The Sentinel's Reign

by Suzanne Rogerson

  The villagers showed no intentions of attacking, but Tei didn’t trust their lack of hostility. Weapon-less, she held onto her friend, knowing Brogan was at her side, his sword ready to protect them both. She flicked the reins and urged Starflower away. Her panic didn’t ease until they had cleared the village boundaries and were galloping for home.

  ***

  ‘Welcome to Turrak,’ their guide said with a flourish. ‘I’m sorry I have to leave you here, but I need to see what help I can be.’

  ‘Thank you, Captain Jaym,’ Morane said as the captain nodded to her and then darted down the slope.

  Morane stood motionless and looked at Turrak spreading out beneath her. The sanctuary shone in the sunlight and stole her breath away. She felt the purity of the island magic, only tempered by whatever emergency had them all in a panic. In the frenzy of activity, no one noticed their arrival.

  She turned to Beliss and grinned. ‘We finally made it.’

  The little girl sat on Bluebell, her wide eyes filled with alarm. ‘But Uncle Brogan isn’t here.’

  Morane patted Beliss on the knee. ‘Then let’s go find someone who knows where he is.’

  She took the reins and led Bluebell down the path, drawn to a sizeable yellow building with a thatched roof in the middle of the valley settlement.

  ‘Excuse me, do you know where Brogan is?’ she asked a passing woman.

  The woman shrugged and shook her head. ‘Sorry, I don’t know anyone by that name.’ She hurried away towards the towering mountain entrance.

  Morane took a moment to study the path leading up to impressive entrance doors and watched the people who came from and went into the mountain. The idea of it sent fear through her; no sunlight or fresh air, trapped by solid stone. She shivered and turned back to Beliss. The child looked so tiny and seemed terrified by the strangeness of the exiles’ home.

  ‘I want Uncle Brogan.’ Her lip trembled and her face paled.

  ‘I know dear-heart, but...’

  Beliss’ eyes rolled back in her head and she slipped sideways off the saddle. Morane managed to catch her as she fell and held the unconscious child in her arms.

  ‘Help me,’ she called to the people rushing past.

  She looked around desperately, but the place was full of strangers and she didn’t know what to do.

  ‘Tei, Brogan?’ She shouted the names of the only people she knew. ‘Someone help this child.’

  A woman with long dark hair and a golden aura emerged from the large building.

  She stared at Morane and the girl bundled in her arms. She hurried towards them, followed by people who flocked behind her like sheep.

  The woman stroked a hand down Beliss’ hair. ‘Take this child to the mountains and send for the physician,’ she told one of the men behind her.

  ‘But…’ Morane protested as the strong young man whisked Beliss away from her.

  ‘She’s safe with us. We’ll care for her as one of our own.’ The young woman’s soothing tone made Morane feel more at ease. ‘You’re in need of some attention as well; you’ve had a long journey here, haven’t you?’

  Morane nodded. ‘The pony too.’

  The woman patted Bluebell. ‘And we can’t forget this brave young pony.’

  A lanky youngster stepped forward from the crowd and made his way towards the pony. ‘I’ll take her to the stables and see she’s fed and rested.’

  ‘Thank you, Conall.’

  The youngster blushed and then led Bluebell away.

  Panic fluttered in Morane’s chest as she watched her only two companions taken in opposite directions. ‘I can’t leave the child; she’s just lost her family.’

  The woman nodded, her dark hair flowing over her shoulders. She met Morane’s gaze with piercing blue eyes that were sad and old beyond her years. ‘She’s not in any danger, but we shall follow them. Come.’ She indicated for Morane to walk beside her.

  People trailed behind them as they headed towards the mountains but Morane dragged her step.

  ‘There’s nothing to be afraid of in there.’ The woman smiled and the motion stole away some of Morane’s fear.

  As they continued up the path, she turned to the woman. ‘Who are you?’

  The woman chuckled and it was suddenly clear how young she was. ‘I’m the Sentinel.’

