by Andrew Wood
Chapter 10
Hope awoke to see Arran looking at her. On seeing her wake, he smiled and kissed her forehead. They had spent the last few nights sharing a bed, with Hope sneaking back to her own room before morning. Whether their hosts had realised what they were doing she had no idea, although if they did, they certainly had not mentioned it. She kissed him gently back, before slipping out from under the covers to make the trip back to her own bed.
On their way down to breakfast, Hope was met by Levin's wife, who had just returned with their children from a trip away. After a brief introduction and chat, they carried on into the dining room. Jak and Levin were already there eating. After seating themselves down, and serving themselves from the platters of food laid out on the table, they chatted. "I would escort you back myself," Jak said, "Unfortunately as we are on a state of alert, I have to remain here." Hope nodded; she knew her mother would have loved to see both Jak and Levin again. "Maybe when things have returned to some form of normality, you will all come to visit," Hope replied shoving a large piece of crispy bacon into her mouth.
After eating, it was time to pack what few belongings they had acquired in their short time in Lanber. Today they would set out on the final leg of her return journey home. Hope was just glad Arran had wanted to continue the journey with her. Just how her mother and Darak would react to her bringing a Darekian into the house she was not certain. Levin and Jak had willingly invited him into their home, and treated him with the utmost respect.
It was mid morning and Hope lifted herself up onto her horse. At least this last part of their journey would mean her not having to walk any further. Both she and Arran had been given horses to use by Jak, as well as a four-guard escort. She had originally told him that they did not require any soldiers, but Jak had insisted, and eventually she had relented to his wishes. "I am not having you leave my care without some protection," he had told her. Hope had said that Arran would look after her, and despite Jak being diplomatic in his reply, it was clear, he did not think it adequate.
After waving farewells to Levin, his wife and children and Jak, the small group trotted out of the gates. The road was flat, allowing the horses to travel a good pace without risk of injury. With two guards in front and two behind, Hope rode beside Arran in the centre. He looked over to her and smiled, and she thought how happy he looked. She smiled back thinking how much she was falling in love with him, and she hoped he felt the same as her. It was with some regret that sharing a bed would be out of the question, for a little while at least, and most certainly, when she got home. She was uncertain as to whether Darak would even let Arran stay in the same house as her, let alone the same bed.
If they travelled at a good pace, they hoped to make Forwich by tomorrow noontime. As it was, they had a full day's travel ahead of them, and another night camping under the stars. As they rode, Hope's thoughts turned to her family. She would have been first to admit, with Arran at her side, she had spent so little time thinking of them. She afforded herself another smile, as she thought how Luca was probably not practicing his skills; something she would make sure he continued the minute she got back. Although she was aware that Darak's prejudice against Darekians was strong, she did think Luca would like Arran.
They had ridden for barely an hour when Arran was clearly becoming uncomfortable. "I am not used to riding for such long distances," he whispered over to Hope, who just giggled at his words. In an attempt at taking his mind away from the discomfort, Arran decided to quiz Hope on her family. He already knew a little, but nothing of any substance. Hope tried to describe her mother and stepfather, warning Arran now that there would be little love coming from him. Leah she described as a cheeky little madam, but totally adorable.
She deliberately left Luca until the end. Should she tell Arran of her brother's powers? On the other hand, should she say nothing? Her moral dilemma must have been evident as Arran asked her if she was okay. She nodded, but looked over at her the man she was in love with. "Arran," she said in a serious tone. "What are your intentions when we get to Forwich?" This was a question that had been playing on her mind the past few days. Only up until now, she had been afraid of the answer. Now it had been asked, she could feel her heart racing as she watched Arran's lips move. "Well...I would like to stay with you Hope," was the answer she had hoped for. "I...Love you," he added, his cheeks reddening as he spoke. Hope felt as if her heart was going to explode; those were the words she had longed to hear. "I love you too," she replied with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
With everything in life seemingly perfect, Hope lifted her head high, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. These past few weeks had changed her life forever. What had started out so badly, had in fact, ended up with this chance meeting with the man who had stolen her heart. She had decided that evening whilst they camped to tell Arran all about her special sibling, magic and all.
In New Easton, Luca and Oliver awaited together as the gull came into view. They were stood atop of the keep roof as they had the previous few days, hoping today would give them the news they sought. The Zulani fleet was proving rather elusive, if it was, as they had been told making a move against Corlan. The reasoning could have been that the enemy had kept themselves far from land to avoid being spotted, if that was the case, then sooner or later they would have to move closer in to make land.
The bird glided down to their elevated position, landing just a few feet from them. Luca held out his hand, and closed his eyes. Images flashed through his mind. Fields, hedgerows, woodland, rivers and then came the sight of the country's old capital Hamalin, nothing now but a huge area of dusty wasteland. Where once a fine city had been, and beside it was the wide river that had been its lifeline. The visions followed the river out of the estuary, before turning north and west out to sea.
