by David Hodges
“That should do it.” The nurse packed her things and left.
With the distracting pain gone, Cameron noticed his parched lips and empty stomach.
He looked to Daniel and Fergus. “I’m starved. How long have we been here?”
“Nearly three days,” replied Daniel.
“Three days!” Cameron began to panic. “Alexandra could be anywhere by now!”
“She’s close,” said Faron with confidence. “Einar took her for a reason, to manipulate you. He would not have gone far from here.”
Cameron took little comfort from the statement. “We could’ve found her by now.”
“No, that’s unlikely. Einar knows how to disappear. When you see him, it will be his intention that you do.” Faron walked over to a wardrobe and picked up a folded set of clothes. “Get dressed. We’ll get you something to eat.”
Cameron put on the clean clothes and the four of them left the room. They entered into an opulent hallway. “Where are we exactly?”
Daniel said, “You remember that manor we passed before we entered the forest?
“The absurdly large one?”
“That’s the one. They brought us here after you were changed, we were at their village. It’s hidden deep within the forest. It’s all part of an enormous estate.”
Faron said, “It’s how we are able to conceal ourselves.”
Cameron looked around the lavish interior. “I’m not sure I understand your strategy.”
“My father, Ayalon, or Mr. Plantagenet as many know him, owns thousands of acres here in Derbyshire. It’s been in our family for many generations. On the outside, we maintain an identity as nobles. My ancestors who lived here were earls, even dukes.”
He walked toward a large window and stared out to the forest. “It has allowed us to keep this land untouched, and the village within undiscovered. We call it Talamh an Dréimire. My forebears have served as its stewards for most of its existence.”
Cameron recognized the name. He had seen in on the gate to the estate. “Are you the only ones? All here on this estate?”
“Not quite. There are others on the Isle of Man, seafarers who stay in close contact with us. Aside from them, we all live within Talamh.” They continued down a set of stairs into a dining room. A servant was polishing a long table. “Could you go to the kitchen and send a meal out? It will just be the four of us.” Faron turned to Cameron. “Would you like breakfast or lunch?”
“Whatever’s fastest.”
“Thank you,” Faron said to the servant.
“Yes, sir. I’ll have it right out.”
After he was out of the room, Cameron asked, “Is he... changed?”
“Yes, all of the staff are.”
When the meal came out, Cameron gorged on it, washing it down with weak ale. Across the table, Daniel and Fergus were muttering something to one another; they were perturbed. He made out a few words. “You tell him...”
“Tell me what?” asked Cameron with his mouth full
They both looked at him. Daniel spoke up. “There’s something Fergus has been meaning to tell you.” He nudged Fergus.
Fergus gulped. “Now, Cameron, there is no need to overreact.”
“Just spit it out.”
He sighed. “Hazel’s here.”
“What!” He pointed a finger at Fergus. “I told you to stay! Both of you!”
“It was her idea. I swear.”
Cameron already knew that.
“She was gonna go after you whether or not I went with her. I thought it better I come with her than let her go off alone, and it’s a good thing I did. You and Daniel could be dead if I hadn’t been at the campsite.”
Cameron had forgotten about Fergus’s exceptionally timed rescue. “Perhaps, but it doesn’t change the fact that Hazel’s been brought into this.” He realized that if he was descended from these people, so was she. He looked to Faron. “Did you change her, too?”
He nodded. “She is resting here in the manor.”
Cameron shook his head. “Take me to her.” Cameron followed Faron back to the hall where he woke, then entered behind him into a different room.
Hazel was sleeping on a four-post walnut bed; animals were carved up the entire lengths of the posts. She looked like a small child in the middle of the large mattress and plush linens. At the foot of her bed, a scraggly ball of fur moved. “Is that Hazel’s cat? Where did he come from?”
Fergus replied, “I think he followed us here.”
Cameron shook his head. He walked to the side of her bed and stroked her hair. “What were you thinking?” he said with a sigh. “She’ll be okay, won’t she?”
“Yes,” replied Faron with a nod.
“Will she wake up like I did? Changed?”
“It’s not likely, the way you woke was... unusual. It typically takes many months, even years before Athraithe can change as profoundly as you did.”
Fergus nudged him with a smile. “Here that... you’re a natural.”
Cameron glared at him.
Faron said, “Cameron, we should go to the village now. There’s more we need to show you. It may help you find Alexandra.”
They rode to the village through the confusing forest trails. Faron did not hesitate at any of the junctions. Cameron realized that they did not pass the castle ruins where the soldiers had camped. It must have been off of one of the other trails.
They arrived at the village wall, a massive structure comprised of tightly packed, dark gray and green bricks. The wall was mossy and weathered, sections of it were missing a number of bricks, but it was formidable nonetheless.
As the heavy iron gate was being raised, Fergus said, “It’s incredible, the arrow loops, the battlements, or are those crenellations? I suppose parapets would have—”
“Fergus,” Daniel snapped his fingers at him. “It’s a nice wall, we get it.”
Faron said, “It’s more of a deterrent than anything now... in case the odd trespasser makes it a bit too far into the forest. That hasn’t been a problem in years with the legislation on enclosure.”
