‘What nuts?’ Kelian asked curiously.
‘Guwaa. If you crush them they’re good turkey bait. If you grind it up and cook it, it tastes a bit like bread. Actually these turkeys weren’t particularly impressed with them and unfortunately I ended up having to run them down. They’re quite fast,’ Timbul observed.
‘But not fast enough,’ said Kelian and Timbul smiled in agreement as he handed him a piece of meat. ‘Thank you,’ said Kelian eating hungrily. The soldiers were now all eating pieces of the tough stringy meat.
‘It’s…interesting.’ If Kelian hadn’t been so hungry he wondered if he’d have continued to eat the meat, which was far from tasty.
Timbul grinned. ‘You know what they say. Cook it on a stick, then throw away the woggan and eat the stick. It’s a pity, I had some fruit, but I crushed it when I landed on the first turkey.’
‘Fruit?’ Borgulnay eyed him hopefully.
‘Quandongs.’
‘Were there more?
‘None ripe enough to eat,’ Timbul replied. ‘Another month and they’ll be properly ripe.’
Kelian considered their options. ‘Perhaps we should move directly south and then turn south east when we come back in sight of the Wasteland.’
Borgulnay brushed a large spider from his shirt. ‘Then as straight a line as we can make through Weema Forest-’ He stared into the nearby bushes, and then he raised his finger to his lips and slipped noiselessly into the trees. A minute later there was a shriek and a little girl dashed out of the trees with Borgulnay right behind her. Timbul flashed forward and caught the girl by the arm. He picked her up off the ground as she began kicking and punching with all of her strength. She struggled in his arms and then sank her teeth hard into Timbul’s forearm. Her black eyes stared down at his undamaged arm, then all the fight seemed to drain from her and her screams turned into terrified sobs.
Timbul gently sat her on the ground and she fell back onto her elbows, crying in fear. He knelt beside her and brushed her tangled, black, curly hair away from her face but when she continued to sob he stepped away from the scared little girl. Her tear stained face was a mixture of terror and confusion. Her eyes darted towards a gap in the surrounding bushes, then back to Timbul. Timbul stood without moving.
‘You’re not free,’ she whispered.
‘How do you know that?’
‘You let me go.’
‘I can capture you again as quickly as I wish to.’
‘No. If you were free, you would have punished me for biting you,’ the girl explained, sitting up and rolling onto her knees.
‘Free?’ asked Kelian, looking at Araas.
Araas looked sadly at the little girl. ‘We call them fallen, but they call themselves free.’ He glanced at Kelian. ‘And they are free. This little one is half human but can still hide her thoughts entirely.’
‘Yes,’ the little girl agreed, standing up. ‘They are free but I am a slave.’
‘No!’ Araas’ voice rose in anger. ‘You are the children! There were to be no slaves!’
‘Who are you then? You’re not human,’ she said, fear returning to her voice.
‘I’m a guardian,’ said Timbul, sounding surprised that she didn’t know.
‘They were looking for a guardian! I didn’t believe you were real.’ She looked at him silently for a moment. ‘Who do you guard?’ she asked eventually.
Timbul smiled. ‘The guardians were sent to watch over the humans.’
She stared at him in open amazement, her eyes wide with wonder. ‘You are one of the Daoine Maithe? I thought you were just…well, not real.’
‘Little girl, where is your mother?’ asked Timbul, and then his face whitened as she looked sadly up into his eyes. ‘I’m sorry. Where do you live now?’
‘At the lake. I have to find fruit for my new master. Already I have taken too long and now I have no fruit,’ she said crossly, frowning at Timbul. ‘Because you took all the ripe ones and then ruined them!’
‘Sorry,’ said Timbul guiltily.
‘I have to go.’
‘No,’ said Timbul. ‘You cannot return to your Master. We need to get you out of Nyinaku. You don’t belong here.’
‘It’s impossible!’ the girl cried. ‘They always find me, and then they beat me and I have to sleep outside for so many nights!’
‘But you are also a child of the free, are you not?’ Timbul frowned.
‘Yes. But they didn’t want a girl child. And they said I’m more human than free. So I have to be a slave.’
‘More human than free?’ Kelian looked from the little girl to Araas.
