‘Follow them!’ Callian repeated, aghast. ‘You’ve got to be joking Dale! Surely you and Enri couldn’t seriously be thinking of following a bunch of bloodthirsty Nailmarni through the forest?’
‘How did you know I was here?’ said Enri, stepping from the trees to stand beside Callian. ‘I didn’t get the chance to climb into the tree,’ he added, not waiting for an answer as Callian rolled his eyes sarcastically.
Callian shook his head. ‘Get out of the tree Dale and get back to safety before I climb up there and get you myself!’
‘No,’ said Dale. ‘We can’t get inside the Dwellings safely now. The place will be surrounded by Nailmarni.’
‘Just promise me one thing,’ said Callian resignedly.
‘What?’ asked Dale rebelliously, folding his arms across his chest.
‘Stay in the tree. Please don’t follow them. If they do try to escape, we’ll be on their tail. The nest these ones came from is the last nest in the Province, so if they think they’re going to be defeated, they may very well run through here. It’s probably their best route for escape,’ said Callian.
Dale sat silently for a moment before replying. ‘Fine. I won’t chase them through the forest.’ He pulled his head back behind the leaves.
Callian stood still for a moment, wondering why Dale’s sudden agreement made him feel uneasy. ‘I have to go. Please, please don’t do anything stupid,’ he called imploringly to Dale then he turned and dashed towards the Dwellings. As he reached the edge of the forest he could see last of the Nailmarni swarming towards the edge of the cliffs. He paused as he reached the tree line. At the edge of the forest stood a line of guardians, all armed and poised as if waiting for a signal to move. Captain Gillam and a group of sailors with the help of Rezon were arranging the massive crossbows from the ships. Callian stepped cautiously from the trees into the sunshine, feeling his strength restore as he stood in the warmth and light. He drew a horrified breath as he saw Danil between the Nailmarni and the cliffs.
‘What in the name of His Supreme Majesty are you doing here?’ Rezon’s exclamation caused Callian to turn in surprise as Dale and Enri appeared behind the soldiers.
‘I thought you agreed to stay in the tree!’ said Callian.
‘No, I agreed not to chase the Nailmarni through the forest,’ Dale contradicted, looking past the soldiers. ‘You said to promise you one thing. Staying in the tree would have been a second thing. Shouldn’t we be moving?’
‘I’m waiting for the signal from Eibhear,’ Rudiger explained. ‘Kelian wants as many of them as possible in the water before we leave the forest. As soon as Kelian and General Marnol give the signal, we move the weapons and the chiniocelle as close as we can and…I guess we just have to hope this works.’ He leaned against the trunk of a huge bon-yi and concentrated on his brother’s thoughts.
Danil reached the edge of the cliffs and glanced back. The Nailmarni sprinted towards him as he slipped over the edge of the cliffs onto the waterfall stairs. He ran down the stairs and grasped the metal bar on the wooden door which led into the underground caverns. The door swung back easily and when the Nailmarni poured over the cliffs onto the ledge and down the stairs, Danil was nowhere in sight.
There were shouts of recognition from the soldiers as Tiernan appeared at the top of the cliffs and dove neatly into the water below. Within seconds hundreds more Nailmarni arrived at the top of the cliffs and then more and more came until they were standing twenty deep, staring down towards the Dwellings. There was a momentary pause, then like leaves driven before the wind, they swept forward and leapt from the cliffs into the water.
‘Tiernan!’ Kelian shouted in dismay when he saw that the guardian had not surfaced after his dive.
‘Now!’ General Marnol shouted and as one, the soldiers and Daoine Maithe began to fire their arrows into the rain of white bodies. ‘Where are they?’ he murmured, glancing at Eibhear.
‘They’re ready,’ said Eibhear, not turning his head as he drew his bow and felled one of the Nailmarni before it’s body hit the water. ‘They’re trying to let as many as possible get into the water before they show themselves. If they appear too early, and there are too many of the Nailmarni at the top of the cliffs they won’t be able to defend themselves.’
‘They need to come soon,’ said Kelian as the flow of bodies over the cliffs decreased suddenly. ‘Where’s Danil?’ he added anxiously, as the mass of white bodies swept across the lake towards them.
‘There,’ replied Eibhear, pointed across the lake to the waterfall. ‘He’s still hanging on to the back of the door.’
