by Simon Lister
‘The Gift? The Sight? I can see, into, people?’
Arthur shook his head and looked out into the rain-soaked woodland, ‘It’s not a gift, Morveren, not at all. It’s not strong in you and you should never seek to make it stronger. It’s a curse.’
‘How can it be a curse? You know when people are lying to you, when they’re being truthful!’
‘Can you imagine what it’s like to have that knowledge? Think about it. You love Morgund don’t you?’
Morveren nodded in reply.
‘Imagine if he knew every single thought you had about him. Imagine if you knew everything he felt and thought about you. And every thought he had about anyone else. It’s not a gift. It’s a curse. No matter how close you are to someone, whether they are a friend or a lover, such insight destroys everything.’
Morveren looked aghast. She had never thought about it quite like that before; every thought, every feeling, each small resentment or spark of anger laid bare. There had been times when she had felt like killing Morgund – of course she knew she could never harm him, but the thought had been there.
‘How do you keep from going insane?’
‘By learning not to use it. By shutting it out. By keeping everyone at a distance.’
Morveren cast her mind back to something Arthur had said some time ago, ‘Seren, the Cithol girl, you said you can’t read her...’
‘That’s true, it’s true for all the Cithol.’
‘That’s why you had no idea the Cithol would betray us!’
Arthur nodded.
‘And that’s why you could not stay with my mother, or stay with Ceinwen, but why you can love Seren?’
‘That kind of closeness can only be built on faith, not certainties.’
Morveren felt overwhelmed by the conversation and its revelations. A dozen questions formed in her mind only to be scrambled aside by dozens more. She plucked one out at random, ‘Can you read me now?’
Arthur smiled, ‘No, not any more. Not since Ethain and the hall. Now I can only read you if you wish me to – not that I need to; you’re confused, scared and excited but of all of these you should be most scared. Control it, minimise it, shut it out or it will destroy you and everything you value.’
Morveren knew that Arthur was serious and she made a conscious effort to calm her excitement.
‘How did you control it?’
‘I was born that way. Even at a very young age I knew I was unlike the others but I had the sense to keep it to myself. Despite that, if it hadn’t been for Merdynn’s training I doubt I would have survived to see twenty. Somehow he made it impossible for me to read my sister or Cei.’
‘And so they became your closest friends.’
‘Without them I would have gone insane.’
Morveren lowered her eyes, ‘I’m sorry they’re lost, Arthur.’
Arthur took Cei’s axe from his belt and ran his finger along the design etched into the iron head. ‘I sent them to their deaths. It was a desperate gamble. We’ve both lost friends, eh?’
They sat in silence for a moment with the rain drumming on the stretched capes above them. Morveren leant forward and poked at the struggling fire. ‘And Merdynn? Could you read him?’
Again Arthur smiled, ‘He could turn my thoughts aside like brushing away a fly. In fact he threatened to turn me into a fly if I ever tried without his permission.’
‘Merdynn’s good at scaring children.’
‘I was older than you. And still scared enough to take him seriously.’
Morveren laughed aloud but the sullen woods dampened the sound as soon as it left their shelter and neither of their smiles lasted long.
‘Ceinwen feels that victory is impossible now,’ Morveren said quietly.
‘I brought you to the war band so that I could better protect you. Not my only mistake.’
‘Is there no way we can win against the Adren now?’
‘We can still deny Lazure and the Adren victory.’
Morveren took heart at his words without realising he had not answered her question. They both looked up sharply as Morveren’s horse neighed and stamped the ground; Balor and Morgund were hurriedly approaching.
‘What should I tell Morgund of all this?’ Morveren asked with a slight panic.
Leaving the shelter Arthur stood up and watched the two approaching warriors. As they neared he turned to Morveren and said, ‘Tell him nothing, ever.’
Morveren nodded and called out to them, ‘What is it?’
‘Adren!’ Morgund called back.
