A Soul of Steel

by Troy A Hill

  Gwen came down a few moments later. She spoke quietly with the kitchen girls, then came to join us by the hearth

  “He’s awake and moving, but very slowly.” She said. “We’ve changed the bandages on his wounds, and Rhian and Cadoc are helping him dress. I told him he could come downstairs if he promised to eat only broth and drink only water.”

  Emlyn stood. A rare look of worry crossed his normally expressionless face.

  “I will help Cadoc make sure he makes it down the stairs safely.” I knew he wouldn’t be convinced his brother was awake until he saw it himself.

  There was an undercurrent of excitement among the dozens of townsfolk who lived on the hilltop. To see the Lord of Penllyn awake and moving after his injury would ease some tension of the last few days. Heads swivelled toward the stairs a few minutes later.

  Bleddyn, dressed in tunic and trousers with soft leather boots, leaned heavily on his son and Emlyn. They made their way down the stairs at the end of the great hall. Everyone in the hall stood as he reached the main floor.

  “Oh, stop that,” Bleddyn said. “I’m not dead yet.” He groused, then winked at the kitchen girls.

  He made his way to his favourite chair by the round stone hearth. A small fire danced there. One of the small logs burned through as Bleddyn stepped near. The cascade of falling coals sent several sparks up into the air as though the keep was celebrating his return.

  Bleddyn eased himself down into his favourite chair and cast a tired, yet mischievous grin at Ruadh and I. There was a glint in his eyes, but his face appeared older, and more tired than normal.

  Gwen and Rhian headed back to the kitchen. “Only water,” Gwen called out as she disappeared through the doorway.

  Ruadh glanced at the women, then handed my cup to Bleddyn, who made a sour face until he raised it close enough to smell the ale in it.

  “Mair have only water in her cup, ye know,” Ruadh said as Bleddyn tilted the cup back and drank it down. Emlyn and I chuckled. Rhian brought out a bowl and set it next to Bleddyn. Steam rose from the ripples of the broth.

  “Let it cool, dear” his wife said.

  “You’d think I forgot how to eat.” He said, then his eyes narrowed as he looked toward me.

  “They said I’ve been asleep two, almost three days. Is that right Lady Mair?” his tone was serious, yet jovial. “They might lie to me, but you wouldn’t, would you?”

  He let it hang for a second, then grinned. A two day nap had not dulled his wit. I laughed and rose so I could give him a light hug kiss his forehead.

  “We are glad you are awake, my friend.” I said and returned to my seat.

  “I’m glad you’re my friend,” he said. “I’ve been told it was you that took blows meant for my son, then drove the creature out of the cave.”

  I didn’t want to speak. His tone was too serious.

  “That is twice you’ve helped me and my kin in dangerous situations. You’ve placed yourself in peril to protect my family,” Bleddyn said. “We have a gift for you, one I believe you have earned.”

  Cadoc reached into a leather satchel. He handed me a rolled document.

  “The Lord and Lady of Penllyn,” Cadoc said, “would like to present you with land on the edges of that which was given to Enid and I on our wedding day. It’s a small holding, with only three share-lands there instead of the normal four. But one we all hope that you’ll find comfortable for when you wish to be away from Caer Penllyn.”

  “Welcome to the cantref we hope you will keep as your home, Lady Mair,” Enid said.

  I rose slowly. My hand reached out and took the document.

  “Thank you, milords, and ladies…” I could barely see them, as tears welled in my eyes. I reached out to hug Cadoc and Enid.

  Bleddyn rose, Rhian now at his side. I wrapped my arms around them. Bleddyn patted me on the back. Rhian hugged me back, and kissed me on the cheek, then on the side of my neck.

  I glanced at her. There had been a hint of her teeth in that last kiss. She used the sleeve of her dress, the same red dress I had borrowed from her, to wipe the tears from my cheeks.

  Ruadh and Emlyn both rose to congratulate me. After we had all taken our seats again, I dabbed at my eyes with a dark cloth Gwen passed me.

  “My friend,” Lord Penllyn said to Ruadh, “when you leave the abbey for good, we have land for you here in Penllyn as well.”

