Chapter 8
Duff awoke alone. He sat up and looked at the clock. It was a quarter past six in the morning. He considered for a moment, then decided it was best not to overstay his welcome. He got to his feet, then washed, dressed, packed his stuff, tidied the room, retrieved his horse, and left the castle. He hastened to deliver his report. He found his attention divided, which was not a good thing when one was on horseback. But try as he may to concentrate, he couldn't seem to manage it. His mind flitted back and forth from the task at hand, to his report to Malachi, to the women he had left at the castle. About an hour before dark, he chose a spot to camp for the night. Duff tried to settle in for the night, he couldn't seem to get the women off his mind. Now having a more intimate knowledge of one of them told him they were not slim, but a bit malnourished. "Duff, if you don't get this off your mind, it's going to drive you insane and then you'll be of no good to anyone," he told himself.
Two days later, mid-afternoon, Duff was sitting by a stream watering his horse when he heard someone approach, not quietly. "You're King Malachi's messenger, aren't you?" queried Lucius.
The man who was approaching was unfamiliar to Duff. He gripped his sword hilt. "I am."
"Then I think you and I should talk."
"What about?"
"What I can do to help you and your King overthrow King Edmund to spare the lives of as many of both of our people as possible."
"From what I saw, I'm not sure many of your men are worth saving."
"I'm Lucius. You are?"
"Captain McNally."
"Well, Captain McNally, as far as the men in the castle go, I will agree with you completely. The farmers aren't so bad. Most of them are normal, decent, upstanding men, and I should know. I only came to live in the castle a few months ago when the King needed a new council member to represent the farmers after he killed my predecessor."
Duff looked the man up and down. At a guess, he was only a couple of years older than himself. That would put him at twenty-four or twenty-six. "How have y'all not revolted against the man and killed him?"
"Fear. We're mostly farmers and most farmers are afraid of everything."
"Interesting. I always thought farmers were amongst the bravest of men. They persevere no matter how tough things get. They have one of the most uncertain occupations in the world and yet they continue to choose it."
Lucius smiled. "You know, you have a very unusual point of view for a soldier. I would've expected a soldier to look down on me and farmers."
"That should teach you not to judge a book by its cover." Duff smiled to himself as he remembered the conversation with the slave, then he frowned. Was that even considered a conversation? Aye, it definitely was. She may not talk, but she definitely communicated clearly what she thought. He shook his head, trying to clear it of those women. They would haunt him for the rest of his life if he couldn't do something about it.
"But that is something we're all guilty of, we all judge things by their exterior. But you are right; some of the most interesting people have a very ordinary outside. But I believe we've strayed from the point. And the point is, King Edmund has ordered Prince Christian to slaughter everyone in Malachi's most southern village. Unfortunately, it took me longer to find you than I expected. They probably would've attacked last night."
Duff slowly nodded. "If we cut across that way, we can see if anybody survived, then I will take you to meet Malachi. More than that, I cannot promise."
It was only a few hours later when they came upon a small group. Duff dismounted and crossed quickly to his cousin Holly. She was holding her daughter Moira. He wrapped his arms tightly around both of them. "Where's Errol?"
"He stayed behind to buy us time to get away. And I think all of the ones who didn't meet up with us are probably dead." She started crying and hugged her cousin tightly.
"It's all right Holly, we'll take you all to the castle and then we'll find out what Malachi wants to do."
It was late afternoon the following day when they arrived at Malachi's castle. The men on guard saluted the Captain as they began bellowing orders. The gates were opened for them to enter. As soon as they were through, they closed behind them. A group of men came down to assist them. "Captain, what the hell happened?" asked Young Alec.
"Our offer of peace was not accepted."
Lucius had been looking around, and even though he had said it and he believed it when he said it, he was still surprised at how many young, strong, healthy males Malachi had at his disposal. And of the group of about twenty farmers, only two of them were women and nowhere in sight did he see another woman. A large man began moving through the crowd. Everyone got out of his way. He went straight for Holly and hugged her tightly. "What the devil happened?"
"Edmund didn't like our offer of peace. He repaid us by attacking and burning our southernmost village. These are all that survived. They killed ten men," Duff replied angrily.
"Who's this?" the man demanded, jerking his thumb in Lucius's direction.
"This is Lucius. He is one of King Edmund's Councilmen. Lucius, this is Broderick, he is the King's half-brother. Lucius didn't like what his King had in mind, so he left. He tried to find me in time to warn me about the village, but it took him too long to find me."
The two men shook hands, then Broderick said, "I'm sorry if I was curt with you a moment ago. Thank you for trying." Looking back at Duff he said, "I think you'd better explain everything."
"It's complicated, and I don't want to have to go through the story multiple times, so let's just say King Edmund is a rabid dog and needs to be put down."
Broderick sighed. "That's just great."
"Where's your brother?" asked Duff.
"It's the 22nd of June," Broderick said in a meaningful manner, which didn't make sense to Lucius, but apparently it made perfect sense to Duff.
"I'll shoot you for it?" Duff asked hopefully.
Broderick grinned. "Sure, since you always lose."
