The Tower and the Emerald
Page 19
Olwen’s attention was thus momentarily diverted, and when she looked back, the three figures had gone. The loft was rapidly filling with daylight and her companions were yawning and stretching near by.
By his surly behaviour the farmer made it clear that they were not invited into the house again for breakfast and, in spite of Elined’s complaints, they had to be satisfied with no more than a drink of water from the well in the yard before they set off. Olwen feared for the three infants, but the others persuaded her that there was nothing more she could do about them, and that the sooner they left this inhospitable and unpleasant place the better.
Just as they were turning through the gate, the two little girls ran up to Olwen and nervously presented her with a loaf of bread. As they ran back quickly to the farmhouse, she wondered if their grandmother knew what they had done. At least this would help to stave off their hunger for a while, but even the consolation of riding with Gerin did not set her mind at ease, and she worried silently for a long time about the lives of the three little infants, and the strange visitation she had received just before dawn. The coincidence of the supernatural figures being three young women of identical appearance with the fact that the triplets were three females did not escape her; but the significance of it she could not fathom.
* * * *
After a few hours they passed a strangely isolated hill at the top of which lay the jagged remains of a stone tower. At the foot of it they found the fallen blocks of stone of which the structure had once been made. The side of the hill was badly scarred, branches ripped off and trees uprooted.
They had noticed for some time a cloud of what appeared to be crows circling the area, but when they came nearer, they were shocked to find the creatures were like nothing they had ever seen before.
At first they seemed to hover over the place in distracted bewilderment, rather as wasps hover around the place where their nest was located before it was destroyed. But by the time Gerin’s little group approached, they had set about trying to rebuild their ‘nest’. Many had alighted on the fallen blocks and were tugging frantically at them, trying to free them from the creepers and vines that were already growing over them. Some even managed to lift the lighter blocks between them to the top of the hill.
‘What are they?’ muttered Rheged in fascinated disgust. They paused to watch, though their instincts told them that infernal work was being done and that they should get as far away as possible while they still could. But suddenly they themselves were noticed and a swarm of the revolting creatures came crowding around them. The horses reared in panic. Gerin and Olwen managed to hold on, but Rheged and the other two were thrown, their steeds dashing away riderless.
Some of the creatures pursued Gerin and Olwen as they fled, trying to get a grip on their hair or clothes to drag them off the horse. With one arm Gerin held firmly to Olwen and the reins, while with the other he took out his knife and slashed about in the air.
‘Keep down!’ Gerin cried, pushing her closer to the horse’s neck, his own body covering hers protectively. He stabbed wildly at one of the creatures that had sunk its fangs into the horse’s ear. Another fastened on his own neck, and he flapped at it angrily but could not dislodge it. He felt a sudden searing pain and was overcome by dizziness. His vision seemed to darken round the edges and gradually reduce to a pinpoint. Olwen felt his body go slack on hers and its weight increased so that however much she struggled and twisted she could not free herself to reach the creature that was sucking his blood.
As Gerin weakened other creatures managed to get a grip on him, and she knew that if she did not do something soon he would be dragged off the horse.
Desperately her thoughts darted hither and thither seeking a solution. Then she remembered the little purse of medicinal herbs at her waist, including some in powdered form. She struggled to find the bag and loosened the cord that held it closed. Then she twisted herself around as far as she could and flung the contents into the air, hoping that some would land in the eyes of their vile assailants. Her ruse must have been successful, for she heard shrieks and screams, and many of their pursuers fell back in panic. Then the creature fastened on Gerin’s neck loosened its grip and went into convulsions.
For a while they were still pursued, but their tormentors were less persistent than before, and easier to fight off. Some began to flail about helplessly, as though losing strength and momentum when further away from their fellows. She dreaded to think what might have happened to her other companions – but at least she and Gerin had broken free. Soon the last creature turned from them and began to wing its way heavily back towards the hill. It did not get far before it flapped and floundered and finally dropped to the ground.
Gerin and Olwen clung together, shivering with relief. He even kissed her, asking again and again if she were all right.
‘Yes . . . yes . . .’ she insisted breathlessly. ‘And you? We must stop and attend to your neck.’ She could feel blood oozing from his wound. He was deathly pale.
Gerin staggered as his feet touched the ground, but Olwen managed to hold him up. She guided him to a stream and bathed his wound. There were four neat holes in his neck, and a smear of blood – both his own red blood, and the creature’s disgusting green slime. After she had washed the strange wound thoroughly, she sucked out the venom and then insisted that he lie down and rest for a while.
‘We must go back to find the others,’ he muttered, trying to rise. But he fell back again immediately. She pillowed his head in her lap and stroked his thick black hair.
‘The sooner you sleep, the sooner you’ll recover,’ she whispered.
His eyes closed, and she began to sing a lullaby she had known as a child:
The Lady is green
who watches the cradle.
The Lady is green
who sings you this song.
The fruit on the table,
the flour in the mill.
The Lady lives long
who lives in the hill.