Araas frowned angrily. ‘Children of humans and fallen take on characteristics of each race. Children who show stronger human traits are more often killed. Sometimes they are simply abandoned to die.’
‘Don’t you see? I can’t let you stay here. If I let you go back I’ve failed in my duty.’ Timbul looked across at the group of soldiers. ‘And I cannot go, or I’ve failed my friends.’
The little girl brushed the tears from her face decisively and glared at Timbul obstinately. ‘Then you must take me with you! You won’t let me go back to my Master and you cannot leave me here.’ She folded her arms and sat down cross legged on the ground, staring across at Kelian who was leaning back against a tree with a worried expression on his face. He walked over and crouched beside the girl. ‘What’s your name?’ he asked.
Timbul answered for the little girl as he caught her thoughts. ‘She can’t remember. They just call her ‘girlie’. Her mother was captured by the fallen but killed because she failed to produce a boy child. This little one has been made to work as a slave all her life. She couldn’t have been more than a few years old when her mother was killed,’ his voice rose a little in anger. ‘She was given to be raised by the slaves.’
‘The Master has always just called me ‘girlie’ but that isn’t my name,’ she said. ‘I don’t remember much about my mother, but I can remember that she said I was named for a Queen.’ Her little chin rose proudly.
‘Aithne?’ asked Kelian in surprise. ‘Your name is Aithne?’
The girl looked at him in wonder. ‘Yes! Aithne! My name is Aithne! I remember! How did you know?’
‘My mother’s name is also Aithne. You were named for my mother,’ said Kelian looking openly amazed.
‘Your mother is a Queen?’ Aithne asked in admiration. ‘What is your name?’
‘Kelian. I’m Kelian,’ he replied.
Her mouth formed a little round circle of awe. ‘You are Prince Kelian.’ She gestured and he leaned in so she could whisper in his ear. ‘You are the one that Nandul said would come.’
Timbul and Araas were beside them in a split second, whilst the others stood watching in confusion, having not heard what Aithne whispered.
Kelian didn’t move. ‘You know Nandul?’ he asked.
Aithne dropped her head sadly. ‘Nandul killed my mother. I haven’t always been living at the Lake. Before that, I had to go wherever Nandul went, but he was also at the lake not very long ago.’
Kelian’s heart was now racing. ‘What did Nandul say about me? Why did he think I was coming?’
‘I told you before. Nandul was looking for a guardian. He wanted the one called Louisa and he said he was going to take some other girls too, but that Prince Kelian might come looking for them.’
Kelian stood up very slowly and turned to Araas. ‘Louisa is a guardian?’ he asked, and his voice was filled with controlled anger. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
Araas shook his head. ‘We couldn’t. You know our laws, Kelian. From the moment we knew the fallen had taken Louisa along with Elena and Immosey we were fairly sure it was Louisa they were after, but this is not something of which we are permitted to speak.’
Kelian said nothing, but just stood glaring at Araas with his fists clenched at his sides.
‘Kelian,’ said Timbul gently, ‘Tiernan has kept Louisa’s identity a secret since her birth. She doesn
’t even know that she was born of the guardians. We have never been given permission to speak of her and you know that we’re bound by the laws of the guardians. We are not free.’
Kelian sat down heavily on the ground, leaning forward and folding his arms across his knees. He rested his head on his forearms and closed his eyes. Borgulnay moved to where the soldiers waited and they collected their gear and doused the fire.
‘Why have they taken Louisa?’ asked Kelian with his teeth gritted together.
Timbul and Araas remained silent.
‘Why have they taken Louisa? Answer me!’ Kelian’s voice rose ominously.
‘He needs to know...’ Araas murmured, ‘and I can’t refuse....’
Timbul responded to Kelian’s order leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind about the obligations of the guardians. ‘There is a belief that if one of the fallen was to mate with a guardian the child would possess both the freedom of the fallen and the full abilities, the gifts of the guardians. Supposedly this child would be able to return their lost abilities to the fallen.’
