A Moment in Time

'I would reward you, my friend,' Madoc said.

'Nay, my lord. I have, I hope, but returned the kindness that your wife rendered to my sister.'

'Surely there is something I can do for you,' Madoc insisted, but there was silence now, and the prince realized that his informant was gone. Hurrying back to his own men, he remounted his horse and cried, 'To Raven's Rock!' and while they rode, he told Einion of what the faceless voice had told him.

'You believe him?' Einion asked. 'You are certain that this is no trick?'

'I am certain!' Madoc said grimly. 'It is just the sort of evil that Brys would attempt.'

'What will you do now, my lord?'

'I must think on this carefully, Einion. My decisions will affect Wynne's fate and that of our child.'

When they had returned to Raven's Rock, Madoc locked himself in his tower room, considering the best course of action to take. One thing he was certain of, he had to speak with Nesta, for she was a part of this too. Flinging open the tower window, he said, 'Codam is ainm dom. Codam is ainm dom. Te se Codam!' In his mind's eye he pictured a raven, old Dhu. Then he felt his wings flapping smoothly as they raised him up, and he flew through the window, catching the spiral of the wind as he headed southwest toward St. Bride's.

The day was waning quickly, and Madoc knew that he must reach St. Bride's before sunset or he would be forced to spend the night in the open, for it was the dark of the moontime. He flew over Gwernach and was pleased to see it so prosperous, its herds of fat cows grazing on the lush hillsides, sharing their territory with the deer. He could smell the salt of the sea long before he saw it, but when he did, the sun was fast sinking into a bright scarlet horizon. Then the turrets and towers of St. Bride's appeared, and the great black raven landed itself upon a fanciful stone balcony overlooking the dark sea.

'Madoc is ainm dom. Madoc is ainm dom. Te se Madoc!' he said, and was once again restored to his human form. The prince looked out over the sea, which was placid at the moment. He concentrated and called out in his mind to Nesta.

She came, joining him suddenly upon the balcony, her loose gown billowing gently about her, her swollen belly quite distinct. 'Madoc! What is it? You would not have come were it not serious. Is Wynne all right?' She kissed his cheek.

'Wynne has been abducted and sold into slavery,' he began without preamble.

'Brys!' Nesta said. 'This is Brys's doing, isn't it?'

'Aye, it is. The time is drawing near, Nesta, when I must kill him. There is no other way.'

'God will find a way, Madoc, but in the meantime, what of Wynne? Do you know where she is?' Nesta looked very troubled. 'Poor girl!'

'We had argued the past weeks over Brys,' Madoc said. 'She could not believe he was so evil that he could not be redeemed. She wanted us to forgive him, that our family be reunited. She wanted that for her child and for yours, my sister. All I have been able to learn of her whereabouts is that she has been taken to England by an Irish slaver called Ruari Ban. I must trace him first before I can find my wife. I wanted you to know, Nesta, for I must begin my search immediately. I will most likely not be at Raven's Rock when your child is born.'

'Does Wynne's family know of her abduction, brother? You cannot keep it from them. Her grandmother, the lady Enid, is coming to St. Bride's in a few days' time to help me when my child is born. I would be most uncomfortable, Madoc, keeping such news from her.'

'You may tell her for me, Nesta,' he said. 'And tell her not to worry, for I will retrieve Wynne and get her safely home.'

'Have you reached out for her?' Nesta asked.

'Aye,' he said, 'but it is as if I am shouting down a hollow tree. There is nothing, yet I know she is not dead. Death has a very different feeling to it.'

'Perhaps it is the child, Madoc. Perhaps the child blocks your path to Wynne,' Nesta suggested.

'You heard me,' he replied.

'Aye,' she nodded slowly, smiling, 'but you and I have been together my entire lifetime, brother. Besides, you called me from within my own castle. You are trying to reach out to Wynne over a distance of many miles. She is undoubtedly frightened and very concerned for your child. Believe me, that fear for her baby is consuming her, and she cannot hear you, for she can think of nothing but the safety and the survival of her babe. All her energies are trained upon that, I know, for mine would be, Madoc.'

