She hesitated, but then replied. “When he became king, I was a child living with my parents in a nearby village. It was rumored the Stone only cried out when Moqorr struck it with his sword. I made the mistake of telling people I had foreseen such an event. Word soon came to the High King’s ears and I was taken away from my family and brought to Tara.”
He squeezed her hand. “He feared you even then.”
“I see the truth of it now, but I was a little girl…”
She fell silent as Lia Fàil loomed at the crest of the hill.
Holding her hand, he slowly circled the monolith. It wasn’t as tall or broad as the mysterious one in the cave, but he was obliged to look up to see the top. As they walked he surveyed the panorama of the lands over which it presided. Five roads radiated from Tara in different directions. Cualu sat brooding in the distance.
Murmurs of approval rose from the assembled crowd.
Aislinn pulled her hand from his. “You must have faith. It will cry out,” she whispered with a smile before taking a step backwards.
He looked up at the sky, offered a silent prayer to the gods, inhaled deeply and touched the side of his foot to the stone.
A hush fell over the crowd as the sound of Sibrán’s booted foot tapping the stone seemed to slowly grow louder until it echoed off the hills and valleys. The wide-eyed surprise on every face indicated people hadn’t been sure what to expect, but the joyful cheering that followed proved their relief the Lia Fàil had given its blessing to a new, more benevolent king.
But Sibrán frowned when his new Tuathan subjects dropped to their knees, foreheads touching the ground. “Rise,” he commanded. “You do me and my queen honor, but in Gaelicia we simply bow before royalty.”
Aislinn was delighted to explain his words and see the smiles as folk got to their feet.
A murmur rose from the gathering when a handful of elderly bearded men in flowing white robes began to appear as if the meadows had conjured them.
Sibrán frowned, prompting her to hasten to his side. “Moqorr banished the priests long ago,” she explained. “They have dwelt in hiding in secret groves.”
He arched a brow. “Priests?”
“They are descendants of the ancients who built the great monoliths. They study the sun and the moon and stars. Before Moqorr came to power, our people looked to them for guidance on the law, but they are also poets and healers. They respect the earth and her rhythms. Our land prospered before they left.”
He scratched his beard thoughtfully. “We honor such priests in Coruña where they still tend the stone circles and conduct rituals for the solstices.” He spread his arms wide as the exiles approached the Lia Fàil. “Men of learning are welcome to return to Tara.”
They seemed to comprehend without her interpreting. One particularly wizened priest approached them. The tip of his bushy white beard almost brushed the ground when he bowed. He then raised his arms and began a lengthy exhortation of blessing, proclaiming their union as High King and Queen of Inisfail.
Sibrán couldn’t possibly comprehend the priest’s language—the old man spoke in such an ancient dialect she barely understood it—but the glow of love in his blue eyes assured her he appreciated the import of the words.
Lop barked his approval and the cheering started up again when the ceremony was concluded. The priests led the jubilant procession into the Fortress of Kings with a spritely gait at odds with their advanced age.
Aislinn had never entered the Royal Enclosure with anything other than fear in her heart. She was surprised and gladdened the place seemed lighter, less oppressive. Moqorr’s very presence had apparently cast the dark shadows.
The wolves chiseled from the stone pillars seemed to be smiling contentedly. She smiled too when she noticed a smaller carved chair had been placed next to the Seat of Kings. Sibrán’s prediction she was destined to help him rule had proven to be true and she rejoiced in the knowledge her own people accepted she was to be their queen.
Her beloved winked when he escorted her to the second chair. Her heart fluttered as she watched him take his rightful place on the throne.
Lop had never been allowed entry before, but he trotted up to the dais and lay down regally at her feet as if he too was where he was supposed to be.
Iago was the first to bend the knee before his new king. Aislinn sobered, remembering catching sight of him as he’d fled the hall after the brutal slaughter, his weathered face a mask of hatred and fear. She had barely known Nith, but felt the pain of Iago’s loss.
