A Battle Lord’s Heart (29 page)

           
It was when the caravan neared the
main gates and stopped that they saw more of the black linen draped across the
upper portion of the wall. Two large falls of the material covered each of the
main wooden doors.

           
An icy hand clutched Yulen’s stomach
and squeezed until the pain took his breath away. “Oh, dear God, Liam...
Mother?”

           
At his softly spoken remark, the
physician paled. It had never occurred to MaGrath until the man had spoken the
name. Madigan. His Madigan.
Please, please, don’t let it be her!

           
“It would explain the banners,”
MaGrath whispered back. He couldn’t control his voice, nor could he stop the
trembling in his hands where he clutched the reins so hard his knuckles were
white.
        

           
Yulen nodded, numb with denial.
“Mother would have been in charge with us gone. That would explain why Zane
raised his banner.” A compound left leaderless would need someone to take
command, and the sooner the better.
 
Knowing that the Battle Lord of Foster City, and a friend, had assumed
those duties gave Yulen a faint sense of relief. Better Batuset was running
things rather than some despot the likes of Collaunt taking over.

           
“Ho! Strangers! Identify!”

           
They were being given one last
chance before the order was given to fire the arrows, the compound’s first line
of defense.

           
“I am Yulen D’Jacques! Battle Lord
of Alta Novis! Open the gates and let me and my men pass!”

           
The effect of his announcement was
like an explosion of thunder rocking the entire compound. The caravan sat in stunned
disbelief as something they couldn’t clearly understand began happening behind
the walls. They heard yelling and screaming, the words indistinct but clearly
panicked. A moment later, the same sentry called out, “Ho! Back away! You will
turn around and return to wherever you came from, imposter!”

           
“Im
pos
ter? Who the hell is
that up there? Sentry! Identify!”

           
“You have one minute to comply!” the
sentry stated as the warning bell finally ceased clanging.

           
“It sounds like Breedlove,” Mastin
whispered to Yulen. The Second had joined them the moment Yulen had been
challenged the second time.

           
“Breedlove?” Yulen called out. “If
Batuset’s in charge, you tell him I want his ass out here in
less
than
one minute, or he’ll forever regret flying his banner above my compound! Atty.
Draw me an arrow.”

           
It was late. They all were tired and
too exhausted to argue any further. It had been too many long months since they
had left their home compound to have to face this sort of challenge. Whatever
was preventing them from gaining entry was coming to a halt right now. Quickly
she complied, pulling the longbow from behind her saddle. Nocking an arrow, she
lifted it and looked to her husband.

           
“Mastin, got a torch?” Snatching the
firebrand from his Second, Yulen carefully set the wooden head of the shaft
aflame. “All right, Atty,” he breathed angrily, “Take out that fucking banner.”

           
A second later the burning arrow
arched upward, trailing over the walls of the compound like a shooting star. It
snagged the green pennant dead center in its field of stars, jerked it from its
moorings, and sailed over the edge of the roof.

           
Every man on the battlements froze.

           
“I am Yulen D’Jacques, Battle Lord
of this compound! I am ordering a Code One, effective
now!
”

           
Code One—Emergency Entrance.

           
The main gates remained closed.

           
A heartbeat later, the small sentry
door in the wall flew open, and a lone figure emerged, carrying a lantern. Atty
felt a sense of déjà vu come over her as she recalled their approach to West
Crestin. Only this figure was not a man. “Yulen! It’s Madigan!” she told him.

           
“
Madigan?
”

           
Literally jumping out of his saddle,
Yulen hurried to greet his mother halfway across the entry clearing. As he got
closer he could see signs of anger and shock on her face and in the way she
carried herself. It reminded him of when his father had been killed, forcing
her to come to grips with taking over running the compound along with her son.

           
She stopped a dozen feet away, her
breath heaving in her chest. The woman had been and still was in deep mourning.
The realization stunned him, and Yulen began racking his brain, wondering why
the black linen.

           
“
Who are you?
” she cried out.
Her body was trembling with suppressed rage and grief. Her agony was enough to
soften his own temper.

           
“I’m your son,” he calmly answered.
Overhead, it seemed the entire compound was listening. The scenario was bathed
in hushed expectancy.

           
“You cannot be my son,” Madigan
hissed at him between her tears. The lantern she held reflected the silver
streaks on her face. “My son is dead.”

           
“I would be, if Atty hadn’t come for
me.”

           
His low, soothing voice, a voice she
knew could never be impersonated, devastated her. She took a slow step toward
him, holding out the lantern to catch his face in its light. A second step.
Then a third. The yellow flame turned his hair the color of molten gold.

           
Madigan gasped. A hand flew to her
mouth, and she hunched over in pain.

           
“Oh, dear God,
Yul!
”

           
She fell into his arms, sobbing
uncontrollably. The lantern fell to the ground, shattering the glass globe.

           
Moments later, the sentry door
opened again. This time the large, bear-like figure of the Battle Lord of
Foster City strode out of the compound with long, purposeful steps, along with
Dardin Tabb, his Second. Batuset carried a lantern. Tabb had his sword drawn.

           
Shoving the light in Yulen’s face,
it only took Batuset a second to confirm the man’s identity. “Open the gates!”
he yelled at the men watching and waiting above. Turning back to Yulen, Batuset
threw an arm about the man’s shoulders and gave him a quick hug. “You owe all
of us an explanation, and it damn well better be worth all the shit you put us
through!” the big man threatened, his voice choking on tears. He craned his
neck to look over at the caravan. “Where’s Atty?”

           
“Back there with Liam and Cole.”

