‘They fight like they’re possessed.’
‘We can’t hold the pass against those demons.’
‘We’re trapped here like animals awaiting slaughter.’
Tei’s skin crawled at their words and she watched the fear spread out from the small group.
‘You bloody cowards, call yourselves men?’ a harsh voice challenged.
Tei turned to the speaker, surprised to see Assis hobbling towards the exiles.
‘They aren’t demons out there, just ordinary men fighting for what they believe is right.’
‘And who asked your opinion? You’re one of the bastards bringing this damn war to us.’ The exile soldier got to his feet. Despite his useless arm, he squared up to Assis.
Tei moved to intercept them, but Assis had already faltered at the soldier’s words.
‘I was one of them, but now I’ve seen the truth. I know what we are fighting and dying for is a lie.’ Assis held his hands at his sides submissively, but there was no cowardice in him, and Tei thought his opponent recognised that. ‘I don’t want to fight you,’ he continued. ‘All I want is the senseless killing to end. This war is a farce and if the people out there could see what I have seen, it would be over already.’
The soldier looked Assis up and down, judging his words, while Tei could only watch, forcing herself not to intervene.
Surprising everyone watching, the exile solider stepped forward and offered Assis his good hand. ‘You’re right, I’m sorry.’
Assis shook his hand, and then hobbled away.
‘Assis, wait.’ She quickly caught up with her friend and fell into step beside him.
‘That was brave of you.’ She looked across at him, remembering how the despair that had threatened to engulf her dissolved with his speech.
‘It was pointless,’ he said sourly. ‘You can’t stop a war with words alone.’
Tei looked at the scores of injured people from both sides of the war; they sat together, a people reunited. Then she noticed how many of the people watched their passage through the valley, looking at Assis with respect. Tei realised he was making quite a name for himself.
‘It’s a start, don’t you think?’ She nodded towards the people.
Assis traced the line of her sight, looking puzzled as many of the injured men acknowledged him with a smile or a wave.
‘Wave back,’ Tei said between clenched teeth. ‘And smile too.’
He waved and then led Tei away from the infirmary, further up the valley slopes where they could talk more freely.
Tei studied her friend’s face and realised he was blushing. ‘I can see you’ve been speaking with others.’
‘To any that will listen. I can’t let the injustice of this war pass unspoken. The awful thing is so many of these soldiers agree with me. But while we’re stuck here knowing the truth, our friends and family are out there fighting this ludicrous war.’
Tei shivered as her hope rekindled like a day old fire from the ashes. She grabbed his hand. ‘I have an idea.’
He eyed her with caution.
‘If there was a way, would you go out there and tell the people what you’ve seen?’
‘Of course.’
‘Even if the cost of failure is death?’
‘Anything to save our people from this madness,’ he said without hesitation.
‘Then I may have a solution.’ Tei dragged Assis towards the mountains. ‘Come on, it’s time you met a friend of mine.’
She steered him towards the mountain tunnel and he hobbled silently at her side. She could see the question in his eyes, but he put his trust in her and held his tongue.
Callisa, Tei reached out to the Sentinel. Put on your best smile. I bring with me new hope.
Hope? Hope won’t save us; it’s too late, Callisa said bitterly. Her weakness was evident through their telepathic link, but Tei tried to ignore it and braced herself against the negativity.
I have an idea, and I want you to listen to my plan and meet this man before you make any judgements.
I’m too busy…
This won’t take long, I promise. Tei broke the connection before Callisa could argue. Then she turned to Assis. ‘The Sentinel is eager to meet you,’ she said and then marched ahead so her old friend wouldn’t read the truth on her face.
***
Callisa met Thal’s eye across the table. He nodded discreetly. He was the only person in the room that knew she had doubts, but his belief in Tei’s plan finally won her over.
She turned to the circle of Elders. Starting with Hilda’s stern countenance, she looked into each face, seeing varying degrees of fear.
Callisa found new strength from their weakness. ‘We must act now. We can’t let Rathnor determine the outcome of this battle.’
She felt the heavy weight of the Elders’ stares, but she no longer baulked under their wisdom. She’d grown up enough in her short time as Sentinel to know in her heart that Tei’s idea was worth trying. Caution would bring about the death of everyone on Kalaya.
She smiled, disarming the gathering. ‘Those twenty men down in the valley have volunteered to take this risk; the least we can do is support their decision.’ She paused and studied the Elders’, but they were all adept at hiding their thoughts behind blank expressions. ‘We must give the Kalayan people beyond the pass a chance to see the truth without Rathnor’s interference. I know it’s a risk, but maybe it’ll be enough to stop the bloodshed and save the magic before the damage is irreparable.’ Callisa stopped, breathing heavily after the impassioned speech.
Thal gripped her hand under the table, squeezing it in reassurance. ‘I agree with the Sentinel. This is our chance to make a difference; we should not waste it on caution.’
The rest of the Elders remained silent.
Callisa looked down at her lap where Thal’s wrinkled hand still gripped her own. For a moment, it was hard to see a difference in the two intertwined hands, yet over forty years separated her from the Elder.
