Chapter 27

Our preparations were complete. The King and I had planned to leave the valley in the morning. Brenda, baby John, and Mom, would be remaining here for safety while King Kenneth would try to rid Axon of the Scanian invaders.

Messages had come in from the eagles. They told us that the generals had managed to raise a sizeable force. Kenneth was satisfied that he would have enough to start the job of pushing back his enemies. Of course, what he really wanted was to kill King Malcolm. That would be the real prize!

If he managed that, there was a possibility that three hundred years of enmity between Axon and Scania would come to an end.

I was determined that I was going to take another trip into dreamtime to make an attempt at carrying out the mission The Mother had set for me. It made sense to do that before we were caught up in fighting Malcolm and his hordes.

"I need to take another trip into dreamtime, " I told Brenda.

A look of concern crossed my girl's face immediately.

"What is it, Sean? Why do you need to go back there?"

"I think something strange is going on. It is something that's affecting life here in the real world. From what Charles taught me, that shouldn't be possible.

"The place called dreamtime is only supposed to exist for each individual and only as a place for them to visit in preparation for their coming of age.

"Now it seems to be something more. Maybe it always has been and Charles didn't realise it. However, whatever's happened, I'm positive dreamtime is affecting Gael. Take your coma for example. That was down to Prince Erik and he's been dead for three hundred years!"

Brenda shivered at the memory of her ordeal.

"I don't understand dreamtime or how ghosts from hundreds of years ago can control us in the here and now. I know that I don't want you going off on your own, though, Sean Taggart. You can be such a goof if I'm not there to keep you straight ... and I'm not forgetting that there are some guys there that I have a bone to pick with!"

That was more like the Brenda I knew, confident and in control.

"If I can call you to dreamtime with me, I will," I told her.

She seemed satisfied with that and we lay down to go to sleep. Once I was comfortable, I searched within me for my link to 'the Road'. In the past I had been able to control it by imagining a tap and controlling the flow with it. Now I couldn't find the tap. As the tap was something I had made up myself, I didn't understand why it wasn't there, or why I couldn't just imagine another one.

I focused and tried to make some kind of connection with Charles, but again there was nothing there. I tried and I tried but nothing would work. Eventually my tossing and turning must have got too much for Brenda.

"Sean, is something wrong?" she asked.

I sighed.

"I'm trying to visit dreamtime but it's not working. The last time I was there Charles said something about 'them' throwing me out. That's what it felt like too. After I cut off Erik's arm it was as if I had been bodily thrown from there back into the real world. Now it feels as if dreamtime has been closed off to me somehow."

Brenda didn't know about the task I had been set by The Mother and therefore didn't see my inability to return to dreamtime as big a deal as I did.

"That's disappointing, and I was really looking forward to settling up with those guys, too! Maybe it'll work another night? Anyway, there's probably more than enough to keep us busy right here in Axon," she said sleepily.

I stopped wriggling around long enough for Brenda to get to sleep then tried to enter dreamtime again. My second effort was just as fruitless as the first. Eventually I fell asleep myself, nursing my frustration.

In the morning King Kenneth was in fine spirits and he was keen to start our journey to meet up with General Howat. Liam Howat had taken charge of the first troops that had been raised while generals MacKinnon and Urquhart were riding the length and breadth of Axon to raise more.

We had decided to travel in daylight and to use the eagles to avoid more people seeing me using magic. Our flight lasted nearly two hours and took us to the edge of the Gapian Mountains. From high up in the sky it was relatively easy to pick out the Axon troops and we swooped low to find the General.

I could tell that King Kenneth was disappointed in the size and make-up of the army that had mustered so far. There were perhaps twelve hundred gathered in total, but nearly all of them were infantrymen with only a smattering of cavalry and archers.

"Is this the best that you could do, Liam?" the King demanded sourly.

"It is difficult, Highness. Most people are more interested in protecting their families and what few possessions they have left. I'm amazed we managed to gather as many as we have," Howat replied.

"We need to give the people something to raise their spirits, something that will heat their blood, something to make them rise up! Something to rally around!"

General Howat shared what little information his scouts had been able to gather. The main concentration of Scanian troops here in the south was not surprisingly the capital city of Gower. Around two thousand troops occupied the city.

There were three other, smaller, garrisons and Kenneth was more interested in these as a possible target. His plan was to score a few easy victories to help raise morale without losing too many troops.

I asked the eagles to fly out and gather better, up-to-date, intelligence and the King ordered the General to start the Axon army moving north and eastward.

