Devil's Dominion (49 page)

John Morgan had spent the past two days trying to figure out why he was in Wales. He was surrounded with people he didn’t know, men who had told him he was really somebody else. It was damn confusing and he didn’t like being confused.

The trek into Wales had been steady and methodical, as de Lohr, de Poyer, and de Velt were moving a fairly large army and they had thirteen provision wagons between them. De Velt had brought almost a thousand men from Pelinom, de Poyer had brought eight hundred men with him from Nether, and de Lohr had eleven hundred, making for a massive movement of men and material. All of these soldiers and knights heading into Wales, preparing to take on a mercenary who held de Velt’s daughter hostage with John Morgan right in the middle of it. According to de Lohr, he was a very important part of it.

Unhappy, John Morgan followed de Lohr and de Velt into Wales because he had been ordered to, but he kept to himself. Unfamiliar people always made him nervous. On the morning of the third day out from Lioncross Abbey and after a restless night on John’s part, the army was in sight of a castle in the distance and word spread through the ranks that it was Cloryn Castle. The sunrise was behind them, as they were coming from the east, bathing the castle in a golden glow. It looked rather pretty, to be truthful, but being that it was their destination, something evil await them there. John Morgan didn’t like the look of it.

As he pondered the castle in the distance, riding off to his left was a young knight and an old knight astride their big war horses, men that de Lohr had told him were relatives of his. The old man was even his father, although John Morgan hadn't recognized him. But that wasn’t unusual. He was very bad with faces and names. In fact, he was pretty bad at most things. He wasn’t a bright man.

“I have been noticing your horse,” came a voice beside him. John Morgan looked over to see a handsome young knight smiling back at him, a young knight he was told was his nephew. The knight gestured to the big bay stallion John Morgan was riding. “He has the long-legged look of a Belgian charger. Is that where you got him?”

John Morgan wasn’t comfortable in conversation with men he didn’t know so it was an effort for him to answer. “Nay,” he said. “He was given to me.”

“How old is he?”

“I am not sure. I think he is ten years old.”

Rod had wanted to engage his uncle in conversation for two days but de Lohr had told him to stay away. He was afraid of upsetting John Morgan and possibly upsetting the entire campaign if the man decided to run off. But Rod was very sociable and he was also very concerned. Berwyn had been a wreck since the day he met John Morgan and Rod very much wanted to ease the way for his grandfather to have a conversation with his son. It was a heartbreaking circumstance.

“Have you had him long?” Rod continued.

John Morgan shook his head. “Not too long.”

Rod wouldn’t let the conversation die. He forged onward. “It looks as if he has a smooth gait,” he said. “I had a fine Belgian charger once that was as smooth as silk but he had a nasty habit of farting all the time. It made travel rather unpleasant. Do you travel much, then?”

John Morgan shook his head. “Not much.”

Rod was coming to see that the man wasn’t much of a conversationalist but it didn’t deter him. “How was your trip down from Northumberland?” he asked. “I’ve actually never been to Alnwick. I hear it is a big place.”

John Morgan nodded. “Big enough,” he said. “My trip was bearable.”

Rod eyed the man, trying to think of something that would possibly engage him in more of a conversation. So far, he wasn’t doing very well. “I am pleased to hear that,” he said, eyeing the horse again. “Have you ever used that horse in a tournament? He has a big chest. I imagine he would have a lot of power in the joust.”

John Morgan shook his head. “I do not joust.”

“Have you ever?”

Again, John Morgan shook his head. “I have not.”

Rod was struggling to keep the conversation going. “I notice you’re missing a finger,” he said. “How did it happen?”

John Morgan lifted his right hand, looking at his little finger, taken off to the second knuckle. He inspected it a moment. “A horse took it off.”

Rod felt a jolt of hope roll through him.
It happened long before his head injury. How did he know that?
“A shame,” he said, eyeing the man. “I had an uncle who lost the same finger to a horse. As a child, I was scared of horses because of it. I thought they ate fingers for the longest time.”

