At once he heard a voice coming from beyond the glowing gold-green sky:
"Come forth, Shining Brow!"
The voice had in it the rumble of thunder and the authority of the storm. It was a wild voice, yet refined in a way which Taliesin understood as having to do with the command and governance of not only men and their actions, but their innermost allegiances as well. The voice of a chieftain, or better still, an emperor, for Taliesin heard in it the very essence of sovereignty—as if its owner were someone whose every utterance is obeyed by minions dedicated solely to obliging their lord in whatever form his concerns might take at any given moment. Clearly he had been addressed by one of the lords of this strange place, perhaps the supreme lord himself.
"Speak, Shining Brow!"
Hearing this, Taliesin dropped the apple and fell on his knees, raising his eyes to the strange Otherworld sky. He opened his mouth, but no words came forth.
"Very well, Shining Brow, I will teach you what to say," said the voice in response to its own command. There was a blinding flash of light and Taliesin fell on his face and hugged the ground. He was aware of a presence standing over him, for it gave off heat which he could feel through his clothing. But he did not move, did not dare to raise his head again.
* * *
When Taliesin came to himself again, the woods were dark with shadows and the sun a dull yellow glow in the west. The heavy drone of summer-sated insects filled the air, mimicking the buzz in his head. Cormach was still seated on the oak stump, his rowan staff across his lap. Hafgan, standing beside the Chief Druid, appeared anxious and agitated; his mouth was moving in an odd way and Taliesin realized he was talking.
"…was not ready…bringing him along too quickly…too young…not time yet…" Hafgan was muttering.
Cormach sat with his shoulders hunched, gripping the staff in his gnarled hands, his wrinkles creased in a scowl, but whether of anger or concern Taliesin could not tell. Neither one of them seemed to take any notice that he was awake and could hear them. He was about to speak up and show them he had returned when he realized that his eyes were still closed. Closed, yet he saw everything as clearly as if his physical eyes were wide open and staring.
"A moment!" said Cormach, and Hafgan stopped mumbling. "He is awake!" He leaned forward. "Eh, Taliesin?"
Taliesin opened his eyes. He was lying on his side with his knees drawn up to his chest. Cormach and Hafgan were standing as he had seen them, only now relief was clearly and largely writ across Hafgan's face. "Taliesin, I am—" he began. Cormach flung out a hand and Hafgan ceased.
"Quickly, lad, how do you feel?"
"I am well," answered Taliesin. He sat up and crossed his legs.
"Good, good. Can you tell what happened to you?"
Taliesin described the place he had been as well as he could, but for all the vividness of the memory that persisted unabated his tongue tangled again and again over the maddening inadequacy of words to describe it. In the end he simply shrugged, saying, "It was like no other place I have ever seen."
Cormach nodded kindly. "I know the place, Taliesin, and you describe it well for only having visited once."
"Is it the Otherworld?" he wondered.
"It is," affirmed the Chief Druid.
Taliesin thought about this; Hafgan came near and reached out his hand. "Are you thirsty, Taliesin?"
"Do not touch him!" Cormach warned. Hafgan withdrew the hand.
"I am fine, Hafgan. Really," Taliesin insisted.
"Now, Taliesin, I want you to think about what you saw in the Otherworld and tell us about it—even if it makes no sense to you now."
Taliesin did as he was told and the druids listened, intent on every word. He ended by saying, "And then the Otherworld lord came to me and he called me by name and he said he would teach me what to say."
"And did he?" asked Cormach.
Taliesin nodded uncertainly. "I think so."
"What did he say?"
Taliesin frowned. "I cannot remember."
"Is that all?" asked Hafgan then.
"Yes," Taliesin said. "I have told you everything I remember."
Cormach nodded, and Hafgan once again extended his hand to help him up. "You have done well, Taliesin. Well indeed."
The three began walking through the woods to the caer. "But what does it mean?" Taliesin asked.
