Caswallon smiled and laid his hand on Gaelen’s shoulder. ‘If you thought the Gates were hard to comprehend, then do not ask about the man. He sent me home and I appeared in the Chalice Gate, even as you see me now. With my new words of power I activated the machines and scanned Axta Glen. You were not there. I searched the Farlain, coming at last to Icairn’s Folly. Then I opened the Gate and the Queen led her lancers through.’
‘But you did not ride with them,’ said Gaelen.
‘No. I am the Hawk Eternal, Gaelen, and I’ll never wield a sword against any man again.’
‘You have changed, Father.’
‘All life is change. But I am the same man who carried you from Ateris, the same man who loves his people. Only now I love them more. It is strange. I could have destroyed the Aenir single-handed; but with the gift of that power, I lost the desire to use it thus.”
‘How did Maeg take all this?’ asked Gaelen.
‘Hard. But love conquers all. And I love her – more than life.’
‘Will you remain as Hunt Lord?’
‘Do I look like a Farlain Hunt Lord?’ he asked, smiling.
‘No.’
‘And I shall not be the Hunt Lord. I will remain here, at Vallon, and tend the Gates. There are many tasks before me, Gaelen, but first I must spend some time with Maeg and Donal. Then I will meet Astole again.’
‘I am returning with the Queen,” said Gaelen. ‘Lennox, Onic and Gwalchmai are coming with me.’
‘I know. We will meet again.’
‘Tell me, Caswallon, are you truly content?’
‘More content than any mortal man has any right to be.’
‘Then I am glad for you.”
‘And I for you. You have a fine woman in Lara, and I know she will give you beautiful children. I wish for you a life enriched with love, for you deserve it.’
‘I shall miss the Farlain. Will I be able to return some day?’
‘Ask me when next you see me.’
‘I must go. The Queen is waiting,” said Gaelen.
Caswallon rose and walked round the table. ‘Walk always in the Light,’ he told Gaelen.
Caswallon watched the clansman leave and his heart ached. He had seen pity in Gaelen’s eyes and knew the bond between them would never be the same. For to Gaelen, Caswallon was no longer a clansman. He had put aside his sword.
What could he have told Gaelen to make him realise? Should he have explained about the man in the desert?
Caswallon grinned wryly and filled his goblet. Tell him about a man who allowed himself to be dragged through a city and murdered by the people he loved? Oh, yes, that would have impressed him. He finished his wine and turned to the black screen before him. Lifting the control box he tuned the image, watching Sigarni, Gaelen and his friends crossing the Gates of Time.
He felt a cold breeze on his back and turned to see Maeg standing in the doorway hugging a woollen shawl about her shoulders. She seemed so distant, so withdrawn. Caswallon swallowed hard, a sense of despair gripping him.
‘You must be getting old, Caswallon,’ she said, ‘allowing yourself to be surprised by a woman.’
‘Surprise, is it? When I heard the footsteps I felt it had to be a mountain troll come to life.’
She grinned at him then. ‘My feet are not so large. But even if they were I think I’d sooner have that than vast areas of my head losing hair.’
‘Did no one ever teach you to respect your elders, woman?’
‘Is it respect you want?’ she asked, moving closer.
He opened his arms and held her close. ‘Do you still love me, Maeg?’
‘I love you, clansman. Above all things. And you’re a fool to believe otherwise. Now tell me what happened to you.’
For an hour or more they sat together until he had emptied himself of words. At last she led him from the chamber to walk under the stars above Vallon.
Epilogue
A GWAINE RULED THE Farlain for twenty-seven years, having first led his warriors in the sack of Aesgard. The city was razed to the ground and all its inhabitants put to the sword. Thereafter peace came to the mountains.