Second Night (46 page)

Jemima sorted through the boxes, counting the contents. There were six cans of soup, six cans of treacle pudding, four large loaves, two tubs of butter, four tubs of custard and one of cream, a bottle of tomato sauce, two bags of apples and a dozen oranges. The girls stared at each other in stunned silence.

‘It looks like he's going to eat all this as well as the supper we're cooking for him,' said Sara incredulously.

Jemima's face was white. ‘There's something going on here that we've never been told about.'

Sara nodded. ‘I think you're right. When you were away in Plymouth, Daisy told me something that really made me think. She said that those who get on here prove themselves by doing what they're asked to do and keeping their mouths shut. I asked her if that's what Caz does.'

‘And what did she say?'

Sara repeated Daisy's exact words: ‘That and more, young Sara, believe me, that and more.'

It's like Thunderslea
, thought Jemima.
Something else we're not allowed to talk about, even among ourselves. But this is different. This is about Caz.
Her chin came up. ‘Okay, that's what we'll do too. We'll keep our mouths shut, but not for them. We'll do it for Caz, and we won't tell anyone else, not even Ma.'

‘She might know already.'

Jemima shook her head. ‘She doesn't. I know she doesn't.'

‘But we have to tell Jas.' Sara held up a warning hand as Jemima started to protest. ‘He has a right to know, Jem, and he should know. We'll order pizza tonight and eat in, just the three of us together. We've said and done nothing about Caz for long enough.'

CHAPTER 78

The shield was ready for the second coat of paint. Bound around the edges by a solid ring of layered and beaten iron, the convex wooden body had been sealed with several layers of thick leather on both sides and stamped through the middle with a spiked iron boss. The sheath for the seaxe fitted exactly into the back under the strap.

Caz brushed the outline of the first of the Runes of the Deathless onto the leather, allowed the surface of the paint to set and then covered it over with an even layer of solid red. The message was clear. Whoever faced him would find no quarter given. There would be no mercy – only the endless dark of the void.

He rested the shield back on the stand to dry. The afternoon was passing. There was still time to walk the Medustig before sunset, and food in the Selerest if he was delayed. He collected the cloak and the spear. All the doors in the shadowed inner hall of the vault complex were shut. No light shone down the narrow stairs from the study, but he heard music playing and softslippered footsteps padding back and forth in front of the hearth.

Alan had been absent all morning but Caz knew he was nearby the moment he stepped into the tunnel. He had overridden the command for the lights so that the darkness was total when the door from the security room closed silently behind him. It would be a perfect test for his skill.

He was immediately aware of the impact of his own movements. What had seemed to be soundless in the forest, or in the house, echoed on all sides in this underground space, magnifying every eager footstep, each excited breath – even the creak of sinew and bone in his fingers gripping the spear. Alan was far ahead but the presence of his mortal life force lingered in the elusive scent of blood and breath. It was enough to track.

I'm like a kid with a new game,
Caz thought ruefully.
Concentrate, Caz Wylde, calm down
and
slow down. This could be a life or death situation, and that means your life and your death. Get a grip.

His senses sharpened with each step. He was aware of a continual shifting in the layers of stone and earth all around him – of rock grinding against rock, of water seeping and dripping, and sometimes a steady trickling where a hidden spring found a crack forced open by the ancient roots of trees or the frozen fingers of long forgotten, bitter winters. The spear was pulsing in his hand. The rune was glowing but faint. It shed no light into the dark space before him.

As the Medustig became steeper, the rocky floor became less even underfoot. He caught the aroma of hay and freshly drawn water, the oily reek of a lamp recently snuffed out and, beyond that, the scent of wood and cement, and new bricks and lime wash. The dim outline of the entrance to the Selerest opened up to his right. The heat still lingered over the hurricane lamp set down on the hearth beside the stove. He climbed the steps into the roof of the cave and put his shoulder to the trap door. It had been left unsealed. Alan was clearly intending to return the way he had come.

Caz lifted the trap a little further and peered through the slit into the thin afternoon light. The surrounding copse had been encouraged to revert to a rampantly overgrown state, camouflaging the entrance to the cave and the Medustig. There were no paths through the dense undergrowth.

