Gods Concubine by Sara Douglass

Silvius grunted. ―And you should become a prophetess of doom, Mother Ecub. None

should doubt that.‖

She shot him a black look.

Saeweald looked at Caela, now with Judith‘s comforting arm about her shoulders, then to

Silvius.

―If he has the Mistress of the Labyrinth,‖ he said, ―and if he wanted to destroy the Game,

then all Asterion would need to do is kill her. Swanne is the only woman alive who can

command the powers of the Mistress. If Asterion has her alive, then there is a reason for that,

surely.‖

There was a silence, disturbed only by Caela‘s deep, tremulous breathing as she brought

her emotions under control.

―What do you mean?‖ Silvius said eventually.

Saeweald shrugged. ―For the gods‘ sakes, Silvius, do you not sit in the heart of the

Game? Were you not once a Kingman? What I am saying is that if Asterion wanted to destroy

the Game, and if he controls Swanne, then all he needs to do is to kill her.‖ He paused. ―And if

he hasn‘t, then there is a reason for that, and we should determine what that might be.‖

―What does Asterion need in order to destroy the Game?‖ Caela said to Silvius. ―Could

he accomplish it by Swanne‘s murder?‖

―No,‖ Silvius said. ―He would need both Swanne and control over the kingship bands.

That means he needs control over both Swanne and William.‖

―Then that is why he hasn‘t killed Swanne,‖ Caela said. ―He needs to take William as

well; whatever else, Asterion can‘t leave William free.‖ She looked at Silvius, then as quickly

looked away again.

―But you are moving the bands,‖ Saeweald said.

―William can still find them easily enough,‖ Caela said. ―He is their Kingman. They call

to him constantly.‖

―So Asterion needs William to find the bands,‖ Saeweald said. ―And for this he

has—somehow—taken Swanne. She is both bait and trap. Ah! We may as well assume

William‘s loss now, for he will fall into Swanne‘s arms as easily as if he were a babe seeking his

mother‘s milk!‖ He looked at Caela. ―And what do we need to control the Game, to wed it to this land forever and trap Asterion in his turn?‖

―We need Swanne to pass on her powers as Mistress of the Labyrinth to me, and we

need—‖

―William to pass over his powers as Kingman to…to whoever shall rise as Og,‖ said

Saeweald. One of his hands raised momentarily to his chest, as if to touch the tattoo beneath,

then dropped back to his lap.

―Yes,‖ said Caela, her voice flat.

―Let us concentrate on Swanne for the moment,‖ said Ecub. ―We cannot let her remain

within Asterion‘s grasp.‖

―Do you suggest we somehow rescue her?‖ said Saeweald.

―A rescued Swanne would be a very grateful Swanne,‖ Judith said. ―Prepared, perhaps, to

hand over her powers as Mistress of the Labyrinth?‖

Silvius nodded. ―My thoughts exactly.‖ He turned to Caela. ―Saeweald and Judith are

right, Caela. You told us earlier that you should have recognised Swanne‘s scream for help when

you heard it. Well, now you have heard it. We know that Swanne wants to be rescued from Aldred-Asterion‘s grasp. One of your, and this land‘s, problems has always been in the

persuasion of Swanne to hand over to you her powers as Mistress of the Labyrinth. Now,

perhaps, Asterion has handed us our bargaining power. If Swanne has the choice of handing the

power to Asterion, or handing it to you…‖

―I don‘t know,‖ said Caela. ―For many months I have sought out the means by which

Swanne might be persuaded to hand me her powers as Mistress of the Labyrinth. I

was— am—sure that when I saw or heard of this means, I would recognise it. This does not feel

right.‖

―Why?‖ said Saeweald.

Caela made a helpless gesture.

―You can‘t ignore it,‖ said Silvius. ―Swanne must be desperate for release from Asterion.

