The Bwy Hir Complete Trilogy (34 page)

Dai
Jones and Gary automatically dropped to their knees before Celyn-Bach motioned them to stand. ‘Again, what are you doing? This is not a night to be abroad.’

‘We’re looking for Nerys Jones
,’ Dai blurted, as he got to his feet.

‘In a field, in the middle of the night?’ Taliesin was dumbfounded.

‘It was something Gwyn Morgan said,’ Liz’s shaky voice spoke out, ‘he said he reckoned Nerys had been disposed of in between, you see?’

‘In between?’ Celyn-Bach grew serious.

‘That’s what he said, so that’s where we’re looking – between his lands and ours,’ Gary added.

‘You will not find her here.’ Celyn-Bach’s voice held an element of annoyance
. ‘Go home, all of you, and stay indoors, the Host hunt tonight.’

There was an intake of breath
. ‘The R’hela is not until All Hallows’ Eve!’ Dai Jones spluttered.

‘There is one this night also, so go home Chosen and take your woman with you
,’ Celyn-Bach ordered, and they gathered their belongings and hurried from the field.

‘What did they mean?’ Taliesin was puzzled.

‘They talk of things they know nothing about.’ Celyn-Bach looked towards the direction of Ty Mawr Farm. ‘But I believe our new initiate knows, we should speak with him.’

Celyn-Bach turned to his right and began a loping walk towards Ty Mawr, Taliesin hurried after him
. ‘What do you mean, Celyn? I don’t understand!’

‘They talk of “
in between.”
’ Celyn-Bach did not turn around, he kept his fast pace. ‘Something Humans should know little or nothing about.’

‘Oh
…’ Taliesin broke into a jog to keep up. ‘What is “
in between
”?’

‘Where. Not what. All will be explained.’ They passed the oak tree where Taliesin had spent many heady afternoons with Anwen. His heart lurched as he thought of her. They continued through the dark and silent fields until they came to a man-made track leading to the farmhouse. Celyn-Bach turned his nose up at the tarmac track, disgusted by its ugly appearance, but he kept his pace until he was outside the door of the house. ‘Gwyn Morgan!’ he shouted, ‘I beg admittance!’ A sudden light appeared from an upstairs window, they heard a scrapping sound and Gwyn appeared through the opened window. ‘Who is it?’ he called down.

Celyn-Bach was growing impatient. ‘Gwyn Morgan you have two Bwy Hir visitors at your door, I command you give us entry.’

‘I’m
Gwaradwyddedig!’
he called down, ‘what d’ya want with me?’

Taliesin lifted his lantern to show his face
. ‘Let us in, Gwyn Morgan, we would speak with you.’

There was a barking coming from inside and the window slid shut. A moment later there was a scraping of a key in its lock and the door opened inwards. Gwyn held Bara’s collar as she sniffed and growled at the two painted figures st
anding on the threshold of her home. ‘Come in,’ Gwyn offered, ‘let me put Bara away.’ He shuffled backwards with Bara between his legs and locked her in the kitchen. ‘Come through.’ Gwyn waved them further inside. ‘Mind your heads.’

Celyn-Bach and Taliesin stooped as they followed Gwyn into his living room
. A log fire warmed the room but there was a terrible humming and keening noise coming from the corner and Celyn-Bach and Taliesin both swung their heads to see what was making such an agonising sound.

Their jaws dropped as they looked upon the strangest of Human inventions; a box stood in the corner of the room, images and waves were leaking out of it, sounds of voices, hissing and humming w
ere being emitted from it, accompanied by an ear-piercing keening that Gwyn was unaware of. ‘Whatever that is,’ Celyn-Bach said, pointing to the television, ‘make it stop.’ Gwyn picked up the remote control and pointed it at the screen and it went black.

‘It’s still keening,’ Taliesin moaned, ‘make it stop.’ Gwyn went over and turned it off at the plug, the Bwy Hir relaxed. ‘May we also ask you to turn this
off?’ He pointed to the centre ceiling light and Gwyn obliged.