Arthur cursed and kicked the fire out, ‘How many?’
‘The whole bloody army!’ Balor replied.
Morveren picked up both saddles and started preparing the horses.
‘How far?’ Arthur asked.
‘Seven, eight miles to the North.’
Arthur cursed again. Morveren stopped what she was doing looking horrified, ‘Then they’re only a hundred miles north of the Haven!’
‘And it looks like they’re making straight for it,’ Morgund added.
Chapter Eleven
‘Which way?’ Arthur asked. They were standing at the edge of the woodland where they had planned to rest.
‘You see the dip in the ridgeline?’ Morgund said pointing northwards. ‘Beyond that there’s a gully that winds down to a broad valley. Their army fills that valley.’
Arthur nodded. He could see the ridgeline that Morgund meant and reasoned he could find the gully easily enough. He looked from Morveren to Morgund weighing up his choice. The Haven had to be warned immediately but all his warriors were at Caer Cadarn and he needed them at the Haven as soon as possible; without them it would be defenceless. Morveren was by far the quickest rider among them with Morgund next in line while Arthur and Balor were a long way behind either.
If he sent Morveren to the Haven, which was much nearer, then they would have the maximum amount of warning but word would get to Caer Cadarn slower and hence the warriors’ arrival at the Haven would be later, perhaps too late. Sending Morveren to Caer Cadarn would conversely increase the danger to those at the Haven who would have less time to prepare. Without wasting further time Arthur decided that Morveren’s speed would be better used over the greater distance.
‘Morveren, ride to Caer Cadarn. Bring the war band to the Haven. Cover the distance as fast as possible. Take the Estuary route on the way back – you’ll have to swim the horses across the shifting river and you’ll need to choose your ground carefully over the mud flats but it’ll be quicker than riding all the way around.
‘Morgund, make for the Haven and tell the chieftains to sail for the West immediately. At the most they’ll have two days to finish preparing the ships, get the provisions and people on board and leave the harbour. Tell them to use the fishing boats if they have to. I don’t care how you get it done or who you have to kill to make it happen but anyone not away by then will be trapped by the Adren.’
‘Everyone’s to sail for the West?’ Morgund asked, shocked that Arthur was effectively ordering Britain to be abandoned.
‘Yes. I know it’s earlier than normal. I know the winds are from the West and the journey will be hard. I know there’ll barely be room for everyone on the tall ships. I know that the provisions will be tight. But make sure they know that anyone still on land two days after you arrive will be slaughtered. Don’t try to organise a defence just get everyone and everything on board those ships and burn whatever’s left behind. The war band should arrive before the Adren. Just. Tell Kenwyn and the others it will be safe to return with the rising sun.’
‘We aren’t leaving with them?’ Balor asked.
‘No. Now go.’
Morveren embraced Morgund and said quietly into his ear, ‘See that Seren and her child get away safely. And take care.’ Then she jumped lightly up into her saddle.
‘See you at the Haven!’ She waved at them and sped away towards Caer Cadarn.
Arthur turned to look at the distant rid
geline fixing in his mind where Morgund had pointed out the gap.
Balor turned to Morgund, ‘Bugger. For a while there I thought we might be sailing west with the others.’
Morgund grinned as he hoisted himself up into the saddle, ‘They say the West is nice this time of year.’
‘That’s what they say.’
Without further words they parted and Morgund turned his horse to the South and set off along the outskirts of the wood.
‘We’ll trail their army for a while then make for the Haven,’ Arthur said and headed towards the far gap that was now obscured by a curtain of rain.
Balor followed on behind him wondering how Arthur could be so confident that it would be safe for the others to return with the dawning sun. It took them an hour to reach the dip in the crest marking the beginning of the steep gully that cut down the far side of the hill and it took another hour for them to struggle down the switchback ravine.
