Bridge of Swords (36 page)

‘Get the bard — use the horse as cover!’ the Forlish leader shouted — then choked as an arrow sank deep into his chest.

The two still on their feet hesitated, while the one with the bolt in his leg hauled himself to his feet and tried to hop away.

They only waited for a few heartbeats — but even that was too long. Huw finished loading his crossbow and worked the lever again, peppering them with the vicious little spikes of wood — and another arrow reached out to claim the wounded Forlishman. The last pair ducked and covered as they were hit by several bolts; one was struck by another arrow and Huw kept loosing at the last man, his teeth gritted as he sent one after another into him, until he finally collapsed and lay writhing.

Rhiannon glanced up as Sendatsu slid down the slope, coming to a stop just near her.

He had heard Huw’s call, seen him break into a mad gallop and quickly followed, taking a different route. If Rhiannon had made it to the top, he could have got her away — as it was, the high ground proved to be the deciding factor. Aiming downhill was more difficult but the Forlish were little more than fifty yards away, making them easy targets. He had been almost delighted at the chance to save them both. He needed to do something to make up for what he had done to Rhiannon and what better way than saving her life?

‘Do you need help to get down?’ he asked awkwardly, trying not to look at her.

‘I don’t need anything from you,’ she told him coldly.

He nodded jerkily, then slid down the rest of the way, hurrying over to where the Forlish lay — all of them moving weakly.

‘Are you all right?’ Sendatsu called, drawing his sword and looking at Huw.

‘Fine,’ Huw said shortly, trying not to look at where the Forlish bled and moaned and cried.

Sendatsu finished four of them off with swift cuts to the throat. None would have lived for long anyway — the one struck by Huw’s crossbow bolts was slowly bleeding to death. The ones hit by his arrows were in a far worse way and close to death. The only one he left was the leader.

‘What were you doing here? Answer me and I can ease your passing,’ he said shortly, flipping the man over. The Forlishman had a blood-stained arrowhead protruding from the middle of his chest and, from the bloody froth around his lips, not long to live.

‘The girl’s father wants her back. We just sought to reunite them,’ the Forlishman hissed, his breath coming fast and painful.

Sendatsu looked up at Huw and glanced back to Rhiannon. They had said Rhiannon’s father was dead …

‘I thought Hector was dead?’ He leaned down slightly.

‘Not dead. As alive as you or I,’ the Forlishman gasped. ‘He is not ten miles from here.’

Sendatsu took a step back. If Rhiannon’s father was still alive, then most, if not all, of what Huw had told her was a lie … His
first instinct was to call Rhiannon over, get her to talk to the man — but she was not ready to hear this. Coming on top of what he had done to her, believing Huw had lied to her might destroy her. And Hector was in the pay of King Ward, given these were his men. He needed to talk to Huw.

‘What is he saying?’ Huw asked, edging his horse nearer.

Sendatsu woke from his reverie and stepped forwards, killing the Forlish leader with a quick thrust.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Rhiannon making her way carefully down the slope. He hurried to Huw’s side.

‘He was sent to bring you back to Ward. But he was talking about Rhiannon’s father — Hector. He said Hector is both alive and near here. But I thought he was dead?’ Sendatsu asked carefully, urgently, softly.

Huw felt his heart stop for a moment in sheer terror. He gazed down at Sendatsu and saw a knowing look in the elf’s eyes.

‘He is alive, isn’t he?’ Sendatsu murmured. ‘You did not tell Rhiannon the truth about why you had to leave Cridianton …’

‘We had to go, I promise you! Hector was going to sell her to Ward,’ Huw said quickly. ‘I’ll tell you it all — just not now! Rhiannon cannot know …’

‘You need to tell her,’ Sendatsu warned. ‘Trust me, lying does not help anything. She will find out one day …’

‘I know!’ Huw stared over at her in terror. ‘Just give me time!’

‘Don’t take too long,’ Sendatsu said quietly, glancing back to see Rhiannon was almost at the bottom of the slope. ‘If I say nothing, will you help me find my answers?’ he asked swiftly.

Huw hesitated. He was grateful, more than grateful, for Sendatsu coming along and saving them. Sitting there with the Forlish closing in had been terrifying, easily the equal of that nasty little fight in the woods. But he needed Sendatsu still. And telling the truth to Rhiannon, on top of Sendatsu’s betrayal … That fear was topped by the worry her father was obviously searching for her. The diversion to Browns Brook must have delayed Hector but he had finally caught up — and if he had soldiers of the king with him, it meant Ward had not finished with either of them yet.

