Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) (12 page)

Shiovra
allowed him to guide her to an open table
.
Sitting down across from him, she looked around the hall, pleased to find that nothing had changed.

Men and women crowded the
long, low
tables, laughing, talking, and drin
king heartily. The hall, brightly lit from
three large
hearth fires, was filled with
people. Th
e thick posts hol
d
ing
up the peeked thatch roof
were carved carefully with interlocking patterns
. Fo
od cooked above the fire, filling the hall with a delicious and tempting aroma.

“I thought that we could tarry here a bit before continuing on to the
High fort
,”
Daire
told her
with a grin
.
“Give you more time to think about what you want to say to Mahon.”
He gestured to a woman and requested two fresh cups of water. The older woman nodded and hurried off.

Shiovra
nodded,
her eyes trailing over the many faces
.

A
lone, cloa
k
ed figure sitting o
ff in a shadowed
corner caught
Shiovra
’s eyes. A man
,
whose f
ace was hidden
from the light of the hearth, sat on a bench with his elbows resting on his knees
. He bore
an
honor marking of blue woad
on his left wrist
, but from their distance, the priestes
s could not make it out.

Shiovra
eyes narrowed as she
was
almost
sure
t
he
man
was watching her
as well
.
Something about his unseen gaze left her feeling uneasy.
“
Daire
…” she began quietly, unwilling to turn her gaze away
. “Who is that?”

“Hmm?” He looked over, his face becoming hard.
“Odhrán,” replied
Daire
in a cold voice. “
He
is one of the Milidh clan. He arrived
three
moons ago…”
His
voice trailed
off as t
he older woman returned
to
set two clay cups of water down on the table.
Nodding to her,
Daire
took a cup for himself and passed the other towards
Shiovra
.

She
took it without looking and
brou
ght the clay cup to her lips, her eyes remainin
g trained on the cloaked
man
.
“Why is he here?”
she asked in a firm voice.

Daire
took a deep drink from his cup
before setting his down hard on the table
. “I don’t know,” he replied.

Shiovra
noticed the slight hesitation in his voice
and frowned
. “
Daire
…”

He exhaled. “He keeps mostly to himself. Since he arrived, he has been in council repeatedly with Mahon and Ainmire,”
Daire
admitted.
“I would stay clear of him, if I were you.
He is dangerous.
”

Anger swelled within the priestess. “And Ainmire simply allows him to walk through the village freely?” demanded
Shiovra
in a heated whisper. “Ten years ago his people attacked this village and my mother was
kille
d!
Many others lost their lives and were injured that night!
”

Daire
cringed and leaned across the table, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Peace, cousin,” he pleaded with her. “We should be on our way to the
High fort
. You can bring your qualms before Ainmire. Let’s not bother these good people during their meal, aye?”

Shiovra
sighed and nodde
d. Standing up, she followed
Daire
towards the door. Pausing, she looked back only to where the Milidh man had been sitting only to find he was gone.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Mahon
stood by the h
earth
in the main cottage
, watching the fire as it danced upon the wood
.
He grew anxious waiting for his sister’s arrival, many questions and memories
tumbled
through his mind. After ten years time, he could only wonder what kind of woman she had become. He worried that perhaps there wouldn’t even be the slightest glimmer of the
sister he once know
, that she would be a
stranger
to him.
And so, when he had learned she was in the village, he found himself unable to leave the main cottage.

“Stop fretting,” a low voice
filled with amusement said
to his right.

Mahon glanced over.

Ainmire
, chieftain of Tara,
sat at a low
table, cup of mead in
han
d
.
The man’s hazel-brown eyes looked into his cup with great interest. His shoulder-length brown hair and beard were streaked heavily with gray. He was getting old and showing every sign of it. Wrinkles distorted the spiral curling by his right eye, marking him as one of the Túath clan.
“You fret like a child ab
out to be scolded by his mother,
”
c
huckled
Ainmire as he took a long swig of his mead
. “Have a drink, i
t will calm you.”

Exhaling, Mahon shook his head. “Nay, I would prefer to face my sister
without
the influence of mead,” he said
with a small laugh of his own
.

Before more could be said, t
he wicker door to the cottage burst open and Ceallach Neáll
walked in, a cold breeze following him
.
The Fomorii man’s face clearly bore ill tidings.

Mahon was quick to notice that
not only did the man look a little worse for the wear, but that he had entered the cottage
alone.
His
heart sank as the worst possible thoughts invaded his mind.

“
Ah, y
ou have returned to us
, Ceallach Neáll
.
,
”
said Ainmire with a grin. Quirking a brow, h
e leaned over to look around the man,
and then
straightened.
“
Where is my wife?”

When Ceallach remained silent,
Ainmire sat
his cup down
, his lips becoming a firm line
.