The pictures in Luca's mind appeared to be nothing but sea, and he was just about to break the link when he thought he spotted something. He hoped the bird had flown nearer to whatever it was so he could see. Fortunately, the gull had been as keen to see it as he now was, and flew further out. Moving below the wispy clouds were a score or more of very slow moving ships. These were like none Luca had ever seen before. They were far bigger than any vessel he knew of, and almost black in colour.
He opened his eyes and looked straight at Oliver, "I've found them," he said excitedly. The young Darekian smiled, "Let us go tell your uncle, Luca Sir," he replied. Luca nodded, but thought it only fair to the bird to release it from his power. He placed a tender fingertip on the bird's head, before watching it flap its wings and disappear over in the direction of the dock.
After quickly hurrying back down the narrow steps and into the main corridor of the keep, the pair walked with purpose to the study of the king. The guards outside the door let them know he was present within, and after knocking on the door, they waited to be let in. After a few moments, one of the guards opened the door for them, and they hurried inside.
Caldar was sat at his desk, reading through a mountain of papers. The king looked up and waved them both in with one hand, whilst holding a letter in the other. "I think I have found them Uncle," Luca said with more than a little self-satisfaction in his voice. "Really? Where are they?" the asked king replied clearly surprised.
Luca suggested he point on the map where he thought he had seen the fleet. "I think about here," he said indicating an area on the map far off the coast of North-West Corlan. "The ships are truly massive, like none I have ever seen before," he added, describing as best he could the images he had seen. "I think there is about twenty in number, and they are moving very slowly."
Caldar tapped his finger on the table, trying to judge where this fleet could be heading. "It must be Hamalin," he said coming to the only logical conclusion. "Although if the ships are as large as you say, they will struggle manoeuvring them up river." The three of them worked out that considering the time the bird would have spotted the ships, the speed and target destination they still h
ad a day maybe two before the Zulani could think about landing.
Caldar immediately started scribbling a letter. Hurriedly writing the words, not caring whether the ink blotted or not. After placing his seal and signing it, he made a duplicate, only changing the addressee. "Luca I need you to do something for me," Caldar said rolling the letters up and placing them inside two tubes. "I hope you can do this," he said before explaining what he needed.
He told Luca how the old wizard Sandred had used the skill in controlling birds to deliver urgent messages. Luca shrugged, he did not think it would be too difficult commanding a bird to drop off a small cylinder containing a letter. "If you use a couple of birds from the falconry, they should be strong enough to carry these," he added handing over the two small tubes. Caldar explained he wanted one bird to go to Luca's home town of Forwich, and the other was to go to Sefton. "If I can get the soldiers from both garrisons to Hamalin within a day, we may have a chance of stopping them landing. It may even buy us enough time for..." Caldar did not finish the sentence, but merely looked at Luca. His eyes were suddenly full of sorrow, and his face looked saddened by what he was about to ask. "You want me to go," Luca said knowing what was being asked of him.
After a few moments silence, Caldar nodded. Almost apologetically, he placed a hand on Luca's shoulder. "I did hope never to have to ask this of you," Caldar said. Luca gave a smile, "I know Uncle, but I understand what is needed from me. I will do what has to be done to stop these Zulani." Caldar looked his nephew in the eye and just nodded.
Caldar went outside with Luca and Oliver to dispatch the letters he had just written. He selected two of his birds, and one at a time Luca touched them gently, sending his instructions to each. Sending the one to Forwich was no problem, because he could picture exactly what the place looked like. The one to Sefton was a little more problematic because he had only been there a handful of times. As it was Caldar suggested he picture the garrison building, that way the message should at least get to the right people, if not necessarily the right person.
They watched for a while as the second falcon soared majestically skyward, with its talons wrapped around one of the small message tubes. "Now I need you to go as well Luca. I shall let you have our fastest horses," Caldar said putting his arm across his nephews shoulder as they started to walk. Luca was just about to ask when they would be leaving, when his uncle answered that very question. "I need you to go as soon as you are ready. Ride to Hamalin and gods willing stop those invaders getting a foothold on our lands."
In a strange sort of way, Luca was actually glad to be doing something. The past several days had seen him and Oliver sitting around for large parts of the day, waiting for news. Now they had the information they needed, he at last had a purpose. He and Oliver would not be travelling alone either. Caldar was sending a platoon of his Elite Royal Guards to escort them north. Moreover, behind them he was sending a further thousand men to boost the numbers from the northern garrison towns; these would take considerably longer than a day or two to get there however. The Elite guard was made up of only the very best soldiers, those who excelled in the art of fighting, and trained in the use of a variety of weapons.
Within an hour of sending the falcon's northwards, Luca and Oliver were being escorted out of the city and across the River Fivan bridge in the same direction. As the horses thundered over the stone bridge and onto the road beyond, Luca glanced over to Oliver. The young Darekian cast him a big smile; it was clear at least somebody was enjoying himself. The pace set by the officer in charge was a brisk one, and Luca wondered how long the horses would be able to keep it up.
