Giordi’s bravery had all but ebbed by the time he reached the gate. He had taken Revna’s place in punishment out of instinct, believing it was what he owed her. Now, with hands tied together and being led onto the prairie out of the safety of the palisade, he could feel his knees quaking.

  He wasn’t brave.

  He wasn’t noble…normally.

  This act of self sacrifice was entirely out of character for him.

  And when he caught sight of the post, his knees failed him altogether, his body sagging into a pile, his breathing becoming so rapid he thought he might do the unthinkable and faint.

  A hand grasped his tunic and lifted him up, the silver eyes of Chief Elk like steel into his soul. “If you are going to salvage my daughter’s honour,” he ordered, “you do so on your feet.”

  Giordi somehow managed to stumble after him, realising that Elk was not dragging him to the post. The rope hung slackly between them. Elk walked to the post, whip in his hand and turned to Giordi.

  The minstrel was shaking violently, looking at the post and imagining how many souls had been bound to it in the past that had not survived. There was a metal ring which Chief Elk tied the rope to, pulling it tight so that Giordi had no choice but to stand with his arms stretched high. All he could see was the post, the vertical grain of wood and out of the corner of his eye, the sunset.

  “By Terra…by Maul…by all the stars in the sky over beloved Astaril…” Giordi whimpered.

  “For Revna…”

  Giordi’s body jolted as the whip ends, tipped with pieces of sharpened bone, struck his back. The violence of the blow came a split second before the inevitable and undeniable pain. Giordi cried out, pressing his face to the post, trying to silence his agony. Then there was a second blow and a third and a fourth, Giordi’s body screaming in pain to which he could only howl, unable not to. He couldn’t be noble and keep silent. He couldn’t keep it in. He sent out a brief, silent prayer that Revna could not hear what he was going through when the whip struck him again and again and again. Giordi’s screams barely paused, one blending into the next just like the blows of the whip. There was no end, only pain and its voice.

  Giordi sobbed, pulling at the rope, his head down, his chest heaving in sorrow that tried to snap him in two. He hadn’t even noticed that the whipping had stopped. The rope holding him up slackened and he fell to his knees, still bound to the post but no longer forced to stand. Giordi creaked and groaned, his body shaking.

  Chief Elk knelt beside him. “Thank you.” He whispered then left.

  Giordi was alone.

  The sun was sinking rapidly now as if wanting to escape the day as much as he did. But when it was gone, he would still be there. He could already hear the howls of creatures in the shadows, just waiting for darkness to fall in its entirety before coming for him. His back, which had been just one, hot scorching, searing terrible agony, was now lines of pain and coldness. Blood was no doubt covering his back, splatters of it over his arms. It was as though he was pierced with dozens of splinters of glass.

  Giordi had never known anything like it.

  “Revna is safe. The baby is safe.” He chanted to himself. “Revna is safe. The baby is safe. I’m going to die but at least they’re safe.”

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  No doubt everyone was staring at him, bloodied and broken, from the safety of the palisade. Giordi knew he must have made a pathetic spectacle.

  But he couldn’t be brave or bold or noble.

  His life had rarely had any meaning.

  Perhaps his death would finally make his life worth something.

  He shivered, his body convulsing in shock and from the cold and then the pain would return in force from its constant hum of agony.

  Somewhere, behind the thunderous noise that was the clamour of his mind, he thought he heard footsteps and the light scrape of metal. Giordi knew he must be imagining it but when the steps came closer and stopped nearby, he couldn’t help but peer up at the figure, darkly shaded in the fading light.

  “Judd?” He croaked through a raw throat. “What…are you…”

  “I’m going to stand watch.” Giordi’s mind was cloudy and struggled to understand. “I spoke with Chief Bear about nomad law. I’m not permitted to sever the bonds until dawn but, as it turns out, there’s no law against someone standing out here in defence of the condemned.”

  “Judd,” Giordi whispered, “they’ll close the gate...you’ll be out here all night. You can’t…”

  Judd turned and looked at Giordi, compassion and admiration in his eyes. “And I can’t let your sacrifice go undefended.”

  Tears emptied out of Giordi’s eyes, streaming down his face. “I thought I was going to die alone…” He sobbed.

  “You’re not going to die.” Suvau’s deep, rich voice reached Giordi and he twisted and saw the dark skinned man with a mace in one hand and shield in the other.

  “And you’re certainly not alone.” Verne added, bow in hand, setting two quivers of arrows down near the post.

  Giordi wanted to be brave and to tell them to return to the safety of the palisade but he couldn’t muster the selflessness to do so. He didn’t want to be alone. He didn’t want to listen to the terrors of the night as they began to swarm, each of them eager to consume him.

  “There goes the sun.”

  Giordi lifted his head and saw the last drop of gold soak into the horizon, the sky’s inevitable march towards the black of night becoming a sprint. The gate of the palisade closed, the metal latch clanging with a condemning clatter.

  “Let’s talk strategy,” Judd announced and the three mobile defenders turned to each other to convene, “I want two of us awake at all times, guarding Giordi. While we can, one of us should sleep.”

  “I can usually fall asleep anywhere.” Verne offered, removing the heavy cape from his shoulders, draping it as gently as he could around Giordi to keep him from freezing to death. He winced as Giordi whimpered, shivering mightily.

  “Suvau and I will take the first shift then.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Giordi asked with the smallest drop of mirth in his tone, his teeth clattering together like horse hooves on cobblestones.

  “Your job is to not die.”

  Giordi had been resigned that his life would end before midnight. With Judd, Verne and Suvau standing watch, he decided he had just enough nobility in him to not die. He wouldn’t want to disappoint them or make their sacrifice to be in vain.

  Aalis’ breath was like fog and she stood as a statue at the palisade, staring at the post. She couldn’t see the four men anymore. Night had lowered a veil, drowning them in darkness. But she knew they were there and from the shouts and cries she could hear, the monsters knew it too. Judd, Verne and Suvau defended vulnerable and beaten Giordi and would do so all night long.

  She scrunched her face tight and gritted her teeth. “Why would he not let me go with him?”

  Judd had emerged from the tent, buckling his armour on and clutching his helm, striding for the gate when he’d seen Aalis running to join him. The look he’d given her was as unrelenting as Elk’s glare. She had stopped running as he shook his head at her then continued out of the gate, Suvau and Verne following.

  Aalis stepped back from the palisade, folding her arms. “I should be out there.”

  “You would be no use out there.” Aalis started and looked at Caste who stood by her side. How long he’d been there for she couldn’t say. She opened her mouth to protest when he continued. “That was not accurate. What I meant to say is, you are of better use in here.”

  “What do you mean?” She demanded.

  “If Giordi survives the night, and knowing Judd’s stubbornness, Verne’s skill and Suvau’s strength as we do, his chances are better than most, he will need a healer. All the swords, arrows and shields in the world won’t save him if and when he develops an infection.”

  Aalis’s jaw fell open, Caste’s words stunning her.

  “You are right of course.” She shook her head. “I could be making better use of my time…thank you, Caste.” She went to walk away then paused, looking back at him. “What will you do?”

  Caste shrugged. “Count down the hours then minutes until daybreak.”

  “You will not sleep?”

  “I am not sure I could.”