There was shocked silence for a few seconds then everyone began to talk at once. Children cried in shock as their parents tried to comfort them. The ship’s officers rushed about doing their best to ascertain if anyone was missing. Confusion reigned until First Mate Dommy gave a sharp, loud whistle and silence fell.
‘If all citizens would please return to their assigned cabins, I’ll have all sailors on deck,’ Captain Gillam ordered. It took a surprisingly short time for everyone to get to their cabins. Not long after, Executive Officer Dominique came to each cabin to check that no-one was missing, and then half an hour later, he invited everyone to return to the decks if they so desired. Once he had completed his rounds he reported to Captain Gillam.
‘You’re not going to believe this sir,’ said Dominique, ‘but there’s no-one missing. No-one!’ he added incredulously. ‘I think we were lucky that most of the children were in playing with the animals and they had the cage door shut, and a huge number of people were below deck.
Gillam’s face relaxed into surprised relief. ‘Injuries?’
‘Nothing serious. A lot of bruises and a few people are bleeding from being hit by things that were flung around their cabins, one broken arm – the physician has a row of patients with him right now.’
‘We are incredibly fortunate we didn’t lose anyone overboard. What a relief!’ Gillam was staggered by his luck. He glanced across the deck in time to see Lieutenant Carey scowling at the nearest child in disagreement with the Captain’s remark.
‘Sir, do you think the volcano caused this?’ asked Dominique, referring to the volcano on the Black Apple Islands.
‘I do,’ said Gillam. ‘We’ve been seeing haze in the sky for some time now.’
‘I don’t think a wave like that would have taken too long to reach here,’ said Dominique doubtfully.
‘The volcano might have been spewing out smoke and ash for days before it erupted,’ Gillam pointed out. ‘If it was the cause of that wave, perhaps it only just happened.’
Dominique shrugged. ‘There might be more.’
‘Agreed. We’ll head directly for the Black Apple Islands, then turn away and head towards the Dwellings.’
‘You want to meet anything head on.’ Dominique nodded approvingly. ‘That course will delay us, but not by much.’
‘And I think it’s probably prudent to be in deeper water,’ said Gillam. ‘We have some old fisher folk on board, and they think waves like this increase as they near the shoreline. I think they’re probably right.’
The change of course ended up extending the journey somewhat, and they encountered another unusual wave, but they were in deeper water and it had far less effect on the large vessel. Leonie was waiting on the beach anxiously as the ship drew into the harbor. Along the length of the beach in front of the Dwellings, several rows of guardians waited patiently. Most were dressed in the dark linen trousers and black tunic which was the guardian’s most common attire. The tunics crossed at the front and tied at the side of the waist, though many of the males wore only trousers. With or without tunics, they were a formidable sight. Each was armed with sword and bow and each carried several knives. The women were significantly smaller than the men in all cases, but they stood alongside their larger companions with equal composure and quiet confidence. Every single guardian, male and female alike, stood silently and motionlessly as though waiting. Leonie dashed through their ranks and waited for Alexander at the edge of the water. Even as she stood watching, a mass of guardians ran down onto the sand and formed a long line behind the other rows and the guardians nearest the water turned and walked back towards the Dwellings. At once all took several steps forward and then they became motionless once again.
Alexander ran to Leonie and threw his arms around her. He stared at her face hungrily for a few seconds then kissed her passionately. She snuggled against his neck.
‘I missed you too Alex!’ she cried softly. They held hands and walked up the sand towards the Dwellings.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked, and Leonie gave him a reassuring smile. ‘What about the little ones?’
‘They’re fine, Alex. The babies are sleeping right now and Mully and Alex are playing in the sandpit with Eijelin, Elliot and Aithne.’
‘There’s a sandpit here?’
‘There is now. As you saw when you arrived, the beach is a bit crowded, so I asked if I could cart some sand up and make a little sandpit. And Lady Karri thought it was a good idea.’
‘Surely you didn’t have to cart a whole lot of sand by yourself.’