We marched for three days and all the while the eagles kept us informed about what the Scanians were up to. Kenneth decided he wasn't going to take any chances with this first action in what he hoped would be a successful campaign. He told the general and I that the attacks on the three garrisons should be mounted simultaneously and should take place at night.

Kenneth hoped we would catch the Scanians asleep, and would be able to take care of them without incurring casualties. From the way he was talking, I knew that he would be spreading the word about three victories to stir the Axonites if all went according to plan.

"You have command of three hundred and will attack the camp at Lesser Cowdrey, Liam. Sean, you take another three hundred and take care of Glasden. And Sean, use as much magic as you like. I've decided that there is no point in keeping that ability hidden any longer! We need it!"

The King was taking the largest body of men and would attack the largest garrison, which was based at a town called Fauldhouse.

"Try to make sure none escape to give Gower any warning," the King added.

We split up to make our way into position just as darkness was falling. As the time for action drew nearer, my own troops grew nervous, but eager to strike back at the invaders. My keen senses helped me identify the sentries that the garrison had on duty.

With no bar on using magic, I was able to fly into the most advantageous positions and strike the men down easily enough. They were quickly tied up and left for dealing with later.

After seeing me fly, the men in my force were suddenly treating me differently. The fact that I was a prince stopped them from turning on me, but I sensed some hostility and suspicion. Whispering started immediately and I decided to put a stop to it quickly.

"Listen, we are in this together. I'm sure all of you have heard about what happened in the battles at Randall and other places? Yes, I see that you have. The Scanians have been using wizards against us and that has given them an advantage.

"That ends here. My friends, I am a wizard as well as a prince. You might not like that, but I can assure you that you'll change your mind when faced with a Scanian magic user. Now, I suggest you get over your shock and focus on the job we have to do!"

After that the men calmed down a little, but if anything the looks I was getting were even more suspicious than before. There was no more time to argue with them until after we dealt with the Scanians however. My next priority was to eradicate the leaders of the garrison.

"All right. The officers are billeted in the four houses at this end of the village, they need to be taken care of first," I said to my captains.

There were more than enough volunteers and I could see daggers appearing in the hands of more than enough infantrymen to do the job. I could also sense the men moving forward in the darkness, as they entered the houses to carry out their grizzly task.

Again the take down of the officers was ridiculously easy and all that remained was a similar, if bigger, job to take out the main body of Scanian troops. The biggest handicap was the fact that the men were spread throughout so many houses in the town. There was also a danger of confusing Axon villagers with Scanian troops and we needed to encircle the town to prevent anyone from escaping to warn Gower.

Once the various squads of men entered the houses, I gave them a few minutes before casting a spell to provide us with enough light to spot any potential escapees.

"Solas!" I cried and a number of bright flares suddenly lit up the sky above us.

The light did illuminate several Scanians who had avoided my men in the dark, and they were quickly caught and dispatched.

It had been a particularly gruesome task, but my men seemed to have relished the opportunity of striking a blow for the liberation of their kingdom. Thankfully the bloodletting hadn't been as bad as it might have been, but now I had prisoners to look after. Before I could stop them, the Axon troops had managed to get hold of vina and lea and were drinking it in great quantities to celebrate their victory.

As I had suspected, King Kenneth used the news of the three successes (yes, the other two attacks went off just as easily as my own) to try to inspire more local people to join our army. As a result we managed to recruit another four hundred men to add to our numbers.

"I don't think we are ready to attack Gower, Highness. We need more cavalry and archers before that would be possible," lamented General Howat.

"Nonsense, Liam! You need to be more bold man. Our people want to see stunning victories. They have been without hope for months, we need to give them it back and I can think of no better way to do that than to free Gower!"

The general was clearly not convinced and I decided to side with my King on this occasion.

"The King has a secret weapon on his side, General. I have hidden my abilities up until now, but no longer will I do so. Axon will have strong magic on our side when we re-take Gower from the enemy!"

"Yes, Highness. Word of your abilities has already reached me. It seems that many who were with you at Glasden last night are disturbed to be close to you. Many are asking the question how is it possible for a man to have magical ability?"

"Sean is a wizard, Liam. I know that is highly unusual. Perhaps he is unique. But it is an advantage that we badly need in our present circumstances," said the King.

Even the general looked as if he didn't trust me now that he knew of my magical abilities. I hoped that I would be able to win people over in the coming days and weeks.