‘No! Not these two,’ Callian’s cry halted Milgorry’s sword mid-air. ‘Wait. Take their weapons.’ There was a clatter as the two men threw down their swords. Gilgarry grabbed the swords and removed several hidden weapons from each man. Callian stood looking down at the men, delving deep into their minds. ‘You’re heart truly wasn’t in this fight,’ Callian observed. ‘Tell me why.’
‘No one told us there would be guardians,’ one of the Guards explained, watching Milgorry’s sword nervously. ‘They only told us some highly dangerous prisoners were being brought here and that they couldn’t be allowed to escape. When I saw Milgorry of Tarl I thought that ‘highly dangerous’ was a bit of an understatement, but I can’t believe those three women are even a tiny bit dangerous! I’m Nilarli and this is my brother Ewan.’ He gave a weary sigh. ‘I’ve had enough. I just don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to be here anymore.’ He turned and addressed Callian personally. ‘I know who you are, Guardian General.’ He gestured to Callian’s sword and then he closed his eyes. ‘Make my return quick,’ he said. His companion dipped his head but waited stoically with eyes open.
‘Close your eyes,’ Callian ordered, and as if the man had no choice, his eyes closed. Callian sheathed his sword. He reached out and placed his hands on the men’s foreheads. They flinched but stood resignedly still. After a moment Callian removed his hands. The men’s eyes opened and they both stared at Callian in confusion.
‘What in all hell is going on here?’ Ewan asked indignantly. ‘Nilarli?’
‘I...I don’t know,’ Nilarli admitted, shaking his head in confusion. ‘We were going down to the docks to...this can’t be happening! I can’t remember how I got here.’ He stared up at Callian who was now half hiding a satisfied smirk, and then flinched as if seeing him for the first time. ‘Guardian General Callian,’ he said unemotionally. ‘What are you doing here? Did you come here to return us?’
‘No,’ said Callian. ‘I’m not going to return you, or your brother. I saw what you did Nilarli.’
‘What did he do?’ Gilgarry asked curiously.
‘Only minutes ago, when Louisa and Elena and Immosey were running up the beach, someone flung a knife after them. Nilarli managed to deflect it. And he even managed to make it look like an accident. But it wasn’t.’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Nilarli, looking more and more confused. ‘I only just got here...I think?’ He glared suspiciously at Callian and then at the broken bodies on the jetty and on the sand beneath. ‘What did you do to me?’
‘I took your memories of what happened, Nilarli. And when you walk away from here, this conversation will fade from your memory as well.’
‘We were supposed to be...I can’t remember what we’re supposed to be doing,’ said Ewan, sounding a little desperate. ‘Penn’s going to murder us anyway. Maybe you should just get it over with!’
‘You can stop worrying,’ said Callian firmly. ‘Penn got away - unfortunately - but not until I got into his mind, though only for the briefest moment. It was just enough. You could walk up to him right now and he would have to ask who you are. As far as he’s concerned you never existed. Trust me.’
Ewan frowned. ‘We have families, Callian. He’ll remember them!’
‘No he won’t,’ said Callian firmly.
Nilarli glanced at his brother. ‘That means...’
‘That means you can go wherever you want and start your life over. I know your mind and I know if you could have anything at all, you would take the chance to start over. I’m giving you that chance. Take your families and go. Go now.’
The two men backed away, then turned and ran up the beach.
‘Let’s go and find the girls,’ said Callian.
They found them hiding with Kelian and Kalinya. No one wanted to stay too close to the nearby village, so they followed the beach until it became necessary to climb the cliffs in order to continue. It wasn’t a difficult climb and everyone was pleased to find that as they ascended, the breeze was cool and pleasant and they were entirely hidden from the village around the bay.
‘It’s a pity we didn’t ask those men where we are,’ said Kelian, on hearing from Callian what had happened at the jetty. ‘It would have been nice to find out – that was our plan.’
‘I did find out,’ said Callian. ‘Only I didn’t exactly ask; I just took his thoughts.’
‘So where are we?’
‘Not in Alkira.’ Callian shook his head when Kelian glared at him. ‘Sorry, I should have said, I know where we are, but until five minutes ago I never would have believed we could be here. We’re about two hundred miles north east of the Dwellings.’