Lucius narrowed his eyes as he watched the two men. Duff cast his eyes heavenward momentarily, and then the two men held out a fist and shook it up and down, then Broderick held out two fingers while Duff held his hand out flat, then cursed. Broderick laughed heartily. "You lose every time."
"War Room?" questioned Duff.
"Aye." Broderick turned back to the guards. "Take Holly and her daughter and put them in my quarters. Move my things into the barracks." Holly opened her mouth to protest; Broderick pointed a finger at her. "Don't argue with me. It's only for a couple of days, there's a few cottages empty. I'm sure Malachi will move you to one of those, for the time being just do as you're told." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and gestured for Lucius to follow.
"What was that you two just did?" questioned Lucius.
"Rock, paper, scissors. Haven't you ever seen that before? It's a children's game."
Lucius shook his head. "I can't recall ever having seen it before. You have to explain it to me sometime."
Broderick passed by a young woman, he tapped her on the arm. "Catherine, would you be so kind as to bring our guest something to eat." He hesitated a moment, then groaned. "Better bring something for Duff to eat too."
"Right away."
*****
Duff sighed and headed for the cemetery. As was his custom, he always took the long way. He didn't like going through the newer section. He didn't like seeing all the graves of his friends. He always walked around the outside and then entered through the back. Once inside, he headed straight for the grave of the previous King. As soon as Malachi came into sight, he shook his head. Malachi was sitting on the ground with his legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed, bottle in hand, leaning up against the side of his father's headstone. Duff asked hopefully, "Please tell me you poured more of that on the grave than in you?"
Malachi's head shifted and rolled slightly. "I expected you back yesterday. Is you being late a good thing or a bad thing, and what does it matter if I'm drunk or
sober?"
Duff sighed with relief. "I'm glad to see you're sober, which is good because we have company and a lot of trouble."
"I guess that means they refused our offer. No big surprise there, but we had to try."
Duff winced slightly. "Let's just say had it been a written document, Edmund would've pissed on it."
"What a charming individual. I look forward to meeting him. So who's our guest?"
"Do you want me to make my report now, or would you prefer it in writing?"
"Both," Malachi replied, getting to his feet. He took another long swig out of the bottle and offered it to Duff who repeated the process and handed it back to Malachi who turned it upside down over his father's grave. Then Malachi turned and headed out of the cemetery, like Duff, taking the long way.
"Well, to begin with, I was kept waiting for a couple of hours, apparently while the Council argued with King Edmund. Finally King Edmund came in. You do realize I'm summarizing a bit, you'll get the full details in my written report."
"Aye, aye, I understand."
"It was clear from the very beginning he had no intention of being polite. He referred to me as your dog and said he didn't need to know my name. Then his slave entered the room …" Malachi turned and narrowed his eyes, but did not interrupt. "Pretty wee thing. At first I thought she was tiny just because she was a slender female, but after seeing several of their women, I'd say they're all malnourished. The men are better off, but they're not doing well as a people." Duff hesitated. He still hadn't made up his mind how he was going to explain what happened next.
"I'm waiting."
They were drawing near to the castle. Duff put out his hand to halt Malachi. "This next part, Your Majesty, I would prefer if it was only ever spoken of now. I would prefer it not to go into writing if you don't mind."
Malachi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I am really going to hate this aren't I?"
"I'm afraid so, Your Majesty … King Edmund commanded his slave to, and I quote, 'Slave, my britches are feeling a bit restricted. I want you to alleviate my problem by sucking my cock.'" Duff let out a long slow breath as he flexed and un-flexed his fingers, trying to keep his temper under control.
Malachi stared at Duff and tried to remember if he'd ever seen him this angry before, but he couldn't seem to remember having ever seen him practically shaking with rage. His jaw was clinched so tightly, he was at risk of breaking his teeth. "It is probably best that that does not make it in the written report, go on."
"Unfortunately, the lass started to look at me, and I could tell from the look on her face that that had been a mistake. Then she proceeded to do as she was told. For a few minutes he continued to conduct business as normal, but it was becoming very clear that his entire purpose was to insult us to the point where we wouldn't want to do business with him. He and his guards found my discomfort quite amusing. They made some inappropriate comments about my manhood, but amongst their inane drivel, they asked if we were willing to accept women from their whorehouse. When the lass was finished, he told her not to leave. He ordered her to strip naked and then beat her to punish me. He hit her with the cane twenty-seven times. I fear I might've made it worse, because I offered to let him beat me instead. I should've kept my mouth shut, but I didn't really understand what he was. It was still seeping into my thick skull. When he was done having his fun, he made it quite clear he would never make a deal with us; that we were pathetic peasant farmers and he'd slaughter us like the cattle that we are to him. He gave me a room for the night." Duff hesitated a long moment. "In the morning I left. Two days later, one of his council members caught up with me. He had been trying to find me so he could warn me in time that King Edmund intended to attack our southernmost village. Unfortunately, it took him too long to find me. We went in search of survivors. We found Holly and twenty others. They burned the village to the ground and killed ten of our men, Holly's husband included."
