"How was the king when you saw him?"

"I was not with him long, but he received me courteously-although his wound pained him and he was made to lie down the while."

Charis nodded and spun the feather between her fingers. "Thank you," she said. "I am grateful for your service and would repay you in some way."

"I have been paid already," replied the messenger, inclining his head. "If there is nothing more, I will leave you now." With that he turned and was quickly gone.

Charis could not understand the meaning of the black feather. When Taliesin returned from riding with Lord Pen-daran and his sons, she told him about the messenger and the token he had given her. "Here it is," she said, handing the feather to him. "Just as he gave it to me."

Taliesin grimaced when he saw it and when he raised his eyes, his smile was forced and tight. "You see? Here is the sign you asked for."

"A black feather?"

"A raven's feather. It is said among my people that a man knows he must die when he hears a raven croak outside his house on a night without a moon. The raven's feather is a symbol of mourning."

Charis shuddered. "How can you say that I asked for this?"

"It may be that Avallach is telling you that he is in mourning. He misses you and mourns your absence. Time and brother Dafyd have done their work; Avallach is reconciled to our marriage. He is sorry and wants you to come back."

"If that is so, why did he send it with a stranger? Why not with one of our own people?"

"That we will have to ask him when we see him," replied Taliesin. "A day which is not far off." off."

Charis had been so distracted by the feather, the meaning of Taliesin's words were just reaching her. "Then we can go home?"

"Indeed, we will leave as soon as provisions can be made ready."

"Tomorrow then!" exclaimed Charis, "We leave tomorrow!" She squeezed his hand and called for Rhuna, and the two began making preparations.

Lord Pendaran appeared sorrowful when Taliesin told him about the message from King Avallach. His smile sagged at the corners and the light dimmed in his eyes. "I have long known this day was coming," he said, nodding slowly. "But that does not make it easier to bear. I arn sorry to see you go, my friend, though I know you must."

"That was not your att.i.tude on our first meeting," Taliesin reminded him.

Pendaran's smile became grim and he waved the comment aside with his hand. "That was a different Gleddyvrudd, I tell you, than the one you see before you now."

"I know," replied Taliesin, clapping a hand to Pendaran's shoulder, "but it is good to be reminded of the past from time to time lest we become arrogant."

"Ah, you see? You are my better self, Taliesin, my soul's true guide."

"The Light," said Taliesin. "Look to the Light and serve Him, Lord Pendaran, and He will be to you a better guide than any mortal man."

Pendaran shook his head sadly. "It is with a heavy heart that I see you go."

"We are not gone yet."

"No, but soon enough. Still, I will not let you go until I have your promise that you will come back to stay once more beneath this roof."

"Let it be so," agreed Taliesin.

The rest of the day, while Rhuna and Heilyn gathered provisions for the journey, Charis packed their few Belongings. She went about her preparations with a lightness of heart that she had not felt for many months, saying over and over to herself, "I am going home... Home..." And it seemed that the word had suddenly begun to live for her again, after being so long dead.

Now and again she would find herself standing beside the wicker cradle where little Merlin lay. "We are going home, Merlin," she told him, ruffling his downy-soft hair as he slept, his tiny hand pressed against his cheek, fingers curled tight in a baby fist.

Thoughts of home brought thoughts of her mother, and Charis wished that Briseis would be there to see her child. There was so much she wanted to ask her mother, to share with her, but it could not be. She picked up the sleeping infant and held him close, murmuring softly and thinking about a time long ago when Briseis was still alive and the sun shone fair over lost Atlantis.

Eiddon came to her then and announced that he would go with them. "So you will not lack for company on the way," he told her, although privately he thought that a second sword and spear would be no bad thing.

By evening they were ready. Charis dined in the hall, sitting next to the king, while Taliesin sang for Pendaran's household one last time. Early the next morning as they came out into the foreyard to leave they found Eiddon and the youngest of the icing's sons, Salach, who was leading the packhorse on which had been fixed the hawk's perch. Three other horses stood ready, and Lord Pendaran was talking to his sons; he turned as Taliesin and Charis, with Merlin wrapped warmly in soft wool and rabbit skins, approached.

