Their Battle Lord's Sacrifice (The Battle Lord Saga Book 7)

by Linda Mooney

  “I no longer have need of Battle Lord D’Jacques. He’s given this compound to me.”

  “True.” MaGrath nodded. “That is true, but how many of these people will believe you? Most? A few? If you allow D’Jacques to live, and have him stand before these people to tell them in his own words that he’s handed this compound over to you, then everyone will believe. And you will not be faced with skepticism or rebellion.”

  He could see Mink seriously considering his suggestion, and pressed the issue. “Allow him to live, at least long enough to face his people and tell them himself. Allow me to tend to him. Otherwise, he will die.” He started to say that Yulen might die, but chose not to use that word. It was imperative he get to the Battle Lord as quickly as possible, and by emphasizing how ill Yulen was at the moment, and how important he still was to her campaign, MaGrath hoped to sway her decision.

  There was a knock on the door. The guard opened it, and Cosha from the kitchen came inside. She paused next to MaGrath with her tray and gave him a questioning look. He nodded, and the woman approached Mink.

  “Place it there,” Mink instructed, indicating the chair beside her. Cosha silently complied.

  “Will there be anything else?”

  “You will refer to me as Your Most Holy,” Mink bitingly remarked.

  Cosha blanched and kept her eyes directed at the floor. “Will there be anything else, Your Most Holy?”

  “That will be sufficient for now.” Mink didn’t thank her for the tray. MaGrath figured she wouldn’t. It would be beneath her.

  Cosha hurried out, leaving him alone with Mink and her two minions. He remained where he stood and waited for the woman to finish her drink. After what he would swear was a deliberate attempt by Mink to drag out the time as long as possible, she finally placed her empty mug back on the tray and got to her feet.

  “Show me this bell tower,” she ordered him.

  “What is your decision about the Battle Lord?”

  “I’m still undecided. I will let you know after this gathering.”

  MaGrath bit his tongue. At least it wasn’t a flat refusal. Giving her another bow, he went outside to wait for her to catch up.

  Chapter 30

  Bells

  Atty stopped her horse but didn’t signal for a halt. Regardless, the troops following her pulled up. But she wasn’t aware of them. Her senses were working overtime. On top of that, she felt dizzy. Dizzy, weak, confused, and cold.

  Yulen? Yulen, what’s happening?

  She’d been trying to reach him for the past couple of miles, but he hadn’t answered. She’d gotten no response, and that worried her, knowing he’d been tortured. He wasn’t unconscious, but she couldn’t understand why there seemed to be a gap in communication between them.

  Paxton came up beside her and waited for her to speak. Lifting her head, she reached out to him. He took her hand and squeezed it.

  “We’re close to Alta Novis, aren’t we?”

  He gave her a surprised look. “Are we?” He glanced around the forest. “To be honest, Atty, I’m lost. We’re coming in from the west, and I’ve never been this way before.”

  She slipped out of the saddle, looping the reins through the bare branches of a nearby bush.

  “What are you doing?” her second asked.

  “I’m not taking any chances. Order the men off their horses. We’re going on foot from here.”

  He didn’t question her order. Paas moved up next to her. “What are you sensing ahead of us?”

  “I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it isn’t good.” Atty checked behind her. Paxton gave her a thumbs-up. Raising her hand, she gave the signal to advance.

  They continued forward in single file, leading their horses behind them. After about another couple of hours, Atty grew aware of a soft buzzing in her head. She gave a shake of her head. This was new to her, and it wasn’t pleasant. It became louder and more persistent the further they went, until it nearly drowned out the usual forest sounds around them. Atty shook her head again in a vain attempt to lessen the noise.

  “You’re hearing the bees, aren’t you?” The barely audible voice came from behind her. She turned to see Paas studying her.

  “How did you know?”

  The warrior woman tapped an ear. “I get them sometimes when I sense danger.” She held out an arm. “Sometimes it feels like ants are crawling up and down my skin.”

  “I get that, too,” Atty admitted. “But this buzzing in my ear, it’s new to me.”

