The Aebeling Read Free Page B

now pitch black, and she wondered out aloud.
    ‘Why did you choose this place to make your camp?’
    ‘No reason’ he replied cautiously, ‘it provided protection from the wind – and the winds are cold. Have I done something wrong?’
    ‘No. I think that grove is what is called a holtwudu; I have never seen one before, but I have heard of them. They are very special. Perhaps there is a reason…’ she stopped before continuing. ‘I didn’t know that there were four kinds of people.’
    ‘Four kinds?’
    ‘Yes, in all of history, Meshech has only seen three peoples; the Twacuman, the Ancuman , and the Priecuman, and now there is you. You are unlike all of us so you must be another kind of Priecuman . Nothing has ever been said of a fourth kind of people.’
    ‘I do not know the answer to that question.’
    Caewyn smiled. ‘I think that time will answer that for us. It is strange though – you are so new to me, but you seem so familiar.’ She moved and sat beside him. ‘Do you have any questions?’
    He did – a lot. ‘I do, can you tell me why the Rakians were trying to kidnap you?’
    Caewyn shrugged. ‘They were going to make us theow . But it has been some time since that happened. It is strange to see them here. No one has made it over the mountain unnoticed for many years – until today.’
    Conn led the comment slide; ‘It is a lot of effort and risk for a theow.’
    Caewyn answered matter of factual. ‘A Twacuman theow is highly regarded and consequently very expensive. If they had been successful – they would have more money than they could ever need.’
    Conn was still confused. ‘But who would be the purchaser? Surely a slave taken as such is illegal.’
    She nodded. ‘True, but there is still one place where the laws are ignored, and that is Rakia. Not all things are as they should be. Anything else?’
    ‘I don’t understand why I can understand what you say and what the Rakians said despite the fact that I don’t know your languages. You also understand when I speak.’
    ‘One of the many gifts of the Gyden was that all should understand each other, even if our mother tongue is different. The Priecuman speak four different languages; but there is no need for them to learn each other’s language, though many Priecuman speak more than one of their languages. We have always spoken our own language as well as Silekian – a Priecuman language that we use to communicate with all Priecuman. Twacuman is the only language that is not understood by anyone else – except for you, that is.’ She paused. ‘That is why I was surprised – it is very strange that you can understand it.’
    She paused while Conn contemplated the answer.
    ‘So you are from a place call MacLeod??’
    Conn didn’t have a real home to speak of – at sixteen he had joined the British army, and later he was an elite sportsman and academic, and he had spent most of his life on the road. ‘No – that is just my name. My family is from Taransay.’
    ‘So, Conn MacLeod il Taransay, you are a curiosity.’
    Taransay was a small island off the coast of Scotland in the Outer Hebrides, and was one of the historic homes of the MacLeod clan. His father had mentioned it to him as a child – his grandfather, Conn’s great grandfather, was one of the last to live on Taransay, before leaving to join the army; another of a continuous line of MacLeod soldiers. Conn had even visited the island; and he remembered it as deserted, cold, and desolate. It was however the first thing that sprang to mind; and he was now stuck with it.
    The girls retired for the night; moving in beside Derryth in the yurt. Conn stayed outside to think; he had too many thoughts running around his head to sleep anyway. His first full day had been surreal – he had killed five people – and yet he didn’t feel bad about it. He had killed before – as a soldier he was responsible for the deaths of many in the two wars that he had been involved, and he