by Kari Edgren
She nodded without taking her eyes from the yarn. “If the devil’s really come home, I suspect she’s gone back to her blood mam.”
I swallowed hard. “Do you mean Carmen?” Please say no... Please say no...
The needles stopped moving, and Deidre looked up at me. “She’s the one, the very creature that laid waste to Ireland three thousand years back. How did you come to have her name on your tongue?”
For some reason, I felt inclined not to involve Cate and Tom. “Deri boasted of the connection the night before she stole my friend. Since then, I’ve learned that Carmen is either a goddess of black magic or a powerful sorceress from Athens who came to Ireland. Do you know her actual ancestry?”
“Hardly a soul alive even knows her name. And from what little I’ve managed to gather, there’s no certainty what she be—goddess or some other unworldly creature.” Deidre’s expression turned grave. “Except for a witch, that is, and wicked to the core. Me Roddy was a gentle spirit. It’s a pity Deri didn’t take more after her da.”
Despite my knowing Ailish, gentle and Cailleach didn’t align in my mind. “Is it from the mother then that Deri got the power to spread the pox?” As Carmen had raised three sons named Darkness, Evil and Violence, the witch could well have passed the gift of disease to her daughter, along with a good dose of sadism and insanity.
Deidre laughed softly. “Oh, no, Roddy had a fine hand at sickness. One o’ the best in all Ireland.”
A curt breath burst from my throat. “But you said he was a gentle soul.”
“And that he was, culling the weak so they needn’t worry about struggling through this life, and being a burden to those that love them.” She clucked her tongue again. “He could also sense restless spirits, which is how he found Carmen all those years ago.”
Angry words pinged against my teeth at the notion of a merciful culling. I bit them back as only one thing mattered at this point—finding Nora while she was still alive. “Can you tell us where she’s buried?”
“Not too far from here, that’s for certain.”
My heart skipped a beat. Grabbing the arms of the chair, I scooted forward in anticipation. “Will you show us?”
Deidre’s mouth puckered over my question. “Not exactly.”
I gaped at her in surprise. “Why not? I thought you wanted us to kill Deri.”
“Oh, your killing that little she devil has nothing to do with it.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Deidre didn’t answer right away, but took a moment to inspect the woolen square, which had grown noticeably bigger. “You need more o’ the story to understand.” She loosened another length of yarn from the skein, and the needles resumed their patter. “Ever since Roddy was a lad, he liked to walk alone at night. It was a part o’ his gift, you see, to sense those spirits who were trapped between this world and the next. If the connection be strong, he could sometimes help them to cross over. Other times, he’d keep them company for a short while afore returning home in the morning. It was on one of these walks that he felt Carmen’s spirit agonizing beneath the oak grove.”
“Was she really buried, like the legend says?”
“Depends on how you look at it. Once the witch was defeated, King Bres imprisoned her in an old earthen mound that connected the two worlds. On the human side, he stacked large stones to form a dolmen that he enchanted to keep her out of Ireland. He put an enchantment on the other side as well so she couldn’t escape into the Otherworld.”
“She’s trapped in one of the pathways,” I breathed.
The corners of Deidre’s mouth turned down. “That she be, though not without some o’ her own dark charms. Night after night, the witch cried out from the earth for help. To most people, her wailing would have been mistaken for the wind howling. But to someone who can hear restless spirits, she had the voice o’ a siren. Me Roddy heard it once and was drawn to the dolmen like a man possessed.”
“How did he get past the enchantment?”
A dark laugh mixed with the clink of needles. “Me guess is that King Bres only thought to keep Carmen in as no one in their right mind would ever seek her out after all she did to Ireland. Problem be that after so many years, folks forgot all about her. Roddy had no notion who was waiting inside, not until he got there anyway, and she wound a web around his heart. From how he told it, she could spin lies faster than a spider and had a fine hand at illusions.”
My brows drew together over this last bit. “But if the dolmen only went one way, then how did Roddy get out?” And Deri, too, for that matter.
“Because the enchantment be specific to Carmen. Anyone else can come and go as they please, so long as they carry a spot o’ blood from the Tuatha Dé or one of the other ancient races that ever used the passageways.” There was a short pause while Deidre unwound a long length of yarn. I chewed my lip and waited for her to continue.
“Deri visited her mam ever so often once she was old enough to understand the truth, with nary a problem passing back and forth through the mound. Roddy didn’t like it, mind you, but he was too kindhearted to stop her, and she never stayed longer than a day or two. It wasn’t until the past year that the visits became longer and more frequent.”
I thought of Nora again, and how she could possibly play into all of this. “It doesn’t make any sense. Why would Deri kidnap my best friend and bring her all the way to Wexford? If Carmen is trying to escape, what could she want with a human?”
Deidre’s forehead wrinkled in thought. “If the stories be true, it took four Tuatha Dé to imprison the witch. Could be Deri’s attempting to gather four of their descendants with the idea to break the enchantment. Are you sure your friend be pure human?”
“Yes,” I answered emphatically. “Nora has no notion of our kind, so far as I know.”
