He undressed, washed and went to pick up the silk flower from where it lay on the bed.
‘Assa,’ he said gently, ‘would you not prefer to come down? I have saved you half of the wine.’ She dropped down from the canopy above the bed and came to take the glass from him. He gazed upon her in open desire.
‘I am tired,’ she said bluntly as she swiftly downed the wine and divested herself of her clothes, ‘I need to sleep.’ She looked at him uncertainly as though some invisible force was preventing her from moving to the bed and going straight to sleep.
Her amber hazel eyes held him enthralled, he reached out to touch her neck with the silk flower very slowly and ran it down her left breast. A faint sigh escaped her parted lips and she trembled under the flower’s caress as he rolled the head gently down her body to her pubic hair. He took a step closer, she did not back away. He heard her swallow hard. He brought the flower behind her and stroked her buttocks and then her back, twirling the stalk between his fingers.
He had never kissed her; it was an intimacy with which he felt she was not yet comfortable. He brushed her mid-length hair away from her neck with his free hand and kissed her where his hand had been. Still she did not move from him, but stood breathing deeply, staring ahead of her, her hands resting by her side. Her breasts were touching his chest as he kissed her neck on both sides moving his lips ever closer to hers until he tilted her head toward him with both his hands and tenderly skimmed her lips with his to gauge first her reaction. She had not recoiled so he tried again with slightly more force, and again, and again. As she finally accepted his tongue, she grabbed hold of his erection. He moved her hand away from him so he could rub his cock on her as he kissed her passionately. His fingers found her wet to the touch as he probed between her legs.
He gradually knelt in front of her to push his tongue between her legs as he moved her slowly onto the bed and buried his face between her open legs. She was moaning softly, almost inaudibly. After a while, she grabbed his hair and pulled him up on top of her. She cried out involuntarily when he entered her, and she wrapped her legs around him tightly. She no longer wanted him to be slow and he responded powerfully. She kissed him fiercely, her body crying out for him to take her with increasing force until her back arched underneath him and her fingernails dug into his back as she shuddered from the violence of her orgasm. As she continued to writhe under him, he released himself into her in one explosion of ecstasy and slowly rolled panting on to his side, still holding her close. This time, he was determined to entice her to stay.
‘Now you should sleep,’ he said trying to sound as matter of fact as he could between his gasps for air. ‘I won’t disturb you.’ And he pretended to sleep himself, careful to keep her lightly folded in his arms. She lay there still breathing rapidly, her body trembling, making no move to leave his side. Gallend remained awake long enough into the night to stay true to his word of not disturbing her. But he had to sleep himself eventually, so he gently removed his arm and turned on his back to sleep. When he woke the next morning she was still next to him, sitting fully dressed, waiting patiently for him to wake. He sat upright, smiled and caressed her cheek.
‘I killed two intruders last night, I left their bodies up there but now it’s light, I thought I had best show you,’ she said as though this was an everyday occurrence. Gallend had to stop himself from laughing. That wouldn’t be appropriate. It was typical of Assa and he hoped she would allow him to get used to it. ‘I will dress then. Would you like perhaps some breakfast first?’ he asked equally casually.
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The guards of the Amrothian residence had already found the two bodies and Elphir was standing on the roof with Erchirion trying to make sense of how they got there, only they were not on the roof of the Amrothian house but Lady Hannedriel’s which was directly overlooked by Erchirion’s balcony. Galador had been the first to notice the birds gathering around two prostrate forms and they had alerted the Citadel. Faramir had by Aragorn’s order forced an audience with Hannedriel and compelled her to allow his men to investigate. She had been most reluctant.
Gallend called up to Elphir, who came down with Erchirion to join him and Assa at the entrance to Osimir’s where Amrothos and Frea were still living under heavy guard. They waited for Faramir to arrive before going in to speak with Amrothos.
‘Where is Hadán?’ Elphir asked.
‘He left for The Wold yesterday morning,’ Gallend answered. ‘Assa is the one you need to speak to. Erm… she was the one who killed the two men on Hannedriel’s roof last night. It’s best she explains.’
‘Where’s Galador?’ she asked first.
