‘So I hear my son has been made your Squire,’ said Duke Percy, as Dale stood looking over the view through one of the old crenellations in the wall. ‘I trust he has proven worthy?’
‘Your Grace, Enri was appointed as my Squire not long before we left Castle. King Dannicus himself chose your son as the most capable of the Pages. He’s a credit to you.’ He could see Duchess Vera’s eyes shining as he spoke.
‘I was afraid he wouldn’t be happy in Castle. That perhaps he wouldn’t fit in,’ said Duchess Vera, sounding relieved.
Dale hesitated. ‘Enri isn’t happy in Castle.’ He gazed westward as he spoke, his eyes wandering from the pretty little village across the open farmland to the patches of woods. In the distance he could see the sparkle of a little river and beyond this the peaks of the Tabul Mountains. ‘It’s not difficult to see why he was unhappy. He must have felt like a wild bird, trapped in a cage.’
‘And yourself, Baron Dale?’ the Duchess asked perceptively. ‘Is that also how you feel?’
‘More than I’d ever allow anyone to see,’ Dale admitted. ‘I was raised in East Inlet and then taken to Emerald. Even Emerald seemed like a big city to me. But Castle…’ He sighed, remembering how uncomfortable he was when he first arrived in Castle. He saw only empathy in the eyes of Duchess Vera.
‘It was a difficult decision to send Enri away. But it was important for him to gain a greater perspective of life. Is he to continue with you?’
‘Yes.’
‘I worry about him.’
‘I’ll do everything in my power to keep him safe. And remember we’re going with three guardians.’
They walked to the other side of the wall where most of the old merlons along the battlement had been removed allowing a stunning view of the sea. Percy, Galbraith and Callian were already seated at a large round table, and Danil and Valeska appeared a minute later and took their seats. Dale glanced around for Enri.
‘I sent Enri to catch up with some of his friends,’ Duchess Vera explained. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I don’t imagine you will be staying very long?’
Dale smiled. ‘Good idea. I know he has missed his friends.’
Danil filled Duke Percy and Duchess Elizabeth in on events to date. Three servants arrived bearing large platters of food and the group sat silently as breakfast was served. They waited until Duke Percy dismissed the servants before continuing their discussion.
‘So…the plan?’ the Duke prompted.
‘We intercept the fallen as they come through Sheldon’s Quest, before they disappear into Nyinaku,’ said King’s Marshall Danil. ‘We must have sufficient numbers to stop them.’
Callian’s face clouded with worry. ‘King’s Marshall, even with the soldiers from Castle, the garrison at Sheldon’s Mark, and any soldiers Duke Percy may be willing to send, I don’t think we can defeat the number of warriors Private Josif described. We need more guardians, more time.’
‘We have neither,’ said Danil bluntly. ‘I guess we need a better plan.’
‘They may not even be coming through Sheldon’s Quest,’ Duchess Vera observed, tapping a large map she had been studying. ‘They may take the Ice Coast.’
‘Surely they wouldn’t take the Ice Coast at this time of the year. They wouldn’t get past the Barren Lake. It will be a rushing torrent of icy water,’ said Duke Percy, looking at Callian.
‘Unless they intend to go through Weema then maybe down to Mirri and across through Larundel to...we don’t have any idea of where they will take the girls,’ Callian admitted.
‘That seems a very long way around,’ said Duke Percy. ‘It would add significant time to their journey.’
‘The fallen don’t consider time as humans do,’ said Callian, shaking his head. ‘They aren’t concerned with how long a journey takes, but rather with the path providing the least inconvenience to themselves and the most inconvenience to us.’
‘But if they took Sheldon’s Quest, they could already have made the crossing,’ said Dale. ‘Where would they go from there?’ Vera pushed the map over to Dale and he leaned forward to examine it. ‘If it was me,’ he said bluntly, ‘I would take the Ice Coast if I was going to Weema and Skeleton’s Rest if I was going almost anywhere else. And ‘anywhere else’ would mean going through Mirri for a start. Probably,’ he added, glancing sideways at Danil.
