The Serpent in the Glass (The Tale of Thomas Farrell) (36 page)

Thomas gripped the Glass tightly. He wasn’t going to run anymore. Not that he could. If he was going to die, he would do so with his friends. He’d never had so many friends. It was sad that they’d only known each other for such a brief time. He wondered what his second year at Darkledun Academy might have been like had he lived long enough to see it.

Then a very strange thing happened. Thomas heard a voice that sounded like soft, soothing music, and the same subtle but focused power that had snapped him from his dark thoughts descended upon him again.

Thomas Farrell, the Gloine Nathair is yours to wield.

It was more in his head than anywhere else, but somehow he knew that it had come from the serpent; and, as the words ended, the scales, fangs, claws, and wings all fell away and disappeared to reveal a woman, robed in white, standing in the air. Her countenance seemed like lightning to Thomas, and her eyes were no less green than the serpent’s. Most noticeable of all, however, was the flaming fire in the shape of a crown that hung suspended a little above her long golden hair.

Thomas gazed up at her in wonder. ‘Who are you?’

The woman stared back at him, her green eyes warm like the smile that now spread across her face.

What do you see?
she spoke in his mind. Her arms lifted, but her lips didn’t move.

‘A beautiful woman dressed in white,’ Thomas replied. ‘With a fire above her head like a crown. Where is the serpent? I don’t understand.’

The serpent was of your own making. Your fear. You have faced your fear and it has fled. Now you see what really is, and what ever was. Now trust in yourself, bind the Gate!

Suddenly he was keenly aware of Cernunnos again and the power flowing from the Glass, and the foul power seeking to surround him, and of the voices in the cavern shouting orders or crying in fear. But the voice and presence of the woman filled Thomas with a strength and sense of hope, a feeling that it was up to him who would win this contest — that his fate wasn’t sealed after all. He had a choice. As these feelings took hold upon him the darkness around him fell back, retreating before the glow of the Glass toward the cavern’s mouth.

Cernunnos stepped back at the unexpected resistance. Thomas felt the foul presence waver. The silvery light began seeping into the stone again, shutting out all that had no right to pass its stone-hewn pillars. Then his heart leapt as he felt what he’d felt in his dream: all four Way Gates thrummed together, the beat of one power shared between the four. Before him the cavern walls glowed like gold-amber coals, like the fire in his dream. The Way Gates were healed. Then suddenly the glow of the Glass dimmed and withdrew to immediately surround Thomas. He saw Cernunnos attempt to push through the entrance, but something invisible stopped him and he howled in what Thomas thought dismay. The tall, dark figure lowered its hand and stared at Thomas. The cold, dark eyes filled with malice, and yet Thomas knew the Horned One could do him no harm now.

One day you will step outside your prison
, Cernunnos hissed,
and you will not be safe from me then, boy. One day!
And with that Cernunnos turned and slunk away, his remaining Ratchet Hounds following after him. Thomas watched as the chariot took to the air and departed. He felt the world go still again, but this time there was an exception. When Thomas looked back down at the ground the demonic Hounds had disappeared into the rocky landscape.

Ghillie Dhu let out a short, high-pitched sound and jumped down from Thomas’s shoulders to the floor.

‘My Lady!’ Ghillie bowed so low Thomas thought his large nose would touch the ground.

Thomas looked at the others in the chamber. Nothing had changed. They had frozen again, though this time wearing expressions of surprise or joy. Trevelyan lay on the floor, his eyes closed. Gallowglas leant upon his sword and stared at the fallen High Cap, his expression unreadable. Jessica, Merideah, Thayer, Treice and Penders wore expressions of concern and wonder on their faces. Master Salus wielded a broad-bladed sword in one hand and seemed to be cheering their victory. The crossbowmen stood bunched around Gallowglas, eyes fixed on the cavern’s entrance.

‘Greetings, Ghillie Dhu!’ The white-clad woman spoke now with her mouth, and it sounded like the voice of an angel to Thomas. Perhaps she was an angel?

Thomas looked at the small creature. ‘Ghillie, you know who this is?’

The Gruagach raised his bushy eyebrows. ‘Of course, Ghillie know Lady of the Ard Tiarnai when he see one!’

‘Who are the High Lords?’ Thomas looked at the fire-crowned woman gazing down at him.

The woman smiled. ‘De Danann would be a term more familiar to your ears.’

So the Ard Tiarnai were the De Danann! The builders of the sidhe and the Way Gates. The woman seemed to emanate power, the Old Power. Thomas could sense it all around her. He’d always felt it now that he thought about it, ever since he’d had his first dream of the serpent. But now he recognized it for what it was. Not fear. Power.

