Free The Swans' War 3 - The Shadow Roads by Sean Russell Page B

sounds horrifying!" she said, with some feeling.
    Kai nodded agreement to this sentiment.
    "So he is not really Alaan, but some conjoining of these two souls—Alaan and…""Sainth." Carral said. "The youngest son ofWyrr.""But have the children of Wyrr not been dead for centuries? The stories are very old and not widely believed.""A thousand years Sainth has been gone," Kai said, "but not dead. His father sustained him in the river.""But the father, Wyrr, did he not die in some even more distant age?" Lady Beatrice wondered why she was asking such questions. This sounded like the stuff of old ballads.
    "He did not die," Kai said quickly. "He went into the river— joined his spirit to it in ways we cannot understand. Ever since he has dwelt in the waters, sleeping, perhaps, but not dead.""Then this Sainth is risen again?""In a way. Certainly he no longer dwells in the river."Lady Beatrice nodded, though she did not really understand.
    "Sainth, the youngest son ofWyrr, was given a gift by his father— the ability to travel paths no others could find.""Yes," Beatrice said. "I remember some of the old songs. Was there not some terrible price for this?""He could never find a place that brought him comfort," Kai said, "a woman whom he thought beautiful enough. There might always be some fairer place, a woman more lovely. His siblings were equally cursed, though they chose to be great warriors—the brother wanting to be obeyed out of fear and the sister to be loved and served by all she met. These two fought after Wyrr went into the river, and the One Kingdom was broken. Eventually the eldest son, Caibre, murdered his brother through treachery and made war on his sister. Those two died when they brought the tower of Sianon down on top of them." "And this knight Hafydd, whom we apparently spared, has made a bargain also. That is what's happened, is it not?" Lady Beatrice was a little surprised to hear herself say this, but it sud-denly seemed apparent. How else did Hafydd come back from the dead? "Yes. That's what we believe," Kai answered. He shifted in his barrow, which was softened now with fine cushions the Fael had given him. "He's made a bargain with Caibre. It can be no other.""There seems to be no end of disturbing news," Lady Beatrice said.
    "And there is more." Carral joined both hands upon the head of his cane. He seemed to stare blankly through Lady Beatrice, giv-ing her an odd feeling that she was not there—that her existence was so fleeting it was hardly noticed. "Sainth had companions. Men who traveled with him for long periods—many lives of men, in some cases. The sorcerers were untouched by Death, or by his ally Time, and those who served them lived very long lives—longer than even the sorcerers likely expected." He paused a moment. The only sound, a candle fluttering. A sprinkle of black dust floated down from the chimney and settled on the iron dogs in the hearth. "Kilydd was such a man, a companion of Sainth. And beyond all expectations, he still lives.""Now, Lord Carral," Lady Beatrice said. "How can you be sure of this?""Because I have met him, and I have met another as well. A man named Orlem Slighthand, who was celebrated in many songs. And he cannot be mistaken for any other."Lady Beatrice sat back in her chair, shaken by Carral's confi-dence. "There have long been rumors that Sir Eremon was a sor-cerer, or had some knowledge of things arcane. And then we began to hear that he was Hafydd, who had once been our ally but who turned against us and was left for dead on a battlefield—a fate of his own making. But now, these things you tell me. … I fear what you might tell me next. These men who were once companions of Sainth; are they a danger to us?""No," Carral said firmly. "They might in truth be our allies, and welcome they would be." Without turning his head or making any kind of gesture, he said, "Kai, who saved my life upon the Isle of Battle, was once known as Kilydd, Lady Beatrice."A lifetime