Chapter Thirty-Nine
Fate
Rolf was relieved when Soo-Kai returned. But Sir Malcolm and L’Barr were beside themselves with worry.
“Where is the Prince?” Sir Malcolm demanded. “Why have you returned without him?”
“He is unharmed,” Soo-Kai replied. “But what he does he must now do alone.”
Sir Malcolm was far from happy with her answer, and L’Barr wanted to ride off in search of Prince Harold straight away. But Soo-Kai quickly and calmly explained what had happened, and the two men looked on in surprise. Rolf was also amazed.
“He is bonding with your mother?” he asked incredulously.
Soo-Kai nodded. “When he has finished what he must do, Kai-Tai will guide him back to us. Then we must hear his commands. Until then, we must wait.”
And wait they did. L’Barr ordered the men to dismount and rest. Fires could not be lit for fear of warning those at the castle of their approach, but food was distributed. They had limited supplies, their time in the field had not been expected to last this long. But what they had they shared, even the food Rolf had brought was quickly consumed. And while L’Barr walked up and down the line, checking on the men and the horses, Sir Malcolm sat with Rolf and Soo-Kai. He was worried and subdued.
“Our failure to return will have reached the King by now,” he said sombrely. “We were expected to return with the Crown Prince, instead the King must now face the night fearing the loss of both his sons.”
“Will he send out another search party?” Rolf asked him.
“He may send out the whole army, such will be his worry. The Prince should have sent word back to the Palace of his intent. He should have warned his father of the plot against him.”
“And tell the King that his son was imprisoned; that he could be already dead?” Rolf pointed out. “That would have caused more distress. No, this way is better, believe me.”
“I will believe you when we are victorious and the Crown Prince stands before me, alive and well.”
They sat in silence for a while. Rolf looked back at the girls sitting together with Craig and noticed Sophia standing next to L’Barr. She was eating something he had handed to her, and they seemed to be talking. It made Rolf smile. Sophia had an uncanny knack of finding extra food wherever she was.
Sir Malcolm was still concerned about the turn of events. He worried about the Prince, and about the company he now kept.
“These Destroyers,” he asked Soo-Kai. “Can they be trusted?”
Rolf looked at Soo-Kai. If she was upset by Sir Malcolm’s choice of words, she didn’t show it. But her reply held the same level of consideration for Sir Malcolm’s race as his question had for hers.
“Destroyers do not lie or hide treachery behind a smile,” she said without emotion.
The implied insult was lost on Sir Malcolm. “Will the Prince be safe?” was all he asked.
“If the Prince completes the bond, Kai-Tai will not harm him. She will be swayed from the Purpose, and her path will follow that of the Prince.”
“But what of the others?” Sir Malcolm pressed her. “Will they obey his commands?”
“They will only obey Kai-Tai, and then only so long as she leads them along the path they wish to follow.”
“What does that mean?”
“If the Prince has made a bond with Kai-Tai for life, then when the sun rises she will no longer speak for the Destroyers. This we will only know tomorrow, when the fate of all of us will already have been decided. But for tonight at least, we follow the same path.”
Sir Malcolm looked thoughtful. He seemed content with Soo-Kai’s answers. But Rolf had another thought.
“Who will lead them if your mother stays with the Prince?” he asked Soo-Kai.
“Nan-Po is the next oldest.”
Rolf didn’t like the idea of that. At least with Kai-Tai he knew he had some lee-way. She was Soo-Kai’s mother, after all. But Nan-Po would be a different proposition. He said as much to Soo- Kai. She seemed unconcerned by his worry.
“Nan-Po is not without wisdom,” she told Rolf. “It was her words that persuaded my mother to accept the bond with the Prince.”
Rolf raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I had always thought she hated us more than all the others. She always seemed resentful and angered by my presence, even more so than your mother. And she won’t even speak our language.”
“Her hatred is no greater than that of all of us, my husband, it is merely older, and without repression. She does not hate you any more than she hates all those who are different.”
Her words had been intended to convince Rolf that Nan-Po would be no worse and no less a threat to them than that of Kai-Tai. But Rolf seized on them as a chance to reaffirm his belief that Soo-Kai herself was of a milder temperament than she was willing to admit.
He smiled and caressed her cheek. “I think the hatred in some of you has worn thin with age, even that of Nan-Po. I know you won’t accept it, but why else would she persuade your mother to accept the bond with Prince Harold?”
“To gain entry to the castle and access to the broken ship,” Soo-Kai replied almost too quickly. “This and the death of the Outsider is all that concerns Nan-Po and my mother. The bond is not their choosing, but they are wise enough to use it when offered. To accept the bond is tactically advantageous. It is the correct solution and strategy. To deny it would have been unwise.”
Her reply had downhearted Rolf, and Soo-Kai saw and felt the change come over him. She quickly took his hand in hers.
