Chapter 65

“I think we’re going to try, at least to see if we can get information as to why the Nephilim are doing this,” I replied with a chuckle.

“Correct, John,” Morgana replied. “Commander Hinnit, are any of your units nearby?”

“I can have a sanctum of Caddiysh here in about 3 kilobeats, however you Mages will have to deal with the Malakha,” Hinnit replied.

“How many in a sanctum?” Julia asked.

“About 40 Caddiysh,” Telqua replied as Hinnit had already set off at a fast trot.

“A platoon then,” Julia replied with a nod.

“That is your name for a group of that number, yes, I believe,” Telqua agreed.

“Pretty even fight, save we have a Seer and two High Mages to bring to the fight,” I chuckled.

“Yes, John. It’s the equivalent of bringing a tank to a gunfight,” Julia chuckled. “Still we’ll wait for Hinnit’s ... sanctum to arrive as you cannot trust most Tuathans further than you could throw one.”

“No Mages amongst them?” I asked Róisín.

“No, John, not that I can detect,” she replied as she studied the Tuathans who were marching in a desultory fashion.

Other than keeping the column under observation as well as avoiding detection ourselves all we could do was wait for Hinnit to arrive with his men. As it was, we had a surprise when Hinnit’s men turned out to be women, some I recognised from the Rwandan incursion.

“If you Mages wish to do your stuff, we’ll take care of the rest,” Hinnit said when he caught up to us.

It didn’t take long, we didn’t even have to kill any of the Malakha. They were distinctly third rate, though easily competent enough to keep a mundane in line. I had to admire Hinnit’s sanctum who ghosted in to surround the startled Caddiysh and forced their surrender, mostly because they knew there were magic users amongst them. At Hinnit’s signal after they had secured the Nephilim we moved forward to confront the Tuathans who had clumped together in a halfway decent defensive formation, not that it would have done them any good against the weapons the Azuran sanctum were toting.

“Who is in charge of you sorry lot?” Morgana commanded.

“I would be for my sins,” a tall bearded man replied, stepping forward. “And you might be?”

“Morgana of Earth.”

“Ferrimoot of Murias, Wind Councillor of the Murias Bolt Guard, the last few of whom you see before you,” he replied at length.

“And why would a Tuathan be here?” Julia asked.

“We were brought in as slave labour, to build a new road to a new gate the Elves want built,” the man spat.

“Lot of slaves,” I murmured.

“Aye, well there were a lot more of us until they persuaded us to serve by sacrificing nearly a thousand of my men to their godlet,” Ferrimoot replied.

There was a loud bang as one of Hinnit’s sanctum fired in the air as a warning to one of the Tuathans who was getting too close for comfort.

“I’d suggest you tell your men to not be so provocative,” Julia stated laconically.

“But they are women!” one of the Tuathans close to Ferrimoot yelled.

“Women with guns, you damned fool, and probably with no reason to particularly like us or trust us,” Ferrimoot spat back.

“I’m afraid the reputation of the Tuatha Dé Danann precedes you, as we explained to our allies,” Morgana added.

“Figures,” sighed Ferrimoot. “We aren’t all like those damned fools on Gorias, although you’d be pushed to tell with young Banfidees here.”

“Do you know where this new gate is being constructed?” Simone asked.

“Two thousand paces from the main gate at Lorkhan,” Ferrimoot replied.

“Tell them nothing, sir. They are our enemy too!” the one called Banfidees spat out.

“By all the gods, Banfidees! Will you hold your tongue, these are Mages and may be able to offer us escape and you wish to antagonise them?” Ferrimoot replied in harsh tones, making the young man in the tattered remains of his uniform fall back a step.

“I see,” said Morgana. “That probably explains the increased hunting units Jeeval was worried about, they didn’t want anyone to know about the new gate, which is, I presume, a backup in case we come through and capture the old gate.”

“Seems likely,” Julia mused. “That plus if the countryside between here and Zudraj goes up in revolt, they’ll be able to recall reinforcements.”

“You’re probably lucky we intervened here, Ferrimoot. Chances are the Malakha would have killed you once your task was completed,” Morgana added.

“Figured as much, that’s why we were going as slowly as possible. They weren’t exactly subtle in their contempt for us,” Ferrimoot replied.

“How goes the war for Tuatha Dé Danann?” I asked.

“Badly ... shut up, Banfidees,” Ferrimoot replied before casting a baleful glance at his outraged companion.

“We will win! We are the chosen!” Banfidees announced proudly.

“That’s the attitude that got our arses kicked by the Mazdani,” Ferrimoot sighed. “I ought to kill him now, the average intelligence quotient of the Tuatha would probably rise a few points just by doing that.”

“Family?” I questioned with a chuckle.

