Child Of A Guardian And Of The Free (Book 3) (43 page)

Chapter
48

Tactics

‘
A plan,’ Araas prompted, looking expectantly at Dale. Dale wasn’t entirely happy with the strategy he’d come up with, but he’d been unable to come up with anything better.

‘
I want you to hear my
entire
plan before you interrupt me,’ he warned. ‘We’re going to split up. Rez, as I recall, you have a promise to keep, and you may as well start in Weema. If you find Salia and Elysia, your first priority will be to get them out of Nyinaku.’

‘
I’ll go with my brother,’ said Ben decidedly.

‘
And me too,’ said Leslie. Dale frowned and glanced at Ben who shrugged.

‘
I’ll try to keep him safe Dale. He’s in as much danger regardless of where he goes in Nyinaku so he may as well come and help search for his wife and daughter.’

‘
Very well,’ said Dale. ‘Get going. Just make sure you keep your thoughts open to Mil so we know where you are and if you need help.’ Rezon, Ben and Leslie disappeared through the trees. ‘Now what I was thinking-’ Dale broke off as Milgorry sprang forward a couple of steps then stopped with a confused expression. At the same second Timbul, Araas and Callian inclined their heads as if listening intently. Milgorry turned to Callian, Timbul and Araas.

‘
Was that Gil?’

Callian
closed his eyes as he concentrated. ‘It was. I heard him just for a few seconds, but now I sense nothing.’

‘
How did he get here? And why was he thinking about you, Mil?’ Timbul asked confusedly. ‘It was as if he was...’

‘
...meeting you in the forest,’ Araas finished. ‘At least that’s what it seemed like to me.’

‘
Gil!’ said Dale in wonderment. ‘That means Borg will be wandering around somewhere too. And I wonder if Danil is with them. Do you think Gil was just hoping to meet you Mil?’

‘
I don’t know. I was as if he was actually meeting me. It was a bit odd.’

‘
Maybe he wanted someone to think he was meeting you...but I have no idea why. In any case, we need to find him.’

‘
Tim and I will go with Mil,’ said Araas.

‘
Yes,’ Dale agreed. ‘Callian, Rudi, Eibhear and I will see if we can find where they’re holding Kelian. Pray that he’s here and not in Mirri, or our lives are going to get very complicated. Find Gil. Find out what’s happening. We’ll all meet on the southern edge of Weema and when we get there I’m going to take a lesson from Borgulnay and make a distraction so you can go into Weema with a lot less trouble than you might normally face. Not a great plan, but it could be worse.’

‘
How so?’ asked Callian, staring at Dale dubiously.

‘
I could have asked you to be the distraction Callian.’

‘
Wouldn’t that make more sense?’

‘
Actually, we need to do a lot more than cause a simple distraction. Here’s what we need to do.’ He spoke for almost ten minutes, explaining in great detail exactly what was expected of each of the warriors and the guardians, and ensuring that he had a contingency plan for each situation that might arise.

‘
I like everything about this plan except the first bit,’ said Callian. ‘You shouldn’t be alone.’

‘
It has to be me. Everyone’s scared of you, Callian. We need them to come after me.’

‘
And once they’ve murdered you?’

‘
You’ll have Kelian. Get him out of here.’

‘
No. I can’t let you do this Dale.’

‘
You will do this, because I’m telling you to!’

Callian
gazed at him sadly. ‘Yes. Of course I will. I must.’ He sighed heavily. ‘This rarely happens, but sometimes I wish I was free. I’d not allow you go alone.’ He caught Eibhear’s gaze for a split second and a cunning look crossed his face.

Dale didn
’t miss the exchange. ‘Callian, don’t do anything stupid. You’re going to need every bit of strength and speed you can muster to get Kelian out of wherever he’s being held. Let’s do this. I’ll meet you on the outskirts of Weema, in the place where we first met Lias. Just remember, I can only move as fast as any normal human.’

Gilgarry sprinted along the stream. He was sure he could hear people in the forest behind him and they were closing fast. Ahead he could see that the land seemed to disappear and the water rushed towards the edge of what was sure to be the precipice
of which Tiernan had informed him. Though the fallen were not yet in sight, he knew they were too close for him to have any chance of survival if he slowed, so without hesitation he rushed to the edge of the waterfall and flung himself over the edge. It was a lot further down than he anticipated, and he felt like screaming as he fell towards what was the smallest pool of water he could imagine. He struck the water with tremendous force, but his splash was mostly absorbed by the waterfall. He was under the water for a long time, clawing for the surface and when he did break through he gasped air greedily. He looked up. The fallen had not yet appeared when he pulled himself out of the water. He had no time to hide so he lay face down on the wet rocks.

