A Soul of Steel

by Troy A Hill

  I reached out after the red slit of magic had closed behind us. I touched the bark. It was whole again. No sign remained of our passage.

  “Ready dearest?” she asked.

  She placed her hand behind mine as I pulled in The Lady’s energy. I laid my hand on the tree and pushed the energy of the Goddess out like Gwen had. The bark darkened as black gash of energy split the bark. This was not right. I pulled back and let the energy fade from the tree. A black wound stayed in the bark where the slit I had tried to open had appeared.

  “Oh, dear,” Gwen said, and touched the tree. I sensed her efforts as she pushed energy, healing energy into the wound. Her eyes were closed, as she sent her magical senses into the tree, under the bark.

  She opened her eyes. “I see why it happened,” she said. “You really are not alive, dearest.”

  “I keep telling you that,” I said with a stamp of my foot.

  “But I didn’t understand how that condition would affect your use of The Lady’s magic.” She pointed to the tree. “I have stopped the spread, but I’m afraid this spot will remain.”

  “So what went wrong?”

  “You channel the magic, dearest….” She shrugged, then reached out and pushed my hair back from my face. “I use magic to tap into the life force of the tree. Something about how you channel The Lady’s power makes it incompatible with life energy.”

  “You said you tried to use magic to heal me when you first found me?”

  “Your wounds deepened, and you raved more,” she said, her voice quiet.

  “So, to figure how I can use The Lady’s magic to do things, we need to find ways that don’t involve using the energy of live things.”

  “But I don’t recommend trying to open the passage on a corpse.” Gwen said. “Doing so might lead to something unforeseen. Or, not having a corpse around when you need one to travel. We need time to experiment after I have some time to think this through.”

  Gravel crunched on the path behind us.

  “Time we don’t have,” she said. She gave me a quick kiss before the others topped the hill and saw us. Steffan trailed behind Emlyn and Ruadh. Each man carried a pack on his shoulder.

  “I’m sure a horse would be faster and safer than trying to fly,” Steffan said, as he eyed the steep drop over the cliff. Emlyn noticed the black mark on the tree. He glanced at me. I shrugged, then shook my head.

  Gwen had selected another oak, several paces away from the one I had been using.

  “Ready?”

  Emlyn and Steffan’s eye’s grew wide as the red slit opened. Ruadh stepped through first. Emlyn followed. Steffan gulped, closed his eyes, and stepped through the slit. Gwen reached out to touch my cheek, then followed them.

  44

  The Guard Will Follow

  On my way down the hill, I glanced at the fissure in the rocky cliff face below the grove, which led to a series of catacombs under the hill. I considered, just for a second, the idea a corpse below. But I knew Gwen would scold me if I tried magic without her. And I’d be lucky if that were the worst that happened. I didn’t understand the magic forces our goddess had unlocked in me.

  I wandered back down to the keep. Bleddyn had not come back down, so I headed upstairs. He was awake. I could tell, by the merry whistle from within the room. Bleddyn waved me in when I knocked. His feet were up, crossed at the ankle on a small stool. A mug stood by his elbow. He had a stack of documents near him. I recognised Rhian’s writing; probably the tables and figures she had compiled two days before.

  I took a seat near him, and started my embroidery again. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, then each of us drifted off into our own thoughts. He shuffled his documents as he struck up the tune he had whistled before. I continued my embroidery.

  “Dearest, we’ve arrived.” Gwen’s voice in my mind sounded distant again. “I will let you know what we discover.”

  Rhian came with another bowl and a hunk of bread for Bleddyn.

  “Oh, it’s you Mair,” she said. “I was afraid I’d have to run down and get another bowl for his guest.” She frowned after she set the food on a table near Bleddyn. “Oh, that didn’t sound hospitable. I’m sorry, Mair. Just, your diet is so…”

  “I’d rather have you accept that,” I said, “than keep insisting I try other food. Trust me, that doesn’t work.”

