The Fallen (Book 1)

by Dan O'Sullivan

  Rudiger turned to Milgorry. ‘Eibhear will hunt for food for the humans,’ he said and glanced at Kelian as the Prince looked surprised. ‘We are not all heartless bastards, human.’

  Milgorry smiled as Kelian raised an eyebrow. ‘I suppose a proper introduction would be fitting,’ he said. ‘Your Highness, Prince Kelian of Alkira, may I introduce Rudiger of Morlee.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you, Highness,’ said Rudiger, looking stunned.

  ‘And this is his fiancée Elena, and her sisters Immosey and Louisa.’ Rudiger nodded to each girl in turn. ‘These two are Araas and his brother Timbul, you may know him as Tebur,’ Milgorry continued and Rudiger’s face paled slightly as he turned to look at each of the guardians. ‘And this is Gilgarry. He’s brother of Elena, Immosey and Louisa. You probably already know that Louisa is the one Nandul is after,’ said Milgorry, putting his arm around the girl and gently kissing her.

  Rudiger stared at them and then shook his head. ‘Ah Mil, Nandul will be a bit annoyed when he finds out you stole his girl,’ he said, his face breaking into a smile.

  ‘Yes, he was a bit cross,’ said Kelian. ‘He lost his temper when he found out Louisa is carrying Mil’s child,’ he explained.

  ‘Supreme Majesty!’ Rudiger whispered, staring at Louisa. ‘I imagine he did!’

  ‘He wasn’t impressed,’ Milgorry admitted.

  ‘So why did you come this way? I thought you would go north.’

  ‘Baron Dale and his Squire Enri went north with Lias, King’s Marshall Danil, Lady Valeska of the guardians, two of our soldiers – Alexander and David, and Guardian General Callian,’ Kelian explained. ‘We thought it would be more confusing if we split up,’ he added.

  Rudiger’s eyes widened with astonishment. ‘That’s a fairly powerful little group!’ he said.

  ‘Rudi, I need to get Louisa to the Dwellings,’ said Milgorry. ‘She’ll be safe there.’

  Rudiger slapped his shoulder. ‘I’ll help you get out of Nyinaku, then I need to…I have no idea what I need to do next,’ he admitted.

  ‘What was your plan?’ asked Borgulnay from where he sat with his back to a tree. ‘I mean, what was your plan before we burnt your weapons?’

  Rudiger turned and looked down at Borgulnay then glanced at Milgorry questioningly.

  ‘This is King’s Captain Borgulnay of Castle,’ said Milgorry. ‘He’s human, but just barely.’ Borgulnay glared at him indignantly. ‘It wasn’t an insult Borg. You are just closer to one of us than you are to being human. You’re a more dangerous soldier than many warriors I’ve trained.’

  Rudiger eyed Borgulnay appraisingly. ‘The plan was to get weapons, get more warriors, take down Nandul’s army and then return him,’ said Rudiger, sitting down beside Borgulnay and leaning back against the tree. ‘You have a better plan, Captain?’

  Borgulnay scratched his chin contemplatively. ‘Let’s take this one step at a time. Get weapons. Perhaps you should concentrate on getting some specialized weapons. Wouldn’t you rather put an arrow through Nandul from a distance?’

  ‘I would prefer not to be too close to the swine. The bastard has a nasty habit of murdering anyone he even remotely suspects is disloyal.’

  ‘You wouldn’t have to be too close if you had decent longbows. The bows we burnt weren’t very good, and there’s a lot of advantage in being able to shoot further than your enemy. Of course getting away afterwards can still be tricky if you miss too many times, even with the extra distance, so you need to train well with any new weapons you want to use. A longbow might be a hindrance if you’re fighting your way through thick bush land. So you also need a well-planned escape route. What was next? Get more warriors? From what Milgorry has told me, Nandul commands too many warriors to face in open battle. You probably need to be a cunning force rather than a large one. Have you sent in any spies? Have you got anyone in his closest circle?’

  ‘No,’ Rudiger admitted. ‘We have warriors here and there, even within his elite units but none among his personal guards.’

  ‘Alright, is there a possibility of infiltrating his guards and finding out what he’s doing at every moment of every day?’

  ‘Mil would have been in the perfect position…but I guess not now, since Nandul has decided to do his best to murder his own son.’