Malachi looked furious. "Any women or children?"
"No. Fortunately, Christian went about it in a stupid manner, so that they had plenty of warning."
"Holly and her daughter all right?"
"Aye. I'm sorry if I handled something badly and I caused this."
Malachi touched Duff on the arm and the two of them continued walking towards the castle. "I am so sorry I did not realize what kind of man he was, but I do not believe for a minute there is anything you could have done to prevent this situation beyond not going, which given the fact that I ordered you to do it, that makes this my fault. But it seems now we have to stop him, not just for our own sake, but for the sake of those he's hurting. He's hurting his own people. We can't let that continue. This council member, you genuinely believe him? You do not think that he's an elaborate spy, do you?"
"No, I think he's genuinely upset that he didn't find me in time and I think he means what he says. I think he wants to stop King Edmund before he destroys what's left of his people."
"What else can you tell me about the castle and the people in it?" queried Malachi.
"I decided it wasn't safe to explore the castle. I was concerned if I did so, I wouldn't make it back to report to you, Sir. I did see some of the men when I went in, and when I left I saw quite a few of the women too. As I said, most of the women look malnourished. The men all look like they spend too much time drinking and whoring. I don't expect them to put up much of a fight."
When the two men entered the War Room, Lucius rose to his feet and Broderick performed introductions. "Duff says you want to help us bring down your King, why?" asked Malachi.
"Because our King cares more about whoring and drinking than he does feeding his people, because he doesn't care that our larders are almost completely empty, he doesn't care that his people will not survive the winter."
Chapter 9
Dunworth Castle, Scottish Highlands
August 8, 2231
Malachi sat grim faced as he listened to the report of his general. "Malachi, I know you don't want to go to war, but another one of our villages was burned to the ground. Fortunately this time, no lives were lost, but they continue to get around our patrols. We have to stop them at the source."
Malachi looked from the face of his father to his half-brother and back to his father. "You both think I've been a fool don't you, that I should've reacted sooner?"
General Mackall seated himself, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly as he looked at his lads. He always thought of them that way, his lads. He'd raised Malachi since Malachi was a bairn. "No, I think you've been what King Edmund is incapable of being, a man. You know that we have superior strength, superior resources, and we're going to slaughter them, and you don't want to do that. You've done everything in your power the past two months to protect your people and to reason with him, but this is now out of your hands. You have not stayed your hand out of fear or cowardice; but out of compassion, and I think the thing that has you the most upset, lad, is your compassion is gone. You're done with it."
Malachi smiled. He wondered how Edmund would react to his father calling him, lad; but Malachi didn't take it as an insult, but as a term of endearment. He loved his stepfather; in fact, he was really the only father Malachi ever knew. Though he and Broderick, like many of the men around here, viewed Alec as a surrogate father.
Malachi's own father had been wounded in a hunting accident and died of infection when Malachi was only ten months old. His mother, being a smart and reasonable woman, knew that she could not govern her people and raise her son by herself. Septis' wife had died three months earlier and left him with two small daughters. His mother considered it for a whole week, then she decided he needed her as much as she needed him. Septis and Malachi's father were cousins, so she felt that if anyone should stand in her husband's shoes while her son grew to manhood, it should be his cousin. So they married. Broderick followed three years later, and then Maria two years after that. He tried to push those thoughts away. He didn't need to think about his sisters
right now, that would only make him sad and he didn't want to be sad right now. He wanted to be angry. He got to his feet and looked at his colonel. "Colonel Mackall, prepare the men. We march at dawn, and make sure you're very showy about it. I'm sure Edmund has someone watching us. I want him to know we're going to march on him."
Broderick got to his feet. "You're not coming with us, right?" he asked hopefully; but as he had been afraid, Malachi gave him that all too familiar 'what the hell do you think' look. Broderick sighed and looked at his father. "At least I tried."
"Malachi, I know that we are but your general and your colonel, but I believe your brother is correct. You should not go. If anything happens to you, there is no one left to govern your people. You have no heir."
"It only matters that one of the three of us live. If anything was to happen to me, the people would turn to you or to Broderick. They would consider y'all my heirs, and if you think I'm staying out of this fight, you're both insane." Malachi turned and left the room.
When he was gone, his brother shook his head. "I don't think he realizes I think he's insane for going."
Septis cuffed his son affectionately up the side the head. "Do not speak disrespectfully of your King."
*****
The Borderlands, Scottish Highlands
August 12, 2231
"Man they're a scraggly looking bunch!" commented Broderick.
"What do you expect when their King does not respect himself, or them?" Lucius added silently, And many of them probably have empty bellies. He did not want to say it aloud. These were good men and they would not like slaughtering hungry men, but it needed to be done. King Edmund's soldiers had been a plague on his lands for a long time. He gave an involuntary shudder as a story he had once heard about the King came to his mind. He was roused from his silent contemplation by a hand squeezing his shoulder.
"Are you sure you're up for this? No one would think you a coward if you did not want to fight your own people." The concern in Malachi's voice was obvious.
Second Age of Darkness Page 5