There is a tree in my mother’s lands I call the hollow tree. It is still there if you care to go looking for it. It is one of my favourite places in the Lands of the Lake. It stands on the eastern side of the water, roughly in the middle of the gentle valley that surrounds three sides of the shore. I am fond of it for several reasons, one of which is the view it allows. Although the tree is part of a quite dense woodland, the forest is so arranged that, sitting at the base of the hollow tree, you can see the calm waters of the northern two thirds of the lake, which is about a mile and half away from you at its nearest point. The view includes the mountain range that begins at the lake’s northern head, and the Christian nunnery that stands at the foot of the first mountain. I was always fond of the nuns, and in particular the ancient Mother Superior. They would never tell me anything of their – and now my – religion, for fear of incurring my mother’s wrath and being cast out of their home, but they talked to me when very few others in my early life did. I also liked the view because of what you couldn’t see. The southern third of the lake was obscured by trees even when their leaves were shed in winter, so my mother’s castle was never visible. I had rarely been welcome in my family’s home, and when I was invited in it was to scold me, toy with me, or, on the previous occasion I had been through the gates, hand me over to my death at the hands of Arthur and his knights.

I had another reason for being fond of that tree, though, one that trumped the idiosyncrasies of the view: it was the place where Martha the blacksmith had left food for me in winter, and sometimes met with me. Of all the people who lived in my mother’s lands, Martha was the one who loved me most. It wasn’t simply a matter of pity, though I’m sure pity had something to do with it. Unlike the nuns, Martha was of the magic, and like me she knew what it was to be an outsider. I never learned much of her family, but I do know that they were all smiths – and, well, to this day I have never met another woman blacksmith. I suppose that she was, if not as despised as I was during my childhood, not entirely happy in her family life. Certainly I think she was always grateful for having been invited into my mother’s service. Other than her kindnesses to me, Martha had always been loyal and wholly obedient to Lady Nemue.

Once I arrived at the hollow tree I unsaddled Tommy, pointed him in the direction of some grazing, and settled down to wait. I had no idea if Bellina and the others had yet been collected from the edge of the forest, and thought it might well be the next morning before the codeword I had planted with Petal made its way to Martha. I did not expect the blacksmith to be able to respond until at least the next evening. I cursed our lack of foresight in having relied on Garnish to supply our journey, as when I checked Tommy’s saddlebags I discovered that the foods I’d packed there had returned to their original forms, and were now nothing but a mulch of chopped herbs and seeds. But I knew the land well, and even without approaching the Lake knew I could forage enough in the way of edible mushrooms and berries to feed myself until Martha reached me with word, signal or her person.

The rain was incessant. I watched it sweep across the surface of the Lake, occasionally catching the light and seeming to flow as a wave. Despite all the rain, the water level was not abnormally high. I suspected that was because the rains were not natural. My mother had set a cycle in which the water rose and dropped straight back into the same place. I felt the gentle, cooling flow of my mother’s magic, liquids flowing slowly through and around each other. It was a soothing sensation and one, I realised, I had lived with for the first fourteen years of my life. I had accepted it as a fact of the world around me, like the trees or the mountains, and it had been so familiar I’d never noticed it.

Night was falling when I heard someone approaching from the direction of the castle. I stood, and prepared to defend myself, but then I saw Martha emerge from the gloom. Petal had delivered my message sooner than I had hoped, and the blacksmith had come almost at once.

She was huge, Martha, with a broad, often cheerful, face, and soot-stained blonde hair that she kept short because of her work. She had the biggest arms I have ever seen on a woman, and though her hammer hand was the stronger of the two, her arms were not disproportionate to each other, as some smiths’ and many archers’ are. She was peering through the rain with curiosity, and broke into a wide smile when she saw me.

‘Oi, lad,’ she said in her booming voice. ‘It is you.’

‘M-M-M-M-Martha.’ I matched her smile. I moved forward to hug her, having become used to embracing people in my time away from home, and forgetting that Martha’s affection, though genuine, was not very tactile. An awkward moment resolved itself with us clapping each other on the shoulders, she rather more firmly than me.

‘So you’re alive after all, then,’ she said. ‘I was concerned.’

‘I-I-I-I-I-I’m afraid I c-c-c-can’t return your chisel t-t-t-t-to you.’ I spoke of the tool I’d used in my first, failed escape from Dinadan’s cage. She had passed it through the bars of my cage before they’d driven me out of the castle by the Lake. ‘The knight’s m-men t-t-t-t-t-t-took it from m-m-me.’

‘Aye, no bother. I looked for you here every day that month after Dinadan took you, and often ever since, my lad.’

‘And here I-I-I-I-I am at l-last.’

We sat down together under the shelter of the tree, and she took out a package of bread and cheese she had brought for me. ‘I came as soon as I could. That little servant lassie of yours was saying the word ‘hollow’ every other word as she went across the courtyard. Lady Nerina thought she was having a fit. Funny collection of folk you’ve sent to your mother: a London lady, a Cornish maid and a Moor to guard them on the road. Not often you see that. Though your sister didn’t seem suspicious of them. These are funny times generally I suppose.’

‘M-M-M-M-My sister g-greeted them? Is m-my m-m-m-m-m-m-m-mother not here?’

Martha reached out her huge hand to catch a few drops of rain. ‘Lady Nemue’s been like this ever since she got word of Spar-Longius. You’ve heard about Nemone and Neave?’

‘Y-Y-Y-Yes.’

