cry. He very gently placed his hand over the slight bend in her forearm. As Louisa knelt down beside him she heard him murmur, ‘I know it’s not my place to ask, but please…’ Warmth
spread from Milgorry’s fingers and Immosey gasped as her arm grew hot. Her arm seemed to shine for a moment with light from within and then just as quickly the light was gone. Immosey lifted her arm, staring wide eyed at Milgorry. She wriggled her fingers and then moved her wrist from side to side.
Milgorry sat back on his heels with a look of wonder on his face. ‘Thank you,’ he said softly. He rose to his feet, looking weakened. ‘We need to keep moving,’ he said, helping Immosey to her feet.
‘I can run,’ said Elena.
‘No. Not yet. We have to move quickly and cover as much distance as we can before nightfall,’ said Milgorry.
Louisa knelt, motioning for Elena to climb onto her back. Elena shook her head. ‘I’m too heavy for you, Louisa,’ she said firmly.
Milgorry raised an eyebrow. ‘You can’t be serious,’ he said incredulously. ‘Did you miss seeing her smash Amil on a tree?’ He shook his head. ‘Actually,’ he continued, and Louisa recognized the mischievous tone, ‘before this is over she may have to carry all three of us at once. Trust me; she’s strong enough to carry you.’ He leaned over and Immosey climbed onto his back. Elena was a little doubtful, but she climbed onto Louisa’s back.
Chapter 19
Vengeance
A vague uneasiness had been growing in Timbul’s mind all day. The four fallen warriors who had been waiting to ambush them had been eliminated by Araas, Timbul, Borgulnay and Gilgarry. Araas was an excellent bowman and the first two died before they had time to react. The other two turned and ran, seeing the guardian and two soldiers advancing. Unfortunately for the fallen, Timbul circled round them and was waiting, sword in hand. Gilgarry and Borgulnay returned one as he attacked Timbul and the other turned to flee. Araas’ speed proved superior and the warrior turned to fight. It was over in seconds.
They left the road and moved through the trees, and were now not far from the well that marked the eastern end of Sheldon’s Quest. Kelian instructed everyone to rest and eat. He would have liked to take William’s suggestion of looking for another entrance to the wasteland, but he knew they would need to replenish their water supplies very soon. He squinted into the distance, thinking over his choices. He had no wish to cross the unclear borders of Tabulum. The Tabuls were vigilant about guarding their part of the wasteland and usually no-one particularly cared, as the wasteland was a dry, valueless and dangerous place. The Tabuls didn’t agree and the strange primitive race seemed to exist quite contentedly in the wilderness. No-one crossing Sheldon’s Quest ever had any trouble with the Tabuls but on the odd occasion that someone did decide to venture even the shortest distance north of the set path they would disappear. Those who went looking for the lost were never seen again. The only known exception was in the case of a travelling family. A little girl of about four years wandered away from the path whilst the family stopped to rest. When they found she was missing they began to follow her little footsteps north and they ran far into Tabulum, screaming their daughter’s name. They found themselves surrounded by seven Tabuls, complete with tribal scars and wearing only their typical waistcloth. They were driven at spear point back to the road and held there until a very old looking Tabul emerged from the rugged bush land carrying the little girl, who seemed quite content to be carried and to play with the feathers twisted through the old man’s grey fuzzy hair. He handed the unharmed child to her distraught mother, and the other Tabuls turned and followed him back into the bush land. Within seconds they were gone. Kelian didn’t imagine they would receive any such leniency should they wander into Tabulum.
He tried to see past the distant well. The southern cliffs seemed to go on forever. He had heard there were places which could be climbed, but how far south and how difficult a climb was beyond his knowledge, and he had serious doubt that finding water would be an easy task. He suddenly sat forward. There was movement around the well.
‘Fallen?’ he asked, looking at Araas.
‘Definitely,’ answered Araas. ‘There’s something wrong. They feel angry…and also pleased, like they’ve gained something.’
Timbul walked forward a few steps, his head inclined as though listening, growing panic and fear on his face. He walked about fifty paces towards the well then stopped and turned to look at Araas, his face appalled. ‘No!’ his voice was a whisper. ‘No Araas, please, it cannot be.’
Kelian turned and looked at Arras whose face was an identical mask of horror. An instant later the two guardians were sprinting across the hard bare ground between the bush land and the well. Kelian and the soldiers drew their swords and ran after Timbul and Araas, who were now well ahead of them. William hesitated for a second then leapt onto his horse and followed.
As Kelian got closer he could see the reason for Timbul’s and Araas’ distress. Three warriors of the fallen were standing near the bushes behind the well. Three more stood in front of the well beside Jaralina’s dead body. The stake which was holding her up had been driven through her torso and was protruding from her neck. Her face was battered and covered in blood. Most of her clothing was torn and through the shreds of cloth Kelian could tell she had been cut deeply and systematically.
