Page 38 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
Muscled gray clouds rolled in from the sea, shrouding Badbe Garrison in darkness, and thunder rolled overhead. Fat raindrops pelted the officers as they arrived, and cadets rushed forward to take their horses to the stable. Tyghan and the other officers ran for the meeting chambers, still dressed in their formal attire from the funeral. As they began shedding coats and taking their places at the long table, Dalagorn squinted at Tyghan. “What’s this?” he asked, motioning under his eye. “You got a shiner?”
Tyghan reached up, touching his cheekbone, and winced. He sighed as he pulled out a chair and sat down. He had healed his bloody lip and two swollen knuckles before the funeral, but some bruises took longer to surface. He had missed the one under his eye.
Quin whistled with admiration. “It’s a beauty. All the colors of the rainbow.”
Melizan wrinkled her nose. “All the wrong colors.”
“Sloan and I got into it,” Tyghan explained. “He heard Cael was back and wondered why I was still in charge.”
A voice from the doorway responded. “But we’ve come to a temporary agreement.”
They all turned. It was Sloan, just entering the room with more officers behind him. He had a matching shiner on the opposite eye. “I think His Majesty may need a little more time to regain his . . .” He searched for a diplomatic word.
“Faculties?” Tyghan offered.
Sloan took a seat opposite Tyghan at the long meeting table. “As you stated, he’s still disoriented by his harsh imprisonment.”
Tyghan chuckled inside.Disoriented?Cael was delusional. But he knew the admission was not an easy one for Sloan. “Then I guess I should have had you meet with him right from the start, so we could have avoided our earlier”—Tyghan rubbed the healed knuckles of his fist—“discussion. My mistake.”
Sloan nodded in reluctant agreement, because he and Tyghan rarely agreed on anything. “He was fixated on the topic of executions,” he added, but then quickly moved on. “What’s the agenda?”
Before Tyghan could answer, Badbe Commander Maddox arrived with her chief strategist, Officer Ailes, who would help direct the sky fighters. Two cadets followed on their heels, depositing bowls of hot spiced nuts, platters of fruit and cheese, and baskets of seasoned breads around the table. Dalagorn grunted with satisfaction. “The messengers you requested will be right along,” Maddox said. “More food is on the way. And ale. I think it’s going to be a long night.”
It was unusual to have an officers’ meeting this late in the evening and at the garrison, but these were not usual times. With Cael’s stealth rescue suddenly accomplished, they were in a new position to bring select kingdoms they could trust into their confidence—and get more troop support. Knowing Danu had achieved the impossible—snatching Cael from Kormick’s grasp—would instill more hope in the kingdoms than they’d had in months.
Though Tyghan now had news that could extinguish their hope all over again. He hadn’t even shared it with his own officers yet. He knew where their questions would lead—to Bristol. Eventually everything led to her. He’d wait as long as he could before bringing it up.
The first order of business was composing messages to two kingdoms—ones that had been on the cusp of committing forces at Beltane Eve. Handpicked knights memorized the carefully worded message—it couldn’t be trusted to pen—and then were sent off to the kingdoms of Bleakwood and Silverwing.
The king fondly remembers his discussions with you at Beltane Eve and your admiration of his elite squad. He wants you to know that the weeks since then have been unusually prosperous for the nation of Danu. A fruitful harvest is in their sights.
The king looks forward to seeing you at the Choosing Ceremony, but you are always welcome to visit him at his palace before that.
If this message worked to push the two kingdoms to a decision, they could expect as many as three thousand additional troops backing up Danu, Greymarch, and Eideris, bringing their totals to twenty-three thousand. One problem they faced was that no one knew how many Fomorian warriors they would still have to contend with once the restless dead were eliminated from the equation. Estimates were fifteen to twenty thousand, but it was only a guess.
Six hours later, they were still barricaded in the chambers, hashing out plans, poring over terrain maps, and naming regiment leaders. When they began discussing the ceremony itself, Tyghan interjected. “New protocol—we’ll be bringing forty witnesses. Maybe double that.”
Kasta’s eyebrows flew up. “Is that wise? You want to antagonize Kormick before we even get started? He laid it out clearly. Only twenty witnesses allowed per kingdom.”
“Forget Kormick’s plans,” Tyghan said. “Here’s mine. Once the Abyss door is closed and we’re only going up against the Fomorian army, I still have twenty thousand troops to move into place, which will be no easy task. I want Kormick to concentrate on small trespasses instead of looking for the big ones. Let him think we’re pounding our chests because we’re desperate. He’s going to have teams watching for advancements from all directions. This will divert his attention, and possibly minimize it.”
Melizan nodded. “He’s not going to slaughter us because we can’t count.”
“Agree,” Sloan said. “It will likely make the fool snicker. He’ll find it amusing. Twenty or forty won’t make a difference facing the restless dead.”
Dalagorn blew out a long, bothered breath but said, “Agree.”
“Another thing we need to address,” Tyghan continued, “is that once Cael appears as a contender for the Stone of Destiny, all hell will break loose. Kormick will have Maire summon the restless dead—”
“But by then Keats will have the Abyss door closed, correct?” Ailes asked.
“Unfortunately, there’s been a new development,” Tyghan answered. This was the part that had to be delivered carefully. “It would appear the historical records are inaccurate, at least in regard to Maire. Her power is greater than we thought.” He told them what Bristol had witnessed, Maire opening a portal in less than a minute—not the days or even hours they had anticipated. If Bristol shut it, Maire would likely reopen the Abyss door right there in the valley. Bristol would need to be present to possibly close the door, over and over again.
“Not if Maire is in our sights,” Commander Maddox offered.
“Which she never has been,” Quin noted. “Kormick keeps her well protected.”
“Wards, warriors, amulets, she has it all,” Kasta agreed.
