Walter opened the gate, and the people flooded through, spilling into the courtyard while the soldiers and two of the Knights of Stone stood back to let them pass. It took what seemed like an eternity for the crowd to push through, and even after the initial press there was still a steady stream of stragglers coming through. Some of the enemy’s fighter’s came through as well.
Ignoring the people, they raced through on feet that seemed to have sprouted wings. Their movements were such that they had slipped through the crowd and past the castle defenders before they could be stopped. At least eleven or twelve of them came through the crowd in a rush.
Not all of them made it past the guards, however. One quick young soldier managed to tangle the legs of one of the foreigners, sending him into a sprawling roll. Two other guards stepped forward, and thrust their spears through his midsection before he could regain his feet, but the man ignored the wounds and stood anyway. His lips split wide in a bloody grin as he ran up the spear one of the guards held, and brought his heavy iron mace down upon the startled man’s head. Blood and brains flew in all directions.
The soldiers of Cameron Castle looked on in dismay and disbelief, fear taking root in their hearts. For a moment the battlefield seemed to freeze, as the soldiers morale wavered, then Sir Ian’s two handed sword took the man’s head and upper torso off in a clean sweep. “They’re berserkers, but they can still die!” he shouted to the defenders, and as quickly as that, the spell was broken. The defenders took heart and renewed their attacks on those of the enemy that remained within reach.
It broke my heart to watch them fight through the tiny window, but I had no way to help them. Walter’s voice caught my attention, “He’s here!” The light from the window was replaced by a view of the cold stone that lay behind the glass, as he shut off our view and closed the barrier’s gate. My last sight was of a woman and her child running for the gate. They, and many others, didn’t reach it in time. All my plans and preparations, and yet I still failed to protect them, I realized. My own pride and cleverness blinded me to the possibility that they might just be cunning enough to do something like this.
I slid back down against the wall. Nausea, brought on by the poison combined with my own remorse, and I felt hot tears leave burning tracks down my cheeks.
Before I could get far in my self-recriminations, Walter interrupted me, “What’s next?”
Taking a deep breath I wiped my face and looked up. “Now we wait, until whichever god it is breaks the barrier.”
“That’s it?!” said Walter in a voice that had an edge of hysteria in it. “I thought there was a plan?”
“There is,” I explained, “but it begins after the people are evacuated, and the barrier comes down. After that we begin a deadly game of cat and mouse.”
“Which part do we play?”
I laughed wryly, “Without my power? We play the mouse.”
Chapter 21
Penelope Illeniel, the Countess di’Cameron, strode briskly through the corridors, while the two women with her hurried to keep up. She carried her sheathed longsword in one hand and struggled to keep her pace slow enough for Rose and Elaine to stay with her. That wasn’t much of a problem for Elaine, but given Rose’s condition, she was having more difficulty. She was slightly over seven months pregnant, and her swelling belly presented a significant obstacle to moving at anything beyond a normal walk.
“Penny… please, I can’t run,” reminded Rose.
Penny looked back and again tried to hide her impatience. She had borne three children herself and knew well the stresses her friend was under, yet she couldn’t help but push her. They were heading for the nursery to collect Irene, as well as Rose’s son Gram, who hadn’t been allowed to attend that evening’s feast.
A tug on her skirt drew her attention to Moira. “Momma I don’t feel very good,” said her adopted daughter. The seven year old’s face was pale; despite the quick pace at which they had been moving.
“I’m sorry sweetheart,” Penny told her, before glancing again at Rose, “I’ll slow down. We should have plenty of time to reach the nursery and then get to our apartments.” According to what Mort had told her previously, the barrier enchantment should last at least fifteen minutes or so, and quite possibly much longer. That and the fact that they wouldn’t be using the teleportation circles meant that they should have more than enough time. Penny still wished they could run.
People were everywhere as they went, rushing back and forth along the corridors. Because of their slow pace, it took them almost ten minutes to reach the nursery and gather up their children. Lilly was still there watching them, so Penny ordered her to come along with them as well. Lilly wasn’t a part of the plan for the Illeniel family escape, but Penny was sure she would need the other woman’s help in the days to come.
“What about Peter?” asked Lilly, as they headed for the stairs that would lead up to the ‘rooms’ that the Illeniel family supposedly occupied. She was referring of course to her brother, Peter Tucker, the chamberlain for Castle Cameron. “He’s expecting me to take the circle to Albamarl with everyone else. He’ll be worried sick.”
Lady Rose patted the younger woman’s shoulder, “I’m sure we’ll find some way to contact him once the dust settles.”
“My husband keeps several private message boxes in our home. We can send a message to King James, and he can send a messenger to let your brother know you are with us,” said Penny quickly. “Let’s go. We may not have as much time as we think,” she continued. In the distance she could hear yelling and the sounds of fighting in the castle courtyard. Things shouldn’t have progressed that far yet, she told herself silently, but there was no denying the evidence of her ears.
They made a motley assortment as they traveled the corridor; four women, three young children, one toddler, and an infant. Lilly carried the baby, Irene, allowing Penny to keep her hands free on the slim chance she might need to use her sword. Rose held little Conall’s hand, making sure that he wasn’t separated from them, while the twins and Gram were allowed to follow closely on their own. Elaine stayed in the rear of their group, to make sure that none of the children fell behind.
Only one corridor separated them from the stairs that would lead upward to their refuge, but as they started down the long hall, Elaine finally spoke, “There’s fighting just beyond that door; a lot of our soldiers and five of the enemy, I believe.” She pointed to a door midway down the corridor, a door that led to the front entry hall.
“Let’s keep moving,” urged Rose, “The stairs are close.”
Penny nodded and unsheathed her sword, staying in the lead as they went. Roughly a quarter of the way down the hall, just as they had passed one of the servant’s doors leading to the kitchen, the door ahead burst inward. The sturdy wooden door hadn’t been opened; it had simply disintegrated under the blow of a heavy iron mace. Adrenaline had already slowed her perception of time, and Penny idly noted that the head of the mace was far too large for someone to use easily. They must have brought those for breaking down doors.
A heavily muscled man followed the large weapon through the shattered door. He was armored in a leather coat with steel plates sewn across the chest and back, though his forearms were bare, covered only with tattoos. The iron hammer of Doron, the Iron God was prominent among the designs, indicating that the man was probably a temple guard.
Even as Penny noted those things, another man, one of the castle guards, followed the stranger through the door, thrusting at him with a spear. With an almost beautiful grace, the foreigner sidestepped the spear thrust, and reaching out with his right hand, he caught the guard, gripping the top of his breastplate. Twisting, he easily lifted and threw the guardsman into the wall, tossing him as though he weighed no more than a ragdoll. The castle defender slumped to the floor limply, though Penny couldn’t be sure if he were dead or merely unconscious.