Chapter One

Rhiann

Cade is sidhe; Cade is sidhe; Cade is sidhe. Rhiann heard the words over and over in her head to the rhythm of the horses’ hooves as the company rode away from Bryn y Castell. It wasn’t that that she thought she’d forget, but rather that she was having trouble driving the vision of him in the guard house from the forefront of her mind. Although he’d had to touch the Saxon archer to take his life, it was as if he’d wanted her to know that he could kill her simply by looking at her. And yet, he was still Cade. What do I think of him now? Rhiann honestly didn’t know.

It was night again. And raining. Rhiann’s horse, whom she’d irreverently christened Arddun—beautiful—because she most certainly wasn’t, didn’t seem to mind, but Rhiann’s fingers were icy cold, even in their woolen mittens.

Cade had shown the horse to Rhiann, somewhat apologetically. “She’s a sturdy horse. I trust her absolutely to carry you to Caersws and back home again, safe.”

Little whorls, made up of slightly different colored hairs, spotted her coat, giving her a look quite unlike any a horse Rhiann had ever seen. Her mouth was too big for her head and the giant, white splotch on her forehead more resembled spilled milk than a star. But Cade was right that she was steady. She was navigating the dark and the puddles with aplomb, while Rhiann sat on top of her, trying not to complain.

Once Rhun had announced that it was time to go, the company moved quickly. Cade had given Rhiann no more than a nod before striding from the hall, with Rhiann scuttling along after him, trying to keep up with his long legs. Rhun had met him in the courtyard, the leading reins of both their horses in his hand. Cade had hesitated, fleetingly, before moving forward to take Cadfan’s reins.

“Thank you,” Cade said, “for what you said in there.”

“He was your father too,” Rhun said. “I know it; I know you miss him and that there is plenty of blame to spread around. Let’s not speak of it again.”

“If you need to talk,” Cade said, “I’m here.”

Rhun nodded and then held out his hand to Cade, who looked at it, hesitating again, and then reached for his brother, clasping his forearm firmly. They stood in quiet communion in the pouring rain while the drops careened off the links of their mail shirts.

A cold, dark, rainy, February night. Rhiann checked the eastern horizon for the hundredth time, wondering when the dawn would come and how much longer they would ride. Midnight had come and gone, but Cade hadn’t called a halt since they’d turned south at the crossroads by Llyn Tegid, and now Rhiann was quite convinced he never would. Cade had said that when they reached Llanllugan, thirty miles from Bryn y Castell, they’d rest again. Cade hoped, also, to find Geraint and his men there, some six miles north of Caersws.

What Cade’s intent was after that, Rhiann didn’t know. Cade and Taliesin had spoken in quiet voices for much of the journey, but they’d not shared their conclusions with her. She wasn’t sure if she was unhappy to be left in the dark, or content to let others who knew more of battle than she did make all the decisions.

All Rhiann knew was that the moon of earlier nights was gone, replaced by a darkness so complete that without the torches that Cade had allowed them to light, choosing speed over stealth, she couldn’t have seen her hand in front of her face. The flames flickered in the rain, and the wind continued to drive at them unrelentingly as it had throughout the journey. The company rode another mile—or maybe it was two or five—and then the usually straight road bent around a corner. The company turned it, and immediately Cade whistled through his teeth to call a halt. Rhiann peered ahead, trying to see what he saw.

Rhun trotted up to the front to confer. “Something’s there?”

“Another a half-mile ahead the road is full of people and horses,” Cade said. “I think Geraint and his men are there.”

“That’s my feeling as well,” Taliesin said. “Although what I sense most of all is fear.”

“Fear and urgency.” Cade turned to Taliesin. “You knew of Geraint’s need of our spears. For the rest, are you still blind?”

Taliesin nodded. “I’m sorry, my lord.”

“There’s no help for it,” Cade said. “We’ll do what we can with the knowledge we have.”

Rhun signaled with his spear, and they continued towards the crowd of men, women and children ahead. Rhiann heard them before she could distinguish them clearly: babies wailing, women and children calling to one another, men cursing, mixed in with shouts from the soldiers in Geraint’s company. Once they reached the edge of the crowd, a rider, who held a torch, forced his way through the mass of people. Looking at him, Rhiann realized she was spending too much time among soldiers, because all she could think was that the light outlined him for all to see and made him a target if the enemy was near.

“What’s happening, Geraint?” Cade called to the man above the din.

“We’ve only just arrived ourselves, my lord,” Geraint shouted back at him. “It’s difficult to get a coherent story from anyone. All I know is that these people are fleeing a Saxon army that appeared out of nowhere somewhere to the south and east.”

“Where are Lord Morgan and his men?” Cade said.

“I don’t know,” Geraint said. “Nor do the villagers.”

“Do they know who leads the Saxons?” Rhun said.

“No,” Geraint said. “These Saxons don’t wear colors that anyone recognizes, or fly a flag of any kind. What is clear is that they intend to force the Severn River at Caersws, if they haven’t already. They’ve swept down the Roman road from Caer Forden that follows it, pushing these people before them.”

“That’s a long way to run,” Cade said. “Their fear is palpable.”

“Still, they did manage to ford the Severn, Christ only knows how with the Saxons on their tail. Once they all got across, they decided to come north to Llanllugan to find safety. There’s another little river just here that they’ve also crossed. Neither it nor the Severn, unfortunately, is going to provide much of a barrier to the Saxons, not this time of year, even with the rains.”

“We need high ground if we’re going to stop the Saxon advance,” Rhun said, “and provide a buffer so these people can get safely away.”

Rhiann gazed around her. The bulk of the peasants were now moving west, following a trail that led between the hills along the course of the river. “Where are they going?” she asked Geraint.

