by Ada Haynes
He nodded, and allowed himself a proud smile. “The doctor just left. He told me that if she goes on like this I’ll be able to take her home next week.”
Sarah-Lysliana nodded. “Your little girl has survived Ara’s trial while in her mother’s womb. I’d say that certainly proves her will to live, don’t you think?”
“Certainly.”
“Have you finally thought of a name for her?”
He nodded. “Judikali. It was my mother’s second name.”
Sarah-Lysliana smiled. “Good choice. I like it!”
She looked around her. “So, is this where you’re spending all your time nowadays?”
He shook his head. “Not all my time. I still have the bank to run.”
“Lyrian told me he’s not seeing you in the office a lot lately. And you have not gone to the Valley since Kimiel was killed.”
He sighed. “Not true. I go there from time to time, but they don’t really need me. I just can’t stand the others’ looks, Sally, or hearing their false condolences. And I know some still reproach me for not having protected her enough. I mostly work from home.”
“And where is that home? I heard you were selling your house in Zurich.”
She saw his frown, and quickly added. “I’m not spying on you. Some people are concerned about you, Ekbeth. It’s not all false concern.”
He looked at his daughter. She was still sleeping, but her fingers were moving. He smiled tenderly at her, and put her back in her cradle.
Sarah-Lysliana was still waiting for an answer, he realized. “I’m staying in a hotel suite lately. Until I’ve found something else for me and her.”
“Mmh! The hotel guests are going to be very happy to hear a crying baby all night!”
He growled, “I can buy the whole place if I want to.”
She laughed. “My, how touchy you’ve become, Ekbeth! I was joking.”
He tried to smile.
She nodded. “Better. Now, in case you’re wondering, I have come to bring you an invitation, Ekbeth.”
That certainly surprised him. “An invitation? I don’t think…”
She stopped his refusal with a hand. “We are holding a wake in memory of Kimiel on the Island next week. There will be a Presbyterian service, I’m afraid—her family insisted—but we all thought you should be there as well.”
A wake? His mind went blank.
“I don’t know… I have to take care of my daughter. And the bank.”
She took his arms, and forced him to look at her.
“Ekbeth. Hiding won’t lessen the pain. You’re not the only one to mourn her. As I said, her mother, brother and sister will come, with their families. They really would like to meet you. Her friends will be there as well. Please come.”
Then she looked at the cradle and smiled, if a bit sadly. “And if you want to bring your daughter along, she’ll be more than welcome! There are plenty of people who want to meet her!”
Ekbeth shook his head.
She tapped his shoulder. “That’s also something you’ll have to admit, Ekbeth! You won’t be able to hide her forever. She’s not yours alone!”
He was well aware of that fact; he knew he was too protective, but she was all he had left. He did not want to lose her as well.
The McLeans were okay though, he reflected, and Sarah-Lysliana was right: he had been hiding lately.
He made a decision. “I’ll come. When is it exactly?”
She gave him all the details and hugged him before leaving. “See you in a week, Ekbeth.”
*
The Island.
The freezing wind was enough to dissuade any sane man from settling here. You could not grow anything here, as the layer of soil was too thin, and the few cows the McLeans owned were in constant danger of falling into the sea from the high cliffs.
Ekbeth still had to understand why the McLeans were so attached to this little piece of land. In the Middle Ages, living on that remote chunk of rock made sense, a natural protection against attackers, as long as they were not As’mir. But nowadays? It was so isolated! More than a one-hour boat ride from the mainland.
He tightened the collar of his coat, and started walking briskly towards the castle.
That was another thing he had trouble understanding. Why bother keeping such an impractical medieval building? It was crumbling at every corner, and lacked any modern equipment.
The McLeans were just as bad as the rest of the As’mirin community, was his reasoning, as far as hanging on to traditions was concerned. They were clinging desperately to the past.
The main entrance door opened as soon as he knocked on it. Andrew McLean himself, dressed in black, as was appropriate on this Side, stood there.
