Shadows of the Realm (The Circle of Talia) (32 page)

Fendill almost vomited as blood splattered his clothes.  Breathing deeply, he blocked it out. They both needed to run; surely their escape would soon be discovered? Further down the hall their way was blocked. An obsidian door, solid and immovable by any method they were aware of, barred their escape. If they had the time to wait for someone else to open it they could just stand there, but both men knew that wasn
’t an option. Fendill placed his hands on the barrier. He sent his mind into what appeared to be stone. He flitted between unseen fragments, which united to form the door. The energy flickered in and out of existence. If he could send the matter somewhere else, he would have opened the door.

Pernus shifted from foot to foot, looking back the direction they had come. It would not be long until the bodies were found. He expected hordes of guards to materialise, hurtling toward them.
“Can’t you do it any faster?” 

Fendill ignored the soldier, all his attention on the task at hand.

The trigger was so subtle he almost missed it. A fragment floated amongst the speckles that was not flickering; it was the only stable part of the door. He probed with his mind until he found a way to move it. Upon activating the lever, the door vanished. Both men were relieved to see very large but normal doors up ahead, which didn’t look so imposing after the obstacle they had just surmounted. Pernus was impressed by Fendill’s achievement but thought he would save his congratulations for later.

Fendill was proud to  have solved the puzzle, but his heart still pounded in fear. His discovery would mean nothing if they didn
’t get out of this castle and out of the city. As expected, more guards stood at the entry doors. Four men. This time the duo had been sighted. The men were armed and ready when they reached the door. Fendill was only moderately capable with a sword. He tried to think of another way he could assist. Before he could complete a reasonable thought process, two of the guards were upon him, slashing deftly. Pernus was engaged with the other two. “Back to back. Back to back.” 

Somehow, in the confusion of battle, Fendill heard and obeyed. He managed to reach Pernus and do as he was instructed. Fendill
’s arm jarred as he fended off a blow intended to detach his leg. The other man came in from the side and attempted to decapitate him.

Fendill moved more quickly than he thought possible, and dropped to the ground, something he was getting a lot of practice at lately. He funneled heat from the floor up through his sword. With the reaction of heat and metal he concocted a blinding light that not only momentarily blinded the men, but caused them sharp pain. Pernus had his back to his friend and was not affected by the light, as his attackers were. As they fumbled their hands to cover painful eyes, Pernus executed them. He turned and dispatched Fendill
’s attackers with a skillful flurry of strokes.

Dead men littered the floor; Fendill thankful he wasn
’t one of them. It was unexpectedly easy to open the heavy doors, apparently the same as the doors at home. As the doors divided to show them an inviting view of freedom, an alarm sounded. High wailing echoed throughout the castle. Their escape must have been discovered. As they ran out, soldiers came from everywhere. Armed men rushed toward the castle. They both swallowed hard. It was impossible for them to fight scores of soldiers and expect to survive. Fendill and Pernus stopped, intending to say goodbye to each other as the first of the men reached them. They received no more than a passing glance, and a few shoves, as the developing mob ran into the castle. Apparently they weren’t the cause of the alarm. Without asking questions they ran the opposite way.

There was no time to discuss what had just happened as Pernus led Fendill down the gradual slope to where he assumed the Veresian soldiers would have been housed. They needed horses and Pernus wanted his guard to accompany them. Although Pernus had little knowledge of this strange place, he drew on what he knew of other castles. As he expected, the soldier
’s quarters stood next to the stables. The place seemed deserted, most likely the alarm had stripped Suklar’s soldiers from the castle’s immediate vicinity. He went to the human quarters first. Pernus hesitated in the doorway. The room was empty. He carefully walked through one room to the next.

Row upon row of neatly made beds lined the walls, all empty, with none of the usual paraphernalia lying around.  No packs, no spare boots, no rags to clean weapons. There was no trace of his, or Leon
’s men. Fendill followed his friend through. “Where could they be?”

“
I have no idea, Fendill. I don’t like the look of this. We don’t have time to wonder. Let’s just hope they haven’t made all the horses disappear as well.” They raced to the stables. A familiar smell gave hope to the men. A strong odour of dung permeated the timber construction. 

Pernus almost cried with happiness when he found his beloved mare. He hurriedly entered her stall, looking her over intensely before he caressed the white diamond on her black nose. Fendill waded through dirty straw searching for his horse, but didn
’t find him. There were fourteen horses housed in their stalls. He knew a little about horses and chose himself a tan stallion that looked to be strong and healthy. Thankfully, the saddles were hung neatly on a board at one end of the building. Fendill and Pernus wasted no time. 

The only issue Pernus could foresee was the lack of grass for the horses, due to the cold weather. Snow continued to smother everything, albeit not as deep as when they had arrived. The horses would need to eat on the long trip home, so he was hopeful there would be some food stored on the premises.

Their luck continued and they found feed housed in large sacks, stacked in an empty stall. It would be nearly impossible to carry even one, unless they held it in their arms the whole way. Pernus started to swear. Fendill held his hand up to quiet him. “Don’t bloody tell me to be quiet!  We have a real problem. There’s no point getting out of here if the horses starve in the first week.” Fendill shook his head and pointed to his ear. Pernus was still puzzled until Fendill pointed to the opposite end of the stables. Edmund’s captain belatedly realised his companion had heard a noise.

Swords drawn, they crept through the filth toward a small storeroom housed at the far end, opposite where they had come in. Pernus wasn
’t as worried now, whoever was hiding didn’t want to found by anyone. There was still a chance Fendill had only heard vermin rummaging around. The soldier placed his ear against the door, squinting his eyes as if that would assist his hearing. He shook his head at Fendill and mouthed, “Get ready.”

He leaned across and yanked open the door. Two people crouched behind a pile of straw and brooms.

