Cade turned and shared a look with Taliesin. Just as at Dinas Emrys.
“I suspect, however,” Siawn continued, “that there is a way down to the catacombs from inside Caer Dathyl, particularly from Teregad’s quarters.”
“So why do we delay?” Goronwy said. “The sun sets; Arawn awaits.”
Taliesin had finally risen and come to join them. “I used my staff to assist my arrival on shore. But now I’ve lost it. Perhaps we could find it if we looked.” Now that he was upright, he did look strange without his black cloak and staff. Cade hoped it wasn’t on the bottom of the sea with Rhiann’s bow.
Hywel and Dafydd immediately went to look for it, and it was just moments later that Dafydd came sprinting back, the staff upright in his hand.
“I found it!” Dafydd handed it to Taliesin, who patted him on the arm. The contrast between them was almost comical: Taliesin, so tall and thin, and Dafydd, his twin in height but easily twice Taliesin in weight.
Hywel trotted in behind him, holding a sealed water skin. He reached Cade and handed it to him. “We can share for now, and then refill it when we get to a stream. Given the rains, I’m sure Siawn can find us one nearby.”
“Good thinking,” Cade said. Because he didn’t need to drink water himself, he unsealed the lid and passed it to Rhiann, who took a short sip, and then another long one before passing it to Taliesin. She wiped her lips on the back of her hand.
“Are you ready?” Cade asked her.
She smiled. “Are any of us? But yes, I’m ready if you are.”
“Lead on, Siawn,” Cade said. “We’ll follow you.”
Goronwy and Rhun kicked sand over the fire and then everyone followed the trail Siawn had found. It wended up from the beach, circling around grassy hummocks and boulder outcroppings until it reached the flat farmland below the massive escarpment upon which Caer Dathyl perched.
The fort covered the whole expanse of the mountain above them, its stone walls encircling an area large enough to hold over one hundred huts, as well as craft halls, stables, and a keep. The fort had its own water source—a well springing from deep within the mountain—and since the road up to it was precipitous, it would be impossible to besiege, which is why they weren’t going to try.
Cade walked with Taliesin. “Math ap Mathonwy knew what he was about when he built his fort, didn’t he?”
Taliesin glanced at him. “I’m sure the fact that Arawn rules from his seat is causing turmoil in his heart in the Otherworld,” Taliesin said. “But I feel his will supporting us, for he also was a King of Gwynedd.”
When the companions came around the next corner, everyone hesitated in mid-stride, looking up at the looming fort with the same consternation Cade felt. Siawn led them off the track and under the trees beside it just as full darkness descended. The moon shone feebly, but no stars appeared. Nobody but Cade could see more than the faint outline of the others, and Rhiann clutched at his sleeve to make sure she even knew where he was.
Taliesin indicated the moon with his chin. “We are in Arawn’s domain now. He will know we are here. He veils the stars and will do everything in his power to stop us.”
“Arawn can do what he likes.” Goronwy rolled his shoulders, loosening his muscles. “He always does. We do what have to.”
“And what exactly do we have to do now?” Dafydd said.
“If I may make a suggestion, my lord?” Siawn said.
“Please,” Cade said.
“You can see in the dark, and some of us are without swords. If you, along with Goronwy, Dafydd, Hywel, and Bedwyr, search around the outside of the mountain for a way into the catacombs, then the other four—Rhun, Lady Rhiann, Taliesin, and I—can enter Caer Dathyl through the front gate, or even the postern entrance if I can convince someone to let us in that way.”
“You think that your familiar face puts you at an advantage?” Cade said. “That you have friends who will aid you; who don’t know of your imprisonment in Caer Ddu?”
“Yes,” Siawn said. “Or even if they did know that Teregad distrusts me, our people have never loved Teregad as they did our father. It may be, as well, that Teregad has told everyone that I’m dead, in which case, I will have some friends who will be happy to see me.”
“Unlike me,” Dafydd said, “who would be destined for the dungeon the moment the first guard saw my face.”
“Will they let you into the fort at this hour?” Rhun said.
“Travelers come and go into the evening,” Siawn said. “If we reach the summit within the hour, many of the fort’s villagers will still be out and about.”
