“I'll return,” she said to her maid. “I need to walk the needles from my legs. Watch over him?”
The maid silently took up Brida's chair, her needlework in her lap. Brida slipped quietly from the room, leaving the door open only a crack, and paced down the familiar stone hallways of her home. Her footfalls were soft but still they echoed off the walls. Her journey took her down to the ground floor where her father and brother were convening with their council, the heavy doors to the room pulled shut and two guards standing to attention outside them. They let Brida pass with no challenge, one of them pushing on the door until it opened just enough for her to squeeze through and into a room full of angry, shouting men.
She found her brother quickly. Eldric was standing to the side, his arms crossed over his chest, an annoyed, frustrated look on his face. He spared her a brief glance as she came to stand beside him and sighed.
“You look happy,” Brida said.
Eldric snorted. “They can't stop arguing long enough to make any progress. This one says we do this, that one says we do that. It's infuriating.”
“What are they fighting about now?”
“A suggestion made by Captain Alfred. Half of them think it's ridiculous superstition and the other half think he's a witch for suggesting it.”
Brida looked across the room to where their father sat silent and motionless at the head of the large table, listening to his commanders bicker around him. “Suggesting what?” she asked.
“That we find the wizard, that hermit that lives up in the mountains, and give him whatever he wants for his aid.”
“He must be dead by now,” Brida said.
Eldric shrugged. “I think Father will try anything at this point,” he said. He scuffed the toe of his boot against the floor. “How's Edmund?”
“The fever should break soon, hopefully. After that only time will tell. Will you sit with him soon?”
“When I can,” Eldric replied, “though at this rate I may never get the chance.” He sighed again and shook his head. “I wish Mother were still here. She could silence all of these fools with a single word.”
“So can Father,” Brida said.
“When he chooses,” Eldric replied, “but it seems he's content to let them squabble.”
Brida sighed and looked around at the arguing men. "I don't see what they think some old man in a cave can do, to harm or to help."
"They say he has great power," Eldric replied. "That whole armies bow before his might. It would be exactly what we need, if the tales are true."
"Peasant superstition," Brida said.
"Perhaps," Eldric replied, "but for the past half hour I have heard them speak of nothing else." A scowl overtook Brida's face. She shook her head in disgust.
"Come," she said, "I'm tired and need to rest. Father won't miss you if you look after Edmund for a while."
Eldric was quiet for a moment, leaving only the echoing shouts of the military council to fill the room. Finally he nodded. "Very well. I suppose I can do more good there than I can here. They haven't listened to a word I've said this entire meeting."
Brida slipped her arm around her brother's. "Edmund will be happy to see you if he wakes," she said. "He's most calm when I am at his side, but I imagine you'll be just as good."
"Thank you for your vote of confidence, sister," Eldric replied.
A soft laugh escaped Brida's lips. One of the soldiers standing by the door pulled it open for the two of them to depart, and once they were through closed it behind them, thoroughly muffling the sound of fighting coming from the other side.
"Peace and quiet at last," Eldric said. "I was starting to get a headache."
"They have to stop eventually," Brida said. "They can only waste so much time fighting with each other before the enemy is at our gate."
"They might as well already be," Eldric said. His face had darkened. "The reports our scouts are bringing back are nothing but trouble. At this point I would be happy to take a bet on this sorcerer of Alfred's, no matter what the cost. Better to be penniless than be a slave."
Brida squeezed her brother's arm, no words of comfort coming to mind. They retraced the steps Brida had taken from Edmund's bedroom and parted outside the door. Brida lingered, watching her brother take a deep breath and tug his tunic straight before entering. The room was mercifully quiet. She waited until she heard Eldric's heavy sigh and the creak of the chair as he settled before walking down the hall to her own chamber, thankfully shutting the heavy door behind her. She had no need of her maid to prepare her for bed, simply loosening the ties of her dress before curling up under her blankets. Her maid would be more useful helping Eldric care for their brother.
Sleep came easily and lingered for quite some time. Brida reckoned it was nearly dinner time when she finally woke up, if the growling in her stomach was anything to go by. The fact that no one had rushed in to wake her said that Edmund was still well, or as well as he could be, likely still asleep with Eldric by his side. Her maid was still missing as well. Brida rose and laced herself back into her dress, quickly brushing the tangles of sleep out of her hair and going to seek out her family. When she opened her door Eldric was standing on the other side, his fist raised as though he had been about to knock. He had changed into clean clothes and left his sword behind, and had shaved and brushed his hair back from his face as well. He gave her a tired smile.
"They've finally stopped fighting," he said, "and Edmund is well. Sleeping."
"Is he still feverish?" Brida asked. She automatically took her brother's arm.
"A little," Eldric replied. "Your girl reckons it will break by tomorrow morning."
"That's good to hear," Brida said. She spared a glance into Edmund's room as they passed by the door, seeing her tired maid sitting at his bedside, her needlework in her lap but her hands still on the needle and thread. The girl deserved a break after this day. "And did the council reach a decision?"
"They have," Eldric said, but seemed reluctant to say anything more.
