“How many of you are left?” he asked.
Josh shrugged, a slightly dazed expression on his face.
“Just us, sir,” he told Malcolm. “There are a handful of our people recovering from their wounds in the main hall. The cleric thinks that they'll make it, but we'll have to wait and see. But that's about it.”
“Damn it,” the big man muttered.
“The good news is that the civilian population is still safe,” Josh continued as he gazed around the courtyard. “Well, most of them anyway. There were a bunch of them that volunteered to help us defend the walls when the goblins took us by surprise. Sadly, I don't think that many of them made it.”
Malcolm looked around. He hadn't noted the actual number of fallen defenders until that moment, but now he counted dozens of human corpses, many of them not even wearing armor. They were scattered all over the yard. He knew that there were more up on the battlements and that some had fallen to their deaths and now lay outside of the walls, which meant that they wouldn't know how many they'd lost until the goblins had been beaten back.
He was trying to think of something encouraging to say to the guardsmen when the doors squealed open behind them. The group turned as one to see Barnaby stagger outside. The redhead actually looked gray with fatigue and he was limping on his newly-healed leg.
“Barnaby?” Malcolm exclaimed in surprise. “What the hell, man? You should be lying down, not wandering around the castle.”
He rushed over and wrapped an arm around the mage just before he collapsed.
“No choice,” the redhead gasped. “I was scanning the countryside around the castle with my little pocket mirror, because no one else was scouting the perimeter.”
Malcolm gave him a gentle squeeze of approval.
“I admire your dedication, Barnaby, but you're crazy. You can barely stand and...”
“They're coming, Malcolm,” the mage whispered faintly. “The goblins are coming. Right now. We're all going to die.”
He passed out and Malcolm looked over at the guardsmen.
“Someone take him from me, please. Carry him back inside.”
Josh hurried over and easily lifted the mage in his arms.
Malcolm nodded his thanks and looked at the others.
“Get ready to retreat inside. If Barnaby's right, we're about to be overrun.”
“But what about you, sir?” one of them asked as Malcolm began to move toward Katherine and Aiden. “What are you going to do?”
He stopped for a moment and grinned at the guards.
“Me? I'm going to stop them.”
He ran over to Katherine and knelt down beside her. Her eyes were closed and she was murmuring under her breath. Most of Aiden's wounds were now closed, but his burns looked as bad as ever.
“The goblins are on their way,” he told her hurriedly. “You need to get yourself inside. I'll carry Aiden.”
The cleric shook her head as she opened her eyes and looked at him.
“You can't move him,” she said flatly. “I've been able to heal the injuries that he took in battle, but the wounds that the damnable wizard inflicted on him are resisting my efforts. Malcolm, he's not just burned on the outside. His internal organs, including his heart and lungs, have been severely damaged.”
She looked at Malcolm compassionately.
“I'm sorry, but I can't save him, my friend. Maybe if we had more time, but...”
The big man stared at her in disbelief.
“What are you talking about? Katherine, he's a werewolf, for God's sake! We heal a hundred times faster than normal humans. We're immune to poison and disease. This should not be happening!”
“I know that,” she replied helplessly. “But you aren't immune to magic, or at least not to the magic that the goblins use. There is nothing that I can do, Malcolm. I feel horrible about it, but that is the truth.”
He held her gaze for a long moment and then nodded wearily.
“I understand. I know that you've done your best. Look, you'd better get inside. You have other patients who need your help and they can't risk losing you.”
In the distance, they could hear shouting and wild shrieks. The goblin army was coming.
Katherine put her hand on Aiden's head and muttered something. Then she stood up and stared down at Malcolm.
“I've taken away all of his pain,” she said. “If you want to wake him up and speak to him, you can.”
The big man smiled up at her.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For everything.”
“You're staying with him, aren't you?” Katherine asked with tears standing in her eyes.
“Oh yes. We've faced everything together for the last ten years. We'll face this together as well.”
