Conflict and Courage (41 page)

* * * * *

Back at domta
Winston, Kolyei, like the other Lind, knew the enemy fleet had been
located seconds after the warning came to the stronghold.

He erupted out
of his and Tara’s daga as fast as his paws could carry him and made
straight for her. She was drawing their daily supply of water from
the sluice-well at the end of the copse.

: Tara. Word
has come. The Vada rides to war :

The bucket
clattered to the ground.

So it has
come again
, she thought,
more war and death. Why can’t they
leave us alone?

: When do we
leave? :
she asked wrapping her arms round his neck
: Jim
will need every fighting pair he can get his hands on. I will
fight. I
must
fight :

: We fight
together :

: I’d better
get my armour :
She began to trot towards their daga,
water-bucket forgotten.

Jim, Larya and
another fifty assorted vadeln-pairs, the Holad led by Winston
Randall, the Tenth Ryzck and the four home Lindars left within the
bell.

* * * * *

The galleys
rowed into the stronghold harbour. There were no boats gently
rocking at the silent pier. The jetties were devoid of people.

“Strange,”
observed Captain Alvarez as he noted the stillness.

He looked at
Aoalvaldr. The Larg had accompanied him on to the bridge, a
reluctant Andrew Snodgrass in tow.

“Deserted,” was
the Captain’s next comment, “I fear our birds have flown.”

“Aoalvaldr
tells me that he will catch them,” said Andrew. “He knows they
cannot have gone far.”

“We must have
been sighted yesterday,” said Carlos Alvarez, wishing he hadn’t
ignored a lookout’s comment that he had seen movement among the
giant rushes that banked the river.

“Aoalvaldr
insists that you put him and his soldiers ashore. He wishes to go
hunt them.”

“Hunt them down
or hunt them?” grunted Carlos Alvarez, “remind him that I want the
people brought back alive and unhurt.” Carlos had his own
suspicions about his guest’s plans for the inhabitants of the
stronghold. What little he had managed to find out about Aoalvaldr
had made him realise that the male espoused a vengeful hatred
against the Vada and the people associated with them.

Andrew looked
at Carlos but did not dare say anything or think it. Aoalvaldr was
keeping a tight hold of his mind and would sense if he said
anything untoward. He looked pleadingly at the Captain, his eyes
begging him not to ask. Aoalvaldr could understand some Standard
speech. Carlos knew this and contented himself with saying, “remind
him of the bargain. The people are mine.”

The galley
rowed to the jetty, this ship and the other four taking part in
this expedition were manned by free men, not slaves, men who
preferred the life of piratical slavers to eking out an existence
back south. This meant that Captain Alvarez trusted his men, who,
like the Viking raiders of tenth and eleventh century Earth, rowed
their vessels and fought, unlike the other slave-rowed galleys that
roamed the seas. This fleet of galleys were also faster and of
shallower draught, which was the reason they had been chosen to
carry Aoalvaldr and his small kohort of three hundred upriver to
the stronghold.

True, Captain
Alvarez would have to share the profits with his men, but he had
always believed this was a small price to pay for loyal
followers.

Aoalvaldr
waited as the men shipped their oars and the ship was made fast
then jumped ashore, followed by ten Larg.

They hunted
throughout the nearby buildings as the pirates and the remainder of
the Larg disembarked.

The stronghold
was empty.

“Aoalvaldr has
located neither Lind nor human,” Andrew reported to Carlos. “I am
to stay here with you while he hunts them down and brings them
back.”

“He didn’t
really say that did he?”

“Well,” Andrew
demurred.

“No, don’t
answer that, or even think it. I’m beginning to have a fair idea
what it must be like to be linked to him as you are.”

“He’s never
really absent,” admitted Andrew. “It’s better the further away he
is, but when he is close, it’s as if he’s a part of me, an
uncomfortable part.”

“Not an
enviable position to be in,” said Carlos with some sympathy.

“What will you
do now?” asked Andrew, greatly emboldened by this show of
compassion.

