Chapter 6
Wondrous Metal
A cauldron bubbled over a charcoal fire, sending up clouds of aromatic vapours. Adrina took a strand of catgut and lowered it into the steaming liquid. The stringent tang of medicinal herbs hung in the air and she said a prayer, partly for the benefit of her brother and partly for the cobbler.
Fury was lying on a linen shawl with a deep gash across his cheek. He had arrived on his broken-down mare, muttering incoherently about a fight in which he had driven off numerous assailants. Adrina didn't believe a word of it. Her brother didn't get involved in fights. Fury hid in the woods, strumming on his harp, singing puerile songs about trees and buttercups.
She studied him as he lay waiting for his wound to be treated. He hadn't changed much since their last meeting, nine moons earlier. Although he was older and taller, Adrina had never thought of him as her big brother. He remained the little boy who played with her when they lived with their mother a long time ago.
'Tell me again how you got the wound?'
'It was when I went to the shrine of the Holy Lady,' Fury replied. 'The Duideth sent me. They didn't want to go because it's outside their territory. They were scared they'd be killed by mother's men.'
That part of the story was believable … the rest was pure twaddle.
'I got there and it was the same but different,' he said. 'The cows were bigger and so were the trees. Then I saw this carriage, which ran along without horses, and I knew I'd travelled between realms ...'
Adrina listened as he prattled on.
'There were other things I'd never seen before. I went to the holy spring. That was in the same place but the water was dirty. Then I went to the hollow where the lovers perform the sacred rites …'
His voice petered out.
'What happened then?' Adrina asked.
'I found this lovely girl.'
Adrina was pleased her brother had discovered girls. That was a step in the right direction, even if he was only fantasising about them.
'She was lying on her back in the long grass,' Fury said. 'She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.'
It occurred to Adrina that, as an acolyte of the priesthood of the Duideth, Fury hadn't seen many girls, beautiful or otherwise.
'She wore strange clothes. And there was this giant …'
Adrina let him ramble on. She wasn't interested in what he was saying and was thinking of other things when he produced an amulet in the form of a cat. It was made of a strange metal and fastened to a chain.
'She gave it to me,' her brother said, 'and I gave her my talisman as a token of my love.'
One glance told Adrina that the cat and chain were very special. Although crude, both were crafted from an amazing metal: one that shone like silver but had the feel of iron. She could scarcely believe that such a humble trinket could be made from something so special.
The cobbler threaded the catgut onto a needle. Adrina watched as the sharp point was dipped into the steaming cauldron to receive the holy blessing. Her brother squirmed as the cobbler got to work. While he was occupied with his ordeal, Adrina prised the metal cat from his grasp. The chain was poorly made. She removed a few links and returned it to Fury's hand.
***
Hammer blows descended on the metal bar. They fell in a regular rhythm, accompanied by the chant of the two old men working the bellows. The anvil was set on a massive block of wood, rough-hewn in the form of a woman on her back. The furnace was similarly shaped to represent the female form, this time in the birth position.
A statue of the goddess stood in a niche. Adrina sat below it. Her long, black hair was tied in a plait. She watched the sword master at work, asking frequent questions about the process. Outside, a group of young men kept a constant eye on her through the open doorway. They wore bright clothes and were heavily armed.
The sword master returned the bar to the furnace and removed an earthenware pot. A piece of metal glowed in the bottom. It was one of the links Adrina had taken from her brother's chain. He removed the link and placed it on the anvil.
'Let us see what the Holy Mother has to tell us about the strange metal that has come into your possession.'
He watched the changes of colour as the link cooled and an expression of wonder appeared on his face.
'Lady. The Holy Mother honours you.'
He reached into a second pot and removed another link.
'What do you see?' Adrina asked.
He held the link to the light. 'It bears no mark. Yet I have bathed it in the strongest vinegar: the sort used to etch the dragon swords.'
He went to the shrine and held up the link before the statue of the goddess. 'Holy Mother.' His voice was charged with emotion. 'Show me the secret of this wondrous metal and I will forge great swords to fight your enemies.'
Adrina sat and watched, weighing every detail until satisfied she had learned as much as possible. Then, grasping the image that hung about her neck, she said a silent prayer to the goddess and resolved to see her brother, Fury, as soon as possible.
***
The first light of day shone through the doorway and Fury opened his eyes. He could hear the beat of drums, echoing through the hills, and knew that the priests of the Duideth were gathering to welcome the Lord Sun back at the start of a new day.
The people where he had his lodging did not perform the dawn ceremony. In the villages of his mother's people, sunrise went unnoticed or was acknowledged by obscene noises and gestures. No golden disks adorned the houses. Statues of the goddess were everywhere.
Fury felt the stitches in his cheek and ran his tongue over the inside of his mouth. The wound was healing well. He was grateful to Adrina. They'd never been close. But, when he'd gone to her for help, she'd been a true sister to him.
