by Heidi Hanley
A fairly robust current took her immediately away from the bank and downstream. Unable to see much around her, and having no earthly idea where she was going, she could only visualize momentum, breaking through any potential barriers and enchantments to freedom. Ignoring the chilly night air and pushing away any dread that might distract her from reaching safety, she knelt in the bottom of the boat, holding the sides, looking and listening for clues to her location.
Briana?
I’m away from the castle, Silas, on the river. The current is pretty fast, so I don’t think they can catch me.
The river will flow into Long River eventually. There are rapids, Briana. Try and steer to shore before you reach them.
Two problems there: one, I can’t see much, it’s too dark; and two, I have nothing to pilot with.
No oar?
Nada. Nothing.
Silence.
I can try and manifest light but I’m not sure how long I can sustain it. That doesn’t help me steer, though.
You’ll be fine, a mhuirnin. I’ll help you.
How?
Don’t know yet, but I will.
They ceased talking and she settled back, using magic to create a light source. As she suspected, she couldn’t hold it long. Deciding to use it only as needed, she surrendered to the dark journey. The steady motion of the water calmed her. She allowed herself a moment to appreciate the infinite perfection of the stars. I’m trusting you, Maker. Please help me.
A mighty rushing announced the rapids. Briana imagined herself protected. The sudden cawing of many crows brought some comfort. At least someone knows where I am, she thought, before she was dowsed with a frigid splash of water over the side of the boat as it spun and dropped down a watery grade. Drenched and breathless, she was knocked sideways when the boat hit protruding rocks.
The bow snapped forward before spinning backward, forcing her down against the floorboards. The stars above, so peaceful before, swirled chaotically as the vessel jerked, twisted, rose and dove in the rapids. She focused on light and then wished she hadn’t when she saw a huge boulder in the middle of the river. It was the size of a small house. And she was heading straight for it.
Silas!
Impact. Flying. Shocking cold. Wet. She entered another world, one in which she could neither think nor breathe. The inevitability of death settled over her. No! her mind screamed. I will not die! Forcing her legs to kick, she struggled to break the surface, and did for a moment. A great gulp of air energized her momentarily. A small beacon appeared, illuminating the mossy bank in front of her. She flailed toward it, but another swirl of water dragged her under. Fighting with every ounce of strength, Briana tried to surface again. Her dress caught on a branch underneath the water and she was held fast. No amount of kicking and twisting would unloose her. Perhaps it would be best to relax and let go. I’m sorry, Silas. I’m sorry I couldn’t save Brath and Uisneach. I did my best. I love you.
She focused on the light and the sense of calm that now cocooned her. Suddenly, she was dragged upward by her hair. I didn’t think it would hurt, was her last conscious thought before she entered the tunnel of warm, bright light.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Bliss
Floating. Peaceful. Forever. Wings of pure, lucent light enveloped her. Carried along a stream of bliss so radiant she wanted to cry. Longing, anticipation, peace and joy exchanged places willingly in the dance. Free and fearless, she relaxed into the journey, allowed the luminous to fill all her empty places and heal the wounds from a life lived in earthly form. Settling. Soft. Her vision was filled with the beauty of a place beyond what she could have imagined heaven to be. No streets of gold, no pearly gates, no judging God. Her body lay in unadorned perfection on a mossy bank beside a stream, its gentle slope home to majestic oaks and verdant apple trees. Such a feeling of welcoming grace. Ambient birdsong and the tinkling of the stream pleased her senses. Fear held no authority here. Languid, she turned her head to see Silas move gracefully to her side and lay down, stretching his length to fit hers. She knew him to be a part of herself. His radiance matched her own. Effortlessly, they became one in an embrace that transcended any kind of human joining they might’ve wished for on Earth. Warmth flooded her body and the sound of his heart beating against her ear brought wholeness. Blue eyes, dark with love. She smiled and reached a hand to the side of his face. A long endless kiss brought them home. Soul recognition. Soul unity. She sighed as his energy covered hers, their separate sparks becoming one united flame. Ecstasy. Release. Relief. Completion. No, not the end.