  Morane studied the woman, shocked to realise she’d had the honour of meeting both Sentinels in her lifetime. Then she thought of Gohan and felt a pang of sadness that he’d passed away, and regret that she’d gone against her promise to him.

  While emotions warred in her head, she realised the new Sentinel had been studying her. Morane tried to smile as the young woman took her hand.

  ‘You have fulfilled your promise to Gohan. Welcome to Turrak, Morane.’

  ***

  ‘I don't want to be here. I want my mummy and daddy.’

  Garrick reached out to her. ‘Your parents are safe within the island now. They wouldn’t want you to suffer like this. They’d want you to live on and remember them.’

  ‘I miss them.’

  ‘I know you do. But if you think about them in the magic, you are never truly apart from them. They’re still watching out for you just as they did when you were all together.’

  She sniffed and wiped at her tears. ‘Bad men killed them.’

  ‘I know, and I promise you I will do everything I can to help stop the people responsible.’

  She frowned at him as she pondered his words. ‘How can you? You’re just a spirit here.’

  He laughed heartily. ‘I can do anything. I'm the best protector there is, ask my friend Tei’

  Beliss smiled at him shyly.

  He stuck out his tongue and then flexed his muscles.

  She giggled, but the effort was lacklustre and he sensed her exhaustion.

  ‘You need to get some sleep now, Beliss. You need lots of rest so your body can heal.’

  He could feel her spirit dragging back towards her body. ‘Goodbye, Beliss.’

  She disappeared and he watched the space where her spirit had been, trying to quench the rage building inside him.

  He pulled out his sword and slashed the air, spinning and attacking an enemy that wasn’t there. The workout lasted a long time, until the anger coursing through him had drained away. All that remained in him was a resolute conviction that Rathnor would pay for robbing the children of Kalaya of their childhood, and for robbing him of any chance of being with Tei.

  Once in control of his emotions, Garrick reached out to Tei, but he couldn’t connect with her spirit to tell her the news about Beliss. She would have been so happy to know the child was still alive and safe in Turrak.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Thal heard the excited chatter as he entered the cavern. The whole of Turrak’s exile population was already crammed inside, with the notable absence of three souls. He joined the other Elders on the dais, and immediately Hilda stepped forward as their elected speaker.

  She coughed and the room fell silent. ‘In view of the recent unprovoked attacks in Fenga Village, we have decided there will be no rescue missions of any kind. It was a mistake to lift the travel ban. All exiles are to remain in the mountains, unless dire emergency calls us to reconsider the ruling.’

  Thal heard the gasps around the room and forced himself to mask his expression, hiding his annoyance behind a show of indifference. He heard a shuffling in the gathering below as Hafender stepped forward. He was still in his riding clothes, but the captain stood unfazed before the Elders, his back straight and eyes unflinching.

  Everyone hushed, waiting for him to speak.

  ‘I was at the village and I know as well as anyone here the results of the madness that befell the people of Fenga. I helped bury the dead and held the bereaved as they tried to come to terms with their loss. I’ve witnessed a lot heartache in my time, but I’ve also seen the good our presence does and the lives we’ve saved. It’s a risk going out into Kalaya, but think about the innoce
nts that will suffer because of this decision. Are we going to do nothing and allow them to die? Are we to abandon our people?’

  Good old Hafender, Thal smiled to himself; the captain was never one to bow down to authority.

  Hilda hushed the growing din with her steely stare. ‘This is not a debate, Captain Hafender. Too many lives have already been lost at a time when we must focus on conserving our magic. This is not a time for heroics.’

  Thal looked across the sea of faces, seeing many exiles disagreed. He had fought against the embargo, but his voice was just one against many Elders, his vote overshadowed by cowardice and ill-conceived caution.

  While the people continued to raise protests, Thal glanced at the Sentinel. To him, she looked haggard, a woman lost in a world of disquiet, but to the exiles she looked regal and aloof. Her eyes were glazed and he knew her thoughts lay with Benon. He hoped the lad succeeded and applauded the Sentinel’s decision. It was better to act than sit waiting for the war to come to them, as the rest of the Elders would have them do.

