by Duncan Lay
‘Shut up and listen to me!’ Sendatsu shouted. He stared at them, breathing harshly. ‘Daichi never intended to honour his agreement. He said what we wanted to hear last night. There was no way an elven army was going to help you. He tricked us and, today, showed us what he wanted.’
‘But you had an agreement in writing, sealed with the mark of the Elder Elf. You said that was binding, there was no way he could get out of it!’ Huw protested.
‘Now you are back in Dokuzen, do you think us gaijin again? Was our reward just the easiest thing to give up, in order to save yourselves?’ Rhiannon asked spitefully.
‘You don’t understand. Daichi had our families and was going to kill them,’ Asami said in a strangled voice.
Huw’s anger dissolved. ‘What?’
‘They showed us around the gardens. They had all our families there, as well as hundreds of children and elderly from our clan. Distant relatives, cousins and friends, elves we have known all our lives. He was going to kill many of them, and force the rest to work in the mines or in the fields. A death sentence for the young and old alike,’ Asami said heavily.
‘If we didn’t agree to what he wanted, then he would have gone through with his threats. There was nothing we could do,’ Gaibun said.
Huw stormed to his feet and kicked a chair across the room.
‘That book was right. History is doomed to play itself out over and over again,’ he said.
‘This is not the same. We were tricked and betrayed also,’ Sendatsu said.
‘What now?’ Huw asked. ‘We came here to save my people and we’ll return with nothing! The Forlish are going to roll over Vales like the sea!’
Sendatsu was tempted to point out that Huw had really only come here because he distrusted Sendatsu and suspected him of tricking Rhiannon — but now was not the time.
‘We have nothing to lose any more. We need to tell your people the truth about the barrier, about what happened three hundred years ago,’ Huw said. ‘We need to get them to rise against Daichi, or shock them into agreeing to help us, to make amends for what they did —’
‘That’s not going to happen,’ Gaibun interrupted. ‘You’ll end up dead, and we will too!’
‘Well, we have to do something! You can’t just leave us to die.’
‘And we won’t,’ Sendatsu declared. ‘Rhiannon can stay here and learn magic — although they think she is learning to dance with Asami.’
‘That is not enough,’ Huw said.
Sendatsu rubbed his face with his hands.
‘I am sorry,’ he said sadly. ‘Perhaps you should not have come here. Everyone we turned to for help wanted to use us for their own means, or betray us.’
‘Sendatsu, you have walked the hills of Vales, you have seen the farms and families. You can’t leave them to die! Think of the children of Rheged!’ Huw implored.
Sendatsu looked at Gaibun and Asami helplessly. They had discussed this endlessly on the walk back and came up with nothing useful. Ideas of Gaibun bringing a company of Border Patrol out through the barrier with Asami’s help had sounded fine but they all knew it was impossible — Daichi would be watching them.
‘Papa will save you,’ Mai said into the silence.
‘Mai.’ Sendatsu looked up swiftly but she jumped onto one of the couches.
‘Papa is the greatest blade in Dokuzen. He will save you. No gaijin can stand against him,’ she declared. ‘And he never lets his friends down.’
‘Die, gaijin!’ Cheijun bounced up and stabbed a cushion with his wooden sword.
Sendatsu looked from Mai to Cheijun and back to Huw. Mai was smiling at him, so sure that he would have the answers. He looked at her and an image of the dead child back at the Velsh church popped into his mind, along with his pledge to avenge them. Suddenly he knew what to do.
‘Gaibun and I will travel with Huw back to Vales and help train the Velsh dragons, finish the job that I started,’ Sendatsu said slowly.
‘What?’ Gaibun cried.
‘Oh, two elves training us now. Well, that should make all the difference. Hooray! We are saved!’ Huw threw up his hands.
‘With two of us, we can train twice as many,’ Sendatsu said. ‘And it is not just two elves. Asami can watch the south, sending us word of the advance of the Forlish. When they move against you, Asami and Rhiannon will join us.’