"It will be a good day for a journey," Pendaran said. "You will make a fair distance before nightfall."

Taliesin saw the empty saddles and said, "We are taking half your stable by the look of it."

"Nonsense," said the king. "I would go with you also if I could be spared my duties here. But I send my sons in my stead; and Rhuna has begged the boon of attending her lady and the babe on the journey. I have gladly consented."

Charis embraced the lord warmly. "Thank you, Lord Pendaran. I would not be my father's daughter if I did not extend the hospitality of Avallach's house to you and yours. If ever you come to Ynys Witrin, know that the gates are open to you and a place of honor a.s.sured,"

"I have done little enough to warrant it," Pendaran replied. "But if it means we will see each other again, I accept with grat.i.tude."

"Farewell, Red Sword," said Taliesin, gripping Pendaran by the hands. "I will not forget my promise, but I will hold the day of our reunion in my heart."

The king pulled Taliesin into a rough embrace, pounding him on the back, saying, "Go now, so that day will come all the sooner."

Henwas and Heilyn appeared with Rhuna and said their good-byes. Rhuna climbed into the saddle, Eiddon called farewell to his father, and they turned the horses and started down the hill toward Maridunum, still dark in the valley beneath a pall of blue-white smoke haze. As they rode through the stone-paved streets people poked their heads out and watched in silence as the riders pa.s.sed by or murmured knowingly to one another as they stared at the beautiful woman carrying the infant: "The Queen of the Fair Folk! See? And there is the infant king!"

They rode south toward the great Mor Hafren on the Roman road that followed the sh.o.r.eline to Caer Legionis and Caer Gwent before it turned east to Glevum and the Roman towns of the south all the way to Londiniurn and beyond. Skirting the high heath hills to the north, they pa.s.sed through the ruins of old Lencarum-once a tight little port town on a sheltered bay, now a gray stone shambles sliding into oblivion-reaching the City of the Legion by sunset of the third day. The tribune there knew Eiddon well and welcomed the travelers to his house which, like many of the officers, he kept in the city outside the walls of the fort.

"There is nothing to worry about," Tribune Valens told Eiddon confidentially. They were sitting in the small kitchen at a wooden table, a jar of beer between them. "There have been no raiders sighted in the region this spring. And Count Theodosius' campaign in the north and east has been strikingly successful. Most of the dogs that moved in during the conspiracy have been overrun and sent limping back to their mongrel dens with their tails between their legs."

Eiddon pulled his chin. "Vigilance could not hurt."

"I tell you it is like the old days," insisted Valens. "They are restoring the northern forts, and the southern sh.o.r.e is getting a line of watchtowers so that we cannot be taken by surprise again. The wars in Gaul are going well, and I would not be at all surprised to see troops returning soon. Mark my words, Eiddon Vawr, the legions will be back to full strength in a few years, and I will retire to my farm in the hills and grow fat on my own beef and cheese."

"May it be as you say," replied Eiddon, unconvinced.

"But tell me, who are these friends of yours? May Nodens take my eyes if I have ever seen a more beautiful woman." He leaned forward, grinning. "With her along, I cannot see what you are worried about. Any Saecsen prince worth his salt would pay good gold for a beauty like that, eh?"

Eiddon stiffened.

"You take offense?" asked the tribune innocently.

"Out of friendship, I will not hold that remark against you. If you knew who it was that sheltered under your roof this night, you would never have said such a stupid thing."

"Enlighten me then, O Soul of Wisdom and Honor. Who sleeps under my roof tonight?"

"Have you never heard of the bard Taliesin?"

"Should I have?"

"He is surely the greatest bard who has ever lived. And Charis is his wife, a princess from Llyonesse, I am told, although she will not speak of it herself. Her father is King Avallach of Ynys Witrin."

The soldier's eyes widened. "Indeed! Him I have heard of. How is it that you come to be traveling in such exalted company?"

"They have lived with us at Maridunum this past year and are returning home now."

"I know nothing of poets and storytellers," mused Valens, "but if a song and rhyme can capture creatures half so fair as that princess, I will get me a harp and strum it for all I am worth."

