‘Bring him,’ said Narl immediately.
The Sgorrla called to the others and the stag they had been escorting was pushed forward. His face was badly bruised and there were cuts along his sides.
‘You,’ said the leader as soon as he saw Bankfoot. Bankfoot glared furiously at Sgorr as the leader eyed his antlers.
‘You’ve grown, I see.’ Bankfoot said nothing.
‘So tell me, what are you doing here? Why are there Outriders with you?’
Again Bankfoot was silent.
‘Come now, you must want something. Did Rannoch send you?’
Bankfoot’s eyes flickered, for he was amazed that Sgorr knew Rannoch was alive. But as soon as he had been captured by the Sgorrla, Bankfoot had determined that silence was his only course of action.
‘Still dumb,’ snorted Sgorr.’No matter. Your master is probably dead by now and the Sgorrla will soon loosen your tongue. Take him up to the big sycamore and guard him carefully until I have time to come.’
The Sgorrla moved in around Bankfoot.
‘And don’t think of trying to escape,’ said Sgorr. ’You may have succeeded once but to do so again would cost dearly, as it did those two hinds that day.’
Bankfoot swung his head up.
‘What do you mean?’ he whispered.
‘They paid with their lives,’ said Sgorr. ‘What were their names, Narl?’
‘Alyth. . . Alyth and Fern.’
‘Ah yes.’
‘You killed them?’ gasped Bankfoot, his legs beginning to shake.
‘No,’ said Sgorr, smiling, ‘you killed them. And if you try anything there are always the other two. Shira and Canisp.’
Bankfoot felt the shock of his mother’s name like a physical blow.
‘Take him away,’ cried Sgorr.
‘And what shall we do about the others, Lord Sgorr?’ said the lead Sgorrla.
‘Do?’ said Sgorr, as though surprised that he should have to do anything at all.
‘Yes, Lord.’
‘Let me face them,’ cried Narl suddenly stepping forward.
‘I’ll take some of the Sgorrla. If they’re coming from the north they’ll have to pass by the corrie to get to us. I can trap them there.’
Sgorr thought for a while.
‘Very good,’ he said at last. ‘Eighty shouldn’t be too difficult to handle. Take a hundred and fifty of the Sgorrla and a contingent of the fallow deer as well. It’s time they got their antlers wet and we can sacrifice a few of them to soften the Outriders up a bit before you move in for the kill.’
‘You heard the lord,’ said Narl immediately, addressing the Sgorrla. ’Get them ready and choose some of the fallow. Fifty should do it.’
The Sgorrla nodded and marched Bankfoot off through the grass.
‘Well, Narl,’ said Sgorr cheerfully when the Sgorrla had gone, ‘this is a surprise.’
‘Do you think He sent them?’ asked Narl.
‘While he hides himself up in the north?’ said Sgorr. ’It’s possible, but I prefer to think that our assassin wasn’t trained in vain. Well, we shall find out more when I’ve had time to question the prisoner. But just in case he tries anything, bring those two hinds to me and double the guard around them and Eloin.’
Narl dipped his antlers.
‘If anyone tries to get to them, Narl, to rescue them, you have your orders. Kill them all.’
‘Eloin too?’ said Narl.
‘All of them.’
Again Narl bowed.
‘When you have removed the Outriders,’ said Sgorr, ‘send word and then stay where you are. It’s time the Great Herd was on the move – this pasture is quite grazed out. I’ll meet you by the corrie. And Narl, be sure to keep one or two of them alive, won’t you? I want to question them too.’
‘Very good, Lord Sgorr,’ said Narl proudly, and he turned and ran to join the Sgorrla.
Sgorr stirred thoughtfully and looked out across the Great Herd. The rows and rows of antlers stood out like a winter wood. Sgorr’s heart swelled.
‘Herne,’ he whispered ‘if you weren’t just a fairy story I’d call you down from the skies to witness this. Those fools in the High Land worshipped you as the Lord of Violence. But you aren’t, are you, Herne? Not even man is the Lord of Violence. I, Sgorr, am the Lord of Violence.’