  Thal sighed inwardly, tiring of his own thoughts. He studied the people in the cavern; scattered amongst them were the group of exiles who’d just returned from their fateful missions. All of them wore similarly haunted expressions. They looked dishevelled and travel-weary, having been summoned to the meeting soon after their return.

  He spotted Tei amongst the crowds and saw her sitting with her friend. Mara looked pale and fragile, the rope burn around her neck visible even at a distance.

  Tei seemed relieved by the decision, but her protector was harder to read. Brogan, the ex-Assembly member championed by Callisa, sat expressionless at Tei’s side. Thal had thought him a strange choice as protector to the Confidante, but looking at the two of them together, he recognised their bond. They would make a powerful team. Thal had sensed the love between them, though his fellow Elders had yet to see the potency of the relationship. He knew it was his duty to intervene, but when he thought about the tragedy of Tei’s mother loving a non-mystic, he refrained from saying anything. Forced into a corner, Tei and Brogan might run, and that would have dire consequences for everyone on Kalaya. Instead, Thal held his tongue and prayed Tei’s relationship wasn’t fated to end the same way her mother’s had.

  ***

  Farrell lounged on the ridge and looked down at the landscape taking shape beneath him. He had to admire the hard work of the community and all they had achieved in the week since he’d been home. As soon as they’d selected the inland valley, work had begun with everyone working in shifts from dawn until darkness fell.

  Farrell watched as the islanders dug ditches into Stone Haven’s barren soil. Over the previous few days, they’d removed the rocks littering the ground and were building a drystone wall to provide a more permanent fixture than the wooden fence made from their winter stores of wood. The last of the soil from the three ships was now heaped in a huge mound at the edge of the fenced-in space. Some of the trees, like the ash and rowan, were planted on the slopes above the enclosure, while the apple trees had been planted in a block on the sheltered southern slope. All the trees had seemed so big on his ship, but they now looked dwarfed in the empty landscape.

  Farrell patted the smooth trunk of the ash next to him. Like the rowans, Tomason had said they were hardy and accustomed to growing on steep hillsides. They had planted the smaller hazels within the enclosure to protect any future nut harvests from sheep and the other animals Farrell eventually hoped to introduce.

  Information about the various trees and shrubs, about the conditions they liked and the produce they would give, still whirred around his brain. He’d transcribed all his notes into a journal, a cathartic task performed by candlelight while the rest of the household slept. He’d decided to pass the journal to Renark, the doubter who had proved himself to be the most supportive of Farrell’s dreams for Stone Haven.

  Farrell tried to stay grounded in the moment. The plants looked healthy and seemed to have taken well to their new home, but the island had crushed similar dreams in the past.

  The older generation of Stone Haven had thrown themselves into the garden’s creation. They’d built tanks to store rainwater and even built a hut which people could shelter in and where they could store their tools overnight.

  A cooking fire was set up at the back of the enclosure. Today was Leila’s day to help and she stirred the stew, waiting to feed the workers, doing her bit while she couldn’t help with the more physical labour. Farrell watched her from a distance, admiring the easy way she chatted with the people. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the fire and her hair was tied back with a strip of fabric, though wisps had escaped the binding and haloed her face. The tiny baby bump was becoming more apparent and she glowed with health.

  Farrell’s body and soul ached with love for her.

  ‘Commander!’ Vikks spotted him and headed in his direction. He’d been showing Fynn the gardens, but Fynn had gone off to play with some of the other children who were digging in the earth and relishing the chance to get messy.

  ‘I’ve been meaning to have a proper chat with you ever since I got back. How’s it been here?’ Farrell asked as the big sailor loped up the slope to join him.

  ‘Things have been quiet. No sign of your attackers. I’ve asked discreetly, but no one will talk; especially now they know I’m working for you.’

  He nodded, unsurprised by the news. ‘And how is Fynn as a student?’

