The Bwy Hir Complete Trilogy (58 page)

Gwyn felt a surge of sadness bubbling up inside him and he stood quietly, staring at the floor and absently scratching Bara’s ear.

‘Who’s Davy?’ Dai Jones asked.

‘Anwen’s son.’ Liz gave Gwyn an apologetic look
. ‘Mary told me and I’ve read all the postcards already, sorry Gwyn.’

Gwyn shook his head
. ‘No worries, Liz. No bother. I always knew you knew.’ He kept his eyes fastened to the floor and waited for the heat in his cheeks to subside.

Glyn-Guinea cleared his throat
. ‘Right then, we know Anwen has friends who travelled abroad a lot. We know she was in contact with Mary, so it seems sensible for Gwyn to travel with Selwyn to London and start our search from there.’ Selwyn nodded but Gwyn shook his head.

‘I’m not leaving the farm and I’m not leaving Bara. Let Liz go, she knew Mary.’ Gwyn would not be swayed on this.

‘And if Liz manages to find her? Anwen will neither trust nor believe her. You have to go.’ Glyn-Guinea puffed on his pipe.

‘I’ll give Liz a letter.’ Gwyn offered
. ‘Anwen knows my handwriting and I’ll get the phone put back on. All Anwen will have to do is call me.’

Glyn-Guinea shook his head
. ‘It needs to be you.’ Gwyn pressed his lips together stubbornly. ‘I’ll not argue with you Gwyn. It’s the only way we can find Anwen. But if you’re refusing to go, then you can tell Awel when she gets here.’

‘She’s coming here? When?’ Gwyn hadn’t expected a visit from Awel in person.

‘Later. After sunset.’ Glyn-Guinea turned to speak directly to Gary. ‘How is the search for the vicar going?’

Gary shrugged his shoulders
. ‘The village is thick with gossip,’ he said, tutting, ‘but PC Mallard says he will not rest until he finds him – fat chance of that. The plod and the vicar aren’t Chosen, only we can find them.’

Glyn-Guinea nodded absently as he unfolded a huge map and spread it out over the table
. ‘So, back to business. I’ve been visiting every Chosen farm - each and every one of them over the last few months and reported back to the Druids what I found – not that they’ve done anything about it.’ Glyn-Guinea scowled through his pipe smoke.

‘What do you mean?’ Gwyn leaned over the map to study the markings scrawled over it.

‘Farms abandoned, completely empty. Here, here and here.’ Glyn-Guinea stabbed the map with a gnarled finger. ‘Pant y Carw, Bodalaw and Ty Gwyn Bach are completely deserted. The families vanished, the livestock gone. What sheep there were left were so skittish I couldn’t get near them.’ 

Gwyn whistled through his teeth at the three red circles drawn on the map, all near each other, all Chosen farms. ‘What of these?’ Gwyn asked
, pointing to another cluster of red circles on the left of the map.

‘Same again.’ Glyn-Guinea pulled a pen from his pocket and pulled off the lid
. ‘All gone. Not a soul about.’ He drew a larger blue circle on the map encompassing all the smaller red circles. ‘So you see, this is where I think we should be looking.’

‘That’s a large area.’ Dai rubbed his chin
. ‘We’ll need to narrow it down a bit.’

Glyn-Guinea nodded
. ‘I’m hoping Awel will be able to do exactly that.’ He turned to Gwyn. ‘But I’m hoping we’ll have come up with some more information by the time she arrives.’

Gwyn raised his eyebrows
. ‘So she really is joining us?’

Glyn-Guinea nodded
. ‘She is and she insisted we all wear the bracelets Liz brought.’ He began handing them out and Gwyn slipped his over his wrist. ‘She also made another mandate … Elder Nissyen will be joining us.’ He cringed.

‘A Druid?’ Gwyn recoiled at the thought of a Druid in his house. ‘Do we have to?’

‘Awel insisted.’ Glyn-Guinea ground his teeth. ‘I’m no more delighted than you Gwyn, but Nissyen is learned and shrewd. He will be able to shed light where we see only shadows. Liz will be gone by then and her involvement is not to be mentioned in front of the Druid. You know their rules.’

