Red mantle, p.12
Red Mantle, page 12
part #3 of Mantle Chronicles Series
‘There may be mysteries that I do not wish you to know, little witch. Weren’t you warned that I was a dangerous man?’ He did not move away but reached to push a wisp of hair from my face and I trembled. ‘I am not a king’s servant, nor slave to a college of magic. I give my allegiance to no kingdom and I swear love to no man or woman. I am my own man.’
‘All you need to know, enchantress, is that I am committed to your cause.’ There was a moment when everything, the whole world, even the waves upon the Eastern Sea stood still, waiting. And more than anything, I was waiting too. Then he leaned forward as if to kiss me on my lips but hesitated and kissed my forehead instead. ‘I am glad that you trust me with your secret. I will not fail you. There should be honesty between us.’ He stepped back and exhaled. ‘You are dangerous too, Megwin of Brak. You have your mother’s beauty and her power too, it seems.’
‘You know Gwythin?’ My voice was little more than a croak.
He leaned against the tree, beside me. ‘Once, when I was a callow fellow, younger than Sandor, I met her in the Southern Meeds.’ The moment had passed, and we were saved. As he described his encounter with my mother, I wondered if it was his similarity to Sandor that drew me to him or if it was the danger and mystery that surrounded him. Perhaps his relationship with my mother also drew him to me. Yared had talked about power. He had sensed that Seguido was not a simple gypsy with a taste for adventure.
‘I was dazzled by her, the way her grey eyes laughed, and the sun danced in her fiery hair. I would have given her everything, even given up my soul for her.’ He laughed. ‘Poor boy, that I was, I had never met anyone so beautiful and so persuasive. She was powerful but she was vulnerable too. I see that in you, Little Megwin. A man wants to protect you and keep you safe.’
‘What’s this?’ Ardin strode out of the dark and made us both jump apart. ‘I wondered why it was taking you so long to settle the horses. Has Megwin been working her charms on you?’
‘On the contrary, your Majesty,’ Seguido bowed, smiling, ‘she has been bending my ear about my nephew, Sandor. I think they might have become lovers if you had not separated them by sending him off to Sarnmouth.’
‘That would be impossible,’ Ardin bristled. ‘As a member of the Souran, Megwin has taken a vow of chastity.’
Seguido laughed. ‘True, your Majesty, but aren’t all the best vows those that can be broken?’ He nodded to me and strolled back to the campfire and I was about to follow but Ardin caught my arm.
‘What does this Sandor mean to you?’ he demanded.
‘Ardin!’ I wrenched my arm free. ‘He is my friend and I care about him. You said it yourself, that my vow stops anything other than simple friendship.’
‘I would hate to see you cast out like your mother. Silver Mantle told me of her banishment from the Talarin. She challenged the power of the Souran once too often. I don’t want that to happen to you.’ He hesitated and then went on. ‘I still care about you, Megwin.’
‘You have a wife.’ The words came out as flat and unemotional as I could make them.
‘What a miserable mistake that was.’ He thumped the tree with his fist. ‘She’s as cold as stone and interested in nothing but pretty clothes and how her hair looks.’
Deep down, I felt a wicked satisfaction in hearing that the marriage was not the bliss that he had expected. ‘Nevertheless,’ I told him, ‘she is your wife. You made your choice.’
‘And you will never forgive me for it.’ He looked truly miserable. ‘I had hoped that when you become Silver Mantle, we could have the same close relationship that Olemia had with my father.’ My heart sank. Oh, if only he knew. If only I could tell him about the heartache that Olemia had known because of her love for his father, our father.
‘I am not going to become Silver Mantle.’
‘Olemia says that you are.’
‘She does not make decisions for me!’ My voice had risen, and I paused to take control of myself. ‘We were just children, Ardin. We have both grown a little since those days.’
‘But I still care about you.’ He grabbed my shoulders. ‘I’ve been wanting to tell you that ever since we left Vellin. I still love you.’