His breathing became even and she leant down to kiss his forehead. He smiled sleepily, but did not open his eyes.
* * * *
But it was Neol and his men who found Elined, Cai and Rheged. Alerted by Kicva, they were on their way to raid the farmhouse when they came upon the three toiling up a hill with large blocks of stone. For some mysterious reason of their own, the black winged creatures were nowhere in sight as Neol approached the hill. He halted his men at once and called out to his sister. But she took no notice, and merely continued to try to roll a heavy block up the steep slope. Her hair hung in damp strings around her shoulders, her clothes were in shreds, and her face was very, very pale.
‘Elined!’ Neol snapped, and gestured for his escort to dismount and seize the two men, who were equally dishevelled, equally absorbed in their work. He himself climbed down and went straight to his sister. Even when he touched her arm she took no notice of him. None of the three seemed to see Neol and his men, but continued mechanically trying to shift their stones even when they were held pinioned. Their eyes were glazed and unseeing.
Neol stared at the strange puncture marks on his sister’s cheek, on her bare shoulder and her arm. When the two men were brought over to him he found similar marks on their flesh, too.
His men were now muttering uneasily to each other, terrified by what they saw. It was as though the three were dead yet still moving.
‘Here is sorcery,’ Neol said to Kicva at his side. ‘What do you make of it?’
But even she was silenced by the sight.
Swiftly he turned the party about and commanded that they make all speed for his father’s house.
* * * *
As it happened Olwen, keeping watch beside the sleeping Gerin, saw the party of Neol’s horsemen riding by – Cai, Elined and Rheged with them.
* * * *
When Gerin and Olwen finally reached the Community of the Fish, Viviane flung her arms around Olwen and hugged her close. Then she stoo
d on tiptoe to kiss Gerin on the cheek. Olwen turned quickly away so as not to see his expression.
Hearing the commotion, Caradawc joined them, greeting his old friend with enthusiasm. But Gerin drew back abruptly, eyeing him suspiciously.
‘Don’t worry,’ smiled Viviane. ‘This time it really is Caradawc!’
Then came the explanations all round, the news, the wild suggestions as to what they should do next. They talked deep into the night. Father Brendan joined them from time to time. He knew enough of their story to understand what they had to do, and he was content that they should use his community as a place to rest and plan.
Idoc, however, represented more of a problem for him. He brooded in the chamber they had assigned to him, hunched in the corner . . . speaking only to himself . . .
‘What journey is this they speak of – those who drift by on wings of light? Have I not been on a journey too . . . a journey into darkness?
My heart is lead . . . long has it lost its ability to feel . . . Will her alchemy turn it into gold . . . will her heart carry me away from this dolorous place?
She loves me still . . .
I can see it . . . I can feel it . . .
Fiann, more beautiful than the sunlight through leaves . . . more secret and precious than the white seed in the sacred grove . . .
Fiann who brought me joy and brought me sorrow . . .
Fiann who loved and does not love . . .’
Brendan became so anxious about him that at length he went to Viviane and put his fears into words.
‘If you’re serious about helping him, you shouldn’t leave him so much alone.’
‘I hoped that you would talk to him, Father,’ she said. ‘Your words would surely be a thousand times more effective than any words of mine.’
Brendan shook his head. ‘You’re wrong. He isn’t ready for what I have to say. He hates me and everything I stand for. The only thing that’s keeping him here is his love for you – his wanting to be near you. That must be the life-line until he can understand the choices he has to make, and what is at stake if he succeeds or fails.’
‘I can’t be with him all the time,’ Viviane protested impatiently. ‘How can I? It would not be fair to Caradawc.’
‘I only ask it for now: until Idoc has found again his own reasons for living. He has lost the motive that sustained him for centuries: the desire for vengeance. It had taken him over completely until everything else in him had shrivelled away. Only his love for you, princess, was left – a tenuous thread, but a thread of hope nonetheless. We must build on that.’
‘’We?’ asked Viviane hopefully. ‘Are you going to help?’
‘Am I not already helping?’
She flushed. ‘I’m sorry. I meant . . .’
‘I know what you meant. No, I’m not coming with you to search for the emerald, but I’ll always be here if you need me.’
Caradawc was furious on hearing Father Brendan’s recommendations.
‘How can I live with my wife with that . . . that shadow always beside us?’ he demanded.
‘The wedding vows were taken by Idoc – not by you,’ Brendan said quietly.
The four friends looked startled. ‘What are you saying?’ Caradawc almost shouted, while Viviane turned white.
Brendan continued calmly. ‘I am saying that Viviane has undertaken a task, and she must not be hindered in carrying it out. If you love her . . .’
‘Of course I love her. I have always loved her! She is mine!’ yelled Caradawc.
Brendan said nothing more, but turned on his heel and walked from the room.
There followed a long, uncomfortable silence.
It was Viviane who broke it by bursting into floods of tears – sobbing out that the task was far too difficult for her, and that no one could reasonably hold her to it. The men immediately agreed with her.