“Then maybe it be a trick o’ sorts. Who’s to say what that little devil be thinking.” Deidre shook her head slowly. “A week afore Roddy died, he was very upset about something Deri told him. He only shared a wee bit as I was breeding for the first time and he didn’t want to upset me.”
My gaze dipped to her belly. The needles and woolen square rested on the swollen curve, momentarily forgotten. “What did he tell you?”
“Sounded like a bunch o’ cryptic nonsense at the time. But I think it had to do with Carmen wanting her three sons back, who were exiled from Ireland during the rampage.”
“Wouldn’t they be dead by now?” Even if Carmen were a goddess, the offspring most likely carried some human blood, and it only took a drop to render a person mortal.
“Dead and turned to dust,” Deidre confirmed. “So you understand why I didn’t take it to heart. I wouldn’t now, except...” Her words trailed off as she glanced skyward through the glass pane.
“Except for what?” I prodded.
She looked back at me, eyes unmistakably darker this time and worry etched in her face. “That I feel something be wrong, like a foul breath waiting to blow across the land.” She laughed softly. “Carmen and her sons almost destroyed Ireland once. Given another chance, I know in me bones that they won’t fail a second time.”
A headache threatened after so much depressing talk, and I pressed several fingers to my temple to help stave it off. If Deidre was right, this was one pack of sleeping dogs we needed to let lie, or remain imprisoned and dead, in their case. “The sooner you show us where Carmen is buried, Ailish and I can stop Deri from whatever she has planned.” I just prayed it wasn’t too late—for Nora and for every man, woman, and child living in this ancient land.
“I’ve never been to the place meself. Roddy told me about the dolmen after we married, and by then he wouldn’t go anywhere near it, for fear that the witch would draw him in again.”
My heart dropped. “You don’t know where it is?”
“Oh, I’ve a go
od sense o’ where the mound be from listening to Deri and Roddy talk. Going on foot, the journey would take nigh on two hours. But with horses, you can be there in half the time.”
I pushed to the very edge of the chair. “Where is it?”
Deidre gestured toward the front garden. “Follow the trail back to the stream. At the charred stump, you’ll turn away from Wexford and go for a fair space until you reach the edge of an oak grove. There’s no path to guide by, but if you travel due north, you’ll come upon several large rocks that be leaned together like a giant stacked them. That’s where the witch be.”
The directions sounded easy enough, except for one small detail. “How do we get into the mound?”
“Don’t know exactly. The key’s in the blood is all Roddy ever said. If it be a true dolmen, I suppose you walk between the stones just, and the goddess blood will speak for you.”
This was a rather big assumption, considering all that rode on our success—or failure. “And if it doesn’t?”
Ailish shifted on the footstool. I glanced at her, fully expecting some sort of insight on our predicament. Or anything really, just to acknowledge that she had indeed been paying attention and understood what was at stake. Her silence persisted though as she drew a long breath in through her nose, held it for several seconds, and then exhaled.
The fate of Ireland rested on our shoulders, and that was all she had offered since coming into the cottage.
Annoyed, I returned my attention to Deidre in the form of a pointed stare. “Did Roddy allude to any other way into the dolmen, in case walking through the stones doesn’t work?”
Deidre kept her eyes fixed on mine. “Can you smell it then?”
I started. “Smell what?” Wood smoke? The herbs and meat simmering in the pot?
“I smell it all right.”
My head jerked back to Ailish, and I saw fevered eagerness in her eyes. “What on earth are you talking about?”
A grin split her mouth. “Death,” she said, tipping her head toward the bedroom door. “Coming from there.”
Deidre nodded. “Living with one foot in the grave, she has, for nigh on a month now. Refuses to put the other in for fear o’ leaving me alone.”
I eyed the door suspiciously. “Who’s in there?”
“Me mother-in-law. We’ve always gotten along well, but with the babe coming any day, I’ll not have the time to take care of a person who’s too stubborn to die when it’s time.” Deidre sighed. “No matter what I say, she won’t believe that I’ll be fine on me own.”
Ailish drew in another breath, her expression that of pure joy. “I can help if’n you want.”
The offer sent a violent shudder straight through me. The movement went unnoticed as Deidre’s complete attention remained on Ailish. “Can you now?” she asked.
“I’ve got Cailleach’s voice and the gift to help folks cross over.”
“Would that be the essence or her actual voice you be using?”
“I’ve got the essence for me songs, but if’n the goddess wills it, I can speak in her own true voice.”
Deidre stared at her for a long moment. “That be rare, indeed, sister.” She flicked a hand toward the closed door. “You’ve me blessing to try, and me gratitude if it works.”
Ailish nodded. “When I’m done, you’ll need help putting her to ground.”
The two of them spoke so matter-of-factly, I could hardly believe they were discussing someone’s imminent death. And a loved one for that matter. Nausea rolled through my stomach, and it took every bit of effort not to bolt from the cottage in search of fresh air.
“That won’t be a problem,” Deidre said. “A gentleman friend visits every evening to see how I’m faring. He can manage a grave if there’s one that needs digging.”