Sweat gathered on her upper lip. She caught a glimpse of white lank hair from the corner of her eye, and recoiled, knowing it was her own. She felt the premature stoop in her shoulders, the aching of brittle bones and muscles stripped of youth; this could be her last chance to stop Rathnor, and she wasn’t about to let the Elders’ wariness take it from her.
Callisa swallowed, her dry tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. ‘Put aside your fear, search deep inside yourselves for courage.’ She pulled her shoulders as straight as her withered body allowed and looked again into each Elder’s face, seeing her own conviction slowly begin to be reflected in their tired eyes.
‘The Sentinel is as wise as she is brave, I support her,’ Kerrison said, his cheeks glowing red. The little bald Elder didn’t usually speak at meetings and everyone looked surprised by his outburst.
Dillian, who sat next to the old man, slapped the table and made Kerrison jump. ‘I agree!’
From what Callisa could tell Dillian was the novice of the Elders. He might have been in his late fifties, but he was still young enough to remember what it was like to fight for a cause.
The stirring of passion in the room gave her new strength. ‘Our people are out there dying while we stay safe in the mountains. Let’s prove to them, and to ourselves, that we have valour of our own.’
Hilda gave a small, almost imperceptible nod triggering the rest of the Elders to applaud Callisa’s plan.
Her vision blurred with unexpected tears and her throat constricted with emotion.
‘Let us begin,’ Thal said and Callisa was grateful to him for taking over.
The circle of Elders linked hands and Dillian’s deep voice led the chant. Their voices rose up to join his and reached a crescendo. Then they released their spirits into the Astral Plane and Callisa met them there.
She glanced across at Kerrison and smiled at him, noting how even the little man’s spirit seemed to blush.
Hilda took control, organising the spirits of the El
ders. Without warning their power, their wisdom, and their strength swamped Callisa. She felt them conspiring together and then, without her bidding, their life essence seeped into her and merged with the fading threads of magic.
Youth returned to her wasted body and the damage she’d suffered trying to keep the island whole vanished. Callisa stretched and smiled as new strength flowed through her veins. The power of the Elders’ spirits surrounded her; she knew she could take it all from them, she could absorb them utterly and they wouldn’t resist. It was her first taste of Rathnor’s world, and the sickening realisation sobered her.
Thal, as her stand-in Confidante, used his gentle guidance to keep her focused on her task, keeping her consciousness grounded. Without him, she could have succumbed to the beguiling call of the island magic and lost herself to it.
She glanced at Hilda and nodded her thanks for the gift of life they’d restored in her. The older woman smiled, her forbidding expression warming with the motion.
Feeling new resolve, and the force of Elders with her, Callisa travelled over the valley towards the pass. Every exile had gathered to see off the soldiers. She saw Tei at the head of the procession, Assis alongside her.
Good luck, she whispered into her friend’s mind and saw Tei smile in response.
Callisa’s spirit moved on through the pass, over the bodies of the dead and the wounded. There were so many now. She steeled herself against the destructive force of her own compassion, feeling as she did the collective horror of the Elders as they saw the reality of war.
Below her, she spotted Hafender directing the defence.
Tei and a group of healed enemy soldiers are heading your way. They mean to leave the pass.
What? Hafender was too shocked to show his usual degree of reverence.
Go to her and lend her your support, she told him and then moved on, flowing over the battle before moving out into the packed clearing beyond Turrak.
She found Rathnor, his evil taint impossible to conceal, and fought the urge to attack. Even with the Elders’ strength, she doubted she was strong enough to kill him. The cost of failure was too high, the cost to her people too hideous to consider.
Callisa forced self-control and then weaved her magic, laying a shroud over the enemy camp. The delicate knitting of power over the land and its people had to be subtle; she couldn’t let Rathnor sense what she was doing. If he had any warning, he’d adjust his spells to neutralise hers. Then Tei would be leading her procession out to face certain death.
I’ve done all I can, my brave Confidante. Now it’s up to you...
Chapter Thirty-Two
They waited on the edge of the battle for a lull in the fighting. Tei felt the nerves of the men around her, given too much time to think. They were crammed behind the fighting lines in the narrow pass. A few of the defenders had noticed their procession, but mostly the men were focused on stopping the enemy breeching further into Turrak.
Tei searched for a glimpse of Brogan. She scanned the lines of injured people, the backs of the defenders up ahead, and even the indistinct figures nimbly negotiating the narrow ledges of the pass walls above. She couldn’t see Brogan anywhere and the idea of not saying goodbye made her stomach knot with dread.
The fighting ranks ahead parted and out stepped the huge figure of Hafender, looking even more overbearing in his battle garb. Several of the men beside her quaked in his presence. She offered the captain a smile.
Hafender looked first at her and then at the unarmed men with her. ‘The Sentinel sent me.’ He stripped off his weapons and handed them to a passing soldier. ‘Look after these for me, lad.’
The youngster held the captain’s weapons, looking at him in shocked awe.
‘You can’t join us.’ Tei flinched inwardly at the shrillness of her voice.
Hafender shot her a warning look. ‘Of course I can,’ he said loudly. ‘I’m honoured to join you and these fine men.’
