The Dove of Death sf-20

by Peter Tremayne

  ‘Do you know it?’ asked Eadulf.

  ‘I do. It is a small island not far from here — once used for lepers to dwell in, isolated from the rest of the communities. There is an old, grey-stone fortress there but it is no longer habitable.’ Bleidbara seemed annoyed with himself. ‘I had never thought to search there. People generally shun the island. So that is where the Koulm ar Maro was hidden all this time.’

  ‘Well,’ Eadulf said with grim satisfaction, ‘let us go and collect the Barnacle Goose. Where is the young captain, the one in white? Did he perish with the ship?’

  Bleidbara shook his head. ‘It was hard to extract information from the man,’ he said as he glared at the prisoner.

  ‘So what is the plan? They might have left more men on this island to defend it in case of attack.’

  Bleidbara rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘I see your point. We need to make some plan of attack.’

  ‘One that does not put our friends on the Barnacle Goose at risk,’ Eadulf pointed out.

  After a few moments, Bleidbara had decided on his next move. ‘I am in favour of sailing the Morvran directly to the island and making an immediate attack. At least the Koulm ar Maro is sunk and they have no large ship to counter our attack now.’

  ‘We should find out where it is anchored and how many men there are to defend it.’

  Bleidbara grinned, saying, ‘You have missed your calling, Brother Eadulf. You should have been a strategist.’ Turning aside, he then whispered, ‘This prisoner might speak Latin. Whatever I do, I want you to support me and not be shocked by anything.’

  Bewildered, Eadulf nodded.

  ‘If we can get the information we want, I will.’

  Bleidbara turned to a couple of his crewmen and issued orders. One of them took a rope and threw it over a spar, then proceeded to tie one end into a noose. The prisoner watched wide-eyed as the task was quickly accomplished.

  Bleidbara spoke to him harshly, then he turned to Eadulf and said in Latin: ‘I have told him that he is a pirate, a murderer and thief, and he knows the consequences of his actions.’

  The man began to tremble a little. And muttered something.

  ‘It seems our pirate pleads for mercy,’ interpreted Bleidbara.

  ‘Mercy has to be earned,’ Eadulf said, playing his part. ‘I can only pray that he will find mercy in the next world.’

  ‘You are right, Brother Eadulf. It is no use asking him for information. I will tell my men to put the noose around his neck.’

  The man’s hands were secured behind his back and, with a struggle, the noose was put in place.

  The man was sobbing now and talking almost incoherently. There was no need for Bleidbara to interpret. Eadulf’s expression of disgust was genuine, for he was revolted by the whole spectacle.

  However, Bleidbara was right. The man did speak some Latin and was straining towards Eadulf.

  ‘Please, please, Brother. You are a man of God. You cannot let him do this.’

  Eadulf turned to him with a severe expression, saying, ‘The captain is within his rights. You are guilty of the things he charges. Why should I intervene?’

  ‘I am entitled to a trial…I am-’

  ‘You are entitled to nothing more than the lack of mercy you showed your victims,’ interrupted Bleidbara harshly. He said something to his men and one of them tightened the rope so that the prisoner was forced up on tiptoe.

  The man screamed as he found himself being hauled up.

  ‘Stop!’ Eadulf ordered. ‘Lower him. Perhaps he could earn a hearing before one of your bretats — but only if he answers our questions.’

  The man almost collapsed, coughing and sobbing. Bleidbara seemed to consider what Eadulf said for a moment.

  ‘I might be lenient — if he tells me how many of his band are on Enez Lovrdi, exactly where they are placed, and where the prisoners are held.’

  The words immediately came tumbling out of the man.

  ‘There are only half a dozen fighting men on the merchant ship which we captured some days ago…’

  ‘And the prisoners?’

  ‘They are kept in the hold of the ship which is anchored in a creek on the north side of the island. It is deep water but surrounded by trees, so that it is hidden from casual observance.’

  ‘Are there lookouts at the fortress?’

  ‘Everyone who was left on the island is on the merchant ship.’

  ‘And you say that the woman is aboard?’

  ‘She is.’

  ‘Where is your captain?’

  The man gestured with the point of his chin towards the debris now floating on the waters.

