by Glen L. Hall
He gave a slight bow, span on his heel and marched off through the throng of gardeners.
Immediately Sam turned on Emily. ‘Why do you have to be so argumentative?’
‘Why don’t you ever say anything?’
She glared at him and his stomach flipped. Even though she looked tired and exasperated, she was back to her beautiful self. Guilt, irritation and desire flooded through him all at once. He turned away, unable to look at her.
‘You are a drama queen.’
‘Drama queen!’ Emily stood, furious. ‘Look, I have to ask all these questions because it’s important we know who is on our side.’
‘Kenrick clearly means well. I just think you like to be difficult.’
‘Difficult!’ Emily said the word loudly and then laughed.
Sam looked at her in surprise. ‘Have you lost the plot?’
‘Yes, Sam! You make me laugh. I’m sorry.’
It was so unexpected that Sam found himself smiling too.
‘I just find it incredible,’ Emily went on, ‘that one minute your hands are on fire and the next you can barely ask a question. You throw down some kind of weird terrifying creature outside the orchard and yet you can barely look me in the eye. You speak to Druids and see things in the flow and yet you stumble over your words and constantly apologise for this gift.’
Sam knew Emily was trying to build his confidence, but her words simply made him feel even more awkward.
‘Have you finished now?’ he asked, blushing.
‘No!’
Emily plonked herself back beside him and without warning leaned across and kissed him on the lips. He felt a hot flush spread across his face and down his body. Then he felt her hands on his chest and her lips on his once more. He could hear her breathing and feel the warmth of her body and for a second his fear, troubles and even the voices of the gardeners dropped away and it was just him and Emily in the safety of their embrace.
* * * * * *
They went hand in hand to the hall. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, they walked down several long corridors and finally came to the great hall. Its Georgian windows and sweeping French doors had been thrown open, revealing stone terraces bathed in the early afternoon sun. Running the full length of the hall were four tables that were now crowded with Forest Reivers, and around them a military operation was going on to bring them food and water.
As soon as Sam and Emily entered, a hush spread like wild fire throughout the room and Sam felt himself trying to take his hand from Emily’s just in case Jarl thought he was taking liberties. But Emily wasn’t having any of it – she gripped his hand with renewed vigour. Then at the far end of one of the tables they could see Jarl waving at them and they were relieved to hear the hum of voices start up again.
Sitting beside Jarl was the man who had seemed so angry that morning. Sam felt his eyes on him, and when he looked, the man gave him a courteous nod. Across from them was the man with the jet-black beard and piercing green eyes. He smiled at them both warmly and continued dipping his bread into a bowl of soup.
Eagan was missing, but on another table Morcant was sitting several places down from Kenrick.
Sam guessed there must have been several hundred Forest Reivers sitting at the long tables. He was glad to feel a fresh wind blowing through the open doors, or the room would have been roasting.
Lunch became a marvel of precision and perfectly timed dishes. Sam particularly enjoyed the lentil soup with crusty bread that was warm to the touch, and couldn’t help but cover it from end to end with lashings of butter. In between courses Jarl quietly introduced him to Braden, Jolan, Erin and Ged. They all seemed to be remarkably free of blood and dirt and looking much more relaxed than they had earlier in the day.
There was a murmur of voices that waxed and waned as the courses flooded the tables with their smells and colours. Outside, early afternoon became late afternoon and Sam could feel the breeze from the open doors turning chilly. As he was finishing his pudding, people were beginning to leave the table and heading out into the gardens or wandering down to the Howick Burn. It wasn’t long before Jarl was signalling him to follow him outside too. Emily got up from her seat as well, but a little shake of her uncle’s head made her sit back down with a thump.
Sam followed Jarl out onto the tiered patio and borders. There were Forest Reivers sitting in every corner talking quietly. They acknowledged Jarl and Sam with little nods and half-smiles as they passed by.
Jarl led Sam into the quietness of Kenrick’s private gardens.
