Wave Hunter by Beth Webb

Author:Beth Webb [Webb, Beth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Golden Scale
Published: 2020-04-09T22:00:00+00:00

Tegen woke with a brilliant morning sun in a bluebell sky. For a moment she feared she might have fallen off the end of the world, for she could see no valleys or plains, only a vast bed of intense downy whiteness spread in all directions. Here and there stark mountain-peak islands rose up like thrones for heroes.

Tegen laughed and jumped like a child. It was Imbolg, her sixteenth birthday, and she had dreamed of wonders. ‘Thank you Lady!’ she called out to the Goddess. She found a flattish platform of rock and threw aside her heavy sheepskins. Shivering in the clear-wine air, she raised her arms and stamped her feet to a merry rhythm in her head.

But her celebration was broken by the sound of sobbing and screaming. Grabbing her cloak, Tegen rushed back towards the camp. There she found Enid thumping Kieran with her fists.

He looked exhausted. ‘Tegen! Thank goodness! I tried to make her calm down. I only got bits of sleep all night. Every time she woke, she screamed the Cŵn Annwn were after her and she tried to throw rocks at Wolf. The moon goddess has stolen her wits!’

‘You should have called me.’

‘You was doing druid-things.’

Tegen took Enid by the arm. ‘Everything’s all right. We’re taking you home, to Teithi and Gronw. Let’s go and see them, shall we?’ Then she turned to Kieran. ‘Take Wolf, run ahead and tell Gronw what’s happened. Ask someone to bring a pony as far up the track as they can. We’ll meet you.’

Kieran folded the tent and gathered up as much of their gear as he could carry. Then, whistling for Wolf, he set off.

Step by step, Tegen coaxed Enid down the mountain after him. The sun was already on its journey towards the west by the time they struggled through the clumps of hazel and ash at the head of the valley. There was a sharp whinny beyond the trees, and then Kieran appeared with Epona and half a dozen of Teithi’s men.

But when Enid saw the horse, she screamed and clawed at Tegen’s eyes. ‘The White Horse of Gwyn ap Nudd! You’ve betrayed me! You’ve led me to be swallowed up by the Otherworld, I knew I shouldn’t trust you!’ She grabbed a handful of Tegen’s hair and yanked hard.

One of the warriors sprang forward, grabbed Enid’s wrists, then flung her over his shoulder, ignoring her yelling and screeching.

Bloody and exhausted, Tegen took Epona’s reins from Kieran and hauled herself into the saddle. ‘I’ll go ahead and speak with Gronw,’ she said, and set off.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.