We climbed back down the hill.

‘I have some very bad news for you, I’m afraid,’ he said, as we squelched across the easier parts of the hill.

‘Yes?’ I wanted him to tell me quickly.

‘I’m afraid that one of your sisters is dead, and another of them missing.’

‘Oh.’ I didn’t quite know how I felt about that. My sisters and my mother had never shown me anything but disdain, but they were still my family. There was a little stream of irrational familial affection still in me.

‘Bellina witnessed the death of your youngest sister. The boy I mentioned, the one Elia met, he killed her, revenging a girl of Vellion she murdered. He did it with the Spear of Longius. His name was Balin, and he died too, so there’s no revenge for you.’

‘And which of them is missing?’

‘The Lady Neave.’ He stopped talking as he jumped over a small stream. ‘When the spear was removed from its place at Castle Spar-Longius, the place collapsed. The rumour is that Neave was lost in the rubble.’ He walked on. ‘You never talked about your family on Avalon, but Elia thinks you weren’t close to them. I know that doesn’t stop it being a blow to you. Your mother has been very badly affected. They say it hasn’t stopped raining in the Lands of the Lake the whole year.’

We reached the top of the rocky rise that would take us back down to Mordred’s dark chamber. He stopped and leant against the wall. His face was very serious.

‘I don’t know if Dinadan’s capture will change things,’ he said. ‘He may tell us something of Arthur’s plans that will send us in a different direction, but...’ he trailed off, rethinking what he wanted to say. ‘You haven’t asked why we brought you back now.’ He held out his hand to stop me interrupting. ‘We all wanted you back sooner, as I said, Palomina especially. But the truth is that we need you back too. We need to get Excalibur away from Arthur, or neutralise its power somehow. We have to show the people that he can be defeated, even if only in a small way, especially now Camelot has the spear too. It’s the only way we can conquer the people’s fear, and gather them to us.’

I didn’t like where this was going. ‘I don’t know anything special about Excalibur. My mother made it with her blacksmith, but I don’t know how to unwind its magic.’

He lowered his head and shook droplets of water out of his hair, arranging his words. ‘You see, Drift? We didn’t even know your mother’s blacksmith had his hand in making the damned thing.’

‘Her hand,’ I corrected him. ‘Martha is the name of my mother’s smith; the Lady Nemue doesn’t allow men to hold positions of power in her lands.’

‘And there’s my point exactly, you know more about it than any of us.’

I felt sick. My head began to shake. I could see what road he was leading me down. ‘Don’t make me do this –’

‘I would like you to go home, Drift.’

‘I won’t,’ I said instantly.

Do greet your mother on my behalf, Lady Bertilak had said. She had known somehow. Palomina must have known too.

‘Not this.’ My hands were dripping water. ‘Please, Mordred. Anything but this.’

‘You won’t be on your own. Bellina will go with you.’

‘Bellina? Why her?’

‘Because she can make it look like a visit from someone related to power. I hope that if she tells Lady Nemue the story of what she saw at Spar-Longius, and how deeply Merlin was involved in the catastrophe there, your mother will ally herself with us. There are so few people of power free in Britain now. Your mother, Bellina’s father, King Lot and King Mark of Cornwall are our best chances of gaining strong allies.’ He ruffled his hair, and I knew he was thinking of his foster-father. ‘There’s no help likely to come from Erin, nor from Elia’s people in the west. We’ll make the argument to your mother that Merlin, and by extension Arthur, were responsible for the deaths of your sisters. And if we send you, her son, back to her, after she’s lost two children – she must be pleased with us. Grief alters people.’

‘She won’t be pleased to see me.’ There was a whining, childish tone in my voice. ‘She’ll think that the fact I’m alive and my sisters are dead is a crime against nature and justice.’

He smiled to himself. ‘You’re refusing my first order? Some general I am. I understand that it’s hard for you, but you’re the best chance we have.’

‘I’m not refusing.’ I tried to calm myself. ‘Just making a suggestion. I’ll go to the Lake, but I’ll not show myself to Mother. The smith, Martha, she was a friend to me. She might tell me something about the sword. Send Bellina to my mother by all means, but let me go to Martha in secret. We have signals we once used.’

He nodded sharply, agreeing to my suggestion. I began to climb back down the rocks.

‘The less Bellina knows about our plan the better,’ Mordred said behind me. ‘We don’t want your mother reading her mind.’

I sniggered. ‘Goodness knows what horrors she’d find in there. Bellina’s brain might be enough to turn even Lady Nemue mad.’

