The Guardians (Book 2) (43 page)

‘
Milgorry said it spreads really fast. Maybe we can do it when the Nailmarni are already in the water.’

‘
I’ll talk to Danil,’ said Tiernan. Kelian didn’t answer as Tiernan left the room. He opened his eyes in surprise when soft lips brushed against his. Elena was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning over him and her long blond hair was tickling his face. He glanced towards the window and noted that he had slept for several hours. He reached out and touched Elena’s face, feeling glad she was with him and at the same time wishing she was far away from this place. She leaned forward and kissed him and he sighed with pleasure as she snuggled against him.

‘I want to stay here with you,’ she said softly.
‘I want-’

‘
Elena, we mustn’t,’ he murmured. ‘The King and his lady must remain apart until they are married.’

‘
Ah Kelian,’ she sighed.

He groaned.
‘Don’t go away,’ he whispered.

‘
I don’t want to go,’ she whispered back. There was a knock at the door and they leapt apart in shock.

‘
Uh! One moment!’ Kelian gasped, more than startled by the interruption. Elena kissed him quickly then dashed across the room, blushing deeply. She sat herself in a corner lounging chair, trying to look like she had been sitting comfortably for some time. Kelian sat on the arm of the chair beside Elena. ‘Enter!’ he called. The door opened and Borgulnay and Gilgarry appeared.

‘
Majesty is there anything you wish to discuss before you retire to bed?’ said Borgulnay innocently. Kelian stared at him, not quite sure how to answer.

‘
Perhaps my brother could escort me to my bedroom,’ said Elena, standing up but not meeting Gilgarry’s eye as she blushed uncomfortably.

‘
Of course,’ said Kelian. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly for several minutes then he leaned down and kissed her lips softly. He sighed and nodded very slightly as he saw the relief in her eyes. Gilgarry took his sister’s hand and led her from the room.

Kelian sat
back heavily on the bed and Borgulnay dropped into a chair. Neither said anything for several minutes as Kelian sat glowering at Borgulnay. Eventually Borgulnay drew a knife from his belt and handed it to Kelian.

‘
If you think I wronged you so badly by stopping you, kill me now,’ he said quietly. He spread his hands. ‘I won’t try to stop you. After all, my life is yours to take.’

Kelian studied the knife then
handed it back to Borgulnay. ‘I’m not angry at you, Borg,’ he said. ‘You just happened to be in my line of sight. I should have been sitting in front of a mirror. How did you know?’

‘
I seem to be able to sense your thoughts, but only occasionally, when they’re very strong,’ Borgulnay admitted a little sheepishly. ‘‘Majesty-’

‘
My name is Kelian! Do you see anyone else around?’

‘
Alright, I’ll speak to you as your brother. You would have regretted it, but she would have regretted it far, far more. You know the importance she places on doing everything in the correct order. She would have felt guilty for a long time, and I doubt you could easily live with that. And here we are absolutely surrounded by guardians. And at a time like this, every person in this city is being watched. No-human’s thoughts and emotions are unknown. How do you think Elena might feel about
that
tomorrow?’

‘
Ah… I see what you mean.’ Kelian groaned and closed his eyes. ‘It’s strange Borg. It has always been expected that the King and his Lady remain apart until marriage. And Elena and I agreed that we could do this. Now, at the worst possible time, we’re finding it almost impossible to keep our clothing on when we’re alone.’

‘
That’s not entirely surprising,’ said Borgulnay. ‘In two days we might all be dead. Right now you’re alive, and you want to fill what might be the last days of your lives with everything you love.’

‘
Yes. I do. I want to marry my Lady, I want to take her to my bed, I want her to bear our children, I want to see them live and grow.’

‘
May I make a suggestion?’

‘
You’ll make it whether I give you permission or not,’ Kelian observed.

‘
True,’ Borgulnay conceded. ‘You’re the King. Don’t get yourself into a position where you’re alone together at night, barely dressed and feeling… Well, just don’t lose control until you’re married. Better still, marry her today, and bed her right away. Who knows, we might win this battle and you might get to see your children’s children. But we might not. So why not speed our lives along for a few days?’