He was desperately unhappy. He wondered why fate had been so unkind. Why hadn't he been born into an ordinary family? Why hadn't his soul light emerged from the Void and entered the womb of a nice ordinary peasant woman?
As a child he had watched the herdboys. They wore leather capes and nothing else but they weren't unhappy. They had nice mothers who cared for them. Why did he have a mother who was a paramount chieftain? What had he done in his former life to deserve this?
His mother had sent him to the priesthood of the Duideth when he was a little boy and she had put Adrina into the care of the Royal House of Gorm. That's what happened if you were born into the ruling classes. You didn't stay at home. You were put in the care of your parents' enemies. It was a time-honoured custom, designed to forge links between the warring factions and create peace and harmony. As far as Fury could make out, it merely added to the mayhem.
He pondered his life as he lay in bed, searching for hidden meanings until a noise set his nerves on edge. Someone was approaching.
'Fury.'
He heard his name and watched as shadows appeared in the doorway. Then he saw his sister. She wore men's clothes and carried a shield.
'Why are you dressed like that?'
'I don't want to be recognised.'
Adrina put down the shield.
'I must talk to you.'
'About what?'
'About the journey you made to that other realm.'
'I thought you didn't believe it.'
'I do now …'
Fury pulled himself into a sitting position.
'I want to know more about it,' Adrina squatted down beside him. 'You told me about the girl and you said she had a giant with her. Tell me about him.'
'There's not much to tell.' Fury clasped his hands together. 'He was big and did a lot of shouting. I don't think he was really nasty. I just think he was worried about Little Cat.'
'Who?'
'The girl I told you about.'
'How do you know that's her name?'
'I don't. It's just how I think about her.'
Adrina considered the answer.
'You say the man is big. Is he as big as Morgon?'
Fury thought for a while.
'He's about the same size.'
Adrina ticked off the point on her fingers.
'What do you know about the metal the girl's talisman is made of?'
'It's made of metal … that's all I know.'
Adrina's face hardened. She reminded Fury of their mother. One moment caring, the next severe. She leant forward and spoke to him in the voice she used when giving orders to her bodyguard.
'I want the giant. You are to bring him to me.'
He stared at her with a blank face.
'How can I do that?'
'I have prayed to the Holy Mother for such a man.' Adrina clasped the image of the goddess that hung about her neck. 'With the Holy Mother's guidance you will succeed.'
She moved closer and whispered.
'Bring me the giant … you can have the girl.'
***
Tom unloaded the equipment from his van and set out for the pond. He'd left Alison at home. It was half an hour before sunrise: an auspicious time for bridging the gap between realms. He laid out the cable, put on the helmet and tried to be at peace with the world.
The air was balmy. Bats flew and he was reminded of Shakespeare's play about a midsummer night's dream. His head filled with music. He adjusted the headset and sang an ode about sucking where bees sucked and flying on the backs of bats. He figured the bard's words had deep sexual connotations, even if modern audiences were too dumb to recognise them.
The familiar pattern appeared on the computer screen, growing when he thought about bats and fading when he was distracted by cars on the highway. He stuffed tissues in his ears. That helped with the cars but failed to eliminate other sources of interference.
To his intense annoyance a horse appeared. The shaggy beast came over the slope as the sun rose. Tom was furious. It was the story of his life. Whenever things went well, some interfering busybody arrived on the scene and stuffed things up. The district was full of the sods. The rich bastards thought they owned the place.
He took in a deep breath and prepared to tell the intruder to sod off. Then he took a second look. The horseman wore a cloak and his boots were fastened with long straps that bound his trousers to his legs. His first impression was of a boy of about thirteen. When he looked closer, he realised the young man was closer to twenty.
He was a small man on a small horse. His light-brown hair hung to his shoulders and an ugly scar crossed his cheek. He halted a few paces away and removed a knotted cord from his belt. His fingers ran down it and came to rest on the first knot.
He cleared his throat.
'Welcome, Tomas son of John.
Great Sage.
Master of the Light.'
His fingers moved to the second knot.
'The Duideth bids and commands me to deliver this message. You have passed the Seventh Gate and are admitted to the fellowship of the Duideth. Blessed is the Duideth and holy are its works.'
He reached the third knot, which was bigger than the others.
'Heed the laws of the Duideth.
Heed the law of silence.
Do not profane the sacred works with writing.'
Further commands and dire warnings followed as the horseman ran his fingers down the cord. He reached the last knot.
'You will be received by the Duideth when next the Lord Sun descends in the fullness of His being. Go to the Seventh Circle. Go as a simple man. Take no weapons.'
The last knot slipped through the young man’s fingers. Tom guessed the message was over. But the messenger kept talking.
'Bring the young woman of fair countenance.'
The words were rushed and the messenger began to fade.
‘Where am I to go?’ Tom shouted.
A look of alarm appeared on the young man's face.
'Up where the stones are.'
He cocked a thumb towards a nearby hill.
'Go there tomorrow night ... and take the girl with you!'