Martha looked like she was about to commiserate with me over the loss of my sisters, but stopped herself halfway through the first word. She was as unsure how to approach the subject as I was, so in the end she simply said ‘Aye,’ and let the word linger and fade. ‘Anyway, my lady’s not been seen much since it happened. Nerina completes most of the day-to-day tasks, with little Natalie running around her ankles. She’s a sweet-natured thing, your niece.’

‘She d-d-d-didn’t h-have a n-name when I-I left.’

‘I suppose she didn’t. Your mother only emerges from her chambers when we have visitors, but those have been precious few since the rains began. I hear her sometimes in the night, raging against Neave for betraying her... Grief can break even the strongest of us. Some of the maids have gone too; even our old friend Enid decided that the rains were driving her mad, and went into the service of young Dame Maledisant.’

‘Y-Y-You didn’t w-want to g-go?’

She shook her head. ‘Where would I go, lad? Lady Nemue’s been kind to me in ways she never was to you, though I’m sorry it was that way round. She’s a cruel woman, I know it – I’ve seen it – but...’ She shrugged. ‘What brings you back? What are your friends doing down there?’

‘M-M-My m-m-m-m-mother can’t know I-I’m here, M-Martha. That’s the f-f-f-first thing. B-B-Bellina is h-here to s-s-see if m-my m-m-m-mother will ally w-w-with... I-I-I’d rather n-not say whom. I-I-I-I don’t w-want to get you into t-t-t-trouble.’

‘I can guess,’ she said, and reached across to tear a corner from the half-loaf of bread. She chewed at it thoughtfully as I went on.

‘I-I-I-I’m here to l-l-learn about Ex-Ex-Ex-Ex-Excalibur.’

‘Ah.’ I struggled to read the tone of that ‘ah.’

‘C-C-C-C-Call it... I-I-I-I’m stronger in m-my m-magic now. S-S-S-Say I-I-I w-wanted t-to make a sword l-like it for m-m-myself. C-C-Can you t-tell m-me how it works?’

‘You might be stronger in magic now, my lad, but you’re not that skilled. The sword and its scabbard are a perfect spell, one of only perhaps two or three in the world. It took all of your mother’s magic and mine to make it; and there’s not enough power left in the Lake to make another.’

‘N-N-N-No?’

She dipped her bread in some soft cheese. ‘Your sisters’ powers didn’t flow back here as they’re supposed to,’ she said with her mouth full. ‘The stories of what really happened at Spar-Longius vary, but my guess is that Merlin killed them and took their magic for himself. He’s been more aggressive than usual the last few years – since you were taken, in fact. Just like his king. Have you heard of this place Camelot?’

I nodded.

‘You should have felt the strain in the land when Merlin forced it out of the ground. Britain screamed in pain. You could hear it even here in your mother’s lands. It was horrible to feel the land you love so badly treated.’ She shuddered. ‘The upshot of the loss of Neave and Nemone’s magic is that your family no longer has complete control of the inland waters. Without a unified power there’s no way to make a spell like the one that forged Excalibur, and without that spell there’s nothing for me to bind into metal. Even if the power does return, your mother’s had almost the lifetime of the world to learn how to cast such a perfect magic. You’re what, fifteen years?’

‘S-S-S-S-S-Sixteen years p-p-p-past May Day.’

She laughed quietly. ‘Of course you are. The only way to achieve the power of Excalibur is to take Excalibur, I’m afraid. There’s a story that Arthur’s sister Morgan took it from him for a time. I’m not so stupid as all that, I know who you’re with; word of the May-children has reached as far as here. They say one of your comrades is a son of King Lot, and that means Queen Morgawse is his mother. She’s a sister of Arthur’s too. Perhaps she can pull a similar trick to the one Morgan managed. Or if you can reach Arthur’s queen... they say Guinevere has never cared for Arthur, that she loves, and has always loved, Sir Lancelot. If you can get close enough, you might be able to convince her to steal the sword from his bedside for you. Would you like my advice for your next moves, lad?’

‘Of c-c-c-c-course.’

‘Get back over the border. If your mother finds you in her lands I don’t think she’ll let you leave. You’ve brought a decent portion of power with you, more than she ever believed you’d grow into. She won’t want you to take it away again. Wait for your friends. I’m not sure if your mother will offer her aid to them, but I doubt it. Then get you all to Orkney, and beg the help of King Lot and Queen Morgawse. I’m truly sorry that I can’t offer you any more assistance than that.’

‘N-N-N-N-No, thank you, M-M-Martha.’ I didn’t tell her that we already had a party on Orkney, trying to convince the king and queen to join with us. I pushed myself to my feet using the trunk of the tree.

Martha clapped me on my misshapen back. She intended the gesture to be friendly, but while she knew her own strength when it came to metal, she had never been too good at judging force when it came to flesh. ‘It is a true pleasure to see you alive and well, lad. I have missed you, and will miss you again.’

I held out my hand to stop her leaving. ‘C-C-Can you d-d-do me one m-more favour, M-Martha?’

‘Aye, Drift. Anything that’s in my power.’

I considered my words. I wanted her to deliver a message to Brunor, but I couldn’t think of a way to couch it in code that would be unintelligible if Nerina or my mother overheard it. In the end I drew a complete blank on how to phrase it, so I simply told her in plain language. ‘T-T-T-Tell B-Brunor – that’s the M-M-Moor – say that Sir L-L-L-Lamorak rides n-n-north. He has the S-S-S-S-Spear of Longius. T-T-Tell him Lamorak’s l-l-looking for Ep-p-p-p-picene. He should ride h-hard to w-w-warn her. I-I-I’ll bring B-B-B-Bellina and Petal back.’

I watched Martha’s broad back disappear into the trees, then gathered up Tommy’s saddle and harness. I walked through the dark wood, looking for my horse.