Kelian sat up
straight with a strange mixture of indignation and hope on his face. Borgulnay stood up and moved to the door.

‘
It’s just a suggestion,’ he murmured as he left the room, closing the door soundly. Kelian leapt from the bed and flung open the door. He raced down the hallway, shoving Borgulnay aside as he made for Elena’s bedroom. Without knocking he flung open her door and ran inside, slamming the door behind himself.

Elena was standing in the middle of the room
wearing sleeping undergarments and holding her night dress. He threw himself towards her and fell upon one knee wrapping his hands around her body and staring up at her.

‘
Marry me!’ he commanded. ‘No! I mean – will you marry me?’

‘
I already said I’d marry you! You asked me quite a while ago and I said yes!’ Elena laughed as Kelian leaned against her body.

He drew back as he felt his control disappearing
once again. ‘Now. I want you to marry me now. Right now! Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I want you to be my Queen. Will you?’

‘
Kelian I…’ She stopped speaking as he dragged her to the floor, keeping his arms tightly around her. ‘Yes!’ she gasped. ‘Yes. I’ll marry you right now! Let me go so I can put my night gown on. I’m not getting married in my undergarments!’ she cried, suddenly sounding practical.

‘
Perhaps we shouldn’t be so hasty,’ said Kelian, pulling away and standing up, suddenly filled with the apprehension that she might feel that he was forcing her to marry him only to fill his desire.

‘
Oh no, you don’t!’ she cried. ‘You just said you would marry me now, so marry me! Don’t you dare change your mind!’ Kelian took her night dress and helped her pull it over her head.

‘
Elena, just because we’re going to be married, I won’t expect you to lie with me tonight, unless you wish this,’ said Kelian, suddenly looking very serious. ‘Married or not, I won’t force you to do anything. I love you and I want you to be my Queen. Regardless of how badly I want you, I never want you to feel that you have no choice. I just don’t seem to be able to control myself around you anymore.’

‘
Thank you Kelian. I want you to marry me. Please marry me.’ There was a knock at the door.

‘
Enter,’ said Kelian, smiling at Elena. The door opened and Tiernan and Karrijeuiga led more than thirty people into the room. Kelian leaned forward and whispered in Tiernan’s ear, ‘I know this seems a little hasty,’ he said, ‘but if I’m to die, I’ll die a married man. I hope you don’t mind marrying us at such short notice.’

Tiernan
smiled understandingly. ‘I am honored Kelian, but we’d better have a celebration later for the people’s sake.’

‘
After we destroy the Nailmarni,’ said Kelian with confidence he did not feel.

T
he ceremony was performed and soon the room began to empty once again, leaving Kelian and Elena holding hands and standing in the center of the room with Tiernan.

‘
Can I ask something of you?’ Kelian said to Tiernan.

‘
Of course,’ said Tiernan. ‘Tonight is your own.’

‘
What did you ask for?’ asked Elena curiously after Tiernan left the room.

‘
Privacy,’ said Kelian, pulling her into his arms and hugging her warmly. ‘Tiernan will hide our thoughts and emotions.’

‘
Good,’ said Elena, snuggling against Kelian’s neck.

‘
You know, even if the Nailmarni wipe us out, at least I will die a happy, happy man,’ Kelian declared and Elena leaned back and smiled up at him.

‘
I am happy too, Kelian. Right now, I’m happy.’

Chapter 51

Abhorrent Imposition

‘You know, they truly give me the creeps,’ said Milgorry softly. ‘Even after all these years, I can’t help finding them…disturbing.’ He stared across the Nailmarni nest with distaste.

‘
Considering the heap of bodies in the middle of the nest, I’d be a bit concerned if you felt comfortable right now,’ said Tiernan grimly. ‘Do you sense that?’ he added urgently, squinting through the trees on the western side of the nest.

‘
We can’t help her,’ said Araas, sounding disturbed. ‘Everyone is counting on us.’

