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| "Upon its summit a castle crouched, like some predatory beast ..." |
Banac woke with a start and sat up sharply, looking around in confusion. For some reason he was not in his warm, comfortable bed, but in the middle of a wood with the bright sun shining down in dappled shades of green through the canopy overhead. For a moment he was baffled, then he looked down at Balor’s small form lying with his head in his lap, and slowly the events of the night before came back to him, and he knew it had not been a dream.
He yawned and stretched his aching limbs, taking care not to disturb Balor. He looked around again, remembering more and more of the details of the previous twelve hours. In the cheerful light of day it seemed impossible that such things had taken place, here in this peaceful wood. But they had: the standing stones, the fire, the galac-men, the beremer ...
The beremer! He twisted his head, looking this way and that, but the glade was empty. They were alone. The beremer had not kept his word. He had left them here and run off.
He settled back down. Maybe it was just as well. A beremer was a beremer, after all, no matter what Father said; and from what he had seen there was more animal in him than Banac felt comfortable with. Secretly he was relieved that he had gone.
Then the bushes rustled and parted, and the beremer stalked into the clearing with a pair of wood-pigeons dangling from his fist.
He stopped when he saw Banac was awake.
“Good morning,” he said. “You must be hungry.”
Banac nodded.
“Good. Bring wood for a fire.” The beremer crouched down and began cleaning the rabbits, using a jagged shard of flint for a knife. “And find some dry leaves for tinder.”
Banac was taken aback at the curt instructions, and at first he did not move. When the beremer noticed this he looked up then pointed off to one side. “You can find some over there,” he said.
Banac considered protesting, but judging by the beremer’s tone this would be a waste of time, so instead he wandered over to the site the beremer had indicated and gathered a large armful of broken branches from the ground. He never strayed out of sight of the camp, however, and looked up constantly to make sure Balor was all right.
When he returned the rabbits were skinned and ready to be cooked, their pink flesh divided up and skewered on long sticks, and the beremer was busy wiping his hands on a fern leaf.
“Here,” Banac said, dropping the wood.
The beremer nodded a curt thanks and set about stacking up the wood in a loose pyramid, stuffing the middle with dry scraps of bark and leaf. He arranged tinder on a log and rubbed a stick into it, faster and faster to generate heat. When a transparent flame finally flickered up he cupped the tinder in his hands, blowing gently as he transferred it into the heart of the pyramid. A minute later a curtain of grey smoke wafted up, followed by more flames, almost invisible in the sunlight. The flames grew and spread, crackling softly as they licked over the branches, and slowly Banac began to feel their warmth on his cold limbs.
The beremer watched the fire for a few minutes. When he was satisfied it was burning well he took the skewered rabbit and propped it over the flames, leaving it to cook whilst he tidied up.
They ate the rabbit in silence, setting some aside for Balor for when he woke up. It had been a long night, and the wordless agreement between them was that they would leave Balor to sleep for as long as he needed to. The rabbit was tough, and a little burnt on one side, but Banac devoured it as if he was starving, licking his fingers thoroughly when he was finished. The beremer took more time over his portion, stripping the bones clean then snapping them open to suck the marrow.
When breakfast was over they cleaned the camp site and the beremer pointed Banac in the direction of a nearby stream where he could have a proper wash and a drink. When Banac returned from his wash (which was gaspingly cold) he found the beremer sitting across from Balor, his arms resting on his crossed legs, looking at Balor with an unreadable expression.
Banac sat down beside his brother, adjusting his arms into a more comfortable position, and when he looked up he found the beremer’s gaze had been transferred to him.
“Thank you,” Banac said awkwardly. “For breakfast. It was nice.”
“You’re welcome.”
There was an uncomfortable pause.
“You have many questions for me,” the beremer said suddenly. “You want to know who I am; what I am; how I came to be here. I will answer those questions now, while your brother sleeps. When he wakes we will leave this place and go to Craec Annwn, where they have taken your father. And when we arrive at Craec Annwn we will know what to do next. Do you agree?”
Banac nodded.
“Good,” said the beremer. He settled into a more comfortable position, as Grandfather did when he was about to tell a long story, and when he had collected his thoughts he began to speak:
* * *
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