by Holly Taylor
“Very well. Cariadas and I will return here this evening.”
At that the door opened again. Gwen stood framed in the doorway. She wore a tunic of black leather with the wolf-badge of Prydyn sewn to the front. Her blond hair was braided tightly and wound around her head. She carried a metal helmet and her expression was defiant.
Gwydion rose and went to the door. He bowed briefly to Gwen. His silver eyes danced as he took in her outfit and Arthur’s face. But he left without a word.
Gwen entered the room and came to stand before Arthur. “I am leaving today,” she said abruptly.
“I see.”
“To join my father when he nears Cadair Idris.”
“Yes.”
“I insist that I be able to fight by his side tomorrow.”
“Yes, you would.”
“I would what?” she snapped.
“Insist. It wouldn’t matter to you that I need you here.”
“For what?” she snorted.
“To join the Druids. Battle is the hardest on them. I need as many as I can get.”
“You won’t miss me, then. I am not trained.”
“You are not, perhaps, as well trained as some,” Arthur replied evenly. “But Madryn has taught you well these past few months. More than that, you are strong—very strong—in your gift. Stronger than you realize.”
For a brief moment uncertainty flickered in her beautiful eyes. “Really?”
“Really.” He lowered his eyes beneath her gaze to stare back down at the tarbell board. For looking at her made him want to say all the things he knew he should not say. Not yet, at any rate. Not until—not unless—he won the battle tomorrow. His eyes rested on the face of the tarbell High Queen and he reached out and took the piece in his hands.
“You don’t need me here,” she said.
“I do,” he answered.
“I don’t believe you,” Gwen said after a moment of silence.
“I don’t suppose you do,” he said quietly. “To believe me might take some measure of understanding. And you have none.”
He expected her to be enraged by that. He expected to have a brief fight with her now that would end with her leaving in a rage. He expected to feel better after that, to feel less like he was risking the loss of something dearer to him than life. But she remained silent. At last he looked up. She was staring down at the piece in his hand, a strange expression on her face.
“I understand more than you think, High King,” she said quietly. She reached out her hand and he gently handed her the piece. She held it up, studying it intently. “Or did you really think I hadn’t noticed?”
He did not know what to say to that, so he remained silent. She handed the piece back. “I will stay.” She left the room before he could reply.
He held the piece in his hand, staring down at the exquisite, carved face, the face that was the image of hers. After a moment, he smiled. She would stay.
THE STARS WHEELED overhead, glittering coldly in the darkened sky. Starlight streamed into the chamber, vying with the low glow of the smoldering fire in the brazier. Rhiannon and Gwen, both with scarves tied over their noses and mouths, slowly fed the fire using wet, green saplings.
Smoke filled the room, dimming the starlight, dimming Arthur’s vision. Although he knew Gwydion lay on the floor to his right and Cariadas lay on the floor to his left, he could no longer see them.
It was time. He closed his eyes, and waited.
HE STOOD BY a well on the isle of Afalon. Gwydion and Cariadas stood with him, looking down into the clear water. Without even having to ask, Arthur knew that this was the place where Caladfwlch, the sword of the High Kings, had rested for so long. And he knew that this was where Gwydion’s brother, Amatheon, had died. Even all these years later Arthur could still see the echo of grief in his uncle’s eyes. The sound of wings caused him to look up and he saw that the surrounding trees were filled with ravens. They made no other sound, and their strange silence filled his head.
“They are your escort to the Otherworld,” Gwydion said quietly.
“And they will ensure your return,” Cariadas said. She held out three black raven’s feathers. Arthur took them, stowing them inside his tunic. “Keep these with you on your journey,” she went on. “When you are ready to return, take them in your hand, then call us. We will be waiting.”
“What must I do?” Arthur asked his uncle.
But it was Cariadas who answered. “Look into the well.”
And so he looked, but he could see only his own reflection. The scar on his face whitened, and his dark eyes gazed back up at him. The water, still and silent, began to glow with a silvery light. He reached down and put his hand into the water. And that was when he felt another hand grasp his. And pull him down.
