The Bwy Hir Complete Trilogy (43 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Anwen stepped off the train and onto the platform. It seemed so long ago since she stood on this very station, alone and scared, but it was only weeks, not years. She followed Mary towards the exit and onto the streets of Chester. It was well past dark and Mary insisted they travel into the city centre by taxi.

Mary had already booked a room in a small inn a short walk from the river and was eager to be off the streets and behind closed doors as quickly as possible. They checked into a dated but cosy twin room and Mary pulled the curtains.

‘Why are you acting so nervous?’ Anwen was sprawled out on her bed. Her feet and back ached.

‘There are rules, Anwen,’ Mary answered, ‘
laws and rules. Being on the street of Chester at nightfall can be a dangerous business.’

Anwen snorted
. ‘We’re in Chester, Mary! It’s not exactly the most dangerous city on earth.’

‘It is when you’re Welsh, young lady.’ Mary glared at her over the rim of her glasses and Anwen frowned. Mary continued
. ‘We are in Atgas’ territory now. She is – was Bwy Hir … banished. She took up residence here and made a vow: any Welshman found on the streets after dark belong to her. She promised to shoot an arrow through the heart of every Welsh man or woman she found in her dark domain, she even made a pact, long ago with the rulers of this city and they made a law granting the same: any Welshman found within the city walls after midnight may be shot with bow and arrow … the law still stands.’

Anwen tipped her head to one side.
Am I supposed to believe that?
she thought wryly. Yet judging by the look on Mary’s face, Mary certainly believed it. ‘Why did you bring us here, then?’ Anwen asked.

‘Where better?’ Mary shrugged her shoulders and began to empty her case into the wardrobe
. ‘No Druid would dare enter Atgas’ domain. We should be safe here for now, until we can work something out.’

‘I still don’t understand.’ Anwen rubbed her swollen stomach
. ‘Why am I hiding? I need to return.’

‘No.’ Mary shook her head as she neatly placed her smalls in one of the bedside
cabinet draws. ‘We wait. You cannot be sure who sent that message. Maybe it was a trap? Awel said to keep you away and what I know for sure is that Druids are looking for you.’

Anwen sighed
– they were arguing in circles. ‘It was from Taliesin.’ She watched Mary shuffle around the room, fussing and straightening things that did not need straightening. ‘How many times? Taliesin needs me to return.’

‘How do you know it
was Taliesin?’ Mary stopped her fussing and sat down on the opposite bed to Anwen.

‘Because I do. He gave me the mirror.’ Anwen set her jaw.

‘And if it was someone else? If it is a trap? What then, Anwen?’ Mary was tired of this endless argument.

‘But it’s not. It’s Taliesin and I need to return.’ Anwen was a stubborn girl and Mary had her hands full.

‘Your father told you not to return. I don’t think it would be wise to return, but as you are relentless in your quest for self-destruction I will make a telephone call.’ Mary held up her hand at Anwen’s animated happiness. ‘But if they say no, we stay here. Agreed?’

Anwen nodded enthusiastically
. ‘Agreed.’ There was no telephone in the room, nor a public phone in reception, so that meant a trip out onto the streets of Chester to find a telephone box. Mary pulled the net curtain away from the window and looked outside. It was nearly dark. ‘We should wait until the morning, maybe?’ she asked Anwen, as she closed the net curtains.

‘Oh, come on!’ Anwen rolled her eyes
. ‘Anyway, I’m hungry so we need to go out anyway.’

Mary pressed her lips together. Sometimes she felt like shaking some sense into the fool
ish girl. ‘Then I must be quick.’

Anwen excitedly pulled on her jacket and ran a brush through her hair. ‘Let’s go!’

Mary crossed her arms. ‘You are going nowhere, young lady. You will stay here, I will go and I’ll bring you something to eat.’ Mary was adamant. Anwen knew that stance and knew there was no point arguing so she shuffled off her coat and flounced back onto the bed while shooting Mary a withering look.

Mary put on her own coat and would not leave until Anwen promised – cross your heart promised
– not to leave the room and then she slipped out. Anwen threw a shoe at the closed door and swore under her breath.
Jailed by an old biddy
, she fumed and then she picked her coat up off the floor and rummaged through its pockets until her hand closed around her mirror.

