Freddie appeared almost as soon as they left the Hall; he’d obviously been watching out for them. He wrapped an arm about Natalya and led them up some stone steps in the corner so they had a clearer view all around them and could look beyond what was left of the upper castle battlements. The upper castle sat atop a crag and occupied quite a small area. The Great Hall had once been the original defensive tower, but in later years two wings had been added on its flanks to provide living accommodation for the family and space in the other wing for the kitchens, a guest suite and quarters for the support staff. Both wings, and indeed the tower, had suffered extensive damage. The fighting had been fierce everywhere and on every level judging by the state of the buildings, although the damage was patchy. Some buildings had been blasted apart, whilst others adjacent seemed intact. Moving to where they could see the upper gates, they were shocked that even the squat gatehouse towers had been splintered. The road that twisted down the steep slope beyond the gates to the lower level was littered with sufficient debris to greatly impede a cart. There was more space on the lower level of the castle and that was where the stables, livestock and troop housing had once been located. The main gates had also been demolished, although it rather looked like someone had been too exuberant in their spell of destruction, causing so much rubble to fall into the gateway that it actually blocked it, creating a substantial obstacle. A hole in the wall to one side of the gates was doubtless how the enemy had actually entered.
The town was spread out on the gentler hillside below the castle walls and had been protected by a wooden palisade. Unfortunately, the palisade had clearly been burned in sections. It would have slowed up the enemy advance sufficiently however for the town’s inhabitants to retreat. The major roads through the town were also littered with rather larger debris and deliberate obstacles. Everywhere you looked it was clear the clan had not gone down without a fight.
Mature trees lining the roads softened the bleak ruins and broke up the grey or blackened stone. Large open green spaces were visible at regular intervals, around which the houses seemed to be set, mutely testifying this town had been designed with animus preferences in mind.
Beyond the palisade there were wide cleared areas which would have been where the crops and livestock to feed the Castle and town were farmed. After so many years of neglect the land was a wilderness that the nearby forest was beginning to reclaim. There would be considerable work involved in setting all these things to rights, but it was all here just waiting for them to return and retake it.
‘I guess there’s no longer any need to build more houses at White Haven,’ Natalya remarked, as the others joined them. ‘As soon as you repair the castle perimeter wall, people could move back if they kept their presence quiet. With people on site you’d get the repairs accomplished far quicker.’
‘We’d get things sorted out in a few days if we could borrow some wizard assistance,’ Darius suggested hopefully.
‘Yes, but using magic is traceable,’ Jim told him. ‘I could feel the spells Cassy and Natalya were doing inside, even though they were masked by stone and they were keeping the duration of the spells short and the power low. We have to be careful using magic until such time as you’re ready to announce you’re back in residence. Until then, the walls will need to be manually rebuilt.’
‘Manually?’ Drako frowned, ‘that could take months.’
‘Not to rebuild the upper Castle’s defences,’ Natalya pointed out. ‘There are enough buildings up here to temporarily house workers until the lower castle walls can be secured. Surely it’s better to concentrate on one area at a time and get it defendable so people have somewhere to fall back to. Only then will they feel safe enough to come. If they’re spread too thin trying to take on everything at once, then the plan will fail. It’s only a matter of time before animus presences are detected here after-all.’
‘I will plan for that eventuality,’ Darius said quietly. ‘Once we are noticed and the need for secrecy is over, can we call on wizard help to put things into place quickly?’
‘Of course,’ Jim assured. ‘With that in mind, assembling the timber building materials, so they are readily to hand, would be the other useful thing to prepare and White Haven village does have a good sawmill.’
Darius nodded agreement, glad to have Jim’s consent and approval to monopolise the school’s sawmill. Luckily the castle wasn’t lacking for stone. They had far more buildings in the town than they were likely to need and which could be thinned out to provide good dressed stone to repair the critical castle areas.
‘Talking of exposed positions,’ Jim mentioned, ‘we are probably making quite a loud signature gathered together here where no-one is meant to be.’ He knew his signature was often loud and had been shielding himself, but that merely reduced his signature rather than hid it entirely. Of more concern were the two warrior wizard sisters, Cassy who was also relatively strong and eight animus people, who also had a magical signature. He absently fiddled with the pair of small gold coins he’d found in the rubble. No-one had seen them or that he’d put something in his pocket. Neither would anyone miss them. He had plans for this gold, that made his heart lift, but proper preparation was necessary. Jim looked around carefully once again for any human presences and hastily led them all back inside. He congratulated Cassy on her repairs. It was far safer and more dignified walking down steps than clambering over rubble. They now had three locked doors between any intruder and the portal. They all hoped it was enough.
There was undeniably plenty of work necessary before Féarmathuin Castle could be secured. Retaking it through stealth and without a fight so far, gave them a window of opportunity Darius was unlikely to squander. They returned to White Haven in time for dinner, weary but excited by what had been achieved and all with high hopes for the future.
