Milgorry gave a shout of pain as he hit the ground and his attacker landed heavily on him. He lay still, too stunned from the fall to contemplate moving. He sighed with relief when Araas appeared. Araas rolled the body away from Milgorry and removed Milgorry’s knife from the man’s chest. He wiped it clean and crouched and handed it back to Milgorry who was still lying unmoving on the ground. Milgorry reached up and grabbed Araas’ arm.
‘They were doing something under the house. Check there’s no fire!’ Milgorry exclaimed and Araas disappeared.
‘There was a fire,’ said Araas grimly when he returned. ‘It was very well hidden. It might have been completely out of control if we hadn’t checked,’ he said, sounding horrified.
‘Araas, this won’t be the end of it. You might have stopped one little fire, but this will only make them more determined to burn the place to the ground, preferably with everyone in it,’ said Milgorry bluntly.
Araas’ face hardened. ‘We need to get everyone out of here. The sooner we get to Tarlique the better. Let’s hope Gil is well enough to be moved. Are you coming inside?’
‘No,’ said Milgorry weakly. ‘Araas, could you ask Louisa to come out here please?’ Araas glanced back curiously towards Milgorry as he went into the house. Louisa appeared within seconds flanked by Timbul and Araas and followed by Kelian, Borgulnay, Gilgarry, Elena and Immosey.
Louisa knelt beside Milgorry looking frightened. ‘What happened to you Mil?’ she asked nervously.
‘I fell from the roof. Kiss me Louisa.’
She leaned down and kissed his lips gently and then sat back and gazed at him. Tears sprang from her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
‘Can’t you get up?’ she cried.
Milgorry shook his head. ‘No,’ he said sadly. He lifted his hand and touched her face. ‘My beautiful Guardian, no, I can’t sit up.’
‘Oh Mil!’ Louisa shook her head frantically.
Araas and Timbul exchanged vexed glances and the two men knelt beside Milgorry. Milgorry reached up and grabbed Timbul’s sleeve.
‘Please,’ he whispered. ‘Can we get this over with?’
‘What do you want me to do, Mil?’ said Timbul hesitantly.
‘Return me, Tim. I can’t walk. I can’t even move. I can’t live like this. I won’t live like this. I couldn’t bear it.’
Kelian crouched. ‘Tell me what happened,’ he ordered.
‘I was on the roof and one of them came from behind me with a knife and I wasn’t quick enough. I thought I might be able to drag him from the roof without falling off, but it didn’t work,’ Milgorry explained. ‘When I hit the ground, he landed right on top of me – well, on top of my knife actually, but I landed awkwardly and my back…’ His voice trailed away and he grimaced. ‘I can still move my legs but only slightly.’
Kelian looked at Araas in alarm. ‘Is there nothing we can do?’ he asked aghast.
‘Araas?’ Timbul watched his brother intently. ‘What do you think?’
‘We can try,’ said Araas, nodding. ‘Mil, if it’s just your spine there’s a good chance we can make it right, but if anything else has been damaged…’ He shook his head.
‘No!’ Milgorry’s voice was a hoarse shout as he hit Araas’ hand away. ‘Not this time Araas. You’d be unconscious afterwards and that would leave everyone else more than vulnerable.’ He glanced towards Elena and Immosey and sighed as he watched them openly crying. ‘I’m not prepared to take the risk.’
‘You have to let me try!’ Araas exclaimed.
‘No,’ said Milgorry firmly. ‘I don’t have to do anything, Araas. I’m free.’ He groaned and closed his eyes for a few seconds. ‘I don’t have to do anything,’ he repeated.
‘You’re being ridiculous!’ Timbul said crossly. ‘Why?’
‘There’s no point, Tim. My history isn’t good. Your father is going to return me the split second he sees me.’
‘You can’t be sure of that,’ Timbul protested.
‘Yes, I can! And so can you! You know what would have happened the moment I set foot within the Dwellings!’ Milgorry snorted. ‘I’d rather you did it and I’d rather it happened now.’
