The Bwy Hir Complete Trilogy (46 page)

‘Wake her.’ Aeron was insistent
. ‘She must receive instruction immediately and attempt to travel the Cerdd Carega.’

‘But it is not safe!’ Taliesin challenged his father’s decision
. ‘How can you send her through?’

‘How can I not?’ Aeron towered over his son
. ‘The entire Pride is at risk and defenceless, she is our only hope of reaching them.’ He dismissed his son’s concerns. ‘Wake her, Councillor and bring her here to me.’

Elder Tom
as bowed and went to do his master's bidding. Taliesin threw a glare at his father and followed Elder Tomas to the Infirmary. Aeron continued his discussion with the Druids monitoring the mirrors. Gwrnach slipped away and followed Taliesin.

Elder Tom
as reached the Infirmary and relayed Aeron’s orders. The physician raised his eyebrows but did as he was told and retrieved the smelling salts ready to wake Anwen.

Taliesin entered the Infirmary second and pushed pas
t the Druids and threw back the curtains. Anwen lay fast asleep, curled on her side with her arms surrounding her bump. Taliesin had never seen her look more beautiful; he could have cried.

He walked up to the bed and slowly reached over Anwen, pulling a strand of hair from her face before holding her hand and waiting for the physician to do his work.

Anwen woke with a start and for a moment felt panic rise within her chest. ‘It’s alright.’ She heard Taliesin’s voice and relaxed as his face came into view. ‘Tali,’ she whispered sleepily, ‘I thought you wouldn’t come.’ She closed her eyes but opened them again as he gently shook her.

When she opened her eyes for a second time, she noted the presence of Elder Tom
as and beyond him – Anwen jumped up in her bed. Standing behind Elder Tomas was the biggest being she had ever seen. He stood head and shoulders above the Druid, his huge head and shaggy beard made him look almost savage. ‘I am Gwrnach,’ he boomed, ‘you are smaller than I expected.’ He smiled.

Anwen looked to Taliesin and back to Gwrnach, her eyes practically popping out of her head. ‘He is my brother and friend.’ Taliesin tried to
soothe her.

‘Oh my
God!’ Anwen breathed. ‘What have I done?’ She tried to escape Taliesin’s grip, to get out of bed, but they crowded in on her and pressed her back down.

‘What is the matter?’ Taliesin tried to calm her
. ‘You are safe, Anwen, calm down.’

‘Will you be like that?’ She pushed Taliesin’s hands away from her and nodded towards Gwrnach, her eyes filled with horror.

‘Like what?’ Gwrnach said, affronted.

Elder Tom
as waved his hands. ‘Enough, you’re frightening the poor child.’ He leaned in and took Anwen’s hands. She tried to pull away but he firmed his grip and looked into her eyes. ‘You must calm yourself, Anwen Morgan.’

Taliesin stood back, feeling ashamed and guilty, hurt and saddened by Anwen’s reaction. He let Elder Tom
as take control of the situation. ‘Look at me, child. If you mean will Taliesin one day be as … substantial as Gwrnach, then yes. One day he will bloom and take the same form as all of the Bwy Hir.’ Anwen stared into Elder Tomas’ eyes, afraid to look anywhere else. ‘But,’ he continued, ‘if you are worried as to the size of your unborn child, then fear not. The Bwy Hir are the same size as Humans until they bloom. Your child will be normal … ish, when it is born.’

‘Ish?’ Anwen whispered, ‘What does “ish” mean?’

Elder Tomas released her hands and sat down on the bed. ‘There has never been a Hanner-Bridia:
a half breed, as far as we know, your child will be the first. It is not known whether it will become … well like the Bwy Hir, like Gwrnach – eventually. Or whether it will be simply Human … we don’t know.’

‘Oh my
God.’ Anwen covered her face with her hands. ‘Oh my God.’

Gwrnach stared down at the little female huddled in the bed. She was so small, so
Human.
What had Taliesin been thinking?
He looked to Taliesin. He stood away from the bed, looking wretched and remorseful. Gwrnach gave him a sympathetic smile and then moved closer to the bed, kneeling down so as not to frighten the girl further. ‘Little woman?’ Gwrnach began and Anwen looked at him through her fingers. ‘Taliesin and I are both expectant fathers.’ He beamed but Anwen sat unmoving. ‘You see, I – we, have a terrible problem … the mother of my child is sleeping and thus is defenceless in her current state. She will be about as pregnant as you are now.’ He nodded to her belly. ‘And she carries my first child, just as you carry Taliesin’s.’

