Only Stones Remain (Ballad of Frindoth Book 4)

by Rob Donovan

  “I thought you saw it.”

  “No, hence the whole uproar and the mass of guards that descended on you.”

  Atikass said nothing for a while as he processed the Prince’s words. “If you check the base of her skull, she will have a small tattoo of a black rose. It will have a single thorn on the stem like the one I have here.” He lifted his hair and turned his head towards the Queen showing the tattoo on his neck. Mirinda checked and then nodded her confirmation to both.

  A knock on the door interrupted them. Althalos could not have been more relieved. Of everything he had dealt with, he found his family the most perplexing. He literally had no idea on how to proceed with them. There was no book on the subject, no strategy which he could apply.

  “Enter,” Althalos responded to the knock at the same time as his father. He looked at the King and smiled. Atikass scowled.

  The door opened and a young soldier stood there red-faced and perspiring. Before he could speak Fyfe knocked him to one side sending him sprawling to the floor. “You don’t bother with protocol in times like this boy,” he growled looking down at the soldier.

  The soldier turned his attention to the people in the room. “The enemy has arrived.”

  Chapter 22

  Taddysfield had seen its fair share of peril over the years and so Tatanya had known fear. There was the time the rabid bear had stumbled into the barn swiping at everything that moved; there was also the time some bandits from Mantini had strolled into the village and demanded coin and of course there had been the time most recently when the Shangonites had stolen the children.

  On each of those occasions there had been moments of widespread panic; people crying out and waving their arms as they ran, bumping into each other and then crashing to the floor. The chaos had been ubiquitous with each person looking out for themselves and their loved ones.

  And on each of those occasions Tatanya had prided herself on how much she had mirrored her grandmother and kept a cool head. Saisko had let the widespread panic wash over her and then concentrated on doing the practical things like directing people to their homes or gathering the livestock. Tatanya had mimicked Saisko’s instructions and shouted them out until her father had scooped her up and taken her to safety.

  She had known terror at those times but she had never felt lost. Today was very different. As the soldiers ran to their posts around her and women gathered their children and belongings, Tatanya froze. A soldier knocked her forward and she stumbled as she struggled to regain her balance.

  “Out of the way girl. Get somewhere safe,” he barked over his shoulder. Another soldier huffed and puffed carrying a basket filled with weapons, as he was forced to sidestep her.

  Despite the order, Tatanya found she was unable to move. She looked over the battlements of Lilyon’s great walls and her stomach muscles tightened and her knees turned to jelly.

  Cordane’s army had arrived and although she had heard the numbers being reported of its size, for some reason this had not translated in her youthful mind to what this would look like.

  The enemy spread across the horizon, starting as a small black line and gradually becoming larger. It was as if the horizon was the lip of a jar and the enemy was oil filled to the brim that slowly trickled over the sides. The black line of the army swelled across Rivervale’s plains like a contamination; devouring the lush green fields and replacing with a dark shadow.

  The sound of thousands of feet marching on the ground reached her. The noise was so loud it competed with the din of shouts, cries and alarm surrounding her. Far off horns sounded accompanied by jeers from the enemy.

  There came a moment when even the soldiers next to her stopped their frantic preparations and were still, staring in dread at the enemy they faced. Their armour glinted in the mid-morning sun causing it to flash briefly before disappearing again.

  Tatanya recognised the banners that fluttered as the enemy marched, the gold chain of Snowlanders proudly displayed alongside the Silver shark of the Meadowmead soldiers. She even saw the Shangonites with their painted skull faces; they did not so much march but stagger along in short jerks as if twitching. These men as imposing as they were, only made up a third of the army. Lakisdoreans strode across the plains with their curved swords and erect pony-tails.

  “Will you look at that! Just look at that. What chance do we have?” a soldier nearby said. His voice was shrill and cracked as he spoke.

  “Never thought I would see the day Lakisdoreans marched alongside Frindoth soldiers against their own. We are doomed,” another said. He winced as a man cuffed him round the back of the head. He held his helmet under one arm and the blue stripe on his epaulette marked him for a captain.

  “Idiot man, what kind of talk is that? They are not men of Frindoth, they are not Lakisdoreans they are the enemy that is all you need to know,” he growled. He had long hair that fell past his shoulders but he also had a large bald patch. He shoved the man towards a box on the battlements. “Assume your positions men, you know no fear. They are flesh and blood just like you are. They can be killed just like we can. They are nothing special. Remember that. They may be many, but we have the walls of Lilyon on our side. For every man they kill, we will kill ten. Remember they are here to kill your wives and children. They want to crush everything you have ever owned and loved. Are you going to let them? I’m not. I’m going to stab every last one of the fuckers.”

  Some of the men responded to the captain’s words, the majority continued to stare at the oncoming army that sprawled as deep and as far as they could see.

  “What about the Glooms?” The soldier who had originally despaired spoke out.

  Tatanya saw winged monsters had now appeared circling swooping over the army. There was also a contingent of man-like creatures marching head and shoulders over the brethren next to them; amongst these, Glooms of all sizes and shapes came steadily on. Her mouth dried up and she was forced to cough; it came out as a dry wheeze. Her vision blurred as her pulse raced.

