The Bwy Hir Complete Trilogy (27 page)

‘You can’t, I’m sorry, but there is nowhere to get her back from. She is gone. The perfect place to conceal a body.’ Awel watched the boy’s shoulders slump
. ‘But there is one upside to this sorry tale, Gwyn Morgan – Nerys went fighting, the knife is proof of that. Is there anyone you have seen who bears a blade cut?’

Gwyn sat up straighter
. ‘No, I’ve not seen anyone yet, but that doesn’t mean I won’t. I’ll keep my eyes peeled and if I find ‘em, God help ‘em!’ Gwyn curled his hands into fists, grim determination causing his face to pinch into a scowl.

Awel admired his spirit, if not his intellect
. ‘Well, do not do anything rash, not without proof. I would not want you attacking every man who had the misfortune to cut himself shaving!’

Gwyn relaxed his fists. ‘So, what about Anwen?’

‘She will contact you again?’

‘Why do you always answer a question with a question?’ Gwyn grumbled and Awel raised an eyebrow. ‘I told her to phone me tomorrow, if she understood what I was saying.’

‘Good. Then give her these instructions: She is to get herself to London as quickly as possible. Someone will be there waiting for her: a friend. I believe the place she must get to is called Euston. I will see she is looked after and protected. I would rather have her on Welsh soil but it is too dangerous; Druids are hidden in every nook and cranny of Welsh society. Gwyn, you must make this point very clear: She is not to travel over the sea, not even cross it over a bridge or on a boat. Her feet must stay on solid ground. She must not cross the sea. Do you understand?’

‘Why?’

Awel sighed. ‘Must you always answer a question with a question? Do as I ask, Gwyn Morgan. Anwen and her child must be kept safe.’

Gwyn nodded and Awel stood up
. ‘We must be away. Take hold of Bara and I will take you home.’

Gwyn trembled as Awel led them back to the standing stone. She pressed her hand on the engraved spiral and Gwyn squeezed his eyes shut, gripping hold of Bara’s collar. He felt Awel take hold of his arm and the flash of brilliant light shone through his eyelids.

The second time was not quite as bad as the first. His legs still gave way when they touched the forest floor but at least his skin felt whole. ‘Go straight home, Gwyn Morgan of Ty Mawr. Give my regards to your father when he you see him again. Be compliant with the Druids; remember you are a new initiate with a lot to learn. Trust Dai Jones and his wife. In all probability I will not see you again until Spring. So take of yourself.’

‘Won’t I see you at the Solstice?’

‘I will be there, but you will not remember seeing me, not properly. Good bye, Gwyn Morgan.’

With a flash of light, Awel Chan
-y-Bant was gone. Gwyn blinked his eyes to regain his night vision. ‘Oh bloody hell, Bara,’ he threw his hands up, ‘I left the torch behind!’ he felt in his pockets, but the torch was gone. He had however remembered the knife. He would keep that hidden and save it until he found which bastard Druid had killed his aunt.

It took a lot longer to get home in the pitch dark. His knees were as muddy as his boots when he strolled back into the house. All the lights were still
on and a fire blazed in the living room, red and hot.

Dai
was sitting in a chair watching television with a tray on his knee. He was spooning the last bit of casserole into his mouth. ‘Hey, that was my dinner!’ exclaimed Gwyn.

‘It was lucky I rescued it.’
Dai replied smacking his lips, ‘Bloody good too.’

Gwyn had forgotten about the casserole but his stomach growled with new vigour and
Dai chuckled, ‘I’ve left half of it in the simmering oven for you. Go get it and then you can tell me how Awel is and what the hell’s going on.’ Dai fixed Gwyn with a stern stare. ‘Don’t try telling me there’s nothing going on. I’m not stupid lad, we’re in this together and I’m staying here until your dad comes back in a couple of days.’ Dai’s spirits lifted as the lad beamed. ‘Yes, boy, you’re father’s awake and he’s doing fine. Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday!’

Gwyn practically danced into the kitchen. His dad was alright, Anwen would be safe and Nerys
… Nerys would be mourned as soon as they caught the bastard who’d done it. Gwyn felt a wave of tiredness push at his eyelids, but he needed to eat, to speak to Dai and then he would sleep. A deep, exhausted sleep until the morning: the eve of the Solstice.