"It may be that the message was for you alone, Taliesin," replied Hafgan.
"About the rest of it—the lady in the pool, and the sword and all—what of that?"
The two druids were silent a moment, then Hafgan replied, "A druid does not like to admit that there are things that defy his art—especially when these things are uttered from the mouth of one so young."
"Are you saying you do not know?" the boy asked.
"He is trying not to say it," answered Cormach, "but it amounts to the same thing. Yes, we do not know what it means. I tell you frankly, lad, we did not expect your journey to be so long or so complete." He stopped and took the boy by the shoulders. "Listen, Taliesin, you have been to a place we have only glimpsed imperfectly from afar. You have visited the world we know only from darkling glimpses."
"Do you understand what Cormach is telling you, Taliesin?" asked Hafgan.
Taliesin nodded. "I think so."
"Perhaps you do, perhaps not," sighed Cormach. "You see, I had hoped for a sign from you, lad. I thought your young eyes would be able to see more clearly…and so you did. But what you have seen is for you alone. It is enough to know that you saw it. Lad, your feet have trod in a world we have only dimly perceived and that is something—something I will carry to the grave with me." They proceeded the rest of the way to the caer in silence. That night Taliesin lay awake on his pallet by the fire thinking about what he had experienced in the Otherworld, wondering what it meant and whether he might go there again soon—not, as Cormach had said, out of mere curiosity, but to see the woman again and awaken her if he could from her sleep beneath the glittering waters.
NINE
ALTHOUGH CONFINEMENT DROVE HER NEARLY MAD WITH frustration—here she was once again, immobile, so much to be done, time running out—Charis was able to muster a grudging appreciation for the fact that she was, after all, alive and that her infirmity granted her a change in status where Lile was concerned. Lile regarded Charis as another invalid to be cared for personally, which gave Charis a chance to study the mysterious woman much more closely than she could have otherwise.
In fact, Charis had no sooner returned from the encounter at the watchtower to take up residence in her old chambers than Lile swept into her bedroom with a servant bearing a tray of pots and jars of various shapes and sizes. Annubi had just left her bedside after examining the injury and prescribing enforced rest which, though it pained her to admit, was the only cure.
Charis glimpsed Lile and the servant with the tray bearing down on her and she groaned aloud, more from exasperation than from the loathing she felt when she laid eyes on Lile once more. She turned her face away as Lile settled lightly on the edge of the bed.
The first words the meddling woman uttered disarmed Charis somewhat, although she still remained wary. "I know you spare no love for me, Princess Charis. But I regard you as the head of this house now that you are here, and I am duty-bound to serve you with the best that is in me."
Charis turned back but said nothing.
"Of course," Lile continued, "were Kian here, I would defer to him. But he is not here and you are the king's daughter."
"You are the king's wife," replied Charis with a bit more venom than she actually felt.
"I am," said Lile matter-of-factly, "but I am not noble born. I can never be more than his consort, and as you are his blood…" She lifted a hand palm upward. "…I serve you as well." She motioned to the servant, who placed the tray beside her and departed.
Was this a trick of some kind? That Lile was devious Charis did not doubt, but was she also so subtle as to try to conquer an enemy with a show
of humility?
"I need nothing," Charis said. "Only rest, and you are keeping me from that."
"I know what Annubi has told you, but there is something more that can be done."
Charis uttered a caustic laugh. "I have been under the care of the High Queen's personal physicians, and they could do nothing but advise me to allow time to take its own slow course."
"No doubt the learned Magi are very wise," allowed Lile. "But there are ways to help speed time towards its end where healing is concerned."
"What ways?"
Lile smiled mysteriously and whispered a word: "Mithras!"
"What?"
"An ancient healing art practiced by followers of a god of the east—Mithras is his name, or Isis in her female aspect."
"How do you come by knowledge of this god and its healing arts?" asked Charis.
