Taminy
Page 45
Feich moved his narrowed eyes to Toireasa’s face, fighting the urge to look at Taminy. “I regret to say that he died by his own hand. Your desertion destroyed him, madam.”
The Cwen shook her head. Her gaze on him was hard and cold. “I destroyed nothing, Daimhin Feich. It was you who destroyed him. You who deserted him. You who passed him the cup of betrayal. This-” —she nodded toward the soldiers arrayed behind him— “this is forever and always what you have wanted, is it not?”
Feich’s insides cooled at her words. What did she know of a ‘cup of betrayal?’ He only just kept his eyes from seeking Taminy’s reaction. “You mistake me, mistress. I had nothing but the good of my Cyne at heart. And the good of Caraid-land. That good can only be served by the return of the Cyneric Airleas to Mertuile to be set before the Stone.”
“Under whose regency?”
“Under my own. By the Cyne’s decree. Ask Osraed Ladhar, if you don’t trust me. He witnessed the act and counter-signed the document. For the sake of this land, which we both love, I beg you, Cwen Toireasa—let Airleas return to Creiddylad with me. Let him be set before the Stone as is his right.”
Toireasa smiled wryly. “Ah, Goscelin’s dilemma. To be parted from her child, or to hold him fast to her side.”
“Goscelin had no choice, mistress. You do. I offer it to you.”
“And the alternative?”
Feich gazed around him at the hills above, the town below, the long slope, meadows and woods behind. “This land is divided, torn by dissension and strife. Blood flows. Lives are lost. Mistress, Airleas is a symbol of Caraid-land’s unity. If he is not at Mertuile, Caraid-land is a headless corpse, thrown to merciless eaters of carrion.”
“Then let him return to Mertuile with me. Let Taminy Weave her will in Caraid-land and let its wounds be healed. Let Taminy complete her purpose—to renew and unify Caraid-land as it has never been unified before.”
Feich did look at Taminy now and the hatred that had collected in him over the weeks roared for release. Her face blanched as his eyes touched it, and he knew without doubt that she could feel the black emotion roiling within him. Something else sprang to join it, something that burnt its way up from his groin, scorching him. Self-disgust followed—disgust that his own body could betray him so thoroughly. He knew what she was—anathema.
“She will Weave her will in chill hell and nowhere else.”
“Then you return to Mertuile empty-handed.”
“You deny your son—Colfre’s son—his birthright. He is a Malcuim-”
“Yes, and so am I. And I shall behave like one. Cowardice ill-befits a Malcuim Cwen. I will not give my son and Colfre’s into your hands, Daimhin Feich. In your hands he would become a pawn ... as Colfre was.”
Beside Toireasa, Taminy stirred, returning Feich’s gaze. His innards squirmed. “Then you shall be declared outlaw—all of you. Heretics like her.” He pointed at Taminy, and sought the faces of those behind the trio in the archway. “I’ll have you declared Wicke. You’ll be hunted down like vermin wherever you go. Fed to the waves or the flames. You’ll watch your husbands and wives and children die horribly before your eyes. Is that what you want? Cyneric Airleas, is that what you want for your mother?”
The child twitched as if Feich had poked him. He glanced from his mother to Taminy, then set his eyes on Feich’s face. “If we deny Taminy-Osmaer, we’ll live horribly. A Malcuim does not poison himself.”
“Your father did. Day by day his soul writhed in torment because he believed in that.” His finger pointed at Taminy again. “It tore him asunder in the end. Perhaps it was the Hillwild blood in his veins that made him susceptible to pagan goddesses—that made him weak of will and shallow of mind.” He glanced at the Ren Catahn, standing just behind the three.
“Or perhaps it was having a fox for a Durweard,” Catahn growled.
“My father worshipped power,” said Airleas. “That’s what made him weak. And you knew it. I don’t care if you call me a Wicke or a heretic. I love Taminy and I love my mother. I won’t leave here no matter what you say. Go away, Durweard Feich, and leave us alone. You can have the Throne and the Circlet if you want them so much.” He looked up at his mother. “Can I go now? I don’t want to talk to him any more.”
Toireasa smiled into Daimhin Feich’s face. It was a smile fierce with pride. “You’ve heard the Malcuim. Leave us.”
She turned her back on him then, and prepared to usher Airleas away.
