The Battle Lord's Lady

by Linda Mooney

  “What’s step two?”

  “Some food. If you’re going to keep looking for her, and I know you won’t stop until you find her, you’ll need your strength. No food equals no energy. Simple arithmetic.”

  “Kitchen’s closed for the night,” the Battle Lord told him.

  MaGrath could see a faint smile on the man’s lips. “Yeah, but I know where Berta hides the keys to the cold room.”

  “So do I.”

  Both men turned and began to walk back into the main lodge. Shift change was over. Several men passed them, heading for their own beds for the evening.

  Inside the main hall, Yulen raised the light on one of the three remaining lanterns always left lit throughout the night inside the vast room. The fire in the grate was almost out, but it still managed to give off a little warmth. Presently MaGrath emerged from the kitchen with a small tray of bread, cheese, and cold meat. Another brief trip, and he brought them mugs of cider.

  For the next ten minutes they both ate in silence near the fireplace as Yulen remembered the last time he’d eaten was that morning. He and Atty had taken their breakfast downstairs in the main hall, under the curious eyes of the men also there to eat. Atty had never had waffles before, and she managed to elicit a laugh from Berta when she’d asked for her third helping. The memory brought a wistful smile to his face.

  “What are you thinking?” MaGrath spoke up.

  “Atty and her waffles.”

  The physician gave a little grunt. “The girl does have a sweet tooth when it comes to syrup. Yulen?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We’ll find her. I just know it in my gut.”

  “So do I, Liam,” the Battle Lord admitted softly.

  MaGrath went to replenish their tankards when Verris came bursting into the main hall, followed by several of his men. He was flushed and out of breath, alerting Yulen. Instantly the Battle Lord was on his feet and on his guard.

  “Sir!” Hurrying over he placed a small package on the table before his leader. Yulen gave it a quick glance as his Second explained. “We just discovered this pinned to the forest gate.” Opening his other hand, Verris added, “With this.”

  Yulen froze at the sight of the Ballock dagger. Atty’s dagger. The one missing from its scabbard upstairs.

  “The forest gate?” he repeated.

  Verris nodded. “Yes, sir.” The gate Wougen had escaped through when he’d left the compound with Atty.

  By that time MaGrath had joined them as Yulen reached for the package. It appeared to be a length of material bound with two green vines stripped of their leaves. Crude, but effective.

  Yulen used the dagger to slice through the vines, and slowly began to unroll the material across the table. Two turns of the cloth, and they saw the inner fabric was soaked in blood. A coldness washed over the Battle Lord as several men sucked in their breath.

  “My God, what’s inside?” MaGrath wondered aloud.

  Yulen continued to unwind the package. As he reached the end, he threw back the last bit of material, expecting the worst. Handfuls of lustrous blue hair spilled onto the table. Atty’s hair.

  “He’s taunting you,” the physician stated in a tight voice. “That son of a bitch is taunting you.”

  “No.” Yulen shook his head. “He’s telling me he has her, and where he’s taken her.” Reaching down, he picked up the length of material and shook it before holding it out for all of them to see. It was a pennant of dark gold with a single slash of red running diagonally from the upper corner down to the opposite corner. The pennant marking the compound of Bearinger.

  Verris groaned. “Collaunt? Collaunt has her?”

  She’s mine now.

  Suddenly it all made sense. For years Bearinger and Alta Novis had been at war with each other, but neither had been able to gain the upper hand. Despite D’Jacques’ soldiers’ superiority, Syrus Collaunt’s men were more bloodthirsty. Ever since Rory D’Jacques’s death, there had been an uneasy truce between Battle Lords. Yulen knew it was a truce that would never remain untested. It could be next week, next month, or next year before Collaunt would try again to take Alta Novis and claim it for his own.

  Too late, Yulen realized that time was now.

  “Verris? Fetch Mastin and Karv. Tell them I want them here immediately.”

  The Second nodded and barked orders to have the others notified.

  “I’ll go get my things,” MaGrath said, and left to fetch his medical bag.