‘And don’t forget I shall be the head of the Magic-weavers. I could bring as many as a score of them along with us. The magic we bring will be what you need to hold off your enemies,’ Asami vowed.
‘Did you think to ask me before saying that?’ Gaibun said angrily.
‘I saved your family before and you said you would never forget it. A moon or two in the human world is worth their lives, don’t you think?’ Sendatsu said.
‘I’m not doing it and that is the end.’ Gaibun folded his arms.
‘Gaibun! Will you do it for me?’ Asami asked, before Sendatsu could come up with anything.
Gaibun’s face showed his struggle, then he sighed. ‘Fine. I’ll tell the Border Patrol I need a moon of leave. But don’t expect me to like it. One moon and I am gone!’
Huw glanced at them, then across to Rhiannon, whose face was shining at the thought of not just learning how to use the magic but also dancing before the elves.
‘It is no elven army but better than nothing,’ he admitted grudgingly. ‘It might even be enough, if we can get all those Magic-weavers to help us and you and Gaibun can train a thousand Dragon Warriors.’
‘Huw, I am sorry for this. But Gaibun and I will do everything we can to save your people,’ Sendatsu promised, smiling at Mai.
‘I hope it will be enough,’ Huw muttered.
18
The Elfarans smiled at us, telling us they were our friends, telling us how wise they were, how good they were. They spread lies about themselves, boasting about their abilities, until we believed them.
Huw’s song
King Ward looked out across the city at dawn once more. He still insisted on this morning ritual, although, these days, a pair of burly guards was needed to help him reach the top of his watchtower.
For once he was not looking at the buildings either. Instead his eyes were fixed on the last of his army as they marched north.
It filled him with pride. This was the final stage in his grand plan. This was the march that would end in Dokuzen, would transform the world of men and give them riches undreamed of. The people had to see it. He had to see it.
And they made a proud sight, a long column of men with banners fluttering above their heads. His banner, the black wolf on a white background. They would march north, pick up the rest of the men and then split. His cavalry would strike east, ready for the diversionary attack on the barrier around Dokuzen. They would flee into the eastern hills when the elves, as expected, boiled out of Dokuzen like ants from a disturbed nest. Then the way would be clear for the bulk of his army, under Edmund’s leadership, to strike at the heart of Dokuzen, strip its treasures and bring back the secret of immortality.
Ward leaned on the battlement and watched his men with a smile. The pain had grown within him, despite the best efforts of his Landish doctors, but he tried not to let it show. Besides, it only needed to be borne for a little longer.
‘My queen.’ The rasping greeting of one of the guards snapped him out of his reverie and he turned to see his wife, Queen Mildrith, and his sons Wilfrid and Uffa. He forced the smile to stay on his face, although his pleasure at the day was gone. His sons were both big men, in their early twenties, used to being around armies and fighting. They had received the best tutors in battle skills. But their broad, flat faces revealed their lack of thought. Neither of them knew where the castle library was and they cared little for the hard-won knowledge the Forlish armies had brought back to Cridianton, instead focusing on the slaves and treasure that came with it.
In her youth, Mildrith had been a great beauty but age, and the slow poison of seeing Ward’s atten
tion fall on younger, prettier women, had destroyed that. Now she made no secret of wanting to see him dead, and her sons take the throne.
Mildrith came straight to the point. ‘Wilfrid should be leading that army, not one of your captains.’
‘It is a pleasure to see you also,’ Ward replied sourly.
‘The treasures of Dokuzen are not for common men. The true secrets should stay within the family. If you seek the elven immortality, far better for your son to deliver it into your hands, rather than a crude soldier.’
‘Or perhaps it will go to you first?’ Ward suggested. ‘Captain Edmund will command, because we have not fought elves before. None of us know how well they will fight or even how they will fight. The reports out of the north say that one elven warrior took care of five of our men. We may have to adjust strategy at a moment’s notice. Edmund is the best man for that.’
‘Are you saying you do not trust your own son?’
Ward stared at Wilfrid, who watched him sulkily from beneath heavy eyebrows.
