‘After he left, my father revealed to me Ona’s prediction and his wish for me to take my Runechoosing first. We concocted a plan. I pretended to take up fishing as a hobby-in fact, I spent most of my time on Loch Duir, not fishing but-practising rowing.
‘A fortnight before my birthday, Cialtie returned with a group of Banshees. He clamed that Banshees were not treated well in The Land and that these men and women should stay in the castle to promote understanding among the races. Even then, it looked to me as if they were at least bodyguards-and at worst, the beginning of a private army.
‘Father organised a huge celebration, in honour of the two princes of Duir coming of age. The centrepiece of the event was the Sruth de Emain Macha -the Race of the Twins of Macha-a boat race across Loch Duir. Cialtie and I would race the length of the lake, starting at the far shore, and the first to place his runehand on the Castle Beach would be the first to Runechoose.
‘The Runelords and the people of The Land looked at the race as good fun-innocent sibling rivalry, but my father, Ona and I knew the truth-it was a race for the crown.
‘On the morning of the contest, my brother and 1 left early and rode to the far shore. With each of us there rode a second. I brought Eth, the son of my father’s master goldsmith. He was my best friend, the brother that Cialtie was not. Eth knew my brother’s treachery as well as I, and his job was to look out for the dirty tricks that we both knew were coming-Cialtie, as usual, was a step ahead of us. He brought with him a Banshee sorceress named Mna-she was beautiful. All the way to the starting point Mna chatted and flirted with Eth, and by the time we reached the farthest shore, Eth was besotted with the Banshee sorceress-as a security guard he was useless.
‘Cialtie only spoke to me once during the journey. He rode up next to me and said, “This boat race is not as innocent as it seems, is it, brother?” He is the only man who can make the word brother sound like a threat.
‘“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied, as calmly as I could.
‘“I think you do. I think this little contest is very important indeed.”
‘“What makes you say that?”
‘“The way you and Father are acting-you are both such bad liars.”
‘“No one, brother Cialtie, is as good at that as you.”
‘He smiled, like it was a compliment. “I don’t know what you are up to but I am sure that winning this race is very important. Am I right?”
‘He looked me in the eyes-I held his stare without wavering.
‘“No matter,” he said, “even if this is a bit of frivolity, I can see in your eyes that you want to win. That is reason enough to beat you.” He laughed that disgusting Cialtie laugh and galloped ahead.’
‘There was a pavilion and a small entourage waiting for us at the starting point. After a short breakfast we entered our boats. Mna actually gave Eth a kiss for luck. When their lips parted, he looked like someone had clubbed him over the head. Even I laughed. You see, I was so confident in my rowing superiority that I let my guard down. No one saw Cialtie put the shell under the seat of his boat.
‘The sergeant-at-arms dropped a small gold amulet into a tube that set off a spectacular golden flare. The race was on!
‘Cialtie was always stronger than me and he seemed to have grown stronger in the time since he had been away, but his rowing technique was awful. I had spent months experimenting with length of stroke and the depth of the oars in the water, and had built up my back muscles-I was by far the better rower. The race was mine, but I didn’t want to pull too far ahead. I needed to make it look at least a little close-besides, it was fun. I was a short way ahead of him, effortlessly gliding through the water, watching him strain with sloppy rowing. I was cocky and overconfident-I let him get closer just so he could see that I was hardly even trying.
‘I even allowed my mind to wander. I thought about Deirdre. I had first met her at one of Gerard’s parties. She made quite an impression on me and I on her.’
Dad flashed Deirdre a smile across the table that she returned.
‘I was distressed, like everyone, when I heard that her home had been destroyed, but what really worried me was the news that she had vanished. I persuaded Ona to perform a mini rune reading that hinted to Deirdre’s whereabouts in the Fililands. I told everyone I was going on an extended fishing trip and set out to find her.
‘The thorns almost killed me before I could finally convince them to give a message to Deirdre. She brought me into the Fililands and…well, we fell in love. I persuaded her to end her self-inflicted exile. I started to row a bit harder knowing she was waiting for me at the Castle Beach.
