Child Of A Guardian And Of The Free (Book 3) (33 page)

‘
That doesn’t eliminate a lot of people,’ said Dale, sounding frustrated.

‘
I haven’t finished!’

‘
Sorry.’

‘
They were so fast, Baron Dale, it was hard to see anything, but they both had black hair. One had funny little bits of hair hanging down his back, longer than the rest of his hair…plaits maybe…with some sort of white things…beads maybe…tied onto them. He seemed very young.’ She drew breath and glanced at Rezon. ‘You all look young, but he looked like he was barely more than a boy.’

‘
Probably Macardu,’ said Rezon, folding his arms. ‘What about the other one?’

‘
Shorter hair...maybe a bit older,’ Mrs. Samil said vaguely. ‘I’m sorry. They really did move so fast. Baron Dale, what do you want me to do?’

‘
I want you to find someone who is willing to go to the Dwellings and tell Lady Karri what has happened. We need to get word down to King’s Marshall Danil in Castle as fast as we can. And we need Callian or Timbul or Araas or someone. We need all the help we can get and we need it fast.’

‘
My son will be willing to go,’ Mrs. Samil said certainly. ‘But Baron Dale, more than two of the fallen came through the village only moments before you appeared. Squire Enri came running through here shouting for everyone to get into the keep, but there wasn’t time, and he disappeared and I don’t know what happened to him, or where the Princesses are!’

‘
I’m here!’ a voice said as Enri ran around the corner of the house. Dale leapt to his side and gave him a slap on the shoulder.

‘
Supreme Majesty, Enri! I was thinking they had gotten you too! Where were you? Where are Lerise and Jade? Tell me exactly what happened!’

‘
It’s good to see you’re alive Dale,’ said Enri, and his voice was rough with emotion. ‘Later you can tell me how you got home. I had no idea the fallen were here until people started screaming and hiding inside their homes. Very stupid, considering how fast the fallen are, but strangely enough they seemed to have no interest in what the people were doing. I thought they might be after Lerise and Jade so I pushed them down the trapdoor that leads to the hidden way to the beach. I have most of the servants hiding in the upper rooms. I’d better go and get Lerise and Jade out of there.’

‘
Don’t you have any soldiers?’

‘
We have very few genuine soldiers, mostly citizens helping out. The ones I do have are guarding Lerise and Jade.’

‘
Did you see who took Kelian?’

‘
Yes. But I couldn’t catch up with them. I’d forgotten how fast they are.’

‘
And you’ve forgotten how dangerous they are.’ Dale folded his arms and glared at Enri like a boy chastising his younger brother. ‘In the words of the esteemed Rezon, if by some miracle you had caught up with them? What then?’

Enri pressed his lips together.
‘I’d have died trying - as would you, Dale.’

‘
Sorry Enri. Look, I need you to stay here. How many soldiers have you got?’

‘
Not enough. Mainly just farmers and villagers who have agreed to play soldier on a rotational basis until we get some relief. Go after them Dale. Just don’t get yourself killed.’ Enri turned to Raline. ‘Do you want to stay here Lady, inside the keep?’

‘
No!’ Raline cried, grabbing Rezon’s hand. She bit her lip. ‘Sorry. I mean no thank you Squire. I will stay with Rezon.’

‘
You’ll slow him down,’ said Enri bluntly.

Rezon turned and hugged Raline.
‘I want you to go with Mrs. Samil’s son back to the Dwellings. We’ll probably end up in Nyinaku and right now that’s a far too dangerous place to take you. If you go to Castle or anywhere in fact, I’ll find you easily enough when this business is over. Please?’

Raline
’s face crumbled and tears dribbled down her cheeks. ‘Rez...’

‘
Ahh Raline! I can’t bear this!’ Rezon hugged her tightly. ‘But even more I can’t stand the thought of what might happen to you if I take you to Nyinaku.’

‘
But nothing might happen, Rez!’

‘
I was wrong! You
need
to know what my people are like. If they capture you, they will kill you. And Nandul will use you as an example to deter anyone else from opposing him.’

‘
Example? What do you mean?’

‘
He’ll torture you until you die. Like he did to Lias’ sister Keely - only she wasn’t human.’

‘
What did they do to her Rez?’ Raline sounded like she didn’t really want him to answer.