“How far does it go?” asked Fergus.
“It stretches for miles in an arc nearly all the way around the village.”
“Must have taken ages to build with the amount of stone required.”
“We’re a bit more efficient that what you might be used to. As for the stone, we have our own quarry and mines at the other end of the village. It substitutes the wall there. It’s much higher than any we could have built up ourselves. The walls, even the quarry, can be scaled though. Our real defense is with the sentries and their animals. A sharp pair of eyes in the sky, a keen sense of smell on the ground... makes it hard to get far unnoticed. Multiply that by a few dozen animals and it’s nearly impossible.”
“What good is it if a bird sees someone?” asked Cameron.
“We can communicate with them,” Faron replied.
“Oh... of course.”
“Hold on, you mean, you can speak to them?” asked Fergus.
“No, that’s ridiculous,” replied Faron.
Fergus shrugged.
“Our minds are far too different for a common language. We simply focus on our intentions, our requests, by visualizing them. They can also relay their memories in the form of sensory information. What they saw, what they heard, even what they felt.”
“Is that supposed to make more sense?” said Fergus.
Daniel asked, “So if Cameron were to think of a bird letting a dropping loose on Fergus’s head, it’d do it?”
Cameron laughed. “Could be some good out of this after all.”
“There he is!” said Daniel with a jovial slap of Cameron’s shoulder.
Faron smiled. “He’d have to make physical contact with the bird first, but, yes, that is one possible application... you’ll practice all of this in time.”
Cameron disagreed. He fully intended to forget about all this as soon as things were back to normal.
“Go on, Cameron, give it a try. I see one over there,” said Daniel pointing at a bird that appeared to be swallowing a meal.
Cameron sighed then nodded. He focused on the bird, and without forming a thought, it flew over to him and landed on his shoulder. Astonished, Cameron lifted his hand toward it and it quickly jumped onto his finger.
He winced as he saw flashes of the forest from above. He was seeing as the bird saw. He was high in the air, he could feel wind rushing over its wings. The image and sensations passed, and he, the bird, was on the ground. There was a worm sliding through the dirt as the bird pecked at it. With the oily worm in its beak, the bird fluttered up to a branch where it gazed upon a group of men standing in front of a large wall.
Cameron opened his eyes.
“You okay, Cameron?” asked Fergus.
“Aye, just a bit of a headache.”
“You’ll get used to it,” said Faron.
Cameron remembered why he had summoned the bird in the first place. The bird suddenly flew away, then circled back and flew toward Fergus.
Fergus looked to Cameron with a horrified expression. “Oi! Wait!”
A thick white liquid splattered onto Fergus’s head.
Cameron and Daniel erupted with laughter as Fergus stood there in shock.
The bird circled back and flew toward them again. This time, it was Daniel who stood aghast as the bird let out another dropping with devastating accuracy. Daniel stood there shaking his head at Cameron, completely betrayed.
“It was only fair,” said Cameron with a wry smile.
They had continued through the wall and deep into the center of Talamh an Dréimire. Cameron could not deny the beauty of the village. The well preserved forest within made the rugged buildings and small clearings look like part of the landscape. Although the seamless blending of buildings and land encompassed most of the village, the concentrated village center was as bustling as any he had seen. They rode to a building that looked older than the others. It was in the shape of a pointed arch, like a large tent made of stone. It was the same color as the village wall.
Fergus said, “I’ve seen illustrations of a structure like this before. It’s Celtic, isn’t it?”
Faron replied, “It is, we call it the Nest... afraid you’ll need to wait out here.”
“Oh,” said Fergus, looking disappointed.
“Sorry,” said Cameron, placing a hand on Fergus’s shoulder, aware of how eager Fergus must have been to see the inside of the ancient structure. Cameron and Faron entered through a heavy wooden door fortified with iron. Inside the cavernous room there were several guards posted. The interior was windowless. The only light in the room came from the torches on the walls. There were five large, stone pedestals in the room.
On top of one of the pedestals, a silvery, spherical stone rested on a dark velvet pillow. Ayalon was standing next to it. Faron led Cameron toward it. “Are you feeling better?” Ayalon asked Cameron.
“Aye, much better.” Cameron looked to the Sphere and asked, “What is it?”
“Fuil an Dréimire...” Ayalon picked up the Sphere and gazed at it, lost within the gleaming stone before he finally said, “the Blood of the Ladder.” He set the Sphere back on the cushion.
Faron said, “I told you that our ability to change was only a fraction of what we can do. You’ve already seen the bond we share with our animals. This Sphere facilitates our greatest gift of all, Bheochan. We call it curing now. With the Fuil, we can bring any object to life so long as it’s comprised of the remains of an animal.”
“How do you bring an object to life?” asked Cameron.
Ayalon said, “We can impart the traits of an animal into an object, an object that anyone can use, Athraithe or not. Tools, armor, weapons, the possibilities are endless.”
Cameron was intrigued. He looked around the room at the other pedestals. “There are five pedestals... are there other Spheres?”
