The Shapeshifter's Lair

by Peter Tremayne

  When they had reached the point she had indicated they halted. She turned immediately to them.

  ‘I am sorry not to have told you before but there are ears in the abbey that I do not trust. We are going to the deserted lead mine that is situated along this valley. Do you remember it?’

  ‘The old deserted lead mine? But there is nothing there.’

  ‘That is where I think Princess Gelgéis is held.’

  ‘But we saw it. There was nothing there.’

  ‘We did not see all of it. We saw some deserted outbuildings and some indents in the rocks that had been worked. A little way around an outcrop of rocks was the real cave and mine working.’

  Eadulf was puzzled, trying to remember anything that had been said that would lead to this conclusion. He asked the obvious question.

  ‘Basically, I was told by Iuchra,’ Fidelma replied.

  ‘You trusted that old hag?’ Eadulf exclaimed. ‘Are you forgetting that she is the one spreading the stories warning people about venturing in the hills and valleys? Why should she tell you anything? She would not want us searching in the mountains and destroying her fairy tales. Why, she even accused you of being here to rob the mines.’

  ‘I admit that her tales of shapeshifters and demons can be dismissed but I have been adding a few things together.’

  ‘Such as?’ Eadulf demanded.

  ‘When we encountered her this morning, we thought she was accusing us. Remember? She said that what I was looking for was under the earth, below rocks and soil.’

  ‘She was surely accusing us of looking for precious metals,’ Eadulf agreed. ‘I warned her about accusing us of trying to rob the mines of The Cuala. And in spite of our denial, she kept on.’

  ‘Indeed she did. She insisted that what I had come seeking I could find in the caves of The Cuala. We were both so fixated on the idea of robbing mines that I discounted it.’

  ‘Are you trying to say that she was telling you where to find Princess Gelgéis? But why?’

  ‘It is still a guess,’ admitted Fidelma, ‘but I think it is a logical one.’

  ‘Explain.’

  ‘Let us first accept that Iuchra was trying to tell me that Princess Gelgéis was incarcerated in a disused lead mine. There are many among the mountains. One was actually mentioned by Brother Dorchú. You will remember that conversation when he was being ridiculed by the good physician, Brother Lachtna? He said that Brother Dorchú had joined the lord of The Cuala’s guard to be a warrior but found he was given simple guard tasks on the mountains.’

  ‘I remember,’ affirmed Eadulf.

  ‘Brother Lachtna said that Brother Dorchú once guarded a disused lead mine near here, that he sat outside a bolted door in the mine for hours on end. Behind the bolted door there used to be stored some of the precious metals. It was the boredom of being a guard that caused him to go to the abbey and become one of the Brothers.’

  ‘But that was a year or so ago and therefore it has nothing to do with Princess Gelgéis’ disappearance a few weeks ago,’ Eadulf pointed out.

  ‘So it was. Anyway, what he said about the disused lead mine stuck in my memory.’

  ‘And we saw a mine. It was above the watering hole for the animals. Nothing was there,’ Enda reminded them. ‘Remember we stopped and looked around? The place was open and there was no sign anyone could conceal themselves there, let alone be held prisoner.’

  ‘The workings were in front of a rocky outcrop. The real mine was behind it, which we might have found had I not stupidly accepted Teimel’s word and returned down to the river just before Corbmac took us prisoner. The young stable boy, Brother Cuilínn, told me he had also recently joined the abbey because that lead mine, which he and his father worked, had been closed down by Aróc. It was because of tributes that could not be paid. So he had joined the abbey stables. He told me that the mine had separate caves that could be closed off. It was along the same valley but a little way from where Teimel showed us the deserted one. More curiously, young Cuilínn mentioned it was guarded even though it was closed. He thought it was because the mine was still workable and Aróc did not want it reopened.’

  ‘You think that is where the princess and her steward are held prisoner?’ Enda asked in surprise. ‘How would they survive locked in a cave these past weeks? How would they eat and keep warm?’

  Fidelma smiled slightly. ‘A good question, Enda, and you yourself pointed out the answer.’