  Bleddyn glanced at the bowl. “Oh, good. I’ve got vegetables now,” he said with a wink at me. “Perhaps they’ll let me eat a hunk of meat next week.”

  Rhian sat in the chair between us. She smiled, as she saw the pattern of blades intermixed with flowers that had taken shape in my embroidery. “Oh, very appropriate.”

  Gwen’s thoughts interrupted the comment I was about to add.

  “Ruadh says he has the scent. He’ll head into the woods and change, so he can use his other nose. We don’t want to shock Steffan with too much tonight.”

  I passed Gwen’s news on. Rhian picked up her own sewing project. From the size of the piece of fabric, it appeared to be a tunic for a baby or toddler.

  After another hour, Gwen contacted me again.

  “Ruadh is back, he says it’s the same beast. It probably attacked the farmers the night after you and Ruadh drove it off of Bleddyn.” I passed the information on to Bleddyn and Rhian.

  “Will they be able to track the beast? See where it went?” Bleddyn asked. I passed the request on.

  “Emlyn and Ruadh want to do so. We’ve got about an hour of daylight left, so we’ll head out. Ruadh says the trail heads north, and is about two days old,” she sent.

  I stayed upstairs with Rhian and Bleddyn until Gwen connected with me again.

  “We’ve traveled as far as we dare tonight. Ruadh senses no predators in the area. I’ll have a look myself, soon. We’ll camp here until day break and follow the trail again with light.”

  I passed on her report. Bleddyn inquired where they were.

  “Emlyn estimates we’ve crossed into the borderlands, but are close to Penllyn.” Bleddyn and Rhian stayed quiet as I passed along Gwen’s report.

  We three chatted for a little while about the search, but there was little we could decide on until Gwen, Emlyn and Ruadh uncovered more information.

  I excused myself, since Gwen was unlikely to report anything new before the morning. I told Rhian and Bleddyn I’d stay down by the fire in the great hall, and would wake them if heard any more from Gwen.

  Throughout the night I sat and sewed. Afon who had pulled the duty post nearest the keep that night, drifted through the great hall. He kept an eye on the hearth, and added a log or two for me throughout the night. He came in, from time to time, to spread his cloak out, and hold it open before the fire to let some warmth in before he headed back out into the night’s chill.

  Unlike most of the other guards who had newer clothing, Afon’s were well used, but serviceable.

  “Perhaps I should ask Lady Penllyn if there’s a newer cloak about,” I suggested. “Yours is more worn and ragged than those the others wear.”

  “This one is fine,” Afon said with a shrug. “Most lords keep the men in their war bands well stocked with the best of everything. I don’t go for more than food, drink and a good sword. Keep my belly full. Give me good, sharp steel, and any old cloak will do. Let the others look like dandies. I’m only concerned about my duty and my belly.”

  I chuckled. He had never struck me as one who worked for riches. Even here in Penllyn, where the guard was more family, and less marauders, Afon was even more different from that.

  At one point later in the night, he paced like he wanted to speak but was undecided.

  “What’s on your mind?” I asked and pointed to a chair opposite me.

  He sat, but at the front edge of the chair, as though he expected to leap up any second.

  “Lord Emlyn and Lord Cadoc told us if they’re not around, we’re to follow your lead.” He said. I shrugged, not sure where the conversation was headed.

  “So
me men, normally they wouldn’t follow a woman,” he said. His voice was quiet in the dim, cavernous great hall. “But those of us here at Caer Penllyn, we’ve seen you and Lord Emlyn do your dances with the blades. I didn’t believe there was anyone who match him. Even I can’t, and I’ve trained with him, much more than the other guards. And, they way you fought that creature. You’ve got speed. You’ve got skill. And you stood in the gap when no one else was there. The rest of us, even me, would’ve been hard pressed to stay alive against that creature.”

  “You should see my…” I almost said brother… “teacher. He’s the same one that trained Emlyn.”

  “If he taught Emlyn and you, he’s beyond good.” Afon looked at the fire.

