Prince of Hazel and Oak (Shadowmagic Book 2)

by John Lenahan

  ‘That is the second time you have referred to my son as a “Jesse”. What does it mean?’

  Wow, this guy had a good memory, better than mine. I racked my brains for Jesse’s real name and then it came to me – Codna. ‘The first time I met your son was in the Hall of the Oak Throne, when my father bestowed on you the freedom of the Oaklands. I mistook Codna for someone I had known in the Real World and when we met socially afterwards I used the name as a small joke.’

  ‘So because your father gave me permission to walk among the Oaklands, lands that I should rightfully own, and because you make idiot jokes with my idiot son, this gives you the right to spy on me?’

  I shot a quick glance at Jesse. He looked like he had been slapped. ‘I have no reason to spy on you, Your Highness, I come because my father is ill.’

  ‘Ill?’ he said in a tone that made me realise that illness was a concept he had never encountered.

  ‘It’s like a mortal wound that we cannot see, Your Highness. I need to find healing magic or he will die.’

  This made the Brownie monarch think, which I suspected was something he didn’t do very often. ‘Is he cursed?’

  ‘That may be the cause. We need to get to the Isle of the Tughe Tine that lies off the edge of your land.’

  King Bwika threw his head back and laughed. ‘What? Are you looking for help from the Grey Ones?’

  ‘I don’t know what I will find, Your Highness – I only want to save my father. For that I will do anything.’

  The smile on the Brownie’s face vanished in an istant. ‘Your father,’ he said, his voice filled with contempt. ‘The last time your father was here … No, I lie – your father was never here. It was your father’s father, Finn. Finn stood and called me “a supercilious toad” and then spat on the floor, there, before he left. I was a young king then, he was fortunate. If he had done that today he would have left with a bolt in his back.’

  The more I hear about my grandfather the more I think we all would have benefited if he had taken a few anger-management classes. I stood and walked to the place where the King had pointed and dropped to one knee. ‘Was it here that my grandfather spat?’

  King Bwika stood and walked down the steps of his dais. Towering over me he pointed to a slab of marble floor directly in front of his feet. ‘It was there.’

  ‘Then let me spit on the same spot,’ I said and I spat. Then I pulled my sleeve over my hand and used my shirt to clean up the spittle. ‘So that I may wash away the memory of it. I, Conor of Duir, do humbly apologise for the rudeness of my ancestor.’

  I didn’t know what else to say, nor, I sensed, did the King. He looked up and scanned the faces in the room, then said, ‘Go. My guards will escort you to the ends of the Keep grounds to the Peninsula Trail. There is but only one way to go from there and you must go alone – I cannot spare you a guide. Report to the alder trees daily.’

  ‘Thank you, Your Highness, we shall leave at dawn,’ I said, moaning silently to myself.

  ‘You will leave now, before I change my mind, and you will not rest until you are off the Keep grounds.’

  He gestured with his hand. The honour guard surrounded us and escorted us quickly from the room.

  We found Araf resting on his bed.

  ‘Is your foot up for a hike?’

  ‘Why,’ the Imp said, ‘are we going on one?’

  ‘The King says we can go, if we go now.’

  We began to pack. It didn’t take long. It’s not like our welcome prompted us to put all of our underwear in drawers. I was almost ready to go when I answered a soft knock at the door.

  Standing on the other side was the young prince with a cloth parcel in his hand.

  ‘Jesse,’ I said, extending my hand, ‘or should I say Prince Codna. It’s good to see you again.’

  He looked confused and then shook my hand like he had never done it before. ‘No, I like Jesse,’ he said with a nervous smile. ‘My brother and I still call each other Frank and Jesse when we are alone.’

  ‘Are you going to be one of our escorts to the Peninsula Trail?’

  ‘Oh no,’ he said with a nervous laugh, like that was a ridiculous notion. ‘No, I came because … Well, I stole this from Castle Duir and have been worried that it has been sorely missed by its owner. I would like for you to return it.’

  I took the parcel and opened it. Inside was a round piece of brass. ‘You stole a doorknob?’

  Jesse shrugged. ‘Frank got some better stuff but that Dahy man found it and took it back.’

  ‘Well, thanks,’ I said, rewrapping the parcel. ‘I’m sure there is a door somewhere in my castle that someone is just dying to open. Speaking of Frank, where is he?’

  ‘My brother prepares for war,’ he said with a quiver in his voice that made me look at his face. He was almost at the brink of tears.

  ‘Hey, guy,’ I said, motioning him over to a set of chairs. ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘Demne,’ he said, wiping his nose on his sleeve, ‘you know – Frank. He’s in the Torkc Guards.’

