Sentinals Awaken: Book One of the Sentinals Series

by Helen Garraway

  Jerrol reached for the pad. “Sir, I’m not supposed to be here. If the people running this place find me, they will harm me.”

  “Rubbish, you honour the Lady, no one will harm you. Come, you must patch the Veil.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t how.”

  “Are you stupid, boy? What is the Lady thinking of?” the Watcher muttered.

  “Times have changed, sir, the people here do not revere the Lady. I’m not sure who they do follow, to be honest.”

  “Really? That can’t be true.” The man stared at Jerrol, his eyes glowing. Jerrol flinched at the touch of such an ancient mind, though held firm as the man rifled through his recent memories, leaving an impression of distance and time passing. “No one has been collating the coordinates for centuries? For that long? Has it been that long?”

  “Um, can you check if your previous coordinates have been repaired? I think they may have been using them to target the collapse, not repair it.”

  “Where are my acolytes, my students? Have I been asleep for so long?” The man tried to move, but his body had atrophied. “Has it been so long?” His voice faded, and he closed his eyes, falling silent again.

  Jerrol hesitated, pad in hand, but it appeared that the man had returned to his former state. He glanced down at the pad, which was half full of notations. He pocketed it, not knowing where else to hide it, and cautiously backed out of the room. He needed to find Birlerion and report back. There was much more going on than they realised.

  Jerrol retreated, closely followed by Tagerill, and they descended the stairs, pausing at the foot of the adjacent tower as the sound of chanting drifted on the air. Someone was either up very early or very late.

  Jerrol stepped through the doorway and peered up the stairs. He heard a cold voice which sent shivers down his spine. It was edged with spite and hatred and led the chant being repeated over and over:

  “Justice, inheritance, for all to see.

  Bound to these words forever be.

  Support my cause,

  Perform my will,

  Blessed be your service to me.”

  The words dripped like acid into his mind, and Tagerill cursed under his breath. “They are using Mentiserium. It is a mind-control technique.”

  “Never heard of it,” Jerrol replied as they climbed the stairs.

  “Hold the Lady in your mind, she will protect you,” Tagerill said as he paused outside the door.

  Jerrol brought the image of the Lady to the forefront of his mind and relaxed as the pressure building in his head lessened; he listened intently as the chant died away.

  “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Now, tell me your name.”

  “Birler of Greens.” Birlerion’s voice slurred.

  “Where is the Captain?”

  “Not here.”

  “But you know where? Tell me, you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone else,” the voice persuaded. There was silence. “Tear the Veil. You know you want to; you need to. Reach for the Veil. It’s calling you, Birler of Greens.”

  There was the sound of a fist hitting flesh and Birlerion’s groan broke the silence. Tagerill’s face went flat.

  “This is taking too long. He should have been under by now,” a smooth voice interrupted.

  “We will continue until we break him; he can’t hold out forever. You can’t stay here, Var’geris; you don’t have the time. Leave him to me. I’ll get it out of him.”

  “He has silver eyes. Only the Lady’s Guard has silver eyes,” Var’geris said. “There has to be a Captain to wake the guards; either it’s him, or he knows where he is. Make sure you find him, Ain’uncer, we must have the Captain.”

  “Don’t worry. I will. Guard him. I’ll be back in shortly,” Ain’uncer said as the door opened and two tall, dark-haired men left the room.

  “A Captain after all these years. It is a sign that our time is nigh. Well, well, a treasure indeed.” The man was gloating.

  Jerrol and Tagerill shrank back into the darkness. The men strode down the stairs, black robes flaring. They didn’t even glance towards the alcove where Jerrol and Tagerill were hiding.

  Tagerill waited until the men exited the tower and then barreled into the room. He took in the two guards beating up his brother, and he struck, fear driving his arm. Jerrol hovered over Birlerion. He lay restrained in one of the reclining chairs, and he stared glassily at the ceiling. His shirt was ripped and spattered with blood, his jacket lost.

  “Birlerion.” Jerrol gently touched his shoulder. Birlerion groaned and instinctively strained against the leather straps. Jerrol began unbuckling them.

