The Bwy Hir Complete Trilogy (18 page)

‘And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,’

‘Tell me where!’

‘Begotten of the Father before all worlds
…’ Her breath was coming in shallow gasps, her head was swimming.

‘You will tell me now, witch, where will she go?’ Afagddu grabbed Nerys’ hair and yanked her head back mercilessly to stare into her eyes.

‘Go to hell,
Gigfran
,’ Nerys spat.

‘Ladies first.’ With a terrible grin Afagddu placed his hands around Nerys’ neck and began to mercilessly strangle the last breaths from her body.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

The Druid hounds were the first to reach Gwyn as he knelt beside the still form of his father. He had nearly missed his father lying under the tree as a flock of sheep had gathered around him to share his shelter.

Gwyn had rushed to his father’s side. Dafydd looked asleep, cosy and warm with his hands tucked in his pockets and his jacket pulled tight. ‘Dad?’ Gwyn shook his father gently
. ‘Dad, wake up.’

Bara pawed and licked at her master but Dafydd remained unconscious. Gwyn felt panic rising within, he needed to get help. He spun towards the house
.
Too far,
he decided. ‘Help! Help!’ he yelled into the night. ‘For the love of light, someone help!’ But no-one came, no-one was there. He knelt down next to his father and pulled him in an embrace. Dafydd’s head lulled to the side and Gwyn grabbed to hold his father safe. He rocked his father back and forth talking to him. ‘Dad, come on, I can’t carry you. Please wake up.’

Gwyn realised he was crying but he didn’t care, he felt helpless and confused. He scrunched his eyes tight and prayed, ‘God, please help, please help, oh please.’

Gwyn’s eyes snapped open as he heard a distant shout, he lifted his head and yelled at the top of his lungs, ‘Help! Over here! Help!’ He spun his head left and right, squinting into the darkness as silver slashes of rain sliced through the inky night, making it impossible to see further than a few feet outside the oak tree’s canopy.

Gwyn heard an answering call and spotted the first torchlight heading towards him
. ‘Here over here!’ he yelled. Two large shadowy figures padded in the shadows just out of sight. Gwyn knew what they were, who they must be with. ‘It’s alright Dad,’ Gwyn jostled his father, ‘help’s coming.’

Bara was whining and growling, her hackle
s raised as she stood over her master protecting him from the two sniffing, snarling Helgi that padded around the tree waiting for their masters.

The hounds
’ Keepers were next into the shelter, quickly followed by Dai Jones, Trevor Ellis and Bryn Wisgi, all panting to catch their breath.

Gwyn pulled Bara away from Dafydd as the two
Druids knelt down to either side of him, their eyes were full of concern as they looked to Gwyn. ‘Your father lives, Dafydd of Ty Mawr, but his pulse is weak, help us to lift him, we must get him home.’ They motioned for the other men to help.

The eldest of the
Druids removed his cloak and instructed them to use it as a makeshift stretcher for Dafydd. Dai Jones removed his jacket and used it to shield Dafydd’s face and body from the worst of the rain as they made a dash towards the house, Gwyn running ahead with Bara at his heels.

As they approached the house Gwyn began shouting for Nerys and Anwen but no
-one came to meet him. He hesitated as he reached the yard, he could see the back door was swinging open, the lights in the house were blazing but there was no sign of the women.

‘Anwen? Nerys?’ Gwyn called as he approached the door
. Bara was straining at her leash, scraping her nails as she fought for purchase on the stone slabs. ‘Anwen, where are you? Nerys?’ he called, as he entered the house.

Gwyn stood dumbfounded
- where had they gone? The kitchen was empty, the whole house felt empty.

‘Make way!’ shouted
Dai Jones, as he bustled in backwards through the door almost running into Gwyn.

‘Come on, come on!’ yelled Bryn Wisgi from outside, ‘What’s the hold up?’

‘Get him in, get him in!’ Dai Jones yelled back, pulling on the cloak. ‘On the sofa, quick as you can!’ he directed, as he led the way down the hall.

‘Where’s Anwen and Nerys
– Gwyn?’ Dai Jones shouted from the living room.

‘I don’t know.’ Gwyn began to make a search of the house, ‘Anwen! Nerys!’ he yelled
, as he bolted upstairs dragging Bara behind him. He flung open every door. ‘Anwen! Anwen!’ he called out desperately. He trapped Bara in his father’s room and left her whining and scratching at the door before meeting Dai in the hallway. ‘She’s not down here, Gwyn. Go to your father, I’ll check the barns.’