WHEN HE OPENED his eyes he was laying in a meadow. His clothes were dry. The long grasses bent beneath a gentle wind and he thought he heard the faint sound of a hunting horn. Overhead the sky was clear and the sun shone down warmly. He leapt to his feet. Before him stood a massive door of stone set incongruously in the center of the meadow. He walked all around the door, trying to see where it led. But he could not, for it was just a door standing by itself. At last he reached out to open the door when a low growl stopped him. Involuntarily he stepped back.
The hound was huge, almost the size of the door itself. It was white, like the hounds of Annwyn, and its eyes were blood red. But Arthur knew the dog’s name. And he knew the dog’s purpose. And he knew that the dog would let him by.
“Heel, Dormath,” he said to the hound that guarded the door to Gwlad Yr Haf. “I have come to speak to your master and mistress. They have called me.”
The hound raised his head to the sky and bayed. The mournful howl sounded out across the meadow, echoing again and again across the plain. But the dog stepped back from the door. Tentatively Arthur reached out and grasped the round, iron ring. He pulled with all his strength. Slowly the door opened. He could see nothing but velvety darkness. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through, to the Otherworld.
IN THE CENTER of the garden, there was a fountain fed by five glittering streams. The streams played over rocks and the splash of the fountain sounded joyfully. Delicate lily of the valley, impossibly blue forget-me-nots, and shy violets lined the streams. Beds of green moss glowed emerald, lit by lemony yellow globeflowers and sweet, white alyssum.
At first Arthur had thought he was alone. With a start he saw that a man sat on the rim of the golden fountain, his head bowed. The man raised his head as Arthur came to stand before him.
“Da!” Arthur exclaimed in a strangled whisper. “Oh, Da.”
Uthyr ap Rathtyen var Awst rose and bowed to his son.
“Da, don’t bow to me.”
“I do not bow to you, my son. I bow to the High King of Kymru.” But then Uthyr smiled. Arthur hurled himself into his father’s arms and they held each other tightly, neither of them willing to let go.
At last they reluctantly parted, stepping back to look at each other. Uthyr looked much as he had when Arthur had last seen him, but the lines of strain and care were gone. His face glowed with pride as he looked at Arthur.
“My son,” Uthyr said, “you look tired.”
“I suppose I do,” Arthur said past he lump in his throat. “There is much happening in Kymru.”
“Is there?” Uthyr asked. “But now you are here, and I can tell by the life in your eyes that you are not dead. What, then, is your need?”
“I must see Aertan and Annwyn.”
“You seek the Weaver and the Lord of Chaos? That is something few of the living dare, or even the dead desire.”
“Yes, I know. But the need is great.”
“Then your courage must be, also. Come, I will take you to them.”
He took his father’s hand and the fountain, the streams, the garden melted away. Suddenly a huge wheel began to take shape before his eyes. It appeared to be made of fire and water, of earth and air. Streams of golde
n fire twined with silvery water as the wheel spun. Green grass mingled with cool breezes. Sunny days twisted with ropes of lighting sped by. Silvery moonlight and golden sunlight were knotted together in an intricate pattern that the mind could not grasp. The wheel spun sometimes slowly, sometimes so fast it was merely a blur. A great rushing sound filled his ears as the wheel spun. Behind the wheel he saw planets moving in an intricate dance, stars wheeling after them, and meteors leaving trails of fire as they rushed by.
Suddenly, the wheel stopped spinning. Silence descended.
“What do you want here, Arthur ap Uthyr var Ygraine?” a voice asked. The voice seemed to be made of bloodstains and grief, of twisting shadows and the coppery taste of fear.
“Annwyn, Lord of Chaos, I do not know.”
“Not a promising beginning, High King,” another voice said. This voice sounded like the twists of pitiless fate, of unexpected mercy, of long, beautiful summer days and sudden, wrenching loss.
“Aertan, Weaver of Fate, you know why I am here, even if I do not.”
By the quality of the silence he knew that if they had chosen to show themselves he would have seen a sparkle in Aertan’s bloodstone eyes, he would have seen a glow in the onyx darkness of Annwyn’s.
Uthyr, who up to now had been silent, at last chose to speak. “Guardians of Gwlad Yr Haf, I beg you to listen to my son. I beg that you will give him the aid that he asks.”