‘
Nandul carved her up then he impaled her on a stake and left her hanging there to die.’

Raline gave a sob of horror and shock.

‘And I’m not prepared to take you somewhere where that might happen to you.’

Raline pulled away, her eyes wide and her mouth open slightly
from fear. When she spoke, her voice was barely audible. ‘Come back to me Rez. Please, you will come back won’t you?’

Rezon picked her up into his arms.
‘We are bonded for life. I’ll be back before you even miss me.’

‘
I miss you already.’

‘
I have to go.’

‘
I love you.’

‘
And I love you.’

‘
Are you done?’ Dale asked impatiently.

E
nri laughed. ‘Good to see you’re as patient as always, Dale.’ His face turned serious. ‘After what happened here today, I’m sending Lerise and Jade back to the Dwellings as well. Mrs. Samil’s son Kyle can take them with an escort of what genuine soldiers we have.’

‘
Good.’ Dale turned to Rezon. ‘Can you hear Ben’s thoughts? Did they catch up with anyone?’ Rezon shook his head. Dale sighed. ‘Danil’s going to murder me. Let’s find Kelian and bring him back.’

Rezon kiss
ed Raline and then he placed her hand in Enri’s. He looked meaningfully at the young Squire and Enri nodded seriously in acknowledgement.

Rezon turned away, with the picture of Raline
’s tear stained face firmly imprinted in his mind.

Chapter
36

Tracking the Fallen

Dale and Rezon caught up with Eibhear, Ben and Rudiger just as night was falling. They were confident the tracks they were following belonged to the
fallen, and Dale had to trust them because regardless of the fact that he couldn’t see anything even resembling tracks, the warriors were charging on relentlessly. He wondered how many warriors were ahead of them with Kelian and if there was any chance they could actually catch up. He knew he was slowing them down but he was so desperate to find Kelian and rescue him that he couldn’t bring himself to suggest the warriors go on ahead. He felt that would be cowardly, as if he was making excuses. But he was also torn with the guilt of knowing that the three men could probably catch up with the fallen if he wasn’t hindering them. Guilt won. ‘Rez, I think you and Ben and-’

‘
Sh!’ Eibhear raised his hand. They were taking a short rest which Dale knew was for his benefit alone. Dale rolled onto his knees and stood up; squinting into the trees in the direction Eibhear was staring.

‘
What is it?’ Dale whispered.

‘
Whew! He’s fast!’ said Eibhear.

‘
Who’s fast?’ Dale couldn’t see or hear anyone.

‘
They both are,’ Ben agreed.

‘
Who?’ Dale asked a little louder.

‘
All three of them I think.’ Rudiger inclined his head to listen. ‘Yes. I can definitely hear three people. Good. We’re going to need them.’

‘
Who?’ Dale waved his hand in front of Eibhear’s gaze.

Eibhear grinned.
‘It’s Callian, Timbul and Araas, but not in that order. Tim’s almost here already.’

‘
How did they know?’ Dale wondered aloud. ‘Kyle can’t possibly be at the Dwellings already. I doubt he’s even left East Inlet yet.’

‘
Dale, the guardians can hear a person’s thoughts over quite surprising distances, if they put their mind to it. I wonder if Lady Karri had all three of them listening in on Kelian’s thoughts, for every second since he left the Dwellings. I’ll bet she did. And I’ll also bet they were all hanging around within sprinting distance of East Inlet since you landed here.’

‘
How far away are they?’ Dale asked impatiently. He knew he was going to have to let everyone go on ahead of him. The guardians were even faster than the fallen.

‘
A few minutes,’ said Ben. ‘They’re not shielding their thoughts. That means they want us to know they’re coming.’

It took Timbul less than two minutes to reach them. Araas and
Callian arrived a minute later, then Araas turned and disappeared into the trees.

‘
Callian,’ Dale decided to vent his worries before he could change his mind. ‘I’m just slowing everyone down. I can’t-’

‘
We’re going to need you. You have to come with us Dale. They haven’t told you how many of the fallen are ahead of us, have they Dale?’

Dale shook his head.

‘To be honest I’m not sure, but perhaps more than thirty. Nandul isn’t with them, but three guardians and four of the free aren’t going to take them down easily. We need a plan; a good plan. And that’s
your
job.’