           
“
Liam?
”

           
His mother’s response frightened
him. Her whole body was shivering violently, and her skin had gone cold. Yulen
called over his shoulder for the physician. MaGrath was beside him before Yulen
was aware of it. He gathered his wife in his arms and began stroking her,
soothing her, kissing her and letting her know that whatever fears and beliefs
they had been nursing were over. He was back. They all were back. And life
could resume again.

           
Climbing back on his horse, Yulen
gave the command to advance as the gates finished swinging open. Riding in, the
caravan was besieged by hundreds of people, townsfolk and soldiers alike,
yelling and crying, reaching out to touch their Battle Lord. Many saw the small
carrier across Atty’s chest, and they pointed it out, cheering.

           
The returning men in the caravan
spotted loved ones in the crowd. They waved, laughing and crying, and blew
kisses, but they remained in formation. Yulen waited until everyone was within
the compound walls before giving the all clear sign, letting the soldiers know
they were finally free to dismount and embrace their loved ones.

           
There was a ripping sound behind
them. Someone was tearing the black linen banners from the outer walls. Atty turned
to her husband as the crowd surged toward them. Her eyes mirrored his thoughts.

           
They thought
we
were dead.
The compound was mourning
us
!

           
A frightened whimper came from
inside the carrier. The noise of the people celebrating their Battle Lord and Lady’s
arrival had awakened the infant. Quickly, Atty lowered a strap and reached
inside, lifting the baby and cradling him under her chin as she tried to sooth
him, covering his ears against the din. At the sight of the tiny child, the
crowd quieted, their eyes riveted on the mother and son. Yulen saw he had their
attention, and took advantage of the lull.

           
“Good people of Alta Novis. My
sincerest apology in what you’ve had to go through these past few months. The
story of what happened to us is a long and complicated one. But you’ll get all
the details as soon as we’ve been able to rest and get ourselves reacquainted
with loved ones.”

           
In the distance he could see Tory
running through the mainway, her arms spread wide to fling herself into
Fortune’s embrace.
 
He had no idea where
MaGrath and Madigan had gone, but it didn’t matter.

           
“I also bring you more good news,”
Yulen informed them, smiling at his wife. “Atty has given me a son. Please
welcome Mattox D’Jacques, Battle Prince of Alta Novis.”

           
The cheer that escalated at this
news frightened the baby even more. Holding him tightly, Atty tried to calm the
wailing infant. She shot Yulen a pleading look. Quickly, Yulen dismounted and
walked around to help her out of her saddle. Keeping his arm around her waist,
he escorted her into the main hall where it would be somewhat quieter.

           
Behind them, the celebration would
continue for the next three days.

Chapter
Twenty-One

Gentle
Kisses

           
“It was Madigan who sent me the plea
for help,” Batuset told Yulen. “She was beside herself, her and almost the
entire population of this compound. When two weeks had gone by, and they’d
gotten no news back from Atty or Liam, she sent another forty soldiers to
Bearinger. When they returned, the news of what they’d found was devastating.
She got in touch with me, so I took a small battalion of my own to see for
myself.” The big bear of a man shuddered at the memories. “Mother of mercy,
Yulen, what else were we supposed to think? We found parts of your armor. We
found what was left of your horse. We found Verris’s head, finally, so we could
give the man a proper funeral. We were still walking around in a daze when you
showed up at the front gates, like ghosts risen from the dead. No wonder the
perimeter sentry went into shock!”

           
It was three days later. They were
seated in the living area of the new lodge, speaking about what had happened.
How they had coped. How they had survived.

           
“The sight of that compound will
forever haunt me,” Fortune said softly. He held Tory in his arms as they sat on
the rug beside the fireplace. Tory felt her husband shiver as he pressed his
forehead to her neck, and she patted his hands crossed around her middle.

           
“To be honest, the thought of
sending back a message never occurred to me,” confessed Yulen. “I never even
thought about you discovering the remains of Bearinger. I was in a coma for
most of two months. And then, right after that, Atty went into premature
labor.”

           
“You’re lucky she didn’t do it
earlier,” MaGrath said darkly from where he and Madigan sat, chairs scooted
next to each other. “With the stress she was going through, you’re lucky you
have a wife and son at all!”

           
Yulen glanced down at where Atty was
curled up beside him in the large, comfortable chair. Mattox was sound asleep,
arms and legs folded underneath him as he lay tummy-down and bottom-up on his
father’s warm abdomen. One of Atty’s hands rested lightly on the baby’s back.
Impulsively, Yulen placed a hand over hers. Unconsciously, their fingers laced,
forming a protective tent over their son.
 
“You drew an arrow on Mother and Liam?” he asked her softly in
amazement.

           
Atty replied with a slight shrug of
one shoulder. “I would have shot them, too, if they had refused to let me go
after you.” Lifting her face to him, she clarified, “I wouldn’t have hurt them.
Just pinned them down until they saw things my way.”

           
Yulen chuckled. “You were saying,
Zane?”

           
Batuset swirled the last of his beer
around the bottom of his mug. “We were in shock. So many men lost. So many
lives. The carnage... We thought the Bloods were still out there. It was pure
panic here. We held your funerals last month, although we had no bodies to
burn.” He glanced at the couple. “We burned two piles together, symbolically
together. We felt it had to be that way.”

           
“Thank you, Zane,” Yulen solemnly
replied. “So, how did the compound get through the winter?”

           
“Physically? Quite well. Of course,
I stopped the work on the new wall, and used those men to further protect the
compound. Mentally, however, that’s a different story.” Batuset pointed toward
Madigan. “She was a pillar of strength for your people, even though she was
crumbling inside. First Rory, then you and Liam.” He tossed back the last of
his beer. “God, what
is
it about the women of Alta Novis?”