The Bwy Hir Complete Trilogy (35 page)

‘He has corrupted the Nephilim.’ Elder Tom
as strode to the corpse with his hands held behind his back. ‘He has given the spirits the one thing they crave most. They have feasted on Human remains, drunk the blood and therefore they have substance and strength, and thus he not only corrupts the spirits of the Nephilim, but corrupts himself … Afagddu cannot face the R’hela, we cannot allow his spirit to escape to y Gwag … he must face the flames.’

Celyn-Bach looked down upon Elder Tom
as with deference. ‘You speak honestly and with great knowledge, I would like to confer with you further regarding y Gwag and the possible ramifications of Afagddu’s deeds.’

Elder Tom
as bowed. ‘But first, my Lord all the mirrors must be closed, at least temporarily. We do not know how many bodies were disposed of or through which mirrors. I think it prudent, at least for the interim, to restrict use until we know if there is any danger from the Ysbrydion:
the dark spirits.’

‘Granted.’ Aeron looked down at the little man
. ‘Celyn-Bach is correct, you are indeed wise. You are also my new Councillor.’ Aeron smiled at Elder Tomas’ surprise. ‘Your first task it to retrieve my son from Ty Mawr and see if Gwyn Morgan can identify what is left of this woman and her clothing. I will call my brothers home.’

CHAPTER SIX

Cadno heard the horn blast from where he was reclining while he ate. He was surprised that they had given up so soon, surely they should have kept looking, at least until sunrise? Not that they would have found him of course, nor the two Helgi he had tethered to a stake beside him. Cadno had taken refuge in the one place nobody would look, the one place where even if they did find him they would not be able to raise a hand against him: The Dell of the
Tylwyth Teg
. Well, it wasn’t as if the Pride would be back until Spring and for the moment, the Dell and the Tylwyth Teg served his purpose until he could reach Atgas in Caerlleon.

Cadno sniggered at his own genius as he tucked into a leg of venison kindly prepared for him by the Tylwyth Teg on his arrival at the Dell. The Tylwyth Teg hadn’t even been surprised, it was almost as if they were expecting him, which at first had made him wary but he had soon settled in and would be sorry to leave. After all, Cadno was not used to taking care of himself, that was what the Druids had been for. Cadno didn’t know how to cook or sew or do anything vaguely domesticated but as long as he was in the Dell he wouldn’t have to worry about that for now.

Cadno tucked a hand behind his head and crossed his ankles. He wished he could have been there to see the Host’s faces when they realised what he had done. Initially he had not intended to destroy the Druids’ ateb but the temptation had been too great, especially after Aeron had spitefully given him Linn for the coupling. Cadno wrinkled his nose.

His plan had been in the making for many seasons, maybe even years. He could see the Triskele was fading, breaking, and he wanted no part of it: Cadno was a survivor and the new ateb had finally given him the opportunity to break away, hence his two new companions. The one flaw had been that Helgi did not last forever and eventually he would need more and that is why he had needed the Chronicles. He needed to know the casting that changed Human to Helgi and now that he knew how, all he needed were two female Humans and then he would have his own breeding pack – genius! He smiled smugly as he threw the venison bone into the lovely fire the Tylwyth Teg had generously provided for him. Even the Helgi had been provided for with legs of lamb and fresh straw to bed down on. Really, the Tylwyth Teg thought of everything and he would be genuinely sad to lose them.

He looked up at the night sky and he wondered what Atgas would look like now. Probably exactly how he remembered her.
She was
–
is,
he thought,
the most beautiful of all of the Bwy Hir
.
Tall, slender, yet shapely, her feline eyes always sparkling with mischief.
She was always unruly, fiery, quick-witted and unscrupulous … she was perfect.

‘How do you think she’ll receive me after all this time?’ Cadno asked the Helgi but they ignored him. ‘Will she embrace the idea of a new branch of Bwy Hir?’ He continued with his one sided conversation. ‘One not constrained to the Triskele or the oaths. A new era of Bwy Hir; no formalities, no Aeron, no stinking, simpering Druids – no offence intended,’ he added, nodding to the Helgi. ‘No scampering Chosen running about, although I am going to have to do something about servants … hmm, I wonder if Atgas will have any ideas on that front, she was never one to undertake anything menial herself …’

The firelight flickered and the Helgi lay down, their backs facing the fire as they rested their sombre heads on huge paws. Cadno continued to stare at the stars.
How quiet it is here
, he thought to himself and then he lifted his head. It was almost too quiet. He sat up and looked around. Where were the Tylwyth Teg? He hadn’t seen them since just before the horn blast.
Where are they?

