in prayer but had only a moment before sparks from the Stone showered him. It was as if its dark malice knew of his call to God and was trying to stop him.
Numerous embers bored into his neck and hair, and the pain bit deeply even after he brushed them away. He pulled Natalenya down as more flickered past. One flaming cinder landed on the mule, and in terror she dug her hooves into the ground and jolted the wagon forward at such a startling pace that Merlin’s father fell next to the Stone. The last of the sparks blew upon him, and he yelled.
“They’re here,” Dybris shouted. “Owain, get up!”
Running feet beat the ground next to the wagon, and Merlin turned to see the advancing men.
“Keep that mule moving,” Owain shouted.
Some druidow pulled themselves into the wagon, and Merlin drew his dirk to protect Natalenya.
“Don’t wrestle ‘em, Dybris. Throw ‘em out!” Merlin’s father called.
“I’m trying!”
A piercing yell split the night.
“One down!” Merlin’s father called. But his voice became choked. “Dybri —”
“Jesu, help us,” Dybris called.
Frustration rose in Merlin as the confused shadows of his father, Dybris, and the intruders mingled behind him.
A thud, a pounding of feet, and another yelp.
“He was one of Vortigern’s warriors,” his father called, his voice shaky. “He would’ve sliced my gut if you hadn’t come to my aid.”
The wagon raced toward the village, and despite the rushing wind, the smell of smoke pricked Merlin’s nose.
“It’s happening again!” Dybris yelled. “The wagon’s on fire.”
Garth jerked back and yelled, causing Arthur to cry.
The man pulled the spear away. “What’s this?”
Garth gaped like a dumb fish as a little crowd of people peered out at him. Beside the man with the spear stood an old and wizened man. And there was the weaver’s wife, Safrowana, holding a rush light. Behind her stood three girls — as well as Kyallna, the soup-mum!
But the two men he’d never met. The bearded man holding the spear wore a finely woven dark-blue tunic, a match to Safrowana’s. The old man was about Garth’s height and wore sea-green clothes and a black cloak. At his throat lay a white-gold torc, and his hair and beard were like frosted ocean waves.
All of them stared in awe as if Garth were a ghost ship.
“Garth,” Safrowana exclaimed. “God be praised, come in, come in! We were just praying for you.”
“Prayin’ … for me?” Garth thought it a joke until he saw the old man’s eyes dancing with delight despite his craggy brow. And then two of the girls, each wearing fine dresses smeared in blood, ran forward and took Arthur from him.
They were crying, but these were happy tears.
The soup-mum came and put a warm arm around his neck. “You’ve come back to your Kyallna. Ah, my dear one, my sweet keronen.” And she pinched Garth’s cheek. “You’re thinner than last I laid eyes on you. Come sit at the hearth, as I’ve brought over me soup!”
Garth dodged another pinch and was about to slip inside between the adults when he changed his mind about sneaking in. He bowed to her. “I was … was hopin’ for that, mum. Smelled it down the road, I did, as me tummy’s sore an’ rumblin’.”
The old man gripped Garth by the elbow. “First, you and I need to talk for a … minute.” Because of his grip, Garth expected the old man to be angry, but instead there was joy mixed with sadness on his face. Garth went with him through the back room of the house and out into the weaver’s high-walled pasture, where a few sheep grazed quietly.
Sitting down on a rock, the old man stared at Garth with piercing eyes. Garth found a spot next to him, if only to avoid his stare.
“I am named … Colvarth. I am Chief Bard of the … Britons, and I serve the High King. How did you come to the island to save the … life of Arthur? Did you come with that peculiar man whose boat I borrowed?”
Garth shifted. “No … no, sir! I … I guided the Eirish warriors to the island, but didn’t know their purpose till too late.”
“You have brought great … evil upon everyone. But know this,” Colvarth said as he put a hand on Garth’s shoulder. “Where evil and calamity lurk, there … God is hiding as well, ready with His grace, planned long before the world began. I praise Jesu that the … Almighty took hold of you. Great good may