Caradoc of the North Wind - By Allan Frewin Jones Page 0,8

quavering reply.

‘Take my hand, and mind your footing,’ said Branwen. Meredith slid awkwardly from the saddle.

All but the injured men dismounted. The ground was slick and treacherous underfoot, and their progress was slow as they made their cautious way down over the shelving icefields. All the same, more than one person slipped and fell as they descended, and the horses were jumpy at the feel of the slithery ice under their hooves.

‘What is that noise?’ called Iwan from the rear. Branwen had heard it too, a strange grumbling, rumbling sound that seemed to drift down to them from out of the sky.

‘The snows are unstable in the high places,’ Aberfa replied. ‘We should get out from under this cliff as swift as we can.’

‘Easier said than done!’ panted Rhodri, struggling with his horse. ‘I’d rather we got to journey’s end with sound limbs, given the choice.’

‘Speed and caution!’ called Dera. ‘In such an exposed place, an avalanche could sweep us all to our deaths!’

Alarmed by Dera’s words, the strung-out party edged forward down the uneven, ice-glazed path, often clutching at one another as their feet slid from under them.

After a brief time, a small, shrill voice sounded. ‘No! I cannot do it! I’ll fall! Someone must carry me.’

Branwen turned at the sound of Romney’s voice. Would the girl never cease with her complaints?

‘Come, Romney,’ said Linette. ‘Don’t be afraid. Hold on tight to my hand. I shall not let you fall over.’

‘She’s terrified,’ Meredith murmured to Branwen, watching anxiously as her sister’s feet slithered on the ice. ‘I should never have agreed to her coming with me. She thought it would be a great adventure.’ She rested a cautious hand on Branwen’s arm. ‘I know you hate us, but Romney is only a child. Don’t let her sharp tongue turn you further against her.’

‘I do not hate either of you,’ said Branwen. ‘And it’s a long time since Romney’s spite might have stung me.’ She smiled. ‘You will both have my protection till we get to the king’s court, even if Romney spits venom at me every step of the way.’

Meredith looked solemnly into Branwen’s eyes. ‘You have changed, Branwen,’ she said quietly. ‘You’ve grown since the days at Doeth Palas. You make me feel like a stupid child.’

‘Warfare and a long hard winter will do that,’ Branwen said. ‘But I don’t think you’re stupid, Meredith. I’d say …’ She frowned, looking up in mid-sentence as the low rumbling sounded again.

A horse whinnied in fear. Pale faces stared upwards. The rumbling noise was like thunder now, steady and continuous, and growing ever louder.

‘Ware!’ howled Dera. ‘Find cover or we are lost!’

The rumbling deepened, burgeoning into a roaring, rushing tumult that rocked the world. Spits and spatters of snow began to rain down on them. Among the snowfall, stones and rocks cracked and bounced on the icy path.

There was no time now for caution – no time to guide the horses in safety as the snow came cascading down in thick, stifling curtains, deafening, blinding, blotting out the sky.

‘We cannot outrun it!’ bellowed Aberfa. ‘Get under the cliff!’

Through the raging din of the avalanche, Branwen heard voices shouting and calling. She saw her comrades struggling with their horses, seeking to drag them under the meagre shelter of the cliff as the flood of snow came gushing down. She felt helpless, powerless under nature’s fearsome spate.

She saw Romney, a small dark shape in all the chaos, running the wrong way. Running away from the cliff in her terror. She saw the girl trip and fall. Linette went leaping after her. The snowfall was thick with tumbling rocks, dragged down from the mountain slopes, deadly missiles with the power to break limbs and smash skulls. Linette dragged Romney to her feet and they forged their way to cover, buffeted by the snow. Linette stumbled to her knees, and then the veil of snow thickened between them, and Branwen could see no more.

Linette will save the child. All will be well.

Now Branwen had to concentrate on her own survival. She hauled on Terrwyn’s reins as he reared and kicked in the overwhelming deluge. Her face grey with dread, Meredith stayed at her side, snatching at the reins and helping to pull the terrified animal in under the lee of the cliff.

Branwen saw the dark shapes of others close by, huddling together, cowering from the cataclysm that was beating down on them. There were more cries and the frightened scream of horses, but the white