Child Of A Guardian And Of The Free (Book 3)

by Dan O'Sullivan

  ‘We’re travelers on our way to Tathra. We won’t hurt you. I’m Borg and this is Immy.’

  ‘Ah. He’s awake!’ Kelian exclaimed appearing beside Immy. ‘Good. What’s your name lad?’

  ‘Kalinya.’

  ‘Do you live here in Qinel?’

  ‘No. I live in Tathra. I want to go home. Will you take me home?’

  ‘What are you doing here if you live in Tathra?’ asked Kelian, wondering if the boy was telling the truth.

  ‘What are you doing in Qinel if you are travelling to Tathra?’ Kalinya countered. ‘Qinel isn’t exactly on the main road you know.’

  Gilgarry and Evan threw several packs onto the cart and turned to look at Kalinya. ‘We came here by ship,’ Gilgarry explained.

  ‘You came to Qinel by ship?’ Kalinya sounded astounded. ‘Deliberately?’

  ‘Yes,’ Kelian laughed. ‘Deliberately. It was...necessary. So your family is in Tathra?’

  ‘My mother was in Tathra.’ Kalinya’s voice was hoarse as he dropped his head to hide sudden tears.

  ‘What happened to her?’ asked Kelian.

  ‘She was coming home from the Sanctuary, that’s where she works…where she used to work, anyway. And I was going to meet her and walk home with her but someone...someone...’ Kalinya’s voice broke and he started sobbing. He rolled down onto his side and stared at the boards of the cart, letting the tears fall onto the rough old boards. Kelian moved forward and rested his hand on Kalinya’s shoulder. It was some time before Kalinya could control his voice, but eventually he managed to tell Kelian what had happened. ‘And some city guards took her away,’ he finished miserably. ‘The two men were going to come after me and murder me too, so I found a cart going to Orapba, only we were attacked by bandits on the road and the cart was burned, so I had to walk, but before I got to Orapba someone chased me and shot an arrow at me. And then when I got here it wasn’t Orapba, it was Qinel.’

  ‘And no-one’s been trying to find you since you arrived in Qinel?’ asked Gilgarry.

  ‘Only the two men who chased me into the house you were staying in. But that was because I was hiding in their cart. I think they wanted to make me a slave.’

  ‘No doubt,’ said Evan, ‘and for their efforts they have no slave and now they also have no cart,’ he said with a grin, slapping his hand against the side of the cart. ‘So the cart’s a little worse for wear, but the horses are good and strong!’

  Kalinya managed to sit up once again and he stared at the cart. It was indeed the one he had tried to hide in. Much of the goods had been removed and what remained had been rearranged leaving a reasonable amount of free space.

  Kelian’s face turned hard. ‘People that make slaves of children, or anyone for that matter, deserve no sympathy. They disgust me.’

  ‘So you won’t make me a slave?’

  ‘Of course not.’

  ‘What will you do with me then? I have no family left. I have to work or I’ll starve to death!’

  ‘Let’s just get you well again before you worry about working.’

  ‘So where are they now? The ones who chased me I mean?’

  ‘Sleeping,’ said Evan confidently. He smiled at Kalinya when the boy looked confused. ‘Araas said they were very tired and needed to sleep. Apparently they won’t wake for days.’ He chuckled as he climbed onto the cart. ‘We couldn’t have picked a better cart to steal. There’s clothing, food, water, weapons and a newly made dunnigin seat.’

  ‘How convenient!’ Immy laughed. ‘It might be useful along the way.’ She turned towards the hut. ‘Elena?’ Elena’s head appeared in the window. ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘All set. We can go at any time, the sooner the better. I doubt the others will have any trouble catching up to us.’

  ‘Well, we have enough food that we could eat for the entire trip to Numher, and plenty of weapons if we’re waylaid...’ Gilgarry’s voice trailed away as he rummaged in a low wooden crate. ‘That’s odd,’ he muttered, frowning.

  ‘What’s odd?’ asked Kelian, his attention caught by Gilgarry’s tone.

  ‘Well, these bows and swords have been made to look like Alkiran weapons, but they’re not Alkiran.’

  ‘How can you tell?’

  ‘I don’t know. I just can. There’s something not right about them.’