Gwyn sighed and his stomach grumbled. When preparing his breakfast this morning the last thing he had anticipated was a kitchen full of people. Working as one, they were attempting to strike at the heart of the evil that shrouded the hills and mountains of Eryri, to bring down Arawn, to restore the natural order, and they were returning Anwen and her child to the valleys.
It was a small army, but an army that was going to change the fate of Cymru.

‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Glyn-Guinea
said, relighting his pipe, ‘but working together as one, well, I reckon we can do this.’

Gwyn was a jumble of emotions. ‘I hope for the sake of all
of us that we can. I hope Awel knows what she’s doing.’

‘She does
,’ Glyn-Guinea replied. ‘Now, have you got anything to eat? I’m starving.’

‘Hey.’ Gwyn put his hands on his hips and stared at everyone in turn
. ‘Who ate my bacon butty?’

Bara wagged her tail.

CHAPTER FOUR

‘You have lost your mind
?’ Mab was pacing the floor of her pavilion, rubbing her hands together nervously. ‘Aeron agreed to this?’

Awel leaned heavily on her staff
. ‘Yes. I have been given permission to find Anwen and bring her safely back to the Dell.’

‘And he has given you permission to hunt down Arawn?’ Mab stopped her pacing and spun towards Awel
. ‘He has not forbidden it?’

Awel hid her deceits well
. ‘I do not go in search of Arawn. That quest has been given to others, not to me.’ She met Mab’s gaze with her head held high. ‘But should our paths cross, I will of course defend myself. Do not worry Mab, he is still in Human form or he would have attacked us by now.’

‘Atgas is not
Human,’ Mab pointed out. ‘Do you consider yourself a match for her?’

Awel rolled her eyes
. ‘As I’ve said, my quest is to find Anwen Morgan and the child, nothing more, but I repeat my answer and say that should our paths cross I will of course defend myself.’

Mab stared into Awel’s eyes looking for a hint of falsehood but found none
. ‘I still don’t like it. I need you here with me.’

‘And I shall return as soon as possible
. In the meantime you must keep the Pride strong – they grow restless cooped up here. My advice is to keep them occupied. Why don’t you set them to trawl through the scrolls, see if they can find anything of use to help combat Arawn. We know so little about him; he died so very long ago. Any information we find may prove invaluable.’

Mab considered Awel’s suggestion
. ‘You are right. I will see to it. When do you leave? Do you wish one of us to go with you?’

Awel shook her head
. ‘Aeron said me and me alone. I leave at sunset.’

‘That is not his remit.’ Mab’s cheeks flushed with anger
. ‘The Pride is mine to command – not his. I shall decide who goes and who stays.’

‘I am better off travelling alone. It matters not who commands what.’ Awel was growing increasingly impatient with the struggle of power between Mab and Aeron. ‘I leave at sunset, alone.’

Mab’s eyes flashed with fury and frustration but finally she relented and embraced Awel. ‘
I
command you take care and return unharmed.’

Awel returned the embrace
. ‘And I shall obey.’ Withdrawing from Mab’s arms she stepped back and gripped her staff. ‘I must prepare to leave.’ With a bow to her queen, Awel left the pavilion and made her way to her own lodgings.

Pulling back the flaps of her own smaller pavilion, Awel stepped inside and leaned her staff against her cot, only then did she see the tiny figure s
itting cross-legged, patiently smiling up at her.  The Tylwyth Teg unfolded her tiny body and stood erect on the cot, her huge almond eyes shining through the soft dimness of the pavilion interior, even standing tall on top of Awel’s cot, the Tylwyth Teg did not reach the height of Awel’s shoulders.

Awel smiled down at the perfect little being. The
Tylwyth Teg were as beautiful as they were silent. Rarely did they speak, seldom did they address one of the Bwy Hir. The tiny figure stretched onto her tiptoes, deftly balanced and poised, she lifted her hands to her face and cupped them around her mouth, leaning slightly forward towards Awel. 

Despite her shock, Awel leaned in towards the little
Tylwyth Teg and turned her head to reveal her ear. ‘
Cadw yn graff a ddysgych, Awel Ddu
.’ The little figure whispered before leaning back, nodding solemnly and then hopping off the cot, landing nimbly on the floor and vanishing from the pavilion. Awel was poleaxed.