‘Wilfrid, you are a stand-up brawler. But this needs someone who thinks,’ Ward said sharply.
‘I think, Father,’ Wilfrid grumbled, his voice strangely high for such a big man.
‘Really? And did you think how it would look, getting your mother to fight your battles for you?’ Ward snapped.
Wilfrid fell silent and Ward glanced over at his brother. ‘And you, Uffa. Do you also seek to lead my army into battle?’
‘Yes, Father!’
‘The way you led troops at the wall of Pevensey, and had to be replaced to stem the losses you were causing?’
‘You told me the town must fall. Losses do not matter, results count,’ Uffa whined.
‘Mindless frontal attacks at the main gate is not what I meant,’ Ward told him. ‘Edmund needs to find the elven secrets and bring them back to me, for I dread what will happen to Forland with one of you on the throne.’
‘And what will we do if you become an immortal, never to leave the throne?’ Mildrith demanded.
‘Learn,’ Ward said simply. ‘Learn from me, so that we can take this knowledge and travel across the seas, bring the whole world under Forland’s rule.’
He looked at the three unsmiling faces and sighed.
‘I have made many mistakes over the years but you are my biggest. Mildrith, when we have the elven secrets, we can both turn back the hourglass, rule as we did in the early days. My boys, there are many countries in this world. With the wisdom and power of Dokuzen behind us, we can carve out a kingdom for each of you that is far greater than what I have now. You can find lands of your own, away from my shadow and the rule of your mother — learn to become men. Can you not see my vision?’
For a moment he thought they were won over; a half-smile passed across Mildrith’s face and he dared to hope. But then her face hardened again.
‘If you were not dying, you would never say that. But you will be dead soon. And I looked after your sons when you were more interested in sacking countries and chasing maids and dancers! You have not been a husband to me for years, nor a father to your sons. You will pay the price for that!’
At her signal, Wilfird and Uffa fell in behind her and swept away.
Ward sighed and leaned on the battlement once more.
‘By the stars above, you need to hurry back, Edmund,’ he murmured.
Sendatsu’s last two days in Dokuzen had been strange indeed, so by the end he was longing to be back in Vales.
Daichi had been true to his amended word, releasing the mass of elves he had ordered captured, including some of the Magic-weavers, who were now under Asami’s command.
As for Jaken, the other clan leaders who had conspired with him, as well as any traitorous Border Patrol or Council Guard, and Sumiko and her leading Magic-weavers, they were all being shipped off to the northern mines. Sendatsu had heard they all went in chains, Sumiko and the other Magic-weavers half starved so they did not have the energy to try anything.
He had no wish to see any of that.
His father’s spy within the Magic-weaver ranks had not been identified but, with all the senior ones in chains, it hardly seemed worth finding out.
Once his mother was home, he visited her, to check she was all right after her arrest and make sure she was going to be all right with him gone and Jaken effectively in exile. He’d arrived to find Gaibun’s father there.
‘Lord Retsu, this is a surprise.’ He bowed.
‘Sendatsu.’ Retsu had leaped to his feet and bowed back.
Noriko had also been quick to her feet. ‘To what do I owe this visit, my son?’ she’d asked.
Sendatsu had stood awkwardly. He had never been comfortable around Retsu. ‘I wanted to make sure you were all right after Father’s disgrace.’
‘I shall be fine. Your father left me very much on my own anyway.’
‘I was just here asking the same thing, since I am now the clan leader of Tadayoshi,’ Retsu had added.
‘Well, I shall be keeping quiet for a moon or two after what happened. Do not expect to see much of me. Lord Retsu, I believe Gaibun is trying to find you to say the same thing.’
‘Very wise of you both. Lady Noriko, please excuse me. If you need anything, you have but to ask.’
Sendatsu had watched him go, before turning back to his mother.
‘Is everything all right? What was he saying to you?’
‘You have nothing to worry about! Retsu is honourable beyond words. He came here from that sense of honour,’ Noriko had said.