‘You don’t like electricity?’ Gwyn asked politely. Celyn-Bach turned to Taliesin
. ‘He means the energy they harness to give things power.’ Taliesin had learned well from Anwen.

‘That is not energy,’ Celyn Bach said with disgust, ‘this is energy
–’ He held his hand out and allowed a ball of white energy to erupt from his open palm. ‘What Humans harness is unnatural … may we sit?’ Gwyn nodded his head and both Bwy Hir sat on the floor, declining to sit on the undersized sofa.

‘Firstly,’ Taliesin began, ‘I must introduce my brother, Celyn-Bach. He knows little of your family, but wishes to speak to you.’ Gwyn took the hint.

‘We have just stumbled upon a strange scene, Gwyn Morgan.’ Celyn-Bach had extinguished the ball of energy and wiped his nose with the back of his hand as he spoke. To him, the house smelt of animals; not the fresh tang of feral wildlife, but the musty, dry smell of domesticated animals and dust. He could smell layers of age and habitation seeping from the walls and floor coverings – his skin crawled at the humanity of his surroundings. ‘Despite your family being named Gwaradwyddedig,
your neighbours were found digging in the field between your two boundaries … they were searching for your missing woman.’

‘Eh?’ Gwyn
said, as he hunched forward in his chair. ‘Why would they do that? I know she’s not been buried: she’s been hidden – in the in between.’

Celyn-Bach pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and closed his eyes momentarily, gathering his thoughts. ‘How do you know of the
in between, or y Gwag as we know it?’

Gwyn looked at Taliesin who briefly nodded, giving Gwyn permission to speak freely
. ‘Awel told me about it. It’s what we travel through when we use the Dderwydd Ddrych or for you, the Cerdd Carega. It’s where Nerys must be, where her body is anyway, because no one can find her, not even the Seekers.’ Gwyn’s honest face looked eager, hopeful that the Bwy Hir were here to help him retrieve Nerys and get his father released from prison.

Celyn-Bach shifted position on the floor, folding his legs
, shifting his weight and resting his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. ‘Gwyn Morgan, to put something or someone in y Gwag would not only be incredibly difficult, but it would be incredibly dangerous. Y Gwag is exactly what it is: a vast emptiness. To contaminate it would have terrible consequences. Y Gwag must remain empty or else it becomes something else entirely and the effects of that would be … catastrophic. Even the Bwy Hir do not stray into y Gwag; we pass through it, very quickly, but we do not go
into
it, we do not disturb the balance. Do you understand what I’m saying?’

Gwyn’s blank expression answered Celyn-Bach’s question: he didn’t really understand, not at all. ‘So what are you going to do? Are you going to go and get her out?’
Gwyn asked eagerly.

Celyn-Bach’s hand strayed to the bridge of his nose again and he closed his eyes. Taliesin smiled reassuringly at Gwyn and took a moment to savour the feel of the house, the warm aroma of the room that reminded him of Anwen, of their times together under the oak tree, of their intimacy and friendship and their eternal bond: their unborn child. His musing was disturbed by Celyn-Bach’s voice and Taliesin refocused on the conversation. ‘Gwyn Morgan
… I have just explained why we cannot disturb y Gwag, and yet you ask whether we will do exactly what I’ve explained we cannot do. Y Gwag must not be disturbed.’

‘But it’s already disturbed!’ Gwyn
opened his hands imploringly. ‘So all you’ll be doing is … un-disturbing it, bringing back what shouldn’t be there and making everything right again.’

Taliesin agreed with Gwyn’s reasoning and looked to Celyn-Bach for concurrence but again, Celyn-Bach had his eyes closed, something he often did when he was thinking. ‘For many eons, my people studied
y Gwag. We believe that this place is the realm the Bwy Hir soul enters when death finally takes us.’ Celyn-Bach’s voice was low and had a lecturing quality to it. ‘The logic is flawless: divinity must be upheld, the power of three
; nefoedd, y ddaear a'r gwag:
Heaven, Earth and the space in between–’

‘What about hell?’ Gwyn interrupted
. ‘That would make four.’

