Forging the Runes (6 page)

"Yes."

Aedh nodded, clearly pleased. "That means an alliance with Wessex is indirectly an alliance with Mercia as well, with no awkward complications attached of who's stronger than whom. Perfect. And Wessex—Beortric's land," he added to Ardagh, who had already puzzled it out— "Wessex has even suffered a Lochlannach raid or two some few years ago."

"How unfortunate for them."

"And fortunate for us." Aedh beamed at the prince with blatantly overdone charm. "Prince Ardagh, I understand that Wessex can be quite a pleasant land."

"Can it, indeed?"

"Of course, it's already too late to travel so far this year; autumn is already past the best time for sailing, and winter is definitely not the time for an ambassador to set out. And before we can do anything else we shall have to go through the formality of a general meeting of my counselors first. The Sacsanach have not been exactly kind to our British kin. I suspect," the king said blandly, "that we're in for a good deal of shouting and bluster."

"Without a doubt." Ardagh's voice was equally bland. "And I suspect that those British kin are distant cousins."

"Very."

"Convenient. I will need some schooling in the ways and language of Wessex, naturally. I'm a swift learner, as my lord Fothad will, no doubt, attest, but there
are
limits."

"Of course," Aedh agreed. "So now, eventually matters will get themselves straightened out. Let's just say that I'm sure you'll enjoy your visit to Wessex."

"Oh yes," Ardagh agreed, "I think that I may."

But his smile was not at all charming or dutiful.

One of the safest places for two lovers to meet in Fremainn was out here in the bright daylight in the center of the grassy field, with no possible hiding places to let even the most suspicious soul find fault in their being together, nor any way for anyone to overhear what they said.

Which, Ardagh thought, was just as well. He and Sorcha had been strolling together, apparently innocently, but all the while he had been hunting for a way to say what he must say.

No way but the blunt truth. "Sorcha. King Aedh has decided to use me as an informal sort of ambassador."

She eyed him warily. "Where? Surely not to Leinster."

"No. The king wishes to send me to King Beortric of Wessex."

Sorcha froze, stricken. "Wessex!"

Startled by her shock, Ardagh soothed, "Ae, love, it's not the Land Beyond Beyond."

"It's far enough! Ardagh, do you have any idea of our human distances? You don't, do you? We're not talking about some magical blink-of-the-eye trip there and back again, but a journey of only the good Lord knows how long, first by boat, then over leagues of foreign soil. And there's so much that could happen, so much that could go wrong—why, even in the simple crossing from Eriu to—Ardagh, you can't, you mustn't—"

"No, no, Sorcha, you're missing the point. Listen to me, calmly. Calmly."

"Go ahead," she said grimly. "I'm listening."

Ardagh took a deep breath. "Last night I made one more attempt to open a Doorway. It failed. Yes, that's why I've been dragging myself about so wearily. You've seen me collapse from backlash before: you know something about how much strength the effort would have cost me. With this latest failure," he continued, fighting to keep his voice level, "I believe I have completely exhausted whatever little spells I've been able to find in Eriu."

"B-but you haven't—you can't—"

"Listen to me. Wessex is new soil; foreign soil. At the very least, I'll be able to keep myself healthy by drawing on its forests' natural Power, just as I do here. At the most—I am hoping against hope, as you humans would word it, that I'll find something more useful, more Powerful, there. I might even," he added with a sudden savage burst of longing, "find the spell to open the Doorway home."

"I see. You . . . wouldn't just go, would you?"

"What—"

"Ardagh, please: Sidhe honesty."

"I know no other sort. Go on."

"If you opened a Doorway in Wessex, one that would let you go home, you wouldn't leave me here alone . . . would you?"

"Ae, never. Sorcha, never."

Her laugh was shaky with relief. "There is something to be said for having a love who can't lie."

Ardagh cocked his head to one side, studying her. "But there's something more than worry in your eyes, I think."

"I don't doubt it. For one thing, I'm envying you."

"Envying!"

"Och, Ardagh, you know how things are for noble-born women in this land. I'm not a slave, but I'm not exactly free, either. I've never left the region, my love, let alone travelled to a foreign land. And," she added sharply, "I don't think much of this 'woman patiently waiting for her man to return' role."

"I never saw the point of it, either. In my Realm you could go where you pleased, with no one to say—" He brought himself up short. "But we aren't in my Realm."

Sorcha grinned, a little too sharply for true humor. "What say you? Think you could smuggle me along in your gear? Or maybe I could take a scene from a bard's tale and disguise myself. Think I'd make a convincing boy?"

He had to laugh at that. "Powers be praised, no!"

"Ah well." The not-quite humor faded from her eyes, leaving them bleak. "Then, hate it or not, wait I must. When do you leave?"

"Not till the spring, at least. It's already too late in the year for travel. Besides, as I told the king, I may be a swift learner, but even I need
some
time to study a new land." He paused, listening to a faint, distant clamor. "Yes," Ardagh continued, "and before we can commit to anything, the king's council must first finish their debate."

To his surprise, Sorcha threw back her head with a genuine burst of laughter. "And here I was worried! That could take years!"

