Chapter 22

Brenda wanted to stop and discuss my assertion that she had somehow 'gained wizard status', but I was sure we had already wasted too much time. Prince Aiden's dead body could be discovered at any moment and then we would be in trouble.

As it was, we were still deep inside the kingdom of Scania, with days of riding ahead of us, and the Scanian population to contend with. Flying would have been quicker and safer perhaps, but that wouldn't get Mòr Dubh to safety, never mind the eighty cavalry troops and their horses that had escorted me to Gorg.

When I mentioned the possible danger, and the need to protect our son (OUR son!), Brenda stopped arguing and became very businesslike. I had seen that same determined look on her face before. All I could think of was - pity help any Scanian who tries to come between this Momma and her cub!

While Brenda hurried to fetch baby John and some essentials for the trip, I ran for the courtyard where I had left the big stallion on arrival. I was hoping and praying that some of the Axon cavalrymen would be there. It was my duty to warn them of what was going on, so that they too had a chance to escape from the city.

Mòr Dubh was eyeing up the palace grooms and they in turn were making sure they kept out of his reach. It was my guess that one or two of them had already learned a lesson and the rest were now more wary.

The big stallion threw his head back, and let out a loud whinny to show his approval of my news.

"It will be a pleasure to carry him, Sean. Just make sure he's clean and that he doesn't pee on my back!"

Big-Black snickered and his thoughts told me that he found himself highly amusing. I wondered how amused he would be if baby John actually did do what the stallion found so funny.

One of the cavalry troop sergeants was ordering some of his men around the courtyard and I took the opportunity of approaching him and pulling him to one side.

"Sergeant, I'm afraid we have to leave here immediately. The Scanian Prince tried to murder me in my bed, but fortunately I managed to get the better of him. All hell will break loose when his body is found.

"Can you spread the word and get our men out of here as quickly as you can? Perhaps you can say you are going out foraging or something?"

The sergeant was a hardy veteran, and he took my news in his stride.

"The men have been warned not to get too comfortable, Highness. We were always worried that we might have to make a fast exit so to speak. I'll pass the word and try to get everyone out of the city without raising any alarms.

The light was fading, and on this occasion I was thankful for it. With any luck no one would enter my quarters until morning, so we would have a few hours of a head start before King Malcolm and the Scanians gave chase.

I returned to the stallion and asked that he meet me outside the Gorg city walls. That first part of our escape would be the most risky - going through the population of the city - so I decided I would use the cover of darkness to fly Brenda and John out, rather than walk or ride.

There was a danger that the same darkness might lead to us missing the cavalrymen. I had a final word with the sergeant as a precaution, telling him to stick to the same route we had followed on the way here. After that, I made my way quickly back inside the palace to find Brenda and baby John.

My girl had the boy wrapped up well and had all of the essential things she would need in a small backpack. I asked her to help me lift Prince Aiden's body. We laid him on my bed, and covered him with a blanket. Close scrutiny would quickly reveal that it wasn't me in the bed - Aiden had bright red hair like his sister had - but I hoped it might delay King Malcolm finding out what had happened just a little longer.

"Are you ready?" I asked Brenda.

For a woman who had just lost a husband, I have to say she looked extremely happy. Ecstatic even!

"Very. You've given me my life back, Sean. I thought that everything was lost. Take me home, please?"

John seemed to have taken to me very quickly indeed, a fact that I was immensely happy about. My own father wasn't a good role model to follow and I was determined to do much better. John liking me was an excellent start. When I swung the two-year old up onto my back, Brenda almost panicked.

"Sean, he might fall off!"

"Don't worry. I've only just found this little guy. There's no way I'm going to let him come to any harm. Relax, my love. He's going to enjoy this."

With John on my back, I took Brenda's hand and led her over to a large vaulted archway that led onto a balcony. There was a shock in store when I saw that there were three large eagles perched on the balustrade. I knew straight away that these weren't my eagles - they were subtly different, with a large splash of white feathers on their chests - but I didn't sense any threat from them.

The largest of the three squawked at me.

"What are you doing with the Prince?"

