they have betrayed Caer Llion,” John said, gliding like a stain down the stairwell. “The Morrigan could be drawing these groups together for an offensive of some kind, one that would put our current plans at risk.”
“You are certain of this? About Lord Gerallt joining the Tuatha?”
“It makes sense, my king,” John said. “Mochdrev Reach has ever had ties to the Carn Cavall, playing both sides to remain at peace. Lord Gerallt offered his daughter, but apparently she is stronger than even I observed when I met her.”
“You have been wrong another time, John,” Philip said, angry all over again with his advisor. “And you wanted me to marry that traitorous whore? Redheaded bitch. I want Lord Gerallt dead. His daughter dead. The Reach made a Templar garrison!”
“The boy and the knight could be driving the resistance.”
“If the bodach does what you say it will, there are no worries,” Philip said.
“The bodach is formidable. But the power of the knight, combined with members of the Seelie Court, could withstand it.” John paused. “I think we should reconsider our plans. I think it would behoove us to sweep the Snowdon clear before proceeding into the portal, my king. It is apparent the Seelie Court is not as weak as we had once thought.”
Anger that had been smoldering reignited. In one swift motion Philip gripped his old friend by his black robe, fists wanting to fling the advisor down the staircase.
“You tell me all of this now!” Philip yelled.
Surprise on John’s face became a dark cloud, his eyes hard like black agates of hatred. The friend Philip knew disappeared; in his place a terrifying creature stared back.
“Do not forget what I have become, my king.”
Philip let John go but did not retreat beneath his hot gaze.
“My king,” John said softly, his hate gone as quickly as it had come. “The choice will always be your own. I have done what I can to advise you with the knowledge I gained under Master Wace as well as that gleaned from the fey creature Arawn, whose being I trapped and consumed. War is uncertain. Once forces begin moving, the enemy counters. That is the nature of such endeavors. We must embrace all tangible probabilities, analyze them, to make the wisest course of action.”
Philip stared hard at John. “We shall not deviate from my cause.”
“Of course we will not, my king.”
“We must leave behind a larger force than planned to maintain all that we have gained,” Philip thought aloud. “Protect all that we have fought for.”
“That would be wise,” John said. “Master Wace would agree.”
Philip backed away from his advisor and took a steadying breath. Rarely had they come to such angst-ridden moments in the past. He and John had always been close, despite the change made to rid Annwn of Arawn—a terrible and powerful fey lord. Other than the brief pleasures afforded him by a woman, Philip let no one but John near him. Together they had begun this conquest and together they would finish it.
“And the portal is secure?” he asked.
“It is,” John said evenly. “The Templar Knights command every crag and trail. Nothing will prevent our entrance when the time is right.”
“That is well,” Philip commended. “I want to lead my army through the portal myself, without disruption. And I want you following right behind. I loathe Annwn. It is time we returned to the world of our birth—as conquerors.”
“It will be so, my king.”
“Is our way clear?” Philip questioned. “On the other side?”
“I cannot see within the Vatican,” John answered. “But the catacombs beneath are empty of all but the dead and the knight.”
“And what of him?”
“The whelp knows not what comes,” John assured. “He is not even there half the time, carousing in inns and pubs with brew and women. Such a sinful world, ripe for our purposes. With the Cardinal Seer dead and the knight preoccupied by his flesh, when we enter the Vatican to reclaim your birthright, my pets will carve a way past the curse tablets and into the heart of the very Basilica itself. We will gain the Vault and the relics that lie within. With their power added to our own, we will crush the resistance here. Then the cleanse shall begin in that world as well.”
“As it should, a long time in the coming,” Philip acknowledged.
“What of the Morrigan, my king?”
“I want eyes patrolling the sky,” Philip commanded. “Send the griffins into the Snowdon today at sunrise, reporting back in short intervals. They have