Rory (Hengist-People of the Horse Book 2) Read online

  He followed her to the fence and looked over at the potato plants wilting in the heat. He estimated there might be enough for three meals at most.

  She shrugged. ‘Funnily enough, that’s why I came out. Dawn just rang; she’d love you to come with us at the weekend. You will love her farm.’

  5 Constant Torment

  ‘You’ll fit in well at Dawn’s. She’ll really appreciate the way you help in the kitchen.’ Julie smiled encouragingly as she stacked the dishes.

  ‘Are the others going?’ Archer directed a wary glance in the direction of the games room where Jack and Kyle had just headed.

  She followed his gaze. ‘They won’t be. They’re spending the day round at Brett’s house and sleeping over. We’ll be stopping the night with her, it’s quite a long drive and Dave likes to have a drink with her husband Phil.’

  ‘Where do they live?’ Since discovering the atlas, Archer had developed a thirst for geography. Every time he heard or read about a new place, he would look it up, building up a picture of this strange world.

  ‘Somerset.’ Julie took the dishes out to the kitchen.

  Dave looked over his newspaper. ‘Cider country. You’ll no doubt be drinking some of that, just be careful, the rough stuff can be pretty strong. And before you ask, it’s made from apples.’ He was not as patient with Archer’s questions as his wife.

  ‘Is that north of here?’

  ‘No, west of Glastonbury. About ninety miles.’

  ‘But that’s a three day journey.’

  ‘If you walked.’ Dave’s tone was scornful. ‘It’s just under three hours in the car.’

  Archer shut his mouth, not wanting to appear stupid in front of Peter who listened with a frown as he finished his toast.

  He looked annoyed as his mother returned. ‘Do I ’ave to go to Dawn’s? Why can’t I go with the others?’

  ‘Because Brett’s mum only has room for two, and anyway it’s Geena’s birthday.’

  ‘Why would I want to go to a three-year-old’s party?’

  ‘Because she’s your cousin and Dawn will be expecting you. If you play your cards right, Phil might let you and Archer go out on the tractor.’

  ‘That’s kid’s stuff.’ Peter’s look blistered with scorn.

  ‘You seemed to like it last time.’

  ‘I was a kid last time.’

  ‘It was only two years ago.’ Julie’s reasonable tone had no effect.

  Peter gave her a dark look as he stormed off with a grumble. ‘Yeah, well a lot happens in two years.’

  Archer could not believe that a son would treat his mother with so little respect; yet another new experience. He knew better than to react to anything that went on involving Peter or the others, it only gave them more reasons to make trouble for him. He wanted to offer Julie some help clearing the table but knew that would be the wrong thing to do.

  Peter and the others would call him a creep and do something to spoil it, like they had on Sunday when Archer washed up the pots and pans after lunch.

  ~*~

  He had almost finished when Peter sneaked up and poured something dark and sticky all over them, then shrieked his contempt. ‘What a mess. Still you’ve got nothing better to do than play at being a girl. I think you just like wearing me mum’s apron. Proper kinky that is.’

  Archer said nothing, rinsing each pan off quickly, but he was more wary. When Kyle tried it a few minutes later, Archer was ready for him, taking the bottle away before he could get anywhere near the sink.

  Kyle made a big fuss, depriving Julie of her brief, well-earned rest. ‘Julie, Archer’s nicked my coke. He’s a thief.’

  Julie walked into the kitchen with a sigh, but didn’t respond immediately. She was highly suspicious of the number of times they came running to her telling tales of Archer’s supposed misdeeds. A glance took in the puddles of liquid on the floor and drips running down the cupboard door of the sink unit.

  Her tone was weary as she passed the bottle to Kyle. ‘Now, leave Archer alone. He’s trying to help, that’s more than the rest of you ever do.’ Getting some kitchen roll, she bent down to wipe the door and mop up the spill on the floor.

  Helping him to put away the pans, she tried to get to the bottom of it. ‘Is everything all right, Archer? You would tell me if they were … well, teasing you or anything. I know they can be a bit of a handful at times, but they’re good boys really.’

