Camber the Heretic

by Katherine Kurtz

  Soft footfalls jarred her speculation. Instinctively she shifted the shape on the face before her, looking up almost guiltily. But it was only Joram who approached, weary and resigned, to lay an arm around her shoulders in distracted attempt to comfort.

  She leaned her head against his chest for a moment, debating whether to tell him of her speculation. His shields loomed dull and lusterless, sealing him into his private grief, but after a few seconds she felt him relax a little, gradually admitting her to the light, superficial rapport which was their usual wont when in such close proximity. Seizing her resolution, she twisted around to glance at him sidewise.

  “Joram, look at his hands,” she whispered.

  He looked, obviously seeing only that the pall was folded back so that the hands could be seen.

  “Why? What’s wrong with his hands?”

  “Now remember Iomaire,” she murmured. “You were there. Iomaire and Ariella.…”

  She felt the rush of memory reverberate in his mind almost like a silent explosion. Staggering, he caught himself on the edge of the bier and stared at the body, balanced between horror at the audacity, the potential blasphemy of trying to deny death, and the wild hope that it just might be true. The image of Iomaire was strong in his thoughts.

  After a moment, he jerked the pall back into place over the hands and crumpled to his knees. He was trembling as he leaned his forehead against the edge of the bier between his hands, eyes tightly closed. Evaine put her arms around his shoulders from behind and leaned close against his back to comfort him, caressing and cushioning his mind from the shock still echoing at all levels.

  “It is possible, you know,” she said in a low voice. “I can’t be certain, but it’s possible. He never spoke of it much, but I know he did some investigating in the old Grecotha records. They’re scattered in various hiding places, but they can be reassembled.”

  He breathed in and out through his nose, an audible effort at control, then raised his head to stare up at the grey silhouette.

  “Can you bring him back?” he asked softly.

  “I don’t even know for certain that he did work the spell, much less whether he succeeded. He was wounded badly, though. If he is under the spell, and we tried to bring him back, we would need to have a Healer at hand immediately. That might take some doing. In any case, we first have to determine whether the spell did work, then worry about how to reverse it, if it did.” She sighed. “If it didn’t work, then he is only dead, and there’s nothing more that we can do.”

  Still uncertain, Joram shook his head forlornly, the final pretense of control dissolving as tears which he had not allowed before began to flow. As he sank back on his heels and wept, face buried in his hands, he let his sister hold him, clung to her and let her soothing presence fill him, merge with all levels in profound rapport, warring with heart, mind, and conscience in a tangle of emotion which only gradually began to sort into order. Evaine, in full communion with her brother as they had not been in a long time, held him close and let her own thoughts return to the man whose body lay on the bier above their heads.

  She did not know for certain what had happened to her father, but she intended to find out. And if there were a way to bring him back, to Heal his wounds and make him live again, to release him from that twilight state which was not death, yet not life as they had known, then she and Joram would find it, if it took them the rest of their lives.

  They would not be able to do it alone, she knew. But those whose aid they must seek need not know all. Besides herself and Joram, there was now no one else alive who knew the truth of Camber-Alister, and so it must remain. The myth of Saint Camber must be maintained. Once the Portal was finished, they would take their father’s body to a secret hiding place, even as Joram had originally told the bishops he had done at the time of Camber’s canonization, and at least that lie would be made truth. Alister Cullen could rest at last in his own right, with his beloved Jebediah at his side, and with the infant Prince Aidan—and Rhys. All of them would lie, at least for a time, in that secret and now warded Michaeline chapel where so much had started so many years ago.

  And what had started would be continued. With Camber’s body finally available, even though they hoped eventually to revive him, they had the focus for a new, small inner circle of Deryni adepts and human allies, quite apart from the foundered Camberian Council, which could assume the function filled until recently by Queron Kinevan’s Servants of Saint Camber. Even Joram, with all his scruples and moral struggles, could support this cause; for in these awful past days of the regents’ increasing madness, the extension of the long-feared reprisals and persecutions of their people, even he had come to acknowledge the importance of Camber’s sainthood. Despite the literal truth or falsehood of their father’s sanctity, Camber’s example had been a source of strength and inspiration for countless people, human and Deryni, and one which neither of them would dream of destroying. While she and her brother searched for a way to bring Camber back in fact, the secret order which they would create could be the guardians of that example, carrying on the tradition that Saint Camber was not gone, despite the bishops’ recent declaration to the contrary, and that his benevolent attention remained on Gwynedd, even beyond the death of his body.

