I told him my prepared story. He did not ask questions that would have revealed the truth, such as why I said I was from Glenfalloch, when last summer I had told him Tali and I came from an isolated settlement south of Hiddenwater. He did not comment on my status as a married woman, when at the time of the Gathering Tali and I had been travelling on our own. He did not mention our previous encounter at all. Instead, Rohan Death-Blade asked me how I would treat ill humours in a wound. He asked what I would do if confronted with a man whose hand had been severed by an axe blow. How would I prevent him from bleeding to death, and would he thank me for it? He asked if I had the strength for bone setting, and I answered honestly that I would need a strong assistant to set a broken limb, but that I could instruct such a person efficiently. He listened to my answers, while Brenn stood by with a convincing expression of pride on his face.
‘Capable rider, are you?’ Rohan asked at the end.
I felt myself flush. ‘I’m afraid not. My method of riding is to go up behind Morven and hold on tightly.’
‘Long ride to Summerfort. Two full days at least.’
‘If you give us this chance, my lord, I promise not to complain on the way.’
‘If you’re going to be staying at court, you should learn to ride. We move between Summerfort and Winterfort every year.’
‘I understand, my lord.’ Was he saying yes?
‘I’m nobody’s lord, Ellida. I’m a fighter, not a courtier.’ He looked at Brenn once more. ‘You’ll need a fresh horse; yours can be brought to Summerfort when the court moves later in the season. Talk to the grooms, get them to find you a mount suitable to carry your wife as well.’
‘Thank you.’ Brenn’s tone was grateful without being grovelling. He was good at this. I limited my thanks to a smile. It came to me that perhaps Rohan had said yes, not in spite of my being the woman he had met at the Gathering under such suspicious circumstances, but because of it. If that was true, either he had rebel sympathies or he was setting a trap.
‘Don’t give me cause to regret this,’ Rohan said, sounding more like the Enforcer he was. ‘Not in any way, you understand? You’ll find the situation at Summerfort somewhat confronting. You accept it, you deal with it, you perform your duties and you watch what you say.’
‘We understand,’ Brenn said.
‘I’m not sure you can understand until we get there.’ Then, to me, ‘There’ll only be four of us riding out, myself, my comrade Doman and the two of you. Morven, your weaponry will be returned to you before we leave. I’m bending some rules here, but in view of what the two of you have to offer, I’m prepared to do that. Make sure you don’t betray the trust I’m placing in you. Now go and see the grooms. I want to be away from here quickly.’ He glanced over his shoulder, as if to check nobody was close by. ‘We’ll take it a little more gradually than usual. You may be confident in your ability to do this, Ellida, but in my judgement you’ll be lucky to last the day out.’
We made camp by Brightwater, in a spot that looked as if it might be frequently used for the purpose, since there was a fireplace among stones, a neat stack of wood beside it, and a stretch of level, sandy shore where the horses could be easily watered. Brenn lifted me down from the horse’s back; I steadied myself against its flank, willing my legs to hold me up. I longed for nothing more than to lie down on my blanket and not move one inch until morning. But in the company of the two Enforcers, with Summerfort only another day’s ride away, I did not want to show weakness.
‘I need to stretch my legs, get rid of a few cramps,’ I said as the men began unsaddling their horses. I made my way with extreme care down to the shore, trying not to walk like an old woman.
‘Stay in sight,’ said Rohan.
The light was fading; further along the water’s edge some geese had come ashore and were settling noisily for the night. I suppressed the longing to sit down on the ground, breathe deeply for a while and think of nothing at all. I made myself do what Tali would do. Bend, stretch. Walk on the spot until the cramps eased. Tali would then have run along the shore and back again, not once but several times, each time a little quicker than the last. But Ellida would not run with three men watching, two of them virtual strangers.
I walked briskly until I was almost out of sight, then walked back again a little more quickly. Brenn gave me a smile as I came up to the camping spot; Rohan glanced at me but said nothing. The other Enforcer, Doman, was busy settling the three horses.
‘Feeling better?’ Brenn asked.