‘Hell is on earth,’ Celyn-Bach answered flatly, ‘you steer away from my point
... y Gwag must remain empty, uncontaminated and unspoilt, nothing must reside there–’

‘Which is my point too!’ Gwyn bounced in his chair
. ‘You’ve got to get her out!’

‘How is that possible, Gwyn Morgan?’ Celyn-Bach did not like being inter
rupted. ‘There is no space, no time, no matter! No up, no down, no left, no right – nothing! How do you find something in nothing?’

Taliesin folded his hands together and followed his own trail of thought
. ‘If there is no up, no down, no ... nothing,’ he stated calmly, ‘then surely something should be exactly where it was put ... there is nothing to alter its whereabouts if there is no direction or force to move it ... am I right, Celyn Bach?’

‘In theory
... yes, you are correct ... in theory.’ Celyn-Bach’s brow wrinkled as Gwyn rubbed his hands together, Taliesin sat between them, pleased with himself.

‘So what are you waiting for? Open the mirror and pull her out!’ Gwyn jumped to his feet. If they could retrieve Nerys then they’d have no need for Anwen, they would finally have proof and his father would be free. Gwyn felt suddenly guilty that he should be excited at the retrieval of Nerys’ body, but at least it would help restore his family and bring a murderer to justice at the
R’hela.

Celyn-Bach also stood up
. ‘What you ask, Gwyn Morgan is no easy task, but it may be a possibility and certainly seems necessary. We must return to the Halls of the Druid and speak with the Druid Elders before we attempt this ... I would prefer to consult my brothers but they will still be hunting – we may have to wait until they return.’

‘The
R’hela is tonight? I thought it was on All Hallow’s Eve?’ Gwyn was confused again.

‘The Triskele R’hela is on All Hallows’ Eve but tonight my brothers hunt for one of our own.’ He held up his hand to stall Gwyn’s further questions
. ‘You will stay here, Gwyn Morgan and speak of this to no-one. We will use your mirror to travel back to the Halls; it will open again when we commence the search. I presume Afagddu would have used your mirror to access y Gwag and so this is where we will commence our search.’

Taliesin finally stood and retrieved his bow before showing Celyn-Bach to the front
room where the mirror was stationed. Gwyn watched them disappear into the mirror and then opened the kitchen door to let Bara out. She immediately began sniffing through the house, smelling where the Bwy Hir had been sitting in her living room. Gwyn smiled the first genuine smile since his initiation. The Bwy Hir were on his side and things were beginning to look up.

CHAPTE
R
FIVE

The Druid Elders had gathered in the Council chamber and shut the doors behind them. There was much to speak about and the impromptu meeting had little formality as each tried to speak over another to have his voice heard.

The eldest of the gathering was a
wizened old Druid named
Nissyen. He had spent his entire adult life bringing order and decorum to the Council meetings and his job was far from done. He
slowly rose from his seat, his oversized garments once again threatening to swamp him as she struggled to stand on feeble legs. His chain of office hung heavily around his scrawny neck and his hands were withered, arthritic claws. He clutched his ceremonial crook and knocked the brass butt on the floor to restore order. ‘Brothers!’ he called over the clamour in a reedy voice. ‘Brothers, come to order!’ As the chamber quietened, he retook his seat and leaned heavily on his crook.

Elder Tomas bowed in thanks to the Master of Ceremonies and addressed the Hall. ‘Brethren, where do I begin … dark days … dark days.’ There was a chorus of agreement among the benches. ‘We are disgraced, we have failed our duties, the Solstice was a failure.’

‘Not because of us!’ a voice rang out. ‘It is the fault of the Bwy Hir themselves!’

