‘That’s a little disturbing,’ said Rudiger, glancing at Eibhear. ‘I felt the same, but I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with me.’
‘I was confused too,’ Eibhear admitted. ‘Not at the time. At the time everything seemed to be going to plan. Then all of a sudden I heard Immy screaming.’
‘It wasn’t until I heard the screaming that I knew I was following the wrong person,’ Milgorry admitted. ‘I wonder if Jarli somehow managed to confuse our thoughts.’
‘That shouldn’t be possible,’ said Rudiger, shaking his head and turning to Araas. ‘Can you do that? If I’m shielding my thoughts can you force your way into my mind?’
‘Maybe,’ said Araas. ‘But not all of the guardians can. It’s very difficult with the free.’
‘And could you compel me to do something?’
‘If I had the strength and luck to actually get into your mind I could probably make you do anything. I know Tiernan could. And Callian could. But it’s our gift. Your people shouldn’t be able to do this.’
‘Sometimes we have gifts we aren’t supposed to have. We can hear each other’s thoughts, but Eibhear can show someone what’s in another’s mind. That gift was also reserved for the guardians. Somehow I think Jarli worked out how to manipulate people’s thoughts.’
‘That’s more than a little disturbing,’ said Araas, frowning worriedly.
‘If he was somehow manipulating us, then why didn’t he do the same thing to Borg and why didn’t he use this on Immy to get her to do what he wanted?’ asked Eibhear, shrugging.
‘Because he couldn’t get through to them,’ said Araas with certainty. ‘I was shielding Borg and Tim was looking after Immy, and we made absolutely certain no-one was getting through to their thoughts.’ He sighed heavily. ‘It seems I should have concentrated a little more on shielding my own mind. I wonder how he worked out how to do it.’
‘I guess we’ll never know,’ said Borgulnay, leaning down and using Jarli’s shirt to wipe the blood from his knife. He sheathed the knife and turned to Immosey who was trying to cover herself with her torn tunic. He looked meaningfully towards Araas. Araas turned away and Rudiger, Milgorry and Eibhear followed him over the ridge towards the forest.
Immosey didn’t raise her head as Borgulnay stood before her. The shock of what had happened was overcoming her, and she couldn’t stop shaking. She stared down at her wet, trembling legs, mortified that she had lost control when the warrior had knocked her to the ground. Borgulnay picked up her trousers and boots and then he lifted her into his arms. Without speaking he carried her down the hill to a rocky creek. He crouched and sat her on a smooth rock so she was waist deep in the water. She shivered as the chilly water flowed over her, but she didn’t move. Borgulnay unlaced his boots and stepped into the stream. He helped her to peel off her ruined tunic and shirt and he rinsed them in the water.
Immosey stared miserably into the darkness as she removed her ruined undergarments. Borgulnay didn’t speak, but his heart ached for her terror and humiliation. He picked up her shirt and dipped it back into the water and used it to clean her wounds. Then he lowered her backwards and held her shoulders in the crook of his arm as he rinsed the wattle blossoms, dirt and dead leaves from her hair. He was relieved to see that her wounds were not particularly deep. He washed out her shirt again, gathered up her clothing and his own boots and helped her from the water. He guided her about two hundred paces up the slope. In a small clear area of soft grass several cotton blankets were stretched out on the ground and a pack was waiting beside the blankets.
‘Thank you Araas,’ he murmured. Immosey picked up one of the blankets and began to dry herself. When she finished she wrapped the blanket tightly around her body. Tears ran from the corners of her eyes. Borgulnay unwound the blanket and re-wrapped her in a dry one, and then he lifted her into his arms and sat down on the slope holding her. Her silent tears continued to pour down her face. He found the comb she always kept in the pocket of her tunic and he combed her long hair, smiling as it bounced back into strong curls.
‘I’m so sorry Immy.’ His voice was laden with guilt. ‘I should never have allowed it. It was too dangerous.’ Immosey leaned away from his chest for a moment and gazed up at him.
‘Do you want me to take you back to the camp?’ he said, misreading her frightened eyes.
‘No!’ she cried. ‘Please Borg, not yet. I couldn’t. I feel…shamed.’ She closed her eyes and hid her face against his chest once again.
‘There is no shame in being attacked, Immy!’ said Borgulnay emphatically. ‘The only shame is on the one who attacked you.’ His face darkened. ‘And he paid the price,’ he growled. ‘Now, you need to eat something.’
