Free The Two Tanists (A Bard Without a Star, Book 2) by Michael A. Hooten Page B

sure we can avoid
it,” Gwydion said. “I’ll call my uncle, but it will take him some time to
rouse Gwynedd.”
    “Not as much as you might think,”
Bran said. They rode in a quick trot to catch up to Cofach. “Math was
concerned about the way things might turn out. He has been warning all the
caers to watch for trouble from the south.”
    “It figures,” Gwydion said.
“I’ve been so focused on Dyfed, I didn’t even notice.”
    “But does he know we’re in
trouble?”
    “Oh, yes,” Gwydion said. “I
spoke to the winds already, but have heard nothing in return.”
    “He is probably busy,” Bran
said. They came upon Cofach and the heifer moving slowly along. “Is their
some magic you can work that would make her faster?”
    “Good question,” Gwydion
said. He dismounted and went over to look into the cow’s soulful eyes. He
then looked past the eyes and concentrated on what she was, and what she could
be. He released the magic slowly, and the heifer’s legs lengthened, her flanks
thinned, and her neck and nose grew.
    “By the gods,” whispered
Cofach, now holding the bridle of a brown mare.
    Gwydion felt a rush of
exhaustion, and would have fallen over but for Bran suddenly supporting him.
“It should make her faster,” he said.
    “Yes,” Bran said. “Yes it
should.” He helped the Gwydion onto his horse and said, “By your leave,
Tanist.”
    Gwydion waved him on, and
Bran took charge, moving them all at a much faster pace towards Dyfed.
    A fine steady drizzle set in
as they rode, cold and draining. They encountered no more armed men, but
shepherds watched them suspiciously as they pounded past. Gwydion listened to
all the winds he could, and tried to keep an eye on the road as well. He knew
that the Tanist was catching up to them, but he also knew that Gwynedd was
being roused, with Math leading forces from the north. Fortunately his
strength had returned faster than he could have hoped for, but the race was
taxing them all.
    In the end, it was still the
heifer that slowed them too much. Even as a mare, she tended to amble more
than run, and could not be persuaded to move faster. The men cursed her, but
it did not help, and Gwydion began to wonder if they would make it through this
adventure alive.
    They crested a low hill and
saw the Dyfi River ahead. Gwynedd was on the other side, not that Gwydion
thought Kyrnin would stop at the river’s edge. He had been counting on the
fact that he wouldn’t. But Bran yelled, “Almost there!” and spurred his horse
towards the water.
    Halfway down the hill, they
heard a great bellow behind them. Gwydion turned and saw Kyrnin coming over
the ridge, whipping his horse with the flat of his naked sword. “Bran!”
Gwydion yelled as they entered the water. “Get everyone, including that
blasted cow on the other side of the river!”
    Bran hesitated. “What are
you going to do?”
    “Meet my destiny,” Gwydion
said, drawing his sword, and adjusting his shield. “Math is ahead, bringing
the armies of Gwynedd. I’ll hold them here as long as I can.”
    Bran just nodded, and kept
the rest of the party moving even as Gwydion stopped and faced his foe. Kyrnin
looked like a demon in his headlong flight, and Gwydion felt a great fear wash
over him. The icy water lapped at his legs, and he could not feel his toes.
He fought back both the cold fear and the cold of the water, and suddenly he
had a shift in his sight, where it seemed that all of Dyfed stood upon Kyrnin’s
shoulders. He could feel all of Gwynedd on his, and he knew the coming fight
would do much to determine the fate of the two cantrefs.
    Kyrnin plunged into the river
with a cloud of spray, slowing despite his best efforts. Neither man spoke,
but began attacking as soon as they could reach one another. Kyrnin’s first
blow felt like a tree falling on him, but Gwydion cleared his mind of emotion
and began analyzing each stroke that rained down on him. He caught many on his
shield, and tried