Thomas looked back at his statue-like friends. ‘Have you stopped time?’

The woman seemed amused, and the fire above her head shifted slightly as she moved her head. ‘No, it is not within the power of even the De Danann to do that. Let us say that the perception of time has altered for us.’ She looked down then to the small Gruagach upon the floor. ‘Ghillie Dhu?’

‘Yes, My Lady?’ Ghillie answered.

‘I charge you to teach Thomas. Teach him of the Old Power that is his,’ she instructed.

Ghillie nodded his head eagerly. ‘Ghillie will, My Lady.’

She turned back to Thomas. ‘Maithfreond will tell you of your father, tell him Brigid asks that the fallen speak. He will know what to do.’

Thomas frowned. ‘Maithfreond?’

But Brigid had began to grow brighter and fade into that brightness, her shape becoming less defined as the intensity increased. Thomas became slowly aware of his surroundings again. And suddenly his friends were around him.

‘Thomas!’ Jessica shouted excitedly. ‘You did it!’

The others were just as vocal, all praising him, but Thomas kept on casting his eyes about the floor. Ghillie it seemed had had the presence of mind to disappear before anyone had seen him.

‘Those were some dogs!’ Penders exclaimed. ‘I thought we were goners for sure when that one broke through. If it wasn’t for your marbles —’

‘We’d all be dead,’ Thomas finished and everyone looked at him.

Jessica gave Thomas a big hug. ‘I suppose this means I need to get you yet another bag for your marbles!’

‘Thomas,’ a deep voice called. It was Gallowglas. ‘Over here.’

Thomas’s friends moved aside as Thomas walked over to Gallowglas. The teacher bent over Trevelyan, supporting his head. Thomas knelt down so that his eyes were level with Trevelyan’s. The High Cap’s face looked pale, his eyes dim, but he managed a weak smile before he spoke.

‘You did well, lad.’

Thomas smiled. ‘Thank you, sir. How are you feeling?’

But Trevelyan closed his eyes and made no reply.

— CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE —

The Tomb of Arghadmon

The Headmaster’s two-week long sick leave wasn’t something the students of Darkledun Manor had thought too much about. After all, everyone got struck down by something now and again. Of course, only Thomas, Jessica, Merideah, Treice and Penders knew exactly what had struck him down — a seven-foot tall, one-handed, dark enchanter wearing a pair of enormous antlers. The news had begun to filter down to the Family History Club, but from the snippets of conversation Thomas and the others heard, they only knew that the High Cap had been attacked and hurt. Gallowglas had sworn Thomas and his friends to secrecy regarding all that had happened in the cavern, so they were unable to say anything.

The Club had been attending their normal lessons at the Grange, but Thomas and the others hadn’t been allowed to set foot in Avallach since Gallowglas had sent them back to the Manor after the healing of the Northern Way Gate. Jessica had asked Miss Havelock about their lessons at the Academy. She’d been told that it was best to stay away until ‘things have been decided’ — whatever that meant. Thomas shook his head at the thought. He was as frustrated as Jessica. And he’d even more reason to be. What had happened to him that final day in Avallach wouldn’t be easily forgotten. Part of his reason for being there had been revealed to him, and now he’d been shut out.

Thomas continued down the unlit passageway, passing the corridor leading to 2B, and making for the early morning light that spilled through the open door ahead. He’d come by full of hope at this time every morning for the last fortnight, but that hope had failed as the days had passed. Maybe Trevelyan was dying. Maybe he’d been permanently hurt and was now confined to a wheelchair, if they had wheelchairs in Avallach. Miss Havelock had only told Thomas that the Headmaster was still weak. That was a week ago. Stanwell knew nothing more, and Gallowglas remained as silent as a stone.

Thomas reached the Headmaster’s office and peered through the half-open door. The desk remained unoccupied, as it had every time he’d come. Thomas turned to go, convinced he’d got up early for nothing again, but then he heard someone humming. Thomas didn’t recognize the tune, but he recognized the hummer. Thomas turned back and poked his head through the door. There, bearing a tray upon which sat a plate of biscuits and two glasses of milk, stood Mr Trevelyan. His countenance and eyes were back to their normal brightness, both vying for supremacy over the bright clothes he wore.

‘Well, ’blige me, don’t stand there with wide eyes all day,’ Mr Trevelyan said, as he placed the tray on his desk. ‘I’ve brought some chocolate-chip biscuits and milk to fill that open mouth of yours!’

