by P. C. Cast
Tonight I didn’t need the Goddess to prompt me, and my mocking laughter echoed around him as he paced back and forth beneath me.
“If I knew where to find you, I would show you my strength,” he hissed.
“You want to know where to find me?” He stopped pacing and stared up at me. “I am a Goddess Incarnate. My home is the Temple of the Muse. Ask any of your weak captives, they can tell you how to find my temple.”
His face split into a leering grin. “I will come for you myself, and instead of your laughter this room will be filled with your screams.”
My taunting laugh caused his pacing to resume.
“Finding me is not the difficult part, Nuada. Possessing me is. My sister Goddesses and I are well protected by an army of centaur warriors.” My hands began caressing my breasts again. “I am almost sorry that you cannot possibly defeat them. It would have been amusing to dally with you.”
His chalky-colored face was suddenly mottled with a flush of rage and he screamed, “Amusing!” He took several long, running strides. His muscles gathered and he leaped up, taloned hands reaching into the air. I felt a sharp pain as the tips of his claws brushed through the bottoms of my transparent feet…
Suddenly I was out of there like a fat boy playing dodgeball.
* * *
“Damnit! Ow!” I sat straight up, grabbing for my feet.
“What is it, love? What has happened?”
The fire had burned low, and he must have extinguished the candles and lamps before he fell asleep, so the light in the room was dim, but I could see three strips of welts across the bottom of my left foot. They stung, like someone had just beat me with something hard and sharp. As I watched, the welts swelled, looking even more angry and red.
“He hurt me,” I said as I tried to rub the sting off my foot.
“Show me.”
I changed positions so that I was propped up on my elbows. I watched him inspect my sore foot. He looked grim as he stood and headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.” He gave me a reassuring look before opening the door. I could see one of my guards salute him. “Go to the Healer. Tell him I need some soothing balm, like what he would apply for a burn or an insect bite.” He closed the door and poured us two cups of wine.
“Thanks.” I smiled at him.
“How did this happen?”
“Nuada leaped at me. His claws raked through my feet just as Epona was getting me out of there.”
I saw ClanFintan’s jaw clench. “Was tonight’s visit enough? Do you think he will mobilize the Fomorians to attack the Muse?”
“I think so. Of course, I won’t know for sure until I actually see them leave Guardian Castle. But he was sure pissed off.”
ClanFintan gave me a puzzled look.
“It means mad,” I clarified. “Really, really mad.”
He walked over to the edge of our bed and bent so he could touch my face, smoothing the hair back out of my eyes. “He will pay for hurting you.” His voice was flat and dangerous. I was glad he was on my side.
Two knocks sounded and ClanFintan strode quickly to the door.
“The balm, my Lord.” I could hear the voice of the guard. “Carolan asks if you require his assistance.”
“Tell him no, not at this time.”
Before ClanFintan returned to his position at the end of our mattress, he lit an oil lamp and carried it to a niche in the wall behind us. Then, once more, he took my foot in his hand, studying the lines of welts.
“It’s really not that bad. It just stings.” Actually, it stung like I’d stepped on a nest of yellow jackets, but I didn’t want to be a whiner.
He looked up from my foot, his expression was serious. “Rhea, do you not know that wounds to the spirit can be far more dangerous than wounds to the body?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I really don’t know much about this kind of stuff.”
“Listen to your inner voice. I think you know more than you realize. Now lie back and concentrate on ridding your spirit of any dark influence.”
I did as he ordered. My damn foot did hurt more than a few welts would normally cause. As his gentle fingers began rubbing the balm onto my foot, I couldn’t help but suck my breath in at the sharp pain.