‘No, I picked out a good place and was looking for something to carry the sand in, when a couple of guardians arrived with wood and made a massive wooden box, then a whole lot more arrived with huge loads of sand. Alex, it took them about ten minutes to build it and fill it with sand!’
‘Excellent!’ said Alex. ‘Can I see it?’
‘Actually you can hardly miss it. It’s huge. I’ll take you up there before I check on Peta and Leanna.’ They walked through the lovely sandstone buildings and along a paved pathway until they reached a building with a high roof, raised on columns. There was a space between the walls and the ceiling, so it was light inside. They passed through the building and Alex took in the maps adorning several walls and the huge map carved into the central table. They exited through a rear door onto a beautiful patio beside a grassed area. Right in the center of the expanse of grass was a massive sandpit and it was filled with happily playing children. Some were holding small wooden spades, hastily whittled from pieces of thick bark and others had wooden bowls and a variety of other objects useful for digging. Alexander walked to the edge of the sandpit and then turned back towards the patio and studied its elegant grace.
‘Leonie, what is this place?’
‘I’m not sure. I was just asked to pick the best place for a sandpit.’
‘I think you picked Tiernan’s private patio. I’ll bet that room is where battles are planned,’ said Alexander, pointing across the patio.
At that moment Tiernan and Lady Karrijeuiga arrived, fully armed but looking calm. ‘You are correct,’ said Lady Karrijeuiga, smiling at Alexander and Leonie blushed a deep shade of red.
‘I feel so embarrassed,’ Leonie admitted. ‘I didn’t know this was your private place.’
‘I wouldn’t want the children anywhere else,’ said Lady Karrijeuiga sincerely, and Tiernan smiled in agreement.
‘We don’t have children here very often,’ he said, ‘so we’re all enjoying having them around.’
Leonie introduced Alexander and he bowed his head politely in respect.
‘Lord Tiernan, Lady Karri, where do you want me?’ he asked, glancing towards the lines of Daoine Maithe on the beach.
‘We have asked General Marnol to take command, at least until either Callian or Danil gets here,’ said Tiernan.
‘He’s at the lake,’ said Lady Karrijeuiga. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I need to get back to the beach.’ She hugged Tiernan and hurried away.
‘What’s been happening? Have they attacked at all?’ asked Alexander as they walked towards the lake.
‘We’ve killed a number of individual spies, and several small groups, but we haven’t been attacked by any large numbers,’ Tiernan replied.
‘Have you considered taking the battle to them?’
‘We have,’ said Tiernan. ‘We have our own spies wandering around. We’ve found two nests so far. I think we could destroy one nest, but I doubt afterwards we’d have enough survivors to even scare a second nest, let alone battle them. And if there are any more nests we haven’t found yet it could be disastrous. They may be more than ten times the number of Nailmarni than those who attacked Castle.’
‘So many!’ Alexander looked towards the lake where the Daoine Maithe stood. He saw in total only hundreds of Daoine Maithe and a handful of human soldiers. ‘So we need to use our wits to win, rather than our strength,’ he said, his mind racing. ‘I wish Danil or Borg was he
re, and Prince Kelian or Dale. Baron Dale is only eighteen, but he seems to be able to think outside the curtain walls. But I don’t know if they made it out of Castle. I have no idea if they’re even alive.’
‘I’ve been told they had Callian, Timbul and Araas with them. I’m certain they will have done everything in their power to get them out of the City,’ said Tiernan.
‘There will be no place safe, if the Dwellings falls,’ said Alexander soberly. ‘If the Daoine Maithe are gone, they’ll destroy the rest of us easily. So what’s our next step?’
‘We’re waiting. If we’re attacked we need to defend this place.’
‘No. That’s not enough,’ said Alexander firmly.
‘Hmm.’ Tiernan gave a rare look of insecurity. ‘That’s what General Marnol said. He’s been busy rearranging our forces to his satisfaction, but he did say he was going to put his mind to coming up with a better plan for defending this place and for removing the Nailmarni.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ said Alex, nodding approvingly. ‘But the General will need all the help he can get. And when Kelian arrives, I want to give him all the information he’ll be expecting. And if he doesn’t arrive, we need a far better plan than...well, to be honest - no offence - but your plan is no kind of plan at all! I want to talk to your spies. I want to talk to someone who has seen the nests. I want to know exactly where they are, what the surrounding area is like, some maps would be good, and I want to know exactly how many Nailmarni are in each nest, and whether they are all fully adjusted or how close to adjusted they are. And I want to know where they are getting their food,’ he added grimly.