“I swore I would never again enter this place until Moqorr was dead,” the old warrior declared solemnly. “You have helped me fulfill my vow and I pledge my lifelong allegiance to you both, meu rei e raìña.”
Sibrán nodded. “Your love and loyalty will serve Inisfail well, faithful friend.”
As folk came forward one by one and she listened with pride to the pledges of fealty, Aislinn had a clear vision of a bright future for her homeland and herself. She looked at Sibrán, certain only she would ever possess his heart and his magnificent body.
He turned to glance at her. “What are you thinking?” he asked with a lustful smile that sent desire spiralling into her most intimate place.
“I’ll tell you later,” she whispered.
Epilogue
Cualu, 25 years later
Aislinn, High Queen of the Gaels for nigh on twenty-five years, leaned heavily on the arm of her eldest son as the body of his father was laid to rest in the Cavern of the Kings by his faithful advisors Ebric and Amergin. The journey from Tara had taken a heavy toll on what little strength remained to her, but now she was at peace. She’d already bidden farewell to her other grieving children who awaited their brother in the outer chamber. The narrow gateway had denied them entry and she accepted the pillars would not allow her to leave.
In his free hand, her son held aloft a blazing torch to keep the darkness at bay. The monolith still dominated the chamber, but its dull, mottled surface gave no hint of the power within. The gods had revealed to her that it would never shine again unless Inisfail found itself once more in dire need of its light.
She was confident Corun would be a wise ruler, like his father. She suspected he knew he’d been conceived in this very cave, though she had never told him. The intimate joy she and Sibrán had shared as they basked in the glow years ago had grown over time. Joining with him always completed her. Their love and respect for each another had never wavered and she’d joyfully borne him six healthy children.
It had been easy to hold true to her promise not to shift into animal form. She was content to be nothing more than the woman the High King loved.
The gift of sight had never left her, but she’d rarely made use of it, except to tease Sibrán it was easy to foretell when he needed her. She had only to look into his blue eyes!
She fingered the treasured golden torc her beloved had presented to her at the beginning of their reign, an exact replica of his own. She was content to remain in the cave. Her reason for living had taken his rightful place with the gods, and she longed to join him once the torch had burned itself out. She and Sibrán would lie together forever in this sacred cavern, secure in the knowledge their children and their children’s children were destined to rule a land of green and plenty, a land where singing and dancing brought joy to the hearts of all its people.
The End
Footnotes
HILL OF TARA
Also known as the Hill of Temair. There is a wealth of information on the Internet about this ancient historic site. A good place to begin is www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/tara. There are maps and aerial photos of the site, but I didn’t keep exactly to the geography. Tara faces threats from urban development, notably a nearby Motorway.
BHEARU
The River Barrow is the second longest in Ireland, rising at Glenbarrow in the Slieve Bloom Mountains and emptying into the Irish Sea (THE DARK WATERS) at Waterford, the oldest city in the Republic of Ir
eland.
TUATHA DE DANANN (TUATH DE) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the deities in pre-Christian Ireland. They dwelt in the Otherworld but interacted with humans and the human world. Much of Irish mythology was recorded by medieval Christian monks, who modified it to an extent. They often depicted the Tuath Dé as kings, queens and heroes of the distant past who had supernatural powers or who were later credited with them.
FOMORIANS were a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings who come from the sea or underground. Later, they were portrayed as giants and sea raiders. They were enemies of Ireland’s first settlers and opponents of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
LIA FAIL – The Stone of Destiny. It was after this stone the Tuatha Dé Danann named Ireland Inis Fáil (inis meaning island)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lia_F%C3%A1il.
KING MILEAD en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milesians_(Irish) provides a succinct summary of the Milesians who purportedly came to Ireland from Galicia to avenge the murder of Íth. (I changed his name to Nith). Galicia is now a region of Spain in the northwestern part of the Iberian peninsula. For those familiar with medieval pilgrimage routes, Santiago de Compostela is located in that province. Of course our story predates the coming of Christianity by several hundred years.
CUALU An ancient name for the Wicklow Mountains. The highest peak is Lugnaquilla. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugnaquilla The “other land” Aislinn describes as lying across the Dark Waters is Wales.
