'We wait,' Ektor said.

'For what, the Vin Thalun to overwhelm the tower?' Fidele said.

'What would you suggest we do?' Ektor snapped. 'You, no offence intended, are not exactly warrior-born. Your friend, on the other hand, looks as if he could carve his way to the Otherworld if he had a mind to.' It did not sound like a compliment the way Ektor sneered as he said it. 'But he is clearly injured and unable to stand unaided, let alone fight. And the oldest swordsmaster in the Banished Lands.' Alben scowled at that. 'And me.' He smiled ruefully. 'Not the greatest band of heroes ever mustered.'

'He's got a point,' Maquin grunted.

Fidele thought about it. To go charging into the unknown would be foolish. The thought of Vin Thalun out there, though, possibly taking the tower, opening its gates to Lykos. It was terrifying, all the more so for the not knowing.

I will cut my own throat before I let him touch me again. She found herself pacing about the chamber, searching for a distraction. Ektor was tidying his table, a worried frown on his face. He seems more worried about his maps than the fact we're possibly being overrun by invaders.

I remember studying them with Ektor how long ago was that? A year? Two?

She had spent a long day in this chamber with Ektor, listening to his wealth of knowledge on the history of the Banished Lands, trying to unravel clues in the ancient writings of the giants. She had been unsettled by what they had discovered, rumours about the Ben-Elim and Kadoshim walking the earth clothed in bodies of flesh and blood. There was reference to the high king's counsellor being Kadoshim, a servant of Asroth. The question had been which high king? Aquilus or Nathair? Meical or Calidus? I think I know now, if Lykos' a.s.sociation with Calidus is anything to go by.

'Did you ever find the answer?' Fidele asked Ektor.

'Not exactly,' he said quietly, as if guarding some great secret. 'But I narrowed it down to two conclusions.'

'So did I,' Fidele whispered.

Ektor nodded at her, smiling. 'You really show a great deal of potential, you know.'

'Thank you,' she murmured.

'Footsteps,' Alben hissed, drawing his sword. Fidele pulled her knife from its sheath. The latch lifted, rattled as someone tried to open the door. A fist pounded on the thick oak, dust puffing from the hinges. Fidele felt a knot of fear squirm inside her. She gripped her knife tightly.

'Ektor,' a voice shouted, 'are you in there, you pasty-faced bookworm?'

Fidele's fear melted away. Only close kin can be so personal and insulting.

Alben unbolted and opened the door, revealing the bulk of Krelis standing in the doorway, a dozen warriors filling the corridor behind him.

Ektor came forward and glowered at his brother. 'You took your time.'

CHAPTER THIRTY.

CAMLIN.

Camlin stood in the shadows, leaning against a wall. They had rowed into the lake to a tower that protruded from the dark waters like a spear, disembarked and entered a huge round chamber, ivy growing up its walls and birds nesting in its eaves. Edana sat in one of many chairs around a long table, Baird stood a step behind. Pendathran was there, and Drust, the warrior who had brought them here, as well as Roisin and Lorcan.

News of Edana's arrival had spread through the camp like sunlight in a dark room, people thronging to see her. She had happily wandered amongst them for a time, Baird and Vonn keeping a watchful eye over her.

She was not the only one to cause a stir. Roisin seemed to have made a big impression, if the way Pendathran's eye kept settling upon her was anything to go by.

'An unusual place for a meeting,' Edana said, looking around the room.

'Aye. Dun Crin is an unusual place altogether,' Pendathran replied. 'A giant's fortress that stood in a valley, is my guess. The histories tell of the world changing shape after Elyon's Scourging.' He shrugged, a rippling that made his chair creak. 'We'll never know how it came to be like this. But it is hidden well, and if discovered is defendable. Towers like this one are linked by old battlements that are easily defended by only a handful. And there is little chance of surprise out here when the only way across is swimming or a boat.'

'You have chosen admirably,' Roisin said, 'A better-defensible place I could not imagine.'

'Thank you, my lady,' Pendathran said gruffly.

Is he blushing?

Camlin glanced out of the window he was standing beside. A good spot to defend, Roisin's right. But not much of a line of retreat. Or escape. Something sinuous rippled in the waters close by and Camlin pulled a face.