‘Is it a
Hanner-Bridia?’ Anwen mumbled through her fingers.

‘No.’ Gwrnach shook his head. ‘But that makes no difference,
Hanner-Bridia or not, it is still my first child and very precious to me, but it is in grave danger.’

Anwen dropped her hands and looked into Gwrnach’s huge, pale eyes. What she saw was an honest pain. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

‘Because this is why you were summoned.’ Gwrnach looked to Taliesin who had dropped his head. ‘We need you to wake them, all of the Pride so they can return here safely.’

‘I don’t understand, what am I supposed to do?’ Anwen glanced at Taliesin and for the first time felt not love, but rage building up inside her. ‘You want me to use a
Cerdd Carega,’ she said flatly and Gwrnach nodded his huge, shaggy head. ‘How? I’m not Bwy Hir. Why don’t one of you do it?’ She said the name with scorn.

Elder Tom
as spoke up. ‘But, my child, as I understand, you carry a drop of Bwy Hir blood within you and that means you should be able to use the Cerdd Carega with a bit of training and then go and wake the Pride. A male Bwy Hir cannot use the Cerdd Carega to enter the Pride’s lair, only a female can.’

‘Why are they in danger? Why can’t you wait until Spring?’ Anwen was becoming angry, she was being used.

‘Because, as I said before, there is a problem with travelling via the mirrors and now, apparently, the Cerdd Carega.’ He pursed his lips trying to find the right words so as not to frighten the girl. ‘Ysbrydion are lurking in the ways we use to travel … if they break into the Pride’s lair, well, they will be unable to defend themselves.’

‘And so you want me to travel somewhere full
of dark spirits and then wake up a whole host of sleeping giants.’ Anwen’s voice dripped scorn. ‘And then what?’ she said with growing suspicion, ‘I can go home? If I do this you will let me go home?’

‘One step at a time, Anwen Morgan.’ Elder Tom
as tried to evade the question. ‘Let us first rescue the Pride.’

‘And if I cannot?’ Anwen pressed the
Druid. ‘If I can’t use the Cerdd Carega? What then? Can I go home?’

‘Anwen,’ Elder Tom
as cast his eyes to Taliesin. ‘The future has not been determined. First let us see whether you can actually use the Cerdd Carega.’

‘And if I refuse?’ Anwen folded her arms and shot a glance at Taliesin.

‘You cannot refuse.’ It was Taliesin who answered, ‘My father demands it.’ He met her glare with a blank stare of his own and she looked away, furious.

‘When?’ she asked Elder Tom
as, pointedly ignoring Taliesin. ‘Now,’ he answered gently, ‘he wants you to begin now. Can you stand?’

Anwen swung her legs off the side of the bed, turning her back on Taliesin. She pulled down the long shirt the physician had given her to wear and slowly she stood up, wincing at the pain shooting though her calf muscle.

‘It is quite a long walk to where Aeron wishes you to attend. May I carry you?’ Gwrnach offered as politely and as un-gruffly as possible.

Anwen shook her head
. ‘No, I will walk.’ She shot another glare at Taliesin. ‘Can I at least have my clothes back?’

The physician
, who had been loitering in the background, retrieved her neatly folded but still soiled clothes and brought them to her. ‘Can I have some privacy while I change?’

The men all shuffled back and Elder Tom
as pulled the curtain closed giving her the privacy she requested. They all stood in silence, all feeling a tangle of emotions that no one voiced. Elder Tomas felt sorry for the girl. The physician admired the girl's strength of will. Taliesin felt sick to the pit of his stomach and Gwrnach, well, he felt relieved that they were one step closer to rescuing the Pride.

Anwen finished dressing. Her jeans leg was stiff with blood and had two holes either side of where her injury throbbed mercilessly. Her jumper was muddied and stained with grass as were her trainers, but she felt more
comfortable in her own clothes, more confident somehow.