‘I guess that means you know what they eat,’ said Tiernan uncomfortably.
‘I do,’ Alexander confirmed. ‘Are they monophagous or do they eat other things as well?’
‘They’ll eat animals, but only if they can’t get human flesh. Fortunately they don’t eat often and they don’t eat very much,’ said Tiernan. ‘They’ll want more when they are fully adjusted, which may have contributed to their need to attack Castle. They might have been hungry.’
‘You know that’s just about the most sickening thing I can imagine,’ said Alexander, shuddering in disgust and swallowing hard.
‘I agree,’ said Tiernan bleakly. ‘Let’s find Daibhi. He’ll be able to help you gather the information you need.’
Chapter 28
Raline
Callian glanced over his shoulder and felt an intense pang of alarm. The Nailmarni were closer than he had expected; less than a hundred paces behind him. From what he could see, all of those who had remained in the nest had taking the bait and were chasing him. He moved a little faster as he sprinted up the slope. He felt reasonably confident that over the short distance his speed would keep him alive, but he knew if something went wrong he couldn’t outpace them forever. Eventually he would tire, and they might not. He crested the hill and angled slightly southward. Along the top of the hill the path divided, with a rising rocky ridge splitting the ground. The land fell away to the north inviting him to rush downhill, but to the left the ground rose sharply towards a maze of granite boulders and rough tyallas, and it was this path he chose. They had taken the opportunity to explore the area between the nest and the chasm, knowing Callian would need to know in advance the best path to take. To Callian, the northern route appeared better, easier and less cluttered, but Borgulnay was adamant that he would be faster and safer taking the southern path. He insisted that this way was far shorter, even though it didn’t appear so to Callian. But Borgulnay was adamant, and Callian trusted him. He leapt over the boulders in his path and dodged his way through the coarse grass, avoiding large anthills as he raced up the slope. He looked back once again, pleased that the Nailmarni had taken the northern route past the ridge of rocks. They were now more than three hundred paces behind him and Callian mentally thanked Borgulnay. He was shaken once again when he saw movement through the trees where some of the Nailmarni had been hiding in the bush land. He pushed himself to run faster but several Nailmarni darted down the slope to cut him off. He changed direction slightly, but the Nailmarni were closing around him. A feeling of panic and despair washed over him as two Nailmarni approached far too quickly for him to outrun them. He dodged through the huge rocks and fallen tyallas and forced his legs to move faster as he neared the chasm, but he knew that there was no hope of him reaching the safety of the waiting rope. They would be upon him in seconds and he knew he had failed.
There was a thud behind him and one of the Nailmarni crashed to the ground, with an arrow stuck completely through his chest and protruding from his back. Callian didn’t look back as the second Nailmarni fell. Seconds later he passed into the chasm and hope rekindled. He raced through the dry, straggly tyallas, lifting his feet so as not to trip in the long, dead grass. He leapt over a dead stump, slowed slightly as he studied the area, and dashed forward once again, jumping over masses of dry sticks and dead branches, long fallen from the rough old trees. He glanced over his shoulder to see that the Nailmarni were now within the chasm. With a final spurt of energy he raced towards where he sincerely hoped a rope would now be waiting for him. The rope was there. He grabbed it and started to climb and someone immediately began to pull the rope upwards. He was barely out of reach when the Nailmarni were beneath him, trying to climb the impossible cliffs. He stopped climbing and gazed over the valley as he rose. He could already see fire breaking out across the mouth of the chasm and he watched in satisfaction as it quickly spread. He could see in the distance beyond the fire, a row of archers standing ready in case any should attempt to make it back through the flames. He recognized Danil, Milgorry, Gilgarry, Rudiger, Ben and Rezon. He reached the top of the cliffs and Lias and Borgulnay dragged him up onto the ledge. Across the rocks and spaced out around the cliffs surrounding the chasm, were the remaining free warriors and Daoine Maithe.