‘Let’s sit, Sam. You’ve had quite a journey since Oxford. We have decided to hold the council meeting tomorrow afternoon now, when everyone has rested. The Reiver clans are looking for answers and we cannot give them what they are looking for today, but we must show them great respect. What they faced the other night was a nightmare I hope we don’t have to face again.’
He sat down with a grimace, clutching his leg.
‘We went to the Dead Water with good intentions. Brennus and Drust wanted to seek the help of the Dagda and his daughters. We also wanted to draw the Shadow away from you.’
‘I don’t know if you did draw it away or not,’ said Sam bluntly, ‘but it caught up with me in the Garden of Druids.’
For a second they stared at each other.
‘What did you say?!’ asked Jarl.
‘Yes, it caught up with me,’ admitted Sam.
‘And what happened?’ breathed Jarl.
Sam took a deep breath. He knew Jarl had brought him here to hear the truth and that was exactly what he was going to give him.
‘Do you know,’ he began, ‘Brennus once told me that Cherwell College was nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I didn’t understand what that meant, but now I do. The Garden of Druids is like that – it’s wherever you need it to be. And I needed it to be in Birling Wood that night so I could meet Oscar. I created the paradox, not Oscar.’ He stopped. ‘Then again, it could well have been Oscar, but that’s not important. What is important is that we were saved from the Shadow by Oscar.’
Jarl looked pensive. ‘I thought—’
‘I was saved that time by Oscar,’ Sam interrupted him, ‘and the reason I survived in Oxford the first time is because the Shadow was never after me. I think it was after Emily. I am not the last Druid – she is.’
‘Emily?’ Jarl was bewildered. ‘Why, Sam?’
‘The Grim-Witch is searching for “the girl”, not me.’
‘Her messengers told us that as well,’ Jarl said. ‘But how do you know?’
‘A Grim-were turned up my back garden in Gosforth asking for her. Then one pursued us through Birling Wood and asked again. Eagan took us to Alnmouth, but the crow-men were after us and we had to escape. They grabbed Emily from the boat, but at no point did they attempt to seize me or Eagan. Then earlier today I heard the Grim-Witch calling Emily’s name in the flow. Whatever the reason, there is a race to reach her. We just have to make sure that it’s not the Shadow who gets there first.’
‘But, Sam,’ Jarl said, ‘Brennus and Drust would have known if the flow had touched Emily and not you.’
‘It has touched me,’ Sam admitted, ‘but the Shadow is looking for Emily.’
‘Hmmm,’ Jarl was thoughtful. ‘The Grim-Witch’s servants told us the girl had to go to the Otherland. But with the fading of the Fall, the Otherland will come to us. So I don’t know what they meant by it.’
Sam felt a sense of desperation. ‘I just need to speak to Oscar,’ he said, ‘and find out who the child was that he rescued.’
‘You know about that as well?’
Suddenly Sam was angry. ‘I know a lot things now,’ he said, ‘despite all your best efforts. I know about Oscar and the fellowship. I know I am supposed to go to a garden on Holy Island and find the Staff of the Druids.’
‘T
he Staff of the Druids?’ It was clear that Jarl had never heard of it.
‘Yes, and I still don’t know enough! I want to know whether that child was me or Emily.’
Jarl shifted uncomfortably on the seat. ‘I don’t want you using the Way-curves. They are no longer safe.’
‘Well, how else am I to get any answers?!’ Sam exploded.
‘Calm down, Sam. When Brennus and Drust get here, they’ll be able to—’ Jarl stopped as he saw Sam drop his head. ‘What? What is it?’
‘I don’t think they’re coming back.’
Jarl turned pale. ‘And how do you know that, Sam?’
‘It’s in the letter that Oscar brought to Oxford.’
‘From the Keepers?’
Sam nodded.
‘Time and space can be tricky things,’ Jarl observed. ‘What if it’s wrong?’
‘I hope it is.’
Jarl sat stroking the craggy lines of his unshaven face. ‘On the road here we met servants of the Grim-Witch who said that Brennus and Drust would arrive at Holy Island in five days’ time.’
