Bridge of Swords

by Duncan Lay

  ‘No. I can’t do that. Surely you can do it now — it’s simple enough: build a wall, craft a few dozen crossbows and surprise the raiders, teach them to fear you Velsh.’ Sendatsu scooped up a huge spoonful of porridge and swallowed.

  ‘It has to be you,’ Huw told him coldly. ‘Only you can make it happen. If I walk into a village, I am just some strange Velshman with crazy ideas. But you — you are an elf. They will think you a hero. They will listen to you. My people are crying out for a saviour. It has to be you.’

  ‘I am here to find the answers I seek, nothing more. You want an elf from your legends. I am not that person,’ Sendatsu warned.

  Huw leaned forwards. ‘You have to be. There is nobody else! You can’t tell me that today did not change you. I saw your face as the village cheered you, as people hailed you as their hero. Imagine that happening every day, at villages right across Vales. And then there’re all the men, women and children’s lives you will save. I know they do not mean as much to you elves but I think these people’s lives and dreams, even if they are short, are worth fighting for. Think of them — all alive if you help them, dead if you do not. Will the revels in Dokuzen be as sweet with those deaths on your conscience?’

  ‘Aroaril curse you!’ Sendatsu dropped his spoon. ‘Of course I care about their lives — that is why I fought for your bloody village today! But I have other responsibilities. I have to get back to Dokuzen as soon as possible. They are counting on me! And I don’t want to be a hero — I never did. I have never cared what people think of me, never wanted to be a leader. You have the wrong elf.’

  Huw stared into his eyes. The spirit of his father was with him now and the words were easy to find. Fear, which had so often stilled his tongue in the past, was not a concern now.

  ‘There is no other. I am sorry but you will be who I need you to be. This is the price you must pay for the knowledge you seek. Rhiannon was right: you will never discover what you need by yourself. Either the Forlish will kill my people or they will run from you. Aid me and I shall see to it that you return to Dokuzen with everything you need. But if you refuse to help, then I shall spread word that none are to speak to you. Every door in the land will be shut to you. You will wander alone, friendless, shouting your questions helplessly.’

  Sendatsu nearly hurled himself across the table at the bard but managed to control himself — just. Huw was right, Aroaril damn him. He did need the bard’s help. But there was still a chance to make him see sense …

  ‘Be reasonable, Huw! What will it achieve? If we protect every village, surely the Forlish will just return with their army and lay waste to Vales anyway. And a few crossbows and a wooden wall won’t stand up to a proper attack.’

  Huw smiled. ‘You are right. Which is why, after we have protected the villages, you are going to take me back to Dokuzen and we will persuade the elves to come and help my people.’

  ‘What!’ Sendatsu surged to his feet.

  ‘It makes perfect sense. This is the perfect solution.’

  ‘That is not going to happen,’ Sendatsu warned.

  ‘Why not? You can tell your elders, your king or whoever rules in Dokuzen that they need to become part of the world again. They have to stand up now, or they will have their worst fear — a warlike nation at their door. Bring me back to Dokuzen and I will show them Ward will not stop until he has sacked not just our homes but theirs as well.’

  Sendatsu almost choked on his porridge. His return to Dokuzen was going to be fraught with danger as it was. Bringing humans back as well would be impossible.

  ‘Huw, they will kill you if you come back with me. No human has been beyond the barrier for three centuries. They have patrols that do nothing but look for humans. If they ever found any, they would kill them on sight. You would never get to speak to the Council …’

  ‘You would protect us. Because Rhiannon and I would have the information you and the Council seek. We would give it to them at the same time they hear our plea for help,’ Huw said simply.

  Sendatsu gazed at Huw with a mixture of awe and hatred. The bard’s plan to blackmail both himself and the Elven Council into getting his own way was bravery far beyond anything Sendatsu could imagine. Yet it was also immensely foolish, for the Council did not want to hear what Huw knew — they wanted him silenced. Killing him would be their instant solution. He considered telling Huw everything: explaining about the scroll, his father, about Mai and Cheijun. Yesterday he might have but this new Huw, determined to get his own way, was a different story. If Huw knew the truth, would he turn the Velsh against Sendatsu? It was a risk he could not take. He would have to agree to Huw’s accursed demands — at least until he had the information.

