by Lowri Thomas
‘My grandmother.’ Glyn-Guinea began re-buttoning his shirt. ‘I added a few when I got older – you can’t be too protected.’
Awel smiled in spite of herself as she nodded her whimsical agreement. ‘Are all of you covered so?’
Between shaking of heads and unbuttoning of shirts, the men displayed their chests, only the Triskelion brand marked them as Chosen. The mark of Arawn was not on any of them; even Nissyen bared his withered silver-white chest to prove his innocence.
‘Do you wish me to bare my chest too?’ Awel enquired with all sincerity. They all chorused ‘No’ and some even looked embarrassed at the proposition. She was always surprised by the Chosen’s modesty and prudery when it came to the naked body.
Saw-Bones Selwyn was leaning over Cai, checking his pulse. Clearing his throat, he nodded down to the unconscious initiate. ‘What are we to do with him?’ he asked the gathering, ‘Should we at least tie him up, or something?’
‘Take him to the barn and tie him up.’ Glyn-Guinea was on his feet, leaning over the table with a grim smile. ‘And when he comes round we’ll find out what he knows.’
Elder Nissyen nodded his agreement. ‘There will be no need to bind his hands together; his is only an initiate, he was yet to receive the gift of Derwydd yn tân.’ He turned his attention to Glyn-Guinea. ‘He should be watched and when he regains consciousness I would like to be the one to interrogate him.’ Glyn-Guinea dipped his head, deferring to Elder Nissyen.
‘Don’t just stand there!’ Glyn-Guinea growled. ‘Dai, Gwyn, get him to the barn then.’
Awel ducked through the doorway and into the hallway allowing Dai and Gwyn room to manoeuvre Cai’s limp body, Bara tagged along, sniffing and growling. Selwyn opened the back door and looked both ways before trotting ahead to open the barn doors. Dai and Gwyn shuffled behind him and all three vanished into the dark interior of the barn.
Now there were only two in the kitchen, Glyn-Guinea used the moment to rearrange the space, dragging the chairs from around the table and placing them along the back wall in front of the Aga. He then dragged the table into the middle. ‘Excuse me, Ma’am.’ He limped past Awel and disappeared into the living room, returning moments later carrying an oak settle in his arms. ‘Excuse me again, Ma’am.’ He squeezed past Awel and put the settle down. ‘A seat for you. Better than craning your neck against the ceiling.’ He smiled as he offered her the settle. Awel sat down gracefully, leaning her staff up against the wall and removing her satchel to lay it at her feet.
The kitchen was warm and tranquil, softly illuminated with candles. Awel was grateful Gwyn had turned off all the electricity in the house as she settled back to wait their return. Nissyen skirted past the table and pulled a chair to the side of the table, directly central between herself and the Chosen. Glyn-Guinea frowned as Nissyen took his seat.
A cold breeze announced the return of the men. Awel heard a key grating in its lock and the house was once again secured. Dai, Gwyn and Selwyn shuffled into the kitchen, taking in the new arrangement and sitting in their seats next to Glyn-Guinea.
‘He’s out cold,’ Dai announced. ‘We’ve tied him up good and proper and locked the barn door. We’ll check on him every half hour or so.’
A strange silence settled on the kitchen once they were all seated. Each looked to the other to restart the conversation, eager to begin what they were all here for. Awel took control and began to speak. ‘And so it begins.’ She folded her hands into her lap and met every man’s eye. ‘Already I wonder whether we are too late. Arawn grows ever stronger and yet he also grows weaker … Before I continue, you all must understand what our objective is, and it is this: we are to work together, united – a Triskele within a Triskele. We feed what we discover back to Maen-Du and the Host via Elder Nissyen here.’ He nodded his acknowledgement. Glyn-Guinea grumbled.
‘We must work together – united.’ Her tone was sharp and directed at Glyn-Guinea who chewed on his unlit pipe with a grimace, but finally he conceded. Awel was satisfied. ‘We must succeed where the Triskele has failed – we work together as one.’
All nodded their agreement. ‘This also includes working with a number of other people joined to our cause … this includes a select few women from the Chosen families ...’
Elder Nissyen’s jaw dropped. ‘The Triskele does not include woman.’ He huffed and squirmed in his seat.
‘And yet here I am.’ Awel leaned forward to press her point.
‘You are different,’ he countered, ‘you are Bwy Hir.’
