Morgain's Revenge - Laura Anne Gilman [46]
“You! Sirrah! Stop when I speak to you!”
“Oh, drat!” Newt said, and they both continued forward, too late to stop Sir Caedor from accosting a man walking toward them, away from the shoreline.
“Getcher hands off me,” the man growled, then blanched at the sight of two more riders bearing down on him.
“Sir Caedor. Release him.”
“He was insolent!”
“Release him.” For just an instant, Gerard sounded like the king. So much so that Sir Caedor’s hand released the man of its own accord, in an instinctive reflex. Wow, Gerard thought, but couldn’t stop to enjoy the moment. Newt dismounted, holding Loyal’s reins so that he stood off to Gerard’s side. It was a planned move on Newt’s part; not of a servant but as a well-treated companion of lesser social standing. With luck, that consideration would offset Sir Caedor’s poor manners and reassure the man enough so that he would speak to Gerard without fear.
“I apologize,” Gerard said now. “We have been riding for many days and we had hopes that you might be able to aid us.”
The stranger looked at Gerard warily, glancing first at Sir Caedor, then at Newt, and then to Gerard again.
“With what?”
“We are in need of a guide to the home of Morgain Le Fay.”
The villager stared up at them, his weathered face creased even more as he scowled. Then his mouth worked, and he spat a yellowish globule that hit Gerard on the leg.
The squire didn’t flinch, not even when Sir Caedor pulled his sword from its scabbard, ready to slay the villager where he stood.
“I have offended?” Gerard asked, as mildly as he could, while Newt moved to be ready to restrain Sir Caedor, if needed. How, Newt wasn’t sure. But he would give Gerard time to ask whatever questions he needed to.
“You are offensive,” the villager said. “You ride here, you grab, you demand, you would disturb the Lady Morgain—why? What business have you with her?”
“The king has sent us to parley with the Lady Morgain on matters of importance to him, and to her.”
“Then the king should have sent you the means and direction on how to visit her,” the old man said. “None here will convey you without her own request.”
“But the king—”
“We have served the Lady Morgain’s family for generations,” the local said, his voice dripping scorn. “The family that stayed here, walked the sand, same as us. Not some bastard child gone off to warm a fancy chair down in the southlands.”
Sir Caedor surged forward at the insult to the king, and even Newt jerked in reaction. But Gerard stayed them both with a glance and an upraised hand. Arthur had surely heard worse in his years.
“We have reason to believe that she would make us welcome on our arrival.”
“Then she will send a way for you to make that arrival,” the old man said. “’Tis not our place to make it happen.”
They stared at each other, one pair of eyes lined and weighted but still bright, the other road-weary and shadowed. And in the end, it was Gerard who blinked and looked away, feeling the surge of Arthur’s wisdom rising up inside him, even without the scar’s itching.
“Let’s go,” Gerard said, finally. “Perhaps someone down in the village proper will be more open to discussion.”
FIFTEEN
Ailis felt uneasy. Since the shadow-figure confronted her in the hallway, she had not slept well. She would wake confused and upset, memories of Camelot mixing with nightmares of a winged figure chasing her down endless whitewashed halls, calling her name, whispering something in her ear. Only the arrival each morning of Morgain, to escort Ailis to the tower that held her workroom, made everything make sense again. Morgain kept her safe. When she was working with the enchantress, learning new things, discovering parts of her that Merlin had only hinted about, that was when she felt balanced, alive and whole. Only then would the memories, and the nightmares, slip away.
“Do you know what to do?”
“Yes, Morgain,” Ailis replied. “I know what to do.”
“I won’t be gone long.” The sorceress hovered by the door, clearly torn between staying and going.
“I’m fine, Morgain. It’s a simple assignment, no more difficult