The Fallen (Book 1) (42 page)

Milgorry stared at Rudiger, completely dumbfounded.
‘Anything else?’ he said eventually, looking down the arrow which remained leveled at Rudiger’s head.

‘As a matter of fact, yes. Now we have guardians and humans running around all over Nyinaku with people searching for them under every hollow tree and every abandoned hut, so it’s highly unlikely any of our other stashes of weapons will remain hidden for long, not to mention the safety of those we have guarding them. And just to top of my day, Eibhear tells me that before you escaped Nandul accused Lias’ sister Keely of helping the prisoners. He said she’d been giving them clothing and other things.’

‘
What did he do to her?’ asked Milgorry angrily, his heart turning ice cold.

‘
The swine put a stake in the ground and impaled her on it,’ said Rudiger angrily. ‘She had no chance, Mil. She didn’t have a tenth of his strength, there was nothing she could do. He refused to listen to anyone. He said she was a traitor and he started cutting her up, but he made sure she was still conscious when he picked her up and stuck her on the stake. I swear I’ll return him Mil, if it’s the last thing I ever do. He has to be the sickest bastard ever created.’

There was a long silence and Milgorry gradually lowered his bow.
‘What do you want from me Rudi?’ he asked, looking at him uneasily.

‘
I want you to get all these people out of Nyinaku, I want you to stop burning my weapons and I want to return your father.’ Rudiger’s face was angry and frustrated, but Milgorry could hear the anxiety in his voice.

‘
What do you want from
me?
’

Rudiger
shifted his weight uncomfortably before answering. ‘I have no idea what to do now. I need you to help me, Mil,’ he said, and his voice was barely more than a whisper.

Milgorry
’s eyes opened wide and he stared at Rudiger for a long moment before speaking. ‘Let us out of this little trap you pushed us into, and find us somewhere safe we can talk. And someone will need to get our packs and blankets and everything out of that old hut.’

Rudiger turned without a word and motioned to two men who immediately set off towards the hut. Everyone
else followed him as he led them back up the stream. They turned south when the cliffs ended, and then walked for over half an hour before Rudiger stopped on the flattened top of a hill. There was plenty of foliage to hide them from unfriendly eyes, but Rudiger waved his hand towards four of his companions and they melted into the trees and boulders, taking up positions on each side of the hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. The remaining man watched Elena and Immosey for a moment and then turned to Rudiger questioningly. Rudiger pointed south, and the man disappeared into the trees.

Rudiger turned to Milgorry.
‘Eibhear will hunt for food for the humans,’ he said and glanced at Kelian as the Prince looked surprised. ‘We are not all heartless bastards, human.’

Milgorry
smiled as Kelian raised an eyebrow. ‘I suppose a proper introduction would be fitting,’ he said. ‘Your Highness, Prince Kelian of Alkira, may I introduce Rudiger of Morlee.’

‘
Pleased to meet you, Highness,’ said Rudiger, looking stunned.

‘
And this is his fiancée Elena, and her sisters Immosey and Louisa.’ Rudiger nodded to each girl in turn. ‘These two are Araas and his brother Timbul, you may know him as Tebur,’ Milgorry continued and Rudiger’s face paled slightly as he turned to look at each of the guardians. ‘And this is Gilgarry. He’s brother of Elena, Immosey and Louisa. You probably already know that Louisa is the one Nandul is after,’ said Milgorry, putting his arm around the girl and gently kissing her.

Rudiger stared at them and then shook his head.
‘Ah Mil, Nandul will be a bit annoyed when he finds out you stole his girl,’ he said, his face breaking into a smile.

‘
Yes, he was a bit cross,’ said Kelian. ‘He lost his temper when he found out Louisa is carrying Mil’s child,’ he explained.

‘
Supreme Majesty!’ Rudiger whispered, staring at Louisa. ‘I imagine he did!’

‘
He wasn’t impressed,’ Milgorry admitted.

‘
So why did you come this way? I thought you would go north.’