‘When I saw Cialtie put the gold earplugs in, it didn’t even ring any alarm bells. I actually slowed down to see what he was doing. It wasn’t until he produced the conch shell and pulled the amulet from around his neck that I realised I was in trouble. I rowed away from him with all of my strength-but it was too late. He dropped the amulet into the shell, shouted “ Gream!” and threw. I dived to block but the shell ricocheted around the bottom of the boat. Before I could get to it-I heard the scream.
‘I know now that the spell he dropped in the shell-it was a Banshee pain scream. I thought it was only a legend but Cialtie was always a master of old lore. He has since made many a myth become a reality. Legend has it that in the War of the Others, the Banshees developed a scream that gave the enemy’s men- the pain of childbirth. I thank the gods for making me a man and I shall forever look on mothers with admiration. Never again do I want to feel such pain. Not even the arrow in my chest compared to the debilitating agony that hit me in that boat. I doubled up, clutching my knees. I was in too much pain even to scream. Cialtie sped ahead.
‘Through closed eyes I envisioned how the future would unfold. I saw Cialtie winning the race. I saw my father and Deirdre’s disappointment. I saw Cialtie holding the Oak Rune. I saw Cialtie holding the Sword of Duir. I saw Cialtie sitting on the Oak Throne, and I saw Cialtie with a queen by his side-it was Deirdre!
‘That was more than I could bear. I let loose a howl and opened my eyes. The shell was lying on the bottom of the boat, right next to my face. With an effort I know I will never be able to duplicate, I took my hands from my knees, grabbed the shell and hurled it with all of my might. I only threw it about a foot but that was enough-as the shell sank, the scream and the pain subsided. When I finally sat up, I saw that I was in the middle of the lake and Cialtie had an impossible lead.
‘I retook my oars and began to row but without heart, for Cialtie’s lead was too big. Cialtie will win- Cialtie will be king -that thought, like a lightning bolt, shot through my body. “No!” I screamed and I pulled at my oars with all of my strength. The pain of my attack racked my body but I pushed it away. I melded my mind and my body into one. With every stroke, I recalled the indecencies my brother had committed-it fuelled my arms and my back with superhuman strength. The front end of my boat rose up with the speed, and the wake behind me looked as if it came from a galleon ship with fifty oarsmen.
‘I was spurred on not only by the desire to stop my brother, but by anger. I was angry with myself. It was my own fault that I was in that position. I should never have let Cialtie get so close. I only did it so I could gloat. It was pride that defeated me. I realised how foolish I had been and that pushed me even more. I had been so confident of winning the race that I had even taken the Sword of Duir with me. I had disguised its hilt that morning with leather straps so no one would recognise it. You see, in my mind I was already king. I thought I had won the race before it had even begun-it had cost me dearly.
‘Even these thoughts left me as I became a mindless rowing machine. I forgot I was even in a race. Rowing stops Cialtie, Rowing stops Cialtie, ran through my mind like a Fili mantra. I didn’t even know that I had caught up to my brother until I heard him sneer, “Too little, too late, brother.”
‘That snapped me out of it. I heard the roar of the watching crowd. I looked to my left and saw the tip of my boat was almost even with Cialtie’s stern, but when I looked fully around I saw that my brother was right, we were almost at the Castle Beach and I was a full length behind.
‘I have found that important moments in life either happen so fast you don’t even remember them, or so slow that each second seems like a lifetime. I remember what happened next as if I was swimming in honey.
‘Cialtie’s boat grounded first. He jumped into the knee-deep water and began the thirty-second run to the beach. My boat grounded just as he hit the water. There was no way I could beat him. As I have said, the next few seconds seemed like hours, and although it seemed as if I had plenty of time to think through what I did next-in retrospect, I wasn’t thinking at all. I remembered that the winner of the race was the brother that first placed his runehand on the Castle Beach. I lowered my runehand on the seat of the boat, drew the Sword of Duir with my left hand and without even a second thought-I cut off my hand. I didn’t even wait for the pain to register, I dropped the sword and hurled my severed runehand to the shore. The throw pitched me out of the boat, but before I hit the water I saw my hand sail past Cialtie’s astonished face. It landed on the beach, to the silence of a stunned crowd. I