‘
But Callian, it might be days before we catch up to them, and I’m already exhausted! Or have you forgotten I’m human?’

‘
Araas has gone to get you a horse. In the meantime, I’m the horse.’ He handed Dale his bow and quiver.

‘
Wonderful,’ said Dale sarcastically, slinging the quiver across his shoulder and then placing the bow over his head to balance across his back. ‘How incredibly humiliating.’

‘
Don’t be stupid Dale!’ Callian sounded frustrated. ‘Being slow isn’t humiliating; it’s how you were made. Humiliating is when you don’t have the ability to come up with a sensible plan of attack that won’t get us all captured or worse! Do you think I enjoy looking like an idiot every time I have to ask someone to come up with a strategy? You leave it to me to make sure we catch up to them, but when we do, you’re plan had better be a good one! Then it’s up to me to wipe them all out. Alright?’

‘
Alright,’ said Dale. ‘But it’s the same thing you know. Not having strategic planning skills isn’t humiliating; it’s just how you were made.’

Callian
laughed. ‘True,’ he said. ‘Let’s keep moving. Araas will be back soon enough.’

‘
A horse can only go so far without rest.’

‘
So we steal another horse. And then another and another...and so on. Don’t worry Dale; I’m sure Araas will only take a horse from someone who can afford to lose one.’ Callian avoided Dale’s eye as he spoke.

‘
Wonderful. Now I’ve lost the King and I’m a horse thief. Do any of you know what the penalty is in Alkira for horse theft?’

‘
No idea,’ said Eibhear. ‘Get up Dale. Let’s go. Get on your horse!’

Dale ignored Eibhear
’s smirk as he jumped onto Callian’s back. ‘Gid-up!’ he cried, slapping the guardian’s shoulder. Callian became a statue.

‘
If you want to survive this trip Dale, I’d show a little more respect,’ he suggested drily.

‘
Sorry. You’d think I’d be used to this by now but it’s still embarrassing. Can we go now please, or we’ll never catch up with Kelian.’

They started at a brisk walk which gradually turned to a lope and then a steady run. Dale was
always astonished by how smooth Callian’s strides were; Dale might have been a fly on the guardian’s back. He hooked his hands together and held on tight, taking care not to strangle Callian’s throat. He tried to use the time to work on a plan for rescuing Kelian, but he had no idea how long it would take them to catch up to the fallen, and where they might be when they caught up. Wave after wave of panic hit him as he wondered if they’d even find Kelian alive. He imagined Elena’s face when she heard Kelian had been taken. He thought of Danil, and Borgulnay and Gilgarry and what they might say to him, or do to him if he had to return with the news that Kelian was dead. He tried to push the thought aside, but the picture of Danil turning his back whilst Borgulnay and Gilgarry murdered him couldn’t be ignored. He wondered what would happen if he slowed everyone so much they couldn’t catch the fallen before they left Alkira and they ended up in Nyinaku again. He imagined being captured, and how it might feel to have his legs stretched apart and have a stake shoved up inside him. Callian’s pace slowed and Dale could sense his anxiety, and he knew that this particular horror was a distinct possibility.

‘
What’s happening?’ asked Dale, as he slid from Callian’s back stretching his aching arms.

‘
Araas is coming with a couple of horses. You can ride one and we’ll lead the other.’

‘
I can lead the second horse as I ride,’ Dale suggested as Araas appeared. ‘I’d rather you all had your arms free just in case something happens.’ He passed Callian his bow and quiver. ‘We need to keep moving, but I have to know a few things. Callian can you sense Kelian’s thoughts from this far away? Are any of the fallen careless with their own thoughts? I want to know exactly where they are, how far away from here, and what sort of a state Kelian’s in, and how many of them there are, and what sort of skills they have. I want to know which way they are planning to go and why they’ve taken Kelian, though that’s not hard to guess. And I want to know if they have him on a horse or in a cart or if they’re just carrying him. And I want to know if any of them knows where Nandul is.’

Callian
walked about twenty paces away from the group and concentrated hard. ‘I can’t hear anyone. Not Kelian and not any of the fallen. Someone must be shielding his mind. Right now, we just need to try to get a little closer. Wait...no. For a moment I thought I had one of them...that’s odd... If I could only get into someone’s mind. I need to go ahead - with Tim and Araas.’