We cannot stay, he told her.
I won’t leave. I want to stay here with you.
We must return. Our purpose is unfulfilled.
Knowledge and understanding surged through her. She saw the past, present and future as facets of one reality. Briana felt sorrow for the corruption her soul would face when she returned to that other place. At first, she resisted the return, not wanting to feel the longing her soul would experience when separated from its other half. Those feelings were replaced with agreement and resolve. Silas smiled encouragingly. She separated herself from him, already feeling the chill of that world returning as her bones reformed.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Unbroken
Darkness replaced the light. Bone-deep cold seized her body. She swam up from the watery depths until she felt the solidness of earth beneath her. Shadows danced against stone, a small campfire creating these ghostly personas. She was wrapped in a wool kilt, within Silas’ arms. Yet even though he held her, she felt separate from him. Briana began to cry. “I didn’t want to come back,” she said.
“I didn’t, either.”
“You really were there with me?”
He nodded.
“How?”
“I followed your heart.”
She curled into him, then realized something wasn’t quite right. Lifting the kilt away from her chest, she saw she was naked underneath. Silas was biting his lip, waiting for her reaction.
“I’m naked.”
“I’m sorry, Briana, I had no choice. Your clothes were soaked and you would’ve frozen to death. Your gown is drying by the fire.”
“Wasn’t I already dead?”
“For a moment, I believe you were, but I breathed into you, and you, uh, resurrected. I remembered this cave wasn’t far. It’s well-hidden and safe enough to make a small fire. I didn’t look any more than was necessary, Briana.” But, sweet Maker, you are lovely.
“I, we, did anything…”
“Not here, it didn’t. Your virtue is intact, milady, though Maker knows it hasn’t been easy,” he said with a devilish grin. “Thankfully, I’m never been one to take advantage of half-drowned, recently dead and vulnerable women.”
She pulled the kilt tighter around her and snuggled against him for comfort and warmth. “What happened?”
“The long and short of it is that I figured out where you should be and met up with you in time to watch your wee boat catapult into the sky. You were thrown in the river, miraculously near the bank where I was standin’. You were underwater for much too long, but I did manage to pull you out. You weren’t breathin’. Oh, Maker, you scared me. Once I got some breath into you, you recovered. You’ve a nasty bump on your head, but otherwise, no injuries. Rest now, mo chroi. We can take some time for you to regain your strength.”
She nestled against him, remembering the journey to the other side and what she learned. The crackling of the fire and Silas’ humming relaxed her, but she could not sleep before telling him.
“Silas, there is only one reason I came back.”
“To fulfill the prophecy.”
She nodded against him. “I find myself in the ironic position of being alone with you, naked in your arms, and knowing that nothing is going to happen between us. I’m meant to go through with this, marry a man I haven’t even met, and become the queen of this kingdom. It is my destiny. He is my destiny.”
S
ilas’s arms tightened around her, protective and reassuring. “Sleep, a mhuirnin, and when you wake, we’ll be off.”
*
“Briana?”
“Hmm…” Awakening meant they would leave, ending this precious togetherness, so she resisted his efforts to rouse her.
“When is your birthday?”
“March seventh,” she mumbled, turning her head into his chest to avoid fully waking.
“Let’s see, in Uisneach time that would be…”
“Near the start of the Wren Moon. I celebrated it about two moons before I came here, and I turned twenty-five. My mother’s is in March also, the twenty-first.” She sighed. “I’m awake.” She looked up, slid one arm out from under the kilt and touched his face. “You need a shave.”
“Mmm. Well, I’ve been a wee bit busy, chasin’ after you, to be thinkin’ of groomin’ meself.”
She continued to study him and he returned her gaze, sharing something deeper than words could express. She clutched the wool around her and eased herself out of his lap.
