Malice

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

EVNIS

It is good to be alone. Pretending to like my brother is so draining. Evnis stood with hands clasped behind his back, staring at the cairn. His mother was in there, beside his father, long dead, just bones now. His mouth twisted and he spat. He wished she still lived, so that she could see his triumph, his ascension. First he would eclipse Gethin, his fawning brother, seeking to match his daughter to Uthan, King Owain’s son. Once that would have angered him, but no longer: let him have his small victories. Greater things were in store for Evnis, of that there was no doubt. He had made his bargain, sworn his allegiance many years ago, in a dell in the Darkwood. And now he was counsellor to a king, had the earth power at his fingertips, and more. .

The necklace, with the black stone. It scared him, but called to him, too. He had studied it, searched the old manuscripts, even talked to that fool Heb. He was sure, now, what it was. One of the seven Treasures, Nemain’s necklace. It had great power, but how to tap it, use it. .?

He squeezed his eyes shut. He was tired, sleep becoming elusive of late, and when he did find it, there were always the dreams, troubling dreams that he would wake sweating and anxious from. He must keep his wits about him; there was so much to do.

Seeing Rhin had been good, seeing her riding through the gates of Badun seemed to make all the plans and schemes real, suddenly. She had smiled at him, though not in the way she used to. That was reserved for the young warrior riding at her side. Probably for the best, he sighed. Rhin’s appetites are voracious. I doubt I could keep up, any longer. Besides, it would feel like a betrayal to Fain, even though she was dead.

He felt the pain of her loss again, suddenly, just at the thought of her. Would it ever diminish?

He heard voices and stepped back into the shadows of his parents’ cairn. Two men, warriors, coming closer. Halion and Conall, he realized. Two men he wished were in his service. He could always use good swords. But the elder, Halion, seemed unapproachable. He’d met the man’s like before, morally inflexible. His brother, Conall, however. Now there was a man that could be worked on. Pride is a brittle master.

‘I will not run and hide like some girl. .’ Conall was saying.

‘Use your head, Con,’ his brother said. ‘We cannot let him see us. No one knows where we are, who we serve, and it needs to stay that way. .’ Then they were past him, continuing their hissed conversation.

Interesting. .

Evnis allowed the shadows to mask him a while longer, then started walking. I must get word to Rhin, of Brenin’s latest act of charity. She will be eager to hear about the two who rode in with Brenin, having begged him for Sanctuary. Sanctuary from Rhin.