Sitting back on the bed she carefully opened the mirror
. There was already a message: “
Anwen, answer me, where are you?
” it read.

She brushed the surface with the
heel of her palm and breathed on the glass.
Is that you, Tali?
she wrote and then wiped the glass surface. After only a moment a reply appeared: ‘
Yes, Anwen, it’s me. Where are you?
’

She wiped the mirror a second time and breathed, misting the surface. She was so excited her fingers shook as she wrote her reply: ‘
Tali, how do I know it’s you?
’

The reply confirmed it: ‘
Are all Bwy Hir rude or am I just the exception?’

I
t was him, it was Taliesin! She clung to the mirror and she could have cried she was so pleased to hear from him. She wrote her reply: ‘
I’m in Caerlleon.’

There was a long pause before he wrote again and Anwen was beginning to worry that Mary would be returning any moment
. Finally the message appeared: ‘
STAY WHERE YOU ARE – I’m coming to find you.
’

Anwen snapped the mirror shut as she heard footsteps in the hallway, she shoved the mirror under her pillow and sat back, feigning discontentment. Mary opened the door and the smell of fish and chips filled the room as she entered. ‘Hungry?’ She passed the paper wrapped meal to Anwen who
accepted it gratefully.

‘So, any news?’ Anwen asked between mouthfuls of chips. Mary sat down on the edge of the bed and opened her own meal. Fish and chips
were not exactly savoir-faire, but it was sustenance and Mary had not realised how hungry she was until now.

‘I’ve made the phone call and I’m not sure what to do, Anwen, not sure at all.’ Mary blew on a steaming chip before popping it into her mouth
. ‘There is a bounty on your head Anwen.’ Anwen’s jaw dropped open and Mary continued. ‘Fifty marks to be exact. King Aeron himself has placed the bounty and demands your surrender to him … why? Also, the Druids have banned use of the mirrors and the general consensus is that they are contaminated in some way, tainted by Ysbrydion and this I believe as I noted a problem with our mirrors – runes to be exact … what a mess.’ Mary took off her glasses and rubbed them clean of condensation from the chips. ‘I suggest we do not use our mirrors at all for the moment.’

‘And Dad and Gwyn? Are they alright? Do they want me to come home?
What about Nerys?’ Anwen discarded her meal, she was no longer hungry.

Mary shook her head and replaced her glasses
. ‘Dafydd and Gwyn are fine, but they do not want you to go home. They have refused to hand you over and there appears to be ill feeling between the Druids and the Chosen. An unprecedented mess Anwen, and you seem to be smack bang in the centre of it … what a mess.’ Mary continued to concentrate on her food. ‘The question is: what do we do? What would Awel want? Oh, how I wish I could speak with her.’

Anwen listened to Mary as
she explained the telephone call, but her mind was already made up. Taliesin needed her, the Pride needed her and she would be returning to Wales whether Mary agreed or not. ‘Mary, you need to listen,’ Anwen said, placing a hand on Mary’s arm as she spoke. ‘I am returning home … Taliesin is already on his way … I’m going home, Mary.’

‘What have you done?’ Mary pulled her arm away and stood up
. ‘You’ve used the mirror, haven’t you?’ she said accusingly. ‘You silly girl, what have you done?’

‘It’s alright
.’ Anwen tried to soothe Mary. ‘It really is Taliesin and he needs me–’

‘Oh, shut up!’ Mary snapped
. ‘After everything I have done to keep you safe, this is how you repay me!’ Mary stalked the room. ‘You don’t know what you’re walking into. Even if it is Taliesin, do you think you can just breeze into Wales and back out again without Aeron Ddu having something to say about it? You are carrying a Hanner-Bridia in your belly, you stupid, foolish girl!’

Anwen was taken aback by the venom in Mary’s words, she had never seen her so angry
. ‘Mary, please, try to understand–’

‘Just shut up Anwen, just shut up.’ Mary stalked into the en-suite and slammed the door behind her. Anwen sat in awkward silence, unsure what to do or what to say to placate Mary. Anwen had made up her mind, she just wished Mary would accept her decision, she didn’t want to part
ways with Mary this way, and after all she was genuinely grateful for all that she had done for her.