Again Sgorr’s eye ranged across the mighty herd and suddenly he began to laugh.
‘Eighty Outriders. Is that all you throw at me, Rannoch?’ He paused and sucked in the warm air. At that moment Sgorr felt quite invincible.
22 The Corrie
‘I know a trick worth two of that.’ William Shakespeare, ‘Henry IV, Part One’
The Outriders were moving swiftly now and Thistle kept scanning the terrain restlessly as they ran, looking for the spot Sek had told them about, the place where they had agreed to wait for Willow and Peppa. They were coming off a high mountain, close to late afternoon, and the weather was even warmer than it had been the sun before, so the deer’s spirits were cheered a little by thoughts of long, hot summers in the Low Lands.
‘It’s so hot,’ muttered Braan, ‘for this time of year.’
Tain, who was walking beside him, looked up at the sun before the glare made him turn away his eyes again.
The Herla had no words to understand what was happening to the sun now. Tain thought of Herne but his comprehension could not carry him to the truth of it. For, hundreds of thousands of miles above them, the sun, which at the dawn of the earth itself had stirred dead matter into life, was blistering and bubbling, spots of fire bursting at its edges, sending out swords of flame miles high to cut the natural rhythm of the seasons. As the deer looked up, it was almost as if the world itself was about to change.
The track the deer were following wound steeply down the mountainside, which was sparsely wooded with sudden outcrops of scrubby trees, interspersed with rocks and great boulders. Lips of stone and rock overhangs provided beetling vantage points over the land beneath. Below them, as they moved south, they could see a wide plain that stretched out from the base of the mountain they were on towards the undulating hills beyond. To the east was a forest and to the west another steep mountain, with a small river at the base of its foothills.
The path they were on tipped suddenly downwards and as the deer got closer to the mountain’s base they saw the small lake at its bottom, feeding a stream that snaked away into the distance towards the far river. The water was a deep blue-green and the banks of the lake were strewn with rocks and rubble that time had torn away from the hill and cast about its feet. The lake was set well back, in a kind of natural hollow, and the black mountain walls rose almost sheer around it. The sides of the mountain stretched far away beyond the lake on either side, forming a kind of pass straight ahead of them, no more than two trees across, opening out to the plain beyond.
‘The corrie,’ whispered Thistle.
As they came to the water, their hoofs skittered on the scree slopes, dislodging slate and rock, and the still air in the corrie began to echo with their sounds. Tain and Braan were the first to drink from the little lake, and they found the water sweet and refreshing. Soon the others were collecting around it too, stirring the surface with their thirsty lips.
But Thistle looked up all the while and shook his head as his eyes ranged nervously around the place.
‘Is anything wrong?’ asked Tain.
‘Yes, Captain,’ he answered gravely, ‘it gives plenty of cover and the water’s sweet, but if we were ever caught here we wouldn’t stand a chance.’
Tain looked keenly at Thistle.
‘Perhaps we should go back up the mountain. Height will give us an advantage and plenty of warning. Herne willing.’
‘No,’ said Thistle, ‘this is where we’ve agreed to meet Willow and this is where we must wait. I only hope they hurry.’
As Thistle was talking to Tain, Willow and Peppa were gazing down in horror at the Great Herd. They had followed the Sgorrla’s track
s right to the herd’s edge and now the twins paused by a large rock as they wondered what to do. Larn was approaching and Willow decided they should stay where they were until darkness, and then try and steal among the deer. So they both sat down to ruminate quietly, looking out nervously at the rows and rows of grazing stags.
It was well after Larn when they slipped off the hillside. They felt fear welling up in their stomachs as they approached and came among them, but the deer were too preoccupied with thoughts of the Great Trek, and they hardly noticed the twins in the darkness.
‘We should get among the hinds,’ whispered Willow as they went. ‘Try and find out more about Sgorr, if we can, and if any of them have seen Bankfoot.’
Peppa nodded to her sister.
On they went and as they passed the rows of red deer, and the fallow and roe deer too, they felt the unnatural quietness of the place. A group of Sgorrla passed close by, but the twins dropped their heads to graze, and because they had drifted close to a clutch of hinds, it looked as if they were part of the group and the Sgorrla moved off.
