Sevenwaters: Seer Of Sevenwaters Part 18

I reached up and put my hand over his, on his knee. "I know the other part is more important for you," I said, "but you must tell this part first. Remember that you are among friends."

"I was sleeping. I heard-I heard-at first, the creak as Gull went out. I heard this without waking. Then suddenly the hand was on my neck, the fingers pressing-I knew it was Knut. Who else could it be?"

I asked the question before anyone else could. "How did you know who it was? Could you see him?"

"I was barely awake, and the light was dim . . . I knew because he had threatened me before. Said he would kill me if I told the story of our past. I knew, as the fingers pressed down, as I felt my heart jump and my breath falter, that he had come to carry out his threat. But I have said nothing. I have spread no stories about him, good or ill. There was nothing to say. Until tonight, all I could remember about this man was that he boarded Freyja as a crewman."

I felt cold all over. "When did Knut threaten you?" I asked.

"Soon after we came here. Early days, when I could remember almost nothing. He thought I was dissembling, biding my time before I chose to tell. He said if I spoke of what had happened he would slit my throat." A silence, as his audience exchanged shocked glances. "And when he believed I had disregarded his warning, he threatened you, Sibeal. It was the day when you found that man's body. Knut said . . . " Felix cleared his throat. "He said he knew you and I were friends. He told me how you liked to walk on the cliff paths, alone. He . . . he suggested an accident might befall you." He looked up, and straight across toward Knut, who watched him, tight-lipped. "I did not understand what dark secret could drive a man to such baseness. Not then. So I planned to leave Inis Eala as soon as I could, knowing that if I was gone, I could tell no secrets, and you would be safe, Sibeal."

"I have a question for Knut," Gareth said.

Johnny nodded.

"Knut, if this is true, what stories were you talking about? As far as I know, Felix has hardly left the infirmary since he was washed up on Inis Eala, and barely exchanged a word with anyone save the healers and Sibeal. I've heard no tales at all about you or your past beyond what you told Johnny, and nothing at all suggesting ill-doing. I'd wager that when I say that, I speak for all the men. They think highly of you."

When Kalev had translated this, Knut fixed Felix with an icy stare. "He lies," he said. "I made no threats. His story is sheer fantasy."

"So we have one man's word against another's," said Johnny. "Sibeal, we'd best hear the rest of Felix's account."

I had a host of questions, but they would have to wait. Conducting this conversation as Johnny needed it to be done was my best way of helping Felix in the long run. Dear G.o.ds, whatever he was going to tell us, let them not call him a liar.

"Felix, we'll go back to tonight. You told us you woke to find Knut with his hands on your throat. What happened after that?"

"Everything fading, my heart about to burst, everything turning to dark. So weak, oh G.o.ds, so weak-I could do nothing against the press of his hand. A sudden scream-yours, Sibeal-and my a.s.sailant struck out, but still he held me. The fire flared strangely, I saw shadows leaping above me, and the pressure was gone . . . I rolled from pallet to floor, and there you were, Sibeal, crouched, hurt. I had been scared before, with his fingers on my neck. The wheels of the Ankou's cart were creaking just outside the door. Now I really knew fear.

"You rose to your feet, like a brave warrior, and confronted Knut with the truth. He said it was all a mistake, but he lied, for as he spoke he drew his knife and moved toward you. I did not stop to think. I was there, standing between the two of you, hoping I could be strong for long enough. Then, welcome as warm sun at midwinter, came Gull. The door creaked, he called to us, Knut slashed with his knife, one, two. My head struck something as I fell. I lost consciousness. When I woke . . . " He s.h.i.+vered convulsively. "When I woke, it was there in my mind, the memory that has eluded me for so long. There is a tale to tell, a tale to make men weep. Before morning, that tale must be told." Felix looked across at Knut, whose face was like stone. "We have done a terrible thing," he said. "We have betrayed our comrades. Knut would have killed to keep that tale from coming out." He lowered his eyes. "A strange twist, Sibeal. Until he cut me, until I struck my head in falling, I had not remembered the story he so feared."

For a little, then, there was utter silence in the infirmary, save for the distant, restless wash of the sea.

