by N. M. Browne
Dan watched her leave with a sense of foreboding. He was not looking forward to more time on the open road. He would be alone but for Bryn and Braveheart. He felt responsible for both of them and very unequal to the task of keeping them and Ursula safe against unknown dangers. He was also worried about the increasing ease with which he turned bear sark. He mounted Kai’s best horse and slipped quietly away from the fortress with a very unhappy heart. He had no trouble leaving. Kai had, as he had promised, warned the watch.
It was difficult to leave Craigwen due to the steepness of the natural cliff on which it was built. It was a bit of a scramble. He fell off his horse once or twice and grazed his knees, which made Bryn giggle. Bryn was more or less born in the saddle. There was no way he would ever fall off his pony. It was not an auspicious beginning to Dan’s first task as a warrior.
There was someone waiting at the foot of the escarpment. A horse whinnied and Dan reached for his sword. Braveheart flicked his ears back against his head and sniffed the air. Surely the enemy had not come this close? Would a Raven scout stand mounted in daylight in full view of the fortress? Dan made Bryn get behind him. The boy’s excitement was obvious. He was totally fearless because he was with The Bear Sark. He was eager as a puppy and his exuberance just made Dan more acutely aware of his responsibilities.
Dan dismounted. Leaving the reins in Bryn’s willing hands he walked to the mounted man. He had not fought a mounted man before and part of his brain calculated angles and sword lengths. He did that all the time now even when at rest. Perhaps that was why when he fought he didn’t need to think about such things consciously. He pre-programmed himself with his constant awareness of tactical possibilities.
The man was not tall. He was swathed in a dark cloak so it was hard to tell what weapons he carried. Dan decided to take control.
‘Who goes there?’ It was the Combrogi challenge. Literally translated it meant ‘Who is it that stands at the entrance to my lands?’
‘There is no need to attack me, Daniel Bear Sark. It’s the bard, Taliesin. Kai thought you could do with company.’
Dan trusted the bard. After their conversation on the battlements he felt close to him but Kai’s worries were contagious. If he was wrong about the bard’s trustworthiness then he had hesitated for what he knew was long enough for a spear to gut him. No spear came.
‘Why did Kai not speak to me?’
‘Kai trusts us both, Daniel. He told you to speak to me, did he not? You need fear nothing from me. I am King Cadal’s man. If anyone should help look for Rhonwen it should be me. Rhonwen is part of Cadal’s bargain. He wants her bloodline in his children’s veins. Her magic is a gift he wishes his sons to be blessed with. I am here to see her found. I have no quarrel with Macsen. If he can defeat the Ravens then all of us live to see another day.’
Dan was not sorry to travel with another man. He did not know if the bard could fight but at least he was another adult. Dan knew exactly the moment he had left childhood behind and entered adulthood. It was the moment he had found Bryn’s sister. He feared another moment like that, like Alavna. He did not want to meet it alone except for Bryn and Braveheart.
‘ “OK” as they say in my country. We will travel together, but if there is a fight stay out of my way. I know you know, but I am a true bear sark. I have not killed an ally yet, but it could happen.’
The bard nodded. ‘I know what you are, Daniel. I can help you if you like. A bard learns many things in a long training. Things we do not sing of. You may be grateful that I found you. There are few of us left since the Ravens can’t tell the difference between bard and druid and have killed the lot of us off.’
Dan signalled for Bryn to join him and mounted his horse.
‘You never told me what all that stuff about Lovernios has to do with Ursula’s magic.’
‘I was trying to. Some of us believe that the power Rhonwen uses is a gift of the gods. Maybe it was bought with Lovernios’ blood or maybe it was given as a result of his self-giving; that is something of a theological debate among the ageing druids in Ireland. It doesn’t matter. It is the gift that is important. When the druids heard about Rhonwen raising the Veil they sent me to persuade Cadal to help Macsen so that I could investigate. Cadal is keen to help. If his children have magic he will be the most important chief in all Ireland. We none of us want to believe that our druid Prince sacrificed himself for nothing.’
‘So?’