I summoned all my power of calm and authority. ‘I will always care for you Ardin and I hope you will feel the same for me but as for romantic love, that is over for us. You have a wife and a kingdom, and I have my path as Green Mantle. That should be enough for us. It has to be enough for there can be nothing else.’ I faced him squarely and felt strong and more like a member of the Souran than I had ever felt before. I was mistress of my own destiny. Ardin stalked away as Blue Mantle came to call us to eat.
‘You have had a very busy evening out here with the horses.’ He smirked and couldn’t resist grinning at his own sarcasm.
‘Too busy.’ I sighed. ‘I think I have had enough for one evening. I would like to spend some time with someone who is simple, uncomplicated and without guile.’
‘My dear girl,’ he chuckled, ‘that sounds just like me.’
I slept badly that night. My dreams were full of Ardin, that younger Ardin who had professed his undying love for me as he drew me into his arms and in my dream, he turned into Seguido Vargas. Memories of his body next to mine in the great bed at Jedran Keep and the salamander tattoo on his shoulder mingled wildly with images of that other face that had haunted my dreams for so long, the face of Llewid, King of Dereculd. He had tried to assassinate Ardin and in doing so had brought me close to death from a spider’s venom. As I lay unprotected, he had stolen that other half of me and turned her into the detested Brown Mantle. Together that had brought war and destruction to the Five Kingdoms. Now LLewid was dead and the Brown had fled yet his face still haunted me.
I woke with a start, in time to see the pink shadow of dawn creep up the steep sides of the Peleron. On a ridge, high above our camp, I thought I caught sight of two white shapes. I blinked to clear the sleep from my eyes and when I looked again, they were gone.
XIII. Peleron
It was raining steadily as we turned our horses towards the first of three passes that wound through the Peleron Mountains to the lands of the Kashkie. There was snow on the higher slopes of the mountains and patches on the track had turned to slush. We rode in silence, listening and watchful, none of us certain of what we expected. I could not forget the memory of those two white figures in the distance.
We travelled until noon, leaving the first peaks behind, rising through the second pass. By now, the rain was easing, and we found a wide stretch of path where we could dismount and eat something. There was no fodder for our animals except that which we carried, so after giving them their rations, we did not linger but lead them for a time.
Blue Mantle came alongside. ‘Take care. When you can, look up at the ridge between the next hills on our right.’ He dropped back and appeared to be sharing the same instructions with Seguido. He made the same comments to Hodin. I brushed rain from Gilbert’s mane and squinted up the mountain to our right. Six white figures were silently shepherding our progress. I looked back to Blue Mantle. ‘They have been with us since we entered the pass.’ He nodded. ‘Can you tell what they are? Do you sense anything about them?’
‘No, it’s strange.’ I turned my face to the silent group. ‘I can usually feel animals, but these are not ordinary creatures. I can’t even focus well enough to make out their shape. Are they on four legs or two?’
‘I cannot tell.’ He drew his mantle tighter and patted his horse. From his pouch in my saddlebags, the fox looked up and then slithered further down until nothing, but his brush could be seen.
When the rain stopped, the wind rose, lashing at our faces as we reached the highest point of the second pass. Hodin insisted that we take a short break for some warm brew and although we all wanted to be out of the mountains by dark, we were cold and welcomed something warm in our throats. I grew a small clump of fine meadow grass to feed the horses.
‘Beyond that bank of mountains is Kashkie. The clouds are low but if it was clear you would already see the three peaks of Nagoa, Chacchima and Tisharn.’ Seguido pointed towards the west. ‘They smoke by day and by night, the sky above them glows.’
‘Volcanoes?’
‘This whole region is volcanic, but they are the great cauldrons and the reason for the name of the Devil’s Cage.’
‘
And these volcanoes,’ I asked, ‘are sacred to the Brotherhood?’
‘Chacchima is the home of the Salamander and a place of great power. There has been a temple on its slopes long before the settling of the Camlan valley.’
‘I have seen salamanders,’ I told him, ‘they are small lizards that like to spend winter in the warmth and shelter of wood piles and can sometimes find themselves thrown on the fire by mistake.’
