The Shapeshifter's Lair

by Peter Tremayne

  Fidelma made no further response as they followed Enda, striding purposefully across the courtyard to the King’s apartments. At the doors two warriors of the Golden Collar saluted them respectfully as they passed through and along the oak-panelled corridor towards the King’s private chambers. An attendant standing outside the doors saw their approach and rapped three times on the door. He waited until he heard the King’s voice, then threw it open and stood aside to allow Fidelma and Eadulf to pass through. Enda remained outside with the attendant.

  Colgú rose from his chair before a crackling wood fire in order to greet them. Agitation was etched on his features, which were a male counterpart of Fidelma’s own. They could almost be twins, with their red hair, except that Fidelma was older. The King’s hair was in disarray, showing that he had been running his hands through it in anxiety, which was a habit that he had had since childhood. Unusually, he came to his sister, both hands held out to take hers. He squeezed them for a moment, then disengaged the left one to hold it out to clasp Eadulf momentarily by the shoulder. He had the same blue-green eyes as Fidelma, which at that moment were wide with worry. Silent with emotion, he turned sharply with a gesture for them to take seats on the vacant couch. He returned to his own chair and stood uncomfortably for a moment before seating himself. Neither Fidelma nor Eadulf spoke for they were perplexed by the emotional anxiety that showed not only on the young King’s features but in the state of tension in which he held his entire body.

  He seemed as though he was making his mind up to speak. When he did so his voice came like a cry of distress.

  ‘It is Gelgéis: she has disappeared and her Brehon has been found dead.’

  ‘Is that the news the messenger from Laigin brought?’ Fidelma was the first to recover from the shock.

  ‘She and a small party had left Durlus Éile to go to the Abbey of Cáemgen. They did not arrive and her Brehon’s body was found near the trail. He had been murdered,’ her brother replied.

  Fidelma’s eyes widened. ‘Are you saying that Gelgéis went on a journey to this abbey? Surely she would not do that? It is in The Cuala mountains of Laigin. That is a hostile territory for her now. She is hated by people there for being instrumental in helping overthrow Cronán’s plot.’

  ‘The abbot is her cousin,’ Colgú told her. ‘It seems she needed to see him urgently. A trader saw them leave Durlus Éile. He later followed, as he traded regularly with the Abbey. On the path they had taken, he found the body of Brehon Brocc. There was no sign of the others. They did not turn up at the abbey. The abbot, Abbot Daircell, sent a messenger to me.’

  Eadulf was puzzled. ‘What does this Abbot Daircell expect you to do?’

  Colgú spread his hands in a despairing gesture. ‘You know that Gelgéis and I were to be married on the feastday of the Blessed Ciarán of Saigir, the patron saint of Osraige? That is just over a week away. If I need to march an army through Osraige and into the mountains to find her, I shall do so.’

  ‘You must not, brother,’ Fidelma returned immediately. ‘If you do so without the authority of the High King and his Chief Brehon, you will have much to lose. In every military problem this kingdom has engaged in during the last several hundred years it was only in defence of the kingdom and not to invade another. You would run the risk of the condemnation of the Five Kingdoms and the High King himself, just as Fianamail of Laigin has often done. I need not remind you of the reparation of the bóroma, the tribute, that has been laid on Laigin for the last six centuries. It will continue until they cease their aggressive conspiracies. Do you want your own kingdom to be similarly condemned by the Brehons of the Five Kingdoms?’

  Colgú raised his arms helplessly. ‘If King Fianamail has taken Gelgéis captive and killed her Brehon, what else can I do? I must rescue her.’

  ‘There are other ways of doing so rather than sending your warriors into Laigin,’ returned Fidelma. ‘And the first thing to do is to make sure it is the King of Laigin who has acted in this fashion. You cannot act without proof of who has taken her and where she is being held and for what purpose. From what you tell me, this messenger from Abbot Daircell tells us nothing except that this Brehon with whom she was travelling has been killed. There is no sign of her or her steward. Is that sufficient to go to war? I tell you this as your legal adviser.’

  Colgú slumped in this chair. ‘Battles I can fight when the enemy is identified, but I cannot deal with this. The woman I love is in danger and I don’t know what I can do. I am useless.’