Don't much care for the wildlife, either.

A movement in the shadows near his feet drew his eye and he saw Meg sitting there, knees hunched up to her chest.

She's as quiet as a wraith.

'So, I think there's a need for us to swap tales,' Pendathran said, smiling at Edana.

Edana nodded and told them of the flight from Dun Carreg to Domhain. Pendathran and the others about him listened with surprise creeping across their features as Edana told of the battles fought as they clawed their way through Cambren and into the mountains of Domhain.

'Wolven and giants,' Pendathran muttered, 'and you fought them all off.' Camlin saw something kindle in Pendathran's eyes respect?

'Not without loss,' Edana acknowledged sadly.

The old battlechief lowered his head when Edana spoke of Heb's death. He had been well known and well liked amongst those who dwelt in Dun Carreg. Many of them nodded and grunted as she spoke of Eremon's support and first the elation and then the despair of the following battles. Finally Edana told of the flight to the coast and their journey by ship to Ardan. Pendathran growled when he heard of Conall slaying Marrock.

'Ach, how many of my kin will fall in this war? Is there no end to the hurt our family must bear?' He wrung his hands as if he was squeezing on someone's neck.

I forgot, Marrock was Pendathran's nephew.

'And then we sailed here,' Edana said. 'With the help of Roisin and a score of Eremon's finest shieldmen.'

'Aye, and I'm grateful for that. Both for your presence and that of the extra swords.'

'We are glad and grateful to be here,' Roisin said, managing to look both sad and happy at the same time.

She has more talents than I realized.

'And you, Uncle?' Edana said. 'I thought you slain in the feasthall of Dun Carreg.'

'It was a close thing,' Pendathran said. He shifted a dirty scarf tied around his neck to reveal a white scar. 'I must have come close to bleeding out in the hall. Don't know how I didn't. All I can tell you is that I woke up in a stinking hole turned out to be Evnis' cellars.' He could not stop his eyes flickering to Vonn, who stared fiercely back.

Just the mention of his da seems to set a cold flame burning in the young warrior.

Pendathran explained how Evnis had tortured him, and then how he had been rescued by Cywen. After escaping through the tunnels below the fortress he had travelled south from Dun Carreg, ended up wandering around the marshes for over a moon before he had been found by the fledgling resistance.

'Turned out I wasn't the only one who fled here there were men from my son's warband . . .' He paused, a shadow crossing his face at the mention of his son.

I remember watching from the walls of Dun Carreg as Dalgar led his warband against Owain's host. They were sorely outnumbered. Pendathran had led a force out of Dun Carreg's gates, but the bridge to the mainland had been blocked by Owain's men. The battle was hard fought, but eventually Pendathran's relief force had been turned back and Dalgar's warband routed. Dalgar's corpse had been delivered to Dun Carreg's walls. Camlin could still see Pendathran carrying his son's broken body across the bridge.

Pendathran rubbed a hand across his eyes and carried on. 'Warriors who survived the defeat of my son's warband fled here, many bringing their families with them. Even some of Owain's have come here.' He nodded at Drust. It turned out that he had been telling the truth when he claimed that he was a shieldman of Owain.

'We share the same enemy,' Drust said with a shrug. 'Rhin betrayed Owain as much as she did Brenin. And I would say to you, for all the harm that Owain did to you and your realm, he was acting out of a desire for vengeance, for the murder of his son. He was mad with grief when he thought that Brenin had Uthan slain.'

'That is a lie,' Edana hissed.

'I know that now. Rhin played him, played all the kings of the west.'

'The game is not done, yet,' Edana said. 'So, tell me how you came to be here.'

Drust told of the battle between Owain and Rhin, Nathair's and Evnis' betrayal on the battlefield. Once again glances flickered towards Vonn. And Drust also spoke of Cywen helping him to escape.

'She saved my life,' he said.

'Ha,' Camlin laughed at that. All eyes swept to him, half-forgotten in the shadows.

'That girl and her brother,' he said to their enquiring glances. 'Always in the right place for some action.'

'Sometimes the wrong one,' Vonn said, not much louder than a whisper.

A silence settled over the room; the sound of lapping waves drifted through the stone windows.