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

The majority of
the Host was assembled in the communal hall. A fire was roaring in the hearth, the mood was relaxed and cheerful. Gwrnach had refused Cadno’s repeated plea to play gwyddbwyll
and so Cadno had retreated to the fireplace to sit and brood.

Llud and Celyn-Bach were polishing their hunting bows, testing and tightening the strings. Gwydion and Brenig were throwing dice again and refusing to allow Cadno to join in.
Gryff and Gwrnach sat talking together, discussing the merits of each member of the Pride. ‘I agree Artio is indeed fair, but she does not compare to the beautiful Branwen!’ Gryff waved a hand in front of his face, smiling as Gwrnach argued. ‘Oh, Branwen has a beautiful face, but Artio’s body is lithe and strong, more shapely that even Rhiannon’s.’

‘And yet all are outshone by the beauty, intelligence and splendour of our illustrious
queen.’ Cadno had finally decided to stop sulking. They all nodded, none could disagree, Mab Rhedyn Haf was indeed the most beautiful of all. ‘Except of course for Atgas,’ Cadno exclaimed, causing silence among the Host. ‘What? Do you not agree? Was Atgas not beautiful?’ Cadno looked around his brothers, but no-one would meet his eye, only Gwrnach kept his head up, watching Cadno’s sly grin.

‘Atgas was indeed beautiful.’ Gwrnach spoke slowly, ‘But only on the outside. Inside she was withered and ugly. Why do you dredge her spectre into our midst?’

Cadno rolled his eyes. ‘Just because she was banished does not mean we cannot talk about her. She was one of us after all.’

‘But no longer.’ Aeron’s voice cut across the room as Taliesin closed the doors behind him, ‘She is
Gwaradwydedig.  She is nothing to us now. We will not speak of her.’

‘As you wish
,’ Cadno replied flippantly, as he flicked his wrist and crossed his legs, turning his back on the Host to resume his study of the fire.

Aeron glared at Cadno’s back before taking a seat among his brothers, Taliesin perched at his father’s side. ‘So, it is time to choose.’ Aeron smiled
. ‘The Pride has put forward their selection of mates. Taliesin?’ He handed his father the heavy book of the Chronicles, opened at the relevant page. Cadno became interested once more.

‘Any favourites?’
He smirked as he looked around the gathered Host.

‘Branwen for me!’ Gryff shouted eagerly to a chorus of jeers. Aeron scrawled Gryff’s name beside his chosen mate’s.

‘Artio if Gwrnach will concede?’ Celyn-Bach’s timid voice called and the Host renewed their jeering. Gwrnach nodded his head and laughed. ‘Conceded!’

‘Cadno?’ Aeron
inquired, ‘Who do you wish to mate? Rhiannon? Enid?’

‘Hmmm, is there any other choice?’ Cadno tapped his chin with a finger
. ‘My tastes change. Are Olwyn or Awel on the list?’ His jest was received with a mixture of titters and awkward silence. Aeron did not find it amusing: Awel was his sister. The Pairing was a serious business and Aeron had no time for fools.

‘As Cadno’s first choices are not on the list, he will receive the dregs of the list once all other brothers have made their choice.’ A silence filled the chamber
. ‘Llud, who is your choice?’

‘Well, as Cadno is being so picky,’
he said, as chuckles filled the silence, ‘I will take the delicious Rhiannon.’ Cadno glared at a smug Llud. Rhiannon was Cadno’s preferred mate: she reminded him of Atgas.

Gwydion and Brenig were next to choose, but they both wanted
Enid, and so Aeron made the decision for them. Gwydion would have Enid and Brenig would take the feisty Llinos. The Host erupted in laughter, Llinos gave as good as she got, she was not a submissive mate. Brenig cringed at the thought of the barrage of teeth and claws he would have to overcome to couple with Llinos. Gwrnach patted Brenig’s shoulder. ‘Me next!’ Gwrnach bellowed, ‘Choose for me, Aeron, but please, be kinder to me than you were to poor Brenig!’

Aeron grinned
. ‘For you then, I bestow the young and tender Mabon.’ Gwrnach nodded. Mabon was fair enough and easily overcome, although, secretly he wanted Olwyn. ‘And finally to Cadno.’ An expectant silence filled the chamber. There were only a few of the Pride left, who would Aeron choose? ‘Let me see,’ Aeron drawled, as he imitated Cadno by tapping a finger on his chin, ‘I shall pair you with Linn.’ There was a collective intake of breath. Aeron had been cruel.