‘Decide quickly,’ Sendatsu hissed.

Huw gulped. ‘I have another plan. A better one, that will serve us both,’ he said hurriedly. ‘Trust me and I shall explain it all later. Say nothing yet — it will hurt Rhiannon too much.’

‘Agreed,’ he said, stepping backwards slightly as Rhiannon walked hesitantly over towards them.

She tried not to look at Sendatsu. ‘Thank you,’ she forced herself to say, the words almost burning her throat.

‘I know what those words must have cost you,’ he said haltingly. ‘All I can say is how sorry I am …’

She held up her hand. ‘I don’t want to hear it! I cannot talk to you now.’

Sendatsu glanced over at Huw, still sitting stiffly on the horse, then stepped away. He wondered what Huw’s new plan could be. He would exchange his silence for the bard’s help — for a while. But Rhiannon needed to know her father was still alive. She had to confront her father to break the hold he had on her — a meeting Sendatsu could only dream about, himself. He looked over to where Huw and Rhiannon were deep in conversation and wondered if he should interrupt.

‘Are you all right?’ Huw asked awkwardly.

‘I’m not hurt.’ She half smiled. ‘A few scratches and scrapes maybe, but nothing much.’

‘And …’ Huw began carefully.

‘Sendatsu? I’m still ready to carve his elfhood off with a sharp knife. He tricked me beautifully, said all the things I wanted to hear. He knew how to use me. Literally,’ she finished bitterly.

‘But he did save us,’ Huw pointed out.

‘Yes, I know! But how can I feel grateful to him, after what he has done to me? I cannot bear to look at him …’ she trailed off. Talking about Sendatsu had her very close to tears, which was strange, because she had faced the Forlish without flinching. ‘We should leave. Go our own way. We can hire a couple of Velshmen to protect us …’

‘We still need him,’ Huw said firmly.

‘What? I never expected to hear you take his part in this! Do you mean you agree with what he did?’ she snapped.

‘Of course not!’ Huw jumped down from the horse, to be at the same level as her. ‘But I talked to him when you were away. He is truly sorry for what he did …’

‘A bit late now!’

‘Agreed. What he did to you was unforgivable. But my people still need his knowledge, the help that only an elf can provide.’

‘Do you think he deserves to be with us after what he did?’

‘No!’ Huw said heatedly. He felt only too keenly the injustice of the situation, where he had to argue Sendatsu’s case to Rhiannon, angering her instead of sympathising with her. ‘Look,’ he continued, in a softer tone of voice. ‘What he did to you was disgusting — and he deserves to pay for it. But there are other things at stake here. He might be a hunted exile, but he is still an elf. He gets the attention of the villages the way we never could. He knows about war and defences — and he is the perfect protection out here. He just saved us for the second time. I’m not saying you have to like him. You don’t even have to talk to him. But we know King Ward is hunting for us and the raiders know our names …’

Rhiannon waved him to silence. ‘Leaving aside Sendatsu, that reminds me — those raiders kept shouting about my father, telling me I was going to join him! Do you think they were here to hunt for us?’

Huw could not say anything for a moment, for fear of betraying himself … the way she was feeling, she would put him in the same category as Sendatsu.

‘They must have been sent up here specially to find us,’ Huw said through dry lips. ‘They probably only just arrived because they were looking for us down in Browns Brook, the town I pretended was my birthplace.’

‘But why were they talking about my father?’

‘Maybe they were some of the guards who killed your father,’ he suggested, wincing inwardly at the lie and hoping she would never discover the truth.

But Rhiannon gasped in horror at the thought. ‘They must have been!’ she cried. ‘The way they were talking about him … it was as if they had known him!’

Huw grimaced, not trusting himself to speak.

‘If only they were still alive — I would have liked to make them suffer,’ she spat.

Huw thanked his lucky stars none had survived.

‘But you have to admit, knowing there are groups out there deliberately hunting for us — it makes sense to keep Sendatsu around,’ he ventured.

‘They are dead,’ she pointed out.

‘Well, I’m sure Ward would not have just sent these few. True, they would have been enough, had we been by ourselves — but there will be more out there.’