Olwen alone remained silent. It was not until the tears had stopped flowing and the protestations had played themselves out, that she finally spoke.
‘It seems to me,’ she suggested, ‘though the task is difficult, it’s not impossible. We all know in our hearts that we cannot walk away from it. So why don’t we just get on with it: the four of us, together?’
Viviane sighed and looked at the others. But they all knew that Olwen was right.
* * * *
In Huandaw’s fortress the strangely inanimate Elined had been put to bed. Several of her women kept watch, with instructions not to leave her alone for a moment. Cai and Rheged had been roughly hurled into a dark cell, and the door bolted on them. They lay where they had landed on the dusty floor, seeming unaware of where they were.
Meanwhile on the hill where Neol had found them, three figures still toiled . . . Then the three became six . . . The tower rose, stone by stone, its dark and malevolent shadow growing longer every hour.
* * * *
Kicva fretted through the night, knowing her own future rested on whether she could bring Elined back to normality. She tried incantations, infusions of herb smoke, vile liquids for Elined to drink: but nothing worked. She hung the girl with talismans, but still there was no change and she could find no answer.
Huandaw hardly left his daughter’s side, watching with impatience Kicva’s vain attempts to rouse her from that strange trance-like state. Neol strode in at intervals – his expression growing darker with every visit. Occasionally he took a lamp to inspect Cai and Rheged in their dingy and airless cell – and always found them in the same state. They, too, were breathing husks from which the soul seemed to have departed.
Kicva finally deduced that the weird puncture holes in Elined’s flesh must have been caused by some vampire-like creature which had sucked away her soul as well as her blood – and that only by capturing that creature would she have a chance of reversing the baleful influence.
She summoned Neol and urged that an armed party be sent to scour the place where the three had been found, in search of any sign of fiend or goblin. She would accompany them and be ready to act as soon as one was captured.
The search party was being gathered when Father Brendan suddenly arrived. He had come at Viviane’s request to inquire about Cai and Rheged, and was shocked when told how the three had been found. He visited Elined first and then was taken to Cai and Rheged. When he saw how the latter were treated, he demanded that they be brought out into the light and properly cared for.
Brendan spent some time in meditation and prayer at the bedside of each of the three in turn. Huandaw and Neol, watching him, gradually grew more and more impatient. They had expected great things because Brendan had a reputation as a miracle-worker and a saint – but nothing seemed to be happening.
Eventually Neol could stand it no longer and beckoned Kicva out of the room. ‘I’m going to send out a party of armed men to try to capture one of them as you suggested,’ he said. ‘Will you ride with them?’
‘Of course, my lord.’ Kicva was delighted that Neol now seemed to favour her over the priest, and hurried after his striding figure. In the yard men were soon falling in at his command and there was much bustle and confusion as wives and children milled around to find out what was happening. Neol deliberately did not inform them: they would not be happy if they knew that their men were going out after demons.
They were already mounted when Father Brendan joined them, having heard what they intended. Neol grudgingly agreed that he should accompany them, and the party set off, the abbot’s ungainly figure almost dwarfing his little mare. Kicva made sure she rode ahead with Neol lest he forget that they had set off on her suggestion.
The men began to mutter uneasily when they recognized the route they were taking, and many of them bunched up close to Father Brendan.
Within sight of the fateful hill Neol called a halt. From this distance they could see that a large structure had been raised on the site of the ruin. Above it, what looked like huge black birds were circling, and below it, on the slopes, crowds of human shapes were toiling.
When they were near enough to see more clearly, Kicva and Neol gasped. The men and women toiling on that hill were all in the form of Cai, Elined or Rheged: all apparently equally real, and all as dazed and entranced as the ones lying at Huandaw’s house.
‘Ah,’ muttered Brendan. ‘I thought as much.’
Neol turned to him sharply. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I suspected the three at your father’s house were not who they appeared to be,’ he said quietly. ‘I could find no trace of their souls.’
Kicva was shaken that she herself had not suspected this.
‘How will we ever be able to tell which one is my sister?’ Neol asked helplessly.
‘There is a way,’ Brendan replied thoughtfully. ‘But we have very little time.’ He moved away from them and stood very still. It was almost as though he too were in a trance.
The other two watched with dismay the doll-like figures struggling up and down the hill: Neol perhaps for the first time in his life recognizing that the physical senses are not necessarily the only judges of whether something is real or not. When he had held Elined in his arms, he could have sworn that it was she – yet it was not. He had always been so sure he understood what was going on. He had even killed because he had been so sure!
Kicva was thinking deeply too: wondering how many men and women were walking and working and moving from place to place in the world without any awareness of what they were doing and why they were doing it.
At last Brendan beckoned them to follow him. They crouched down, keeping well out of sight of the uncanny flying creatures, and made their way around the side of the hill until they came upon the entrance to a small cave. There in the womb of the earth they found Elined and Cai and Rheged lying unconscious, trussed in fine web, scarcely breathing.