‘You can’t be serious!’ said Kelian, clutching Callian’s arm as he almost slipped from the rocks.
‘This is Hosatabaht. There were only supposed to be humans here. Some of the fallen tried to come here, but it was forbidden. Now I need to know what Penn is doing bringing people here.’
‘So we’re back where we started,’ Kelian observed. ‘If we want to get home we still need to take control of that ship.’
‘So where to, from here?’ asked Callian, looking at Kelian worriedly. ‘Perhaps-’ A peculiar expression on the guardian’s face made everyone stare at him. ‘Tim? Araas? Can you sense that?’ he asked as if not believing his own thoughts.
‘It can’t be!’ Araas looked like he’d been hit by a brick.
‘How is that possible?’ Timbul whispered, staring ahead with his head inclined in concentration.
‘What?’ Kelian wondered why the guardians were both intrigued and amused.
‘Someone please tell me I’m not crazy,’ Callian murmured.
‘Why? What do you sense?’ Kelian was becoming frustrated with the lack of forthcoming information.
Callian took a deep breath. ‘Baron Dale. I heard his thoughts, then he was gone and then back again for a moment, like someone was trying to hide his thoughts but wasn’t doing a very good job, or was falling asleep or something.’
Kelian stared at Callian, barely believing what he was hearing. ‘Where is he?’
Callian pointed. ‘He’s somewhere that way. Not far.’
‘Let’s find him,’ ordered Kelian. ‘Maybe he knows more than we do about what’s going on around here.’
Callian turned to lead him through the masses of jumbled rocks when he paused again.
‘What now?’ Kelian asked, urgently wanting to find Dale and leave the docks behind.
‘Eibhear!’ said Callian. ‘Just for a second...oh that’s not good. I think he’s hurt.’
‘Move!’ Kelian urged.
They all scrambled after Callian. The rocks became more difficult to negotiate with deep crevices and high jagged points. As they scrambled into a rugged depression an arrow shot past Callian’s head. The guardian ducked and gave a chuckle.
‘Definitely Dale,’ he announced loudly. ‘If I hadn’t ducked it probably would have taken me fair in the eye.’ There was a scrambling sound and Dale’s astonished face appeared. He was speechless as he stood staring at Callian. His mouth dropped open as Kelian’s face appeared from behind Callian. ‘So, have you finished trying to dissuade our visit?’ said Callian, nodding towards the bow in Dale’s hand. Dale nodded wordlessly.
‘How did you get here?’ he finally managed.
‘It’s a long story,’ said Kelian. ‘Callian said he could sense Eibhear. ‘Is he hurt?’
‘He is,’ said Dale gravely.
Callian crawled past Dale and knelt beside Eibhear. ‘Ugh, this is a mess,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll need help.’ Milgorry crouched at his side. ‘Here. Press the sides of the wound together. Don’t let them move apart.’
‘Just a moment,’ Dale said raising his hand. ‘We should clean the wound again. I had difficulty keeping it clean whilst trying to get him back into this cave. Have you got anything suitable?’
‘No. Nothing,’ Callian admitted. ‘What did you clean it out with in the first place?’
‘Salt water,’ said Dale grimly.
‘Ow.’ Milgorry raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll bet that made him yip.’
Dale shook his head and looked sadly at Eibhear. ‘He didn’t make a sound, except I could hear his teeth grinding together.’
‘Would you just get on with it,’ Eibhear whispered wearily. ‘Just wash it out again if you have to, and let Callian at it.’
‘So...what did you carry the water in?’ asked Borgulnay, looking around.
‘I didn’t,’ said Dale. ‘I dragged him down to the edge of the water, washed out the wound and then dragged him back up here. That’s why I had so much trouble keeping the wound clean. It’s not good. There’s a rough path over there.’ He pointed towards the water.
‘Fine,’ said Milgorry. He picked up Eibhear’s body and carried it down to the water. He was back within minutes. Eibhear was unconscious.
‘Must have been too much pain,’ Dale observed.
‘No.’ Milgorry shook his head. ‘I made him unconscious. He can stay that way until Callian’s finished with him.’
‘Two minutes!’ Dale groaned. ‘That took you two minutes!’
‘How long did it take you to get him down to the water?’ Gilgarry asked curiously.