  Fidelma regarded her brother with a look of pity. She reached forward and, for a moment, laid her hand on his arm.

  ‘Brother, you are a king and you must not reveal a weakness to anyone outside this room. Only your family – only Eadulf and I – should see you so disturbed. Always appear strong to your people. They expect it of you. If you do not, then you are lost.’

  Colgú sniffed and spread a hand to wipe his face before glancing apologetically at Eadulf. ‘Forgive me, husband of my sister. I forget that a king has obligations as well as duties. Don’t worry, Fidelma, I am in control. Tell me, how can we deal with this matter?’

  ‘Send for this messenger from Abbot Daircell so that I might hear his story at first-hand.’

  While her brother crossed the room to give instructions to Enda, who was on guard just outside the chamber door, Fidelma looked thoughtfully at Eadulf.

  ‘Are you willing to embark on a lengthy ride on horseback?’ she asked softly.

  Eadulf sighed. ‘I suppose that you have a mind to set out for Laigin to this remote abbey?’

  ‘That is exactly what is in my mind,’ she admitted. ‘How else can one get information?’

  Colgú heard her last words. ‘That is insane, Fidelma. You say that Gelgéis would never cross into Laigin because she is hated there for her role in thwarting Cronán’s uprising. Then how much more are you hated there? You were the one who uncovered the plot, and brought about that defeat. If Laigin sought vengeance on Gelgéis, then they would seek treble the vengeance on you.’

  Fidelma replied with a nonchalant shrug. ‘You forget, brother, Gelgéis may be a princess of Osraige but I am a dálaigh of the Five Kingdoms, a Brehon of rank, a member of the law courts with some reputation,’ she smiled thinly. ‘I am not one to rely on undeserved credit but, as Eadulf was only recently reminding me, I have been consulted in matters by the High King in Tara. You know that the shadow of his vengeance would descend on any who would dishonour my rank and role.’

  Eadulf pursed his lips cynically. ‘Let us hope those in Laigin would appreciate that they stand under vengeance of the High King if they are involved in this matter,’ he said with soft cynicism.

  Fidelma did not bother to reply. ‘The first task is to discover what has happened to Gelgéis,’ she said emphatically. ‘Something is afoot because, in spite of what has just been said, she felt it necessary to cross into Laigin, and she does not take risks lightly.’

  ‘Then you have a plan, sister, other than travelling to the Abbey of Cáemgen?’

  ‘The abbey is where my investigation must start.’

  There was a knock on the door and Enda ushered Brother Eochaí inside. He was about to withdraw when Fidelma ordered him to stay and close the door behind him.

  ‘How much rest do you need, you and your horse, before starting back to your abbey?’ she asked the messenger from Laigin without preamble.

  Brother Eochaí did not seem surprised.

  ‘For myself, I could start immediately, but for my horse, it should rest until tomorrow. I pushed it hard on the way here. I know its strength, its pace and abilities as I know my own. It must have rest.’

  ‘Your concern for the animal is to be applauded,’ Fidelma remarked. ‘As someone who cares for horses, I understand that. You are sure tomorrow gives you time enough?’

  ‘I am master of the stables of the abbey, lady. I know horses. They are my friends. I know their capabilities.’

  ‘I do not doubt it. If
you and your horse are fit for the return journey then tomorrow it shall be.’

  ‘So shall it be,’ Brother Eochaí agreed. ‘So I am to return to Abbot Daircell but what message shall I take?’

  ‘No message,’ she replied, to his obvious surprise. Then she added: ‘We shall be coming with you.’

  ‘We, lady?’

  ‘Myself, Brother Eadulf and Enda.’

  Brother Eochaí stared at her with incredulity. ‘You are coming with me to Laigin? But are you not sister to the King of Muman?’

  Fidelma was amused at the man’s concern. ‘And why should that be of consequence?’ she asked.

  ‘But you are an Eóganacht?’

  ‘Before that I am a dálaigh of the courts of the Five Kingdoms. You should know that a Brehon, even of low rank, is not limited by territorial borders but comes under the authority of the Chief Brehon of the Five Kingdoms and thereby the protection of the High King. I should be able to travel where I please with impunity.’ She paused as she saw Enda looking surprised and added: ‘That protection goes to all in the party I travel with. I am sure, Enda, my brother will be willing to release you from your service in his bodyguard or on any obligation to allow you to accompany me.’

