Highland Vengeance

Chapter 46

The night passed quickly, and we did not press Balor and his men to stay longer. As I had done with Lulach, Banquo told Fleance the plan. Unlike Lulach, Fleance was more hesitant to leave, but tried not to show it. Lulach’s courage gave him strength. The band of druids waited until nightfall before they prepared for their departure.

“There are spies in the hills all around Cawdor,” Balor told Banquo and me.

“How will you slip through unseen?” I asked. “If anyone spies you riding from Cawdor with the boys, they will be at risk. As it is, I worry that someone marked your arrival.”

Calean smiled patiently at me. “They will only remember a party passing through, no more.”

“And on the road, we are unseen. You have my word, my lady,” Balor said. “Epona is not the only one who can pull shadows from the otherworld. Nor step between them, as her most apt pupil is said to do,” he added with a wink.

I smiled softly. “My son… Lulach has the sight already.”

Balor nodded. “The otherworld shimmers all around him. As if the fey pup is not a sign on its own. But we must teach your son that not all of the golden troupe wish us well. I will do my best to coach him.”

“For that, you have my gratitude. I am indebted to you.”

“One day, you will return the favor,” Balor said with a smirk.

“Indeed?”

Balor looked at Diarmad.

“After the raven has had her day,” the man said, once more touching his brow.

“I serve the gods. As they will,” I said. And while what I said was true, it was one thing to trust a druid’s word, to trust my own faith in the gods, and quite another to give over my son in the middle of the night. But soon, it was time for them to depart.

Banquo, Lulach, and Fleance returned from the stables, both boys on their horses, their puppies stowed in their sacks just like I used to ride with Thora when she was small.

My stomach quaked when I saw Lulach on his horse. He was still just a boy. It was too soon. My resolved slacked, but I put on a brave face. Both boys had turned their gaze to me to see how they should feel. I smiled boldly, like there was nothing at all to fear.

“We’re ready,” Lulach said.

I went to him first and kissed his hand. “I will see you soon,” I whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said with a cheerful smile.

I then went to Fleance. “And you, my sweet. I’ll see you safely home in no time.”

Fleance looked less certain. He quickly glanced toward his father, for whom he was putting on a brave face, then back to me. I took his hand.

“Corbie,” he whispered.

“All will be well. I promise,” I whispered. “Have I ever broken a promise to you before?”

He shook his head.

I squeezed his hand. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

At that, I stepped back and joined Banquo, linking my arm in his.

Both Banquo and I bowed to the group who in turn nodded to us.

I motioned to Standish, who ordered the men to open the gate. Standish hadn’t asked me anything, but his eyes surveyed everything, watching the druids, Fleance, and Lulach.

The druids turned and rode out into the darkness, Fleance and Lulach along with them. My mind tripped over a million things: had I packed enough food for them, did they have enough warm clothes, were their boots new enough, were the puppies old enough, did Banquo select horses who were sure of foot, and on, and on, and on.

And then the gates closed once more.

I left Banquo and climbed the rampart. I scanned the horizon, expecting to see them on the road, but there was no one there. Thinking they’d followed the wall to the river, I looked in both directions, but I didn’t see them there either. No matter where I looked, they were just gone.

Standish climbed the steps and came and stood beside me. His arms folded across his chest, he surveyed the landscape, making the same assessment I had.

I looked back at Banquo who waited for me. My confusion must have been evident on my face. Banquo gently touched his brow. I turned back and looked across the landscape once more, a feeling of relief washing over me.

Standish nodded slowly. “You have done the right thing, my lady. It pains you. I see that. But leave it to you and Lord Banquo to find a way to hide Fleance and Lulach in the one place Duncan would never think to look.”

“The one place?”

“Under the shield of the old gods,” Standish said then smiled. “Where none will find them.”

* * *

True to my promise, I joined Banquo in his chamber that night. My heart ached for Lulach, but I knew he was safe. Banquo and I lay together late into the night, holding one another, our fingers entwined.

“When we win, what will you do?” Banquo asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Macbeth will go to Scone and then to Edinburgh. He will need to win back the hearts of the lords he knew in his youth. Will you go too?

“I will go to Scone.”

“And after?”

“And after, I will return to Cawdor. I am the Lady of Moray.”

“And queen, hereafter.”

“If we win.”

“We will win.” Banquo kissed the top of my head. “I love you, Cerridwen. And so does my son. You cannot know how much that means to me.”

“I love him too and his father.”

Banquo laughed. “Then kiss me again, lady. Tomorrow the army will begin to fill the fields outside Cawdor. Let me have one last night in a warm bed with the woman I love.”

So I kissed him again, and again, and again. And that night, as I lay in Banquo’s arms, I had a very strange dream. I saw Macbeth in an elaborate dining hall talking with Banquo. Macbeth smiled and smiled, the face of a friend and madman all at once. Macbeth’s eyes shimmered with wild glee. When Macbeth poured Banquo a glass of wine, his hands shook, and he wet his lips in anticipation. When I saw Banquo’s hand reach for the drink, a feeling of terror gripped me so hard that it shook me from my dream.

Gasping, I sat bolt upright.

“Cerridwen? What is it?”

I shook my head. “Just…a dream.”

Banquo pulled me back down beside him. “You’re shaking.”

“Banquo,” I whispered. “You must not trust Macbeth.”

Banquo pulled me close and kissed my bare shoulder. “I don’t. Sleep, my Cerridwen, and dream of something nice.”

“I’ll dream of Sid. She would be jealous to see us here without her.”

Banquo chuckled. “There is no one quite like Sid.”

“That is an understatement. When it is all settled, we should ride south and see her.” But my stomach twisted then, realizing that if Banquo ever saw Crearwy, he would quickly learn the truth. But then, it was Banquo. What harm would it do to reveal the truth to him? “I love you,” I whispered, the last of the anxiety the dream had provoked fading. It was just a dream, after all.

“I love you too.”

* * *

Three days later, a dispatch came from Lord of Mar that the king was on the road north with an army right behind him. The time had come.