"It is good to see you again, my friend," said Val'. "You fought bravely against the creatures that night in Tremont."
"It's been a long time," Mathew replied.
"One of these days you might consider making a less dramatic entrance," Delain said as he got down off his horse. He was also smiling. "Well met, the both of you."
Delain shook Mathew's hand and touched cheeks with Teanna.
"Simply amazing," Val said, as he scanned the scene. Many of the enemy who were caught on the wrong side of the wall had surrendered and were being taken prisoner. "This will give Seth something to think about."
"It won't last," said Armand. "The enemy's already knocking holes in it."
Everyone looked toward the field. The Vargothans had retrained their cannons and were now concentrating on the wall. Large rents were beginning to appear.
"Simple enough," said Teanna.
She extended her arm toward the wall and closed her eyes. A second later it was as good as new and she gave Mathew a wink.
"Uh ... did Father Thomas find you?" he asked Delain.
"Yes. He's studying the maps and talking with our commanders. It might be a good idea for us to get off this ridge. One lucky cannonball and Bajan, Alor Satar, and Elgaria will be looking for new rulers."
"Agreed," said Armand. "We can meet at the fortress and let them know what's been going on."
"Do you need horses," Delain asked, "or will you, ah..."
"We'll ride," Mathew told him.
"Good. Ten minutes," said Armand. "I'll have a patrol escort you back."
Father Thomas was waiting outside the main gates for them, his face somber. Mathew barely had time to dismount before the priest pulled him aside.
"We are in trouble," Father Thomas said without preliminary. "Delain's commanders are competent men, but they were not the ones who chose this site. This position is indefensible."
"Why?" Mathew asked. "We have the higher ground and the enemy has to cross the valley floor to get to us. I don't know how many cannons we have along the ridges, but there's certainly a lot of them."
"Akin Gibb just sent word that he received a report from Daniel Warren about a path through the mountains the enemy has learned about."
"Daniel!" Mathew exclaimed. "Where is he?"
Father Thomas hesitated a second. "With the doctors right now, Mat. He was badly injured trying to get to us."
Mathew felt his stomach sink and he gripped the priest's arm. "Is he all right?"
"They tell me he'll live, but he took two arrows in the back."
"Where is he?" Mathew asked, looking around. "I want to see him."
"He's at the militia infirmary two'miles from here. They're. camped at the base of that mountain." Father Thomas pointed. "Go and see him, but come back as soon as you're able."
While they were talking, Teanna had discreetly stepped aside and was waiting patiently for them to finish.
"A friend whom I haven't seen in a long time has been hurt," Mathew explained to her. "I need to go to him."
Teanna glanced at Father Thomas then back to him. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No. You don't know him," Mathew said, swinging up into his saddle. "But thank you for asking. I'll be back as soon as I can."
She watched him ride down the road, then turned back to Father Thomas, her face once again masklike. '
"You said you wanted to speak with me."
"I did," Father Thomas replied. "Perhaps we should walk."
"Can't you say what you want right here?"
"I could, but I would rather not."
Teanna's eyebrows went up and she let out an exasperated breath and started walking. Father Thomas clasped his hands behind his back and joined her.
"Your father and I spoke the other night, Teanna. He told me that you are aware of our relationship."
"Thank you for calling him my father. I've known about you since I was eight."
"I see."
"I asked my mother about it one day because I could see so little of Eldar in me and she told me the truth."
"And do you still see little of him in you?"
The question seemed to surprise Teanna and her pace slowed for a moment. "It would be unusual if I did, since we're not related."
"You don't need to be. My question was, 'Do you still see little of him in you?'"
Teanna looked at Father Thomas, puzzled.
"Eldar d'Elso is the one who raised you, Teanna, not I, and it was to him you ran when you were hurt or frightened as a little girl, not me. I didn't know about you until you were nearly four."
"And it obviously made no difference once you found out."
"On the contrary, I wanted to come and see you, but your mother was against it. Her reasons were good ones. She explained that your father wanted an heir but unfortunately was not able to conceive. By then you had already been declared Nyngary's crown princess and Eldar's daughter. Had I acknowledged you publically, it would have placed you in danger of being ousted, and perhaps thrown the country into a civil war. You know better than anyone else there are no shortage of nobles who would like to lay claim to the royal throne. So I gave her my word, and I have kept that word through the years. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I understand that you never made an effort to see me."
"That's what keeping one's word is about," said Father Thomas. "By the time I learned of you, I had already taken my vows as a priest. Your mother wrote to me and told me that you were happy and growing into a beautiful young lady. I still have those letters."
Teanna nodded. "And now you feel the need to tell me this."
"I tell you this only by way of explanation. I was unaware that you knew of me until your father and I spoke the other night. Only the three of us know the truth, and I will never speak of it to anyone else."
Teanna wasn't quite sure what to think. Over the years, she'd formed an image of what her real father would look like and what she would say to him if they ever met. Father Thomas did not fit that image at all. Her belief had always been that she was abandoned. She needed time to think.
"Thank you for your discretion," she said. "I really must be getting back to the camp now."