  Let the people keep their memory of Saint Camber to sustain them. There was much through which they must be sustained, in the months and years ahead, and only slim chance that Javan or Tavis or Revan or any of the rest of them could make a major difference. And if, in the meantime, she and Joram could restore a more active Camber to them—then that, too, would be all to the good.

  She sighed and hugged her brother a little closer, a smile touching her lips as she sensed his gradual stilling, his return to the reasoned, ordered centeredness which was his usual wont, his acceptance of the future she offered. She let her mind blend with his in the comfort of their mutual resolution. For just an instant, it seemed that another presence brushed them fleetingly, like a familiar hand caressing her cheek, touching the top of his head, with a firmness which was as much a blessing as a sign of love, and far too real to be mere imagination.

  It was gone, even as they became aware of it, both of them drawing apart to look at one another in wonder. Together they rose to stand with arms intertwined around each other’s waists and gaze at the strange-familiar face of the body on the bier.

  He was with them, they knew now—perhaps not only in the sense that all the dead remain with those they love, at least in memory, but in some more tangible way. Imagination or reality, memory or perception—it hardly mattered now. Together, Camber and his children had begun a task more than a decade ago. Together, they had seen it through the years and through the sacrifices, and together they would see it through the future, as long as they were able. Evaine and Joram were not the last; they were but early links in the great chain of Order which stretched backward and ahead in time to give support to all who would seize it, tossing on the seas of Chaos. Those of the next generation—Ansel, Rhysel, Tieg, and, yes, even young Camlin—those were the future, the next carriers of Camber’s ideals. And those young ones—and others, and not even all of them Deryni—Healers and dreamers and keepers of the heritage of men like Camber—those would be the hope of all tomorrows.

  As the others came into the chapel, and she and Joram turned to greet them, she could have sworn she saw her father smile.

  In Appendices I and II, initials within brackets indicate that the person or place appeared in the volume indicated. Initials in parentheses indicate that the person or place was mentioned only in passing. References to the volumes are as follows:

  CC = CAMBER OF CULDI (Book I)

  SC = SAINT CAMBER (Book II)

  CH = CAMBER THE HERETIC (Book III)

  APPENDIX I

  Legends of Saint Camber

  INDEX OF CHARACTERS

  ADRIAN MacLean, Lord—Master of Kierney; grandson of Camber’s sister Aislinn and foster father to Camber’s grandson Aidan
Thuryn [CH].

  AIDAN, Prince—only child of King Ifor Haldane to survive the Festillic coup of 822; royal name of Daniel Draper, grandfather of King Cinhil [CC, (CH)].

  AIDAN Alroy Camber Haldane, Prince—infant son of Cinhil and Megan; killed by poisoned salt at his baptism, age one month [CC].

  AIDAN Thuryn—eldest son of Rhys and Evaine, age 10; fostered to Lord Adrian MacLean at Trurill [CH].

  AILIN MacGregor, Bishop—Auxiliary Bishop of Valoret [SC, CH].

  AIRSID, The—an ancient Deryni fellowship, origin pre-500 AD (CH).

  AISLINN MacRorie MacLean, Countess—Camber’s younger sister; Dowager Countess of Kierney; mother of the present earl and grandmother of Adrian MacLean, the heir [CH].

  ALFRED of Woodbourne, Father—Cinhil’s human confessor; later, Auxiliary Bishop of Rhemuth [SC, CH].

  ALISTER Cullen, Bishop—Deryni; formerly Vicar General of the Order of Saint Michael; Bishop of Grecotha and Chancellor of Gwynedd under King Cinhil; briefly, Archbishop of Valoret and Primate of All Gwynedd; an original member of the Camberian Council [CC, SC, CH].

  ALLYN, Crevan—human Vicar General of the Order of Saint Michael after Alister Cullen [SC, CH].

  ALROY Bearand Brion Haldane, Prince—eldest living son of King Cinhil and twin to Javan, age 11; later, King of Gwynedd [SC, CH].

  AMYOT of Morland, Lord—Deryni assassin killed in ambush of Princes Javan and Rhys Michael [CH].

  ANDREW—farrier at Grecotha [SC].

  ANDREW, son of James—the second “Benedict” at Saint Piran’s Priory [CC].

  ANSCOM of Trevas, Archbishop—Deryni Primate of All Gwynedd and Archbishop of Valoret [CC, SC, (CH)].

  ANSEL Irial MacRorie, Lord—younger son of Cathan and grandson of Camber, age 17 [CC, SC, CH].

  ARCHER of Arrand, Bishop—Ordo Verbi Dei theologian and preacher; later, Bishop of Dhassa [CH].

  ARIELLA of Festil, Princess—elder sister of the former King Imre and mother of his son, Mark [CC, SC, (CH)].