Eiddon laughed. "And drive the cattle from the very hills with your braying!" He shook his head, "I tell you, I have never heard anyone sing as this man sings. With but a word he drove that vile priest from our midst and lifted the curse that had beset my father these many years."

"How is Red Sword?"

"A changed man. To see him you would not recognize him-and it is Taliesin's doing."

"A wonder-worker, is he?"

"I will tell you a wonder," said Eiddon seriously. "He shamed a hall full of kings to their faces and not one of them lifted a finger against him."

"I am impressed," said Valens. "Would he sing for me, do you think?"

"It is late, my friend and we have been traveling all day. I would not care to ask him."

But even as Eiddon spoke, the first notes from the harp sounded from the next room. They rose and went in quietly to see Taliesin sitting on one side of the fire and Charis opposite him, nursing the baby. Salach, Eiddon's younger brother, lay wrapped in his cloak at the singer's feet, and Rhuna sat on the floor beside Charis. Valens' slave, a young Thracian woman who kept the tribune's house, was in the corner, her dark eyes sparkling in the firelight. Taliesin glanced at the men as they entered. The two drew up camp chairs of the kind officers used in the field, settling themselves near the hearth to listen.

Taliesin's voice filled the room with its golden flow, like a rare honeyed nectar from a source rich and deep. In his hands the harp became a magical instrument-the loom of the G.o.ds weaving intricate beauty incomprehensible to mortal eyes but singing harmony to the ears. This night he sang about the land of his vision, the realm of peace and light, the Kingdom of Summer. His words called it forth in splendor, and the notes of his song made it live in the minds of his listeners.

Charis had heard him speak of his vision many times before, but now he sang about it and for the first time described the king who would dwell in this most holy realm: a king born to rule not for might or kinship, but for love of justice and the right; a king born to serve truth and honor, to lead his people in humility, and to uphold his land in the name of the Savior G.o.d.

It seemed to Charis as she listened that all Taliesin had ever thought or said about his imaginary realm Was coming together in his song, ideas coalescing into solid sounds, words taking shape with utterance, flesh gathering onto the bones of philosophy.

The Kingdom of Summer is born tonight, she thought, even as the babe in my arms took flesh and was born. The two are made each for the other; they are one.

She looked down at the babe suckling at her breast. "Do you hear, Merlin?" she whispered softly. "Your destiny calls to you across the years. Listen, my son. This is the night your father sang the world into a new shape. Hear and remember."

They left early the next morning, turning south toward the great sea inlet along the River Usk. The harbor in the river mouth was crowded with cargo vessels and smaller fishing boats; Eiddon searched among the larger boats for one to ferry them across. "We must wait," he said when he returned. "There is but one boat that can take us, and it is waiting for cargo to come from Caer Gwent. The steersman will come for us when they are ready to sail. I fear it will be late when we make our landing."

"Then let us eat something while we wait," suggested Taliesin, "and rest the horses."

They dismounted and spread their cloaks on the mounded bank above the timber pier and settled to wait. Salach rode the short distance upriver to the settlement, returning a little while later with wine to add to the bread and cheese they had brought with them, and a fresh-roasted chicken wrapped in a sc.r.a.p of cloth. "I smelled the chicken," he explained, slicing it into pieces with his dagger, "and asked the widow to sell it. She was glad of the silver."

"Well done, Salach!" said Taliesin. "A resourceful companion is welcome on a journey. Ride with me anytime, friend."

The youth colored under this praise and turned his face, hiding his shy smile. They ate and waited. The sun rose higher in the sky, and low clouds came sliding in from the sea like gray fingers reaching across the land. Soon the sun was gone and a chill wind rippled the water at the sh.o.r.eline. It was then the steersman appeared. "If you want to come with us, come now," he called. "We are putting off at once."

Gathering their things, they followed him along the pier to the ship riding low in the water. "Get you aboard," called the ship's owner, standing at the rail. "We are losing the weather!"