‘
I can sense her too. It’s she…hurt?’ asked Milgorry.

‘
She’s almost out of their mind with terror. I wonder-’ Araas’ words were cut short as two Nailmarni slipped from the forest. Held firmly between them was a small, plump woman, dressed in farming clothing.

‘
No!’ she screamed as she was dragged towards the heap of dead bodies. She struggled futilely and her screams turned to terrified sobs as they neared the center of the nest.

‘
Tiernan, do something!’ said Milgorry, and his words were a plea. Tiernan didn’t reply, but the grief and frustration pouring from him hit everyone like a wave of heat. The Nailmarni flung the woman to the ground, and she scrambled backwards, but in no direction could she see a path of escape. The creature nearest to her kicked her hard. She was slammed to the ground once again and a dark stain appeared on her dress as she lost control of her bladder.

‘
We have to do something!’ said Danil appalled by what was happening. ‘We can’t just sit here and let this happen!’

‘
Our entire strategy rests on what we do here and now!’ said Lias, shaking his head. ‘But this is horrible. I feel useless!’ He stared towards the girl. One of the Nailmarni placed his foot on her shoulder and took hold of her arm.

‘
We can’t let them kill her!’ Ben whispered frantically. ‘What are we doing?’

‘
Ugh! It’s going to tear her arm off!’ said Danil.

‘
Oh please no!’ Tiernan whispered. ‘Danil I have to do this! You know I have to do this!’

‘
Do it!’ Danil insisted grimly. ‘Do it now!’

Tiernan closed his eyes. He became entirely immobile, and
then he began to tremble as he opened his eyes and stared across towards the woman. Instantly her body twitched violently and she gave a piercing scream as her eyes opened wide. Then her life drained away like water rushing from a water bag, leaving her body empty. The Nailmarni holding her arm peered into her lifeless eyes intently for a moment, and then it turned and scanned the surrounding bushes uneasily. Eventually it turned back to the woman. There was no response as the creature wrenched her arm from her body and carried it away leaving her remains sprawled on the dusty ground. No one spoke as another of the Nailmarni picked up her body and flung it onto the heap. Tiernan’s face was a portrait of failure and he seemed unable to speak.

‘
There was nothing else you could do,’ said Ben sadly. ‘At least you spared her a lot of pain. They would have killed her anyway – just a lot more slowly. And I seriously doubt we could have saved her from them, even without the fact that we’re supposed to be following Kelian’s orders. Everyone is counting on us to do exactly what we were told to do.’

‘
Can you hear little Rezon?’ asked Milgorry, moving on the branch so he wasn’t facing the pile of bodies. ‘Are they in place?’

‘
He’s my brother. Of course I can hear him,’ Ben replied staring blankly ahead as he concentrated. ‘They’re almost ready. The weapons have been brought from the ships and Callian has taken his group towards the forest – with the weapons.’

‘
Who’s carrying the crossbows from the ships?’ asked Danil curiously.

‘
Callian has seven guardians carrying the heavier ones with the help of Rudi and little Rezon, and Captain Gillam and Dommy are leading a bunch of sailors who are carrying the rest. Oliver and Davis are not far behind with some of the soldiers. They should be  in the forest in seconds.’

‘
Whose idea was it to split up brothers?’ asked Araas. His heart ached with grief as he thought of how easily he and Timbul had shared thoughts, even at a great distance.

‘
Mine,’ said Tiernan, placing his hand on his son’s shoulder understandingly. ‘I’ve learned much of the bond between siblings.’ A strange and unexpected emotion flashed through Araas’ heart, as if he felt Timbul calling to him, and the sensation was so overwhelmingly compelling that for a moment he wondered if he was losing his mind. He gave a gasp of shock as his body slammed into the trunk of the tree and he opened his eyes to find himself hanging below the branches with Danil’s hand firmly grasping the back of his shirt. His shirt began to tear and he reached upwards and grabbed Danil’s arm as he started to slide towards the ground. With a great heave the big soldier dragged Araas back onto the branch.

‘
What just happened?’ Milgorry was looking at Araas in disbelief.

