The Two Tanists (A Bard Without a Star, Book 2) by Michael A. Hooten Page A

would work as a mount,” Bran said. As Gwydion moved
towards the animal, he heard the lieutenant gasp. “How bad is your shoulder?”
    “Bad enough I suppose,”
Gwydion said.
    Bran had him lying down in a
moment, with Dirgan making a fire and Llygad sent for fresh water. Bran pulled
back the tunic slowly, breaking away dried blood and causing fresh blood to
seep through. Gil said, “I can’t tell. How bad is it?”
    “He’ll have limited use for a
few months,” Bran said, probing gently. He looked at Gwydion’s face, clenched
in pain. “You’re damned lucky. And brave, too.”
    “You saw the fight?”
    “I wasn’t going to just leave
without knowing your fate,” Bran said. “Math would have killed me.”
    “Math would know if I died,”
Gwydion said.
    “But you didn’t,” Gil said.
“You killed that bastard instead! It was incredible!”
    Gwydion and Bran shared a
look. “I’ve been instructed to take the two of you to Caer Dathyl,” Bran
said. “When Math told me that, I never thought you would actually join us, but
I guess Math did.”
    Gwydion grunted. The fire
helped him, and Bran and Llygad dressed his wound. Gwydion heard them talking
about him after everyone had fallen asleep that night. “He’s not really in
good shape to travel to Caer Dathyl,” Llygad said.
    “He’s tougher than he looks,
obviously,” Bran said.
    “He would be better left at
Caer Don to rest.”
    “And if the Dyfedians push
that far into the cantref?” Bran asked. “Then what?”
    “Then he gets moved after
getting some rest,” Llygad said. “You know I’m right on this one.”
    Gwydion held his breath as
Bran considered. “Alright,” he finally conceded. “But I’m leaving you and
Dirgan to look after him. I want men I can trust nearby.”
    “And the chieftain?”
    “He goes home to defend his
dun,” Bran said. “It’s only right.”
    The next day they arrived at
Caer Don, where the small band was warmly welcomed by a few guards. “Where is
Tewared?” Bran demanded.
    “He left yesterday to help
Math,” said the lead kern, who looked young enough to be Bran’s son. Bran shook
his head. “I need to leave the Tanist here. He’s been wounded, and needs to
recuperate.”
    “Yessir,” the young kern said
with nervous respect.
    “I’m leaving my two
lieutenants with him, and they will only follow his commands, is that
understood?”
    “Yessir.”
    Bran turned to Gwydion. “I’m
not sure I’m comfortable with this.”
    “I’ll be fine,” Gwydion
said. “Don’t forget, I can hear if danger is coming to the Caer, and I can get
out.”
    “But will you?” Bran said.
“I’m worried about you trying to play the hero, and defending the Caer against
an army.”
    “It’s not going to come to
that,” Gwydion said. “Math is a great warrior, too. It’s just been a long
time since he’s had to prove it.”
    “I suppose,” Bran said.
    “Take Gil to Caer Dathyl,”
Gwydion said. “I’ll be fine.”
    Bran gave the young kern
another hard look. “I will hear if you are disrespectful to the Tanist, or
allow anyone else to disrespect him, and I will be very upset. So upset that I
will return to take care of it. Do you understand me?”
    In a very small voice, the
kern said, “Yessir.”
    Bran sighed heavily, and gave
pulled a Dirgan and Llygad aside for some instructions. Seeing that he wasn’t
paying attention, Gil said to Gwydion, “It looks like everything is working out
the way you planned.”
    Gwydion smiled bitterly, and
tugged at his sling. “Almost.”
    “What are you worried about?”
Gil said. “Most of the Caer has left, and we didn’t need to do anything
special. You should have all the time you want, at least until Math finishes
Gwillim off.”
    “I don’t know,” Gwydion
said. “It’s what I planned, but it’s all happening like it was going to
whether I planned anything or not…”
    “And now I’m off to see
Goewin,” Gil said, oblivious. “Hopefully