Something had not rung true to Sendatsu; his mother had acted strangely, even for her. But he hadn’t had the time to investigate it.
‘I am glad you are coping well. I must go now. I shall call back when I can.’
‘Thank you, son.’ Noriko had waved him out.
Again, Sendatsu had been struck by how eager she seemed for him to go, but he’d also been pleased to leave and relieved she had not attacked him for betraying his father. At least she would provide an excuse for him if Daichi inquired about him over the next moon, although Sendatsu did not think that likely.
He’d had no interest in seeing Daichi. The Elder Elf’s betrayal had been revolting but the last straw was reading the words of the first Sendatsu. Hearing how the elves had lied and murdered humans, how they had created a false history and endless tales about elven prowess was too much. On top of the bodies he had seen, the promise he had made to the dead child, it was the last straw. Where once he had yearned to return to Dokuzen, now he longed to get back and help the Velsh. He had no idea how he could go about changing history, bringing the truth to light. He wanted to rage at his people, shout the truth in their faces, although he knew that would do nothing. The task was too much for one person but, he told himself, with some help from Asami and Gaibun, they could make a difference. Particularly Asami. When she and Rhiannon and the other Magic-weavers came to help the Velsh, he hoped she would stay and they could work together on making up for the past. He had not said as much to her, in fact they had hardly spoken. Part of that was getting ready to leave, part of that was her being busy. She had flung herself into the Magic-weavers, embracing the role as their leader and working to rebuild what was left of the shattered group. She spent far more time at the compound than at her own home. He had also stayed away because he was concerned what Gaibun might say. This made the farewell more than awkward.
‘It will not be long. No more than a moon and then we shall see each other again,’ she told him as they prepared to leave.
He hid his face in his hands for a moment, then whipped his hands away, as if playing peek-a-boo.
‘There you are again!’ He smiled. ‘That was no time at all!’
She hit him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. ‘I can’t believe you still think that is funny.’
‘Well, I’ll keep doing it as long as you keep smiling at it.’
‘Do I look as if I am five summers old?’
‘Definitely
not,’ he whispered, looking into her eyes. ‘Although I would be happy to tuck you into bed every night.’
Her eyes widened and she flushed a little under the heat of his gaze.
‘You should not talk like that,’ she chided but there was a smile playing on her face as she said it.
‘What are you talking about?’ Gaibun called.
Sendatsu had been thinking about kissing her but, with Gaibun watching, he restricted himself to brushing his fingers across her cheek, a moment before Gaibun stepped between them.
‘I am doing this for you,’ Gaibun told her. ‘Don’t forget that.’
‘I won’t.’ Asami gave Sendatsu one last, lingering look before she stepped backwards.
Gaibun leaned in but she turned her head so his lips struck her temple rather than her lips. He straightened and turned away.
‘Hurry up!’ Gaibun pushed past Sendatsu. ‘I cannot carry this pack for much longer. What have your children put in here?’
Sendatsu smiled. Mai and Cheijun had been reluctant to leave any toys, which meant he, Gaibun and Huw all carried huge packs.
‘I hope to Aroaril we can find some horses in the human world. If I have to carry all this across Vales, I’ll never have the energy to fight,’ Gaibun grumbled.
‘Watch for enchanted birds to arrive at Patcham,’ Rhiannon told Huw. ‘Asami is showing me how. I shall send messages to you that way. You can tell everyone.’
‘If everyone turns up — and if they still agree to anything I say. They think I shall be arriving with an army of elves. They might not listen to me when I get there with two and don’t even return with you,’ Huw confessed.
‘Of course they will listen to you. They trust you. And I shall be there, with Asami. You can tell them I am staying to learn magic and to dance for the elves.’ She was almost dancing on the spot with excitement as she said that.
‘Time to go.’ Asami pushed her oaken staff through the tree, opening the gateway for them all. Sendatsu went first, clutching tightly to the staff, while Mai and Cheijun clutched tightly to him, then came Huw and finally Gaibun. In a matter of moments they were standing on the hill overlooking Pontypridd.