  ‘And don’t think you can pretend to go along with this and then run once we have the knowledge. You won’t be allowed to speak to the villagers — only me. Only when we are done will I tell you …’

  That was too much for Sendatsu … before he knew it, he had leaped across the table and grabbed Huw by his tunic.

  ‘You can’t do this to me!’ he howled.

  Huw did not move, his hands kept by his sides.

  ‘I am sorry but I have to,’ he said. ‘Hit me all you like. It won’t gain you anything.’

  Sendatsu wanted to punch him until the bard agreed to help but hesitated. Angry as he was, he struggled to bring himself to strike the young bard. There was a new determination in Huw’s eyes and he knew the bard would not give in.

  ‘Sendatsu! What are you doing?’

  The pair of them turned, frozen in place, to see Rhiannon hurrying out of the bedroom, pulling her tunic straight, her hair dishevelled.

  Neither answered her.

  Rhiannon stretched out on the bed, feeling as though everything was right with the world, for the first time since Huw had given her the shocking news Ward had killed her father and was now after her. Everything had seemed so crazy since then but now it made sense. She was going to live in Dokuzen, she was going to dance for the elves — she was going to marry an elf — all her dreams were coming true!

  The battle in the village had shaken her — she had been determined not to be one of those helpless maidens from the songs; the ones who waited nervously while the hero saved the day. But the reality of the battle had been dramatically different from the ones she sang about. The noise, the blood, the smells, the sights of men and horses dying … being so close to death, seeing it all around her had made her feel more alive than ever before. Every breath, knowing it could be your last, was impossibly sweet; every little detail was fixed in her brain.

  Victory had been the best moment in her life. The feeling as she realised she was going to live, that they were all going to live, had been indescribable. Exultation had swept through her, her blood felt like it was bubbling with joy — a kind of delight that she had never experienced before.

  Seeing Sendatsu save them all, hearing how he had defeated no less than five of the vicious Forlish raiders, seeing him return to the cheers covered in blood, it had been natural to want to help him. She wanted to show that she was just as valuable. Then he had taken his tunic off and she wanted to see him up close. From afar he had looked just like a man and she was sure he had to be different somehow. At first it had been easy, he had sat there like a statue, but then something changed and he reached up and kissed her … She shivered a little, remembering it. How had it happened so fast? She had never intended to do that. But she had been swept up in the moment and, before she knew it, Sendatsu had brought her in here. All the way he was telling her how beautiful she was, how she was the most stunning human he had ever met, the only one to compare with the elven maidens at home. And all the time he was kissing her, touching her.

  It had been so easy to just go along, caught up in the mood of ecstasy from the battle, from having everyone’s hero tell her she was special, the one human he had actually been attracted to.

  Even so, she had baulked when he had tried to take off her tunic.

 
‘I’m not ready … I don’t think we should,’ she had said breathlessly, placing her hand on his rippling chest.

  ‘Of course we should! You can’t stop what we are both feeling,’ Sendatsu said hoarsely, head dipping to kiss her neck.

  She thrilled to the feeling for a moment, then gently pushed him away.

  ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I can’t lie with a man until we have Walked The Tree together, sealed our marriage before the people …’ Thinking of the people made her imagine Huw, with his burning brown eyes and his gentle smile, watching her Walk The Tree with Sendatsu and she drew back.

  ‘But elves don’t Walk The Tree,’ Sendatsu pointed out, drawing her back in again, his hands slipping down her body. ‘We exchange vows before Aroaril.’

  All thoughts of Huw vanished from her mind.

  ‘What do you mean? You will take me to Dokuzen with you — will we exchange vows there?’ she breathed. ‘We shall marry?’

  ‘Yes, oh, yes.’ Sendatsu’s hands were roaming lower, while his lips were on her neck. But she listened to his words, not the meaning behind them.

