Peter Tremayne - The Leper's bell

There was a body concealed in the horse’s stall.

She bent to examine it, and her hand came automatically up to her mouth in a gesture of astonishment and horror. The body of Duach lay there, his eyes wide and staring in death. Someone had cut his throat. Then she saw the second body. It was young Tulcha. She gasped, suddenly remembering why the three horses were familiar.

At the stable door the shadowy forms of three men stood, blocking the entrance.

‘Well, now,’ came the sneering tones of Cuirgí of Ciarraige, who had recently been the hostage of her brother. ‘Well, now, it seems, my friends, that we have our own hostage now. We have a female whelp of the Eóganacht delivered into our hands. Now, indeed, have the fates been kind to us. Now, indeed, can we make our way safely back to our homeland so that we can pursue our path of vengeance against Cashel.’

Eadulf was peering at the shocked features of the steward of the abbey of Coimán.

‘Where might I find this Uaman the Leper?’ he repeated.

‘What business do you have with that spawn of Satan?’ whispered the steward. ‘I would rather give you directions to the gates of Hell itself.’ Then he gasped again. His eyes widened as he guessed the reason for Eadulf’s enquiry. ‘You cannot mean that the herbalist has given the baby into Uaman’s custody?’

‘I do mean that. And now I must retrieve my son. So where can I find this man? He seems well known to you.’

The steward’s face was pale.

‘He is well known to most people in this area, Brother Eadulf. Even in the days when Eoganán ruled the Uí Fidgente, Uaman, his son, was lord of the passes of Sliabh Mis. He was not yet a leper in those times but a warrior son of Eoganán, who, as you may know, was a ruthless tyrant who tried to overthrow the Eóghanacht of Cashel. Eoganán met his end at Cnoc Áine…’

‘I know.’ Eadulf nodded impatiently. ‘But what of Uaman?’

‘He was Eoganán’s youngest son and adviser and withal even worse than the despot himself. He made life unbearable among the abbeys and religious houses of the kingdom. He would come against us with warriors and demand tribute from us. But God punishes debauchery.’

Eadulf frowned momentarily.

‘Ah, you mean the leprosy?’

‘Just so. Even before Cnoc Áine, he had contracted the scourge. Yet he somehow retained his power and, until the Uí Fidgente were overthrown, he remained lord of the passes here. After the defeat of his ill-fated father, he retreated into this corner of the kingdom where he still remains a tyrant and is followed by a small band of warriors. Thank God, not so many as he could command before. Now he has hardly six to guard him — poor, demented souls. They follow him because their souls and flesh are rotten as well as his. His soul is evil and decayed on the inside as his skin is decayed on the outside.’

‘Does he still raid the area?’

‘We are too strong for him now. But with only a few warriors he still controls the roads along the great peninsula to the north of us where the lands of the Corco Duibhne lie. The peninsula stretches nearly fifty kilometres into the wild western sea, mountainous and bleak, with tracks so narrow that he can force travellers to pay tribute to him for the privilege of passing through.’

‘Surely the chieftain of the Corco Duibhne can challenge him? If he has only six men to guard him, then he can surely be overthrown with ease.’

‘Not so easily, my friend. Uaman dwells in an impregnable fortress. It is a great stone stronghold whose walls rise like a round tower on a small island and is built in such a way that even great armies could not gain entry.’

‘Tell me more about this place.’

‘The Tower of Uaman?’

‘Where does it lie?’

‘Not far from here, Brother Saxon. You take the track north of our abbey, round the great bay you see before you, passing before the mountain range you find rising to your right. The road runs westwards and is straight and narrow. At high tide, on your left, you will see an island. It has no name but Inse.’ Eadulf knew this was the word signifying an island. ‘It is cut off at high tide but at low tide it becomes almost a peninsula, for the sand dunes stretch all the way to the grassy knoll on which the Tower of Uaman rises.’ The steward suddenly grasped Eadulf by the sleeve, tugging at it. ‘Come to our watchtower, Brother Saxon. Then you may see the Tower of Uaman in the distance.’

‘It is so near?’ asked Eadulf in surprise and some relief.

‘We may see it across the bay,’ replied the steward, ‘but it is a lengthy ride round the coast.’

Sure enough, from the top of the abbey’s tower, Eadulf could see across the grey waters of the bay what seemed to be a black tower in the distance, just visible against the darkness of the mountains behind. From that angle, it looked as if the tower was set on the mainland on the northern side of the bay.

‘It doesn’t look so impregnable to me,’ he remarked.

The steward shook his head quickly.

‘Do not be misled, Brother Saxon. The stretch of sand that links it to the mainland appears to be firm enough when the tide is out but there are beo-gainneamh to beware of. An entire army can disappear.’

Eadulf did not understand and said so. ‘Do you mean reeds?’

The steward shook his head. ‘ Gainneamh ’ he repeated.

‘Ah, sand,’ Eadulf corrected himself, now recognising the word. ‘But beo-gainneamh! That means living sand?’

The steward nodded. It took Eadulf a few moments to realise this must mean quicksand. He shivered slightly.

‘Even with the tide out, the tower is dangerous to approach. It is a natural fortification. And when the tide comes in, it comes in so rapidly that treacherous waters can cover the entire sandy link from mainland to island in moments. Indeed, the chief of the Corco Duibhne tried to assault the tower once and lost a dozen men in one attempt.’

‘Well, I don’t intend to attack him, only seek him out to demand information leading to the return of my child.’

The steward raised his eyebrows.

‘You do not demand from Uaman. You avoid him. You say that you want to ask him to return your child? In that case, get Colgú to raise a massive army — that is the only way that Uaman will return anything that is not his.’

Eadulf shook his head. ‘I appreciate your warning, Brother Steward. But perhaps he does not realise whose child it is? Why would such a man want to keep a baby? And sometimes a single man speaking with the tongue of logic can encompass what an army will fail to do.’

‘I will pray for you, Brother Saxon, as I have prayed for the other brothers of the Faith who have preceded you.’

Eadulf raised his brows in surprise.

‘Other brothers of the Faith? What do you mean?’

‘A week or so ago there was a brother from Ulaidh travelling with a strange brother from some distant land. I think he was a Greek. They came here asking, as you have done, for Uaman. I told them where they could find him and they went on their way. They promised to return within a few days. They have not.’

Eadulf rubbed his temple. ‘I have heard of these brothers upon the road. What would they want with Uaman?’

The steward shrugged expressively. ‘The stranger did not speak our language well but his companion told me that he was a healer from the east who had been visiting our shores and specialised in the scourge under which Uaman suffered. A message had been sent to him to bring this healer to Uaman and a reward was promised should he alleviate his suffering.’

‘Perhaps they left by some other route?’

The steward smiled sadly. ‘They promised to come back this way for the stranger promised to instruct us in the ways of the Faith as practised in his country. I fear for them, truly I do.’