‘Lou!’ Immosey exclaimed, stretching her arms. ‘You did it!’
Louisa laughed in relief. ‘Not without help.’
‘Maybe that was just a little reminder of who you report to, guardian,’ a voice said behind them. ‘You are truly a guardian, and you asked for help, which in your case means you have acknowledged your heritage – your choice is made.’
‘Mil!’ Louisa jumped to her feet and practically leapt into his arms. Elena and Immosey stood up with relief.
‘I have horses about a mile from here. I thought it best not to lead them through this part of the woods. The fewer tracks we leave the better, so we’ll carry you to the horses,’ he said, crouching so Immosey could climb onto his back. Five minutes later they were in a dark part of the forest, where four horses were tied to the branch of a tree.
‘How did you get horses?’ Immosey was amazed that Milgorry had not been caught. ‘Never mind, I don’t want to know,’ she said quickly, as she noticed his clothing was splattered with blood.
He untied a large cloth sack from the back of the largest horse and handed it to her. ‘It’s probably best you don’t know,’ he agreed, avoiding looking directly at her. He handed a second rather lumpy bag to Elena. ‘Food,’ he said. ‘Could you organize it please so you can eat as we ride? We won’t be sleeping yet, they’re much too close and we need to be gone from here as quickly as possible. Get something warm on first.’ He went back to the horses and began to shorten the stirrups on the three smaller animals. The girls could hear the desperation in his voice as he spoke. ‘They’re going to find us. I cannot see how we can possibly outrun them. Louisa, you might, by yourself, maybe - with a little luck. But the girls…they have no chance! Now if we were trying to move through Nyinaku I think I could hide you fairly easily, but here, I don’t know Lou, I don’t see how we can possibly do this.’
‘And if we’re caught?’
‘The girls are dead. I’m returned. You wake up in Weema.’
‘Why didn’t they do that in the first place? Why didn’t they just kill Elena and Immosey and knock me out? Wouldn’t that have been easier?’
‘Definitely. But Nandul doesn’t like to lose anything - or anyone - that he can use. If he thinks he can use you to bargain for something, he’ll keep you all alive long enough to get what he wants. And you might survive the journey unconscious, but your sisters would not.’
‘What about east to Naraloon?’ Louisa suggested. ‘We’re already a long way south aren’t we?’
‘That’s where they expect us to go, anywhere north or east. Unfortunately they know we’re hemmed into this little corner of Alkira. They didn’t expect anyone would return to the camp so they weren’t taking the trouble to hide their conversation.’ Milgorry frowned. ‘I imagine they’ll know I was there when they find the three-’ He stopped speaking as Elena and Immosey walked up.
They had removed their dresses, wrapped their bodies in several blankets and then squashed their dresses back over the top to hold the blankets in place. Both had sheepskins wrapped around their necks and shoulders, and each had tied a blanket around their head and draped it like a shawl.
‘Good,’ said Milgorry. ‘Are you warm enough?’ Both girls nodded. ‘Are your hands free?’ They nodded again and slipped their hands from beneath the blanket shawls.
‘What do you mean ‘hemmed in’?’ Elena asked hesitantly.
‘They won’t chase us. They’ll get ahead of us and cut us off or they’ll surround us and then close in slowly. Even now the fastest warriors are moving into position around us, to the north and east.’
‘And then they wait for us to try to pass?’ Immosey asked nervously.
‘Yes, or they gradually close in until we have no-where to run.’
‘So will we get past them?’ Immosey was sounding panicky.
Milgorry sighed. ‘I wish I could say that was possible, but it’s not.’ He leaned his head against his horse and absent mindedly scratched its neck. The three girls felt guilty. Louisa’s eyes filled with tears as she sensed Milgorry’s despondency.
‘I’m sorry Mil. I shouldn’t have let you get involved in this. I should never have let you help us. Now your own people will be hunting you and it’s my fault. I was so desperate to get away. I should have thought more of what might happen to you.’
