Mummy?
The voice was faint, as if from a long distance away. Daphne concentrated, feeling out with her vision.
Karalyn? she cried. I’m here, baby. I’m here.
Silence.
She bowed her head.
‘What happened?’ Killop said.
She opened her eyes to see him lying next to her, his eyes wide. She lay back down again.
‘She’s alive,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t know where, but she’s alive.’
The dawn was grey and cold as they crawled out of their tents. The sergeant and Killop got the fire going, and the troopers washed and sat, warming themselves against the flames. Daphne glanced at them, and saw how thin they were, and how close to despair.
‘Karalyn’s alive,’ she said.
Everyone turned to look at her.
‘I got a message from her last night. It was faint, but it was her.’
‘Where is she?’ Chane said.
‘I don’t know,’ said Daphne, to the sound of sighs and groans. ‘I couldn’t tell.’
‘So what do we do now, ma’am?’ said the sergeant.
‘We keep to the plan,’ she said. ‘We climb the ridge we were aiming for yesterday, and take a look into the next valley. Chane, you got a map handy?’
Chane nodded, and reached for a satchel. ‘Kylon stole most of them, as you know,’ she said, ‘but I have one of the region we’re in just now.’
She unrolled a chart and laid it on the ground, using stones to keep the corners down .
She pointed. ‘We’re here.’
‘Alright,’ said Daphne, ‘then the ridge is here.’
‘Is that the start of the plains at the bottom of the map?’ asked a trooper.
‘Yeah,’ said Chane. ‘We’ve circled right round this area, and are almost back at where we started.’
‘Then,’ the trooper went on, ‘we’re less than a day’s walk from those farms.’ He pointed to a settlement marked on the plains. ‘We could be there by nightfall.’
‘Who asked for your opinion?’ said the sergeant. ‘If Lady Holdfast says we’re going to the ridge, then that’s where we’re going.’
The trooper’s face twisted into a snarl.
‘We can’t go on,’ said another. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am, and sergeant, but we’ve not eaten in days. We want to help find the child, but we can’t if we starve.’
‘Shut your mouth,’ the sergeant cried. ‘All of you.’
The troopers backed off, but their eyes remained defiant.
‘We have another problem,’ said Chane.
Daphne glanced at her.
Chane gestured at Celine, who was sitting by the fire on her own. Her eyes were red, and she was staring at the ground.
‘Can you walk today?’ Chane said to her.
Celine looked up and shook her head.
Chane crouched down by her side. ‘Let me see your feet.’
Celine pulled off her loose boots, revealing bloody blisters, and swollen bruises round her ankles. Her face fell at the sight.
‘Shit,’ said Chane.
‘We’ll have to carry her,’ said the sergeant.
‘All the way up the ridge, sergeant?’ said a trooper.
‘You’ll carry her all the way to Kellach Brigdomin if I say so, trooper.’
‘No,’ Celine said. ‘Just leave me here. You can come back for me.’
Chane turned to Daphne.
‘We might not be coming back this way,’ she said.
Chane shrugged. ‘Sorry, Celine. ’
The sergeant bit her lip. ‘May I have a quiet word, ma’am?’
Daphne nodded.
They walked away together, Chane and Killop following.
‘What is it, sergeant?’ Daphne said, once they were out of sight of the troopers.
‘Maybe we need a day or two to rest and get some food, ma’am,’ she said. ‘We could be on the plains by this evening, and get settled into a barn or somewhere suitable. Once we’ve rested, and purchased supplies, then we can come back and resume the search for your daughter.’
‘No,’ said Daphne.
The sergeant glanced at Chane.
‘They have a point,’ she said to Daphne. ‘They’ll soon be too hungry to think straight.’
Daphne shook her head. ‘We’ll lose three days, at least. We can’t.’
‘Maybe you could all go,’ said Killop, ‘and I’ll stay up here looking until you’ve recovered.’
Chane frowned. ‘Surely even the Kellach have to eat?’
He nodded. ‘And I have been.’