He reached sideways and rummaged in the pack. It was his pack, but it now contained a supply of food which he knew must have been placed there by Rudiger’s men. He also noticed there were several garments which certainly wouldn’t fit him. He drew these from the pack and smiled. They would be too large for Immosey, but they would do until her clothing dried and was mended. He began to unwind Immosey’s blanket and was pleased to see that this time she blushed. He smiled as she snatched the shirt from him and dragged it quickly over her head, and then she pulled on her trousers. He stood and watched protectively as she finished dressing. She didn’t put her boots on but sat back down on the blanket and Borgulnay dumped his pack beside her. ‘Eat!’ he commanded.
‘I don’t want to eat. What about you?’ Immosey asked. ‘Are you hungry?’
‘No. Well, a little. Can you wait here for a moment? I want to give your clothing to Araas so he can take it back to the camp fire and dry it.’
‘No! Don’t you dare leave me here Borg!’
Borgulnay dropped to his knees and hugged her. ‘If you don’t want me to go, I won’t go. Can I call Araas?’ he asked, and Immosey nodded. Araas appeared without being called, silently took the clothing and disappeared. They sat watching the moon.
‘The night is passing,’ Borgulnay eventually observed. ‘We have to go back to the camp.’
Immosey sighed and stood up. ‘May as well get this over with,’ she muttered blushing again. ‘The terrified baby, who wet herself in fright.’
Borgulnay shook his head at her in concern. ‘Immosey, no-one will think less of you for what happened. We put you in a situation you never should have had to deal with. Actually you were unbelievably brave even going into the forest at night when you knew he might come after you. Rudiger should be grateful, since you uncovered a traitor. Do you know that if you hadn’t uncovered Jarli’s little scheme, Rudiger and Eibhear may very well be dead and Jarli on his way to find Nandul. It’s possible that Rudiger’s entire group may have been hunted down and returned. No, it’s not just possible, it’s probable, Immy. You saved a lot of lives tonight. At the very least, those who stand against Nandul would have been exposed, and their job would have become a whole lot more difficult. Any way you care to look at it, these warriors owe you a great deal.’
Immosey didn’t reply. She pulled on her boots and rolled up the blankets. Borgulnay took them from her and pushed them into his pack, and then he took her hand and led her to the camp.
To Immosey’s shock everyone stood as they entered the camp. She stared in surprise at the group in the clearing. There were now more than twenty warriors on the hill and they were moving silently into two lines, facing each other as if to form an honor guard. At the head of the two lines stood Prince Kelian, Milgorry and Rudiger, and just behind them Elena stood with Louisa, Gilgarry, Timbul and Araas. They all smiled as Immosey quite successfully hid behind Borgulnay. He turned around and gently pulled her forward by her hand.
‘Keep walking love,’ he said and he pushed her between the two rows of men. Immosey tried to turn away again. Borgulnay shrugged and picked her up. She squealed and wriggled as he carried her through the honor guard but her struggling barely seemed to inconvenience him, so she turned around and glared at the warriors who we
re having difficulty staying serious as the slight girl tried to throw herself from Borgulnay’s arms. He marched between the lines of men and deposited her gently before Prince Kelian, Milgorry and Rudiger.
‘Lady Immosey of Cullen Ringo,’ said Rudiger, and all the warriors immediately came to attention. ‘You have removed a traitor from amongst us, before he could return my brother and me, and for our lives we are indebted to you. Because of your actions and your bravery, Nandul won’t be made aware of the identity of those who oppose him. If Nandul finds out who we are, we’ll be running for our lives. And I doubt we can outpace him for very long. We wish to honor you for your bravery and for what you’ve done. For your willingness to put yourself at risk for our benefit and for your boldness and courage, this pendant marks you as free.’ He leaned forwards and hung a leather strap around Immosey’s neck. Her eyes opened wide as the pendant touched her chest and a strange sensation of anticipation ran through her body. ‘We are honored to honor you,’ said Rudiger, holding his knife and placing his fist over his heart. The warriors immediately drew knives and repeated the action.
‘We are honored to honor you,’ they echoed and Immosey blushed even more deeply.
Araas’ thoughts came into her head. ‘The normal reply is that you fight for your brothers, which shows your loyalty to their cause, but as a human I don’t think it matters.’