The stream that had gorged its course into the hillside was now swollen with the storm rains and it broiled and tumbled from pool to pool in unheeding haste, forcing Arthur and Balor away from the smooth worn rock and into the tangled undergrowth that grew on the steep banks. They had left their horses at the head of the ravine and despite the arduous terrain and the difficulty of making headway they were glad for the cover it offered them; the Adren would doubtlessly have patrols ranging over the open hill country.
Half-way down, at a point where the stream switched back on itself once more, a narrow ledge offered a view of the valley below. They clambered across to it and lay flat on the smooth, wet surface. The distant storms still rumbled their thunder down the valleys and the clouds stretched from hilltop to hilltop like a low, dark canvas settling over the land.
Their view from the outcrop only provided them with a mile-wide cross section of the valley below but the Adren army filled that entire view; a creeping black stain on the green land. Arthur calculated how long it had been since Balor and Morgund had first seen the army and reckoned it to be at least four hours ago.
‘Is this where you two saw them from?’ he asked Balor.
‘I think so. Enough of the bastards aren’t there?’
Four hours and the Adren army was still passing the same point, and they hadn’t seen the head or the tail of the snaking beast below them. Two uncomfortable hours later the black mass below them began to break up.
‘Tell me what you see,’ Arthur said.
‘Looks like the tail end of the army. There’s a lot of carts and wains bringing up the rear. Supplies I suppose.’
‘Are they full or empty?’
Balor shifted trying to improve his view, ‘We need Ethain here, he’d be able to tell you.’
‘I’m asking you.’
‘From what I can see they seem mostly empty,’ Balor answered quickly.
‘Good,’ Arthur replied, edging his way back to the cover of the stunted trees. ‘A thousand longbows and we’d slaughter them in these hills,’ Arthur said bitterly with one last look back towards the Adren. Balor did not need to point out that they didn’t even have a hundred.
Arthur decided to follow the tail of the Adren army for a day to get some idea of how fast the horde was covering the distance to the Haven before he and Balor cut south to intercept the war band. It seemed that those within the column were leap-frogging each other as the captains at the front took their soldiers aside to rest until the rear of the army approached then they would march on until they found themselves once more in the vanguard. In this way the army always appeared to be moving onwards and Arthur guessed they would be covering over twenty miles a day. They would reach the Haven within four or five days, probably two days after Morgund and about the same time as Morveren and the war band – if Morveren could reach Caer Cadarn in just two days.
In all the time they were studying the Adren army they saw no sign of any enemy patrols or flanking riders. Arthur wondered if Lazure’s confidence meant he hadn’t heard about the fate of his army in the East. No one had seen any Adren escape from those battles and they certainly hadn’t left any alive but Arthur felt it unlikely that Lazure would remain ignorant of his eastern army’s destruction. If he did know then he probably also knew that the Britons only had a handful of warriors left and that would explain why he was making straight for the Haven where the peoples of Britain were now unprotected.
It was difficult to gauge the size of the Adren army bearing down on the Haven as they were unable to see the whole of the straggling column at any one time. Their best guess put the enemy numbers at between seven and eight thousand which meant that any battles they had fought in the far North against the Uathach bands of Hund and Benoc had not only been decisively won by the Adren but that those victories had not cost them dearly; it also meant that Arthur’s war band were now the only warriors left in Britain to stand against Lazure.
*
Morgund had to cover the last four miles to the Haven on foot; his horse had collapsed from exhaustion but he had made the journey in just under two days. He had left everything behind but his longbow and sword and set off at a steady run to arrive at the Haven soaked by the constant rain and splattered in mud.
He made straight for the better houses that overlooked the safe harbour knowing that was where he would find Kenwyn and Aelle, the Wessex and Anglian chieftains. The paths and thoroughfares were teeming with the peoples of Britain and although the town was designed to accommodate the migratory gatherings, those from the North had swelled the numbers and the Haven had not been designed to accommodate so many for so long. Morgund had seen the hurriedly erected and temporary shelters covering the slopes leading down to the harbour and despite his own exhaustion and haste he had marvelled at how so many people had been crowded into one place. He had also seen the full granaries and took some comfort from the fact that the harvests had been brought in before the rains had begun; without that the people of Britain would starve wherever they were.