Dai
rushed past the Druids and headed for the outbuildings. He skirted around the two huge hounds waiting patiently at the back door, their heads hanging low, and accepting the rain as it pelted them.

He called Anwen’s and Nerys’ name in turn, shouting at the top of his voice,
and checked every nook and cranny of every barn, shed and outbuilding, but he returned to the house empty handed. ‘There’s no sign of them, Gwyn. Where the hell did they get to?’

Trevor
was trying the phone line again, tapping the hook with a muddy finger, listening for a dial tone, but the line was still dead. ‘I’ll have to go back to the village, to call the doctor.’  He checked with the two Druids, they looked at each other once and then nodded in his direction.

‘We must return and tell our brethren that Dafydd Morgan is found, but two are lost! You have two women missing, yes?’ the elder one asked Gwyn
, as he stepped from the living room.

‘Yes, we can’t find them.’

‘Did they go in search of your father?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘These are strange circumstances indeed. We must go. May we use your mirror?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘We can do nothing for your father, unless you wish us to send a Druid physician? We are sure the brethren will help you as they can.’ Gwyn shook his head and so the two Druids retrieved their two Helgi from outside and silently slipped into the front room.

‘Trevor has gone for the doctor.’
Dai gently closed the back door and led Gwyn into the living room, kindly sitting him down in a chair near the fire. Dafydd’s breathing was soft but steady as he lay on the sofa covered in thick, warm blankets. ‘Help is on its way, Gwyn,’ Bryn Wisgi said, as he hovered around the fireplace chewing his nails.

‘This is all wrong!’ Gwyn put his head in his hands
. ‘It’s all wrong! Everything was fine when I left for the fields this morning, everyone was here and happy, it’s all gone wrong!’ He hunched his shoulders, screwed his eyes shut and forced his tears to stay behind his eyelids.

‘Calm down, Gwyn. The doctor is on his way and the two women are probably stumbling around a field up to their knees in mud. They’ll
be back soon.’

The lights dimmed momentarily and
Dai stood up, motioning for Gwyn to stay where he was. Bryn Wisgi stayed with him watching over Dafydd. Dai walked into the hallway, opened the door to the front room and shut himself inside.

‘Well this is a shock and no mistake
,’ Bryn said, eying the drinks cabinet.

‘Help yourself.’ Gwyn waved a hand towards the mahogany glass cabinet where Dafydd stored the assortment of spirits that had been bought or received over the years but never finished.

Bryn Wisgi-by-name-Whiskey-by-nature poured himself a sturdy glass of amber coloured cognac, savouring the rich oaky aroma. He sipped slowly, rolling it around his mouth before swallowing, enjoying the heat as it warmed him from within.

The sound of a car pulling up outside caught Bryn’s attention and
, carrying his glass in one hand he went to see who the visitor was, returning with Dr Selwyn Evans, affectionately known as Sawbone-Selwyn to the locals.

He heard low whispering and then the doctor entered behind Bryn Wisgi who had the sense to leave the room again when the doctor knelt beside Dafydd.

He dipped his head to Gwyn and got straight down to business. Dafydd had been stripped of his wet clothes and lay naked under the blankets. Dr Evans made quick work of checking for lumps and bumps all over Dafydd’s body. He lifted each of Dafydd’s eyelids, flashing a tiny torch back and forth. He listened to his heart through his stethoscope, took his blood pressure and then began repacking his black leather bag with care.

‘Is he alright,
doc?’ Gwyn asked tentatively.

‘No, Gwyn, I’m afraid he is not
,’ Dr Evans answered with a sigh. ‘It looks like a stroke to me, but we won’t know for certain until we can get him to the hospital … I’ll go back to the village and make the call from there. I’ll send an ambulance.’

Gwyn felt numb. He shook the doctor’s hand and saw him to the door, noticing the rain had slackened and the wind had finally receded to a light breeze.
Anwen
,
Nerys, where are you?
Gwyn felt very alone and very afraid. His father lay unconscious in the living room, Anwen and Nerys were nowhere to be found.
What happened Anwen, what’s going on Nerys? You promised to stay inside. What shall I do?

