Divine Sacrifice, The (30 page)

Turning back into the cave’s chamber, I took up a bowl of pig meat that they had graciously given me. Sitting on the floor, I wedged it into my lap and began shoveling the food into my
mouth. Still no sign of Llynfann. I suspected that the little thief was spinning another tale of wizardry and dragons. But I knew something he did not. Once David got a look at me, no story
Llynfann told could save us.

It took but a few minutes to finish the meat. All it did was dull the pain in my stomach. I flung the bowl against the rock wall where it shattered.

“You should be more grateful, Malgwyn.”

I turned to see Lord David standing in the entrance to the chamber. I did not stand. “And why is that, my lord?”

“I almost had you killed before I realized that one of

Arthur’s principal counselors was among us.”

“And why did you not? Not four moons ago, you were quite ready to see me lose my head.”

“I have a problem, you see. And I am wondering if you can solve it.” David circled me. The way he hunched his shoulders and scrubbed his hands would forever remind me of a vulture.
“Is that not what you are famed for?”

“Whatever skills I have in that regard have caused you troubles in the past. Why should I use them to help you?”

“Because I am going to spare your life if you do.”

I knew that he lied. My life was over. But the longer I led him along, the longer there was hope. “Go ahead. Tell me your problems.”

“As I am sure you have guessed by now, Teilo, Dochu, and myself have allied with Lauhiir to overthrow Arthur.”

“My lord! You shock me!”

David shook his head in mock exasperation. “Do not interrupt me, Malgwyn. Now, our plan hinged on two things—first, Lauhiir’s ability to lure Arthur to Ynys-witrin at the right
time was the key element.”

“Which he did. Arthur’s habit of traveling without a large escort has already spread across the land.”

“Exactly. Without a full escort, he could easily be killed or taken prisoner. Second, the Scotti, as you have already seen, have joined with us as well. Their task was to raid to the south
and southeast of here as a diversion. That would draw troops from Arthur’s castle and from Mordred’s forces as well.”

“Mordred is not privy to this?”

Lord David smoothed his mustache as he snickered. “Mordred has his own ambitions, and seeing me crowned as the next Rigotamos is not among them. You misunderstand me, Malgwyn. I mean only
the best for our lands. Arthur’s way is too weak. We need strength. That is what I shall give the people.”

“So you would risk a civil war to correct a mistake you think the
consilium
made by naming Arthur?”

“Malgwyn, Malgwyn! Look around you. We are in a perpetual state of civil war. This is not a country, not yet. And if you have not noticed the rotting villas, the Romans are gone. The
consilium
is but a dream, an illusion created so that the people can feel safe, so that they have someone to complain to. I propose to give them more than that, a true king who can rule
from strength, not compromise!”

“Our people have already had that. From Vortigern, who ignored the
consilium,
ignored the people, and ended up feasting off his own lusts. Something has obviously gone wrong in
your little scheme, David. What is it?”

He squatted before me. “Lauhiir is missing, and while I could do without his pitiful force, he has something else I do need.”

And then I understood so much. “Let me guess. Lauhiir has the coins to pay off the Scotti. They are merely mercenaries, paid to wreak havoc on our people.”

“Yes! What do you know of this?”

“Enough that you should be begging me for your life.”

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Have you no spies in Ynys-witrin? Do you not know what has taken place there?”

“I know that the bishop Patrick is there. That was something we had not foreseen, but of little consequence. But Lauhiir provided us with our ears in that place. And—”

“And you have not heard from him for almost two days.” I said it flatly, as fact.

“I have underestimated you, Malgwyn. Obviously, you have information that I need. Speak and you shall have a chance to save your life.”

“How kind of you, Lord David.” At that moment, I would not have given a dry crust of bread for my chances of living.

I knew that he was really just toying with me, trying to infuriate me enough to get me to reveal what he needed to know, what he assumed I knew. But I wanted to see the look in David’s
face when he realized how far afield his plans had gone. Perhaps he should have included Mordred in his scheme. Mordred was a far better planner.

“Lauhiir’s forgery operation has been revealed. When that happened, his men killed three of Arthur’s. Lauhiir is now a fugitive. His men have been offered the choice of joining
Arthur’s forces or being executed. I will leave it to you to guess which they chose.”

“Hmph! How do I know that you tell the truth?”

“Have you seen more than a handful of Lauhiir’s men in recent hours? Have those you have seen been from the troop charged with bribing the watchmen at the Mount of Frogs?”

Lord David licked his lips nervously and looked away.

“Did you know that Patrick, the bishop of the Scotti, is dead? Or that Arthur now has ten troop of horse at Ynyswitrin?” It was actually only about six troop, but a dead man has a
right to a last jest.

David’s eyes widened. “Ten?”

In truth, ten troop of horse was not that formidable a force. In numbers. But Arthur’s horse were superbly trained and the equal of twice or three times their number. What it meant in
practical terms was that instead of a single troop which could be dispatched quickly, the conspirators were looking at a pitched battle in which victory was no certainty. And traitors sought
certainty.

Much as was Arthur’s habit, David chewed the end of his mustache. “What caused Arthur to bring more horse to Ynyswitrin?”

“Lauhiir’s treachery.”

“What does Arthur know of this?”

