The Guardians (Book 2) (22 page)

‘
Gone where?’ said Dale, wondering why Callian was avoiding even looking at him.

‘
Just gone, Dale,’ said Callian.

‘
How could they be gone? I doubt the Nailmarni would have taken the time to bury them,’ said Dale sarcastically. ‘What happened to them?’

‘
It’s not nice, Dale. You don’t want to know,’ said Timbul.

‘
How do you know? Did Callian tell you? You weren’t there to see,’ Dale observed.

‘
I know what they do with human bodies, Dale. You need to listen to me. You don’t want to know,’ Timbul repeated firmly.

‘
Actually, I do want to know,’ said Dale, folding his arms defiantly across his chest. ‘And you will tell me right
now
.’

‘
The Nailmarni have an insatiable appetite for human flesh. The bodies have been consumed.’

Dale
’s stomach lurched and he stumbled towards the edge of the cliff, fell to his knees and vomited violently over the edge. He remained kneeling, staring bleakly ahead.

‘
Dale,’ said Callian, placing his hand on his shoulder. ‘Are you alright?’

Dale nodded but didn
’t answer for fear that if he opened his mouth he would vomit again. He accepted the water bottle Callian was offering and washed his mouth thoroughly. Timbul sat on the rocks beside him, but said nothing.

‘
I’ll listen to you next time,’ said Dale sadly. ‘If you tell me I don’t need to know something, I’ll listen!’

‘
No you won’t,’ said Timbul knowingly.

Dale grimaced.
‘You’re probably right…again. Does that make me an idiot? Don’t answer that please.’ He knelt on the edge of the rocks without moving and Timbul waited patiently beside him. ‘Does Kelian know?’ Dale asked eventually.

‘
No,’ Timbul admitted.

‘
Are you going to tell him?’

‘
Would
you
like to tell him?’

‘
No,’ said Dale. His stomach gave another horrible tremor and Timbul looked at him sharply. ‘I’m alright, Tim,’ said Dale. ‘Who else knows?’

‘
Apart from the guardians and the free warriors, just Borg and Gil. I don’t want to tell Elena and Immosey,’ said Timbul. He stopped speaking and held up his hand and seconds later Elena and Immosey crawled through the gap in the rocks, closely followed by Enri, Kelian, Lias and Borgulnay.

Immosey
gave a cry of dismay as her dress caught under her knees and she fell forward onto the rocks. Lars helped her to her feet and started brushing the dirt from her dress.

‘
You tore the fabric, Immy,’ he commented.

‘
It’s too long,’ said Immosey. ‘But the length of my dress is the least of our worries right at this moment. Are we ready to begin?’ She glanced at Callian.

‘
One moment please,’ said Callian politely. He gestured to Danil, Timbul and Araas who moved to Callian’s side and the four guardians huddled together. They stood silently and motionlessly for several minutes.

‘
What are they doing?’ Immosey whispered to Milgorry.

‘
Callian is giving Danil, Timbul and Araas instructions on what to do if he’s returned,’ said Milgorry, sounding worried.

‘
What are his chances?’ asked Enri.

‘
About even,’ said Milgorry.

‘
What!’ Dale exclaimed. ‘I thought he said they couldn’t catch him.’

‘
Let’s hope they can’t,’ said Rezon grimly.

Dale turned to Kelian in alarm.
‘Highness, we have to stop this! We have to come up with a better plan!’

‘
It’s too late, Dale,’ said Kelian. ‘Callian’s gone.’ Dale swung around to see only three guardians remained and he cursed angrily.

‘
Callian’s fast,’ said Lias. ‘In fact he’s so fast, I think everyone needs to move into position now, if you want to be of any use to him.’

‘
Have you got the rope?’ Borgulnay asked Dale. The rope Dale normally used to tie up Leon had been added to a spare piece he kept in his pack and the length was now just enough to reach the ground at the bottom of the cliffs. Dale tied one end of the rope to a tyalla tree then he coiled the rest ready to drop it the moment Callian appeared.

Danil
tugged the rope sharply and gave a nod of satisfaction. ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

Chapter 2
7

At Sea

There was a shout from the crow
’s nest and Captain Gillam stared directly ahead, barely believing his eyes. A massive wave, stretching across the ocean, was approaching the ship so fast it took his breath away. He swung around to the crowds of people sitting and standing on the decks.

‘
Grab onto something and hold on!’ he shouted. ‘Hold on to the little ones!’ Even as he shouted the bow of the ship began to climb.

Apart from a few disgruntled elderly folk and a few fractious children, everyone had
willingly come on board the incredibly crowded vessel. The speed and ferocity of the Nailmarni attack had rattled Gillam. They were only moments from sailing, and he was patiently waiting for the Royal Family to board, when it happened. The attack was so swift and so vicious, when the King and Queen appeared it was mere seconds before they were engulfed in a wave of Nailmarni. Timbul and Araas managed to get through the fighting and take the King’s and Queen’s bodies onto the ship, but the guardians refused to remain on board, and Captain Gillam was awed by their speed as they leapt onto the dock and sprinted through the Nailmarni, cutting them down as they escaped towards the castle. They disappeared and Gillam had no idea if they survived. He moved as quickly as possible away from the harbor and they were now sailing north east but their course meant they were not yet in deep waters.