‘Rhonwen has power, but I don’t think she can save us, but she brought us Ursula and I think with your help she can.’
‘But … how?’
The bard said nothing. Dan carried on.
‘How does she have the gift, though? How do you know it is the same as Rhonwen’s?’
The bard sighed. ‘It is hard to explain. I just know it and Kai knows too. Kai was never a druid but many in his family have been. He has something of a druid’s sensitivity. Ursula’s power is of the same kind as Rhonwen’s but stronger. It is a new magic. I would like to think it comes from the druids’ death.’
Dan was silent. It all seemed wildly improbable. He had been forced to believe in Ursula’s very real power when he saw her naked in the Great Hall. Believing it was difficult for him. It went against every concept he had of the way the world worked. Ursula’s magic was so immediate, so undeniable, it upset him greatly and he preferred not to think about it.
They rode on, far enough behind the King’s party as not to cause attention. Bryn for all his youth was an experienced tracker and Macsen was not attempting to disguise his trail. They rode all the hours of daylight. They spoke little. Dan was deep in thought. When it became fully dark they camped some distance from Macsen. The smoke from his fire was clearly visible. They camped without a fire, in a dry ditch. Once more Dan was grateful for his huge hound’s warmth. It was still not a good way of spending the night.
‘Do you want a song to soothe you, Bear Sark?’ Taliesin whispered over the sleeping head of Bryn.
Dan grunted.
‘I don’t want a song. I want some real answers. I have been thinking. How can Ursula’s power save the Combrogi? I don’t see that because she changed her shape it follows that she can save anybody. I don’t understand what you mean. You must have something in mind. What do you want Ursula to do with her power?’
There was a long pause as if Taliesin was weighing up Dan’s likely reaction. Dan was suddenly aware that to the bard, he represented serious danger. The bard knew how easily a threat to Ursula could turn him bear sark. It had nearly happened when Macsen did not speak of her with enough respect. Dan did not want to kill the bard. The pause lengthened. At last Taliesin spoke. His voice was a whisper.
‘Ursula has to find a bridge between worlds, raise “the Warrior’s Veil” and either let us through or bring something else out. Something that will fight for us.’
‘Something more than just Ursula and me?’
‘You are not nothing, Bear Sark, as you well know, but you are not enough. A few thousand of you would do better.’
‘And this is dangerous?’
‘Rhonwen survived it. But yes, I think it probably is.’
‘Thank you for being honest.’
‘You deserve nothing less.’
Dan had not turned bear sark. That was good. The danger had passed. The bard yawned and soon the quietness of the night was disturbed by his even breathing.
They had not agreed it but Dan presumed he had first watch. He could not have slept anyway. He ran through in his mind all that the bard had told him about magic and the druids. The dark shadow of druid belief chilled his soul. He was bound by oaths he believed in to a people that not only took decapitated heads from their enemies but had practised human sacrifice. They wanted to use Ursula’s power in a way he was sure was dangerous. Were the Celts really the good guys? He remembered Alavna and Bryn’s beautiful sister. Good or bad he was on their side against the Ravens who had to be worse. If they were not, how could he live with hims
elf?
Chapter Twenty-two
Ursula could not sleep. The power of the land surged through her uncontrollably, as if just by existing she completed some electrical circuit. She wanted to ride all night. She knew Rhonwen was near. Ursula’s head ached. She could dimly sense Rhonwen’s continual pain and something else. It felt like fear.
Macsen insisted on resting the horses. Ursula could see his own exhaustion and near despair running marrow-deep inside him. Nervous energy and will-power drove him on. Common sense made him rest. He lay next to her by the fire. Sleeping, he looked younger. He was probably no more than twenty. Ursula knew he had little expectation of making twenty-one.
