who was blushing furiously.
'Have you been bragging, young Gaelen? he asked.
'He has not,' said Maeg. 'Kareen herself saw the deed done as she fed the chickens.'
'Fed the chickens, indeed," said Caswallon. 'It could not be seen from the yard. The lazy child climbed the hill and spied on us, for a certainty." Now Kareen began to blush, casting a guilty glance at Maeg. 'In fact,' said Caswallon, smiling broadly, 'on my way back here I saw two sets of tracks. One had the dainty footprints of young Kareen, the other I could not make out except to say the feet must have been uncommonly large.'
'So!' said Maeg. 'It's back to jibes about my feet, is it?'
'You have beautiful feet, Maeg, my love. There isn't a woman in the Farlain who could match them for beauty - or length.'
Throughout the meal they good-naturedly sniped at each other, and only when she began to list Caswallon's faults did he open his arms in surrender and beg her forgiveness.
'Woman,' he said, 'you're full of venom.'
After the meal he gave leave to Gaelen to seek his friends, and read him the druid's parchment.
'Do not be late home. We've an early start tomorrow.'
Later, as Maeg and Caswallon lay arm in arm in the broad bed, she leaned over him and kissed him gently on the lips. 'What troubles you, my love?" she asked him, stroking his dark hair back from his eyes.
His arm circled her back, pulling her to him. 'What makes you think I am troubled?'
'No games, Caswallon,' she said seriously. She rolled from him and he sat up, bunching a pillow behind him.
'The Council have voted to resume trade with Ateris, and allow an Aenir group to visit the Farlain.'
'But we had to trade with them,' said Maeg. 'We always have dealt with Ateris, for iron, seed-corn, seasoned timbers, leather.'
'We didn't always, Maeg. We used to do these things ourselves. We're no longer dealing with merchant lowlanders; this is a warrior race.'
'What harm can it do to allow a few of them to visit us? We might become friends.'
'You don't make friends with a wolf by inviting it to sleep with the sheep.'
'But we are not sheep, Caswallon. We are the clans.'
'I think the decision is short-sighted and we may live to rue it.'
'I love you,' she said, the words cutting through his thoughts.
'I can't think why,' he said, chuckling. Then he reached for her and they lay silently enjoying the warmth of each other's bodies and the closeness of their spirits.
'I cannot begin to tell you what you mean to me,' he whispered.
'You don't have to,' she said.
*
One moment the mountainside was clear, rolling green slopes, the occasional tree, two streams meeting and foaming over white boulders. Sheep grazed quietly near a small herd of wild ponies.
Suddenly the air reeked with an acrid smell none of the animals recognised. Their heads came up.
Blue light replaced the gold of the sun. Rainbows danced on the grass and a great noise, like locust wings, covered the mountainside. The ponies reared and wheeled, the sheep scattering in all directions.
For a fraction of a second two suns hung in the sky, then they merged and the golden sunlight bathed the mountain. But all was not as it had been ...
In the shadow of a great boulder stood a towering figure, six-inch fangs curving from a wide snout, massive shoulders covered in black fur, huge arms ending in taloned fingers. The eyes were black and round, the brows deep, and it blinked as its new surroundings came into focus.
Lifting its shaggy head, the beast sniffed the air. The sweet smell of living flesh flooded its senses. The creature leaned forward, dipping its colossal shoulders until its talons brushed the earth. Its eyes focused on a three-year-old ewe, which stood trembling on the hillside.
Dropping fully to all fours, the beast bunched the muscles of its hind legs and leaped forward, bearing down on the sheep with terrible speed. Startled, the ewe turned to run. It had made only three running j umps before the weight of the hunter smashed
'Have you been bragging, young Gaelen? he asked.
'He has not,' said Maeg. 'Kareen herself saw the deed done as she fed the chickens.'
'Fed the chickens, indeed," said Caswallon. 'It could not be seen from the yard. The lazy child climbed the hill and spied on us, for a certainty." Now Kareen began to blush, casting a guilty glance at Maeg. 'In fact,' said Caswallon, smiling broadly, 'on my way back here I saw two sets of tracks. One had the dainty footprints of young Kareen, the other I could not make out except to say the feet must have been uncommonly large.'
'So!' said Maeg. 'It's back to jibes about my feet, is it?'
'You have beautiful feet, Maeg, my love. There isn't a woman in the Farlain who could match them for beauty - or length.'
Throughout the meal they good-naturedly sniped at each other, and only when she began to list Caswallon's faults did he open his arms in surrender and beg her forgiveness.
'Woman,' he said, 'you're full of venom.'
After the meal he gave leave to Gaelen to seek his friends, and read him the druid's parchment.
'Do not be late home. We've an early start tomorrow.'
Later, as Maeg and Caswallon lay arm in arm in the broad bed, she leaned over him and kissed him gently on the lips. 'What troubles you, my love?" she asked him, stroking his dark hair back from his eyes.
His arm circled her back, pulling her to him. 'What makes you think I am troubled?'
'No games, Caswallon,' she said seriously. She rolled from him and he sat up, bunching a pillow behind him.
'The Council have voted to resume trade with Ateris, and allow an Aenir group to visit the Farlain.'
'But we had to trade with them,' said Maeg. 'We always have dealt with Ateris, for iron, seed-corn, seasoned timbers, leather.'
'We didn't always, Maeg. We used to do these things ourselves. We're no longer dealing with merchant lowlanders; this is a warrior race.'
'What harm can it do to allow a few of them to visit us? We might become friends.'
'You don't make friends with a wolf by inviting it to sleep with the sheep.'
'But we are not sheep, Caswallon. We are the clans.'
'I think the decision is short-sighted and we may live to rue it.'
'I love you,' she said, the words cutting through his thoughts.
'I can't think why,' he said, chuckling. Then he reached for her and they lay silently enjoying the warmth of each other's bodies and the closeness of their spirits.
'I cannot begin to tell you what you mean to me,' he whispered.
'You don't have to,' she said.
*
One moment the mountainside was clear, rolling green slopes, the occasional tree, two streams meeting and foaming over white boulders. Sheep grazed quietly near a small herd of wild ponies.
Suddenly the air reeked with an acrid smell none of the animals recognised. Their heads came up.
Blue light replaced the gold of the sun. Rainbows danced on the grass and a great noise, like locust wings, covered the mountainside. The ponies reared and wheeled, the sheep scattering in all directions.
For a fraction of a second two suns hung in the sky, then they merged and the golden sunlight bathed the mountain. But all was not as it had been ...
In the shadow of a great boulder stood a towering figure, six-inch fangs curving from a wide snout, massive shoulders covered in black fur, huge arms ending in taloned fingers. The eyes were black and round, the brows deep, and it blinked as its new surroundings came into focus.
Lifting its shaggy head, the beast sniffed the air. The sweet smell of living flesh flooded its senses. The creature leaned forward, dipping its colossal shoulders until its talons brushed the earth. Its eyes focused on a three-year-old ewe, which stood trembling on the hillside.
Dropping fully to all fours, the beast bunched the muscles of its hind legs and leaped forward, bearing down on the sheep with terrible speed. Startled, the ewe turned to run. It had made only three running j umps before the weight of the hunter smashed
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