‘
Baron Dale and his Squire Enri went north with Lias, King’s Marshall Danil, Lady Valeska of the guardians, two of our soldiers – Alexander and David, and Guardian General Callian,’ Kelian explained. ‘We thought it would be more confusing if we split up,’ he added.

Rudiger
’s eyes widened with astonishment. ‘That’s a fairly powerful little group!’ he said.

‘
Rudi, I need to get Louisa to the Dwellings,’ said Milgorry. ‘She’ll be safe there.’

Rudiger
slapped his shoulder. ‘I’ll help you get out of Nyinaku, then I need to…I have no idea what I need to do next,’ he admitted.

‘
What was your plan?’ asked Borgulnay from where he sat with his back to a tree. ‘I mean, what was your plan
before
we burnt your weapons?’

Rudiger
turned and looked down at Borgulnay then glanced at Milgorry questioningly.

‘
This is King’s Captain Borgulnay of Castle,’ said Milgorry. ‘He’s human, but just barely.’ Borgulnay glared at him indignantly. ‘It wasn’t an insult Borg. You are just closer to one of us than you are to being human. You’re a more dangerous soldier than many warriors I’ve trained.’

Rudiger
eyed Borgulnay appraisingly. ‘The plan was to get weapons, get more warriors, take down Nandul’s army and then return him,’ said Rudiger, sitting down beside Borgulnay and leaning back against the tree. ‘You have a better plan, Captain?’

Borgulnay
scratched his chin contemplatively. ‘Let’s take this one step at a time. Get weapons. Perhaps you should concentrate on getting some specialized weapons. Wouldn’t you rather put an arrow through Nandul from a distance?’

‘
I would prefer not to be too close to the swine. The bastard has a nasty habit of murdering anyone he even remotely suspects is disloyal.’

‘
You wouldn’t have to be too close if you had decent longbows. The bows we burnt weren’t very good, and there’s a lot of advantage in being able to shoot further than your enemy. Of course getting away afterwards can still be tricky if you miss too many times, even with the extra distance, so you need to train well with any new weapons you want to use. A longbow might be a hindrance if you’re fighting your way through thick bush land. So you also need a well-planned escape route. What was next? Get more warriors? From what Milgorry has told me, Nandul commands too many warriors to face in open battle. You probably need to be a cunning force rather than a large one. Have you sent in any spies? Have you got anyone in his closest circle?’

‘
No,’ Rudiger admitted. ‘We have warriors here and there, even within his elite units but none among his personal guards.’

‘
Alright, is there a possibility of infiltrating his guards and finding out what he’s doing at every moment of every day?’

‘
Mil would have been in the perfect position…but I guess not now, since Nandul has decided to do his best to murder his own son.’

‘
Rudi, I had the point of my sword at his throat and I couldn’t return him,’ said Milgorry shaking his head.

Rudiger
closed his eyes momentarily. ‘I couldn’t expect you to return your father Mil, but I wish you had.’

‘
Araas and Tim were going to take him back to their father.’ Milgorry’s eyes twinkled with mirth.

Rudiger gave a low whistle.
‘Tiernan would have returned him faster than I can blink. Ah, how I would have loved to be there to see Nandul’s face when he woke up in the Dwellings.’ He sighed. ‘I doubt you would have gotten away with it. It’s probably better for you to leave Nyinaku without Nandul than have to fight off his entire army all the way across Alkira.’

‘
Does Nandul have any idea you’re gathering forces to challenge him?’ asked Gilgarry curiously.

‘
No. He suspects someone is working against him but I’m fairly confident he doesn’t know who. Not yet anyway.’

Borg
ulnay shrugged. ‘So get close to him. Make him trust you.’

Rudiger clasped his hands behind his neck and stretched his back.
‘Whew! That sound like fun! Get close to Nandul. I just can’t imagine anything I’d rather be doing,’ he said sarcastically and everyone laughed.