“If he knows what to ask for he shall receive it,” Annywn said.
“Yes,” said Aertan. “If he knows.”
And though Aertan and Annwyn still chose not to show themselves, Arthur saw that crowds of people were coming up to stand beside the wheel. He had never met many of them, yet he knew them. He saw Anieron Master Bard and Cynan Ardewin. He saw Queen Olwen of Ederynion and her husband, Kilwch. He saw King Urien and Queen Ellirri of Rheged. With a gasp he recognized the four Great Ones of Lleu Silver-Hand. He even recognized Lleu himself, who stood with Macsen and Idris, the other High Kings of Kymru.
And then he saw them. And he knew, even as he did, that they were the ones he had come for. And he wondered why it had taken him so long to understand, why it had taken all of them so long to see.
“I ask for the release of two souls,” Arthur said.
And then the wheel began to spin again.
Chapter
* * *
Twenty-two
Gwytheryn, Kymru
Gwernan Mis, 500
Calan Llachar—morning
The false twilight descended silently over the two armies as the sky slowly darkened. The landscape turned to gray as the moon’s approaching shadow leached the colors from the terrain and from the two armies that confronted each other.
Arthur stood with Caladfwlch in his hand, the point of his sword just touching the earth of Kymru, silently drawing power from the land itself as he waited. His silvery cloak streamed out behind him in the freshening breeze and his tunic and trousers were black. He wore a helmet of silver and gold fashioned like an eagle’s head and the massive High King’s torque lay around his throat. The huge emerald, pearl, opal, and sapphire glittered in the uncertain light, while the onyx in the center remained opaque, gleaming darkly, as though guarding a mystery.
Cariadas, the new Dreamer of Kymru, stood on Arthur’s right, with a cloak of black raven’s feathers around her slim shoulders. The opal Dreamer’s torque encircled her neck like a ring of golden fire and her silvery eyes flickered as she surveyed the opposing army.
Gwen stood next to Cariadas. On her head she wore the wolf’s helmet of Prydyn, and she held a short spear. Though she would use her druidic gifts today against the enemy, she had claimed a place next to Arthur rather than with the rest of the Y Dawnus. Her blue eyes were fierce and cold as she eyed the enemy, daring them to approach.
Gwydion and Rhiannon stood to Arthur’s left. Gwydion wore a plain, black robe trimmed in red and he held a spear. Rhiannon wore her Dewin’s robe of green and silver, and carried a bow and arrow. They stood close together, their shoulders just touching, hands clasped. Their eyes—silver and emerald—glittered in the uncertain light, but their faces were carefully still.
Arthur’s mother, Ygraine, stood behind her son, flanked by Rhufon, Steward of Cadair Idris, and Rhufon’s son, Tybion. Ygraine’s eyes were cool as the sky continued to darken, and her face betrayed nothing of her fears.
Behind them the Y Dawnus—the Bards, Druids, and Dewin of Kymru—gathered. Elidyr Master Bard was dressed in blue and white, a cloak of songbird feathers around his shoulders, sapphires glittering around his neck. His youngest son, Cynfar, stood with him, as did his father, Dudod. Most of the Bards, however, were scattered throughout Arthur’s army, for ease of issuing his commands to the army’s leaders.
The Dewin, led by Elstar, stood next to the Bards. Pearls glowed at Elstar’s throat and a cloak of swan’s feathers streamed out behind her in the breeze. Elstar’s oldest son, Llywelyn, stood next to her, his eyes fastened on Cariadas. Among the Dewin gathered with them were Myrrdin and Talorcan. Both Neuad and Regan were stationed with the army, for their medical skills would be needed, as would the skills they possessed to enable Arthur to see every inch of the entire battlefield.
The Druids massed behind their leader, Aergol. He wore a cloak of bull’s hide fastened to his shoulders and glowing emeralds around his strong neck. Aergol’s daughter and son, Sinend and Menw, stood to the right of their father, while Ellywen and Sabrina stood to his left. Behind them streamed hundreds of Druids in brown robes. They stood silently, husbanding their strength, for they knew that Arthur’s demands on them would be heavy, and they were determined to do all that they could, determined to use this moment to erase the shame of once siding with Kymru’s enemy.
