both a drink.
‘To your father,’ Brendan said, holding his mug high. ‘Long live the King.’
‘Hear, hear,’ I said and drank. ‘Heeeeyooow,’ I gasped as the firewater travelled down my throat, into my chest and then exploded out of my toes. ‘Where did you get this stuff?’
‘I was really in the mood for a drink so I kind-of found it… in Essa’s bag.’
‘A thieving policeman – you should be ashamed.’
‘I am,’ he said. ‘Would you like some more?’
‘Yes please. How did you know it was there?’
‘Her father makes the stuff, so I just deduced.’
‘You know, Brendan, when you are not charging me with murder, you are quite the detective.’ I raised my glass. ‘To your little Gem,’ I toasted.
He nodded and stretched a pained smile across his face. ‘To Ruby.’
We drank and he looked at his mug for a while.
‘What’s she like?’
‘Ruby?’ He laughed. ‘She’s seven going on thirty-five. Ever since her mom died she has taken it unto herself to be the grand bossy woman of the house. When she’s home you’d hardly even know she’s blind.’
‘She’s blind?’
‘Yeah, she lost her sight in the same accident that killed my wife.’
‘What happened?’
After a deep breath Brendan said, ‘My wife liked to speed around on those back roads. Do you know Cobb Creek? It’s not that far from your place.’
‘I do. It’s nice up there. Is that where you live?’
‘Yes, my mother found the spot with her voodoo divining rods. She said there were lay-lines or some such thing there. My wife used to like my mother’s craziness. I didn’t care about energy lines; I just liked it because it is beautiful. Anyway, my wife was driving in her little red sports car with the top down, when, right outside our house, a horse ran in front of the car. We were having a conservatory built at the same time and the car slammed sideways into the truck carrying panes of glass. My wife was killed and Ruby lost her vision to flying shards.’ He stopped and took another drink.
‘My gods,’ I said and put my hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ and then with a forced smile he said, ‘More booze?’
‘I think so,’ I replied, offering my cup. ‘How long ago was this?’
‘About two and a half years.’
‘Whose horse was it?’
‘We never found out. It was injured pretty badly; my partner arrived about the same time as the ambulance and put it down. I was crazy mad and checked every farm and stable in a thirty-mile radius – no one said that they had lost a horse and I could never trace the markings on the saddle.’
‘The horse was saddled?’
‘Yes.’
‘But there was no rider?’
‘No,’ Brendan shook his head. ‘Well, if you ask Ruby about it she says otherwise.’
‘What does she say?’
‘You have to realise she was just five. She claims the horse had a rider dressed in black and that they appeared out of nowhere. She says it’s the last thing she ever saw.’
The next day everybody gave up trying to carry messages for the trees. We just weren’t up to it. The Pookas must have some special microchip in their heads ’cause we found the task impossible.
The path grew steeper but the mood was lighter. We no longer looked at each tree as a potential assassin. We saw them as they were, lost lonely souls who had been abandoned by their pastor. Oh, and I wasn’t sulking any more.
The previous night’s chat with Brendan rolled around in my noggin all morning and it sparked off memories that in turn ignited unanswered questions. As I watched my aunt riding in front of me I remembered the first time I had seen her. The memories were vivid and unsettling: Dad going berserk, throwing his axe at her head and knocking her guard off his saddle. The guard hitting the ground and instantly turning into a thousand-year-old swirl of dust. Nieve throwing a spear at me and then high-tailing it out of there and letting Cialtie’s henchmen, all dressed in black, knock us out and chain us up in Dungeon Duir.
I cantered up alongside my aunt. ‘Nieve, can I ask you a question?’
‘I’m sure you can, Conor, because you just did.’
‘Right,’ I said a bit nervously. Nieve had an uncanny ability to instantly put me ill at ease. I wondered if she did it to everyone and I also wondered if she did it on purpose. ‘Do you promise you won’t get mad at me?’
‘No,’ came her immediate reply.
‘OoooK, how about – do you promise you won’t hurt me?’
She thought about that for a moment and said, ‘No.’
‘Oh well, never mind then.’ I dropped back and waited for her curiosity to get the better of her.
Adiv›
About an hour later I pulled up next to her and said, ‘OK, I know you are secretly dying to know – so here’s my question: how come you helped Cialtie find me in the Real World?’
She quickly reached her left hand into her cloak and with her right hand she reached for the short knife on her belt.
I looked around to see if anyone else was watching us – they weren’t. When I looked back Nieve had already cut the apple in her hand and handed half to me. There was a wicked twinkle in her eyes.
I took the apple half. ‘You like messing with me, don’t you?’
‘If I understand the meaning of messing with you, then yes, but don’t get too flattered.’ She leaned towards me and in a conspiratorial whisper she said, ‘I like messing with everybody.’
We rode and ate in silence for a little while. Nieve sported a little smile. I felt privileged that she shared that small secret with me. I felt like a nephew.
Finally she said, ‘I didn’t help Cialtie.’
‘Well, you showed up at my doorstep and the next thing I knew I had chains for jewellery.’
‘Do you not remember that I left when I heard Cialtie’s men approach?’
‘Yes. Why did you do that?’
‘Because I was afraid of them. I did not wish to be unseated from my horse. I’m quite fond of my looks, Conor; I would rather not look my age.’
‘So how did they find us?’
‘They followed me. Remember the soldier that was with me?’
‘The guy that fell off his horse and then dusted it?’
‘Dusted it – that is an apt way of putting it. Yes, him; I found out later that he was one of Cialtie’s spies.’
‘I feel less sorry for him now,’ I said.
‘That is what I said when I found out.’
‘So how did you find us?’
‘I’m a very good sorceress you know,’ she said without a smile. It was no brag – just fact. ‘I found a war axe that was made at the same time as your father’s axe was made. The gold inlay in the handle came from the same vein and gave off the same…’ she searched for the words, ‘magic resonance. It was not easy to track but as I said, I am very good.’
‘OK, now I see the how, but can I ask you one more question? Why? Why then? I mean, I was going to die in the Real World some day. What was your hurry?’
‘I wanted to kill you before Cialtie did.’
That was an answer I wasn’t expecting. ‘Isn’t that taking sibling rivalry a bit too far?’
‘I was satisfied with your father’s solution. I was happy to see you die in the Real World but when I learned that Caltie was using the Hall of Spells to send forays into the Real World looking for you, I had to kill you first.’
