Bridge of Swords

by Duncan Lay

  ‘So what was he like as a child?’ Rhiannon teased. ‘Was he as dirty and dressed as badly as he is now?’

  ‘Oh, worse,’ Glyn assured them. ‘You should have seen him singing to the sheep. They thought it was the craziest dog they had ever come across!’

  ‘I can just imagine him as a boy, singing to the animals. Did they ever join in?’ Rhiannon laughed.

  ‘They made a better audience than some I have performed to,’ Huw admitted with a smile.

  ‘Aroaril knows what he was like as a boy — I had to just about fight to get him to take a bath in honour of the day.’ Sendatsu smiled.

  ‘Here now — you won’t be making everyone take baths when you rule Vales, will you?’ Glyn asked nervously. ‘I don’t hold with that!’

  They laughed as they rode. Huw looked at Rhiannon and was so happy he was almost afraid.

  ‘This is our chance,’ Hanto snapped. ‘We kill the others, grab Sendatsu and be back in Dokuzen before nightfall. We may not get another opportunity, so we cannot make another mistake.’

  Jin and Taigo wanted to go back, more than anything. Their wounds had not really healed properly, while they were filthy and hungry, struggling to find enough to fill their bellies. Hanto, on the other hand, was driven by something more. His eyes still burned with the desire for revenge.

  They had watched the battle the day before with a mixture of fear and excitement, worrying that Sendatsu would be killed but hoping to find an opening in the chaos that followed. They had stalked through the woods but been unable to get close enough. Now, as if responding to their prayers, four riders had left the village — including Sendatsu.

  ‘No mercy. I want him dead rather than escape me again.’

  His two companions nodded dully, willing to do anything if it meant a return to the comforts of Dokuzen.

  ‘Here we are!’ Glyn pointed out the oak, sitting alone in a small clearing, a well-trodden path to it, and around it.

  ‘So what now? Do we sit here while you walk around it?’ Sendatsu asked. He had relaxed; they were still close to the village, so close they could see the lookout tower and the wall, and the laughter had eased his fears.

  ‘Not at all. You stay with Huw here, while I take Rhiannon across to the west. Then we both approach, one from the east, one from the west; the fathers — that’s us — step back and the two of them take their hands, exchange vows and Walk The Tree together.’

  ‘And what are the vows?’

  ‘Well, to love, honour and obey, of course.’ Huw grinned. ‘Although I doubt the obey part will ever come true.’

  ‘Nor should it.’ Rhiannon winked at him. Her hair had been braided elaborately by Glyn’s wife, Wendi, while she wore a long cloak over the dress she had chosen for the wedding.

  ‘They promise to take no other, to raise their children well, to always be faithful and to work together, to look after each other as long as there is breath in their body,’ Glyn added.

  ‘A vow for the whole of Vales,’ Sendatsu said softly, thinking of the weddings he had been to at Dokuzen, the two elves before a priest of Aroaril, swearing to God they would never be apart. Sometimes it worked but often one or both took other lovers, like Gaibun with Asami. Then there was his marriage — they had been polite to each other but there had been no love there. It was typical of many marriages in Dokuzen. Life went on whether families were together or fighting. In fact, there were feuds that had been going for generations, clans who actively sought to destroy another. There were elves that would have drawn swords if not for the culture of exquisite politeness. Instead they devoted their lives to secretly undermining the opposing clan. It was one of the things that kept Jaken so busy. The simplicity and the selflessness of Vales seemed to be a far better way of living.

  ‘Give us a short while to get ready, then begin to walk,’ Glyn instructed as he and Rhiannon kept riding, while Huw and Sendatsu got down from their horses, tying the reins around the low-flung branch.

  ‘It is traditional to keep the man waiting for a little while — to make him think about what he will miss if he does not marry the woman of his dreams,’ Glyn whispered as they rode on into the woods.

  ‘But not too long.’ Rhiannon smiled as they climbed down from the horses, tying them to a tree.

  ‘Let him sweat a little. He does not know how lucky he is.’ Glyn chuckled.

  ‘We are both lucky,’ Rhiannon corrected. She made her way around the horses so both were between her and Glyn and then slipped off her cloak and laid it over the saddle.