"Thank you, Felix," Johnny said. "We'd best hear this tale of yours." He looked around the circle of watchers: Cathal with his shoulder against the wall, long form wrapped in his cloak; Muirrin and Evan seated together on one side of the hearth, Gull on the other beside Felix, I cross-legged on the mat. Grim Knut with his two tall guardians. The firelight flickered on the circle of somber faces. "Is there anyone else you believe should be present to hear it?" Johnny asked.

Felix shook his head. Johnny looked at me and gave a little nod.

"Felix," I said, still finding it quite odd to use this name, "where does this tale begin? With the departure of the s.h.i.+p from Ulfricsfjord, or earlier? Will you tell us what brought you and your brother to Erin?"

"I . . . of course, but I . . . " He drew a shuddering breath. "I come from Finistere, in Breizh-the region known to you as Armorica. My father is a councillor to Duke Remont, who rules there. My mother is a Norsewoman. My brother and I grew up speaking both tongues. We left our home when . . . " He faltered, eyes dark with memory.

"Take it step by step," I said quietly.

"Paul had the skills and strength to be a warrior; he was a member of the Duke's guard. I was more apt at scholarly pursuits. Full of ideas. Argumentative. Too ready to speak out. My tutors warned me, but I never learned to hold my tongue."

A sound of derision from Knut, when Kalev translated that for him. Gareth hissed something in Knut's ear, and he fell silent.

"Not all of this need be heard tonight," Felix said. "Enough to say that certain words of mine came to the Duke's ears, words challenging the authority of the Church and the influence of the bishops over Remont. My father's secure position at court, which he had held for many years, was suddenly under threat. Rather than make a groveling public apology, I left. Paul came with me.

"We crossed the water, first to the southwest of Britain, to a place where other Breizhiz had settled. Our skills found us roofs to sleep under, coins for our pockets, food to sustain us. Paul was a strong-hearted man." His voice cracked. "He could set his hand to anything. I found work as scribe and translator-I can read and write Latin, and I knew Irish already, thanks to Brother Seanan, a traveling scholar who stayed at Remont's court. So we came to Erin.

"I helped Paul. Helped him with his Irish, helped him learn. And he . . . he guarded me, he kept me safe. He was the home I carried with me." His head came up, his eyes went to Knut, and if I had seen death on the Norseman's face before, now there was a look to equal it on Felix's gaunt features. "You killed him," he said, and his tone was the punis.h.i.+ng stroke of a flail. "If you had not bound him, he would have swum to safe sh.o.r.e. My brother was young. He was strong. For his courage, you fettered him, and he died."

I saw Johnny look at Gareth, and Gareth give him a little nod. What it meant, I did not know.

"Felix," said Gull, not bothering to ask Johnny for permission to speak, "how long is it since you and your brother left home?"

"Almost three years. I was seventeen when we left that sh.o.r.e, Paul one year my senior. For the last two years, we have been at the court of Muredach, King of Munster. I am-was-the king's translator and chief scribe. Paul was personal guard to Muredach's son Eoghan." A pause. "He became both guard and friend."

"Was it on behalf of the king of Munster that you were on the s.h.i.+p?" I ventured.

"We bore gifts," Felix said. His eyes were calmer now, as if he saw the bright promise of the voyage, the hope with which it was begun. "Muredach's son is to wed the daughter of Jarl Thorkel, ruler of the Orcades. Those items you showed me were chosen by Eoghan as gifts for his betrothed and for her mother. Our party was led by Muredach's senior councillor-one of the men you buried here on the island, along with Paul. Paul . . . my brother did not need to come on the voyage. There were others in our party who could have fulfilled the role of guard. Eoghan did not want Paul to come with us; the two of them had become close, and the prince said he would miss Paul too much. But my brother said that he had made a promise to watch over me, and that Eoghan would be so busy over the summer with riding and hawking and games that he would scarcely miss us. Either he stood by his little brother, Paul told the prince, or he left Eoghan's service altogether. Eoghan let him come with me. He let my brother follow me to his death."

A silence followed Kalev's translation to Knut, and then came Cathal's voice. "Have I permission to ask a question, Johnny?"

"Very well."