  “You be giving away all your land, you won’ be Lord Penllyn long,” Ruadh rumbled with a big grin.

  “Our borders are rather sketchy, right now.” Cadoc said. “We’ve let some landholders on our eastern border expand if they pass half as much land back to Penllyn.”

  We continued our conversation and filled Bleddyn in on the details of the past two days, including Rhys’ funeral and our run-in with the Witch Hunters. Our conversation continued for several hours. Eventually, only Gwen, Rhian and I were still up with Bleddyn. Even Emlyn announced defeat.

  “I can’t stay awake as long as a man who’s napped for two days straight,” he said. “Wake me if you need help to get him upstairs.”

  “I can manage,” I said. With my undead strength, I could carry Lord Penllyn to his chamber if he needed me to.

  Emlyn headed out into the night with a promise to meet me before the sun rose. We would dance again.

  Gwen I sat with the Lord and Lady Penllyn as Bleddyn sat and held his mug of water. His fingers slowly rotated it in his grip. His eyes stared into the fire that crackled in the round, stone lined hearth. Grey smoke wafted into dark gloom overhead, toward the smoke hole in the tile roof.

  “I fear,” he said, “that whatever evil awaits is about to take shape.”

  “Me too,” I said, my voice quiet in the empty great hall. “I have that everything is too good, and something is about to smack me sensation.”

  He sat and stared into the red coals. Two thin, mostly burned logs that were all that was left the night’s fire. He pushed the empty bowl away from him. He finished three of the bowls and drank several cups of water this evening.

  “I pray we don’t get fire and death, this time,” he whispered. The top log in the fire split, sparks and flames leapt for a few seconds. Rhian rose and slid a hand across his shoulder.

  “Come, milord husband. Off to bed with you,” she said. Together, we helped the unsteady lord to his feet. He took Rhian’s arm, but kept his other arm draped across my shoulders. I let the Lord of Penllyn lean on me as we climbed the stairs. That’s what friends do, I thought. We support each other.

  42

  Claws Again

  Emlyn joined me on the practice field after he awoke. Once he had the tripods with oil lamps lit, we danced our dance of blades. We danced until the red of the sun impeded on the mists that coated the hilltop. We danced until Enid and Sawyl made their way up the path to the practice field as the sun peeked above the hills to the east. I hated to let go of the rhythm and flow of the movements. But we each had our duties to attend to. Emlyn left me with my students and headed back to the keep.

  After my lesson, I went to my cottage. There I changed out of my sword clothes, and had Soul belted to my hip again. The morning fog still hung around on the hilltop. The keep loomed out the mists as I approached it. Gwen sat on a bench outside, on the porch. She already had her plate of food, and took the last bite of her piece of bread as I walked up.

  “Bleddyn is inside, holding court,” she said. Her eyes twinkled in their lightest blue. Her happy colour.

  “Is that what he calls it? Or is he trying to get Ruadh to sneak him more ale?”

  “He didn’t!”

  I ignored her glare and headed inside. Several of the grooms and kitchen women sat around the lord of Penllyn. He chatted with them, and inquired about how his favourite horse was. My new groom friend Parry bounced his head excitedly and explained how they had cared for the animals.

  I came around behind Bleddyn’s chair, after he glanced at me. I leaned forward, draped my arms around him, and kisse
d his stubbled cheek. Rhian didn’t trust him with a knife on his face yet. He patted my hand, then begged the others to excuse him, and pulled me around to a chair by him.

  Gwen took a chair vacated by the grooms.

  “Did you come with a mission? Or are you here to fill your cup and let me have a drink?” He winked as Gwen glared at me.

  “You’re getting me in trouble,” I said, and got my embroidery from atop the cupboard.

  Once the great hall had emptied, and the kitchen girls had taken the remains of the morning’s meal away, he glanced around and sighed.

  “I’ve now had two great injuries in my life,” he said. Rhian sat in the chair next to him.

  “Now, I’m preparing as much as I can for Cadoc and Enid to assume management of the land when I’m finally gone,” he said. “Fortunately, I now know that the special friends I seem to have collected over the years are here to make sure that when that day comes, my son will have the best of advisors.”