John Morgan didn’t say anything. He continued plodding along, occasionally looking at his missing finger. “You mean me,” he finally said.

Rod nodded, his heart softening. He found himself praying that somehow, someway, the man would remember them. For Berwyn’s sake, he prayed.

“Aye,” he said softly. “I mean you. I loved you very much, Uncle Morgan. I still do. Although you do not remember me, or your family, you were very loved. We are very happy to know you did not die those years ago.”

John Morgan sighed with confusion. He kept looking at his missing finger, struggling to recall those years that had vanished from his mind. He didn’t seem as uncomfortable or stiff as he had earlier.

“That old man,” he said after a moment. “That man who attacked me. He is my father?”

Rod nodded slowly. “He is,” he said quietly. “He did not attack you. He was happy to see you and was trying to hug you. He did not know that you did not remember him.”

John Morgan was still staring at his hand, evidently pondering the information. “I do not know him.”

“His name is Berwyn.”

John Morgan looked up from his hand, his brilliant blue-eyed gaze roaming the land. He seemed to grow thoughtful, as if his damaged mind was working on something. He scratched his chin, his lips moving as if to bring forth words he couldn’t quite grasp. When he finally spoke, Rod barely heard him.

“Fair flower,” he muttered.

Rod was stunned. “Fair flower,” he repeated softly. “
Blodwyn.
That was your mother’s name. Why did you say that, Uncle Morgan? Do you remember her?”

John Morgan shook his head unsteadily, still looking over the landscape. He pointed to a patch of yellow flowers by the road. “Fair flower,” he said again.

Rod turned around and frantically motioned to Berwyn, who was riding several feet behind them. Berwyn looked as if he had aged fifty years in the past two days, distraught over a son returned from the dead who did not remember him. But he dutifully spurred his charger forward, looking at Rod with as much curiosity as he could muster. Rod whispered to his grandfather as the man grew near.

“He said
fair flower
,” he muttered. “That was grandmother’s name, Blodwyn.”

Berwyn looked at his son, brow furrowed, but John Morgan was staring at the flowers at the side of the road, seemingly in a world of his own. When Berwyn saw what he was looking at, it sparked a memory in him from long ago, something that his beloved wife used to say to their children. A child’s rhyme that he pulled from deep in his mind.

“Fair flower, fair flower, you greet me each day,” he said, loud enough so that John Morgan could hear him. “Fair flower, fair flower, do not go away. Fair flower, fair flower, your beauty won’t fade. The sun from above is your soft fairy maid.”

Rod had heard that rhyme from his grandmother once, too, but he hadn’t made the connection when John Morgan had mentioned fair flower. He had only thought of his grandmother’s name and its meaning. But the moment Berwyn repeated the rhyme, John Morgan looked at Berwyn with the most curious of expressions. Berwyn gazed into his son’s eyes, his heart breaking that the man didn’t know him. But there was something in his face that suggested he was trying. Something was going on in that wounded brain, sparks of long-lost memories beginning to stir.

“Do you know that rhyme, John Morgan?” Berwyn asked calmly. “Have you heard it before?”

John Morgan stared at Berwyn a moment longer before nodding his head, briefly. Then, he faced forward again, all but ignoring Rod and Berwyn. It was evident that the conversation was over. Still, contact had been made. There was something there, something that suggested memories were buried deep. They simply needed to dig them out. When Rod finally turned to Berwyn to see how the man was reacting, he was surprised to see a smile on his lips.

He had hope.

The ride continued in comfortable silence from that point forward. Rod’s attention turned from his uncle and grandfather to the head of the column where de Velt and de Lohr were beginning to signal to the men. Cloryn Castle was drawing close and a call went up in the column, and everyone ground to a halt.

De Poyer, covering the rear, barked orders and sent the provisions wagons away from the rest of the column, back into a line of trees that was off to the northeast. They would have protection there and tents would be pitched out of the range of archers from the castle. Word then spread back through the lines, calling Rod forward. De Lohr had need of him.

