neck. I don’t know how long we stayed like this but when I looked up, everyone else was there: Essa, Araf and my father. Dad leaned down and stroked Fergal’s hair.
‘Nephew,’ he said. Fergal looked up, confused. Dad smiled at him. ‘That’s right, I am your uncle.’ He wiped some of the tears from Fergal’s cheek. ‘Listen to me, Fergal, I know what it is like to lose all and I know despair, but I promise you-it will get a little better every day. I know you feel as if you can’t go on, but it will be better tomorrow and the next day. The pain will never go, but it will get easier. You can do it. You are a son of Duir.’
I saw hope enter Fergal’s eyes. I loved and admired my father at that moment more than I ever had.
Then Fergal’s eyes went dark again. ‘What about Cialtie?’ he hissed.
‘He will be dealt with soon,’ Dad said, ‘but we must not seek revenge. Revenge is an evil motive that corrupts the soul.’ Dad grabbed Fergal under his arm and helped him to his feet. He looked his nephew in the eyes, and then looked at me. ‘We shall seek justice.’
Fergal wanted to walk back to the village but Fand wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t fight. He drank what she gave him and the Fili carried him unconscious on a stretcher. I was a bit jealous-I could have used a lift myself.
I didn’t fall asleep as fast as I thought I would. One reason was the lump I was sleeping on-I had stashed the Lawnmower under my mattress. I didn’t think Fergal would run off, but if he did, I didn’t want to lose my sword again. The other reason I didn’t drop off was because I was afraid to. This was my first undrugged night in the Fililands, I could sense the power in the place and I had a feeling the dreams here were going to be intense-I was right.
This dream was big. It was a full-blown battle. I watched from the ramparts as Castle Duir was under attack from an army made up of not just Leprechauns and Imps but all manner of beings. The odd thing was that the soldiers around me weren’t even looking at the invading army. At first I thought they couldn’t see them, but then I realised that they just didn’t see this attack as a threat. They knew something I did not.
Cialtie showed up with a big red button, like you would see in a crappy movie about a nuclear war. He smiled as he pressed it. I tried to stop him but like all good nightmares, I was moving in slow motion. I reached the edge of the wall in time to see a golden shockwave hit the first group of attackers. To my horror I knew them all: first was my mother and then my father, followed by everyone I had ever known, even Sally was there looking at her watch wondering why I was late for the movie. I saw the flesh being torn from their bones. I was forced to watch the pain and horror of every person I had known and loved, die-die slowly. The guards on the tower didn’t even notice what was happening. Cialtie walked away, whistling. The guards only noticed me when I tried to attack my uncle. They grabbed me and threw me over the wall. I awoke screaming on the floor.
Dad was the only person up in the breakfast room. He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Dreams?’
‘Yeah,’ I replied, ‘intense.’
‘Me too. When I left The Land I missed the dreams terribly, but I forgot what the nightmares were like.’
We swapped dreams. His was much more vague than mine but we suspected they were both similar. Dad thought we should talk to Nieve about it.
‘How can you trust her?’ I asked. ‘She tried to kill me-twice!’
‘That’s one of the reasons I know I can trust her.’
‘Huh?’
‘Look, Nieve is my sister and I love her. I know it caused her much pain to try to kill you, but she did it for the good of The Land. She places duty above all else.’
‘So why isn’t she stabbing me in the back as we speak?’
‘Your mother and I have a plan, and the Shadowrunes have told us it might work.’
‘I thought Aunt Nieve didn’t believe in this Shadowmagic stuff.’
‘She’s coming around.’
‘So, Pop, what’s the plan?’
‘Cialtie is using my hand, that’s how he got the Duir Rune.’
‘What, you think he carried your hand through the Choosing?’
‘More probably he got someone else to do it, but yes, he practically admitted it when we were in the dungeon, remember?’
It took me a second to think back that far. ‘I do.’
‘Well, that proves my hand is still working, and your mother thinks she can reattach it.’ He flashed a cheeky grin worthy of Fergal’s uncle.
‘You’re joking.’
‘No, she definitely thinks it can be done and so does Nieve. There are just a few difficulties.’
‘Like what?’
‘We have to break into Castle Duir, find my old hand and perform an unauthorised Choosing ceremony in the Hall of Runes.’
‘That doesn’t sound easy.’
‘It is not.’
‘How are you going to do it?’
‘That I haven’t figured out yet, but we have time.’
‘Can we take Cialtie out at the same time?’
‘Getting in and out of the castle and reattaching my hand will be hard enough without adding assassination to the plan. One thing at a time, Conor. If I get my hand back, the Runelords will follow me. Then we deal with my brother.’ He looked away, trying to contain his hate. Despite what he said to Fergal, revenge was an emotion he was struggling with too.
Fand came to the door and said, ‘Our Pooka guest is awake.’
‘Will he live?’ Dad asked.
‘No,’ Fand replied. I could feel the compassion and pain in her voice. ‘He has asked to see Deirdre.’
‘Deirdre?’ Dad said in surprise.
‘Yes, she is on her way’
She led us to the room of healing. The Pooka we had brought through the blackthorn wall was propped up in bed. The last time I had seen him he had been covered with blood-the Fili had cleaned him up but he looked bad. His skin had no colour and his lips were blue. Fand was right, he wasn’t going to last very long. Mom arrived right behind us.
‘Do you recognise him?’ Dad asked.
‘No. Poor thing.’
Mom went to the Pooka’s side and held his hand. What life there was left in him sparkled in his eyes when he saw her. ‘Are you Deirdre the Shadowwitch?’ he said in a high, pathetic voice.
I thought for a second that Mom was going to be insulted by that question, but she simply replied, ‘I am.’
‘I was sent by Lorcan.’ I could hardly hear him. He was using every ounce of his strength to speak, maybe even his last ounce of strength. ‘We need your help.’
His voice became so faint that Mom had to lean in and turn her ear to his mouth. From the expression on her face I could tell it wasn’t good news. She took a tiny piece of gold out of her pocket and placed it in the Pooka’s mouth. He instantly changed into a wolf again. Mom stepped back-so did I, and I was on the other side of the room. He let loose a mournful howl and died-then changed back into a man.
‘What did he say?’ Dad asked.
Mom covered the Pooka with a sheet, and faced us. ‘He said Cialtie is going to kill us all.’
Chapter Twenty-Two
‘Before he died,’ Deirdre began, ‘the Pooka told me that Cialtie had the power to destroy all of The Land.’ We were back in the breakfast room. Everyone was there except Fergal, who was still asleep.