They pressed on, and at last, near the lake, they found themselves in the very centre of the Great Herd, with hinds all around them. Again they pretended to graze in the darkness, but as they did so, they came close to a small band of hinds talking urgently together.
‘Prophecy or no prophecy,’ one hind was whispering gravely, ‘that’s what I heard and I believe it.’
Willow began to move closer.
‘But he was from our herd,’ said another hind, ‘and he had an oak leaf on his head.’
‘Yes,’ said the first hind, ‘but he died. Years ago. They say he was torn apart by wolves.’
Willow’s ears came up and she looked over to Peppa.
‘Then there’s no hope,’ said another hind.
‘There’s always hope. Even some of the stags— Hey, you there. What are you doing?’
The hind that had done the most talking had spotted the twins. Willow realized there was nothing for it but to try and bluff it out. She lifted her head and trotted straight over to the hinds. Peppa took her lead and followed her sister as calmly as she could.
‘Well, what are you doing there?’ asked the hind again.
‘Nothing,’ answered Willow calmly. ‘We were just grazing.’
‘Why aren’t you with your own?’ said the hind.’You know it’s forbidden to wander after Larn.’
‘I know,’ lied Willow, and then she thought of what the hinds had being saying about hope and the Prophecy. Willow decided to take a risk.
‘But it’s good to break the Sgorrla’s rules now and then, isn’t it?’ she whispered.
The hind looked at Willow suspiciously.
‘Are you sure. . .’ she asked coldly, ‘that you’re not spies?’ Peppa winced but the hind never saw it.
‘Spies?’ answered Willow calmly. ‘If you think I’d spy for Sgorrla scum, then perhaps you and I should take a walk and discuss it properly.’
The hind looked hard at Willow and she didn’t like the fire that flickered in her eyes.
‘All right,’ she said, ‘no need to get excited. If you can talk so openly about the Sgorrla then you’re free to graze near us.’
Willow nodded.
‘Tell me,’ she said, ‘where does Sgorr rest these days?’
‘Still over by the great oak,’ said another hind.’Why?’
‘No reason. Except that one day I should like to tell him what I really think of him.’
‘And it would be your last day,’ said the hind, smiling, ‘if you could get anywhere near him.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You know they never let anyone through. He’s guarded day and night by at least twenty Sgorrla, even when he travels through the herd. They even have a guard around Eloin.’
Willow looked up.
‘Eloin?’ she said.
‘That’s right.’
‘Poor Eloin,’ said Willow. ‘They say her only friends are those four hinds that returned from the loch.’
‘Two, you mean,’ said the hind looking oddly at Willow.
‘What’s your name? I’ve never seen you around here before.’
‘Er, no. . .’ stammered Willow.’My sister and I. . . we only came in seven suns ago.’
‘Then how do you know of Eloin?’ asked the hind carefully.
‘Oh, the others are always talking of her and her friends.’
The hind looked over at Peppa and when she saw her she looked back at Willow and pawed the ground.
‘You’re twins,’ she said with surprise. ‘The spitting image.’
‘That’s right,’ said Willow.
‘It’s odd I haven’t seen you around before. You stand out enough.’
‘We like to keep ourselves to ourselves,’ said Willow quickly. ‘Not all the hinds feel as we do about Sgorr.’
Her words seemed to reassure the hind.
‘No, no indeed,’ she muttered in the dark, ‘and if I were you I wouldn’t talk so openly about it. But you’ll soon learn.’
‘Eloin’s friends,’ said Willow, ignoring the warning. ‘Now what are they called again?’
‘Shira and Canisp.’
‘That’s right,’ said Willow casually but feeling a sudden weakness in her legs. ’Shira and Canisp. I’d like to meet them one day.’
‘No chance of that.’
‘Why not?’
‘They always used to keep them separate, under constant guard. Then, this morning when they brought that prisoner in, they put them both with Eloin.’
Both Willow’s and Peppa’s heads had come up and they were listening intently.