  ‘Did your wife make you wait?’

  ‘Too long!’ Glyn laughed.

  ‘Well, there we are then. Does my dress look fine? Is it too crushed?’

  But Glyn did not answer, just made a strange sort of choking noise.

  Rhiannon wondered if that was some sort of compliment, or perhaps the man needed a drink of water. She stepped around the horses, twirling her dress as she did so.

  ‘Are you all right …?’ she began, then stopped in horror.

  Glyn stood facing her, but there was blood at his mouth and a sword point was sticking out of the middle of his chest. He gave her a last, agonised look, then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed onto the ground. Rhiannon watched his slow-motion fall in terror and then looked up to see a Forlish warrior leering at her.

  She took a pace backwards, opened her mouth to shout a warning, only to have a large, dirty hand clamped across her mouth.

  ‘Don’t want you to let them know the surprise we have for them.’ The warrior who had killed Glyn grinned viciously. ‘Come on, down the path.’

  She kicked out, determined to alert Huw and Sendatsu, but a powerful punch into her kidneys left her agonised, temporarily paralysed with the pain. A strong arm grabbed her wrist, twisted it high behind her back, while the rough hand smothered her attempts to call out. She tried to dig her feet in but she was helpless against her captor’s greater strength. She was hustled down the path towards the tree.

  ‘Well, you are getting what you want here — but don’t blame me if it comes back to bite you when you tell Rhiannon the truth,’ Sendatsu muttered.

  ‘I shall tell her. Once we are married,’ Huw insisted.

  ‘It may be your marriage but might also be your funeral,’ Sendatsu grumbled.

  ‘Nobody asked you to stay here,’ Huw said tartly.

  ‘Well, actually you did,’ Sendatsu reminded him. ‘You’ve been trying to get me to stay here for longer than I wanted since we met!’

  ‘Well, after today you can do what you want, go where you will,’ Huw said absently. ‘Do you think she’s taking a long time down there?’

  Sendatsu looked down the path and tapped Huw on the shoulder. ‘Here they come!’

  Huw straightened his shoulders, closed his eyes and took a deep breath — then shouted in shock and surprise as he saw, not Glyn escorting Rhiannon to the tree, but a struggling Rhiannon being hustled down the path by a Forlish warrior.

  ‘Let her go, unless you want to spend the rest of your life screaming in agony,’ Sendatsu vowed, his sword leaping into his hand.

  ‘Drop the sword, elf! And you drop any weapons you have, bard!’ the warrior shouted. ‘Drop them or she dies!’

  To emphasise his words, another three of them appeared out of the shadows, swords in hands, all of them pointing at Rhiannon.

  Sendatsu and Huw exchanged helpless looks. They were a good ten yards away from the little group and it was impossible to cross that distance before one or more of the Forlish killed Rhiannon.

  ‘If we drop our swords, we are dead anyway,’ Sendatsu murmured.

  ‘Quick now, my patience is running out!’ the Forlishman snarled.

  Rhiannon struggled anew. She had seen Sendatsu in action often enough to know four Forlish warriors were not beyond his ability. But he could not act if they held her. She hated that. It was just like those stories they performed. The helpless heroine. Well, she would not be a part of that. She stamped down on
her captor’s calf, raking her heel down the muscle, then bit down on the hand over her mouth — trying not to think what it tasted like — heard the howl of pain and snapped her head back for good measure, trying to hit his nose, feeling solid contact but not the satisfying squish that indicated she had struck her target.

  It half worked. She was free for a moment, jumped forwards and opened her mouth to shout, ‘We’re all dead anyway — kill them!’ before another blow in the ribs dropped her to her knees.

  Sendatsu and Huw both started forwards as she threw off the first Forlishman but two others converged on her, one slamming his fist into her side, the other grabbing her arms and twisting them back.

  ‘No closer! No closer or I swear she dies!’ Her original captor, blood streaming from his hand and his cheekbone swelling red, held his sword close to her neck.

  Rhiannon could feel the cold steel, the edge rough from all the sharpening, and went very still. It was all very well sitting around a warm fire, talking about how death was better than being dragged before Ward — but it was hard to embrace it when it was a hair’s breadth from your throat.