“We’ll be disguised anyway,” Taliesin said.
Cade rocked back at the assurance in Taliesin’s voice. Taliesin ignored the impact of his words, instead lighting the end of his staff with a whisper, already accepting the plan as the best one available. He held the tip near the ground, illumining a small circle in the path. Even that little light was enough to bring some measure of comfort.
As they prepared to separate, Cade pulled Rhun away from Rhiann and Siawn. “Don’t wait for us,” Cade said, “and we won’t wait for you. Whichever group finds the entrance to the catacombs first needs to follow the path to its conclusion.”
“Agreed,” Rhun said. “What is your plan?”
“If such an entrance exists,” Cade said, “demons should be issuing from it. I suspect that nighttime will be the hours that they’ll do it.”
“Can you enter the catacombs without an invitation?”
“Demons are not human,” Cade said. “Nor are gods. Human rules don’t apply. I’ve discovered that in my wanderings.”
“I assume this is why you have acquiesced so easily to leaving Rhiann,” Rhun said. “You are worried about being left outside the fort were you to seek entrance, because it is Teregad himself who must admit you?”
“Leaving Rhiann?” Cade said.
“I’m neither an idiot nor blind,” Rhun said. “What’s more, I’m a married man. I understand that you are waiting until after this fight to declare yourself. I will care for her for you.”
Cade wasn’t going to argue with that. Taliesin, Alcfrith, and Rhun had all spoken to him of Rhiann, and he was beginning to hope that if they saw no difficulties in the relationship, provided he could actually touch her, perhaps he didn’t need to either. Even Rhiann might agree.
“What kind of demons are we talking about?” Hywel said from behind Rhun. “Horned devils? Hounds? Another sidhe?”
Cade looked past Rhun to answer him. “Not the last. I’m not worried about Arianrhod or one like her catching you unawares.”
“Be most alert for hounds accompanied by a great huntsman, clothed in gray, riding a gray horse,” Taliesin said. “The huntsman will be Arawn himself.”
“We’ll remember that.” Dafydd nodded his head up and down emphatically.
Rhiann had been gazing into the distance, but now she turned to Cade. He met her eyes and his heart warmed to see only concern in them. She no longer felt disgust at the sight of him, if she ever had. She clasped her hands in front of her lips as if in prayer and spoke over them. “I’m afraid.”
Cade hesitated, and then reached for her arm and pulled her to him. She clutched him around the waist. She felt so right, he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her, like he’d wanted to do so many times before. She spoke again, her words muffled by his shirt.
“It feels like a great weight is bearing down on us and it is only because all of us are carrying it together that it doesn’t crush us. If even one of us falters, I fear for the rest.”
“You’re here because you’ve earned the right,” Cade said. “Teregad is unlikely to suspect a woman is a danger to him. I don’t like the peril into which this puts us, but you have been strong and steady up until now—and smart. See that you continue to be so, and stay close to Taliesin.”
“Yes, Cade,” she said.
“Now go.” Cade released her.
She stepped back, nodded o
nce, and with Taliesin and his little light leading the way, she walked up the trail and out of sight.
Chapter Five
Rhiann
Instead of the fear that had settled permanently into her belly, Rhiann chose to focus on her soaring heart. So Cade was sidhe. I don’t care! I don’t care! Despite the fact that she was walking away from him, she could still feel his arms around her, warming her body with the memory of it.
“I’m not sure we even need your light, Taliesin,” Rhun said from behind Rhiann. They had traveled nearly halfway up the trail to Caer Dathyl which blazed above them, every torch on the ramparts lit and casting light and shadows on the ground outside the walls. Occasional lights also shone from inside the farmsteads below the trail, as a croft holder entered or exited his home. Rhiann was glad of it. She hadn’t ever told Cade how much she didn’t like the dark. Besides. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Only the minions of Arawn, rising through his cauldron to walk the earth.
Rhiann followed second in line, holding her skirts up with one hand so she wouldn’t trip on the hem. Siawn was directly behind her and Rhun brought up the rear. Taliesin stopped abruptly and put a hand on her arm. “Hold.” He put out his unneeded light. Whistling came up the trail from behind them.