Gwyn stepped out into the yard and let the drizzle cover him, he felt the hairs on his arms rise as his body cooled and his head momentarily cleared.
This has something to do with the Bwy Hir,
he thought suddenly,
and Dad says you can’t trust a Druid, so they’ll be in it too. Are they going to do me in too? Is Anwen already dead? Is Nerys? I need to act stupid, act dumb, I don’t know anything, perhaps then they’ll leave us be. Please God, let Dad get better, let Nerys and Anwen turn up so I can shout at them for buggering off … I don’t want to be on my own.

‘Gwyn!’ Bryn’s panicked voice shot through the silence, ‘Your father’s stirring!’

Gwyn rushed to his father’s side. Dafydd was slowly moving his head from side to side, his eyelids flickered and a low moan escaped his lips.

‘I’m here, Dad.’ Gwyn gripped his father’s hand, but Dafydd grew still again, his breathing slowed and he remained as if asleep. Gwyn dropped his head and rested it on his father’s shoulder, still gripping his hand.

‘But that’s a good sign, isn’t it?’ Bryn stammered as he peered over Gwyn’s shoulder.
God, please let it be so
, Gwyn prayed.

Dai
shuffled into the room and Bryn busied himself adding logs to the fire. ‘Gwyn, we need some clothes of Anwen’s and Nerys’.’ Dai’s voice was full of compassion.

Gwyn raised his head
. ‘Why?’

Dai
tipped his head towards the front room. ‘They’re going to send the hounds out to try and find them.’

Gwyn’s eyebrows knotted together.

‘No, no, Gwyn, you misunderstand me. They’re going to try and find them, bring ‘em back safe an’ sound …’ He left it unsaid.

Gwyn relaxed
. ‘I’ll go fetch something.’ He released his father’s hand and stood up. ‘I need to let Bara out, she’ll be chewing Dad’s bedroom to pieces.’

Dai
and Bryn gave Gwyn encouraging smiles as he left to go upstairs. ‘What a bloody mess,’ Dai said, shaking his head.

‘Do you know what’s going on?’ Bryn asked
, eying the doorway.

‘No
-one’s got a clue. The Druids are as perplexed as the rest of us. My heart goes out to the boy, with Dafydd being in such a bad way. He doesn’t need the girls wandering off in the middle of the night.’

‘I’ll be glad to get home
,’ Bryn grumbled, as he poured himself another drink, ‘this house gives me the creeps, too much death and disaster in its history.’ Bryn shivered.

‘Don’t be talking that way in front of the boy – here he is.’ Bara entered first, sniffing and wagging her tail, she went straight to Dafydd and sat next to him on the floor, leaning her head to rest on Dafydd’s shoulder
. Gwyn followed carrying one of Anwen’s favourite jumpers and a cardigan belonging to Nerys. He was reluctant to surrender them to Dai as he didn’t want the Druids mauling them.

‘I’ll see you get them back, Gwyn,’
Dai said reassuringly. ‘Nerys will be furious if we let these clothes get all spoiled,’ he added, trying to sound light-hearted.

Gwyn passed the clothes to
Dai and he carried it off back into the front room. Gwyn knew a Druid was hanging around in there, not coming out in case one of the Lost showed up. They were still waiting for the ambulance.

‘Gwyn?’ Bryn sat down on the arm of a chair clutching his cognac
. ‘You can stay at the pub tonight if you like. We’ve got plenty of room for you and you’d be more than welcome.’

‘Thanks Bryn, but my place is here.’ He sat beside Bara and rubbed her head
. ‘I need to look after the farm until my dad’s back on his feet and besides, someone has to wait for Anwen and Nerys.’

‘Gwyn, your dad
…’

‘Dad will get better and Anwen and Nerys will come home safe and sound.’ Gwyn spoke louder than he intended. He heard the anger in his own voice. He slammed his mouth shut and concentrated
on the fire.

‘I’m sorry, Gwyn, I didn’t mean to upset you
,’ Bryn apologised. ‘I’m always shoving my foot in my mouth. Bah, what do I know anyway?’

‘Bugger all!’
Dai said, as he joined them by the fire and took a seat with a sigh. ‘Bugger all, Bryn, so shut your trap and pass me a drink will you?’

Bryn was embarrassed and shuffled off to the drinks cabinet, the bottles rattling together as Bryn tinkered with the selection.