Lile cocked her head to one side. "My father once sailed to the east, a long time ago. I do not know exactly how it was—I have since heard many different tales—but he brought back a slave which he had purchased at a market there. The slave was a scholar, and my father hoped he would teach me and my sisters to read and write in the old style—"
"So that you might become refined enough for one of the royal houses, no doubt," Charis said archly. "If that were possible."
"No doubt." Lile's eyes narrowed. She looked away and continued. "This slave—a Phrygian named Tothmos—schooled us in our letters and when we were old enough taught us the old religion too."
"Which you have been using to treat my father."
"Yes."
"To dubious effect, it seems to me."
Lile looked at her curiously. "Who else could have done as much?"
"You flatter yourself. Why, anyone else could have done as much. The king's wound was not so bad. It was merely—"
Lile interrupted her. "The king's wound was fatal."
"What are you saying?"
Lile answered simply, "When I came to him the king's body was cold and ready for the grave. True, the wound he received was not grievous, but those around him had not attended him properly. His life seeped away between the bandages of his ill-dressed wound while he slept. The fools summoned me when they could not rouse him, hoping, I think, to put his death on me."
Charis had nothing to say. That her father had been more seriously hurt than anyone knew had not occurred to her. That he might have died she would never have guessed.
"Of course, when I revived him," Lile continued, "they all insisted his wound was nothing after all. Nothing!" Lile gave a short bark of a laugh. "Then why send for me? You have never seen more worried, shame-faced, desperate men, I tell you."
It was too much to take in all at once. So, putting it aside for the moment, Charis said, "Given the chance, what would you do for me?"
"Your injury is deep inside—"
"Which everyone knows."
"A rib has broken just here," explained Lile, touching the place on her own back where the injury was.
"A broken rib?"
"Very painful. What is more, a piece of the bone is pressing on the life cord which runs through the spine to the brain. More painful still, and no amount of rest will ever heal it."
"I rested before and recovered."
"And here you are, hurt again."
"What do you propose with your jars and ointments?" asked Charis.
"The ointment is for your swollen cheek. As for the other, I propose to take out the sliver of bone so that you will heal properly."
"Chirurgia? I will not allow it. I am not that badly hurt."
"Not now perhaps, though there is the pain. But if you leave it, there is always the chance that the bone sliver will shift and penetrate an organ—the damage will be much worse."
"The Magi—"
"The Magi refuse to accept ideas they themselves do not originate. Besides, I have stone tools as fine as anything made of metal. Stone can be consecrated; its energy for healing is strong and long-lasting."
Charis gazed at the extraordinary woman. Lile gave the impression of being small and dark, though she was nearly as tall as Charis; her dusky aspect derived from huge dark eyes which dominated her features and from the long dark hair which glistened with a satiny sheen. Although her skin was light as alabaster, there was nevertheless a hint of something darker beneath the delicate surface—as if a richer, swarthier blood flowed in her veins. She was slender and graceful in her movements, but the grace had a studied feel, as if her every movement were consciously contrived.
"Why do you care?" asked Charis. "About me, I mean."
"I have told you," Lile answered simply.
"Out of devotion to Mithras?"
"That, yes, and because you are my husband's daughter and the head of this house while he is indisposed."
"I see."
Lile looked at her frankly with her large dark eyes. "We are sisters, Charis. There is no need for us to be enemies. I mean you no harm and whether you believe it or not, I respect your father very much. I use my art to make him comfortable and—" She hesitated and then said, "To help him regain his health."
Charis was certain she had been about to say something else. She replied, "As you have spoken plainly, I will as well. I do not trust you, Lile. I do not know what you want. Whatever it is, you have achieved it by getting my father to marry you. Until I know more about you and your ambitions I will remain wary of you."
"You express yourself well, Princess Charis. I understand." The woman rose slowly and retrieved the medicine tray. She paused at the doorway and said, "Do what you will about the chirurgia. If you change your mind, I stand ready to serve you."