“This is your moment, friend,” Rhun said to Siawn. “Get us in.”
“I thought you’d disguised us,” Siawn said to Taliesin.
“Not yet,” he said.
Siawn turned, waiting on the whistler who at that moment came around the bend below them. At the sight of the four friends standing together in the dark, he stopped short. He raised the torch he held higher, studying them; then recognition crossed his face.
“My lord!” he said. “Father Siawn, I mean. You’ve returned!”
“Hello, Berwyn,” Siawn said. The man hurried forward to greet him and Siawn stepped past Rhun with his hand out. They shook firmly and then Siawn leaned forward to rest a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It is good to see you.”
“I didn’t expect to ever see you again!” Berwyn said.
“Oh,” Siawn said, clearly nonplussed, and dropped his hand. “Why ... why not?”
“Your brother put out that you’d gone to live in a hermit cell in the mountains to the east, in Snowdonia,” Berwyn said. “He implied that you had settled on it as your purpose in life; that you’d received your calling.”
“I see,” Siawn said. “Perhaps he misunderstood, for it was never my intent to stay away forever.”
“Well that’s sounds more like the Siawn I know.” Berwyn clapped him on the back.
“So you’ll understand if I would prefer not to let him know I’m here, right off?” Siawn turned and urged him a few steps up the trail. “Not until I’ve figured out the lay of the land, so to speak?”
“Not a problem,” Berwyn said. “We certainly have a long history of sneaking in the fort after dark, don’t we?”
That prompted the rest of the companions to give Siawn the once over. Rhun, in particular, grinned to hear Berwyn’s comment. It sounded like he and Siawn had more in common than they’d thought, as Rhun had done quite a bit of sneaking about with Cade, only a fraction of which Rhiann had heard about.
“We certainly do,” Siawn said. “The fort looks very different from when I last saw it.”
Berwyn stopped to look at him, and then the other companions, puzzled. “Does it? I wouldn’t say so.”
“The ... stone,” Siawn said. “There didn’t use to be quite so much of it.”
Berwyn laughed and began to walk again. “The walls are a little higher perhaps. Otherwise, it’s the same. You’ll see.”
Siawn nodded, but didn’t look at Berwyn. “I’ve been away too long, I guess.”
“I can say one thing,” Berwyn said. “With you gone, Caer Dathyl is not as hospitable as it once was.”
“Teregad didn’t ask you to step into your father’s shoes, did he?” Siawn said. “With our fathers gone, the castle is without both its steward and its lord.”
“No,” Berwyn said. “Teregad has no love for me, and I certainly would never seek to serve him. He runs things his own way.”
“You were always my friend,” Siawn said. “My sense is that Teregad looks right past you and never sees you at all.”
“Which is just how I like it,” Berwyn said. “In two weeks’ time I marry my lovely Brynne of Penrhyn Mawr. I’ve promised her father I will make my home with him, as he has no sons.”
“Good for you!” Siawn said. “I had no idea things had progressed that far with Brynne’s family.”
Berwyn smiled with satisfaction. “Two more weeks, friend. I’m only here another day or two and then I travel south. Will you come with me when I go? I would have your blessing on our marriage.”
Siawn glanced at Rhun and then back to Berwyn. “You have my blessing now,” Siawn said, “but if all goes well with my brother, I will come with you.”
“Excellent,” Berwyn said. “Let’s get moving before anyone else comes along.” Berwyn had eased past Rhun, Taliesin, and Rhiann and now took up the lead with Siawn beside him. He glanced back at Taliesin. “What brings you folks to Caer Dathyl?”
Rhiann had no answer to that, as lying had never been a particular ability of hers, but Berwyn didn’t seem to expect it. It was Taliesin who plunged ahead.
“We encountered Siawn in the mountains a week ago. We were traveling west ahead of a horde of Saxons and we thought it best to stick together. I’m a bard and Siawn was kind enough to offer us the hospitality of your fort.”
“A bard you say?” Berwyn said. “That is good news, for we’ve been without one for some time. The absence of singing makes the evenings very long.”