Danil studied at the map. ‘I agree. But if they do take the Ice Coast to Weema there’s no way we can take a bunch of soldiers there. Every one of the fallen in East Nyinaku would be after us. It would be madness. I know that’s why King Dannicus refused to allow Tiernan to send a massive bunch of guardians. All that would happen is that we would start a war.’
‘The same applies, King’s Marshall, if you have to track the fallen towards Mirri. You can take your soldiers to the Khynol Mountains and not much further west than Mangaldan or Khynol,’ said Duke Percy. ‘And even then the fallen may be just itching for an excuse to kill you. They don’t usually need a lot of prompting. I know that the Lost Forest is supposed to be Alkiran territory but that’s become a bit of a joke. It’s not a safe place to wander.’
Dale sat back for a moment with his eyes closed, letting the gentle morning sun warm his face. ‘I would bet the fallen took the Ice Coast,’ he said without opening his eyes. ‘I cannot believe they would come through the Quest when they know we have a fairly large garrison at Sheldon’s Mark. But they’re sure to have spies all over the place watching our every move.’ His eyes flew open and he sat up suddenly. ‘And I would also bet they will anticipate the King sending a whole bunch of us by ship – through Warbilla!’
Callian leaned back in his chair and turned his face upwards, basking in the sun’s warmth. ‘We agree, Baron. It was unfortunate you missed our discussions aboard the ‘Swift’ but we have considered the possibility of a nasty reception at Warbilla. We have no way of knowing right now.’
‘Is there no other place? I mean, does it have to be Warbilla?’ asked Dale.
‘It’s the quickest if we’re to make for Sheldon’s Mark,’ Prince Galbraith stated.
Dale shook his head vigorously. ‘There’s no way we’re going to stop them coming out of the Quest! We must be mad to think they’re not already back in Nyinaku. We’re not taking into account how fast and cunning they are! And yet we seem to have some absurd idea that we can stop them? Fight them? Are we joking? The second they see us coming they’re going to put a knife through at least one of the Governor’s daughters just to warn us off! We may as well murder them ourselves! Now if we really want to get them back-’ Dale stopped as everyone stared at him in surprise. He flushed bright red. ‘Sorry,’ he said sitting back in his chair.
‘Baron, if ever there was a time I need everyone to be forthright, it’s now! Continue,’ Prince Galbraith ordered firmly.
‘Highness, I would like to respectfully suggest-’ Dale began.
‘Dale!’ the Prince said sharply. ‘Just tell me what you were about to say!’
‘If we want to get them back alive, we have to ‘out-fallen the fallen’,’ said Dale, looking around the confused faces. ‘They’re fast and they’re cunning. They’re dangerous. They have a plan or at least they’re following someone’s orders – probably Nandul’s. Also they’re anticipating our moves. So our moves must be unexpected. Our plans must take into account as many different outcomes as possible. Callian says we cannot defeat that number of warriors, so we have to avoid confrontation unless there’s no remaining choice. We must be more cunning,’ he said glancing at Callian, ‘and we must be faster. We need both speed and strategy.’
‘There is a limit to our speed, Dale,’ said Prince Galbraith.
‘There are three guardians, Callian, Valeska and Danil. There are three humans, you, Enri and me. That’s speed and strategy. Would you like to place a small wager on how fast a guardian can carry a human?’
Prince Galbraith sat dead still, staring at Dale. ‘Yes!’ his voice was a whisper. ‘That’s it! We have
to sneak in fast and abduct the hostages!’
Danil scratched his chin thoughtfully. ‘If we cover enough ground we can find out where the girls are being taken, and then I’m sure it will take all of us to get them out of there. Some of us might need to be a distraction while the rest find and free the hostages.’
‘What about horses?’ Captain Galbraith suggested.
‘No good,’ said Dale bluntly. ‘We’ll have enough to do just feeding ourselves, and if we want to stay out of sight we can’t go galloping across the open plains. We need to move through the hills and through the bush land and stay out of sight. I think horses would slow us down, especially if we’re crossing rough country.’