And now I was the one chewing my lip. The truth? Or did I know the truth? More than a day had passed since I last saw Arthur and Bedevere. I knew nothing of what had transpired except that
Lauhiir had not run to his fellows. I thought quickly of what I would have done in Lauhiir’s place. The answer came just as quickly. Dodging Arthur’s patrols was risky at best. The one
place he could be sure of preserving his life was to claim sanctuary at Ynys-witrin.

The truth was enough to dash Lord David’s hopes. I did not need to lie. “I do not know what Lauhiir may have told him. But when I left, he was suspicious of all of the coins flowing
through the village. He had no idea of what forces had gathered against him. But Patrick’s death and Lauhiir’s fumbling have made him wary. Do not doubt that Lauhiir will give you up to
save his own worthless hide.

“So, what does Arthur know? I suspect by now that he knows it all.”

Surprisingly, I did not see defeat written upon Lord David’s face. Rather, a calculating expression settled there, pulling his mouth at the corners and raising his bushy eyebrows.

He stood swiftly and moved to the entrance.

“What of your promise to spare my life?”

“I have no time to settle accounts with you now. That will have to wait. But rest assured, I will return.”

“Then what of my
servus
?”

David, about to leave, turned back with a smile that I did not like. “Malgwyn, you have no
servi.
If you mean the bandit, well, he was not as helpful as you.” He jerked his
head at one of the guards who disappeared for a moment.

Before I understood what was happening, a round object bounced on the dirt floor before me. As it rolled to a halt, I stared into the open yet blank eyes of Llynfann, my little thief.

“He died well,” David said, almost regretfully. “Much better than I would have allowed for a thief.” And then he was gone, leaving me with the head of poor Llynfann, who
was now bereft of hope.

I do not know how long I sat and stared at Llynfann’s head and the ragged and bloody stump of his neck. Something about it transfixed me. Oh, I had sent men to their
deaths before when I served as one of Arthur’s captains. But that was different. Those men knew that following my orders could mean death. My little thief saw it as but a lark, something to
earn another coin or two for his purse, something to brag to Gareth and the other
latrunculi
about.

Finally, as the sun disappeared and only the campfire and a single torch outside my chamber offered any light, I looked away, back toward the door cut from rock. Only one guard stood there now.
I was sorely tempted to kill him, take his sword, and rush headlong into the pack of nobles around the fire, killing as many as I could before they took me down. If Arthur’s god smiled on me,
I might further disrupt their plans, perhaps even enough to stop them. After all, I would not be missed.

I stopped myself after only two steps from the door. Mariam! Mariam, my daughter! She would miss me. I would have abandoned her again. And this time no one would be there to explain why I had
left her. But I could not just sit here and wait to die either. Arthur would not be helped and Llynfann would not be avenged. Elafius would have died for nothing, and, perhaps, Patrick too. And I
would leave Mariam and, yes, Ygerne, alone.

This required more thought. I edged close to the door and studied the land outside. I knew that the River Axe, the “river of sorrows,” flowed out of the cave, split in two, and
thence one branch south and one to the west. Stepping to my right, I looked deeper into the cave.

Just beyond my little chamber, the torches disappeared, though I saw an odd amber glow of light twenty or thirty feet down the shaft. I noticed too that my guard was not one of Lord
David’s now, but one of Teilo’s, a lazy-looking oaf with a big belly and puffy lips. He looked hungry, but then he probably always looked hungry.

It might work.

Maybe.

I picked up Llynfann’s head, balanced it in my one hand, and then, with a silent plea to the shade of my little friend for forgiveness, I threw it, clipping the side of the guard’s
head and bouncing off the tunnel wall opposite.

“Do you expect me to eat that?” I shouted.

He bolted around and, seeing Llynfann’s head, fell back a step or two in fright.

“Well? I am hungry, you lout! Did they not tell you that I was a wizard? That I lost this”—and I waved my half-arm at him—“to a dragon? Either find me food or I
will smite you with the flame of the dragon I slew!”

With my long hair flying wildly about, my half-empty sleeve, and the crazed look in my eye, I found it amazing that he did not die of fright. He did fall back against the tunnel wall, bringing a
shower of small rock down around him.

“Food, you fool!”

He licked his lips, looked at me, looked at the campfire where I could see a pig roasting, and then back to me. He summoned up some courage, waved his spear at me, and said, “Do not
move.”

With that, he was gone, lumbering off to the campfire, snatching quick glances back toward me as he went to fetch food.

I wasted no time. Ducking out of the chamber, rather than bolting out of the tunnel, I turned left and went deeper, away from the world and into the realms of the witch.

I
decided fifteen feet into the cave that I would not choose to live in one. It was not cold, but it was disagreeably cool. The farther in I went,
the narrower the tunnel became. I glanced back behind me, but I heard no shouts of discovery. My guard may have decided to enjoy some food himself, I hoped.

Just ahead, I could see the glow, now a curious mix of amber with a bluish tint, that I had spied from my chamber. It seemed to be coming from ahead of me, from a curved opening into another
chamber partially blocked with mud and rock. Dropping to my knees, I scrambled into the crevice of the opening, using my one hand to dig enough debris out that I could fit into the opening.
Pathetic though the attempt, I used my half-arm to drag and push back the sludge.