lingered just below the surface, a caged animal ready for release.
“I can, yes,” Bran answered, feeling a bit lightheaded.
“You and the blade are now one,” Richard said, peering closely at Bran. “While possessing it, you have the ability to protect yourself from those who would see you dead. That protection comes at a cost. The magic comes from you, but nothing comes from nothing. If not careful, you can be consumed from within, be bled empty. The power can also be addictive for some. I have seen it. I am sure Merle will have more to say about this if we return.”
“What do you mean if?”
“I won’t lie to you, we may not return, not amidst the hell we find ourselves in at the moment,” Richard replied. “Entering Caer Llion is a dangerous prospect even for the most trained. You are not trained. It’s unfortunate timing. The risk might be too much.” He paused. “But whether I like it or not, you are a fellow knight now and I need your help.”
“Being untrained, I don’t have to go in, you know,” Bran said.
“You do,” Richard said simply.
Bran was going to ask why when Snedeker, who had suddenly lost interest in his oddly colored blade of grass, flew to where the two knights were, sat on a rotting log, and listened to Richard with an intensity Bran almost found comical.
“What do you want, fairy?” the knight asked lowly.
“Nothing at all,” Snedeker answered.
“You’ve been acting strangely toward me ever since that night with the Lady in the fairy glen,” Richard pressed, clearly annoyed. “Watching me. I know you don’t like me. I don’t like you much. But I have to know. The Lady told you something, didn’t she? That night.”
Snedeker stared at Richard as if trying to figure out a puzzle.
“Answer me!” he demanded.
“Why does it matter?” Deirdre asked, having finished caring for the Rhedewyr and sitting at the fire.
“Oh, it matters. A lot. Every Heliwr has had a guide, a fairy, one that watches the knight’s back in time of need. Bran’s father had a fairy guide as well. Berrytrill, his name was. I think the Lady spoke to Snedeker there, asked him to serve. He has been quiet ever since that night and it has been grating on me.”
“Snedeker, is this true?” Deirdre asked.
The fairy glanced at the redhead, an iota of guilt crossing his woodland features.
“Red, I meant to tell you…”
“So it’s true? You are to guide Rick?”
“The Lady spoke to me, yes,” Snedeker said. “Asked me to serve the Heliwr. If I had known it would be McAllister here, though, I never would have agreed. Thought it would be Ardall. The lesser of two cow pies, that one.”
“Dammit,” Richard growled low. “Just my luck. What else did the Lady say?”
“That was it, darktard,” Snedeker snapped.
Richard looked as though he would call the Dark Thorn and incinerate the fairy immediately.
“So my father had a fairy guide?” Bran asked, trying to alleviate the tension. “What else haven’t you told me about my father, Richard?”
“There is much I haven’t told you,” the knight said, still staring hard at the fairy. “Not because I didn’t want to but because I didn’t want you to feel obligated to follow in his footsteps. To tell you more about your father would have accelerated what I had hoped to prevent. Turns out Merle is a tricky bastard, and he pulled the wool over my eyes.”
“Why keep me from anything?” Bran asked, a bit angrily. “It isn’t your place.”
“It is my place to protect those who can’t protect themselves,” Richard replied pointedly. “That was you. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into, just as right now you still do not. Sadly, I need your help in Caer Llion and that cannot be avoided.”
Calming himself, Bran let Arondight vanish.
“Did you know my father well?”
“I knew him vaguely.” Richard leaned back into his bedroll. “You look a bit like him, but he had a kinder heart than you have. No doubt due your time on the streets. He had a hard work ethic and believed quite strongly in what he was doing. Few ever bested him and those who did didn’t last much longer afterward.”
“I have few memories of him,” Bran admitted.
“Died before you grew up, for sure.”
“I asked this of you before,” Bran said. “Do you know who killed my father?”
“No,” Richard said stoically. “It literally could be anyone or anything, from this world or our own. I know his time came in the