Consorts of Heaven by Jaine Fenn Read Free Book Online Page B

whispered in Fychan’s ear, until a look from Arthen sent him back to wait with the men who watched from outside the circle. The other council members, none of them quite looking at her and Sais, wore expressions ranging from unease to open hostility. Gwilym remained behind them, his spear at the ready.
    Arthen stood with a cracking of joints and drew out his skymetal disc, holding it flat in his palm for all to see. ‘We are convened,’ he said gravely. ‘What is decided here tonight is law.’ He turned to Kerin. ‘Kerin, I release you from am-annwn while you stand before this council. Your companion remains bound by its strictures.’
    She had expected that: for all the council knew Sais was a creature of the Abyss, a servant of the Cursed One. She bobbed her head to acknowledge Arthen’s ruling. Sais looked terrified, though he stood straight and tall.
    Arthen continued, ‘Kerin: the charge is brought that you have drawn a fell influence into this village, leading to a return of the winnowing times.’ Several councillors nodded, as though Arthen speaking their fears made them valid. He sat down again, looked directly at Kerin and said, ‘What say you to this, woman?’
    For a moment, Kerin’s voice deserted her. Years of shame and distrust had finally come to a head: they had found an excuse to call her to account. But this was not just about her. Knowing Sais’s life also hung in the balance freed her tongue, and all at once a response sprang to her lips. ‘I believe, masters, that the Traditions speak of the realm below as a place of chaos and horror, where damned spirits are trapped in a pit of turmoil and degradation, and the Cursed One and its servants impotently rage against the light and order above.’
    Men shifted in their seats, unsure what to make of what sounded more like a bard’s tale than the defence of an accused man. With thoughts of Kerin’s mother no doubt at the front of their minds, her words would cut deep. Before she lost her nerve she continued, ‘The man who stands before you is no unquiet spirit denied the grace of the Mothers, nor is he a servant of Melltith. Masters, he is a man of flesh and blood! Any of you who doubt this should touch him - or else ask Adris, who knows him to be a normal man.’
    Arthen gestured. ‘Adris? Stand forward and tell us what you have witnessed.’
    The lad reluctantly walked into the circle, avoiding both Kerin and Sais. ‘He attacked me!’ he said, pointing at Sais’s feet, which rather ruined the impact of his accusation. ‘When we told him he was to come before you he turned on me!’
    ‘Attacked you how?’ asked Arthen.
    ‘He tried to strangle me.’
    Kerin looked at the boy sharply. Constrained by the rules of council, she could not speak up to correct him.
    Arthen said, ‘And did Gwilym see this attack as well?’
    ‘I did,’ said Gwilym from behind them.
    ‘Does Adris speak true?’
    ‘I would not have put it quite like that. The stranger did not strangle Adris so much as fall against him.’
    Someone laughed. Fychan looked annoyed and raised his hand. When his father nodded permission to speak he said, ‘But he still attacked you, did he not?’
    ‘Aye, he did!’
    ‘So he means us ill!’ said Fychan.
    This got heads nodding, and several hands went up.
    The first councillor Arthen gave leave to speak, Bodfan, was always quick to pass all blame or responsibility on to unseen forces. ‘Our course is obvious,’ he said. ‘This creature must be cast out - or better yet, put to death.’
    Beside her, Sais gasped.
    Arthen pointed to a second speaker. Cadmael’s status as a bard gave him some leeway and his views sometimes went against the common wisdom. ‘I know nothing of this individual’s intent, but I wonder about the nature of his attack. Surely a creature of the Abyss would befuddle Adris’s sight, or fill his soul with despair.’
    Arthen said, ‘An interesting point.’ Then, seeing Bodfan still eager to have his