LIPHE The river seen from Cualu is the Liffey and Sibrán’s observation that its mouth would be a good site for a village refers to Dublin, established many centuries after our story.
DUNMORE CAVE The cave was modelled after Dunmore Cave which isn’t located in the Wicklow Mountains, but is actually near Kilkenny. It features a huge monolith called the Market Cross which as far as I know has never glowed!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunmore_Cave has some great pictures of how I envisioned the entrance and the monolith. There are no ancient tombs in the Wicklow Mountains, but probably the most notable ancient burial site in Ireland is at Newgrange, a scant twenty miles from Tara.
www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/newgrange
THE BRONZE AGE is defined by the use of metal. It began around 2500 BC, with technology changing people’s everyday lives through innovations such as the wheel, harnessing oxen, weaving textiles, brewing alcohol, and skilful metalworking, which produced new weapons and tools, along with fine gold decoration and jewellery, such as brooches and torcs. A search of Google Images will bring up pictures of bronze and gold torcs and lunulas or you can visit irisharchaeology.ie/2014/11/bronze-age-gold-treasures-from-the-national-museum-of-ireland
Some historians believe Ireland in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-network culture that also included Britain, western France and Iberia.
The Dowris Hoard is an important Bronze Age hoard of over 200 objects found in Dowris, County Offaly, Ireland. Irish bronzesmiths had become highly adept at casting and working with sheet metal. The hoard contained bronze axes, spearheads, rattles, trumpets (horns), swords, a cauldron and numerous tools.
FARMING
From about 4500 BC, Neolithic settlers introduced cereal cultivars, and stone monuments. An extensive field system consisted of small divisions separated by dry-stone walls. The fields were farmed for several centuries between 3500 BC and 3000 BC. Wheat and barley were the principal crops, imported from the Iberian Peninsula.
RED HAWK The beautiful bird I had in mind is the Red Kite. Red kites were extinct in Ireland by the mid nineteenth century, due to persecution, poisoning and woodland clearance. In May 2007, an agreement was reached with Wales to bring at least 100 birds from that country to restock the population as part of a 5-year programme in the Wicklow Mountains. The first thirty red kites were released in County Wicklow. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_kite
PALANQUIN Actually an Indian word used to describe an elaborate litter. Here’s a link to an image that will give you an idea of what I had in mind. www.redbubble.com/people/jonathaninbali/works/3637438-palanquin-in-mehrangarh-fort-jodhpur-india
THREEFOLD DEATH is a common mythological convention. In Welsh legend Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin) reportedly prophesied his own death, which would happen by falling, stabbing, and drowning. This was fulfilled when a gang of jeering shepherds drove him off a cliff, where he was impaled on a stake left by fishermen, and died with his head below water. The Norse god Odin has also been associated with threefold death. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threefold_death
About Anna
Thank you for reading The Taking of Ireland If you’d like to leave a review where you purchased the collection, I would appreciate it. Reviews contribute greatly to an author’s success.
For a complete list of my books, you can visit my website. I also have a Facebook page, Anna Markland Novels.
Tweet me @annamarkland, and join me on Pinterest. If you want to try another sample of my work, you can download a FREE novella, Defiant Passion.
In my bestselling, page-turning novels passion conquers whatever obstacles a hostile medieval world can throw in its path.
Besides writing, I have two addictions-crosswords and genealogy, probably the reason I love research.
I am a fool for cats.
My husband is an entrepreneur who is fond of boasting he’s never had a job.
I live on Canada’s scenic west coast now, but I was born and raised in the UK and I love breathing life into European history.
Escape with me to where romance began.
I hope you come to know and love my cast of characters as much as I do.
I’d like to acknowledge the assistance of my critique partners, Reggi Allder, Jacquie Biggar, Sylvie Grayson and LizAnn Carson.
More Anna Markland
If you prefer to read sagas in chronological order, here’s a handy list for the Montbryce family books.