  “Have you had any further contact with Yulen?”

  “No, but I know he’s alive.” She cocked her head as if listening, then shook it. “I haven’t a clue why this is happening to me.”

  Paas reached out to touch the broken branches of a small tree. “I can’t believe Mink left a trail a blind and deaf eighty-year-old could follow. It’s as if they don’t care if someone follows them.”

  “They don’t. They never have.” Memory of her mission to rescue Yulen after the Bloods had overtaken Bearinger came back to her, like an old wound being reopened. “They believe they’re invincible and can defeat any enemy that threatens them.”

  The warrior woman sniffed a branch. “Their stench is still fresh. How far ahead do you think they are?”

  This time she could give them an answer. “Not far. Another mile or so.”

  “How far are we from Alta Novis?” Paxton whispered from the back.

  “Another mile or so,” she told him, then turned and continued through the trees, following the clear trail the army ahead of them had left behind. She noticed her mare starting to react as they drew closer, becoming skittish and reluctant at times to proceed. Checking the other horses at her rear, Atty could see they were also showing an unwillingness to advance. The buzzing in her head hadn’t lessened, but at least it hadn’t increased.

  They had gone a little more than another hundred meters when both Paas and Paxton came up to join her. Both wore expressions of alarm. Atty tensed as her second pointed ahead.

  “The bell! Atty, don’t you hear the bell?”

  “The bell?” That meant they were close to emerging from the forest. She shook her head, but the buzzing was preventing her from hearing them. “How many, Warren? What’s the code?”

  She watched as the both of them listened. Counting. “Nine,” Paxton finally answered. “Nine tolls.”

  “Nine for death.” The buzzing softened, but the coldness grew, balling in the center of her chest.

  “Yulen?” Paxton whispered with alarm.

  “No, but something’s happened, and I fear it’s not good.”

  Beside her Paas grew pale, and for a moment Atty thought the woman might faint. Placing a hand on her arm, she gave it a squeeze. “I pray Cole and the others are still alive.” Atty stared ahead at the trees. “If we’re close enough to hear the bell, then the compound is just past those oak trees. Right now everyone inside the compound is gathering around the tower to hear whatever announcement they’ve been summoned to hear. Warren, tell the men to hold. I’m advancing forward on foot to see what the situation is like ahead of us.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Paas informed her in a tone that left Atty no choice but to accept.

  Pressing her lips together, Atty moved cautiously through the thinning brush, eventually coming to a narrow opening. Not far ahead was the tree line. Keeping low, she used the scraggly limbs as concealment and studied the fortress lying in the distance. Paas and Paxton quickly joined her and crouched down.

  “What do you see, Warren?” Atty whispered.

  Like her, it didn’t take him long to notice something wasn’t right. “There are too few guards on the catwalks. I don’t see any in the guard towers, either.”

  “See any archers?”

  “No.” He reared back in surprise. “No archers and no swords. They all seem to be holding spears and pikes.” Paxton looked at her. “Those aren’t our men.”

  “No, they’re not.”

 
“How can that be?” Paas asked. “Mink had less than two dozen men with her, and you yourself noted they couldn’t compete with your trained soldiers.”

  “It seems Mink had moles inside Alta Novis, the same way she had them inside Wallis and the other compounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re inside Foster City and New Bearinger, as well.”

  “What are your orders?” Paxton murmured.

  “We can’t attack now. Not when those Bloods can see us coming.”

  “But wouldn’t your men turn on the enemy if they know you’re here?” Paas argued.

  Paxton responded. “If they have Yulen and the others prisoners, they may be keeping the Battle Lord alive in order to prevent his troops from fighting back. If they see Atty coming, they’ll have no compunction about killing him, hoping Yulen’s death will devastate his soldiers to the point where Mink’s army can overcome.”

  “So what are we going to do?”

  Atty pointed to the trees on the other side of the fortress. “We’ll circumvent the forest to the far side, close to where the practice fields are. There we’ll wait until it’s dark and then crawl our way inside the compound. If we can free Yulen and the others, or at least form a strong enough guard around them so that Mink’s people can’t harm them, it may rally our soldiers to where they can overtake the Bloods.”