‘Yes. What can I do to help?’
‘You can make a fire,’ said Rohan.
‘I’ll do –’ Brenn began.
‘Of course.’ There was plenty of dry material about, and the stack of wood made the task easy. Brenn came over to break up some of the longer branches for me, but otherwise the men left the job to me.
It was as I moved about the area collecting material to get the blaze started that I felt the tingle of magic again. I did not think any Good Folk were close at hand, for the sensation was faint, but perhaps they had passed this way. I looked about more carefully. Here was a neat pile of tiny white stones, all perfectly egg-shaped. Here were five holly leaves threaded onto a willow stick. And here, half concealed by leaf litter, was a feather that had once been white, and now was grey with dust and spattered with what I guessed was blood. A message. Whisper.
‘You all right, Ellida?’
I started at Brenn’s voice; I had been standing stock still, the feather in my hand.
‘Mm, yes.’ They’d been here recently enough for these traces to be undisturbed. It seemed the uncanny army was being taken to Summerfort, or somewhere close by. That meant the Caller would be there. And so, almost certainly, would Flint.
‘Need help?’ asked Brenn.
‘Oh. No, I’m fine.’ I slipped the feather into my pouch, picked up the pile of tinder and got back to the job of fire lighting. This was no accident, I was sure of it. Whisper had known I was coming; had sensed it. And had managed to escape the other Caller’s control for long enough to leave me a sign. After all, my friend was not quite broken.
Do not cry, I ordered myself. Not one tear. Be like Flint. Play your part as he does, as if it were the only truth.
Later, while both Brenn and Doman slept, Rohan kept watch. He did not stand with spear in hand but sat by the fire, staring at the glowing coals with a slight frown on his brow. I could not sleep, so I lay watching, and saw him get up every so often to patrol the camping area – he walked with barely a sound – before returning to his place.
My mind was too full to let me rest. What troubled me most in a whole sea of difficulties was that, if Whisper had sensed I was close by and left me a token, the other Good Folk might also be aware of me. When we reached Summerfort, if indeed they were being held there, I might find I could not keep my gift concealed from them. I had visited three Guardians, had learned something from each of them, and had not once asked for advice on how to mask my ability from uncanny folk. The plan had always been that I would come to Summerfort with the rebels, conceal myself in the crowd with the others, and call in our fey allies when Tali stood up to challenge the king. We had never planned for a second Caller and a second army of Good Folk.
‘Can’t sleep?’ Rohan’s voice was quiet.
So he’d noticed I was awake. Being an Enforcer, perhaps he noticed everything.
‘I’m making a brew,’ he said. ‘Join me if you like.’
He was efficient, like Flint. The little pot on the fire, the handful of herbs from a supply neatly stowed in his pack, even a spare cup.
Rohan noticed me sniffing the brew, trying to work out the ingredients, and said, ‘I am no herbalist. A healer made this up for me. Told me there’s some skill required in getting the proportions just right.’
Was he making polite conversation or testing me? ‘It’s the rosemary,’ I
said. ‘When it’s made into a tea, a little is good for you. Too much, taken often, can kill you.’ I wondered why the healer had given him this particular mixture, which was effective in soothing troubled minds. Was Rohan, too, beset by whirling thoughts, dilemmas too difficult to solve? ‘I’d say this brew is mostly chamomile and peppermint, with only a touch of rosemary.’
He smiled, and I remembered the day of the Gathering, when he had helped Flint rescue us. Until then, that day had been all darkness, a sickening show of what Alban and its people had become under Keldec’s rule. Rohan’s kindness toward us had been all the more memorable, coming on such a day.
‘You did well today,’ Rohan said. ‘You hide your weakness like a warrior.’
‘I did promise not to complain.’
‘Someone has taught you to be strong.’
‘May I ask you a question?’
‘Go ahead.’
‘You said something back at Winterfort about the training my husband will be doing; you said the situation would be confronting. What did you mean?’
His guileless blue eyes met mine. ‘That’s rather direct,’ he said.