Cynedyr the Wild, son of Hetwin Silver-Brow of Rheged, and his warriors ringed the Y Dawnus, their task to protect them from attack. Cynedyr’s golden hair streamed out behind him as he and his warriors ringed the perimeter of the Y Dawnus.
The forces of Gwynedd stood on the far right flank of the Kymric army. Morrigan, with Cai on her right and Bedwyr on her left, sat her horse quietly. Around her head was the helm of Gwynedd, shaped like a hawk with sapphire eyes. Her Bard, Susanna, sat her horse behind her, ready to relay Arthur’s orders. Morrigan’s three thousand mounted warriors in blue and brown were armed and ready.
Next to them massed the army of Prydyn. King Rhoram, with Achren on his right and Aidan on his left sat his black horse proudly. He wore a golden helmet fashioned like a wolf’s head. The wolf’s emerald eyes surveyed the battlefield, flashing in the flickering light as though eager to engage the enemy. Rhoram’s son, Geriant, sat his horse next to Cian, Rhoram’s Bard. Behind them three thousand warriors in black and green waited for the signal to begin this last, desperate battle.
On the far left flank the army of Ederynion waited. Queen Elen wore a helmet of silver, shaped like the upswept wings of a swan. Angharad was on her right, while Prince Rhiwallon and Prince Lludd were on her left. Her Bard, Talhearn, sat his horse patiently, his dark eyes alight in his seamed, weathered face. Behind them streamed Ederynion’s warriors in sea green and white, sitting rock steady on their horses.
To their right the forces of Rheged were gathered. Owein, wearing a horse-shaped helmet with glowing eyes of opal, sat unmoving on his golden horse. Flanked by Trystan and Sanon on his left and Teleri and Gwarae on his right, he silently surveyed the Coranian army. Esyllt, his Bard, was behind him. Three thousand warriors waited behind them, dressed in the red and white of Rheged, their weapons ready.
Ravens ringed the trees of Calan Llachar to the north, while wolves waited in the shadows of the wood for the word from the High King—for today even the animals of Kymru would fight for freedom.
Cadair Idris rose at the back of the Kymric army. The mountain glowed in the false twilight, like a pinnacle of hope rising from a dark wave of despair. The golden doors gleamed, the jewels impossibly bright in the fading, silvery light.
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It was time.
CALADFWLCH FELT WARM in Arthur’s hand. The gold and silver sword seemed to glow slightly as the moon’s shadow approached. He thought of the moment this morning, when his mother had clasped the sword’s scabbard around his waist.
“Thus do I arm my son, for his great battle,” she had said, intoning the formal words. But he had heard the pride, and the grief, beneath those words, and he had gently laid his hand on his mother’s arm. She had looked up at him then, her dark eyes unreadable.
“They tell me that I have the look of my father,” he had said. “And I could not tell if that was true, for his face was blurred in my mind’s eye. Yet now I know that this is indeed true. For I have seen him.”
Her breath had caught in her throat at his words. Her dark eyes had lit with an inner fire and she demanded, somewhat fiercely, “How?”
“In Gwlad Yr Haf. He was my guide there.”
She had dropped her head and looked away. He had guessed that her eyes had been filled with tears she hadn’t wanted him to see. So he answered the question she hadn’t asked. “He spoke of you.”
Her head had risen at that, but she still had not turned around to face him.
“He said that the life he had in Kymru with you was more than he had ever hoped for. He said that you made everything worthwhile. He said that he knew without asking that you were keeping your promise to him. What was that promise?”
She had turned back to him then, her eyes sparkling with tears she had been too proud to let fall. “I promised to live beyond his death. I promised to take care of our daughter. And to do what I could to ensure that my son ruled Kymru.”
Arthur had nodded. “A promise you kept.”
“So I have, my son.”
A voice jarred him, bringing him back to the present.
“… too many.”
“What?” Arthur asked Gwen. She had whispered the words to Cariadas, but he had heard them, nonetheless.
Gwen, caught, squared her shoulders and turned to face Arthur. “I said, they are too many. Twenty thousand to our twelve. It’s hopeless and you know it. Even the Y Dawnus cannot tip those scales.”