‘What?’
‘There are roots, berries, and fungus up here that I can eat,’ he said. ‘Stuff that would poison any of you lot, but they don’t affect me. I could live in these mountains indefinitely.’
Chane shook her head. ‘You’ve been eating all this time? I’ve not seen you eat once.’
‘I didn’t want to rub your faces in it,’ he said. ‘I know how hungry you all are. But the point is that I can keep searching, while you re-supply. I can move faster on my own, and will be able to cover a few more valleys. We can arrange a place to meet in three or four days.’
Daphne glanced at him. ‘If you’re staying, then so am I.’
He looked at her for a long moment.
‘No,’ he said. ‘You need food and rest. You’ll be no good to Karalyn if you starve.’
‘Forget it,’ she said, her voice rising. ‘There’s no way I’m going back to the plains while you’re up here. What if you find them? You’ll be out-numbered. No.’
Killop frowned. ‘I can take Kylon.’
‘You’re good,’ said Chane, before Daphne could speak, ‘but Kylon’s the best sword-fighter I’ve ever seen, apart from Daphne on battle-vision obviously. And what if Baoryn puts a bolt in your back while you’re busy with Kylon?’
The Kell man said nothing.
‘If I can speak my mind,’ said the sergeant, ‘I’d say we should all go down to the plains.’
‘I agree,’ said Chane.
Daphne’s temper flared. ‘Am I the only one that gives a damn about finding Karalyn?’
‘No,’ said Killop, while Chane and the sergeant lowered their eyes, ‘you’re not.’
‘It seems like it,’ she said.
‘That’s why you need to rest,’ he said. ‘You’re so tired and hungry, you’re not thinking straight.’
‘Don’t speak to me like I’m a child.’
Killop’s eyes narrowed, but he closed his mouth.
Daphne felt like she was about to explode, as anger, fear and guilt tore through her.
‘None of you understand,’ she cried. ‘If we waste another three days, then Kylon will be even further away, and we’ll never find her. Is that what you want?’
‘No, ma’am,’ the sergeant said.
‘Then tell your troopers to get ready to go.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
The sergeant saluted, and walked back up the track, her shoulders bowed.
Chane shook her head. ‘They’ll desert, first opportunity they get.’
‘I don’t care,’ Daphne said. ‘If they don’t want to help, then I don’t want them around.’
‘They’re your most loyal troopers,’ Killop said, his eyes tight. ‘ They’re the ones who’ve stayed, but they need to eat, Daphne, we’ve pushed them too far.’
‘It’s alright for you,’ she said, turning her anger on him. ‘You don’t need to worry about food, you can stay up here, mocking the rest of us weak Holdings. But you’re not staying up here without me, no matter what you say.’
He gazed at her.
‘I’m going down to the plains,’ he said, ‘because if you stay up here with me you’ll die.’
Daphne screamed, and lashed out with her armoured left arm, striking the side of the cliff-face. The wrist-guard tore away a chunk of rock, sending an excruciating pain up her arm, her elbow on fire. She grasped her wrist in her right hand and sank to her knees, w
eeping. She closed her eyes, feeling Killop’s arm over her shoulder.
Deep inside, she knew they were right, but frustration scourged her.
‘Kara-bear,’ she sobbed. ‘I’m sorry.’
It rained during the afternoon, a short downpour that drenched them as they trudged along the track towards the plain. Daphne hardly noticed, her mind a torment of conflicting emotions. Ahead of her, Celine was being carried on a stretcher by two troopers. She seemed in better spirits, now that she knew they were going to the plains to buy supplies. They all seemed in a better mood, except for Killop, who had been silent the entire way.
She glanced at him.
She knew he was hurting, she knew he would rather be searching, instead of retreating down the mountain with the rest of them, but her anger with him remained. She felt betrayed, as if she were the only one prepared to sacrifice everything to find her daughter.
The grey clouds scudded overhead, mirroring her mood.
Chane offered her a cigarette, and lit it for her.
