The Paradise War by Lawhead Stephen R

Author:Lawhead, Stephen R. [Lawhead, Stephen R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2006-09-04T18:30:00+00:00

21

CYTHRAWL

Ollathir did not return until the sun was well behind Ynys Bàinail across the water. I had occupied myself with fetching water and gathering firewood for our use through the night. For Sollen would soon be upon us and, despite the day’s warmth, once the sun had disappeared we would feel the cold. Indeed, I was kneeling over a pile of kindling, ready to strike the flame for the fire, when the Chief Bard stood over me.

“Do not kindle the flame,” he said. “Make ready a boat.” He spoke calmly, but I could see that he was distracted. He kept his eyes downcast and his arms crossed, with hands hidden in the sleeves of his siarc. His face was gray, the pallor of illness, although his voice was strong and his eyes clear.

I put aside the metal and flint and proceeded at once to the strand where the ranks of boats had been beached. Tegid joined me and we dragged one of the boats over the sand and pushed it into the water. I took up the oar and passed it to Tegid, standing by the prow until Ollathir was settled in, his rowan rod across his knees. Then I pushed the boat out into the water and clambered in.

Tegid worked the oar with some urgency, and I realized what drove him: the time-between-times. The sun was already sinking behind the White Rock; we must hurry if we were to reach the mound before twilight.

We made the crossing to Ynys Bàinail quickly, and just as quickly reached the winding hilltrack leading to the grassy plain. Ollathir led the way and Tegid followed. I came last, and felt once again that strange sensation of expanding—stretching, growing, becoming larger with every step. It was dizzying and unnerving. Yet I did not stop. I lowered my head, gulped deep breaths, and plunged after the others. Heedless of my awkward stumbling, I hastened along as quickly as prudence allowed, dreading the entire journey—that tight trail would be treacherous to retrace in the dark.

We gained the grassy plain just as the sun sank beneath the rim of the western sea, flaming the wavetops, and staining the sky red violet and orange. The first stars gleamed in the east as the sky darkened at the advance of night. Ollathir and Tegid hurried to the mound and began climbing the steep sides. This time, since I was not prevented, I went up with them.

The cone-shaped mound was flattened at the summit, much as I had envisaged from below. A few paces in from the outer edge, the circle was marked with several hundred round, white stones—each stone buried in the earth with just the top protruding. Smaller stones marked the radials like the spokes of a wheel, one spoke for each of the four quarters. The tall pillar stone marked the hub of the wheel and was covered from its buried base to its tapering point with intricate whorls and spirals, and the curious, dizzying circle maze

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