‘He’s at the house. Should I get him?’ Erchirion replied anxiously.
‘Yes,’ she said impatiently. ‘Now.’
‘Is he in danger?’
‘You are all in danger. Elphir, you’re a good archer. Give them cover. I’m not the only one who uses the rooftops, and they must know you use the ladder in the garden to come between these two houses. Even an average archer can take a clean shot at anyone on the ladder from the window of Green Gandior, the first house to the left opposite. None of you have been careful enough,’ she lectured.
While they waited, a stunned Faramir interrogated her on other weak spots he himself may have missed around the Citadel and was shocked at the detail of her reply. He called in one of his commanders and went through each of them until Galador was safely deposited inside.
‘I take it your father is secure in Dol Amroth?’ Faramir asked Elphir.
‘Maglor went through every inch of the city and the palace to ensure Lothíriel’s protection. Guards have been placed in every weak spot and their allegiance is trusted. I have done nothing but worm out these Astari spies since I returned before the coronation last year, despite not understanding their connection with Sennebar, but I fear the infiltration here was far greater.’
‘They are not Astari, the two on the roof’ Assa piped up suddenly. ‘Nor was the man you captured a month ago at your house, though he was pretending to be. He had been sent to find and later kidnap Galador, not Lothíriel. They are also trying to track down the Condir.’
‘It would be a great help to all of us here if you could give us a detailed account of what you have uncovered, Assa,’ Faramir suggested to her carefully, knowing she could be easily dissuaded from cooperating by the slightest hint of pressure. ‘Everything you have observed is important so please take your time.’ She thought about how best to arrange the information in her head and a clear picture began to emerge of the threat they were each facing.
She had sat listening patiently to the interrogation of the intruder a month ago with increasing certainty that although he had had exposure to the Astari, he was not one of them. His loyalties lay elsewhere. Once Gallend had left with Imrahil to find Lothíriel at the wedding, she had taken a somewhat different approach to the man’s interrogation. She declined to tell them exactly what that entailed, but it seemed she had received enough information to leave two days later for Pelargir. Tuor and his men had made great progress in dismantling the Astari network there. She had gone to meet some old ‘friends’, some of those she had persuaded to turn against the Grand Master and had, on her recommendation, turned their allegiance to Tuor. Not all Astari were inherently bad, she had pointed out, though it was not always easy to tell what truly lay in the hearts of men.
One of them, Unadan, had heard rumours, among those in the network who had been adherents of the old Condir, of another power, one not controlled by the Grand Master, one which worshipped a darker force, one based in Umbar but which had come from the north, not the Southern Lands. He had heard tell of this some years before from an Astari he had trained with, who had been embedded in Lamedon, a man Unadan had not seen or heard from since. He had felt at the time that the man had been sounding him out as a possible recruit. Assa knew this man’s associates and paid them a surreptitious visit in Calembel, the main city of Lamedon. It had been most instructive. She had persuaded Unadan to spy for her on the promise that Tuor would reward him with trust and freedom, as well as enough riches to support himself well. He had made contact with adherents of this sect and had learned much.
The name of the old Condir was Bregolin, and he had not been loyal to the Grand Master but to Sauron. His unexpected demise at the hands of Galador had been a serious blow to the Dark Lord. Bregolin had been a most useful spy on Pallando and had used the Astari network for Sauron’s needs. The new Condir Pallando appointed was weak and was soon being manipulated by another, an ally of Sauron’s, but Unadan had the impression that he was not a wholly loyal follower. The men Unadan spoke to referred to Sauron’s ally as Dwola.
‘Dwola?’ Gallend had said with a sharp intake of breath. ‘That is very similar to a name we use in Rohirric. It means a deceiver, a madman. He’s a character from our ancient past in Rhovanion. He shows a fair face, but his heart is rotten and cruel. He personifies evil. It sounds like an apt name.’