He nodded to Ekbeth. “Welcome. I hope you don’t mind that we are wearing the Na Duibhnes’ colors, Ekbeth.”
Ekbeth heard the slight challenge in the younger man’s voice. He smiled. “I live on this side, Andrew. I’m not as narrow-minded as the rest of my family.”
Andrew returned the smile and let him enter the building. The entrance hall was not very impressive—rather narrow, which was not surprising as it used to be a defense area—but after a rather steep staircase, Ekbeth entered the main hall, and that was certainly imposing. The McLeans had tried to keep the medieval atmosphere even inside. The ceiling was extremely high, with massive wooden beams across its breadth. The walls were stone, covered with colorful tapestries. There were two monstrous chimneys on either side of the room. The only light came from the small windows set in one of the thick walls.
A huge oaken table filled the middle of the hall, and the family and their guests were standing comfortably around it. It was quite a small gathering.
Sarah-Lysliana came to him as soon as she saw him. “Glad you came, Ekbeth. Let me introduce you to some people.”
She led him toward a group of people standing apart from the rest. As they crossed the room, she whispered, “I should have warned you, they are a bit uptight, but, well, you’re probably used to their kind.”
When they reached the group, she said, “Ekbeth, let me introduce you to Kimiel’s family.”
She started with Kimiel’s mother, Emily, a tall brown-haired woman with a kind face, then the Reverend Richard McLeod—a priest!—who exhibited the telltale red hair of the McLeans, and his family. Richard and his wife had produced quite a lot of children.
Then… Ekbeth’s heart missed a beat. Sarah-Lysliana saw his reaction and touched his arm. “This is Kathleen and her husband Philip Murray. She’s Kimiel’s sister.”
He did not really need that added piece of information. He had thought for a second she was Kimiel.
But when he looked at Kathleen more attentively, he saw some differences. Though with the relatively poor light of the room, his confusion was not surprising. The sisters looked a lot alike.
“This is Ekbeth Maher na Duibhne, Akeneires’el of the Na Duibhnes. He was Kimiel’s partner.”
They all politely nodded to him, reserved. With Sarah-Lysliana’s warning in mind, he was not sure how to react either.
Sarah-Lysliana announced. “We are still waiting for Kimiel’s friends to arrive. I heard the boat is underway. Should not take much longer. Do you want something to drink, Ekbeth?”
He declined. She left him among those perfect strangers, and there was an awkward silence while they all looked at each other without really knowing what to say.
Ekbeth was the first to make an attempt. “I wish we’d met earlier, before she was killed. I must admit I’ve been very curious about you.”
Kimiel’s mother smiled sadly. “It probably would have been as embarrassing as now, Akeneires’el. We have not seen Shona, or Kimiel, as you seem to call her, for the past twenty-six years. I would not have known what to say to her, or to you.”
Twenty-six years? She must have been very young at the time. What had she done to deserve their rejection? They were now on the defensive, so he did not ask details.
He tried to sound friendly instead. “Please, call me Ekbeth. That Akeneires’el title has no meaning outside the Valley.”
They seemed to relax a tiny bit.
The reverend even smiled. “I went to the Valley when I was little, you know, with my father Malcolm. During Ara’s ceremonies. But it’s already forty years ago, I’m afraid. I have rather vague memories of the place.”
His sister intervened, offering her first smile. “That can’t be true. You kept telling me and Shona about how fantastic it was! We were terribly jealous that we could not come with you that first time.”
She suddenly sobered. “And we never had our chance to go. Because our father died and we were thrown off the Island.”
She did not sound as bitter about this as Kimiel had been, but judging by the way the whole family hushed her it was still apparently a sensitive subject.
He tried to lighten the mood, even though his choice of topic was far from ideal. “You would be very disappointed if you saw the City right now, Kathleen. I suppose Sally told you about the landslide?”
They all nodded. Richard said, “We are sorry for your losses. I’ve prayed for the victims.”