  Thoughts of seeing the elves, of achieving all she had ever dreamed, filled her and the exultation sweeping through her was even greater than after the battle. She kissed him deeply, barely even aware as his hands went to her tunic once more, began to lift it upwards.

  Every time she thought about stopping, she imagined Dokuzen and the wonders they would see together and that promise filled her with a great warm feeling, more pleasure, even, than what they had done in the bed, amazing as that had been.

  Now she lay here, torn between regret and excitement at what the future held. Perhaps this was all meant to happen, she mused. She had lost her father but that tragedy had brought her here, had enabled her to meet Sendatsu and have the chance to go to Dokuzen. Obviously this was her destiny, just as Sendatsu said. An elf and a human … the songs and the lore said such a thing could never work but Sendatsu was not so different from a man — just better. But she would rewrite the songs, would go to Dokuzen and create new ones. In her mind’s eye she saw herself wandering the fabled streets with Sendatsu, hand in hand, as he pointed out the marvellous sights. She could see herself being introduced to his parents, being embraced by his friends and family. Best of all, she could see herself dancing for them, singing for them, performing in some great arena that put even the stone theatres of Cridianton to shame. And she could hear the cheers as they acknowledged her talents, rose as one to applaud her performance. It warmed her, even more than Sendatsu had been able to do.

  But slowly, noise from outside intruded on her comfortable daydream. Sendatsu was arguing with … Huw! A tiny sliver of fear, of uncertainty, shot through her. She thought about staying in bed, hiding away for as long as possible, but the voices grew louder and she could not bear to imagine Huw seeing this. He was her friend, her first friend, and she had no intention of hurting him. If Sendatsu had not been here … She pushed that thought aside with the fear Huw might see her like this. She hunted for her clothes, carelessly strewn on the floor. She had better get out there and try to pretend nothing had happened.

  She hurried out, to see them locked together, Sendatsu about to strike Huw with his fist.

  ‘Sendatsu! What are you doing?’

  Neither answered her.

  ‘What is going on? You are friends, you worked together to save this village — why are you fighting?’ she demanded.

  Huw was the first to recover, with Sendatsu struggling to think of something that would get him out of this situation.

  ‘Sendatsu and I are discussing why he should take me back to Dokuzen with him, so I can persuade the elves to come and save my people from Ward and the Forlish armies,’ he said coolly.

  Rhiannon smiled. ‘But that will be fine! He is taking me back with him, of course he can bring you as well! We are going to marry!’

  ‘He is taking you back? You will marry?’ Huw gasped.

  ‘I am?’ Sendatsu was almost as horrified and frantically had to compose his face. Had he really said that? Could he truly have been so stupid? He couldn’t remember promising anything so rash but Rhiannon’s expression warned that he had.

  Sendatsu looked from one human to the other as they stared at him, and realised how deep a hole he had dug for himself. With a snarl, he shoved Huw away and the bard tumbled across the floor, landing almost by the chair next to the fire. How was he going to get out of this?

  ‘Sendatsu! What are you doing?’ Rhiannon cried, rushing over to Huw’s side.

  Sendatsu could not talk, he was so furious, with himself and these two humans.

  ‘He doesn’t want to help us humans any more. He wants to go back to his own kind.’ Huw shrugged off Rhiannon’s helping hand and pushed himself back to his feet. He had been a little afraid Sendatsu would hit him but, after the pain of what he had listened to before, he almost welcomed a real blow. Being thrown across the room was nothing, although his hip and back were telling him he would feel it tomorrow.

  ‘That’s not true! He’s going to help us and he’s going to take us back to Dokuzen,’ Rhiannon said stubbornly, staring at Sendatsu, who kept his back to them.

  ‘Sendatsu! Tell him! Show Huw he’s wrong!’

  Sendatsu thought fast, and desperately. ‘It’s Huw’s fault,’ he said quickly. ‘I can’t go back to Dokuzen until I have some answers for the Elven Council. But Huw wants me to stay out here until the Forlish are defeated. He seeks to keep us from going to Dokuzen!’

  He watched with satisfaction as Rhiannon swung her attention to Huw.