Pernus realised one of them did not have Inkran features. He recognised the young man as one of his newest recruits, a seventeen-year-old boy whose noble father had insisted he learn the soldiering trade with the king’s best. He had been under Pernus’s instruction for the past year, and showed promise. He was cooped up with what appeared to be a young Inkran girl. Pernus wanted lots of answers, fast.

“
Chisholm.” The lad automatically stood at attention and saluted his Captain.

“
Sir.”

“
What is going on here? Why are you hiding in a cupboard with a young lady?” Pernus hoped he wouldn’t get the obvious answer, although the other answer he’d been suspecting for some time would be a hell of a lot worse.

“
I’m hiding from the Inkrans, sir.”

“
What about the girl?”

“
She is also hiding, sir.”

“
Let’s start with why you are hiding, Chisholm.”

“
Yes sir. The night after we arrived we were herded out into the snow.”

“
All of you?”

“
Yes sir. They took us quite some way from our barracks. We were lined up next to each other. One of the Inkran soldiers rode down the line, slicing us across the stomachs with his sword as he went. I’m ashamed to say I practically fainted when I saw what was happening. I started falling backwards at the instant before the sword reached me. I was fortunate that Bendle fell on top of me after he was killed. I kept still and they thought I was dead. I stayed there all night, sir.” The young recruit shuddered.

Pernus
’s face grew ashen. Rage forcefully rumbled through his body, fighting with incredulity. He berated himself for being surprised; he’d had a feeling it might have come to this. They all had. He lamely shook his head. Fendill placed a hand on his shoulder. Pernus composed himself. “Is everyone dead?”

“
As far as I know sir.”

What a waste. All of his elite soldiers, all of Leon
’s men. So many families would never see their fathers or brothers again, and all for what? For Leon’s selfish, scheming, evil self. King Edmund would be horrified. Pernus vowed to himself there and then, that if Tusklar didn’t kill the traitorous prince, he would.

Pernus addressed the boy again.
“What is she doing, hiding with you?” Chisholm looked at his friend, who now stood beside him, their arms touching. “She found me the next morning. Her mother had sent her to dig out some kind of herb from the snow. She saved me. She showed me where to hide and has been bringing me food; her name’s Karin. We’ve been teaching each other our languages.” 

Pernus was relieved the lad was okay, but they would have to take Karin with them, probably against her will. Life was never simple.
“Wait here a minute.” Pernus turned his back on the youngsters and took Fendill by the arm out of their hearing.

When they returned, Pernus spoke to Chisholm.
“We’re on our way home. Someone has to tell King Edmund about what’s happened. Saddle up two horses; Karin is coming with us.” Chisholm smiled and explained it, as best he could, to Karin. She also smiled and replied in a mix of broken Veresian and Inkran. Chisholm translated to his captain. “Karin says she knows where she can get a donkey to carry food for the horses.” They had obviously overheard the men’s earlier conversation.

“
How far away is this donkey?”

“
She says it will take her about five minutes to run there.”

“
Tell her I’ll be going too. If she attempts to compromise our situation I won’t hesitate to kill her. I can’t afford to have her raise the alarm. You stay here with Fendill and prepare the horses.”

“
Yes, sir.” Chisholm awkwardly explained the situation to Karin; he appeared to dislike Pernus’ comments as much as she did. She nodded in understanding.

Fendill and the young man got to work with the horses. The realmist was mechanical in his approach to the task. His dislike of animals extended to horses. As far as he was concerned they were beasts of burden. Care need only be taken so they could do their job properly. The young soldier, on the other hand, spoke gently to the horse he had chosen. He caressed her as he worked, reassuring her the whole time.

When Fendill had finished saddling Karin’s horse, he moved to the front of the barn and kept a look-out. The courtyard was eerily quiet in the snowy evening. The piercing alarm of earlier had ceased its ear-numbing squeals. If the alarms weren’t to signal their escape, the only other reason he could think of was that Inkra’s security had been compromised by another source. Had Suklar been attacked, or murdered, the Veresian Prince having successfully carried out his task for the princess? Leon should have been drowned at birth.

It wasn
’t long before Pernus returned with the girl and the promised donkey. Fendill rushed inside to collect the bags of feed. Chisholm had found two sturdy ropes, which came in handy attaching the bundles to the animal. King Edmund’s captain addressed the group. “There’s no use hiding ourselves. It seems something has happened in the castle. We’re going to take the quickest route out of here, which is through the main street. Unless we come across any soldiers, we shouldn’t have any trouble. The general population seems to be passive, but be ready to defend yourselves just in case.” Pernus handed Chisholm a dagger. “Sorry lad, that’s the only spare weapon I’ve got.”

“
Excuse me sir. Does Fendill have a dagger for Karin?” 

Pernus contemplated the situation. She was only a slender girl. If she attempted to attack any of them, he could kill her easily.
“Fendill, give her your dagger. Get it back tonight.” Fendill did as instructed.

Pernus guided them out of the stables. They mounted. The soldier felt safer seated on the filly
’s familiar back. Only last night he had doubted he would ever see her again. “Fendill, you ride at the rear. Let me know if someone starts chasing us, and make sure our new recruits don’t wander off. Move out.” Pernus coaxed his horse into a trot. He gradually nudged her to increase speed until he felt they had the balance between speed and what was safe on the slippery street.

As Pernus suspected, the populace barely looked at them. The sound of horses could mean King Suklar
’s soldiers, and no one wanted to be noticed by one of those. Pernus looked back at his party. He noticed Karin rode well, which surprised him. Fendill, riding at the rear, was nervously darting his head around. Pernus was also tense. His legs gripped the horse too tightly and his calloused hands squeezed the reigns until his knuckles were white.