Part 24 (1/2)

'Aye, they are You should see this place on a clear night, with thethe sky'

'You've coht?' Leah asked, her eyes wide

'Many times'

'Why?'

Gabriel looked sideways at her 'Searching for the Cn Annwn, of course'

'What's that?'

'The Cn Annwn? The spectral hounds of Welsh folklore Huge black dogs with burning red eyes Fangs as long aswith saliva They only hunt on certain nights of the year, between Christht where we sit And they bring death to anyone who hears their howl'

Leah frowned 'Why would you want to hear them, then?'

Gabriel scrunched up his face into a leer 'Why, to find out if it's true, of course'

The girl laughed

Hannah shook her head, unable to prevent herself frohten her'

'No he won't It's silly There are no such things'

Gabriel shrugged in defeat 'Foiled again By a nine year old'

After their lunch, with the te and the summit obscured by cloud, they packed up their picnic and folded the blankets Gabriel took a sack of crushed barley from a pannier and showed Leah how to feed the horses

Hannah watched thehter see days would be a strain on the girl Soon they would beto another new environ would be unfamiliar

They mounted up, and Gabriel led the way back down the slope When they passed through a ravine and saaterfall spilling down the rocks, its roaring waters white with foa frorassy slopes spotted with heather The land dipped beneath the stacks They skirted a rocky hillock to their right; beyond this, the lip of the next ridge plunged over a vertical cliff face As they drew closer, and the land beneath came into view, she saw that the drop before them was at least a few hundred feet Gabriel approached the precipice and turned to follow its line south

As Hannah's horse neared the edge, she spotted a cottage nestled in the valley below It was s from its chimney Two cars were parked out front The first was a white Audi Q7,its sides The second was a battered blue Land Rover Defender

With a jolt, she realised that the Defender was Sebastien's As she watched, threeSebastien's tall frame and fuzz of white hair were unnise the other twojacket and was powerfully built, his face covered by a dark thatch of beard The second man, shorter and considerably older than the first, and dressed in a grey suit, see while the other two listened

A feeling of dread began to creep over her She sensed Gabriel ride up beside her, and she glanced across at hihbour,' he said, nodding towards the cottage

Hannah watched as the three ht her along this route to show her this? She disht as ridiculous

Who the hell is Sebastien talking to down there?

In front of the cottage, the two strangers shook hands with Sebastien and cli upthe track to the main road Behind it, Sebastien raised his arm in farewell

'Do you know him?' Gabriel asked

She shook her head

'Really?'

'Nope'

'That ht be for the best,' Gabriel said When she turned back to him, all trace of his usual humour had vanished

Ice crawled up her spine 'Why do you say that?'

CHAPTER 15

Oxford 1997

Charles walked along the gravel path of the university botanic garden, searching its benches for Beckett

The physic garden had always been one of his favourite places He enjoyed its scents and its spectacle, its tranquillity and its history, its unique expression of the seasons Usually a walk through its grounds was a tonic for his worries But not today

He had been feeling unsettled for weeks Since the publication of his Legacy of the Gerraph of hiuilt had washed over him and the tide would not recede

He recalled Nicole opening the book for the first tie staring back at her At first it had shocked her into paralysis And then the anger exploded out of her She ripped the book in two, flung away the torn halves, and launched herself at him with a scream

How had he ever justified such a spectacularly selfish decision? The terrible irony was that he loved Nicole even , yet with that one act he had blithely broken every promise he had made to her, had reduced the beliefs that fraeyraph announced I've indulged your paranoia for eighteen years and now it's time we buried it

He knehy he had done it: pride Even eighteen years after , most desirable, woman he had ever met After all their years of secrecy, he had wanted to broadcast their relationshi+p to the world, to announce that he, Charles Meredith, had had the good fortune to have snared a wo as worthless as his own vanity could beco it left him wretched

At first Nicole talked, in a detached and e and disappearing Later, after hours of tears froether: leave Oxford, leave the notoriety of his name, her new and unwanted publicity

Yet after all the talk, they had not, finally, done anything They loved each other too much to be apart, and the foundations of their lives had been sunk in Oxford soil for too h they reed There was a carefulness noeen the, before acting He ated himself for their loss They had not shared a physical closeness since that first fight Nicole had not refused him The truth was, he simply felt unworthy of her It hat unsettled hiathered the courage to admit his second act of betrayal the piece he had written for the Mottray

It was that article, published aits paths and searching for the bird-like creature that was Patrick Beckett

Charles found him on one of the benches that circled the water fountain Beckett rapped in a woollen overcoat and hat Theon the fountain's surface, tapping out a complicated rhythm on his knees A briefcase rested beside hie had not softened the acadenition and jumped to his feet 'Here he is! Professor Meredith, slayer of the alhty hosszu eletek!'

Charles shook his head 'Patrick' He was in no mood for Beckett's theatrics

The man jerked back in surprise, then clapped a hand on Charles's shoulder 'Why so glum, my friend? I expected triuh only the e that presents itself Coestured at a strip of tartan fabric lying on the wooden struts

Charles sat down 'You said you had soht to the point as always No taste for small talk' Beckett delved into a pocket and reh, I must insist on a toast' He unscrewed the cap of the flask, took a sip, clenched his teeth and sed 'To the success of your Ger eence as a folklorist Birth and Death was a revelation, Charles' He proffered the flask