‘Mary?’ Anwen stood at the bathroom door
. ‘Mary, please don’t be angry. I have to do this.’ But Mary refused to answer her and so she returned to sitting on the bed to wait for her to calm down and re-emerge from behind the locked door. She hoped they could agree to disagree before Taliesin arrived, although how he was going to find her she didn’t know, she just hoped it was soon.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

‘Taliesin knows where she is, we’re going to get her, Taliesin and myself
,’ Celyn-Bach said to Aeron, as they sat by a huge log fire.

Aeron frowned
and said, ‘Would it not be better to send the Seekers?’

‘Better if Taliesin goes. If Se
ekers turn up it may scare her. She trusts Taliesin and I can go with him to ensure his safety.’

‘Caerlleon, you said?’ Celyn-Bach nodded
. ‘Should you wait for the sunrise?’

Celyn-Bach shook his head
. ‘There are still a few hours until midnight, it would be better to enter Caerlleon under the cover of darkness, I would not want to scare any Lost. Taliesin is still Human height, but I …’ Celyn-Bach spread his hands.

‘And you are sure you can find her?’ Aeron was unhappy to discover the girl was hiding in Atgas’ territory.

‘She has the mirror, we can track her through that as soon as we are close enough. We will be back before nightfall.’ Aeron nodded and Celyn-Bach stood. ‘I’ll look after him, at the first sign of danger we will retreat.’

Aeron watched Celyn-Bach leave and then he sat silently gazing into the fire. He was still undecided
as to the girl's fate.
Had the Pride truly accepted her as one of them – preposterous – she was Human. And the child? What would that be, Nephilim, Human, something more, something less?
Aeron snorted; no, the girl was not one of them, maybe the child, but not the girl.

Problems were piling up around him and he set Anwen Morgan to the back of his mind. His new Councillor had reported the Chosen’s disquiet at his order to surrender the girl
.
How dare they
?

His ex-
Councillor was under questioning in Dduallt as was his little conspirator, Madog. So far Madog had squealed like a split pig; five murders he confessed to knowing of, all by Afagddu’s hand of course, yet Afagddu had not succumbed to the Questioners yet and so was due to face torture and then a Triskelion court prior to facing the R’hela itself. Aeron had no doubt that Afagddu and Madog would face the R’hela, the Chosen would be as keen as the Druids to see a bloodthirsty end to Afagddu for his sins.

And then there was Cadno. Aeron’s eyes glared into the flames.
Why had Cadno fled from his brethren? Why had he tampered with the ateb? Was it Cadno? Where had he gone, to Atgas?
Aeron flexed his fists, he wanted Cadno back and he wanted him punished.

Aeron stood up and fetched himself a goblet of wine as he pondered over yet another problem: the
Dderwydd Ddrych. There was no doubt that Ysbrydion were lying in wait behind the mirrors, even now Druids were studying the runes etched on a number of the mirrors. The Hall of Mirrors was being watched twenty-four hours a day. Reports of Ysbrydion testing the surface of the mirrors was alarming in itself, but Aeron could not understand how they were becoming so strong, so substantial. How were they being fed? There was no way that Afagddu could have killed enough people to feed the Ysbrydion to this dangerous level, so what was happening?

Aeron disliked being out of control and though it pained him to admit it, he would be grateful to receive
counsel from both his counterpart and his sister, Awel.
Could the girl be taught to travel through the Cerdd Carega?
Could she reach the sleeping Pride and wake them?
With a sudden flare of anger, Aeron threw his goblet across the room. ‘How have we come to this?’ he bellowed to the ceiling. ‘Why are we being punished?’

He stalked to his balcony and raised his arms. He needed to calm down, to vent his anger and there was one way to do that. With all the power he could summon he began to cast
. ‘Let the winds howl and the snow fall!’ he called out over the mountains, and it was so.

Celyn-Bach and Taliesin heard his father’s voice ring out over the mountains. ‘We better be quick,’ Celyn-Bach said to Tali, ‘I do not want to be caught in a
Winter storm this night and although I have studied the maps I have never travelled to Caerlleon, so let us hope we can get there quickly and return with the girl.’

‘Her name is Anwen
,’ Taliesin said bluntly and Celyn-Bach nodded an apology. Carrying the hand mirror and his bow Taliesin followed Celyn-Bach to the Reception Hall and took his arm. ‘Let us be away.’

