To Carry the Horn

Chapter 5-3

After the initial shock, the dead silence was slow to recede.

Gwyn straightened and felt a chill descend. He called his majesty about him, and summoned them to council before striding off the dais.

George looked away from the horrible objects and down the hall. As he half-expected, one face watched without surprise, with ill-hidden pleasure.

Gwyn stood rigidly, drawing the light, as the hall darkened around him. He seemed to grow, though his stature was unchanged. George could feel moving powers and a growing chill in the air, and the hair on the back of his neck rose. I could believe in fairies and gods now, he thought. May he never be angry at me.

“We’ll meet in council, now,” Gwyn said. “If you know ought of this, make it known.”

He glanced to his right. “Join us, kinsman, and you also, foster-daughter.” George suspected he had overheard their conversation at dinner. Rhian nodded solemnly.

His own visceral reaction surprised him. This was a deliberate taunt of some kind, and it was to someone in his family, however remote. He was indignant on Gwyn’s behalf, as if Gwyn needed his help.

Gwyn strode from the dais and into his council chamber, shutting the door behind him. Idris re-wrapped the bundle and returned it to his men, with orders to place it with Iolo’s body. George caught his arm to suggest that they keep everything, including the twine and cloth. Idris nodded and passed that along as well.

Conversation returned slowly to the hall, and people began to approach Idris to see if what they knew or saw might be of interest to the council session. He drew a couple of them to his side, and the rest he dismissed, with thanks.

Other people had already tapped on the closed door and let themselves in. Idris took his small group, including Rhys, Rhian, and George, and they passed in as well, the last of the assembly.