  Paas frowned. “But we don’t know where they’re keeping Yulen and Cole prisoners…do we?”

  Atty managed a humorless smile. “No. Not exactly. But it’s bound to be somewhere Mink believes is well-fortified.”

  Paxton snorted. “And if our first guess doesn’t pan out, we’ll go to Plan B.”

  “Which is?” Paas asked with a grin.

  “We grab one of her men and have you get them to tell us where the Battle Lord is located,” Paxton replied.

  “It will be a pleasure,” the warrior woman told them, and they retreated back to where the others were waiting.

  Chapter 31

  Announcement

  MaGrath followed Mink at a respectful distance. He was acutely aware of the looks cast at him by the townspeople, the whispers passing among them. More than that, he couldn’t help but notice how several of Yulen’s men stood on the fringes. If the Battle Lord had indeed turned the compound over to Mink, they could not defy the man’s final orders, no matter how much they detested the idea of a changing regime.

  What the townspeople didn’t know or realize as of yet was that the people taking command weren’t Mutah. They were Bloods. MaGrath wondered how the village would take that bit of news.

  She led him and three of her guards over to the bell tower, but she refused to climb to the top of the steps. Instead, she motioned the physician over and pointed to the base. “Go up there and address the people. Tell them what I tell you to say.”

  He gave her a brief nod and ascended the three stone steps, taking a position close enough to where he could hear her instructions. As he surveyed the crowd surrounding him, he could tell they were expecting bad news, sad news, potentially devastating news. He had no idea how much Mink would allow him to say, or if she’d let him tell the people that Yulen was still alive. But he knew he couldn’t say anything more than what she wanted him to pass along. To reveal more would jeopardize his request to see to the Battle Lord’s injuries.

  “Tell them why we’re here,” Mink whispered. “Tell them Battle Lord D’Jacques has handed this compound over to me.”

  MaGrath gave another nod, straightened, and cleared his throat. Holding up his hands, he signaled for silence. The crowd quickly settled down, anxious to hear what he had to say.

  “You all know me. You trust me, and I hope you will continue to trust me after what I must tell you.” He held a hand out, indicating Mink. “This is Mink. She is the Supreme Leader of the New People. She is now in control of Alta Novis. Yulen D’Jacques has yielded this compound to her.”

  “How do we know?” someone yelled from the crowd.

  “Yeah! Who are these New People?”

  “If the Battle Lord is turning control over to her, why isn’t he telling us himself?” This last question drew an uproar from the people, demanding to see D’Jacques. MaGrath looked to Mink. The woman tried to relay something to him but her words were lost in the din.

  A figure made its way to the other side of the short dais. It was Basal Roth, one of Yulen’s lieutenants who’d left New Bearinger where he had been supervising the building of the new compound and come to assume command of Alta Novis in the Battle Lord and Lady’s absence. Most notable about the man’s presence was the fact that he’d been divested of his sword.

  Roth waved for silence. “I believe Dr. MaGrath is telling the truth. This woman and her men approached the compound, and they had the Battle Lord and several others bound as prisoners. D’Jacques was presented to us as the deposed battle lord. Now, I didn’t hear the words come from him personally, but I can vouch that he is this woman’s prisoner.”

  “What about Atty? Was Atty with him?” a voice yelled.

  “I didn’t see her.”

  “Is she alive?”

  “Can you tell us if she’s still alive?”

  “I’m sorry.” The lieutenant shook his head. “I can’t tell you. Doc?” Roth referred back to MaGrath.

  “I have seen D’Jacques but I have not spoken with him, so I can’t tell you if Atty is also alive.”

  “You said D’Jacques had someone with him?” someone in the crowd questioned.

  MaGrath nodded. “Cole Mastin, Zane Batuset, Fortune Kalich, Orson Del Ray, Garet Renken, and two Mutah I couldn’t identify.”