  He looked at her, seeing a woman doing her best to provide a good home for four of the most selfish individuals he had ever laid eyes on. She did not deserve to be treated with such ingratitude for everything she did for them. All day long she shopped, cooked, cleaned and washed. Her evenings and any spare minutes she got during the day were spent reading through other people’s words, correcting them for a little extra pocket money. His smile was as reassuring as his words. ‘Don’t worry; it’s nothing I cannot handle.’

  ‘You’re a good boy. I’m glad you came here; you could teach them all a thing or two about ... Well, about a lot of things. Did you finish that book I gave you?’

  ‘Oliver Twist? Yes, thank you. It was a bit dismal, but I believe it was like that in those days.’

  ‘Would you like another one?’

  ‘I hope you don’t mind, I borrowed one written by William Shakespeare. It has lots of dramas about people like Caesar and the Kings of England.’

  ‘No, of course I don’t mind. You’re welcome to anything on those shelves; it’s nice to see them being appreciated. But Shakespeare’s quite difficult to read. If you’re struggling with any of it, I have a book somewhere that tells the stories in modern speech.’

  He thanked her, without saying that he found them far easier to read than anything else on her shelves.

  ~*~

  Archer was grateful for the book now as he sat in back of the car, travelling at speeds that made him feel dizzy. The sight of the countryside flashing past so quickly made his stomach lurch, so he couldn’t look out of the window.

  Peter listened to music on a small device that seemed to be connected to his ears with black threads. Strange, tinny sounds came from it and he continually jiggled his leg or tapped out rhythms on the car door. Occasionally he hummed or sang along to the words under his breath and once or twice, he hit the air rapidly with both fists loosely clenched. The first time he did this Archer froze, thinking an attack was imminent. But the boy seemed totally absorbed in his own world and oblivious to the other people in the car.

  When it happened again several seconds later, Archer tuned into the sounds coming from the device and realised that Peter was pretending to play drums. But he could not understand why Peter hit the air in front of his head. All the drummers he knew, like Doug from his favourite band, Gaelic Sound, carried their drums strung round their waists when they performed.

  Archer tried to focus back on his book. He was finding the plot, which had plays within plays, a little confusing. The images of Gaelic Sound playing in his head did not help matters as they brought back memories of combat and victory and dancing with Kayleigh and Patricia...

  6 Memories

  Beltane. Or May Day as Peter would know it. Probably the best and worst day of Archer’s life so far. The competition was good, apart from the fact that he had to compete against his two best friends. He had beaten Finn in the second round after an incredibly close first round. Fletch got through to the semi-final where he was defeated by just one point. The girl’s final had Bethia, the soft-hearted, talented beauty whom Fletch had finally claimed as his girlfriend, against Patricia, the slightly scary, incredibly intelligent girl responsible for Archer’s first real kiss.

  Archer’s biggest rival, Edlyn, capped his five-year campaign of torment by sabotaging the vote to reach the final. That, however, was trivial compared to his attempts to cause a rift between Archer and Patricia, using Kayleigh to stir up trouble. Luckily, she worked out she was being used and outsmarted the bully. It meant sacrificing her chance to jump the bonfire wit
h Archer, but she seemed pleased when he asked her to dance.

  Despite the efforts of Patricia and her friend Chrisya to teach him the complex grapevine steps, Archer struggled through the dance with Kayleigh. Somehow, it was easier with Patricia, she knew exactly what to do and he just had to mirror her moves or hold her hand as she spun. His cheeks heated up at the memory of holding her in his arms.

  ~*~

  ‘Is it too hot in the back Archer? You could open a window.’ Julie’s words brought him back with a jolt. Peter glared at him, complaining about how cold it would get, so Archer shrugged at Julie, hoping she would understand. After a worried look, she turned away.

  Archer tried to return to his pleasant memories, but that all seemed long ago and far away now. He focussed on the book, enjoying the spirit of the main female character, Katharine. The outrageous swagger of her leading man, Petruchio reminded him of Doug with his eye for the ladies.