  “What about the Glooms?” the captain replied. “We have got rid of them once, we will prevail again. We shall- “

  Tatanya jumped as someone gripped her arm. She spun round to find Queen Mirinda staring down at her. “This is no place for us young lady. We must go.” Her face was pale; beads of perspiration littered her brow. The Queen glanced once over the battlements and then down at Tatanya attempting a weak smile. “Come, we have our own work to do.”

  Tatanya allowed herself to be pulled away. The Captain still attempted to galvanise his men, but they were just words. Tatanya was not convinced, despite the sentiment and the conviction behind them. As she was led downstairs and into the city, more men shouted instructions and gave speeches of hope and courage. People still ran back and forth with possessions, but the traffic had lessened considerably.

  A young boy pleaded with an ox to move along the street, but the animal dug its hooves in the mud the more the boy pulled at the reigns. The boy’s mother screamed at him to leave the damn animal. Another woman knocked over a basket of food and was sent hurtling to the ground by the irate owner.

  “We are losing already,” the Queen said under her breath and tightened her grip on Tatanya’s wrist. They marched down a side road where a soldier ushered women and children down a trap-door.

  Panic swept over Tatanya and she began to resist the Queen. “You promised we would not go into the Pit.”

  It had been the Prince's decision to clear the first two levels of the Pit. He concluded that the palace would not be able to accommodate all the people of Lilyon and they would probably cause more damage trying to get into the safety of palace walls than the enemy would. He ordered all prisoners to be moved to the lower levels of the Pit, doubling up murderers with rapists if necessary so that levels one and two could be used to offer shelter to the women and children. The Pit was as safe a place as any, containing fortified walls and secret entry points. The Queen had protested revealing the location of these clandes
tine entrances to the public but the Prince had insisted. Whether the Pit would serve as a prison after the war was something they could all worry about another time.

  The idea of entering the darkness again petrified Tatanya. She did not want to have any part of the Pit, even if it meant facing the enemy instead. The Queen appeared to have not heard her as she tugged Tatanya along further.

  "No!" Tatanya said and shrugged her hand free of the Queen's grip. The Queen turned, confusion etched across her face. "I told you I am not going back there."

  Queen Mirinda looked about her as people turned to see what the fuss was about. They recognised the Queen immediately and some offered her assistance. The Queen pulled Tatanya close to her and hissed in her ear. "We are not going to the Pit. Trust me."

  Two soldiers ran up to the Queen. One was portly and clearly out of breath. He went to speak but was forced to bend over and puff out his red cheeks as he sought oxygen. He raised a hand to buy some time. The younger guard next to him, a boy whose cheeks looked as smooth as a new-born baby’s, rolled his eyes and cut across him.

  "Your majesty, you can't run off like that. We nearly lost you. Our orders are to protect you."

  "Then keep up," the Queen snapped and pushed past them pulling Tatanya after her. Tatanya allowed herself to be led once again but a cold bead of sweat trickled down the nape of her neck as they neared the entrance to the Pit. The younger guard overtook them and began to aggressively clear people out of their way. Behind them the fat guard groaned and followed.

  Just before they reached the hatch, the Queen turned down a side alley. She did not bother to inform the young soldier who had carried on ahead to usher people aside. Tatanya heard the fat guard call after him and then beg the Queen to keep them informed of her destination. The Queen merely tutted her response.

  "I survived seventeen years imprisoned by the enemy and Althalos places these two fools to look after me," she muttered under her breath.

  "Where are we going?" Tatanya asked.

  "To the infirmary. As soon as the battle starts, we will have our hands full believe me."

  "Is it safe?"

  "Not as safe as the Pit, but at least we will be doing something worthwhile."

  Surprisingly Tatanya was relieved by this response. She had helped Saisko fix broken bones before and had also patched up Henry Caultrope's arm when he had burnt it in the furnace. Unlike her mother she was not squeamish.

  They hurried through the White City avoiding the congestion where they could or simply pushing their way through when they could not avoid it. The panic lessened the higher they climbed as most of the people had found their way into the Pit. Guards lined the battlements overhead and captains barked orders.

  They turned onto a main street and came face to face with the Prince. He was marching with a column of men towards the main city gate. His armour was polished silver and he wore a white cloak. He had not yet put his helmet on and his golden hair fell over his shoulders, the soft curls contrasting to the hard metal of his armour. On one side of him stood Atikass in black armour and on the other stood Fyfe.

  They stopped when they saw the Queen.

  "I told you to get yourself safe," the Prince said.

  For a second the Queen did not reply. "You look so much like your father used to."

  The observation took Althalos by surprise. "He is in the Palace briefing the guards there. It is where you should be."

  "My place is in the infirmary," the Queen said.

  "That is where I should be," Atikass growled.

  "No, your place is by your brother now. You want to protect me, you win this war with him."

  Atikass bowed his head and to Tatanya's surprise she saw him hastily wipe a tear away.

  "We must get moving my liege," Fyfe prompted.

  The Prince looked down the street and to the main gate as if he could see the enemy through it.

  "Look out for each other my sons," the Queen said.