‘
I…I felt something strange,’ said Araas, and his voice caught in his throat as the grief of losing his brother resurfaced. His eyes fell, and he desperately tried to hide his sudden uncontrolled emotions.

‘
Son…’ Tiernan placed his hand on Araas’ shoulder. Araas looked up into his father’s eyes, suddenly not caring that tears spilled and rushed down his face. He brushed them away with the back of his hand and glared down at the Nailmarni.

‘
I will make them pay for what they are doing,’ he whispered, his eyes glittering dangerously. ‘I will make them pay for returning my brother and I will make them pay for what they are doing to the humans. I will make them pay for what they did to that woman.’

‘
Spoken like a truly vengeful guardian,’ said Milgorry.

‘
Callian has moved into the forest, and they’re preparing the weapons,’ said Ben. ‘Are we ready?’

‘
Let me start,’ said Tiernan. ‘Remember, if I do manage to persuade their thoughts, it might happen as quickly as it did when we tested this. As you know, the plan is to have them head for the cliffs above the lake, and if possible I’ll try to make some of them want to leap from the cliffs and some of them to want to go into the caverns. If this works, they might run right beneath us. So don’t jump from the tree if they rush in this direction.’

Ben snorted derisively.
‘Right. As if we’re likely to throw ourselves down into the path of a thousand flesh hungry Nailmarni. We’re not all guardians Tiernan. We have some common sense.’ He flinched as he felt the muscles in his back tense as Tiernan glared at him. ‘I’m sorry,’ said Ben, shaking his head. ‘That was a stupid thing to say; showed no common sense after all. I’m just a bit…’

Tiernan relaxed his gaze and Ben let his breath out s
lowly. ‘We’re all a bit edgy,’ Tiernan conceded, ‘and with good reason. Let’s get this over.’

After ten minutes Danil began to fidget restlessly.
‘It’s not working,’ he said, glancing from Tiernan to the immobile Nailmarni. ‘Why is it not working?’

‘
Maybe they worked out what happened last time,’ said Araas. ‘Perhaps we should all try together.

After another ten minutes, Tiernan sighed and shook his head.
‘This is no good,’ he said in discouragement. ‘What would you say if I took a more direct approach?’

‘
Like what exactly?’ Danil demanded, frowning suspiciously at Tiernan.

‘
If I drop from this tree and run through the nest, I’m willing to bet they’d come after me.’

‘
And I’m willing to bet you’d get halfway across the nest before they took you down,’ said Milgorry.

‘
He’s a lot faster than that,’ Lias disagreed. ‘My bet is he gets as far as the tree line on the other side of the nest before they crush him and add him to the pile.’

‘
Not necessarily,’ said Danil shaking his head. ‘If we’re taking bets, I’ll say he’ll beat them all to the cliffs where he’ll find himself caught between the Nailmarni and the water.’

‘
Listen,’ said Tiernan, frowning crossly at Danil. ‘We knew this part of the plan would be chancy, and we all agreed that if we have to take more direct action, we should take it.’

‘
I thought that meant drawing their attention from a distance,’ argued Ben. ‘That was what we agreed, wasn’t it? Anyway,’ he continued without waiting for Tiernan to answer, ‘if someone does have to run through the camp to get their attention I don’t think it should be you. It should be me. We can’t afford to lose a single guardian, and of the rest of us, Mil is the strongest and fastest, so it shouldn’t be him. It has to be me.’

‘
Am I invisible?’ asked Lias sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

‘
Did anyone hear that voice?’ asked Ben, pretending to look around in surprise.

‘
No,’ said Tiernan, and he smiled at the look on Lias’ face. ‘I meant – no we don’t need to run through the nest. There’s a better way.’

‘
Such as?’ Lias prompted.

‘
Let’s get out of this tree and into the forest over there without being seen,’ said Tiernan pointing to the forest on the east of the nest. ‘We just need to be absolutely certain they come after us, and if we leave ourselves a way of escape – even better.’

‘
So what’s the plan?’ asked Danil.