Assa continued to explain that this Dwola had lost contact with the new Condir at the time of Aragorn’s attack on the Corsair fleet at Pelargir ahead of the Battle for Minas Tirith, and with him access to the huge riches this man had taken the precaution to move away from the fighting further north. He had been ordered by Pallando to take the hoard to Sennebar, but seemingly he had disobeyed. The Grand Master had sent a small force of Astari to Pelargir with the Corsair fleet. Their task had been to kill Tuor and then to take a ship to Dol Amroth to either capture or eliminate Lothíriel. However, one of this force of Astari owed his allegiance to Dwola, not the Grand Master, and he had reported to Dwola seeing the Condir arriving in Pelargir ahead of the Corsair attack. As Dwola’s acolyte was the only one of the Astari force to have survived the Army of the Dead and the final battle for the Citadel of Pelargir, the Grand Master never uncovered this betrayal.
Assa thought it possible the Condir himself was unaware that he had been seen. He had been assumed dead in the battle, however nine months later he had resurfaced briefly in Minas Tirith to send messages to the Grand Master from the safe house raided just after Sennebar fell, but after that he had once again simply disappeared. Unadan’s sources had told him that this Dwola and his men have been searching for the Condir ever since. Assa had followed two of these men from Pelargir to Minas Tirith, to Lady Hannedriel’s house.
She had decided that it was worth the risk of them killing Hannedriel and had followed them inside to hear the nature of their interaction with her. Gallend looked decidedly unhappy at the risks she had taken. The pair had pretended to be Astari from Sennebar and had threatened to kill both of her daughters and then her if she did not tell them where to find this missing Condir.
Hannedriel had been quite feisty and had not backed down, Assa told them with begrudging respect. She denied all knowledge of where her brother was. Killing her daughters or herself would be significant news within Gondor and meant they would never find her brother. He would simply bury himself even deeper, but if they agreed to leave her alone, she knew where her niece was hiding, and her niece undoubtedly knew where he was. If they could not persuade her niece to give him up, then keeping her alive was their next best option as her niece’s death would make her his only lifeline and lead him to contact her eventually, at which point, she would happily tell them where to find him.
‘It was quite clever of her,’ Assa commented, ‘utterly ruthless, but clever. I thought I should kill them both before they were able to reach Amedlan, so we can get to this man first… I believe you know where she is, Lord Elphir? The name of the place she gave them was a farmstead in the Lossarnach hamlet of Tiernan, called Burnedan.’
Elphir nodded. ‘She is surrounded by my men keeping her under surveillance, not that she herself realises this.’
‘So, it’s confirmed,’ Faramir pondered. ‘The new Condir is Hannedriel’s brother, Hannemor… And since we know it wasn’t Assa who killed Hannestor, it seems likely that it was Hannemor who portrayed his father as the killer to the Grand Master to prove his loyalty and deflect suspicion of the deed from himself. What a family…’
‘No one specifically said his name, but as I understand it, Hannedriel has two brothers: Hannemor and Belegond,’ Assa commented.
‘Lothíriel has had Belegond safely locked up somewhere in Dol Amroth for the last six years, Assa, so it cannot be him, but Hannemor we have long suspected of playing this role,’ Elphir acknowledged in disgust.
Gallend had been pensive throughout. ‘The Astari always worked in at least a group of three. You said that you felt the man we interrogated during Faramir and Éowyn’s wedding had had Astari training, even if he was not an Astari, might it be possible that these are the other two of a cell?’
‘There were four in his cell, one of whom he feared greatly,’ she replied.
‘Four? Are you sure that there wasn’t another man present last night, Assa? One you didn’t see?’ he said with some urgency.
‘I cannot be completely sure,’ she said with signs of great discomfort that she might have missed something. ‘It’s always possible, but if there was another there, I don’t think the two I killed were aware of it and he used a different point of entry.’ She paused to think, ‘To be sure, we should ride to the farm in Lossarnach now.’
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They knew as they approached the remote farmhouse that something was wrong. It was overly quiet. With a sense of foreboding Faramir ordered his men to scout the surrounding area before entering the house with Elphir, Gallend and Assa. They could smell death and were not long in finding it. Elphir with a stab of anguish recognised two of his men he had asked to ensure Amedlan’s safety and captivity. At least they appeared to have died quickly. When they went upstairs, only Assa had the stomach to observe almost casually the injuries that had been inflicted on Amedlan. Gallend mastered himself first and forced himself to examine the body more closely. Elphir left to go downstairs and ordered several of his men back to Minas Tirith to bring Erchirion and Galador to him immediately with a significant armed guard. Much as he had disliked his sister-in-law, he had known her since she was born. He did not go back up but waited for Faramir to join him in the courtyard.
