Chapter 29
The Honour of a Fellow Dwarf
Bronwyn checked his map. From the route he believed he and Isla had taken from the Trunk Trail, he guessed they’d break through onto the Lower Branch Road at any time. Once on it, they’d speed towards the Midway Keep and reach it before darkness blanketed Ath-o’lea. He’d feel safer in the crowd. Keiron wouldn’t dare attack them at the inn with so many witnesses nearby.
He folded the map and returned it to his side pouch. He reached for the half-empty water flask and took a long drink then held it out to Isla. She sat in the front, so he could hold onto her if she slipped. She had lain awake all night whilst he slept, and by morning she was exhausted. After taking a drink, she handed the flask back.
“It shouldn’t be long now.” Bronwyn kissed the top of her head. Reining the horse around a large evergreen, he saw a long narrow clearing. He guided the animal into the grassy area and brought it to a trot.
Bronwyn searched the shadows to the left and right. Though certain he was travelling well ahead of Keiron, he couldn’t shake a dreadful feeling in his stomach. It had pestered him since he came upon Isla and her captures the night before. He guessed the unsettled feeling came from his reversed role: he had become the one being chased.
A sudden thud brought his senses to full alert. His horse stumbled. Another thud brought it down. As he and his daughter fell to the ground with the animal, he saw two arrows in its chest.
“Stay near.” Bronwyn pushed Isla behind him and drew his sword. The arrows had come from the left of the clearing. He backed away to the opposite side, nudging her along as he went.
“Das, I’m scared!” She clung to his vest.
“I know.” He could think of nothing else to say. He felt scared for her. Then he saw him; the gnome rushing from the bushes behind them. Bronwyn stepped in front of Isla and raised his sword. It clashed with his attacker’s blade, but before Bronwyn could kill him, Isla screamed. He turned to see the dwarf snatch her from behind. With a great thrust, he caught the gnome in the arm and sent him to the ground. He turned to face the dwarf, only to find Keiron ready with a sword.
They exchanged several blows before Bronwyn felt the club on the back of his knee. He dropped to the ground.
“Stop! Let him go!” Isla struggled against Tam’s grip. She kicked and punched, but she proved no match for his strength. “Das!”
Reese clubbed Bronwyn across the back, driving him to the ground. The dwarf rolled and jumped up, but before he could defend himself, the club struck his wrist. His sword flew from his grip. He tackled Keiron and connected with several punches, drawing blood from the hauflin’s face.
“Das! Behind you!” Tam had thrown Isla aside; both he and Reese jumped on Bronwyn’s back. Isla ran and threw herself at Tam. She bounced off and slammed into the grassy floor.
The five wrestled across the meadow. Bronwyn fought with all his might to take down his attackers, but in the end they overpowered him. A sharp twist of his arm brought him face first into the dirt. He struggled, but his weary muscles couldn’t break free.
“A sad sight!” Keiron picked himself up off the ground, puffing to gather breath. “Tsk, tsk, one of Aruam’s finest, here with us, far from the protection of his pretty stone walls.” He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “It’s time Isla sees what I do with yellow-back thieves.”
“Tam, let him go!” Isla ran towards her das.
Keiron back-handed her, and she collapsed into a patch of dandelions. “He won’t get mercy from me.” He punched Bronwyn in the jaw, forcing spit to fly from his mouth.
“No!” Isla jumped to her feet, but once again Keiron struck her, sending her rolling across the weeds.
“Isla, run!” Bronwyn pulled with all his might to break free, but stopped when he felt a rope slip over his head and go snug around his neck.
“Reese, yew’ve snagged a wild boar.” Keiron took the end of the thick cord and jerked it forward.
Bronwyn fell to his knees and then to his stomach. He felt two bodies jump on his back and before he could resist, shackles and chains bound his wrists and ankles. They wrenched him to his sock feet and dragged him to a towering elm tree with a trunk so thick he’d need four sets of arms to encircle it. When they had him anchored to it, they stepped back.
“What to do?” Keiron paced back and forth in front of his captive. “I could…” he started, but stopped. “Or I could…naw, it’s too humane.” He eyed his daughter who stood off to the side, watching and waiting. Blood trickled from her facial wounds, but she didn’t run.
“Keiron, let him go!” Isla glared at him.