Tei glanced across at Assis. The crippled soldier was smiling at Hafender while the rest of them were quickly coming around to the idea.
If this goes wrong, the exiles will need you here, Hafender.
The captain looked into her eyes, and she saw the unrelenting courage of his heart. It won’t go wrong. The conviction in him didn’t waver.
‘Then would you honour us by leading us out?’ Tei asked.
As he bowed to her request, a horn cut through all other sound, its rich melodic call for retreat causing confusion in the enemy ranks. For a moment, the islanders ignored the call, unwilling to lose the ground others had died to secure.
Good luck, Callisa said as the enemy finally made their retreat.
Tei caught Hafender’s gaze and nodded. The captain climbed upon a boulder and looked down along the line of wounded soldiers. ‘Now we have a chance to end this war. Believe in yourselves and believe those people out there have the courage to see we speak the truth.’
The captain jumped from his perch and led the procession through the narrow pass. The defenders leant with their backs against the walls, saluting and shouting encouragement to them as they passed.
Tei followed behind Hafender with Assis at her side. She’d never felt so proud; they were going to stop the war and save Kalaya.
Brogan detached himself from the ranks of defenders and slipped into place beside her. Seeing him, the reality of what they were about to attempt overtook any fanciful notion of success.
‘Don’t try to stop me coming with you,’ he said in her ear.
Tei swallowed her pain and somehow managed to keep a smile on her face as the entrance to the pass came into view.
The attackers had removed some of the rubble littering the pass. In the retreat, the defenders were working quickly to replace it, but they paused in their task to watch the procession.
Hafender halted at the mouth of Turrak and glanced up at Captain Jaym, waiting for the watchmen on the wall to signal the attackers were still in retreat.
Assis shuffled to the front and unfurled his banner. Alone, he hobbled out onto the plain, holding his head high as the white banner of peace caught in the breeze.
Hafender waited a few heartbeats before leading them out behind Assis.
They raised their hands to show they were unarmed, keeping their actions slow and non-threatening.
A crowd began to gather in the enemy camp to watch them.
Tei’s mouth was dry, her skin clammy. She wiped her empty hands down her cloak, hating being so exposed and helpless. This was her idea and she knew it was madness. Why had the others agreed? Why had they trusted her?
The line of twenty men followed behind her. They lined up, unarmed and vulnerable, backs against the solid rock of Turrak. If the enemy chose, they could massacre them all in an instant.
‘Have faith,’ Hafender said as he scanned the army beyond the walls of the mountains. There was no fear in him and Tei was glad for his presence.
Assis stepped ahead, acting as their herald of peace.
Tei watched the Kalayan army fall into disarray after the unplanned call for retreat. There were shouts and curses as the soldiers tried to organise their army, but the battle formation had been lost. Assemblymen stood amidst the chaos, adding to the confusion, but gradually all action ceased as they stopped to watch the exiles. No one moved, no one breathed.
Rathnor strode forward to where all could see him.
Brogan tensed at Tei’s side. ‘Keep calm,’ she whispered.
Rathnor summoned the Assembly to him and then led his posse towards the exiles. He kept armed soldiers at his side and ordered archers to flank them.
Tei watched Rathnor saunter in front of them, looking victorious.
‘There is a man with murder in his heart,’ Tei thought, knowing he was already planning their deaths.
Rathnor stopped his procession short of the exiles. He looked along their ranks with cold, calculating eyes, before his gaze settled on Brogan. His face twisted into a cruel grin. ‘You again, you k
eep turning up at the most unexpected moments. You won’t escape again, I promise.’
Tei glanced across at Brogan, glad to see he held his nerve.
Assis continued to stand in front of them, the banner of peace held high above his head. It flapped in the breeze, holding everyone spellbound.
‘We come to you unarmed and ask for the right to speak before the people.’ Hafender’s voice carried through the silence.
Tei looked out at the faces of the Kalayan army. She reached out tentatively with her magic and felt the subtle workings of Callisa’s spell; she could only pray it was enough.
‘Arrest these people,’ Rathnor shouted.
The soldiers jumped forward, swords thrust towards the exiles, but they paused, caught off guard at seeing friends and colleagues with them.
The tense atmosphere heightened; one wrong move could mean death for them all.
‘What are you waiting for? I said arrest them.’
The man before Assis looked troubled. ‘These are our own men, the men we thought lost in battle.’ His sword point dropped towards the ground as he turned to face Rathnor.
‘It’s a trick, you fool,’ the Assembly leader shouted, the leash on his anger loosening. ‘Can’t you see they’ve been corrupted by the exiles’ magic?’
The soldier raised his sword towards Assis, though he still looked uncertain.
Assis tugged at the banner as it caught in a gust of wind, the motion serving as a reminder to them all why they were there. He cleared his throat and then shifted on his wounded leg.
‘We come before you as fellow islanders, as friends, as brothers, as comrades. We have no weapons; there is no trickery to be found among us.’ Assis swept his free arm to encompass their procession.
Brogan stepped forward and a sword point poked a warning against his blood-stained jerkin. Tei gulped as he stood firm, facing his enemy.
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