The Guardians (Book 2) (44 page)

‘
Thank you sir,’ said one of the soldiers, lifting his chin.

Kelian smiled encouragingly.
‘Perhaps the worst we might have is a few unconscious soldiers who stayed too close to the lake and breathed in a bit of chiniocelle. Carry On,’ he added as a few of the men laughed. He watched them as they continued towards the lake and joined their fellow soldiers alongside the Daoine Maithe.

‘
That was a good speech,’ said General Marnol, appearing beside him.

‘
Can we win this?’ asked Kelian, his voice now sounding defeated. ‘Is there any chance at all of this working?’

General Marnol gazed towards the soldiers and
the Daoine Maithe. ‘I think we can win. The part I like least of this entire business is relying on the Nailmarni to throw themselves into the lake. But the guardians are confident they can make them do it. From past experience it doesn’t pay to underestimate them.’

‘
True. I wish I knew what Danil was up to. I wish he told me what his plan was.’

‘
You’re angry at him?’

‘
More worried than angry. He’s the best King’s Marshall Alkira has ever seen, but it’s more than that. He’s a good man. A good friend.’

‘
You asked him to have an escape plan, so you can be sure he’ll have one,’ General Marnol pointed out reasonably. ‘Nothing is certain in battle, but it is certain that your King’s Marshall will have followed your instructions absolutely.’

‘
You’re right. Thank you General.’ Kelian turned and walked away wondering exactly what Danil was up to.

Chapter 52

Confrontation

Callian grimaced with satisfaction as one of the Nailmarni turned to follow him. He dashed away from Rudiger who gave an anxious shout as he disappeared into the trees with the Nailmarni close behind.

‘
What are you doing!?’
Rudiger’s thoughts felt like any angry slap.

‘
We need to know if there are any other nests we haven’t destroyed,’
thought Callian.

‘
We didn’t discuss this! What are you intending to do?’

‘
I’m going to take his thoughts.’

‘
We need you here Callian!’

‘
I won’t be long,’
Callian declared.
‘Trust me, I’ll be there.’
He was moving a little faster now, putting some distance between himself and the pursuing Nailmarni. He was delighted how easily he influenced the creature to follow him, and it showed no signs of knowing it was being coerced. Callian stopped and turned as he reached a break in the trees. He ducked behind a low bush and waited. The Nailmarni made no attempt to hide his approach, and as he burst from the line of trees Callian was upon him like a massive, dangerous cat. He wrapped one arm around the Nailmarni’s shoulder and grabbed its neck, forcing its arm painfully backwards. The creature leaned forward in agony, and Callian took the opportunity to slam it to the ground. In a fraction of a second he was bent over it. He grabbed the creature’s head and dragged it back, crouching and pinning its shoulders behind his knees and elbows. The Nailmarni’s arms flailed helplessly as Callian wrenched its head back until its spine threatened to break. He took a deep breath and reached into the creature’s thoughts, forcing his way through the barriers it frantically tried to establish in its mind. It gave a scream of anguish then a groan of agony as it succumbed to the attack. Callian began to sweat with exertion as the Nailmarni’s thoughts filled his mind. He delved deeper and deeper into its thoughts and the Nailmarni’s body began tremble under the force of the mental intrusion. Its skin turned even whiter and the trembling increased until its entire body was wracked with spasms of pain. It gave a strange wail of horror as the trauma became too much. Callian leapt backwards, releasing it as its head split open and its brains burst through the crack in its skull. In the same instant, the skin and flesh on the creature’s chest ruptured and intestines splattered forth, then what was left of its body fell forward, landing on the ground with a surprisingly loud thud. Callian gritted his teeth in distaste and swallowed hard as he turned away. It had taken longer than he had hoped, and he felt as weak as a kitten, but even in the face of the horrifying sight he felt the exultation of relief. There were no more Nailmarni nests within the Province of the guardians. But the Nailmarni heading towards the Dwellings seemed confident they had the numbers take the guardians down, even after so many were killed on the Black Apple Islands and then in the ensuing massive wave that destroyed Castle. The significance of that confidence hit Callian hard and he turned and ran towards the Dwellings. He was within sight of the soldiers when he abruptly stopped.

‘
Dale?’ he said wearily, peering up into a thick lace bark tree.

‘
Yes Callian?’ Dale replied, pushing his head between the leaves and frowning down at Callian.

‘
Aren’t you supposed to be either in the Western Tower or aboard one of the ships?’