"How many people were aboard the s.h.i.+p when she left Ulfricsfjord?"

Felix sighed. "Forty oarsmen, Knut among them. Five other crew. Eight pa.s.sengers."

"And how many were on the s.h.i.+p when she sank off the coast here?"

"Cathal-" I protested, but it seemed Felix was prepared to face this dark truth.

"When we approached this isle, seventeen were left. The last seventeen." After a moment he added, "Eighteen, with the woman."

Cathal regarded him levelly. "Only seventeen, for a s.h.i.+p of that size," he said. "No wonder your hands bore blisters."

Knut stirred as Kalev murmured a translation, but he did not speak.

"There were catastrophic losses, then," Cathal said, "even before you reached here. If you're telling the truth, why didn't Knut-"

"Cathal," said Johnny. "Let him tell it in his own time."

"You left from Ulfricsfjord," I said quietly. "You must have traveled some distance by land to reach the s.h.i.+p."

"We rode for some days, yes. Muredach had procured pa.s.sage for our party of eight. A Norse vessel; there were men among the crew who intended to stay in the Orcades. I understood the plan was to pick up crewmen on the islands for the return voyage."

"You said forty oarsmen, five other crew and eight pa.s.sengers-those pa.s.sengers were your own party, I a.s.sume, from Muredach's court."

"That is correct, Sibeal. The councillor, Matha, who was to discuss certain sensitive matters with the Jarl; my brother and I; and five other men, all Irish."

"We know that Svala and the child were traveling with Knut," I said. "Didn't some of the other crewmen who were planning to settle in the Orcades have wives and children with them?" Knut had told Johnny this was so. The numbers did not add up.

Felix glanced at Knut. "When we sailed from Ulfricsfjord, there were no women on Freyja, and no children," he said. "Coming back, there was only the one woman. I cannot tell you how she came to be on board. He says she is his wife. I do not think that can be true."

Johnny held up a hand, signaling for Felix to wait until Kalev had completed the translation before he went on. Hearing it, Knut gave a derisive laugh.

"This is complete nonsense, a fabrication!" he exclaimed. "I told you this man is full of wild stories. He is jealous, like many others. What man would not wish for such a fine woman to warm his bed at night? No doubt the rest of his tale is equally foolish. There were wives on board, four or five of them. They traveled in the hold, with the cargo. All perished in the sinking of Freyja." After a moment, he added, "He makes a mockery of my loss."

As Kalev finished translating this, Felix got up abruptly, swaying on his feet. "How dare you lie about this?" he demanded, then gulped in a rasping breath. He was strung so tight I could feel the vibrations of his anger. I thought he might hurl himself across the chamber at Knut and perform his own act of violence. "With so many dead, with so many lost, after what we did, how can you have room in your mind for anything but the need to go back, to save those we abandoned, to make good what little part of this we can-"

"Steady, son," murmured Gull, putting his hand on Felix's arm.

I summoned a tone I had heard Ciaran use on certain occasions with argumentative novices. "Sit down, Felix," I said. "Breathe slowly, as if you were preparing for a divination. It's time for this story to come out. Tell it calmly, as a druid might."

Felix drew a deep, shuddering breath and subsided onto the bench beside Gull. The chamber became utterly silent. "We set off for the Orcades," he said. "We were following an established trade path, or so Paul told me-he knew more about such things than I. The plan was to skirt the coast of Erin, then thread a way between Dalriada and the isles before heading northeast. Freyja went by sail when the winds allowed. The oarsmen did the work at other times. At night we trailed a sea anchor. Each man prayed to his own G.o.d, that between dusk and dawn we would not drift too far from our true course. From the seasoned seafarer to the boy on his first adventure, each feared to wake and find himself in unknown waters. It is a potent terror to turn and turn again and see measureless ocean on every side, and not a sign of land.

"The oarsmen slept at their benches; there was nowhere else. We pa.s.sengers sheltered in the hold, out of the crew's way. Most of us were sick. Matha, the king's councillor, was worst affected. The endless rocking motion of the s.h.i.+p, the confinement below made his belly churn. He could not keep anything down but sips of water. When the s.h.i.+p was under sail we were allowed on deck, but Matha could not go up.