“Call me das.” He smirked. “After all, we’re blood. The same nastiness flowing through my veins flows through yers. This dwarf stole yew from me.” He clenched his fists. “It’s my job to decide the punishment for a child thief.”
“I’ll go with you without fuss. Just let him go!” She turned to Tam. “Do something! Help him! Please!” But Tam stood still, watching with a glum look.
Bronwyn stared at his daughter with his heart in his throat. She didn’t understand; men like Keiron didn’t let their prisoners go. An icy shiver ran up his spine at the thought of her watching him be killed. He couldn’t protect her from this, though he’d give everything he had—including his life—for her to be spared this horrible scene.
Keiron stopped in front of the dwarf and sneered at him. “It’s because of yew she’s weak minded.” He raised the stick he had picked up and walloped Bronwyn across the chest. The hauflin raised it a second time and struck him across the face, breaking the branch in two. “I’ll have to rectify the misbehaviour.”
Isla rushed Keiron, but he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and held her out to Bronwyn. “See what I mean. No respect for her das.”
“She’s only a child! Let her go!” Bronwyn scowled at the murderous thief.
Keiron laughed aloud. “Sure! I’ll send her on her merry way.” With his free hand, he punched the dwarf in the stomach.
Bronwyn doubled over as far as the chains allowed. Blood above his brow mixed with sweat and dribbled into his eye. Unable to wipe it away, he tried to push it aside by squinting.
“Isla, what say yew finish off this dwarf?” Keiron held a dagger out to her.
Bronwyn gulped. The scoundrel wanted Isla to kill him, feel his life drain away. He watched his daughter stare in horror at the weapon. She had never used a dagger before. When the hauflin placed it in her hand, she glared at him…her blood das. Bronwyn recognised the expression. Hatred had replaced Isla’s fear of the hauflin.
“We could leave him here for the buzzards to pick away at.” Keiron leered. “After all, they enjoy half-dead meat. Course, if yew did finish him off, he wouldn’t suffer for days on end chained to this tree.” He crossed his arms and appeared to take pity on the prisoner. “After a few days his stomach’ll growl so loud creatures near and far will wonder about the noise. And yew don’t want to know how he’ll suffer, baking in the hot sun with no water. It’s a terrible state for any man. But it’s up to yew. A quick ending…or days of agony.”
Isla held the dagger, weighing it in her hand. Her face went blank. With one mighty swing, she struck out at the hauflin in front of her.
Keiron blocked her arm, knocking the dagger from her hand. He grabbed her wrist and twisted, pulling her close to his face. “Yer just like yer das.”
“Yeah.” She gestured towards Bronwyn. “I’m honourable.”
He loured and punched Isla in the stomach then back-handed her across the face. He picked up the dagger.
Bronwyn watched his daughter rise from the ground. Blood trickled from her mouth. An unbearable ache rose in his heart for her. If he could, he’d rip the chains from the tree and wrap them around the scoundrel’s neck. He wouldn’t stop pulling until he severed Ruckle’s head. He glared at the man in front of him. “You’ll dread the day our trails cross again.”
Keiron laughed so hard he almo
st dropped the weapon. He came face-to-face with the dwarf, and with droplets of spit flying from his mouth, snarled, “Our paths will never cross agin!”
Bronwyn felt an acute sting in his side. He gasped as he realised the dagger had drawn blood…his blood. The weapon quickly withdrew. He tried to catch a breath, but instead wallowed in throes.
Keiron wiped the blade on the castle guard uniform vest then turned away. “It’s time to get moving,” he said to the others. “It’ll be dark soon.” Seeing the dwarf’s sword lying in the grass, he bent to pick it up.
Isla flung herself at Bronwyn. He felt her pull his shirt tail from his trousers, reach beneath the material and place her warm hand on the gaping wound. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Excruciating pangs exploded in his gut as her hand applied pressure to the wound. He wanted her to stop, but couldn’t find his voice. The more he braced himself against the pain, the more it consumed his body.
He longed to wrap his arms around her, but managed only to lay his cheek against the top of her head. The intense throbbing in his side threatened to take the legs from beneath him, but he held on. He wouldn’t die in front of her. He savoured every moment of her nearness, knowing it to be their last. Tears fell as he choked on his spit.
Keiron leered as he watched Isla cling to the dwarf. He tried to balance Bronwyn’s sword, but the weapon weighed too heavy. He tossed it in the grass. “Isla!” he shouted. “Say yer goodbyes!”