‘
I refuse to hide uselessly whilst everyone fights. Our entire strategy rests on everything going exactly as we discussed. Whilst there seems to be a good chance our plan will work, it’s not certain. So if they suddenly change their minds and try to escape, I want to know which way they go. From here I’ll be able to see, and if I have to, I can follow them.

‘
Follow them!’ Callian repeated, aghast. ‘You’ve got to be joking Dale! Surely you and Enri couldn’t seriously be thinking of following a bunch of bloodthirsty Nailmarni through the forest?’

‘
How did you know I was here?’ said Enri, stepping from the trees to stand beside Callian. ‘I didn’t get the chance to climb into the tree,’ he added, not waiting for an answer as Callian rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Callian
shook his head. ‘Get out of the tree Dale and get back to safety before I climb up there and get you myself!’

‘
No,’ said Dale. ‘We can’t get inside the Dwellings safely now. The place will be surrounded by Nailmarni.’

‘
Just promise me one thing,’ said Callian resignedly.

‘
What?’ asked Dale rebelliously, folding his arms across his chest.

‘
Stay in the tree. Please don’t follow them. If they do try to escape, we’ll be on their tail. The nest these ones came from is the last nest in the Province, so if they think they’re going to be defeated, they may very well run through here. It’s probably their best route for escape,’ said Callian.

Dale sat silently for a moment before replying.
‘Fine. I won’t chase them through the forest.’ He pulled his head back behind the leaves.

Callian
stood still for a moment, wondering why Dale’s sudden agreement made him feel uneasy. ‘I have to go. Please, please don’t do anything stupid,’ he called imploringly to Dale then he turned and dashed towards the Dwellings. As he reached the edge of the forest he could see last of the Nailmarni swarming towards the edge of the cliffs. He paused as he reached the tree line. At the edge of the forest stood a line of guardians, all armed and poised as if waiting for a signal to move. Captain Gillam and a group of sailors with the help of Rezon were arranging the massive crossbows from the ships. Callian stepped cautiously from the trees into the sunshine, feeling his strength restore as he stood in the warmth and light. He drew a horrified breath as he saw Danil between the Nailmarni and the cliffs.

‘
What in the name of His Supreme Majesty are you doing here?’ Rezon’s exclamation caused Callian to turn in surprise as Dale and Enri appeared behind the soldiers.

‘
I thought you agreed to stay in the tree!’ said Callian.

‘
No, I agreed not to chase the Nailmarni through the forest,’ Dale contradicted, looking past the soldiers. ‘You said to promise you
one
thing. Staying in the tree would have been a
second
thing. Shouldn’t we be moving?’

‘
I’m waiting for the signal from Eibhear,’ Rudiger explained. ‘Kelian wants as many of them as possible in the water before we leave the forest. As soon as Kelian and General Marnol give the signal, we move the weapons and the chiniocelle as close as we can and…I guess we just have to hope this works.’ He leaned against the trunk of a huge bon-yi and concentrated on his brother’s thoughts.

Danil reached the
edge of the cliffs and glanced back. The Nailmarni sprinted towards him as he slipped over the edge of the cliffs onto the waterfall stairs. He ran down the stairs and grasped the metal bar on the wooden door which led into the underground caverns. The door swung back easily and when the Nailmarni poured over the cliffs onto the ledge and down the stairs, Danil was nowhere in sight.

There were shouts of recognition
from the soldiers as Tiernan appeared at the top of the cliffs and dove neatly into the water below. Within seconds hundreds more Nailmarni arrived at the top of the cliffs and then more and more came until they were standing twenty deep, staring down towards the Dwellings. There was a momentary pause, then like leaves driven before the wind, they swept forward and leapt from the cliffs into the water.

‘
Tiernan!’ Kelian shouted in dismay when he saw that the guardian had not surfaced after his dive.

‘
Now!’ General Marnol shouted and as one, the soldiers and Daoine Maithe began to fire their arrows into the rain of white bodies. ‘Where are they?’ he murmured, glancing at Eibhear.

‘
They’re ready,’ said Eibhear, not turning his head as he drew his bow and felled one of the Nailmarni before it’s body hit the water. ‘They’re trying to let as many as possible get into the water before they show themselves. If they appear too early, and there are too many of the Nailmarni at the top of the cliffs they won’t be able to defend themselves.’

‘
They need to come soon,’ said Kelian as the flow of bodies over the cliffs decreased suddenly. ‘Where’s Danil?’ he added anxiously, as the mass of white bodies swept across the lake towards them.