The man placed in charge was a Sergeant Ethan Fisher. In his mid-twenties, he was a tall slim man with short brown hair. Clean-shaven with a well-defined face, he had been tasked with leading the escort. He and every one of the forty odd soldiers there had been given one order that held significance over any other. Aside from acting as the escort, their main task was to ensure that Luca survived, no matter what. Each and every man there knew if necessary, he would have to sacrifice his own life to make sure Luca kept his.
Chapter 11.
In Onay, the bodies of the fallen were carried outside for burning. Amongst the dead guards, palace staff and strange creatures, one body had been put to one side. Prince Issac had fallen in the palace, fighting against the creatures that had clambered the city walls. They had found his body alongside those of several palace guards, and a dozen or more of the strange creatures.
As the rather sullen people of the city counted their dead, allowed by the let up in fighting, the voice of the Zulani priest echoed across the skies once more. The message was similar to the previous ones, in that it offered the people the chance to surrender. Now however, the defenders had lost their influential leader, as well as a number of their officers. This ultimately meant that control of the city, was now in the hands of the elected councillors.
The remaining soldiers bickered with the officials over the cause of action to take. Naturally, those of a military standing wanted to continue the fight. Despite suffering the loss of their leader and several of his senior officers, they had also inflicted a number of losses on the enemy. These mainly consisted of the ape like creatures that had scaled the walls, but there had also been some smaller successes against the enemy infantry. The Murati archers had scored a few hits, and as a result meant the Zulani had not had everything their own way.
Across the tops of the walls, large numbers of dead and wounded from both sides were piled up or sent for treatment. The make shift hospital was already full with soldiers, bearing wounds inflicted by the claws and teeth of the strange Zulani beasts. Taking in to account that the Onay garrison had already lost half of its number in the previous battle, alongside the newer casualties, they barely had three hundred soldiers left. Naturally, the numbers were swelled by reservists that had been called to arms.
One of the councillors appeared to be taking control, as the others allowed him to speak for them. On the side of the military, which had lost all but one its senior officers, a Captain Keir, argued. "If we surrender now Councillor, Prince Issac died for nothing. His wish was for us to continue fighting." The Captain sighed as the overly large frame of the councillor shook his head. "I am in charge now. The law is written and straight forward to understand Captain. If the prince is no longer able to command, then power shall revert to the leader voted by the people."
The Captain knew the man right, and as much as he disagreed, the elected councillor held command. Just when he thought all was lost, the Captain was given an idea when he was told the prince's son had escaped through a hidden tunnel. "Councillor," he asked, "Let me use this tunnel to get as many of our people out of the city," he asked. The man in charge shook his head, "No, the people are under my command Captain, they will stay here and surrender. That way they will live, not be run down by a pursuing army of beasts."
The Captain sighed, "I shall not surrender and neither shall my men," he said defiantly, clearly having had enough of this obnoxious man. After slamming his fist down on a tabletop in his frustration, he turned and left the room. The three other military men in the room followed him. He could not help the civilians in the city, but he could do something about the soldiers that still remained. As he paced quickly down the corridor he thought how he might find out where this secret passageway might be. Only one man had survived the room where Prince Issac had fallen, and he was seriously injured, more importantly though he was also a high-ranking officer that might just be privy to such information.
The Captain found the man he was looking for in the makeshift hospital beds. Being an officer, he was at least afforded a curtain around to give some small amount of privacy. The injured man gave a pained smile as the Captain approached. With several heavily blooded bandages around the man's torso, it was clear he had suffered terrible injuries.
The Captain had no time for niceties, so went straight to the point. He explained how the elected council had
taken command of the city, and were planning to surrender to the invaders come morning. The injured officer was clearly as disgusted at the idea as the Captain was. "I need to know the location of the secret passageway used by the Prince's son," he asked. To his surprise, he got the answer he needed straight away. "Get as many soldiers out as you can. Live to fight another day my friend," the injured man said, before coughing. The Captain nodded, thanked his superior, before quickly making his way back to the garrison.
Once there he started relaying orders. Supplies needed to be gathered, but done so in a discreet manner. Should the council leaders get news of what they intended, they would probably find some way to stop them. As it was a handful of soldiers at a time were told of the whereabouts of the passageway. They were each to take rations and weapons, and head out.
Jamal and Fabian had rested the previous night in the cave, before heading out through the dense woodland. They had found a small stream from which to fill their canteen bottles, and spent the best part of the day seemingly walking in circles. With the trees so thick, it was difficult to tell which direction they were heading. The sun was obscured above by the thick leaves, and the path they thought they were following only seemed to go around in a circle. Despite their lack of obvious progress, neither youngster blamed the other. As a matter of fact they both found it quite funny, and had spent several minutes rolling on the floor laughing when they fought their way through some thick foliage, only to end up at the same tree Jamal had put a marker on.
