The hundred soldiers pitched their tents fifty paces to the east of the farm. Kaelin offered the four officers rooms in the house, which they gratefully accepted, for the nights were still cold, and sleet showers were still common.
Senlic Carpenter avoided the soldiers as much as possible, and Bally Koin took to sleeping in one of the hill huts above the pasture. It was from this hut early one morning that he saw a column of soldiers coming from the west and taking the road into Black Mountain. He told Senlic what he had seen, and the old man approached Kaelin.
‘They had two prisoners,’ he said. ‘Rally’s eyes are not what they Avere and he didn’t recognize the men. He did, however, recognize the clan colours they wore.’
‘Must be two of Call’s scouts,’ said Kaelin. ‘I pity them.’ The following day Kaelin saw a tall man with a staff herding a small group of cattle towards the farm. He was dressed in leather leggings and a weathered brown leather jerkin. Several soldiers were standing watching, and one of the officers, Lieutenant Langhorne, came out of the house and stood alongside Kaelin. ‘One of your men?’ he asked.
‘No,’ said Kaelin. He strolled out to meet the man. ‘Good morning to you.’
‘And to you, sir,’ said Rayster. ‘I found these cattle in the thickets to the north. They were carrying your mark, and I thought it might be worth a meal if I brought them back to you.’
‘Aye, it is worth a meal at least. Are you looking for work?’
‘They said in Black Mountain that you were short-handed. I’d be obliged for a month’s labour.’
Lieutenant Langhorne came alongside. He was a tall man, with a finely trimmed beard and a heavy southern accent. ‘Where have you come from, fellow?’ he asked.
‘North, sir. I am a Pannone from Styrline. Great shortage of both food and work there, sir. Thought I’d try my luck in the warmer south.’
The officer stared. ‘You think this is warmer?’
‘Aye, it is, sir. Up north you have to piss fast. It freezes the moment you release it and if a man is not careful he’ll have a three-foot icicle hanging from his rod.’
Langhorne laughed aloud and wandered away. Rayster moved in close to Kaelin.
‘Soldiers captured Chara late yesterday.’
Kaelin stood rooted to the spot. ‘Chara? How?’
‘For some reason she left the valley. I don’t know why. She was with Wullis Swainham. One of our scouts saw them entering the woods. He followed. Soldiers were hidden near by and both Wullis and Chara were taken. Call is beside himself. He is talking of gathering the clan and sacking Black Mountain.’ Rayster paused. ‘Are you all right, man? You are pale as a ghost.’
Kaelin fought for control as a cold panic swept through him. He could not stop himself from seeing Chara in a dungeon in the keep, facing the hot irons, the thumbscrews and the other instruments of torture he had heard about as a boy. He took a deep breath, and tried to think. ‘Call must not come out,’ he said at last. ‘It is what they want. It is what they have planned for.’
‘He’ll not let them harm Chara, Kaelin. I know the man.’
‘I need time to think,’ said Kaelin. ‘Go and see Senlic, and have the meal you asked for. We will speak later.’
Rayster nodded and moved away.
Kaelin gazed out over the distant mountains. If Call Jace was to lead out the Rigante they would be massacred. And even if, by some miracle, they reached Black Mountain they could never take the keep. Musketeers manning the ‘murder holes’ would cut them down.
The panic in his soul threatened to swamp him.
The day he had killed Bindoe and Luss Campion had been a watershed in the life of the young Rigante. It had changed him for ever. The Varlish had murdered Chara Ward, and he had been unable to save her. Now another Chara was threatened by the same vileness that characterized, for Kaelin, the Varlish race. He had liked Chara Ward, but he loved Chara Jace. She was, he knew, the partner of his soul; the one woman he would love for all of his life.