‘In your world, the world of nature and living things, that may be so.’ Seguido threw away the dregs of his drink. ‘But we worship a different being. The Salamander of Chacchima is a creature of power and myth, a spirit of the deep earth.’ He kicked at the warm ashes of our fire. ‘The Salamander is not part of your domain, just as those who are shadowing us are not bound by your natural laws. The White Ones are beyond our world.’
‘They are not ghosts,’ I insisted as he helped me onto Gilbert’s back.
‘No, but they are the guardians of the Peleron and as such, their power is greater than their substance.’
Between the second and third pass, the track follows a ridge, barely wide enough for a horse. Ingo needed encouragement but one reminder of the dangers of staying in the mountains at night spurred him onwards. We were all reminded of the fearful, stalking danger that accompanied us when we rounded the final bend into the last pass.
In the middle of the track was a small mound of grey fur. The fox recognised it immediately and let out a great whine. I had already dismounted and was racing up the track.
Yared’s body was still warm. He had been brutally attacked, scratched and beaten, blood congealing from his nose and mouth. I wailed, nursing him, who had so long been a friend and strength to me. The pain drove me to my feet, and I cursed his killers.
‘They wish to be shown,’ the eagle screamed as he came from the clouds. ‘This is a test for you. You must show them that you can raise the dead.’
‘You know I can’t do that.’
‘When will you understand anything and give up this stubborn adherence to that ridiculous Mantle vow?’ The bird spread his great wings, glowing in the afternoon light. ‘You would sacrifice the wolf’s life to keep the Souran happy? Which is more precious to you Green Mantle, your vow or this life? He put his trust in your power. Don’t fail him. Summon him back before his shade is left here on this bare mountain forever!’
I looked back at the others. They clustered together, waiting for me to do something. Yared’s warm body hung limp in my arms, Yared who had brought his people to save Magra when the city was threatened. Yared, who had walked the lonely roads of the Five Kingdoms with me.
I did not hesitate long. This was one lesson that the Old One had taught me well and one that I had vowed never to use. As I put my hand on his rib cage, reaching deep within myself for the power that hid there, my memory tripped back to the enchanted island where I had seen the revived Llewid brought back to life by my other self, the evil half of me. What was so different between us? She had revived her lost love and now I revived a dear friend.
From the elements I summoned his scattering self and drew it back. I made the flesh warm once more and sent the blood coursing through his veins. Wounds healed, bruises disappeared and all the while, the wind wailed and moaned as my travelling companions crept closer, both those on the packhorse track and those who watched from above. I sensed them now and I knew them. They were flesh and blood and if they had killed Yared, then they were without honour. The wolf’s body rose and drew air back into his lungs with a great gasp. It was accomplished.
‘I knew that you could do it,’ Yared whispered as he looked into my eyes. ‘The sky hunter had faith in you and so did I.’
‘The sky hunter had a part in all this?’ I looked about for the eagle, but he had already departed.
‘The White Ones have heard of the power of Green Mantle, but they needed proof. I was that proof. I had to show them that I had faith in you, so I let them kill me.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I am thankful that you understood.’
I held him close, unable to express how I felt. He had been willing to sacrifice himself in order to prove my strength and ensure protection for us all. I wanted to say so much, but it is the nature of the wolf that such outpouring of sentiment is considered unnecessary. Instead, I helped Blue Mantle to carry him to Gilbert. We managed to use some of our canvas shelter to make a kind of sling, but it hampered Gilbert’s progress and it soon became clear that we would not clear the pass by sunset.
Kaileb pointed to the next bend in the road. In a natural alcove, a hollow that might one day become worn into a true cave, a fire had been lit and something was cooking on a cauldron. It was no surprise to find the eagle perched on a ledge above this sheltered place.
‘They are satisfied,’ he explained. ‘The guardians of the mountains will grant you and your party safe passage through the Peleron for all time. They wanted to show you that they are not mindless killers and they particularly wanted me to impress upon you that the wolf’s noble sacrifice will be honoured, and his kind welcomed forever.’ He tilted his head. ‘How is your conscience?’