"On the second night, what we had most feared came to pa.s.s. In the darkness we were seized by contrary currents and borne far west of our intended path, west and then north into seas uncharted. We woke to driving wind, to waves tall as mountains, on which Freyja was tossed about like a child's toy. There would be no going by sail-the sail would be torn to shreds as soon as it was raised. There would be no going by oars, for the strongest crew of rowers could not hold firm against such seas. We clung to whatever we could find-benches, oars, ropes, each other-and prayed for a miracle.

"The storm had come from nowhere. All that endless day, all the lonely and fearful night, and long into the next day it bore us onward. Heavy cloud blanketed the sun. What little light penetrated the thin veil revealed here two men, here three huddled close against the spray, faces like those of wan ghosts. Paul and I took turns in the hold with Matha, who could not be left on his own. I saw in my brother's eyes a reflection of my own thought: What matters this seasickness now, when all of us teeter on the brink of death?"

Felix had his audience spellbound. Now that he was telling the story at last, he was far calmer. I had heard a poet's voice from him before, and it was present again in this grim telling. Even Knut seemed captive to the tale. The Norseman sat very still, eyes straight ahead, and I wondered if he was living it again.

"The tempest s.n.a.t.c.hed seven men from our crew," Felix went on. "Six were washed overboard by a wave that came close to swamping us. One was knocked into the sea by a length of loose timber flung at random by the wind. He was the crewman most skilled with the steering oar. I wondered if we would all be picked off in the same way, leaving Freyja to sail on with a cargo of vain prayers and fearful memories.

"But I am here, as you see, and so is Knut, and so, for a brief time, was Freyja with the sorry remnant of her crew. At some point in our breakneck voyage we spotted land: an island like a spear, a tall, narrow rock standing alone in the wild ocean. The sight of that inhospitable isle filled me with joy. Anything, anything but this wretched boat, this storm, this empty sea . . . The men were sick, frightened, exhausted. None among them had the heart to take charge. Paul did what the crew could not: he took hold of the steering oar and began to shout orders, urging the men to help save themselves. There was no time to rig the sail. But we could row." Felix glanced at Knut. "This man, too, showed presence of mind. He kept his wits about him and helped calm the others, some of whom were near-crazed from fear. We rowed, crew and pa.s.sengers alike, Paul's voice ringing in our ears, a battle cry, a call to arms. 'Pull! Pull!'

"All the way to the lonely isle we fought wind and waves. We left the stricken Matha alone in the hold. Every able man rowed. We came closer, and it seemed the island was bordered on every side by high cliffs, and there was no landing place. Then Paul saw a narrow opening, a slit between looming headlands, through which a pa.s.sage might perhaps be threaded. Beyond the gap I glimpsed a calm inlet, a strip of level sh.o.r.e."

Goose b.u.mps rose all over my flesh. I had wondered if it would be the same tale. I had almost expected it. But to hear him say it, to recognize Svala's vision in Felix's account, was like watching the message of the runes become reality.

"We pulled hard toward that crack in the rocks. Paul kept up his steady guidance, easing Freyja one way or the other, correcting the stroke, steering a hair's breadth from the high walls of stone. We pa.s.sed through, Freyja surging out into the waters of the bay as if borne on a freakish wave.

"Safe. Safe at last. Full of joy, forgetting for the moment that we were in a wild place and far from home, I relaxed my grip on the oar. Smiles illuminated the pallid faces of the crew. 'Pull for sh.o.r.e, men,' Paul said, and I heard the same gladness in his voice.

"And then . . . and then, oh G.o.ds . . . " Felix put his hands up to cover his face. I held my breath. "Then it came, out of the water right by the prow, a fearsome, long-toothed head, wild eyes, a neck like an oak trunk. It towered over us, a creature of gigantic proportions, a nightmare made manifest . . . 'Pull!' shouted my brother. Frozen in terror, none of us could obey. Besides, the thing was blocking our path. It whipped at the water with its tail, and waves splashed across Freyja, drenching us anew. It reared up, pawing the air above us with its long limbs. Each toe was tipped with a vicious claw the length of a man's forearm. Paul was yelling at us, bidding us summon our courage, not stand about waiting for the creature to sink the s.h.i.+p and us with it.