Gillam dashed across
the deck and grabbed two toddlers. Their mother was having difficulty holding on to both of them and they weren’t old enough to hang on for themselves. He wrapped an arm around each child and sprinted up onto the quarterdeck as the bow of the ship continued to rise. The children’s mother rushed after him and grabbed one of the little boys then they each wrapped their arms around the child they were carrying and held onto the balustrade. Sailors rushed in every direction, grabbing children and dragging them to where they could hold onto the rigging. People screamed as the vessel reached an angle that seemed impossible and everything not tied down went skidding towards the stern. Then there was a moment where the ship seemed to hang in mid-air, before it dropped heavily into the sea. Water swamped the deck and then disappeared as the ship surged upwards once again. There were shouts and screams of panic as the ship tilted dangerously and then gradually righted itself.

There was shocked silence for a few seconds then everyone began to talk at once. Children
cried in shock as their parents tried to comfort them. The ship’s officers rushed about doing their best to ascertain if anyone was missing. Confusion reigned until First Mate Dommy gave a sharp, loud whistle and silence fell.

‘
If all citizens would please return to their assigned cabins, I’ll have all sailors on deck,’ Captain Gillam ordered. It took a surprisingly short time for everyone to get to their cabins. Not long after, Executive Officer Dominique came to each cabin to check that no-one was missing, and then half an hour later, he invited everyone to return to the decks if they so desired. Once he had completed his rounds he reported to Captain Gillam.

‘
You’re not going to believe this sir,’ said Dominique, ‘but there’s no-one missing. No-one!’ he added incredulously. ‘I think we were lucky that most of the children were in playing with the animals and they had the cage door shut, and a huge number of people were below deck.

Gillam
’s face relaxed into surprised relief. ‘Injuries?’

‘
Nothing serious. A lot of bruises and a few people are bleeding from being hit by things that were flung around their cabins, one broken arm – the physician has a row of patients with him right now.’

‘
We are incredibly fortunate we didn’t lose anyone overboard. What a relief!’ Gillam was staggered by his luck. He glanced across the deck in time to see Lieutenant Carey scowling at the nearest child in disagreement with the Captain’s remark.

‘
Sir, do you think the volcano caused this?’ asked Dominique, referring to the volcano on the Black Apple Islands.

‘
I do,’ said Gillam. ‘We’ve been seeing haze in the sky for some time now.’

‘
I don’t think a wave like that would have taken too long to reach here,’ said Dominique doubtfully.

‘
The volcano might have been spewing out smoke and ash for days before it erupted,’ Gillam pointed out. ‘If it was the cause of that wave, perhaps it only just happened.’

Dominique
shrugged. ‘There might be more.’

‘
Agreed. We’ll head directly for the Black Apple Islands, then turn away and head towards the Dwellings.’

‘
You want to meet anything head on.’ Dominique nodded approvingly. ‘That course will delay us, but not by much.’

‘
And I think it’s probably prudent to be in deeper water,’ said Gillam. ‘We have some old fisher folk on board, and they think waves like this increase as they near the shoreline. I think they’re probably right.’

The change of course ended up extending the journey
somewhat, and they encountered another unusual wave, but they were in deeper water and it had far less effect on the large vessel. Leonie was waiting on the beach anxiously as the ship drew into the harbor. Along the length of the beach in front of the Dwellings, several rows of guardians waited patiently. Most were dressed in the dark linen trousers and black tunic which was the guardian’s most common attire. The tunics crossed at the front and tied at the side of the waist, though many of the males wore only trousers. With or without tunics, they were a formidable sight. Each was armed with sword and bow and each carried several knives. The women were significantly smaller than the men in all cases, but they stood alongside their larger companions with equal composure and quiet confidence. Every single guardian, male and female alike, stood silently and motionlessly as though waiting. Leonie dashed through their ranks and waited for Alexander at the edge of the water. Even as she stood watching, a mass of guardians ran down onto the sand and formed a long line behind the other rows and the guardians nearest the water turned and walked back towards the Dwellings. At once all took several steps forward and then they became motionless once again.

Alexander
ran to Leonie and threw his arms around her. He stared at her face hungrily for a few seconds then kissed her passionately. She snuggled against his neck.

‘
I missed you too Alex!’ she cried softly. They held hands and walked up the sand towards the Dwellings.

‘
Are you alright?’ he asked, and Leonie gave him a reassuring smile. ‘What about the little ones?’

‘
They’re fine, Alex. The babies are sleeping right now and Mully and Alex are playing in the sandpit with Eijelin, Elliot and Aithne.’

‘
There’s a sandpit here?’

‘
There is now. As you saw when you arrived, the beach is a bit crowded, so I asked if I could cart some sand up and make a little sandpit. And Lady Karri thought it was a good idea.’

‘
Surely you didn’t have to cart a whole lot of sand by yourself.’

‘
No, I picked out a good place and was looking for something to carry the sand in, when a couple of guardians arrived with wood and made a massive wooden box, then a whole lot more arrived with huge loads of sand. Alex, it took them about ten minutes to build it and fill it with sand!’