Conquering Passion—Ram and Mabelle, Rhodri and Rhonwen
If Love Dares Enough—Hugh and Devona, Antoine and Sybilla
Defiant Passion-Rhodri and Rhonwen
A Man of Value—Caedmon and Agneta
Dark Irish Knight—Ronan and Rhoni
Haunted Knights—Adam and Rosamunda, Denis and Paulina
Passion in the Blood—Robert and Dorianne, Baudoin and Carys
Dark and Bright—Rhys and Annalise
The Winds of the Heavens—Rhun and Glain, Rhydderch and Isolda
Dance of Love—Izzy and Farah
Carried Away—Blythe and Dieter
Sweet Taste of Love—Aidan and Nolana
Wild Viking Princess—Ragna and Reider
Hearts and Crowns—Gallien and Peridotte
Fatal Truths—Alex and Elayne
Sinful Passions—Bronson and Grace; Rodrick and Swan
Series featuring the stories of the Viking ancestors of my Norman families
The Rover Bold—Bryk and Cathryn
The Rover Defiant—Torstein and Sonja
The Rover Betrayed—Magnus and Judith
Novellas
Maknab’s Revenge—Ingram and Ruby
Passion’s Fire—Matthew and Brigandine (2016) in Hearts Aflame
Banished—Sigmar and Audra (2016)
Hungry Like De Wolfe—Blaise and Anne—Kindle Worlds
An Unkissable Knight—Dervenn and Victorine in The Kissing Bough
Caledonia Chronicles (Scotland)
Book I Pride of the Clan—Rheade and Margaret
Book II Highland Tides—Braden and Charlotte
Book 2.5 Highland Dawn—Keith and Aurora (a Kindle Worlds book)
Book III Roses Among the Heather—Blair &Susanna, Craig & Timothea
The Von Wolfenberg Dynasty (medieval Europe)
Book 1 Loyal Heart—Sophia and Brandt
Book 2 Courageous Heart—Luther and Francesca
Book 3 Faithful Heart—Kon and Zara
If you loved Lop and lik
e stories with medieval breeds of dogs, you’ll enjoy If Love Dares Enough, Carried Away, Fatal Truths, and Wild Viking Princess. If you have a soft spot for cats, read Passion in the Blood and Haunted Knights.
Looking for historical fiction centered on a certain region?
English History—all books
Norman French History—all books
Crusades—A Man of Value
Welsh History—Conquering Passion, Defiant Passion, Dark and Bright, The Winds of the Heavens
Scottish History—Conquering Passion, A Man of Value, Sweet Taste of Love, Caledonia Chronicles
European History (Holy Roman Empire)—Carried Away, Loyal Heart
Danish History—Wild Viking Princess
Spanish History—Dance of Love
Ireland—Dark Irish Knight
If you like to read about historical characters:
William the Conqueror—Conquering Passion, If Love Dares Enough, Defiant Passion
William Rufus—A Man of Value
Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy—Passion in the Blood
Henry I of England—Passion in the Blood, Sweet Taste of Love, Haunted Knights, Hearts and Crowns
Holy Roman Emperors—Carried Away, Loyal Heart, Courageous Heart
Vikings—Wild Viking Princess, The Rover Bold, The Rover Defiant, The Rover Betrayed, Banished
Kings of Aragon (Spain)—Dance of Love
The Anarchy (England) (Stephen vs. Maud)—Hearts and Crowns, Fatal Truths, Sinful Passions
Scotland’s Stewart Kings—Caledonia Chronicles
Jacobites & Mary, Queen of Scots—Highland Tides
Link to Amazon page
Stealing Heaven
Kimberly Cates
Chapter One
Only a madman would have dared to ride the night-darkened road alone, with just the moon to guide him. Any sane traveler would have barricaded himself in the relative safety of a sturdy coach, outriders armed with blunderbusses mounting guard along the way. Lanterns would have blazed at the coach front, peeling back the shadows that could hide lurking danger.
But never in the years Sir Aidan Kane had traveled the labyrinth of roads that led to Castle Rathcannon had he hidden from the night.
Lords of Ireland II Page 73