Immosey glanced at Borgulnay’s knife and he immediately handed it to her. She turned to face the two rows of warriors and placed her fist over her heart. Raising her chin she said proudly, ‘I fight for my brothers!’ Without missing a beat the warriors beat their fists against their chests once and proclaimed, ‘Our sister!’
Rudiger’s face broke into a smile and Milgorry actually laughed aloud. ‘Now you’re one of us, little sister. You remain human, but you’re now one of the free.’
Kelian laughed at Immosey’s surprise. ‘You also remain Lady Immosey of Cullen Ringo, daughter of Governor Ringo and Lady Megan. So don’t think you’re relinquishing your future duties, my lady.’
Immosey picked up the pendant. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered in surprise as she studied it. Golden threads had been intricately woven into a tiny bird cage. The gate of the cage was missing and there was no bird inside. She smiled as she grasped the significance. ‘Free.’ She looked around at all the warriors who were now talking amongst themselves. ‘Where did all these warriors come from?’ she asked.
‘Someone must have told them we had food and they all showed up for dinner,’ said Milgorry, folding his arms and frowning. Immosey laughed at him and punched him on the arm, to the warriors’ amusement.
‘Supreme Majesty! She is brave!’ one of them commented mischievously. ‘Last time I tried to punch Mil he broke my nose and blackened both of my eyes. I couldn’t see for a week!’ The other warriors burst out laughing and Borgulnay hugged Immosey as she blushed.
‘So you’re the one who returned Jarli?’ a warrior asked, looking appraisingly at Borgulnay.
‘Actually I think I just scared him long enough for Mil to take his head off,’ Borgulnay admitted.
‘Borg, he had your knife shoved so far through his heart it was sticking out the back of his neck!’ Milgorry replied wryly. ‘I just had the pleasure of finishing him.’
‘The swine deserved it,’ one of the warriors commented darkly.
‘That he did,’ agreed Milgorry. ‘He bit of more than he could chew when he attacked Borg’s girl.’
‘And speaking of chewing, where’s the food?’ a warrior asked expectantly. ‘After all, I only came for dinner!’
‘Sorry Jival, we’re moving south right now,’ said Rudiger.
‘A warrior needs to eat occasionally,’ Jival complained, looking hopefully towards the campfire.
‘If there’s some meat left you can share it around. I guess we will need as many good warriors as we can feed, if we want to get all of these humans out of here alive.’
Chapter 43
Grief
Dale’s face was a mask of anger and grief when the little boat reached the eastern shore of the lake. Aithne and Valeska were sobbing as he helped them from the boat. Aithne reached up and took Valeska’s hand. Alexander grabbed everything they could carry from the boat and they moved swiftly up the incline together and disappeared into the trees.
‘Valeska,’ said Dale gently. ‘Perhaps they’re too far away, but can you sense them?’
Tears poured down Valeska’s cheeks and Dale’s heart sank even lower.
‘I can sense no-one. For a while I could sense Callian and Lias but Danil is gone. He’s gone Dale. They’re all gone.’ Her voice broke and she sank to her knees as grief flooded from her. Dale felt his knees tremble and he knelt beside her and hugged her. She reached out and drew Aithne towards them and they huddled together crying openly.
Alexander uneasily watched the sloping land between themselves and the lake. ‘Dale we need to keep moving.’
Dale stood up. ‘Enri, take Aithne,’ he ordered and Enri immediately picked the little girl up and carried her on his shoulders.
‘Valeska, we have to go,’ said Dale softly, but the guardian didn’t move. She sat on her heels with her head forward and her back bent, tears dripping into her lap. ‘Valeska?’ She still didn’t move so Dale leaned down and dragged her to her feet. She said nothing as he crouched and pulled her onto his back. ‘Alex, find a way out of here.’
Hours later the forest abruptly ended and Dale lowered Valeska to the ground. The guardian gazed around sadly.
‘That way.’ Valeska pointed across the wasteland. ‘Kelian’s path is that way.’ She shook her head as Dale indicated that he was willing to carry her again. ‘I will need to lead you,’ she said, staring blankly ahead.