While the horses were secured to a line in the center of the deck, Charis found a place for herself and the child beneath a canvas canopy at the stern of the ship just below the steersman's platform. She gathered her fur-lined cloak around her and held the baby close. Rhuna sat facing her, sheltering both Charis and the baby from the wind with her body. A few moments later the ship swayed away from the pier and nosed out into the current.

Not long after the ship reached open water, a freshening wind swept in, driving a low, murky fog before it. Soon the boat was bound in a heavy, wet mist that beaded up on their cloaks and hair, seeping slowly into the folds of their clothing. The ship's owner, Bellowing oaths to a dozen different G.o.ds and cursing the steersman in the same breath, ran from one side of the deck to the other, peering helplessly into the soup-thick mess, vainly trying to see a few inches further into the gloom.

The crossing was damp but uneventful, and they were put to sh.o.r.e at a small wharf downriver from the settlement of Abonae on the Aquae Sulis road. This was far north of the place they had hoped to land, but the owner could not be persuaded to take them further south, claiming that low tide would make another landing impossible. No sooner had the travelers stepped onto the wharf man the ship was being poled back out again.

"Perhaps it is just as well," said Eiddon as they remounted. "This way we have the road, and with a little luck we might reach Aquae Sulis before nightfall."

"I would welcome a dry bed tonight," said Taliesin, helping Charis into her saddle. He noted her vacant expression. "Are you well, my love?"

Charis started and came to herself. "I have been dreaming," she replied, shaking her head. "It is the fog and mist."

"We could rest a while," put in Eiddon.

"No," she said, forcing a smile. "I am only a little sleepy. It is nothing. It will pa.s.s."

"I will take the baby, my lady, if you please," offered Rhuna. Charis handed her the child and they continued on, falling into single file. Although Charis fought to remain alert, she soon drifted into the same heavy, drowsy reverie-a waking sleep wherein her mind drifted lazily like a full-laden boat in a sullen, turgid stream. Her eyes closed even as the dull, gray mist closed around her.

It seemed like only a moment pa.s.sed, but when she opened her eyes once more the mist had darkened and deepened. The road was wet and silent, the only sound heavy drops falling from the branches of trees and the thicket hedge that formed an impenetrable wall along the roadside. The instant she raised her head, Charis sensed danger.

The silence felt unnatural. She looked around quickly. Rhuna rode just behind her, followed by Taliesin. A little way ahead Eiddon, shoulders straight and head c.o.c.ked to one side, listened, his hand on the sword at his Belt. Ahead of Eiddon, Salach, spear in hand, was just barely discernible as a gray and ghostly shape in the mist.

"What is it?" she asked. Her voice was instantly m.u.f.fled and lost in the dead still air.

Up ahead she saw Salach stop and stretch tall in the saddle. Eiddon rode to him and the two put their heads together. Then Eiddon wheeled his horse around and came toward her. She saw his face taut in the gloom. His sword was in his hand.

Merlin! Where was her baby? She whirled in the saddle to look behind.

In the same instant she heard a strange and frightening sound, like the whirring buzz of an angry wasp or the thin feathered shriek of an eagle's pinions slicing the air. It was cut off by a dull, thudding chunk.

Eiddon's horse swept past her as Rhuna came alongside. "Give Merlin to me!" she whispered tersely.

As the girl unwrapped the child from the warmth of her cloak, Taliesin's horse came apace. Charis turned to ask what was happening but the words stuck in her throat.

She reached out to him.

Then she saw it-the arrow buried deep in his chest.

His head was toward her, but his eyes were fixed on something far in the distance, his face alight with the vision: the Kingdom of Summer. It was only the briefest of moments and then the light flickered and died. Taliesin slumped forward, the reins still in his hands.

The scream that tore the deep-wooded silence was her own. The motions around her were confused; shapes tumbled from the fog and somehow she was on the ground, bending over Taliesin's body, the arrow in her hands. She was whimpering and trying to drag the evil thing from her husband's heart.

She felt hands close over hers as Eiddon knelt beside her. Taliesin gazed upward, his eyes dark and empty, the warmth of life slowly seeping from his body.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

"Lady, we can stay here no longer." the hollow voice was Eiddon's and his hand was under her elbow. "They may return at any moment."