This is going to be fun,
he thought.
It's Al's woodcraft against mine! I have to get right up to touching distance before he sees me. First I have to fool the dog.

He slipped outside and crouched down beneath the overhanging bank, checking for tracks. Here and there, Blue's paw marks were clear in the soft, wet earth, but Alan habitually stepped through and over the undergrowth, leaving only the occasional broken twig or stem to show where he had passed.

He saw Blue first, lying down under a bush beside a tree. Alan was leaning against the wide bole of an old beech tree with a phone in his hand. He seemed to be arguing with someone. His voice was very low as though he had no intention of being overheard. Whatever they were talking about, Caz knew it was something to do with him.

Slowly and stealthily, Caz worked a wide semi-circle well clear of the dog, using every available bit of cover and praying that the conversation would not be over before he was within earshot. The phone was the real surprise. Alan had always been so vehemently against carrying any form of communication and was always so protective of his own privacy. It had to be a Guardian thing, which narrowed down the number of people he could be talking to. Caz crawled into the twilit shelter of the thick undergrowth, pulled at the cloak until it covered him completely, gritting himself to lie completely still while he listened.

Alan's first words left no doubt who was on the other end of the line. He sounded dispirited, as though he was being obliged to continue an argument that had already been going on far too long.

‘I tell you it can't be done, Charles. He'll cotton on too quickly. I don't want to do anything to lose his trust.'

There was a long pause. Caz could hear the tone of the other man's voice, if not the words. He was obviously furiously angry.

Alan interrupted, ‘It's too near Hag Night for this, Charles! There's no time. I don't forget the oath, any more than you do. But I'm having doubts about the Master and his intention. Every day I see how he's going on and I don't like what I'm seeing. I'll never go back on the oath, but I swore it to the God, not the man. Any man can fail and then where does that leave us?'

There was a short pause, and then he said forcefully, ‘I don't agree! Heresy's going against the God and I don't do that! I don't deny the Master's years of service but he was appointed by his grandfather, no one else.'

His shoulders sagged wearily as he listened to the protracted reply, letting Charles Fordham-Marshall have his say without interruption. Finally he said, ‘Yes, we'll discuss this later. Yes, I will file a full report. Goodbye.'

He whistled to the dog. They left quickly, doubling back to the trapdoor. Blue barked once, catching Caz's scent, but Alan was too preoccupied to pay attention.

Caz waited until he was sure they were well on the way back down the tunnel before he returned to the Selerest. He was satisfied with his woodcraft. He was not satisfied with Alan.

You have doubts, my brother, and so do I. You will be tested, very soon.

CHAPTER 79

Jasper and Sara pulled the sofa closer to the fire and Jemima sat in her usual place on the hearthrug in the sitting room at the lodge. The cats curled up beside her, their eyes gleaming and their noses twitching, watching her share out the pizza.

Jasper opened the proceedings. ‘So tell us what you know about bro, Sibyl. As I see it, this all started a couple of years ago, about the time of the midwinter fest when the boss popped his old eye out with the champagne cork.'

Jemima nodded. ‘That was the day we found Bryn dead in the stables, the morning after the eclipse of the moon.'

Jasper waggled his head. ‘Keep to the facts, Sib. No heebiejeebie stuff.'

‘But this
is
a fact because something weird happened in the yard while it was going on.'

‘I didn't know you were up there.'

‘I wasn't. I was down here, watching out of my bedroom window.'

‘You can't see the yard from that window.'

‘Jas, please!' Sara was not so inclined to dismiss Jemima's intuitive perceptions out of hand. ‘Let her speak!'

He rolled his eyes. ‘Sorry, Sibyl. What did you see?'

‘I don't know how to explain it without you going on at me and saying I'm stupid!' exclaimed Jemima crossly.

‘Try,' said Sara.

Jemima sighed. ‘It was right in the middle of the eclipse when the moon went red. I know this sounds silly, but a thing like a big cloud of black mist came up over the hill and dropped down on the house and the yard. Everywhere else was all right. The sky was still clear. I could see the stars and the moon, but the whole house just disappeared. I couldn't even see the chimneys. It was really scary, like the worst ghost story you've ever heard of, but for real, and worse because I knew Caz and Sir Jonas were up there alone and I was scared something bad was happening to the horses.'