  Yulen turned back to his Second, along with his men. “I’m going to Bearinger, starting tonight. Spread the word this is a voluntary call only. I do not plan to start a war with Collaunt, although he’s made it clear he has every intention to. I only plan to rescue Atty and bring her home.”

  “And you think you’ll be able to do that without attacking Bearinger?” Verris questioned him.

  Yulen nodded. “I have some men on the inside. Perhaps they can help figure out a way to do it with as little bloodshed as possible. Alta Novis may be bigger than Bearinger, but Collaunt’s trained his men to be vicious killers who make no distinction between Mutah and Normals.” He narrowed his eyes at the Second. “I’m not leading my men into a suicide mission, although Collaunt believes I will.”

  Mastin ran into the hall, followed soon after by Karv. Again, Yulen repeated his orders for them to make ready to head for Bearinger. They would leave within the hour.

  As everyone departed, Yulen went upstairs to pack. It was a three day ride to Bearinger. There was no way to determine how far ahead Wougen was. As a last-minute thought he grabbed the Ballock’s scabbard to take with him.

  Heading downstairs, he turned the corner of the staircase to find MaGrath waiting for him. Standing just behind him was Madigan. Yulen stopped in surprise.

  “Liam?”

  “She’s going with us,” MaGrath told him in that I’m-not-going-to-argue-with-you-about-this tone of voice Yulen knew too well.

  He couldn’t begin to fathom the man’s and his mother’s motive, but to hell with them. The Battle Lord gave them both an ugly look. “Then keep her away from me. She’ll be your sole responsibility while we’re gone,” he growled, and headed for the front doors. He didn’t see the looks of relief they gave each other before they followed him out into the courtyard.

  Once Yulen was outside, he never looked up as he threw his saddlebags over his horse. It was nearly midnight. He wouldn’t be able to push them far before they would have to rest, but he intended on keeping their pace brisk. They had to reach Bearinger as quickly as possible, because the longer Collaunt had Atty, the greater the chance he would inflict serious injury to her. The man wasn’t just brutal, he was inhumane.

  “Sir? The troops are ready,” Mastin rode up to tell him.

  Swinging into his saddle, Yulen pulled his horse around to stare behind him. He had to stop just to focus on what he saw. Mastin watched the look of surprise dawn on the Battle Lord’s face. “They’re all voluntary, sir,” the Second answered the unspoken question.

  “They want a chance to taste Collaunt’s blood,” Yulen said, eyeing the nearly one hundred men, almost a third of the total of his soldiers at the compound. He had hoped for a couple dozen, expecting fewer than that. This showing of loyalty left him stunned.

  “No, sir,” Mastin smiled, shaking his head. “You said this was a rescue mission to get Atty back. Well...that’s why they’re here.”

  Yulen shot him a disbelieving look. After several seconds, the Battle Lord raised his arm and signaled for them to head out. It would be a long, hard ride to face Syrus Collaunt, yet somehow Yulen had no doubt they’d manage to get Atty back.

  Dead or alive.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Plan

  It was their second evening out when Yulen called his close circle together for a conference, meeting inside Madigan’s elaborate tent she always brought along whenever she went on the road. For once, the Battle Lord found having it had benefits.

  Inside
, seated on one of the rugs, he faced his three Seconds and MaGrath. It was time he told them what he had planned, and then allow them some time to see if they could come up with any suggestions or a better solution. Far to the rear of the tent, he could see his mother listening but keeping silent. True to MaGrath’s word, she had not approached the Battle Lord since they’d set out three nights ago.

  “You know why I called you here tonight,” Yulen began. “Tomorrow we’ll reach the outer perimeters of Bearinger. Most likely Wougen has already arrived at the compound. We also have to be aware of the fact that his accomplice may be nested within our ranks this very instant.”

  MaGrath started. “You haven’t said a word about that to me!” he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

  “How can you be so sure?” Mastin inquired.

  “Simple arithmetic,” Yulen stated. “Wougen wouldn’t hang around the compound, waiting for nightfall so he could place the pennant on the outer forest door. Too much at stake, and too risky. No, once he’d gotten Atty out of Alta Novis, he got on his horse and headed straight here, and let his accomplice leave the message.”