Elphir was shaken. ‘What kind of animal can do that to another?’
‘If I had to guess, I would say that was the work of a professional sadist. Who is this man?’ Faramir asked. ‘This Dwola.’
One of his men came up to them.
‘My Lord Faramir. Lord Elphir. We found the other men – all dead, assuming you only had two more guards here.’ Elphir nodded grimly. ‘I believe the tracks of whoever came here last night arrived from the north as we did but left southwards. I would say they were a party of six. I have sent men to follow their trail but once they hit the Dol Amroth road, it will be difficult to track them.’
Faramir nodded his understanding. Gallend came to join them.
‘Faramir,’ said Elphir, ‘it’s possible they are also going after Belegond. I’ve already sent a rider to warn Father and to Minas Tirith to bring both Erchirion and Galador here. Lothíriel never told any of us where she was holding Belegond, as far as I know, not even Father. I knew nothing of his deceit until that night in Minas Tirith at Éomer’s lodgings.’
‘He was being held at Lothíriel’s Lothring Estate, but I am not sure he is still there,’ Gallend quickly interjected. ‘If anyone knows it will be Galador and in any case, we need to keep him safe. His family is fast being eradicated.’ Elphir nodded his agreement.
‘As soon as they get here, I will ride with them to Dol Amroth. That witch Hannedriel knew she was signing her niece’s death warrant. You must make her pay, Cousin,’ he urged Faramir.
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The mood in the court of Dol Amroth was sombre when Galador joined Imrahil and his two eldest sons in the counsel chamber the next morning. He was greatly surprised when Imrahil greeted him with a sorrowful embrace.
‘I know you disliked your sister, but she was still your sister. It must be a shock nevertheless. We all feel it,’ he said sympathetically.
Galador was unsure how to react. He felt nothing. Elphir had advised against either of them seeing the body, but he could read from the expressions of all those who had the horror of what they had seen. And still, he felt nothing. Erchirion had been the more upset until Galador had taken him by the shoulders in anger outside the farmhouse and told him the truth about his wife.
‘My sister was far more evil than any of you ever understood. Without her help, I do not believe Cirion could have inflicted the damage he did on your family. Do not feel any sympathy for her in the manner of her death, she would have had none for you if your fate had been the same. If it had been Lothíriel, she would have revelled in it,’ he stated coldly, ignoring the looks of shock on the faces of the others present.
But here, in the counsel chamber, he decided it was better to stay neutral.
‘As I told the others, Lothíriel kept my father for a long time on the Lothring Estate, overseen in part by Vadamir. She had him moved when Vadamir wrote to her that he wanted to go touring again. Even I don’t know where he was taken, but Vadamir might. They have left Aldburg and are on tour in Rohan. I believe Faramir will ask Amrothos to ride to Rohan to find them. Also, it would be wise to send word to Lady Adriel. Lothíriel trusts her more than anyone else in Dol Amroth outside of your family. It’s possible she will also have an idea and she has recently spent much time with them in Aldburg. If these fake-Astari are in Dol Amroth, you will all need to be more careful.’
Imrahil laughed without mirth. ‘Galador, we are all far more concerned about you. You will take Amrothos’s chambers next to Erchirion’s while he is in Minas Tirith and if I may impose, I would like you all to stay in the Palace grounds until we find your father. He should have been kept in the dungeons like Cirion and met the same fate. Lothíriel was far too kind. He will not get the same treatment when he is brought here this time…’
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The guards around Hannedriel’s house saluted as Faramir and Gallend entered. The lady herself was impeccably dressed and haughtily watched them enter her drawing room. She did not rise to greet them. She sat razor-backed observing them both malevolently. Faramir took charge.
‘We are here to inform you of the brutal murder of your niece, Amedlan. She had been tortured to death. We do not believe this is a surprise to you.’ Hannedriel stared back at him unemotionally.