  ‘He was hit directly by one of those fireballs. So was the mate.’

  ‘Was he a slight man dressed in white?’ intervened Eadulf.

  The prisoner looked at him blankly. ‘Taran? He was a big man from Pou-Kaer…Oh, you mean the man who gave Taran orders? He often came on our raids with us. No, he was not on board.’

  ‘Who is he? Where is he? At this Enez Lovrdi?’ demanded Bleidbara.

  ‘Not on the island,’ replied the man. ‘As for who he is, I don’t know. I presumed Taran knew. Whenever he came on board, he was dressed in white with a mask. A merciless man. You did not disobey him with impunity.’

  ‘So where is he now?’ demanded Eadulf sharply.

  ‘Our captain said our orders were to head out to sea and then come along the Rhuis Peninsula on the seaward side tonight at dusk. We were to wait near the cliffs by the abbey. Then pick up the man in white and his companion.’

  ‘At dusk?’

  The prisoner nodded rapidly.

  ‘And you swear that you do not know who this young man is, who has been giving you orders?’ pressed Eadulf.

  ‘I truly do not know who he is, Brother. Do not punish me for my ignorance. I have never seen him unmasked. I never saw his features, and if anyone dared disobey his orders then death was the immediate penalty. Even our captain, Taran, was in fear of him.’

  ‘Were you ever told what cause you were fighting for?’ intervened Bleidbara.

  ‘For booty, for riches — that is all I know.’

  Eadulf gazed down at the wretched man, who was now kneeling on the deck, hands still tied behind him and with the loosened rope still around his neck.

  ‘One question more. Who supplied you with your arrows? They are all well made.’

  The man hesitated a moment, as if surprised by the question, before replying, ‘The man in white supplied them and told us to use them. Also to use the banner and to make sure it was seen when we carried out our attacks.’

  ‘Did he explain the purpose?’

  ‘Perhaps to Taran but not to us.’

  ‘Let him be taken back to the other prisoners.’ Eadulf sighed, feeling a little disgusted with himself at having to force the information out of him in such a manner.

  Bleidbara gave the order but was gazing at Eadulf with something akin to admiration.

  ‘Well, Brother Eadulf, I swear that you make a good conspirator. That man would not have spoken, had we not frightened him to extract the information.’

  Eadulf’s expression was one of repugnance.

  ‘I did not enjoy the experience. What if he had refused to give the information?’ he asked.

  ‘Then we would have had to keep him a prisoner so that he could be tried,’ shrugged Bleidbara.

  Eadulf’s eyes widened. ‘You were just playing a game?’

  ‘I did not think it was a game,’ Bleidbara assured him. ‘But we needed the information and quickly.’

  ‘And now we have that information?’ queried Heraclius, speaking for the first time since the scene was played out before him.

  ‘I suggest that we sail directly for Enez Lovrdi, for this creek, and board the Barnacle Goose. While some of my men engage the guards, Eadulf will head for the hold and release the prisoners. He knows them, so he can reassure them about what is happening. Do we agree?’

  ‘I should go
with Eadulf,’ Heraclius advised. ‘He will need someone to watch his back.’

  ‘Agreed,’ replied Bleidbara. ‘I’ll instruct the men now, for we do not have much time before we are upon the island.’

  It seemed only minutes later that the Morvran was bearing down on a heavily wooded island. Bleidbara was determined to lead the assault himself and passed over the handling of the ship to his first mate. Already the sails were coming down and two smaller boats were swung out and lowered even as the Morvran closed towards what at first seemed a wall of dark rocks and trees. But as they came nearer, Eadulf saw that the rocks parted into a passage. Edging closer still, he saw the stern end of a large ship and felt a sudden elation as, more by instinct than recollection, he recognised the Barnacle Goose.

  He and Heraclius scrambled into one of the boats, joining Bleidbara and several of his men. Other warriors climbed into the second boat. Both small vessels were quickly propelled towards the creek in which the Barnacle Goose was moored.

  A shout from the ship told them they had been spotted. Eadulf was surprised that they had not been seen long before. Perhaps the guards who had been left behind were lax in their watch or were more concerned with watching their prisoners than thinking of an external attack.

