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

by Dan O'Sullivan

  ‘I do,’ said Ben seriously. ‘Now remember when we leave here you need to act like you’re terrified of me.’

  ‘I am terrified of you!’

  ‘You won’t be when you see who’s waiting outside.’

  ‘Who-’

  ‘Come now, and don’t stop walking. If we’re caught, we’re all returned. Well, Rez and I will be returned, you and Leslie will be dead.’

  ‘Leslie! Is he....’ She broke off as Ben pulled her forcefully towards the door.

  There were three bodies strewn across the ground around Rezon. He was poised in a crouch, with a knife still in his hand and staring into the trees. He raised his hand for silence.

  ‘What happened?’ Ben asked silently.

  ‘They came for Salia. She may be human and despised, but that hasn’t stopped anyone taking advantage of her.’

  ‘I know. The poor girl is absolutely petrified.’

  Salia followed Ben around the side of the hut and paused in shock as her eyes fell on her husband. Ben’s hand clamped over her mouth as she responded to her natural instinct to cry out.

  Leslie pointed to Rezon and then placed a finger to his lips. Salia wriggled frantically and Ben released her. She ran to Leslie’s side, still holding their baby and they huddled together with tears of countless emotions. Eventually they broke apart and Salia passed Elysia to her husband. He hugged the little girl against his chest and cried silently.

  ‘Les,’ Salia whispered, ‘I’m carrying a child. The fallen-’

  ‘No!’ Leslie whispered with surprising force. ‘The child is mine! You were pregnant before you were taken! The child is mine!’

  Salia looked at him with wonder. They both knew that this was simply not possible. ‘What happens when our child starts to...well...what happens if it starts reading people’s thoughts, or turns out to be evil? Les, these people are evil. What if this child turns out the same?’

  ‘It won’t,’ said Rezon confidently, standing up and turning towards her. ‘Your child will be the product of how you raise it. Granted, it will be able to read your thoughts, and it will be faster and stronger than you might be used to, but something would have to go terribly wrong for a child raised with human love and compassion to turn against you.’

  ‘But what will we tell the child, when he grows up?’ Lesley raised his hands questioningly.

  ‘Tell him the truth,’ Ben said simply, ‘the entire truth. Now we have to move faster than you’ve ever moved before if we want to get out of here alive, so Rez will carry you on his back and Elysia in his arms and I’ll carry Salia. Let’s move!’ Without waiting for an answer, he scooped Salia into his arms, dragged her around his shoulder so she was perched on his back, and sprinted south.

  * * *

  Timbul easily overtook Callian before he reached the far side of the field. Arrows were flying and only their speed saved them. Three of the fallen made the mistake of trying to get to the cart where Kelian’s body lay, but fell as arrows from Milgorry’s and Araas’ bows punctured their bodies. Callian’s hand gestured towards the left and then the right and Timbul and Araas moved apart. Danil and Milgorry appeared either side of Callian. Callian could see the cart ahead where he was certain Kelian lay. He felt sure the King was unconscious, knowing Nandul would not want to make it easy for him to be found. He ducked under low branches and threw himself sideways, narrowly avoiding several arrows. Danil and Milgorry were still beside him, keeping pace and Callian could see fallen closing in all around them. He ignored them, trusting Danil and Milgorry to keep him alive long enough to get to Kelian. He caught Timbul’s thoughts and felt a moment of satisfaction. The brothers had spread far enough to have the fallen between themselves and Callian, on either side. Callian knew their chances of survival weren’t good, but he hoped they could keep the fallen occupied long enough for himself or Danil to take Kelian away. He felt a flash of grief as he thought of Tiernan and he wondered where the fallen had taken him. A part of him wanted to break free and go after him, to find him and free him but he knew that he could not. Even with Danil, Milgorry, Timbul and Araas, he knew he would be hard pressed to win this battle.