  “Birlerion, it’s Tage.” Tagerill hissed at the sight of his battered face and carefully helped him to sit up, an arm around his shoulders supporting him. Birlerion leaned against him, his body trembling. Jerrol passed a jug of water, and Tagerill trickled it into Birlerion’s mouth. Birlerion gagged, and most of it dribbled back out again and down his neck, mixing with his blood.

  Birlerion coughed. “They are after the Captain. They want to shred the Veil.” His chest wheezed. “We need to leave. They are using Mentiserium.” He paused to cough again and spat out blood, wincing as his chest grabbed. “They are very good at it.”

  “Not good enough, fortunately,” Tagerill murmured.

  “Tagerill, what is Mentiserium?” Jerrol asked, gazing at Birlerion in concern. From the amount of blood down his shirt, it looked as if his nose might be broken; both his eyes were blackened and swollen, and his lip split and puffy.

  “It’s a mind spell. Controls people’s actions, forces them to tell the truth. Once enspelled, keywords control their actions. In theory, saying the word wakes them up, then saying it a second time is the reset. It should negate whatever suggestion they planted and allow you to replace it with another. Though that was then; whether it’s the same now, who knows,” Tagerill replied, his face grave. “The difficulty is being able to tell if a suggestion has been planted.”

  “How would we know?”

  “There are no obvious signs that a person has been enspelled. The only protection is to call on the Lady.” Tagerill checked out of the tower. “We need to move. It’s starting to get light.”

  Jerrol froze. “Then how do we know Birlerion isn’t enspelled?”

  “He’s not,” Tagerill said. “There’s no way.”

  “But how do you know? You said there was no sign.”

  “I’m not,” Birlerion said, holding his chest. “I hold the Lady close.”

  Jerrol frowned at him, concerned.

  “We need to leave,” Tagerill said.

  “I’m not sure Birlerion is quite ready to move.” Jerrol folded a damp pad and dabbed it against his bloody face.

  “I’m fine,” Birlerion said, flinching away. He stood with their assistance, swaying unsteadily as he peered at Tagerill through swollen eyes. “What took you so long?”

  “We admired the scenery on the way,” Tagerill said.

  “We should have gone with you. I am sorry, Birlerion.” Jerrol gripped his shoulder.

  Birlerion shrugged and then winced. “You couldn’t have known. Can we leave now?”

  “We haven’t found Torsion yet. Do you remember if they mentioned him?”

  “No idea,” Birlerion said, squinting at the slumped bodies of the guards. “What happened to them?”

  “Tagerill,” Jerrol said with a slight laugh. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Voices rose across the courtyard, loud in the stillness of the early morning. Jerrol drifted down the stone stairs, and Tagerill supported Birlerion as they reached the ground floor.

  “We can’t leave yet, looks like the guards are changing over.” Jerrol peered down the stairs as they spiralled onwards into velvety darkness. “Maybe we should wait down below, just in case they check up here.”

  The stairs curved down into the dark where the air was a lot thicker, almost claustrophobic. The lower levels were deserted, unused, full of shadows. T
agerill helped Birlerion sit on the stairs. Their voices were low as Tagerill questioned him further.

  Jerrol extended his hand in front of him, carefully feeling for the next step with his foot. The air resisted, and then, just as quickly, he was through, and he was drawn further down the stairs. He jumped as a single drop of water plopped on the stone beside him.

  Jerrol strained to see in the soft green light the walls were emitting. The steps levelled out, leading into a narrow passage, and a tiny glow drew him on. The walls dripped with green slime coating the surface of the stones. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of rotting vegetation and algae, trying to avoid brushing up against it.

  The passage was a lot longer than it looked. The light drew him on. Frowning, he stopped as a flash caught his eye; something glinted in the wall. Jerrol reached out to trace its edges and pulled his hand back with a gasp; it was sharp. His finger bled. He sucked his finger as he worked his dagger out of his belt, and then dug the point around the stone, easing it out of the wall.