‘What!’ Kelian cried, squinting across the lake.
Eibhear grinned. ‘He’s been hanging behind the door since - I don’t know how many - Nailmarni rushed into the caverns. There! He slammed the door and he’s barring it. They’re trapped and he’s going back up the stairs. Ah – a few more Nailmarni are coming down the stairs towards him…and now they’re in the water. That wasn’t bad work...for a guardian,’ said Eibhear jokingly as Kelian watched in relief when he saw Danil haul himself over the rocks onto the top of the cliffs.
‘Where are you Callian?’ he muttered aloud still staring at the cliff top.
‘Callian is now with Rudi and Rezon and all of Gillam’s men,’ said Eibhear. ‘They’re about to drive the last few of the Nailmarni towards the cliffs. Ah...and Lias, Mil, Ben and Araas just turned up too. That’s nice,’ he added casually, seemingly oblivious to how dangerously close to the shores of the lake the Nailmarni were coming. He turned towards Kelian as he felt Rudiger’s impatience building.
‘How long?’ Kelian asked urgently.
‘They’re ready!’
‘Where’s Tiernan?’ Kelian stared into the mass of Nailmarni coming across the water, but the guardian was nowhere to be seen.
‘It’s too late!’ cried Marnol. ‘We have to start!’
‘Do it!’ Kelian shouted. ‘Eibhear, if you can still sense you brother, tell Rudi to start!’
‘Let’s move!’ General Marnol shouted and the rows of soldiers and Daoine Maithe backed away from the edge of the water until they were past the rise of banks. ‘Get down!’ Marnol called and every crouched. ‘Keep your heads down if you want to stay conscious.’ For a minute nothing happened, then from the forest massive flaming arrows sped towards the Nailmarni who remained on the cliff top. Those who were not killed outright leapt from the cliffs into the lake.
‘Now!’ Callian shouted and the guardians rushed forward with Rudiger, Lias and Rezon, carrying urns of the chiniocelle prepared by Lady Karrijeiuga. They fanned out, moving swiftly along the cliffs until they were evenly spaced, then in perfect unison they upended the urns, pouring the poison into the lake below.
‘Light it!’ General Marnol shouted and soldiers carrying flaming torches rushed forward and thrust them into a huge ring of oil-soaked wood surrounding the lake. Seconds later the flames rose high and smoke began to fill the air. And then it was as if the world held its breath. Every human, guardian and free warrior stood silently and motionlessly waiting. Kelian stared across the lake. His eyes began to smart from the thick smoke and he squinted hard to see what was happening in the water. Nothing was happening and the pain of failure shot through him and seized his heart. Anger and frustration surfaced as the Nailmarni swam tenaciously through the water. They were only ten paces from the shore when the screaming began.
‘Get down!’ Marnol shouted. ‘Get beneath the smoke!’ Everyone dropped onto the grass as the heat from the fire intensified. Kelian wanted to raise his head above the mound of soil which was blocking his view of the lake, but he knew if he did, he would have more than his eyebrows scorched. The sound of the Nailmarni screaming and burning disturbed him, but he felt mostly grim satisfaction and relief as he heard them die.
A soldier who was lying on the grass beside him gradually began to raise his head. Kelian’s hand shot out forcing his face back towards the ground.
‘Not yet,’ he
shouted, over the sound of the fire and the screaming Nailmarni.
‘Majesty, how long is it going to burn?’ the soldier called back and Kelian shrugged uncertainly.
‘I have no idea. General?’
‘Sir?’
‘Can we all move backwards? Can you get everyone to gradually roll away from the fire? We’re still too close and I have no idea how long it will take to burn out.’
‘Where do you want us to head?’
‘Courtyard,’ Kelian instructed hoarsely. ‘If the heat doesn’t kill us all, the smoke is going to! And if that isn’t far enough, start moving towards the beach. I don’t believe even the Nailmarni could pass through that fire if they make it out of the water, but we’ll have to keep some men up here just in case.’
General Marnol gestured to a young sergeant then gradually the soldiers began to slide backwards, trying not to lift their heads. By the time they reached the relative protection of the courtyard, more than a few of the soldiers were suffering from smoke in their lungs.
Kelian rolled to within a few paces of the columns surrounding the courtyard and then stood up. A strange prickling sensation gripped his neck and he swung around and stared towards the lake. Through the heavy layer of smoke he could see movement.