The cleric reached out and Malcolm took her hand in both of his.
“Gods bless you both,” she said.
“You too. Now go, Katherine. Take care of our people. They're the ones who need you now.”
“Good bye, my friend.”
Chapter 25
“Hey you, it's time to wake up.”
Malcolm stroked Aiden's cheek, happy that Katherine had been able to heal the jagged gash across his face. The sound of the advancing goblins was getting louder, but the big man ignored it. After all, what could he do do to stop them? Nothing at all. But he could protect Aiden for as long as possible, and that's what he intended to do.
He looked over his shoulder at the four guardsmen still standing just outside of the main doors of the castle. Katherine had retreated inside but the warriors were hesitating.
“Get inside, all of you,” Malcolm called out. “There's nothing more that you can do out here. Barricade the doors and keep out the enemy. Even if Chao succeeds up on the roof, you may have to fend off an attack.”
“But sir,” one of the guardsmen replied. “We can't just leave you two. The goblins will kill you!”
Malcolm bared his teeth in a feral grin.
“They'll try. But even if they do, I'll take a hell of a lot of them with me. Now get going. That's an order!”
After another moment of hesitation, the four guards snapped to attention and saluted, banging their fists on their chests.
Malcolm nodded and smiled at the group. Then he watched as the warriors turned away and went inside.
“Are they safe?”
Malcolm looked down at Aiden, who was staring back at him.
“Yeah, for now. So how are you doing, lad?”
Aiden smiled up at him.
“Fantastic,” he said thinly. “Ready to party.”
The approaching rumble of hundreds of leather-clad feet could be felt through the ground now.
“Sounds like our guests are about to arrive,” he added.
“Just about,” Malcolm agreed. “I'll give them a warm welcome.”
“I know you will. I'd help, but I seem to be a little...indisposed at the moment.”
Malcolm took his hand and gripped it tightly.
“Aiden, Katherine said...”
“I know what she said. I could hear everything both of you were saying. I don't suppose you've seen any sign of Chao's friends, by the way?”
“Nothing,” Malcolm said with a shake of his head. “Either this ritual of his is taking longer than I thought it would, or he's failed. Either way, I don't think that the cavalry will arrive in time.”
“Yeah, that's what I thought.”
Aiden closed his eyes.
“I'm glad that Katherine took away the pain,” he murmured. “I wasn't able to think straight with that distraction. So, are you actually going to be stupid and wait out here for the goblins?”
Malcolm laughed at that comment and Aiden smiled as he opened his eyes again.
“A smartass to the end, eh?” the big man said.
“Always. But Mal, don't you think that the folks inside will need you? I'm done. I heard what Katherine said and we both know that she doesn't lie. I'm as healed up as I'm going to be and I'm sti
ll useless. Even if we weren't about to be overrun, I'd die. Why stay here? It's such a waste.”
Malcolm raised Aiden's limp hand to his lips and then smiled down at him.
“Because I refuse to go on without you, that's why,” he said simply. “I'm just not that strong. Maybe it's the coward's way out. I don't know. But the thought of living my life without you by my side is unbearable. And one more warrior, even if that warrior is a werewolf, won't change Nottinghill's destiny even if the people do manage to survive this day. Do you...understand?”
Aiden sighed weakly.
“Of course I understand, you big lug. I wish that you'd reconsider, but I won't try to talk you out of it. You're just too stubborn when your mind is made up.”
Malcolm chuckled and carefully laid Aiden's hand down on his chest.
“You know me too well,” he said as he stood up.
The sound of the approaching army was all around them now, echoing across the deserted courtyard.
“They're here?” Aiden asked, unable to turn his head to look toward the gates.
“Just about.”
At that moment, several armored goblins skittered in through the broken gates. They were waving swords and spears in their hands as they looked around the courtyard.
“Ah, there they are,” Malcolm said calmly.