Jasper and Sara exchanged looks.

‘So why didn't you tell someone?' he asked.

‘How could I? You had gone out and Ma was at work. I was all by myself and scared to death.'

‘How long did it last?' asked Sara.

‘About ten minutes I think. I know you don't believe me. I can tell by your faces.'

‘Why didn't you say anything about it before?' asked Jasper.

‘I did, to Caz the next morning.'

‘And what did he say?'

‘He got me by the throat, smacked me up against the wall in the barn and basically told me to shut up. So I did.'

Jasper nodded. ‘He was more upset that day than any of us had ever seen him before.'

‘And do you remember what happened when we buried her? He kept saying ‘I couldn't save you, I couldn't save you.'

‘From what?' asked Sara.

Jasper took another slice of pizza. ‘The only candidate so far is an unlikely cloud of black mist that took out the house and the yard for ten minutes during a lunar eclipse. That's not a lot to go on, Stat.'

‘What did Sir Jonas think had happened to her?'

‘He seemed satisfied she'd died of old age.'

‘What about the other horses?'

‘Freyja and Kyri were flat out asleep all day. We thought they were dead too, when we found them,' said Jemima. ‘The others were fine. I rode Nanna and Caz took Rúna when we buried Bryn.'

‘Is it normal for horses to sleep like that?'

Both Jasper and Jemima shook their heads. ‘No.'

‘We couldn't wake them up,' said Jemima. ‘We had to work round them to do the boxes. That was very weird.'

Sara frowned. ‘What did Sir Jonas say about it? He must have been worried. Didn't he ask Maddie to call the vet?'

‘Any other time he would have done,' said Jasper. ‘He'd have had her on the phone day and night, driving everyone nuts until it got sorted out.'

‘But not this time,' said Jemima. ‘He said they must have been stressed when Bryn died and that they would be fine when they woke up.'

‘And were they?'

‘Kyri was okay, but Freyja was totally changed. She attacked Ma the morning after the party when she went into her box with her breakfast. She wouldn't let anyone touch her, except Caz, and Ma's never been able to ride her since.'

‘But Sir Jonas rides her.'

‘Only if Caz tacks her up and he and Kyri are with them, and then you can tell she still hates it. Caz is the only one she lets ride her out alone. She's always good for him. She was good for me too, right up until the end when something spooked her and I fell off.'

‘Do you know what spooked her?' asked Jasper.

‘No. Caz says he'll have me banned from the yard for life if I go anywhere near her again.'

Jasper raised both eyebrows. ‘That's pretty strong! What say you, Stat?'

‘I say let's look at what we've got so far,' suggested Sara. ‘You said it was the night before the party. What date was that?'

‘It was December 21
^st
,' said Jemima. ‘Caz was staying up there to watch the eclipse with Sir Jonas. It was the first time there had been a total eclipse of the moon on winter solstice night for nearly four hundred years.'

Jasper whistled. ‘Really? I didn't know that.'

Sara continued. ‘So we have Caz and Sir Jonas and the horses together in the yard. Where were the others?'

Jasper answered. ‘All at home as usual, I suppose. There was no sign of Al at the pub when I looked in on my way through.'

‘I knew you weren't just going to see Tris!' Jemima said indignantly.

Jasper shrugged. ‘So? Ma didn't see me and I knew you were okay. What's the problem?'

‘You left me alone to be scared out of my face for nothing!'

Sara called them back to order. ‘Hey, you two! Let's keep to the relevant facts! So far we've got a rare lunar eclipse on winter solstice night when Jem sees something that appears to make the yard and house vanish for approximately ten minutes during totality. The next morning Bryn is found dead, Kyri and Freyja are abnormally deeply asleep, and Rúna and Nanna are fine. When Freyja wakes up, her temperament has permanently changed. She's impossible to handle and ride except by Caz, or by someone else only when he's around. Doesn't that suggest that both she and Bryn could have been subjected to some kind of trauma and Caz blames himself for not being able to save them from it?'