“Oh, him,” Deirdre said, darkening a bit. “Snedeker told me what transpired the other night. I thought it best he not travel with us. No reason for you to worry. He is truly harmless. And as a loyal friend, I would rather his ashes not become part of the winds, or whatever it was you said to him.”
Richard grunted. Deirdre grinned and didn’t look away. The knight began to feel uncomfortable under her scrutiny. She was beautiful, the light smattering of freckles around her nose accentuating the smoothness of her pale skin. Her eyes shared a vast intelligence, and she sat her Rhedewyr with practiced, lithe sensuality and grace. Beneath her physical loveliness, a power resided, a power Richard could not define but one that gave her maturity beyond her years.
If he were a different man in another life, he would have been attracted to her.
Those days were long behind him though.
The day passed uneventfully as the sunshine finally cut through the fog to reveal the blue sky. Birdsong and wildlife returned despite the burnt aspect of the forest, the power of the Cailleach everywhere. The trees loosened their hold on the mountain slopes as they climbed, and more small waterfalls tumbled to a much larger river that could be periodically seen slicing through the expanding valley below. Richard had not realized how far they had ascended to reach Arendig Fawr; he could almost reach out and touch the peaks of the Snowdon above, where patches of glacial snow fought the witch’s unnatural summer. In those upper reaches, the coblynau and dragons waited.
After a quick stop to take lunch and water the horses, the group continued on. The afternoon waned toward evening and still they climbed, the peaks purpling as the sun vanished in the golden, cloudless west. Exposed granite outcroppings shattered the mountainsides and long-needled blue pine grew around them, their odor sweet on the faint breeze even as they thinned from the altitude. The view became expansive, dizzying in its scope, as Richard viewed broken peaks all around them, the faint ribbon of the river still meandering far below and cutting off the forest they had ridden through from the other side of the vast valley.
As shadows lengthened toward evening and the rhythm of Lyrian drowsily lulled the knight, a splitting avian scream ripped through the stillness.
Arrow Jack.
The bird sat in a tree at the turn in the trail, wings flapping madly. Screams of surprise from Richard’s companions quickly followed as a shadowy wraith fell from the side of the mountain above, blotting out the sky like a thundercloud before landing in the midst of the company, separating Lugh and Richard from the rest of the group.
The shadowy creature turned burning eyes on Bran.
“Bodach!” Lugh roared. “Unseelie!”
“Get away, Bran!” Richard shouted.
Richard kept his seat as Lyrian reared in panic, whinnying loudly. Bran was not so lucky. He tumbled off Westryl and hit the packed dirt hard. Richard fought to get passed Lugh, who took up much of the path, but he couldn’t get there.
Bran would die quickly.
Thankfully Westryl lashed out with his hooves at the beast, the horse keeping between the creature and Bran. Prevented from its quarry, the creature turned its flaming gaze on Richard, its stare terrifying with maddened intelligence. Magic filled his soul and Arondight entered his hand without problem, the sword casting azure light about the trail and highlighting their attacker. It had the shape of hyena but was much larger, six legs ending in clawed paws trampling the earth. A long snout lined with teeth snapped at Lyrian and the Long Hand that charged it. As the creature spun, striking at the warriors, Richard realized he could see through it as if it were made of smoke. But from within its outline bones, chunks of elvish armor, and even weapons glimmered in what daylight was left, as if it had absorbed all remnants of earlier prey.
Revulsion swept through Richard.
It was an Unseelie creature, one that had eaten the hellyll Lugh had sent out that morning.
Bran scrambled back toward the clurichauns even as Lugh charged his battle mount forward, the horse forcing his way past the beast to defend Westryl. Areadbhar a lightning bolt of silver, Lugh jabbed at their attacker, snarling battle madness.
The bodach shied away from the spear, quicker than Lugh, hissing hatred. Caught between the hellyll leader