Faron replied, “An astute observation. The Spheres are precious. The Fuil, the essence of the Sphere, takes time to replenish. It cannot be used indiscriminately. If the Fuil is depleted, the Sphere dies... it will never replenish itself again. Long ago, there were Bheochantóir who were careless in their use of the Spheres.
Ayalon said, “There were only two left. Einar stole one of them. He tried to steal the Ladder as well. The Ladder we recovered, the Sphere we did not.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“There was a third Sphere, it went missing sixteen years ago.” Ayalon concentrated. “Your mother was the last person to see it.”
14
HAZEL
Hazel felt something small pressing on her chest, it was purring. She opened her eyes to the sight of Ollie luxuriating there, a drop of drool fell from his small mouth. He pushed his forehead into her chin indulgently. “Ollie?” she scratched his head.
She looked around the room. She was in a large bed. Tall posts rose to a canopy from which silk curtains hung. The bed frame and posts were ornately carved and gilded, all sorts of animals wrapped them. Two large windows on either side of the bed let in the fading evening light. “Where am I?” she asked herself.
She saw an open door in the corner of the room and decided to take a look around. She rose from her bed in a long shift, it was not her own. Just as she reached the door a matronly servant appeared. Hazel jumped back with a gasp.
“Oh goodness! You’re awake.”
“Ma’am, I don’t recall how I got here. Where exactly am I?”
“Forgive me. I’m a servant here. You’re at the residence of Lord Plantagenet. He’s not home at the moment, but he’ll be back to check on you later this evening I’m sure.”
Plantagenet. Hazel did not recognize the name. “I was with a boy called Elisedd and his father. Are they here?”
“No, but I can send for them too if you’d like.”
“Could you, please?”
“Right away, your clothes were cleaned for you,” she nodded toward her dress, vest, and coat hanging in front of a wardrobe.
“Thank you.”
The servant left the room. Hazel waited and reflected on how she came to be there. She remembered following the wagon into the village, hiding in the barn, and meeting Elisedd and his family. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a quiet voice outside of the room.
She walked silently to the door and listened.
“She’s awake, she wishes to see Fíodor and his boy.”
Hazel looked out the door and saw the servant standing alone. On the railing beside the servant, a wren was perched, focusing on the woman’s face. She gave the small bird a soft touch and the bird flew to an opened window at the end of the hall. The servant noticed Hazel’s presence. “They won’t be long.” She picked up a tray of food, brought it into the room, and placed it on the vanity. She left Hazel alone in the room.
Hazel sat down in front of the vanity mirror. Her hair was brushed; she had been well taken care of. She took a bite of her food and thought about those last moments she could remember. She was so frightened. Elisedd had been so kind. She thought of how he held her close to him, the comfort and reassurance he offered. When she finished the food, she went to her bed a cuddled Ollie.
A half hour later, there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” she said.
Cameron, Daniel, and Fergus were at the door.
“You’re all right!” Hazel exclaimed as she went to hug them.
Cameron replied, “For the most part. You need to come downstairs, there’s a lot to go over.”
As Hazel followed them down, they explained where she was. They led her to a large dining room where Ayalon and Faron were waiting, along with a pair of rigid butlers in black and white attire. Hazel noticed a hilt under one of their jackets.
She hardly knew Ayalon and Faron, but the attentive looks on their faces upon her arrival showed they were eager to meet with her. “How are you feeling?” asked Faron.
“I feel quite good actu
ally.”
“Glad to hear it,” said Ayalon.
Hazel said, “Is Elisedd coming?”
“Who’s Elisedd?” asked Fergus.
Ayalon replied, “You’ll have the chance to see Elisedd and his father when we go to the village tomorrow. Right now, we have a lot of catching up to do.” They explained everything to her. Who she was, what she was, the hidden village, the man who kidnapped Alexandra, but there was only one thing that Hazel could focus on. Her parents, they were there once, they lived there, and these people might have known what happened to them.
After Ayalon told her about the missing Sphere, and how her mother had hidden it, she asked, “Did you know them? Our parents?”
Faron and Ayalon looked at one another, then Ayalon spoke softly. “Hazel, I know you must be overwhelmed by all this, but there’s something else we were waiting to tell you...” He looked to Cameron, “both of you. Your mother left you when you were young. You don’t remember her, but I do, very well in fact... she was my daughter, Faron’s sister. We are your family.”
Hazel was speechless. As a girl she had longed for such a revelation, but she did not meet the news as she would have imagined. These men in front of her did not feel like family, they were little more than strangers. It occurred to her that she might have a grandmother there. “Your wife, our grandmother...”
Ayalon shook his head. “She died years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ayalon walked closer to her and caressed her cheek. “We thought you were lost.” He turned to Cameron and put a hand on his shoulder. “I know these aren’t ideal circumstances for our reunion, but we can still be grateful.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” asked Cameron.
“You had much on your mind, and I wanted to wait until you were together.”
Hazel was still trying to process the revelation. “If this is true, why didn’t our parents leave us here, with you?”
Faron replied, “I was only a young lad when Sophia was still here, but I do remember that she was always eager to see the world outside of Talamh. She felt restricted here. Perhaps she wanted to give you the option she didn’t have.”
