High Deryni (23 page)

“Then, you had best hear me as king,” Kelson said evenly. “As you have pointed out, I am lawful king in Gwynedd. You yourself poured the consecrated oil upon my head and crowned me; and what has been done in that manner cannot be undone by men.

“Therefore, by the authority which you bestowed upon me in the name of our Lord, I command that you lay down your weapons and surrender this city to its lawful lord. Later, when there is more time, we will discuss your differences in this Deryni matter.”

There was the rumble of dissent behind Loris, and the prelate shook his head. “I recognize your authority, Sire, but I regret that it is impossible for me to obey you in this matter. I cannot surrender the city. Further, I must urgently suggest that you and your party withdraw before some of my people anger at your words and shame us all by an attempted regicide. Much as I am forced by conscience to disobey you, I would not have your royal blood upon my hands.”

Kelson stared up at the archbishop for a full ten seconds, speechless with anger, then wheeled his horse sharply and began galloping back toward his lines. His companions rode hard behind him, keeping careful watch for some overzealous bowman such as Loris had warned of. Only when they had reached the safety of his own army did Kelson rein in and trust himself to speak. He did not seem even to be aware of his other generals and warlords crowding around to hear what had happened.

“Well, Morgan? What should I have said to that insolent priest?” Kelson pulled off his helmet in a furious gesture and threw it to a waiting squire. “Well, speak, King's Champion. What ought I to have said? The sheer gall of that man, threatening
me
!”

“Peace, my prince,” Morgan murmured. Kelson's horse was dancing and curvetting, reacting to Kelson's anger, and Morgan laid a hand on the reins to still it. “My lords, pray, excuse us,” he said to the watching officers. “There is no immediate cause for alarm. Nigel, if you would continue to oversee the making of camp, my lord bishops, the same. Duncan, you and Arilan and Cardiel, come with us, please. His Majesty has need of our counsel.”

“I am not a child,” Kelson murmured. He jerked the reins away from Morgan and glanced at him sharply. “I'll thank you not to treat me like one.”

“But my Liege will surely listen to the counsel of his trusted advisors,” Morgan continued, crowding his horse against Kelson's and herding it away from the officers, in the direction of the royal pavilion. “Duncan, you are aware of most of the layout of Castle Coroth, are you not?”

“Certainly,” Duncan agreed, aware that Morgan was trying to get Kelson out of the center of attention. “My prince, I believe that Alaric has a plan.”

Kelson reluctantly let himself be guided off to the side, where soldiers had finished erecting his pavilion and were setting up other tents, then glanced at Morgan once again, his anger apparently abated.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a scene,” he said in a low voice. “It's just that Loris infuriates me so. Do you really have a plan?”

Morgan inclined his head, a faint smile on his lips. “I do.” He glanced around covertly, then dismounted and motioned the rest to do the same. When they had all entered the royal pavilion, he gestured for them to take seats, then stood with his hands on his hips.

“Now, we can do nothing yet, since we require the cover of darkness and time to prepare for what I have in mind. But once night falls, here is what I propose.”

THAT
night, a thousand watch fires burned on the windswept plain before Coroth, their flickering lights like a thousand eyes watching the besieged city. Outside the king's tent, five specially prepared horses waited, their harness and hooves muffled against telltale sounds, their trappings dull and dark.

Nigel's son Conall stood watch over the horses. It would be his task to bring the animals back, once he had completed his mission. The boy gathered a black cloak around himself and scuffed the toe of a boot against the sandy soil beneath his feet, then looked up abruptly as the tent flap was withdrawn. His father stood in the opening, back still to the outside, and Conall moved a little closer as Morgan, Duncan, the king, and finally the two bishops came into the space before the tent.

“You understand my orders, in case we fail, then, Uncle,” the king was saying.

Nigel nodded gravely. “I understand.”

“And you, Bishop Arilan,” the young king continued. “I know I can count on you.”

“I doubt my aid will be necessary, Sire,” the bishop said, permitting a smile to cross his lips. “Your plan seems sound. But you know how to reach me, should the need arise.”

“We will pray that will not be needed,” Kelson replied. He dropped to one knee, as did Morgan and Duncan. After a slight hesitation, Conall, too, knelt, and Cardiel bowed his head.

“God go with all of you, my prince,” Arilan murmured, blessing them with the sign of their faith.
“In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, Amen.”

The blessing completed, the men rose and began mounting up, taking reins silently in gloved hands. As Morgan began to lead out, Duncan following, Arilan laid a hand on Cardiel's bridle and motioned him to bend nearer.

“God keep you, my friend,” he said in a low voice. “I should hate to see you perish before your time. We have much work to do, you and I.”

Cardiel nodded gravely, not trusting himself to speak, and Arilan smiled.

“You do know why it is
you
who are going instead of I, do you not?”