Milgorry was suddenly very still. ‘Exactly which bit is your fault Louisa? The bit where hundreds of warriors attack your barge and kidnap you? The bit where someone beats you senseless or perhaps someone attacking your sister? Or when someone holds a knife to an innocent girl’s throat?’ Milgorry’s voice was rising in anger and frustration. ‘Is it your fault Nandul has some mad plan to have you bear his child? Is it your fault your sisters are being used to control you? Is there anything at all, which you could possibly have had any power over, in all this mess? I doubt it! If it’s anyone’s fault it’s mine. I can’t believe I agreed to Nandul’s madness in the first place. I’m a fool!’
‘Stop!’ Milgorry drew breath as Elena’s voice cut in sharply. ‘Don’t you dare start blaming yourself! If it wasn’t for you I don’t expect Immy and I would be alive right now! If you hadn’t helped us to get this far, Immy would certainly be lying in agony with a broken arm, and I don’t even want to think about what might have happened next! We may only have a tiny chance, but it’s more than we had before, so you can both stop blaming yourselves right now!’ Milgorry and Louisa gaped at Elena as she stood glaring at them with her hands on her hips. ‘Now,’ Elena continued resolutely, ‘we just need to come up with a plan. Obviously we can’t do what they are expecting us to do, but I can’t believe we are completely out of options. We have to do something. If it doesn’t work, at least we will have tried.’
‘Mil, I do have an idea,’ said Louisa. ‘It may be the worst idea ever suggested, but if they have us trapped to the north and to the east I think we have no choice. Where is the only place they won’t be looking for us?’
Milgorry stopped dead still and stared at her. ‘Yes!’ he whispered. ‘That way we would have a chance.’
‘Are you sure they wouldn’t find us, if you lead us through Nyinaku?’ asked Louisa, glancing sideways at Elena and Immosey. Both were looking at Milgorry in alarm.
‘No. I can’t say I’m entirely sure. But at least there’s a chance,’ he said emphatically. ‘Right now we don’t even have that. There is no way I can get you past them all.’
‘What about the Ice Coast?’ Immosey asked. ‘It’s so cold and desolate! We might get lost.’
‘There are many paths across the Ice and it’s a difficult place to track someone,’ said Milgorry confidently. ‘It’s actually not as cold as you imagine, especially not at this time of the year, but you’ve lived in the north for so long you’ll not be used to it.’
Elena looked thoughtfully at Louisa and Milgorry. ‘The fallen would never dream you would lead us right into their territory. And there’s another benefit. If we’re caught, we can behave as though Milgorry is taking us to Nandul.’
Immosey rubbed her cold hands together as she considered this statement. ‘No-one who’s still alive actually saw Milgorry return Telas, did they? For all they know, Louisa may have returned Telas, and Amil and Garret.’
‘And then she went back and got the horses, but Milgorry recaptured us and decided to take us to Nandul himself,’ Elena finished.
‘Why are there four horses? She only needed three,’ said Immosey, looking at Elena seriously as she analyzed their story.
‘One horse to butcher and eat,’ Elena stated.
‘How did she carry me with a broken arm and you as well?’
‘She didn’t. What broken arm? Who knows about that? We took turns in running.’
‘That’s right! If our story is good enough, even if we’re caught we still can save Mil’s life.’
Elena nodded emphatically. ‘This mess isn’t his fault and I won’t have a good man’s death on my shoulders.’
‘I
agree! We go west,’ said Immosey resolutely turning to find Milgorry staring at them, with the strangest expression on his face.
‘But you’re wrong. This is my fault. The attack on your barge-’
‘Don’t!’ said Elena, her hand making a swift chopping motion. ‘It’s a good plan,’ she stated bravely, ‘and we’ll do our very best.’ She turned to Immosey. ‘If you would hand out some of the food, I’ve separated a portion of that strange bread and the meat for each of us. I’ll put the rest…where do I put it?’ She looked at Milgorry questioningly.
Still looking at her in astonishment, he took the sack and walked back to the horse. ‘I never would have believed it. They’re a lot braver than I would have imagined.’
Louisa smiled in agreement. ‘I don’t think you’ve seen anything yet.’
‘Telas was going to cut Elena’s throat,’ Immosey explained. ‘Now I know that every day we wake up alive is a gift. Wherever we are; whatever we are doing, if we’re alive and free we’re lucky. Now thanks to you, we have food and blankets, so we have more chance of staying alive and staying free. So we’re doubly lucky. And we’re in the company of those we love.’ Milgorry gently lifted her onto one of the horses.