  The crystal fell into his left hand, and he hissed as it sliced his palm, sucking in his blood. He tried to drop it, but it stuck to his skin. He shook his hand, but it only absorbed the crystal faster. His blood splattered on the wall.

  The crystal began to glow in his palm, the silvery glimmer suffused with pink, as the crystal absorbed his blood, and his hand absorbed the crystal. He caught his breath as he clenched his fist; a blushing radiance escaped. He opened his hand, and a silvery light flared, suspended in the air. The crystal had gone. His stomach fluttered as he raised his hand and looked at the walls.

  What had he done?

  Markings were engraved in the walls which glowed green in the unnatural light. He traced an image of a tree and the moon, the Lady’s mark. Whatever had happened was under the Lady’s eye, so maybe he hadn’t erred after all. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his frantically beating heart.

  When Jerrol opened his eyes, he was staring up at a tall tree looming above him. He lay at the foot of the largest sentinal he had ever seen. His vision was full of silver bark and high above was a canopy of deep green leaves, rustling even though there was no breeze. He inhaled the fresh greenness of the tree and levered himself upright.

  His hand hurt. As he lifted it, he remembered the crystal. He smoothed his fingers over the fine, silver scar on his palm.

  The Lady approached, her face serene. “You can’t stay here,” she said, resting a hand on the tree. “You must return and find the rest.”

  “The rest?” Jerrol asked, watching her in awe.

  “The rest of the Bloodstone,” she said as his vision shimmered, and he found himself lying on the floor of the underground tunnel below the Watch Towers.

  Tagerill lent over him, shaking his shoulder. “Captain? Are you alright? What happened?” His voice was sharp with concern.

  “I’m fine, I think,” Jerrol said as he sat up. The damp chill seeped through his clothes and, balancing his hand against the wall, he let Tagerill help him rise. His hand stung, and he realised it still bled. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around the wound.

  Tagerill watched in amazement as a silvery light flared above Jerrol’s bandaged hand.

  Jerrol’s eyes gleamed a luminous silver in the light. “The Lady’s visits always seem double-edged. You never know what to expect,” he said with a wry grin as he looked back down the corridor. Whatever had happened was meant to happen. He was supposed to have found the crystal; he knew it. His veins buzzed as the crystal worked its way around his body. It was part of him now. He sheathed his dagger. A fair exchange, he supposed; he provided a host for the crystal and gained the ability to hold a light in his hand. “Where’s Birlerion?”

  “I left him on the steps.” Tagerill hesitated. “Captain? What did the Lady say?”

  Jerrol walked back towards the stairs. “We shouldn’t leave him alone,” was all he said.

  For a supposedly clever man, renowned for his intelligence-gathering skills, he was stumbling from one crisis to another, blindly following the Lady’s trail. He must be doing something right, though he wished he knew what it was. He climbed the curving staircase. They needed to concentrate on getting Birlerion out.

  When Tagerill and Jerrol reached the top of the stairs, Birlerion had gone.

  Chapter 26

  Greenswatch

  Captain Bryce led his party up the road to Greenswatch and heaved a sigh of relief as the trees opened and revealed the grey stone manor house. They had arrived.

  Lady Alyssa waited for the stable lad to position the dismount block before taking the hand Captain Bryce offered and dismounting.

  A slim, young man, with hair the colour of ripened corn, hurried down the shallow stone steps. “Alyssa, at last!” he said as he hugged her. He set her back, blue eyes scanning her face. “Are you alright? Why didn’t they provide you with a carriage? You didn’t ride all the way here?” he asked, appalled.

  “Because I didn’t need a carriage. I rode to Deepwater, and I am more than capable of riding home again.” She wasn’t going to allow Simeon to start telling her what she could and couldn’t do.

  “But you are in mourning for Father. You can’t be jaunting all over the countryside as if it was just some outing.”

  “I can assure you that I am well aware of what happened to Father. I wasn’t jaunting. I was travelling home as quickly as possible, and a carriage would have delayed us even further. Allow me to introduce Captain Bryce from Stoneford Keep and Lieutenant Jennery from the King’s Guards, who escorted me home safely. Also, Hannah of Stoneford, who assisted me on my journey home.” Alyssa indicated her companions who were standing behind her.