  ‘Huw, is this true?’ she demanded.

  ‘We need his help and this is the only way to ensure he does not slip off to Dokuzen in the night, without either of us,’ Huw stated.

  ‘He would never do that! He is not some man, he is an elf — they only speak the truth!’

  Unseen behind her, Sendatsu winced.

  ‘Well, we shall be as quick as possible. But we cannot leave the people here to be killed by Ward’s Forlish, as he killed your father,’ Huw said craftily.

  Rhiannon clenched her fists. ‘No, you are right.’

  ‘And I want to go to Dokuzen as much as you. It is just a question of waiting a moon or two.’

  ‘True,’ Rhiannon agreed.

  ‘Then it is all settled?’ Huw smiled, his eyes firmly fixed on Sendatsu’s face.

  ‘It sounds like a plan!’ Rhiannon enthused. ‘And I have a wonderful idea for when we travel around the villages. We shall arrive and sing a song about Sendatsu, tell them he is here to help!’

  ‘What?’ Huw and Sendatsu asked together.

  ‘A song to announce him and praise him, tell everyone how he’s a hero, here to help them,’ she exclaimed. ‘We can start work on it tonight. Oh, I can just hear it in my head! We’ll sing it as we enter each village, let them know how lucky they are to have an elf to help them.’

  Huw ground his teeth. He knew he would not be able to sing Sendatsu’s praises. The words would choke him.

  Sendatsu instinctively shied away from this. But he had no choice, he just had to go along and pray he found a way out.

  ‘So what do we say?’ Rhiannon asked.

  ‘Fine,’ Huw grated, feeling Rhiannon’s eyes on him.

  ‘Perfect,’ Sendatsu lied.

  ‘That’s settled then!’ Rhiannon smiled.

  15

  The Magic-weavers were defeated, their power broken and their leaders either killed or forced to swear their lives to me. The shattered survivors were willing to do whatever asked of them. But, in Dokuzen, appearance is everything and my standing had been humbled by their revolt. The loss of several clan leaders, the death of my wife and the fact that they had dared to attack me had the people whispering: ‘The forefathers must have made a mistake’; I was ‘not strong enough to lead the people forwards’. The whispers were being led by my old friend Naibun. I trusted him to finish what I had begun. Instead he smiled to my face and worked behind
my back. Everything I did fell into his trap.

  When I mourned my wife he said I was weak. When I tried to lead the discussion he said I was distracted. And all the time he was murmuring that the forefathers were wrong. I had let the Magic-weavers nearly seize power. I was leaving the humans with the power to destroy us.

  I did not hear — but others listened.

  Huw had been worried the village would react badly to the news they were leaving. But while there was some concern, the spirit of the victory from yesterday allowed him to convince them this was the best thing to do.

  ‘The raiders are not going to come back here quickly — not after what we did to them!’ Huw told them, to roars of approval. ‘They have learned to fear us and instead will seek easier targets. That is why we must go, to help protect the other villages.’

  ‘Can’t we let them burn Crumlin to the ground first?’ Glyn called, which brought a gale of laughter.

  ‘That is what I fear they will do. And we cannot let that happen. So Sendatsu, Rhiannon and I will journey around Vales, trying to get to the villages before Ward’s raiders.’

  ‘But what about us? What if they come again?’ someone called. ‘Without the elf …’

  ‘You do not need the elf to defeat them any more! We shall have more than enough crossbows in a day or two so that we can post men — and women — around the entire wall,’ Huw fired back.

  ‘But what if they get inside the wall?’

  Sendatsu had been watching, sourly, as Huw spoke but now, with some prodding from Rhiannon, he stepped forwards. He could not see a way out of this and the knowledge was heavy on him.

  ‘We shall leave tomorrow so today I shall show you how to fight,’ he announced and felt a little sick as they cheered enthusiastically.

  It was not going to be enough. They needed months and years of training to take on the Forlish and what little he could teach in a day would merely allow them to survive a few heartbeats against a proper warrior. But he wanted to move on and, in that, Huw was in agreement with him — every day more of the Forlish raiders had to be arriving in Vales.