"As we scrambled for some kind of order on the benches, the monster toyed with us, making currents with its tail that carried the s.h.i.+p now nearer to sh.o.r.e, now further away. A crewman found his bow, placed an arrow with shaking hands, drew the string tight. The missile struck the creature in the neck and hung, quivering. The monster stilled, its eyes on the marksman. It shook itself and the arrow dropped into the water. I could see no wound between the glossy green scales that formed its hide. It extended its monstrous foot toward the man who had loosed the dart, and with one long claw it spiked him through the chest. Blood spurted crimson as it tossed him up into the air like a plaything. The creature opened wide its jaws. As he fell, it caught him neatly and swallowed him."

"Morrigan's britches," muttered Gareth. He and Kalev exchanged a glance. I saw in that look the recognition of a great story, and doubt that such a wild tale could possibly be true.

"We rowed for our lives," Felix said. "As we pa.s.sed the sea monster it opened its jaws for one ghastly moment to reveal the remnant of that last meal, a sight I would give much not to have seen. It seemed the creature had satisfied its appet.i.te, for it let us go. But I saw the look in its evil eye. It was sizing up each of us in turn. I imagined it thinking, That man will be tonight's supper; that one I will save for tomorrow. By the time we beached Freyja on the pebbly sh.o.r.e, the monster had vanished beneath the water.

"We clambered down onto the stones, our legs shaky, our minds reeling from the shock of what had just happened. Our situation was dire. The isle was high and rocky, with not a blade of vegetation to be seen. We were far off course, beaten and exhausted, our number depleted, our stores only adequate for what was to have been a few days' sailing to the Orcades. Even a.s.suming we could get out of the bay without the monster's attentions, who knew if we could find our way back to Erin, or on to our original destination? We stood there in silence, all who had survived save for Matha, who was still in the hold.

" 'Water. Food. Shelter,' Paul said, taking charge again, since it seemed n.o.body else was prepared to do so. 'I'll take a group to look for a cave or similar, somewhere beyond that creature's reach. Felix, you'd best get back on board and tend to Matha. There's no point bringing him ash.o.r.e until we have shelter; he'll be more comfortable where he is. The rest of you, I suggest you unload a few supplies, water and food for a day or so, your warm cloaks, blankets if we have them. Get everything up higher, out of the monster's reach. When we've found shelter and fresh water we'll carry what's necessary there.' Someone said, 'Who made you the leader all of a sudden?' and others grumbled their concerns, forgetting that they had followed him without question in the time of greatest need. 'If you have a better plan, let's hear it,' Paul said, and when nothing was forthcoming, he gathered his expedition-the five men from Muredach's court and two of the Norse crew-and headed away along the sh.o.r.e.

"As I climbed back on board, thankful that the s.h.i.+p had been beached more or less upright, I heard Knut issuing instructions to the remaining men. He was quick to take control in Paul's absence, though on Freyja he had been a crewman, not a leader. Five men to locate and unload the supplies. The rest divided up into groups to search the terrain close at hand and see if there was any sign of fresh water, or anything edible, sh.e.l.lfish, seaweed, perhaps seals that could be speared. The voices faded as they went their separate ways. I clambered down into the hold, where Matha was in a bad way. It was not just the seasickness. He had injured his leg during the storm and was in great pain. I did what I could for him as men attempted to find our food stocks in the disorder around us.

"Time pa.s.sed; the supplies were unloaded, and from the quiet outside I deduced the crew had taken everything to higher ground, as Paul had suggested. I gave Matha water; ripped up someone's spare s.h.i.+rt to make a bandage for his leg; wrapped him in a blanket that was slightly less wet than the rest. I was soaked, s.h.i.+vering, still unable to take in fully what had happened to us. Matha's teeth were chattering; he could not get warm. I lay down beside him, putting the blanket over the two of us and rea.s.suring him that all would be well."

Felix glanced at me, and I saw in his eyes the memory of that first dusk, when I had brought him up from the cove, and the two of us had pressed close together for warmth. It seemed so long ago. Pebbles had touched three runes on the carven timber: Lagu, Eh, Nyd. The G.o.ds had told me, even then, that this would be a mystery long and painful in its revelation.