“All right then.” Ailish rose from the footstool and slipped into the room, quiet as a mouse. Deidre resumed knitting, while I waited with nerves jangling for what would happen next. The fire cracked, and a raven screeched from somewhere in the front garden.
One minute dragged into another, until I feared my nerves would snap altogether. And then a cold breath touched my face as the most beautiful voice filled the cottage.
* * *
By good fortune, my head was firmly fastened to my body or it might have floated away when I stepped outside. Such was the effect of Ailish’s singing on me, and I could have listened to it for days, forgetting all about the world and my troubles. But then, that was the point of her gift—to help those let go from their mortal existence. I exhaled a frozen puff into the damp garden air, which happened to be another effect of her gift.
A kiss from Deidre warmed Ailish’s cheek as she followed me out, and the door closed behind us. We went a few more steps and I darted a look at her. “She’s crossed then?”
Ailish nodded but offered nothing more.
“And you’re sure it was her time?” The question came out more tense than I intended.
“The woman was already half dead inside and suffering terribly to stay here for Deidre’s sake.”
I went to the horses, which had been tied to a sapling tree. The whole thing still seemed wrong to me, as though they had somehow defied the laws of nature. “If you’re sure,” I said, without much conviction.
“Don’t be thinking I forced her to go. Gave her the choice is all, and then took the fear out o’ crossing.”
Though the floating sensation had started to fade, the song still lingered in my head, haunting and peaceful. “I’m trying to understand. It’s just so different from what I’m used to.”
“Different don’t always mean wrong, Selah. I’ve a duty to help, no less than you do.”
“I know that.” Irritated, I glanced at the sky, ready to move on to more urgent matters than our different bloodlines.
About an hour of daylight remained, which gave us just enough time to locate the dolmen. And with a bit of luck, perhaps even Nora and Deri. Assuming, of course, that we didn’t return to town to fetch Sean and his friends first. That would bring our count to at least ten, and only a fool would ignore the wisdom of numbers. But what if some of those numbers were declared enemies and more concerned with killing each other than anything else? The time wasted to their squabble could be critical to our cause.
I pursed my lips. Best one war to fight than two. And it would also keep Sean from being killed. Again. He had already broken my heart once, and though I was mad enough to skin him alive, I could not bear living through his death a second time.
Having made up my mind, I considered the trail to better gauge how fast we could push the horses when my brows came down in sudden confusion. “Where’s Henry?”
“Don’t know,” she said. “He weren’t to be seen when we left the cottage.”
“That’s odd. Where would he have wandered off to?”
“Can’t say—”Ailish turned abruptly to the side, her eyes narrowed like a hawk’s.
I froze, my shoulders taut with tension. “What’s the matter?” I whispered.
“I... I thought I saw someone over there.” She tipped her head toward the far side of Deidre’s cottage.
Trying not to be too obvious, I slowly turned and followed her gaze to what appeared to be a wooden outhouse, set atop a stone foundation. Nothing appeared or moved, and other than my pounding heart, the only sound came from the wind blowing through the upper branches of the trees.
My shoulders relaxed. “It’s probably Henry abiding nature’s call.”
“Don’t mean the privy. Look to that rowan tree just beyond.” She continued to speak in a hushed voice. “To the left, at that large bit o’ holly. Do you see it?”
“Yes...” I fixed my eyes on the prickly clump. “Are you sure?”
“I be sure. Someone moved over there.”
“I imagine it’s Henry. Why don’t we call to him?” Though it seemed a perfectly sensible plan, a sense of unease stayed my tongue.
“It wasn’t Henry, that be for certain.”
“How do you know—”
She held up a hand to shush me. Then, to my utter confusion, she spun on her heel in opposite direction. “Do you hear that?”
I didn’t even bother to ask, just strained my ears for the slightest noise. Nothing at first. I would have thought the girl completely daft by now if the horses hadn’t chosen that exact moment to twist their ears to where she was staring. And then I heard it.
Metal clanged against metal.
The breath caught in my throat. Merciful saints! Fear jolted through me, and I began a fervent prayer. Please don’t let it be—
Metal clashed once more, distinct and unmistakable.
“Swords,” Ailish breathed.
“Henry—”
A wide grin split her pale face. “That be him.” Excitement lit her hazel eyes, and any earlier concern from near the rowan tree was all but forgotten. “Best we go find him.”
The last of her words found my back as I’d already started running. At the pathway I barreled to the right, skirts bunched high to keep from tripping. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how he’d found a fight so soon. In the middle of the woods no less.
Blast it all! The initial surprise gave way to a mounting fury. Did the man have a death wish? Or did the lure of fighting trump all common sense?
“This way!’ Ailish called from behind me.
I skidded to a halt and turned to see her leave the trail. Then my feet were moving again, forging through the thick underbrush, ducking under low-hanging branches and skimming around tree trunks. Sharp twigs and thorns grabbed at me, but I refused to slow my pace. Ailish moved with the grace and speed of a woodland deer. I stayed close behind, fear and anger propelling me forward.
Her pace slackened a split second before she came to a sudden stop. With so little warning, I nearly plowed her over, limiting the damage to a brushing of shoulders that caused my teeth to snap together hard.