‘So you want me to murder you, just to get it over with?’ said Timbul, and his voice was filled with angry sarcasm.
‘You won’t be murdering me Tim.’ Milgorry said sadly. ‘You’ll just be speeding up the inevitable.’
‘You are being ridiculous!’ Araas agreed.
‘I’ve been called ridiculous before,’ Milgorry managed a half smile as he glanced at Gilgarry who was only standing upright because Borgulnay had hold of him.
‘I’ve heard enough of this rubbish! Let’s just fix him up, Araas!’ said Timbul obstinately.
‘You’d better not even try, Timbul Tiernanson!’ said Milgorry, looking infuriated. ‘You’d be wasting your energy and making yourself completely useless as Guardians to everyone else. You know the second you’re unconscious my people will close in on this place and burn it to the ground. They’ll kill everyone in seconds.’
‘Tim, we need to make sure everyone knows what will happen when we do this,’ said Araas firmly, ignoring Milgorry.
‘You’re not doing this Araas!’ Milgorry growled. ‘Ná bain dom!’
‘I’m not touching you! Will you stop interrupting?’ said Araas crossly.
‘What will happen?’ Louisa asked fearfully.
‘Nothing’s going to happen!’ Milgorry interrupted again.
‘Tim and I will be either weak or unconscious for quite a while. That’s not a problem in itself, but we don’t want to leave you unable to defend yourselves.’
‘Just one minute!’ Milgorry’s voice rose ominously. ‘Don’t even think about putting yourself in a position where you can’t do your duty! If you weaken to the point that you become useless, who will look after everyone when you’re attacked again?’
‘I will!’ a voice stated adamantly from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Farmer Mulgrew standing in the doorway. He was dressed in a soldier’s uniform which was outdated by about ten years and he wore a sword slung across his back. His wife Peta stood beside him, with a proud light shining in her eyes.
‘Thank you Colonel,’ said Kelian and Borgulnay and Gilgarry stared in amazement at the farmer.
‘I wondered if you remembered me. You were just a little lad when I met you in Castle, before I left to take up farming,’ said Mulgrew, smiling at Kelian.
‘Actually, I couldn’t work out where I’d seen you, until I saw you in that uniform,’ Kelian admitted.
‘Colonel Mulgrew!’ Borgulnay exclaimed. He smiled at the old farmer. ‘You know Colonel, you are quite a legend in Castle,’ he said. ‘Your son Mulber is also a fine soldier. Well Araas, are you willing to put your trust in Colonel Mulgrew, Gilgarry and myself?’
‘No!’ Milgorry said vehemently. ‘I won’t allow this! Who knows how many warriors might attack next time?’
‘Oh thank you so much Mil for your overwhelming vote of confidence,’ said Gilgarry grumpily, trying to choke back his sadness.
‘I know you’re a good soldier Gil, but you need the Guardians. If they’re incapacitated everyone else here is as good as dead, and you’re not exactly at your best at the moment!’
‘Would someone just shut him up?’ asked Kelian crossly.
Milgorry ignored him. ‘You have to get everyone out of here and if you weaken yourselves, you won’t be able to travel. You’ll be stuck here for days! Anything could happen. There absolutely no way I will allow you to even think about-’ His tirade ended abruptly as Araas brushed his hand over his face. He gave Araas one final glare, outraged by the Guardian’s audacity, then he lost consciousness.
‘Well, what do you think?’ Timbul asked Araas once again.
‘Tim, we have to do this,’ said Araas. ‘At least, we have to try! I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try. Besides, it’s our duty.’
‘Is it your duty to help one of the fallen?’ Colonel Mu
lgrew asked curiously. ‘I was under the impression it was your duty to return them.’
‘Return?’ Peta looked at him in confusion.
‘I believe one of the duties of the Guardians is to hunt down any of the fallen who are not behaving as they should and return them to their creator?’ Farmer Mulgrew looked at Timbul for confirmation and the Guardian nodded.