The goblins spotted him standing over Aiden and shrieked in vicious glee.
“Time to go to work,” he added.
“Go get 'em, big guy,” Aiden told him.
And with that last bit of encouragement, Malcolm threw back his head and howled with rage.
Aiden watched as his partner grew and changed, becoming a monstrous form covered in black fur, armed with gleaming fangs and claws. Then he saw Malcolm leap away out of his field of view and heard the goblins' shrieks turn into screams of fear.
“Kill them, Mal,” Aiden muttered. “Kill them all.”
Up on the roof, the Council, Dianis and the guardsman Tom heard the shivering cry of a werewolf and looked at each other fearfully.
Sebastian was staring into a small hand mirror and he began cursing angrily as he watched the scene that was playing out below.
“The goblins are back again,” he told the group. “And Malcolm is trying to hold them back all by himself.”
“Damn it,” Tamara exclaimed furiously. “What the hell is taking Chao so long?”
The group was standing near the hatch leading down into the castle. Chao had walked away a dozen yards when they had reached the roof and had begun his summoning ritual. Ellas flew in small circles over his head and watched him closely.
Everyone else had nothing to do but wait. When asked how long the summoning would take, Chao couldn't say.
“I have never attempted anything like this before,” he had admitted. “But it is a very complex ritual and I must be careful to do it correctly or it may rebound and destroy me.”
And so they had waited and, while they did, Sebastian was able to muster enough energy to cast a Magic Mirror spell and he quietly told the others what was going on down in the courtyard.
They knew that Katherine had been unable to heal Aiden and all of them were stricken with grief by the news. Aiden was very popular with everyone in the castle and it was heartbreaking to know that he was going to die and that there was nothing that anyone could do to save him.
They also knew that Malcolm was now the only defender left to slow down the goblins' attack while Chao performed his ritual, and it was incredibly frustrating to Tamara and the other mages. They were still too weak to use their magic to help him.
“He's going to die defending both the castle and Aiden,” Tamara told the others. “He's going to die and it will be our fault. You do all know that, don't you?”
She pointed up at the giant bat that was still circling lazily above the castle.
“And we can't even bring down the scum who mortally wounded Aiden. That wizard's up there laughing at us and we stand here uselessly and let him do it.”
No one answered her because there was nothing to say. They all knew that Tamara was right.
Dianis watched the mages sympathetically.
“All of your people have done their best,” she told Tamara. “I am sure that your champions know that. Do not be too hard on your fellows, or on yourself.”
“That's small comfort,” Tamara replied angrily. “Malcolm and Aiden killed the ogres all by themselves, while we wasted all of our energy trying to stop them. And now that it's only goblins attacking the castle, we can't even muster enough power to at least beat them back? Our own stupidity will be the death of both men. And that, Elder, is on me and my fellow mages. No one else.”
Dianis could only shake her head. Tamara was obviously convinced that she was to blame for their current situation and would not be talked out of it.
“Is he still fighting?” Sylvie asked Sebastian.
She and her sister were standing next to each other, both of them shivering with weakness even though waves of heat rose from the roof under the beaming sun.
Sebastian nodded as he stared down at the mirror in his hand.
“He is amazing,” the mage said with wonder. “He's actually piling up enough goblin corpses to plug up the entrance into the courtyard.”
He flinched and Tamara stared at him in alarm.
“What is it?”
“He just took a spear in the shoulder. It's not slowing him down though. My God, if Aiden was still able to fight, the two of them might actually have been able to beat back the goblins.”
“Well, he can't,” Tamara said sadly. “And if Chao doesn't finish soon, Aiden and Malcolm's sacrifice, and the sacrifice of all of the people who fell during the last attack, will have been for nothing.”
Everyone looked over at Chao and watched as the summoner continued to wave his fan and chant in ancient Chinese. If the situation hadn't been so desperate, it would have been fascinating to watch.
