In the Shadow of the Wall (34 page)

“You can only do what you can do,” Brude told him.

“Very profound,” Gruoch said. “Doesn’t help a lot, though.”

The next day, while Brude and Fothair were helping Gruoch saw planks, Colm himself came down to the riverside, half a dozen of his warriors following dutifully behind. He inspected the skeleton of the ship, nodding appreciatively as he ran his hands over the joints. He did not seem at all perturbed by the slow progress, congratulating Gruoch on what he had achieved and telling him he was sure it would be a fine vessel.

Then Colm wandered over to Brude, a happy, relaxed smile on his face. “I’m glad you are here,” he said amiably. “It saves me having to come to look for you.”

Brude wasn’t sure what this change in Colm’s demeanour meant so he simply gave a non-committal nod of welcome. Whatever was pleasing Colm so much would no doubt become clear, sooner or later. What worried Brude was that if something had happened that was g,” he coor Colm, the chances were that it was bad for someone else. Probably for him.

“We really don’t see enough of you up at the broch,” Colm said. “But I hear you have been busy.”

“Yes. There always seems to be plenty to keep me occupied,” Brude agreed.

“Good. I am glad that you have settled in. I am sorry that things between us have not been as good as they should have been. I’m sure you understand that having you come back from the dead was a bit of a shock.”

Brude wasn’t at all sure where this was leading. Colm’s words were full of reconciliation and his tone was easy and relaxed but Brude thought he detected something else, something unspoken, that Colm was keeping from him. Still, if Colm was genuinely trying to make amends, then he had to go along with it. “I understand. It has been difficult for everyone.”

“Exactly so,” Colm agreed. “I also hear that you have not yet taken a wife even though you seem to have had a few offers?”

Brude knew that there were few secrets in a place as small as Broch Tava but it still annoyed him that his marital position seemed to concern the whole village. “Not yet,” he replied, not wanting to say too much.

Colm grinned happily. “Well, there is plenty of time, I suppose. Now, to business. There is something I need you to do for me.”

Here it comes
, thought Brude. “What is that, Colm?”

“I am going to visit Nechtan and I would like you to come with me.”

The unexpected request caught Brude by surprise. “Me? What for?”

Brude wondered if he had made a mistake. Colm was used to people obeying his every whim, without question, but Colm merely smiled conspiratorially and said, “Well, Nechtan has a druid. Veleda her name is. She is said to be rather formidable in the magic arts. I would like to take along our very own magician.”

Brude almost laughed aloud. From behind him, he thought he heard Fothair trying to stifle his own laughter. “I’m sorry, Colm. I’m no magician.”

Colm was unperturbed. “That’s not what I hear. You can catch insects on the wing, you can catch spears thrown at you, you are invulnerable to weapons and you heal the sick. Are these things not magic?”

Brude shook his head. “No, Colm, they are just skills I have learned. Anyway, I wasn’t able to heal everyone. I am very limited when it comes to healing.”

“You still know more than anyone else in the village,” said Colm. “And all of these things you do appear magical to everyone else, whatever you may say. Above all, you have returned from the dead. What greater magic is there?”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Brude asked him.

“What I believe is neither here nor there,” Colm replied evenly. “What is important is what other people believe. If Nechtan believes you can control powerful magic then it enhances the position of our village.”

“It enhances your standing with Nechtan, you mean?”

“If you like to put it that way. Now, will you come with me? Believe me, it will be to your advantage, for there are great plans already in motion.”

Brude raised his eyebrows questioningly. “What great plans?”

Colm laughed. “Always questions, Brude. You always asked questions, even when you were a boy, and still you do it. You will learn soon enough. As I say, it will be to your advantage. So will you come with me?”

Brude could not think of any excuse that would sound at all plausible. He also recognised that Colm could simply have ordered him to accompany him, so he said, “Yes, I will go with you.”

“Excellent! We leave tomorrow morning. Be at the broch just after sunrise.”

With a friendly word of farewell to Gruoch, Colm and his retinue made their way back through the village towards the fort hill. Brude exchanged glances with Gruoch, who just shrugged, and with Fothair who said, “He’s up to something.”

“Just because he was nice to me, you think he’s up to something?”

“Yes. A man like Colm does not change his character. He has a plan that involves you. He probably means to murder you in the woods and claim you were killed by bandits or by a bear. You shouldn’t go.”

“I have said I would go,” Brude told him. “But you are right. He is up to something. It’s just as well I have you to watch my back, isn’t it?”

They climbed the hill at dawn, each of them with a small pack containing food and water. They also carried long staffs, which could serve as walking aids or as weapons, depending on circumstances. Colm was there, wearing fine clothes which were topped by a cloak of green and blue fastened by a large golden brooch. With him, in the open space of the stockade, were nearly thirty warriors, each with a spear, helmet and shield. Some also carried swords. Lutrin, Colm’s mysterious bearded advisor, was there as well, wearing a sword but with his head bare. Many of the warriors held horses, ready to mount for the journey. Brude saw Mairead and Castatin among the assembled villagers who had gathered to see them off. The giant Cruithne stood outside the broch. He raised a hand in salute when he saw Brude approach.