Elder Tomas nodded. ‘Indeed, but we failed to keep the ateb secure, we even failed to ensure we had a reserve batch hidden away, such was our folly.’ There were disgruntled murmurs of disagreement but Tomas continued, ‘Who are we to lay blame at our master’s feet? That is not our duty: our duty is to serve, protect and traverse the realms of the Bwy Hir and Humanity, and we failed!’ Elder Tomas raised his voice over the murmuring. ‘What is more, what is worse, is that we continue to fail! One of our own, Afagddu himself, lies imprisoned in
Dduallt, chained like a Helgi for his supposed crimes, as does his accuser, a Chosen no less and we allow it, we break the law! We go above ourselves! Failure and folly are
our
crimes and I ask you all, what are we to do?’

A raucous din broke through the benches and Nissyen once again had to tap his staff on the floor to restore harmony
. ‘Order! Order I say!’ he called, with little avail.

Elder Madog, the youngest of the group
, although well into middle age, stood up and shouted over the chaos, ‘We are guilty of nothing! The Bwy Hir have brought calamity down on their own heads and even now they hunt one of their own to restore order. We are guilty of nothing – nothing!’ he bellowed, even though the benches had quietened. ‘As for Afagddu, he is guilty of nothing until proven otherwise. There is nothing more than one word against another, it will all blow over when the Triskelion jury is brought together. I say we worry needlessly, we do serve, we do protect, we hold fast to our oaths as Druids!’

His speech was well received, clapping and cheering burst from the majority gathered. Elder Tom
as sat and shook his head as did a few others sitting among their peers on the benches. Nissyen was one of those who shook his head and again stood to restore order.

The doors opened unexpectedly and two Bwy Hir strode into the chamber. They wore full hunting clothes and were decorated with woad, they looked grim and formidable
. One towered over the Druids, one was still Human height. ‘My apologies for this interruption,’ Celyn-Bach addressed the room, ‘but I cannot delay for formality, I must speak with you all this very moment.’ The room hushed to deathly silent. ‘Y Gwag may have been contaminated.’

The hush became a drawn breath
. ‘Contaminated?’ Elder Tomas got to his feet. ‘How can this be so? The repercussions are ...’ Celyn-Bach said, holding up his hands, ‘there may be a reason why Afagddu has been so flippant with the claims made against him … that reason is because he may have disposed of the body or bodies in y Gwag.’

The silence exploded in chaos.
Druids were on their feet shouting over one another, panic took hold and fanned the chaos to fever pitch. ‘Enough!’ Nissyen’s voice was swallowed in the din. ‘Enough, I say!’ Again to no avail. He rapped his crook again and again on the floor but he was ignored.

‘Your brother says enough!’ Aeron roared from the doorway, the entire room turned towards him in shocked silence. He strolled into their midst, his skin flushed with the exertions of the
hunt. ‘What chaos has befallen us now?’ he questioned, whilst untying his vambraces.

‘Brother!’ Celyn-Bach clasped Aeron in an armlock
. ‘Was the hunt a success?’

‘No.’ Aeron pressed his lips together in vexation
. ‘The Host still hunts, but I have returned, I fear they chase nothing but shadows. Cadno has gone to ground … what is this about?’ He nodded towards the Elders.

Celyn-Bach stood back from his brother and watched his reaction with grave eyes
. ‘I believe y Gwag to be contaminated.’ Aeron remained silent but his eyebrows slowly rose higher and higher. ‘I believe Afagddu may have hidden the missing woman in the one place he believed we would not think to look.’

‘If this is true the
R’hela will not be pleasant for Afagddu.’ Aeron’s voice was ice. ‘Celyn, I leave you do what must be done, find me a body and Celyn, be careful, we know not what truly lies within y Gwag but we know its balance must be kept.’ Aeron clasped his brother’s arms again and said, ‘Taliesin, you will come with me.’

‘May I watch Celyn-Bach? I know little of the
in between, I would value the experience.’