Ellas still hovered over his head, staring down at the diminutive man intently with her tiny hands clenched at her sides. The sprite, at least, seemed to have complete faith in Chao's ability to perform his ritual correctly.
The clang of weapons and roar of battle rising up from the courtyard below continued as Malcolm gave his all to protect Aiden and Nottinghill Castle. Tamara moved to stand next to her brother. She put her arm around his shoulders. Sebastian was swaying in place as he used up the last of his energy to watch the battle and honor the two warriors.
“I wish that I could do something to help him,” he murmured to his sister in frustration. “Look at him, Tammy. Bleeding from a dozen wounds, a spear sticking out of his shoulder, and Malcolm is still tearing those goblins apart. If we survive, I'll tell the tale of this battle to anyone who'll listen for the rest of my life.”
Tamara nodded silently, futile tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared into the small mirror on her brother's palm.
Malcolm was moving so quickly as he held his ground at the main gate that he was just a blur attacking the waves of goblins that were throwing themselves at him. Sebastian had been right; the bodies were piling up at the gate, making a low mountain of corpses that the attackers had to climb over to reach the ravening werewolf.
“He's doing that on purpose,” she said in wonder. “Even as enraged and desperate as he is, Malcolm is clever enough to make the damned goblins have to work to reach him. My God, he's magnificent.”
“And here we stand, like fans at a bloody football game,” Sebastian said angrily. “Watching the battle but unable to do anything to help. Goddamn it, what is taking Chao so long?”
Tamara could only shake her head as she continued to watch the battle. Someone should at least witness Malcolm's sacrifice, even if he had to make it alone and unsupported. It was the very least that she could do.
A chill wind suddenly blew across the roof, swirling the mage's robe around her ankles. Tamara looked around in surprise. A moment before, the sun had been making the rooftop
almost unbearably hot. What was going on?
“Oh damn,” Sebastian muttered.
Tamara glanced at her brother and saw that he was staring straight up at the sky. She looked up at well and saw clouds racing toward the castle from all directions. Fear began to knot up her stomach.
“It's that bloody wizard,” her brother stated, sounding both frightened and furious. “He's regained enough strength to attack again. Who is he going to strike at? Us or Malcolm?”
“He's too cowardly to attack us. How can he know just how weak we all are? No, he's going to do to Malcolm what he did to Aiden,” Tamara stated. “Damn it, damn it, damn it! We have to stop him, Bastian!”
“How?” Sebastian said helplessly. “Throw rocks? Hurl harsh language? Tammy, we don't have enough energy left to light a candle! I'd do anything to help Malcolm, but the only incantation that I can cast right now is this stupid Magic Mirror spell. I'm useless!”
Her brother's frustration was as great as Tamara's and, as she looked around at Sylvie and Veronique, she saw both women glaring up at the circling bat high overhead. They too looked as helpless and angry as Tamara felt. None of them could stop the wizard from attacking.
The clouds piled up in layers over the castle, becoming darker and thicker until the day turned to twilight. Rumbles of thunder and flashes of light made the clouds roil and swirl angrily.
Tamara grabbed her brother's wrist and stared into the mirror.
“Is Malcolm aware of what's happening?” she asked hurriedly. “Maybe he can avoid the attack. If he found shelter under something or got inside of the castle, he would be safe.”
“He won't retreat from the goblins,” Sebastian stated firmly. “If he did, they'd swarm into the courtyard and tear Aiden apart. Do you think that Malcolm would let that happen?”
“No. No, of course not,” Tamara said with a catch in her voice. “Loyal to the last. That's the kind of man he is. And it's going to be the death of him.”
The siblings watched helplessly as Malcolm continued to battle the goblins. Either the enemy warriors weren't aware that their wizard was about to attack the lone defender and probably kill dozens of them in the process, or they didn't care. They certainly didn't slow down their attack as the sky turned black. Neither did Malcolm.
The Werewolves of Nottinghill Page 33