  “I was a sell-sword before I found Lord Emlyn. I worked for whatever lord paid the best,” he said. “I showed you my scar, where he disarmed me when I pushed him into a fight.”

  I wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

  “Well, Lord Emlyn let me come back here. Said I had a natural skill,” he added. I had noticed the same about Afon that first morning when I watched he and Emlyn dance the mediations on the practice field.

  “He told me if I wanted to get better with the sword, he’d teach me if I proved myself loyal.” He glanced into the fire again, then shifted his eyes back.

  “I expected to spend a year here, show that I respected the man who paid me, and he’d teach me. I was good, or so I thought,” he grinned at me. “The other lords, like the thanes of Mercia, they give their war bands new, fancy clothes… jewels and gold when they can.” He pulled his cloak around him. “I’ve had this cloak since my last commission. I don’t need special clothes. Lord Penllyn offered me a new one. He takes care of his men.”

  “When I came in with Emlyn, I figured the Teulu would be here for all of that. But, then I learned what the people here are like. Penllyn is different from the other cantrefi. Something is special about this place. Like God is watching out for Penllyn.”

  “She is,” I said. Afon blinked as he absorbed that statement. I wasn’t sure how devoted he was the church.

  “The old gods, eh? If the goddess sent you here,” he said with a grin, as he accepted the idea, “she’s either rewarded Lord Emlyn with someone who can challenge him, or there’s a storm of shit coming.” He paused and let his eyes probe my face. I shrugged and kept sewing.

  “Those of us that were there when the creature attacked, we saw you fight. Not only that,” he pointed at my torso, “you took blows that would have been on Lord Cadoc, and you walked away. And, your sword glows like his.”

  “The goddess seems to like me,” I said. I hoped that was enough of an explanation.

  He shook his head, then shrugged. He didn’t seem to understand how I did what I did, and why I was still here after those blows from the shifter. Despite the discussion of my undead nature with Rhian and Bleddyn, I wasn’t ready to be open about it with Afon. But…? I set my sewing off to the side.

  “This is between just you and I…” I said. Afon grinned his agreement. I raised my hand, palm up. If I could push energy into the tree, if I could make my sword glow… I hoped I could do something simple for Afon. I pulled some energy in from my connection to the goddess. My hand glowed, and light danced across my palm. After a few seconds I let it fade into the dark of the night.

  “I’m not a druid, or dryad, whatever the term is,” I said. “But, the goddess likes me.”

  “With the Holy Lady watching after you, I believe everything I saw in that cave,” he said, his voice firm. “Lady Gwen healed Lord Penllyn there with magic. It looked just like that.”

  “I can’t heal with magic,” I said. “Gwen has her talents. I have different ones.” His eyes dropped to where I had Soul belted to my hip.

  “The Lady brought me here for a reason. To help protect Penllyn and her people.” I said.

  “You’ve done that. We knew you were special, and that Lady Gwen had healed your wounds. Fortunately, they weren’t near as bad as what the creature did to Rhys or Lord Penllyn,” Afon said.

  “I’m lucky that way,” I replied. My wounds had been just as bad as Lord Penllyn’s. But, I’m not human in the normal sense. Afon and the other guards didn’t know that, though.

  “I told you I expected to leave within a year after I learned what I could from Lord Emlyn?” he asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. “I been here more than five years now. Penllyn has grown on me. It’s home now. Live by the sword, die by the sword.” His eyes held mine for a few seconds. “When that storm hits us, I expect to die. But I’ll die protecting my home. I’m here for Penllyn, not for myself anymore.”

  Afon stood and nodded a small bow then headed toward the kitchen. He turned back at the doorway.

  “The guard will follow you, Lady Mair, if it comes to that. You have earned our respect.” He pulled his old grey cloak tight around him, then spun on his heel to head back into the night.

  The guard will follow? I didn’t want that responsibility. But, I had no idea what how to get out of it.

  45

  Recruits and Death

  The mists had dissipated from the hilltop when Enid and Sawyl finished our sword lessons the next morning. Cadoc strode toward the weapons field as we finished.