“I guess there’s no point in postponing the inevitable,” she said, somberly. “Would you be kind enough to…”
He was already up and heading to the front of the den. “I’ll saddle Aldebaran.”
Watching him walk away, she was suddenly gripped with uncertainty. What have I done?
The right thing, he reassured her.
Before she changed her mind and threw herself into his arms and begged him to make love to her, she grabbed the once-elegant gown and put it on. She rummaged around and frowned, not finding the map anywhere, though she still had her pouch. Shaking away the image of him undressing her, Briana checked on the faerie tree seeds, which were slightly wrinkled but safe, and the necklace, intact and still swaddled in cloth.
When he returned, Briana said, “You asked about my birthday. I wonder why we never talked about that. When is yours?”
“The second day of the Archer’s Moon. I’m twenty-five seasons also.”
She brought her arm from behind her back and handed him the gift. “I guess it’s too late for a birthday present, but I found this and thought of you.”
He grinned. “A wee present? How thoughtful of you, lass.” As he glimpsed the necklace, his cheerful grin turned into an attitude of reverence. “Oh, my. Briana, this is beautiful. Warrior bone.”
“You’ve heard of it?”
“Oh, aye, and it’s quite rare. Hearts that cannot be separated,” he said under his breath, rubbing his finger across the polished bone. “Will you help me put it on?” He turned away and pulled his hair aside.
She tied the cord securely, the mere brush of her hands against the skin on his neck sending thousands of tiny, pleasurable shocks through her. “There – turn around.”
The sight of the hearts took her breath away. Theirs were two hearts held together by an amaranthine bond, stronger than fate.
“Come here, a ghrá.” She curled into his open arms; now their position matched the connecting hearts he wore around his neck. “This means more to me than you will ever know. Thank you.”
“Well, I may be destined for a king, but my heart is bound to a bard and unbreakable.”
He placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head. “Remember that, Briana. No matter what happens or where this journey takes us or what storms we must weather, we will remain unbroken.”
After a moment, he eased her out of his arms. “Now, on to more practical matters,” he said, reaching into his pack. “I don’t have much food to offer you, but here’s a bit of bread and a handful of dried berries and nuts. When we get to the abbey, they’ll feed us a proper meal.”
Between bites, she asked about the map.
“I’m sorry, Briana, but I didn’t find it. It’s not so important now, anyway. I know where we are and where we’re going and I also have a pretty good idea of where the Gray Military are. We don’t really need the map.”
“I guess, but it was nice to see what was going on around Uisneach at any given moment. I’ll miss it.”
“Aye, it was a clever thing. Time to go, but I want you to wrap this around you.” He handed her the kilt. “That lovely red gown will make you stick out like a redbird in snow.”
And then there was nothing left to do but leave. Fire doused, they shouldered their belongings and mounted Aldebaran, Briana riding behind Silas, contentedly hugging his waist.
“Once we leave this thicket, we’ll be in danger of runnin’ into the Grays,” he told her. “We can’t go straight up-river because I know for a fact they’ll be coverin’ that route. Instead, we’ll go to the abbey and take sanctuary till we can get word to Sigel.”
He led her away from the cave through a grove of trees, into a dark hedgerow. They emerged next to a crumbling ruins, an old castle that had been conquered by moss and ivy. An old wooden door hung precariously over the entrance. Nearby, she thought she saw the remnants of a well. Wide stone steps led between larger boulders. Silas let Aldebaran pick his way down the steps. Briana was crushed against his back.
“Sorry, for the rough ride,” he said.
“I’m not complaining.”
“Neither am I,” he replied, with a laugh.
When the landscape leveled out, he urged the horse to a canter, his eyes scanning the forest, looking for something.
“Ah, there you are,” he muttered, turning into the woods again. She could just make out a trail.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?”
He turned and gave her a cockeyed look. “Briana, are you seriously questionin’ me ability to travel through these woods?”
