‘The Llwglyd Diddymder,’ Teardrop said. Britha translated the words into her own tongue: the Hungry Nothingness. She wanted to ask him what it meant but didn’t dare show ignorance in front of Rin and his people.
‘What is this?’ Rin asked.
‘An ancient evil from the darkness beyond the stars,’ Teardrop pronounced in tones that made Britha want to laugh.
‘Can it be fought?’ the crippled rhi asked.
‘Not by us, not here. You need to stop it before it is summoned,’ Teardrop explained.
‘Well, she is the daughter of Andraste,’ Morfudd said, gesturing dismissively at Britha. ‘It should not be difficult for her to lay waste to the Corpse People and the demons on these black ships.’
‘I am not the only servant of the gods abroad right now,’ Britha said. She cared little for the deception but she was not willing to break it either. ‘Where is this shepherd of the moonstruck? May we speak with him?’
Eurawg answered: ‘Whatever he had seen had driven him mad. He spoke of demons in the flesh, dead gods in his head, hearing singing from the night sky and that the sea wanted him. It was too much for him, and he died trying to cut his own face off.’
‘Tell them the rest,’ Rin said quietly.
‘Essyllt, my predecessor, she went to the Isles of the Moon—’
‘With ten of the Teulu as escort, ten we sorely need right now,’ Morfudd interjected.
‘And you have not seen them since?’ Britha asked, almost knowing the answer. It explained why a dryw so obviously young and inexperienced was here to treat with them.
‘Oh, we’ve seen their faces,’ Morfudd answered, her voice bitter and angry.
‘When the Corpse People attacked, they used the moonstruck from the island like the living use hunting dogs. The mad wore the flayed faces of Essyllt and her escort.’ It was Rin who spoke. Britha could hear the sadness in his voice. This was no tyrant. This was a king who cared for his people. He must be frustrated by his affliction, she thought. It would make what they had to try and convince him to do all the harder. ‘So what would you have of us?’
‘Your fight is not here, it is in the south,’ Teardrop told him.
‘They would corrupt the sacred waters of Andraste. This must be stopped!’ Eurawg said. Britha found herself wishing he’d put the mask back on and just stand there looking sinister, but doing so quietly.
‘And yet I have a fort full of people that I must protect,’ Rin said. Morfudd was nodding.
‘Which will not matter if this summoning succeeds,’ Teardrop argued.
‘The people here cannot come with us – they are not warriors. I take the warriors away, they will be massacred. The Corpse People do not care for captives or pillage. All they care about is destruction. Some say they even eat the dead. They are cannibal spirits, the restless dead of Annwn sent by Rhi Arawn to plague us,’ Rin said bitterly.
‘They are men – we proved that to you last night,’ Britha told the king.
‘You have not seen them pluck arrow and spear from their dead flesh; you have not seen their wounds heal in front of your eyes,’ Morfudd said angrily.
‘Which served them naught last night,’ Britha said.
‘We are not all the children of the gods!’ Morfudd roared. Eurawg glared at her.
‘Yes, you are,’ Teardrop said with the sort of quiet authority Britha connected to the dryw. It was how you made warriors and kings listen. ‘The magic is weak in your blood, but you have been touched by the gods.’
Rin looked at the strange man with the swollen head and the silver eyes, trying to decide what to admit to.
‘It was true in my youth I could do things that others couldn’t before…’
‘In battle?’ Britha asked.
‘A cart, would you believe. I may be favoured of Andraste in battle, but not when I’m helping bring the harvest in.’ Britha was impressed despite herself. Few mormaer would lower themselves to help with the harvest. ‘But this does not matter. If we leave the fort the people here will be massacred. In fact, if we leave the protection of the walls then we will all be massacred. If you have the means to fight the Corpse People then share them, and once we have defeated them we will go south with all haste.’
‘There is not the time,’ Teardrop said.
‘And you know this?’ Rin asked.
‘If both ships are there—’ Britha started.
‘Both?’ Rin looked to Eurawg.
‘The dryw from the Isles of the Moon said that there were more than two ships. Many more.’
‘How many do they plan to sacrifice?’ Britha asked Teardrop.
‘As many of the people of Ynys Prydein as they can find. They will make it Ynys Annwn,’ Eurawg said.
‘You must sneak out of here, no horses, no metal armour—’ Teardrop began.
‘If you are simply moonstruck, then you have our leave to go to the isles!’ Morfudd shouted.
‘There will be nothing left!’ Britha shouted, silencing them all.
‘I cannot and will not leave my people. It is pointless even talking about this any more.’
‘If you stay here the Corpse People will overrun you. They nearly wiped you out last night.’
‘Not if you share with us your ability to harm them,’ Rin said.
‘Which we won’t,’ Teardrop said with finality.
‘We cannot defy the will of the gods,’ Eurawg said. ‘We should do what they ask.’
‘Eurawg, shut up,’ Rin said. ‘So you would leave us here to die?’
‘You’re dead anyway,’ Teardrop answered.
‘We have no choice. The gods, our gods have spoken.’ Eurawg was pleading.
‘Eurawg, shut up! Have we not sacrificed enough, shed enough blood, drunk for you, feasted for you enough?’ Morfudd shouted at Britha, though it was clear that she did not entirely believe she was the daughter of their goddess. ‘You repay us by leaving us to die!’
‘How many times must I say it,’ Teardrop asked, letting anger creep into his voice, though something told Britha that was for show as well. ‘The people here are dead anyway. The only question is whether or not your warband dies at the same time or confronts your real enemy.’
‘The Cigfran Teulu serves the people. We have no choice but to stay,’ Morfudd said with finality.
‘Then you are cowards who may as well beg Crom Dhubh for death,’ Britha said.
‘And you will fare even less well without the blessings of your goddess,’ Teardrop added.
‘We have seen nothing from you to suggest you are who you say you are,’ Morfudd said.
‘Were you not at the gates last night? Did you not see their power?!’ Eurawg screamed at the warband leader.
‘And if we heal your king and make your warriors stronger and faster, and if we empower their weapons to wound those from the Otherworld, then will you summon your courage to stand with us?’ Teardrop demanded.
‘It would go some way to proving you are who you say you are,’ Morfudd said.
‘You are thinking that once we have done all this, you will simply take our power and cower behind these walls,’ Britha said. ‘It’s what I would think,’ she added.
‘If we give our word, we will do what we have promised,’ Rin said. He looked troubled, deep in thought.
‘How will you do this thing?’ Eurawg asked, his hunger for power and knowledge written all over his face. Teardrop stared at the boy, who cringed under his inhuman eyes.
‘Blood magic,’ Teardrop pronounced.
Morfudd snorted in derision. ‘You would turn us into little more than Goidel blood-drinkers! You would make us Baobhan Sith.’
‘Enough,’ Rin said quietly.
‘You can’t be—’ Morfudd began.