“What?” Taliesin halted in the middle of the road, down which he’d continued to boldly move, ignoring the puddles, even though his cloak was now six inches deep in mud. “What did you say?” The rain dripped off the end of his pointy nose, which he directed at Cade.
Cade shrugged. “That’s all I know. The conversation was rather one-sided and I didn’t dare ask what she meant by it.”
“My lord!” Ahead of them, Dafydd broke into a run. “Men call to one another ahead of us!”
Taliesin shot Cade another look—a despairing one—which was an expression Cade had never before seen on Taliesin’s face. The other companions ran after Dafydd, but Cade caught Taliesin’s arm before he could follow. “You fear the demons?”
“The demons?” Taliesin said. “Why would I fear them?”
“But—”
“It’s Mabon,” Taliesin said. “Arianrhod may have given you gifts, for which we can’t help but be grateful—and which I hope we won’t come to regret—but that Mabon is with his mother instead of banished to the Underworld with his father is the worst news possible.”
Another shout came from ahead of them as their friends disappeared into the woods to the west of the road. “We must hurry,” Cade said. He wished he could question Taliesin more, but they had no time. “We’ll talk later.”
“We’ve dragons everywhere we look, my friend,” Taliesin said, now jogging beside Cade. “And I suspect that I’m not the only one who is having trouble with his sight.”
“You can’t mean Arianrhod?” Cade said. “Her plan worked out just as she intended, don’t you think?”
“I think she left a great deal to chance. I suspect that she would have found several possible outcomes acceptable,” Taliesin said.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Cade said.
“The gods are taking sides in our world. That can’t be good for any of us.” Taliesin reached out a hand to Cade and caught his arm. “I cannot see, and because the gift has deserted me, I cannot help you. I have lost my bearings.”
And though Cade had never understood Taliesin’s reliance on his sight, he could see the dread in his friend’s face. And share it.
_____________
The Pendragon’s Quest, the fourth book in The Last Pendragon Saga, is available at Amazon!
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Song of the Pendragon (The Last Pendragon Saga Book 3) Page 12