Danil looked uneasily at Dale. ‘I agree that we need to stay out of sight. But we could still end up with Nandul’s entire army of warriors chasing us around Nyinaku.’
‘I doubt it King’s Marshall,’ said Dale with a grimace. ‘By now most of them are probably chasing Prince Kelian. But if our being seen is distraction enough for Kelian to somehow get the job done, then I’d be only too happy to go galloping across the Plains of Sagria.’
‘I wonder how much trouble we’ll have getting into Nyinaku,’ said Danil.
‘I doubt we’ll have any trouble getting in,’ said Valeska. ‘They’ll want to find out what we are up to before they destroy us.’
‘Wonderful,’ said Galbraith sarcastically, shaking his head. ‘Nice to know we can wander over the border any time we want,’ he added drily.
Callian sat back. ‘Highness, it’s going to be very tricky getting out of Nyinaku.’
Chapter 24
Nyinaku
The path became more difficult as they moved west. To Elena’s and Immosey’s relief the infamous Ice Coastal winds were absent and the fog had cleared. This made it a little more difficult to travel inconspicuously but it also gave their blankets and clothes a chance to dry properly and the girls were glad of this small blessing. The path had long since disappeared, but Milgorry led them unhesitatingly west. The land was a maze of deep fissures, high cragged rocks and pools of melting snow and ice. Several times Milgorry grabbed Elena or Immosey when they began to slide down the steep rocks towards freezing water.
The first night on the Ice Coast they didn’t find shelter. They spent an unpleasant night huddled together on the driest rocks they could find, not willing to light a fire as they could not find anywhere where a fire would not easily be seen. Elena and Immosey were certain they would have frozen to death if it hadn’t been for the help of Louisa, who was rapidly gaining control over her gifts. They were pleased when the sun rose the next morning and they started on their way once again. Over the next days the land gradually changed between vast plains of snowy ice, open stretches of flat black rocks and patches of frozen ground and they were able to move far more quickly. Milgorry carried a bundle of wood on his back which he had taken from the some of the last trees they passed before moving onto the ice, and when possible he found secluded places that he deemed were safe enough to have a fire for warmth. Occasionally he would disappear for many hours and return with more wood. As Elena and Immosey slept, Louisa lay between them holding their hands and doing her best to warm them. Each day they grew more tired and each day they moved closer to Nyinaku. Eventually there was the occasional conifer, sparkling in the sunshine and dripping with melting snow, and little flowers pushed their way up through the cold ground. From higher points they could see right across the ice to the sea, which was a sparkling strip near the horizon and despite their exhaustion and cold, the girls were spell bound by the beauty of the land. Sometimes they found shelter amongst the rocks edging the mountains which rose to the north, but each day they walked on, stopping only occasionally for rest and food. They were forced to halt when they came to a place where a torrent of icy water rushed down the rocks, blocking their path. Milgorry decided they would rest and eat before he carried each girl across the water, and once they were across he intended to find decent shelter for the next night.
‘There’s a hunter’s hut not far from here which was abandoned many years ago, but some still use it in passing. In the summer most people who come this way stockpile a little firewood against the need in winter. We can spend the night there.’ He looked at the girls as though considering this decision. ‘I’ll go ahead when we get closer just in case there’s anyone around.’
Elena and Immosey exchanged worried glances.
‘Is that likely?’ Immosey asked hesitatingly.
‘It’s possible,’ said Milgorry. As it turned out, there was no sign of anyone having been near the hut for quite some time. It was dark inside as there were very few windows and these were covered with wooden boards. The roof was angled towards a back corner, where it became a chimney above a stone platform with a raised border. The stones were blackened from many previous fires. There was a stack of firewood in the opposite corner, enough for several days and a shelf containing digging tools, old broken arrows and a very sharp axe, as well as bowls, drinking vessels and cooking pots and utensils. There was no floor in the hut, but the compacted soil was flat and smooth and met the walls well, letting in little cold.