* * *

The room fell silent when we entered. They were much as I had left them, sitting round in small groups. Elia was playing something on her harp. Garnish was cooking something delicious-smelling in an oven I hadn’t noticed earlier. Palomina was there; John of the Marsh had relieved her from guarding Sir Dinadan. They all turned to us, their eyes registering shock that Mordred was standing in the doorway. He hadn’t joined them in their communal hall for quite some time. Melwas gave him a long, searching look. He nodded at her solemnly.

‘Everyone,’ said Mordred. ‘Now that Drift’s back it’s time to talk about our next moves.’

The tension in the room relaxed as Garnish served our dinner, a creamy fish stew made with freshwater trout that Piers assured me he had caught in a nearby river, and vegetables that couldn’t possibly have been grown in the land thereabouts. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes a round dinner table, big enough for us all to squeeze around, had appeared in the room. It was loaded with breads and cakes, jugs of water and ale. Epicene pressed my arm as we took our seats.

‘Garnish has a minor magic, water-mage.’

‘And a pleasant one,’ I replied frostily, worried about our prisoner. ‘More pleasant that either of ours, perhaps. How is Sir Dinadan?’

She smiled broadly. ‘He is well. A most interesting man.’

‘What did you do to him?’

‘I? Nothing, Drift.’

‘I still can’t sense your magic, Epicene. How have you hidden it from me?’

She tilted her head enigmatically, and did not answer. Her big black pupils searched out the edges of my glamour. I knew she had never worn one, and wondered if she was judging me.

Epicene sat on my left, while Palomina squeezed into the stool on my right side. Mordred sent Garnish to take bowls of the stew to John and our prisoner while the rest of us ate and drank. The mood became even more convivial as we ate, although there was an awkwardness between Melwas and Mordred. While the rest of us were squeezed together by necessity, they maintained a gap between each other, and rarely spoke.

When we had finished eating, Mordred pushed his plate away, and the room fell silent, all apart from Aglinda, who was chattering away to Christian in a kind of childish gobbledygook that delighted the boy. It took her a good while to realise that the frown Norma had been giving her throughout the meal was now replicated by other, silent faces. Mordred, however, did not frown; when Aglinda finally stopped talking, he winked at her.

‘Right,’ he said. ‘We’ve been ploughing the same furrow for too long, I think, and it’s starting to look barren.’

‘Too right,’ said Piers.

‘But Drift and Palomina’s return has provided us with some new opportunities. Epicene, did Sir Dinadan reveal anything of interest?’

She nodded her bald head. ‘Two chief matters. First, Dinadan knows that Palomides is alive and well.’

Palomina grabbed my hand. ‘Yes?’

‘Yessss,’ exclaimed Piers, throwing his fists above his head.

‘Indeed,’ said Epicene. ‘They knighted him, as we had heard, possibly as some kind of enchantment I do not recognise. I am afraid they did take the knowledge of our first hiding place by the loch from him, and the knowledge of our code – we did well to shift to another. However, even now that his information is of out of date, they show no sign of discarding him. Palomides is kept obedient by a spell Dinadan does not understand. He believes that Arthur waits for Escalabor’s gold.’

‘He’ll never get my father’s gold,’ said Palomina through gritted teeth. ‘Not while I’m in charge.’

‘The second piece of knowledge is of Arthur’s plans for this summer’s campaign. When Drift and Palomina encountered him, Dinadan was on his way to a meeting with Sir Lamorak and Merlin. It seems they three alone have been given the task of searching us out. They believe that their efforts at Samhain have prevented us from growing our threat to them.’

‘And they’re not much wrong,’ said Elia glumly.

‘The rest of the round table and their armies are to be committed against King Mark of Cornwall. Once the castle of Tintagel has fallen, they will sail on Agravaine’s father at Orkney. Arthur means to proclaim himself King of all the Britons by the end of this season. Sir Tristan will be installed as the Duke of Cornwall, and your brother Gawain as Duke Orkney, Agravaine.’

‘The bastard,’ exclaimed Agravaine, slamming his fist on the table. ‘I’ll kill him. I cannea believe Gawain would conspire against Da.’

Epicene sat back in her chair.

‘This is a great opportunity for us,’ said Melwas. ‘We can use this knowledge to unite King Lot and King Mark against Arthur. As the last remaining independent kings in Britain they are now natural allies to each other –’

‘Not so natural,’ interrupted Petal. ‘My king hates Lot’s guts. He reckons that Caledonians are untrustworthy.’

‘And Da isnea too fond of the stuck-up Cornish either,’ said Agravaine. ‘But he’s no fool. He’ll go to Mark’s aid if he’s asked.’

‘Indeed,’ said Mordred. ‘Melwas’ point stands. Does Dinadan know when Arthur’s making his move on Cornwall, Epicene?’

The fire-sorcerer shook her head. ‘He knows only the broad nature of the plan. He is dedicated to the search for us, not the business in the south.’