As he pushed his way through the crowds some of them recognised him and pointed him out to others and he knew that soon most of the town would know that one of Arthur’s warriors had been seen, alone and travel-stained, hastening towards the chieftains’ houses and that rumours would spread quicker than summer fires.
When he arrived at the main house he immediately demanded to see Aelle and Kenwyn. His wild appearance and ready weapons terrified the head houseman and Morgund had to physically shake him before he was told that Aelle was in the long hall but Kenwyn was down by the ships. Morgund told him to fetch Kenwyn at once and the man fled to the wharves glad to get away from the wild warrior.
Morgund strode to the long hall and walked straight in. Aelle was talking to Fianna, one of Kenwyn’s counsellors, whom Morgund knew from previous dealings in Wessex. She shot to her feet quickly for someone of her age. ‘Morgund!’ she said in surprise and fear crossed her face.
Aelle, the Anglian chieftain, remained seated and watched warily as the warrior strode towards them.
‘What are you doing here? What’s wrong?’ Fianna asked as he stopped before their table then asked in a quieter voice, ‘Where’s Arthur?’
‘I’ve sent for Kenwyn. We haven’t much time.’
‘Much time for what?’ she asked still standing.
‘Looks like you’ve had a hard journey,’ Aelle said and looked at the water dripping from Morgund’s clothes onto the polished floor. ‘Surely there’s time for you to change and rest, then we can get some food prepared for you.’
‘No. There’s no time at all.’
‘What is it, Morgund? Are we in danger?’ Fianna asked again.
Morgund nodded and took a cup of wine from the table. He drank it in one and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.
‘Help yourself,’ Aelle said, it was his wine, ‘and congratulations on the victory against the Adren army.’
Morgund looked back to the doorway just as Kenwyn hurried through into the hall. He stopped short at the sight of the
dishevelled warrior and asked, ‘What is it? Where’s Arthur? And the war band?’
‘There’s an Adren army bearing down on the Haven. Arthur’s shadowing them and the war band is racing to get here before the Adren do. You have to leave for the Western Lands immediately.’
The three of them stared at him and the only sound was the water dripping from his clothes. Then they all spoke at once, ‘Impossible!’ cried Aelle.
‘How many of them?’ Fianna asked.
‘Can Arthur stop them?’ Kenwyn said joining them around the table.
‘There’s ten thousand of them. They’ll be here in a day’s time, perhaps two, and they’ll slaughter everyone still in the Haven. If Arthur and the war band arrive first they’ll be outnumbered a hundred to one and still the Adren will slaughter everyone in the Haven. You have, at the most, two days to leave the harbour and if that’s impossible then the Adren will slaughter whoever’s left.’
‘Gods,’ Kenwyn muttered, sitting down heavily then repeated himself as he contemplated trying to evacuate over fifteen thousand people and all their provisions in just two days.
‘But the Western Lands will be in winter by the time we get there! They’re already in darkness! And we’ll be sailing straight into the westerlies!’ Aelle protested.
Fianna’s mind was racing through the million things that needed to done in just a few short hours. She looked across to Aelle and said, ‘It’s that or we all die here.’
‘Yes,’ Morgund said and drained Fianna’s wine too.
*
Morveren had pushed her horse as hard as she possibly dared knowing that if it came up lame or dropped from exhaustion then she would never reach the war band in time and they, in turn, would never reach the Haven in time. She put her fear of the Haven’s impending doom behind her and concentrated solely on riding as well as she knew how, focusing entirely on the horse beneath her and the ground in front of her. She made it to Caer Cadarn just a few hours after Morgund reached the Haven; a feat that would have won her great acclaim had it not been lost in the events that were to follow.