‘I’m concerned for Morven. He’s a good fighter, and quick-witted enough to get himself out of trouble. But confronting sounds serious. I’ll be at Summerfort too. What should we expect?’
‘I don’t answer that kind of question, Ellida. Especially when it’s asked by someone I met less than a day ago. Already I’ve skipped several checks that should have occurred before I let Morven ride with me. Don’t make me regret that.’ His tone was still friendly, his manner unchanged, but the message was quite clear.
‘I’m sorry,’ I murmured. ‘I won’t, I promise.’ Stupid. All of Alban knew the peril of asking too much, or of revealing too much. Rohan’s quick decision to let us come with him had been startling. I was sure people didn’t get invitations to join the Enforcers, or to work in Keldec’s household, without going through rigorous checking. Even at times when Summerfort needed every trained fighter it could find, there’d be hard questioning and the need to wait until the story was verified. Otherwise someone would have assassinated Keldec years ago.
Rohan was the kind of man a person might want as a friend; a man whose openness inspired confidences. But he might be an accomplished dissembler like Flint. The question was where his true loyalties lay.
At dusk the next day, we reached the spot where the river Rush divided into three and flowed into the great loch of Deepwater. There, at the southern end of the Rush Valley, was Summerfort, surrounded by a defensive wall as Winterfort was. Beside the fortress lay a broad open area where men practised the arts of war. This, too, had its wall, substantial but low enough to allow a glimpse within, provided a person had a vantage point such as that forested hill across the river, the place where Flint and Rohan had left Tali and me after the Gathering. Up there, Sage’s clan of Good Folk had various boltholes and pathways.
Working as a healer, I’d need to gather herbs from time to time. If I could get into those woods on my own, I might be able to meet Sage or Silver or whoever was about, and send a message to Tali at Shadowfell. My heart grew a little lighter, though I could not look at Summerfort without remembering the Gathering in all its hideous detail. Nor could I ignore the feeling that magic was once again close, this time far stronger than it had been at Winterfort. In the face of this stronghold, which must be full of iron, I sensed a powerful presence of the uncanny.
At the time of the Gathering there had been tents set up on the level ground between the fortress and the river. That temporary settlement had housed both ordinary travellers like Tali and me, and the household retainers of Alban’s chieftains. Only the guests of highest status were accommodated in the keep itself. When I’d passed this way at other times of year, the level area had held only rough grass dotted with the stumps of the lovely willows that had once grown there. Today the tents were back. Not only that, but campfires burned here and there among them, and I glimpsed folk moving about. Beyond the encampment, Enforcers stood guard.
‘Not far now,’ Rohan said, giving me an assessing look. Before I could say a word, he and Doman moved their horses in on either side of our mount, effectively blocking my view. Had I actually seen Good Folk down there, sitting around a fire eating a meal? Or had that only been a trick of the light? Was Keldec’s uncanny army housed outside the fortress walls, within a heartbeat of the forest?
‘As you see,’ Rohan said, ‘Summerfort has some unusual guests at present. Don’t comment, don’t ask questions. Not at any time. Understood?’
‘Of course,’ murmured Brenn.
‘Understood,’ I said. My heart was beating fast. Flint was probably here; I might see him soon. Would I be able to guard my tongue and school my expression well enough?
The gate guards called a challenge; Rohan identified himself and Doman, said we were his guests and told them to hurry up and let us in while there was still some supper left. There was laughter; evidently they knew him well. A gate was opened for us and we rode through into the practice yard, which was empty. The magic was powerful here, for all that.
The men dismounted, and Brenn helped me down.
‘Now some news you may not like much,’ Rohan said with a half-smile. ‘There are no married quarters for Enforcers, at least not until they’re fully trained and allocated to a troop; at that point you can put in a request and it will be looked at.’ He pointed toward an annexe of the keep, located near the inner gates. ‘Stag Troop sleeps and eats there; we work all day. That includes the new recruits, Morven. Ellida, I’ll have a word with the household steward about you; they won’t be expecting either of you, and I think a wife will be something of a surprise. The women’s quarters are in the main part of the keep. When the queen’s in residence there can be a shortage of beds, but there will be plenty of room at present. In the morning someone will introduce you to our healers.’