  Julie turned round again. ‘There’s the Tor. If you look out of the front windscreen you’ll see it.’

  Archer looked at the front of the car, trying to work out what kind of device a windscreen could be.

  ‘There it is, stupid.’ Peter pointed over to the right of Archer’s gaze. ‘Blimey, anyone would think he’d never been to Glastonbury before.’

  Before Archer could say he had already been there, Julie scolded, ‘Don’t be nasty Pete. Just because he hasn’t seen things before doesn’t make him stupid.’

  Dave jumped to defend his son. ‘Don’t get on at the lad, it’s just an expression. Archer can stick up himself, he doesn’t need you nannying him.’

  ‘I wasn’t nannying, just trying to make Pete see …’

  ‘Whatever. Shut up now or I’ll miss the turn and end up stuck in the traffic.’

  Archer could not see Julie’s face, but it was obvious from the way her shoulders slumped that she was unhappy about Dave’s reaction. Unlike Peter, who seemed to grow in his triumph, taking up more room on the back seat, his movements becoming larger and the sounds louder. Archer frowned. He did not like being the cause of her distress; it seemed unfair that Dave would take the boy’s side against his wife. That sort of thing would never happen in his world; parents always backed each other up. The children respected the fact that parents were the ones with the experience and were therefore in charge.

  Just one more aspect of this world he found strange and they all thought normal. If Peter transferred to his world he would no doubt find many of the things they did unusual. Archer whiled away the next ten minutes imagining all the things Peter would find to complain about in his world: daily chores, clothes, festivals, food and transport – or lack of it. The list was endless. Peter’s biggest problem would probably be the lack of electricity and everything that seemed to go with it: games and toys, the TV or radio constantly on in every room, mobile phones and the many different ways of re-playing music that someone else had made. But mostly, Peter would miss the simple act of clicking a switch and having the room fill with light.

  As they approached Glastonbury, the strange-shaped mound got bigger and Archer followed its progress as it went in and out of view. The lunchtime traffic was slow through the town and Julie suggested they should look for somewhere to eat.

  ‘McDonalds,’ said Peter. I bet you’ve never had a burger have you? Dad, Archer wants a burger too.’

  ‘I was thinking of pub grub. The Butcher’s do a good steak.’

  ‘But Dawn will have made a big meal, you know what she’s like. A burger will do.’ Julie’s tone suggested she already knew the battle was lost.

  Dave’s response confirmed it. ‘It won’t be for hours. I can eat two meals in one day.’

  ‘And it will be expensive for the four of us.’

  ‘That’s all right, I’ll pay. You don’t have to have starters and puddings and I’m sure they’ll do a burger for the lads.’ He met Archer’s gaze in the rear-view mirror as his tone coaxed. ‘What do you say boys? A poxy, measly fast-food burger with thin, watery chips or a mouth-watering, home-cooked quarter-pounder with spicy golden wedges and all the trimmings?’

  Archer didn’t need to say anything. Peter was making enough noise for both of them, but yet again, he felt Julie had been outnumbered. Although he wanted to give her his support, he honestly did prefer the idea of the second option; Dave had made it sound much more appealing.

  So he said nothing, but by the time they were back on the road again, Archer wished he had found the courage to give her his support.

  7 Pub Grub

  Julie was tight-lipped as Dave returned from the bar with four large glasses of golden liquid and a glass of water with a slice of lemon floating in it. He seemed perfectly content.

  ‘They hadn’t got the flavoured stuff you like. I just got tap water seein’ as how you were worried about the price.’ One of the other glasses was already half empty and he picked it up and swallowed the rest of the golden liquid, making loud gulping noises. He slammed the empty glass down on the table with a bang and showed his satisfaction with a loud belch. Cuffing Peter on the head in a friendly gesture, he said, ‘Mind your manners, Pete, you’re supposed to apologise in front of a lady. By George, I needed that.’

  Julie sipped the water, her face wrinkling. ‘I take it I’m driving the rest of the way.’