  A few arrows flew harmlessly into the waters around them and then they were bumping against the side of the large seagoing vessel and Bleidbara’s men were swarming up the sides. Yelling and the clash of metal, along with the occasional cry of pain, filled the air as Eadulf grasped the rope and hauled himself up on the familiar deck he had quit what seemed a lifetime ago. Was it really just a few days? Heraclius came quickly after him.

  The deck was now a confusion of struggling bodies, men intent on killing each other. Eadulf dodged through them, the young Greek at his side, and headed towards the hold of the ship. It was no use trying to remove the deck hatches and so he led the way down beyond the stern cabins, for he knew that a small hatchway led from there into the cargo hold. They met with only one man, who seemed to be guarding the gangway; he lunged at Eadulf with his sword and, as Eadulf threw himself aside, Heraclius pressed forward and drove his weapon under the man’s ribs. With a gurgling scream, the assailant sank to the ground.

  Eadulf was at the hatch. He threw back the bolts and swung open the door. Inside was an evil-smelling darkness, relieved by a single candle. People were stirring there. A face appeared, familiar albeit bearded and haggard.

  ‘Hoel?’ frowned Eadulf, recognising the second mate of the Barnacle Goose. ‘Is that you?’

  The man’s eyes widened. ‘Brother Eadulf? Do you still live? We thought that you had drowned.’

  Eadulf had no time to tell the story, merely saying: ‘Get your people out and grab what weapons you can. You are being rescued.’

  Hoel turned back and repeated Eadulf’s words to those inside. There was a suppressed cheer and the next familiar figure that emerged was Wenbrit, the cabin boy.

  ‘Is the lady Fidelma alive?’ he asked wonderingly. ‘We thought you had drowned.’

  ‘We are both well,’ replied Eadulf quickly. ‘How many of you survived?’

  ‘They killed no more of us after they murdered the captain Gurvan and Menma, the crewman they shot when they first attacked the ship — and, of course, the lord Bressal.’

  ‘And you have all been confined here in the hold?’

  ‘We have.’

  ‘Then we’ll talk later. Let us make sure the ship is retaken.’

  Heraclius led the way back to the deck and by the time they reached it, they found that the fighting was over. The followers of the ‘Dove of Death’ had paid a heavy price, for there was only one prisoner. The bodies of the others were strewn across the deck, their fighting days over.

  The crew of the Barnacle Goose were confused after their long incarceration and by the bloody sights before them. Blinking in the daylight, and rubbing their eyes, they started to come to terms with the new situation.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Bleidbara strode forward across the deck and clapped Eadulf on the shoulder with a big smile of satisfaction.

  ‘It was well done,’ he said approvingly.

  ‘Any casualties?’

  ‘A few minor cuts and scratches, that’s all. These scum are no match for real fighting men when it comes to a fair fight.’

  Eadulf turned back to Hoel and Wenbrit and asked: ‘Are all the prisoners safe?’

  ‘We are,’ Hoel confirmed. ‘We were ordered to throw the bodies of Murchad and the others overboard while we were still at sea. We had to sail the ship here. Then we were placed in the hold. No one has harmed us since.’

  Bleidbara was looking around with a frown.

  ‘Where is the lady Trifina?’ he asked.

  Hoel looked blank.

  ‘A female,’ Eadulf said rather impatiently. ‘A woman of this country. Was she not in the hold with you?’

  Hoel shook his head. ‘Since we were forced to enter this creek we have been battened down below decks and have lost count of the day or night. We know of no other prisoners.’

  Bleidbara was making for the stern cabin and Eadulf, seeing the expression on his face, went quickly after him.

  The door of the cabin that had once been used by Murchad, the captain of the Barnacle Goose, was not secured. Bleidbara thrust it open unceremoniously. As he did so, a dagger embedded itself in the jamb of the door.

  Bleidbara started back with a curse. Then, recovering himself, he pushed inside with Eadulf at his shoulder. Trifina was pressed back in a corner with an expression of fear on her face. This dissolved into one of incredulity and then of joy, and she came rushing across the cabin and threw herself into Bleidbara’s arms.

  ‘At last! At last! I thought rescue would never come.’

  Bleidbara remained stiff and unresponsive. After a few moments, Trifina felt his coldness and drew back with a puzzled frown.