‘We have reason to believe that you and your daughters are in considerable danger. The two men found on your roof had been sent to find your brother, Hannemor, but there was a third man. A man already in your house. All your servants are being taken into custody as we speak. If you are willing to tell us in detail what you know, King Elessar will offer you his protection. If you do not, then all protection will be removed, and you and your daughters will be banished from Gondor.’ Faramir paused to give her time to reflect, but she remained unmoved.
‘Your assets have been temporarily confiscated as the extent of your treason is assessed. When it becomes known that you gave my father a list of 200 men to accompany me to their certain death, most of whom were my closest friends and most loyal lieutenants, do not think you will have any friends left in this city, or beyond. You have until nightfall to make your decision: either to cooperate in full or to pack up all that you can carry and leave. Be warned, no door north from here to Dale will be open to you, nor as far south as Sennebar.’
Annedriel rushed in followed by her sister Margelith. ‘There was another man here that day, Faramir.’
‘Annedriel, you do not know of what you speak,’ Hannedriel lashed out a warning.
‘We will not follow you into your disgrace, Mother. Faramir, please. We do not know enough to be able to tell you everything you need, but we will tell you everything we do know.’ Faramir nodded his acceptance.
Margelith turned on her mother in pure hatred, ‘Amedlan may have deserved what she got, she was far more embedded into your schemes, but not us. That man, that man who came here yesterday. Who was he? What did you do, Mother? Celdon’s daughter has been missing since yesterday late afternoon. She is nine. He took her, didn’t he? I saw the way he looked at her when you were in the garden and called her to you. And then those men came to threaten us, and you gave them Amedlan, knowing they would kill her. You could have sent for Lord Faramir then to save her, but you didn’t send for help. And all those men, those loyal captains of Gondor. That’s what that was, wasn’t it? Annedriel saw the lists you had left on your writing desk before you came back into your study and burned them. That we can and will testify to, Faramir. We will tell you what you need to know. Take us both away from her,’ Margelith demanded, no longer bothering to hide her hatred of her mother. Turning at the doorway, she said coldly, ‘I am so ashamed to be your daughter.’
Her mother did not deign to look at either of her daughters as they left, her face contorted into malice. ‘I know things about your father, Faramir, that would ruin his and your reputation forever.’ Hannedriel started vengefully.
‘What?’ he answered dismissively. ‘That he tried to rape Amahlia, this is more widely known than you think. I am indeed ashamed of many of the actions of my father, Lady Hannedriel, but I don’t own them. They were his misdeeds, not mine.’
‘No, no, no,’ she continued, ‘I know so much more than that…’
He interrupted, ‘And you are free to shout out what you know to all in Gondor who will listen, but I suspect once it becomes known how corrupted by evil you have become, no one will believe you. You have our terms, full cooperation or exile. I give you an hour.’
Hannedriel sat alone for some time without moving, pondering her options. She needed to burn the papers. She walked up to a little used attic room with a lit candle and, using a pendant she always wore around her neck, she unlocked a hidden cupboard that looked as though it was part of the wall. She took out a large chest and pressed the head of a screw, followed by a second, both of which formed part of the seal. It opened to reveal a pile of parchment, neatly ordered. She picked up one piece to set it alight with the candle, when a knife blade was held to her throat from behind and the candle blown out. Hannedriel saw a light approaching up the stairs she had taken. The man’s face was shrouded by a hood, an Astari’s hood. She started to squirm but the man who had hold of her was far stronger and was disinclined to move the knife from her throat. She stopped struggling when she had suffered enough deep cuts. The man was accompanied by two guards, both in Astari garb.
‘Thank you, Lady Hannedriel. Men, you know where to take her. You won’t be going to the Citadel, my Lady. Their dungeons are far too comfortable for traitors like you…’ he said ominously.