Desperate, Feich leapt forward. “Airleas! Come to me! These women deceive you! They’ve poisoned your mind. Your father made me your Regent. Trust me, Airleas, and come to me!”
Airleas turned back to give his father’s Durweard a scathing look. “You stink,” he said.
Feich made a move to draw his sword and follow the royals into the courtyard. Before he had tightened his grip on the hilt, the portcullis crashed down again, digging its sharpened tines into the earth. Feich jumped clear, swearing. When he regained his poise, the Cwen and Airleas were gone and only Taminy faced him from the other side of the grille, Catahn hovering warily behind her.
“You-!” Feich moved forward again. He stopped at little more than arm’s length from her, the portcullis bars creating a thick frame about her head and shoulders. “You are a dagger in the heart of this land.”
“And you are the man who directs the blade. Stop this now. Let Airleas and Toireasa return to Creiddylad free. Let me pursue my mission in Caraid-land and the wound will quickly heal.”
He gazed at her a long moment, then nodded. “All right. I see that what you say is true. My actions are a determining factor in what happens here. Yes. You may return to Creiddylad a free woman.”
Taminy smiled while, behind her, the Ren Catahn laid a hand to his sword hilt. “I have changed since we last spoke, Daimhin. Then, I was caught at a crossroads, stranded in a state of transition. Powers ebbed and flowed, awareness informed me only fleetingly. I am past that now. And because I am past that, I know that you lie. If Airleas were to pass into your hands, Regent Feich, he would become, as his mother said, a pawn. As it seems his father was, as you intended me to be. There is still pain in that memory. How close I came to allowing my purpose to be consumed by yours. And for what—a flash of white heat, a touch of warm flesh? That was an ordeal by fire, Daimhin. And I still ask, ‘Did I pass?’ Or did Osraed Bevol rescue me?”
Feich jerked. “Bevol? Bevol is dead.”
“After a fashion. Yet, he lives, after a fashion. You wouldn’t understand.” She shook her head and he felt her sigh rush through him like a cool breeze. “I want so to appeal to your spirit. I want so to speak to your conscience. But by all the powers that vibrate in this great rock, I cannot reach either.”
Talk of spirits and consciences made him squirm. “Enough nonsense. I have no choice but to return to Creiddylad and have myself declared Cyneric.”
“You already think of yourself as that.”
Feich hurled himself against the barricade. It rattled only slightly, though he threw his whole weight into the motion. “Wicke! Stop pretending to read my mind!”
Catahn’s sword was out as he came to Taminy’s shoulder, ready to run Feich through—if Taminy would allow such a thing, which she wouldn’t.
“Afraid of me, Wicke? Does your trained bear dance attendance because you fear me?”
“Lady?” Catahn’s intent was clear in his voice. He wanted to put an end to Daimhin Feich.
Yes, of course—he wanted to keep the Crystal Rose for himself.
“I’m not afraid of you,” Taminy said, and Feich scoffed.
“Then send your bear away.”
Taminy knew Feich’s demand posed no mortal danger. She looked up over her shoulder into Catahn’s dark face. “It’s all right, Catahn. Stand down. He can’t harm me.”
Reluctantly, the Hillwild removed himself from Taminy’s side, fading into the shadows beneath the arch. Taminy moved close to the portcullis.
“You feel n
othing for me, Taminy?”
“I feel pity.”
“Prove that. Give me your hand.”
She put her left hand, palm up, through the grille. The star, golden, gleaming, shone at him. He started to take it, hesitated, and jerked away when their fingertips brushed. His face burned red and he wriggled as if ants crawled upon him.
She withdrew the hand. “Now who is afraid?”
“I will return to Creiddylad and I will, myself, be set before the Stone.”
“While Airleas lives? Then you will be Cyne of a land divided completely. Your only chance of maintaining Caraid-land’s unity is to have Airleas at Mertuile.”
“Half a country is better than none at all. I will be set before the Stone, and the Throne and Circlet shall remain in my possession and be passed down to my sons. The Osmaer Crystal will be in the hands of Feich from this day forth. And no Malcuim shall ever take it from us. And as for you, dear lady, I shall hound you and yours until I have eradicated every last one of you. These hands-” —he held them up before him— “These hands caressed you and drew such passion from you not that long ago. Today I would cheerfully use them to strangle you. But I think you’re worth more to me alive. The people love you, Taminy-a-Cuinn.”
