The Dark Age

by Traci Harding

  After patching things up between them, Brian and Teo had taken to hanging out together as they did before Tory’s disappearance. Yet the friendship Tory once shared with Teo hadn’t been the same since he’d learned of her pregnancy. Words seldom passed between Teo and Maelgwn. They were both learned men of high spiritual awareness and she had hoped they might get over it. Judging from the way they’d been avoiding each other, however, she supposed not.

  Fortunately Teo was not hanging around as much as he might have, as Brian had become infatuated with Naomi who lived halfway across the country on Anglesey. Brian made the trip up through the snow covered countryside nearly every weekend to visit her and help out at the site.

  By the end of winter Tory looked like a beach ball, yet wore her bundle very well. The extra weight didn’t bother her in the least. She was still practising kata to the best of her capability and steered away from the more strenuous exercises. She was much more accepting of her pregnancy this time, and soothed the child in her swollen belly with soft ambient music every day. The tragic loss of her last child still haunted her, so she made damn sure this child knew that it was wanted and well loved.

  Maelgwn was surprised at how much he enjoyed helping Tory prepare for the coming of their babe, and attending birthing classes with her had been a real education for him. He was not at all afraid of being present at the birth anymore, feeling himself well prepared for the event.

  As the months rushed by them, Maelgwn’s reluctance to leave the twentieth century intensified. Sure the air was more polluted here, modern Britain was crowded, chaotic and noisy, but the amount of information that was at his disposal was phenomenal. The evening television news was an education in itself. He imagined he could spend his whole life studying and not even make a hole in the amount of material that was available. There were texts on subjects he had never even heard of: scientific theories and technologies, countries and cultures, the list was endless. He did not miss his kingdom and his position at all — were it not for his loyal subjects, the King felt he would never return.

  The baby’s due date came and went and Tory was beginning to despair, afraid she’d created a delay by her very fear of it. She wished now that she’d maintained the same mind as Maelgwn who believed that nothing would go wrong. Instead, the household was thrown into an uproar come the stroke of midnight that marked the eve of summer solstice, leaving Tory but twenty-four hours to have the child, recover, and make it to the stones.

  While she was rushed to the hospital, a million thoughts raced through her mind. I haven’t run into Taliesin here, as he said I might. Perhaps this child was the only real reason I had to return here, and if so, then surely the birth shall be over in no time.

  Her illusion of a quick and easy birth was shattered when eighteen hours later she found herself still sweating it out. ‘Maelgwn, thee must return without me.’

  ‘Nay, my love, I am staying right here.’ He kissed her hand that gripped his so tightly.

  ‘Gwynedd cannot afford to lose thee,’ she reasoned with him, so exhausted she could barely speak.

  ‘And I cannot afford to lose thee.’ Maelgwn tightened his grip.

  ‘Thee will not. Taliesin said his younger self was to be found here, in the twentieth century. Therefore, I can seek him out and instruct him to prepare for this instance. So in many years from now, after he has travelled to the Old Land and returned to Gwynedd to rewrite history by taking me back there, he will know that I have been detained in labour and devise a means for my return. Before we left, Taliesin hinted that a situation might arise causing me to seek him out, and I am guessing that he knew this would happen all along. Which, of course, he must, as this is all in his distant past.’

  ‘But what if he dost not? Nay Tory, I shall not risk it.’

  ‘Listen to me, Taliesin said I sought him out and told him of my destiny, remember?’ Tory finally recalled the conversation with Taliesin that had been eluding her for hours. ‘If I never seek him, then how shall he know? It was meant to happen this way, Maelgwn, I am sure of it. I shall join thee in the past in but a few hours.’ Yet Tory knew that in her reality she faced a whole year without him, and what if she proved wrong in her presumption? I shall find a way back, no matter what.

  Maelgwn bowed his head, disappointed that he would miss the first year of his child’s life and even the chance to glimpse his babe before departing. ‘I will not leave the two of thee here unprotected.’

  ‘Maelgwn, besides my own skills, I have Brian and Teo.’

  ‘Nay! Swear to me, Tory, that thee will not let Teo near our child.’