  ‘If the King allows, then I am at your service, lady,’ Enda declared.

  ‘If it helps return Gelgéis to safety,’ Colgú replied immediately before she could ask him, ‘then I am willing to do so.’

  ‘That is good,’ Fidelma said, turning back to Enda. ‘Gelgéis has disappeared in The Cuala mountains; her Brehon has been murdered. The task is to find her, Enda. I ask you to come with me as you are one of the few friends I can trust.’

  The young warrior did not pause but simply said: ‘Explain your plan, lady.’

  ‘My plan is not to go overtly into Laigin proclaiming my rank and purpose.’ She turned to Brother Eochaí. ‘The journey will not be at the pace by which you have brought the news here. We shall have to travel more sedately and in the manner of a group of religious on a pilgrimage to the Abbey of the Blessed Cáemgen. That will mean we travel in appropriate garb.’

  ‘The best way, if I can suggest it, is the way I came,’ Brother Eochaí intervened. ‘Leisurely riding will take us several days. We could ride on to Gleann Molúra and then it is but a short ride north to the abbey.’ He glanced at Eadulf with a thoughtful expression as though assessing his capabilities as a horseman and not being impressed.

  ‘You are not of the Laigin?’ Fidelma suddenly asked.

  ‘I am of the Uí Dróna in Osraige,’ Brother Eochaí said simply.

  ‘I was once many days among the Uí Dróna, pleading a case before the local Brehon, Rathend,’ Fidelma said. ‘As a matter of fact, I went there to defend my former anam-chara, Liadin, against the charge of murdering her husband.’ She turned to Eadulf. ‘That was long before I met you, when I was a young lawyer staying with my cousin Abbot Laisran of the abbey at Darú.’

  Brother Eochaí was looking at her thoughtfully. ‘It was in the time of Irnan when she ruled at the Ráth of the Uí Dróna. After, her heir apparent was found guilty of collusion in that murder. Because of that she resigned her chieftainship to Aed Rón.’

  ‘So you knew about the case?’ Fidelma asked.

  ‘I heard about it,’ admitted Brother Eochaí. ‘I had left to serve at the abbey just before that time. Was it not Scoriath, the commander of Irnan’s bodyguard, who was murdered and he was the husband of Liadin, whom you mention?’

  ‘You are correct,’ acknowledged Fidelma shortly. ‘However, I can assure you that it is not my intention to seek shelter or hospitality before we reach the abbey, whether it be in Uí Dróna territory or not. I presume that you did not do so, nor speak of your destination, on your journey here.’

  Brother Eochaí agreed that he had not used the main tracks and rested in woods and valleys, avoiding contact with people.

  ‘Then it is settled we journey disguised as religious and only seek help if there is no other alternative,’ Fidelma declared. ‘Now, Brother Eochaí, repeat the story you have brought to my brother so that we may all hear it first-hand.’

  At a nod of approval from Colgú, Brother Eochaí once again recited what had happened at the Abbey of the Blessed Cáemgen. No one spoke until he had finished. Colgú looked anxiously at his sister as if expecting her to come forth with questions and ideas, but she merely shrugged.

  ‘There are no details. Only speculation, which does not help. It seems that there is nothing to be done until we can get to the abbey. It is no use speculating from here, at a distance.’

  Brother Eochaí shifted his weight uncomfortably. ‘You are not forgetting that the body will be disposed of by this time. It is custom to bury it at midnight the day after death and, from what I was told by our physician, Brother Lachtna, it was already in a state of putrefaction.’

  ‘I am aware of that,’ Fidelma agreed. ‘However, I am hoping that your physician … Brother Lachtna?… I am hoping he may be able to tell me a few details. Often bodies can tell us more in their state of dumbness than the most vocal of witnesses.’

  ‘Let us hope your physician has a good eye,’ muttered Eadulf softly. His medical training had often helped Fidelma solve mysteries over the years that they had been together.

  ‘Well, the sooner you are off, so much the better.’ Colgú’s tone made his anxiety clear.

  ‘Don’t worry, brother,’ Fidelma assured him. ‘Daybreak is time enough to start our journey.’

  Colgú hesitated for a moment and clenched his jaw in resignation.