‘Of course,’ said Willow, ‘the prisoner. Where are they keeping him?’
‘You do ask a lot of questions,’ said the hind, growing suspicious again. ‘Over there, by that sycamore.’
‘Ah yes,’ said Willow, her eyes glinting. ‘Well, we’d better be getting back.’
The hind shrugged but as Willow and Peppa set off in the direction of the sycamore, Willow suddenly turned and called to her.
‘But he didn’t die, you know.’
‘Who?’ said the startled hind.
‘The one with the fawn mark, the one who fled from the herd. He’s still alive. I’ve seen him myself.’
All the little group had heard it and as the twins vanished into the night, the hinds looked at each other in amazement.
‘That was close,’ whispered Peppa as they ran. ‘I thought for a moment we were lost.’
‘I know,’ said Willow. ‘But did you hear?’
‘Mother?’ said Peppa.
‘Yes, and Alyth. What can have happened to them?’
‘Perhaps they escaped when we did,’ said Peppa. ‘Alyth never really wanted to come back.’
‘No,’ agreed Willow, but her heart was deeply troubled. As the twins went on through the darkness, a breeze came up and they noticed that a mist was settling around the herd, drifting in wisps across the grass. It grew thicker as they neared a great sycamore tree, set apart from the edge of a wood, and they stopped as they spotted a group of Sgorrla guards through the fog. There were five of them, four ruminating in a semicircle near the tree, and one on his own, patrolling up and down. Nearby a stag was asleep in the grass.
Although they were still a good way off and it was quite dark, Peppa recognized him immediately and winced as she saw the cuts and bruises on his side and face.
‘Bankfoot,’ she gasped.
‘Hush, Peppa, they’ll hear us,’ said Willow. ‘We must try to think of something.’
Peppa looked hard at her sister.
‘But Willow, you know what Thistle said. We’ve found out where they’re keeping him and something of Sgorr too. Shouldn’t we—’
‘We’re here now,’ said Willow, smiling, ‘so it’s our duty to try and rescue him.’
Peppa’s eyes opened wider but she didn’t argue, for she was suddenly desperate for Bankfoot. So, in the darkness, the
twins backed into the trees at the edge of the wood by a large clump of bushes and began to whisper together. After a while they had formed a sort of plan. It was a terrible risk and the hinds stared at each other fearfully when they hit on it.
‘We’ll have to trust to darkness and the fog to work it,’ said Willow, dropping her muzzle and scooping up some earth and dried bracken. When she lifted her head again she stepped closer and rubbed her nose across Peppa’s ear, obscuring the black fur.
‘That’s better,’ she said when she had finished. ‘Now not even Herne could tell us apart. If we get separated, we’ll meet by the rock.’
‘Right.’ Peppa nodded. ‘Who’ll go first?’
‘I will,’ said Willow.
‘No, sister,’ said Peppa suddenly.
Before Willow could argue, Peppa had turned and sprung off towards the Sgorrla. Willow waited nervously for a while and then followed her sister into the fog.
Peppa ran straight ahead through the mist, her muzzle raised and her tail twitching. When she was about a tree away she started to graze as she drifted closer and closer towards the lone guard patrolling, while the other guards talked quietly in the night. The guard didn’t see her at first but after a while he heard a sound and looked up, his eyes trying to pierce the deepening mist.
‘Who’s there?’ he said. Peppa didn’t answer.
At first the guard thought he must have been mistaken but then a gust of wind cleared the fog for an instant and he clearly saw Peppa standing there, staring back at him.
‘You there. Hind,’ he called gruffly. ‘What are you doing here?’
Again Peppa said nothing and waited as the swirling cloud closed around her once more. As soon as the fog came in again she leapt to the right, so when the breeze cleared the spot where she had been standing, she seemed to have vanished. The guard blinked and shook his head, for he was tired and his eyes were sore. But then another gust revealed Peppa again, still standing and watching him, but off to the right.
‘Hey, you,’ he said. ‘You know you’re not allowed around here.’
Peppa tilted her head quizzically and then whispered in a strange voice, ‘Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.’
The guard was almost too startled to answer.