"And?" Brida pressed.
"And, they have agreed to seek this sorcerer out, and pay any price he wishes if it means he will grant us his aid. I will ride out tomorrow with a contingent of men, as Father's representative, to win him over to our side or to die trying."
His words left a heavy weight in the pit of Brida's stomach. "All will be well, brother," she said, dropping her hand to his and squeezing his strong, callused fingers, "and you will come home safe, with or without this man."
Eldric smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm starved," he said instead. "I was afraid they would continue to argue all night. Though if this plan doesn't work we'll be right back where we started."
"I have every faith in your ability to negotiate," Brida said.
"I'm glad you do," Eldric replied. "I must admit I've been beginning to doubt myself."
"Father has much on his mind," Brida said. "He doesn't mean to disregard you."
"I know," Eldric said. "Still, it frustrates me."
Brida squeezed his hand once more and pressed her cheek to his shoulder.
The doors to the great hall stood open, and instead of angry shouting filling the air Brida heard gentle conversation over the music the minstrels in the corner played. The scent of food only made Brida's stomach voice its hunger more adamantly. She let her brother lead her to her seat and pull out her chair, then waited for him to take his place next to her before she began to fill her plate and trencher while Eldric poured her fine wine imported from Frankia. Their father sat quietly at the head of the table, a world of worry in his eyes. She hoped that this plan of Captain Alfred's would work, if only so she could see her father and brother's smile again. As hungry as she was, the food on her plate lost its taste.
That night before she sought her bed, she prayed fervently to God that her brother would return safe, with a solution to their problem.
*****
She was awake early the next morning to see her brother and hi
s men ride out with Captain Alfred at his side. There was an uncertainty in the air as a priest blessed their journey and bid them return with good fortune on their heels. She stood at her father's side and watched the men ride out of the gates, the chain and plate of their armor glinting in the sunrise. Brida and Ulric lingered in the bailey until the men had vanished over the horizon and there was nothing to look at but the steadily lightening sky. Ulric sighed heavily and turned, laying a hand on Brida's shoulder and squeezing before he laboriously made his way back into the keep. Brida stayed a moment longer then followed him.
The halls felt empty without Eldric and his men to fill them. She lifted her skirt out of the way of her feet and mounted the tightly winding stairs to the upper levels of the keep, seeking out her brother Edmund's room. As her maid had said, his fever had broken during the night, and now he truly slept peacefully. When he woke she would have a hot bath drawn for him and try to find a delicate way to tell him that Eldric might not come home. They were traitorous thoughts to have, but Brida couldn't help them. She feared for her brother's safety, and would have given anything and everything she had to make sure he came home safe. Brida and her maid tended to their needlework and commented on mundane things until there was nothing left to speak of and conversation lapsed.
Brida's attention wavered. Only the sharp prick of the needle against the tip of her finger drew her back into the present. She sucked her finger into her mouth, scowling, just in time to hear Edmund inhale sharply and move around on the bed. With a tiny groan he cracked his eyes open. Brida turned her gaze to her maid.
"Fetch the doctor," she said, "and heat water for a bath." The maid curtsied and hurried off, her shoes pitter pattering on the stone floors. Brida helped Edmund to sit against the head of the bed, smoothing his hair back from his face. "Are you well, brother?" she asked.
Edmund's eyes were half-lidded, but his gaze focused easily on Brida's face. He smiled weakly. "I am," he said. "Have I missed much? I had such strange dreams... You were in them, surrounded by fire, by death..." He shook his head and groped for Brida's hand. She clutched his tightly.
"I'm well, brother," she said, "things are well. We have... a solution, I think, to our problem."
"Oh?" Edmund asked. "What?"
Brida took a deep breath and told him as carefully as she could, watching his expression go from shock to concern.
"That's risky," he said. "And you say Eldric has gone?" Brida nodded. Edmund sighed and sank back against his pillows. "I pray to God he comes back safe."
"I'm as skeptical as you," Brida said. "I doubt this man is anything more than a crazy old hermit, but Captain Alfred was very adamant that he has some kind of great power. What I fear most is the price our father will have to pay to win this man to our side. We have already almost depleted our treasury fighting these invaders, and now with the trouble to the south..."
"The faster this conflict ends the better," Edmund said, "no matter the cost."
Brida managed a small smile and leaned in to kiss the side of Edmund's temple. Soon after her maid returned with several of the man servants in tow, each of them carrying buckets of steaming water which they poured into the tub by the fire. Brida and her maid left, leaving one man servant to help Edmund undress and get into the bath. The doctor came hurrying down the hall after they stepped out, slipping past them into the room without bothering with a greeting.
"That will be all, Judith, go rest," Brida said to her maid.
Judith curtsied and left. Brida stood alone in the hall for a short time, listening to the soft voices of her brother and the doctor conversing. Their tones reassured her that nothing was terribly wrong, and that Edmund's leg had remained clear of any further infection. Brida returned to her own room to change out of her dress into something simpler and more suited for a walk through the carefully maintained garden in the back of the keep, where Brida could always find a sense of peace when she sought it.
