Kate Forsyth - Eileanan 04 by Forsyth Kate

Author:Forsyth, Kate
Language: eng
Format: epub

To The Rescue

The soldier standing guard outside the royal pavilion suddenly tensed, bringing his spear forward defensively. Out of the shadows stepped a thin, exceedingly dirty boy, dressed in rough, tattered clothes. He stepped into the smoky light of the torches with great confidence, saying, "I need to see the Righ!"

"Where the hell did ye spring from, haggerty-taggerty? What do ye do here?"

"I'm here to see the Righ," the boy repeated impatiently. "It's important. Take me to see him right now!"

"Ye mun be joking! As if I'm going to take a beggar-lad to see His Highness! How did ye get here? What do ye want?"

"I do no' see that is any concern o' yours, frog-face! Take me to the Rígh now, else ye'll be exceedingly sorry."

"Is that so? It's the sergeant on duty I'll be taking ye to see and I'll wager a week's grog he'll flay the skin from your backside afore he boots ye out o' camp."

"Porridge-head," the boy replied scornfully.

The guard made a lunge for the beggar-lad who avoided his grasp nimbly, leaping over the tent-rope and disappearing again into the darkness. The guard broke into a run but tripped over the rope, falling hard on his face. When he at last untangled himself and got to his feet, there was no sign of the dirty little beggar-lad. Angrily the sentry shouted the alarm.

In the royal pavilion, Lachlan and Iseult were looking over the maps with Duncan Ironfist and Leonard the Canny, a Tirsoilleirean soldier who had surrendered to Lachlan during the Bright Wars. He had since been appointed seanalair to Elfrida NicHilde's small army, due to his undeniable fighting prowess and tactical brilliance. Lachlan and Iseult both hoped that his knowledge of the terrain and the Bright Soldiers' fighting methods would help swing the war their way.

He was a tall, broad-shouldered, slim-hipped man with grizzled brown hair cut very close to the scalp, an aquiline nose and a clean-shaven chin. His silver armour was polished to a high gleam, and he wore a long red cloak with a black gauntleted hand holding aloft a golden sword. Above the sword unrolled a ribbon with the MacHilde's motto upon it, Bo Neart Gu Neart, which meant "From Strength to Strength."

There could have been no greater contrast to Leonard the Canny than Lachlan's seanalair, Duncan Ironnst. Dressed in a faded blue kilt under a battered leather breastplate, Duncan's bushy black beard flowed down over his enormous barrel chest.

His square face was much weathered, with a shapeless nose, a thick knotted scar that showed white against his tan, and rather battered-looking ears. On his back he carried an enormous black claymore.

After an initial distrust and coolness, the two seana-lairs had grown to respect each other, though Duncan would always think the Tirsoilleirean a cold fish and Leonard would always think of Duncan as a very rough sort of fellow.

At the growing commotion outside, Duncan raised one thick black eyebrow and put his head outside the tent flap. "What be all the ruckus?" he demanded.

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