“What of your previous one?” Taliesin said. “Wasn’t Aneirin his name?”
“Teregad ordered him out within days of Lord Iaen’s death,” Berwyn said. “He sang elegies to Lord Iaen, of course, but then he composed a series of songs to the son of the Pendragon, Cadwaladr. A relation of yours, I think?”
“That is correct,” Siawn said. “He is my cousin.”
“So he’s Teregad’s cousin too,” Berwyn said. “Regardless, Teregad didn’t like it one bit and threw the bard out on his lyre.”
“He sang about Cadwaladr?” Rhiann said, unable to resist the question. “Of what did he sing?”
“Of the death of Cadwallon and the great deeds Lord Cadwaladr will do when he comes into his inheritance,” Berwyn said. “Aneirin seemed to think Cadwaladr would follow in his father’s footsteps and save us from our enemies.”
“And well he might,” Taliesin said. “Perhaps that was Teregad’s objection? That he seeks such an honor for himself?”
“There is no doubt of that,” Berwyn said. “He has brought strangers to Caer Dathyl and the blacksmiths create new weapons and armor for his soldiers every day. He is preparing for war, but he also has far more weapons than men to use them.”
“Do you know what he’s planning?” Siawn said.
Berwyn shook his head. “You’ll see when we get there. Maybe you can ask him.”
Fifty yards on, they turned a corner and confronted the vast fort that was Caer Dathyl. It stretched hundreds of feet across the top of the plateau on which it was built, encircled by a stone wall at least twenty feet high.
“I will enter through the front gate,” Berwyn said. “The four of you can circle around to the postern gate and I’ll let you in when I can.”
They nodded.
“It may be a while,” Berwyn said, over his shoulder.
“We’ll wait,” Siawn said. “It’s not particularly cold.”
It wasn’t. Although she could have used a cloak to take the edge off the breeze that was blowing this high up the mountain, thanks to the fire Cade had built, Rhiann’s clothes had dried from the dunking in the ocean. What she felt most was a burning hunger in her belly. As a princess, even a bastard one, she’d never gone hungry except as punishment. Come to think on it, she’d spent mo
re time being hungry since she’d met Cade than in her entire previous life.
“Come on, Bard,” Siawn said, meaning Taliesin. Siawn led them back down the hill a few paces and then departed from the trail to follow the stone wall.
“I am a bard,” Taliesin said, his voice mild. “I can sing.”
Rhun released a low chuckle. “Among other things.”
Taliesin didn’t dare light his staff, so the companions found themselves stumbling over unseen rocks and hollows in the ground. Rhiann followed Siawn’s lead, resting her right hand on the stones of the wall as they walked around it. The postern gate lay on the other side of a large protruding rock that they had to scramble around and then over.
“No one could ever take this place by force,” Rhun said. “We’d need an army with shields to navigate the pathway, and then a battering ram to bring down the gate. Even then, we’d only get through the gateway one at a time.”
“No one ever has attempted it,” Siawn said. “You know as well as I that deception is always the best way—and sometimes the only way—to enter a fort like this.”
“Much like when Dafydd and I shot the Saxons,” Rhiann said. “A few can hold off many if the circumstances are right.”
“Which is why we’re doing it this way,” Taliesin said.
They reached the postern gate and settled down on either side of it against the wall. Rhiann pulled the edge of her skirt over her feet and wrapped her arms around her knees.
“Can you explain something to me, Taliesin?” Rhiann canted her head to the side and rested her cheek on one knee. She could just make him out by the reflected light of the torches that lit the inside of the fort.
“I can try.”
“Does Cade believe we can stop Arawn?”
Taliesin looked over at her and when he spoke, Rhiann heard something that sounded like pity in his voice. “I think he actually does. He believes in good, and that if he aligns himself with the light, he cannot fail.”
“But you aren’t so sure,” Rhiann said, not as a question, knowing it.
“I believe in Cadwaladr,” Taliesin said. “That’s why I’m here. And because of Cadwaladr, despite all recent evidence to the contrary, I believe that we’re not alone in this.”
Song of the Pendragon (The Last Pendragon Saga Book 3) Page 5