  Tory was alarmed by the malice he still held towards Teo, but she nodded faintly. ‘I promise.’

  ‘Or near thee,’ Maelgwn added in a much softer tone.

  ‘Beholden to thee alone until death do us part, that be what I vowed, Maelgwn.’ She held his face; the pain in her heart was more overwhelming than that which emanated through her body. ‘Fear not, I will find thee.’

  Although the staff in attendance could not understand the language the couple were speaking, they were all close to tears as they witnessed the lovers’ parting kiss.

  Maelgwn said his farewells to his kin in the waiting room. It wasn’t easy to leave the quiet family life, the like of which the King knew he would never see again. Renford, in particular, was sorry to see him go, and although he understood that his son-in-law was obliged to do so, there was a tear in his eye as he hugged the huge King. ‘May God speed thee, son.’

  ‘And may the Goddess protect thee, Professor, until next we meet.’ As Renford appeared doubtful, Maelgwn threw his arms wide to add, ‘Anything be possible.’

  Brian drove Maelgwn to the stones in silence. He didn’t know what he could say that might ease the torment his friend was going through.

  It was very close to midnight by the time they arrived, and Maelgwn was a bundle of nerves. He hadn’t felt so torn in all his days; it still wasn’t too late for him to change his mind and stay with her.

  ‘Maelgwn, I know you are worried, but you must realise by now that I would never let anything happen to Tory or your child. So please, consider the fate of Britain first,’ Brian said, as it was his task to see that the King returned.

  ‘I am tired of putting my country first, why must it always come before me!’

  A crack of thunder startled them both and they looked up to witness the storm cloud unfolding overhead.

  ‘Holy shit!’ Brian began to back out of the circle. No sooner had he cleared it than a bolt of lightning shot from the clouds and struck the King’s Stone, causing the mist to rise.

  ‘Brian, swear to me that thee shall see my wife and child safely here next summer solstice.’

  ‘I swear it to thee, Maelgwn,’ Brian announced. The mist became too bright for him to see the King anymore. ‘I shall miss thee, bro.’

  Maelgwn bowed to him. The Prince watched as his brother-in-law became obscured by the haze, then a shape began to emerge from within the trunk of the tree behind Brian. A familiar face took form — blazing red in colour, it stood out in the darkness. The sound of sinister laughter reached the King’s ears, yet Brian appeared totally unaware of it.

  No! It was too late to turn back. ‘Brian, be —’ Maelgwn tried to yell out a warning but the haze was sucked up into the sky, the King’s body and soul along with it.

  ‘Where be Tory? Maelgwn, wake up, please!’

  The King’s eyes opened to see Brockwell and his other knights hovering over him.

  ‘Where be Tory?’ Brockwell repeated.

  ‘Give him room.’ Taliesin pushed the knights aside and knelt beside the King.

  When the Merlin was within range, Maelgwn clutched him tightly by his robe. ‘Did she find thee?’

  ‘Aye, that she did. Rest assured, all be going to plan.’ Taliesin patted the King’s shoulder.

  Maelgwn breathed a sigh of relief then became tense again. ‘Did thee know Mahaud was in the future with her?’ The Ki
ng sat upright to get his bearings and pointed. ‘She emerged from that tree and made herself known to me, just as it was too late to turn back.’

  The Merlin recognised it to be an elder tree, which in the sacred alphabet of the tree calendar was called Ruis. This was akin to the thirteenth month of the year, which was attributed to the Dark Queen of fate and the inevitable. Cute, Mahaud.

  Taliesin frowned and answered, ‘Nay, Maelgwn, this be unexpected and unfortunate. The Goddess used her powers to assist Myrddin to suppress his great knowledge for a time, in the hope of preventing the witch from finding him. Did thee find Myrddin?’

  ‘Aye, but as thou hast said, he remembers naught.’ Maelgwn was frantic. ‘Send me back, I must protect Tory and our child.’

  ‘Child!’ All present looked at their King amazed; he’d only been gone an hour.

  ‘Tory hast given birth?’ Katren was eager to hear how she fared.

