'Achren dared not do otherwise,' answered Gwydion. 'Yes, she knew Eilonwy's heritage. She recognized the Pelydryn, but also knew it would lose its power if taken forcibly from its rightful owner. Then, too, the book of spells had vanished. Achren could attempt nothing until it was found again.'
'And without even realizing it,' Taran said, 'Glew was the one who gained the book of spells. Poor foolish creature who thought himself cheated!'
'So he was,' replied Gwydion. 'He could not have seen the hidden writing without the light of the Golden Pelydryn. Even then, it would have availed him nothing. The spells obey only a daughter of the House of Llyr. Eilonwy alone has the inborn skill to read them? though not before she herself has reached the threshold of wodianhood. She stands there now, and the spells of Caer Colur are within her grasp. For that reason has Achren sought her so desperately.'
'Eilonwy is safe, then,' Taran cried. 'If she alone can awaken the spells, Achren dares not harm her. Nor does Achren dare harm us, since the Pelydryn and the book of enchantments are in our hands.'
'It may be,' Gwydion answered grimly, 'that Eilonwy is in greater danger than before.'
CAREFULLY GWYDION PLACED the book and golden sphere in his jacket and redoubled his efforts at the oars. Taran, clinging to the side of the boat, saw a high, dark mound loom ahead. Gwydion swung the craft farther seaward and now rowed steadily in a wide half-circle. The sea swell lifted the little vessel and drove it with ever-growing speed. The crash of waves rang in Taran's ears. Gwydion bent his strength to one oar, then the other, and Gurgi whimpered plaintively as the boat was flung forward into a narrow, foam-filled channel.
The pinnacles of Caer Colur rose black against a dark sky. Mist rolled around the columns of stone which had been, Taran guessed, proud and lofty towers, but were now crumbled and jutting ruins thrusting upward like the shards of broken swords. As they came closer, he saw the heavy, iron-bound portals, reminders of a day when Caer Colur had been a fortress rooted on the mainland. The gates faced the sea, but, since the castle had sunk lower, they stood half-submerged in the restless water. Waves churned arid beat against them, as though to take the ruins by storm and wreak their last destruction.
Near the massive portals wind and water had gouged a cave-like hollow, and here Gwydion moored the boat and gestured for the companions to disembark. As they clambered to the rocks Taran heard a tormented groaning and creaking from the gates, as though they had gained their own voice and cried out against the onslaught of the waves. Gwydion climbed upward. Finding a handhold among the sharp stones, Rhun painfully toiled after him, with Taran and Gurgi following to catch the Prince of Mona should he fall. Fflewddur struggled along silently.
Kaw had already flown to the walls, and Taran envied the crow his wings as he saw the sheer facing of stone and the broken parapets brooding high above. Gwydion led them along the base of the wall toward the heavy lintels of the gates. The bastion was cleft as though by a sword stroke, and loose rubble had fallen into the breach. The Prince of Don signaled them to halt.
'Remain here,' he ordered in a low voice. 'I shall go first and learn where Achren's guards are posted.' Noiselessly he vanished into the cleft. The companions crouched among the rocks not daring to speak.
Taran rested his head on his arms. His thoughts turned again and again to Eilonwy and to the words of Gwydion; he could barely bring himself to believe the slender, laughing girl could command powers perhaps as strong as those , of Achren. Soon, soon, he told himself, Eilonwy would be free. But as his impatience grew, so did his fear, and he looked up anxiously, straining eyes and ears for a sign of Gwydion.
He was tempted then to follow the Prince of Don, but in another moment Gwydion appeared from the shadows. 'Achren pays for a poor vigil,' Gwydion said with a hard smile. 'One sentinel watches landward, another leans drowsing on his sword. The others sleep.'
The companions pressed through the cleft. The task now was to discover Eilonwy's prison, and Taran's heart sank. Within the walls the ruins of Caer Colur stretched like a great skeleton. Its tumble of once regal halls and towers lay before the companions, and Taran glanced with dismay at Gwydion. The tall warrior motioned for the companions to draw their swords and indicated where each of them was to search.