Ekbeth thanked him. He wanted to tell them the role Kimiel had played in the rescue, but saying to a priest his sister had been possessed by a Goddess, even if for a short moment? He did not think it was such a good idea.
Kimiel’s mother asked, “Sally told us Shona was pregnant when she was murdered.”
Ekbeth nodded, and was suddenly glad he had prepared for that question. He took his mobile phone out of his pocket. There was no internet connection in that dreadful place of course, but he could at least show them some pictures of Judikali.
“The baby was saved, and, though our daughter was born far too early, she’s recovered from the trauma really nicely. Here, look. I took these yesterday.”
They all looked eagerly at the few pictures.
Kimiel’s mother asked, “What color are her eyes?”
The question was not only out of curiosity, he reflected. Emily wanted to know whether Judikali was a McLean or a Na Duibhne. She was just as bad as his own family, who had been asking the same question every time he saw them.
“It’s really too early to say. She does not have much hair either, as you can see. We’ll just have to give it a bit more time.”
Kathleen asked, prudently, “Would it be possible to see her, later? She’s my niece, after all.”
Ekbeth nodded. “Of course. I am currently looking for a new house, but you’re all more than welcome to visit us.”
Richard McLeod intervened. “In this family we are not travelers, Ekbeth. Shona was really an exception to the rule. Always interested in the weirdest things, the more exotic the better. My family and I are living with my mother in a village that is more or less across the Island. If you are visiting the McLeans, you’ll also be welcome to come to our place, if only for a few hours.”
Richard’s wife suddenly asked, “Who’s taking care of the baby right now?”
“Judikali, that’s our daughter’s name, is still in the neonatology department, in very good hands. I visit her every day. I’ve found the perfect nanny for her, when she is allowed to leave the hospital, which should be any day now.”
The woman did not seem to appreciate his decision. “A nurse! That child needs her parents’ affection, not a surrogate mother.”
She realized her mistake immediately, of course.
Ekbeth kept his face carefully neutral. Sarah-Lysliana had judged them correctly, it would seem. He was suddenly not so sure that seeing these particular relatives on a regular basis was such a good idea.
“Judikali will be very well taken care of, do not worry. Her nurse will never replace her mother, of course, but the woman’s come to me with impeccable references. And my daughter still has me. I’m a very busy man, but I’ve already reduced my activities considerably over the past few months—to everyone’s frustration, believe me—to be able to spend more time with her. I’ll let no harm come to my little girl. Losing her mother was already hard enough.”
Toshio Watanabe entered the hall at that moment, and Kimiel’s whole family suddenly became distant again. The attitude puzzled Ekbeth a bit, until he heard one of the children ask in a whisper if this was the criminal who had put his aunt on the wrong path. He was quickly silenced.
That was one way to see it, of course. It was always so easy to blame others for one’s acts.
Of course, Ekbeth still knew so little about Kimiel’s past. He still had trouble seeing the whole picture in the fragments he had managed to collect during recent months, and he had a strong feeling that, with the disapproval of him that they displayed, Kimiel’s family was not going to come forward with the details.
He really needed to talk to Watanabe.
Maire Kincaid was there as well, and Jeffrey Matheson, and Najeb.
Najeb had asked for a leave soon after Kimiel’s death, without explaining what he intended to do. Ekbeth had not asked questions. He knew the young man was with Watanabe, trying to complete Kimiel’s mission. Whatever it was. He had never found the time to ask Najeb.
Najeb looked tired, and nervous. Not himself. The whole group looked exhausted, he realized, with the exception, perhaps, of Maire Kincaid.
He walked over to them and nodded briefly to Watanabe, then talked to Najeb. “Are you okay, Najeb?”
The young man bowed to him. “Yes, Akeneires’el. We just arrived from China—Jeffrey, Toshio and me. I offered them the use of the Caller’s services, but Toshio does not trust it, so we travelled the human way. He has a private jet but it was quite a long trip! That last bit on the boat just finished us off.”
