Warriors of Ethandun Read Free

round here too often. I hope you have no objection, Mr Jones.’
    Dan was about to object as strenuously as possible until he looked into the grave face of Professor Merlin. Taliesin? It couldn’t be. It was.
    The tall man gave no sign of having recognised Dan. He waited until everyone was seated. Dan’s father crossed and recrossed his legs under the table, as ill at ease as if he were the one accused of attempted murder. Dan, on the other hand, did his best to appear as calm as possible, mainly because he didn’t want Taliesin to think he was like his father. Taliesin knew him as a warrior and a wielder of magic, a hero and a man. He could not act like a frightened boy or a sulky child in front of him.
    The police officer reiterated the charges against Dan and reminded him that he was entitled to the presence of the duty solicitor or another lawyer if they had one of their own. Dan was not listening; he was watching Taliesin. He had trimmed his white beard and cropped his equally white hair so that he most resembled some kind of Hollywood version of an elder statesman – hawkish and wise. What was he doing there? How had he acquired his disguise? Had Taliesin got real magic in this world? Magic varied from world to world. Neither Dan nor Ursula had magic in their own world, but Dan had no idea what Taliesin might be able to do. Anything was possible. Dan tried not to stare too much at his friend and one-time betrayer. He tried to stay in control and to reveal neither his curiosity nor his excitement.
    â€˜Well, thank you, officer,’ Taliesin said when thepoliceman had finished talking. ‘That is very helpful – a fine set-up you have here. Now, Dan, tell me.’ He paused and his eyes glittered. ‘Isn’t it time we got you out of this stinking hellhole?’

Chapter Three
    Ursula opened her eyes and then shut them again. She could not make sense of what she saw. There was a lot of blue that wasn’t sky, and pinks, different shades of pink, and other colours too. There was a lot of electronic noise. Something was beeping and somewhere above her head a strip light flickered and buzzed. There was a powerful smell of disinfectant overlaid with the sweet, floral fragrance that she associated with her mother.
    â€˜Sula, darling?’ It sounded like her mother’s voice. Only her parents called her ‘Sula’. She knew that her mother hadn’t been at the battle. She did not want her mother to know about the battles. She opened her eyes again. The blue colour resolved itself into the form of a curtain and the pinks into her mother’s face, red-eyed and exhausted. Somehow she was home.
    Ursula tried to smile. Everything hurt and her mind felt slow as if some nutter had padded her skull with cotton wool. She was very thirsty.
    â€˜Mum?’ It took an age to form the word and longer still to make her dry throat and numb lips work. Her voicewhen it finally emerged was little better than a croak, but it made her mother happy.
    â€˜Sula? You’re OK. Oh, thank God! Thank God!’
    It was good to be hugged by her mother. It was good to be alive. From what she remembered, there had been a long period of time when living had seemed unlikely. Dan had saved her, rescued her from the Battle of Camlann, where so many had died, where she’d killed so many. She didn’t want to think about that. She pulled herself away from those memories, though the general pain throughout her body suggested it wasn’t that long ago. She’d been caught badly by a spear that had sliced through the top of her leg. She’d all but passed out from the pain, but the Sarmatians she’d led had fought to protect her. There were gaps in her memory but she remembered that Dan had used his magic and lent her enough of his strength to get her through. They must have gone through the Veil, but who had directed it? She knew that Dan would not have had that skill.
    Someone