“
Cadw yn graff a ddysgych
.” The Tylwyth Teg’s
sing-song little voice echoed in Awel’s thoughts. ‘Keep securely what thou learnest, Awel Ddu,’ she mouthed, desperately trying to decipher the meaning of the words.
What does it mean? What are the portents within the message?
 
Why have the words shaken me so?

With trepidation causing her limbs to move slowly she began to gather together
the belongings she would need for her journey, stuffing them into a large satchel with trembling  hands. The Tylwyth Teg had unnerved her.
What have I learnt? What am I going to learn? Has gathering my band of secret collaborators been a mistake?
With a vexed grunt she stopped her packing and flopped onto her cot with her head in her hands.

Fate and consequence. Her own actions had brought her to this crossroads. Had she not intervened, had she not responded to Dafydd Morgan’s pitiful cries all those years ago, had she not saved the child with her own blood, then so much misery could have been spared. Dafydd Morgan and Nerys would be alive, Gwyn would not be named
Gwaradwyddedig: Shamed, but most importantly of all, Anwen Morgan would not have lived, would never had met Taliesin ap Aeron Ddu and therefore never have spawned a Hanner-Bridia
and Arawn would be left wanting.

But Awel had heeded Dafydd’s call, it had felt right, truly just and virtuous to save the child. Had Awel foreseen the consequences of her intervention would she do it again?  Awel shook her head, banishing the dark broodings. She was tying herself up in knots with the thoughts spinning around inside her head. ‘Arawn
,’ she said to herself, as she tapped her chin with her forefinger.

It made no sense to her – he made no sense. He could not have known about Anwen and her child when he and the
Ysbrydion broke through from y Gwag and attacked Maen-Du. ‘Not possible, surely?’ 

‘
Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness. I told your brother the same thing only this morning.’ Celyn-Bach’s soft voice caused her head to snap up. Celyn-Bach smiled.

‘Since when do the Host prowl the Dell uninvited?’ Her words were gruff but from her eyes shone kindness.

‘I have been sent to investigate the ruined Cerdd Carega. May I come in?’ Celyn-Bach entered the pavilion fully at Awel’s nod. ‘I also came to bid you farewell, I hear you are off on a quest.’ He came to sit beside her on the cot.

‘So you’ve spoken with Aeron
?’ Awel folded her hands in her lap, her head bowed. ‘Am I making a mistake Celyn-Bach? Should I leave things alone and stay here in the Dell?’

Celyn-Bach pushed out his bottom lip and mulled over her question. ‘To find Anwen Morgan and the child, to bring them back to the safety of the Dell, how can that be a mistake?’

‘“Safety!”’ Awel spat the word. ‘You think they will be truly safe here?’ she twisted her head to stare at him. ‘Safely away from Arawn’s hands you mean.’ Celyn-Bach remained silent. ‘I apologise for my sharp words,’ she said, sighing heavily, ‘I worry that I’m about to misstep … Anwen Morgan’s grandfather once told me that “the road to hell was paved with good intentions.” I do not wish to make a mistake and unleash hell on earth through my actions.’ Awel tutted and waved her own words away.

Celyn-Bach lifted Awel’s hand and placed it in his own
. ‘Awel, you are too wise for your own good sometimes. Instead of listening to your head, what does your heart tell you?’

‘That I should find Anwen and the boy and bring
them to the safety of the Dell.’

‘Then that is what you must do – wait, you said boy? The child is male? How do you know?’ Celyn-Bach leaned back, craning his neck to look into her eyes.

‘Keep that to yourself,’ she warned him, ‘my tongue runs away with me. You must not mention it to anyone.’ Celyn-Bach paused and mutely nodded.

‘Good.’ Awel stood
. ‘Now be away with you, Celyn-Bach, I have many preparations to make before I leave.’ She shooed him off the cot. Reluctantly he stood up. ‘Stay safe, Awel and stay away from Arawn and Atgas. Will you swear to it?’

‘How many times must I say this: I go for Anwen and the child, nothing more.’ Awel feigned exasperation and she continued shooing him towards the tent flaps.

Celyn-Bach shook his head. ‘Nothing more.’ His voice was laced with doubt. ‘Does Taliesin know what you’re doing?’