This could very well be the chance you‘ve been waiting for, Caela.‖

―Silvius is right,‖ said Saeweald. ―We offer Swanne freedom in exchange for her wholly

handing to Caela the powers of Mistress of the Labyrinth. Then, once William realises Swanne

has handed on her powers, he will do so as well.‖

Ecub‘s mouth twisted. This all sounded very naive to her. ―I‘m sorry to disagree,‖ she

said, ―but surely Swanne would prefer to see the world destroyed before she handed over any of

her powers? And why do you assume that she wants to escape Asterion? Did she not boast to

Saeweald of her new lover? Of how she apparently preferred him to William? Does none of this

sound a note of danger to any of you?‖

―There is no way that Swanne could ever want to ally herself with Asterion,‖ Silvius said

forcefully. ―None whatsoever. Why? He wants to destroy the Game, Swanne wants to use it to achieve immortal power. She wants Asterion destroyed. She cannot possibly want to ally with

him.‖

There was a silence, finally broken by Caela. ―Yes,‖ she said, ―I agree with Silvius.

Swanne cannot be allied with him. If she has boasted of her new lover, then they were words

Asterion forced her to speak. What I saw in that chamber was not an act of love and consent, but

of violence and domination. Asterion is murdering Swanne by slow degrees.‖

―Aye,‖ said Saeweald. ―She is ill. This cannot be ‗want‘ on her part.‖

Ecub sighed and nodded. ―Very well.‖

Caela gave her a smile, then addressed the group. ―If we manage to free Swanne, can we

hide her from Asterion?‖

―Yes,‖ said Silvius. ―I think so. We can conceal her within the Game itself. There she can

teach Caela.‖

―Possibly,‖ said Caela. ―I, for one, still doubt that any rescue, even one of this magnitude,

will make Swanne so pathetically grateful she‘ll just pass over her powers. Ah, no need to look

so concerned, Silvius. I agree we should at least try. Who knows? Miracles can happen.‖

There were nods from Silvius, Judith and Saeweald, and a mild shrug of agreement from

Ecub.

―How do we free her from Asterion?‖ Caela asked. ―Surely, if it was a simple matter of

walking away…‖

―We need to know just what power he holds over her,‖ said Silvius. ―Caela, you will

need to speak to her. Let her know that she is not alone. That she will be rescued.‖

Caela nodded.

―As Damson.‖

―Oh, no! Silvius…I do not want to do that! It was enough that I risked her as much as I

did when—‖

―You cannot go as yourself!‖ Saeweald said. ―It is too dangerous—especially since

Swanne now knows Mag is not dead. What if she has told Asterion? Caela, if you use Damson,

then you will have the chance of escape should…‖

―Should Asterion discover what I do,‖ said Caela, her tone bitter. ―In which case Damson

will be killed.‖

―Better her than you,‖ Silvius said. ―You know that.‖

―I owe Damson more than this.‖

―You owe this land more than Damson,‖ Silvius retorted. ―Never lose sight of that.‖

There was a long silence, then Caela gave one single, reluctant nod.

In the event, it was almost seven weeks before Caela could do anything about

approaching Swanne. On the morning that she told Silvius, Saeweald and Judith of what she‘d

discovered in Swanne‘s bedchamber, Harold ordered Aldred north to his see of York. Rebel

sentiments were stirring, and Harold needed Aldred to return to York to work on Harold‘s

behalf.

Swanne went with him. A few days after Swanne and Aldred had left, the great fire in the

sky faded and then vanished, and everyone breathed a little easier.

Doom had been averted, it appeared.

In itself, Swanne‘s journey north need not have delayed Silvius‘ plan to use Damson to

approach Swanne, but Damson herself had unexpectedly travelled to her home village in

Cornwall where her mother lay dying. Until Damson and Swanne were within the same town, it

would be impossible for Caela to use Damson to approach Swanne.

Meanwhile, and now knowing who Asterion was, and, most importantly, where he was,

the Sidlesaghe and Caela moved a fourth band. This time Caela took a band from its hiding place

close to London Bridge and shifted it five miles to the south-west of London to a small village

called Clopeham where Caela handed the band to a Sidlesaghe sitting mournfully on a stool at

the junction of two roads.

There was no interference, no trouble, no disturbance. The move was effected quickly

and smoothly.

Asterion made no attempt to halt them, and Caela supposed that this time it was because

he was so far distant.

SIXTEEN

Swanne arched her back, stretching out her stiff muscles, then bent her elegant neck

slowly from side to side. The journey back from York had taken three days of hard riding, and

three nights of…

Swanne forced her mind away from Aldred. She would not think about those nights.

She wouldn‘t.