  ‘Give me a look,’ said Borgulnay. He took the sword Gilgarry offered and studied it. ‘It’s not a bad sword, but Gil’s correct. It’s a bit... It’s too... Well, it just not quite right.’

  ‘We’ll discuss it once we’re on the road out of here,’ said Kelian eyeing the weapon thoughtfully.

  Everyone climbed onto the cart and Evan took the reins, pleased to be leaving the dirty town. He made a clicking sound with his mouth and the two horses moved forward simultaneously. They avoided the center of the settlement, taking the small narrow streets on the outskirts where there were mostly deserted and ruined huts. The air cleared as they moved into open space. They had not grown used to the foul smelling streets, and the fresh clean air was a welcome change. A breeze carrying a salty tang was blowing in from the sea. The track leading towards Numher made a southward bend and passed close to the water and they could see their ship waiting patiently. Kelian had arranged for Callian to pass his thoughts to the captain of the ship when they were safely away from Qinel. The ship could then sail for Tathra, and if luck held, anyone who might be watching would believe Kelian was aboard. He sincerely hoped that this distraction would allow him to enter the city unobserved and make his way into the Sanctuary with little hindrance. The track turned inland once again, and the breeze lessened. To the south the straggly bush land thinned and they could see the glint of late afternoon sun reflecting on the surface of a lake. Their path turned due west as the sun dipped over the horizon. They moved along the level ground at a slow pace, watching as the birds began to disappear and sounds of nocturnal animals became apparent. The sky darkened. The night was clear, and bright stars glinted above, lighting the way. Mostly they travelled in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Borgulnay and Immosey settled into one corner of the cart and Kelian and Elena into another, snuggling together despite the warm evening. After hours of plodding along, Evan chose a place where their tracks were less likely to be observed and he turned the horses south towards the lake which was only a few miles from the track at this point. They chose a place close to the water where there was plenty of good grazing for the horses. It was past midnight when they ate and settled to sleep for the night. Evan felt sure they were reasonably safe, but they decided to keep watch regardless, even if only to keep the horses from straying too far. Timbul, Araas and Milgorry joined them as the sun was rising. Evan became fully awake the instant Milgorry touched him on the shoulder.

  ‘Where’s Khim?’ he asked anxiously, looking from Milgorry across to Timbul and Araas.

  ‘Callian is bringing her,’ said Milgorry. ‘He said it wouldn’t help to move her too quickly.’

  ‘Is she alright?’ Kelian asked anxiously, standing beside Evan.

  ‘No,’ said Milgorry, shaking his head. ‘She’s not alright. She’s badly hurt.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘There was no sign of her in or outside the building,’ Milgorry explained. ‘We could see where someone had been sleeping in a small stone room below ground level. There was an old blanket and some used dishes, and a jug of water was sitting in the corner of the room, but there was no-one there. So we crept around until Callian picked up her thoughts. She was barely conscious so this wasn’t as easy as you might think. Eventually we found her in the corner of the roof. They’d left her up there to die. Already the birds were all over her.’

  Evan sighed. He knew that Khim was skilled enough to have escaped from a simple flat roof were she well enough to do so. ‘How is it you weren’t seen?’

  ‘If anyone came close, Callian made sure they had an urge to use the dunnigin, or he made them forget what they were doing,’ said Araas. ‘But we
were too late. And we weren’t so discreet getting out.’

  ‘What did they do to her?’ asked Kelian, his face darkening with anger and worry. Before anyone could answer there was there was a rustle of leaves and Callian appeared holding a blanket wrapped body in his arms.

  ‘Khim!’ Evan exclaimed, running to Callian’s side. He gave a gasp of shock when he saw Khim’s face. The empty sockets where her eyes had been were a bloodied mess, confirming that she had been unable to withstand the attacking birds. The rest of her face appeared untouched. Callian placed her gently on the ground and unwound the blanket. Red abrasions on her wrists and ankles showed how she had been tied. On hands and feet, several fingernails and toenails were missing and one ankle was broken. Her knees were strangely shaped as if something had been smashed against her knee caps. Evan felt sickened as he noticed blood seeping down her legs.

  Callian’s face was white. ‘Tá brón orm. Fágadh Khim go bás ar an díon.’

  ‘Milgorry said that’s where they left her. What can we do?’ Evan asked desperately, feeling helpless.