  ARIK—a guard of Rhys’s and Evaine’s household [CH].

  ARMAGH, Master—an arms master to King Imre [CC].

  AUGARIN, King—first Haldane King of Gwynedd; reigned 645–673 (CH).

  BARTHOLOMEW—a guard of Rhys’s and Evaine’s household [CH].

  BAYVEL de Cameron, Lord—uncle to Queen Megan [SC].

  BEARAND, King and Saint—Haldane King of Gwynedd reigning 736–794; great-great-grandfather of King Cinhil (CC, SC, CH).

  BENEDICT—King Cinhil’s name in religion [CC].

  BEREN, Sir—a Michaeline knight (SC).

  BERTRAND—squire to Prince Javan [CH].

  BLAINE, King—fourth Festillic King of Gwynedd, reigned 885–900; father of Imre (CC).

  BORS—soldier under command of Coel Howell [CC].

  BOTOLPH—horse-keeper at Valoret [CH].

  CALEB—a guard of Bishop Cullen’s household [CH].

  CAMBER Allin MacLean—called Camlin, age 11; son of Adrian MacLean and foster-brother to Aidan Thuryn [CH].

  CAMBER Kyriell MacRorie, Lord—Earl of Culdi; Chancellor under King Blaine; canonized as Saint Camber in 906; Defensor Hominum and patron of Deryni magic; sainthood rescinded by Council of Ramos in 917 [CC, SC, CH].

  CAMERON—family name of Queen Megan [CC].

  CARLE—one of Earl Maldred’s men [CC].

  CATHAN MacRorie, Lord—Camber’s eldest son and heir; member of Imre’s council; murdered by Imre in 903 for suspected treason [CC, (SC, CH)].

  CHARLES, Brother—a Servant of Saint Camber at Dolban; formerly a baker in village at Caerrorie [SC].

  CIERAN, Brother—lay brother at Saint Piran’s Priory [CC].

  CINHIL, Donal Ifor Haldane, King—restored King of Gwynedd, reigning 904–917; formerly a priest of the Ordo Verbi Dei under the name of Benedict; kidnapped from his monastery by Joram and Rhys [CC, SC, CH].

  COEL Howell, Lord—brother of Elinor, Cathan’s wife; member of Imre’s council; executed by King Cinhil in 905 [CC, (SC)].

  CORUND—guard assigned to the service of Princes Javan and Rhys Michael; killed in hunting ambush [CH].

  CREVAN Allyn—see Allyn, Crevan.

  CRINAN—Cathan’s squire; doubled for Rhys under a shape-changing spell [CC, (SC, CH)].

  CULLEN, Bishop Alister—see Alister Cullen.

  DAFYDD Leslie, Lord—nephew of Lord Jowerth Leslie; died during interrogation by Tavis O’Neill [CH].

  DAMON—a guard of Rhys’s and Evaine’s household [CH].

  DANIEL Draper—as Prince Aidan Haldane, only surviving son of King Ifor; grandfather of Cinhil [CC, (CH)].

  DAVET Nevan, Bishop—one of Gwynedd’s six itinerant bishops before the Council of Ramos [SC, CH].

  DAVIN Elathan MacRorie, Lord—elder son of Cathan, age 19; Earl of Culdi [CC, SC, CH].

  DENZIL Carmichael, Lord—Deryni bowman involved in assassination attempt on Princes Javan and Rhys Michael; died during interrogation [CH].

  DERYNI (Der-ín-ee)—racial group gifted with paranormal/supernatural powers and abilities.

  DERMOT O’Beirne, Bishop—human Bishop of Cashien [SC, CH].

  DESCANTOR, Bishop Kai—see Kai Descantor, Bishop.

  DOMINIC, Brother—infirmarian at Saint Mary’s in the Hills, Kierney [CH].

  DOMINIC, Father—priest at Saint Liam’s Abbey; former teacher of Joram and Rhys [CC].

  DORN—squire to Prince Javan; killed in hunting ambush [CH].

  DOTHAN of Erne, Lord—former Festillic minister imprisoned for trial by Cinhil; son and daughter killed in assassination attempt on Cinhil (SC).

  DOV, Lord—Healer slain at Saint Neot’s (CH).

  DRAPER—surname used by the Haldanes during the Interregnum: see Daniel, Nicholas, and Royston Draper.

  DRUMMOND, James—see James Drummond.

  DUALTA Jarriot, Lord—a Michaeline knight [SC].

  DURIN, Master—a Healer at Iomaire [SC].

  DYLAN ap Thomas, Lord—Deryni assassin killed in ambush of Princes Javan and Rhys Michael [CH].

