Island of Ghosts

by Gillian Bradshaw

  So. A threat. I had heard many of them in my time, and it didn’t trouble me unduly. “A curse or an assassination?” I asked.

  He hesitated, then shook his head. “A curse, my lord, at least at first. They are famous for working magic, sir, famous. They claim superhuman powers. They’re certainly used to killing people secretly. Before the Romans came they practiced human sacrifice, mostly on willing victims. The official druids in Gaul now say that human sacrifice is hateful to the gods, and even some of the other British druids say that if the victim’s unwilling, the sacrifice is useless. But there have been bodies found, strangled and dumped in the sacred wells, or hung from the sacred groves, and it’s been clear that they weren’t willing. People are afraid of the druids. If they don’t talk about them much, that’s the reason.”

  I was silent for a little while. “This sorcery,” I said at last. “Is it powerful?”

  “The druids claim it is, my lord. For my own part,” he said defiantly, “I know that no power on earth or under it can stand against my God.”

  “Who is not mine. Still, I trust Marha, the holy one, is not his inferior. And from what you say, the druids have been cursing the Romans for centuries, and the power of Rome has only grown greater. But I will be on my guard. What did this priest mean by ‘before this season is ended’? Before the end of the winter, or before this matter is settled?”

  “I imagine it means before the end of the month, sir,” he said unhappily. “ This season would naturally mean the season we’re in now, midwinter. The midwinter solstice is holy to the druids. It’s only ten days from now.”

  “So, I do not have long to wait? That is good.”

  He obviously thought I wasn’t taking it seriously enough. “Be careful what you eat, sir!” he exclaimed urgently. “The druids study drugs and poisons as well as magic.”

  The memory of the lost hours shifted again in my mind, chilling me, but again subsided. “Thank you,” I said then, looking him in the eyes. “Thank you very much. You have given more loyalty than I have deserved of you.”

  “No, my lord. I have given what my duty demanded, but given it later than I should. If I had warned you earlier…”

  “Could this Cunedda inform on you?”

  He went still-then nodded miserably. “If he knew I’d informed on him, he would,” he added. “If he didn’t know, I’d probably be all right. My lord, what happened on the road from Condercum?”

  I shook my head. “I do not remember. I remember setting out with Arshak, and nothing afterward until my wakening in Pervica’s house-but I am certain I met the lady Aurelia on the road. She is, I think, the head of this conspiracy.”

  He blinked at that. He had obviously put her down as this Cunedda’s disciple, a rich and arrogant young noblewoman playing for excitement’s sake with an old and dangerous faith. “You don’t think that Cunedda…?” he began-but trailed off helplessly, as though realizing that Aurelia Bodica was nobody’s disciple.

  “She wishes to be a queen,” I said, trying to set all my assembled pieces in order. “Her family is royal, and was long hostile to the Romans. She resents the marriage that was arranged for her and admires her ancestress, the queen of the Iceni for whom she was named. She has great influence with her husband, and has been able to appoint her kinsmen and friends to positions of power-Comittus at least owes his place to her, and there must be others. Comittus will tell you, too, when he sings her praises, that she has influence in the civil administration of the North, which is also in her husband’s hands. She has had the power to create an instrument of war against the Romans, and I do not believe she would create that instrument and set it in the hands of another. She is a proud woman, and hates to be crossed in any way.”

  He was shocked silent. We weren’t facing just one or two people near the legate and a handful of druids, but a substantial conspiracy, an unknown large number of people in the army and in places of power throughout the province.

  “Have you heard any rumors about what her husband thinks of this?” I asked. It was the crucial question.

  Eukairios nodded wearily. “He’s heard the rumors, but doesn’t believe them. He’s not British, of course: he’s an Italian from Mediolanum. Her family is royal, descended from the rulers of two kingdoms: they could have had the citizenship generations ago, but they refused to have anything to do with the Romans until very recently. They say that the legate was proud of himself for winning them over.”

  “And recent events have not made him suspicious?”