  A light dawned on Eadulf face. ‘The old woman? The old woman with her heavy sack on her mule? I was surprised that the old woman was carrying a sack of food when it looked like she and her mule were more in need of it. We were told she took food to poor relatives up in the mountains quite regularly.’

  ‘She is supposed to be Teimel’s mother,’ pointed out Eadulf. ‘Why keep the princess a prisoner, and in such conditions? What purpose would it serve? If she had simply recognised her attacker, the person who killed the Brehon Brocc, why not simply kill her? Why keep her alive?’

  ‘An intriguing question, to which I think I know the answer, but before I say so I need to find out a little more,’ Fidelma agreed. ‘It is interesting that Iuchra made a play on words that confused me but now I understand. I thought she meant my fight was metal against metal. What she was actually saying was one must use mettle against metal: human strength and fortitude against those intending to use the riches of the mines for their own purposes.’

  ‘And we resolve our search for Princess Gelgéis by finding her incarcerated in the disused lead mine?’ Eadulf asked.

  ‘That is where we are going,’ she agreed firmly.

  ‘Then can I put forward a thought?’ asked Enda.

  ‘All thoughts are good,’ she replied.

  ‘Perhaps not this one,’ smiled the warrior. ‘If the Princess Gelgéis and her steward are prisoners in the way you say, and the old woman takes food regularly to their prison, then who is actually guarding them?’

  Fidelma gazed thoughtfully at him. ‘The point being?’ she asked slowly.

  ‘While the old lady takes the food and is quite capable of opening a bolted door, even if it has heavy bolts, she would have no protection from an attack by her prisoners,’ Enda explained. ‘From what I know of Princess Gelgéis, she would seize the first opportunity to try to overpower the old woman. The captors of Gelgéis could not keep her and her steward constantly bound as prisoners for obvious reasons …’ Seeing Fidelma frown, he said sharply, ‘You should know there are certain times when a person must have their hands free.’

  Fidelma grimaced ruefully, realising she had been slow on the uptake.

  ‘That means they also have a guard on the cave who will ensure there can be no attempt to escape when the old women brings the food or when the door needs to be opened for … for reasons of toilet necessity.’

  ‘Just so,’ Eadulf acknowledged. ‘But then we have yet to learn how many guards there are.’

  ‘That is not a difficult task to investigate,’ Enda pointed out.

  ‘More difficult to understand is why the princess was captured and held a prisoner while her Brehon was actually killed,’ Eadulf sighed. ‘Frankly, I do not understand it. It begins to look more sinister than a simple means of stopping Princess Gelgéis from identifying the person who killed the Brehon Brocc.’

  ‘Indeed it does, Eadulf. I think I shall be able to explain that. Of more immediate concern is how we shall effect a rescue now.’

  ‘By surveying what we are up against. That is best left to me, lady,’ Enda said. ‘We should leave our horses a little way before the deserted mine. I shall proceed on foot to the mine and then come back and report to you so that we may know how many people we must overpower. Let us hope there are not many.’

  When they reached a short distance from the deserted lead mine they followed this plan.

  It was not long before Enda returned from his reconnaisance. ‘We are lucky,’ he whispered. ‘There seem to be only two warriors standing guard at
the cave.’

  ‘Warriors?’ Eadulf queried, as Enda was usually specific with words.

  ‘The men I saw carried themselves as though they were trained in arms and wore the accoutrements of professionals.’

  ‘Can they be dealt with?’ Fidelma asked.

  Enda smiled. ‘I do not like praising my own powers, lady, but I think I might be able to handle one if someone can distract the other for a few moments … just long enough to render him harmless.’

  ‘Then the sooner we get started, the better,’ Fidelma said.

  Having committed themselves, they followed Enda’s plan. Under his instruction they left their horses in a nearby glade in the woods, one not easily seen from the track. Then they followed Enda’s stealthy lead to the edge of the wood and found themselves overlooking a stretch of bare hillside with three or four buildings clustered around the dark mouth of a cave. They could see a trackway on the far side of the valley where they had previously passed these workings on their way to the place they were told the body of Gelgéis’s Brehon had been found. Enda indicated the buildings before them. By one of them, two horses were grazing in a small corral. One raised its head and snorted, having caught their scent at their approach, but it soon went back to nibbling at the surrounding grass.