‘Let’s hope they are right then,’ Sam said. ‘That’s another reason to press on to Holy Island and find this staff. The woman said it would open the Druids’ Way. Do you know what that is?’
‘The Druids’ Way is the path from Holy Island to the Dead Water. No one goes that way now – it passes through the middle of the Underland. I’ve never heard of the staff before. Who was the woman?’
‘I met a Faerie woman in the walk between here and the sea.’ Sam smiled at the memory, then became more serious. ‘She said war was coming and that I must form a fellowship that could protect the Three. It’s clearly the same message that either I delivered to Oscar or he to me.’
He looked away across the gardens as a sprinkler split the water into the colours of the rainbow.
‘It’s happening all over again.’ Jarl’s voice was full of disquiet. ‘War is coming. I think we are safer here with the Forest Reivers for now.’
‘But isn’t Holy Island where this is going?’
‘Why would you think that?’
‘We met Alice in Alnmouth and she said she went there with Oscar and the Keepers. That it was the final stronghold of the Druids. She told us about Oscar’s journey into the Otherland.’
Jarl sat up, visibly shaken. ‘If you met Alice, then you are lucky indeed! What else did she tell you?’
‘Only what we already knew.’
Jarl seemed to settle a little at Sam’s words. They were both silent for a while. Jarl ran his hand over his face.
‘Have you seen Eagan?’ Sam asked casually.
‘I think he’s intent on fixing his boat. He’s been asking Kenrick for wood and tools.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Sam,’ Jarl paused and waited for Sam to look at him, ‘I sense an urgency in you, a desire to leave for Holy Island as soon as possible, but if you could wait until the council it would help greatly. I can’t and won’t stop you from disappearing again, but I am asking you not to take Emily with you. The lands around here are growing more dangerous by the hour and the Grim-Witch is out there somewhere.’
Sam hesitated. He had in fact been planning on leaving Emily at the hall. The Grim-Witch and Shadow were bound to catch up with her eventually. And he didn’t want it to be when it was just him and her in the wilderness without the Forest Reivers for protection, or Jarl or Eagan for that matter. He didn’t like that thought at all. Above all, he wanted to keep her safe.
He realised Jarl was waiting for his answer.
‘All right,’ he said quickly, ‘if I go, then I’ll go by myself.’
‘I would really prefer if you waited for the council, and then perhaps we could go to Holy Island together. We could wait there for Brennus and Drust.’
Sam stared at the sprinkler showering the finely cut lawn and shook his head. He had to be honest.
‘I can only promise not to take Emily with me.’
Jarl nodded. ‘Well, thank you for that.’
He ran his hand over his face again.
‘You know, if you’d asked me two weeks ago whether any of this was possible, I would have said you were barking mad,’ he confessed. ‘We’ve both witnessed one by one the fireside tales of the Forest Reivers coming true.’
‘This is where you’re hiding!’
Emily came striding across the lawn. She tried to skip past the sprinkler, but came through drenched. She stood in front of them laughing, with dripping wet hair, and Sam felt his stomach beginning to swirl again.
‘I hope you aren’t planning on escaping and leaving me behind!’
Sam glanced at Jarl, who couldn’t help but smile at his niece’s cheek.
‘Come on – you both look guilty.’
‘Emily, that’s enough!’ But even Jarl’s mock sternness could not put her off her stride.
‘You know I’m not staying here,’ she laughed.
‘There’s a meeting tomorrow, Emily, which will decide on where we go next.’
‘Sam’s going to Holy Island.’
Sam opened his mouth to protest, but he wasn’t quick enough.
‘He’ll try to get there by himself,’ Emily continued, ‘and he’ll come unstuck – I know he will. You’ve got to stop him. He thinks he’ll be doing everyone a favour by sneaking off, but he won’t. He’ll be risking his life trying to be a hero.’
She pushed her wet hair back from her face and Sam was surprised to see that amongst the water there were tears.
‘Emily,’ Jarl stood slowly and put his arm around her, but she pushed it away, suddenly really upset.