  ‘Rudi, I had the point of my sword at his throat and I couldn’t return him,’ said Milgorry shaking his head.

  Rudiger closed his eyes momentarily. ‘I couldn’t expect you to return your father Mil, but I wish you had.’

  ‘Araas and Tim were going to take him back to their father.’ Milgorry’s eyes twinkled with mirth.

  Rudiger gave a low whistle. ‘Tiernan would have returned him faster than I can blink. Ah, how I would have loved to be there to see Nandul’s face when he woke up in the Dwellings.’ He sighed. ‘I doubt you would have gotten away with it. It’s probably better for you to leave Nyinaku without Nandul than have to fight off his entire army all the way across Alkira.’

  ‘Does Nandul have any idea you’re gathering forces to challenge him?’ asked Gilgarry curiously.

  ‘No. He suspects someone is working against him but I’m fairly confident he doesn’t know who. Not yet anyway.’

  Borgulnay shrugged. ‘So get close to him. Make him trust you.’

  Rudiger clasped his hands behind his neck and stretched his back. ‘Whew! That sound like fun! Get close to Nandul. I just can’t imagine anything I’d rather be doing,’ he said sarcastically and everyone laughed.

  Kelian sat down on the ground under the tree. ‘If you are cunning Nandul might even meet with an unfortunate accident. So much easier to replace him if no-one is actually trying to murder you for assassinating him. Then you won’t need to take out his entire army, you could simply redirect it.’ Rudiger raised his eyebrows in surprise as Kelian continued. ‘And you need to start a few rumors. If Nandul suspects his closest warriors of treachery, he might get nervous enough to return a few of them for you.’ Kelian frowned as he thought. ‘Just be sure the rumors cannot be traced back to you, if you’re trying to gain his trust. In fact, a well-timed but unsuccessful attempt on your life might be just the thing to reinforce Nandul’s confidence in you.’

  ‘Er?’ Rudiger looked at Kelian in confusion.

  ‘Get close to Nandul,’ said Milgorry. ‘Infiltrate his army with spies. Start rumors about possible disloyalty. Tell Nandul you suspect there is someone disloyal close to him. Make it look like someone tried to return you for talking to Nandul. Don’t become overconfident. My father can be dangerous when he’s angry.’

  Rudiger snorted at this understatement. ‘Are you sure he’s Prince of Alkira, Mil? I thought ‘an unfortunate accident’ was more our style. He’s a bit crafty and devious for a Prince isn’t he?’

  ‘He certainly is,’ Milgorry agreed emphatically.

  ‘It still could come down to a very personal fight,’ Gilgarry observed.

  ‘If it comes to one on one, I know of only one person who can defeat Nandul,’ said Rudiger, ‘and he’s going to Alkira with his pregnant guardian. I’ll probably never see him again.’

  ‘Rudi, I’ll see Louisa to safety, but unless Tiernan returns me, I won’t abandon my people. I need you to be patient whilst I’m gone.’ He turned as he felt a surge of emotion from Louisa and he pulled her closer. ‘Louisa, I won’t abandon you either. There are things I must do, things I need to put right, but I won’t be away from you any longer than I must. I would have you by my side, but the only safe place for you right now is under the care of Tiernan and Karrijeuiga.’

  ‘I don’t want you to miss the baby’s birth,’ said Louisa, looking anxious.

  A smile dawned on Araas’ face. ‘Lou, it will be twenty-eight months before the baby arrives. And that’s if the baby is on time!’

  ‘Twenty-eight months!’ said Louisa, aghast. ‘I’m going to be pregnant for twenty-eight months?’

  ‘Don’t panic,’ said Timbul. ‘Pregnancy sickness is unusual f
or guardians.’

  ‘Earlier you said Nandul’s authority was assumed,’ said Kelian. ‘Who should be your leader and how did Nandul come to be in charge?’

  ‘The Lost Prince,’ said Rudiger, glancing at Milgorry and looking surprised that Kelian didn’t know this.

  ‘Explain,’ said Kelian, reaching out to accept a blanket from the two men who had returned with their packs and the gear they had left in the abandoned hut.

  ‘He disappeared from Mirri when Nandul led an army into Sagria. The Prince had ordered his warriors to drive the Sagrians north or come to an agreement with them, but Nandul destroyed them. Some say the Prince was so grieved by what had happened that he returned, others say he left Mirri refusing to be Prince because of the warriors’ disobedience and the terrible thing they had done. No-one really knows whether he returned or not.’

