The Bloody Cup (3 page)

‘I have waited patiently for twenty years,’ the one-eyed warrior snapped. ‘I can wait a little longer.’

‘If I have need of you, I’ll send to you to meet me at the inn where we first met. Once we have set the north ablaze, Artor will be forced to fight on our ground - and even that demon isn’t immortal. He can’t win without the tribal kings behind him and your task is to eliminate his alliances.’

The shadowy man departed, and the bothie became as cold, empty and ruined as the face of the warrior.

For a short moment, he stared at his strong, scar-webbed palms and wondered where his honour and his innocence had fled. And then he remembered the crows as they had feasted on his master’s eyes, so he thrust away the last of his qualms.

‘So it begins!’ he told the gelid air as he crossed the threshold to find his tethered horse.

A solitary owl watched his departure with the unblinking patience of the predator.

The last conspirator rode away and, in a flash, the owl swooped and a small forest creature died. Only a tiny shriek from the underbrush indicated that something warm and furry had perished in indifferent claws.

CHAPTER I

A WIND FROM THE NORTH

I was at the Cross
With Mary Magdalene.
I received the muse
From Ceridwen’s cauldron.

The Book of Taliesin

Two tall men on powerful, clean-limbed horses came to Cadbury Tor as autumn turned the fruit trees to russet and gold. In the broad fields that surrounded the fortifications, the early winter wind ripped the fallen leaves into drifts of rust. With knowledgeable eyes, the young men noted the fruitful fields, the snug farms and the township that nestled at Cadbury’s skirts, and they grew round-eyed at the beauty of this secure kingdom.

These outland warriors carried with them the scent of glamour and a faint shimmer of oddness that led superstitious folk to turn away in sudden alarm. Moreover, these men were twins, and many crossed themselves in dread, for even the smallest child knew that twins were both a curse and a blessing. The men were mirror images of each other, fair yet fearsome, and no common man could quite ignore the chill finger that stirred the hairs on the back of his neck.

At the first gate leading to the citadel, they sat proudly on their fine horses - one white and one black - and proclaimed their lineage clearly for all the men-at-arms to hear.

‘We crave entrance,’ the dark-haired twin demanded calmly. ‘Our names are Balyn and Balan ap Cerdic, ap Llanwith of blessed memory, come to the High King at our mother’s bidding to offer our swords to our liege lord.’

While the warriors who made up the guard were unfamiliar with the twins, every member of the garrison had heard tales of the legendary King Llanwith of the Ordovice clan who had assisted the young Artor to assume the throne of Britain. Rumour had long hinted that Anna, the matriarch of the tribe, was kin of Artor, a linkage that added a layer of mystery to an already distinguished family. The guards at the entrance to the fortifications straightened respectfully.

With low bows of homage, the watch permitted the twins to pass through the entrance to the citadel.

Upwards, towards the crest of the tor, the two men rode abreast of each other. One had hair of rich dark brown, bordering on black, and the other boasted hair of honey-red. One guided his horse with his right hand and one used his left, and the warriors on the walls remembered that their mother was rumoured to be the sister of the High King and the unacknowledged daughter of the previous ruler, Uther Pendragon. As they searched the faces of the twins, the warriors recognized that the shape and colour of the young men’s grey irises belonged to only one other man in all these lands - Artor, the High King, who ruled the Cadbury fortress.

‘The scions of legend are once again among us,’ one old warrior said ruminatively when they had passed. He spat on his hands. ‘We’ll soon have some excitement.’

‘They’re fair young men, fresh fodder for the queen,’ another responded wickedly.

‘I’d keep my mouth shut if I were in your boots, Rhys, or the king will close it permanently. If Lord Artor chooses to ignore the behaviour of his wife, then who are we to notice?’ a third veteran warned.

‘May the gods send a fever to see that slut off,’ Rhys said quietly. ‘And then, perhaps, Cadbury can be hale and hearty again.’

Ignorant of the stir they were causing, Balyn and Balan rode higher up the defensive walls, noting with soldierly pleasure the cunning and strength in the earthwork construction that had been planned by Myrddion Merlinus so many years before. Then, abruptly, they realized they had reached the summit. Before them stood the wooden tower of a stone church with coloured glass set into the narrow windows of the building. Beside the Christian sanctuary, the palace of the High King towered over the land in tiers of dressed stone and timber.

