“And me,” I cut in. “I’m not staying behind.”
“You’re not a fighter,” Rhiannon said, “you’ve spent your whole life chasing death, not facing it. You’d do better to wait here.”
“Annwn is my responsibility, too,” I said. “Every soul I have brought here is my responsibility. I will not shrink from battle.”
Belis cut Rhiannon off before she could respond. “Mallt comes, too.” She looked over at me. “I need someone to watch my back.”
I smiled. Rhiannon didn’t look pleased, but Belis’s tone had a finality to it, a command. I wondered if she’d learned it from her mother.
“It’s settled then.” Arawn stood up. “Belis, Rhiannon and Mallt will head south from here, crossing the ravine near the vineyards. We canrushyou to the canyon, then it’s two days’ walk on the other side to reach the hill. I’ll field a company to raid the north. Maybe that will draw more of theshadowbittenout of the heartlands.”
“Arawn, that’s terribly risky,” Rhiannon said.
“If you are cut down by a creature who could otherwise have been attacking us then all hope is lost. We have one roll of the dice left. I am prepared to stake everything on it.” Arawn’s face was fierce but he laid a gentle hand on Rhiannon’s arm. “We have been waiting years for a chance. I will not miss it.”
The witch took a deep breath and nodded. She bent down, swiping the map in the sand until there was nothing left.
Chapter 13
The festival had sunk into embers by the time we stepped out from the privacy of the willow tree. Revellers had simply lain down to sleep where they had been dancing, considering the feasting grounds as safe as any other part of Annwn. A few with the look of soldiers huddled around the main fire, poking at the glowing remnants of the logs while passing around a skin of liquor. They nodded to us as we passed, pressing hands to chests in a casual salute to Arawn. He beckoned them over and exchanged a few low words. In a moment they had scattered across the grounds, wrapping up food and filling waterskins from barrels. Others dug ropes and knives from packs and handed them over to us. I gave Belis back her sword, swapping it for a razor-edged bronze blade that seemed to slot into my hand as if it had been made for me.
“Gather as many as you can and set out along the north road,” Arawn said to the leader, a spade-faced woman carrying an axe. “I’ll catch up with you as soon as I can. See if you can pick up a few others from the watchtowers. There’s a big push coming.”
She grunted an assent and began calling orders. Arawn turned back to us.
“Here, take my hands. I canrushus a mile or so from the canyon. Beyond that we’ll have to go on foot. Rhiannon will meet us there.”
Belis and I exchanged looks, then she took his outstretched hand. I winced pre-emptively at the nausea and cast a final glance around the field. Nothing appeared to delay the inevitable so I placed my hand in Arawn’s. The dizziness hit immediately as Arawn pushed us through space, surfacing again with a sickening yank at my insides. My ears popped and I held on tight until I was sure I could stand on my own.
Arawn had stopped in a shallow depression between two drumlins. The ground was thick with a knee-high grass the colour of dust, covering the hills with an ever-waving blanket of stems.
Belis was already up and scanning the land. Her spear was in her hand now, seeming just an extension of her arm. She scampered up the rise of the hill, pausing on the crest and going down on one knee.
“Over there.” She pointed to the west and called down to us. “Is that it?”
Arawn strode after her, dropping to a crouch. “Yes, that’s the gorge Rhiannon created. It runs for a thousand miles, cleaving the afterworld in two.”
I hurried up the hill and stood behind them. The drumlin field extended another half a mile or so in front of us before the wavy landscape flattened into a plain. The lowlands should have gone on for miles but something had shattered them. A great rift had hewn the lands in two, snaking back and forth like the path of a lightning bolt. The land beyond the rift was grey, so overcast with clouds and ash that it was difficult to discern either distance or landform in the miasma.
“Get down,” hissed Belis, yanking at my leg. “Don’t stand on the top of a hill, you’re just asking to be targeted.”
“I only followed you,” I said, hurt by her tone.
“We’re below the ridge line, much harder to spot.”
“Peace,” Arawn said, an undercurrent of warning in his tone. “We’re far enough away and no one will be expecting you. Look, you’ll need to reach the eastern rim. I don’t know how long it will take you to find a path to the bottom.”
There was a faint pop from behind us and I turned to see Rhiannon padding up the hill, keeping her body low to the ground. She took a knee beside Arawn and the Lord of the Dead turned to look at her.
“Wait here ’til tomorrow. I’ll attack in the north at dawn, see how much of a commotion I can cause. If you leave when the sun rises the way should be clearing by the time you reach the canyon.”
Rhiannon nodded and held out an arm. Arawn gripped it tight.
“Best of luck, my old friend,” he said, voice rumbling. “I would hate to lose you.”
The witch patted his hand and then beckoned to us, rising and padding down the slope. I nodded to Arawn as I passed him.
“If we survive this, I will be holding you to your promise to release Cati.”