‘Two minutes of course,’ Dale lied, his face reddening. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
Ten minutes later the huge open wound on Eibhear’s chest looked like a dark red, angry welt. Eibhear was still unconscious. Everyone sat together in quiet conversation.
‘Kelian, I have a place we can go, but it’s a long walk,’ said Dale.
‘You need to tell me how you got here.’
‘I will, but we should leave this place immediately. Eibhear and I are definitely not welcome here.’
‘I doubt they’ll be throwing any parties in our honor either,’ Kelian admitted. ‘Fine, you lead us out of here and we can exchange stories. It seems we may have some work to do here before we follow through with our original plans.
‘What’s your plan?’
‘They brought us here by ship. We’re planning to take it back to Castle,’ said Elena.
‘That’s ironic.’ Dale smiled. ‘Stealing a ship was high on my list of objectives too. I was planning to go back to village and get some more information, but right now I just want to get Eibhear somewhere safe.’
Kelian nodded. ‘But I still want a lot more information about what’s going on here before we leave.’
Over the next hours they discussed in great detail all that had happened from the moment Kelian had left Castle. He was saddened to hear of the loss of Charie, grieved that Dale’s life had been filled with losing so many he loved. Equally grievous was Dale’s account of the death of Captain Mervin and First Officer Colin, whom Kelian had known personally and for whom he had great respect. The sky was black when they reached Cathaoir’s home, and Kalinya was asleep in Borgulnay’s arms.
‘At least now I’m beginning to understand the fiasco at the Sanctuary,’ said Kelian as he listened to Dale’s account of his visit with Eibhear to the village around the bay.
‘If we can make enough sense of what’s going on, perhaps we can come up with some kind of strategy for dealing with it,’ said Dale.
‘Definitely,’ Kelian agreed. ‘We’ll discuss this more once we arrive at this home you’ve spoken of. And then we can work on a plan.’
‘There’s something we need to do first,’ said Dale firmly. ‘It can’t be put off any longer. You really did arrive at an extremely opportune time, your Majesty. It’s very important and must be done correctly. I think if it’s not done soon...well, one of the warriors isn’t going to be amused.’
‘What do we need to do?’ asked Kelian, looking apprehensive.
‘We need to perform a marriage ceremony.’
Chapter 32
Wedding
The day was sunny but cool and Raline was inside all morning, being fussed over by Jemicka, Louisa, Elena and Immosey. Jemicka gladly provided everything Raline might wish for, but as it turned out her shoes were far too long for Raline to borrow. Raline hadn’t made a fuss, just a comment that Rezon hadn’t seen her in shoes often enough to notice whether she was wearing any, but Jemicka was not satisfied and sat by candlelight in the early hours of the morning stitching together a pair of slippers. She made them in simple white linen, which was the only fabric she had available, and fashioned them as a plain slip-on shoe with a silk ribbon to tie over the ankle. Then she took some pink glass beads from a delicate necklace and stitched them onto the front of the shoes in a pretty floral pattern. The effect was beautiful with the long, pale pink dress that the warriors had stolen. The dress was too long for Raline, but Immosey took up the hemline and now the dress was the perfect length, barely touching the floor at the front. Jemicka assigned Immosey and Louisa to prepare Raline’s hair and the two women worked together enthusiastically. Raline’s hair fell in soft folds to her shoulders and once the women finished their work, it was a glowing mass of beautiful deep brown. Elena rested until they finished. She’d been feeling quite ill since they arrived, and had even vomited several times. It annoyed her that one moment she felt hot to a point of being feverish and then next she was shivering with cold. She pushed her nausea away, determined not to spoil Raline and Rezon’s day.
At midday, Immosey and Louisa went into the courtyard. The changes were breathtaking. The stone paving had been cleaned until it shone. In the center of the courtyard, stones had been removed and a small pond had been made. Flowering water lilies floated on the surface of the water. At each of the four corners of the courtyard, stone pedestals stood each bearing an urn of flowers, and between the two furthest from the home, a long oval table had been placed and covered with a white cloth. What was on the table could not be seen as a second cloth was draped over the contents. White wooden seats were placed round the edge of the courtyard.