  ‘Callian was convinced he chose to disappear,’ said Araas. ‘He thinks the Prince will return when it’s of greatest benefit to the people.’

  ‘How would Callian know?’ Rudiger sounded unconvinced.

  Araas’ face turned curiously blank. ‘You would have to ask Callian that. Some things are not ours to discuss.’

  ‘What was his name?’ asked Gilgarry.

  ‘Garran,’ answered Rudiger.

  ‘Garran? Doesn’t that mean ‘guardian’?’

  ‘It does,’ said Araas. ‘We were all one race before the…before some chose to be free.’

  ‘It seems strange to me that a Prince would choose to disappear,’ said Kelian. ‘How did he become Prince?’

  ‘He was chosen by the people for his unique gifts,’ Rudiger explained. ‘He could place the essence of the free into a human. They would still be a human in body, but they would also become one of the free. He had other gifts that made him a very good leader, even without the fact that he was almost as dangerous as Mil with a sword.’

  A smile spread over Borgulnay’s face. ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if Nandul thought this Prince might still be around,’ he said.

  Milgorry sat staring down at the ground, lost in thought.

  ‘Mil,’ said Rudiger eventually. ‘Tell me what you want me to do.’

  ‘I want you to do as Kelian and Borg suggested. Replace the weapons we destroyed. Try to find an expert weapons smith, someone you can trust, and a good fletcher. Perhaps you could find someone who can make good longbows. I’ll bet Larund could. I wonder how strong his loyalty to Nandul is.’ Milgorry chuckled. ‘Larund has such a hard time keeping his own thoughts to himself it shouldn’t be difficult to find out. Then start placing some of your men as spies. Make sure they’re aware of what they’re doing. Rudi, make sure you only send people who willingly choose to take on this task. And I want you to do two more things. I want you to start some rumors that the Prince of Mirri has been found and-’ Milgorry hesitated.

  ‘And what?’

  ‘And I want to find out if the Prince really did return or whether he’s still here somewhere.’

  ‘Mil, people have been trying to find that out for a very long time,’ said Rudiger emphatically, spreading his hands.

  ‘I know. But if ever there was a time to try again, it’s now.’

  ‘And you want me to get close to Nandul?’ Rudiger appeared decidedly uneasy about this undertaking.

  ‘Not yet. Wait until I’m back from Alkira. If there’s any way you can establish some trust without getting too near to him, go ahead, but don’t get yourself returned. We need you here, Rudi.’

  Rudiger and Borgulnay sat for over an hour, with Borgulnay offering suggestions and advice. He considered each piece of information that Rudiger could provide and explained the best and most successful strategy to deal with the multitude of difficulties Rudiger was facing. Rudiger questioned him extensively about some of the complex tactics Borgulnay outlined and Borgulnay patiently explained exactly what he meant and what would be required in each case. Eventually Rudiger fell silent as he considered Borgulnay’s ideas. Borgulnay was surprised to find how much he cared about the outcome of Rudiger’s plans.

  ‘I suppose you don’t want to stay here in Nyinaku?’ Rudiger looked hopefully at Borgulnay. ‘We could certainly use your help.’ For a moment Borgulnay seemed to consider this offer.

  ‘Borg!’ Kelian exclaimed, frowning. ‘Don’t even think about it, Captain!’

  ‘Sorry!’ said Borgulnay sheepishly. ‘I must be a bit tired. And hungry,’ he added as Eibhear appeared carrying the carcass of an awleotil.

  ‘If you want to rest, we will look after the humans,’ said Rudiger. ‘Though they seem to be able to look after themselves fairly well,’ he added turning to look towards a cluster of boulders where Elena and Immosey hovered around a small fire. Elena snapped a branch over her knee and placed the wood in the flames.

  Borgulnay was beside Immosey in seconds and the rest of the group followed. ‘Please don’t tell me you went wandering around in the forest looking for wood without telling me, Immy,’ he said pleadingly.

  ‘Borg, there are guards on every side of this hill. We didn’t go past them, so you can stop worrying,’ said Immosey firmly, waving a knife in his direction. Gilgarry stared at the knife for a second. His hand went to his empty sheath and he shook his head crossly at his sister.