‘
I’ll tell you when we get into the forest,’ Tiernan replied, sliding down a branch. He wrapped his hands around the branch and swung himself to the ground, making no sound as he landed. At that very instant, the group of Nailmarni nearest to the tree turned and, like a wave from the ocean, began to move across the ground towards the forest. In a flash, Milgorry was clinging to the lowest branch of the tree, and reaching downwards. Tiernan leapt up, caught his hand and Milgorry dragged him back up into the branches.

‘
Did they see you?’ asked Lias urgently. ‘Or did they hear you?’

‘
They aren’t coming in this direction,’ said Tiernan, sounding confused. ‘So they couldn’t have seen me. I wonder what they’re up to.’ They watched speculatively from their high perch as wave after wave of Nailmarni left the nest and moved towards the forest.

Comprehension
dawned on Milgorry’s face. ‘Tiernan, I think it did work. I think you got through to them. It just took longer for them to react than we expected. They’re not taking the path we expected either, but I still think they’re heading for the cliffs.’

‘
Yes!’ Tiernan whispered emphatically. ‘Ben, if you would let little Rezon know they’re on their way, and I’ll let Borg know. Hopefully he’ll have everyone within the Dwellings ready.’

‘
He will,’ said Danil confidently. ‘If I know Borg, he’ll have done everything he had to do, and more.’

‘
Shall we follow?’ asked Ben, starting to fidget as he sat on the branch.

‘
We may as well,’ said Danil and without another word he dropped to the ground and sprinted in the direction of the cliffs.

* * *

Kelian stopped pacing along the shore of the lake as Borgulnay approached. ‘Have they started?’ he asked.

‘
A minute ago,’ Borgulnay confirmed. ‘You need to be in the Western Tower.’

‘
Not going to happen. Don’t bring it up again.’

‘
At least you might move back from the lake a little.’ They walked up the sloping bank and stood in front of the row of soldiers and guardians, who were all staring towards the top of the cliffs.

‘
Tiernan thinks we have more than enough chiniocelle,’ Kelian said gesturing towards the lake with the jug of clean water he was holding.

‘
What’s the water for?’

‘
One of the Daoine Maithe brought it to me,’ Kelian explained. ‘I was barely even thinking about how thirsty I was, but she still picked up on my thoughts.’

‘
They miss nothing. I’m surprised you gave in to Danil’s plan.’

‘
I didn’t give in to his plan! I told him he had to have a plan for escape before he went ahead.’

‘
Well he’s definitely planning to go ahead. I guess that means he has a plan for escape.

‘
He didn’t tell me!’

‘
You didn’t say he had to tell you,’ Borgulnay pointed out. ‘You just said he had to come up with a plan which ensured his escape.’

‘
Rrrrrr,’ Kelian growled angrily. Several soldiers eyed him nervously as he strode furiously through their ranks towards the Dwellings. ‘Marnol!’ he shouted as he came towards the courtyard. A group of soldiers who were making their way towards the lake stopped and came to attention as Kelian rushed by. ‘Keep moving!’ he barked and the soldiers simultaneously bobbed their heads and rushed towards the lake. ‘Stop!’ Kelian cried out and the confused soldiers swung around and came to attention once again. Kelian looked from face to face, recognizing that their expressions were reflected in his own heart. They felt defeated before the battle was begun. ‘Everything is going according to plan,’ said Kelian forcing himself to speak calmly. ‘The Nailmarni have started moving, and Callian has his men in place. We have enough chiniocelle to kill everyone from here to Tathra, and at this moment it’s being taken through the forest to the top of the cliffs. Once we have the Nailmarni in the lake, the guardians and the free warriors will pour the chiniocelle into the water, and that will go a long way towards resolving our problems. You are the best soldiers I could have on my side and we are in the most defensible place I can imagine. You are well trained and highly skilled and I can ask no more than that you do your duty. Our strategy is sound, but if all fails I will die fighting alongside men who gave all for their kingdom. If that’s the way it’s going to be, so be it! I am proud and privileged to be your King.’