21. Hopes
Jim woke early, as he usually did, courtesy of Freddie’s insistence on leaving the grounds at dawn. Fortunately for him, he could monitor and challenge the people passing through the People gate’s locks without leaving his bed. He idly mused that should the traffic increase in using that gateway, he might have to ask someone to physically stand guard daily as they did at the main gates. For the moment, his remote surveillance was sufficient to maintain security.
Amelie lay beside him, still peacefully sleeping. Her long raven dark hair was spread across the pillow, inviting him to run his fingers through its silky softness. His heart swelled with happiness; he still couldn’t believe his luck that she was his. Since the moment they’d met they had been confronted with life threatening difficulties. Singly, the adversities they faced would have been overwhelming, but joining forces they’d been able to overcome them all, one way or another. He had earned her trust and friendship on their travels and they had both grown and benefited as a result. Theirs was a true partnership where their differing abilities complemented one another. He felt privileged however that she had then chosen to deepen their bond by opening her mind to his, becoming his lover, and together creating a family. Amelie was a natural mother and Daisy was thriving as a result. His daughter was a complete joy. Being a father gave him a deep sense of happiness and he relished being hands on with her care and watching her personality develop.
He knew all too well that he could have lost her in their early days together. Daniel the wolf man had tried to tempt her and more recently, some of the young men here at the school flirted whenever Jim wasn’t around. He’d seen her memories of them, and whilst she was merely amused by them, and showed no sign of returning any of their attentions, their actions did annoy him. Jim respected but felt threatened by Stripe more than any other however. He knew Stripe valued her courage and that she admired the dragon in return. He also knew Stripe wished not only for her help in raising his children, but to become his companion full time once more. Dragons were social creatures and Jim feared the day when the dragonets left home and left Stripe alone. Stripe’s discovery of how to shift into a human had clea
rly piqued his curiosity about what else he might be capable of. To Jim that was a worrying development. An intelligent being like a dragon might also enjoy the company of humans from time to time. Jim didn’t want to encourage that however; aware there was a risk that such an innately powerful and predatory being could easily seize control of ordinary people and dictate their lives. Stripe had once threatened to eat him, to do away with his rival. He knew very well that Amelie had chastised Stripe for that threat at the time, making the dragon back down. Jim hadn’t forgotten and he doubted Stripe had either. Jim understood why Stripe had threatened him; his lion had an instinctive need to eliminate rivals too. He suspected that it was only to keep Amelie’s goodwill and favour that Stripe hadn’t already attacked him. Perhaps Stripe was taking the stealthy approach by finding problems that he “needed” her help for, thereby remaining a part of her life.
Jim ruefully knew why they all acted as they did; she was an amazing woman and as yet unmarried. She did not yet have a formal commitment to anyone, including him.
He rose and quietly dressed. Tiptoeing into the other room, he pulled out a loose brick from high up in the living room wall, reached inside and took out the small wooden box his project lived in. Popping it in his pocket he replaced the brick. Next he took up the fire-tongs and stirred the remains of last night’s fire. Planning ahead, he’d built up the fire before going to bed and there were still some good coals remaining now. Leaving a good coal in the hearth and feeding it some fresh wood to rekindle and keep it going, he transferred the other hot coals to the metal fire bucket along with some kindling to stop them going out as he disturbed them. He put the fireguard back up to stop any sparks flying out onto the rug and then left the apartment.
Soon he was inside the small workshop housing the school’s forge. The hot coal burst into fresh flame within the furnace as he provided new fuel and worked the bellows. He removed the metal from his box and dropped it into the smallest crucible. Whilst it heated he set out the tools he’d need and donned the protective apron and gloves. He had noticed Bruce never began working metal without those basic safeguards. Soon, the small piece of metal had softened enough in the heat to allow him to continue shaping it. He held an image in his mind and whilst his smithing skills were rudimentary at best and he was no skilled artisan, his magic made up for it. Shaping lots of highly detailed individual pieces and then welding them together in an aesthetically pleasing way was beyond his abilities! Magic however, was his greatest tool. His project had gone back into the melting pot to begin afresh more times than he wished to count.
He coaxed the gold to extrude not only into the shape he envisaged but with the fine detail necessary to the design’s success. He had to work quickly before it cooled and would no longer be malleable. Reheating just one section tended to affect everywhere else too, sometimes with disastrous effects. This project was taking far more time and experimentation than he had imagined but it was worth it. It was not something he wanted to task someone else with, partly because he wanted to do it, but also because he was imbuing the gold with special qualities.
He was glad he wasn’t meeting Natalya for additional coaching before breakfast today; if he was he’d have been late. A few days ago he had come to a natural break, having finished a complete segment of lessons, and had suggested a week off. He had since been coming up here three days running, squeezing in some time to work in secret between dawn and breakfast. Secrets were very difficult to maintain when one’s partner could read your mind at will. Working whilst she slept was safest all around until he was ready to tell her.
Allowing it to cool once more, he examined it from all sides. Smiling in relief he drilled two tiny holes through the gold to set small glittering chips of sapphire. Then he magically warmed the metal just enough to flow minutely to overlap the edges of the stones so they would not fall out.