Fflewddur was about to move toward the outlying buildings when Taran nearly cried aloud. Kaw fluttered from one of the towers and swooped down to perch on Taran's upraised arm. The crow beat his wings, flew aloft once more, and circled the pinnacle.
'He's found her!' Taran whispered. 'Our search is over!'
'It has only now begun,' warned Gwydion. 'One of us shall climb up and see if it is possible to free her. The others shall take positions farther along the wall to guard against surprise by Achren's warriors.'
'I shall,' Taran began, then hesitated and turned to Prince Rhun. He bowed his head. 'She will be your betrothed. It was your wish that you…'
'That I should prove my valor to the Princess? Yes,' Rhun said slowly. 'But it is my wish no longer. I'm quite content proving it to myself. And I rather guess you might really be the one Eilonwy would prefer to see first.'
Taran glanced at Gwydion, who nodded and directed the others to move to the landward side of the castle. As Rhun went to join Gurgi and Fflewddur, Gwydion knelt and drew the book and golden sphere from his jacket.
'If aught should go amiss, these must not fall into Achren's hands,' he said, setting the objects carefully beneath the loose stones. Deftly he replaced the rubble and smoothed the earth around it. 'This must serve to guard them until we return.'
Kaw had flown back to Taran. Gwydion rose and from his belt took a coil of slender rope, made a loop on the end and held it out to Kaw, murmuring softly to the crow. The bird snatched the line with his beak and flapped silently to the jagged pinnacle, hovered above a jutting stone, then dropped the loop securely over it.
Gwydion turned to Taran. 'I know what is in your heart,' he said gently. 'Climb up, Assistant Pig-Keeper. I leave this task to you.'
Taran raced to the bottom of the tower. The rope pulled taut under his weight and the mist swirled about him, as he sought a foothold in the rough wall. He tightened his grip on the cord and drew himself upward. A sharp gust of sea wind buffeted him. For an instant he swung free of the tower. Below, the waves dashed against the rocks. He dared not look down, bur desperately strove to halt the dizzying motion. His foot struck stone again. Bending all his strength to the rope, he climbed higher.
A casement opened just above him and Taran hoisted himself to the ledge. Within the small chamber a rush light burned fitfully. His heart leaped. Eilonwy was there.
The Princess lay motionless on a low couch.. She still wore the robe Teleria had given her, though now it was torn and mud-spattered. The red-gold hair tumbled about her shoulders and her face was pale and drawn.
Taran hurriedly swung himself over the ledge, dropped to the flagstones, and hastened to Eilonwy's side. He touched her shoulder. The girl stirred, turned her face away, and murmured in her sleep.
'Quickly!' Taran whispered. 'Gwydion waits for us.'
Eilonwy roused, passed a hand over her forehead, and opened her eyes. At the sight of Taran she gave a cry of surprise.
'Gurgi is here, too,' Taran said. 'Fflewddur, Prince Rhun? all of us. You are safe. Hurry!'
'That's very interesting,' said Eilonwy sleepily. 'But who are they? And for the matter of that,' she added, 'who are you?'
Chapter 16
A Meeting of Strangers
I AM EILONWY DAUGHTER of Angharad Daughter of Regat,' continued Eilonwy, putting her hand to the silver crescent at her throat. 'But who are you?' she repeated. 'I haven't the least idea in the world what you're talking about.'
'Wake up,' 'Faran cried, shaking her. 'You're dreaming.'
'Why, yes, as a matter of fact I was,' Eilonwy answered, with a vague and sleepy smile. 'But how did you guess? I don't believe dreaming actually shows when you're doing it.' She paused, frowning. 'Or does it? Sometime I shall haveto find out. The only way, I suppose, is to look at myself when I'm asleep. And how I might go about that, I can't imagine.' Her voice faltered and trailed away; she seemed suddenly to forget Taran was even there