Milgorry took the time to add to the pile of firewood and then he and Louisa decided they would take turns in keeping watch whilst Elena and Immosey slept. Louisa sat beside Milgorry for a while on a small wooden bench beside the hut, not speaking but thinking over their decision to go through Nyinaku. She wondered how they could possibly get past the fallen in their own land, and what Nandul would do to Milgorry if they were caught. She shivered with this dark thought and Milgorry immediately twisted around and gathered her up, wrapping his cloak around her.
‘You need to stop worrying,’ he said firmly. ‘I’ll get us off this ice as soon as I can and we can start moving north.’
‘I hope it’s warmer in Nyinaku.’ Louisa tilted her head back to look at Milgorry.
‘It will be. The weather around the Ice Mountains defies logic, but it will get a lot warmer as we go north, and food will be easier to manage,’ he said positively. ‘I don’t like this hut any more than you do – it’s far too well known, but I didn’t want Elena and Immosey outside for another night. The warmth will do them good.’
‘Mmm…’ Louisa murmured in agreement, still looking up at Milgorry’s dark eyes.
‘Do you get cold much?’ he asked curiously.
‘Not much. I was a bit cold the first night on the ice,’ she admitted, wriggling out of his arms and standing up. ‘We should look around a little.’
Milgorry took Louisa’s hand and they moved to the highest nearby hill. They stood watching for any inexplicable movement, but saw nothing unusual. The moon shone brightly from directly overhead and Louisa’s skin seemed to glow softly. Milgorry’s sun browned arms were very dark beside her pale skin. He brushed back her dark hair and ran his fingers over her neck, sending a pleasant shiver through her, and he smiled when she blushed. She sat down and then lay back against the ground, looking straight up at the moon. He sat beside her and leaned over her and kissed her, his dark eyes burning, making her heart pound. His fingers traced along her forehead, down her cheek and across her lips and she closed her eyes as his hand moved over her shoulder and down her arm. She trembled at his touch. He drew back. ‘Louisa, I’d never want you to feel…I need to know what you want.’ He sighed and turned away putting his head in his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.
There was a flash of movement and Louisa reached out and dragged Milgorry towards her. He laughed in surprise as he landed on top of her, then he grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the ground. She stared up at him, unable to move.
‘I thought I was supposed to be strong and dangerous. I’m the guardian, aren’t I?’
‘You are not half as strong as I am, little guardian, and nowhere near as dangerous.’ He leaned over, preventing her from moving an inch. He kissed her lips then his lips brushed past her chin caressed her neck softly. ‘Yet,’ he added,
releasing her wrists.
She gazed back at him, completely mesmerized as she looked into his burning eyes. His face was serious and still questioning. In that moment she knew. There would never be another. Another was impossible. He belonged to her as surely as she belonged to him.
By the time Louisa came into the hut Elena and Immosey had prepared a good fire on the stone platform, and had made up their little bed. They were pleased that the meat remaining from Milgorry’s most recent hunting expedition was still very cold and they cut portions which they skewered for roasting over the fire. Milgorry appeared shortly after, took a little roasted meat and disappeared into the darkness.
To everyone’s relief the night passed without incident and Elena and Immosey both slept for more than ten hours before being woken by a loud thumping noise. They sat up to see Milgorry using the axe to knock one of the window boards free, letting a little light into the dark hut. Louisa was lying beside Elena, wrapped in a blanket. Elena had never known Louisa to sleep through any noise at all, let alone the racket that Milgorry was making. Milgorry turned and smiled at Elena.
‘I thought she could use a little sleep, though I imagine she’ll be cross that I didn’t wake her in time to keep her watch.’ He knelt beside Louisa and ran his hand gently down her cheek. Elena leaned forward in alarm when Louisa didn’t wake.
‘She isn’t waking!’ said Elena, her voice scared.
Milgorry continued to stroke her face and her hair, and Elena and Immosey pushed themselves forward onto their knees looking anxiously from Louisa to Milgorry. She was obviously still breathing, but didn’t wake even when Milgorry leaned forward and gently kissed her lips several times.
‘What’s wrong with her, Mil?’ asked Immosey, her voice sounding a little panicky.
The Fallen (Book 1) Page 23