Dragons and Destiny (15 page)

He couldn’t
keep the Ryzck waiting forever, he must make his move before
dark.

: Taraya
:
he ordered
: tell the first and second Vadryz to get
themselves to the other end of the valley as soon as they can.
Berni and Dansya will go with them :

Berni and
Dansya were the communications vadeln-pair with primary
responsibility to keep Taraya in mental touch with the other Lind
within the Ryzck and also further afield such as with neighbouring
Ryzcks and the Supply Stations. She also relayed reports and
messages throughout the telepathic network that was the mainstay of
the Vada. Such was her range that she could contact the Susa at
need. The Ryzck was lucky to have her.

It took the two
Vadryz almost two bells to reach the other end of the valley, two
bells during which Niaill, Taraya and the others ate some trail
rations and tried to simultaneously rest and keep warm.

Niaill and
Taraya took shelter against a rock face and kept his eye on the
sky. In the mountains storms could be ferocious and often appeared
with little warning.

“Weather should
hold,” said Nadala with a smile, handing him a slice of hard-tac,
the trail biscuit that they all carried in case of emergencies.
“We’ll get them, never fear.” She and Teriyei commanded the third
Vadryz.

Niaill’s reply
was an evil grin. “Take care,” he told her.

Taraya heard
Dansya’s mental call from the far end of the valley.

At last
,
thought Niaill with a feeling of relief. Waiting for a fight you
knew was imminent was bad for the nerves and they had been
preparing for this fight for days.

: Equipment
check :
he commanded and listened with Taraya as she passed the
message on to the others and received their replies. This was
standard procedure in the First Ryzck. It avoided confusion and the
risk of orders not being ‘heard’.

Niaill bent
down and removed Taraya’s snow boots, stowing them away in the
leather bag attached to her harness.

: Mount
:
Niaill gave the order and sprang stiffly on to Taraya’s
saddle on his own account.

: Watch it.
:
exclaimed Taraya and emitted a mock growl
: No need to
land on me like that, you’re no lightweight :

: Sorry
:
said an unrepentant Niaill, who glad to be moving again.

Taraya was
trembling. The Lind disliked violence, abhorred wanton killing,
unlike their Larg cousins in the southern continent but she and the
other Lind knew that the eradication of the bandit base was a
necessary act. When a fight was unavoidable, their instincts kicked
in and they began as Niaill called it to prepare their ‘fighting
spirit’. This preparation was both mental and physical. He felt her
muscles tighten as the adrenalin coursed through her veins.

: Let’s get
about it :

: Indeed my
Niaill before my paws freeze off if you please :

: Give the
order to advance into the valley in open order :

Taraya bounded
forward.

: Slow and
calm does it :
Niaill warned, not wanting Taraya to get too far
ahead of the others.

The Ryzck began
a controlled trot into the valley.

: Really stupid
not to set a guard :

: Good for
us :
Niaill replied.

He hoped the
element of surprise would make for a quick and easy victory with
minimum casualties. Every commander worth his salt tried to husband
his or her resources and this was especially so in the Vada with so
many Ryzcks operating many miles from their base and each Ryzck
only thirty-five vadeln-pairs strong. Niaill knew that Garda
officers received instruction about what they called a ‘controlled
casualty rate’ but few of the Ryzckas were prepared to accept this
unless it was absolutely necessary.

It was
different in a large battle situation but the Vada hadn’t fought a
large battle since AL167 when the Larg had invaded the rtathlians
of the Lind and were defeated at the Battle of Fountains Head by
the then Susa of the Vada, Lynsey and her Lind Bernei.

Since then the
Vada had fought small engagements. Capture, not killing was the
unofficial motto although death on active service was not unusual.
The pirates who raided the north-eastern coasts neither asked for
nor gave quarter. The punishment for a convicted pirate was death,
one of only two capital offences that carried the death sentence,
the other being premeditated murder.

Taraya’s paws
crunched on the icy snow.

Niaill held his
breath. Would they be spotted? The longer they remained undetected
the better the chance of an inexpensive fight.

Light snow
began to fall.