“And I love them.”
Calm—she was too calm. He spoke to her with passion threatening to tear itself loose and devour him, and those green eyes gazed back with the coolness of sea water. He quaked with the effort it took not to scream at her—not to thrust his hands through the grille and tear at her throat.
Why did she not love me?
“You can’t receive what you refuse to give,” she murmured, and there was nothing left to do but stare at her, hating and wanting, until he could make himself turn away from her gaze and return to his horse.
When he was Cyne, he thought, as he turned his troops about, things would change. He would hold the Crystal and, with Ladhar’s help, he would learn to wield its power. He had always been fey, though he’d kept it well-hidden. Then, as Cyne—no, as more than that, as Osric—he would let that Gift come to the fore. Caraid-land would find itself possessed of a very powerful leader. First, the Taminists would be eradicated, then the Deasach would be made to tremble.
He turned in the saddle just before the trees obscured the gates of Halig-liath from sight. She still stood there, watching him, looking small and vulnerable and absurdly young.
Heat licked up his spine, irritating him. He dug his heels into his horse’s flanks and rode to the head of the long column.
oOo
Taminy felt Catahn’s presence at her side as a spot of soft warmth in the cold, iron shell about her. She allowed the shell to melt away into the earth and sagged back against the Hillwild’s comforting bulk.
There was a creak of leather and one large hand came to her shoulder. “He will return, Lady.”
She nodded, thanking the warmth that spread from his hand to suffuse her. “He will return when he realizes that Airleas is Cyne of Caraid-land’s heart and that to possess that heart, he must possess Airleas.”
Catahn snorted. “He’ll be happy enough with the body for a while.”
“Not long.”
“When he returns, will he find us here?”
She shook her head. “No. With us here, the people of Nairne are in danger. We must be elsewhere when Daimhin Feich revisits Halig-liath.”
She turned and re-entered the courtyard, Catahn maintaining his place beside her. She ignored the questioning faces that greeted them for a moment, and paused to gaze up and over the high eastern walls. The five of the seven peaks of the Gyldan-baenn marched away toward the south. Far and away, she could see the snow-capped thrust of Baenn-ghlo, for once, not wrapped in the mists that gave it its name. The smaller summit of Baenn-ratha stood out in stark relief against its bright, massive flank. Somewhere among those crags and forested passes, Catahn’s stronghold, Hrofceaster, snuggled in near-inaccessible safety. It would be a difficult place for those used to milder climes to winter, but there they would be safe, and there they would not be subject to siege.
Catahn had followed her gaze to look lovingly and longingly on those same peaks. “Shall we begin preparations for travel, Lady?”
She smiled and squeezed his hand where it still rested on her shoulder. “Thank you, Catahn,” she said and moved to where Cwen Toireasa and Airleas waited in the midst of a cluster of other believers.
oOo
Catahn watched her till she was absorbed by the group, then pulled his eyes back to the Gyldan-baenn. His heart swelled with a surge of something big and fine and warm. He would go home soon, and he would bring the Lady of the Crystal Rose with him.
APPENDICES
PHONETICS KEY
ay = “ay” as in “hay”
bh = “v” as in “victory”
dd = “th” as in “the”
dh = a soft “d” with a slight aspirant
ey = “eye”
fh = the softest possible “f”; almost a “v”
gh = a hard “h”
th = “th” as in “the”
y = a long “i”
APPENDIX 1: THE NOBLE HOUSES OF CARAID-LAND AND THEIR BANNERS
Claeg (Clayg): “House of Earth” — midland House of traditional warriors; sword-cleft rock on a field of red.
Cuillean (Kwil-een): “House of the Bear” — northern House; brown bear on a green field.
Dearg (Deerg): “House of the Red Man” — midland House; red hand on a white and yellow field.
Floinn (Flown): “House of the Red Child” — breakaway northern House related to the Dearg; dagger-bearing hand on a yellow and white field.
Feich (Fyke): “House of the Raven” — southern neighbors of the Claeg; raven on a yellow field.
Gilleas (Gi-lee-as): “House of the Disciples (of the Meri); midland House, traditionally strong allies of the Malcuim; golden star on a midnight blue field.