“Repeat after me—concentrate on your spirit—concentrate on being well and whole.” His deep, hypnotic voice began a chant that I repeated, “Cuimhnich,tha mi gle mhath…Cuimhnich, tha mi gle mhath…Cuimhnich, tha mi gle mhath…”
On and on the chant went as he rubbed the cool paste into my foot. I closed my eyes and let the sound of his voice wash over me as I concentrated on being well. And I realized he had been right. Part of me had felt dirty and damaged by my encounters with Nuada. By touching myself for his benefit, teasing and taunting, it was like I had allowed some of his darkness to seep into my spirit. As soon as I realized it, I began to let the darkness go. That creature wasn’t going to control my feelings or ruin my spirit.
And the stinging stopped. I opened my eyes to ClanFintan’s relieved smile.
“Look,” he said, and he helped me to sit up so I could fold back my leg and look at the bottom of my foot…which was now smooth and free of any welts or pain.
“What was it we were saying?” I asked, still amazed that my foot was welt free.
“Remember, I am well,” he answered.
“That’s all? I thought it was some kind of magic spell.”
He laughed and pulled me against him, kissing me soundly.
“The words are from the Old Language, but the only magic they hold is already within you.”
I snuggled comfortably against him. “Are you sure it was just me? I think you cast some kind of spell or something.”
He tapped the tip of my nose with his finger. “Not tonight.” His look was intimate and I thought the room might have grown warmer as his voice deepened. “You need your sleep.”
“Are you sure?” I nibbled at his neck, and he bent to capture my lips with his own. Our tongues began a seductive game of tag. Now I was sure the room was hot, and I moaned against his mouth and whispered, “Why don’t you do that voodoo that you do so well.”
“If you are talking about shape-shifting,” he whispered back, and his hands stroked my waist and buttocks, up and down, up and down, “I cannot tonight.”
I wriggled around, pressing myself against his hard chest so that I could breathe in his ear, “Why not?”
Gently, he pulled me back from him, then tucked me under his arm (where I could do less damage, I guess). I was gratified to see his breathing had increased and he looked flushed, too.
“We begin our march to the Muses’ temple tomorrow. I cannot afford the energy drain of shape-shifting tonight,” he said, brushing a curl out of my face. “No matter how much I would like to.”
“We’re leaving tomorrow?” I felt my stomach clench. “So soon?”
“After what happened tonight, I believe Nuada will be on the move, and we have a full legion of centaur warriors ready to depart.”
“And my guard is leaving when?”
“Early in the morning they begin their march to the Loch.”
“What about the men who are supposed to attack from the west?”
“McNamara and Woulff have both sent word that their armies are joining. I sent Connor there with a group of centaurs to lead the march.”
“I guess they didn’t like that little stealing-and-raping-our-women info.”
“Well, what our runner said was that it angered the men—” ClanFintan grinned at me “—but it really, how would you put it, pissed off their women.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I’ll bet they were pissed.”
“Seems old McNamara’s first wife died last winter, and now he has a young and beautiful new wife. When she heard the news, she told him if he wanted his bed warmed by her this winter he would make sure the Fomorians were stopped.”
“Smart girl.” I yawned. “Remind me to
thank her someday.”
“Sleep first. We leave at midday.”
I nestled against him, lulled into sleep by the warmth of his body and the gentleness of his hand as he stroked my hair.
CHAPTER 9
“I still think I should be coming with you.” Alanna almost sounded whiny.
I sighed as I pulled on a new pair of soft leather breeches, marveling at their supple beauty. “Alanna, I wish you could come with us, too, but you have to stay away from the smallpox.”
“But the pox is here, too.”
“We already talked about this. The pox is quarantined here. At the Temple of the Muse it has probably infested everything.”
“I do not like the idea of you going without me.”
“I don’t like it, either, but I like even less the thought of you dying from smallpox.” She handed me one of my boots. I turned it over, smiling at the carved star I found on the sole, and tracing it with my finger. It’s so cool that my footprints leave stars everywhere I stepped. I looked up to see Alanna watching me with an I’m-going-to-cry expression on her face.
“Rhiannon never even noticed those stars.”