  ‘He’s a bright lad. Seems to know his way around a ship already. I took him out to The Rose while it was at anchor and he loved being on deck pretending to be the captain. Only time I’ve seen him act as a child should.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘He’s very thoughtful, all the time. He doesn’t always seem to be here with me, if you understand what I mean.’

  ‘Maybe he’s shy.’ Farrell attempted to shrug it off, not yet ready to admit why his son was different. ‘You’re doing a fine job with him, Vikks. He was telling me all the parts of a ship yesterday and he’s been practicing his knots.’

  Vikks smiled proudly. ‘He’ll make an exceptional captain one day.’

  ‘I hope you’ll continue to teach him.’ They shook hands and Farrell leant in close. ‘And continue to look out for both of them for me.’

  Vikks glanced down at the queue building by Leila’s cooking pot. She was laughing and joking with the people as she served the food.

  ‘Leila doesn’t like me hanging around,’ Vikks said. ‘She’s polite, but I know she resents the need to have me guarding her and Fynn.’

  ‘I’m sorry to put you in this position, but it’s necessary.’ Farrell watched Leila and then transferred his gaze to Fynn, who was trailing along with the other children. ‘I have to know they’re safe while I’m away.’

  ‘You can trust me, Commander.’

  At that moment, Leila glanced up and saw him. She waved and beckoned him down.

  Vikks gave him a nudge. ‘That’s the happiest she’s been in a long while, but I wouldn’t keep her waiting.’

  Farrell hurried down the slope, trying to ignore the twinge in his lower back from the healed knife wound. He walked through the gate and passed the patch of elderberry bushes that were about to be planted. A few of the islanders spotted him and rushed forward to talk to him. He shook hands and chatted with the people, inspired by their enthusiasm. By the time he reached Leila, the food had all but gone.

  ‘There’s just enough for you...’ she began, but he shook his head and winked at her.

  ‘I can wait for my share at home.’

  She grinned and kissed him on the lips. ‘You’re terrible, Commander.’

  He unlaced her apron and helped lift it over her head, pausing to kiss her again.

  ‘I’ll take over here, you two love birds deserve a break,’ one of the sailor’s wives said and shushed Leila before she could argue.

  Leila entwined her arm with his and rested her head against his shoulder as they strolled through th
e valley garden. Most of the workers had stopped for lunch and were sitting in groups chatting. The children were still busy digging in the dirt, playing with the pink worms that had hitched a ride in the soil.

  Fynn was playing beside another boy his age, both of them fascinated by their wriggly finds.

  ‘Tomason said those worms and the other tiny creatures in the soil help keep everything healthy and in balance.’

  She smirked up at him. ‘I love how you’ve learnt so much about this.’

  ‘I didn’t even realise it was a passion of mine until now.’

  ‘It’s charming,’ she said and squeezed his arm. ‘Just like you.’

  She hoisted up the hem of her skirt as they passed through a muddy patch of ground and dodged a half-dug hole.

  ‘Oh Farrell, it’s so good to have you home. And I know this project is going to take up a lot of your time, but I don’t mind sharing your attention.’

  It took him a moment to realise what she meant and he had a sinking feeling in his gut as he led her through the gate and up the slope to sit beneath a rowan tree. The green leaves and ripening orange berries added a splash of colour to the grey slopes of his home. It made him wish he could spend the rest of his life here watching the changing seasons.

  ‘You understand I can’t stay; I still have promises to keep, to help the people on Kalaya.’

  She sucked in a shaky breath and turned away from him. ‘What about your promises to me?’

  He realised it had been a mistake not to mention Allisus organising the restocking of provisions on his ships. All the time he’d been spending precious time with his family, Leila had been building up hopes of him staying home for good. He’d allowed those hopes to build by not mentioning the planned voyage to Kalaya.

  ‘I’m sorry, but I still need to go to Kalaya.’

  ‘I thought the idea would fade and all this could be enough...’ She indicated the work below and then dabbed away a tear.

  He caught her hand and kissed the salty trail. ‘I wish it could, but you wanted the island as much as anyone else. I’m stuck on this path now. What else can I do?’