Impatiently he magically held the metal in its new form until it had cooled sufficiently to fully solidify. Once it was safe to handle, he checked his creation carefully. There were many reasons this had to be perfect and finally, after days of experimentation and adjustments, he was satisfied. Placing it carefully back in the box he tidied up the forge and headed back to the house.
As usual, time had run away from him and he had to jog back to the house. As it was he heard the distinctive chimes of second bell as he entered the house and only just managed not to be the last person to enter the dining room.
‘Hello love. Where did you disappear to this morning?’ Amelie asked as serving plates appeared on the tables and there was the sudden noise of everyone rattling crockery.
‘You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to disturb you.’
‘You smell strange,’ she added.
‘I’ve been in one of the workshops,’ he admitted. ‘They are definitely oily mucky places. They still need more reorganising. I suppose I ought to get them cleaned up, so students actually want to use them.’
‘You’re probably right. Just promise me you aren’t going to be the one cleaning them. You do enough of that around here and really, you do have staff for that.’
‘I know,’ he responded with a small smile. She was so protective sometimes.
‘Surely you have more important things to be spending your time and energy on.’
‘I do. Especially my favourite girls,’ he added glancing from her to Daisy lying in her special carry chair beside their table.
‘Are you sure it’s ok for you to take her now?’ Amelie asked, rising to her feet to leave as everyone else now was.
‘Yes of course. Off you go to class,’ he reassured. ‘We’re going to take a nice bath, aren’t we Daisy,’ he said lifting her in the carry chair. ‘Mummy says I need one too,’ he added and Daisy giggled.
Amelie watched them for a moment in amusement. She loved watching them together. However, she had a class to go to that she couldn’t afford to miss. Whilst she hadn’t had much time off with her pregnancy, she had nevertheless fallen behind the rest of her class in the work. She was not yet doing the physically strenuous or dangerous parts of the combat classes either; although participated where she could. She was quickly rebuilding her strength though and once fully able, she would need to put the lessons she had observed only, into practice. The combat arena was no place for a baby however, so she was very glad Jim’s position meant he could look after Daisy part of the time. The clatter of weapons practice and general hubbub would not be restful, especially when it was chilly and damp, essentially being outside. The lessons continued regardless of rain or other inclement weather so how could she take a baby up to the archery field? Other classes taking place in the main school were another matter and whilst the teachers weren’t impressed by having a baby in their classroom, because Daisy very rarely cried and generally sat silently either sleeping or watching, they allowed it. The main problem was that she was a distraction, for not only Amelie, but the rest of the class. Amelie had to divide her attention when Daisy was awake, monitoring her constantly to cater for her needs before they became a nuisance. Ok, that meant she often had to slip out of class to feed or change her daughter, but if these things were done before Daisy was upset, then she remained content to be quiet the rest of the time.
Amelie followed her classmates into the dining hall for break and spotted Natalya across the room. She was surprised to see her sister was laughing and joking with the entirely male crowd surrounding her. It was good to see her looking relaxed and happy. Neither of them had had an easy time of it after they’d become separated and ended up alone, but it had been worse not knowing what had happened to the rest of their family. Amelie had witnessed her father’s murder. He had died defending her, giving up his life that she could have time to escape. Whilst that loss had been traumatic, those painful emotions had been tempered by her pride in his selfless courage and knowledge of his love. She had not been left wondering if he was suffering torture somewhere; she’d been able to grieve and put his soul to rest in her h
eart. Natalya hadn’t had that. Their reunion had been marred by Amelie having to be bearer of those grim tidings. Neither knew the whereabouts of their mother however, or her fate. They both harboured the hope that if they could find each other, then their mother, a powerful wizard in her own right, would somehow find them too.
‘How’s my favourite niece?’
‘Hi Nat,’ Amelie responded. ‘Oh, she’s fine. Full of beans though.’
‘Can I pick her up?’ Natalya asked since Daisy had stretched out both arms towards her demandingly.
‘Looks like you don’t have an option,’ Amelie laughed and watched her sister pluck Daisy out of the chair. ‘Oh, hang on; let me rescue your hair.’
‘Thanks! She does like to grab fistfuls, doesn’t she?’ Natalya agreed with a wince.
‘So, what were you all laughing about just now?’ Amelie asked curiously.
‘Oh, we’ve just come from Vako’s class. He tried to shoot me with purple paint the other day to test my shield and show it to the rest of the class. We’ve just discovered that he’s left the paint splattered on the floor and walls for everyone else to see. It’s one hell of a lurid mess. What’s interesting though is that you can clearly see the circular outline my shield left against the wall and floor. That one part is clean!’
‘Really? So what happened?’
‘Oh, it was so funny; the stream of paint kept ricocheting in all directions! The classroom was covered, and so were Vako’s shoes. Everyone had to keep running for cover and not all of them escaped!’
Amelie giggled in appreciation. It was clear the lesson had become a highly entertaining free-for-all. How the staid and boring Vako had coped with that chaos, she could barely imagine. It sounded like he’d more than met his match against Natalya, even though she was a novice. It also sounded like this would be one to go down in the White Haven book of legends.
Natalya: Wizards of White Haven Page 24