‘Why, thank you
.’ Cadno’s grin held no warmth, his eyes sparkled with fury. ‘I will enjoy mounting that wet fish.’

Aeron bowed his head mockingly
. ‘I am glad you appreciate my choice. Maybe next year I will allow you to choose your own mate.’ Aeron finished writing the names into the page. Cadno and Aeron stared at each other a few minutes longer before Aeron closed the Chronicles and handed them back to Taliesin. ‘Take these back to my chambers.’

‘I will come with you.’ Cadno stood up
. ‘I need the fresh air and maybe you can help me choose a suitable height to throw myself from.’

The Host chuckled as Taliesin and Cadno left the chambers together. Taliesin held the Chronicles protectively to his chest.

Cadno waited until they were in Aeron’s chambers. ‘Pass me the Chronicles,’ he demanded.

‘No.’ Taliesin stood firm
. ‘The Ransom was set: you get to
look
at the Chronicles, not take them. If you want to look at them, you do it with me present.’

Cadno pursed his lips. ‘Agreed but you can step away from them while I read. It was not part of the Ransom for you to know what I’m interested in.’ Taliesin nodded and passed the heavy tome to Cadno.

Cadno quickly flicked through the pages until he found what he sought. ‘Do you have the remainder of the Ransom?’ he asked as he read.

‘Yes.’ Taliesin removed a small scroll from beneath his robes and placed it in Cadno’s outstretched hand.

‘If this is false, the Ransom is void.’ Cadno inspected the document.

‘It is not false.’ Taliesin felt nothing but anger towards Cadno after what he had done back in the forest
. ‘The last part of the Ransom is this: Atgas resides in Caerlleon.’

Cadno smiled
. ‘The Ransom is completed.’ He closed the Chronicles and handed them back to Taliesin. ‘I feel much better now. There is no need to help me find me somewhere to jump off any longer.’ With a sly grin Cadno slipped out of the door leaving Taliesin to replace the Chronicles under lock and key.

‘I don’t know what you’re up to, Cadno. But I hope it brings you nothing but misery.’ Taliesin whispered
, as he left his father’s chamber and returned to the Host.

Taliesin returned to his father’s side and the merriment continued. Cadno was absent from the chamber, but everyone else was there, talking and drinking in front of the warm fire. Gwrnach came to sit beside Taliesin and patted his knee
. ‘We were just saying while you were gone,’ Gwrnach said, as a smile split his face, ‘if you have the misfortune of blooming before tomorrow, you will have slim pickings at the Solstice.’

Taliesin feigned laughter but inside he was a churning mass of emotions. He worried for Anwen, he worried for himself and his mother, but most of all he worried what Cadno was up to.

‘Don’t worry.’ Aeron smiled indulgently. ‘You will not bloom before the Solstice, but you will have bloomed by the next Solstice, that is my guess. We should set some time aside to talk you through what will be expected of you when the time comes.’

Taliesin rolled his eyes
. ‘I do not need a lesson in coupling, father. I am not a child.’

‘Ho!’ Gwrnach teased
, ‘Listen to the voice of experience!’

The Host jeered anew and Taliesin felt his face grow hot. Aeron smiled at his son. He was so proud, so
wilful.
An apple never falls far from the tree
, Aeron thought smugly to himself.

The Host talked long into the night. They did not sleep, and would not sleep again until
Spring. The night was a peaceful and relaxed period of their day when light gave way to darkness and the feel of the mountain’s energy changed from dynamic to lethargic, when Druids would take to their beds and the halls became their own, an unshared and vast dominion.

Tomorrow’s sunrise would bring a new atmosphere to the halls of Maen-Du in the bowels of the Eryri Mountains
. An excitable ambience would flood through the halls, the Druids would scuttle about preparing for the Solstice and the Bwy Hir would rest and relax together, eating, drinking, preparing themselves for the Solstice, the Harvest, the coupling and finally the Great Hunt where Bwy Hir and Dragon would become one and ride the night, hunting deer and stag, fox and vixen. All the Bwy Hir would ride, all accept Taliesin. He would receive only the bounty from the Harvest and not the ateb. He would leave with the Pride, them to their lairs, him to the mountain to await the return of the Host.

Taliesin had longed for the day he would blossom and join the Host, but now he wasn’t so sure. His heart belonged to Anwen Morgan of Ty Mawr.