They reappeared in a grassy field surrounded by hedgerow and ash trees, the sky was growing ashen and the last rays of evening sunlight cast long shadows across the ground already hardening with the promise of frost.

Directly on the horizon were the walls of Caerlleon; they had arrived here in one jump and Celyn-Bach was pleased at the time saved. He surveyed their surroundings; there were thankfully no buildings or streets close to where they stood and the hedgerows gave them ample cover from a chance sighting by the Lost.

They sat down on a small outcrop of stone and Taliesin took out the hand mirror and passed it to Celyn-Bach
. ‘Will you draw the hunter-bind rune?’ he asked and Celyn-Bach accepted the mirror. He etched the required rune and watched the arrow appear before handing it back to Taliesin. ‘Just follow the arrow.’

They stood in unison, preparing to leave when Celyn-Bach grabbed at Taliesin’s arm, pulling him back into the concealment of the trees
. ‘Someone is coming,’ he whispered. They crouched down and waited, Celyn-Bach slid a hunting knife from its sheath and Taliesin closed the mirror, pocketed it and drew his bow.

The
Helgi appeared first, all three on leads, the smallest had a makeshift lead of a leather belt tightened around its neck and Celyn-Bach was surprised to note it was a female. At first he presumed the owner of the Helgi must be Atgas and he steeled himself for an all-out attack, but the person who appeared was not Atgas but Cadno.

Celyn-Bach motioned for Taliesin to stay hidden and then he himself stood, appearing before Cadno like an apparition. ‘Ho,
brother,’ he called to out and Cadno took a step back in surprise.

Cadno took a moment to gather himself and then he forced himself to relax, he eased his hold on the
Helgi
and feigned happiness to see his brother. ‘Celyn! Thank the stars it was you, I thought Atgas had beat me to the Cerdd Carega, I was just about to return to the Host and reveal what I have discovered!’ He smiled what he hoped was an honest and genuine smile.

‘What are you doing with
Helgi? Is that a female?’ Celyn-Bach stood with his feet planted apart, ready to defend himself should Cadno be not all he seemed.

Cadno looked at his three
Helgi. ‘Yes, she is female, can you believe it? Atgas was planning to breed them and so I stole them from her. She is quite mad you know. There are things I must tell Aeron, things she is doing, I’m afraid she is truly evil, Celyn, truly wicked.’

‘You were returning to Aeron?’ Celyn-Bach asked with a tinge of disbelief in his voice
. ‘Do you have any idea how angry he is with you?’

‘I can explain everything to him, he’ll calm down. Why are you here?’ Cadno asked suspiciously.

‘Looking for you,’ Celyn-Bach lied, ‘there is trouble in the Halls of the Druid, Ysbrydion stalk y Gwag,’ he said ominously.

‘And I know why!’ Cadno exclaimed, ‘It is Atgas! I must return to Aeron immediately, come brother, we shall go together.’

Celyn-Bach studied Cadno for a moment and wondered whether he could trust him. ‘We shall leave together, but first open your mind to me Cadno.’

‘What?’ Cadno shied back
. ‘Why?’

‘Because I want to ensure you remain as cooperative as you are until I get you back to Aeron.’ Celyn-Bach watched Cadno like a hawk, anticipating some sort of trickery.

‘There is no need.’ Cadno had become defensive. ‘I was returning to Aeron anyway, without you, I do not need you to “calm” me, I am no danger to you.’

Celyn-Bach heard the twang of the arrow and watched Cadno crumble to the floor.
The Helgi took one look at Cadno’s unconscious form and sat down passively in the grass. Celyn-Bach leaned over Cadno and then used one of the Helgi leads to bind his wrists and ankles.

‘I got him!’ Taliesin emerged from his hiding place and retrieved his arrow. He had removed its head
and shot at Cadno’s temple with a blunted butt, knocking him unconscious.

Celyn-Bach smiled at Taliesin’s inventiveness
. ‘Well done. I will keep him here – you go and get your Anwen. Be quick Tali, time is running short.’

Taliesin retrieved the hand mirror and handed his bow to Celyn-Bach before trotting off in the direction
that the Drych Ysgrifennu
pointed, while Celyn-Bach watched over the still form of his brother and the three docile Helgi. The appearance of a female Helgi was unsettling.
Why would Atgas do such a thing? Why breed Helgi? What would the Host make of such a thing? How would the Druids react?