“We ransack the
stronghold,” Carlos answered with a gleam in his eye, “the people
won’t have been able to take much with them and mayn’t have had
time to hide their valuables. Captives are worth more than gems and
baubles of course, slave prices are rising in the markets, but in
case Aoalvaldr does what I’m expecting him to do, at least we’ll
get something out of it. You will stay with me though, I want to
know what is happening out there.”

“That depends
on what Aoalvaldr deigns to tell me.”

“Even so.”

Alesei, in
hiding amongst the dagas in the woods nearby, passed on word of
their arrival.

Although
largely recovered from his adventures in Duchesne, he was as yet
unable to run either fast or far.

Accustomed to
hiding in the south during his frequent spying missions for the
Avuzdel he was in little danger. Perched on top of a high allst
tree, hidden amongst its abundant leaves and branches, he counted
the Larg who passed and reported their direction.

“They’ve found
our trail,” shouted Wilhelm to Nell. “We have to move faster. Get
the cadets to chivvy them up, encourage the laggards.”

“How long have
we got?”

“We might make
it to the woods before they get to us.”

“Might? Why
don’t your words reassure me?”

Wilhelm made
his decision.

“I’m going to
order those alindback to run ahead,” he said. “Those on foot can’t
outrun the Larg, that’s for sure.”

“I’ll get more
of the older children aback,” declared Nell, “squeeze them on
somehow. The cadets can take at least another one each. Thank
goodness the babies and toddlers are already tied on.”

“Do that,”
agreed Wilhelm. “Brian and Sofiya are already in the woods with
those they managed to evacuate from the farmsteads. They’re holed
up in that cave complex we discovered in the centre of the trees.
Take them there.”

“You?”

“I stay, with
Afanasei and the unattached. “Jim and the home Lindars should reach
the woods by nightfall. “Hurry now. We’ll be all right.”

He watched them
as they left, the cloud of dust churned up by Lind paws dissipating
in the strengthening wind and turned to face those that
remained.

“We will make
our stand here,” he ordered, “delay the Larg and give the children
time to get away.”

“What are our
chances?” asked one.

“I’d be lying
if I told you they were good. There are Larg running towards us,
some three hundred.”

Some of the
women began to cry, but the majority did not. Wilhelm saw
acceptance on their faces.

“What do you
want us to do?” asked one of the older women.

“Form a
circle,” he answered, “those with weapons on the outside. We, the
remaining vadeln-pairs and the Lind, will form up outside your
circle; try to keep them off as long as we can. A rescue party is
on its way and Mislya has called for them to put on all speed. They
have done so. Help is coming.”

He wished, not
for the first time that Pierre Duchesne and his infantry were with
them and not marching south to the Keep.

What Wilhelm
did not know was that four miles out from the stronghold, Aoalvaldr
had split his force in two. Realising from the tracks that not all
who had left the stronghold had fled north to the woods, he decided
to lead two hundred warriors south to destroy what he had
recognised as the infantry and ordered his deputy to take the
remaining one hundred north to kill the fleeing women and
children.

: Vada runs
south :
Aoalvaldr was told.

: Mans feet
leave trail like regiment mans who came with us :

: Any tracks
north? :

: Small feet
and more than in the south and many track and some Lind :

: The women
and children :
Aoalvaldr growled his satisfaction
: Kill
them :

Aoalvaldr’s
deputy, one Knlvaldr, was off like a shot.

What Aoalvaldr
did not do was explain to Knlvaldr that he wanted everyone killed.
Knlvaldr interpreted Aoalvaldr’s order as a licence to kill the
women and children he came across so when this hundred reached the
place where the adults and the unattached were preparing to make a
stand he simply led the other ninety-nine round them and headed
north to the woods to which Nell led the young Lind, junior cadets
and children.

Naturally,
overloaded as they were, the Larg began to gain on them, as they
fled hell for leather towards the woods.

The unattached,
with Wilhelm, Mislya and the other vadeln-pairs who could run,
chased after Knlvaldr and his command as hard as they could leaving
those adults who remained bewailing the fact that they could do
nothing to help.