Fothair whispered under his breath, “Well if he wants you dead, you’ve had it. Not even you can beat this lot.”

“It would be difficult,” Brude admitted. “Even with your help.”

Fothair laughed but not in humour. “Hah! First sign of trouble and I’m off. I told you I would run one day.”

“Perhaps you should have run last night then,” said Brude. “I think you may have left it too late.”

Colm greeted them with an amused smile. Those men who had horses mounted up with a jingle of harnesses and whinnied protests from the horses. Colm waved his arm and they set off, following in a long line, riding or walking two abreast. Brude and Fothair joined the procession rather nervously but the warriors around them seemed in good humour and if they had murder in mind, they were better actors than Brude gave them credit for.

The column made its way northwards, past the fields the villagers had hacked from the encroaching trees, into the woodland then on towards the hills. Colm set a good pace for it was a long walk to Dun Nechtan, the hill fortress where Nechtan, acknowledged overlord of the Boresti, had his seat. There was a trackway of sorts for much of the way but the woodland was always growing, ever changing and sometimes the path vanished though they still made good time.

Colm rode at the head of the column, chatting to Lutrin in a light-hearted mood. The mounted warriors followed, eight of them, riding side by side, in pairs when the path was wide enough or in single file when it wasn’t. Two men had been sent on ahead to bring word of Colm’s coming. Brude and Fothair walked behind the en with the rest of the group, who were on foot, following them. There was a lot of banter among the warriors, who talked of inconsequential things and joked at each other’s expense. Brude thought the march had the feel of a pleasant day’s outing. Around
midday
, they stopped briefly for a light meal before pushing on. After a long but uneventful afternoon, they reached Dun Nechtan as the sun was heading towards the western horizon, turning the sky a glorious shade of orange. Nechtan’s home was situated on a long narrow oval of a hill, surrounded near the top by a wall of stones covered with turf. There was only one path to the top where a massive wooden gate was guarded night and day. Inside the wall, crammed all along the top of the hill, were roundhouses and the great rectangular hall where Nechtan held his court.

Colm ordered his men to make camp at the foot of the hill, near a huddle of peasant houses that formed a small village. There was a stream nearby for water and the ground was flat enough to make a good camp site. Fothair set about building a fire for himself and Brude but Colm walked over to them, speaking to Brude for the first time that day. He was not pleased. “Nechtan is showing off his power,” he said angrily. “He has sent word that he has no room for so many men in his fortress so we must camp outside. You, though, can come with me.”

Leaving his pack and his staff with a forlorn Fothair, Brude went with Colm. They made their way to the wide pathway which led up the side of the hill. Colm’s man, Lutrin, followed them a discreet distance behind. The path ran along one side of the long hill, gradually climbing to the main gate. Above them, the Dun wall was on their right so that, if they had been hostile, their unshielded right sides would be exposed to men on the wall. Now, the sentries simply looked down on them with idle curiosity. “This is not seemly,” spat Colm. “Nechtan dishonours me, especially when I come on such important business.”

“What important business is that?” asked Brude, knowing Colm had given him the opening for the question.

Colm gave him an amused smile. He answered his question with one of his own. “What do you want most in the world, Brude?”

Brude was so surprised by the question that he almost mentioned Mairead’s name, without thinking. Fortunately, he remembered his promise to her and caught himself in time. “Ever since I was captured, I only ever wanted to get back home. I have done that. I am content with what I have.”

“I think you are lying,” said Colm. “You are very good at keeping your face expressionless but I know you want something more.”

“I do miss the Roman baths,” Brude admitted with a smile.

Colm was not to be put off. “Don’t take me for a fooBrude. I have seen the way you look at Mairead. I know you have kept your word and stayed away from her but every feast night you sit there with your eyes always following her. I know what you want.”

To Brude’s surprise, Colm did not seem angry. If anything, he seemed amused. Brude said to him, “She is still the best looking woman in the village, Colm. Lots of men look at her. But everyone knows she is your wife.”

“Not for much longer,” said Colm with a triumphant gleam in his eye. “That is why we are here.” Brude was so astonished that he stopped dead in his tracks. Colm laughed at him. “Do you know Mairead’s main fault?” he asked.

“You know her better than I do,” said Brude, moving again to keep up.

Colm ignored that remark. He explained, “Her problem is that she is barren. Since she gave birth to my son, there have been no other children. And I need a daughter if my line is to continue.”

Brude suddenly understood. Colm was trying to establish a dynasty. Castatin would become head man because he was Mairead’s son, not because he was Colm’s son. But if Mairead had no daughters, Colm’s line would come to an end. “You want a daughter so that your grandson can become a tribal leader after Castatin?” he asked.

“That’s right. Mairead cannot give me one, so I will divorce her. I am going to marry one of Nechtan’s daughters. He has one who has just turned fifteen and who is of the line of Beathag. It is all arranged. Lutrin has been negotiating on my behalf for some time.”

Brude could not help thinking, once again, that Colm would have made a good Roman. The Romans valued sons above daughters because sons would continue the family line. Among the Pritani, the female line was more important when it came to inheritance, yet Colm still wanted his descendants to be the leaders of the village. Brude thought it was a bizarre desire.