I doubt it,
Ardagh thought. But he, bemused anew at the human way of trying to avoid the unavoidable, said nothing. Of course the council would make its decision, and of course it would rule as Aedh wished; they did not often go against the High King's will. Like it or not, the prince knew that he would be leaving this land in the springtime. He must.

But he would, all the Powers grant, return.

A Small Murder
Chapter 6

Muffled in a hooded cloak, runes in a pouch at his waist, Osmod made his unchallenged way through the darkening, nearly empty streets of Uintacaester. Coins slipped to the guards had gotten him easily out of the royal compound (he'd heard their snickers: "Not the first noble to go hunting common fun."). The rune Eolh would protect him from unwanted attention and Ger would see him safely back again.

He glanced about, hunting. If he was to ensure that Worr truly never remembered what had happened back in the forest, this nuisance of a task must be done.

If only everyone's will was as easy to snare as that of Edburga.
But then, Beortric's queen half
wanted
to be snared; an arrogant woman, that, who must always have someone over whom she, the daughter of the late, mighty Offa, could feel safely superior. Beortric, on the other hand . . .

Osmod shook his head. Soft Beortric might be, but he was discouragingly content with himself and his lot: such a will was, in its own complacent way, strong and smooth as stone. Stone could, of course, eventually be shaped, but only so very painfully slowly. Ah, those tales of the sorcerers of lore, able to work their wishes with nothing more than flicks of their will!

He gave a snort of disgust and hurried on. The air was still full of the scents of cooking fires and food, and there was a sudden burst of laughter from this house, a soft snatch of song from that. But the city was definitely settling down for the night; there would be no witnesses.

There, now. That rather ramshackle building in this decidedly less desirable corner of the city was definitely an inn of the common sort. And where there was such an inn, there was prey. First, of course, he had to go through the farce of actually
wanting
to be in such a place, sitting at a rickety table in the crowded, dark, smelly common room and pretending to be drinking a watery and probably outright unclean horn of ale. Yes, but there was his goal, that young woman: a scrawny, sad-eyed creature, her blond hair braided in what she probably thought a fashionable style, her tunic a worn but still gaudy yellow that branded her for what she was. A pity she didn't have more meat on her, but . . .

The whore forced what was definitely a false smile of welcome onto her lips as she saw him. Osmod beckoned to her.

"Never mind the games," he said shortly before she could start the tired old bantering of seller-and-client. "You see," he added, jingling his purse, "I have coins enough."

She blinked, clearly a little startled at his bluntness. "There's a room nearby, my . . . ah . . . my lord, and—"

"No. I would rather not risk vermin." Too brusque. A wise hunter didn't frighten off the prey. Osmod hastily softened his voice to a charming croon. "The night's warm, my dear. We can find us a more pleasant place. Won't you come walking with me?"

Of course she agreed; she needed those coins badly, judging from the skinny body pressing up against him in simulated passion as he wrapped his cloak about both of them. Ignoring the not-quite-clean smell of her, Osmod strolled with her out into the night and took what he hoped wasn't too obviously a relieved breath of clean air.

"Now, isn't this better, my dear . . . what
is
your name?"

Her voice was a surprisingly shy whisper. "Emma, my lord."

"Emma," he purred. "A pretty name. Have you no family, poor Emma?"

She shook her head.

"Tsk, poor Emma, all alone."

Osmod glanced about. No one in sight. He suddenly pushed the startled woman off her feet into a narrow, not-quite alley, blank wooden walls on both sides. She twisted about where she'd fallen, trying frantically to recover her false smile of welcome, but Osmod could scent the exhilarating smell of her fear. Yes, ah yes, the Power was stronger when the prey was afraid. He threw himself down on her, slapping her when she struggled, seeing her eyes widen as she stared up at him and realized the truth for the first time, seeing her terror rise. Before she could scream, he had a hand over her mouth, whispering, "No, ah no, no sound, fear me, yes, fear me but silently."

Now. Now her terror was at its peak. Osmod slipped out his knife and neatly slashed the jugular vein, ready for the spurt of blood, careful not to stain his clothing. He drank as she struggled, tasting the salty sweetness,
feeling
the intoxication of her life force feeding his, and the Power, the wild, wonderful Power rising within him. . . .

The prey went limp beneath him. Osmod got to his feet, shaking slightly, fastidiously wiping his mouth with a scrap of cloth. He was growing very weary of this, of having to slip down into the city at night like some young idiot on the prowl, pretending to be interested in this whore so sadly without family, or that lonely beggar no one would miss. He was most definitely growing weary of finding places to safely dispose of same. Life must have been far, far simpler back in the days of slavery. Then, no one kept track of a man's belongings, human or otherwise, save himself. No one would have noted or cared if a slave or two quietly disappeared.

Ah well.

He knelt again, tracing a quick circle about the corpse. Rummaging in his pouch, Osmod drew out the runes Thorn and Haegl, symbolic of Chaos and Destruction. He didn't really believe in the Dark Forces, not as personified beings, but it never hurt to be careful. "For you, Lords of the Underworld," he whispered, touching the runes to the late whore's head and heart, "blood and a life for you. I worship you, I worship you, I worship you."