Ekbeth smiled. “You could have called yourself out of the situation, Najeb!”
He shook his head. “We have become well acquainted over the past weeks. I found it disrespectful to them.”
Ekbeth wanted to ask him what they had been doing during that time, but Watanabe interrupted him. “We need to talk, Ekbeth. Later.”
Ekbeth was only too glad that the two of them agreed on that point. “I have wanted to do that for a long time already, but you never answered my messages.”
“I’ve been busy. Sorry. But all is well now… Except we still don’t know who ordered Shona killed.”
Indeed, thought Ekbeth. Not for lack of trying on Kalem’s part and by the Swiss police forces. The murderer had been a pro. They had not been able to find any trace of the killer, except his bullet, extracted from Kimiel’s heart.
He felt a familiar tingling in his back, and when he looked behind him, he discovered As’leandra Na Liathe had appeared in the middle of the Hall.
Ekbeth had to grin when he noticed the open mouths of Kimiel’s nephews and nieces. As’leandra was certainly a sight. She had the genetic slenderness of the As’mirin, and with her long dress—green velvet with fine gold-thread embroidery and floor-length sleeves—and her long, green, elaborately coiffed hair, they probably took her for a fairy or some other fantastic creature. She was only missing the wings.
As’leandra blended perfectly with the room’s Gothic decorations. She made her brief reverence to everyone, and to no one in particular. “Sorry for being late.”
Andrew McLean smiled at her from the other side of the room. “You are just in time, Akeneires’eli. And very welcome. Shall we start?”
Suddenly, the whole room was filled with somber silence. Andrew finally broke it.
“Dear family, dear friends, we are here today to remember Shona, also known in the As’mir Valley as Kimiel, daughter of Malcolm and Emily, sister of Kathleen and Richard, partner of Ekbeth, mother of Judikali. She was taken from this Earth far too early, in a cowardly act. She had had a tumultuous life, had decided to follow a dangerous path, but it does not lessen our pain for her loss.”
Ekbeth could not help but think how hypocritical they all were right now—with the exception, perhaps, of Watanabe, Maire Kincaid and Matheson
. The McLean family barely knew Kimiel—knew her even less than he had. Her family was pretending to grieve, but admitted openly that they had not seen Kimiel in years.
He kept a straight face. There was no point in saying this. He was, after all, not much better than them in that regard. Her sudden death still brought up an uneasy mix of feelings in him. People thought his voluntary isolation was due to grief. That was only half of it. He did miss her sorely, but the dominant feeling was guilt. Guilt for not having adequately protected her. Guilt for not having had the time to know her better. Guilt for having lost Judikali’s mother.
“…The Reverend Richard is now going to pray with us.”
For the entire ceremony, Ekbeth stopped listening. Not for lack of respect, but simply because he could not follow one single word of the prayer. Did they really have to do this in Gaelic?
He saw a sudden smile on As’leandra na Liathe’s face, standing next to him. Damn the girl, she was probably reading his mind right now. She just nodded slightly, then seemed very interested in her hands.
After the prayers, Andrew invited everyone to go outside. As they exited, Sarah-Lysliana handed each person some flowers. Ekbeth asked her where they were going.
“We’ve chosen a nice place for a small memory stone for her. It’s not far from here.”
Well, the Island was not that big in the first place, thought Ekbeth.
In five minutes, they were all standing in the chilling wind, beside a low stone wall, with a view of the sea and an odd lighthouse.
Sarah-Lysliana spoke. “I’m going to miss Kimiel, Shona. A bit more than four months ago, we were sharing a cup of hot cocoa here, while listening to the wind. I know how it sounds, but she wrote once that there are stories carried in this wind, and if you listen very carefully, you’ll understand it is true.”
She then took a small thermos and emptied the contents on a small square stone at her feet. It made a brown puddle on the stone.
Not blood, told Ekbeth to himself, fighting a sudden queasiness. This was probably hot chocolate.