‘And yet a female none the less.’ She forced her argument. ‘I will have my way on this Elder Nissyen. We need their help.’
Nissyen clenched his jaw, the colour in his cheeks rising with his discomfort. ‘As you will, but I will not have direct contact with the women you select, that must be left to the Chosen men.’
Awel accepted his compromise. ‘Agreed. Now, our mission is two-fold; we must discover where Arawn is based and what he plans, but most importantly of all, not only for their sake, but for the sake of every living thing, we must find Anwen Morgan and her son and return them to the Dell with all haste.’
‘I don’t know where she is, Awel,’ Gwyn piped up, ‘I keep tellin’ everyone but no-one is listening. I haven’t the first clue.’ He raised his palms and shrugged his shoulders.
‘That is why you and I are going to find her, Gwyn, while the others remain here searching for Arawn and his ilk. If we know where he is, find out his intentions, we will be armed to countermand him and keep him from Anwen until she is found and returned to safety.’ Awel turned and spoke directly to Selwyn. ‘I knew your cousin very well as I knew her mother before her. Mary was a bright light in a dark world. You have my deepest sympathies.’ She bowed from her waist and he mumbled his thanks. ‘Mary answered my call and protected Anwen, I hope this was not the cause for the fire that destroyed her.’
Saw-Bones Selwyn cleared his throat. ‘I won’t know that until I reach London. I plan to leave on the first train tomorrow morning. I will report everything back to Liz. If I find anything that can help you locate Anwen, Liz will be the first to know – if there is anything left of the flat, I haven’t been told how bad it was yet.’
Awel closed her eyes for a moment, reopening them to focus on Glyn-Guinea. ‘So, what do you have for us?’
‘Same thing I offered the Druids, but they chose to ignore it.’ He gave Nissyen a sly glare.
‘But we do not,’ Awel chided. ‘Show me what you discovered.’
‘Right ‘O.’ Glyn-Guinea got to his feet and re-spread the map over the kitchen table. Awel leaned forward and Glyn-Guinea began to explain. ‘See, these are the abandoned farms.’ He ran his fingers over the map and pointed at various circles as he spoke. ‘Here, the sheep are all gone, all the larders emptied and the farm abandoned.’
‘Did the people leave of their own accord?’ Awel leaned in to study the lay of the land.
‘Nope.’ Glyn-Guinea shook his head. ‘Doors unlocked, clothes still hanging in the wardrobes and the place has a ransacked look about it … I think they were taken or killed.’
‘Did you find any bodies?’ Nissyen pulled his chair further in to study the farm locations.
‘No. Not that I hung ‘round too long, but there are acres and acres to discard a body on those slopes. I could have spent days searching and found nothing.’
‘Seekers and Helgi could though.’ Nissyen rubbed his chin. ‘I will see a full search is carried out around each of these farms.’ Glyn-Guinea nodded his thanks.
Awel tilted her head as she studied the maps. ‘Explain to me, show me where we are now on this map.’ Glyn-Guinea obliged by stabbing a gnarled finger on their location. ‘And where is Maen-Ddu?’ He dragged his finger across the map and pointed. ‘And where is Mynydd Gelli?’ Glyn-Guinea studied the map a moment and then pointed out its location. ‘Thank you. I can understand now – your maps are very different from ours.’ She gave a wan smile, again noting another
difference between Bwy Hir and Humans. ‘Gwrnach tells me the rivers are fouled … here.’ She placed her long, elegant finger on the map. ‘Elder Nissyen, it may be well worth tracing this river’s source and seeing what is discovered.’
‘I will see to it.’ Nissyen stood. ‘I will check on Cai - a moment please.’ He excused himself from the table. The Chosen watched him leave and then Glyn-Guinea leaned towards the kitchen window and slowly pulled back the corner of the curtain.
‘Do you not trust him?’ Awel enquired, without looking up from the map.
Glyn-Guinea snorted as he dropped the curtain back into place. ‘Just checking there’s no-one else out there, that’s all.’
‘I would know if there were others near.’ Awel lifted her eyes as Glyn-Guinea re-joined the table. ‘I have little love for the Druids – that is well documented, but I believe Elder Nissyen can be trusted … that is why I chose him.’
Glyn-Guinea chewed at his pipe stem and met Awel’s stare. ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’
She smiled. ‘Please do, before we all discover which is stronger, your teeth or your pipe.’