‘
Excellent!’ said Alex. ‘Can I see it?’

‘
Actually you can hardly miss it. It’s huge. I’ll take you up there before I check on Peta and Leanna.’ They walked through the lovely sandstone buildings and along a paved pathway until they reached a building with a high roof, raised on columns. There was a space between the walls and the ceiling, so it was light inside. They passed through the building and Alex took in the maps adorning several walls and the huge map carved into the central table. They exited through a rear door onto a beautiful patio beside a grassed area. Right in the center of the expanse of grass was a massive sandpit and it was filled with happily playing children. Some were holding small wooden spades, hastily whittled from pieces of thick bark and others had wooden bowls and a variety of other objects useful for digging. Alexander walked to the edge of the sandpit and then turned back towards the patio and studied its elegant grace.

‘
Leonie, what is this place?’

‘
I’m not sure. I was just asked to pick the best place for a sandpit.’

‘
I think you picked Tiernan’s private patio. I’ll bet that room is where battles are planned,’ said Alexander, pointing across the patio.

At that moment
Tiernan and Lady Karrijeuiga arrived, fully armed but looking calm. ‘You are correct,’ said Lady Karrijeuiga, smiling at Alexander and Leonie blushed a deep shade of red.

‘
I feel so embarrassed,’ Leonie admitted. ‘I didn’t know this was your private place.’

‘
I wouldn’t want the children anywhere else,’ said Lady Karrijeuiga sincerely, and Tiernan smiled in agreement.

‘
We don’t have children here very often,’ he said, ‘so we’re all enjoying having them around.’

Leonie
introduced Alexander and he bowed his head politely in respect.

‘
Lord Tiernan, Lady Karri, where do you want me?’ he asked, glancing towards the lines of Daoine Maithe on the beach.

‘
We have asked General Marnol to take command, at least until either Callian or Danil gets here,’ said Tiernan.

‘
He’s at the lake,’ said Lady Karrijeuiga. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I need to get back to the beach.’ She hugged Tiernan and hurried away.

‘
What’s been happening? Have they attacked at all?’ asked Alexander as they walked towards the lake.

‘
We’ve killed a number of individual spies, and several small groups, but we haven’t been attacked by any large numbers,’ Tiernan replied.

‘
Have you considered taking the battle to them?’

‘
We have,’ said Tiernan. ‘We have our own spies wandering around. We’ve found two nests so far. I think we could destroy one nest, but I doubt afterwards we’d have enough survivors to even scare a second nest, let alone battle them. And if there are any more nests we haven’t found yet it could be disastrous. They may be more than ten times the number of Nailmarni than those who attacked Castle.’

‘
So many!’ Alexander looked towards the lake where the Daoine Maithe stood. He saw in total only hundreds of Daoine Maithe and a handful of human soldiers. ‘So we need to use our wits to win, rather than our strength,’ he said, his mind racing. ‘I wish Danil or Borg was here, and Prince Kelian or Dale. Baron Dale is only eighteen, but he seems to be able to think outside the curtain walls. But I don’t know if they made it out of Castle. I have no idea if they’re even alive.’

‘
I’ve been told they had Callian, Timbul and Araas with them. I’m certain they will have done everything in their power to get them out of the City,’ said Tiernan.

‘
There will be no place safe, if the Dwellings falls,’ said Alexander soberly. ‘If the Daoine Maithe are gone, they’ll destroy the rest of us easily. So what’s our next step?’

‘
We’re waiting. If we’re attacked we need to defend this place.’

‘
No. That’s not enough,’ said Alexander firmly.

‘
Hmm.’ Tiernan gave a rare look of insecurity. ‘That’s what General Marnol said. He’s been busy rearranging our forces to his satisfaction, but he did say he was going to put his mind to coming up with a better plan for defending this place and for removing the Nailmarni.’

‘
I’m not surprised,’ said Alex, nodding approvingly. ‘But the General will need all the help he can get. And when Kelian arrives, I want to give him all the information he’ll be expecting. And if he doesn’t arrive, we need a far better plan than...well, to be honest - no offence - but your plan is no kind of plan at all! I want to talk to your spies. I want to talk to someone who has seen the nests. I want to know exactly where they are, what the surrounding area is like, some maps would be good, and I want to know exactly how many Nailmarni are in each nest, and whether they are all fully adjusted or how close to adjusted they are. And I want to know where they are getting their food,’ he added grimly.

‘
I guess that means you know what they eat,’ said Tiernan uncomfortably.

‘
I do,’ Alexander confirmed. ‘Are they monophagous or do they eat other things as well?’

‘
They’ll eat animals, but only if they can’t get human flesh. Fortunately they don’t eat often and they don’t eat very much,’ said Tiernan. ‘They’ll want more when they are fully adjusted, which may have contributed to their need to attack Castle. They might have been hungry.’

‘
You know that’s just about the most sickening thing I can imagine,’ said Alexander, shuddering in disgust and swallowing hard.

‘
I agree,’ said Tiernan bleakly. ‘Let’s find Daibhi. He’ll be able to help you gather the information you need.’