  ‘She’s as far into unconsciousness as I dare,’ said Callian. ‘I’m surprised she’s still alive even now. I can hardly believe you managed to get in and out without being killed, Evan. But it’s not surprising you didn’t find her. It would have been impossible.’

  ‘How did you get her down from the roof,’ asked Kelian, kneeling beside the girl and gently placing the blanket over her body.

  ‘That proved a little more difficult than getting in,’ said Timbul. ‘We had to remove a few... obstructions.’

  Kelian looked questioningly at Timbul.

  ‘Callian reacted badly when he saw Khim. Actually we all reacted badly,’ he admitted, glancing at Callian’s unemotional face.

  ‘I touched no innocent person,’ Callian declared adamantly. ‘Those who died had a direct hand in what happened to her.’

  ‘And it certainly made getting out a lot easier,’ said Milgorry. ‘Once I got over the fright.’

  ‘Fright?’ asked Kelian dubiously. ‘I didn’t know anything could scare you Mil.’

  ‘Three guardians let loose in a building full of murdering bastards. Trust me; it was nothing short of terrifying. You would have had to see these three in action to believe it!’

  Kelian nodded soberly. He believed it. He’d seen Timbul in action before.

  ‘You weren’t exactly idle, Mil’ said Araas, rolling his eyes. ‘If anything, we were a little slow beside you.’

  ‘I had to trust your judgment. It was disconcerting not being able to hear their thoughts. I’ve found this before with both Sagrians and Tatharlians, but it was still a bit of a shock,’ said Milgorry. ‘Strangely enough, towards the end of the fiasco I was starting to hear them…that was a bit of a surprise.’ He turned back to Callian. ‘What do we do now?’

  ‘We can take her with us, or I can wait here with her,’ said Callian.

  ‘Wait? Wait for what?’ asked Evan, as his voice rose in fear.

  ‘She won’t survive,’ said Callian softly. ‘I’ve done all that I can, but it won’t be enough.’

  Evan rose to his feet, turned his back and walked away.

  Chapter 11

  Disoriented

  ‘Why in the name of his Supreme Majesty aren’t we anchored in the harbor of the Dwellings?’ Captain Mervin glared accusingly at his first officer, a tall asthenic man called Colin.

  ‘May we speak to you in private please Captain?’ Colin held his back straight and stared the Captain squarely in the eye, but his voice was strained and barely heard over the driving rain. Mervin gave a curt nod and Colin and Oliver followed him below deck.

  ‘Well?’ Captain Mervin glared furiously between the two men.

  Oliver spoke first. ‘It’s my fault Captain. I was at the helm this morning...wasn’t I?’ He glanced at Colin confusedly.

  ‘No. I relieved you at midnight. Or I think I did. I was supposed to.’ Colin appeared to be as confused as Oliver.

  ‘I can’t remember being relieved. But I might have been in my cabin this morning… I didn’t want to be in my cabin! There were things I should have attended to.’

  ‘That can’t be right!’ Colin shook his head. ‘I was in my cabin this morning! Who relieved you if I didn’t?’

  ‘You have got to be joking!’ Captain Gillam glanced between Colin and Oliver incredulously. ‘Have you been drinking?’

  ‘No sir!’ Colin and Oliver spoke in indignant unison. ‘I feel like I have,’ Oliver added guiltily. ‘But I swear I haven’t!’

  ‘I wasn’t drinking either,’ Colin declared adamantly. ‘But this morning I have one hellish headache and I’ve thrown up three times.’

  ‘Several of the junior sailors were also sick. That’s strange... I can’t remember who.’ A mixture of confusion and fear flickered across Mervin’s face. ‘Something’s not right. We can’t all be losing memory.’ The three men exchanged uneasy glances. ‘Well you know where you should be now, so go...go do whatever you are supposed to be doing.’ Mervin’s face flushed as a strange feeling of confusion threatened to overcome his rationality. ‘Colin, go and find out if anyone else is sick, and find out what’s causing it. Oliver, you try to work out where in all hell we are. Then I’ll see you both back here after lunch. Bring Baron Dale.’ He turned and hurried away.

  ‘Let’s get up on deck,’ muttered Colin, and Oliver followed him back into the rain. They hurried to where Dale was standing staring serenely ahead, ignoring the torrents of water beating upon him.