  “My lord, there are hundreds of British tribesmen in the Sixth Legion and thousands in the auxiliaries. Dozens of them might have been able to send that message: anyone with druidical training would have been interested in your people’s method of divination, and you don’t keep it a secret. Why should the legate believe it was his wife?”

  “She has been after us,” I answered, sharply.

  “And he’s grateful to her, my lord, for helping him with such an irritable and indomitable people. He believes that without her help, he would have had far more trouble with Lord Arshak’s people in Eburacum.”

  “She’s won over Arshak and tried Siyavak.”

  “My lord, I thought as much. But the legions are not united either. There are factions even inside the Sixth at Eburacum, and I suppose that the legate thought she was winning them to his faction. My lord, Facilis would know more about this. He’s a good man; I’m sure he would help.”

  Facilis was a shrewd man. He had guessed enough to let him suspect the lady, even without knowing about these druids, or hearing the hints she made to me and my brother princes. I was not surprised that he’d tackled Eukairios on the subject as well. But there were reasons why I could not accept any help from that quarter.

  “So,” I said, ignoring the suggestion, summing up. “Our enemies may be anywhere. We have no evidence that we could bring to a Roman court. Even if I remembered what the lady said on the road, I could only pledge my word against hers and Arshak’s, and my word will not be enough. I am not trusted. Her own servants are unlikely to testify against her. This Cunedda is protected by her, and unlikely to be caught unless you inform on him, which you cannot do. As for you, she would say that you are my slave and will speak as I order you.”

  “I can’t give evidence in court anyway,” he said hurriedly, looking sick. “Anything I said would be weighed as testimony, which doesn’t count as much as evidence… and… and I’m not sure I could repeat it, sir, under torture: please don’t ask me to.”

  “Torture?” I asked in surprise.

  He looked surprised in turn, that I hadn’t realized this. “The testimony of slaves is always taken under torture, sir.”

  “Marha!” I exclaimed in disgust. “No. We cannot say anything to the authorities-not yet. We must wait in silence until we have the power to strike in force. Do not repeat what you have just told me to anyone-and particularly not to anyone in my bodyguard.”

  He smiled weakly. “I imagine that they wouldn’t take it quietly if they knew the legate’s wife had tried to kill you.”

  “They would decide among themselves who would kill the lady,” I told him, flatly and truthfully, “and that man would swear afterward under any torture that I knew nothing about it. They are brave and honorable men, and have sworn to defend me. I would not willingly lose any of them. And they would not understand that the Romans would be outraged and punish all of us, nor that the authorities are accustomed to lies and would believe me guilty anyway, nor that the conspiracy might survive the lady’s loss, and strike back. I believe that the lady Aurelia heads it, but I have no doubt that she is not alone.”

  We looked at each other for a moment, and saw that we both understood that we could trust neither the honesty of the authorities nor the discretion of my subordinates. But perhaps I’d found a solution to another problem.

  I told Eukairios about Siyavak and his resolve to discover and expose Bodica’s plans. “Do you have friends in Eburacum as well
?” I asked.

  He looked nervous. “There is a small ekklesia in Eburacum,” he admitted.

  “A what?”

  “A… an assembly. Of believers. We use the Greek word.”

  “Could someone in this assembly write letters for Siyavak, and send them to me secretly? He is a young man and still impulsive, and I am afraid for him if he’s left entirely on his own with this lady-and even if he should discover something, it might cost him his life if he tried to reveal it himself. But I have no way of contacting him which she would be unable to interfere with-and for that matter, I do not completely trust Comittus not to spy for her in Cilurnum. He is her kinsman, and admires her greatly. I need some method of communication which she knows nothing about and cannot tamper with. Your friends could provide that. And I would welcome it very much if they, and your friend here, could continue to tell us what they learn from these ‘contacts.’ ”

  He was silent, looking at his hands, his shoulders hunched again.

  “Do your fellow cultists perhaps have more sympathy for these druids than for the Roman authorities who persecute you?” I asked.

