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.His fingers idly ran round Cyllell's ears in a double loop, ruffling the hair slightly.‘All yeth.' Caeryon ushered Rhys, a young girl with a pack on her back and a small dark-eyed man into the room.'More people from the other world have come thr.'‘And that's not all, sir,' Rhys broke in.Immediately prior to the arrival of these two, two of General Nuada' s guard passed through the circle.''Two passed through the circle? Why? Surely none of Nuada’s men could have been witches?''Impossible!' bellowed Nuada, angrily.'If not then I cannot explain the incident.Almost as soon as they had gone, these two arrived.''Will you please stop interrupting me?' squawked Caeryon his lisp momentarily overridden by his irritation.Dryfid raised an eyebrow.'Have you anything to add, Caeryon?''Well, no.But I am the High Druid.I detherve a little rethpect, surely?''Get out of here, Caeryon,' Nuada cried, 'you self-important little.’Caeryon's eyes widened and from his throat there began to issue forth strangulated gurglings.His face flushed a mottled purple and red.'You are dismissed, Caeryon, Attend to your duties' Dryfid told him.'Nice people these, Professor,' Ace commented.‘Yes,' the Doctor agreed and, taking her hand, he pushed aside Caeryon and Rhys to address the Tuatha de Danaan.'If I might interrupt your internal squabbles.' He jumped lightly on to the table.'I'm the Doctor and,' with a strength belied by his size he pulled Ace up beside him, 'this is my friend, Ace.’‘Just what do you think you're doing?' Nuada shouted.The Doctor's face crinkled into a broad smile.'Sit down Ace,' he said, directing her to Sister Keli's vacant chair.She dropped from the table and arranged herself comfortably in the hard wooden seat.She swung her legs up and planted her trainers firmly on the tabletop.'Just trying to clarify a few things, the Doctor answered Nuada's question.'For a start what is this place and why have we been brought here?'Dryfid rose.'If you would remove yourself from our council table then I might perhaps answer you.'He gestured downwards with a wave of his arm.'Ah well,' the Doctor sighed, 'anything to make life easier.' He sprang down to the flagged floor and then leant on the back of Ace's chair, cradling his chin on his crossed forearms.Dryfid stepped forwards from his menagerie of a throne and spoke to the other members of the Tuatha.'I think I shall handle this matter alone and so I officially end this meeting of the Tuatha de Danaan.'One by one they filed out of the room until only Captain Rhys, General Nuada, Ace and the Doctor were left with him.‘Nuada?''I think I should be present.The security of the circle rests with me.'‘Nonsense, Nuada.You may go.'General Nuada seemed to be about to say something but finally he turned on his heel and left.The doors slammed shut behind him.Dryfid's old eyes swivelled to rest on Captain Rhys.‘Captain, would you wait here a few moments while I talk with our guests?' Rhys nodded curtly and then Dryfid turned to smile at the two travellers.'Doctor.urn, Ace, if you would follow me.’As Dryfid led them through a door at the back of the chamber, Cyllell rose and padded softly behind Ace and the Doctor.The room they entered was small and lit only by the embers of a dying fire.He motioned for them to sit in the cushion-padded, high-backed chairs as he restocked the fire with split logs.Ace slipped free of her rucksack and balanced it against the wall before she sat down.She brushed her long hair over her shoulder as she watched the old man by the fire.His earthy-coloured robes swept the floor, dangerously close to the glowing ashes, as he moved wood on to the hearth.After a few jabs with a poker the logs began to burn, and Dryfid too lowered himself into one of the chairs.Cyllell settled down to bask in the warmth of the fire.As Ace looked down at the thick fur on the back of the wolf she noticed for the first time how cold this whole place was.She shivered and dug herself into the deep padding of the chair.She looked at the old man's face.He seemed to be thinking and it was some time before he spoke.Finally, when his soft rhythmic breathing had seemed to become one with the silence of the room, he began to speak.'No doubt you are confused and maybe even frightened by all that has happened to you,' he said.Ace was about to interrupt to contradict him but the Doctor waved her into silence.'You have been carried from your home - your Earth - to this strange place called Dinorben in the land of Tír na n-Óg.I can offer you few comforting thoughts at this time.I am afraid that we cannot allow you to return lest you should reveal our presence to the people of Earth.I am told, by Emrys and Nuada that you vastly outnumber us.The figure was one beyond an old mind’s comprehension.‘This country must seem a terrifying place, with its dark red skies and Arawn' s Wheel in the ascendancy, but it was not always like this.His eyes were unfocused, drifting back in time to an age when the sun warmed the green, rolling hills and the expansive oak woodlands where man and beast lived in harmony, living in a good-natured symbiosis with the beautiful land.'What's Arawn's Wheel?' asked Ace.Dryfid recalled his mind from his wanderings.It pained him to do so, for when he let his thoughts roam, he was almost back there with Wynne in their cottage on the outskirts of the Sidhe forest.Her death, late one night, had finally brought him to Dinorben to do his duty.Her death, lit by the foul light of Arawn's Wheel [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]