‘Thanks. ’
‘I’m feeling a bit better today,’ Chane said. ‘Sounds stupid, I know, but this morning when I woke up, my first thought wasn’t about dullweed. I guess my hunger’s overpowered my craving, for now at any rate. Anyway, I wanted to say thank you, for helping me get through the worst of it. I don’t deserve you as a friend.’
Daphne said nothing.
‘I know you blame yourself,’ Chane went on. ‘You shouldn’t, it was my fault. It was me who introduced you to Kylon. I knew he was dangerous, but I didn’t think he’d turn out to be a treacherous bastard. No one did, Daphne.’
‘You talk like she’s dead,’ Daphne said. ‘She’s not.’
‘I know, you heard her voice last night, and it’s given me renewed hope. Maybe that’s part of why I’m feeling better today. We’re going to find her, I know it, but maybe we need to think about changing our strategy.’
Daphne glanced at her. ‘Go on.’
‘We need money,’ Chane said, ‘enough for more people, and more supplies. We need to widen the net, and cover more ground. We will find her, but it might take more time that we’d thought.’
‘We’d need to go to Holdfast for that,’ Daphne said. ‘Kylon stole most of my money, and the only place where I could gather all the people we’d need is back home.’
Chane nodded. ‘That’s what I was thinking too.’
‘More time wasted,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I could cope with all the waiting, and the work organising a large search party. All I want to do is look for her.’
‘We could send Celine? That sort of work would suit her better anyway. She’s the only one here who’s never been in the army, and all the trekking through the mountains has nearly made her lame. And, of course, she’s a Holdfast.’
Daphne thought for a moment, then nodded.
‘I’ll speak to her later, if you want,’ Chane said, ‘when we get closer to the plains.’
‘Alright,’ Daphne said. She glanced at her friend. ‘Thanks. ’
Chane nodded. ‘How’s the arm?’
‘Sore.’
‘One thing’s for sure,’ Chane said, ‘that cliff won’t be fucking with us again.’
Daphne almost smiled. They caught each other’s eye for a second, then glanced back at the track, trudging on.
The daylight was beginning to fade as they descended a low foothill, the great plains spread out like the ocean before them. Patches of sunlight illuminated fields and grasslands as the clouds broke up to the west, and despite her longing to be looking for Karalyn, Daphne’s heart rose at the sight.
They reached a paved road at the bottom of the slope, and turned right, their stride adjusting to the unyielding surface beneath their boots. After a further hour’s walking, they saw the buildings of a settlement in the distance, and reached it as evening fell.
There were around two dozen houses, some lining the main road, others scattered by barns and other farm buildings. Most of the houses were spilling light from gaps in their thick shutters.
‘Where are we again?’ said Killop. ‘Which Hold?’
‘We’re in Hold Terras,’ said Chane. ‘Well, a small part of it. The Emperor never came this far north-west, which is why these houses are still standing. It’s wheatland,’ she went on. ‘This whole area, in fact. Wheat fields in every direction.’
Killop glanced around at the empty fields, and Daphne wondered whether there were enough people left in the Holdings to sow them when spring came.
As they got to within twenty yards of the first house, a bell rang out, and they halted. A crossbow bolt flew through the air, skidding off the road in front of them. The troopers bunched together, Daphne at their centre .
‘Go back the way you came,’ cried a voice. ‘We don’t want your kind here.’
‘Our kind?’ muttered Chane. ‘What the fuck?’
‘We just want to buy some food,’ Daphne called out, ‘if you have any to sell.’
‘Not if you’re with one of them.’
‘What the fuck are you talking about?’ Chane yelled. ‘One of who?’
‘One of those Kellach bastards.’
They all glanced at Killop.
He raised his arms. ‘I’m not a threat.’
‘That’s what the last one said,’ cried the voice.
Daphne strode forward.
‘And when was the last one here?’
‘A few days ago.’
Daphne swallowed. ‘Did he have a young girl with him? A Holdings girl?’