'Well, hard tales, of that there's no doubt,' Pendathran said. 'But we are gathered together now. Reunited. And your arrival will lift spirits here Ardan's princess back amongst her people.'

'I am Ardan's Queen now,' Edana corrected.

'Aye, that you are, la.s.s,' Pendathran said. 'We shall celebrate tonight, and welcome our royal guests from Domhain.' He dipped his head to Roisin and Lorcan. Then he stood.

'Where are you going?' Edana asked him.

'There is always work to do here, la.s.s.'

'But there is more we must speak of.'

'Such as?' Pendathran frowned.

'Such as, what is the situation here?' Edana's smile had gone. 'Numbers, strategies, what is your plan? Has it been successful thus far?'

'Survival is the plan,' the big man said, pausing half out of his chair. He looked a little surprised at Edana's questioning. 'The rest is boring details for you.'

'Not boring for me, I a.s.sure you,' Edana said. 'Please, sit and tell me.'

Pendathran stayed hovering above his chair a moment, then sat.

He thinks of her still as the frightened girl he last saw in Dun Carreg.

'As I said, survival is top of that list. There are over four hundred of us here now, and we're still growing, and less than half of them are warriors. They're families, mostly, seeking a safe haven from Evnis and his justice.' He paused and sighed. 'It's not easy trying to feed this many people; do you know how many fish need to be caught every day?' He smiled ruefully. 'Could be worse, though. Fish is the one thing we're not short of in these marshes, and we've managed to trade for grain and the like from villages beyond the marshes.'

'That may be coming to an end soon,' Roisin said. 'We pa.s.sed through one of those villages on the way in. They'd been slaughtered every last man, woman and bairn. Made an example of.'

'It was Morcant,' Edana said.

'That's not the best news,' Pendathran rumbled. 'There's not one of them that could give away our location, but if we can't trade . . .'

'And other than survival?' Edana asked again. 'What is your strategy against Evnis and Rhin?'

'We take the battle to them, when we can.' His bushy eyebrows knotted together.

He doesn't like being questioned like this. Doubt that he's used to it, and definitely not by the spoilt princess he still thinks Edana is.

'I'm sure the tales of valour are too many to recount,' Roisin said.

'Go on,' Edana prompted.

Pendathran picked at a nail. 'We've killed a few men in Cambren's black and gold, those who have ventured into the marshes. A few raids further afield. We're not strong enough to take the fight to Rhin yet. And everyone here, we've all lost kin, loved ones . . .'

'Dun Carreg fell over a year ago,' Edana said.

They're scared, Camlin realized. They've been beaten and bullied and just want to hide away from it all for a while. Scared of another defeat, and nowhere left to run.

'It is the same throughout the west,' Roisin said. 'Domhain's king has been slain, its warbands broken, its warriors scattered. But not all of us. Wherever we stand together, there is hope. I escorted Edana here because she told me of the warriors of Ardan. Told me they had courage and would fight.' She looked around the room.

She makes it sound as if it was her idea, and she's not mentioned that she considered using Edana as a bargaining piece with Rhin for her precious son. Still, if she can light a fire under their a.r.s.es then I'll not complain.

'But this is not fighting,' Edana said. 'This is existing.'

Pendathran's face coloured, dark blotches appearing on his cheeks. A silence hung in the air, charged with tension, like clouds bloated with thunder.

'You do not understand, my lady,' Pendathran said through gritted teeth. 'This is war-making, and there's more to it than notions of bravery and glory.'

'I understand well enough,' Edana snapped. 'I have seen enough bloodshed to rectify any misconceptions I may have once entertained.' She looked at her hands and Camlin remembered them shaking, spattered with blood, back in the village roundhouse.

'As have I,' Roisin added. 'And I understand caution, was its strongest advocate in Domhain. I was wrong, I should have listened to Edana. Victory usually has to be claimed, not observed. Look, here in this room three realms are represented Ardan, Domhain, Narvon. And who is our enemy? Rhin. And she is weak, her warbands stretched thin over four nations. Now is the time to strike, not sit back and watch her grow strong again.'

Pendathran sat straighter at that.

'Roisin is right,' Edana said, not quite keeping the scowl from her face.