‘Colonel, I owe far too much to Milgorry of Tarl,’ said Kelian, looking sadly at Milgorry’s body. ‘The Guardians are right. If we can save him, we must.’ Upon this statement Timbul and Araas leaned forward and placed their hands on Milgorry’s chest.
‘We could be here for quite a while,’ said Araas glancing up at Kelian. ‘The rest of you should go inside.’
Colonel Mulgrew and Borgulnay positioned themselves between the Guardians and the forest, and Gilgarry moved towards the house and sat on the ground, leaning against the steps. Kelian and Peta followed the girls inside. Araas and Timbul seemed frozen in place and very gradually warmth and light began to fill Milgorry’s body.
Chapter 6
Nailmarni
‘Lias, you actually look scared,’ said Dale. ‘I wasn’t entirely sure that was possible. Do you know who these people are?’
Lias said nothing, but continued to stare at Callian.
‘Callian?’ Dale prompted.
Callian frowned at Lias, and Dale slapped his hand crossly on the table.
‘Aloud!’ Dale demanded. Callian turned to him, and Dale saw that the Guardian General’s face was ashen.
‘Dale, I need to get back to the Dwellings right now. I have no idea how much I’m allowed to tell you about these people. Lias, you can come with me if you choose to.’ He turned to General Marnol. ‘General, as soon as I can, I will return.’ He turned to Danil. ‘Danil, you need to get Valeska, Enri and Aithne into the keep or let us take them to the Dwellings.’
‘Should we send someone out to look for the King?’ Alex asked anxiously.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Callian.
‘Excuse me?’ Baroness Kielie was looking at Callian in disbelief.
‘I doubt you’ll find him. You’ll just get yourself killed,’ said Callian. ‘Try to keep as many people as possible inside the castle walls. You need to treat this like a siege. If people refuse to come into the keep – make them!’
‘Should we try to get people out of here? Could we try to get them to other towns and cities?’ asked Alexander.
‘You say they attacked by both land and sea? Moving a large group of people any distance isn’t easy, especially if there are children involved. As far as I can see there are very few carts and wagons left which weren’t burnt and you would need to take food and blankets, more than you can carry. You wouldn’t be able to move fast enough, Alex. You’d never get through. And where would you take them? Who knows if other cities have been attacked? I’ll admit it’s quite a conundrum. Do we stay and face another attack, or to leave and lose the shelter of these walls. It’s a difficult decision.’
‘Can we send runners or riders through for help?’ asked Lady Sophie.
‘We can try,’ said Callian dubiously. ‘But if they act as I suspect they will, there will be a circle of them at a distance around any city they wish to attack, so anyone you send is most likely to be discovered and killed.’
‘What about the ship?’ Alex persisted.
‘You said they had taken three Alkiran ships and two were not sunk. I doubt they’ve gone very far.’
‘Then how are we getting to the Dwellings?’ Dale asked Callian.
‘On the Swift, with your permission Baron?’
‘My permission?’
‘Yes,’ said Danil. ‘With so many people either dead or missing, yourself and Baroness Kielie are our senior nobles at this point,’ he explained.
‘We have the same problem with our army,’ Danil admitted. ‘We lost a huge number of soldiers and most of our officers in the battle.’
‘Is that why we don’t have anyone on the walls?’ asked Dale.
‘We have men on the walls; they’re just doing their best to stay out of sight. We need more soldiers.’ General Marnol glanced at his son as he spoke.
‘If we want to bring in more soldiers they’d have to come by foot, if you’re planning on sending the Swift to the Dwellings,’ said Evan, nodding to General Marnol.
‘But Callian just said we couldn’t get out of here by ship.’ Dale crossed his arms.
‘We’ll have to try,’ said Callian.
‘Should you take some of the women and children with you?’ asked Alexander.
‘There’s a greater than even chance that we’ll be caught and killed. Do you want to pick out which unfortunate women and children should come with us?’ asked Callian.
‘Ah…not really.’ Alex’s face reddened and he leaned back in his chair.