  Timbul stepped forward with concentrated purpose, his sword in one hand and a knife in the other. As the warrior nearest to him lashed out, he ducked, dived past the man and slashed the back of his ankles with his knife, taking care to keep from injuring himself on his own sword. The man went down in a screaming heap and Timbul silenced him with a quick thrust of his knife. He was glad there wasn’t anyone else too close when he tried that rather risky move. He dashed forward to meet two warriors who were rushing towards him. He paused and raised his sword, letting them come. They both slowed, and then they glanced behind to confirm that their comrades were coming to help, before leaping towards Timbul. The flat of his sword caught the first man in the throat, crushing his windpipe. The second warrior tried to change direction and take Timbul from the side, but the guardian’s hand flashed out, dropping his knife and making a grab for the warrior’s face. With a flex of his hand, Timbul crushed the man’s cheekbones and jaw, and then with a vicious twist, he broke his neck. He grabbed his knife from the ground and thrust sideways, managing to duck under a wild sword slash whilst taking another attacker in the stomach. He grabbed the attacker and threw him at a nearby tree, and the sound of his skull smashing was audible even in the foray. In quick succession, and apparently without a great deal of effort, Timbul returned three more attacking warriors with his sword before searching for his brother’s face. He found him and ran in his direction, arriving beside him just in time to see his brother pick up a warrior and smash him headfirst into the cart, breaking his neck. A measured blow of Araas’ sword left the warriors head in the cart whilst his body fell to the ground.

  Araas turned swiftly, expecting to be set upon once again, but the number of the fallen were diminishing rapidly. He could see Garran, who had circled to the far side of the battle and he was working his way towards him, with warriors falling on either side.

  ‘Get him out of here,’ shouted Danil. With utmost care Callian reached into the cart pushing away the still-rolling head, and he gathered the unconscious body of Kelian into his arms. He gave a gasp of pain and shock as an arrow pierced him. A determined cry came from his lips and he managed to duck a second arrow but as he turned and ran the flurry of arrows was impossible to avoid. He didn’t look back. He pumped his legs forcefully, willing himself to go on, refusing to succumb to the pain and strange weakness overcoming his body. Danil barely had time to see where Callian went in the turmoil, his hands and sword were wet with blood and he’d taken a blade across his cheek. His heart froze as he caught sight of Callian disappearing into the trees on the far side of the field. Three arrows were sticking from the Guardian General’s back and even though he didn’t appear to be slowing down, Danil knew it was a matter of short time before he succumbed. Then Callian was gone and Garran raced after his wounded brother, and Danil knew it was time to face the one who was behind this horror. He pressed his way forward, intent on getting through to Nandul, who was backing away, defending himself from his own son. Danil stepped over the pile of bodies to which he and Milgorry had both added. There were only four warriors left facing Timbul and Araas and then suddenly there were none. Other than Milgorry and Nandul, who were facing each other with swords raised, Danil was the only person remaining in the trees and he knew many had deserted Nandul in the face of the guardians. He drew breath sharply as it occurred to him that he had no idea where Borgulnay and Gilgarry were. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t hear their thoughts. His heart sank, knowing they probably lay among the dead.

  ‘No. They’re still alive,’ Milgorry informed him silently, without taking his eyes from his father. ‘They went after Tiernan. I thought it might be prudent to hide their thoughts.’

  Nandul backed away, and even in his hopeless situation, his eyes were calculating, as if he was planning his next move.

  ‘Tim?’ Milgorry pr
ompted and Nandul’s face whitened.

  Timbul stepped forward. He lifted his sword, cleaned it on his own tunic and slid it into his sheath. There was momentary hope on Nandul’s face, and then Timbul fixed him with his gaze. He felt his spine stiffen and he gasped, surprised by how much this hurt. A sharp spasm of pain made him twitch violently and he fell to his knees.

  ‘Take his weapons,’ said Timbul, keeping his eyes fixed on Nandul. Milgorry stepped forward and removed his father’s sword and several knives. Nandul glared at him and bared his teeth in anger and fear.

  ‘Do it then!’ he commanded hoarsely. ‘Get it over with! Return me!’

  ‘I didn’t come here to return you,’ said Timbul emotionlessly.

  ‘What?’ Nandul’s jaw dropped in confusion.

  ‘You’ve brought too much evil upon too many people for far too long. You are without remorse, beyond hope of repentance.’

  ‘What? You can’t mean...’ Sweat ran down Nandul’s face as he stared imploringly up at Timbul. ‘No! Please no! You can’t do this to me! Please, Tebur, please...have mercy!’