Kelian sat down on the ground under the tree.
‘If you are cunning Nandul might even meet with an unfortunate accident. So much easier to replace him if no-one is actually trying to murder you for assassinating him. Then you won’t need to take out his entire army, you could simply redirect it.’ Rudiger raised his eyebrows in surprise as Kelian continued. ‘And you need to start a few rumors. If Nandul suspects his closest warriors of treachery, he might get nervous enough to return a few of them for you.’ Kelian frowned as he thought. ‘Just be sure the rumors cannot be traced back to you, if you’re trying to gain his trust. In fact, a well-timed but unsuccessful attempt on your life might be just the thing to reinforce Nandul’s confidence in you.’

‘
Er?’ Rudiger looked at Kelian in confusion.

‘
Get close to Nandul,’ said Milgorry. ‘Infiltrate his army with spies. Start rumors about possible disloyalty. Tell Nandul you suspect there is someone disloyal close to him. Make it look like someone tried to return you for talking to Nandul. Don’t become overconfident. My father can be dangerous when he’s angry.’

Rudiger snorted at this understatement
. ‘Are you sure he’s Prince of Alkira, Mil? I thought ‘an unfortunate accident’ was more
our
style. He’s a bit crafty and devious for a Prince isn’t he?’

‘
He certainly is,’ Milgorry agreed emphatically.

‘
It still could come down to a very personal fight,’ Gilgarry observed.

‘
If it comes to one on one, I know of only one person who can defeat Nandul,’ said Rudiger, ‘and he’s going to Alkira with his pregnant guardian. I’ll probably never see him again.’

‘
Rudi, I’ll see Louisa to safety, but unless Tiernan returns me, I won’t abandon my people. I need you to be patient whilst I’m gone.’ He turned as he felt a surge of emotion from Louisa and he pulled her closer. ‘Louisa, I won’t abandon you either. There are things I must do, things I need to put right, but I won’t be away from you any longer than I must. I would have you by my side, but the only safe place for you right now is under the care of Tiernan and Karrijeuiga.’

‘
I don’t want you to miss the baby’s birth,’ said Louisa, looking anxious.

A smile dawned on Araas
’ face. ‘Lou, it will be twenty-eight months before the baby arrives.  And that’s if the baby is on time!’

‘
Twenty-eight months!’ said Louisa, aghast. ‘I’m going to be pregnant for twenty-eight months?’

‘
Don’t panic,’ said Timbul. ‘Pregnancy sickness is unusual for guardians.’

‘Earlier you said Nandul’s authority was assumed,’ said Kelian. ‘Who should be your leader and how did Nandul come to be in charge?’

‘
The Lost Prince,’ said Rudiger, glancing at Milgorry and looking surprised that Kelian didn’t know this.

‘
Explain,’ said Kelian, reaching out to accept a blanket from the two men who had returned with their packs and the gear they had left in the abandoned hut.

‘
He disappeared from Mirri when Nandul led an army into Sagria. The Prince had ordered his warriors to drive the Sagrians north or come to an agreement with them, but Nandul destroyed them. Some say the Prince was so grieved by what had happened that he returned, others say he left Mirri refusing to be Prince because of the warriors’ disobedience and the terrible thing they had done. No-one really knows whether he returned or not.’

‘
Callian was convinced he chose to disappear,’ said Araas. ‘He thinks the Prince will return when it’s of greatest benefit to the people.’

‘
How would Callian know?’ Rudiger sounded unconvinced.

Araas
’ face turned curiously blank. ‘You would have to ask Callian that. Some things are not ours to discuss.’

‘
What was his name?’ asked Gilgarry.

‘
Garran,’ answered Rudiger.

‘
Garran? Doesn’t that mean ‘guardian’?’

‘
It does,’ said Araas. ‘We were all one race before the…before some chose to be free.’

‘
It seems strange to me that a Prince would choose to disappear,’ said Kelian. ‘How did he become Prince?’

‘
He was chosen by the people for his unique gifts,’ Rudiger explained. ‘He could place the essence of the free into a human. They would still be a human in body, but they would also become one of the free. He had other gifts that made him a very good leader, even without the fact that he was almost as dangerous as Mil with a sword.’