Dale took the reins of both horses.
‘Which horse was quieter Araas?’

Araas
shrugged. ‘They’re both quiet. I doubt you’d have too much difficulty with them in any case.’ Araas was not the first person to notice Dale’s ability with horses. The animals seemed to have an affinity with him that went beyond normal bounds. It seemed almost effortless, but within seconds Dale had the horses doing exactly as he wished and the horses treated him with friendly respect. Both horses wore bridle and bit, and the black mare was saddled.

Dale took the reins over the bay
’s head and fed them through the bit ring on the side nearest to the black mare. ‘I’ll ride the black mare.’ He gave the bay a reassuring pat. ‘I don’t know your name, but you are a very nice bay. You’re very young aren’t you? I’ll call you Baby.’ He gave her neck a scratch and then turned to the black mare. ‘And you are as lovely as your friend. I’ll call you Ebony.’ He petted her for a moment then handed the two sets of reins to Araas. ‘What exactly are you planning Callian?’

‘
If I can get close enough I can answer some of your questions. And if they have a rear guard,’ he grinned, ‘they might lose him.’

‘
Hmm…isn’t that an interesting thought now. I wonder how many we could pick off, one by one.’

‘
Maybe one, if we’re lucky,’ said Rezon, looking a little alarmed. ‘Even then, half of them might break off and come after us.’

‘
We’re getting ahead of ourselves,’ said Dale, as he lifted the saddle flaps and shortened the leathers. ‘That’s better,’ he murmured. ‘Callian, I know you’re fast enough to catch the fallen. Take Tim and Araas and see how close you can get without being seen. Find out what you can, and then get back here as fast as possible.’

A
raas handed him the reins and followed Callian. Dale watched uneasily as they disappeared into the trees, and then swung onto the horse’s back.

‘
I wish I was that fast,’ said Ben, looking a bit grumpy.

‘
Oh you poor slow thing. I feel
so sorry
for you.’ Dale looked even grumpier.

Ben laughed.
‘I just meant-’ he broke off and laughed again. ‘Now here’s someone who might even give Timbul a challenge if he tries to outpace him!’

‘
I beg your pardon?’ Dale twisted in the saddle to look where Ben was pointing. Milgorry dashed past, gave a hasty wave and kept going.

‘
Mil!’ Dale shouted.

‘
I’ll be back!’ he called back, and then he was gone.

Dale didn
’t hesitate. He moved the horses forward as quickly as he could. Five minutes later Rudiger moved past him.

‘
Maybe I’d better lead,’ he said, ‘before you take us any further off course.’

‘
Fine,’ said Dale, wishing he wasn’t feeling quite so inadequate.

Rudiger slowed until he was running beside Baby.
‘Dale, I never thanked you for going after Eibhear when he went into that village in Hosatabaht.’

‘
It was nothing.’

‘
It was my brother’s life.’

‘
He would have done the same for me. In fact he has on a number of occasions.’

‘
Where did you learn your bow skills?’

‘
I was raised in East Inlet and then in Emerald.’ Dale felt his heart sink remembering the attacks on his cities by the fallen and Rudiger said no more but Dale could clearly sense his gratitude for saving Eibhear’s life. They moved swiftly through the ever thickening forest. Apart from nocturnal animals there was little distraction. Once Dale thought he recognized a place where the rock formations caused them to turn north before returning to their course, but for the most time the land was unfamiliar. He started to feel tired. He leaned forward occasionally and gave Ebony a friendly pat.

‘
Dale?’

‘
Callian! What’s happening?’

‘
You’re not going to believe this! The do have a rear guard, but he’s not as observant as he might be.’

‘
Callian-’

‘
I could take him down in about half a second! No-one would see me!’

‘
For what purpose? It will only alert them that you’re close.’

‘
But Dale, he’s alone! And he has no idea we’re here. It would be so easy!

‘
Callian, I don’t think-’

‘
Oh come on Dale…please?’

‘
But-’

‘
Seriously Dale, here I am, only a few paces from one of the fallen and you won’t let me do anything! This is so unfair!’

‘
You sound like a spoilt child. What was that?’
Dale wondered what was happening when Callian’s thoughts momentarily disappeared.
‘Callian? What’s happening? Where are you now? Callian?’

‘
Dale?’