There. That should be sufficient. He scuffed out the circle, leaving the corpse where it lay; there was blood enough still draining out of it to make a suitable sacrifice to Whatever. A quick glance to be sure he'd left nothing behind . . . no.

He shuddered suddenly. How many times now had he done this? Osmod could vaguely remember the first, slain with his father's help. At the time, Osmod had been little more than a boy awestruck at being allowed to join that so very secret cult, to take part in so drastic a ritual. But as he'd tasted that first victim's blood and life, he had felt the first wild rush of Power, felt his own not yet suspected magic stir and wake and knew in that moment just how different he was, how pleasingly superior. He'd been wise enough to keep his mouth shut about it, watching, learning. The others, even his father, had quickly proven themselves to be frauds, decadently cruel for decadence's sake. There had been no Power in them. But he . . .

Smiling slightly, the ealdorman headed back towards the royal compound. He was, as far as he knew, the cult's last surviving member. Charlemagne had exterminated the rest—and had been quite right to do it, not on any ridiculous moralistic grounds but simply because its members were too incompetent to live. If one must kill, there should be a point to it; any mindless beast could slay.

Power, now, Power was definitely worth it all. If only there was some way to
fix
the magic, hold it at this higher peak! But it would drain away all too soon, leaving him needing yet another hunt, another victim.

So be it. Right now, he had spells to work, traps to set.

I
don't wish to be king; I don't need that pomp or peril. But if only I can find a way to catch and hold the Power, ah, then I become true ruler of the land.

If only. Bah.

Worr woke suddenly, as he often did, staring up into space. Beside him, Beortric was still asleep, his heavy, middle-aged face defenseless and relaxed as that of a boy, and for a moment Worr could not move, overwhelmed by an unexpected rush of tenderness. Ah, he was so lonely, this king, this man, so grateful for any sign of affection.

God knew he didn't get it from his wife. Edburga did her best to rule her husband, and Beortric . . . Worr sighed. Beortric was too gentle a man to fight her.

It isn't right, it isn't just.

But that was Beortric, like it or not. Gentle. Caring.

The room was filling with the first grey light of morning. Reluctantly, Worr slipped from the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping king, then stood for a moment looking down at him, not at all sure of his emotions. Without warning, he was stabbed by the all too familiar knife of guilt. This was sin, what he and the king did together, all the priests said it was sin—yet it hardly felt like anything at all evil. And besides, how could he resist? Beortric had always been so kind to him, and if this brought the king some comfort in return . . .

I don't love him . . . do I?
This is purely out of service to my king—bah, what nonsense! Of course it's more than that. I
—I
don't know what I feel about him, but it's certainly more than cold duty.

But the guilt remained, a burden weighing down his soul. Hastily, Worr dressed before anyone chanced to find him here. He brushed a gentle hand across Beortric's brow, then sighed and slipped away. The two warriors watching the door had been carefully chosen to uphold the fiction that Worr was merely guarding his king; they let the ealdorman pass without so much as a glance, and Worr hurried on to his own quarters.

Ah, but now he was far too restless to abide. He should go to the royal chapel, pray for forgiveness.

For what?

I cannot see it as sin, I cannot!

Worr roused a sleepy servant and had the man fetch his horse. He wouldn't be needed in court this morning; maybe a brisk ride would ease his soul. Worr set his horse to a brisk trot down through the city. The streets were just beginning to fill, and the first merchants' cries met his ears:

"Fish! Fresh, fresh fish!"

"Vegetables fit for a royal table."

"Ribbons! Ribbons!"

The music of Uintacaester,
Worr thought, and smiled in spite of himself.

But one thin, shrill thread of sound didn't belong to that music. The ealdorman reined in his horse, listening. A scream . . . someone wailing in horror . . . it wasn't his business, surely, and yet . . .

It was. He was an ealdorman, a noble of the ruling class. What happened in this city, even to the commonest of folk, could not be ignored. Worr sighed and turned his horse in the direction of the screams. He felt his nose wrinkle despite his best intentions; this was far from the best corner of the city, and it stank.

But there was the screaming woman, crouching at the mouth of what was far too narrow to be called an alley. She was of the commonest sort, judging from that too-brilliant tunic, but the horror in her eyes pulled him from his horse.

"What—"

But then he, too, saw the body. A woman, a dispassionate part of his mind noted, young, dead. No, not just dead: murdered. Whoever had killed her had done a rather alarmingly neat job; her throat had been cut as daintily and cold-bloodedly as though she'd been nothing but a rabbit—

A rabbit. The memory hit him with the force of a blow. How could he have forgotten, even for a moment? That rabbit, with its neatly cut throat pressed to a man's mouth. To ealdorman Osmod's mouth, yes, and him with the look of a sated demon.

A ritual killing. He'd thought that then, for the brief moment he'd thought clearly about it at all. A ritual killing—like this one. And that meant that the poor woman's blood had also been . . .

But Worr couldn't bear to finish that thought.

Beortric must know of this,
he thought blindly,
Beortric must be told.