  Sendatsu was torn. Everything he had learned told him to take his chances and attack. But he cared too much for Rhiannon to risk her life.

  ‘Enough! Drop your swords!’ The Forlishman grabbed Rhiannon’s hair, pulled her head back to expose her throat.

  ‘Sendatsu! Drop your sword!’ Huw cried, agonised, hurling his own knife to the ground. His crossbow was still on his saddle and too far away to be of any use.

  ‘I can’t! If they get us, there is no way out,’ Sendatsu hissed. ‘They won’t hurt her — they want to bring her back to Ward unharmed.’

  Huw looked back and, in response, the Forlishman jerked his hand in Rhiannon’s hair, making her cry out. But she stared at them, her eyes telling them not to give in.

  ‘Do you bet her life on it?’ Huw muttered.

  ‘I count to three and then I strike! King Ward wants you alive but he’d rather have you dead than not at all. I have my orders — you have your choice. One, two …’

  Sendatsu tensed himself to leap across the distance, praying that Rhiannon’s soul would forgive him if he was wrong.

  ‘No!’ Huw grabbed Sendatsu, held him back.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Sendatsu gasped. ‘They will kill us — if not now then later. And you are the only man who can unite Vales. The people need you!’

  ‘The dragons! They will search for us, they will follow us and free us,’ Huw whispered urgently. ‘Please, I cannot save Vales knowing she died for me — I could not live like that!’

  Sendatsu looked into his eyes and, although his head told him otherwise, his heart knew he could not sacrifice Asami if the roles had been reversed. His hand opened nervelessly and his sword fell to the ground.

  ‘About time!’ the Forlishman rasped. ‘On your knees, hands behind your heads! Move and she dies. Tie them.’

  Two of the Forlish sheathed swords and produced coils of rope, while the third rushed across and grabbed both Sendatsu’s sword and Huw’s knife. Sendatsu itched to strike, to attack them — but the sword was still right at Rhiannon’s throat and Huw’s eyes implored him not to do anything.

  One at a time, Sendatsu and Huw had their hands bound, then they were dragged to their feet and pushed back against the oak tree, tied to it around the waist, then their bound hands tied to a branch overhead. They were not gentle about it, hauling Huw’s and Sendatsu’s arms up high, stretching their shoulders, while tightening rope coils around chests and stomachs so they bit into flesh.

  ‘I thought we were being taken back to Ward,’ Huw grunted, as the rope dug into his chest and his arms ached from being hauled up high.

  ‘Oh, you will be,’ the Forlishman assured, dragging Rhiannon to her feet.

  ‘Why aren’t you tying me up?’ Rhiannon blazed. ‘Don’t you think a woman is dangerous?’

  ‘Not at all. But before you meet King Ward, I thought you would like to meet an old friend first.’ The Forlishman touched his swollen cheek with a still-bleeding hand gingerly. He spoke to one of his men, who raced back down the trail. ‘And then you can tell me what an elf is doing here, what you are doing with the Velsh and your new way of fighting. King Ward will reward me well for those answers.’

  ‘Listen to me,’ Huw said urgently. ‘I know Ward. He will not reward you for failure. You lost too many men — he will take your knowledge and your only reward will be death! You can’t go back but there is another way. Stay here with us. Work for me. Here in Vales you can make a new life …’

  The Forlishman strode across the clearing as Huw tried to give his words every last bit of his skill and persuasion.

  ‘Live here? Betray my king? Here is my answer!’

  And the Forlishman drove his fist into Huw’s stomach. Held by the ropes, Huw could not move and gasped as the air was driven out of his lungs. Winded, he hung in his bonds.

  ‘Bastard!’ Rhiannon raced at the Forlishman but the other two warriors grabbed her arms, held her as she kicked and screamed threats.

  ‘Quite her father’s daughter,’ the Forlishman observed.

  Even as he twisted in pain, the words cut through to Huw and he glanced across at Sendatsu, to his left, who also looked at him.

  ‘Were you one of the ones who killed him? I swear I’ll make you pay!’ Rhiannon vowed.

  ‘Shut up!’ the Forlishman shouted. ‘You know nothing. I am going to give you a gift, you little fool!’