  Enda suddenly signalled for them to drop to the ground. Off to one side, they saw a cooking fire was lit and a small iron pot with its bubbling content placed on it. A man was crouched over it. Enda raised a finger to his lips before waving Fidelma and Eadulf to stay where they were. Then he crawled away at an oblique angle. It was a short time before he returned again.

  He spoke softly. ‘Can you manage the one at the cooking fire, friend Eadulf? You could catch him unawares from behind. I will handle the one in the cave as there will be no means to surprise him.’

  Eadulf simply gave a curt nod and started to crawl towards the column of smoke projected by the cooking fire.

  He had reached the shack that masked the fire and began to move round it without mishap. As he peered round at the far side, he saw the man crouching before the fire, stirring the contents of the pot with a ladle. He quickly looked round. The shack offered a choice of weapons among the discarded wood. He picked a short wooden pole in the manner of a cudgel and crawled back to the vantage point. The man was still sitting on his haunches before the fire, concentrating on the cooking pot. Without more ado, Eadulf crept forward, the pole raised and he brought it down with a sharp crack on the man’s unprotected head. With an almost inaudible grunt the man felt sideways and lay still.

  Eadulf looked up and saw Enda, a short distance away, emerging between the other wooden huts, sword in hand. Enda glanced across, saw the inert body of Eadulf’s victim and raised his hand in acknowledgement. He pointed to himself and then to the cave mouth and began to move stealthily forward. Eadulf found Fidelma behind him. She was carrying a cord, which she passed to him and pointed to the unconscious man. Eadulf quickly bound the man’s hands behind his back although his victim remained unconscious.

  Suddenly there were cries and the sound of metal on metal, the clash of blows being struck. Enda’s voice cried, ‘Yield!’ but there were no other sounds but grunts and an odd cry and cursing. Suddenly all was quiet. Eadulf and Fidelma exchanged anxious glances. For several long moments there was silence and then Eadulf began to move forward to the cave entrance. He halted and tensed himself as the shadow of a man began to emerge. Then he relaxed as he realised it was Enda.

  The warrior grinned as Fidelma came forward with a questioning look.

  ‘I am afraid I had to hurt the other man a little, lady,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, I only hurt him enough to render him unable to do anything for the moment. He was, as I said, the only one standing guard in the cave.’

  ‘And are there prisoners there?’ Fidelma asked anxiously.

  ‘I have not searched yet. There is an oil lamp there, so we have light.’

  Enda led the way back into the cave. The guard lay groaning on the floor, blood coming from his head.

  ‘Tie him up and check his wounds,’ Fidelma instructed Eadulf before looking around.

  Enda had taken the oil lamp from its hook and now held it high.

  The first thing that was obvious was a heavy oak door. It was set in a natural rocky recess that blocked off what was probably a cave beyond. There was a small aperture in the middle of the door at shoulder height. The door was secured from the outside by two iron bolts.

  ‘So Brother Cuilínn’s description was accurate,’ Fidelma observed with satisfaction. ‘There is a means of keeping things, or people, locked in this cave.’

  Fidelma went to the iron grille and called urgently, ‘Is there anyone inside?’

  There was a silence. She called again.

  After a few more seconds a male voice answered in a bitter tone, ‘We are still your prisoners.’

  Fidelma frowned before calling: ‘Is that Spealáin?’

  ‘Who else have you locked in here?’ came the sarcastic retort.

  ‘I am hoping my friend Gelgéis is also locked in with you. It is Fidelma.’

  There was a stifled gasp. A woman’s voice cried, ‘Is it really you, Fidelma?’

  ‘Gelgéis! It is I, and with friends. We will have you out in a moment.’

  With Enda holding the lamp near, she bent to the large metal bolts, which she quickly withdrew and the door was thrown open. Spealáin, the steward, was the first to emerge, seemingly prepared in case it was a trap. He looked round, blinking against the light of the lamp. Then he gave a shout and his features wreathed into a broad grin as he recognised Fidelma.