‘
There,’ replied Eibhear, pointed across the lake to the waterfall. ‘He’s still hanging on to the back of the door.’

‘
What!’ Kelian cried, squinting across the lake.

Eibhear grinned.
‘He’s been hanging behind the door since - I don’t know how many - Nailmarni rushed into the caverns. There! He slammed the door and he’s barring it. They’re trapped and he’s going back up the stairs. Ah – a few more Nailmarni are coming down the stairs towards him…and now they’re in the water. That wasn’t bad work...for a guardian,’ said Eibhear jokingly as Kelian watched in relief when he saw Danil haul himself over the rocks onto the top of the cliffs.

‘
Where are you Callian?’ he muttered aloud still staring at the cliff top.

‘
Callian is now with Rudi and Rezon and all of Gillam’s men,’ said Eibhear. ‘They’re about to drive the last few of the Nailmarni towards the cliffs. Ah...and Lias, Mil, Ben and Araas just turned up too. That’s nice,’ he added casually, seemingly oblivious to how dangerously close to the shores of the lake the Nailmarni were coming. He turned towards Kelian as he felt Rudiger’s impatience building.

‘
How long?’ Kelian asked urgently.

‘
They’re ready!’

‘
Where’s Tiernan?’ Kelian stared into the mass of Nailmarni coming across the water, but the guardian was nowhere to be seen.

‘
It’s too late!’ cried Marnol. ‘We have to start!’

‘
Do it!’ Kelian shouted. ‘Eibhear, if you can still sense you brother, tell Rudi to start!’

‘
Let’s move!’ General Marnol shouted and the rows of soldiers and Daoine Maithe backed away from the edge of the water until they were past the rise of banks. ‘Get down!’ Marnol called and every crouched. ‘Keep your heads down if you want to stay conscious.’ For a minute nothing happened, then from the forest massive flaming arrows sped towards the Nailmarni who remained on the cliff top. Those who were not killed outright leapt from the cliffs into the lake.

‘
Now!’ Callian shouted and the guardians rushed forward with Rudiger, Lias and Rezon, carrying urns of the chiniocelle prepared by Lady Karrijeiuga. They fanned out, moving swiftly along the cliffs until they were evenly spaced, then in perfect unison they upended the urns, pouring the poison into the lake below.

‘
Light it!’ General Marnol shouted and soldiers carrying flaming torches rushed forward and thrust them into a huge ring of oil-soaked wood surrounding the lake. Seconds later the flames rose high and smoke began to fill the air. And then it was as if the world held its breath. Every human, guardian and free warrior stood silently and motionlessly waiting. Kelian stared across the lake. His eyes began to smart from the thick smoke and he squinted hard to see what was happening in the water. Nothing was happening and the pain of failure shot through him and seized his heart. Anger and frustration surfaced as the Nailmarni swam tenaciously through the water. They were only ten paces from the shore when the screaming began.

‘
Get down!’ Marnol shouted. ‘Get beneath the smoke!’ Everyone dropped onto the grass as the heat from the fire intensified. Kelian wanted to raise his head above the mound of soil which was blocking his view of the lake, but he knew if he did, he would have more than his eyebrows scorched. The sound of the Nailmarni screaming and burning disturbed him, but he felt mostly grim satisfaction and relief as he heard them die.

A soldier who was lying on the grass beside him gradually began to raise his head. Kelian
’s hand shot out forcing his face back towards the ground.

‘
Not yet,’ he shouted, over the sound of the fire and the screaming Nailmarni.

‘
Majesty, how long is it going to burn?’ the soldier called back and Kelian shrugged uncertainly.

‘
I have no idea. General?’

‘
Sir?’

‘
Can we all move backwards? Can you get everyone to gradually roll away from the fire? We’re still too close and I have no idea how long it will take to burn out.’

‘
Where do you want us to head?’

‘
Courtyard,’ Kelian instructed hoarsely. ‘If the heat doesn’t kill us all, the smoke is going to! And if that isn’t far enough, start moving towards the beach. I don’t believe even the Nailmarni could pass through that fire if they make it out of the water, but we’ll have to keep some men up here just in case.’

General Marnol gestured to a young sergeant then gradually the soldiers began
to slide backwards, trying not to lift their heads. By the time they reached the relative protection of the courtyard, more than a few of the soldiers were suffering from smoke in their lungs.