  “You’re not dead yet,” I said. “Why so morose?”

  “You are wise, and correct,” he said. “Better to talk of today. What plans have you?”

  “I’m not sure. What kind of care do I need to give to this estate you’ve gifted me with?”

  “Little,” she said. “If you let my son manage it for you. It’s next to his holdings, and small. He’s been overseeing that area for several years now.”

  “Then I shall ask him when I next see him,” I said. “However, if there are people working in my name, I will need to get to know them.”

  “I would have it no other way,” Bleddyn said. “Perhaps once I am recovered, we can plan time to make the journey to view your estate, and then go visit Meirionnydd. I hear Caerwyn has a new batch of mead he’s quite proud of.”

  He reached out and patted my knee.

  “Don’ worry lass,” he said, his voice deep like Ruadh’s “I be drinking your share for you.”

  We made small talk about the cantref and people in it for the next few hours. Rhian and Gwen excused themselves and drifted away on errands. Rhian sent out another bowl of broth, and a hunk of bread for Bleddyn. We whiled away the time with conversation. He told me more about the people of his land, and filled in the details of whom his main landholders were, where their estates were, and what each was like.

  From where I sat, I could see out the front door, and the unshuttered windows that allowed the summer breeze to filter through the large building. Lord Penllyn entertained himself in the quiet moments by whistling tunes. I rather enjoyed them, even though he wasn’t trying to entertain anyone other than himself. My mind wandered for a time, lost in my own thoughts. I didn’t realise he had spoken.

  “You’re staring off into the distance and ignoring me,” Bleddyn said as he touched my arm.

  “I’m sorry…” I said. “It’s been so very long since I’ve had a home, and people who knew…” I trailed off, not wanting say: who knew what I am.

  He patted my arm.

  “I am happy that you are home, my friend.” He said, his voice soft. A shadow slid in front of us. Emlyn approached.

  “We’ve just had a rider come in,” he said. “You’ll want to hear his report in your rooms.” Bleddyn raised an eyebrow.

  “So much for a quiet recovery,” he said.

  We helped Bleddyn climb the stairs. He kept most of his weight off me, and relied more on Emlyn. His breath wheezed out of him by the time he reached the landing at the top of the stairs. He winced with every step he took. We got him into his room and seated. Emlyn left to get the others. I sat by a window and moved my needle and thread into the sleeve again. Rhian and Gwen were the first to drift in. Cadoc and Emlyn entered, followed by Ruadh and another man. Emlyn closed the door behind them.

  The newcomer was dressed in leathers, and a sword hung from his left hip. One of the wide bladed Celtic ones popular here. Emlyn and I preferred longer, thinner versions of the blade. He bowed low to Bleddyn.

  “Steffan, is it not?” Bleddyn asked the man. The man nodded.

  “He came from the northern end of Penllyn, toward the borderlands,” Cadoc said.

  “Milord, we’ve got a beast roaming the upper end of Penllyn,” the guard said. “In Dinmael near the Mercian borderlands.”

  “One in the central part too.” Bleddyn said as he touched his injured side.

  Steffan cocked his head, puzzled.

  “We were attacked in the borderlands. Tell us what you know,” Bleddyn said, and motioned the guardsman to continue.

  “As I rode through, I noticed a farmhouse with no smoke from the smoke hole. I stopped to see what I could find. The sheep in the pens had been slaughtered. A score or more of them, dead. One or two had been drug off. I didn’t track them.”

  I kept my eyes on the guardsman. I knew was about to come.

  “Inside the farmhouse, they were dead. Both of them,” he said. “Probably a day. Might have happened the night before I got there. The man and his woman had claw marks across their bodies. Fortunately, no young’uns around. An older couple.” He swallowed, and his eyes shifted nervously around the room.

  “The tracks,” Emlyn said.

  “I found tracks near the sheep pen,” Steffan said, “and near the house. Looked like bear tracks.”

  Bleddyn and I exchanged glances. We heard exactly what we expected.

  “But, they were different,” he continued. “I’ve tracked bear before… these were odd. Weight on the front of the back feet, but no front paws. Almost like it was only walking on its toes.”