Almost without thinking, Thomas ran and threw his arms around the waist of the old man. ‘I knew you’d be OK. I knew!’

Mr Trevelyan gently pulled Thomas from his lime-coloured waistcoat and looked him in the eye.

‘I’m sorry for —’ Thomas began, tears rolling down his cheeks and finding it hard to get the words out of his mouth ‘— for all the trouble I’ve caused.’

Trevelyan smiled. ‘Thomas, what you did needs no apology, indeed it needs some praise. We’ve already sent scouts out to see if we can make contact with the Dwerugh — and I think there’s one person in the Grange who will be especially happy to know that he can visit his kith and kin again!’

‘Dugan?’ Thomas said.

‘Yes, and to be honest I think many others at the Grange will be happy for him to visit the Dwerughnook too.’ Trevelyan winked.

Thomas smiled, but the happy thought of Dugan visiting his people was immediately replaced by a darker one. ‘What about Cernunnos? Won’t he be waiting?’

Trevelyan straightened his tie. ‘After what happened at the Way Gate, he’ll think twice before attacking without an army behind him.’

Thomas wiped his eyes and felt his contact lenses press against his pupils. By Gallowglas’s order, Thomas had put in his spare ones as soon as he got back to the Manor. ‘What would’ve happened if I failed?’

‘The Outer Circle of the Grange would have fallen to Cernunnos, and those who survived would’ve been trapped behind the Inner Gate for the rest of their lives while all about them the Free Peoples of Avallach would have succumb to the Horned One’s malice.’

Thomas swallowed hard.

Trevelyan took his seat behind his desk. ‘Was there another question?’

‘Yes.’ Thomas sat down opposite the Headmaster. ‘You knew I had the Glass all along?’

Trevelyan nodded. ‘Yes, the representative of your father’s estate informed me that it had been left to you.’

Thomas bit his lip. ‘I saw one of the De Danann, in the Way Gate. She said her name was Brigid.’

Trevelyan picked up a biscuit, and indicated for Thomas to do the same. ‘Yes, I thought she’d come to you eventually.’

Thomas picked up a glass of milk. ‘She spoke about someone called Maithfreond. Do you know who that is?’

‘It’s a terrible mouthful isn’t it? I don’t know what my parents were thinking. It’s why I prefer ‘Trevelyan’.’

‘You’re Maithfreond?’ Thomas suddenly remembered the invitation letter he’d received last year — it was signed ‘M. Trevelyan’.

The Headmaster nodded and smiled.

‘She said that the ‘fallen must speak’. She said you’d know what to do.’

Trevelyan didn’t answer for a while. ‘Yes, I suppose that would be best now, considering all that’s happened.’

‘You know her then? You’ve seen her?’ Thomas bit into a biscuit.

‘Once, yes. But let’s speak of this elsewhere.’ He pulled some keys from his jacket and led Thomas quietly to 2B. It wasn’t until they were on Cnocmorandolmen that he spoke to Thomas again.

‘This sidhe, the walls of which you see before you, once belonged to the De Danann — to Brigid to be exact. She surrendered the Grange to our stewardship nine years ago. Without this refuge, this haven of learning and arena of training, I think it safe to say our cause would have suffered greatly, perhaps even have been lost by now.’

Thomas looked from the walls back to the Headmaster. ‘But what’s this got to do with me?’

‘Well, to answer that you must allow me to follow the final instructions that Brigid gave to me nine years ago.’ Trevelyan moved down the hill and beckoned Thomas to follow.

They were soon inside the coach house. The Darkledun carriage had all but been repaired, as had the building itself. Several of the small white-furred hodge-pockers worked on the final touches to the coaches. On seeing the High Cap they seemed to become excited, but Trevelyan calmed them down and they got back to work. Trevelyan led Thomas to a dun horse that stood saddled and waiting outside one of the stalls. It looked like the one they’d ridden two weeks ago. The Headmaster mounted and then helped Thomas up into the saddle behind him. Trevelyan rode slowly, but they were soon inside the Inner Gate and trotting down the road that led to the Academy.

Thomas looked at Muddlestump Wood as they passed it by and he wondered what had happened to Ghillie Dhu. He’d not seen — or felt — him since leaving the Northern Way Gate. Perhaps the experience had scared the Gruagach? Perhaps this time, if he’d managed to get through the Inner Gate, he really had gone back to Muddlestump? But what of his promise to Brigid to teach Thomas about the Old Power? Thomas couldn’t believe he’d disobey her.