  ‘These are good,’ Borgulnay observed, picking up one of the sticks Immosey had sharpened to a point. ‘Who taught you how to do this?’

  ‘Mil taught us, when he led us across the Ice into Nyinaku,’ said Immosey proudly.

  ‘You led them into Nyinaku?’ Rudiger looked disbelievingly at Milgorry.

  ‘We thought they would be less likely to believe we would go that way,’ Elena explained casually.

  ‘You’re joking! No-one except you Mil could come up with such a mad and dangerous idea. You would have to be a lunatic to lead a human into Nyinaku. But you’re probably the only person I can think of who would come up with a plan like that and get away with it!’

  ‘Actually it was my idea,’ said Louisa uncomfortably. ‘And we didn’t get away with it. We were caught.’

  ‘You’re lucky to be alive,’ said Rudiger. ‘Eat and get some rest and I’ll wake you at midnight. We’ll help you to get out of here.’

  Chapter 41

  Loss

  Alexander pointed confidently. ‘That way,’ he said leaning forward and squinting through the blinding sheets of rain. There was an ominous cracking sound and the log on which they were perched shot away from the steep bank and rolled down the hill, sending everyone tumbling. They hurtled down the muddy slope like a human avalanche, landing awkwardly in a heap at the bottom of the hill with Callian holding Aithne protectively in his arms. He stared at her in alarm, hoping the little girl was uninjured. She burst out laughing. Callian glanced around. Everyone was covered prolifically with mud and leaves and all wore the same stunned expression. He climbed to his feet.

  ‘Aithne, who suggested we climb onto that old log so we could better see where we were going?’ he asked, pretending to think hard.

  ‘He did!’ the little girl said accusingly, pointing to Alex who raised his hands innocently.

  ‘Obviously I meant that to happen,’ said Alex, looking at Callian disdainfully, ‘so you would all be better camouflaged you see.’

  ‘Of course you did,’ Danil agreed sarcastically. ‘At least there’s little chance of us being seen or heard over this rain!’

  ‘You all look terrible,’ Alex commented, to Aithne’s amusement.

  ‘How far to the jetty Alex?’ asked Callian, trying unsuccessfully to squint through the torrential downpour.

  ‘About two miles, General,’ Alex was instantly serious. ‘We need to approach from the north.’

  ‘Let’s go,’ said Dale, shaking the rain from his hair. Valeska moved to the front of the group and led the way through the trees. The rain became even heavier and the wind roared against their ears, but as Valeska moved forwards the gale seemed to calm a little and even though the rain continued Dale
noticed he could see a path ahead. He started in alarm as he found they were following the path which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in front of them and he swung around to Callian wondering what would happen if a bunch of the fallen suddenly decided to use the path. Callian smiled at Dale’s anxious face.

  ‘Look behind us Baron,’ he suggested and he gestured in the direction from which they had come.

  Dale’s jaw dropped as he gazed back up the slope. There was no sign of any path. Toobada bushes were growing together so closely that he couldn’t see how they had pushed their way through without being scratched to pieces, and yet he knew they had come that way.

  ‘The path wasn’t made by the fallen,’ Callian explained. ‘It’s Valeska’s path. It won’t hide us, but it’s certainly quicker than fighting our way through the bushes. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed just how easily we’ve been making our way around Nyinaku! It wasn’t by coincidence. No-one can follow this path unless Valeska leads them. Even so, we remain wary.’ Dale noticed that both Callian and Danil’s hands rested on the hilts of their swords.

  Dale followed the group down Valeska’s path. He couldn’t help but look backwards every minute or so and at no time did there appear to be any path behind them. Even when he stared at the path ahead without blinking he couldn’t work out how the path was forming. It was as if it had been there forever. They walked north until Alex was satisfied that they had gone far enough, then they turned and made their way east. The bloodwood and ironbark trees thinned, giving way to masses of bright yellow wattle trees. The group came to a halt where the rocks formed a natural windbreak and the rain’s intensity was lessened somewhat by the overhanging wattle branches. The instant Valeska stopped moving forward, the path melted away and they once again felt the full force of the wind and rain, so they were pleased for what little shelter the rocks and branches provided. Aithne reached up from where she perched on Callian’s shoulders and grabbed a sprig of wattle blossom and tried to snap it from the tree. A shower of water burst from the branches and dumped itself on the already drenched group. Aithne stared around guiltily at their surprised faces.