Gwyn and Dai chuckled as Glyn-Guinea pulled on his pipe.
Suddenly Awel’s head spun towards the window, her face showing alarm. ‘Derwydd yn tân,’ she hissed. The Chosen sprang into action, flying from the room, throwing open the door and spilling into yard.
Nissyen was leaning heavily against the barn door, the arm of his robes smouldering as he clutched his arm to his chest. He turned to face them, wide eyed with shock. ‘He had Derwydd yn tân – he used it against me!’ he stammered. ‘How can he have Derwydd yn tân, he is only an initiate?’
‘Selwyn, take him inside.’ Glyn-Guinea pushed past Nissyen to peer inside the barn. Cai was sprawled in the straw littering the barn floor, a charred, smouldering hole opened his chest cavity, oozing at its quarterised edges. His eyes were open and dull. ‘He’s dead,’ Glyn-Guinea grunted. ‘And your damn barn is on fire, Gwyn … again.’
Dai grabbed a pitchfork and began dragging the smouldering straw out of the barn as Gwyn ran to fetch the hose from the reel outside the barn, turned on the tap and dragged the hose into the barn, dousing the small flames flaring up in the dry bales.
Awel emerged from the house, her head swivelled from left to right, slightly tipped to one side as if listening. Across one shoulder she carried her satchel and in one hand her staff. Bara trotted beside her. ‘We must leave.’ She spoke to Gwyn, her voice was low and urgent. ‘The others know what they must do and we must be gone.’
‘Go where?’ Gwyn discarded the hosepipe. ‘I can’t just up and leave now.’
‘We must leave now, Gwyn.’ Awel stooped to look into Gwyn’s eyes. ‘There is nothing here for you; you are Gwaradwyddedig, nothing has changed that. We must find Anwen.’
Gwyn rubbed his hands through his hair, ‘I’ll need to pack a few things-’
‘Now, Gwyn. We leave now.’ Awel spun on her heel. Turning her back on Gwyn she hurried towards the lane away from the farmhouse.
‘Go.’ Dai gave Gwyn a gentle shove. ‘I’ll take care of things here, just go.’
Gwyn felt cut adrift, but he ambled after Awel with Bara in tow. Dai watched them vanish into the night before closing the barn doors, sealing the Druid initiate inside and returning to the farmhouse. ‘God speed,’ he whispered.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Taliesin was restless, even the great library could not sooth him, no tome could hold his attention, no scroll could inspire his interest. He sighed heavily.
‘You look tired.’ Celyn-Bach sat down and slid across the worn oak bench Taliesin was slumped on.
‘And yet I can find no rest.’ Taliesin sighed again as he released the scroll he was holding and allowed it to snap shut.
‘What ails you brother?’ Celyn-Bach rested his elbows on the huge weathered table set in the centre of the room, positioned to gain as much natural light as possible from the narrow stained glass windows set in the natural rock that encased the library.
‘Something and nothing, everything and naught all at once … I can find no peace Celyn, I don’t know what is wrong with me.’ Taliesin folded his hands in his lap. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong. I just feel … wrong.’
Celyn-Bach allowed the silence to stretch between them. Taliesin had been drifting listlessly around the Halls for days, sullen and withdrawn, even Aeron had noticed a change in his son’s mood. Celyn-Bach smiled sympathetically at Taliesin’s melancholy. ‘Perhaps Awel should have taken you with her and got you out of these Halls.’
Taliesin perked up,.‘Awel? You have news of her?’
Celyn shook his head. ‘Nothing yet, nothing of where she is at least, but Nissyen has returned with dark news that has sent your father into a fury. This is why I am here, your father has called the Host to attend him, you included.’
Taliesin creased his brow. ‘Is he angry with Awel?’
Again Celyn-Bach shook his head. ‘No – at least not yet, but it does concern her. Come, let your father explain.’
They stood up together and silently left the library. Druids turned their heads to watch them leave, curious of what had passed between the two Bwy Hir.
The Druids’ position was becoming increasingly tenuous, not only were they held with distain by the majority of the Chosen, but they were becoming increasingly shunned by those they served; the Bwy Hir were distant, distrustful and withdrawn. ‘The Triskele unravels,’ whispered one young initiate to another as they restacked the shelves.