  ‘Aye.’ Everything had happened so quickly that Maelgwn hadn’t really had time to consider that he was, most likely, a father by now.

  ‘I am impressed.’ Calin helped Maelgwn to his feet. ‘Congratulations.’

  ‘So was it a boy or a girl?’ Katren asked.

  ‘Why, I do not know.’ Maelgwn was immediately saddened by the thought of missing the birth. ‘’Twas a boy, I think.’

  ‘Indeed! A strong, healthy boy and he enters this world as we speak,’ Taliesin announced, raising everyone’s spirits.

  But Maelgwn’s attention wasn’t distracted for long. ‘Taliesin, I have to warn them.’

  ‘Please everyone, calm down. I cannot send thee back, the channel hast passed until the next hour.’ The Merlin wasn’t even sure he could raise the energy to do it then, as he was already exhausted from completing the feat twice in as many hours. ‘Myrddin will find himself.’

  ‘And what if he dost not? There must be a way I can speak to Tory.’

  ‘Rest a moment,’ Taliesin advised him. ‘There be one thing we might try.’

  23

  WHERE IS HOME?

  Maelgwn and Aunt Rose’s prediction proved to be right. After twenty-four hours in labour, Tory gave birth to a boy whom she named Rhun. He was in perfect health and of a fair size, weighing in at seven pounds. Rhun had his father’s colouring, and masses of dark hair already covered his tiny head. Tory and her family fell madly in love with him at once.

  Brian returned to the hospital by morning, shaken by what he’d seen. Still, he could confidently tell Tory that Maelgwn had returned, if not without much procrastination. Brian held his little nephew in his arms and told Tory of his vow to Maelgwn and how determined he was to keep it.

  ‘He also insisted I keep Teo away from Rhun,’ she informed her brother.

  Brian wasn’t at all surprised to hear this, knowing all too well how the two felt about each other. For months he had listened to Teo going on about what he believed was Tory’s betrayal of him. Although he was Brian’s best friend, there was nothing Teo could say about Maelgwn that could tarnish the respect Brian felt for the King. ‘Well, Teo doesn’t know who your father truly is,’ Brian said to the babe he held. ‘Nor does he know of the part your parents have to play in history. So if the Dragon wants Teo kept away from you, we shall just have to oblige him, won’t we?’

  ‘Do you think he’s changed? Teo, I mean. You know him better than anyone,’ Tory asked.

  ‘Well, he claims you hurt him badly,’ Brian began. ‘But such melodrama isn’t like Teo at all. Even if your marriage had hurt him, the Teo I used to know would have been happy for you. I mean, what happened to “our friendship is the most important thing”?’

  ‘That’s exactly what I thought.’ Tory didn’t know what to make of it. ‘So when am I going to meet this girl of yours?’ Tory gently took her child, smiling at him in adoration.

  ‘This weekend. I invited her down to see the baby. Typical woman, she went all gooey on me, she loves kids apparently. I thought it was a good excuse to get her away from her father and the dig for more than five minutes.’

  ‘You’ve spent just about every weekend this winter up at the dig, and you still haven’t nailed her in all that time?’ Tory pretended to be horrified.

  ‘Of course I have.’

  But Tory knew Katren better than that. ‘Liar.’

  ‘Alright, I didn’t. Something about her keeps bringing out the gentleman in me,’ he explained, taking up Rhun’s tiny hands. ‘But this weekend is going to be different, because this little guy is going to get Naomi’s maternal juices flowing for me. Aren’t you mate?’

  Tory chuckled; Brian was a lot smarter than Brockwell. ‘You just might be right there.’

  Tory and Rhun went home sooner than expected. The doctors had been so amazed by the speed of her recovery that Tory thought she’d better leave before they started asking questions.

  Rhun was proving to be exceptionally resilient as well. The nurses in the maternity ward were sad to see him go as he was such a placid, happy baby, who was calm even amongst the other screaming babies in their care.

