his left eye. His right eye was dark, gleaming with humour and power.
It was not the stranger who answered Judith, but Saeweald.
―Silvius,‖ he breathed, leaning forward so that Judith, now standing, could lend him her
hand and aid him up.
At the mention of that name, Judith‘s eyes flew sharply to the man. Silvius? Brutus”
father? The man Brutus had murdered at fifteen in order to seize his heritage?
―Aye,‖ the man said. ―Silvius, indeed. It has been a long time, Loth, since we met within
the dark heart of the Labyrinth.‖ His eyes slid down Saeweald‘s body, marking the deformities.
―My God, boy, does Brutus‘ hand still mark you?‖
―As much as it marks you,‖ Saeweald said, his tone still cautious, but nodding towards
the patch over Silvius‘ empty left eye socket. Judith passed Saeweald his robe and he, too,
clothed himself. ―Silvius, what—‖
―What do I here?‖ Silvius‘ face suddenly seemed weary, and he raised his eyebrows at a
chair that stood to one side of the hearth.
Saeweald nodded, and Silvius sat down with an audible sigh. ―I am as trapped as you,
Saeweald, and,‖ he looked at Judith, ―as I suppose you are, my dear. I take it from your intimacy
with Loth here—‖
―Saeweald,‖ Judith put in quietly.
―Your intimacy with Saeweald here, that you, too, are reborn from that time when we all
suffered at the hands of Brutus and that woman,‖ he spat the word out, ―he tried to make the
Game with?‖
―Aye,‖ she said. ―My name was Erith then, and now I am Judith.‖
Silvius nodded, his expression still weary. ― Asterion is back.‖
―We know,‖ said Saeweald. ―Silvius. What do you here? And how? ‖
―Brutus trapped me at the heart of his Game with my murder,‖ Silvius said. ―I am as
trapped as any of you.‖
―But you seem flesh, not shade,‖ Saeweald said.
Silvius grunted. ―You‘d be astounded at what has happened in the past two thousand
years, my boy. I sat there within the heart of the Labyrinth, and somehow I took power from the
Game. I am as much a player in the battle that is to come as either of you two are.‖
―But you cannot move from the Game,‖ Saeweald said. ―You were trapped within its
heart.‖
Silvius looked up at him, his one good eye seething with knowledge and power. ―Who
says I have moved from the Game?‖ he said quietly.
Saeweald and Judith said nothing.
―The Game was left unfinished,‖ Silvius went on. ―It continued to attract evil…and it
grew.‖
―Grew?‖ said Saeweald. He shared an appalled glance with Judith.
―Oh, aye. Grew. Grew in power and knowledge and in magnitude, my boy. You think
that the Game, the Labyrinth, occupies only the top of Og‘s Hill—Lud Hill as now you call it—where my son first built it?‖
The other two were silent, staring at Silvius.
Silvius‘ mouth twisted. ―Nay,‖ he said, very softly, and he threw his arm out, as though
encompassing not only Saeweald‘s chamber, but the whole Westminster complex. ―The Game
occupies the entire area of the Veiled Hills now, my boy. It has burrowed deep, indeed.‖
Then Silvius leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, and looked at them
intently. ―I have had enough of this disaster my son helped construct. I feel partly responsible,
and so I am here to help you.‖ He paused. ―To help Caela.‖
Saeweald narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ―Caela?‖
―Oh, for the gods‘ sakes, boy! You think me a fool? I know Caela is Cornelia-reborn, and
I know how important she is to you, and to your Mag and Og besides. And I know she does not
remember, and this she needs to do. Yes?‖
Silence.
―And Caela is the only one who is likely to know where Mag truly is, yes?‖
More silence.
―Yes, and yes again,‖ Silvius answered for them. ―Caela needs to remember very badly,
for if she does not then all of our causes are lost. Saeweald, perhaps all that Cornelia needs is
something from her past life to jolt her into awareness.‖
―What?‖ said Saeweald, finally, grudgingly deciding to trust Silvius just a little bit.
―What possibly remains from her previous life save want and need and hope?‖
Silvius grinned, holding Saeweald‘s eye. ―A bracelet,‖ he said.