‘What does your daddy say, Bellina?’ said Piers. ‘Has our southern spy sent us word of Arthur’s plans?’

Bellina shrank back in her seat, and Mordred answered for her. ‘We’ve not had word from Sir Breuse in over a month.’

‘If my father knew of this, he would have sent word,’ said Bellina, recovering her composure.

‘We should take this news to King Lot as soon as we can,’ said Melwas.

‘Agreed. If no one objects?’ said Mordred.

‘Nah,’ said Agravaine. ‘let’s go now.’

Mordred turned to Epicene. ‘When do you need to return to the Cave of the Dragon to speak to your father?’

‘King Hermaunce will make his decision at the end of your summer.’ The fire-sorcerer put some irony into the phrase ‘your summer.’

‘Then you should go to Orkney with the others,’ Mordred said.

Epicene nodded.

‘You are not coming with us, Mordred?’ said Melwas. There was a look of intense distress on her face.

Mordred shook his head. ‘We all saw how little Agravaine’s mother wanted me on Orkney last time we were there. I don’t want to give King Lot a reason to doubt us again. Tell him that I’m over the sea, which I will be, even if it’s not the one she told me to cross last time.’

‘And what will you do on your own, my friend?’ said Brunor knowingly.

‘I’ll keep myself out of trouble.’

‘You would not, perchance, have an idea of going south?’ said Brunor. ‘Perhaps have the idea of beating Arthur to Tintagel? Because you remember I am sworn to aid you on your quest in that direction, as you are sworn to aid me in my mine.’

‘You’re going to see Queen Melody?’ exclaimed Petal. ‘She’s so funny and mean. My best mistress.’

‘Not Queen Melody, my colourful Petal,’ said Brunor. ‘But his sister, who is kept locked away at the top of Tintagel’s high tower.’

‘Oh,’ said Petal. ‘Oh. They’d never let me see her. Queen Melody says she’s very pretty, but King Mark gave strict orders that only the queen can see her. No one breaks the king’s rules in Tintagel, except for my mistress sometimes.’

‘I won’t go to Tintagel, Brunor,’ said Mordred. ‘I won’t go anywhere near Cornwall.’

‘Swear it.’

Mordred looked away. ‘I swear. I’ll not go south of the Roman wall. As Dinadan thinks that Lamorak and Merlin are heading north I’ll keep an eye out for them, and stop them if I get the chance.’ He turned back to the table. ‘But you, Brunor, I’d like you to go south.’

The boy of the ill-fitting coat looked puzzled.

‘I still think our first ideas were sound,’ Mordred went on. ‘Drift’s return gives us new opportunities, opportunities beyond the intelligence we’ve had from Sir Dinadan. Bellina, I’d like you to go with Brunor and Drift. I want you all to go to the Lands of the Lake. We have a chance to win lady Nemue’s support too. Bellina, I’d like you to go to lady Nemue as your father’s emissary, and tell her about Merlin’s part in the collapse of Spar-longius.’ He looked to the door; no one was there. ‘just as Garnish told the tale to us. Petal, would you go with them as Bellina’s handmaiden? It’s important that Bellina looks... important.’

The curly-haired girl sighed, and put her head on the table. I got the impression she didn’t like Bellina very much.

‘To the same effect, Garnish will go with you too; it’s important Bellina looks like a lady. But as ever, be careful what you say to him.’

I frowned, but Bellina spoke before anyone explained the last part to me.

‘Of course I’ll look like a lady,’ she said icily.

‘Brunor, your task is to guard them on the road, in case you encounter Merlin and Sir Lamorak further south.’

 ‘It will be my honour to escort such beautiful ladies as mistress Bellina and pretty Petal to this Lake, my friend,’ said Brunor.

Bellina looked at him like he was a nasty stain. He grinned back at her indulgently.

‘Is there anything else?’ said Mordred. ‘No? Right, then I suggest we make ready to break camp in the morning.’ He turned to Melwas for almost the first time in the meal. ‘Can I have a word with you outside please, Melwas?’

The Gaul looked wary, fearing, I think, what he might have to say to her; but she stood and followed him out of the gate as Garnish returned to the chamber. Agravaine’s eyes followed Melwas and Mordred until the door closed behind them.

Bellina threw her clean napkin over her barely-touched food. She looked at me. ‘Well, troll, I’m sure your mother will appreciate your return now you’re pretending to look like that.’

‘What do you mean by that, Bellina?’ said Palomina.

‘Goodness, don’t they give girls eyes in whatever hellhole it is you come from?’ said Bellina. ‘Look at the troll: he still walks like a hunchback. That isn’t how he really looks at all.’

And that was how Palomina discovered that I hadn’t been wholly truthful, which was very much not how I’d planned to tell her.