‘
Tiernan!’
Gilgarry’s cry was silent but frantic.
‘You need to hide my thoughts! You need to make me seem dead! Please!’

‘
Done.’

Gilgarry
closed his eyes and lay as still as he possibly could. Seconds later he heard voices. The words were impossible to discern over the sound of the waterfall, but the cachinnation was not difficult to interpret. Gilgarry was certain they thought he missed the pool and died when he smashed onto the rocks. He cursed himself for lying face down, as now he couldn’t see if anyone was coming down to check if he was really dead or if the entire group had gone. He decided he was probably safer to lie still for a bit longer in case someone continued to watch from the top of the cliffs. He tried to keep his breathing even as he considered what might be happening to Borgulnay and he wondered why Tiernan had wanted him to run in this direction. He stiffened as he heard footsteps approaching, and very slowly he moved his hand until he was holding the hilt of his knife.

A h
and rested on his shoulder and gave a push as though to turn him over. With all the strength he could muster, he rolled over and drove the knife upwards. Milgorry cursed and leapt backwards, taking the knife from Gilgarry’s hand in the same movement. Gilgarry stared up at the warrior in shock.

‘
What are
you
doing here?’ he whispered, looking from Milgorry to Timbul and then to Araas.

‘
You were thinking of me a few moments ago. So I thought I’d come looking for you. Gil, what are
you
doing here?’

‘
It’s a long story. And at this stage it doesn’t have a good ending.’

Milgorry dragged Gilgarry to his feet.
‘We’d better go find the others.’

‘
Where are they?’

‘
Rez and Ben took Leslie to look for his wife and child. We’re less than a mile from Weema. Callian, Eibhear and Rudi went after Dale.’

‘
Where did Dale go?’

‘
I’m not entirely sure. I know they got to the outskirts of Weema. They were using Dale as bait to draw some people away from Weema before they went in for a look around. He ordered them to let him go alone, so of course Eibhear and Rudi went to keep an eye on him without him knowing. It was all going well enough until they lost Dale’s thoughts. Someone’s making it almost impossible to find him. Someone with enough skills to make if difficult even for Eibhear to track them, and that’s saying something. I can’t sense Callian’s thoughts now, but I’m guessing he’s sneaking around Weema looking for Kelian.’

‘
Listen, Borg went back to try to free Tiernan, Danil and Garran.’ Gilgarry spoke for several minutes, giving details of everything that had happened since they arrived in Warbilla. ‘I was the distraction. That’s why I was thinking of you. You were the one person I could think of who, if they believed you were with me, might make them come after me. I know at least Tiernan is still alive.’

‘
If they’re alive and Borg manages to free them, they’ll find us. Trust me, it won’t be difficult for Tiernan to find his sons,’ said Milgorry. ‘Let’s get back to the others and see if we can find Dale.

Chapter
49

Einin

Dale walked through the forest as if in a daze. Part of him knew he was being coaxed to follow, but he had no inclination to stop
, and the fact that he was supposed to be heading for Weema had been driven far into the back of his mind. He hesitated for a moment, knowing there was something that he was supposed to be doing, something important, but he simply couldn’t remember what it was. He had been heading for Weema when he had seen the woman with very long dark hair rippling down her back and beautiful black eyes. For reasons beyond his comprehension he turned from his path and followed her into the forest. He took no thought of his companions, and though he was quite sure this woman was hiding his thoughts from them, he seemed to lack the ability or the desire to do anything about it.

He pushed his way through the low bushes and found himself on the rocky banks of a
lazily trickling stream. Across the water the woman stood waiting for him, with a look of determination and anticipation on her face. He walked calmly through the water and stood before her. She was quite small in stature, but with well-defined muscles and an air of confidence typical of the fallen. Her tunic was short and split to the waist at the sides. Dale made a concerted effort to remove himself from the strange power that she had over him. He smiled he felt his own mind strengthen a little, and she stepped back in surprise, obviously startled that he’d had the ability to do this.

Before she could turn, he grabbed her arm and
pulled her forwards. With the difficulty of removing an annoying fly, she flicked her arm and freed her hand from his grip. Dale studied her without speaking. He felt a longing to touch her hair, wondering if it was as soft as it looked. He looked at her face. Her eyes now showed signs of fright. Her cut off tunic displayed her strong shoulders and firm thighs to great advantage, and his eyes traced down her legs to her rounded calf muscles and thin ankles. She had bare feet and he couldn’t help noticing that her toes were more round than elongated, giving them a rather cute look. He grinned and then looked back at her face. Her mouth was slightly open from surprise and he could see perfectly even white teeth. He reached out more slowly this time, and took her hand.

‘
What do you want from me?’
he wondered silently.

‘
I need a child.’
Her reply was instant and almost desperate.

