Mordraud, Book One (31 page)

“
You’ve grown even stronger, my boy.”

Mordraud pulled in desperation, as he gritted his teeth in an animal-like grimace. Adraman felt Mordraud
’s arm surge to a power he’d never before reached, but he could hold out. He wouldn’t lose that day, either.

Adraman subtly loosened his grip.

“I wanted to surprise you, sir,” Mordraud whispered, with a wry smile. “I mean, Adraman...”

His strength suddenly rose. Adraman began pulling again as hard as he could, but it was now too late. Mordraud dragged Adraman until he could squeeze him to his chest. The roles had reversed.

“I’ve won.”

Mordraud said nothing else. Adraman expected cries of joy, even a comment. After all, the boy had been waiting for his day of glory for two years. Yet Mordraud didn
’t seem elated, or even happy at his victory.

‘
He’s no longer a boy. He knows this is just the first step. One of many.’

If he
’d only known Mordraud would win that day, he said to himself, feeling vaguely guilty. Whether he deserved it or not was unimportant. Adraman had already made his choice about how their game would end.

‘
You can no longer stay at my wife’s side, my boy.’

***

“LAROIS! LAROIS!”

The old innkeeper was dozing on the veranda at the rear, enjoying the warm air of a lovely spring day. Her back wasn
’t as sturdy as it used to be. She had to make more time to rest, she thought, as she lazed.

“
I’m here, Gwern... What is it?” she answered, yawning.

“
At the market... I heard Adrina talking to... to...”

“
Now calm down, take a deep breath, and start again.” Larois took Gwern and placed him on her lap. He was gasping and sweaty. “You’ll have one of your fits if you do that, you know you will. You mustn’t strain yourself.”

“
MORDRAUD’S GOING OFF TO FIGHT IN THE WAR!”

Larois opened her eyes wide and was unable to speak. Instead, Gwern was a flowing river of words.

“Adrina was speaking to Lera, the baker’s wife. She said Adraman’s come home and wants to take Mordraud with him. She says he’s taking him to the front. She was expecting it, as he’s handsome and she doesn’t understand why the master lets his wife have such a handsome young man in the house. And that he’s hardy, and that lots of them leave young and never come back. Down there you die if you’re not a bit shrewd, and he’s still a boy, and...”

“
Wait, slow down!” Larois stroked his hair to try to calm him, but it was pointless. Gwern was shaking like a leaf and was stammering incoherent phrases. “Mordraud’s still very young. He’s not ready to be a soldier. You must have got it wrong!”

“
You haven’t seen him for ages...” whined Gwern through his tears. “He’s grown. You wouldn’t believe it... but he’s taller than you, and has two arms as big as tree trunks, and a beard. You’d hardly recognise him.”

“
What are you saying?! Deanna would have told me, wouldn’t she?! And besides, he can’t just grow as he pleases! He was a child just a couple of years ago!”

“
HE’S TWENTY-TWO!”

It was like a slap in the face for Larois. It was impossible, madness! The ravings of a child with an over-active imagination.

“I don’t believe you. I can’t believe it.”

“
He’s ten years older than me, and I’m twelve...”

“
I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!” the old woman cried, throwing the boy to the ground. Gwern began whimpering again, curled up on the veranda floor. “You can only be seven at the most! LOOK AT YOU! What are you, two monsters?!”

Larois felt herself die inside. Blinded by the joy of having a child in the house, she hadn
’t noticed that Gwern had changed very little over the years. She’d let herself be tricked by the fact that he wasn’t really her son. For her, Gwern was her sole chance of having a child to look after again. And as such she’d idealised him, she’d frozen him in time.

“
No, we’re not...”

“
Twenty-two! That’s ridiculous! Then for love of the Gods, how old was he when I sent him off to Deanna’s? Eighteen?! Nineteen?!”

Gwern nodded in terror. He
’d never told anyone their secret, just like Mordraud had instructed him many a time. But only then did he realise he’d done a very foolish thing.

“
Eglade... our mum... was an Aelian.”

“
Who?!”

Gwern shook his head gently. Larois was hardly hearing him now. She was looking around, confused and disoriented.

“She was an Aelian...”

Larois went pale. For a moment, Gwern thought she was going to faint.

“Aelians?! But they don’t exist! They’re just stuff of old legends!”

“
No, Larois, that’s not how it is,” mumbled Gwern, distraught. “The stories they tell are overdone or entirely invented, but the Aelians exist... My mother belonged to this people. She was much older than you, yet she looked like a young woman. Mordraud explained to me that it’s the blood we share with our mother that makes us grow so slowly.”

“
That’s why Mordraud knew all those stories... Oh for love of the Gods, the Gods...” murmured Larois, holding her face in her hands. “So there’s something true in the legends. When I was a girl, there was still a lot of talk about them... The forgotten people... The
eternal
people...”

“
And now? What are we going to do?”

“
An Aelian...” Larois seemed to be lost in her thoughts. “Never heard such stuff... Impossible... Twenty-two...”

“
Larois, please! What are we going to do now?!”

“
I don’t know! What you’re saying doesn’t make sense. How could you grow old more slowly than me, than
us
...?”

“
My mother never explained it to me, she died too soon... Mordraud took care of everything. He rarely wanted to talk about our ancestors. He just told me it was a secret.”

Larois muttered something, but then fell silent. Even if what she was hearing didn
’t make any sense to her, something inside her told her Gwern wasn’t fibbing. Since she’d known him, he practically hadn’t changed. Instead her son Nardo was different every day when he was about that age. Her desire to feel a mother again had completely deceived her. Gwern wasn’t lying, she decided. But the idea was too large for her to fully understand its implications.