‘Uncle Jarl, you need to stop him!’
‘Don’t worry, Emily. He’s not going anywhere.’
There was an awkward pause.
‘Now,’ said Jarl, ‘I really must see how the Forest Reivers are doing.’
He limped out of the garden.
* * * * * *
Sam and Emily took an evening walk through the wood. It was full of Forest Reivers making camp. When they saw Sam and Emily they would stop and stare, although most would give them a polite nod as they passed by.
‘Looks as though there hasn’t been enough room in the hall after all,’ Emily commented. ‘Or maybe they prefer it this way.’
‘It reminds me of the night in Birling Wood,’ Sam said.
Emily nodded, sending sparkles of water running through her hair. ‘I wonder how Bretta is. I think I saw her earlier. She looked terrible.’
Sam suddenly felt sick. A cloud of guilt was settling over him.
‘The Forest Reivers saved our lives,’ Emily went on. ‘I can’t bear to think that people have been killed because of us. Did you hear them talking at lunch?’
‘I can’t think about it.’ Sam kept his voice low as they passed a group of Reivers.
‘I don’t know if you noticed,’ Emily continued blithely, ‘but they couldn’t keep their eyes off you during the meal.’
‘They want answers, Emily,’ Sam murmured. ‘They want to know what they are fighting and why. You heard that man Braden this morning. He’s pretty angry. He wants to be sure his people didn’t give their lives in vain. And I don’t blame him.’
‘What are we fighting for?’ Yet again Emily had asked the awkward question.
Sam found he had no answer.
They walked to the top of the hill by the hall and stood there looking down over the grounds. From here they could see east over the arboretum, which now had a cloak of autumn oranges, golds and touches of brown amongst the green. The sun was beginning to set and its glow was arching across the sky. One or two camp fires were springing up, and now and then a cold breeze lifted the smell of burning wood to their noses.
Sighing deeply, Emily took Sam’s hand and leaned into him. ‘I do fe
el safe here,’ she admitted. ‘Eagan’s uncle looks after it, and now Uncle Jarl’s back as well, and I don’t think these Forest Reivers would let anything bad happen.’
She squeezed his hand.
‘Out there are those horrible crow-men. And the Shadow could be anywhere. Do we really have to go to Holy Island? Couldn’t we stay here for a while?’
She looked up at Sam and he knew that she was trying to both scare and tempt him. For a second he felt a flicker of fear surface, making his face flushed and his hands clammy.
‘I think we do have to go to Holy Island. But I promise to come and get you later on and then we can both listen to what Oscar has to say.’
He felt her tense. ‘You still think they’re coming after me, don’t you?’
‘I think it’s important to find out.’
‘And if they are coming after me?’ Emily voice rose.
‘Then we have to find out how to defeat them.’
For just the fleetest of seconds Sam thought someone else had spoken the words. It didn’t sound like him at all.
They stood together whilst below them the noise from the hall quietened down. In the far distance white flashes flickered across a colourful meadow as the last rays of sunlight fell across the sea. They left only when the wood had been thrown into darkness.
The Bridge of Druids
With twilight thick around them, they passed through shallow valleys and open fields running alongside a confusing maze of streams that criss-crossed the land in ever more intricate patterns. Before them was the unmistakable outline of Bloodybush Edge. Without saying a word, they began climbing its scarred and barren sides.
Brennus could feel the bearded men’s food and water bringing him back to life, but there was an apprehension in the air that he could almost smell. The creatures pursuing them were only two valleys further west and they could follow the Usway Valley north, which would eventually bring them to the foot of Bloodybush Edge.
The Grim-were hadn’t eaten or drunk anything and Brennus wondered at his endurance. He himself was moving more easily now, but it still took them a further hour to gain the hill’s desolate summit. As he stood on the dry and stale wasteland, even in the near-darkness Brennus could make out the hulking Cheviots to the north, while to the west lay the undulating sea of the Barrow and Blind burns, now in almost complete darkness.