  The crowd remained quiet, although the physician could almost feel an undercurrent of distrust. These people believed him, and they believed Roth. They believed the Battle Lord had turned the compound over to this woman and her minions. But they didn’t believe D’Jacques had done it willingly or without a fight.

  In the distance, MaGrath spotted Tory. The woman had her hand over her mouth, tears glistening on her face now that she knew her husband was among the survivors.

  “So what happens now?” another voice asked.

  “Tell them they must all swear their allegiance and devotion to me,” Mink told him.

  “You must swear your allegiance and devotion to Mink,” MaGrath relayed.

  “And you will refer to me as Her Most Holy.”

  “And when you speak to her, or speak of her, you will not call her by her name, but as Her Most Holy.”

  “Because I am now their supreme goddess.”

  MaGrath took a deep breath. “Because she is now our supreme goddess.”

  “Supreme goddess? I say coon shit!” a male voice shouted. The oath was instantly followed by several others in the same vein. MaGrath glanced over at Mink to see how she was taking it, and from what he could tell, she wasn’t taking it well.

  Holding out his arms, he tried to quell the rising anger. “Listen to me, everyone! Listen! I will speak to the Battle Lord, and I will hear from him in his own words whether or not he has relinquished ownership of this compound. When I do, I will come back to you and let you know what he said.”

  “It’s not that we don’t trust you, Doc,” a man in front protested. His eyes slanted over to where Mink stood at the foot of the dais. “It’s that we don’t trust her. And by that, we’re saying we believe you’re being jerked around like a puppet. You’re being told what to say. We seen it!”

  “We’ll believe it when we hear it straight from D’Jacques!” a woman yelled from mid-crowd. “We wanna hear it straight from D’Jacques!”

  “Straight from D’Jacques! Straight from D’Jacques! Straight from D’Jacques!” The chant grew stronger and louder with each repetition. MaGrath didn’t blame them for their distrust and fear. But they couldn’t keep this up. There was no telling how much harm Mink could order her soldiers to do, starting with the Battle Lord.

  “Listen to me! Listen! Please!” He waved his hands at them, begging for reason, begging for
silence, but the townspeople were adamant. Under Yulen and Atty’s guidance, Alta Novis had flourished. Not only had it become more prosperous, more importantly it had become safer. People flocked to it on a daily basis because they believed they could live their lives freely within this compound’s walls. But no matter how much he tried to ease their worry, the more forceful their protests.

  “Straight from D’Jacques! Straight from D’Jacques!”

  A woman shrieked. At the same time, bright, hard pain enveloped his body. MaGrath shuddered, blinking in disbelief as more people screamed. As the crowd suddenly silenced, he slowly looked down to see the points of a half-dozen spears piercing his body. He fought the need to gasp for breath, as the action would press the tips further into him. Already he could feel blood trickling down his chest and back, to pool around the waistband of his pants.

  “Listen, people of Alta Novis!” Mink moved forward. At the same time, the people closest to the dais shuffled backwards, away from her. “Listen, my people! You will accept and serve under my abundant and gracious hospitality, or I will order your doctor to be run through the same way we’ve dealt with your kind in the past!” The woman smirked as she paused and waited for their reaction. “Well? What is your answer? Follow me? Or allow my men to finish running him through?”

  “Liam!”

  MaGrath was vaguely aware of Madigan coming through the mass of people as they moved aside to let her pass. He didn’t notice she wasn’t holding their son until she reached the edge of the bell tower. Lifting her skirts, she hurried up the steps on the opposite side of the dais, shoving aside a Blood guard in disgust before turning to face the mob.

  “Listen to me, people of Alta Novis! You know me! You know Dr. MaGrath! Accept your fate, or else she will kill him and the Battle Lord! Listen to me! Accept what she says, or else she will kill Dr. MaGrath and the Battle Lord!”

  Mink eyed Madigan for a moment, smiled icily, and turned to the people. “Honor me as your holy goddess, people of Alta Novis. Show homage to me!” Spreading her arms, she awaited their reaction.