  ‘You are right, sister. It is just hard …’

  Fidelma reached forward and once again laid a comforting hand on her brother’s arm.

  ‘I know. Believe me, I care for Gelgéis and look forward to greeting her as my sister. She will be a worthy wife and queen to you, brother. I fully expect her to be standing by your side at the feastday of the Blessed Ciarán when you exchange your vows.’

  ‘But The Cuala mountains are a place of darkness and mysteries,’ Colgú said softly. ‘I have heard that not even the warriors of Laigin like to travel through them. I have heard stories of the Aos Sí that—’

  ‘Come now, brother,’ rebuked Fidelma sharply. ‘Let us not talk of such insubstantial things.’

  ‘Yet the King says nothing that is not known,’ Brother Eochaí muttered. ‘It is said that the Aos Sí do haunt those high peaks, being the last bastion of their power against the New Faith in the Five Kingdoms.’

  Fidelma turned with annoyance. ‘Oh, come! You are of the religious and you speak of the Aos Sí, supernatural demons who wait to seduce the unwary into their mountain lairs?’

  Brother Eochaí was not put out. ‘How do you rebut me for saying so because I am a religious? Are you not also a religious and believe in a supreme supernatural being and his angels? If you believe in a good supernatural being why do you not accept the evil supernatural beings that are in eternal battle with them? The devils of hell must be as real as are the angels of heaven. You cannot accept one and deny the other.’

  ‘You believe there are evil beings in the mountains?’ Fidelma almost sneered.

  ‘The Blessed Luke writes that the Devil came to the Christ to tempt him to abandon the way of good and turn to the dark side. Did not the Devil take the Christ to the mountain top to tempt him? Up among the peaks the local people of The Cuala say the Devil still dwells. Among the peaks and dark valleys, there is a constant war between the forces of Light and Dark.’

  For a moment Fidelma was quiet as she wrestled with good argument to the man’s logic. It was Eadulf who interrupted.

  ‘Time for theology later,’ he declared. ‘What we have found so far is that the demons we have discovered are rarely supernatural but appear in the bodies of men and women inspired by the dark caverns of their minds rather than any place on this earth.’

  Fidelma glanced at her partner in surprise, for Eadulf had only been converted to the New Faith as a teenager and ra
ised as an Angle, cousins of the Saxons, in the world of Woden and Frige, of Thunor and Tiw. He had often displayed his belief in the supernatural and evil spirits. She suspected he was just trying to put an end to time wasting on the discussion.

  Brother Eochaí shrugged. ‘Very well. But it is a foolish man who travels The Cuala mountains at night without acknowledging the powers of darkness. There many tales of the shapeshifters dwelling there.’

  Enda, showing signs of impatience, turned to Colgú.

  ‘My lord, if we are to depart at first light then there are things to be done. May I have your permission to be about those tasks?’

  Colgú glanced at his sister first and then nodded agreement.

  ‘We will meet at the stable before first light and be ready to make an early start,’ she declared. ‘Oh, and, Enda, take Brother Eochaí to our stable master and see that he has food and a bed for the night, and anything else he requires.’

  Enda raised his hand in a gesture of acknowledgement and motioned to Brother Eochaí to follow him from the chamber.

  After they had gone, Colgú shook his head. ‘I feel it wrong that you and Eadulf should go on this journey and not me.’

  Eadulf smiled. ‘And what would be the reaction if the King of Muman, the largest of the Five Kingdoms, set out from Cashel to go into Laigin? Fidelma has told you the consequences if you moved an army. And if you went alone that would be even worse, for you would never reach beyond the border. It is not wrong that Fidelma and I, who are able to travel less conspicuously, make this journey.’

  Fidelma gave Eadulf a glance of appreciation.

  ‘What Eadulf says is true, my brother. I know you can’t relax but you must try to concentrate on the running of the affairs of this kingdom until we can resolve this matter. You will forgive us withdrawing; as Enda pointed out, we have a few things to prepare.’

  Outside the King’s chambers, as they were crossing the flagstone courtyard to their own chambers, Eadulf asked: ‘Do you know much about this mountainous area we are heading to? I have heard something about this Abbey of the Blessed Cáemgen because it attracts many students. But is it as forbidding as everyone claims?’