They closed in
on the camp. The Lind slowed to a walk. Niaill began to hope that
they would remain hidden until he ordered the charge then he heard
a shout. The men at the nearest fire stood up, gesticulating and
shouting.

: Now :
‘shouted’ Niaill and the vadeln of the First Ryzck leapt into the
attack with growls from the Lind and cries of “For Vadath” from
their human partners.

Niaill and
Taraya headed for one of the men, a thick, heavyset individual who
was running towards them, sword in hand.

Niaill didn’t
even think, sword held aloft he and Taraya bore down. She feinted
to the left and the bandit’s sword followed but Taraya twisted in
mid-air as Niaill’s sword slashed at the man’s unprotected head. He
fell like a pole-axed zarova, his skull cleaved. There was blood
everywhere.

“Surrender,”
yelled Niaill. A few did, dropping their weapons and raising their
hands above their heads but the majority did not.

The ensuing
fight was bloody but short; the bandits hadn’t had time to organise
a defence. The air was full of shouts of pain and anger and the
occasional howl or growl from one of the Lind as some enemy sword
or knife found its mark but it was over before Niaill and Taraya
knew it. Niaill and Taraya came to a breathless halt and surveyed
the damage.

Most of the
bandits were dead and of those still standing and unhurt there were
four. Others lay on the bloody snow. Niaill knew that in this cold
the badly hurt would not survive even with medical aid.

The prisoners
who did would be taken south and handed over to the authorities in
the nearest town. There was no need to be gentle with such men.
Strung over the backs of the horses, they had an uncomfortable
journey ahead, with trial and retribution at the end.

Of the members
of his and Taraya’s Ryzck none had died. The worst hurt was Deby
who had suffered a bad sword gash on her thigh.

The Holad pair,
Megan and Sachdei were tending to them as Niaill continued his
assessment of the situation, smearing smaha root on her wound to
deaden the pain and beginning to sew up the gash.

Other members
of the Ryzck were giving battle first aid on the others. Others
still were checking the bodies of the bandits.

: Butchers bill
is light thank the lai :

:
Indeed
so:
returned
Taraya : it could have, should have been more
costly :

: You hurt at
all? :

: No :

Niaill breathed
a sigh of relief. He hadn’t ‘felt’ Taraya receiving a wound but in
the heat of battle one never knew. It was often only when the
adrenalin dissipated that the hurts from the smaller wounds began
to be felt.

Niaill found it
terrible when Taraya was hurt, as did all humans paired with Lind.
Their minds were so close-linked that what one felt so did the
other. Shared pain did not, as Niaill well knew, make it any easier
to bear and many human halves had found themselves virtually
incapacitated when their Lind were hurt though they themselves were
unharmed. If one of the two died, in the majority of cases so did
the other half of the pairing, the surviving half being unable to
cope with the shock of loss.

: Dansya is
calling us, she is over by that small cave :
announced
Taraya.

: More bandits?
:

: Not exactly
:

What Niaill and
Taraya found was a group of five cowering, white-faced boys.

“Not bandits,”
the communications vadeln Berni answered Niaill’s unspoken enquiry.
“I think they are prisoners.”

Niaill nodded.
“Stay with them for now,” he ordered. “They can come back with us.
The authorities’ll need to question them anyway. Give them
something to eat, boys are always hungry and these look
half-starved.”

Later, Niaill
returned to the cave in front of which Berni had started a small
fire. The boys were huddled round it. Berni had managed to find
them some warm clothes. The biggest boy looked up at Niaill as he
dismounted and crouched down beside them.

“Thanks,” he
muttered. “Good of you tae come get us.”

“I won’t say
that it wasn’t a problem son,” said Niaill, “but glad to be of
service. Do you feel up to answering a few questions?”

“Fire away.
What’d’ya want tae know?”

“Primarily how
the five of you came to be here, where you are from, your
names.”

“I’ve not been
here long. Three ‘o us came from the same camp.”

“Rocksprings?”
hazarded Niaill. The mining camp had been hit some eight days ago,
the inhabitants killed and the camp stripped of everything that
might be of use, food, livestock and equipment.

“Aye. Me an’
Lan an’ Hansel here was taken.” He pointed to the two in turn.