‘Hold your tongue!’ Elder Tomas, Aeron’s Councillor barked from behind them, causing the two to jump and drop their books. ‘How dare you speak so?’ He wagged a finger at the one who had spoken. ‘Get you to my office and wait for my return, I have no time to deal with you now, but deal with you I will – be gone.’
The initiate dropped his head and scuttled from the library, his brethren watched on silently. Elder Tomas checked his temper and straightened his shoulders before stalking after the young Druid. In the hallway he turned in the opposite direction from his office. Let the boy wait and consider his fate, he said to himself. He did not have time to deal with petty incidents; he really was far too busy and even before he joined the Bwy Hir in Aeron’s chamber, he had to check on the Hall of Mirrors and gather the reports from the Watchers. Elder Tomas groaned. He was getting too old to be running around Maen-Ddu like a young buck, too old to deal with the terrible calamities faced by his brethren and the Triskele. He groaned again as he reached the staircase leading to the upper floors and the Bwy Hir residences before putting one foot on the first step and beginning to ascend the flights of stone steps. Perhaps he should visit the physician and get another infusion to perk him up; he really was getting very, very tired.
‘Ho, Elder Tomas!’ Gwrnach called up from the bottom of the stairway. He was soaking wet, as was usual of late, his shaggy beard dripped water onto his bare chest, down onto his sopping leggings and onto the stone floor to puddle at his bare feet.
‘Lord Gwrnach.’ Elder Tomas waited as Gwrnach took the stairs two at a time. ‘I see you have been visiting the river again.’
Gwrnach slowed as he reached Elder Tomas and they ascended the final flight together. ‘Yes, indeed I have.’ He nodded solemnly. ‘A terrible state they are in too. More otters dead, scores of fish lying rotting on the banks, even the heron won’t touch them.’
‘What is causing it?’ Elder Tomas asked concernedly.
‘I do not know.’ Gwrnach shook his head, absently spraying droplets of icy water onto Elder Tomas. ‘I can find no cause, but what I do know is it getting worse … I worry for us all. If the waters becoming foul then it is a disaster, without water …’ He left the rest unsaid.
‘Do you know Aeron has called a meeting?’ Elder Tomas enquired as he wiped the wetness from his face.
‘I do now.’ Gwrnach smiled jovially as he clapped Elder Tomas on the shoulder, his misery forgotten for the moment. ‘Come on then,’ he
said, quickening his pace again and taking the steps two at a time one more, ‘what are you waiting for?’ He chuckled as he left Elder Tomas behind to mount the steps at his own pace.
By the time Elder Tomas reached Aeron’s anti chamber all the Host were gathered. Gwydion, Gryff, Brenig, Llud, Bran and Cadno had arranged themselves around the fireplace. Gwrnach had joined Celyn-Bach and Taliesin and they were pouring themselves refreshments from a large earthenware jug.
‘Come by the fire, Gwrnach,’ Cadno called, ‘Aeron is furious - you’ll freeze if he stares at you being as wet as you are!’ There were titters and chuckles among the Host that were silenced as Aeron entered the room.
‘I am indeed furious, Cadno.’ Aeron’s cold stare took in the entire room. ‘And not without cause … Sit,’ he ordered those still standing. ‘We await two guests; I would have you hear their news first hand.’
The Host was awash with concerned faces; even Cadno had lost his smirk as they sat silently waiting. Aeron took his seat nearest the fire, ignoring the room and instead focusing on the flickering flames dancing along the seasoned logs.
A small knock announced their guests and Elder Tomas hastened to admit them. Elder Nissyen and Glyn-Guinea entered the room. Elder Tomas ushered them to stand in front of the gathering where they stood side by side before bowing.
Aeron bowed his head in acknowledgement of their respect. ‘You all know Elder Nissyen,’ he said, waving his hand towards the Chosen man, ‘and this is Glyn Williams, known as Glyn-Guinea, Elder of the Chosen.’ The Host nodded their welcome. ‘They bring us dark news. News I would have you all hear firsthand.’ He nodded to Elder Nissyen to begin.
Nissyen’s arm was in a sling after a visit to the sanatorium. Glyn-Guinea had driven Nissyen all the way to the mountain and practically carried him to the Maen-Du entrance. He had even waited with him in the sanatorium. Despite their longstanding dislike for one another, there was now a mutual respect between them. ‘The Elder Chosen should speak first, he knows much more than I.’