“Oh yes. Can’t ignore them and the wife would get upset if I gutted the little bastard,” Ferrimoot chuckled. “He’s my wife’s cousin and needs a few good hidings before he can grasp he isn’t a gift from the gods.”

“The young always think they know everything,” I chuckled in way of reply.

“Young?” Banfidees questioned.

“He does know about Mages and the fact that some at least don’t age?” I asked Ferrimoot.

“Know? Yes,” Ferrimoot replied. “Met, no.”

“Pure luck combined with sleight of hand, a lot of bragging too, save for the haut-Magicien cabale of Tuatha,” sneered Banfidees.

“Can’t see him surviving long against a Mage having a bad day,” I chuckled.

“I can but hope,” Ferrimoot replied with a grin. “Having a bad day by any chance?”

“Me no, but my Róisín has a lower tolerance of idiocy than I do,” I replied with a chuckle.

“Living with you will do that to any woman, John,” Róisín replied with a grin.

“Uncle, why are you talking to these ... lower types as equals, you should be demanding that they give us aid and lead us back home!” the young man went on.

“That’s the reason why none of the other Earths will give you aid and assistance,” Morgana added, giving Banfidees a baleful eye.

“I know. I and many of the lesser houses who do not have a say on the Comitet Militaria have been saying this for nearly a century now,” Ferrimoot replied.

“I’ve had enough of this!” Banfidees stormed, clearly angered by being ignored and talked about as if he wasn’t there. “Seize their weapons!”

Not a single Tuathan moved, most looked at him as if he were mad.

“You do realise I could have you shot for attempting to usurp my command?” Ferrimoot said into the silence.

“What command? I hear no commands, simply excuses!” Banfidees stormed as he lunged forward to try and seize one of the weapons that Hinnit’s sanctum were holding, not quite aimed at the Tuathans.

There was a strangled squawk as he found himself knocked to the ground by the butt of one of the weapons and had the business end now pointed directly at him.

“Permission to kill this sorry excuse of an outlander?” came the request of the woman.

“Please say yes,” murmured Ferrimoot in tones so low I believe only the Mages heard him.

“Not worth the god-powder,” Hinnit replied making the shaking and suddenly very fearful Banfidees relax slightly when she dropped her weapon as I doubt he really understood the exchange.

“I have my knife, sir?” came the reply in slightly aggrieved tones.

“Oh if you must, Teali. But make it quick,” Hinnit replied giving us a sly wink.

Banfidees scrambled back a look of terror on his face as Teali drew her combat knife and advanced upon him.

I did note Morgana passing a spell to enable the Tuathans to understand Teali’s speech. We waited to see what humiliation she intended to perform upon him. The young man nearly passed out when Hinnit threw a knife that sliced into the ground roughly a millimetre from his crotch.

“Fair’s fair, Teali,” he murmured, getting a nod from the woman.

“Pick the knife up, Banfidees, and defend the honour of your house,” Ferrimoot stated harshly. “After all, you started this.”

“But, Uncle,” he gasped out.

“No buts, this is the result of speaking without thinking, of assuming superiority through race or gender and the idiocy of trying to disarm a trained warrior under arms, woman or not,” Ferrimoot replied.

“I demand a champion,” Banfidees squealed out.

“What on planète for, you’re a Tuathan facing a woman from another Planète!” said one of the Tuathans in contemptuous tones and a sly grin.

“Quite right, Adjutant-Chef Kordanta,” Ferrimoot acknowledged.

“Uncle, please. I appeal to you!” Banfidees cried out.

“You don’t appeal to me at all. Try my wife, she foisted you on me to prevent a horsewhipping for getting the miller’s daughter pregnant,” Ferrimoot replied with contempt.

“But she was a commoner and my uncle was going to force me to marry her!” Banfidees retorted.

“Yes? And? You were the one who got her pregnant, you should have paid the price,” Ferrimoot replied. “To be honest, the miller told his father that he didn’t want that useless waste of space in his family anyway,” he added as an aside to Morgana.

“Can’t say I blame him. Not like Banfidees is doing the fighting spirit of the Tuathans any great favours today either,” Morgana murmured in return.

“Not too sure. Not as if we have had a great run of success over the last few centuries, is it?” he chuckled.

“True, he certainly isn’t showing any signs of turning that around either,” Morgana replied with a grin.

“Given the chance Murias will secede from that abortive union. Would have by now if these bloody Nephilim and Sidhe hadn’t stuck their noses into our business,” Ferrimoot admitted. “We learned some bitter lessons from that Mazdani abortion.”

“Surprised it took you so long,” Morgana replied.

“Needed to rebuild, couldn’t have done it whilst fighting the other three Planètes,” Ferrimoot acknowledged.

“Very wise,” Morgana acknowledged as we waited to see if Banfidees would pick up the knife.

“If we do, I don’t suppose the Mages of Earth would acknowledge our independence?” he asked quizzically.