‘General!’ he shouted, drawing his sword, but even as he spoke he heard General Marnol’s shout and a mass of soldiers surged past and quickly reformed a defensive lines between the lake and the courtyard. A hand reached out and grabbed Kelian and dragged him towards the courtyard.
‘Eibhear! What are you doing?’ Kelian gasped, struggling pointlessly.
‘Keeping you alive so that Tiernan doesn’t break my back with one glance, because I let you get killed,’ said Eibhear.
‘Tiernan’s dead...returned. He dove into the lake and...’ Anger and grief crashed together in Kelian’s chest. He gritted his teeth and blinked back tears. ‘And now the Nailmarni are coming anyway! They’ve gotten past the lake. I saw someone coming through the smoke.’
‘So you were thinking of rushing down there and killing them all yourself? Stay here!’ Eibhear demanded and he pushed Kelian into the courtyard. For a fraction of a second Kelian considered the penalty for shoving the King of Alkira. ‘That’s fine,’ said Eibhear offhandedly. ‘You can do whatever you like after this is over. Until then I intend to make sure you survive.’ He turned and ran towards the smoke.
Kelian stepped back onto the grass and was about to dash after him when Borgulnay’s huge frame appeared in front of him.
‘Majesty, please don’t.’
‘Borg, I-’ Kelian began, but Borgulnay cut him off.
‘Kelian, the people have just lost their King and Queen and so many friends and family it doesn’t bear thinking about. If now, on the threshold of victory, they should lose their King once again…no, I can’t let this happen. And what would I tell Elena? That I let you go running towards death? Kelian, please, I couldn’t live with myself.’ Kelian backed into the courtyard and stood completely still.
‘What’s happening down there?’ he said desperately. Borgulnay stood beside him with his sword drawn as they peered towards the lake. The soldiers were immobile, listening intently for any sound which might warn them that the Nailmarni were moving through the smoke.
There was a shout as a body broke through the cloud of smoke and staggered up the hillside towards the soldiers. It’s normally white body was blackened from head to toe, and it was obvious the creature was blinded. Its ears, nose and lips had almost entirely burned away and its hand seemed to have fused to the sword it carried. A strange cry came from the burnt hole where its mouth had been and it staggered in the direction of the soldier’s shout. No-one moved as it reached out blindly, then it fell to its knees a few paces from the soldiers. It gave a strange pleading wail and the soldier understood. He glanced at General Marnol as recognition dawned on the General’s face. Marnol nodded and the soldier brought his sword across hard, taking the Nailmarni’s head from its shoulders.
‘Don’t move. There may be more,’ General Marnol instructed.
‘We need the wind to change,’ said Gilgarry, from where he stood before the soldiers. As if in spite of his words, the wind forced the smoke ever more thickly upon them and they were forced to retreat once again.
Kelian gazed towards the lake, his heart aching wretchedly as he thought of Tiernan, drowned under the wave of Nailmarni. He wondered what he would say to Lady Karrijeuiga, who Tiernan had insisted remain with the citizens on the ships, both for her own and the people’s protection.
‘Kelian?’ Kelian leapt in shock as Tiernan’s voice sounded weakly in his head.
‘Tiernan!’ Kelian’s heart pounded as if he had heard a wraith speak from the grave. ‘Where are you?’ he thought frantically.
‘Trapped. There are tunnels leading from beneath the lake up under the Dwellings. I tried to swim up through one – it comes out under the Western Tower, and I got through onto dry stone, but a pile of rocks came down and I’m stuck in here.’
‘How do I get to you?’ Kelian wondered, racing towards the Western Tower. ‘Eibhear!’ he shouted aloud. ‘Help me!’
‘You’ll need to lift out the stone at the very bottom of the tower stairs. It has eight rings set into it. You’ll need help from more than just Eibhear to lift it out.’
Kelian dashed back towards the courtyard. ‘Borg! Gil! I need you now!’ he shouted and he turned and flew towards the Western Tower. Eibhear was already gripping the steel rings and hauling on the stone when Kelian arrived with Borgulnay and Gilgarry and a rather scorched looking soldier.