“
We have to do something! We have to stop him!” Gwern went on, in despair.

“
We can’t do anything, don’t you see that?!” she yelled, fuming. “It’s too late now. I thought he was a child, that he’d change his mind with time... Instead, he was already a man. We’ve only helped him to what he wanted! DAMN IT ALL!”

Gwern had shrunk up on the ground at the foot of her chair. Larois had a great urge to slap his face, to make him take back everything he
’d said. She didn’t know why, but she found it relatively easy accepting she’d had two unlikely half-breeds in her house. It was as if she’d already suspected, but without realising. A pure maternal instinct: she blindly believed Gwern’s words. She could feel he wasn’t lying.

“
There’s nothing we can do now. We can only hope he sees how dreadful war is and decides to come home. We can only hope...”

“
And you, now... do I...?” wept Gwern.

“
No, no!” she replied at once, pulling him up and hugging him. “No, I won’t throw you out... I’m so sorry...”

“
Even if my mother was an... an Aelian?”

“
That means nothing. You’re still my Gwern.” Larois’s voice had returned to kindness, and he could start breathing again. “Also because I know nothing of the eternal people... You’re like a son to me. I don’t care who your mother was. And it doesn’t matter if you grow slower than I do... Besides, I’ve already got one foot in the grave. No, I won’t throw you out, don’t you worry.”

“
Don’t say that!” Gwern whimpered, in desperation.

“
Don’t fret. I was only joking... Now, do you feel like telling me who the Aelians really are? I don’t want any more secrets between us. And as far as that little bastard of your brother is concerned...” Larois murmured with a fatigued smile, “We can only hope that, once he’s found out for himself what war is really like, he will want to stay as far away from it as possible.”

“
Okay, Larois... and thanks.” Gwern wiped his nose with his sleeve and hugged the old innkeeper.

“
I only hope you’re right.”

“
I hope so too,” replied Larois. “I really do.”

***

“Mordraud’s leaving with me tomorrow.”

“
WHAT?!”

Deanna jumped out from under the covers as if they had suddenly caught fire. Adraman pulled himself up, resting against the headboard, and said nothing else. He couldn
’t hide it forever.

“
I said tomorrow I’m taking Mordraud to the front with me.”

“
No, no... You won’t take him anywhere!” The shock had made Deanna almost unable to scream. “How dare you take him away? He’s
my
servant!”

“
He asked me to.”

“
I don’t believe you! He can’t have!”

“
Well, he did. Mordraud asked if he could join the army, and I accepted. For the cause...”

“
YOU AND YOUR CAUSE CAN GO SCREW YOURSELVES!”

“
Deanna, try and control yourself. Otherwise...”

“
OTHERWISE WHAT?! YOUR USUAL STUFF?!”

“
Why are you so angry?” Adraman had got up and was dressing, annoyed. “Is it because you have feelings for him?”

“
You’re a maggot! You’re taking him with you because you’re jealous...” Deanna had gone puce, and her arms were shaking with hatred. “You feel threatened, you poor fool...”

It lasted an instant. Adraman took a step forward and landed her a smack full in the face. He used little force but it was the same as if he
’d driven a sword in. Deanna went from red to ashen white. She couldn’t breathe. Adraman opened the door ready to go.

Mordraud was square in front of him.

“What are you doing here?! How dare you spy on us?!”

Mordraud was even more surprised, and
initially could do little other than stare at Deanna, who held her face in her hands. Adraman took him by the shoulders and shook him until the teeth in his mouth rattled.

“
GO AWAY RIGHT NOW!”

“
Deanna... He’s right, I asked him to...”

Adraman stopped, and turned towards his wife. Deanna was looking at both of them, eyes bulging and motionless.

“Go away...”

“
Did you hear? Do you believe me now?!”

“
GET LOST! GO AWAY!”

Adraman had never heard a cry like it in his life. Not even from a man on the brink of death.

“Deanna, listen to me... It’s something I have to do...” Mordraud tried to say.

“
LEAVE ME ALONE!” Deanna crumpled up, screaming even louder. “GO AWAY! GO AWAY!”

Her hands grabbed the door and slammed it with such force that the hinges broke with a metallic crack. But Deanna didn
’t stop: she carried on slamming until the handle came off too.

“
GET LOST! GO AWAY!”

Adraman and Mordraud ran down the stairs together without saying a word. They made for the villa
’s entrance and went outside with their heads down.

“
I’ve... I’ve never tried to seduce... your wife...” Mordraud gasped, clutching his chest as if it were splitting in two. “You have to believe me, Adraman.”

The cavalryman didn
’t reply. He didn’t even look at Mordraud. He just stared into the void, barely breathing.

“
Go back to your room. We leave tomorrow at dawn.”

“
Do you believe me? I’ve never...”

“
Go now
, I said.”

“
Okay... Sir...”

Mordraud peeped
beyond the doorway, waited a moment and then ran towards his room, skimming the wall. Deanna was still yelling barbarically, pausing only to smash something against the wall – a vase, the mirror or the brass candelabras.

“
LEAVE ME ALONE!”

***

“Here, I’ve found it.”

Larois wobbled down the old ladder leading to the
attic. For years she’d piled everything that was no longer needed up there – a jumble of items in no order and that was a sort of muddled heap of odd souvenirs. Moth-eaten dresses from when she was younger, her husband’s favourite tools, his razor, a pair of boots with worn heels, the satin blouse she’d worn at their wedding. And those were merely a few of the things she recognised on first looking. She could spend a month up there without properly sifting through what she’d accrued.