Kelian’s head came up. ‘Supreme Majesty! That cannot be allowed! They would be even more of a nightmare than they already are!’ He frowned. ‘Why did they take Elena and Immosey-’ He stopped and swore. ‘Of course; to keep Louisa from reacting badly,’ he muttered under his breath. His head went back down to his knees to hide the tears in his eyes. ‘That means once Nandul takes Louisa they are dead. And then the second the child is born, Louisa is also dead.’ Kelian’s voice finally broke. Timbul and Araas said nothing. Kelian sat with his head on his knees in silence for a very long time. Finally he rubbed his eyes and stood up, looking at Aithne. ‘We’re going south to Weema. Do you know if this is where Louisa is being taken?’
Aithne shrugged. ‘I never heard, but that’s where Nandul was going.’
‘How long ago was that?’ asked Kelian.
‘I just remember it was very cold. My Master said the slaves had to clear out of our room and give it to Nandul so we had to sleep in the kitchen. Master said it was too cold to sleep outside,’ said Aithne.
Kelian looked at the ragged little dress the girl wore and unfastened his cloak. He wrapped it around her and she immediately drew it tightly around her shoulders, looking gratefully at the Prince.
Borgulnay walked over to where Kelian stood beside the little girl. ‘We’re ready to leave sir, as soon as you wish.’ Borgulnay turned to Aithne. ‘You’re too small to keep up,’ he said and he smiled as her face fell. ‘You shall ride!’ he said and picked her up and swung her onto his shoulders. ‘You must tell me when you get tired from holding on. I’m called Borg.’ He turned to look at the other soldiers. ‘The really fat one is David,’ he said loudly, gesturing to David’s asthenic frame. ‘He may be the reason we have such difficulty finding enough food.’ Aithne giggled. ‘The other one is Alex.’ Borgulnay lowered his voice to a very loud whisper. ‘He’s a very good soldier but a terrible card player.’ Alexander grinned. He relieved Borgulnay of most of his coins almost every time they played cards together. Borgulnay pointed forward to Gilgarry. ‘He’s Gil. We like to fish together but I think he’s a bit jealous of my own fishing skills.’ Gilgarry snorted indignantly and handed Aithne a large piece of turkey meat. ‘The other one is William,’ Borgulnay continued. ‘He’s probably the most dangerous man I’ve ever met. He has a map of Nyinaku! Now where would an honest man get such a map, eh?’ he asked, twisting his head around to wink up at the little girl. William shook his head and spread his hands as if to say ‘who me?’ and Aithne giggled again. ‘Those other two are Timbul and Araas. They are bothers, ah… I meant brothers. Apparently they are of the Daoine Maithe but it’s hard to tell with their clumsy ways and loud clomping feet,’ he said, pretending to look skeptically at the two guardians whose every movement was graceful and silent. They turned simultaneously and smiled at the little girl. ‘And as you already know, Kelian is our Prince,’ Borgulnay lowered his voice again conspiratorially, ‘but we only pretend to do as he says, so as not to offend him.’ Kelian nodded emphatically in agreement with this statement.
‘And myself, I…’ Borgulnay began grandly, but the little girl interrupted him.
‘You tell the best stories?’ she asked innocently.
There were shouts of laughter from every direction and Borgulnay stood in the middle pretending to look disgusted. It was quite some time before everyone could stop laughing. Finally, after Borgulnay threatened to make Aithne walk, though he showed no signs of actually putting the little girl down, the group made their way down the mountain which became steeper and rockier as they moved along the southern face. Eventually they were halted by cliffs. Kelian stared into the distance. From the cliff top he could see for many miles to the south. To the east he could see the forest running down the mountain to the southernmost tip of Lake Khynol. He looked back to the south. The Plains of Old Sagria stretched before him for as far as he could see. He could see the occasional green patch of forest, but for the most part the land was bare of trees. It was mostly flat grassland and he could see occasional dark winding rivers. He wondered whether it would be best to turn east or west to find a way down. There was no way of knowing the best route, so he turned and started west. They had only gone a few hundred paces when Aithne spoke.
‘Borg? Why are we going this way?’ Her voice sounded nervous. Borgulnay stopped and everyone turned to look at the little girl.
‘Is there a problem with this way?’ asked Borgulnay, lifting the little girl over his head and setting her on the ground. She nodded vigorously.