  “We’ve got several young men who want to join the guard,” he said to Sawyl. “With Emlyn out, I could use a second opinion on their stature and character.”

  The large guardsman agreed to sit in on the interviews.

  “Care to come along as well?” Cadoc asked me.

  I raised an eyebrow in question.

  “You are a leader of our Teulu,” he said. “If any of our men, new or old, have a problem with that, I want to know now.”

  I chuckled and agreed. Afon’s conversation with me the night before was just the beginning of my new role in Penllyn.

  Sawyl and I stored the practice weapons back in the armoury, then met Cadoc with three young men there amidst the weapons.

  I kept my sword clothes on, which raised an eyebrow or two on the young men. All of them said they had come to Caer Penllyn instead of accepting the Witch Hunters’ recruitment offers. Cadoc had Sawyl run them through weapons drills while we watched, to make sure they knew the basics of how to use sword and shield, bow, and spear.

  After the interviews, we compared our impressions. Sawyl had a good intuition. He pointed out one he had concerns about, and I agreed. The one who had the biggest reaction to seeing me, a woman, with a blade and trousers instead of a dress.

  “Tomi reminds me of… well… me,” Sawyl said. “Too Cocky. He should come around with some guidance.”

  “He’ll need his attitude shortened,” I said with a glance at the main gate. “He will run a lot of laps around the Caer. But I believe he’ll shape up. He seems sharp and eager, just cocky.” Cadoc ran his fingers through his moustache, from the outside in, as he listened to our assessments.

  “I will go now and induct them as trainees,” he said. “If Tomi’s attitude gets the better of him in the next few months, we can cut him loose.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Sawyl said. “Emlyn likes all new recruits to inspect the outer fortifications first. I could use a good run this morning.”

  By the time I had changed out of my sword clothes, the midday meal was well underway. I found a quiet spot in the great hall and continued my embroidery. Haf brought me a mug of water and set it at my elbow on one of the small wooden tables scattered about the great hall.

  “Unless ye be needin’ some ale dis afternoon, milady,” she said, in imitation of Ruadh’s accent and deep voice. I laughed and thanked her.

  Bleddyn had come down a short while later, assisted by two of the guard. I went to sit with him. His favourite spot by the fire in the centre of the hall was in the middle of the commotion of the morning meal, but everyone kept his chair and those around it empty.

  I filled him in on our interviews with the new guard recruits that morning.

  “He
matched your estimations of the recruits?”

  “He did,” I said. “Sawyl even said one of them is much like he was a month ago.”

  “I always thought Sawyl would be trouble, but Emlyn insisted we bring him on.” He looked at me. “You have been a great asset for us, Mair.”

  I was about to reply, but held up my hand.

  “We’ve located another farmstead,” Gwen sent, “and the creature’s scent heads right toward it.” I passed the news onto Bleddyn. After a few minutes, Gwen contacted me again.

  “I’m going to link you to what I see,” she said, but I couldn’t get much other than a few shapes and splotches of colour. We were still too far away from each other.

  “What do you see? Bleddyn is right here with me.”

  “Not good. A family, four in the house another person in the shed. All slaughtered. The wounds are like those on you and Bleddyn from the lycanthrope.”

  “Any idea how long ago?” I asked. Bleddyn’s face had gone white as I passed on Gwen’s narration of the scene. I stated my questions verbally as well as mentally, for his benefit.

  “A day and a half, perhaps.” She sent. “The men believe we haven't gained any ground on the creature.”

  Bleddyn had an idea, and I passed it on to her.

  “Can you figure its general direction, and tree walk to cut down its lead?”

  “Let me ask.”

  Several minutes swept by. Bleddyn and I were both quiet while we waited.

  “Emlyn and Ruadh like the idea. They want to catch it and take it down before it harms anyone else.” She sent. “Steffan will stay here and get the other local farmers to help with clean up, and take in the surviving livestock. He’ll then stay in this part of Dinmael.”

  46

  A Dance of Distraction