The Larg were
fast but the Lind who followed were faster. Jim Cranston had once
described the Lind as the thoroughbred racehorses of the planet and
the Larg the carthorses.

Wilhelm and
Afanasei’s Lind were nipping at the heels of the rearmost Larg as
they reached the fringes of the woods but they couldn’t stop them
entering.

Nell and the
junior cadets rushed into the trees at full gallop, regardless of
branches and damage to the riders.

Jacques
Duchesne and Jtanya were just such a pair, Jtanya burdened by his
two little brothers and numerous packages tied to her harness.

: Must get
deeper in :
gasped Jtanya as she threaded her way in and out of
the trees.

Jacques spared
a glance round. He could hear a lot of growling, howling and human
shouting but saw no one else except for a young junior cadet pair,
whose names he did not know.

: Carol and
Altei :
supplied Jtanya.
: They join Vada last moon, she
carries boy behind :

Altei drew
closer to Jtanya and the two Lind continued their way inwards. The
caves they were heading for were in the centre of the wood; if they
could reach them they would certainly be safer than they were
now.

Jacques
Duchesne was only eight years old. He now found himself responsible
for his two younger brothers whilst being hunted down by the Larg.
By rights he should have burst into tears at this point but he did
not. Instead he called over to Carol who did look as if she might
cry. Despite the six years between them it was Jacques who felt the
most grown-up.

Carol was
shaking and terrified almost to incapacitation.

“This way,”
commanded Jacques and he and Jtanya led Carol and Altei to a huge
thicket of dugo bush. Once they had forced themselves inside the
prickly branches he felt a lot safer, but Jtanya warned him that
they couldn’t hang around.

: Larg howl
their kill :
she explained
: we
must
get to caves
:

It was at this
moment that Carol gave a whimper and slid bonelessly from Altei’s
saddle. The young boy who remained turned a white and terrified
face towards Jacques.

Jacques
dismounted and stooped over Carol. He shook her, first gently then
harder. She didn’t stir. Well, he thought, here was a predicament
and no mistake. What was he to do? He was too small to lift her
back on to Altei’s back.

“I will not
leave her,” Altei said.

It was Jtanya
who came up with a solution to the problem.

“Put the boy up
on me,” she said. “We go. Carol and Altei will hide here.”

“The Larg will
find them,” protested Jacques, “sniff them out. I have to stay and
try to protect them.”

“No,” said
Jtanya in alarm.

He could hear
the Larg who had evaded Wilhelm and the unattached crashing about
the undergrowth, hunting. He managed to get the little boy off
Altei’s back, pulling him from the saddle and dragging him towards
Jtanya.

“Get up on
Jtanya’s back,” he whispered to the boy and turned to Jtanya, “take
them,” he said in a shaky but determined voice, “get them to the
caves.”

Jtanya looked
as if she might refuse then licked him on the face with affection
and forced herself and her passengers out through the thicket the
same way they had come in, the three terrified boys on her
back.

Jacques gulped
then bent down over Carol and drew her sword from her scabbard. It
was long and very heavy. For good measure he took her knife as
well.

Lind and boy
hunkered down inside the thicket.

“We will stay
hidden here,” Jacques whispered. “Maybe they’ll not find us.”

It was a vain
hope.

The two heard
the sound of paws on the forest floor, heard the sound of nearby
branches cracking as not one but two heavy bodies approached,
sniffing hard. They could hear the low murmur of voices.

Jacques knew it
was the Larg. If he and Altei allowed them inside the thicket they
would all be mauled to death.

Jacques, after
a glance at Altei crawled a little way through the branches, trying
to find out what their enemies were doing.

He saw eight
paws, very large and hairy paws, then a huge snarling face pushed
its way inside the thicket and stared at him.

The Larg
Jacques realised, had very large teeth, saliva dripped from it’s
mouth and above them was a set of angry dark eyes.

He stabbed out
with Carol’s knife. There was a surprised yelp and the face
vanished.
Now we’re for it
. He crawled backwards as fast as
he could.