“I think they’re great.” My grin started to make her lips twitch. “Rhiannon was such a bitch.” At those familiar words, her lips turned up in an answering smile.
“My friend—” I reached out and took her hand, pulling her down beside me “—I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you just because you felt you had to take care of me.”
“I will worry about you every day.” Her voice was soft and shaky.
“Don’t—you know ClanFintan won’t let anything happen to me. You just focus on taking care that Carolan doesn’t exhaust himself. Now that Sila’s going with us, he’s back to too little help and too many sick people.”
“He does need me,” she said with the wistful voice of a newlywed.
“And don’t forget, I’ve put you in charge of temple management. You have to make sure everything runs smoothly. Who would do it if you went with me?”
“There is no one else.”
“Well, when this Fomorian mess is over we’ll train an assistant for you so you and Carolan can go on a long vacation. Maybe then you could get started on a baby.” I butted into her with my shoulder as her face lit up. “If you haven’t already.”
“Rhea!” She hit me playfully.
“Come on.” I jumped up, stomping my boots more snugly on my feet. “You know ClanFintan is already annoyed at how long it took for me to say goodbye to the patients this morning.”
I probably had spent too much time in the sickroom, but saying goodbye was more difficult than I had imagined, even if it was only temporary. Six more of the most seriously ill patients had died, and more ill people were being admitted to both rooms. Carolan said he thought the disease had peaked, but I wasn’t so sure. The good news was that it looked like the little horse lover, Kristianna, was going to live, and, although Tarah had been moved to the room with the most seriously ill, Sila had said she thought that she, too, would survive the awful disease.
Alanna sighed miserably and followed me out the door. The hall was deserted, which I thought was odd because just an hour ago when I’d left the sickroom to bathe and get dressed for the trip I’d had to dodge people and centaurs. I was just thinking what a nice change it was to have the hall back to a being a more private walkway when we came to the door to the courtyard. The guard bowed and opened the door, and a rush of noise exploded over me.
“Goddess!”
“Blessed of Epona!”
“Luck be with you, Lady Rhiannon!”
“Our love goes with you, Chosen of Epona!”
The courtyard was crammed full of people and centaurs. They cheered and waved as I straightened my shoulders, swallowed hard, grabbed Alanna’s hand so she wouldn’t be separated from me and stepped out into the narrow path. I was instantly surrounded by my adoring masses (who had just scared me so badly that I’d almost peed my pants).
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll miss you, too. Thank you.” I waved and babbled what I thought was the correct Goddess Incarnate response.
I made my way through the courtyard and out what I considered the front door of the temple, which opened out on the horse fountain and led to the Big Front Gate and the outside wall. The sight that met me was incredible. Stretching before me was a sea of centaurs. Their beauty and ferocity made the breath in my throat catch. They were equine lines of strength and muscle, melded with man and woman. They rippled with power, and confidence hung over them like a physical entity.
They caught sight of me, and as one they let loose a cry of “Hail Epona!” that sent gooseflesh up and down my arms. I suddenly remembered something that Ovid had written about beauty, that it was “favor bestowed by the gods.” If that were true, surely all the gods smiled on this group of warriors.
The most handsome (at least in my opinion) of the warriors detached from the front of the group and regally bowed to me before raising my palm to his lips. At his greeting another cheer went up, this time from the centaurs and the humans together.
“Are you ready, my Lady?” he asked.
I gave Alanna one last hug, then I turned to face the human crowd that spilled out of the castle and stood around the base of the temple and the huge fountain.
With my loudest voice I projected as far into the crowd as was teacherly possible.
“Lady Alanna carries my authority while I am gone.” I saw a ripple of smiles pass through the crowd at my announcement. I didn’t have to look at her to know Alanna was blushing again. “While I am gone, keep me close to you in your prayers.” I smiled and felt my eyes fill unexpectedly with tears. “Know you will always be with me in my thoughts, and in my heart. May Epona’s blessing surround and fill you like the air you breathe.”