She turned and headed back up the path. . "Teanna," Father Thomas said, to her back. "I want you to know that I am proud of what you are doing. Caring about one's fellow man is no small thing. I wouldlike to think the blood in your veins has played some small part in this.
"There are differences in the way your cousins and you look at the world. This is as it should be. Your father is a good man, but you should know that I will also be here for you if you desire it."
Teanna didn't move. She stood where she was after Father Thomas finished speaking. After several seconds she walked back in the direction of camp.
The large tent where they were keeping Daniel had been converted into a makeshift field hospital. All of the cots were taken up by the wounded. Daniel was unconscious when Mathew arrived. His friend's spectacles sat on a little table next to the bed. Akin Gibb stood close by, watch-
ing as the doctor applied bandages to Daniel's wounds. When they saw each other, Akin put a finger over his lips and motioned for Mathew to join him outside.
"How is he?" Mathew asked when they were out of the tent.
"He's lost a lot of blood, but the doctor says he'll live." Mathew closed his eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks. "What happened?"
'"I don't have all the details. He'd been serving with the Vargothans, and it seems that earlier today he intercepted a message from one of their scouts about a path through the mountains. If the mercenaries took it they would come out behind us. Daniel stole a horse and made a dash across the valley for our lines with about a dozen of them on his heels. He took two arrows in the back."
Akin opened his hand and showed Mathew two arrowheads. Both had dried blood on them.
Mathew grimaced. "Do we know where the path is?"
"
Our men found it a little while ago; they're watching it now. Unfortunately, that's only part of the problem. A fellow who lived in this area claims that all the hills around here are honeycombed with caves."
It took Mathew a second to understand Akin's point. "Tunnels," he said.
"Right."
"That isn't good. The Orlocks could come out anywhere."
"We know. I passed the information on to Delain, but he says it's critical for us to hold this position."
"And run the risk of being caught in a vise? That doesn't make sense. We have to do something."
Akin folded his arms across his chest. "I'm open to suggestions. Until Gawl and James arrive there's not much we can do. The last report we had said they're still days out. We're badly outnumbered, Mat. All we've been doing is hanging on."
"But if the creatures get behind us—"
"Those are the orders," Akin told him. Everything was happening too fast, Mathew thought. His head was pounding, and try as he might he could not tell if Shakira was in the vicinity. It was possible that she had been hurt worse than he initially thought, but something told him she wasn't.
For a moment he considered asking Akin to show him the path across the mountains, then rejected the idea. The enemy obviously knew that it was now being defended, and probably wouldn't try it. The caves concerned him far more. "Is the man who told you about the caves around?" he asked.
"I think we could find him," Akin replied. "Why?" "I'd like to see one or two of them. I'm thinking that if I can seal the entrances, it might prevent the Orlocks from getting behind us."
"Good idea. Wait here. I'll be right back." Fifteen minutes later Akin returned with a stocky fellow who had a lump of tobacco in his cheek. "This is Spencer," Akin said, introducing him.
"You know about some caves in this area?" Mathew asked, shaking his hand.
"Yep," Spencer said between chews. "I grew up in Telfair Province. My hometown's about five miles from here."
"Do you think you could show me them?" "Sure. But there's at least twenty or thirty, maybe more. They're all connected like an ant colony. How many do you want to see?" .
"Just a couple," said Mathew.
Spencer looked up at the surrounding hills for seyeral seconds then spit a brown stream of tobacco juice onto the ground, then reached for his tobacco pouch. He took a large pinch out, stuck it back in his cheek, then offered the pouch to Akin, who shook his head.
"Uh, no thanks," Mathew said when the pouch came around to him.
Spencer frowned. "You Elgarians are strange folks. This'll put some hair on your chest."
"Maybe later," Mathew told him.
Spencer shrugged and put the pouch away. "Suit yourself," Spencer said, putting the pouch away. "There's a cave close by. See that waterfall up on the hill? The opening is right behind it."
"And you're sure they're connected?"
Another stream of tobacco juice hit the ground. "Can't say every one of them is, but the ones I know are. We used to camp out up here when we were boys. Mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure," Mathew said.
"If you're gonna do some of your magic, is it okay if I stay and watch?"
Mathew considered telling Spencer about how the rings worked, but his head was throbbing and he didn't have the patience for it just then. "No problem," he replied.
They sent word back for Teanna and waited until she arrived. Mathew introduced her to the other men, who bowed. Interestingly, Akin tended to stammer in her presence and had trouble meeting her eye, which was curious to Mathew because he had never seen his friend like that before. Akin was not an aggressive man around women, but neither was he particularly shy. Teanna, for some reason, seemed to find his behavior amusing, and they struck up a conversation together as they walked along the path. Spencer had been correct—they couldn't see the cave until you got behind the waterfall, so they had to inch along a narrow ledge and hug the wall, which meant getting wet. Once behind it, cascading water formed a white curtain, cutting them off from the rest of the world, the noise drowning out everything else.