  “Captain Bryce.” Simeon stared at the man he had sent off to collect his sister. “Thank you for delivering my sister to us.”

  Bryce gave him a stiff nod.

  “Ah, Garrick.” Alyssa greeted the Watch steward as he entered the hall. “Please arrange for Captain Bryce, his men and Lieutenant Jennery to be accommodated. They will be staying to pay their respects to my father before returning to Stoneford. Also, if you would, please prepare a room for Hannah near me.”

  “Certainly, my lady.” Garrick indicated the way to Bryce and Jennery. “Please, if you would follow me. I will ask your maid Millie to escort Miss Hannah to her room.”

  “Thank you, ma’am, sir,” Captain Bryce said. “We appreciate your hospitality.”

  “Garrick, please make sure you show Captain Bryce and Lieutenant Jennery where to join us for dinner tonight. I look forward to seeing you gentlemen later. Hannah, I must speak to my brother, but I will join you shortly.” She turned back to Simeon and tucked her arm through his.

  “Tell me what has been happening here. What is the plan? What have you heard about Father?” she asked.

  “Those men will be leaving tomorrow, Alyssa. They do not need to stay any longer.”

  Alyssa stiffened, releasing his arm. “Of course they will stay, Father would expect them to.”

  “I’m glad you arrived today,” Simeon continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “The Leaving is planned for tomorrow and my confirmation the following day. Reid is finalising the preparations as we speak. Come, you must be tired, your maid is here and she can assist you to your room.”

  “I am not tired, Simeon. I want to know exactly what the ceremony for Father will entail. You weren’t going to hold the Leaving without me, were you?” she asked, her eyes glinting dangerously. “I expect to see that the full Leaving ceremony is performed by Silene at the Grove.”

  “Ah, Silene was not available, so the Father will perform the ceremony,” Simeon blustered.

  Alyssa came to an abrupt halt. “Why is Silene not available? Have you even asked her?”

  “Now Alyssa, don’t be difficult. I’m sure you’re tired; come, let Millie help you to your room.”

  “Don’t you dare, Simeon. You will honour our father appropriately and request that Silene presides, or yo
u will regret it.”

  “Don’t you threaten me.” Simeon grabbed her arm and scowled at her. “I am the Lord of Greenswatch, and I will decide what we will do; you will obey my orders. Don’t think you can come here and twist me around your little finger as you could Father.”

  “What happened, Simeon? Why would you not pay our father the respect he is due?” Alyssa refused to cower before her bully of a brother.

  “You’re just a girl; you wouldn’t understand,” Simeon sneered. “I have to make my presence felt from the beginning. I am the new Lord of Greenswatch.”

  “You would receive more respect from the people around you,” Alyssa said, wrenching her arm out of Simeon’s grip, “if you gave those people a little respect in return. How can people support you if you don’t value them? Our people loved Father. If you can’t honour the relationship he had with Greenswatch and its people, then you are to blame for the damage you do to yourself. Can you not see? Let Garrick arrange the Leaving. Reid can spend his time on your confirmation.”

  Simeon wavered. He stiffened as Reid approached. “Apologies for the interruption, Lord Simeon, but I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. I am more than capable of arranging a Leaving and a confirmation. Please do not be concerned.”

  Alyssa glared at the thin, angular man her brother depended on. He was dwarfed by his black robes, which accentuated his pale face. “This is a private conversation, and your intrusion is unwelcome,” she snapped. She couldn’t believe the gall of the man.

  Simeon glanced between the two. “Thank you, Reid, I am glad to hear everything is in hand. Please escort my sister to her room. I am sure she is tired after her journey.”

  Alyssa jerked as anger coursed through her, and her lips tightened. “I am quite capable of finding my way. This is my home too, don’t forget!” Simeon flinched at the expression on her face. “I do not require an escort,” she said as she stalked off.