Callian picked up his bow and slung his quiver onto his back. He moved to the edge of the rocks and began shooting arrows towards the Nailmarni. Then the fire took hold in earnest and roared towards the cliffs, driven by the wind of its own creation. The Nailmarni panicked, and though they were his hated enemy, Callian’s heart pained to see their terror as each one fell by an arrow, or they were overcome by the fire and burned to death.
Elena and Immosey stood well back from the cliffs, forced away from the edge by Kelian and Dale, who were preventing the girls from seeing the burned bodies. And suddenly it was over. The fire reached the cliffs and was foiled by the towering rock face. There was no longer any movement from within the chasm and Callian lowered his bow. He stood warily watching the burning bush land for quite some time before he was completely satisfied with the result of Dale’s strategy, then he sat on the edge of the rocky cliff.
‘Can we come to the edge yet?’ asked Elena, feeling impatient as they waited.
‘I don’t think that would be a good idea,’ said Lias. Right below where they stood was a pile of blackened Nailmarni, who had all burned to death as they tried to climb the cliffs to escape the fire. Most had fallen in torturous positions depicting their horrible death.
Elena frowned. ‘Are they all dead? Is it not safe yet?’
‘They’re dead and it’s safe,’ said Callian. ‘But it’s a horrible sight down there, Ellie.’ He gazed at her intensely and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to move as far from the edge of the cliffs as she possibly could.
‘Alright, Callian,’ she said resignedly, acknowledging that the guardian was influencing her. ‘You don’t need to persuade me. I’ll stay away from the edge.’ She sat down with her back to the rocks and Immosey sat beside her. The sky was darkening when Danil, Gilgarry, Milgorry, Rudiger and Ben returned. Each of them was covered from head to toe with black ash, but that didn’t stop the girls throwing themselves at them and hugging each man in relief.
‘Where’s little Rezon?’ asked Immosey as she noticed the huge warrior was missing.
‘I’m not sure,’ Ben ad
mitted, but he held up his hand as Immosey drew breath in alarm. ‘He’s out there somewhere. I can’t catch his thoughts, he’s too far away, but he wasn’t returned. When the fire started to die back a little, we decided to check the area to make sure there was no-one left alive, but Rez disappeared. Last I saw of him, he was heading south.’
‘I wonder why?’ Elena mused. ‘Oh Ben, I hope he gets back here safely.’
‘I think you can stop worrying about Rez, Ellie,’ said Milgorry. ‘He is one terrifying force of nature. It will take more than a few stray Nailmarni to bring him down.’
‘And he’s not bad with a bow,’ Callian added. ‘Do I also have you to thank, Ben?’ he asked and Ben nodded.
Kelian considered the dirty, tired group. Even those waiting on the cliffs were filthy from the ash in the air. ‘We’ll rest here again tonight,’ he said. ‘At first light, Dale’s group will head south and the rest of us will go east. I want to have a look at what’s happening at Castle before we leave.’
‘Do you want me to go and have a look at the city now?’ asked Callian.
‘You need to rest,’ said Kelian. ‘I watched you crossing the chasm and I know I’ve never seen someone move so fast in all my life. You must be exhausted.’
‘I am a little tired,’ Callian admitted. ‘I’ll have a rest before I go, but I’ll be back here before dawn.’
‘Callian, I don’t want you to go anywhere tonight,’ said Kelian decisively. ‘We’ll have a look at the city as we pass on our way to the Dwellings.’
‘Surely you weren’t planning to go down there in the dark?’ said Dale.
‘They’ve adjusted,’ said Callian. ‘They won’t be able to see in the darkness any better than we can. And thankfully they can’t disappear, though they’re still very fast,’ he added wryly.
‘But not fast enough,’ said Kelian thankfully, as he watched the tall, dark skinned guardian.
‘Kelian, if Ben and Rez hadn’t killed two of them they would have taken me down before I even reached the chasm,’ said Callian.
The Guardians (Book 2) Page 21