Timbul went absolutely berserk. The two nearest warriors fell screaming with their swords still raised as Timbul’s sword removed their legs below the knees. Their blood poured onto the ground. Then with a violent backswing his sword struck out towards the third warrior. This one was in better position but as Timbul’s sword struck his again and again, he knew he was overmatched and seconds later he bellowed in agony and fell to his knees, holding the bleeding stump of his arm before him. The remaining three backed towards the bushes. Timbul leapt forward decisively drawing a knife with his left hand as the three raised their swords. His sword blocked a blow as he gutted the nearest warrior with his knife. The man fell onto his knees screaming, desperately and unsuccessfully trying to hold onto his escaping intestines. Then Araas was beside Timbul, deflecting blows from the remaining two. He could see in their eyes that they knew they were about to be returned for they faced a foe whose deadly strength and speed was coupled with no desire to remain, a guardian who had no wish to live. Timbul dived in front of his brother, ignoring Araas’ blade as his own sword smashed the sword from the fallen’s hand. Timbul’s knife flashed across the fallen’s throat, not cutting deeply enough to return him instantly, but leaving a wound severe enough to bring the warrior helplessly to his knees. Timbul kicked the kneeling man out of the way and advanced on the one remaining warrior. The warrior dropped his sword and held up his hands, obviously hoping Timbul would not attack him if he was unarmed. Timbul gave a shout of disgust and cast his own sword to the ground. The warrior immediately sprang at the unarmed guardian. Timbul moved like lightning but he didn’t pick up his sword. His fist flashed forward and smashed squarely into the warrior’s face. The warrior staggered for a few seconds and then fell to his knees. Timbul glared into the warrior’s eyes and the man sat like a prisoner under his enraged stare. Under the power of the infuriated guardian’s gaze, the warrior’s back gradually began to arch and his neck stretched further and further until it seemed his body could bend no more, then there was a ghastly snapping sound and his body fell limply to the ground.
Timbul turned away, his eyes filled with anger and hatred. Every one of the warriors was still alive, if only barely, but Timbul seemed in no hurry to put them out of their misery.
‘Tim,’ said Araas, ‘don’t do this. Return them.’
‘Is Cuma liom!’ Timbul shouted, staring at the ruined and screaming bodies with fury and resentment glittering in his eyes.
‘Yes you do! You care! You are a guardian! End it!’ His brother was shouting at him. ‘End it now!’
With a snarl of anger, Timbul grabbed his sword and leapt to the side of each warrior, bringing his sword down and returning each one.
Kelian, William and the soldiers stood staring at Timbul with a mixture of stunned amazement and horror. With a final shout of rage Timbul flung his sword
to the ground and walked over to where Jaralina’s body was propped up against the well. He knelt beside her and removed the stake with tears streaming from his eyes. He gently lifted her body and lowered himself to rest against the well, gathering her into his arms as if he was holding a small child. He sat for a very long time, silently but with shaking shoulders and tears pouring continually down his face.
Kelian spoke quietly to David and Alexander and the three men walked a short distance into the bushes. They began to scoop away the sandy soil using knives to break up the ground, working in silence until they made a sizeable hole. Kelian walked to the well. There were three dead rats lying behind the well and they also appeared to have died in pain. Kelian looked at the grief stricken guardian.
‘Tim?’
Timbul stood, managing to keep Jaralina’s body cradled against his chest. He followed Kelian into the bushes and slowly placed her body in the hole. Araas and the soldiers knelt and covered her with soft sand and then began to cover the sand with heavy rocks. The sun was just setting as Timbul placed the last stone on the top of Jaralina’s grave. They stood uncertainly for a moment until Kelian motioned for everyone to move closer. Timbul sank to his knees beside the grave. Everyone else immediately knelt and waited for Kelian to speak.
It was dark by the time the group left the gravesite. They decided to make camp beside the well, so Gilgarry, Alexander, David and William carried the bodies of the fallen away. They found several very deep fissures in the rocky hills and dropped the bodies down the crevices.
Kelian sat with his back to the well, lost in thought and worrying about Timbul. He had not spoken at all since he returned the six warriors. Kelian had chosen to speak beside the grave as he had known Jaralina fairly well and Timbul remained overwhelmed by grief. Jaralina was two years younger than Kelian. Her mother Rhia was one of the maids of Duchess Cassandra of Sunrise but at sixteen the maid was little more than a child and had died giving birth to Jaralina. Jaralina had never known who her father was. She had been taken to the only orphanage in Sunrise where the children were given adequate food, clothing, a bed in which to sleep, harsh discipline and very little love or attention. Strangely, the little girl had flourished in the rough environment and learned very quickly how to look after herself. Jaralina was about thirteen years of age when a girl of similar age appeared at the orphanage, seeking shelter. The girl was called Megen and she told Jaralina she had come to the orphanage because the master of the house her family served was prone to beating and raping the servant girls. When her own mother had died she was left with no protection and she had taken the first opportunity to leave. It turned out that Megan could read and write and Jaralina was a willing student. A year later, hard looking men came to the orphanage and took Megan. Jaralina never saw her again, but she was always haunted by the memory of Megan’s screams of terror as she was dragged away. A month after Megan was taken, Jaralina stowed away on a cart travelling north. By lucky chance she found herself in the company of a trader called William, who was a kindly man. She ended up travelling across the entire continent with William and after a year had passed the girl had friends in every town from Tarlique to Tathra. When she came to work for the King, her friends and her knowledge of the land made Jaralina the ideal agent.
The Fallen (Book 1) Page 17