I turned to ClanFintan and held out my arm so he could lift me to his back. Then he spun around, and at his command our army moved out at a smart trot while the people cheered and children ran back and forth strewing flowers in our path.
Suddenly, I heard a loud, familiar neigh, and I shouted in happiness as Epi galloped up to us. She slid to a graceful halt, as did the entire army of centaurs. Her neigh turned into a low whicker as she nuzzled my side. I bent to kiss her soft muzzle, murmuring to her how glad I was to see her, and how clever she was to manage to come out here to say goodbye. I glanced up to see several nymphets who were running from the direction of the stable, trying to catch up with her.
“You have to stay here, love,” I whispered to her and stroked her velvet muzzle. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
She blew through her nose, and lipped my chin. Then she backed a couple of steps, threw her head in the air, spun around on her rear legs and raced back toward her stable, snorting with her tail held high—once more leaving the frustrated girls in the dust behind her.
“Clever mare,” ClanFintan said as he gave the order for us to proceed. I could hear chuckles of appreciation for Epi’s antics from the centaur warriors behind us.
I recognized that we were headed in the direction of the river, just as I had gone a couple of days earlier on the morning of the blessing ceremony. I leaned forward, resting my chin on my husband’s shoulder so I could speak in his ear.
“Are we going to follow the river north?”
He tilted his head back so I could hear him. “Yes, but we must cross over the river and travel up its eastern side. We don’t want to pass through Ufasach Marsh…it would be impossible for a centaur legion to navigate through the wetlands. And we must travel quickly. The eastern edge of the Geal River begins the Doire nan Each, which is forested land. Traveling through it is considerably quicker than picking our way through the swamp.”
“Makes sense,” I said and gave him a quick kiss on the earlobe. “Doire nan Each, sounds pretty—what does it mean?”
“Translated from the Old Language it means Grove of the Horses, probably named thus because it i
s the forest that separates eastern Partholon from the Centaur Plains. But the name is misleading, it is an ancient forest filled with giant oaks, not a mere grove.” He snorted. “And I have never noticed any horses there at all.”
I nodded in an understanding kind of way. Then a sudden thought made me frown. I remembered how wide and beautiful the river had looked the morning of the blessing ceremony. It had been lovely to look at, but I sure as hell wouldn’t want to swim across it.
“Wait—are you telling me we have to swim across the river?”
I felt his deep chuckle. “No, there is a bridge just north of the temple. Actually, it is quite near the ruins of the ancient bridge Carolan told us about. We’ll cross there.”
“Good, these leather pants would take forever to dry out.”
“I certainly would not want to be the cause of your wet pants,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at me with a gleam in his eye.
I nipped at his neck. “Don’t get fresh—you’re supposed to be conserving your strength.”
“I was only trying to be helpful.” He tried to sound innocent.
“The kind of help I need from you can’t happen in your present form, Mr. Too Big For My Bed.”
“You might be surprised.” His voice had deepened.
Before I could ask him to explain his last intriguing comment, we followed a bend in the river and before us stretched the bridge. It was a high, flat structure made of logs tied together with what looked like giant binder twine. And it really didn’t look all that safe.
“Why does it have to be so friggin tall?”
“So the barges can sail beneath it. The Geal is normally a very busy waterway.”
I did remember seeing barges and other ship-type things floating down the river on my first couple of nightly spirit excursions. Oh, well, crossing bridges was, no doubt, probably safer than driving a car.
The bridge was only wide enough for the centaurs to cross two abreast, so ClanFintan started barking a series of orders that were echoed by several old and grizzled centaurs (like John Wayne in The Green Berets) that were situated at intervals down the lines. It sounded like, “COLUMN ATWOSTOTHERIGHT! HUUUH! FORHUUUH! STANDHAST! MARCHHUUUH!”