  ‘Did you show mercy to your half-brothers as they screamed in terror and agony, while you took pleasure in burning them alive and letting them die slowly and in terrible pain? Have you ever shown mercy to anyone? To the women you have raped and murdered, to the children you have enslaved, to the innocent humans whose families you have slaughtered and whose homes you have destroyed?’

  ‘Timbul, you have to understand...you can’t do this...please...’ Nandul’s voice dropped to a desperate whisper.

  ‘Where is my Father? Where did they take him?’

  ‘To the pit,’ said Nandul, and a tiny flicker of hope kindled in his voice. ‘I can take you to him. I can get him out! You can have him!’

  ‘Take us to him right now, but don’t do anything stupid. If I even think you flinch at the wrong moment, I’ll put you through more pain than you ever believed was possible,’ Timbul said coldly.

  ‘Tim, I have to go after Callian,’ said Danil, looking urgently through the trees. ‘He’s...I have to go.’

  ‘Yes. Callian will need you. And the King will need you. Go,’ said Araas, giving him a little shove. Danil sprinted away.

  * * *

  ‘Half a mile!’ said Borgulnay as he and Gilgarry sprinted through the trees. They were both relieved by Milgorry’s reassurance that he was hiding their minds. In Borgulnay’s opinion, his open mind was the only thing which made him vulnerable to the fallen and in his own case this wasn’t far from the truth. He was not as fast, but his strength was exceptional and his mind was far clearer and very well trained. He worried somewhat about Gilgarry, but he knew he was an extraordinary soldier and an extremely brave man, with a lot more intelligence than most. It took them no time at all to cover the distance, and they slowed as they reached their destination. Ahead, through the thinning trees they could see a huge pit had been dug in the ground. The hole was more than sixty foot deep and it had been dug so the walls sloped inwards towards the top, making it impossible to climb. Around the edge four warriors stood looking down into the pit. Three appeared amused, but one bore an expression of pity. Without leaving the trees, Borgulnay and Gilgarry sneaked as close as they could until they could see the bottom of the pit. It was an appalling sight. There were nine live but emaciated Nailmarni trapped inside, all desperately hungry, and in their midst stood Tiernan. He was weak. Borgulnay and Gilgarry would tell immediately that whatever means he had been using to fend off the hungry Nailmarni had almost entirely drained his strength, both mental and physical. Apart from the nine live Nailmarni; on the soil lay another eight, quite obviously dead. Three had broken necks and another three looked like their bodies had been stressed to a point that their chests and skulls had exploded apart. The other two bodies were unmarked but obviously dead and Borgulnay wondered if they were already dead from hunger before Tiernan had been thrown into the pit. One of the Nailmarni made a dash past the guardian and took a swipe at him with an outstretched hand, but Tiernan ducked and punched him so hard he sprawled across the ground, came to his feet and hissed angrily.

  ‘He’s almost done in,’ said Gilgarry. ‘We have to get him out of there in the next few minutes.’

  ‘They are obviously not expecting Tiernan to be able to climb out, or for anyone to attempt to rescue him – they’ve left their weapons too far away!’ Borgulnay pointed. ‘Gil, do you think you could take down the guard on this side of the pit? Do you think if we ran at the two nearest, we might be able to force them into the pit? That would distract the Nailmarni for long enough for me to...I need a rope.’

  ‘I have a rope,’ Dale’s voice whispered in Gilgarry’s ear and he and Borgulnay leapt around in fright. Borgulnay moved faster than Dale believed was possible of the human soldier.

  ‘Don’t...ever...do...that...to...me...again,’ said Borgulnay tersely. He moved his knife away from Dale’s throat and released him from headlock.

  ‘Sorry!’ Dale gasped, rubbing his throat. ‘But I didn’t exactly want to announce my arrival too loudly. Eibhear told me to be as quiet as I could!’ he added accusingly, glaring at Eibhear as he and his brother appeared silently beside him.

  ‘I was told you were heading for Weema,’ Gilgarry commented.

  ‘We were,’ Dale confirmed. ‘But Mil managed to get his thoughts through to Rudi and Eibhear to let them know what Nandul had done to Tiernan and where Kelian was, so we thought we’d come down here and try to find Tiernan. Though getting him out of that pit isn’t going to be easy. How do you want to do this?

