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and contrite I felt ashamed of myself for doubting him.
'Cymbrogi,' he said, 'it is me, Peredur. Why are you treating me so poorly?' Raising an inoffensive hand,
he made to step by us. 'I am so glad to see you. Truly, I thought I would never see any of you again.
How long have you been here?'
'Forgive us, brother,' Gereint said with a sigh of relief. 'We did not mean to offend you.' He put up his
sword and glanced at Bors expectantly. Bors, too, lowered his blade.
'We should try to find Arthur and Myrddin,' Peredur said. 'They cannot be far away. I will show you the
trail. Come with me, it is not far.'
Instantly, my senses pricked. I felt a thin thrill of fear ripple across my shoulders. Without a second
thought, I stepped swiftly to Peredur. My knife flicked up in the same quick motion, and I pressed the
keen edge hard against his throat.
'Step away from us, Gereint,' I commanded. 'Bors, take his weapon.'
Peredur gaped in disbelief. 'Have you gone mad?'
'Perhaps,' I replied as Bors, sword upraised, quickly snatched the blade from the young man's hand.
From the corner of my eye I glimpsed the chapel, and it came into my mind how we might discern the
truth. 'But you will forgive us our madness, I think. We will not be deceived again.'
I grasped him by the upper arm and, my knife still hard against his throat, I pulled him forward.
'Where are you taking me?' he asked, growing frightened.
'To the altar,' I answered, 'where men's hearts are tried and known.'
THIRTY-SIX
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The Grail is gone.
Morgaws telk me that it disappeared. The lying bitch insists she had it secured, and that from the
moment Llenlleawg delivered it to her, the casket never left her sight. The casket she possesses still, but
the cup is gone; what is more, she claims it vanished at the moment the king's champion attacked his king.
Morgaws will pay for this blunder. Oh, yes, she will pay dearly. I taught her better than this. Could she
not see how much they valued the Grail - that alone should have warned her to be on her guard. How
could she be so blind?
The insolent cow insinuates that it is my fault for not warning her of the cup's true power. I remind her
that whatever else it may be, the cup is just bait in a trap so far as she is concerned, and that whatever
powers it might possess, the gaudy trinket certainly did not divert the doom which even now crushes our
enemies in its cold embrace.
The disappearance of the cup makes not the slightest difference; it will not change anything. All is
ordered as I have planned, and even now the end swiftly approaches. Already, events are hurtling
towards the consummation of my plan: my crowntaking, and the reign of terror to follow. My triumph will
be devastating.
Some monarch, upon accession to the throne, declare the pardon of their opponents, and the
forgiveness of sins practised against them. I shall do the opposite, however. The blood will flow from one
end of Britain to the other! I think I shall begin with bishops, and then... well, all in good time.
First, I must have that cup. Morgaws will devote her full attention to its recovery - before the fools
somehow discover what it was they let slip away. The thought that they might get hold of it again does
not sit well with me. It may be time for me to intervene.
'Brother,' said Peredur, dragging his feet, 'there is no need for this. You are anxious over nothing.'
I drew the young warrior forward a few paces, whereupon he stopped. 'Gereint,' he said, pleading, 'you
are my kinsman. Tell them - tell them.'
Bors stepped behind us and prodded the reluctant warrior from behind with the sword point in the small
of his back. 'Move along, friend.'
Peredur, outmanned and unarmed, seemed to accept his lot. He nodded and proceeded docilely. 'You
are wise to be suspicious,' he said after a few steps. 'But you know me. What can you possibly hope to
achieve? It is meaningless.'
At this I began to doubt. What did I hope to prove by making him swear his faith and loyalty before the
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