"I must have fallen asleep," Felix said. "If only I could have stayed awake . . . if I had been alert . . . I could have stopped them . . . " He clutched his hands together, and in the soft lamplight his features were a mask of anguish. "How could I have slept? How could I have been so thoughtless?"

"Felix," I said quietly, "tell us what happened next. What woke you? Did you hear something?"

"Footsteps on the deck above. Voices. I was half asleep, confused, my body stiff and aching. Someone dropped down into the hold, limp as if dead. A woman, her hair all gold, her body marble pale. Naked. Naked in the chill of that far-off place. I took off my cloak and flung it over her; she was not dead as I had thought, but deeply unconscious, a mark on her brow as if she had struck it hard in falling. Where had she come from? How could she be here? It was perhaps a wild dream, for she was the kind of woman who appears much in the fantasies of lonely seafarers, a creature formed in the mold of a G.o.ddess. Matha groaned. He had not seen her, but her fall had sent a bundle cras.h.i.+ng into his injured leg, and he was in pain.

"Then came shouting from outside. I rose to my feet, hauled myself up to look out of the hold. Knut was on the deck, yelling, beckoning, and men were running, faces chalk white, eyes big with terror, running back toward Freyja as if pursued by demons. It happened so quickly. Knut bid me get down and I obeyed, not knowing what had frightened them. No sooner was I crouched beside Matha once more, the unconscious woman lying close by, than I felt movement and heard the crunch of stones under the s.h.i.+p's belly. They were launching Freyja. We were leaving the island. And my brother's group had not returned.

" 'Wait!' I shouted. 'In the name of the G.o.ds, wait!' The men heaved; the s.h.i.+p slid down the sh.o.r.e and deeper into the water. 'Heave!' Knut's voice came. 'Heave, men!' And then, from a distance, another voice shouted. 'What are you doing? Where's my brother?'

"I stuck my head up again, pulled myself up to sit on the edge of the open hold, despite Knut. My brother was sprinting along the sh.o.r.e toward us. He was alone. Freyja rocked in the shallows. Crewmen scrambled over the sides, took up oars, looked to Knut for the command to row. 'Paul!' I shouted, knowing they would not listen to me, but thinking perhaps my brother could make them see sense.

"They waited for him. Waited for him to reach us, to splash through the water, to heave himself up alongside the others. 'Why are you moving the s.h.i.+p?' he demanded. 'She's best left here. We've found a cave large enough to shelter everyone, and a freshwater spring. We need the supplies brought up-' The flow of words ceased. 'Don't tell me you were planning to leave without us,' he said in a different tone.

" 'No time for this,' Knut said, and his voice told me his intention was precisely as Paul had said. 'Pull, men!'

"Paul tried to stop them. There was a struggle. It was so quick I could not help him, and besides, I am no fighter. At the end of it, my brother had joined us in the hold. His hands and feet were tied, and I was ordered not to touch the ropes, or he would be thrown overboard still bound. Paul was shaking with fury, his face bruised, his eyes dangerous. The crew rowed. Every moment I waited for the roar of the serpent, the screams as it s.n.a.t.c.hed one man, then another, but there was nothing but Knut's commands, the creak of the timbers, the wash of the waves. Freyja crossed the bay, edged through the narrow gap, headed for open sea."

Felix paused, drawing a deep breath. I felt what he must have felt then, the guilt, the horror, the powerlessness in the face of wrong.

"They did not free Paul until we were far out to sea," he said. "They let me untie his hands, but not his feet. We got an explanation for what they had done, though nothing could excuse such an act of callous cruelty. One party of crewmen had walked around into the next bay. There had been a cave there, some distance above the water and quite dry, and they had explored it, thinking it might provide good shelter. As they came out, the monster arose from the water, neck snaking, mouth slavering in antic.i.p.ation. They ran; the thing pursued them, bellowing. To their horror, it came right out of the water, moving as a seal might, but far more quickly, so fast they could not outrun it. Of that group, only two survived. The rest the creature crushed with a single blow of its great tail. While it was devouring them, the two men fled. They found their fellow crewmen, told their tale and bolted for the s.h.i.+p. They made an unthinkable decision. They would seize the chance to leave the island while the creature was occupied in feeding. They would save themselves at the expense of Paul and his men, the eight who had gone to look for shelter. For they believed that if we stayed, all of us would inevitably die."