'Surely you are right, sister, and I can certainly think of no other reason I am unable to reach Wynne,' Madoc admitted. 'It is so difficult, Nesta! I want to reach out and comfort my dearling, and I cannot.'

'What of Brys?' Nesta asked. 'What will you do about Brys?'

'Nothing for the moment, sister. All my efforts must be on finding Wynne. On finding Ruari Ban. I cannot be bothered with Brys.'

'You cannot underestimate Brys, Madoc,' Nesta warned him. 'Though you know how evil he can be, you have always allowed him to take advantage of you. Why did you not set a watch on Wynne when you knew that her kind heart was determined to reunite us all?'

Madoc shook his head and sighed deeply. 'Sister,' he told her, 'not for one moment did I ever believe that Wynne would actually seek Brys out. How could I have anticipated such goodness of heart?'

'You have never really known her, have you, Madoc? Heaven help you both! In that other time and that other place, she possessed the same loving kindness that she does in this time and place. You should have recognized that in her, but you did not,' Nesta chided him.

'Nay, I did not,' he agreed with her, 'and once more my blindness has cost us dearly; but at least I have my own powers in this time and place. I will use them to their fullest to find her, Nesta! I will bring Wynne home, that we may at long last live out our lives together as we were meant to live them.'

Nesta hugged him. 'You must come into the castle and stay the night, brother,' she said.

'What will you tell Rhys?' he said, smiling.

'That my brother has arrived unexpectedly,' she answered him with a small twinkle. 'Rhys is still much in awe of our family, Madoc, and will not require a detailed explanation of us.'

Nesta was quite correct in her assessment. Rhys of St. Bride's was more than delighted to have his brother-in- law's company for the evening and offered whatever help Madoc would have of him in finding Wynne. If he was curious as to how his brother-in-law had arrived so suddenly and without a horse or an escort, he kept his inquisitiveness to himself. And even in the morning, when Rhys awoke to find Madoc already gone, he did not evince any strong curiosity. It was not his business, and his relations with his wife's kinfolk were one of mutual trust.

Madoc returned to Raven's Rock and, within the privacy of his tower room, he began to weave spells that might bring him a glimpse of Wynne, an inkling of where she might be found; but to his great surprise, his magic was useless in this matter. He sent riders into England to seek out the slaver known as Ruari Ban, who was traced first to Hereford and next to Worcester, where the trail grew cold, for no one knew of where the little Irishman was next headed, although the innkeeper with whom he had lodged had heard a mention of Brittany, or was it Byzantium? He was not sure. One thing was certain. No one remembered seeing a slave of Wynne's description amongst those belonging to Ruari Ban.

'He may have had a buyer in mind for her all along,' Einion said, 'and that will make it difficult for us, my lord. There is no direct road from here or from Cai to England. Ruari Ban would have had to go south first and then back north to Hereford and Worcester. We will have to travel the entire route that he took, and we will have to travel it slowly in order to investigate the surrounding countryside for an English thegn wealthy enough to have bought an expensive slave.'

'How do you know he did not sell her to just anyone, Einion?' the prince asked his wife's servant.

Einion bared his teeth in a fierce smile. 'I remember my own experience at the hands of slavers, my lord. My lady Wynne is a beautiful woman. In any land or culture, beautiful women bring a high price. Not only that, she was with child, proving her fertility and offering her buyer an extra dividend, Whoever he is, he would have to be a man of substance, and we will have to find him first before we can find my lady Wynne.'

'We will leave in the morning,' Madoc said impetuously.

Einion shook his head. 'Nay, my lord. You and I cannot gain the information that we need to obtain. I am too imposing, and you, my lord, too regal. Simple people are afraid of men like us. Send out others who will blend into a