Cadno got to his feet and walked away from the fire, the Helgi watched him go. He circled the hillside but he was completely alone. Of the Tylwyth Teg there was no sign. He circled wider, almost up to the Cerdd Carega but the Dell was deserted. ‘Hello?’ he called out. No-one answered and Cadno began to feel on edge. One minute the Dell had been full of them and now they had vanished, even the foxes that had only moments before been skulking though the undergrowth had gone to ground.

Cadno was naturally cunning, a natural survivor and he knew to heed his senses. He stalked back to the fire, unleashed the Helgi from the stake and quickly but cautiously made his way to the Cerdd Carega. He had not intended to travel to Caerlleon so soon but something felt wrong and so his plans had just changed … survival was everything.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Gwyn and Taliesin lifted their heads off the floor as the mirror returned to normal. The other Druid lay sprawled in a sitting position against the far wall. He looked stunned and shaken but in one piece. Only Taliesin’s quick actions had prevented the Druid being dragged into the mirror when Aeron had yanked at the other end of the rope to free Celyn-Bach. Taliesin had severed this side of the rope with a quick blast of fire. The only casualty had been the carpet, a blackened fist-sized hole smouldered where Taliesin’s shot had cleanly cut the rope.

‘What the bloody hell was that?’ Gwyn asked, as he got on all fours. ‘What the hell just happened?’ His ears were ringing and white spots floated in front of his eyes but he was unharmed.

Taliesin stood up. ‘That,’ he said, brushing carpet fibres off his robes, ‘was a narrow escape.’

‘How do we get back?’ the burly Druid asked, as he rubbed the back of his head. ‘Can we use the mirror?’

Taliesin shook his head. ‘No, the
Dderwydd Ddrych
should not be used.’ He helped the Druid to his feet. ‘We shall use the Cerdd Carega in the forest. All of us.’

‘Oh no!’ Gwyn said, backing away from the pair. ‘I’ll stop here, thank you.’

‘Gwyn Morgan, they may have just recovered your aunt. You will need to identify her. You must come.’ Taliesin was unbending.

‘What about Bara? She’s pining for Dad as it is, I’ll not leave her here alone.’

‘Then bring her with you,’ Taliesin offered, ‘but you must come.’

‘You have a telephone,’ said the Druid, ‘please call one of the Chosen and ask them to use their mirror to advise my brethren that we return.’

Gwyn called Dai Jones. ‘Hello, Dai? It’s Gwyn. You need to use your mirror and tell the Druids that me, Bara, Taliesin and a Druid are on our way back to the Halls via the Cerdd Carega
… No, I’m bloody serious, they’re here with me now … we can’t use this mirror … No, I’m not joking – oh, for God’s sake, I’ll put him on if you want.’ Gwyn leaned away from the phone. ‘Will one of you come and speak to Dai Jones? He won’t bloody well listen to me!’

The Druid stepped into the hallway and gingerly took the phone from Gwyn’s hand. ‘Who is this?’ the Druid enquired through the phone and Gwyn rolled his eyes. ‘The boy speaks the truth. Please inform my brethren immediately … thank you.’ He handed the phone back to Gwyn who replaced it on the receiver.

‘Bara?’ Gwyn called and she bounded from the kitchen, her ears down but her tail wagging. ‘Let’s go, girl.’ He grabbed her lead and his jacket before leaving the house. He left the lights on – he did not like returning to a dark, empty house.

The strange quartet walked through the wet fields; Bara straining on her leash, Taliesin walking side by side with Gwyn, the Druid trailing behind, lost in his own thoughts. ‘Do you think they found Nerys?’ Gwyn asked, as they trudged down the track towards the oak tree.

‘They pulled something through.’ Taliesin spoke quietly. ‘Gwyn Morgan, do you think Anwen is content where she is?’

Gwyn stumbled at the question. ‘Truthfully?’ Taliesin nodded. ‘No. I think wherever she is she’ll hate it. Her place is at Ty Mawr.’

Taliesin’s shoulders slumped but he continued walking. ‘She is safer away from here.’

‘After what I just saw,’ Gwyn mumbled, ‘we’d all be safer away from here. The world’s gone mad!’

‘Only our world,’ Taliesin corrected. ‘I worry for us all, Gwyn Morgan. There are dark days up ahead. The Triskele must be kept strong, kept whole.’

‘And where does Anwen and – where do they fit?’ Gwyn watched Taliesin from the corner of his eye.

‘Here. They fit here … just not yet.’ Taliesin looked over his shoulder. The Druid was trailing too far behind to hear their conversation. ‘Wherever they are, they are safer there than here … did you see the
Ysbrydion?’