  ‘No I’ll be fine. There’s only thirty miles to go. A couple of pints won’t hurt; the food will absorb that easily. Unless you want to drive, then I can have another couple.’

  ‘No that’s fine, you drive.’ She shuddered and Archer could tell that she did not like the idea of him drinking.

  Dave was a whole pint happier. ‘Come on Archer, drink up. That’s real Somerset cider, the best in the land.’

  ‘Maybe he’s to pu… poncey to drink alcohol. Hey Dad, the pool table’s free.’

  ‘The food will be here soon.’

  ‘Nonsense woman, they’ll be ages. Come on lad.’ Dave looked at Archer as though trying to decide whether to include him.

  Although curious about the game, Archer felt it would be rude to leave Julie on her own and he turned away.

  She sighed as they left. ‘You don’t have to stay here. If you want to go and play pool, I wouldn’t mind.’

  ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘I’m sure they would show you.’

  He kept his expression neutral. ‘I’m sure they would.’

  She looked at him intently, then a loud burst of laughter made her eyes flick over to the pool table where Dave stood with his arm round the waist of a serving girl. Archer looked back at Julie who was trying to smile. ‘It’s not what it looks like. He comes in here with his brother quite a lot; they all know him.’

  Archer didn’t say anything, but she obviously thought she could read his expression and tried to excuse Dave’s behaviour. ‘He’s a good man really. He tries to be a good husband and father, but right now he’s under a lot of pressure at work. They always seem to be threatening to close the place down; they’re laying people off every other month.’

  ‘So he gets drunk to forget his problems.’

  ‘Yes. No. Oh I don’t know. I suppose it might help a bit. Don’t the men drink where you come from? Or don’t they have problems?’

  ‘Yes, they drink. And yes, they have problems. But only the young men drink so much that they behave badly. Once they have children, men have to be responsible and stop behaving like children. Of course, when the children are grown they can go back to being foolish again.’ He smiled, thinking of some of the tricks played at the festival of Samhain when the ancients took great delight in wearing scary masks and terrorising the young children.

  ‘It sounds good. It must be good if all the young men are brought up with such a caring attitude as you.’

  She patted his knee and Archer felt uncomfortable with her praise; he was ordinary, there were many who were better. He tried to think of something to distract her away from his world. ‘So why is he drinking so much today?’


  ‘He hates my family.’ She looked shocked by her own words and tried to explain. ‘No, that’s not true, he doesn’t hate them. He hates the way they live and the things they stand for. He calls them anal-retentive and goes on at great length about how stupid they are for thinking that any little thing they do is ever going to save the planet.’ She took a big gulp of water. ‘There are times when even I think they go too far, spending ages washing milk bottle tops and removing every last staple from magazines. But after talking to you it makes a lot more sense. If every person did their bit, it would make a difference.’

  A girl brought their food and the others appeared, fighting to sit down first. Dave had almost finished his second pint and Peter was halfway through his, but Archer’s was barely touched.

  ‘Not enjoying the cider? Then you won’t mind if I steal some.’ Dave poured half of it into his own glass.

  Julie was obviously shocked, but Archer shrugged to show he didn’t mind.

  ‘That’s a Snake Bite now, lager and cider. It’s all we used to drink when we were your age. We thought we were really hard. Three of them and you’d be sick as a dog. Here, try some.’ Dave shoved the glass under Archer’s nose. ‘Put hairs on your chest, that will.’

  Taking a sip, Archer shuddered at the sour, bitter taste.

  Dave’s description of the meal was an exaggeration; Julie’s cooking was much better. Archer didn’t see the point in shredding the beef into tiny strands then crushing them all together unless it was to make it easier for infants to eat. The potatoes were cooked with their skins on, but dripping in unhealthy oil and covered in a stale red powder.

  Peter saw him examining the red stuff. ‘Don’t you like the wedges? I’ll have them if you don’t want them.’ He quickly speared a couple from Archer’s plate with his fork, stuffing them in his mouth.

  ‘I like them well enough, I was just wondering about the red powder.’