When Faramir returned, he was surprised not to find her waiting for him in the drawing room. He had thought it unlikely she would have chosen exile. When it transpired his guards had not seen her leave, he had them search the entire house without delay. They soon stumbled upon a secret passageway behind a false door in one of the back staircases leading to an exit two tiered levels below the house, just off the central thoroughfare of the city. No attempt had been made to conceal the hidden passageway in the stairs. It had been left wide open for them to find. Faramir called in his very best men to investigate. They found the traces of droplets of blood, which led them upwards to the top attic. Faramir swore uncharacteristically. A large chest stood empty. It was not difficult to surmise what had happened there, their tracks had been easy enough to follow until they had made it to the street below where the blood trail stopped abruptly.
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While Faramir was investigating Hannedriel’s disappearance, Gallend was informing Aragorn of all her daughters had divulged over the last hour. Initially it had been an uncontrolled outpouring of deep resentment. Faramir had been shocked at the level of manipulation they had endured, but eventually managed to focus the sisters on describing the man who had been at the house the afternoon of previous day. They described him as tall, with a manicured short beard, very handsome but cruel-looking, with dark-hair and brown eyes.
Margelith asked for a quill and paper and produced a likeness which was more than passable.
‘As I have not the beauty of my sister, I devoted myself to improvement. Artistry is the one talent I have,’ she explained, somewhat disingenuously as she was by far the more intelligent and astute of the two sisters. ‘He had an aura of malice, this man. We could tell that our mother was afraid of him, but when he came over to talk to us, we were both wholly seduced, he was so charming and so handsome, we felt flattered he had spoken to us. It was then that Mother called Celdon’s daughter, Lilléth, to serve them both tea outside, and she told us to go upstairs to prepare to go out to call on Lady Fíriel. As soon as Lilléth appeared, his attention on us evaporated. It had felt very odd, as though the sun had suddenly gone out. Mother called out to us again to go upstairs. When I looked out of the window at them, the way he was looking at Lilléth, something was just wrong. By the time we came down, he had gone, and unusually Mother ordered us to visit Lady Fíriel accompanied by two guards. We returned just before supper and retired early. I only found out after all the furore of this morning that Lilléth hasn’t been seen since his visit.’
Aragorn had studied the portrait closely. ‘This man looks familiar to me,’ he told Gallend. ‘But I cannot remember from where.’
Gallend thought carefully. ‘Not from Minas Tirith, I wager. Faramir has lived here all his life and swore he has never seen this man. A man as charismatic and handsome as this one would have attracted attention. I must get this to Assa. If he is Dwola, she is the more likely to have seen him. Can you get your best draughtsmen to copy this? We will need to send copies out to our entire network. Someone must have seen him.’
‘I assume you have already sent a messenger to Dale to find out from Lothíriel where she is keeping Belegond’ Aragorn enquired.
‘Yes, of course. And Faramir has already asked Amrothos to ride to Rohan to find Vadamir. He will leave first light tomorrow. Vadamir will be quicker to reach and hopefully knows where she moved him after Lothring. Do you know if Lothíriel is still in Dale?’
‘As far as I know she is either in Dale or Erebor, but she may be leaving for the Halls of the Elvenking in Greenwood around the time any messenger reaches her and that will delay her response further. I would rather not disturb her with our business here, Gallend. She has been through and done enough. But send this portrait to Lord Elrond in Rivendell and to Eradan in Dale, with instructions not to bother her with it.’
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Assa was waiting for him at the house. She studied the portrait attentively but shook her head when Gallend asked her if she knew the man. ‘I have been mostly in Umbar, Pelargir or Minas Tirith since the new Condir took over. This man’s base must lie outside those cities, as he is too striking for me to forget. I have sent word to Hadán to return from The Wold. He should be here in 8-10 days. I will leave with him for Pelargir and then possibly to Umbar. Tell me everything the two women said.’
He imparted all to her as he prepared their supper. Assa did not like having servants in the house, but neither did she clean or cook. Fortunately adept at both, Gallend took charge, although he was missing the equally organised and tidy Hadán. Nevertheless, Gallend was pleased at the prospect of having Assa to himself for that length of time.
Gallend spent his days with Faramir interviewing Hannedriel’s daughters and servants in ever greater detail and conducting a thorough search of her house and all its secrets. He had no idea where Assa was spending her time, he only ever saw her when she came to eat and sleep with him. Aware she was still getting used to being so close to him, he held back much of the affection he wanted to show her for fear of overwhelming her, nevertheless their relationship was changing into something deeper. He had found her surprisingly inexperienced sexually, especially about herself.