Gwyn nodded. ‘I saw something … what are they?’

‘Dark spirits. Restless souls. It is thought y Gwag is where the Bwy Hir’s soul goes when we die, to wander the emptiness for eternity.’

‘Why do you say “dark spirits” then, the Bwy Hir aren’t evil–’ Gwyn stopped short. ‘Oh, God, you’re not evil are you?’ His face drained of colour.

‘No. We are not.’ Taliesin smiled. ‘But our spirit, our soul, it can never find rest. We are barred from heaven and so we dwell on earth, prolonging our lives with your blood … but when we die … blood is what the spirit craves, to feel alive … it is difficult to explain, Gwyn Morgan, you should ask someone wiser than me, perhaps Celyn-Bach will explain it to you.’

They skirted past the tree in silence and finally the Druid caught up. ‘What is your name?’ Taliesin asked him. The Druid seemed surprised at Taliesin’s interest. ‘I am Brother Bryce, my Lord,’ he replied.

‘I am not your Lord, Brother Bryce. I am your equal, as is Gwyn Morgan.’

Bryce screwed up his face. ‘No, my Lord, you are above me and Gwyn Morgan is
Gwaradwyddedig
and so is beneath me. We are not equal.’ Gwyn could see the Druid meant no offense, he was simply stating things as he saw them but Gwyn still wanted to plant him on his arse.

‘Again,
Brother Bryce, I assure you we are all equal. We are all part of the Triskele. Without one there is none, do you dispute my logic?’

‘I do not
,’ Bryce replied, ‘I dispute your modesty, but I do so with deference and respect.’ He bowed to Taliesin and then began to walk ahead.

‘Well if you’re the top and I’m the bottom,’ Gwyn snorted, ‘where the hell does that leave
Anwen and the – you know?’ 

Taliesin sighed. He needed to speak to someone, this secret was eating him up inside, as if there wasn’t enough trouble circling the Triskele. ‘Until there is unity and equality within the three, then I know not where any of us really stand.’

They continued the rest of the journey in silence. Gwyn shoved one hand in his pocket and was surprised to feel Nerys’ knife within it, he had forgotten he had put it there.
We are going to see her body
, he thought, and that scared him. The thought of Nerys’ dead body, all cold, her eyes staring, her limbs all stiff and white. He shook himself and took his hand away from the knife. He hoped Afagddu would suffer for what he’d done and he hoped, oh god how he hoped that his father would be released and Anwen forgotten about.

‘What are you thinking?’ Taliesin inquired
, as they entered the forest. Bryce was still well ahead of them and Bara strained at the lead wanting to catch up and be at the front. Gwyn stayed silent for a few moments before he turned to look at Taliesin full in the face. ‘Do you love her, or was she just a bit of sport?’

Taliesin was taken aback by the frankness of Gwyn’s question. ‘Yes, I believe I do love her but I think she will not love me when I bloom
… I am still nearly Human height in stature, but soon I will change. I will be more like my brothers.’

Gwyn felt a moment of pity for this young Bwy Hir. ‘Will you end up glowing in the dark too? Awel glows. Will you be as tall as her? Will your hair go white?’ Gwyn was genuinely interested.

‘My hair is my hair,’ Taliesin said, laughing in spite of himself, ‘but yes, I will be the same as the others … and I will not age as Anwen surely will.’ His voice trailed off, his face grew serious and sad.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t think
… sorry.’ Gwyn meant it. ‘you’ll stay young and she’ll grow old … I’m sorry.’

‘You have nothing to be sorry for,’ Taliesin
said sighing, ‘I didn’t think – we didn’t think …’

‘What about
, you know … how will they be?’ Gwyn kept his eye on the Druid ahead, a black shadow weaving between the trees.

‘He will be the first of his kind, a
Hanner-Bridia: a half breed … I do not know how he will be received by the Bwy Hir, let alone the Druids and the Chosen … there are complications.’ Taliesin looked to Gwyn, he could make out his face in the darkness even without the moon – his face was open and honest. He felt a flicker of companionship between himself and Gwyn Morgan and he vehemently hoped that his father and the Druids would treat him and his family decently.

‘What will happen to the
Druid who killed my aunt?’ Gwyn changed the subject, he didn’t know what to make of the relationship between Taliesin and his sister, never mind what to make of a “Hanner-Bridia” nephew.
What had she been thinking to get involved with a Bwy Hir, like that?

They were approaching the
Cerdd Carega, the Druid was standing in a shaft of moonlight waiting for them to arrive. Bara panted and wheezed against her collar, eager to get to the stone. ‘Can the Druids not use the stones?’ Gwyn asked, wondering why the Druid had not just gone on ahead.

