Peter Tremayne - Penance of the Damned

Aibell suddenly let out a scream, and was running in the direction that Enda had indicated.

‘Wait!’ cried Fidelma. ‘Aibell, wait!’

The idea had occurred to her only a moment after Enda had spoken, but Aibell had already got there.

Fidelma, followed by Eadulf and Enda, set off after the lithe form of the girl. They could not overtake her before she came to the carcass of the horse. She halted before it. Her body shook for a moment and then she sank to her knees beside its head.

‘Gorman!’ she moaned. ‘Gorman! It is my husband’s horse!’

It was Enda who tried to offer comfort to the girl first.

‘Because it is Gorman’s horse that has been killed does not mean to say that he is also dead. If he were killed here, where is his body?’

‘That is so,’ Fidelma immediately agreed. ‘There are other possibilities. He might have managed to escape and hide, or they could have taken him captive.’

Aibell raised a tear-stained face to them.

‘If he is captured, he would not be alive long,’ she declared bitterly. ‘Glaed has sworn vengeance on those who thwarted his plans to help Lorcan overthrow Prince Donennach last year. Glaed knows Gorman. He will kill him.’

‘There is no sign that Gorman is dead or captive,’ Enda said crisply. ‘It would take more than a band of marauding wolves from Sliabh Luachra to finish him off.’

‘That is true.’ Eadulf was trying to sound more positive about the matter than he truly felt. He had witnessed the brutality of Glaed before and knew there was little by way of cruelty that he and his followers would not inflict on their enemies.

‘So do we intend to follow Glaed to the Hill of Truth?’ he asked.

‘If Gorman is still able to follow these raiders, or even if he has been taken captive, that is the place where we will find him.’ Enda looked across the vast plain towards the hill. ‘The trouble is that it is the highest point on the plain. If Glaed is anything of a military leader he will place watchmen on the hill who could easily spot our approach.’

‘There is a smaller hill between us and the larger one,’ Fidelma said. ‘The small hill is not high but there appear to be patches of woods and shrubland around it. If we make for that it should provide us with some cover as we approach.’

‘There is one thing that I must know,’ Enda requested.

‘Which is?’

‘Given that Glaed has some forty men with him, what is your intention if we catch up with him?’

‘I do not intend to do anything more than observe,’ Fidelma told him. ‘Only when we have information will we discuss what can be done.’

‘If Glaed is meeting with Abbot Nannid on the Hill of Truth, it means that we actually made a mistake at Mungairit last year by giving Nannid the benefit of the doubt about being involved in the conspiracy with him and Lorcan,’ reflected Eadulf.

Fidelma’s expression was grim. ‘I was the dalaigh who made the decision, not you,’ she reminded him. ‘As such, it was my mistake and that decision cost the life of Glaed’s brother, Artgal. Also, it was my decision to send Lorcan to Prince Donennach’s fortress. As we heard, Lorcan almost escaped.’

‘But was mortally wounded in the attempt.’

‘The important point is that he did so.’

‘He was helped to escape,’ Eadulf said, trying to appease her.

Enda was restless. ‘I thought we were going to bury the bodies and get on as fast as we can,’ he said, his eyes signalling to where Aibell was still wandering around the smoking ruins, looking utterly lost and desolate.

‘Of course.’ Eadulf was immediately contrite. ‘Let’s find a spade and get on with our task.’

It was some time before they left the ruined farmstead of Corradain’s slain son and his wife and rode towards the woods that Fidelma had identified lying between the small hill and the higher rise of the Hill of Truth. Enda led the way again, using his knowledge of woodcraft and the natural cover of the terrain, gathered during his training as a warrior, to help them approach in safety.

They passed another farmhouse which was deserted but undamaged, although most of the livestock there had also vanished. They halted in the shelter of some outbuildings, while Enda dismounted and made a quick search of the main dwelling.

‘It looks as if whoever was here saw the approach of Glaed’s marauders and fled.’

‘Taking most of the livestock?’ Eadulf asked.

‘Maybe not. Maybe they were taken as more spoils for the brigands.’

‘Is there a spring or well that we can use?’ Fidelma wanted to know. ‘The sun is well past its zenith now and the horses could do with a drink. We might as well take the opportunity to refresh ourselves, since no one is here to offer us hospitality.’

‘Farmers always know best where to place their farms for fresh water,’ Enda offered. ‘There should be a spring at the back of the building there. I just want to scout round on foot before I join you. Would you mind taking my horse with you? Maybe you’ll find some food still left in the house.’

‘Scout round for what?’ Eadulf queried.

‘Oh, for this and that,’ Enda replied airily. Fidelma realised that he did not want to alarm them but needed to check in case some of the raiders were still lurking in the vicinity.

It was some few minutes before he rejoined them, by which time they had found fresh bread, presumably baked that morning, cold meats and cheeses. They helped themselves and washed the meal down with cold water from the spring, although they found containers of apple cider which Fidelma decided they should leave untouched. They needed completely clear minds.

‘What signs did you find?’ Fidelma asked as the young warrior dropped into a seat before the table and cut himself a slice of the bread and a piece of cheese.

‘From the tracks, the main body passed by here a short distance away, on the other side of that treeline. Six riders came to the farmstead here and doubtless it was they who searched it. They don’t appear to have done much damage, as you can see.’

‘What about the farmer?’ Eadulf asked.

‘I saw tracks of two adults and some children heading east. They had some animals with them.’

‘Do we know if Glaed is still making for the Hill of Truth?’

Enda nodded.

‘And Gorman?’ Aibell demanded. ‘What sign of Gorman?’

Enda shifted uneasily. ‘No sign, but if he was on horseback with them, then there would be none. Certainly there were no tracks of a man on foot following the horsemen that I could find.’

‘Then you believe he is a captive?’ she said, her voice trembling.

‘Belief is difficult without facts, Aibell. Once he left the farmstead of Corradain’s son, he could either be hiding, following on another route or placed on one of the horses whose tracks I have seen. Perhaps he is even heading in a direction other than this one.’

Enda did not mention the other possibility, but Fidelma and Eadulf knew it well and certainly did not want to share it with Aibell. Fidelma wished to press on, so as soon as they had finished their meal, they set off again. Enda was becoming more cautious. There were stretches where the trees and shrubland did not adequately cover their passage, and one or twice Enda left them while he went ahead to scout the land.

They had almost reached the wooded area of the small hill and moved away from the track that skirted it, which would have brought them out into the open view of the Hill of Truth. Beyond the trees they found a curious passage through some large limestone rocks. Enda had suggested that this cover of high birch trees would be a good place to halt. Beyond the rocky barrier and among the trees they found a small glade – a perfect spot. A brook tumbled through the glade, having risen from some spring further up the hillside.