‘Thank you,’ I said. And halted where I stood, because striding toward us from the direction of the annexe was a familiar figure. Tears sprang to my eyes. He was here, he was well, my troubling dream of him imprisoned and blind had not, after all, been true.
‘Rohan! You’re here earlier than we expected. Doman, welcome. I trust you –’ Flint saw me and came to a sudden, complete halt. Say something, I willed him.
It was Rohan who filled the dangerous silence. ‘Owen, this is Morven from the household of Gormal of Glenfalloch. He wants to train with our recruits. Morven arrived just as I was leaving, and in view of his skills and experience, I made an exception to the rules for him. This is Ellida, Morven’s wife. An accomplished healer. I’m sure a place can be found for her here.’
Flint managed a nod to Brenn. Now he was making sure he did not meet my eye. ‘A long ride,’ he commented.
‘For Ellida in particular, since she’s not a horsewoman,’ Rohan said. ‘Doman, you and Morven take the horses to the stables and settle them in, then you can show him the living quarters. I’ll take Ellida into the keep and find someone to look after her.’
‘I’ll do that.’ Now Flint had control of his voice again. ‘I imagine Toleg will appreciate another assistant. This is a period of intensive training for us, and that tends to mean a steady flow of minor injuries. This way,’ he said to me, offering an arm in the manner of a courtier.
‘Your bag,’ Brenn said. ‘And your staff – here.’ He unstrapped my belongings from the horse’s back and handed them over; Flint shouldered the bag. ‘Might be a while before I see you, from the sound of things,’ Brenn added, and bent to kiss me on the brow. ‘Be safe, sweetheart.’
With my arm in Flint’s and my whole body alive to his, I rose to my tiptoes and kissed Brenn on the cheek. Our story must be maintained at every moment; we must make no errors, even in the company of men who knew the truth or half-guessed it. ‘And you be safe,’ I said. ‘I’ll miss you.’
Fl
int and I walked across the practice area, the place where so much blood had been shed last midsummer. When we reach that doorway, I thought, I’ll have to let go of him. And I wished the walk were a hundred, a thousand times longer.
‘Tell me you’re not actually married to that man,’ Flint said under his breath.
‘Of course not. He’s one of us. Flint, tell me quickly, is the other Caller here?’ It felt perilous to speak of this, even with a wide empty space all around us. In a place like this, I wondered if anywhere was truly safe.
‘You know, then. My message got through.’
‘I know because I saw them marching north. That’s why I’ve come.’ We were halfway to the inner gates already. Torches burned in sockets to either side, and guards would be on duty in the tower. Even out of earshot, we had to be careful.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ Flint murmured. ‘But your being here terrifies me. The Caller, Esten – watch out for him, he’s more powerful than he looks. And beware of the man who controls him, Brydian. In the queen’s pocket, and quick to suspect anyone. Brydian is canny. His gift allows him to protect Esten while he’s close; that reduces the possibilities.’
He was speaking of assassination; telling me it couldn’t be done while this Brydian was about. I said nothing, only nodded.
‘Don’t draw attention to yourself,’ Flint said. ‘You’ll have seen what’s beyond the walls. I’m . . . working on that. No more now.’
We were still twenty feet from the gates, but someone had seen us coming. The gates were opened and two Enforcers came from within to stand one to each side, waiting for us to enter. I had the distinct sense that I was walking into a prison.
‘Not far now, Ellida,’ Flint said, nodding at the guards as we passed between them. ‘I’ll find someone to look after you.’
‘Thank you. May I ask your name?’
He smiled. ‘Owen. Owen Swift-Sword. I’m the leader of Stag Troop, and we have responsibility for the training of warriors, both the new and the seasoned. Your husband, I gather, is in the latter group. Still, there are aspects of an Enforcer’s training that a man cannot learn anywhere but here. I’m sure you understand that.’
The Caller Page 20