  “But didn’t we agree his accomplice had to be someone on the outside?” Verris spoke up.

  Resting a hand on one upraised knee, Yulen smiled bitterly. “I agreed to nothing. The less I said, the more I knew you would carry on that assumption. That’s why I’ve asked you here tonight. To let you know what I know, and to see if together we can come up with a feasible plan if you feel my suggestion is somewhat...dangerous.”

  “Which already tells me it is,” MaGrath dryly grumbled. “Okay, Yulen. Let’s hear it.”

  Yulen motioned to the squadron of soldiers outside the tent with a brief wave of his hand. “Out there is Wougen’s accomplice. The moment we arrive within distance of Bearinger, he will either disappear from our hold, or he’ll meet up with Wougen or another one of Collaunt’s men to brief them on our mission. Collaunt is expecting me to come charging in with a full battalion to try and rescue Atty. Well, he’s going to have to live with disappointment. I’m keeping our men out of range while I go in alone to get her.”

  “No!” Immediately Mastin, MaGrath, and Verris jumped to their feet in protest.

  “Yulen, have you gone nuts?” MaGrath demanded. “Go in alone?”

  “Sir! Take me with you!” Mastin offered. “Take at least a couple of us to watch your back!”

  Yulen shook his head. He’d expected their protests. “I have a couple of moles who’ve been living in Bearinger for the past few years, ever since the man took control of the compound. They’ve been sending me regular updates and reports on the man’s insidiousness. Syrus Collaunt is a vicious tyrant, and frankly those reports do not make for good bedtime reading.” He took a deep breath.

  “More than likely he’s going to have Atty placed in a holding cell until he decides what he wants to do with her. And he won’t decide until he knows what I plan to do. He challenged me when he sent me his pennant. I’m going to answer his challenge...just not in the way he expects me to.”

  “How do you plan on rescuing her? Steal her from under Collaunt’s nose?” Karv asked critically. Yulen gave him a secretive smile.

  “In a way. Once I contact my men I have planted inside the compound, they will be the ones who’ll secret her away from wherever Collaunt’s keeping her. They’ll hand her over to me outside the walls, and we’ll meet you and the rest of the company back here.”

  “Then why bring all these men if you’re just going to have a little midnight raid?” asked Verris.

  MaGrath spoke up. “Exactly. Unless you were planning on using them in another way?”

  “In a sense, you’ve figured it out,” Yulen told him. “If Collaunt discovers me, I need you for back-up. If things really get sour, you might need to come in to rescue me, as well as Atty. But I know that if Collaunt’s sentries haven’t already spotted us, they soon will, and Collaunt will have every available man at his station, prepared and waiting for us.”

  “So, what you’re saying is you suspect Collaunt is getting ready for an all-out war, when in fact you’re going to slip in under the cover of night, grab Atty, and rush right out of there, almost the same way Wougen did?” Verris shook his head. “That’s pretty bold of you, sir. Have you thought about having the men provide a diversion while you go in?”

  “Yes, I’d thought about it. But this was to be a voluntary mission. I don’t want any of my men injured or killed if it can be helped.” Yulen paused for a moment, then added in a softer voice, “Atty has already had to suffer the blame for the deaths of sixteen of my soldiers. I never want to force her to face any more because of her.”

  Getting to his feet, the Battle Lord thanked them for their loyalty. “We’ll be leaving at first light. Once we get within hailing distance of the compound, and Collaunt can see us, we’ll make camp in plain sight, which should be right around sundown. He won’t expect us to attack in the night. Bearinger’s too fortified. No, he’ll expect us to make our move right before dawn, but by the time the sun rises, I hope to have Atty back and all of us a fair distance down the road.”

  His Seconds nodded in affirmation before leaving the tent, but not before MaGrath snagged Mastin’s sleeve on the man’s way out.

  “I want a private word with you, Cole.”