There was silence for a moment, as Daphne’s heart raced.
‘Yes.’
She shook her head, unable to speak.
‘That Kellach is the bastard we’re looking for,’ cried Killop, ‘and his Rahain friend. If you’ve seen them, then please help us.’
There was another pause.
‘Why should we help you? That Kellach and his friend killed three of our townsfolk, after we welcomed them, and fed them.’
Daphne stared at the row of houses.
‘Because that girl is my daughter.’
There was a rustle, and a small group of armed Holdings emerged from behind the first house in the row. They looked Daphne up and down, and scanned the rest of her group.
Killop drew his sword, and the group aimed their crossbows at him. He stepped forward and laid the weapon onto the ground.
‘I understand your anger,’ he said, ‘and I’m prepared to walk into your town unarmed to show I’m not a threat.’
One of the townsfolk picked it up .
‘I’ll need it back when we leave,’ Killop said. ‘I intend to use it to cut that bastard’s throat.’
The leader of the townsfolk nodded. ‘Come with us.’
They followed the group up the street, and entered a large house on the right, where they were shown to a dining hall. Celine was carried in, and placed by the head of a long table.
‘We can feed you,’ their leader said, ‘but we’re not rich round here.’
Daphne nodded, as the troopers found seats round the long table next to Celine. She pulled a pouch from her belt, and withdrew twenty coins. The man smiled, and took the money.
‘We’ll get the kitchens fired up,’ he said, ‘but we’ll have bread and ale for you in a few minutes.’
‘Tell me about the Kellach man,’ she said.
‘In a moment,’ he said, walking off.
Daphne sat down at the table next to Killop.
He caught her eye, and she could see the hope he was carrying.
Townsfolk entered with trays, and unloaded plates of bread, and jugs of ale, along with a bowl of apples and some strong-smelling cheese. The troopers launched themselves at the food.
‘Steady with the ale,’ said the sergeant. ‘Wait until you’ve eaten something first.’
Daphne ignored the food, her eyes on the doorway where the man had left.
‘Have we been searching in the wrong place?’ she said to Kill
op, who was also staring at the door.
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘What was Kylon doing here? Stocking up?’
‘Then why would he kill those people?’ she said. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’
Her heart quickened as the man came back into the dining hall. He was with two women, dressed as stable workers.
They sat down next to Daphne and Killop.
The man looked at Daphne. ‘You said the girl was your daughter?’
‘Yes. Did you see her?’
‘Yes,’ he nodded, ‘though she was always sleeping. ’
‘Why was Kylon here?’ said Killop.
‘Kylon?’
‘The Kellach man.’
‘He said he was here just to buy food, but he was a liar. In the middle of the night, he broke into the stables, and murdered three of these women’s friends, who were sleeping there. He then stole two horses, and killed the only other two we had left.’
‘I saw them leave,’ said one of the women. ‘They all rode off on the one horse, leading the other one behind them. The Kellach man, the Rahain man, and the girl, who was being carried in a bundle between them.’
Daphne let out a sob, bowing her head. Killop took her hand.
‘Did they take supplies?’ he said.
‘Yes,’ said the man, ‘the ones they’d already paid for.’
‘Enough for how long?’
He shrugged. ‘Ten days, if they’re frugal.’
Daphne sensed Killop’s anger burn. She lifted her head.
‘Which way did they go?’
The man took a drink of ale. ‘South.’
‘South?’ Daphne said.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘towards the road to the Plateau.’
Daphne nodded. The Plateau. She turned to Killop, and their eyes met.
The doors to the hall swung open, and more trays were carried in, this time loaded with large bowls of cooked meat and vegetables. The smell reached Daphne’s nose as the troopers let out a cheer, but her mind was blank to all else but where her daughter might be going.
‘Where’s he taking her?’ she said, her voice a whisper.
‘I don’t know, miss,’ said the man, ‘but I hope you find him, and your girl.’
‘And when you do,’ said one of the stable-women, ‘make sure he suffers.’
Sacrifice Page 43