‘Assa,’ he said gently holding her lightly in his arms after a particularly curious session. ‘Hadán told me that we had met before, only I don’t remember. I’m sorry, if we did meet, especially if it was when I was in Minas Tirith about twenty years ago. I truly hope it wasn’t then as I was given to believe I was not… err… well-behaved.’
She turned to him and said bluntly, ‘You were sick. I looked after you and then the big, tall blond man came in and shouted at me and took you away.’
Gallend’s face creased up trying to remember. ‘Assa, I vaguely remember Théodred storming in and forcing me out of bed to go with him, but I remember nothing after having a few beers in a tavern on our first night here.’
‘That’s because you were poisoned, by one of the Astari I was following. I saw him do it and you went outside to be sick. There were two of them waiting to either kill you or take you somewhere against your will. Either way I dealt with them both and took you to my shack before they could attack you again. I gave you the right brew to cure you. You stayed with me for two days. The brew has a particular effect, it gives you hallucinations, amongst other things. Just as you were getting better, your friend showed up and took you away. He was so angry,’ she remembered in irritation.
‘Why was he so angry, Assa? You were helping me.’
‘Well, you were naked, and I was sucking your cock when he came in. He didn’t seem pleased,’ she told him without any sense of embarrassment.
‘Oh Béma. How short was your hair?’ She indicated that it was not even neckline. ‘Were you also naked?’ he asked, beginning to understand better something that had eluded him in the past.
‘No, not that time.’
‘And you were dressed as a boy?’
‘Of course,’ she replied irritated by the question.
‘I had wanted to see what it was like,’ she continued. ‘I lived in a building where men often went to be with other men, so I knew what they did to each other. I had already done that with you several times before your friend burst in. Cintillian bark makes you that way. It not only counteracts certain poisons but it… stimulates some men… in that way.’
Gallend groaned. ‘Did we do what we did just now too?’
‘Yes, once, but then you wanted to do it differently and I liked it,’ she said as if he was asking a stupid question. ‘You seem upset. Did I do something wrong? I just hadn’t felt attracted to anyone before.’
‘You mean I was your first?’ he asked in shock.
‘Of course. Like I was for you.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘You didn’t know what you were doing. You prefer to take me in the front, not the back. All the other men, they penetrate the back. But I prefer it your way, and then Hadán told me that what you do is more normal and should be more pleasurable for me so I should…’
‘You told Hadán this?’
‘Yes, of course. I tell him everything.’
Gallend lay back and heaved a heavy sigh. ‘Ah, poor Théodred. I better understand why he thought I… I just wish I could remember. A man should always remember the first time he makes love to a woman…’ He enveloped her in his arms and held her close to him.
‘That wasn’t “making love”, you didn’t even know me,’ Assa said scornfully.
‘Maybe, but I am now, Assa. I am making love to you now,’ he said intensely.
She had to think about that for a while. She knew he was important to her, in the same way that Hadán was. She had not really thought about it. Her love of Hadán was absolute, but it was a different feeling and sensation with Gallend. She studied his face as he held her to him. She had had few partners in the twenty years since they had first met. They had all reminded her of him in some way. She allowed him to hold her closely, understanding this was important to him. She felt strangely content. All she needed to do now to was to think of a way of moving her prisoner to Pelargir without Gallend finding out.
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Éomer was going through papers in his study when Genting escorted Amrothos in to see him. Panic crossed Éomer’s face at this unexpected visit.
‘It’s not Lothíriel,’ Amrothos was quick to reassure him. ‘As far as I know she is still safe in Dale. I have just seen your aunt and Lord Delwine, who has accompanied me here from Aldburg. He is organising rooms for us just for tonight. I need to find Vadamir and Hella and we have a good idea where they will be, but it’s still a good two days’ ride from here. I hope you don’t mind our imposition?’
Relief had swept over Éomer’s face. ‘Of course, not. Have you and Delwine eaten yet? You must dine with me here in my chambers.’
