Peter Tremayne - Valley of the Shadow

He moved quickly to her side to stare down at what she held.

‘A warrior’s torc,’ she observed unnecessarily. Eadulf knew enough to recognise the golden collar which was once widely worn by the elite champions of the Irish and the Britons as well, even among the Gauls of more ancient times. The collar was nearly eight inches in diameter consisting of eight twisted wires soldered into cast terminals. There were intricate lines of beading, cast dots and tiny punch marks in concentric circles. It was a workof burnished gold, the polish of the metal work showing that the torc had not been discarded long.

Fidelma examined the markings thoroughly and then handed the torc over to Eadulf.

He was surprised by the lightness of the object, thinking at first that it was made of solid gold. However, the terminals were hollow and the twisted strands weighed very little.

‘Is there a connection?’ he asked, inclining his head towards the bodies beyond.

‘Perhaps. Perhaps not.’

Fidelma took the torc back from his hands and placed it carefully in her marsupium , the satchel which hung at her waist.

‘Whether there is or not, one thing is certain; it had not lain here long for it is too bright and newly polished. A second thing is certain: it belonged to a warrior of some quality.’

‘A warrior of Muman?’

She shook her head negatively.

‘There is a subtle difference in the designs used by the artists of Muman and those of other kingdoms,’ she explained. ‘I would say this torc was crafted among the men of Ulaidh, somewhere in the north.’

She was about to turn away from the spot when she appeared to notice something else. A grim look of satisfaction crossed her features.

‘Here is proof of your assertion, Eadulf,’ she announced, pointing.

He moved across to examine the ground. There was a muddy patch in an otherwise stony landscape from which the gorse grew irregularly. He could see that this area was criss-crossed with ruts.

‘This shows that the bodies were brought here on wagons. See the deeper ruts? Also the ones that are not so deep? The deeper ruts indicate the heavily loaded wagons and those that are not deep show them after the bodies were offloaded.’

She stared at the markings and walked along them for a short distance. Then she halted reluctantly.

‘We cannot follow them now. Our first priority is to complete our journey to Gleann Geis.’ She stared in the direction the tracks led. ‘The tracks seem to come from the north, they are difficult to follow over the stony ground. I would say that they came from beyond those hills.’

She extended her arm to indicate where she meant. For a moment she stood undecided before turning to survey the ever-growinghorde of impatiently chattering crows and ravens with distaste.

‘Well, there is little enough we can do for these poor devils. We do not have the time, nor strength, nor tools to afford them a proper burial. But perhaps God created scavengers for just such a purpose.’

‘At least we should say prayers for the dead, Fidelma,’ Eadulf protested.

‘Say your prayer, Eadulf, and I will add my amen to it. But we should leave as soon as we may.’

Sometimes Eadulf felt that Fidelma took the religious part of her life less seriously than she took her duties as an advocate of the law. He gave her a disapproving glance before he turned and blessed the circle of bodies before him and began to intone in Saxon:

‘Dust, earth and ashes is our strength,

Our glory frail and vain;

From earth we come, to earth at length

We must return again.

When in life we feed on flesh of beasts,

of fowls and divers fish;

But in death for crawling worms

Ourselves become a dish.’

Suddenly, two large crows, more courageous than their fellows, rose in the air and then fell on one of the bodies, sinking their claws into the pale flesh. Eadulf swallowed, left aside his verseful prayer and muttered a quick blessing for the repose of the souls of the young men before backing hurriedly away.

Fidelma had untied their mounts from the bush where Eadulf had left them and was now holding the fretful horses. The animals were unnerved not only by the stench of corruption but by the ravenous chorusing of the birds as they set to. He mounted as she did and they began to ride away.

‘As soon as we are able, I want to return to this spot and follow those tracks to see if we may learn something further,’ she announced, glancing over her shoulder to the distant hills.

Eadulf shuddered.

‘Is that wise?’

Fidelma pouted.

‘Wisdom has little to do with it.’ Then she smiled. ‘By my reckoning, we are only a short ride away from Gleann Geis. It lies beyond these next hills, westward there across this valley. We willsee what Laisre has to say. If he maintains that he knows nothing then we can swiftly conclude our business there, return and follow these tracks.’

‘It might rain soon and wash them away,’ Eadulf said automatically and perhaps with a little hope in his voice.

Fidelma glanced at the sky.

‘It will not rain between now and the day after tomorrow,’ she said confidently. ‘With luck it may remain dry for some days.’

Eadulf had long since given up asking how she could foretell the weather. She had explained many times about observing patterns in plants and clouds but it was beyond his understanding. He now simply accepted that she was invariably correct. He glanced back to the gorging ravens and shuddered visibly.

Fidelma, noticing his look of repulsion, said: ‘Be philosophical, my brother in Christ. Are not ravens and crows part of the great Creation and do not those scavengers have a part ordained by the Creator?’

Eadulf was unconvinced.

‘They are the creations of Satan. None other.’

‘How so?’ demanded Fidelma lightly. ‘Do you question the teachings of your own Faith?’

Eadulf frowned, not understanding.

‘Genesis,’ quoted Fidelma. ‘“God then created the great sea-monsters and all living creatures that move and swim in the waters, according to their kind, and every kind of bird; and God saw that it was good. He blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase, fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds increase on land.’”’ Fidelma paused and pulled a face. ‘“ And every kind of bird ,”’ she repeated with emphasis. ‘Genesis does not say, every kind of bird except the carrion.’

Eadulf shook his head, unwilling to accept her quotation.

‘Who am I to question the Creation? But God gave us free will and in that he allowed me to express my repugnance for such creatures.’

Fidelma could not help a mocking grimace. If she were truthful, she would have to admit that she enjoyed her exchanges on the Faith with Eadulf.

They had left the vast black mass of croaking scavengers, which now carpeted the ground, well behind them, increasing the pace of their horses.

‘What do you propose to do when we meet with this Laisre?’ demanded Eadulf. ‘I mean about these corpses? Do you intend to demand his explanation of them?’

‘You sound as though you presume him guilty.’

‘It seems a logical assumption.’

‘Assumptions are not facts.’

‘Then what do you intend to do?’

‘Do?’ She frowned for a moment. ‘Why, follow my brother’s advice. Beware what I say, when and to whom!’

They had barely ridden a mile across the valley when they heard the sound of approaching horses. Immediately before them was an entrance to what appeared to be a ravine, opening between two granite heights and through which the track they were taking disappeared. It was from this direction that the sound of the horses could clearly be heard.