Dale didn
’t move but gripped her hand a little tighter as he felt the shock of her words race through him.
‘And then?’

‘
And then I don’t need you any longer.’

‘
So you kill me?’

She didn
’t answer this thought, other than to glare at him defiantly.

He studied her once again
struggling to control his sudden, intense desire.
‘What a way to go!’
he thought to himself and he pulled her hand, dragging her towards himself.

Her confusion at his attitude was obvious. He gave a sigh and spoke aloud.
‘Either way, I’m dead. There’s no way you’re going to let me walk free when you’ve finished with me. Are you?’

‘
No,’ she answered and her voice was very low but still feminine.

‘
I have little understanding of your people and what you can do, or how you can make me feel this way, but right now I want you so badly it hurts.’

She didn
’t reply, but pulled her hand away for the second time. Dale drew breath deeply and followed her across the rocks. She sat on a boulder and dangled her feet in the water. Dale sat beside her.

‘
This isn’t what I was expecting. Not what I planned.’

‘
You had a plan?’ Dale asked in disbelief.

‘
For as much as it’s possible for the free, yes, I had a plan.’

‘
Which was?’

‘
Make you come to me. Take what I need from you. Kill you.’

‘
Wonderful. You know nothing about me. I could be a complete imbecile. Why would you want a child from someone who might be completely barmy?’

The woman laughed and
patted Dale on the leg. ‘You’re not. I’ve been inside your mind so many times. You’re far cleverer than anyone I know. And you look very... You attract me,’ her voice faded away and she blushed deeply.

‘
You’ve never done this before, have you?’ Dale asked suspiciously.

‘
That’s none of your business,’ the woman said crossly, blushing even deeper. ‘Why do you ask? You don’t have a wife! Have you done this before?’

Dale rolled his eyes.
‘What? Made love to the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes upon and then been murdered? No, I haven’t done this before.’

The woman
turned away, but not before Dale saw the tears in her eyes. ‘I don’t want to kill you,’ she said, so quietly he barely caught her words. ‘But I want a child. I must have a baby. And I can’t have you following me around Nyinaku. No-one would understand. I
have
to kill you.’

Dale ignored her last sentence.
‘Do you have a warrior? Don’t misunderstand. I know you can only have a child by a human father, but do you have a warrior of your own?’

‘
No,’ the woman said bitterly. ‘Most of the warriors I know are cruel and cold. The women of my people are expected to raise the children of the warriors who take human women. I won’t live like that. I want my
own
baby, not someone else’s child.’

Dale was startled to see tears now running down the woman
’s face. He put his arm around her and pulled her close so she was leaning against his chest, ignoring the nagging sensation that there was something important he should be doing. Strangely, he could feel her emotions quite clearly and he knew that for whatever reason, she was not hiding her feelings. Her heart was a confusing mixture of sadness, hope, pain and passion. He knew that there was far, far more to her feelings than the desire to have a child. She wanted him. And she wanted him to live.

‘
I could make you...if I wanted to,’ she commented sadly.

She
tried to stand up but Dale pulled her back down beside him and they tumbled backwards. She lay still, wrapped in his arms, with Dale unwilling to let her go. He knew she could leave any time she wanted, if she put her true strength to it, but he clung to her desperately, wondering if his heart would break were she to go.

‘
Stupid,’
he told himself.
‘Dangerous.’
In the presence of this woman his memories of Charie seemed muted but still loving and pleasant, and for the first time since her death, he felt comfortable thinking of her. He wondered how this could be. His memories of her had mellowed into something simple to understand. He gazed at the woman in wonder. ‘What’s your name?’

‘
Einin.’

‘
Einin,’ Dale repeated softly. ‘Little bird. What have you done to me, little bird, to make me need you so much?’

Einin
said nothing for a few seconds as she looked into his eyes curiously. ‘Nothing,’ she said eventually. ‘Truly I caught your thoughts and sought to bring you to me, this is something the women of my people can do, but from the moment you broke free of my hold, I have done nothing to you. Nothing!’ she added adamantly. She blushed. ‘Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m still stopping you… I’m still doing my very best to keep you here. I can’t let you leave...not yet.’

For a split second Dale knew he had forgotten something, then the feeling was swamped in a myriad of emotion and he found himself unable to respond to this fleeting worrisome thought. H
e pushed himself up onto his elbow, disregarding the sharp stone that was digging into his arm. He felt his desire change from the emotions driven by Einin’s need to draw him to her, to something far deeper and stronger. He remembered how quickly Danil had fallen in love with Lady Valeska, and again how Milgorry had fallen in love with Louisa and he wondered if this is what it felt like. She sat up and rolled onto her knees as he made the exact same move. They knelt facing each other for a few moments and then he reached out to her.