‘No. They have no feel for them.’ Taliesin let his mind drift to the pulsing
Cerdd Carega. He could feel the energy throbbing through it, the beams of energy streaking off in every direction, connecting to other Cerdd Carega positioned to converge across the ley lines tracking across the length and breadth of the country of Cymru. Taliesin could feel the other, less familiar pull of ley lines shooting off into places unknown, but those places were long forgotten and disused by the Bwy Hir. They stuck to the tracks they were familiar with, the tracks that served their purpose. Taliesin suddenly grabbed at Gwyn’s arm. ‘Did you see that?’

‘See what?’ Gwyn whispered, alarmed at Taliesin’s sudden movement. Taliesin was looking into the sky. ‘I saw a streak of light,
from the other Cerdd Carega nearby. Someone has just travelled through the Cerdd Carega from the Dell and then away … I must tell my father. Come.’

Gwyn
’s heart beat quickened as they approached the stone. He could see the apprehension in the Druid’s eyes too but Bara had no such misgivings as she sat patiently at the foot of the stone waiting to go. ‘Take hold of my hands and do not let go.’ Taliesin said as he opened his hands to his companions. ‘Gwyn Morgan, you must hold Bara tightly.’ Gwyn nodded; he’d been through this before. He spiralled the lead around his fist before grabbing Bara’s collar securely, and then it began; the flash of blue-white, the terrible dragging sensation, the feeling of being drawn out, stretched and pulled, the sharp keening sound ripping at the ears: a whirlwind of ice and fire. When it stopped Gwyn’s knees buckled but he managed to stay upright. He felt sick, his skin prickled, but he was in much better shape than the Druid who was lying on the floor silently retching with his knees pulled to his chest. Bara wagged her tail happily and her tongue lolled out of the side of her mouth as she expectantly looked up at Gwyn for instruction.

‘Ah, Taliesin, it is good you have arrived,’ Elder Tom
as said, waiting at the Reception Hall to greet them. ‘We were informed of your return.’ He looked down at the stricken Druid lying on the floor. ‘Oh dear, Brother Bryce, I believe the Cerdd Carega
is not as painless as the mirrors, do you need help?’

‘No,’ Bryce wheezed
, as he got to his knees, ‘I’ll be fine, thank you.’ He clutched his arms to his chest as he stood and with a small and painful looking bow he excused himself.

‘Gwyn Morgan?’ Elder Tom
as turned his friendly face to Gwyn. ‘We are glad you are here, but I’m afraid I must deliver some terrible news,’ he said solemnly.

‘You’ve found A
unt Nerys.’

‘Indeed we may have, or at least what is left of her. I am sorry, my boy.’ Elder Tom
as clasped his hands behind his back and signalled with his head for them to follow him. ‘It is terrible, just terrible … you will need to see if you can identify her, although the task seems impossible. There is however a scrap of material left, maybe you could … How insensitive of me, I must apologise.’ Elder Tomas tutted to himself. ‘You have suffered great loss and I’m afraid that I am too old and too thick skinned to have seen my error. I do apologise.’

‘No, no, it’s
fine,’ Gwyn said, swallowing, ‘is she in a bad way? Her body I mean.’

‘I’m afraid so
… perhaps it would be better if your father … ?’

‘Is he alright, my dad, is he okay?’ Gwyn asked eagerly.

Elder Tomas nodded. ‘He is, although he is still residing in Dduallt, something I’m sure we can remedy, but come, Lord Aeron himself wishes your company and as his new Councillor I am bade to take you there directly.’

Taliesin’s eyebrows rose slightly at his father choosing a new
Councillor so quickly but Taliesin thought his father had made a good choice. They followed Elder Tomas through the cavernous hallways. Bara had her nose to the stone floor as they made their way up and up to the chambers of the Bwy Hir. Gwyn marvelled at the sheer size of the place, the huge staircases carved into the rock itself and how the higher they climbed the grander the hallways became, the walls decorated with fine and intricate tapestries, paintings, shields and crossed swords. The stone floors were decorated with richly woven rugs, some worn with age, others looked newly laid. Despite the slightly moist feel of the air, the bitter tang of torch smoke and the shadowy ceilings and crevices the place still felt imposing and ostentatious, Gwyn was captivated.

Elder Tom
as led them up to Aeron’s personal chambers and rapped on the door before entering. Aeron was stood at a huge table with Celyn-Bach and two other Bwy Hir that Gwyn did not recognise. Gwyn felt his knees trembling and Bara was cowering behind his legs; they were tiny in comparison to the huge occupants in the room.