Saeweald frowned, but it was Judith who spoke. ―Saeweald, you may have never seen it,
but Cornelia had a bracelet, a beautiful thing of gold and rubies that she brought with her from
her life as a princess of Mesopotama. She rarely wore it here in Llangarlia, but I know she
looked upon it occasionally, remembering her life as a girl.‖
―Aye,‖ said Silvius, ― that bracelet. What would happen, do you think, if we slipped it on
her wrist again?‖
Silvius was still frowning. ―And you know where it is?‖
Silvius nodded. ―But to retrieve it safely I need you and whatever ancient magic of this
land you still command. Saeweald, will you aid me?‖
―No,‖ Judith said, but it was already too late, for she could see the light in Saeweald‘s
eyes.
ELEVEN
Very late that night, when the moon had sunk and the streets of London were lost in silent
stillness, two men on horseback approached London Bridge from Southwark.
―They will not allow us to pass,‖ Saeweald muttered, squirming uncomfortably in the
saddle. His mare, Maggie, was well used to her rider‘s habitual wriggling, and strode on
unperturbed.
―Is that so?‖ said Silvius, his teeth flashing white in the darkness, and Saeweald saw him
make a gesture with his left hand.
―A sign of the Game,‖ Silvius said. ―Look.‖
Ahead was a guardhouse that protected the entrance to the bridge. Normally four or five
men stood night watch here, but as the horses approached Saeweald could see, through the open
doorway into the dimly lit interior, that the watchmen slouched dozing around a brazier.
―They shall not wake,‖ said Silvius. ―And likewise with the guards who stand watch at
the other end of the bridge. The way shall be open for us.‖
―You can manipulate the power of the Game?‖ Saeweald said, and Silvius glanced at
him, hearing the distrust in his voice.
―I was a Kingman too, remember? Yes, I can use parts of the Game‘s power. But, believe
me, Saeweald, I want what you want. To stop my son, at any cost, from completing the Game
with his Darkwitch. I do not want him finding those bands and completing his horror.‖
Silvius visibly shuddered, and Saeweald relaxed slightly. ―You look so much like him,‖
Saeweald said. ―I am sorry if I remain on guard.‖
―I tried to help you before, didn‘t I?‖
―Yes. Yes, you did,‖ Saeweald said, remembering how Silvius had tried to aid Loth when
he‘d challenged Brutus to battle within the heart of the Labyrinth. ―I am sorry, Silvius.‖
Silvius nodded, accepting Saeweald‘s apology, and led the way on to the bridge, which
was largely built over with houses and shops leaving only a narrow, barely lit tunnel for
travellers on foot and horse to walk. The horses‘ hooves echoed loudly in the enclosed space, and
Saeweald glanced back at the guardhouse.
There was no movement.
―They remain unaware,‖ said Silvius.
From the bridge they turned right along Thames Street (Saeweald looking curiously at the
stones of Gog and Magog sitting inscrutable at the London-side entrance to the bridge), pushing
their horses into a trot and then a canter.
―We have little time,‖ said Silvius. ―It will be dawn in a few hours.‖
―Where do we go?‖ Saeweald said, having to raise his voice above the clattering of
hooves.
Silvius nodded ahead. There, rising out of the gloom, was the White Mount which
occupied the eastern corner of London. At its top rose a dilapidated stone and timber structure: a
lighthouse, constructed by the Romans almost a thousand years earlier. As they neared it, Silvius
pulled his horse back to a walk, and waited for Saeweald to do the same.
―Aha,‖ said Saeweald, in answer to his own question, knowing now where it was that
Silvius led him.
―The Romans built this,‖ Silvius said. ―You know that?‖
Saeweald nodded.
―The Romans were a people from the same world as the Trojans, although from a later
time when the mysteries of the Game had been forgotten. They were drawn to this land and to
this place by the siren song of the Game, although they did not recognise it. On this mound, one
of your sacred hills, they built a great lighthouse, a beacon tower.‖
―But the tower is of no importance.‖
―It is not. You are right.‖
―It is what lies beneath it.‖
―Aye.‖
―The well,‖ Saeweald said. The Romans had built their lighthouse atop the White Mount
which, in Saeweald‘s other lifetime, held a sacred well. Brutus had caused the opening of the
well to be covered over when he built his palace there, but Saeweald supposed the well was still