Turning to Brenda, I asked her a question before answering the magnificent bird.

"Have you seen these eagles before?"

"Oh, yes. They're always around. The first time they turned up, was on the night that John was born."

I realised that this probably meant that baby John was actually a 'royal' and that the birds had been the first to acknowledge him. They were his 'birth creatures'. I didn't know enough to figure out if it was unusual for the same creature to acknowledge both a father and a son. King Kenneth had told me that his 'birth creature' was the black leopard. Apart from that, I knew very little.

Now that I knew why the eagles were there and why I was being asked what I was doing with John, it was time to answer the eagle's question.

"I am the Prince's father, my noble friend. Please accept my thanks for continuing to watch over him. Perhaps you'd like to fly with us?"

The eagle's head cocked to one side, as he looked at me curiously. Of course, he would never have seen a two-legs flying before, so my words were probably somewhat confusing. To put an end to that, I climbed up onto the balustrade, pulled Brenda up beside me and then launched us into the air.

There were excited squawks from all three eagles and they quickly flapped their wings and sought to catch us up. There was barely enough light to see them, but I could sense that they were impressed.

The bird's response to the fact we were flying was nothing compared to baby John however. The youngster was sitting up on my back as if he was riding a horse. He was holding on tight, but squealing his delight so that Brenda could be in no doubt that he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

The eagles squawked again and this time there was a set of answering squawks from my left. John began to bounce excitedly on my back and when I glanced to the side, I saw that Aquilaire, Accipiter and Buteoni had also joined us.

If it had been daylight we would have made quite a sight. A man with a small boy on his back and a woman holding his hand, all three flying through the air, with an escort of three huge eagles on either side. Very impressive.

Nothing happened as we flew over the city. No one spotted us and no alarm appeared to be raised. I thought I caught a glimpse of some of the Axon cavalry riding down the winding streets, but I could have been mistaken.

Before we knew it, we were over the city walls. I had my senses casting around to try and locate Mòr Dubh. The stallion was waiting, somewhat impatiently I think. He had sensed the urgency and the possible danger and he wanted to be on his way.

Baby John almost seemed disappointed when we landed, but that passed quickly when he made out Big-Black.

The stallion dipped his head in a bow of sorts when he recognised Brenda. She curtsied in response before laughing and throwing her arms around his powerful neck.

"Oh, Mordew! It's really good to see you again."

She had never managed to pronounce his name quite right, but the horse seemed to like how she said it. It was almost as if it were a 'pet-name' between them. Now the big stallion also looked at baby John. I lifted the boy off of my back and raised him so that he could sit astride the horse.

"He has good balance for a little one. If you hadn't already told me that you were his sire, then I could have guessed, Sean. He has the same feel about him as you do. Now, I think we should hurry. I see you've been gathering more eagles, too, are they going to scout for us?"

Both sets of eagles confirmed that they would be happy to do so. I warned them that there were eighty Axon cavalry somewhere out here in the dark. The last thing I wanted was for King Kenneth's troops to find themselves being attacked by giant eagles!

"Even with our eyesight, we won't be able to tell the difference between friend and foe in the dark. With your permission, Highness, we will simply try to steer clear of all people until we can more readily identify them?" asked Aquilaire.

That made sense to me, and I agreed. Just then we heard bugles blaring in the distance.

"What's that?" Brenda asked.

"At a guess I'd say that somebody has just found Prince Aiden's body. I'm afraid the hunt is on!"

Brenda needed a boost to get onto Mòr Dubh's back and then I swung up behind her and John.

"As fast as you can safely go in this light, my friend," I said to the stallion.

He had been impatient to get started and he set off at once. The pace he trotted at was surprisingly quick, but I knew that he wouldn't put us in danger by taking a risk.

Several times during the night the eagles swooped to guide us away from troops who were in our path and once we heard the clash of steel on steel somewhere behind us. I hoped that the Axon cavalry were giving as good as they got.

Daylight crept up on us and with it came John's eagle guardians to warn that there was a group of twenty or so Scanian horsemen blocking our route ahead.