“
We must speak,
”
Ceallach informed him simply.

Mahon studied Ceallach’s face closely. In all the years he had know the Fomorii man, he had hardly ever seen any emotion come across the man’s face. Yet now, though Ceallach stood firmly before the chieftain, Mahon could see
something in the man’s eyes the betrayed him calm exterior.

“
Cúlrá
id has been attacked. We had no warning. They came in swiftly as we slept, leaving very few survivors and set
ting
fire to the village. Nothing remains but charred cottages and
far too many
corpses,” replied Ceallach in an even voice.

Ainmire
maintained a calm composure as he asked, “Who
brought
up
on such a deed?”

“Aichlinn, servant to
Ailill,” replied Ceallach.
“He had several warriors
of the Milidh clan in his ranks, though I suspect they were hired swords.
”

Mahon was surprised to hear genuine anger and bitterness in the Fomorii man’s voice. “For what reason
was the village attacked
?” he found himself asking.

“
What other reason than t
o send warning
?
” sa
id Ceallach coldly. “Blood was spilled that night
,
all to send a warning to the Túath clan
.”

Mahon looked at him with utter disbelief.
“An entire village
destroyed just for…
?” H
is voice trailed off and h
e shook his hea
d.
The
atrocities
of war never ceased to baffle him.

“Ailill has had years to
bide his time and
plot his vengeance upon the High Chieftains,” Ceallach stated. “And what better way than to slowly destroy the clan from within
? Ainmire, y
ou are kin to the High Chieftains
.
If Ailill cannot strike at you directly, he will do it where it hurts most: your family.
”

Ainmire’s face went white.

“Ailill seeks for nothing but the destruction of
the Túath clan so that he can have his vengeance
. When he learned
that your wife and child had left the safety of Tara
, he
found that very
opportunity.” Ceallach paused. “I defended against the attack, but I lost sight of Deirdre in the battle. In the wake of the attack, while the village burned around me and its people lay dying, I searched for her…”

Though Ainmire’s gaze was steady when it met Ceallach’s, his voice shook slightly as he asked
, “My wife and child. Are they…?”

Mahon
watched as
Ceallach looked away and shook his head.

“
I regret to inform you that
Deirdre and your child are dead.”

Ainmire nodded numbly. “It was as I feared.” He fell silent, resting his face in his hands. After a while, he looked up and met Ceallach’s gaze
once more
. “
Over a fortnight ago, I heard the wails of the
bean sidhe
carried by the wind
. I never thought those sorrow filled cries could have been for the loss of my wife and child.
”
He paused, a ragged sigh escaping him. “I thank you for telling me. I wish I could have mourned their deaths sooner…”

“Forgive me, I was…
delayed,” Ceallach
told him sincerely
. “I thought it best to visit Rúnda before returning here
.”

Ainmire nodded. “Aye…I heard rumors that your son had been seen arriving with the High Priestess earlier,” he said. “It is good that
she is here.”

Ceallach did not respond, the emotionless mask slipping back into place.

As Mahon watched, he knew then that something had indeed happened with his sister. He wanted to ask what, but had no desire to upset Ainmire further.
And so he remained silent, but to his surprise, Ainmire questioned the man in a surprisingly calm voice.

“Ah, but this displeases you, does it not?”

Ceallach’s eyes narrowed on the man.

“You went to fetch the priestess only to have her return with you son instead,” continued Ainmire. “What happened during your stay at Rúnda?”

The Fomorii man remained silent
, his jaw tensing
.

Ainmire leaned across the table towards Ceallach. “I have known you long enough, Cea
llach Neáll of the Fomorii clan
, to know when you are displeased
,” he said, folding his fingers together
.
“
And the manner in which
Shiovra
has returned to this village has indeed displeased you. And so I ask you: why?”

Mahon watched as Ceallach stiffened.

“
Shiovra
did not depart Rúnda under our guidance
,” replied Ceallach in a hard voice. “She
has defied the words of her mentor and turned her back on us
.”

Ainmire’s face remained
completely calm, free of any anger. “And will she defy her duties as High Priestess to this village?”

“No,” replied the Fomorii man bluntly.
“She is adamant in her decision to protect Tara.”

Ainmire leaned back. “Then there is nothing to worry about,” he told Ceallach
, taking another drink of his mead
. “As long as
Shiovra
fulfills her duties as priestess, and hold
s
up the betrothal arrangement for the sake
of alliance, then all is well
.”
He paused, raising his eyes slowly to meet Ceallach’s, his own gaze hard. “Your anger stems from the matter that with
Shiovra
’s defiance, you and Réalta can no longer manipulate her to your desires.”
Ainmire waved his hand in dismissal. “Trust in
Shiovra
, Ceallach Neáll. Perhaps she will surprise you in her defiance.”