She
took a moment to gather herself, she felt hurt, hungry, thirsty, sleepy and tired. Her leg throbbed and she felt stiff and achy, but she tried to stand up straight. She would not let any of them see how vulnerable and fragile she felt – especially Taliesin. She gritted her teeth. When this was over, she was going home. She would raise her child herself and she never wanted to see Taliesin or another Bwy Hir for as long as she lived. Whatever happened, she was going home, whether they liked it or not.

She steeled herself, clung on to her resolve and with grim determination she stepped from behind the curtain. ‘I’m ready
,’ she said with as much grit as she could muster.

She limped towards the doors of the Infirmary, brushing away any offer of assistance. Elder Tom
as held the doors and they left together, making a slow but steady progress towards the Hall of Mirrors.

Nothing could have prepared Anwen for
the long walk towards her fate. She was overcome by the sheer scale of Maen-Du; the cavernous halls spanned off in every direction. The height of the ceilings lost in the gloom that the brightest of sconces could not illuminate.

Druids
scurried past as the procession edged ever closer to the Hall of Mirrors, some Druids ignored her completely, others craned their necks as she passed, keen to catch a glimpse of the strange, hobbling female being escorted by an Elder and two Bwy Hir.

As they entered the Hall of Mirrors, Anwen’s breath was taken away by what she saw. Rank upon rank of mirrors lined each and every wall, illuminated by gigantic chandeliers hung from enormous chains, their candles dripping wax and adding their odour to the cloying haze that hung in the air.
There was an air of anxiety and haste exuding from the small army of Druids that filled the Hall, rushing back and forth, some bent over the tables as they scribbled and scribed.

Aeron was
unmistakable and Anwen felt a bolt of fear as she looked up at him. He was as magnificent as he was colossal. He stood stooped over a gaggle of Druids as they talked up to him, craning their necks to look into his face. His hair was snow white and hung down his back and yet, he did not look old, he looked muscular, young and beautiful, and then he turned towards her and Anwen swiftly changed her opinion. His face was flawless and beautiful, but the cast of cruelty was unmistakable, he looked cold, calculated and merciless: Winter incarnate.

He strolled over to her and then stood with his feet apart and his arms folded. His expression was a mix of indifference and something else – revulsion? Anwen felt like shrinking away and
hiding from him but she did not, she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, meeting his gaze. Aeron smirked. ‘You do not bow to your king?’ His voice was cold, aloof.

‘You are not my king.’ Anwen’s wavering voice belied her brave stance.

Aeron’s smile deepened. ‘While you are in my domain, I am your king and you will bow.’ His eyes penetrated hers. She felt her knees grow weak and she dropped her head. He was satisfied. ‘Gwrnach, take Taliesin and our guest to the Dell. Have her instructed how to use the Cerdd Carega. I want the Pride awake as soon as possible. If she succeeds, bring the entire Pride back here.’

They had been dismissed and Aeron turned back to his study of the
mirrors. Anwen felt like a fool – an inconsequential fool. She limped after the towering Gwrnach and a chagrined Taliesin and she seethed at her own stupidity. Mary had been right.

She kept her head down as she followed them, fighting back tears of self-pity that threatened to spill at any moment. She would not cry.

She almost bumped into Taliesin’s back as they arrived at the Reception Hall. Huge standing stones took centre stage and Anwen felt minute in comparison to them. Taliesin handed her a bracelet that he removed from his wrist but she refused it. ‘Please. Wear it. It will protect you,’ he implored her.

She stared down at his outstretched hand and then snatched it from him, t
hrusting it over her hand to hang of her wrist alongside the gold chain with the acorn that matched Mary’s.
I should have listened to her
, she thought again.

‘Take my hand.’ Gwrnach interrupted her self-chastisement. She limped forward and placed her tiny hand into his huge paw. Taliesin offered his hand to her as well but she tried to ignore him. ‘Take his hand,’ encouraged Gwrnach, ‘it is better we travel together.’

She lifted her hand, but still refused to look at him. He took it gently, feeling Anwen’s fear as her hand shook. ‘It’s easier the second time,’ he whispered to her and she nodded once, steeling herself.