* * *
The next day Annubi came to see her, and Charis told him about her conversation with Lile. The king's advisor listened and the frown on his face deepened as Charis went on, until he raised his hands in horror and cried, "Enough! I will not hear more!"
The violence of his reaction surprised her; she had expected concern but not outright anger. "Annubi, why? What have I said to disturb you so?"
"Everything—it is lies. All lies!"
"But there must be a grain of truth in what she said. The Magi attending the king would not have summoned her if there was no need. If she did rescue my father from the grave, I can understand his dependence upon her now."
"Fate favored her with an opportunity, no doubt. But she has made the most of it. She has twisted this whole unfortunate incident to her design. This Phrygian slave—did she tell you his name?"
Charis thought for a moment. "Tothmos…Yes, Tothmos, that was it."
"You see? Her father's name was Tothmos. He was the Phrygian—a sailor no doubt. Her mother was probably gutterborn and took to her bed the first man who would look at her."
"She never mentioned her mother," mused Charis.
"The unhappy harlot opened her veins at first opportunity, I suppose."
"But her art—the healing, chirurgia, Mithras? She appeared so adept. She explained my injury to me perfectly, yet never laid a finger on me."
"I am certain she has some minor skill—what with her stone instruments and all. The religion of Mithras and Isis is very old and was at one time very powerful."
"Was?"
"It died out thousands of years ago."
"Then how—" began Charis.
"It has been revived—as a cult. It is currently much in vogue in some parts of the world, I am told. As her father was a sailor, it is not difficult to imagine that he would have encountered it on some voyage or other."
"She seemed to know so much about medicine," Charis countered doubtfully. She too had begun to frown.
"I do not deny she has a gift. But there are many gods who would bestow such a gift, Charis. And not all of them for the benefit of man."
"Meaning?"
"If her skill is as great as she claims, why does the king not improve? It has been three years!"
"I was almost taken in by her. She nearly convinced me."
"Ah,
yes, that is part of her art as well. Listen long enough and you can no longer recognize the truth."
"Annubi, what are we going to do?"
The seer sighed and spread his hands. "There is nothing we can do, Charis. It is hopeless. If Kian were here perhaps—"
Charis pushed back the bedclothes. "Kian will not come."
"Here, lie back. What are you doing?"
With difficulty Charis swung her legs to the edge of the bed. "Kian told me that he and Belyn were meeting in a day's time at a bridge somewhere on the border between our two lands—Herakli, he said. I don't know where it is, but I must be there. You will help me, Annubi."
"You cannot ride."
"Then you must make it so that I can. Bind me tightly and give me something for the pain."
"Rest, Charis. There is nothing you can do there."
She pulled herself to the edge of the bed, pain twisting her features. "I will not stay a moment longer in this house of death and deceit," she said through clenched teeth. "They will listen to me; I will make them listen to me this time. You believe what Throm has said—"
When he made no answer she asked, "Do you deny what you said before?"
"I deny nothing," Annubi said quietly.
"Then why do you look at me like that?"
"Your mother, the queen, believed it too. Do you remember the Great Council?" She nodded. "Briseis kept me busy all the time we were in Poseidonis—searching through records, divining star signs, consulting other seers."
"What were you looking for?"
"Signs, evidence, information—anything that would prove that what Throm predicted was true."
"And did you find it?"
"No," Annubi admitted. "I did not—because I spent all my time looking into another matter."
"Which was?"
"Your mother's death."
Charis shook her head. "Why?"
"Briseis believed—largely because of the starfall—though she had sensed it well before that. She had some small ability of her own. So I consulted the Magi on her behalf. The signs were conclusive: a royal death was imminent. She guessed she did not have long to live, although I think she never saw what form her death would take. That, at least, was spared her. Still, when the High King was killed, we hoped briefly that the betokened royal death had been his and that she was saved."