  “No,” he replied at once, but unhappily. “No, we pray for those in authority, and we know perfectly well that in Britain the druids would be far more ruthless with us than the Romans are. It’s true what Valerius Natalis said: no one has bothered the assemblies in Britain very much. No, it’s just… it’s just you’re suggesting we make an alliance with… with…” — a tribe of bloodthirsty barbarians, he meant to say, but didn’t-“an earthly power, and we…” He stopped himself, reconsidering. “But we are a part of the province of Britain, even though most of us aren’t Roman citizens or British tribesmen. If there were an… uprising”-he brought himself to say the word-“in Brigantia, and invasions by the Picts, we would suffer along with everyone else. We’d suffer more, if the druids had a kingdom of their own. I don’t know, my lord. I can’t answer for the Christians in Eburacum. I must pray, and write to them. Then they can answer for themselves.”

  “That is fair,” I said. “Write to them. I will try to arrange for us to ride down to Eburacum when this season is ended.” I remembered the other thing he had told me, and added, relishing the old challenge, “If I am still alive.”

  X

  In fact, I didn’t need to think up an excuse to take me to Eburacum. The legate left for the fortress next morning, taking his men and the fourth dragon with him, but before he set out he sent me a letter asking me to visit him early in January to discuss plans about the horses “and some other matters that have come up.”

  I was pleased at the invitation, though slightly apprehensive about the “other matters.” I resolved to visit River End Farm as soon as possible, to give Pervica plenty of time to decide her response to the stud farm idea.

  By this time, it was the middle of December, approaching the solstice, which we Sarmatians celebrate as Sada, the feast of the winter fire. The Romans celebrate a festival at about the same time, the Saturnalia in honor of the god Saturn, and we’d agreed at Cilurnum to celebrate the holy days together. I was busy making arrangements for this feast-all the officers were-but as soon as I’d recovered fully from the aftereffects of drowning, I decided to take a day out to ride over to see Pervica.

  “I’ll come along,” said Longus, when I announced this to my fellows.

  I looked at him suspiciously. “That is not necessary.”

  “But you might want someone to advise you about the farm! I have a farm in the area myself; I know how many horses they can support. And you might want someone to translate for you-Lucius isn’t the only one who speaks British, you know.” When I still looked at him silently, he raised his eyebrows and said, “You’re bringing half your bodyguard anyway: you’re hardly expecting a cozy chat with the lady.”

  I was bringing half the bodyguard only because I’d taken what Eukairios had told me in Corstopitum seriously and involved myself in a lot of exasperating precautions against murder. I’d told the men of my dragon that we must be on guard against intruders into our camp, who might be relatives of the Pictish dead, seeking vengeance: this was a perfectly sensible move in its own right, and it meant that no Britons crossed the palisade unquestioned. I was very careful of what I ate and drank-which had meant finding excuses not to share the food of my Roman colleagues. (I trusted them, on the whole, though with unhappy doubts about Comittus-but I didn’t know or trust all their servants.) I’d also made a will. And finally, I’d forced myself to accept that I must not go anywhere alone, certainly not when others knew where I was going. In spite of all this, I had hoped that I’d be able to talk with Pervica quietly and in some reasonable degree of privacy. I had been wondering whether what I thought I’d seen in her wasn’t a product of my own mind, confused from the touch of death, stunned and overjoyed to find itself still alive. Whether I loved her or not, though, I was certainly indebted to her for my life and bound to do what I could to repay her. I’d chosen a gift for her, and I hoped to be able to discuss the plan for the stud farm sensibly and thoroughly. In none of these things was it likely that Longus would help.

  “Why do you want to come?” I asked him bluntly.

  He gave one of his doleful grins. “Pure curiosity. But I think you ought to have a Roman officer with you. Have you thought of the effect on the inhabitants of a medium-sized British farm of the sight of sixteen armed Sarmatian horsemen galloping into their chicken run?”

  I hadn’t. “The chicken run is at the back of the house,” I said. “We would have no cause to gallop into it. But come if you wish.”