I began to suspect that King Malcolm had some way of communicating around his kingdom, because this was the third group that appeared to be on the look out for someone. No one from Malcolm's palace or from the city of Gorg could have gotten ahead of us. For one thing, I refused to believe that any horse could travel faster than Mòr Dubh, and for another, the eagles would have spotted them.

With the eagles' help, we managed to skirt round this latest threat and about an hour later we heard the faint sounds of another clash behind us. It sounded as if the cavalry hadn't been so lucky and they must have run into the Scanian troops.

By mid morning, Brenda was falling asleep as we rode. I had sensed baby John sleeping off and on during the night, but somehow he had managed to remain on Mòr Dubh's back, Brenda wasn't quite as balanced and I decided that we needed to rest up at the first opportunity.

When Buteoni swooped low to alert us to yet another squadron of enemy troops, I asked him to scout for a likely resting up point and he led us to a rocky outcrop where we would at least be out of sight.

The absence of any ley lines in Scania contributed to my nervousness. I had the two things with me that I treasured most in the world, and the responsibility of keeping them safe was beginning to weigh heavily on me.

Around mid-afternoon I sensed a presence, and peered from behind the rocks to see about thirty horsemen heading in our direction. I was thinking furiously about what I was going to do, when I saw the men coming under attack from the six huge eagles.

The eagles drove the troops further to the east and I breathed a sigh of relief and a prayer of thanks for our friends. Twice more we saw parties of Scanian horsemen and my suspicions about Malcolm being able to somehow communicate appeared more and more accurate.

"I think it would be better for you and your family to fly to safety."

Mòr Dubh's thoughts interrupted my own and I looked at the stallion with a pained expression.

"I won't leave you behind my friend. Also, when I made the decision not to fly, I expected to be helping the Axon cavalry to escape as well."

The fact that we had never managed to meet up with King Kenneth's troops removed the need to consider that anymore, but I was still determined to see my horsey friend out of Scania safely.

Big-Black snorted with derision.

"The cavalry will need to look after itself. Apart from that, I cannot believe that you thought you needed to look after me? Sean! I'm more than capable of looking after myself in the face of some pathetic two-legs. I really think that you should wait for darkness and then fly out of here with the eagles."

The stallion's thoughts, and the way he formed them, told me that I really had been stupid. If the Scanians came across him, they were far more likely to try and capture him for their own use, rather than harm him. It still felt as though I would be deserting him though and I hesitated.

"Sean! I'm probably in more danger being around you than I would be on my own. Fly your family to safety and let me look after myself."

Brenda woke and rummaged in her backpack. Amazingly, she brought out some roasted meat and slightly stale bread along with a bottle of lea. I decided then and there that I would never again complain about women, their bags, and the ridiculous things they seemed to carry in them.

Baby John had also managed a nap. His mother roused him now, so that he could eat with us. The toddler was staring at Mòr Dubh's legs while he was eating, and I saw that the stallion had a gash on his left fetlock. While it didn't seem to be causing him any discomfort, it could become infected and would need cleaning and dressing.

I was rummaging in my medicine bag when baby John got in his hands and knees and crawled over to the stallion. I watched as he stretched out his hand and covered the gash with his fingers. There was a serious, focused look on the toddler's face as he concentrated on the stallion's leg. I wondered what he was doing.

There were some common daisies in my bag (very helpful for treating cuts and wounds), and a strip of cotton that I could use as a binding. I found both, and moved over to sit beside John.

"Let Dad have a look at it. I've got some medicine here that will help," I said.

John looked at me and then withdrew his fingers from Big-Black's leg. Incredibly, the gash was healed! There was still some scar tissue where the cut had been, but it looked as if it was an old injury that had long since repaired itself.

"Brenda! Look at this. John just managed to heal a cut on Mòr Dubh's leg!" I exclaimed.

"How is that possible?" Brenda asked.

"Well, either he's a cross-over in the making or his 'special ability' is healing. I guess we'll have to keep an eye on him, to find out which it is."

This was further confirmation (if any was required), that Brenda was in fact a wizard. Charles had told me that only a union between a royal and a wizard could produce another royal. The fact that the eagles had acknowledged John, was evidence that he was a royal. Now he had shown he had a special ability.