Huw was on first watch. Ursula did not trust him. She was rather surprised that Macsen did. She feigned sleep. She lay listening to the noises of the night, convinced that she could hear rustling and the anxious movements of the horses. She was not imagining it. Someone approached. Magic had made her hearing more acute. Her guts told her she was right. They churned. She reached for her sword. Huw was two or three metres away, doing what? Investigating? He was whispering to someone. She counted the number of sleeping forms. Gwyn, Prys and Macsen all slept. Who could he be talking to? Himself? Huw had not the imagination. Ursula was not good at moving quietly but crouched low and did her best. It was very dark away from the firelight but magic helped her there too. She could see once the memory of the firelight left her eyes. She did not want to wake the others if there was no reason. She strained her ears. They were speaking Latin. Most of the warriors had a smattering of the language. Kai and Macsen spoke it well. Because she had shared the Cup of Belonging with them, so did Ursula.
‘ … No more than two weeks’ march.’ It was not Huw’s voice. This was harsh and guttural.
‘We’re tracking the sorceress. You have her?’ That was Huw’s voice. Ursula could only see a dark form and the glint of something metal catch the firelight.
Distance and a difficult accent muffled the man’s voice.
‘ … Lud … sure of him. He is happy to live a civilised life for the price of a few taxes … two days’ ride. What of Macsen?’
Huw’s response to the unknown voice was chilling.
‘You could take him now. He has only a couple of guards with him.’
Ursula felt sudden fear course through her. Macsen was asleep and undefended. Why had she not woken him? She got her sword ready and opened her mouth to shriek an alarm only to feel a burly arm compress her windpipe and the cold metal of a gladius nick the skin of her neck. For a short sword it was quite long enough to do what it needed to. She cursed herself inventively. She had been straining so hard to hear Huw she had failed to hear the arrival of the Raven scout. What if through her carelessness Macsen were to die?
She could feel the hot breath of the man on her neck. She had not dropped her sword. The man was small and wiry, that much she could tell from his arm. She doubted he could match her for strength. She could elbow him hard and wind him but the movement of her shoulder would get her throat cut. Whatever she did to him, he could slit her throat before she could disable him. Would he slit it anyway?
There was a scuffling, and a whinnying of horses. Several Ravens were approaching the camp. A dog howled. Braveheart? She thanked the God of this world. Instantly, Macsen was on his feet and so were Gwyn and Prys. They slept fully armed. However many men they had to face if they were armed and ready they might live. They stood a chance. Her earlier warning would not have changed the odds. Each of them had their backs to the fire. Three against how many? She could not see. The firelight dazzled her. All beyond it was mere shadow and unknown threat.
Huw was suddenly in front of her. He was standing up. She was still crouching. He kicked her sharply in the ribs with his booted foot. His smile was full of razors. She could hear the pleasure in his voice as he spoke to her attacker.
‘Don’t kill him. I want to make this one beg.’ The man with his sword against her throat released her with a chuckle. It was the last sound he ever made. Ursula moved quickly. The instant he removed the gladius from her neck she hit him hard in the solar plexus with her elbow. He did not expect the force of her blow and his sword hung uselessly at his side. He was winded and surprised. Before he could raise his sword, she had time to turn and raise hers. She was half standing now and had enough room to swing it in a powerful arc before it bit home at his unprotected neck. She had not given him enough time to recover. He slumped to the ground; his neck all but severed. Something welled from the massive wound and pooled around his head. It was too dark to see but it must have been blood. Hane’s training worked. Ursula did not baulk at what she had done; she raised her sword again. Huw watched in frozen horror. He had missed his moment. Had Huw intervened when she had attacked his ally, Huw could have killed her. The thought was like the touch of an icy blade down her back. She could not have fought the two of them. Now he was at her mercy. He held his sword limply in his hand. He stared at her slack jawed and then ran. Ursula watched him run. She would not waste time in chasing him. Macsen might need her. Ursula got to her feet ready to run to Macsen’s side. There was a throng of armed Ravens storming the small group of Combrogi. Macsen was hard-pressed and his bodyguards were too busy defending themselves to be able to move nearer to his side. Ursula began to run towards him, when a tall slender man sprinted from the cover of the undergrowth and stationed himself at Macsen’s side. Dan! He was bear sark. She could tell even from that distance. He unsheathed Bright Killer, which trembled in the firelight like a living flame. In Dan’s hands it became a blazing flame of death, flickering, swift as a tongue of fire. All touched by it died where they stood. The four warriors spread out to form a defensive ring around the fire. Ursula willed it to blaze more fiercely to protect their backs. They were outnumbered. That much was clear, but the enemy came more cautiously now. Dan’s presence tilted the balance. Braveheart stood by his side and defended his left side. His jaws and unusual height served only to encourage the enemy more directly onto Dan’s sword arm and the searing force of Bright Killer. The enemy did not rush in so recklessly but weighed their moves and tried to calculate Macsen’s weakness. The Raven scouts did not lack courage. They had been ordered to kill the tall prince and they did what they could. They died well but cheaply, no one got close enough to Macsen to draw his blood. Ursula did not think they needed her there. She did not want to prove the weak spot in the Combrogi wheel of bright knives.
