Peter Tremayne - The Devil's seal

‘I congratulate your sister’s husband on having a sharp eye,’ commented Cummasach with a grim smile. ‘Indeed, he would have probably fought on, but seeing that his companions had fled or fallen, he decided to make a bargain.’

‘What bargain could he make?’ Fidelma asked.

‘We still do not understand completely. He lowered his shield and sword and shouted — truce!’ The word essomon which the Brehon used was one which Eadulf realised meant a cessation of conflict for a moment to speak.

‘So I presume the fighting stopped and the young man was taken captive?’ Colgú was clearly eager for the story to end and for his visitors to come to the point.

‘Yes, the fighting stopped,’ replied the Brehon gravely. ‘Rudgal told us that he would bargain for his freedom with information that would be of benefit only to the Chief Bishop of the Kingdom.’

Abbot Ségdae was startled. ‘What would a thief know that is of benefit to me?’

‘I can only relate what he said. Furthermore, he said he would only reveal this knowledge if he were taken before Abbot Ségdae and the King. He would speak to no other person.’

‘Have you questioned him further?’ asked Colgú.

‘We did, but he was firm in his resolve. He did, however, reveal one important fact. He said that he and his companions had been given a cumal each to attack the two foreign religious on the river and kill them. Whatever happened, they were to ensure that the elderly one was killed. As well as money, they were told they could help themselves to the goods that these religious carried.’

There was a shocked silence. ‘Who would pay them to carry out such a deed?’ whispered Abbot Ségdae.

‘That he would not tell us. He said he would reveal this only to you, Abbot Ségdae and the King.’

‘You searched the camp of these assassins, I presume?’ Fidelma asked. ‘Did you find any of the objects stolen from the victims?’

‘We found a store of coins — several were bright cumals which seemed to support Rudgal’s claim. There were various pieces of booty that they had taken at various times, some of which probably belonged to the religious who were attacked, but there was nothing specific. There were also signs of burned parchment and other materials — perhaps books and other items such as would be carried by religious, but nothing that was truly identifiable.’

Colgú beat a tattoo on the arm of his chair with his fingers. Then he sighed.

‘So let us see what information this man has which he believes will buy him freedom from the punishment for these heinous crimes. Gormán, you and Eadulf will go and fetch this. . what is his name?’

‘Rudgal, lord,’ Brehon Furudán repeated.

‘Then go and bring this Rudgal here and we will listen to what he has to say. If his claim is true — that someone paid for the assassination of these religious visitors to our kingdom — then we must find the culprit at once.’

‘Well, friend Eadulf,’ Gormán remarked, as they left the King’s council chamber and made their way down to the courtyard, ‘these are strange times. I have no understanding of what this means.’

‘Alas, you are not alone, Gormán,’ muttered Eadulf. Aware that the King had asked for Egric to formally identify the man as one of his attackers he was hoping that his brother had returned to the palace. However, the guard at the gate reported that Egric and Dego were still in the township. The two men crossed the flagstones of the courtyard to the Laochtech , the House of Heroes, which housed the King’s élite bodyguard. Enda was sitting in the anteroom to the barracks with another warrior called Luan. They were playing a board game with the warriors of the Déisi. It was called brandubh , Black Raven, which was popular among the warriors, though less skilful than fidchell , the Wooden Wisdom, at which all nobles aspired to become masters.

Enda looked up as they entered, and then he and Luan rose in the presence of their commander and Eadulf.

‘We’ve come to collect the prisoner,’ Gormán told them.

‘He’s in the storehouse at the back. We’ve kept his hands tethered, just in case.’

‘No guard outside the barn?’ Gormán asked in surprise.

Enda smiled complacently. ‘With hands tethered and a bar on the door, what need was there? Anyway, the prisoner doesn’t seem inclined to escape.’

Gormán nodded and motioned the warriors to reseat themselves and continue their game. ‘We’ll fetch him ourselves.’

He and Eadulf went around to the back of the building where there was a general storehouse, mainly used for storing weapons and equipment for the warriors. As they approached, Gormán came to an abrupt halt and swore. Eadulf glanced at him in surprise, for profanity was hardly ever used by the young warrior. Gormán pointed.

‘Enda may have left his prisoner with hands tethered, but he is so sure of himself that he didn’t bother to put the bar properly in place to secure the door. A slight push and it would swing open. Damn his eyes! He’ll be doing extra guard duty for that omission.’

Eadulf saw that the heavy wooden bar should have been swung across the double doors, making them impossible to move. Instead, only a fraction of the bar had spanned the division, as if it had been hurriedly slotted into place.

Gormán pushed it aside and swung open the doors. Inside the storehouse it was gloomy. They stood for a moment at the open doors and heard a soft rhythmic creaking sound, like someone swinging a heavy object on the end of a piece of rope.

Eadulf was peering into the shadows beyond. Then, as his eyes grew used to the darkness, he exclaimed, ‘ Quod avertat Deus ! Gormán, get a light in here.’

Eadulf stood waiting at the door while Gormán ran back to the Laochtech . It was a moment before he returned, bearing a lantern and followed by Enda and Luan, with the latter carrying a second lantern.

‘I tell you, the bar was pushed fully into position. It was completely secure,’ Enda was protesting.

They came to a halt at the entrance behind Eadulf. Gormán and Enda raised their lanterns.

A body was swinging gently from a rope tied to one of the rafters. The dead man’s feet were only a short distance from the ground, but far enough above it so that there could be no weight resting on it. The position of the rope around the neck, the odd angle of the head, was enough to show that he had been hanged. The body was that of Rudgal.

Eadulf moved quickly and called upon one of his companions to hold the weight of the body while he loosened the rope. Luan put down his lantern, then he and Enda did as requested while Eadulf took a knife to sever the rope. The body was lowered to the floor. Eadulf did not need to examine the corpse to see that Rudgal had choked to death, for the face was blackened and the features distorted. There was something else that caught his attention; something protruding from the corner of the corpse’s mouth. At first Eadulf thought it was his tongue, but when he carefully took it with thumb and forefinger and pulled, he found it was a piece of cloth.

Enda was peering at the corpse without emotion. ‘So he preferred death to the rule of law?’

Eadulf glanced up at him cynically. ‘So you think he hanged himself?’

Enda was puzzled at his response. ‘Isn’t it obvious? No wonder he was calm about being brought here as a prisoner. He knew he would never have to face the consequences of his actions.’

‘He was calm because he thought he could bargain for his freedom,’ Eadulf corrected.

‘I don’t understand.’ Enda was still baffled.

Eadulf stood up impatiently. ‘The facts are obvious. Look! His hands, as you saw earlier, are still bound together. So you leave a man tethered in this place and, as you claim, you have secured the doors properly.’