The Fifth Beast (ManxMan Chinese/Celtic Fantasy Story)

Chapter 41

Faolan Three Swords took with him only his personal retinue — the same fifteen warriors who accompanied him in Airenn. Well, at least Niall had guessed it was the case when half a dozen faces seemed familiar to him (not counting, of course, the red-haired half-blooded giant, he would never forget that one for sure!).

At Fao's saddle, except for a shield, a bow and a quiver with arrows, there was a pole with a wolf's skull raised on it. The pole was decorated with white tufts of horsehair, white feathers, and stripes of silver brocade. Apparently, some kind of a personal banner. If Niall's memory served him right, in Mengyu it was called bunchuk. He recalled that he had already seen this barbaric piece of décor before, somewhere in the Yuizhen's mansion in Khanbaliq, either at the gate, or in the courtyard where the soldiers trained.

Niall swore under his breath when he saw that Fao was dressed again in nothing but leather pants. He didn't even put on his bracers, poser! Or did he hope that the sight of his half-naked body would act like a weapon against Niall? Niall swallowed. Yeah, the weapon worked quite nice. Just looking at those delicious dark nipples made Niall salivate.

Niall accelerated and stripped off all his armor, nearly breaking the straps Sencha had fastened so painstakingly on him before. It wouldn't do to appear in full armor in front of a half-naked unarmed barbarian — as if the Lord of Lightning was afraid of him! Niall left everything in the gate tower, from which he watched the approaching envoys. He sped up, rushed into the bedroom and found the dress cotta of the Steward of the North, with his coat of arms. Then he changed his mind, threw it aside and put on another, simpler one, so that Fao would not think that Niall had dressed up specially for him. Thank Goddess Danu for his magical power, all of this took less than ten minutes.

The Yuizhen left his retinue at about an arrow's flight distance from the gates. They dismounted, sat down on the ground, cross-legged, demonstrating in every possible way that their intentions were peaceful. Niall didn't buy it at all: everyone had bows and arrows, they could have jumped into the saddle in a split second. Fao himself took off his shield, bow and quiver from his saddle, unfastened the straps holding the scabbards of his two swords behind his back, handed the weapons to his brother, and rode on alone.

Niall grinned and ordered the portcullis to be raised and the drawbridge lowered. For all the treasures in the world, he would not miss the opportunity to meet Fao face to face again. Not entirely alone, of course, but if they hadn't yelled, neither his own warriors nor the barbarians would hear. But if Niall let Fao near the moat and talked to him in a load voice from the bridge above the gates, the whole castle would hear.

Niall posted the most skilled archers on the bridge and on the towers, strictly forbidding them to be the first to let their arrows fly. Only if the barbarians attacked or Niall gave the command. He also put a line of spearmen behind the gates, just in case. Maybe the negotiations were just a ruse, and they would try and take the gates by force. He took a couple of deep breaths, calming his nerves, ducked under the portcullis, which was just beginning to rise, and ran up on the drawbridge, still almost vertical.

Faolan Three Swords had just arrived at the moat, jumped off his horse, and tied it to a fence post. Niall hoped that his own appearance was spectacular: the drawbridge fell right in front of the barbarian, and on its edge there was Niall Mac Nechtan, Lord of Lightning standing, in his cotta of silver silk with hoarfrost patterns, his thin waist hugged with a silver-plated belt, and on his wrist a silver bracelet inlaid with turquoise. Niall casually pulled back his sleeve so that the bracelet was visible. Then he remembered that the Kirinches called a cotta "women's dress", and his narcissistic mood faded somewhat.

Something flickered in Fao's violet eyes — something akin to surprise, or maybe approval? Niall didn't have time to see. Then Fao did something completely unexpected. He bowed (not very low, though, rather like an equal, out of courtesy) and said in Gaelic, "Greetings, Niall Mac Nechtan, Lord of Lightning, Steward of the North of the blessed realm of Mag Tuired, owner of Sliabh Mis Castle! I, Faolan Three Swords, the Yuizhen of the Kirinches, have arrived with peaceful intentions, on important business."