  ‘One each,’ said Rudiger. ‘There are four of us, and four guards.’ He ran his eye over Borgulnay and Gilgarry. ‘The moment of truth,’ he said. ‘Let’s hope you know what you’re doing, soldiers.’

  ‘There are five of us,’ Dale pointed out. ‘Well six if you include Einin.’ He gestured to the woman who was standing behind Rudiger.

  ‘Einin?’ Gilgarry lifted an eyebrow. ‘Who’s Einin?’

  ‘His girl,’ said Eibhear impatiently. ‘Dale you’re the one carrying the rope. You have to get Tiernan out of the pit. Why can’t I sense him at all?’

  ‘Because he might be almost exhausted beyond hope, but he still has enough courage to hide his mind so we won’t endanger ourselves by coming after him,’ said Rudiger, wondering at the selflessness of the guardian.

  Eibhear put his hand on his shoulder. ‘Well, he knows we’re here now and he will know by now what we’re planning to do. I’ll take whoever that is on the far side, and Borg you take out the one on the left, Paka. He’s an evil bastard and I wouldn’t cry if he accidently fell into the Nailmarni pit. Gil, you deal with the one nearest to us now. He’s a stinking bastard of a man as well, so same goes for him. Rudi, you get Inartu. You know how Narto got caught up in all this; he didn’t want any of it. Can you can take him out of action without actually returning him?’

  ‘I can try,’ Rudi agreed solemnly.

  ‘This will have to be really fast if we want it to work,’ said Dale. ‘Otherwise I imagine more warriors will come after us.’

  ‘We’ll be faster than you’ve ever known us to be,’ Eibhear assured him. ‘Ready?’

  Dale untied the rope from around his waist.

  ‘On three then,’ said Rudi. ‘One... Two… Three!’

  They rushed forward as one. Dale raced towards the edge of the pit, trusting that the warriors would keep the guards occupied whilst he completed his task. He didn’t stop to watch whether the warriors were successful in their attack even when a terrified scream made him want to turn. He wished he knew whose body had fallen into the pit. The Nailmarni launched themselves on the newcomer as he crunched onto the ground, and within seconds his body was torn to shreds. Dale’s heart gave a lurch as he heard a second body hit the bottom of the pit. He fed out the rope, and then Gilgarry was beside him. Tiernan grasped the end of the rope and tied it around himself. He waved weakly to Dale and Gilgarry and they began to pull him upw
ards. Half a minute later he reached the top of the pit and they pulled him over the edge. He lay on the ground for a moment before rolling onto his feet.

  Dale tried to make sense of what had happened. One warrior was unconscious on the ground and Dale knew this must be Inartu; the warrior Rudiger and Eibhear had not wanted to return. His heart have a leap of relief as he saw Borgulnay, Eibhear and Rudiger running towards him, and he turned and ran back into the bushes, expecting to find Einin. He skidded to a shocked halt as he saw her being hauled away by another warrior, who had seen what was happening and decided to remove her before she could warn anyone of his presence. He had a knife in his hand and Einin was whimpering with fright and pain as he dragged her violently across the rough rocks.

  With a roar like an angry bull, Dale threw himself at the warrior. The warrior hadn’t been expecting the attack but still managed to turn and strike out at Dale before Dale could reach him. Dale was smashed sideways into the roots of a tree, rolled to his feet, gave a snarl of fury and launched himself at the warrior once again. This time the warrior had his knife ready but Dale was also regaining a portion of his usual intelligence. He feinted right, and then threw himself to the left and the warrior’s knife missed him by inches. With all of his strength, he drove his knee into the warrior’s groin and the man flopped like a landed fish. With not a second’s hesitation, Dale drew back his foot and slammed it into the man’s head. He heard an ominous crack as the warrior’s head snapped back. Dale snatched the knife from the man’s hand and sliced his throat, and then with a final adrenalin charged cry, he drove the knife up under the warrior’s ribs. He leapt backwards, looking a little shocked at what he’d done and flung the knife towards the ground. He turned to find Einin staring at him in open-mouthed shock. His face softened. He reached out to her and ran the back of his hand down her cheek and across her jaw and he smiled when she shivered. She took one last horrified look at the body sprawled across the ground, and flung herself into his arms. He held her tightly for a few seconds then led her back to where Tiernan was standing.