“Your
name?”

“Franz.”

“What age are
you Franz?”

“Fourteen sor
and Lan and Handel couple ‘o’ year the younger.”

“Were any
others taken with you?”

“Aye, two ‘o
the girils but they’re nae here no more.”

“Not here?”

“Dead,” Franz
replied in a bitter voice. “They was young and pretty you see sor,
Aline ‘specially. She wos my sister.”

“Go on if you
can.”

“Alinetta wos
me older sis, Maria, she wos ‘bout same age.” Franz raised a
tear-filled face to Niaill. “They, they used them sor, we heard
them screaming. Every night they screamed ‘til ‘bout three days
past the screaming stopped. Must be dead, stands to reason.”

“We have found
no sign of them,” said Niaill. “The other two lads?”

“Pete and
Travis sor, they wos here when we got here. Dinna say much they
don’t and don’t ken where they’re frae. Are kin though.”

“Were you kept
in the cave all the time?”

Franz shook his
head. “Not all ‘o the time no sor, we was working, work they did’na
want tae do theirselves.”

Niaill leant
forward and stirred the fire with a stick. Sparks shot out.

“I have to make
sure we got them all,” Niaill continued in the same conversational
manner he had been using. “How many were there?”

“Bout forty,”
Franz answered. One small boy, Niaill didn’t know if it was Pete or
Travis, nodded.

“I can count,”
he said.

“Did you count
them?”

He nodded
again. “Forty two,” he said triumphantly. “I’m Travis.”

“Thank you
Travis,” said Niaill, “that’s a big help. Where are you from?”

“Valley
Farm.”

“Where is
that?” Niaill asked but Travis only knew it was to the south. He
had never been outside the farm boundaries until the bandits had
come.

“Your family?”
asked Niaill in a gentle voice.

Travis shrugged
his thin shoulders and Pete burst into tears that showed as bright
rivulets in his filthy face. All the boys looked dirty and unkempt,
Travis and Pete being the worst.

Niaill decided
not to pursue the matter any further. It would be best leave it to
the authorities.

“Wot happens
now?” asked Franz. “”Cannae go back tae the camp.”

“We’ll be
leaving in a day or so,” Niaill informed them. “Until then try to
relax, keep warm and eat. There’s plenty of food.”

“Where to?”
asked Franz.

“Douglastown,”
answered Niaill. “It is big enough to have a Garda detachment.”

“Long way tae
walk,” Franz observed.

“You won’t be
walking.”

“But what’ll
happen when we git there?” pressed a worried Franz.

“Me and Taraya
will make sure you’re well looked after,” promised Niaill.

“Don’t wanna go
to no orphanage,” said Travis, lip trembling.

“A promise is a
promise,” said Niaill standing up. “All of you get some sleep.”

“The men cannae
git at us?” asked Hansel, looking worried.

“Definitely
not,” Niaill assured him. “Those that are still alive are guarded
to within an inch of their lives by the Lind. They’re too
frightened of them to contemplate moving a muscle. Our Lind are
very angry.”

Hansel looked
unconvinced.

“Would you like
my Taraya to stay here with you?” Niaill offered at Taraya’s
urging, indeed at her insistence. “Nothing can get past her.”

The strain
drained from Hansel’s face and was replaced by a subdued
eagerness.

The other boys
too looked relieved.

“I’ll call her
over,” said Niaill.

“That would be
good sor,” Franz answered for them all, “I cin get to sleep, be
ready for what’s needin’ tomorrer. We kept watch you ken sor,
couple ‘o the men … We was always taught we cin trust the
Vada.”

Niaill
understood.

: Taraya? :

: Coming :

She loomed out
of the gloom. Niaill noticed Hansel staring at her in
admiration.

Niaill stood
up. “Taraya will stay and I have to go. If for some reason Taraya
has to leave you for a while she’ll make sure another Lind takes
her place.” He beckoned Franz over.

“Tomorrow,” he
informed him, I’m going to have to ask you to perform an unpleasant
task. I’m going to ask you to identify the men, to put names to
faces if you can.”

“The dead ones
too?” asked Franz with a gulp.