“There’s a settlement three miles farther upstream,” Geraint said.

“Good enough.” Cade dismounted and waved Rhiann off her horse. Soon the companions had formed a quiet circle in the midst of the chaos around them.

“It seems as good a place as any to send them, but there are no fighters among them,” Geraint said. “Apparently everyone who could shoot a bow or hold a pike fell in defense of these people here.”

Cade and Rhun shared a look that was a match to Rhiann’s mounting horror. Goronwy had also dismounted and was speaking forcefully with one of the few men among the refugees. He broke off his conversation and came over to the other companions.

“The man says the attackers struck as dusk fell yesterday evening,” Goronwy said. “He noted many Saxons, but there were mercenaries among them with strange clothing and weapons he didn’t recognize.”

“A new enemy?” Geraint said. “That’s just what we need.”

Rhun craned his neck to look above the heads of the peasants who hemmed them in. “I’m surprised they made it this far. What do you think is keeping the Saxons? It’s hard to believe these people could have outrun them on foot.”

Geraint shrugged. “Even if the Saxons are on foot, they can move faster than old men, women, and babies.”

“Perhaps they’re feasting in celebration of their victory,” Cade said.

“On the livestock … or on the humans?” Taliesin said.

Rhiann froze at his words, but the others jerked around so fast it was a wonder they didn’t topple over.

“What are you saying?” said Rhun.

Taliesin and Cade were staring at each other, and Cade slowly nodded. “This is what you meant, isn’t it? I told Rhiann that I stood at a crossroads between Wales and Annwn, as if it were a real place, but you think that it truly is.”

Taliesin nodded. “This is why I was sent. This I have foreseen, though perhaps not this exact day and hour.”

“Demons of the Underworld have been freed in recent years,” Cade said, explaining to the rest what he’d already lived with for two years. “I’ve killed many in the nights I’ve walked alone in the forest. In the past few months, I’ve perceived that more and more have found their way to our world. Taliesin thinks that they’ve gathered now. Here.”

“What are we going to do?” Rhun said.

“We’re going to fight,” Cade said.

“How do we kill them?” Goronwy said, his voice husky.

“They die as men do,” Cade said. “Many of them. Those that don’t, you leave to me.”

More than one of the men visibly swallowed.

Cade turned to Rhiann. “These people are panicked. I want you, Dafydd, and Taliesin to organize them and get them moving in an orderly fashion. You have your bow, Dafydd his sword, and Taliesin his staff. It isn’t much, but if the rest of us know that these people are safe, we will be free to fight.”

“What do you intend we do, my lord?” Geraint said.

“We must block the Roman road between here and Caersws,” Cade said. “Prevent them from reaching Llanllugan.”

“I know a place,” Geraint said. “The road bends some ways south of here. The Saxons will have to come through a narrow gap between two escarpments to reach Llanllugan. There’s no better spot.”

“We’ll need high ground above the road,” Rhun said.

“We’ll have it,” Geraint said.

Cade checked the eastern sky—Rhiann was beginning to think it was a nervous tic—but there was no sign of anything but gloomy darkness. At least the rain had settled into an intermittent drizzle instead of the earlier downpour.

“Daylight is several hours off, and we can hardly count on it saving us from all of them,” Taliesin said to Cade.

“It won’t stop the Saxons, certainly,” Cade said.

“Are you talking about demons again?” Rhiann asked Taliesin.

“Many are averse to daylight, just as I am,” Cade said.

“Could the Saxons really be allied with demons from the Underworld?” Rhun said. “Is such a thing even possible?”

“It’s possible,” Taliesin said.

“I know what I’ve seen,” Cade said. “It’s more than possible.”

Rhun shook his head. “What I wouldn’t give for a simple cavalry charge.”

Cade turned to Rhiann. “Go. Find Dafydd.”

“I’ll need more arrows,” she said. “I’ve only twenty in my quiver.”

“Take more from the supply wagon,” Geraint said. “I pray you won’t need them, but it would be far worse not to have enough.”

Rhiann glanced at Geraint and then back at Cade, catching his eye for just a moment. The image of him killing the Saxon with a touch rose before her eyes, and she stepped away, staring down at her toes and nodding her agreement.

“Rhiann,” Cade said.

She looked up at him. The others had turned away, intent on their respective duties. Cade stood unmoving, observing her, his arms folded across his chest, the only still creature in the turmoil of activity around him. To her consternation, Rhiann realized that her glance had shown him what she’d been thinking. She colored, embarrassed, and then found anger rising in her throat, hating the feeling of having been manipulated.

She walked back to him. “You did this to me on purpose!”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” He uncrossed his arms and rested his hands on his hips.

“Don’t you?” Feeling determined, reckless, and perverse all at the same time, Rhiann wrapped her arms around Cade’s waist and pressed her face into his chest. She squeezed him, trying to get a response from him, and her nose butted up against something stiff underneath his surcoat. He wore mail, but it was flexible. This was something different.

She pressed her fingers to his chest, before knocking on him as if he were a door. “What’s this?” She looked into his face.

“An arrow only kills me when it strikes my heart,” he said. “I had the armorer fit metal plates between two layers of leather and sew it front and back into the shirt I wear under my mail. I don’t intend to die before my tasks are finished.”

The matter-of-fact tone of his voice brought Rhiann back to earth. “All right.” She stepped back. “I can see you planned ahead. It doesn’t mean I won’t worry, but I’m going to trust you to take care of yourself.”

For the first time since she’d met him, Cade smiled with his whole being. It transformed him completely, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. “I don’t, on the other hand, trust you. You be careful. Aim for the neck or heart.”

“Yes, my lord,” she said. “I’ll try.”