Johnny raised his hand, a sign that Felix should wait for Kalev to finish his translation before telling any more. When this was done, my cousin said, "Ask Knut what he thinks of this account thus far, will you?"

Knut's response was swift and fierce. "He lies! Sea monsters? I think not. The tale is complete fantasy, every word!" I noticed that he was not meeting Felix's eye, or indeed Johnny's.

"We were desperate for them to go back," Felix went on, "to save those whom we had abandoned to their fate, among them a boy scarce fifteen years of age. But there were only two of us, Matha being too old and too unwell to do much at all. They said they would kill me if Paul unfastened the rope around his ankles. We made the voyage back to Erin with a crew of only three-and-twenty oarsmen, far too few to manage a vessel of such size. We had left most of our supplies behind. It was . . . difficult. By the time the vessel foundered on your reef, we were down to seventeen, including my brother, myself and Matha. Paul and I were both rowing, he with his feet still tied." Felix lifted his head and looked straight at Knut. "If you had not fettered him, my brother would be here with us today. His death is your burden and your doom. I lay this on you, Norseman." The silence that followed this was alive with tension.

"Nonsense," Knut muttered when he heard the translation. "He is a madman to speak thus. The voyage was as I told you, no more, no less."

"What about the woman?" Gull asked. "That was Svala, I take it?"

"She came to when we were on open seas," said Felix. "She sat in the hold, saying nothing. She seemed in a daze, barely aware of what was around her. I found clothing for her. We tried to talk to her, but to no avail. Some of the men asked Knut where she had come from, and he said she was on the island, all alone, and that he had rescued her. n.o.body bothered to ask for further explanation. We were too busy keeping the s.h.i.+p afloat and on what we hoped to be a true course back toward Erin."

"Danu have mercy," murmured Muirrin. "All alone, you say? There was no child?"

The silence drew out. The implications of this were appalling. It was unthinkable that Knut would have lied about the drowning of his son.

Suddenly I remembered the vision I had experienced in Finbar's cave, the first time I had gone there-hands seizing me, dragging me across the sand and through the water. Striking my head on something; falling. I knew without a doubt that it was Svala's experience I had felt, Svala who had come to Inis Eala bursting with grief. Grief, not over the death of a child, but over what had been done to her. She had not been rescued. She had been abducted.

Felix rose to his feet. "I must go there," he said, looking straight at Johnny. "I must go straightaway. We left our comrades behind. I must find them. This is pressing; every moment matters."

"There's no doubting your courage, or your sincerity," Johnny said slowly. "You'll understand, Felix, that after the loss of your memory and your severe illness, a man might doubt whether your recollections are completely reliable."

Felix's pale cheeks flushed crimson. "It is the truth," he said simply.

"Say we accept that," said Johnny. "This place is-how many days under sail, do you estimate?"

"It is hard to tell. We reached the serpent's isle four days after we set out from Ulfricsfjord, but we were driven off course, as I told you. The winds were extreme. Returning, we rowed much of the way."

"May I say something?" Gareth asked. At Johnny's nod he went on. "Felix, you speak as if you intend to get into a boat and head off on your own, preferably first thing in the morning. All of us would feel the same compulsion to go, under these circ.u.mstances. We understand the horror of abandoning comrades. But your idea of doing so is hardly practical. The voyage is long. It's across open seas. Your s.h.i.+p reached this island by accident, in a storm, with, I presume, no stars visible by which to chart a course. You'd need a st.u.r.dy oceangoing vessel of reasonable size, an expert crew, good supplies. Then there's the small problem of the sea monster, supposing your story is accurate. It's been some time since Freyja came to grief here. I regret the need to say this, but it seems very likely all the men you left in that place would be dead by now. I a.s.sume you will ask Johnny for help. For a s.h.i.+p and a crew. Under the circ.u.mstances, who in his right mind would want to go?"

Cathal cleared his throat.