‘And where’s Brynne? My earlobes have healed, and I think the scars just about match; I don’t think I’m lopsided.’ When no one answered, Gita’s countenance fell. She looked back and forth between them. ‘Brynne, too?’
‘We lost her in Orindale,’ Garec said. ‘We’re hoping she’s alive, but we don’t know.’
The Falkan leader pressed her lips into a thin line. ‘And Sallax?’
‘In Orindale, we hope,’ Garec said. ‘We heard nothing from him, nor could we find him while we were there.’
‘Gilmour, Sallax, Brynne, Timmon – not to mention my soldiers: this is a costly a business, boys. I hope we’ll all be around when it ends.’
‘I’ll buy the drinks.’ Garec said, anxious to move on to something more pleasant.
‘The rutting blazes you will,’ Gita quipped, smiling again. ‘I’m an old lady, and it’s an old lady’s prerogative to decide who picks up the tavern bill. I’ll have no arguing about it. The drinks will be on me.’
‘Done,’ Gilmour said, approaching warily.
‘And who’s this? Are you Kantu? I’ve heard of you.’
‘It’s me, Gita.’
‘Which me?’ She looked askance at him. ‘Do I know you?’
‘You have known me for a long time,’ Gilmour said, looking into her eyes. ‘When days in Rona grow balmy-’
‘Drink Falkan wine after Twinmoon,’ she said in a whisper. She turned to Garec. ‘Did you teach him that?’
Garec shook his head. ‘It really is him, Gita. It’s a long story.’
She leaned in, squinted as if, blurry, he might somehow become familiar to her. Then, inhaling sharply, she said, ‘They told me you were dead.’
Gilmour said, ‘I suppose part of me has been for some Twinmoons now, but as you can see, the parts that count are still doing quite well.’
‘I always knew there was something about you, you old… is it really you?’
He nodded.
Now she was awestruck. ‘What kind of magic is this?’
‘Larion.’
She laughed. ‘That’s funny, but no, I mean, what kind-’ Gita waited for Gilmour’s expression to change, and when it didn’t, her eyes grew wide. ‘Then you would have to be-’
‘Yes.’
‘And that would make you like – gods! I can’t even figure it without a piece of paper.’
‘Two thousand, probably more.’
‘I need to sit down. I need a drink, a lot of drinks.’ She reached for Garec and he slipped an arm around her waist. ‘Let’s go inside.’
Three men, bodyguards, Steven guessed, materialised from the woods beside the cottage when Gita reached up and signed all clear. He remembered the covert communication the Falkan Resistance forces had used in the underground cavern. Two remained outside watching for any indication that their hideaway had been discovered. The third, a young man wearing an eye-patch, joined them inside.
Steven tried not to look at the soldier’s face, but couldn’t help wondering if the man was one of those he had injured when he had used magic to hurl a cloud of stones into the Falkan ranks; he toyed with the idea of asking and apologising, but every time he geared himself up to do so, someone interrupted, derailing his good intentions.
Another of Gita’s commanders joined them for the discussion. As Brand Krug walked in, Steven noticed that he still wore a brace of throwing knives at his belt. As he had in the underground cavern, Brand immediately asked for news of Sallax; he looked angry and disappointed when Garec told him they had not located their friend.
Gita paced back and forth before the fireplace, thinking through their story, and their intention to move south towards the Blackstones. Steven watched her, hoping she wouldn’t try to accompany them into Meyers’ Vale; he didn’t want a military escort. If their group got any larger, it would slow them down and make them an obvious target for the army.
Gita said finally, ‘We’ve received information that the forces around Orindale have broken up and battalions are moving to take up their regular patrols. The prince’s generals argued for almost a Moon after Malagon disappeared and they have finally decided there is nothing to protect; that the prince must have left the city incognito.’
Garec said, ‘They’ll be scattered all over the countryside. It’ll be difficult to avoid them.’
‘You won’t avoid them,’ Gita said. ‘You need to take some of us along. Brand’s company can escort you.’
‘How many men do you have?’ Garec asked.
‘Ninety-seven here now with more on the way.’
Steven shook his head. ‘That’s foolish, Gita. We’ll succeed in nothing but getting them hacked to pieces. Gilmour and I can see us into the Vale.’
‘A stray arrow, Steven, one single arrow will silence you or Gilmour. We can’t afford it. You have to be escorted. Brand’s soldiers are tough, solid fighters. They’ve lived a long time, and through hundreds of raids. They know what they’re doing, and they can travel fast. If you’re attacked, the orders will be clear. Brand and a squad will ride with you, while the lieutenants engage and retreat, engage and retreat, pulling them off your back. Afterward, if they can get past the Malakasian forces, they’ll meet with you along the road further south.’ She stared down at a map of the flatlands in central Falkan. ‘They will see you through the first skirmish, anyway.’
Steven didn’t like the idea, but he waited to hear what the others thought.
Mark spoke up first. ‘I think it’s a good idea.’ He looked to Brand. ‘Chances are you’ll lose some of your soldiers, but this trip is critical to Falkan’s freedom and Prince Malagon’s defeat. If we can’t avoid encountering soldiers, then we need help.’
‘Gilmour, what do you think?’ Gita asked.
‘I understand Steven’s point. Alone, we are powerful and very fast. But you’re right as welclass="underline" one lucky shot, and we lose Steven-’
Steven interrupted, ‘But that could happen anyway. It’s a risk we have to take.’
‘That is a risk we have to mitigate as much as possible and then take,’ Gilmour corrected. ‘I agree. We should accept Gita’s offer and move south with Brand’s escort.’
‘A hundred people? We’ll be ringing the clarion all the way down there. Every Malakasian soldier and informer in the midlands will be on our tail.’ Steven tried not to get too emotional, but Hannah was alive and possibly on her way to Orindale right now, and he was not about to take unnecessary risks. The odds of a stray arrow taking him would go up severalfold if he were travelling with an armed Falkan escort. If the Malakasian forces were dispersing, the only way to reach Meyers’ Vale would be to move in the shadows, off the main roads, hiding at every sight of black and gold uniforms, otherwise it would be suicide. ‘Think about what comes next.’
What do you mean?’ Brand asked.
‘If we get to Meyers’ Vale and find the table, Falkan and the Eastlands will need a solid fighting force to move across the plain, dividing the occupation army in half, and trying to turn either north or south, to establish a foothold over here. That’s going to be a back-breaking task as it is and there’s no way you could attempt it without Brand’s company.’
‘You are right, Steven,’ Gita said, ‘you’re really not bad as a military tactician. However, I have others gathering every able-bodied soldier up here to join us. At first, I thought we would come together here, see you into Gorsk, and then turn back towards Orindale for our final stand. But knowing how disorganised the Eastern Army has become in the wake of Prince Malagon’s disappearance, we might be able to take a corner of the Eastlands, a stretch of Falkan with a port, perhaps Capehill, if we can capitalise on a momentary lapse in their command hierarchy.’
Mark finished her thought, And taking leadership from Welstar Palace out of the equation, we create exactly that opportunity.’
‘Does that mean we won’t have to face Seron, those ground demons, or any more of the cloud creatures?’
‘If my speculations about Prince Malagon are even close to correct, Gita, that’s exactly right – although I’m not sure about the Seron. They may be here for good,’ Mark said.
‘But the almor, and the cloud creatures?’