‘I can get up myself, you know,’ she said, but Milgorry was gone, in turn lifting Elena and Louisa onto the horses. He swung onto the back of the remaining horse.
Milgorry sat for a long moment looking between the faces of the three girls. ‘You know there’s still a very large chance this won’t succeed, that we’ll be caught.’
‘But less chance of being caught than if we stay here,’ Immosey clarified.
‘True. Are you certain you want to try this? It’s going to be very difficult.’
‘We are certain,’ Elena confirmed raising her chin boldly.
‘Are we ready then?’
The girls turned their horses to follow him.
They took a winding path which led them higher and higher into the mountains along the edge of the ice coast and the area was as strange and desolate as they had imagined. Within days they had climbed so high the air was icy against their skin. There were not as many trees as they moved south, but there was some live vegetation. The ground around them was a patchwork of black rocks and snow which stood out starkly against the rocks. A thick mist came over and everyone was pleased to feel they were at least hidden from sight from a distance. Milgorry led them far to the west of the paths used by the fallen and as they neared the ice they found shelter in a strange crevice which split the rock unevenly and offered reasonable shelter from the wind. There was enough room for the horses, who also seemed pleased to be out of the wind.
Immosey disappeared. Milgorry was just about to go after her when she reappeared dragging two branches which had fallen from a nearby dead tree, one of the few they passed as they searched for a place to hide. He vented his worry on her.
‘Don’t ever wander away without me again, little sister! How can I protect you if you’re flitting off without even telling anyone? With Louisa guarding your thoughts I didn’t even notice you were gone!’
Immosey blushed. ‘There’s a dead tree not far from here. I thought, seeing it’s still foggy, we might be able to make a fire?’
Milgorry looked at the two meagre branches, turned abruptly and disappeared. He returned minutes later with what appeared to be half a tree. Louisa broke the branches into short lengths and Elena and Immosey arranged the pieces neatly into a little mound. Milgorry took a small box containing a flint and steel. He shook his head in dismay when he saw there was no tinder remaining in the box.
‘We need something that will burn,’ he said.
‘My dress is made from cotton,’ said Elena. ‘Will that burn?’
‘Not well enough to start a fire, and I think you probably want to keep wearing it,’ said Milgorry raising an eyebrow. ‘It would work better if I made it into char cloth but I need a fire in the first place to do that.’
‘What about hair?’ Immosey suggested.
‘No. Human hair doesn’t burn for long enough.’ He sounded sad when he said this and Immosey stopped herself from asking him how he knew that. ‘I’ll see what I can find,’ he said abruptly, and he picked up the tinder box and disappeared again. When he returned the tinder box was jammed full of a dead, grassy looking plant. He knelt beside the pile of wood and a minute later he had a merry little fire burning.
‘This wood will burn hot and without smoke,’ he said, pointing to the wood he had collected. ‘Immy, these branches you found earlier also burn well, but they give off a lot of smoke so we’ll only use them when it’s night and if it stays foggy. If the mist clears, the fire must be doused at once. Don’t use the water bags, we can get some snow,’ said Milgorry. ‘Now you must sleep. If you untie the skins, you won’t have to sleep on the rocks.’
The girls had tied the sheepskins around themselves with ties from their dresses, so they removed them and laid the cloth strips aside. They placed the skins close together on the flattest area of rock under shelter. There were three blankets which they were not wearing. Louisa took one and stretched it out over the sheep skins. She rolled up one of the remaining blankets and made a pillow and when the girls lay down she stretched the last blanket over them.
‘This is actually surprising comfortable,’ said Elena positively, wondering how she would ever get to sleep. The cart had been uncomfortable, but at least it was an even surface. Sleeping on the ground had been manageable, but she found it almost impossible to relax on the cold, hard rocks.
Milgorry chuckled and turned to Louisa. ‘I think what she actually meant to say was, ‘How can I sleep lying on rocks?’ His eyes opened wide in amazement as he saw that Immosey was already asleep. He looked at Elena curiously for a moment and then he hesitatingly raised his hand over her face. Her eyes widened but she didn’t move. He withdrew his hand. She was asleep. He rose and went and stood beside Louisa, next to the fire. ‘What’s happening to me, guardian?’