  ‘It is true!’ he called. A moment later Princess Gelgéis emerged and threw herself into the arms of Fidelma, laughing and crying at the same time.

  ‘How …? What …?’

  ‘Enough questions for the moment,’ Fidelma interrupted. ‘I am here with Eadulf and Enda. We must get you and Spealáin to a place of safety where we can discuss the situation in a more relaxed fashion. Firstly, are you both all right? Neither of you is injured?’

  ‘No, but it has not been good to be locked in a cave all these weeks,’ confessed Gelgéis.

  ‘Is there anything you need to take with you? Personal items?’

  Princess Gelgéis grunted in distaste. ‘I never want to see anything associated with that cave again.’

  ‘Were you imprisoned the whole time?’ Eadulf asked, astonished. ‘Were you not let out at all?’

  Spealáin answered with a shake of his head. ‘Every three days or so, the warriors would let us out to walk around outside but we had our hands tied first. That was about all … except now and then an old woman brought us fresh food.’

  ‘At least we each had a natural cubicle formed by the shape of the cave inside, so we had some privacy from one another,’ Gelgéis explained.

  ‘Well, we will hear about that later,’ Fidelma said. ‘We must move quickly.’ She insisted they each took a sleeping blanket apiece for she had an idea in the back of her mind. She turned to Eadulf and Enda. ‘Bring the two guards and put them in the cave. I am sure it won’t be long for them to wait until their companions come to release them.’

  Then, having ensured that the door was swung shut and rebolted to contain the erstwhile gaolers, Fidelma ordered Enda to saddle the two horses that belonged to the guards, leading them and the entire party back to where they had left their own mounts. All this was done in silence as Fidelma made clear there were better opportunities to discuss what had happened and explanations later.

  By the time they reached the spot where they had left their horses Fidelma had confirmed her plan in her own mind. She took Enda aside and spoke quietly to him.

  ‘Do you think you can find your way back to the fortress of the lord of The Cuala?’

  Enda looked surprised but nodded briefly. ‘Your brother did not employ me in his bodyguard without knowing some of my capabilities, lady.’

  ‘I want you to ride to that fort
ress and see Dicuil Dóna. Remember, you should speak to no one else, especially not to his son, daughter or even Corbmac.’

  ‘And what shall I say?’

  Fidelma leant closer and whispered urgently. His eyes grew wide with astonishment.

  ‘Is it true, lady?’ the warrior demanded.

  ‘As true as I know it to be, Enda,’ she confirmed. ‘How soon can you get back to the abbey or to Láithreach, as we might be in either place?’

  Enda glanced at the sky. ‘At the latest, the day after tomorrow, for it seems there is much to be done.’

  ‘You have the message clear?’

  ‘I have, lady.’ Without another word he swung on to his horse and was off.

  Fidelma found Eadulf frowning. ‘Where is Enda off to?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ll tell you later,’ she replied. ‘Meanwhile I want to hear Princess Gelgéis’ story, so the sooner we put distance between here and ourselves, the better. We must find a safe place for our friends to hole up for the next two days at least.’

  ‘A safe place?’ It was Gelgéis who queried the term.

  ‘I need to keep you and Spealáin hidden for two days. In two days, all should be well. If so, I will demand the establishment of an airecht, a court, for I will be able to explain all that has happened here.’

  Eadulf was the most surprised of them but he knew better than to start questioning her decision. Finally he said: ‘Where is there a safe place near here? Certainly not the abbey, and I don’t think we could find a safe place in Láithreach. You don’t expect Princess Gelgéis to camp in the forests for two nights or more?’

  ‘Láithreach is where I am thinking of,’ Fidelma replied seriously, ignoring the consternation on his face. ‘I have a place in mind, although the cave was probably more comfortable. But they must stay hidden until I can be ready to bring the facts into the open.’

  ‘What facts other than that my Brehon Brocc has been killed, and I and my steward imprisoned for weeks in a cold, inhospitable cave?’ Princess Gelgéis demanded.