Celyn-Bach sat down on the grass and waited for Taliesin’s return. It was nearly dark and so Celyn-Bach was extra vigilant as he surveyed the field, the last thing he needed now was Atgas to appear.
Is Cadno telling the truth?
he thought. ‘Hurry up, Tali,’ he whispered.

Taliesin ran through the damp grass, his breath misted in front of his face as he ran
. He cast a look back over his shoulder but Celyn-Bach was already shrouded in darkness. He sprinted up a low rise, onto a tarmac road and vanished between two sandstone buildings, the buzzing in his head started almost immediately, the stink of Humanity clogged his nostrils as he twisted and turned through the cobbled streets of Caerlleon following the hand mirror that would lead him to Anwen.

It was fully dark now and the streets were lit with the orange hellish glow of streetlights and the
buzzing in his head increased. The streets were quiet, only a few Lost dotted the streets, laden with shopping bags and completely oblivious to the Nephilim that rushed by them in search of his quarry.

Finally Taliesin skidded to a halt in front of a terraced three storey building. A warm glow oozed from the Georgian windows and the white painted door was shut tight keeping the cold wind from entering its sleepy interior. ‘Anwen!’ he called up at the windows, ‘Anwen?’

The face of an elderly woman briefly filled a window on the first floor and then it vanished to be replaced with the flushed and beautiful smiling face of Anwen Morgan. The front door opened and the elderly lady stepped onto the doorstep barring his admittance into the house. ‘Good evening, Taliesin ap Aeron Ddu.’ The greeting held no warmth. ‘So, you have come for Anwen?’

Respectfully, Taliesin bowed to the woman
. ‘I have and we must be away.’

‘Awel herself instructed me to hide and protect Anwen. Why should I then hand her over to you?’ Her voice was gruff, she was obviously unhappy with Taliesin’s appearance.

‘Honoured lady,’ Taliesin said, bowing once more, ‘I shall protect Anwen and our unborn child with my life. She will not come to harm, but she is needed, Awel and the Pride are in danger – Ysbrydion stalk y Gwag and we fear for the Pride. Anwen must wake them.’

The woman snorted
and said, ‘And how do you propose to protect Anwen in the Cerdd Carega?’ Taliesin remained silent. ‘I thought as much,’ she said peevishly, ‘you are full of fine words, youngling, but they are hollow.’

Anwen suddenly appeared and pushed past the old woman, throwing herself into Taliesin’s arms
. ‘Oh, Tali, I have missed you so!’ she cried.

Mary watched the couple as they embraced and felt a pang of regret; she should have kept Anwen as far away from this young man as possible, but done is done as the saying goes. ‘Look after her Taliesin ap
Aeron Ddu,’ she said as she turned her back on them.

‘Mary,’ Anwen’s small voice called out, ‘
please, I don’t want to leave on bad terms with you.’

Mary turned back
. ‘Listen to me, Anwen Morgan of Ty Mawr Farm, we are not on bad terms. If you ever need me, you know where to find me, I am returning home to London in the morning. My door is always open for you, Awel would expect no less of me.’ Then Mary entered the house and closed the door behind her.

Taliesin folded her hand in his
. ‘We must be away, Anwen, my brother waits for us.’

‘Where are we going?’

Anwen allowed herself to be led through the streets, Taliesin’s head swivelled left and right at every junction. He was wary and that made Anwen feel nervous, she instinctively placed a protective hand over her belly.

‘To a
Cerdd Carega, we need to leave Caerlleon as soon as possible.’ Taliesin paused between two buildings before hurrying over a road and down a grass embankment. Anwen could see nothing in front of her and clutched onto Taliesin’s arm; he at least, seemed to know exactly where he was going. ‘Celyn?’ he called out.

‘Down!’ came the answer and Taliesin ducked, dragging Anwen to the ground with him as the night erupted into flame.
Derwydd yn tân was being wielded above their hands and behind them, hot, searing bursts of flame lit the night. ‘To me Tali!’ came Celyn-Bach’s shout through the roaring chaos and Taliesin scooped Anwen in a protective hug and pulled her towards Celyn-Bach’s shouts.