Louisa smiled. ‘Whatever it is, I think it’s good.’
Milgorry placed a thick branch in the fire. ‘I think we should both sleep today, though probably not at the same time. We can keep the fire going too, if this fog persists. This afternoon we’ll gather as much wood as we can carry, for the crossing of the ice.’
‘Mil, do you really think we can do this? I don’t know if I’ve ever been more scared in my entire life.’
Milgorry smiled. ‘Your entire life?’ he asked with his voice full of irony. ‘How old are you? Eighteen years?’ He shook his head. ‘You’re a child,’ he murmured. ‘I have fallen in love with a guardian and she’s practically still a baby. Supreme Majesty! If Nandul doesn’t return me, Tiernan surely will.’
Louisa turned to face him and his heart was filled with gentle pity as he felt how deeply frightened the girl was and how desperately she needed him. He reached out and pulled her close. She shivered as she felt the strength of his arms wrapping around her. She wondered for a second if he knew how much comfort he was to her, and if he had any idea how much he aroused her, and whether she had any effect on him and she blushed a little at the thought. He drew back and stared into her eyes in surprise and she felt herself go even redder. He took her hand and led her outside. They sat together not far from the edge of a small cliff which dropped away to the north. Louisa laid her head on his lap. They sat without speaking for a long time, with Milgorry running his fingers through her hair. She fell asleep.
Mil didn’t move until Louisa awoke. She sat up and twisted around, wrapping her arms around his body and wishing she never had to let go. He held her tightly against his chest for a moment then lay back on the rocks, drawing her over so she was lying on top of his body. He breathed in quickly as she leaned against his chest. She rolled away, her face bright pink.
He exhaled slowly. ‘Perhaps you should keep watch now, and I should go and find a patch of snow to lie in.’ Louisa hid her smile as he took her hand and led her back into the crevice. H
e sat against the rocks and closed his eyes. Louisa was keeping watch, but if anyone tried to come into the crevice they would have to get past Milgorry first.
They woke Elena and Immosey as the sun sank. The mist had remained for the rest of the day and Louisa and Milgorry kept the fire burning, providing enough warmth for the girls to sleep in relative comfort. Louisa prepared the usual small portion of food and after they ate they both went out into the rocks to relieve themselves. Milgorry left the cave to collect as much wood as possible from the dead trees, and the sisters quickly undressed and rearranged their blankets comfortably before Louisa helped them pull their dresses back over the lumpy blankets. Her face was set with concern as she noticed their dresses were far looser than they should have been. The girls were getting even thinner and Elena had difficulty finding the strength to pull her cotton dress over the thick blankets. Milgorry returned just as Louisa was lacing the back of Elena’s dress, her mind still full of the image of Elena’s thin back with ribs and backbone showing clearly. She turned to see him looking at her in horror, as the image in her mind flashed into his. He dropped the wood to the ground.
‘I think we’re safe here for the moment,’ he said. ‘The fog’s not going to clear for a while and we have ample wood. We’ll remain here tonight and tomorrow you’ll stay here while I hunt. It shouldn’t be too hard to find awleotil,’ he said, referring to the small deer-like beasts that thrived along the Ice Coast.
They remained close to the fire inside the crevice, sometimes talking quietly and sometimes sitting in companionable silence. Elena and Immosey went back to their little bed at about midnight and slept until the sky lightened behind the unrelenting mist. Milgorry couldn’t have been more pleased with the concealing fog. He picked up his bow. ‘Louisa, we need to let the horses go. We cannot feed them now and there’s nothing for them as we cross the ice.’ He disappeared into the fog.
The girls were just starting to worry when Milgorry returned with a small awleotil. He carried it past the crevice onto the lower rocks and deftly skinned and gutted the beast. Whereas once she would have found the whole process sickening, Louisa now watched in fascination of his skill, as Milgorry deftly sliced the carcass open and began dissection. Milgorry was pleased to see the awleotil’s fat was white, as this meant the beast would probably prove to be quite flavorsome. A beast with yellowed fat meant it had eaten poorly and the meat, though far from unpalatable, might have been lacking in flavor.
The Fallen (Book 1) Page 20