  ‘Baron Dale?’ Oliver waved his hand in front of Dale’s face. Dale gave a small start and then frowned at Oliver.

  ‘Captain wants to see us after lunch,’ said Colin. ‘Oliver, give the orders to heave to. I have no idea where we are. Let’s get some work done before we see the Captain.’

  When Oliver entered the Captain’s cabin after lunch he wasn’t surprised to see Rudiger, Eibhear and Enri sitting near Dale. The Captain’s cabin was significantly larger than the other cabins. The floor was covered with a heavy woven mat and tasteful paintings adorned the walls. In the center of the cabin was a round, polished table surrounded by cushioned chairs. Against the bulkheads stood a large desk, a bookcase and two teak chests. Several huge maps hung adjacent to the table and the lamp was fixed in such a position as to throw light on the maps, the table and the desk. A doorway led into the Captain’s sleeping quarters. Oliver sat at the table and waited for Captain Mervin to speak.

  ‘I won’t pretend I have any idea what went on last night,’ Mervin began, ‘but it seems everyone aboard this ship is having difficulty remembering things. It’s like we’ve all been half asleep. Something must be causing this.’

  Eibhear tapped his fingers restlessly on the table. ‘I’ve heard of strange plants affecting people this way, but obviously not in the middle of the ocean.’

  ‘Did you not notice that the rest of us were a bit...hazy?’

  ‘No. But we’ve been keeping to ourselves mostly, and staying out of the way, and from what I can tell we were also affected.’

  ‘Alright, let’s assume for the time being that we were affected by something mundane.’ Mervin stood and ran his finger across one of the maps. ‘Judging by the direction we were travelling, and taking into account the currents at this time of year and the weather we’ve been having, if we’ve been driven in the direction I think we have, we should be somewhere here,’ he drew a circle on the map with his finger, ‘at the very worst, perhaps here.’ Mervin’s finger marked an arc a short distance past his original judgment. ‘Do you agree Oliver?’

  ‘I thought perhaps a little closer to the Dwellings, but perhaps I’m overly optimistic.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we wait until the clouds clear, so we know we’re sailing in the right-’ Dale stopped speaking as a cry came from above.

  ‘Land!’

  ‘You’ve got to be joking!’ cried Mervin. ‘We aren’t supposed to be moving! We don’t feel like we’re moving!
’

  ‘We aren’t moving,’ said Eibhear. ‘The rain’s cleared enough to see a bit further.’

  ‘If we can see land then we’re no-where near where we supposed! Let’s get up there.’ Mervin pushed away from the table and disappeared through the cabin door.

  The dark mass rising from the sea was unmistakably land. The sea had calmed significantly and the rain eased to little more than a light mist. The sun peeped from behind the breaking clouds and the ocean became glittering green. Mervin frowned, feeling both annoyed and uneasy that he had no idea where he was. He had a sudden unsettling suspicion the land he was looking at was part of Hosatabaht, but he couldn’t believe they had somehow sailed so incredibly far off course. ‘Take us a bit closer,’ he said and Colin immediately passed on the order. As they moved closer they could see dark green forest running down the hillsides and ending in brilliant white beaches. The land curved around them to the south and north forming a large bay. A distance away they could see grey clouds of smoke rising into the sky. Mervin felt another flash of disquiet.

  ‘Are we going ashore Captain?’ asked Colin.

  ‘I think not. It’s strange enough that we managed to sail into such a narrow mouthed bay without mishap. We’ll wait here until dark and as soon as we have a bearing we’re heading home.’

  ‘Good. What do you think that is?’ Colin waved towards the smoke.

  ‘I don’t intend to be around long enough to find out. This should not have been a long voyage. How are our food supplies?’

  ‘Well, that’s the damndest thing.’ Colin scratched his head. ‘A lot of it just seems to have disappeared. It’s as though someone came on board last night, knocked us all out with wine and then took our food! Or we’ve been at sea a lot longer than we remember.’

  ‘Water?’

  ‘A lot is gone, but we still have an adequate supply, depending on where we are of course.’

  ‘I’ll ask that question again tonight when I know where we are. Has there been any sign of people?’

  ‘I haven’t seen anyone,’ Colin shrugged. ‘Maybe the smoke is from a bushfire.’