  In the end, there were twenty of us who set out: myself, with Leimanos and fifteen of the bodyguard; Eukairios, whom I wanted along to take notes; Longus; and Flavius Facilis-who, however, was not going to River End, but to Corstopitum about some supplies for the festival, and who only joined us for the ride. We were all armed. I would have preferred to leave the armor behind, but (exasperating precaution) thought I’d do better to wear it. Comittus stayed behind to mind the fort.

  It was a chill, overcast day, but not actually raining or snowing, and we rode along companionably, discussing the preparations for the festival until we were close enough to Corstopitum to begin looking for the farm. I was glad of Longus, in the end, since I had never actually ridden to River End Farm and hadn’t been paying proper attention when I rode from it: we needed to ask directions, and none of the people we found to ask spoke Latin. Facilis abandoned us to our search and turned toward Corstopitum, saying that he would meet us on our way back if he could.

  We found the farm shortly before midday: my heart rose when we saw the colonnaded wings of the courtyard before us, enclosed in a valley that the melting of the snow had left a deep green. I hadn’t noticed before, but you could see the river shining in the distance as you rode down the mud track to the farm gate. Sheep dotted the hills to our left, and I wondered if Cluim was with them.

  There was a shout as we reached the gate, and when we rode up to the courtyard, the redheaded servant Elen held the front door open for a man I hadn’t seen before. He was a tall, solid man with iron gray hair, well dressed for a Briton, having a gold collar as well as a checked cloak with a fine pin. He stood in the middle of the porch with his legs apart and his arms crossed, glaring at us.

  “Greetings,” I said, stopping Farna in front of him. “Is the Lady Pervica at home?”

  “Are you that Sarmatian she saved?” he demanded.

  “I am. Are you one of her servants?”

  His face reddened and he glared harder. “I am Quintilius son of Celatus, owner of Two Oaks Farm, and a friend and associate of Pervica. I was here doing some business with her and advising her.”

  I looked at him a moment. It was to be expected that an attractive young widow with a good farm had “friends and associates.” I would have to discover how friendly and how close the association was. “Greetings, Quintilius,” I said, politely. “May I ask that you tell the lady that Ariantes son of Arifa
rnes, commander of the Sixth Numerus of Sarmatian Horse, is here to speak with her about the stallion, as he promised?”

  At this moment Pervica herself came to the door. She stopped, framed in it, and stood still, staring at me around the side of her “friend and associate.” The moment I saw her I knew that what I had felt before was not mere fancy. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I dismounted and pulled off my helmet, holding it carefully so that the long red crest wouldn’t sweep the mud, and bowed my head to her. “Many greetings, Lady Pervica,” I said.

  “Many greetings, Lord Ariantes,” she replied, stepping around Quintilius and coming forward. “Did I hear you say you’d come about the horse?”

  “Yes, Lady-and about another matter to do with horses, if you have time to discuss it.”

  “Of course. But I rather doubt that all of you will fit into my house.”

  I glanced back at my men, sitting on their steaming horses in their armor and grinning. “No,” I agreed. “But if you will permit them to build a fire in back, they will make themselves comfortable while we are talking.”

  “I’ll see if we can find them some beer and bread,” she said. “Elen!”

  “Pervica, no!” protested Quintilius. “I’ve told you, you should have nothing more to do with any of these barbarians! The gods know what the savages might take it into their heads to do-you’ve heard the stories about them! How can you-”

  Longus burst out laughing. “Oh, tell me the stories about them, please!” he said, jumping off his horse and elbowing his way to the front. “I’m sure you don’t know half of it, but tell me anyway.” He bowed sweepingly to Pervica. “The name’s Longus, by the way, most esteemed lady, Gaius Flavinus Longus, senior decurion of the Second Asturian Horse of Cilurnum. I’m sure my friend Ariantes would have introduced me in another minute. I hope there’s room for me indoors. Unlike the Sarmatians, I prefer to rest indoors when it’s cold.”