Aeron paused a moment
. ‘You may watch, but you may not assist.’ Taliesin bowed to his father. ‘Elders, you will offer every assistance to my brother with this endeavour. Elder Tomas, you will come with me.’

Celyn-Bach felt a tingle of fear at the thought of delving
into y Gwag, but he also felt the anticipation of discovery. He turned to the Elders to issue his orders. ‘I will need two assistants, maybe three, grappling hooks and a harness, whomever is to assist me will meet in the Hall of Mirrors in one hour.’ He turned to Taliesin. ‘We must cleanse ourselves, remove the woad and prepare – come.’

They left the
Druids to confer amongst themselves. Elder Tomas had already left on Aeron’s heels, leaving the remaining Elders to deliberate: ‘Who shall assist Lord Celyn-Bach?’ ‘The y Gwag is a dangerous thing!’ ‘Surely Afagddu would not have done such a thing?’ On and on they talked in circles until Nissyen stood on his shaky legs and spoke with surprising authority. ‘Elder Llewelyn and Elder Marc are the most knowledgeable among us about y Gwag, so they are natural choices, coupled with our strongest brothers Meredydd and Bryce – the four can assist Celyn-Bach with the greatest of success. As for the rest of us, we should be about our own business, so let us be on our way.’ He slammed the butt of his crook once upon the floor and then shuffled out leaving the Elders speechless but agreeable.

Taliesin and Celyn-Bach arrived in the Hall of Mirrors freshly scrubbed and wearing clean robes. The four selected
Druids were already waiting for them, a pile of requested equipment at their feet. There were other Druids standing around the Hall, some were spectators and some were guardians assigned to the duty of monitoring the comings and goings through each mirror.

‘Thank you for joining us.’ Celyn-Bach nodded to each of the
Druids. ‘What we attempt has not been done for a very long time and I must voice my reservations and concerns. Y Gwag is not a place to be taken lightly. It is a place of spirit, of emptiness, a place where humanity has no business, and this is the very reason, the only reason, I am prepared to venture there. If there is a body, it must be retrieved. The balance of y Gwag should not be disturbed, especially with flesh.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Before we commence I need to explain what I require from each of you …’ He looked around his assistants, noting their strengths. ‘I will hold the mirror open. To do that I must be in both places at once, both here and at its twin at Ty Mawr. I will attach myself to a rope, one of you will hold one end at Ty Mawr, the other here … the other two of you will use the grappling hooks … you will take turns throwing them first left then right and see if we can hook anything or anyone to it, if you feel the hook bite, you will call out and begin to haul it through. Does everyone understand so far?’ They all nodded mutely and he continued. ‘My hands will be free, and if necessary, only if necessary, I will use fire to cut a rope or grapple if I think there is any danger, I will also use it in defence of the mirror or one of us.’

‘Is there a danger?’ Taliesin was st
anding poised on the balls of his feet, eager and expectant. Celyn-Bach pulled the corners of his mouth downwards and answered with irony, ‘I do not know, Taliesin, I have never trawled y Gwag before.’

Celyn-Bach began to tie the rope around his middle
. ‘Taliesin, go through the mirror and inform Gwyn Morgan of our intentions, keep him out of the way until this is complete.’ Taliesin bounded to the mirror and was gone in a flash. Celyn-Bach passed one end of the rope to the largest Druid and gave instruction. ‘Take this end through to Ty Mawr, leave it slack until I call and then pull it tight.’ The Druid nodded and followed Taliesin to the Ty Mawr side of the mirror. ‘Take the other end.’ Celyn-Bach nodded to the remaining strongman. ‘Same to you – pull it tight once I am between both mirrors.’

The two smaller
Druids lifted the grappling hooks and held them in their hands ready for Celyn-Bach to open the mirror. Spectators were gathering closer and closer to the spectacle, eager not to miss any action that may unfold.