  When a shifter was in half-beast form, it didn’t have fully formed feet. Instead, it was in-between form. The raised rear of the foot wouldn’t contact the ground. We had just seen plenty of them near the cave where Bleddyn was attacked.

  “What did you do next?” Lord Penllyn asked.

  “I … I went down the road, and found the next family. They was alive, and hadn’t heard a thing,” Steffan said. “We went back and buried the man and woman. The other farmer said he’d salvage what he could from the sheep. He wanted me to send the next fellow down the road to help him. I did, then rode straight here.”

  “When did you leave to come here?” Rhian asked.

  “Last night, milady,” Steffan said. “I rode as far as I could, slept only a few hours until the sun rose, and kept riding.”

  “Was there anymore?” he glanced at Emlyn, who shook his head.

  “No, milord.”

  “Thank you, Steffan,” Bleddyn nodded at him. “Go get some food. We’ll have more questions later, I’m sure.” The guardsman stood and bowed toward Bleddyn and headed downstairs.

  43

  Change of Plans

  “Your thoughts?” Bleddyn asked the room after Steffan left.

  “Aye, could be da beastie Mair and I chased off the other night,” Ruadh volunteered. “But, I need to get his scent to know for sure.” He looked at Gwen. “Can you get me there today?” She gave a nod, but shifted her eyes toward Bleddyn.

  “We need to investigate, and know for sure if this is the same one, or if we have multiple beasts,” Bleddyn said.

  “I’ll go with them,” Emlyn said. I raised my eyebrow.

  “Why you?” Rhian asked.

  “Gwen and Mair can speak across long distances,” he said. “Ruadh and I can fight as well as he and Mair, but with Mair here, you’ll know what is occurring.”

  “What if the beast injures you?” Rhian asked. “The curse…”

  “If Gwen is able, I’ll rely on her aid to stop the curse. If she’s not able, we won’t be coming back.”

  “That is wise,” Bleddyn said. “Let Steffan get some food and see if he is awake enough to go back with you.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Emlyn said. “Any chance of taking horses through?”

  “It takes some effort to open the portal,” Gwen said. “The longer I hold it open the more I have to channel. Each creature that goes through takes energy.” She must have noticed my frown at that
statement.

  “I was so worn out from healing,” Gwen said and gave me a sheepish grin. “I wasn’t sure I could get the four of us through the other night. We should see if Mair’s connection to The Lady will allow her the same ability.”

  “We’ll meet in the grove in about an hour?” Emlyn asked. Gwen agreed.

  “Very well,” Bleddyn said. “Get what you need, find Steffan and head out.”

  Gwen and I went back to the cottage, where she packed a travel bag.

  “You think I can open the portal?” I asked.

  “We won’t know until we try,” she replied with a shrug. “You’ve shown an ability to gather and hold the divine energy. You pushed it into your sword when you fought the creature. And, you said the connection was stronger after The Lady pulled you into the mists after the battle.”

  “I’ll try,” I said. “I won’t hope for much.”

  Once we had reached the hilltop, she had me place my hand behind hers as she touched the tree and channelled The Lady’s energy into its life-force. I sensed how she blended the two energies, magic and the tree’s own life energy to part the veil between our world and the Otherworld. The bark of the tree seemed to melt before us as the fiery red slit appeared. I watched with my otherworldly senses, and saw how she controlled the size and shape of the slit.

  Gwen opened the slit wide enough for us and motioned me through. She stepped in behind me.

  “Just a short trip. I can sense where we’re going.” Gwen led the way for about twenty paces through the mists between the worlds. Another shadowy tree shaped appeared before us. Again, I placed my hand on hers. I needed to sense how she channelled The Lady’s power and mixed it with the tree’s energy to open another portal. We stepped out in a grove at the base of the hill on which Caer Penllyn stood. Where she, Ruadh and I had arrived through the mists the day before the wedding.

  We repeated the process. I used my mind, and the magical senses the goddess had unlocked in me to observe the process through both sight and touch. We retraced our steps through the mists and returned to the grove inside the Caer Penllyn.