She was distantly aware that her headache had returned. Perhaps it had been back for a while and she had just not noticed it. Rhonwen must be near. Had she heard the Raven talking with Huw say they had captured Rhonwen? The conversation had only been half heard but the headache was proof enough. A part of her was aware that she had killed a man but the wild energy of magic would not let her stop to consider it. She let the magic lead her. She ran from the battle, her mind focused on Rhonwen. Her long legs quickly put distance between her and the firelight fight. She could no longer hear the clash of swords and the howls of Braveheart. There was movement off to her left. Her sword was ready.
‘Boar Skull!’ It was Bryn and King Cadal’s bard.
‘I heard noises. The Bear Sark went to investigate. Is he all right? Braveheart’s gone too. Dan made me promise to stay here and protect the bard.’ Bryn’s face was contorted with misery, equal parts anger at being left behind and fear for Dan’s safety.
‘We were tracked by Raven scouts. Huw was on watch. He spoke to them and did not give the warning. He’s run off. I think the Ravens may have got Rhonwen.’ Ursula’s voice was surprisingly calm.
‘What of The Bear Sark?’ Bryn’s voice was strangled with anxiety.
‘Don’t worry, Bryn. He’s being a bear sark and killing everything that moves. I hope the others keep out of his way.’ Ursula’s voice was confident. Bryn’s face relaxed, fractionally.
‘Do you know where Rhonwen is?’ The bard’s voice was a whisper of concern.
‘I think I can find her. I can
sort of feel her if I concentrate. As I get nearer my headache gets worse.’
Odd though this statement was no one made any comment.
‘We will come with you. You may need help.’
Ursula would have liked to say no. She still did not like the thought of Bryn being involved in violence, but he was Combrogi and for the Combrogi it seemed to be a fact of existence. She could not protect him from that. She nodded her head. Bryn expertly hobbled the horses and they set off on foot, for the sake of silence. Both Bryn and the bard moved more quietly than Ursula.
It was further than Ursula expected. They did not come across any Ravens, though the camp must be guarded. There was also no sign of Huw. That he was a traitor came as little surprise to Ursula, but she could not see how he could have manoeuvred everyone into this vulnerable situation.
They came at last to the Raven camp in a clearing surrounded by trees. Rhonwen was screaming inside Ursula’s head. Ursula staggered and nearly fell over with the shock of the intensity of it.
The bard’s hand was on her shoulder.
‘I can hear it too. Concentrate on where it’s coming from. Don’t think about what it means.’
She did not dare suggest that they leave Bryn behind. He was too vulnerable to attack.
‘Ursula, I want you to try something new. Do you trust me?’ It was hard for Ursula to think of anything but Rhonwen’s anguish. She forced herself to look at the bard. With her magic-enhanced vision she could see the earnestness in his eyes. Yes. She did trust him, as much as she trusted Kai. She nodded.
‘That is wise. I expected no less. I want you to think very hard about not seeing me or Bryn. I’m not being foolish. Listen to me. The druids could make themselves and other things seem invisible. I’m sure you could make us invisible if you were to focus on not seeing us. When you have made us so that we cannot be seen we will look for Rhonwen. You will have to be the decoy.’