With a deep breath Celyn-Bach advanced on the mirror and pressed his hand against it. The surface clouded and became fluid. Celyn turned sideways, holding his balance by gripping the frame of the mirror. Slowly he pushed one leg and one arm through, allowing the icy fluid to engulf his torso
. ‘Take the slack!’ he called and he immediately began to feel tugging on the rope around his waist. He adjusted his feet, feeling two different sensations; one foot stood on stone, the other on the carpet at Ty Mawr. Grey tendrils pulled from the mirror licking his free arm, but he was ready and so ignored their icy touch. He let go of the mirror frame and submerged his hands in the mercurial fluid, bringing them up to his face and pushing outward while twisting his torso sideways. He stretched his hands outwards and pushed the liquid away to form an arc of air where both sides could see the other at the same time. Druids flocked forward to see the startled faces of Taliesin, Druid Bryce and Gwyn Morgan through the hole opened by Celyn-Bach, whose muscles were straining at the exertion of pushing the hole wider. ‘Grappling hooks!’ Celyn-Bach ordered through clenched teeth. The Druids jumped to obey. The first Druid to reach the hole threw his hook into the space in between, leaning on Celyn-Bach’s huge thighs as he let the hook go into the greyness, quickly pulling on his rope in hope of snagging something on its thorny hooks, but the head came back empty. ‘Again!’ Celyn-Bach pushed against the swirling clouds as the second Druid jumped forward releasing his hook into the infinite y Gwag.

Their endeavours had pulled more watchers to the
Hall, including Aeron himself. He stood apart from the Druids at the back of the Hall, his arms folded, silently watching his brother above the heads of the spectators.

Twice more the grappling hooks were thrown “in-between
” before the first bite was felt. ‘Pull!’ Celyn-Bach shouted and the Druids obeyed, heaving the rope towards them, both grappling to get a firm purchase. With one last grunt of effort the catch was landed and all recoiled in horror as a meaty mass slithered onto the stone floor of the Hall. All eyes were fixed onto the haul and not on the mirror. The white and grey smoky tendrils had begun to change colour. Red and black ghoulish fingers vined through the mist leaching out towards Celyn-Bach and he yelled, ‘Ysbrydion! Dark spirits! Pull me through! Pull me out!’

Aeron sprang into action, running forward
s he grabbed the end of the rope around Celyn-Bach’s waist and wrenched it with all his strength. His brother flew from the clutches of the mist and landed heavily on his left side. Aeron’s eyes flew up to his son marooned on the other side as the hole Celyn-Bach had made began to narrow and boil ‘Down!’ Aeron shouted, as he lifted up his hand and shot a white blast of energy into the mirror.

The mirror’s surface hissed and seethed before the mists withdrew
, returning the mirror’s surface to its solid state. Aeron stared at his own reflection as he digested this latest woe, then he turned to the slick lump of fleshy meat lying at his feet.

Druids
were already gathered around Celyn-Bach as he pushed himself to sitting position on the cold stone floor. ‘Is it her?’

‘It could be anyone.’ Aeron nudged the remains with the toe of his boot. The viscous remains were what was left of an
obviously female torso. Rips and gashes covered the corpulent exterior, bite marks and swollen wounds leaked watery fluid. The shoulder sockets were open, the head, pelvis and lower limbs were completely missing. The smell emanating from the carcass was foul and putrid. Leaning in closer Aeron spotted a sliver of material crumpled into one of the lacerations. ‘Do we know what the Ty Mawr woman was wearing when she vanished?’

Celyn-Bach had got to his feet and stood next to Aeron
. ‘We can find out but what concerns me more is if an entire body was put into the
y Gwag and this is what is left of it ...’
He shook his head solemnly before reciting: ‘“From the day that they were created from the sons of God they became Watchers: their first origin is the spiritual foundation. They will become evil upon the earth and shall be called evil spirits. The dwelling of the spiritual beings of heaven is heaven; but the dwelling of the spirits of the earth, which are born upon the earth, is in the earth” … What has Afagddu done?’