‘So now we just need to work out how you are going to get the ship out of the harbor,’ said Danil. ‘Yet we got in alright…’
‘I think that was pure luck, and the longer that ship stays there the less lucky I feel,’ said Callian ominously.
‘We just need a bit of fog,’ said Dale, ‘or some very heavy rain, or maybe a really dark night.’
‘No!’ Callian’s and Lias’ unified cry made everyone jump.
‘No,’ Callian repeated firmly. ‘Darkness is pointless. The fog or rain will serve you far better.’
‘Callian, anything you are allowed to tell us might be useful,’ said Baroness Kielie anxiously.
Callian stared ahead for a moment and then he sighed. ‘I will tell you what you need to know. You cannot defeat them. Did anyone even come close to injuring or killing any of them?’
‘Not one,’ said Evan adamantly. ‘For the few of us who even saw one of them – it was only for the briefest moment.’
‘What about the ones on the ship?’ General Marnol reminded him.
‘You only sank the vessel, General,’ Callian explained. ‘The ship was probably just a means of keeping the crossbows above water for long enough to destroy everything in the harbor. I’d be astounded if you actually found any of their bodies.’
‘So why did they leave? If we can’t kill them why didn’t they just keep killing us until we were all gone?’ asked Baroness Kielie.
‘They were tired. The next time they attack they will last a little longer, and then if they attack again, longer still. Eventually their bodies will adjust themselves to our environment and they will need no rest at all. So they’ll have a base somewhere – more like a nest actually, where they’ll be taking the time to rest and adjust to this environment.’
‘This nest,’ said Dale, ‘how far away do you think it might be?’
‘It will be within their offensive ring,’ Callian replied.
‘But you won’t tell us who they are?’ Baroness Kielie frowned at Callian.
‘They are our ancient enemies. We’ve battled them before,’ said Callian. ‘We call them Nailmarni.’
‘Stonefish?’ Lady Sophie was confused for a moment and then she understood. ‘Is it because they are very hard to see?’
‘Exactly,’ Callian confirmed. ‘Hard to see, then they cause a great deal of pain.’
‘Can you sense them?’ asked Lady Sophie. ‘Would you know if they were close?’
‘Not at all,’ said Callian unhappily. ‘They can’t sense us and we can’t sense them.’ He hesitated. ‘That’s not entirely true. If I can capture one of them, I can force his thoughts from him. But it’s a horrible way to kill them. Very messy.’
‘Messy?’ asked Evan cautiously.
‘The very first time we battled the Nailmarni we captured one of them to try to gain his thoughts,’ Callian explained.
‘Who caught him?’ asked Evan.
‘Tiernan, Daibhi, Valeska and myself. We found we could force his thoughts from him, but-’
‘But?’ Evan prompted.
‘But he died under the intensity of our…coercion.’
&nbs
p; ‘That doesn’t sound too messy, and they are our enemy,’ said Evan. ‘We could certainly stand to have a little more information, if we could catch one of them.’
Callian put his elbow on the table and rested his forehead on his hand. ‘We did manage to take most of his thoughts before his head ruptured and his body burst open, sending a torrent of his horrible blood and intestines splattering over everything within reach. Fortunately there were no humans nearby or we would have been hard pressed to save any of them in the middle of that terrible battle. Nailmarni blood is very poisonous to humans.’
Evan closed his eyes, feeling nauseated.
‘So what do you suggest General?’ asked Danil.
‘Don’t let anyone leave the castle unnecessarily. If you are attacked, be ready to defend from the walls. Try to keep them tired. Make them work for every inch of ground they want to take. The longer you keep them tired, the longer it will take them to adjust.’
‘So if we were to somehow trap them between two attacking forces and keep them fighting for a length of time…what would happen?’
‘The theory is good, Danil, but you don’t have enough soldiers and you don’t have enough weapons. It takes some of their strength to disappear, or I should say to conceal themselves in their surroundings, but that’s what they are most likely to do if they are threatened.’
The Fallen (Book 1) Page 52