Rod charged forward, along the column, until he reached Christopher at the head. “Aye, my lord?” he responded as he brought his charger to a halt.

Christopher was in full battle armor, as was de Velt. It was an impressive but odd sight, seeing the two great commanders in full regalia as allies with a common cause. De Velt was as frightening as always in his red and black tunic with his battle-scarred older mail, something he hadn’t worn in quite a long time, while Christopher’s recognizable blue and yellow tunic covered expensive and well-maintained mail. When Rod approached, Christopher lifted his visor.

“We can see movements on the parapets, so they are alerted to our arrival and are undoubtedly preparing,” he told Rod. “Since you have already made contact with your cousin, I am going to ask you to ride to the gate and summon him. Since he knows you, he is less likely to shoot you down.”

Rod pursed his lips wryly. “I am
not
comforted by that, my lord,” he said. “What would you have me stay to him?”

Christopher fought off a smile at Rod’s humorless answer. “Announce our arrival,” he said. “Tell de Llion that we have come to make an exchange for de Velt’s daughter. Tell him that we wish to see her and make sure she is in good health before we proceed.”

Rod nodded, affixing the strap on his helm that had loosened. “Am I alone to view the girl and determine her health, or do you want me to summon you when she is being brought forth?”

“I want to see her,” Jax said before Christopher could reply.

Christopher shook his head. “If you go any closer, you will be within range of the archers and they can cut you down,” he said, telling the man what he already knew. His attention returned to Rod. “You can determine if the woman is in good health.”

Rod wriggled his dark eyebrows knowingly. “He is going to expect de Velt for the exchange,” he said. “What should I tell him?”

Christopher glanced at Jax before replying. “Tell him we have no intention of attacking Cloryn and we will keep our army at bay providing he brings de Velt’s daughter and meets us on neutral territory, away from the walls of Cloryn.” He could see the castle in the distance, the road, and a wide field on the opposite side of the road, away from the castle. He pointed at it. “That field will do. We will be in full view of the castle at all times. In fact, Jax and I will bring John Morgan and go there to await the exchange. De Llion will be able to see us and, if nothing else, it will pique his curiosity.”

Rod nodded in understanding. “And if the girl is not in good health?” he asked. “What do you want me to do?”

Christopher didn’t look at Jax, afraid to see his expression. “If she is not, then you will return to us immediately and tell us what you have seen. We will determine how to proceed at that time.”

He meant plans for a siege. Rod sighed heavily, with regret for what might come. “And do you want me to tell him who we have with us?” he asked. “Do I tell him about his father?”

Christopher shrugged. “I would prefer that you not, but if it is the only way he will meet us on neutral ground for the exchange, so be it.”

Rod nodded and spurred his charger forward, across the dusty road that doubled back on itself as it rose up the incline to Cloryn Castle. Meanwhile, Christopher and Jax plowed back through the lines until they came to John Morgan, back at mid-pack with Berwyn several feet away. Christopher focused on John Morgan.

“We have arrived at the castle your son has confiscated from Lord de Velt,” he said in simple terms. “Do you recall I told you of this back at Lioncross?”

John Morgan nodded. “Aye, my lord.”

“I told you that your son, Bretton, has seized Lord de Velt’s daughter and he is holding her hostage to seek vengeance for your death.”

Again, John Morgan nodded. “Aye, my lord.”

Christopher leaned forward on his saddle, fixed on John Morgan’s bright blue eyes. “We are going to present you to your son in exchange for de Velt’s daughter,” he said. “I told you this before. It is very important that you accept that Bretton de Llion is your son. We will explain to him that you do not remember him and I am not entirely sure how he is going to accept that, but it is very important that you go with the man so we can secure de Velt’s daughter. You are a soldier, Morgan. This is your duty to help save this young woman. Do what you can to keep your son calm, at least until we can spirit her away. Is this clear?”