Rhiannon looked away, glancing at where Sendatsu stood, watching them.

‘He is truly sorry for what he did,’ Huw continued, seeing where her gaze fell. ‘And can you imagine what he has been going through — separated from his children, fearing for his life at every turn?’

‘No,’ Rhiannon admitted, feeling herself weakening — and hating it. She wanted to keep her anger.

‘If he comes along with us, I don’t want him to talk to me,’ she said finally. ‘If he tries to talk to me, I shall cut out his tongue and then cut off his staff — I swear it!’

‘You won’t regret this,’ Huw said thankfully.

‘I already am,’ Rhiannon said sourly. ‘The only reason I am doing this is for the Velsh people who would otherwise suffer — and to make Ward pay for what he did to my father.’

‘I’ll keep Sendatsu away from you,’ Huw promised, feeling cold sweat sliding down his back.

She smiled a little at that.

‘Well, I am also doing it for you. You are my only friend. You saved me in Cridianton, you have only ever tried to help me and give me good advice — you don’t know how much it means to me, having you around.’

Huw felt both excitement and fear at her words and tried to keep both from his face.

‘So what is your new plan?’ Sendatsu asked as they sat around the fire.

Rhiannon had made her own fire, a good ten paces away, and sat with her back to them. Huw had taken her some food but, while she had agreed to keep travelling with them, she would not exchange a word with Sendatsu. She had made him ride twenty paces ahead and her expression told Huw she was not ready to talk with him either. It was uncomfortable; Huw could not see how it could continue for as long as they needed to keep Sendatsu around — but it was better than seeing her ride away. Rhiannon sensed their distress — but had no sympathy. They deserved to suffer. Well, perhaps not Huw as much but he needed to pay the price for making her accept Sendatsu back.

‘Wait,’ Huw said. ‘I need to talk to Rhiannon as well, although that’s a bit difficult at the moment …’

‘I know,’ Sendatsu said gloomily. ‘I should never have let anything happen between us. My true love still waits for me back in Dokuzen.’

‘Your true love? I thought you said your wife was dead?’ Huw asked suspiciously.

‘My wife died but I never loved her. I had to marry because she was the one my father chose and the marriage brought new power to my clan. No, my true love is Asami.’

‘Well, marry her when you return!’

‘I cannot — she is married to my best friend.’

‘I don’t think I will ever understand you elves!’ Huw grunted.

Sendatsu sat awkwardly for a moment. ‘Look, I know how you feel about her — and what I did must make you hate me …’

‘I did,’ Huw admitted.

‘I deserved that. But I shall try and make it up — make it up to both of you. And one of the things I intend to do is see the two of you get together.’

Huw snorted. ‘I appreciate the offer, but I fear you will do more harm than good!’

Sendatsu shook his head. ‘Not now. But I will help you. You need all the help you can get.’

‘And what does that mean?’

‘Well, you should have pounced long before I came onto the scene. You rescued her from death — or a fate just as bad — at the hands of King Ward and brought her north, to your homeland. You were going to take her to see your father. You can’t tell me there wasn’t a chance on the way. I know how naïve she was, how impressionable. Otherwise she would not have fallen for me,’ he said dryly. ‘Don’t tell me you weren’t tempted.’

Huw wriggled in embarrassment and glanced over to Rhiannon, but she still had her back to them, and showed no sign of being able to hear what they were saying.

‘You are right, I did have the chance. She was almost dependent on me for the first few days she was away from her father. He had controlled every aspect of her life — she was used to being told what to do. I could have pressed my suit with her and she probably would have thought it was all her idea.’

‘So why didn’t you?’

‘I wanted her to come to my bed because she chose to — not because she felt grateful!’

‘And because you didn’t really save her from death,’ Sendatsu said gently.

Huw gulped and looked again at Rhiannon. ‘Yes,’ he admitted. ‘I felt guilty. I forced her to run, forced her to come north with me. I could not force her to my bed.’

‘So what happened? Why did you run? It obviously wasn’t just to get the girl, otherwise you would not have been stopped by a guilty conscience.’

So Huw explained it carefully. How he had heard Hector selling Rhiannon to Ward, in order to make his own fortune. How Hector had promised to persuade his daughter to enthusiastically embrace Ward. How, in return, Hector would get fame and gold to follow.