She looked up at her das. “Stay bent over. Don’t fight. It’s best he think you’re dying,” she said in cant, gulping on the last word. Tears soaked her cheeks.
“But Isla, I…” He closed his eyes but water seeped through. Couldn’t she see his life slipping away?
“Keiron can’t see what I’m doing.” She spoke more with her eyes and the movement of her mouth than sound. “I’ll keep the bond as long as I can.”
Bronwyn didn’t understand…until he felt the agony ease. Isla’s warm palm still pressed against the stab wound. The hand which had mended minor cuts in the past now attempted to undo the injuries the dagger had inflicted. “Isla,” he whispered, “I’m sorry I failed you.”
“You have never failed me, Das. You have given me more than I could have dreamt for.” She searched his eyes for what he thought was strength. “Promise me you’ll live.”
He never made promises impossible to keep. Still he forced a smile. “Promise.”
She returned the smile and increased the pressure of her hand. “I’ll look for you.” She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. He felt her fingertips dance upon his skin as if she weaved reeds by the pond.
“I promise I won’t rest ‘till I find you,” he whispered. He was now capable of taking shallow breathes without sharp pain exploding in his stomach. “Know it as I stand here, as soon as I’m able, I’ll be on my way to you.”
They heard footsteps approach.
“Remember, don’t struggle,” she pleaded.
Keiron grabbed Isla by the vest and shoved her towards the horses. He looked at Bronwyn now slumped forward, half looking up at him. “Sorry, me and my daughter can’t stick around to see the last of yer blood drain from that yellow-back body of yers, but business before pleasure.”
Bronwyn fell limp against the chains; they dug into his skin. He held himself still to reduce the strain. He felt better with each passing minute, but he had to appear as if dying—for Isla’s sake.
Keiron took one last crack at the dwarf, sending his head spinning into the tree trunk. He turned and walked towards Isla. “Shut yer mouth, girl, or I’ll shut it for yew.”
Isla closed her mouth but wept uncontrollably. She wiped away the tears and gazed at her das who had only the power to return her stare. He absorbed the hurt from the punch but could not keep his daughter’s anguish from consuming his emotions.
Keiron grabbed Isla by the hair and pulled her forward. “And if yew know what’s good for yew, yew’ll stop that salt water.” He heard a sword drawn from a scabbard and spun around, releasing her.
Tam stood in front of Reese, blocking him from reaching Bronwyn.
“I want a taste. Just a touch.” Reese stretched out his putrid green hand and appeared as though he planned to enjoy a delicacy. His soft voice sounded as if he already tasted the ration.
Tam shook his head. “I won’t let you steal the honour of a fellow dwarf with your despicable ritual. Let him die from his wounds.”
Reese spit. “You can’t deny me this pleasure. It’s my reward.”
Isla dried her face with the back of her sleeve and watched the two stare each other down.
Tam raised his sword, ready to strike. “It’s your death we’ll witness if you take another step.”
Keiron moved to settle the spat. “Reese, there’ll be others. Let this guard die by his own means…” He glanced at Isla. “Yer pleasure would only save him from a long agonizing death.”
Reese snarled at Keiron, but obeyed and climbed onto his horse.
Tam drove his sword into his scabbard and threw a quick glance at Bronwyn.
Why did Tam protect him? Bronwyn searched his memories to see if he remembered him from the castle. The dwarf seemed familiar, but Bronwyn didn’t recognise the face. He must have left the service several years ago. Thinking about what Isla had said, perhaps he could be trusted. But why had he helped Keiron kidnap her in the first place? He watched Tam lift Isla into his arms and climb into the saddle. She settled behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her sad eyes pleaded with Bronwyn. He knew what she wanted: for him to live.
Keiron climbed onto his horse. “This is where we part ways.” He grinned at the shackled dwarf. “Have a nice day.” He snapped the reins to move forward. Reese and Tam followed.
Bronwyn watched them leave. He wanted to rage at his chains, rip them from the tree and race after the thieves but couldn’t. He did as Isla had asked and pretended to be a dying soul.
When the horses reached the edge of the clearing, he straightened slightly to catch one last glimpse of the little girl who had weaselled her way into his heart and mind. He vowed to find her and kill the man who caused this misery.