Chapter Forty
Freedom
The castle was bathed in silence, its gates closed. Two men walked the battlements above the gatehouse while two more stood above the gates themselves. The passage of the arrows was a mere hiss in the night air. They came in quick order: One, two, three, four. Each was swift and deadly, and the only sound to mark their effect was that of a fallen helmet on the stone floor of the battlements.
In an instant, Destroyers had rushed from their hiding places among the trees and converged on the gatehouse. Jai-Soo, Yan-Lai and Zen-Wa reached the gates first. They quickly began to climb. Mai-Ra, Lai-Po, Chen-Bey, Tai-Fam, Di-Quan and El-Vin came next. They also began to climb the gates, while Nan-Po waited with Hai-Fam at the bottom. The Destroyers all drew their swords when they reached the top of the wall and disappeared from view.
For a moment there was silence and little movement. Then there was a cry. It was short and choked. Then there was another. And another. Lights came on in the guardroom in the East Tower. There was a shout, “Destroyers in the castle!” and then the gates swung open. Jai-Soo emerged, and Nan-Po quickly rushed passed her and disappeared inside, Hai-Fam following her. Jai-Soo raised her arm and waved at the trees.
Prince Harold drew his sword and cried, “For the King!” He ran forward with Kai-Tai at his side, her sword also drawn. Sir Malcolm and L’Barr quickly followed, the men chasing after them with the same cry.
They poured through the open gates. Inside, most of the windows were still in darkness, but the alarm had been raised. Men-at-arms fought with the Destroyers by the entrance to the guardroom. The ground was already littered with the dead. The bodies of the men were hacked and sliced, butchered and mutilated. Among them was Tai-Fam. In contrast to the men, she had been killed by a single blow. She lay face down in the doorway of the guardroom, her blonde hair shining in the candle-light, a pike still in her back.
Prince Harold led most of his men across the courtyard towards the North Tower while L’Barr and a smaller force threw themselves at the surviving guards. The guards fell back in confusion under the combined attack of men and Destroyers and were quickly overwhelmed.
Inside the North Tower, L’Roth heard the shouts and commotion. He rushed to a window and saw men running across the courtyard. He turned and drew his sword, his face twisted in anger. “Sir Edmund! Rouse your men! We are betrayed!”
Sir Henry and Sir Morgan were climbing the steep staircase that led to the dungeon cells and corridors beneath the courtyard. Above them was the hinged grating that lay open between the North and East Towers. They would soon be in the open air. Their two prisoners had continued to struggle and shout all the way, and they were still as vocal as ever. Prince Carl was crying his vengeance upon them, while Anne begged to know what was to become of the girls in her care.
Sir Henry had grown tired of it all. It had taken them an age to climb the narrow staircase, even with four men dragging and carrying their prisoners along. And always their shouts and protests filled the air. Impatiently, he had gone on ahead, now he turned and shouted back at them.
“Enough of your incessant babbling! It would have been better to throw you in the pit with the others!”
Anne’s stomach fell at the sound of his words. “What have you done with my girls?!” she cried, and struggled even harder.
Sir Henry and Sir Morgan ignored her pleas. Sir Morgan was more interested in Anne’s fate than in that of the Prince. He was further down the staircase, right at the back of them all, behind Prince Carl and the men who dragged him up the steps. Now he glanced at Anne before shouting up at Sir Henry.
“You promised me the wench!”
“I did no such thing!” Sir Henry called back. “And what price the wench, anyway? There will be many at the Palace to satisfy your ardour! Even the Queen!”
Sir Morgan laughed, while Carl was angered by the insult.
“Cowards!” he shouted. And turning to Sir Morgan he added, “You accused me of wanton murder while you plot treason with this fat and pompous oaf and covert my mother! You are dog, L’Ajarn! A common cur!”
Sir Morgan stepped forward and struck at him. “You die tonight! Aye! And at my hands, or I swear I’ll kill those that stand in my way!”
Anne had by now managed to wedge herself in the narrow corridor up which the staircase ran by bracing her legs against the far wall.
“What have you done to my girls?” she demanded as the men carrying her tried to pull her free.
Sir Henry almost enjoyed telling her. “They are probably already dead!” he snapped. “I have ordered that they be hurled into the pit to be eaten by my Gil-Yan! Aye! Eaten! All those in the dungeons are to suffer the same fate! Now you are the last! And as Sir Morgan says, you will both die tonight! Only you, wench, will have the pleasure of living a little longer!”
Paula, Linda, Christine and Jo were dragged deeper down the corridor by Sir Henry’s men. At first they struggled and fought, but the violent response they met soon ended their resistance. Christine was punched in the stomach, and Paula had her head bashed against the wall of the corridor until she was almost knocked senseless. Linda and Jo were treated no better. Slapped, kicked and punched, the fight was knocked out of them and their journey to the pit quickly resumed.
The men paused at two more doorways on the way. Each time they would burst inside and emerge with more children. Christine recognised the uniforms of the French children. She called out to them, and was quickly punched again for her trouble. But it wasn’t her only punishment. Three of the men dragged her into the now empty dungeon and shut the door behind them.
The children listened to Christine’s screams and saw the evil smiles on the faces of the men waiting with them outside. They knew what was happening, and they knew what it meant. They were going to be killed, and there was no more doubt about it.