  ‘What…what is it?’ she asked uncertainly.

  ‘Why aren’t you a prisoner on this ship like the others?’

  She did not understand the implication. ‘But I am. I was.’

  ‘The cabin door was unlocked.’

  She smiled uncertainly, still not understanding his point.

  ‘What matters? I could not leave the cabin and there were always guards outside to watch me.’

  ‘Yet all the other prisoners were confined in the hold.’

  ‘I could not help them. I was well treated, provided I kept to the cabin.’

  ‘Lady Trifina.’ It was Eadulf who spoke. ‘The circumstances look suspicious, especially when these cut-throats fight under the flag of your family.’

  ‘But I explained that to Fidelma. These people are out to destroy my family,’ protested the girl.

  ‘They will destroy nothing now,’ Bleidbara told her icily. ‘The Koulm ar Maro lies at the bottom of the sea and we have slain most and captured the rest of their crew. Now all that remains for us to do is to identify their leader.’

  When Trifina turned her gaze to Bleidbara, Eadulf thought he saw in it an expression of sadness, before her features hardened.

  ‘Where is Fidelma?’ she demanded. ‘Am I now to be accused of being the leader of these raiders?’

  It was Eadulf who answered.

  ‘Fidelma is at Brilhag, so far as I know. That is where we are heading now, before…’He hesitated and then turned to the stone-faced Bleidbara.

  ‘Then I demand to see her,’ Trifina said. ‘I was abducted and have been held a prisoner here.’

  ‘And Iuna?’ Bleidbara asked, his voice steady.

  ‘Iuna?

  ‘It was she who woke me and, with one of these ruffians, bound and gagged me and took me down to a boat. They killed one of the guards who saw us before he could raise the alarm. Iuna was in league with them all along.’ Trifina sounded bitter.

  ‘You ask us to believe that?’ replied Bleidbara. ‘How do you explain that Iuna was left poisoned in her chamber when you disappeared, while
Ceingar was murdered? Yet you were abducted and put on this ship in comparative freedom.’

  ‘Iuna poisoned? Dead?’ Trifina cried, aghast.

  ‘Pray God that she is not.’

  ‘I do not know why you disbelieve me. I have spoken the truth. I was abducted by Iuna. I was placed on the boat and brought here, while she went back to the fortress.’

  ‘Who do you claim is this Koulm ar Maro then?’ demanded Bleidbara.

  ‘I met only with a thuggish man called Taran. He was the captain of the ship, the Koulm ar Maro. I saw no one else.’

  Eadulf turned to Bleidbara. He realised it was no use pressuring the girl any further. Fidelma would surely know what to do.

  ‘We will leave things to Fidelma,’ he told Bleidbara. ‘Meanwhile, we’d best put one of your seamen on The Barnacle Goose to help the crew guide her through these unknown waters. I suggest we sail both ships back to Brilhag before we proceed further.’

  Bleidbara turned without making any further acknowledgement of Trifina.

  ‘I’ll give the orders,’ he said shortly, over his shoulder.

  Alone for a moment, Trifina regarded Eadulf angrily, and then her expression softened.

  ‘I am not the Koulm ar Maro,’ she said, and she sighed deeply. ‘I have told the truth.’

  Eadulf had an instinct to believe, but then his instincts were sometimes wrong.

  ‘I saw this person once, this Dove of Death,’ he told her, ‘dressed all in white and masked. He or she was of a slight build and had a high-pitched voice — a man trying to sound like a woman…or a woman trying to sound like a man. I do not know.’

  ‘So you think it was me?’ Her voice was resigned. ‘Then the sooner we can get to Brilhag the better. Is it permitted that I go up on deck?’

  Eadulf stood aside. ‘Of course.’

  On deck he met with Wenbrit again. The boy was physically none the worse for his experience, but he was clearly unhappy.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Eadulf, as he found the boy sitting disconsolately on a step by the stern deck.

  ‘They killed Luchtigern.’

  ‘Luchtigern? The cat?’ Eadulf’s memory stirred. ‘No, they didn’t. We saw him at the Abbey of Gildas. Or rather, Fidelma did. He obviously came ashore. Did the boat put in near there?’