‘There are free people down there but there are also other people like me, some are slaves but some are not slaves and they are horrible men, horrible human men. I never go that way,’ she said shaking her head. ‘The men caught me once and the carers had to get my Master before they would let me go.’ Tears welled up in her eyes.
‘Who are the carers?’ asked David.
‘They look after me. They look after all the children. They’re slaves too, but they’re kind to me,’ the little girl was hugging herself and looking down at her feet. She began to cry in earnest now, and Borgulnay gathered her up into his arms. ‘Aithne, what happened to you?’
She buried her face against Borgulnay’s shoulder. ‘The horrible men beat me,’ she whispered. ‘I was sneaking fruit to my friends and they caught me and beat me with sticks. They told me to dig a hole near the wall because I’d need it...I was so scared! Then they said I was working too slowly, and they put me up on the high wall and pushed me and I fell back into the courtyard. I think they wanted to return me because they said I was too much trouble but I just broke my knee and both of my wrists. They thought it was funny. And they laughed because I was screaming, and then they just left me there.’
Borgulnay hugged the little girl as he stared over her head in horror. His face was set in a mask of hatred. ‘And then what happened?’ he said with his teeth gritted together.
‘There was a man, one of the free,’ said Aithne, remembering. ‘I’ve seen him before when I was in Weema. It’s strange…I was frightened of him because he was always with Nandul. He was the fastest and the strongest and I think even Nandul was a bit scared of him. Everyone said he was dangerous, but...’
‘What did he do?’ asked Kelian looking sadly at the little girl.
‘He put his hands over my knee and then my wrists and they got really hot and then they weren’t broken any more.’ Timbul glanced at Araas in puzzlement as Aithne continued. ‘Then he sent someone to tell my master to come and get me. Everybody always did what he said, so my master came. Oh Borg,’ said Aithne, hiding her face against his shoulder, ‘I was so scared. I tried to get away but then my master came and took me back to the lake.’
Borgulnay glanced at Timbul, his eyes now cold and calculating.
‘Uh oh,’ mouthed Gilgarry. ‘I’ve seen that look before.’
‘Aithne, how many fallen are down there?’ asked Borgulnay.
&nbs
p; ‘Four,’ whispered Aithne.
‘And how many horrible men?’
‘Two.’
‘Borg,’ said David, ‘this is a really bad idea.’
‘And how long would it take for us to find them?’ Borgulnay continued.
Aithne drew back in shock. ‘No! You mustn’t go down there Borg. They’ll kill you!’
‘How long?’ he repeated.
‘It’s not far,’ said Aithne. ‘Please don’t go Borg! I don’t want to go!’
‘Aithne, I will never make you go somewhere you don’t want to go, but I will make them pay for what they did to you.’ Borgulnay turned and frowned at Araas, who was regarding him sadly.
‘So, this is where it starts,’ said Araas.
‘What starts?’ asked Borgulnay sharply.
‘This is where the hiding ends and the fighting starts,’ said Araas. ‘If we do this, there is little chance of moving in secret. They will know where we are and they could come after us in force.’
Borgulnay glared at Araas, his eyes glittering coldly. ‘I didn’t ask any of you to come. And they can’t come after us if they’re dead.’
‘You’re good Borg, but even you cannot return four of the fallen without our help,’ said Timbul bluntly.
‘I don’t like this at all, Captain,’ said Gilgarry. ‘Shouldn’t we be trying to get to Weema as quickly as we can?’
‘I cannot let this go!’ Borgulnay was close to shouting. ‘I cannot live, knowing that traitorous humans did this to the child and I did nothing! Humans!’
Kelian was staring at Borgulnay with the strangest expression of perplexity on his face. ‘I agree with Borg,’ he said unexpectedly. ‘We cannot ignore this. Aithne is half human and as her Prince I’m sworn to defend her and protect her. I guess this is a little more like vengeance, but I can’t let it go either. Besides, they can’t possibly miss us for much longer. I think we’ve been incredibly lucky to have gotten this far into Nyinaku unnoticed.’
‘Well then,’ said Alexander brightly. ‘Let’s go take vengeance!’
‘Vengeance…the very word has such a satisfying ring to it,’ David said enthusiastically. ‘What are we waiting for?’
The Fallen (Book 1) Page 25