Of course, I had been inside Brenda's head, so I had no doubts that she was a wizard. This other evidence was useful though in convincing her that she was.

Mòr Dubh was extremely grateful for John's 'laying on of hands' and he lowered his head and nudged the boy several times with his nose. John giggled at the stallion's antics.

"It would seem that you have another healer in the family, Sean. I have now had the privilege of having had the services of both of you and I am in this young two-legs' debt."

"Mòr Dubh thinks that it would be safer if we flew to safety from here," I told Brenda.

"Why now? Why didn't we fly from the very start?" she asked, making it clear that I really had been stupid. Brenda obviously agreed with the stallion and had been puzzled at my decision to ride.

Her response settled things and I heard the stallion snickering once more at what he saw as my stupidity.

Both sets of eagles returned from harassing Scanian troops and I informed them of our decision to fly the rest of the way. Aquilaire nodded his noble head in agreement and I could see he was another who had been surprised that we hadn't flown from the start.

Accipiter made a request for Brenda to fly with him for a spell and she was delighted to agree having already flown with the huge eagle on several occasions in the past. When John saw his mother climbing onto Accipiter's back he squealed and it was clear that he wanted to do the same.

Buteoni crouched down to allow the toddler onto his back, but the leader of John's own eagle guardians pushed forward and made it clear that it was to be his honor. Brenda hadn't been happy about the idea of John riding on my back and she was even less amused at this latest development.

"They won't let anything happen to him. Remember how Accipiter caught my birthstone when you dropped it? Don't worry, if the baby falls one of us will catch him easily enough."

She obviously did remember that incident and seemed re-assured by my words.

Full darkness was upon us. I said a final farewell to the stallion, telling him to be careful and that we would hopefully see him in Axon. Then I took to the air and climbed higher, keeping my speed down so that the eagles could catch up.

My reserves of stored energy were being used up quickly now that I was using it to fly. I tried to remember how far we might have left to travel before we were over the border and into Axon. At most we could only have six or seven hours of flying to do. I figured I would be able to manage that. If the worst came to the worst Aquilaire would carry me I knew.

The rest of our journey went by without incident. There was not even a slip from baby John, although we did have to land once so that he could relieve himself. I saw his eagle descending and wondered what was wrong. When he climbed down and peed on the ground I laughed. Good boy! Mòr Dubh would have been proud of him.

I was still keen to keep my magical abilities secret, so we had a choice of how to complete our journey. We could wait on the Axon side of the border for Big-Black to appear and then ride, or I could ask Aquilaire to allow me to fly on his back. Brenda already knew that I was a terrible show-off. I thought my family arriving on the wings of eagles would be really impressive, so that's what we did.

The good (although still unhappy looking) citizens of Gower craned their necks to see who could command the eagles to carry them. Sensing my need to show off, the mighty birds flew as low as the stench would allow them, so the people could see that it was their Prince returning.

Word had already reached Mom and the King and by the time we swooped low over the palace, they were waiting on one of the lawns to greet us.

I shouldn't have been surprised when Mom ran straight past me, and made a bee-line for baby John.

"Sean! How could you have let this little one fly on his own? He could have fallen and hurt himself you fool! My little grandson, look at him! He's beautiful."

Brenda and Mom turned all of their attention on the toddler and the King, the eagles and I were forgotten. Brenda even forgot to curtsy to Accipiter for carrying her, and that was unusual.

With the womenfolk as busy as they could be talking about baby things, I turned to the King to share my unhappy news.

"You were right after all. Prince Aiden tried to murder me in my bed, but I managed to beat him to it. He's dead I'm afraid, and King Malcolm seems to be raising the whole of Scania.

"I'm really sorry to say this, but I think I may have started another war between Axon and Scania!"

The King's face lost all of its color, and his teeth nipped at his bottom lip for a second. As I watched, a steely determination began to grow behind his eyes, and his shoulder squared.

"It has been coming for some time, this just happened to be the excuse that Malcolm has been looking for. Come, we should start our own preparations to make sure our people are not caught by surprise."

Edited by TeNderLoin