“I understood that you are to aid Prince Nigel, should the need arise. Someone has to be here to assist him, should anything happen to Kelson, God forbid.”

Arilan smiled and inclined his head slightly. “That is part of the reason. However, has it occurred to you that, of the four going on this mission, you alone are fully human?”

Cardiel stared at his colleague for a moment, then lowered his eyes. “I had gathered that it was because I am at least the outward leader of the rebel bishops, and that the others might listen to me. There is another reason as well, though, isn't there?”

Arilan clasped his friend on the shoulder in reassurance. “There is, indeed, another reason—but no sinister purpose, I assure you. I am merely hoping that you will have the opportunity to observe some very fine Deryni practitioners in action. And while I know that you believe what I have told you about the Deryni, at least with your mind, I want you to see it at first hand, and believe with your heart as well.”

Cardiel raised his eyes to meet Arilan's and smiled a wan smile. “Thank you, Denis. I—I shall try to keep an open mind—and heart.”

“I ask no more,” Arilan said with a nod.

Nodding in return, Cardiel turned his horse's head and followed after the others at a trot. Even as he rode, he seemed to melt into the flickering shadows cast by the myriad campfires. Arilan continued to smile as he turned back to Nigel, who still waited in the entryway to the royal tent.

PERHAPS
half an hour later, the five riders drew rein in a deep defile southwest of Castle Coroth and dismounted. They had ridden far to the west initially, then had cut in a southerly direction until they could make their way along the shelter of the rocky coastline.

Now, perhaps half a mile from the outermost defenses of the city, Morgan motioned for silence in the slight moonlight, fastening his reins to the saddle of another horse and then repeating the process until all four of the extra horses were in a single line. When that had been accomplished, he returned to the head of the line, where Duncan was giving young Conall a leg up, and handed him the lead rein of the extra horses.

“Godspeed, young prince,” he whispered. “Be certain you don't cut inland until you reach the place where we entered on the way here. I don't want you spotted from the castle.”

“Aye, Your Grace. Take care.”

“And you. Off with you, then,” Morgan whispered, slapping the flank of the boy's horse in acknowledgement and stepping back. “Duncan, my lords, let's go.”

As Conall turned his horse and began to make his way back up the beach, the string of horses following docilely behind, Morgan strode to a tumble of wave-smooth rocks near the high-water mark and began climbing into them. The others followed him to the edge of the rocks and stood watching, dark cloaks wrapped close, until Morgan finally raised a dark, gloved hand in the moonlight and motioned them to follow.

Scrambling after him, they soon spied a deep, narrow cleft, nearly hidden amidst the rocks and the tangle of shoreline scrub encroaching from the sand dunes inland and above their heads. Into this cleft Morgan lowered himself, feet first, disappearing into some hidden recess even as they watched. The three remaining, Duncan, Kelson, and Cardiel, exchanged uncertain glances; then Duncan climbed up and stuck his head inside to look around. It was pitch-black inside, and he gasped when Morgan's face suddenly appeared in the darkness below.

“
Jesu
, you gave me a fright!” Duncan muttered, as the others crowded nearer. “You just disappeared.”

Morgan grinned, his teeth flashing white in the moonlight. “It's a bit of a drop, but come ahead. Send Kelson first.”

“Me?”

“Hurry up, hurry up. Duncan will give you a hand, and I'll help you down. We don't need any injuries.”

As Morgan disappeared from sight, Kelson obeyed, bracing himself on his elbows and then letting Duncan lower him by his hands. His face flashed pale in the moonlight as he glanced anxiously toward the promised floor he could not see. Then, abruptly, he disappeared as Duncan released him.

There was a muffled
oof!
from the darkness below, a muted scuffling, and then Duncan could see Kelson's face beside Morgan's in the darkness below.

With a grin, Duncan motioned Cardiel to follow. Very shortly, all four of them were standing in the nearly total darkness of the subterranean chamber. Morgan let them all stand for several seconds while their eyes adjusted to the lack of light, then felt along the wall until his hand found an opening into even deeper darkness. Grinning, he returned to his three colleagues and gathered them closer around him.

“So far, so good. It's exactly as I remembered it. I don't dare show a light until we get around a bend or two, though—you can never tell who might be patrolling above—so we'll just link on one another's belts and go a while in darkness. I can feel my way for the first few dozen yards.”

There were grunts of assent, and then the four were inching forward in single file, Morgan in the lead and followed by Kelson, Cardiel, and Duncan. As they edged into the deeper darkness, Kelson cast one last look back at the wan moon-and starlight framed by the entrance to the chamber, then began resolutely to follow Morgan.

After what seemed like an eternity, but in fact encompassed only minutes, Morgan halted. The blackness was total now, no hint of light reaching them from where they had come.

“Everyone all right?” Morgan whispered sotto voce.