A small statue of Mary sat in the quietest corner of the garden, a place touched by sun only twice a day. She knelt in the soft grass before it, folded her hands and bowed her head, and thanked the blessed lady and her son for healing Edmund, and sent up prayers once more for them to protect her brother Eldric on his righteous journey to save their lands and people, no matter what the cost. She would even sacrifice herself to see that he came home safely.
*****
The week that passed between Eldric's departure and his return, looking tired and dirty but whole, was agony. Brida prayed every day and spent her time taking care of Edmund, doing everything from washing his wound and helping him walk around the room to reading to him when the pain kept him up at night. He was well enough to stand on his own by the time their brother came home and was at her side when she rushed out to greet the party after a panting look-out delivered the news of their arrival. Their father followed shortly after to greet his son. Anxiety rolled off of him in waves, accentuating Brida's own, but she cared more for her brother's well-being than she did for any sorcerer he brought home.
Eldric was at the head of the party, sitting tall on his horse despite being covered with dirt and sweat from the journey. A stable boy hurried up to take the reins and leave Eldric free to dismount and stride to Ulric, throwing his cloak back over his shoulder.
"Well?" Ulric said. Whatever concern he had for his oldest son he hid well. "Do you have what we need?"
"Yes, my lord," Eldric replied.
"Bring him to the hall," Ulric said. "I will speak to him in private."
Eldric bowed his head. Ulric gave a last look out at the weary men currently dismounting in the courtyard then turned on his heel to head back into the keep. The tension in the air eased with his departure. A grin broke out across Eldric's face, weary but joyful. He closed the distance between himself and his siblings and wrapped them both up in a tight hug. He smelled of horses and sweat and leather. Brida returned the embrace earnestly.
"You need a bath," she said when she pulled away, wiping tears of relief from her eyes. "You stink of the road."
"Aye," Eldric said. "As soon as I deliver our sorcerer to Father. I plan on having a good bath, a hot meal and a large mug of ale to wash it down." He looked at their brother. "Edmund. It's so good to see you up and about. I was worried I would return to find you still bedridden."
"With Brida's help," Edmund replied. He craned his neck to look over Eldric's shoulder. "Where's this man you sought?"
Eldric half turned. Brida followed her brothers' gazes. Many of the men she recognized, both young and old, but there was one, tall with hair the color of a raven's wing, that was not one of Eldric's men.
"Is that him?" she asked softly, afraid to speak above a whisper lest the stranger somehow hear her.
Eldric nodded. "He's a strange fellow," he said. "Very quiet. But he came easily enough."
"What did you offer him?" Brida asked. She remembered her prayers to God and the Virgin Mother and suddenly found it very difficult to breathe.
"Money," Eldric replied. "And the promise that he would be left alone once this conflict ends. He agreed easily enough once I gave him my word, perhaps too easily." Eldric's face darkened with distrust. "At any rate, we have what we need, and now I must find what I need." He left his siblings with a final smile to make his way to the stranger.
"Help me to my room, sister?" Edmund said. "My leg hurts to stand on."
"Of course," Brida replied. She slipped her arm through Edmund's and turned them around, putting their brother, his men, and their secret weapon behind them. With the help of a cane Edmund could walk easily enough, though his pace was slow and jolting. It was stairs that gave him the most trouble. Brida was always afraid he would tumble back down them and crack his head open. He made it up with little trouble. Brida helped him into bed and left him with a book to amuse himself, then left to see if the guards would allow her into the great all.
Her curiosity about this sorcerer had been piqued and she wanted to know who he was and what
he could do. Just because her father hadn't seen fit to educate her in the ways of war didn't mean that it was beyond her realm of interests. Her future was in the balance, as was that of those she loved most. Were they to lose this conflict, there was no doubt in her mind that her entire family would be executed, and Brida would either find herself married to a brute or with her head on a pike next to her brothers'.
To her surprise the doors to the hall were cracked open, and it was only her father and Captain Alfred inside with the stranger. The air in the room was heavy with tension. It scraped across Brida's skin the second she slipped inside to stand against the back wall, eyeing the stranger carefully. He was taller than both men and dressed in simple clothes, the kind meant for travel and a hard life, and not at all the finery Brida had expected such a powerful man to wear. She wasn't sure what she had expected, if she was honest. Someone older, perhaps, with white hair and a long beard, like in the old legends, and the villains in the stories her nurse had used to tell her and her brothers.
"I will do as you have asked," the stranger said in a low voice that seemed like it came from deep within his chest. "And I will keep my word, so long as you keep yours and leave me in peace. I know not how you found me, but you will put everything you saw from your mind. I do not make a habit of dabbling in the affairs of hu—of mere men."
Ulric nodded. "Courtnay's forces are gathering here, at our northern border." He jabbed a finger at a map stretched across the table, held down by a dagger at one corner and a goblet at the other. "We've not the forces to hold them off, but with you on our side victory is assured." He glanced up at the sorcerer. "If you fail to keep your word, I will cut your head off myself."
Endless Abduction Page 33