He called to his guards to send a message to the kitchens. The shock of seeing Amrothos arriving unannounced had made him realise how pervasive was his worry for Lothíriel. It was a constant nag of uncertainty, gnawing away at him. And he missed her. She wrote often but it took sometimes two full weeks for her letters to reach him, or longer if he himself was travelling within his realm. He wrote to her twice, three times a week, but the letters could not assuage his physical ache for her.
Delwine entered to a fond welcome from his King and nephew-in-law and places were set for supper in the adjacent room to his study. Amrothos related to Éomer all that had transpired in the last week, explaining that Faramir had sent him from Minas Tirith to locate Vadamir and find out if he knew the whereabouts of Belegond. It would be weeks before Lothíriel received their missives in the North and weeks before her reply.
‘I have men protecting them. Well, they are Gallend’s men to be fair,’ Éomer admitted, ‘He trained them. They are, as you say, two days’ ride from here. If you have no objections, I will come with you.’ Amrothos was grateful for the company, his broad smile giving his answer.
‘May I see the drawing of this man Dwola?’ Éomer asked Amrothos. ‘You have been told, I assume, the significance of that name to us?’
‘I know it is bad, but that’s all,’ he replied.
‘It is the name we invoke to scare children into being careful with strangers. He was only interested in… children…’
‘Then the name is truly apt, Éomer.’ Amrothos said grimly. ‘The evening before I left Minas Tirith, the body of a nine-year-old girl, daughter of one of Hannedriel’s servants, was found outside the city. Gallend told me that her injuries were… unimaginable. The man we are looking for, this man, was one of the last to see her. Hannedriel’s daughters are sure he took her from their house with their mother’s consent, and Gallend is sure that this was the work of the same man who murdered Amedlan.’ Amrothos looked away in disgust, not wanting to see the image playing in his mind. ‘They interviewed the servants who were only too willing to speak now their mistress is missing and disgraced. He did not arrive or leave by the main entrance. He most certainly knew the secret passageway from the house to the central crossway in the city.’
‘We must find this beast,’ Éomer declared with steely determination.
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Three days later, Genting surprised Gallend at their shared lodgings in Minas Tirith with a message from Éomer. He had wanted Genting there to relay to him all news concerning Lothíriel as well as Dwola as soon as it came to them from the North. Gallend was delighted to see his best friend. Observant as ever, Gallend noticed a flicker of surprise on Genting’s face when he told him that Hadán was in Rohan but decided to restrain his natural impulse to question everything. Genting’s relationship with Hadán was not his business. As it happened, he did not have too much longer to wait as Hadán turned up at the house later that very evening. Demonstrably happy to have her beloved brother close, Assa also seemed genuinely pleased to have Genting around, yet much to his annoyance Gallend still could not rid himself of the feeling that something was discordant.
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Over ten days from his departure from Minas Tirith, Amrothos clattered into Dol Amroth seeking an immediate audience with his father and brothers.
’It is infuriating but she never told Vadamir where she was moving Belegond. Vadamir told me she had always felt he had knowledge that would be useful one day. She could never quite grasp what it was, but the feeling never left her that there was another actor in this tragedy, one hidden from us, so he is sure that she will have chosen somewhere very secure. Did Lady Adriel have any insight?’
‘None, no, but she said the same as you. Lothíriel would have been very careful where she hid him. And it is just as well.’ Elphir answered grimly. ‘The Lothring Estate was attacked over a week ago. Two injured, but fortunately only two. Lothíriel’s security was still in place, so the bastards didn’t have it easy. But it does confirm they need Belegond for something.’
Amrothos looked concerned. ‘Éomer has Vadamir and Hella well protected in Rohan, thank the Valar. How did they know about Lothring? Erchirion, are you sure you said nothing in front of any of Hannedriel’s people after that night at Éomer’s in Minas Tirith?’
‘Amrothos, I swear. This has not come from me. I never knew he had been at Lothring,’ Erchirion confirmed, sounding upset he was still doubted. ‘They had spies everywhere.’
‘We have no choice but to wait for Lothíriel’s reply, which will take even more weeks if we miss her in Dale,’ their father concluded in frustration.