  Within a few days of their arrival home, Tory began to notice how Rhun’s moods reflected her own. Whenever she started to miss Maelgwn, no matter how far she was from the baby, Rhun inevitably started to cry. This was added incentive to put her love to the back of her mind and concentrate on finding the elusive Taliesin. This was going to prove a challenge, as Tory knew the dig on Mon had yet to uncover the temple altar. She wasn’t too keen to tell them about it either, as they would surely want to cart it off to a museum somewhere. Most likely this would render the relic useless and close yet another doorway to the Otherworld forever. In any case, Tory decided it was about time she went up and had a snoop around the site herself. Naomi was expected tomorrow, so Tory would ask her permission. Perhaps the spirits at the site could tell her of Taliesin’s whereabouts.

  Naomi still hadn’t arrived by late Saturday afternoon, and Brian began to worry that something might have happened to her. He appealed to Rose to ask her spirits if they knew anything. She explained that they could see no immediate tragedy, but they did indicate a surprise.

  ‘Well, I hope it’s of a hot and sweaty nature,’ Brian remarked, as the sound of a car coming down the drive sent him racing out the front door.

  Brian was surprised to see a large black Mercedes four-wheel drive, with black tinted windows. This was not Naomi’s car, nor her father’s, but it was a beauty.

  Naomi sprang out of the passenger seat and wrapped her arms around him. ‘Sorry I’m so late, Miles held me up.’

  ‘Miles who?’ Brian became immediately jealous.

  ‘Thurlow, my father’s partner. He arrived back from the Azores a couple of days ago, and when he heard I was coming down to Professor Alexander’s place he offered to drive me. I hope you don’t mind?’

  ‘Mind, why should I mind?’ Brian tried to sound pleased that they again had a chaperone.

  The professor jumped out and shook Brian’s hand. ‘Sorry to intrude like this, but I needed to speak with your father about the implications of his analysis.’ Miles noted Brian appeared somewhat overwhelmed. ‘Is there something wrong?’

  Although Professor Thurlow was not as large as Maelgwn, and appeared perhaps a few years older, if it weren’t for the glasses and the ponytail they could be one and the same. This is going to be a surprise alright! ‘Sorry, Professor, you just look a lot like my sister’s husband, a hell of a lot!’

  ‘Tory!’ Brian bolted down the hall and into the lounge. ‘I think you’d better prepare yourself for a shock.’

  ‘Do you want to be more specific?’ Tory marked her place in the book she was reading and looked up at him.

  ‘Professor Thurlow is here to see Dad,’ he explained, gaining his father’s attention also. ‘But he looks more like Maelgwn to me.’

  ‘Ha-ha.’ Tory went back to her reading.

  ‘Hello?’ Naomi called from the front door.

  Brian, becoming flustered, disappeared again to
retrieve Naomi. He guided her and her companion through to the lounge.

  Tory didn’t look up immediately as she wanted to finish the sentence she was reading.

  ‘Tory,’ her father urged.

  She raised her eyes and nearly had a stroke. By the Goddess!

  Miles held out his hand to greet her. ‘Miles Thurlow, pleased to meet you.’

  He smiled and Tory’s heart leapt into her throat. ‘How do you do.’ After quickly shaking his hand, she greeted Naomi and then excused herself on the premise that she had to check on the baby.

  She raced to the solace of her room and closed the door behind her. ‘Holy shit!’ she exclaimed, horrified by the connotations of his presence here. ‘Please God let me be mistaken about this.’ Maelgwn had been gone less than a week and she missed him like crazy already. Rhun sensed his mother’s dismay and started to cry.

  ‘Hush now!’ She took Rhun in her arms to comfort him. ‘It was just a bit of a scare, that’s all. We’re okay.’ She comforted the baby, rocking him to and fro.

  Hearing the child’s cries and knowing that Tory must also be upset, Brian knocked and entered. ‘I tried to warn you.’

  ‘I know, thanks.’

  As she didn’t seem to want to talk about it, Brian edged around the subject. ‘Well then, are you going to bring Rhun downstairs so he can go to work on my girlfriend, or what?’

  Tory smiled faintly. Something told her she should keep the child out of Miles’ sight, herself too for that matter. ‘I’ll tell you what, you bring Naomi up here to see him and I’ll go and work out for a while, okay?’