At the carved doorway of the great hall, resplendent with its freshly painted dragons, the twins were halted by two tall warriors who eyed them from head to heels with cautious, unfriendly eyes. One warrior was close to fifty, with uncut hair of an extraordinary white-blonde that was plaited to his hips and bound with silver. The other warrior was some years younger and open of face, with an upper body that was heavily muscled and hardened with exercise. Both warriors wore the king’s dragon on their armbands and matching torcs could be glimpsed at their throats under the woollen tunics that covered their mail shirts.

‘Stand aside, good men,’ Balyn ordered imperiously. ‘We have ridden untended from Viroconium to offer our services to the High King.’

Balyn’s arrogance made both guards bristle. No one entered Artor’s hall without permission, however impeccable their lineage.

‘Please?’ Balan added, and his tanned face split in a wide grin.

Percivale and Gareth grinned instinctively in response to the darker twin whose hair had such shine and gloss, and whose grey eyes were like sunlight on a chill sea.

After a lifetime of service to the High King, Gareth knew the truth of Anna’s birthright, and his chest contracted with an old pang of concern. He also knew that Artor’s grandsons had come to offer allegiance to their grandsire in ignorance of the true ties of their bloodline.

‘The High King is entitled to the protection of all loyal men who serve as his personal guard’, Percivale explained gracefully. ‘And we take our duties seriously.’ His easy smile encompassed both young men. ‘Please leave all your weapons at this threshold. Only the High King goes armed within the precincts of his Judgement Hall.’

Balan complied with easy good humour, but Balyn expressed his irritation with every muscle of his face. However, item by item, the brothers laid aside an impressive array of weapons and followed Percivale and Gareth into the presence of the king.

Artor’s hall was resplendent with finely woven cloth that acted as the perfect foil for the battle standards of Mori Saxonicus, the last great battle against the western Saxons under the command of the thane, Glamdring Ironfist. The eyes of the twins widened as they observed the symbols of one of the west’s greatest triumphs. Around them, courtiers in brightly dyed linens and furs, and warriors richly caparisoned as befitted the servants of the king, rested on carved wooden benches or stood in corners, gossiping and drinking beer or wine offered by quiet-footed servants. It seemed to the dazzled eyes of Balyn and Balan that these vivid courtiers scarcely noticed the magnificence around them.

Peace had bred complacency and Balan read it in the plump, bland faces that gawped at them when they entered the King’s hall. But he saw that farmers, shepherds and shopkeepers were also among the gilded throng. These ordinary men stood unabashed in the presence of the High King, firm in the knowledge that Artor would offer judgement in their various cases with impartial, unimpeachable justice. Balan felt a visceral thrill of pride that he could become a part of a world that was both beautiful and just.

His eyes were drawn to the man sitting on a simple chair at the far end of the hall. His tunic was snowy white, and he eschewed ornamentation except for his crown, a torc of red gold and a fine golden chain that disappeared into the neck of his robe. He was far less gorgeous than any of the aristocrats who lounged in the hall, but the force of his character was unmistakable. Here was the centre of this world; here was the source of song and story: Artor, High King of the Britons.

Artor himself longed for the open air. The aristocratic petitioners made his head ache with their constant demands for preferment over neighbours, for judgement over tribal borders and for relief from tribute. Their greed often made him feel nauseous.

On the other hand, his Judgement Hall also brought common men to the tor. Farmers, traders and town dwellers trudged up the spiral pathway, seeking arbitration from the one man whom they trusted to be fair. Untangling the complex familial or financial skeins of ordinary life gave Artor pleasure, for it reminded him of what it had been like to be a free man.

Although the hall was crowded with petitioners, the twins caused a stir as they strode through the crowd as if it did not exist. Within moments, they stood proudly on the decorated flagstones before the High King and his queen. Their booted feet rested at the claws of Artor’s dragon mosaic, as if the twins were extensions of the great beast that reclined at the High King’s feet. Smoothly, and with careful discipline, the brothers dropped to their knees and bowed to kiss the talons of the Dracos dragon.