Hearing murmurs of assent, he disengaged Kelson's hand and stepped away from them. Kelson strained to see in the darkness, then raised an eyebrow in understanding as a faint glow began to emanate from behind Morgan's body. He heard Cardiel gasp, but by then Morgan was turning to face them, a sphere of softly glowing verdant light cupped in the hollow of his left hand.

“Relax, Bishop,” Morgan murmured, making his way back to Cardiel with the light in his outstretched hand. “It's only light, neither good nor evil. Here, touch it. It's cool, perfectly harmless.”

Cardiel stood his ground as Morgan approached, watching Morgan's face, not the light itself. When the young general at last halted before him, only then did the bishop lower his eyes to look at the light again. It was cool and green, a softly shimmering glow like that which had surrounded Arilan's head the night he revealed himself as Deryni.

Very tentatively Cardiel put out his hand. There was nothing there to touch per se; only the cool illusion of a breath of breeze as his hand passed through where the light should be and then touched Morgan's hand. At that touch, Cardiel let his eyes lift to meet Morgan's and forced himself to smile.

“You must forgive me if I seem a little squeamish, but—”

Morgan smiled. “Believe me, I quite understand. Come. It isn't far, now that we have light.”

Morgan was as good as his word. It was not far—except that the end of the tunnel came all too soon, in a pile of rock and rubble tumbled into a wide tidal pool that Morgan clearly had not expected. With a pass of his hand above the sphere of green light, Morgan made it hover in mid-air, then moved to the wall of rock and motioned Duncan and Kelson to join him.

The three laid their hands on the rocks and closed their eyes, minds probing outward and beyond to the clear corridor beyond. As they worked their way down the obstacle, finding no opening, Morgan opened his eyes and edged closer to the tidal pool, staring into the depths for some minutes, then began stripping off his cloak and gloves.

“What are you doing?” Cardiel asked, moving to Morgan's side and also peering into the pool.

His question brought the other two as well, and they, too, watched as Morgan stripped off mail and leathers until he was left with only a sleeveless linen singlet and his belt dagger.

“I think there's a passage underneath,” Morgan said, lowering himself into the water and easing himself over to the rock face blocking their way. “I'll be back shortly.”

With that, he took a deep breath and ducked his head under water, up-ending and sending himself downward with a stroke of his arms and a powerful frog kick. The three watched as he disappeared into the murky depths, then waited as he did not surface.

With a frown, Duncan herded the light sphere closer and peered into the pool. Finally, they saw bubbles breaking the surface a few yards out from where Morgan had disappeared, and then a sleek golden head broke the surface. Morgan grinned as he shook the hair from his eyes and swam toward them.

“I found a way through,” he said, shaking his head again to clear the water from his ears. “It's only a few feet long, but it's at least my height down. Bishop Cardiel, can you swim?”

“Well, I—yes, a little. But I never…”

“That's all right, you'll do fine. I'll help you.” Morgan grinned and reached up to slap the bishop's ankle reassuringly. “Kelson, I'll let you go first. It's dark on the other side, of course, but the edge of the pool is only a few yards away. As soon as you make shore, conjure up a light and then get back in the water to help the bishop. I'll wait with him until you've had a chance to finish.”

Kelson nodded, shrugging out of the last of his outer garments as Morgan finished.

“What about our weapons? We can't take them with us, and we may need them on the other side.”

“We can get more in my tower chamber. We'll go there first,” Morgan replied, reaching out a hand to assist Kelson into the water.

“All right, show me this underwater passage of yours.”

With a nod, Morgan took a deep breath and dived, Kelson following right beside and slightly behind him. Both disappeared from sight almost immediately, and after several seconds Morgan alone surfaced. Duncan was ready by then, so Morgan motioned him into the water and repeated the process.

When he surfaced, a white-faced Cardiel was standing on the edge of the pool, clad only in a long white singlet. He carried no weapon, but he had tucked the long tail of the singlet up between his legs and secured it under a cord belt around his waist. Stripping down had revealed a very plain wooden crucifix hanging on a cord around his neck, which he fingered anxiously as Morgan swam to the edge of the pool and grinned up at him.

“Now?” Cardiel murmured sheepishly.

Morgan nodded and held out a wet hand, still smiling, and Cardiel, with a sigh, lowered himself to sit on the edge of the pool. He shivered as his legs entered the cold water, his eyes wide and faintly luminous in the greenish light shed by Morgan's glow sphere.

Patiently, Morgan held out his hand, nodding encouragement as Cardiel grasped his wrist and slid into the water with a sharp gasp. Then they were treading water above the place where Duncan and Kelson had disappeared. Cardiel swallowed nervously and craned his neck out of the water in an effort to peer downward as Morgan beckoned the light closer.

“Do you think you can make it?” Morgan asked in a low voice.