Warriors of Ethandun Read Online Free Page B

away and waved his hand in farewell, and Dan found himself back beside his father and his hyperactive legs, as if he had never been away. There was still some expert sitting beside Inspector Frith, but it was no longer the charismatic Professor Merlin, just a plump woman with a bad haircut and an apologetic smile. It was all very well for Taliesin to talk about Dan’s true nature, but his true nature was that of a killer – a ruthless, blood-crazed, merciless killer – and he had to turn his back on that; he had no choice.

Chapter Five
    Ursula was startled awake by a man’s voice calling her name. At first she thought it was Dan’s voice, then King Macsen’s, but when she opened her eyes she saw it was Taliesin.
    He was looking exceptionally neat in a white coat, with a stethoscope draped artistically round his neck. He looked quite different from the last time she’d seen him, but she would have recognised him anywhere.
    â€˜Lady Ursa! Living and breathing and more lovely than ever!’
    Ursula knew that she was blushing. Taliesin had always had the measure of her.
    â€˜Taliesin! I didn’t expect to see you. How did I get here?’ It was good to see him – if a little confusing.
    â€˜Dan saved you and I brought you back to this world – with a little help from Rhonwen. Perhaps you also do not remember that? In the end she acknowledged you as brave enough even for the Combrogi. She called you a hero. For her you were the better part of King Arturus, and our Princess Rhonwen of the lineage of druids andkings is not easily impressed. She is right, Ursula. I will never forget the way you led that cavalry charge – your courage! You made my Combrogi heart sing with pride, girl, and Rhonwen’s too. She stayed behind to tell your story.’
    Ursula could not hide her surprise. It was Rhonwen, the Celtic princess, sorceress, then Aenglisc priestess, who had first brought them through the Veil and who had been Ursula’s enemy from the moment she had first laid eyes on her. Ursula considered this news for a moment. Her last meeting with Rhonwen had not been such a happy one.
    â€˜Camlann changed her, I think,’ Ursula said softly, ‘and the magic – the magic changes everything.’ She tried not to sound too wistful. ‘So. Here I am, home at last!’ she said brightly. ‘What do you think of it, Taliesin? What do you think of the wonders of the twenty-first century?’
    Taliesin wrinkled his prominent nose and waved an expressive hand. ‘I could not stay here for all the gold of the gods. It is a terrible place, but I am leaving soon. The question is, what do
you
think of it now that you’re home at last?’
    Ursula manufactured a smile. ‘I am very happy to be back,’ she said with more firmness than she had intended.
    Taliesin grinned. ‘I am glad, though I cannot with all the wit in me understand why you would stay here, hemmed in like this, when you could be a princess, if not a goddess, in Macsen’s land – and indeed in other lands that I have seen in which your gifts and your beauty would be received with joy and gratitude. I do not understandwhy you would stay here in a world without magic.’
    At least where there was no magic there could be no terrible sense of loss. Ursula almost said as much, but then the truth struck her.
    â€˜But you have magic here,’ she said, and she knew he had. It was not the greatest kind, but it was strong enough to call the Veil and to do other things – quite a lot of other things. She could smell the magic on him and it made her heart beat faster and her palms sweat as if she were having some kind of panic attack. She had never known that there was real magic on her own earth before. She had never felt the slightest hint of it before she went through the Veil. The realisation that magic existed even in her own technological, modern world stunned her into