“Well, this path doesn’t appear to have been used much.”
“Which is exactly why we’re takin’ it.” He shook his head in bewilderment. “You should’ve learned that much by now.”
She hugged him. “Go wherever you like, Silas. I’ll just snuggle in for the ride.”
“Why don’t you tell me a story?”
“You’re the bard, not me.” She blew a strand of spider’s web from across her face, pulling the pine branch it clung to from her hair.
“I want to hear the story of what happened to you in Shamwa’s castle.”
“Oh, well, hmm… where should I start?”
“From the beginnin’. I know the bits and pieces you told me from inside, but put the whole story together.”
“Well, it started when Artanin put some kind of sleeping sorcery on us. Maker, I hope Sigel, Epona, Mr. Stark and Dara are okay.”
“I’m sure they are. We’ll probably rejoin them tomorrow.”
She hoped so. “Anyway, when I woke up, I was in the salon of Aurum Castle with His Lordship. That place is dripping in gold.” She grimaced against his back. “Insanely gaudy.”
“But he is, what was it you said? ‘Easy on the eye.’”
She laughed. “I had him pictured as a cartoon character, but he’s more like an action hero.”
“He’s no hero, milady.”
“No, he’s not, but he does have a few arguably valid points.”
“Whether he does or not, his methods are invalid. You’ll recall Mary Keary?” Aldebaran sidestepped a jutting tree limb, momentarily unbalancing Briana. Silas’ arm swung back to prevent her from falling until she could reseat herself.
“I do. I wasn’t swayed in the least, Silas. I’m just saying that he isn’t any more insane than most of the politicians of my own time. And I think he was terribly hurt by Queen Eleanor’s rejection of him and her marriage to Barclay.”
“That doesn’t justify…”
“I’m just saying.”
Raindrops pelted them from a slate sky. She finished telling him everything that occurred in Aurum Castle. He tensed when she told him about Shamwa’s amorous attention.
“That alone makes him a dead man,” he stated, vehemently.
“He didn’t actually do anything, Silas. But, I’m not sure he can be rehabilitated, either. I begin to wonder if there is just
some evil in the world that must be eliminated.”
“There is,” he said, without hesitation.
“You know who might be a hero? Artanin.”
Silas turned his head. “How so?”
“He’s the reason I escaped. I’m certain he removed the locking spell off the door. I think there’s more to Artanin’s role in this than we realized. And I still wonder if that gnome was a faerie in disguise.”
While she related her river adventure, rain began to spill in sheets, as cold and gray as steel. After ten minutes, Briana thought the rain felt as hard as steel, too.
Silas groaned. “One bloody thing after the other.” He urged the chestnut stallion faster.
“Are we almost to the abbey?”
“No, but there are dolmens not too far away, where we can stay dry and let the storm pass. You don’t need to be soaked again.”
“You keep looking at the sky. What are you looking for?”
“Crows. I find it odd that we’ve not seen a single crow since I left the river to find you.”
“A spell was cast over the area surrounding Aurum Castle. Lord Shamwa mentioned that no one would be able to get close.”
“Umm… but we should’ve seen somethin’ out here. They should have crows everywhere lookin’ for you.”
“And that, dear man, is why the map would be handy,” she said, pointedly. “Maybe they’re focusing along the river.”
“Perhaps, but I imagine they’d fan out. Likely the bloody weather is a hindrance.”
In fact, the weather was becoming more ominous by the minute. Gray mist blanketed the forest, making it hard to see the way ahead. She thought perhaps getting wet was a moot point, when she heard him mutter something.
The mist parted and she beheld an awe-inspiring cluster of megalithic structures spread out across a field. Some of the stones stood tall and ghostly, while others formed a crude table, with a flat slab perched across three shorter stones. Silas headed for the largest structure. Closed-in on three sides and topped by a massive granite slab, it was big enough to shelter the two of them and Aldebaran.
