Celtic sun.
“It is not an easy task to travel between this world and the Sidh,” she remarked. “There are few paths and their gateways are rarely open. Many years may pass before one appears, and even then its presence is fleeting, a precious hour or two before it fades.”
“My mother used one,” said Max, remembering. “She left us without even saying goodbye. When I found her again, she said she’d had no time for explanations; the gateway was her only chance to help me in the future.”
“She was right,” said Scathach. “For most, the gateways are the only way to cross from one realm to the other. But other means do exist. The
Max’s face darkened. “The Sidh is not my home,” he muttered. “And Lugh is not my father. He barely even acknowledged me when I came to Rodruban. I’m just his offspring, Scathach, not his son. And my mother was nothing more to him than a broodmare. You’re the only one from the Sidh who has ever tried to help me, and how does the ‘High King’ reward you? He takes your immortality away!”
“I understand your anger,” said Scathach gently, setting the brooch down and taking Max’s hands. “But the Sidh is your home. The old gods keep their own counsel, Max. Their minds can be hard to fathom and they do not always show affection as mortals do. But the High King does love you in his way. He has done more for you than you guess.”
“Not as much as you,” said Max bitterly. “You’ve sacrificed everything.”
Scathach’s eyes flashed. “I’ve sacrificed nothing!” she said proudly, releasing his hands and pacing about. “I regret only the foolish way I broke my bargain, not the bargain itself. Am I to mourn my mortality? What is death to me? A warrior craves honor and excellence, not a measure of mild years. Those who cringe at death are half dead themselves; they forever keep to the shallows of life!”
Following this outburst, Scathach fell silent. She was breathing hard and looking more fierce and beautiful than Max had ever seen her. He was deeply moved and went to kiss her, but she backed away like a skittish foal.
“Don’t,” she warned.
“But why not?” asked Max, blinking. “I—I thought you had feelings for me.”
“I do,” said Scathach, closing her eyes as though the confession pained her. “But I saw you. I saw that girl come to your tent tonight and the two of you holding hands. She kissed you. You embraced her. And I will never surrender my dignity, not even for you.”
“But you don’t know what it is you saw,” Max pleaded. “Julie and I, we’re not together. She loved me once and I tried to love her back, but my heart was someplace else. Julie’s getting married, Scathach—she’s leaving Rowan. She only came to say goodbye.”
Anger and indignation faded slowly from the warrior maiden’s face. She looked away. “You say your heart was elsewhere,” she murmured. “Where was it?”
“It was with you!”
A tear ran down Scathach’s cheek. Exhaling, she took Max’s hands once again and contemplated him with a look of such open, sincere affection that no words were needed.
“It’s not easy for me to love or trust,” she said at length. “You must be patient with me. I have trained many great warriors, and to a man, they were fierce and strong. They were also haughty, brutal, and selfish. It was never enough that I taught them the feats that made them legendary. They wanted more, expected more as though I were some awestruck girl from their homelands. Many knocked at my door and I turned each away, but I learned a bitter lesson in the bargain.”
“What was that?”
“The proudest men are the least secure,” she replied. “And many are apt to turn private failures into public boasts. Some of the warriors returned to their comrades and kingdoms and claimed many things. When I first heard the stories, I was furious. I named them liars, but no one cared. Eventually, I stopped caring, too. The stories were told and the damage was done. I thought my heart had closed forever.
“And then you came to Rodruban,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “And you were a revelation. You had all of Cuchulain’s skill and beauty, but not his arrogance. Loving people raised you, Max, and I am forever grateful for their influence. You might have become something else entirely. You were not the first hero I trained, but you were the first gentleman.”
Reaching for the brooch, she fastened it to his tunic.
“And this gentleman should return to the Manse,” she sighed. “It is late and many worried people must be looking for you. You should report back. Sarah and Ajax can lead the battalion today.”
Max’s mind raced back to training and formations and twelve hundred rough-and-ready troops. “I shouldn’t be leading the battalion,” he reflected. “You should. You have more experience than I do.”
“No,” said Scathach decisively. “The soldiers know me as Umbra. They respect me—even fear me—but you are the Hound of Rowan. They believe in you and that’s far more important than any tactics. Can you imagine their faith now that they’ve seen you rise up from such a wound?”
“Then maybe I should appoint Umbra to be my official bodyguard,” said Max, half teasing. “She’d have to stay by me at all times. It would be her job.”
“Umbra would like that very much,” replied Scathach, smiling. “But it’s best if she remains your unofficial bodyguard. That makes her a far less predictable obstacle for the Atropos, and we need every edge we can get. Tonight’s attack frightened me. That assassin was far better than the last—better than any I’ve ever encountered.”
“That assassin is the commander of the Red Branch.”
“That would explain it,” muttered Scathach. “Max, that man is very dangerous. I have never failed to track or overtake an enemy before tonight. He’s not just skilled, he’s also smart. The timing of his attack was too perfect to be a fluke.”
“What do you mean?”
“I sensed danger tonight,” she replied. “I saw nothing, but the woods were too quiet. After you dismissed the lieutenants, I circled back and kept watch from the forest. When Julie came to see you, I followed.”
“To protect me, I’m sure,” said Max.
“No. It was to spy,” admitted Scathach, unabashed. “In any case, when that girl kissed you, it wounded me. I was angry—I almost threw a pinecone—but I kept still and out of sight. When you returned to your tent, I followed and kept watch from outside. Eventually, my emotions got the best of me. I kept picturing you embracing that girl, kissing her. I grew spiteful and left. Fortunately, I regained my senses and returned, but you were already under attack. I’ll never forgive myself for leaving my watch.”
“It’s not your fault,” said Max reassuringly. “The timing was coincidence.”
“You don’t believe that any more than I do,” laughed Scathach bitterly. “The fact is that when I was watching you, the assassin was watching me. And when the opportunity arose, he struck. It’s a miracle you weren’t killed.”
“Not a miracle,” said Max. “Grendel told me danger was near. And so did this.” He showed her David’s ring and explained its properties.
“That provides a warning, but it is not a shield,” she remarked. “You cannot trust your safety to it alone. I was foolish to leave you, but you were foolish to leave yourself so vulnerable. Until I find and kill that man—”
“No!” Max exclaimed. “He is my friend, Scathach. I owe him my life.”
“He seems eager to take it.”
Shaking his head, Max paced despondently. “You don’t understand,” he sighed. “Cooper’s a good man … he … he’s not in his right mind.”
Scathach would have none of it. “He is possessed,” she asserted firmly. “You see your friend, but he does not see you. He only sees what the Atropos have told him to kill. And I won’t allow that to happen. I will capture him if I can, but I’ll take no foolish risks to do so.”
“You might not have to do anything,” said Max, considering. He told Scathach about stewards and charges and the sacred bond between them. “Cooper violated his oath tonight,” he reflected. “As you said yourself, the rules are the rules. I’ve never seen YaYa so upset. She’s not so young anymore, but I wouldn’t want her coming after me.”
“Nor would I,” said Scathach. “Ki-rin were messengers from the gods themselves. It would never do to provoke