  Curious, the Second followed the physician out of the tent and over to where the man had set up his campfire. He sat down as MaGrath motioned and waited to see what the man wanted. Although the physician had no power or ability to order him, all of the soldiers paid the man deference because MaGrath had served under the previous Battle Lord, Yulen’s father, as a combination physician, friend, and advisor, the same way he now served under their present commander. But mostly it was because they all knew their lives would some day, if they hadn’t already, depend on this man’s skills and wisdom.

  MaGrath pulled out his medicine pouch and proceeded to check his supplies. Mastin stared at the man, patiently expecting the physician to say what was on his mind. After several minutes, the Second finally opened his mouth, when MaGrath signaled him for silence. Mastin’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, but he obeyed.

  Another good fifteen minutes went by before MaGrath slung his pouch diagonally over his chest and got to his feet. “Ready?” he whispered.

  Mastin nodded, curious, and proceeded to follow the man into the forest, away from the encampment. They followed a path crowded with dead underbrush. It was pitch black and difficult to see where they were heading until MaGrath took the small packet he had in his hand and clapped it between his palms. The bag began to give off a soft, green glow. Not a lot of light, but enough for their adjusted eyes to be able to follow the small signs left for them.

  At one point a low growl came from behind them. Mastin drew his sword, and MaGrath eyed it gratefully. Keeping mum, they continued on.

  They finally reached a small, undetectable clearing. Inside waiting for them was Yulen and another man dressed in regular clothes and without a weapons belt.

  “I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost,” Yulen whispered with a hint of a smile in his voice.

  “Yeah, well, I’m not the forest type,” MaGrath argued.

  “Any chance you were followed?”

  “No,” Mastin spoke up softly. “Not with that wolfen close behind us.”

  In the pale green glow MaGrath’s face looked sickly. “Wolfen?” he echoed.

  Chuckling, Yulen motioned for them to sit. He turned to the Second.

  “You are the only man we trust with what you’re going to hear tonight, Cole. What will be said here will only be between us three once we leave this place.”

  “Three?” Mastin looked pointedly at the stranger.

  “This is Chase Dion, my man inside Bearinger,” Yulen introduced him.

  “What about the other man? Why me, sir?” Mastin whispered.

  “Because at Foster City I saw you had already accepted Atrilan.” Yulen gave h
im a hard stare. “That alone has won you my gratitude and my trust. Which is why you were brought here. There is no second man in Bearinger. I said that in the tent, knowing it would eventually get out to whomever is the mole among my troops. In fact, everything I said back there was a lie.” He turned to Dion.

  “Tell them what you told me.”

  Dion sighed loudly. He was slight, nondescript man, who could easily blend into a crowd without catching anyone’s eye. “Collaunt has her in the dungeon, waiting for you to arrive.”

  “Is she all right?” MaGrath asked. “Have her injuries been tended to?”

  Dion shook his head. “No, but at least they’re feeding her, which is more than they do for the other Mutah prisoners.” He gave the Battle Lord a questioning glance, and was answered with a nod.

  “Go on, Dion. All of it.”

  “Well...it seems Collaunt has heard about her skill with the bow. About her taking out the ferret and the pennant at Foster City. There was some word just before I left about three targets, but I didn’t get the gist of it before I came to seek you out. But Collaunt was especially excited about the fact that you and her are...umm...”

  Yulen nodded. “We’ve pledged ourselves to each other. Go on.”

  “He’s also been told about the rumor that she’s still a virgin, and how she’s remaining a virgin until she’s passed her knowledge of archery and hunting on to your men.”

  Mastin’s eyes widened. Yulen caught his expression.

  “That’s true, Cole. Atty is still untouched.”

  “But, she’s—” Too late, Mastin caught himself. However, the Battle Lord didn’t appear upset.

  “Yes, she’s been sleeping in my bed, but I have not taken her.”

  “Tell him why,” MaGrath said grimly. “Tell him about her belief she’ll lose her skills if you do.”

  “Atty has been told all her life that once she gives herself to a man, all her skills and abilities will disappear as well.”

  “But she was willing to be your wife, sir,” Mastin pointed out.