  EDMOND—a former Archbishop of Valoret (CH).

  EDULF—ostler to Camber at Caerrorie; one of fifty peasants executed at Imre’s command in retribution for death of Lord Rannulf [CC].

  EDWARD, Father—priest who baptized Nicholas Draper (CC).

  EDWARD MacInnis of Arnham, Bishop—twenty-year-old son of Earl Manfred, who is brother to Bishop Hubert; itinerant bishop and later Bishop of Grecotha [CH].

  EGBERT, Brother—monk at Saint Jarlath’s Monastery [CC].

  EIDIARD of Clure—soldier replaced by Davin MacRorie; assigned to guard Princes Javan and Rhys Michael [CH].

  ELINOR MacRorie, Lady—widow of Cathan; mother of Davin and Ansel; wife to James Drummond [CC, SC, (CH)].

  EMRYS, Dom—Deryni adept and Healer; Abbot of the Order of Saint Gabriel [SC, CH].

  ERCON, Saint—scholar and historian flourishing shortly after Saint Bearand Haldane; brother of Saint Willim (CH).

  EUSTACE of Fairleigh, Bishop—one of Gwynedd’s six itinerant bishops before the Council of Ramos [SC, CH].

  EVAINE MacRorie Thuryn, Lady—daughter of Camber and wife to Rhys; an original member of the Camberian Council [CC, SC, CH].

  EWAN of Rhendall, Lord—Earl of Rhendall and eldest son of Duke Sighere; a regent of Gwynedd; later, Duke of Claibourne and Earl Marshal of Gwynedd [SC, CH].

  FARNHAM, Lord and Lady—parents of Megan de Cameron (CC).

  FESTIL I, King—Deryni noble who engineered the Festillic Coup of 822 and founded the Festillic dynasty; reigned 822–839.

  FESTIL II, King—second Festillic king; reigned 839–851.

  FESTIL III, King—third Festillic king; grandfather of Imre; reigned 851–885.

  FINELLA—Revan’s “love” (CH).

  FINTAN, Lord—human earl on Cinhil’s council [SC].

  FIONA MacLean, Lady—sister of Adrian and granddaughter of Camber’s sister Aislinn [CH].

  FULBERT de Morrisey, Lord—Deryni assassin involved in ambush o
f Princes Javan and Rhys Michael; later executed by regents [CH].

  FULK—soldier under command of Coel Howell [CC].

  GABRILITES—priests and Healers of the Order of Saint Gabriel, an all-Deryni esoteric brotherhood founded in 745 and based at Saint Neot’s Abbey in the south Lendour mountains; especially noted for training Healers [CC, SC, CH].

  GAVIN—Prince Alroy’s squire [CH].

  GELLIS de Cleary, Father—acting Percentor of the Michaelines [SC].

  GIFFORD—manservant to Rhys [CC].

  GILBERT, Master—a silversmith [CH].

  GILLIS, Brother—Gabrilite brother slain at Saint Neot’s [CH].

  GREGORY of Arden, Father—Abbot of Saint Jarlath’s Abbey [CC].

  GREGORY of Ebor, Lord—Earl of Ebor and an original member of the Camberian Council [CH].

  GUAIRE of Arliss, Lord—friend of Cathan; former aide to Alister Cullen; finally, a founding Servant of Saint Camber [SC].

  GUTHRIE—sergeant of Bishop Cullen’s household guard [CH].

  HALDANE—surname of the royal House of Gwynedd.

  HILDRED, Lord—human baron on Cinhil’s council; expert on horses [SC, (CH)].

  HOWELL, Coel—see Coel Howell.

  HOWICCAN, Pargan—classic Deryni lyric poet (CC, SC, CH).

  HRORIK of Eastmarch, Lord—middle son of Duke Sighere; Earl of Eastmarch [SC, CH].

  HUBERT MacInnis, Bishop—a regent of Gwynedd and Auxiliary Bishop of Rhemuth; later, Archbishop of Valoret and Primate of All Gwynedd [CH].

  HUMPHREY of Gallareaux, Father—Michaeline priest responsible for the death of Cinhil’s firstborn son, Prince Aidan [CC].

  IFOR, King—last pre-Interregnum King of Gwynedd; reigned 794–822; father of Prince Aidan (Daniel Draper) (CC).

  ILLAN, Lord—a Michaeline knight [SC].

  IMRE, King—fifth and last Festillic King of Gwynedd; reigned 900–904; died after defeat by Cinhil Haldane; father of Mark of Festil, by his sister Ariella [CC, (SC, CH)].