The rain stopped and the sky was beginning to darken when the group came to a halt beside the stream that Kelian had described. Dale couldn’t look at the bedraggled little group, having never felt so wretched in his life. To lose Galbraith and David had been terrible, and now because of his own reckless plan they had lost two guardians and a warrior of the free. Guilt pierced him knowing that Valeska would spend her existence without Danil, and it was his fault that her child would never know its own father. Fighting back grief, he waded into the shallow stream. They walked in the water for a long time before Alexander pointed to a high rock formation. He climbed up and examined the area, and then signaled for everyone to join him. The rocks rose smoothly above the little stream and then flattened out for a stretch before rising again. They made their camp on the flat area, and when they sat on the rocks they were confident they couldn’t be seen from the stream. Once everyone was safely up, Alexander climbed back down and made his way further along the stream.
Dale made a bed for Aithne and then rummaged through his pack. He handed the little girl a cloth bag containing dried fruit and nuts. She hungrily ate the contents and climbed onto Valeska’s lap. The guardian wrapped her arms around Aithne and leaned back against the rock wall, closing her eyes.
Enri slid down the rocks and disappeared. He returned laden with dead wood which he threw piece by piece to Dale before climbing back up. Alexander returned not long after carrying seven good sized eggs, but no-one was able to get the soaked wood to burn. Aithne fell asleep watching and Enri was asleep minutes later. Alexander eventually threw down the flint and steel in disgust and rolled himself in a blanket. The soldier was completely exhausted. His burns were beginning to itch intolerably and whilst he knew it was a good thing, it didn’t make the sensation any easier to bear. Fortunately fatigue forced him to sleep.
Dale sat close to the edge of the rocks to keep watch. As hungry as he felt, part of him was relieved they had been unable to start the fire. Now the rain was clearing it might have been seen quite a long way away. It was after midnight when drowsiness began to overcome him. He was tired not just from all the rowing and from carrying Valeska, but from the continued fear of being discovered and from the weight of grief on his so
ul. He stood and began pacing back and forth, looking into the darkness for any signs of movement. He paused often and listened before turning and resuming his pacing. He was just about the sit down on the rocks when a hand rested on his shoulder.
‘Sorry I startled you,’ said Valeska quietly. ‘I’ll keep watch if you would like to sleep, Dale. Alex isn’t strong enough yet.’ Her face was crumpled and her eyes were blank like something had died within her soul. He could feel the pain and grief flowing from her and once again he found himself blinking back tears.
‘Thank you,’ he said. He was about to turn away when Valeska’s arm shot out and grabbed him, spinning him back towards her. Her face was terrified. ‘Can you hear that?’ she whispered frantically.
Dale’s eyes widened. ‘Hear what?’ he asked, glancing nervously around.
‘There’s someone coming down the stream! Lie down and don’t move!’ Valeska whispered frantically. They both crouched and then lay flat on the ground.
‘Are they human or fallen? Dale asked in barely a whisper.
‘I can’t sense anything.’ Valeska allowed her thoughts to come to him rather than risk speaking. ‘They’re shielding themselves, so they must be fallen.’
Dale’s heart pounded. He wondered how many were following them and if they would see where his group had left the stream and climbed up onto the rocks. They had moved very carefully after they left the water and he wasn’t sure if the already saturated rocks would help hide any footprints, or if this would make their tracks even more obvious. His hand rested on the knife he had in a sheath tied to his waist, but he knew if they were being followed by many warriors of the fallen they were all as good as dead. He wondered how many warriors Valeska could defend against. He knew from speaking to Timbul and Araas she was considered among the most dangerous of the guardians. He raised his head slightly and his heart quailed. A dark shadow was lifting itself over the rocks barely six paces from where Aithne, Enri and Alexander lay sleeping. Fighting against the part of him that was frozen in terror, he drew his knife, and then gathering all of his courage and strength he leapt to his feet and threw himself towards the shadow. Valeska moved at the same instant, but not in the direction Dale had expected. He was smashed sideways as the girl’s body drove him backwards, slamming his shoulder into the rocks. Valeska landed on top of him, and he tried to push her away whilst gasping from the pain in his shoulder. Confusion returned to terror as the shadow jumped up onto the rocks and moved to stand over him. Alex and Enri woke and leapt to their feet as Valeska gave a cry and leapt away from Dale. She threw herself towards a second shadow which was now climbing awkwardly over the rocks and Dale managed to roll away from the tall person standing beside him.
The Fallen (Book 1) Page 42