The victory over the guards at the gate proved to be short-lived. Sir Edmund’s men and the garrison of the castle far outweighed Prince Harold’s force, even with the Destroyers to add to their number. And once roused, they halted their advance across the courtyard. But the fight was not shirked.
Prince Harold and Sir Malcolm threw themselves at their enemy, their men as eager as they for the battle. Now was not the time for secrecy or treachery, nor for hiding in shadows and in the dark. Now was the time for open battle, where your enemy stood before you in full sight, and the blows of their swords would seal the fate of the Realm.
In the castle courtyard, men fought and died for one cause while Destroyers killed for another. And on the steps of the North Tower, L’Roth and Prince Harold faced one another.
L’Roth smiled at the sight of the Prince. “So! The King has sent his youngest pup to fight his battles! I am indeed fortunate that you came with such speed! Two Princes in one night! My job is almost done!”
“Does my brother still live?” Prince Harold demanded.
“Care not for your brother, but for yourself!” L’Roth replied, and raising his sword, he struck at Prince Harold.
In the long staircase under the courtyard, Anne’s resolve failed her. The knowledge that the girls she had been with only a short time ago were now dead was too much for her. Her struggles ceased and she burst into tears.
With the resistance gone from one of their prisoners, they moved up the staircase more quickly. Soon they had reached the top.
Prince Carl continued to shout abuse at Sir Morgan. “Murderers! Killers of children! You are not men, but animals!”
Sir Henry ignored him, his shouts still ringing in his ears as he stepped through the open grating into the courtyard. The scene that greeted him caused him to stand and stare.
L’Barr was running across the courtyard with his men when he saw movement by the wall. He saw a man emerge from an open grating in the ground. L’Barr stopped and stared, and Jai-Soo stopped next to him.
“I smell the Outsider!” she hissed.
&nb
sp; “I see Sir Henry L’Crief!” L’Barr replied, and rushed towards him, his sword raised.
Sir Henry stared in shock at the turmoil all around him. “What treachery is this?” he cried and reached for his sword. It was his last act. As he turned, L’Barr rushed up to him and sliced at him across the throat and chest with his sword, and he fell to his knees. A moment later and Jai-Soo had struck off his head.
Men were gathered around the edge of the pit. They cheered and shouted. Near to the wooden plank, the children were herded together. Nearly all of them were crying, but it brought no sympathy from their captors. French, English, girls, boys, it no longer mattered. Beaten and kicked, they were all forced closer to the edge of the pit, and they were all mixed and separated.
Paula and Linda ended up in the middle of the French children. In front of them, Christine stood alone, clutching her torn blouse to her chest, her face bruised and bloody. She made no sound and made no attempt to run. Way out at the other end of the plank, Jo stood on her own, staring down in horror at what lay beneath her.
One of the men stepped forward onto the plank, holding out his pike, and prodded at Jo. She stumbled at the blow and almost lost her balance, but she managed to stay on the plank. The resulting shouts of the men filled the air all around them. The noise was deafening.
But another noise was greater.
There was a deep and resonant moan. It started so low that at first it was merely a vibration in the floor, but it quickly grew and grew. Soon it was as loud as the cheers of the men, and then it was louder still. As the men heard the sound, their cheers faded and became still, and they all stared at the pit. Even the children and the men holding them all turned and stared.
Soon the moan filled the whole cavern. It was inhuman, and in strange contrast it seemed to be filled with hatred and delight all at once. Slowly, malevolently, the moan took form.
“Aaaaahhhhhhhtttttttlllllaaaaasssstttfffffffreeeeee!”
Soo-Kai stared at the open gates of the castle. She could see movement; hear cries and the clash of steel. She could smell and taste the blood. Her mother was there, somewhere inside, fighting and killing. She wanted so much to rush forward, to fight by her side. Not because she still followed the Purpose, but because she feared the outcome. But instead she was rooted to the spot, left with Rolf and two men to watch over the girls, the horses and their prisoner.
Safe, distant.
Kai-Tai had looked and behaved as she always did, but Soo-Kai knew the change in her. The bond with Prince Harold, no matter how short, had changed her perspective. Soo-Kai could already taste it in her body. It was what Kai-Tai feared most, that she would be turned, that she would no longer be in charge of her own destiny. Instead she would bow to the wishes of the Prince. She would follow him, she would fight for him, and she would put him first. And in that change would be danger. Soo-Kai could trust her mother in battle. She had fought alongside her many times. She always survived. But now she was in a bond. Prince Harold cared only for his brother and the throne. Where he went, she would follow. If his actions proved foolhardy, Kai-Tai would share his fate.
Rolf, too, watched the castle in fear. There were two many questions left unanswered, and yet the Prince had rushed into the attack. How many men dwelled within? Would the weapon they built be ready? The words of Sir Malcolm echoed in his mind. If they failed here, who would know?
As Rolf and Soo-Kai stood and stared at the castle, Vanessa suddenly ran forward, calling their names.
Rolf turned in surprise. “What is it, girl? What’s the matter?”
“It’s Berni!” Vanessa said breathlessly. “I can’t find her! I’ve looked everywhere! She’s gone!”