Elena’s face appeared in a window and Kelian left Rezon’s side and went indoors. Immosey and Louisa joined the guests and waited patiently. Ben stood beside his brother, who was now looking decidedly nervous, and slapped him on the back encouragingly, whilst casting impatient glances towards the home. Callian watched Eibhear and Rudiger in amusement, noting that he’d rarely seen either warrior wearing a shirt, let alone wearing neat shirts, trousers and clean, polished boots. Eibhear rolled his eyes at Callian and nodded towards Timbul and Araas. The two brothers were dressed entirely in black and standing side by side in the sunshine, and other than the slight difference in hair color, they might have been twins. Araas had a peaceful look on his face, but Timbul’s expression held elements of sadness and regret. He caught Callian’s eye and the Guardian General gave him a nod of acknowledgement, remembering the terrible death of the woman Timbul loved.
Dale stood in front of the table, next to Rezon and his brother Ben. Dale, under Kelian’s orders, had agreed to perform the ceremony as the King knew quite well that Dale would remember the entire ceremony word for word. Jemicka and Cathaoir sat together at the side of the courtyard, holding hands and talking quietly. A small silver flute rested on Jemicka’s lap. Cathaoir rose and opened a little gate at the back of the courtyard to admit Milgorry, Borgulnay and Gilgarry who had done a quick sweep around the area to ensure the wedding would not be interrupted, though Callian had agreed that if someone unwanted should approach he would ensure they had a sudden urge to go in the opposite direction. The only person who seemed a little out of sorts was Kalinya. The guardians and warriors seemed to think the boy was extremely amusing, and eventually Dale could bear it no longer.
‘What?’ he mouthed, looking questioningly at Callian.
‘I’m sorry. I can’t say.’ Callian failed to hide his grin. ‘You’ll have to ask the jilted young man.’
Dale raised one eyebrow. ‘So Kalinya, exactly why are you so morose on so happy an occasion?’
Kalinya raised his head and sniffed haughtily. ‘Yesterday I asked Raline if she’d marry me inste
ad of Rezon, and she said no.’
‘I thought you were in love with Louisa,’ said Immosey, looking confused.
‘That was ages ago!’ Kalinya rolled his eyes as though this was obvious. ‘And Milgorry is a bit scary. I don’t want to cross him,’ he said in a whisper. Milgorry frowned dubiously at Kalinya from where he sat across the courtyard.
‘Does that mean you don’t find little Rezon scary? The rest of us do.’
‘Maybe a little bit. But I think he’s just scary on the outside.’
Milgorry snorted indignantly. ‘That’s nice, isn’t it? He’s only scary on the outside.’ His eyes flicked towards the home. ‘They’re ready,’ he announced. Everyone stood.
Elena appeared first, graceful and elegant in a stolen dress. As she stepped outside she turned and glanced back, then moved forward, sprinkling tiny white flowers onto the stones. Raline had been reluctant to ask the Queen of Alkira to act as her wedding maid, but when Rezon had told Elena of Raline’s wish, Elena had been delighted to agree and had thrown herself enthusiastically into the task of preparing the bride. Jemicka lifted the silver flute and began to play a soft, traditional, Alkiran melody. There was a simultaneous drawing of breath as Raline stepped into the sunshine. She was holding tight onto Kelian’s arm and she gazed around each guest’s face until her eyes rested on Rezon. A powerful surge of adoration burst from the warrior filling the hearts of everyone present. Raline couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. By the time she followed Elena’s pathway of petals to stand at his side her eyes were glistening and her heart pounding.
Dale was as good as Kelian had expected. With absolute precision, he performed the Alkiran marriage ceremony, which involved declarations of love and commitment, then to the surprise and appreciation of the warriors, he began a reasonably accurate version of the Nyinakun Ceremony of Unity, a ritual which had been performed for many years by the people of Nyinaku, where a warrior would declare his love and devotion to the woman of his choice and dedicate himself to her wellbeing and protection. The woman was also given the opportunity to state her love towards her new husband. Both partners were required to kneel before each other and swear to give themselves to the other, acknowledging that they are no longer entirely their own master. Rezon had quite obviously not been expecting this, and when Dale began the formal speech of the Ceremony of Unity he drew a quick breath and looked gratefully into Raline’s eyes. She smiled at him, feeling overcome that this beautiful warrior could belong to her. The knelt together and Rezon sat back on his heels, though Raline still seemed tiny beside him.
Child Of A Guardian And Of The Free (Book 3) Page 27