“I know you meant well, my husband, and that you were trying to convince me that inside us all there is some goodness, that even without a bond we can relate with humans. But you must remember that my hatred is overshadowed by the bond between us. It affects my behaviour and my thoughts. This is not so for the others. They still follow the Purpose. There is the same intent in everything they do and think. I am glad that my path is different to theirs, that my mind is empty of the hatred they share. My hope is that it remains that way, but my sadness is due to the knowledge that it will not.”
Rolf managed to smile again. “Then let us hope that we have many years together, and that your fears are proved wrong.”
Sir Malcolm broke their mood. “So long as they fight on our side, I care not for their hatred or for their purpose,” he said rather bluntly. “But this whole wretched affair reeks of treason. Lord L’Roth plotting against his cousin and the King, liaisons with Destroyers, weapons dug up from the past, and us sneaking up on the castle like common brigands. I will be glad when the sun rises and the deeds of this night are long forgotten.”
As is the way with things, Anne’s joy at hearing that the other girls were alive and well was short-lived. No sooner had she and the girls begun congratulating one another when the door grated open and men poured into the dungeon.
It was a sudden onslaught. Sir Morgan and Sir Henry stood by the doorway as the men rushed in and grabbed everyone. Anne struggled and kicked, the girls all screamed and ran about as the men chased them, and Prince Carl struck two men-at-arms, knocking them to the floor. They had assumed he was still injured, and his unexpected fitness surprised them. But his advantage was brief as three more men jumped on him, forcing him to the floor.
Sir Morgan smiled as he watched Anne struggle and kick. “Bring them!” he told his men. “And treat her softly! I want few bruises on her bronzed skin when she entertains me!”
“In your dreams!” Anne shouted back at him as she was dragged from the dungeon. She tried to kick him as she went by, but he kept out of the way. “Bastard! You disgust me!” she shouted.
Sir Morgan was unabashed. “All the better! Your struggles will be harder and my enjoyment greater!”
Prince Carl was brought out next. “Touch her and you will face me!” he shouted to Sir Morgan.
Sir Morgan held up his hands in mock fear and announced, “My knees wobble with terror.”
Sir Henry w
as impatient with the proceedings. He wanted to be done with this deed, and quickly. “Enough! Take them to the North Tower! Hurry!”
Prince Carl struggled harder as he passed Sir Henry. “You will pay for this treachery!” he shouted.
“That may be,” Sir Henry replied. “But my payment will not be to you!”
Anne and Prince Carl were dragged up the darkened corridor, Sir Morgan following behind. Anne looked back, trying to see what was happening to the girls, but all she could see was the smile on Sir Morgan’s face.
“Where are my girls?” she called to him, scared now rather than angry. “Why aren’t you bringing them with us?”
“They no longer concern you,” Sir Morgan replied in a cold voice. “Think more of your own fate, theirs is already fixed.”
Behind them, Sir Henry waited by the dungeon as the girls were brought out. He looked at their scared and tearful faces. They were so young. But Gil-Yan was hungry, and a promise was a promise.
“Take them to the pit.”
When Prince Harold returned, Kai-Tai sat upon his horse before him. His arm was around her, and she stared at Sir Malcolm and Rolf with the same familiar disdain. But Soo-Kai knew the change in her immediately.
“You are successful,” she said to Prince Harold. “Your treaty is made.”
Prince Harold nodded. “The treaty will last until the morrow. It is all agreed.”
“And you are content with this?”
Prince Harold glanced at Kai-Tai, and it was she that replied, her eyes fixed on his.
“It is our bargain. Tonight, our Purpose is shared. Tonight, the Outsider, and all those at the castle will die. Tomorrow, we part. It is agreed.”
Prince Harold nodded. “It is.”
Sir Malcolm stepped forward. “We worried for you, Sire. But we did as you commanded, and waited. Now command us again. What will you have us do?”
The Prince drew himself up in the saddle so that all his men could see him, and he spoke loudly and firmly.
“We march on the castle without delay! We take it tonight! The Destroyers will fight at our side! They already answer to my wishes and our plans are laid. Jai-Soo, Yan-Lai and El-Vin will walk on our left flank, while Zen-Wa, Di-Quan and Tai-Fam will walk on the right. Nan-Po already waits by the castle with Hai-Fam, Chen-Bey, Lai-Po and Mai-Ra. They watch the guards by the gate and on the wall. They will warn us of any sign that our presence has been noticed. Nan-Po keeps her arrows ready, and the guards will fall at our approach. The Destroyers on our flanks will then join them, and together they will hold the gates as we enter. Tonight, we fight as one! Tonight, we all fight for my father, the King, and the Realm of Halafalon!”
There was a mighty cheer as the men responded, while Rolf looked anxiously at Soo-Kai. Behind them, Craig and the girls looked at the cheering men, surprised and amazed by the scenes around them. But Bernice only had eyes for one person. She stared in awe at Kai-Tai, sitting on the horse with the Prince.