Alys Clare - The Enchanter's Forest

I must by then already have lost more blood than I knew, he now thought wearily. I was delirious, seeing visions; how else explain the figure out of legend, out of nightmare, that put an end to my life?

The dark shape had towered above him as he cowered before it. Then, even as he began to form the words with which to beg for mercy — a mercy in which, in truth, he had little faith for he knew he did not deserve it — the man, or the animal, whatever it was, had extended a long arm at the end of which were sharp points that gleamed in the starlight.

The tall man had felt the flesh of his throat and chest open like butter under the knife and, looking down with horrified eyes, had seen the deep gashes tearing into him from just above his collar bone right down to his belly.

He had sunk, already fainting, to his knees.

As he slumped on the spongy forest floor dizzy and nauseated, trying to hold his flesh together and dam the great rush of blood but with the darkness already spreading in front of his eyes, he had looked up to face his attacker one last time; a man ought, after all, to know and recognise his final enemy.

But there was nothing there.

He had slept, or slipped into unconsciousness; it was hard to tell the difference now. Awake and aware once more, he realised that he could not feel his feet.

The insidious chill of death crept up his legs. He looked down at his hands, bloodstained from where he had clamped them to his destroyed chest.

Not long now.

What did I see? he wondered.

Was I seeing visions? Was my killer in truth no other than the man with the sword, dressed up in that horrifying guise by my own fevered imagination? Perhaps, perhaps.

But if so then why, the dying man wondered, did he have four parallel grooves in his flesh that looked for all the world like claw marks?

He sighed.

It was sad to die with an unsolved mystery on his mind.

But it did not look as if he was going to have any choice.

Helewise’s first action after the early offices was to send for Brother Saul and Brother Augustus and request that they return to Merlin’s Tomb in order to ask anyone prepared to talk to them one or two pertinent questions. Saul, whose expression did not look like that of a man readily able to distinguish a pertinent question from any other sort, began to frown but Augustus said straight away, ‘Like did anyone notice some man hanging around and trying to find out which day Florian was most likely to be carrying home the takings and what time he was going to leave?’

Helewise beamed. ‘Precisely that, Gus.’

Saul’s tense face relaxed; he was evidently relieved that he now understood what was being asked of him. He nodded sagely and was about to speak when Augustus got in before him.

‘We might also try to find out about the guards, my lady,’ he said excitedly. ‘They looked a tough bunch to me and, without wishing to blacken anyone’s good name without due cause, it’d be pretty obvious to anyone that they’d likely be the best source of information regarding Florian’s movements.’

‘Yes, Augustus, that’s right.’ She shot him a smile, then turned to Saul. ‘Brother Saul? Were you about to say something?’

‘Oh — aye, my lady, but only that it’d be a relief to bring the killer of that poor young man to justice.’

‘Saul, there must be no heroic attempt to solve this by yourselves.’ She looked from Saul to Augustus and back again. ‘Florian was murdered by a cold-hearted and dispassionate killer who robbed him and threw his body in the brambles. Remember that.’

Saul and Augustus exchanged a glance. Then Saul said, ‘We will, my lady.’ And, as if they could no longer contain their eagerness for the unexpected outing, as one they bowed low, turned and hurried away.

For some moments after their hasty departure, Helewise sat staring at the door and wishing that she was going with them. She could have done; nobody would have questioned her motive in leading the little expedition. But she knew there was no need for her to go. Augustus was an astute young man who kept his eyes and ears open and who, for all his youth, seemed to know when people were trying to deceive him. And Saul — well, Saul was as solid as the very earth and as dependable as sunrise.

With a small sigh that even someone standing right in front of her would probably have missed, Helewise drew her accounts book towards her, reached for her stylus and got down to work.

The two lay brothers returned in the early afternoon.

‘What did you discover?’ she demanded as soon as they had come in and closed the door behind them.

It was Saul who spoke first.

‘The place is all shut up, my lady. There was a handful of people hanging around in the clearing just inside the forest, where all those trees were cut down. We stopped short and tethered the horses, then edged our way nearer so that we could hear what was going on but not be seen. There was a cross-looking man in a dirty leather jerkin-’

‘It was that fellow Jack, my lady, who came to relieve the gate guard when we visited,’ Augustus put in.

She nodded. ‘Go on.’

‘The man in the jerkin was telling the people they couldn’t visit the tomb’ — Saul picked up the narrative — ‘and that they should go back where they came from.’

‘I see.’ She could visualise the scene. She hoped that none of the pilgrims would suffer too badly from having made that abortive journey. She also hoped — and she knew it was unworthy — that all the people who were being frustrated in their desire to see Merlin’s Tomb would sooner or later find their way here to Hawkenlye.

‘The gate in that there outer fence — that’s the post and rail one, my lady — the gate was closed and chained. Er — me and Gussie, we reckoned it wouldn’t be too hard to climb over it, so we did. In fact it was quite easy, what with two of us, one helping the other.’ He was watching her hopefully, as if keen to know they had done right.

‘Well done, Saul,’ she said. ‘Then what?’

‘Not far beyond the first fence we came to a second,’ Saul continued. ‘This one was much more of a barrier, my lady, because the spaces between the rails had been filled in with hurdles and it was that thick, we-’ Saul broke off as Augustus leaned across to whisper in his ear. With an apologetic smile, Saul said, ‘But then you know, my lady, since you’ve seen it for yourself.’

‘Only from a distance, Brother Saul. Please, go on.’

‘The gate in the second fence was also chained and to begin with me and Gussie didn’t see as how we were going to get through. Then Gussie spotted a tree quite close to the fence, just about the only one around there that hadn’t been felled, and he reckoned he could climb it and crawl out along one of the higher branches so he could see over the fence, if you follow me, my lady.’

‘I do, Saul. And you managed this?’ She turned to Augustus.

‘Aye, my lady, though I’ve bruised my- Aye. Saul gave me a leg-up and I got hold of one of the lower branches, then I shinned up till I could reach the higher ones. I crept out as far as I dared, only then I began to hear the branch creaking a bit and Saul said to come down.’

‘Saul was quite right,’ she said gravely. ‘If you had fallen inside the enclosure, Gus, how could Saul have come to your aid?’

‘Exactly what I said myself!’ Saul cried.

‘What did you see?’ She stared at Augustus.

‘I saw the tomb,’ he said simply. ‘It was a long, wide depression and, inside it, huge great bones.’

‘The grave was still open?’ She was surprised; would not whoever had locked up the site have at least made some attempt to cover the bones? It seemed almost. . shocking.