  ‘I want nothing from you,’ Rhiannon spat.

  ‘We shall see.’ The Forlishman smiled and turned to Huw and Sendatsu. ‘I have dreamed of this day for a long time,’ he told them. ‘I attacked your village, killed an old man and took four women, only for someone to slaughter half my men and take them back. I think that was you.’

  Huw gasped, but not from pain. Was this the man who killed his father?

  ‘I have hunted you ever since,’ the Forlishman continued. ‘I have many questions to ask you. But first I want you to all meet someone very important. It seems you were about to Walk The Tree together. Well, we may be in the barbarian Vales but even here, isn’t the father invited?’

  ‘Both our fathers are dead, thanks to you and your kind!’ Rhiannon hissed.

  The Forlishman only smiled. ‘Really? Then who is that behind you?’

  The men holding her let go of her arms and, against her will, Rhiannon turned.

  ‘Hello my darling,’ Hector said, a broad smile on his face as he walked into the clearing.

  28

  ‘You have failed,’ I told Naibun.

  He laughed in my face. ‘You always had a rich sense of humour, Sendatsu! This is my triumph and there is nobody to stop me …’

  ‘I have already. Before I came here I set the Magic-weavers working on the barrier. They are building it now, even as we speak. In another turn of the sun it will be complete and nobody will be able to get in or out of Dokuzen for at least a hundred years. And you know the process. Once started, it cannot be stopped.’

  Naibun knew instantly I was not lying, and his fury was terrible to see. When he calmed down, I was lying on the ground in a pool of my own blood and he had smashed everything else in sight.

  ‘I shall still rule Dokuzen,’ he hissed. ‘You shall die, along with the other humans who dared to challenge the might of the elves. You shall die at dawn and then we shall return to Dokuzen.’

  It did not feel like a victory as they dragged me away, but at least it did not feel like an utter defeat.

  Rhiannon stared in shock as her father strode over and enfolded her in his arms. She stayed rigid, looking at his familiar — and yet forgotten — face with incredulity.

  ‘Father? Is it really you? Are you really alive?’ she gabbled, tentatively touching his cheek.

  ‘Of course it is me,’ Hector said with just a touch of asperity, then relaxed a little. ‘I am safe and well, as I always have been.’

  ‘But how did you
get here — are you a prisoner also — what is going on?’ Rhiannon’s last words were a desperate plea.

  Since she had seen Hector’s ring in Huw’s hand, she believed her father was dead and her world had completely changed. Now everything was thrown into the air.

  ‘A prisoner?’ Hector threw back his head and laughed heartily. ‘Quite the opposite! No, Sergeant Broyle here is under my command.’

  The three of them looked at the Forlishman with the swollen face, who glowered back.

  ‘But he killed my friend Glyn, he and his men grabbed me, hit me, threatened to kill me …’

  ‘No!’ Hector exclaimed. ‘They were told to do whatever was necessary to free you but they were under strict instructions not to hurt you.’

  ‘Well, that did not happen,’ Rhiannon declared, feeling where her ribs were bruised. ‘Are you sure this is not all some trick …?’

  ‘Look!’ Hector produced the king’s seal and flourished it for her benefit. ‘I am here by the command of King Ward, to rescue you and return you home.’

  ‘Rescue me? Bring me home?’ Rhiannon repeated stupidly. She could make no sense of what was happening, it was all too much.

  Hector embraced her once more and kissed her gently on the forehead.

  ‘There is much to tell you, much to explain. You have been lied to by your so-called friends over there and it will take some time to show you the truth.’

  He glanced over to where the bard and elf hung in their bonds and could not restrain his smile of triumph. He had waited so patiently for this moment, watching the village and avoiding the Velsh patrols, until the time came to pounce. That they seemed to be ready to Walk The Tree was disturbing, although it had split Rhiannon away from her protectors. But it meant he had to go carefully here. He wanted to storm in and slap the little bitch silly. Did she have any idea of the trouble she had caused him? Even now it was going to take some fast talking and the information Broyle could wring out of the bard and elf to get back into Ward’s good graces. And to get her to jump willingly into Ward’s bed was going to take some clever work. Indulging his natural inclination to take out his anger and frustration on her could spoil everything.