Glinne (Glin): “House of the White One” — House traditionally dedicated to the worship of the Gwenwyvar or White Wave; white wave cresting on a purple field.
Graegam (Gray-am): “House of the Bray Man” — western neighbors of the Feich; castle keep on a red and white field.
Jura (Joo-rah): “House of the Broken Heart” — the family of the martyred Osraed Gartain; twained heart on a white field with a red border.
Madaidh (Mah-dayth): “House of Wolves” — a sea-faring House thought to be descendants of Deasach immigrants to Caraid-land; brown wolf on a yellow and blue field.
Malcuim (Mal-kwim): “House of the Sands” — the Royal House of Caraid-land; clasped hands on a gold and green field.
Skarf (Skarf): “House of the Cormorant” — a House of fisherman and merchant seamen; white cormorant on a teal field.
Teallach (Tee-lak): “House of Iron” — northern House; sword on an orange field.
APPENDIX 2: NAMES
Aine (Ayn): “fiery one”
Airleas (Ayr-lee-as): a traditional Caraidin name meaning “a pledge” or “an oath”
Ardis (Ar-dis): “warm”, “ardent”
Arundel (Ar-un-del): “dwells at the eagle’s grove”; family estate of the Osraed Wyth
Bearach (Bay-rak): “spear carrier”; heroic Cyne of Caraid-land who won the First Battle of the Crystal against Buchan Claeg
Bebhinn (Beh-vin): “melodious lady”; swift-flowing northern branch of the Halig-Tyne
Bevol (Bay-vol): Hillwild name meaning “wind”
Bitan-ig (Bee-tan-eegh): “preserving”; Cyne and hero of the Battle of the Chalice and the Skull
Brys (Bryss): “quick” or “ambitious”
Caime (Kaym): “crooked”
Calach (Kah-lak): “companion”
Caraid-land (Car-ayd-land): “land between the streams” hence, “friendly land”
Catahn (Ca-tawn): Hillwild name meaning “champion” or “warrior”
Ciaran (Kee-ar-an): Hillwild name meaning “dark one”; the most fam
ous (or infamous) Ciaran was Cyne Ciaran, grandfather of Cyne Colfre
Ciarda (Kee-ar-da): a Hillwild name meaning “child of the dark one”; a Cyne of Caraid-land and Colfre-s father
Colfre (Kol-fray): Hillwild name meaning “a dove,” hence, peaceful
Creiddylad (Creh-dee-ly-ah): “jewel of the sea”; traditional home of the Malcuims and capitol of Caraid-land since the reign of Malcuim the Uniter
Cuinn (Kwin): “wise”; family name of Taminy-a-Cuinn; from a small settlement east of Nairne
Daimhin (Day-fin): “poet” or “savant”
Deasach (Dee-sak): “southern”; Caraidin word for the country beyond the southwest arm of the Gyldan-baenn; also used to refer to its people
Desary (Deh-sa-ree): a Hillwild name meaning “longed for”
Doireann (Dwa-ree-an): “sullen”
Eada (Yah-da): “prosperity” or “blessedness”; large seaport to the north of Creiddylad situated on the mouth of the Ead-Tyne
Ealad-hach (Ay-lad-hak): “ingenious” or “a scientist”
Faer-wald (Fayr-wald): “mighty traveler”
Feich (Fyke): “a raven”; one of the Caraidin Houses
Fhada (Vah-dah): “long”
Gled (Gled): “glad”, “joyous”
Goscelin (Jos-e-lin): “the just” ; a great Caraidin heroine
Gwenwyvar (Gwen-wy-var): “white wave” or “white phantom”; Eibhilin being associated closely with the Meri; often a bearer of Her messages
Gwynet (Gwi-net): “white” or “blessed”
Gyldan-baenn (Gil-dan-bayn): “golden mountains”; chain of mountains that wraps from northeast to southwest about Caraid-land, forming a border with the Deasach lands.
Haefer (Hay-fer): “sanctuary”, “safety”; given name of the great Hillwild Osraed and hero Haefer Hillwild
Hageswode (Hag-es-wode): “from the high forest”; family name of Osraed Haefer Hillwild
Halig-liath (Ha-lig-lee-ath): “holy fortress”
Halig-tyne (Ha-lig-tyne): “holy river”
Hrofceaster (Rof-kays-ter): “sky fortress”