  Neither Althalos nor Atikass could respond. Whether they were too proud to display weakness in front of the other soldiers or whether they could not express themselves Tatanya was not sure. Althalos ordered the two soldiers to protect the Queen before nodding to his mother and marching on.

  The Queen watched them go for a little while before moving on. She too wiped away tears.

  "They will be alright my Queen," Tatanya said.

  Queen Mirinda smiled. "This is war child, anything can happen."

  ***

  "Where is that bloody water?" the Queen bellowed. She applied pressure to the man's chest oblivious to the irony of her words. All the water seemed bloody and had done for hours. Blood spurted through the Queen's fingers and pooled around her nails. Tatanya marvelled at the speed and assurance in which the Queen worked. She seemed to flit from one patient to the next, quickly assessing and diagnosing them before ordering whoever was closest to her to carry out anything that might heal the injured. So far Tatanya had strapped a broken leg which the Queen had set herself, applied pressure to over a dozen wounds whilst others sewed them up and even had a man die in her arms whilst he called for his mother. She had felt a strange sensation as that man had died. He had been looking into her eyes and gripping her arm tightly and then all of a sudden, the strength seemed to leave him and he looked straight passed her. The Queen had not given Tatanya a second to dwell on the loss and instructed her what else needed to be done. Now she tied a sheet around a young man's arm. They had run out of bandages long ago so the Queen had ordered the bed sheets be removed from the palace rooms and torn into strips.

  Tatanya looked around the room at the writhing bodies, and tried to block out the cries of agony. All wore bandages on some part of their body and all the bandages were stained with blood. It was as though the Queen had ordered a new insignia to be created for the army and demanded it be displayed.

  "Water for Gloomsake," the Queen shouted again. A young girl entered the room with a full bucket, slurping the contents over the side. "Don't spill it child, fast but sure."

  The girl slowed and tried not to look about the room. Her face lost its entire colour as she took in the horrific sights.

  "Bring the water here child, I am gasping," a man demanded. He sat against the wall, the lower part of his left leg missing. When he had been brought in the leg was still whole. The Queen had taken one look and hacked off the lower part of the leg, much to the man's howls of protest. He had sat against the wall since, cursing her highness over and over; oblivious of the fact she may have just saved his life.

  The girl carrying the water hesitated for a second as she looked at the man and his new stump.

  "Ignore him child and bring that bucket here," the Queen said.

  "Don't listen to that butcher. She will chop your head off if you get too close," the man said.

  "Leave it out Jasse. The last thing we all need is your bleating," another solider said.

  "Oh? It's easy for you, you still have both your legs," Jasse said.

  "The water girl!" the Queen shouted.

  Tatanya saw that the girl had frozen. She finished her knot and seized the bucket from the girl. The girl flinched as Tatanya took the bucket but also looked relieved.

  "We need help over here!" a woman called out. A man lay with his head in her lap convulsing. His arms and legs shook as if a thousand ants were biting him all over.

  The Queen looked up and Tatanya saw her deliberate whether or not to leave the man she was attending to. She decided against it and set about trying to stem the blood which was still gushing from the man's wound.

  "Here put this in his mouth," a young woman said. Her hair was plastered against her cheek with perspiration. In her hand, she held a wooden spoon. The woman took it and inserted it horizontally across the man's lips. He bit into it instantly.

  "No don't," Ellorary cried out. Tatanya had not seen the chief physician enter the room. He looked even more tired than the Queen. His cheeks were smeared with dried blood. He wore a satc
hel over his shoulder full of vials and herbs. Ellorary ran towards the man even as he chomped on the spoon, snapping it in half. Another bite saw a jagged part of the handle enter the roof of his mouth and pierce his throat at the same time. A sickening gargling noise followed as the man bled from both palette and throat.

  “Do any of you know what you are doing?” Jasse asked.

  The woman who had been cradling the man’s head in her lap let him go as if she had been handling a ball of fire. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” the other woman said.

  Tatanya flinched as the Queen suddenly cried out in frustration. The soldier she had been attending to had begun to bleed from his mouth. She stood and moved away.

  “What are you doing? You can’t just abandon him,” Jasse said.

  “There is nothing I can do for him,” Queen Mirinda replied. Her words were severe but it was clear she was upset. She looked around the room frantically for someone to treat; her eyes flitting from one injury to the next.

  “You need to rest,” Ellorary said. He was crouched next to a man and examining a wound.

  “So do you,” the Queen snapped back.

  The door burst open and more walking wounded limped in carrying soldiers with even greater injuries.

  “No, there isn’t room in here,” the Queen said moving to block the soldiers. “There are other rooms.”

  “There are none your highness. They are full up,” the leading soldier replied. He had a nasty looking gash from his temple but his concern was for the man draped around his shoulders and bleeding from multiple wounds.

  For a second no one replied. Tatanya searched about the room for a space to put the new arrivals. There was none.

  “What about the corridor?” a woman suggested.

  “Full up,” the soldier replied.

  Shana squeezed into the room behind the soldiers. Tatanya had never been so pleased to see the servant. She had been in one of the other rooms helping where she could. Shana surveyed the room quickly and then her eyes found the Queen.