‘This is Private Rayne,’ said Gilgarry, pointing to the strong looking soldier, who flushed even redder as he dipped his head towards Kelian. The soldiers and Kelian gripped the rings and with Eibhear’s help they began to pull. Seconds later the stone lifted. Eibhear gave a shout of shock and snatched his leg backwards as the stone came away from the hole and crashed to the ground, narrowly missing his foot.
‘Sorry!’ Kelian exclaimed, embarrassed that he had lost his grip on the enormously heavy stone at that instant.
‘You did fine,’ said Eibhear, slapping Kelian on the shoulder.
‘Let’s get him out of here!’ said Kelian.
‘Who’s down there?’ Gilgarry asked, gazing down into the black hole.
‘Tiernan is stuck down here.’ Kelian shoved Borgulnay aside and scrambled into the hole. Suddenly he found himself airborne as Borgulnay’s huge hands lifted him out of the hole. The soldier dropped him at the foot of the stairs, bowed politely to the glaring King, and turned and stepped down into the hole. Eibhear followed. Kelian paced impatiently waiting for them to return, then gave a cry of relief as they appeared carrying Tiernan’s body.
‘What happened?’ he asked.
‘A mass of rocks came down and I broke my leg,’ said Tiernan, gritting his teeth. ‘The tunnel isn’t very far below the surface of the lake; very little is under water. That part was all fine. No blockages. But about halfway between the water and the tower some of the ceiling had fallen in. I should have taken the time to clear the fall, but I tried to push my way through and…I guess I was lucky I wasn’t buried alive. My head was sticking out, but I couldn’t get my leg free.’
‘Some fairly heavy rocks must have come down to break your leg,’ said Kelian.
‘The rocks didn’t break my leg.’
‘What happened then?’
‘I was completely trapped. I couldn’t free my leg and I couldn’t bend my leg enough to be able to move the rocks away.’
‘One of the boulders was massive,’ said Eibhear. ‘Your ankle is crushed as well as broken.’
‘I thought you said it wasn’t the boulders that broke it,’ said Kelian in confusion.
‘The boulder crushed my foot quite badly. Unfortunately I needed to break it myself to get out from under the boulder,’ Tiernan admitted and Kelian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘And I can’t seem to gather th
e strength to fix it.’
‘Get help,’ said Kelian to Private Rayne, who turned and ran toward the courtyard. It took him only seconds to find a guardian who was gifted with the ability to heal, and when he returned to the Western Tower Tiernan was sitting uncomfortably on the floor leaning against the stairs.
‘Any sign of the Nailmarni?’ asked Tiernan, closing his eyes as the guardian placed his hands over his smashed ankle.
‘No. You know I think we got them!’ said Kelian, barely daring to believe what he was saying.
‘I think so too,’ said Tiernan, closing his eyes. ‘There’s nothing…’
‘I thought you couldn’t sense them. Callian said the Nailmarni couldn’t sense the Daoine Maithe and the Daoine Maithe couldn’t sense the Nailmarni.’
‘Sometimes I can sense them, especially when they move in such huge numbers,’ said Tiernan, not opening his eyes. ‘Not often and not very well, just a sense of their existence. But now there’s nothing. It’s strange – I’ve never known of anyone who could sense them at all, other than me. I don’t know why.’ Tiernan seemed genuinely surprised by this fact.
‘And the ones Danil shut in the caverns?’ asked Kelian. ‘What do you think happened to them?’
‘There will be as much chiniocelle in there as there was outside,’ said Tiernan. ‘Trust me, they’re dead.’
‘So we won?’ said Kelian, his heart accelerating.
‘Definitely,’ said Danil appearing behind Kelian. Kelian swung around and before he could stop himself he grabbed Danil and hugged him, slapping his back in relief at seeing his King’s Marshall alive.
‘Good to see you alive too, Majesty,’ said Danil, smiling.
‘Did we lose anyone?’ said Kelian anxiously.
‘Not one!’ said General Marnol proudly, as he appeared beneath the portcullis. ‘Not one person was lost! Can you believe that? This will go down as the single most incredible victory Alkira has ever seen. This is amazing! It’s impossible! But it happened! Not a single person lost! Though there are about forty soldiers who’ll be anxious for their eyebrows to grow back. There are a lot of burns and singed hair. The men will remain around the lake until we’re absolutely sure, but…it worked! It worked!’
The Guardians (Book 2) Page 41