‘Rise, young princes, no child of Queen Anna need bow to me,’ the king ordered, while Queen Wenhaver stared at the twins.

Artor listened to their salutations with a mixture of excitement and discomfort. Balan, who used the hand sinister, or the left, was tall and was similar in build to Artor himself. Not a hint of curl marred the sheen of his long, loosened hair, and his face under its dark, winged brows was calm and untroubled. Artor felt a painful stirring of affection for this clean-limbed young man.

Older by minutes, and as fair as his brother was dark, Balyn possessed hair that curled gently past his shoulders. The petitioners in the hall recognized the similarities between the two young men and the High King, and silence was replaced with a low hum of whispers. The other twin used his dexter, or right hand, which was believed to be more benign by the superstitious, although Artor wasn’t sure that this grand-dam’s tale was always true. His agile mind recognized an impulsive nature in Balyn, demonstrated through his swiftly moving hands and the ready words that spilled out his thoughts without the leavening grace of caution.

Both young men rose and waited quietly under the scrutiny of the High King.

For their part, the twins examined the face of their lord and noted the clipped, greying curls that gathered around his face. Artor was still handsome, strong and straight-limbed, but heaviness dragged at his mouth and clouded his wintry eyes with distrust. Lines of worry tugged the inner corners of his eyebrows close to his shapely nose, and the shadows under his eyes were deep, almost bruised.

‘You will introduce me, Artor, won’t you?’ the queen interjected, tapping one foot on the dais.

Age had not dimmed Wenhaver’s ostentatious display. She wore far too many fine gems for good taste. Her mouth was petulant and was marred by deep lines around her thinning lips. Although her hair was still extraordinary, her figure and face bore the signs of dissipation and encroaching old age, held at bay with the aid of rigid bindings and cosmetics that were better suited to a young girl than a mature woman. When Artor bothered to notice and remembered her former natural beauty, he felt stirrings of pity for her. Like a painting on wood, her looks were extraordinary until any movement broke the spell and revealed the hag waiting under the curls and the powder.

Both young men knelt before her and, characteristically, Balyn spoke first.

‘I am Balyn ap Cerdic, my queen, second son of Cerdic ap Llanwith of the Ordovice, and this callow youth is my younger twin, Balan. Beware of his sweet words, my lady, for only I can offer the appropriate phrases that your beauty deserves.’

‘How charming,’ Wenhaver simpered.

Balyn’s eyes were fervent and Artor sighed inwardly to see the boy so easily beguiled by Wenhaver’s jewelled, practised and wholly superficial magnificence.

‘My queen.’ Balan spoke in turn with careful gravity. His gaze was direct and a shadow seemed to darken his eyes before he lowered them in homage.

Artor missed nothing.

‘What news of your mother, Queen Anna, and your brother, Bran?’

‘Bran enjoys the tribe’s favour, and fortifies his lands with diligence,’ Balyn responded in a slightly dismissive voice. ‘He swears to you that Saxons shall never set foot on his soil while he lives.’

Artor nodded distantly. Gareth could have warned Balyn that any disrespect towards Anna’s eldest son was dangerous ground, especially when duty was concerned. The High King had immolated himself on the fires of duty for decades, and fully understood the bitter price that Bran paid for his kingship.

‘Mother sends her greetings and bade me remind you that the High King remains her favourite warrior of all the lords of the west,’ Balan added cautiously. ‘I ask that you forgive her familiarity, my liege, but she swears that she has known you for as long as she has been alive.’

Balan’s brief speech caused Artor to smile and some of the bleakness left his eyes.

‘Is she well?’ he asked the young man.

‘Our mother is indefatigable.’ Balan grinned widely. ‘She’s still beautiful, as you have no doubt heard, my lord, but she pays no attention to her physical appearance. She’s the first to join the women in the apple harvest, and the last to bed during times of flood or pestilence. There are no children in all of Viroconium who don’t sing her praises, while the little ones call her the Lady of Sunshine. They swear the sun glows brighter wherever she walks.’