It took a little over twenty minutes for them to reach the cave entrance. When they were inside, Teanna produced a floating ball of blue light and lit the interior. Like the others, she had gotten soaked, and took a moment to wipe the water from her face with her hands. In the middle of doing so however, she noticed Akin staring, and readjusted the material on her shirt so it no longer clung to her breasts. In the dim light, Mathew couldn't be sure, but he thought his friend's color might have gone up a shade when Teanna caught him looking. Oddly, she didn't seem upset.
"This goes quite a way back," Spencer told them. "I haven't been here in thirty years, but if I remember right, this passage comes to a wall about a hundred feet in, then turns off to the right and connects with another cave."
"Exactly what are we doing here?" asked Teanna.
Mathew was looking up at the ceiling. "I wanted to see how wide the opening was," he said. "I thought- there might be some way to divert the flow of the waterfall and flood the caves, but now that we're here, I don't see how
we can do it."
"What if all that rock wasn't there anymore," Teanna
asked.
"There's got to be at least a hundred feet of it, ma'am," said Spencer.
Teanna raised her eyebrows and looked at Mathew, a silent communication passing between them.
"Do you think we could?" he asked.
Teanna stared up at the rock for several seconds then nodded. "I think so."
The two of them moved aside to discuss it further. In the meanwhile, Spencer wandered back along the tunnel. He returned less than a minute later interrupting their discussion.
"Orlocks," he whispered.
Teanna's ball of light promptly faded out and" the four of them scrambled back out the opening and along the ledge. In their haste, Teanna missed her footing and would have slipped had Akin not grabbed her.
They were all breathing heavily by the time they reached the bottom of the hill.
Mathew looked up at the waterfall again. Spencer's estimate of how much rock was there was about a hundred feet short. In addition to the rock there were tons of earth above the opening. Mathew turned to Akin and said, "You and Spencer drop back a bit. We'll join you in a minute."
"What are they gonna do?" Spencer asked.
"That magic you were asking about earlier," Akin said, taking him by the elbow.
The smaller man's eyes widened and he didn't ask any more questions. He and Akin moved along the path until they were a safe distance away.
"Do you still remember how to link, Mathew?"
"I do."
"Fine. Clear your mind and let me control it."
Mathew took a deep breath and looked into Teanna's eyes, letting his mind go blank. He heard her talking, but the words now seemed to come from far away. Other sounds also receded into the distance ... the wind moving through the trees, the birds chirping. Eventually, only Teanna's voice remained, growing more distinct inside his head.
He felt the power surge within him the moment she said, "Now."
Seventy-five yards away Akin saw a beam of white light shoot from the princess's hand and strike the point where the waterfall crested the hill. A tremendous bang followed, and he felt the shock running through the ground. As water and incalculable tons of solid rock were blasted into the air the beam of light bore into the hill. So intense was the explosion that Akin and Spencer were forced to retreat from the flying debris.
When it ended a minute later Akin could scarcely believe his eyes. A section of the hill thirty feet wide had been ripped away. The water was no longer pouring past the cave's opening, but was now pouring directly into it.
He and Spencer raced back up the path. Mathew was holding Teanna up, but he looked groggy and disoriented.
She was barely conscious. Akin took the princess in his arms while Spencer helped Mathew.
Akin carried her
the entire way back to the militia camp. It came as something of a shock when he glanced down and saw that Teanna's eyes were open. Arid she was watching him.
57
Citadel of Balengrath
For the next five days, Mathew and Teanna alter-nated their defense of the citadel at Stewart Vale. They were both exhausted and badly in need of rest. In the interim, though more and more Orlocks continued to arrive. There was still was no sign of Shakira.
Akin and Teanna seemed to be getting on well together. He stayed with her while she recovered from the headaches, and she visited his camp a number of times. They were frequently seen walking together.
Not surprisingly, Armand Duren had as little to do with Mathew as possible. Whenever Mathew entered a room, Armand left it. His brother Eric was less aloof and engaged Mathew in conversations from time to time. He seemed genuinely concerned about how he and Teanna were doing under the trying circumstances. He was also worried about their troops' ability to hold out until Gawl and James arrived with reinforcements. According to Eric, the odds were on the enemy's side and their prospects were bleak.
All of that changed on the sixth day. A scout rode in through the citadel's rear gate and reported that Gawl and his Sennians were only an hour away. A short while later another scout brought news that James was expected later that evening.
A conference was hastily convened in the great hall to discuss their strategy. The consensus among the commanders was that it was time for them to take the initiative. The army of Mirdan would begin attacking the enemy's rearguard at first light. Delain was to swing west and hit the Vargothan flank, while Alor Satar would begin its spearhead toward their center, supported by Teanna. The Sennian army, with Mathew, would shore up Akin's militia, who were the Alliance's weakest link.
Afterward, Mathew went up to the parapet to get some fresh air. The Citadel of Balengrath was laid out in the shape of a square, with watchtowers at each of the corners and in the middle of its massive walls. All of them had conical spires. A dried-up moat that hadn't 'been used in over eighty years surrounded the castle, that had been Alor Satar's capital before Gabrel Duren moved it to Rocoi.
Mitchell Graham - [Fifth Ring 03] - The Ancient Legacy(V1.0) Page 41