That night I dreamed again, receiving the same summons as before but it was not for that I shall remember that night. Shortly before dawn, Yared stirred and I drew him close, keeping him warm between the fox and myself. Figures moved in the shadows, white wraiths with the grace of the noblest of their species, their amber eyes watching. They knew I had seen them, and one paused for a moment.
‘Rest Mantle!’ it said in my mind. ‘The Peleron will always welcome you and we who guard the passes honour you. The fire mountains are dangerous, but we will shadow you and come to your aid, should you need us, but we cannot enter the realms of men.’ They had brought food and kept our fire burning, leaving before the others woke. True to their word, they continued to follow us, but their images were clearer now. They had taken on the shapes of handsome snow leopards the size of lions. This was the appearance that they always use to impress humans, both friend and foe.
✽✽✽
I had strange misgivings about the city of the Kashkie and felt easier to know that the fox and Yared had agreed to stay and be well protected in the Peleron, with the snow leopards. As we left the last pass and caught our first view of the Devil’s Cage, the White Ones and my dear friends disappeared back into the snow.
The Cage was more like a shallow dish-shaped valley that separated the three smoking peaks of Chacchima, Nagoa and Tisharn. Nestled between them was the city of Kashkie with its painted buildings and elaborate rooftops. In this cold and stormy climate, the flamboyant chimneys were more than decoration and in the early morning, the smoke rose in thin spirals to gather like ghostly lakes under the flattened top of Nagoa. Above the mist, on the higher slopes of the volcano, stood the imposing Royal Palace of the House of the Peleron. It was clear that Chacchima was the southern peak for there was a temple of sorts but rather more dilapidated than I had expected and to the north of the city, the gaunt, bare slopes of Tisharn caught the first sunlight.
‘I have never seen a more alien place. Everything about it is unfamiliar and even at this distance, with all its gaudy colour, it threatens me.’ Blue Mantle shivered. ‘Something very strong inside makes me want to run away.’ He sighed dramatically before easing his horse forward. Hodin and I grinned. Blue Mantle had a gentle sense of humour that would emerge at tense moments.
‘It looks exciting to me,’ Hodin beamed.
‘That, young Hodin,’ Blue Mantle looked back over his shoulder, ‘is what I was afraid of.’
We rode to the outskirts of the city and by the reaction of the inhabitants we appeared to be as fascinating and strange to them as they were to us. As we passed, they stopped their labours to come and look at us, pointing and calling to each other excitedly. Indeed, compared to them, in their heavy garments of fur, shiny brocades, leggings of velvet and metallic ornaments inlaid with precious minerals, we were a strange band in our dusty, travel-worn clothes. Even the aromas were foreign to us, pungent, hot and spicy. They hung in the air and clung to the nostrils. Someone was playing music but what instrument it was, I couldn’t guess. A child ran across our path and the mother, gathering him in her arms gave a sign that could only be interpreted as fending off some evil. Perhaps that was how we looked to them. It might have explained the fact that by the time we had reached the central plaza, a great open square with fountains and ornamental gardens, there was a heavily armed welcoming party of Palace guards waiting for us.
Belatedly, I wondered if they even spoke the same language and was falsely comforted to find that they did, in a fashion. They escorted us to the Palace, and we had hoped for an audience with someone of authority but as soon as we had dismounted in the Palace courtyard, we were bound and dragged protesting to the cells. Melik was beaten senseless and both Ardin and Seguido might have suffered the same fate, if Blue Mantle and I had not prevailed on them to be patient. He insisted that when those in authority discovered that they had imprisoned the King of Magra, then we would be saved, and dignity restored. We were still emphasising this course of action when the guards brought our supper of weak gruel and weevilly bread.
‘You’re a Mantle, do something,’ Ardin growled at Blue Mantle. ‘If she,’ he pointed at me, ‘could raise a wolf from the dead, then surely you can get us out of here.’
Blue Mantle stretched his lips across his teeth in a hideous counterfeit for a smile. ‘I’ll do my best, your Majesty.’ He sighed and started to raise his arms but before his hands were at waist height, the bolt on the door slid back and there was the sound of a key being wriggled in the lock. Ardin beamed at Blue Mantle and we tried to stifle a laugh.