  I searched my memory for the meaning of torkc. ‘Pig Guards?’

  Jesse laughed a little at this. ‘Boar,’ he corrected.

  ‘So what’s so bad about that?’

  ‘I never get to see him any more and I’m worried about him. The Torkc are the first to attack in a war.’

  ‘But the Brownies aren’t at war with anyone.’

  ‘They’re not?’ he said, beaming at me. ‘Did you sue for peace?’

  I didn’t answer that right away, I didn’t know what he was talking about. Just as I was about to ask, Tuan came to the door flanked by guards saying that the Brownies were insisting that we leave immediately. The guards made Jesse nervous. I told them to give us a sec.

  ‘Thanks for returning the doorknob,’ I said. ‘Here, I have a present for you.’ I reached into my pack and took out the green-handled knife that was thrown at Brendan on Mount Cas. ‘Take this and give it to Frank; it’s a throwing knife. The gold tip will make sure the blade hits its intended target. Maybe it will keep him safe.’ I resheathed it and handed it to Jesse.

  He smiled and then hugged me. That Jesse is a cute kid.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Fearn Peninsula

  It was dark outside but I could just make out two Brownies waiting for us at the end of the drawbridge.

  ‘Hi, Dell, miss us?’ He didn’t answer; he and what’s-his-name just turned and jogged into the night.

  It was our turn to slow these guys down. There was no way we were going to go full pelt in pitch darkness. Yogi called a halt, dismounted, stripped off and handed his clothes to Tuan. He said he wanted to travel as a bear because his night vision was better. The Brownies came back to yell at us for stopping just as Yogi did his change thing. He towered over them and growled – they shut up. Yogi took the point behind our guides. He growled and snarled almost constantly so we could at least follow the sound. It was difficult going and the further we got from the castle the worse the trail became. Soon we had to take our branch-whipped faces off of our horses and power walk behind Dell and what’s-his-name, who constantly told us to hurry up. I decided that when we finally got to where we didn’t need the guides any more I would give Yogi permission to eat them.

  It was about an hour before dawn when we reached the borders of Fearn Keep and the beginning of the Peninsula Trail. Dell asked Essa, ‘What’s for breakfast?’ and she pulled her banta stick out of her pack. Bravely, I got between them and pointed out to Dell that they might not want to hang out with a hungry bear and a much more dangerous princess.

  Dell stared daggers into my eyes and said, ‘We will meet again,’ then the two of them ran off the way we had come. In the distance I heard Dell yell something that sounded like, ‘In Duir.’

  Tuan started up a fire while Yogi got dressed. We were all too tired to pitch tents so we just huddled up in front of the flames and napped in blankets for the short time left before dawn. I had one o
f those sleeps that, although it was probably a couple of hours, seemed like a blink.

  The sun was well up at breakfast and nobody was what you could call chirpy. I had been trying to ask Araf about his hurt foot fib ever since we had come back from the throne room but any time I brought it up he would look over his shoulder and soundlessly say, ‘Not now.’ It wasn’t until we were underway for about a half an hour and in a clearing large enough so we couldn’t be overheard by the alders, that Araf called a stop.

  ‘I had to be sure we were not being spied on,’ the big guy said in a loud whisper. ‘While you had an audience with the King, I snuck outside in daylight and saw what the Brownies did not want us to see.’

  ‘And what was that?’ The Turlow asked.

  ‘An army,’ the Imp replied. ‘A large army and they looked to be preparing for war …’

  ‘But who would the Brownies be at war with?’ Essa asked.

  ‘Me,’ I said. ‘Geez, I can be so stupid sometimes – now Jesse’s conversation makes sense. Jesse, you know Codna, Brownie King’s youngest son, thought I had come to make peace. The Brownies are going to attack Duir.’

  ‘Or Cull,’ Essa said, jumping off of her horse. ‘Someone destroyed the Tree of Knowledge once before, maybe they are about to attack the Hazellands? We must warn Dahy.’ She opened one saddlebag and looked inside. Then she opened the other and started frantically throwing things on the ground. Finally she unstrapped the bags and dumped the entire contents onto the frozen dirt.

  ‘Damn it, damn it, damn them. They stole it. They stole it. Those little Brownie—’

  ‘Stole what?’ Araf said, getting down so he could help her.

  ‘My emain slate.’

  ‘You have an emain slate?’ Tuan said incredulously.

  ‘Not any more!’ Essa shouted. ‘Those little stinking—’

  The rest of us st stood as still as possible while Essa kicked and used language that would have been inappropriate even in a Wild West saloon.

  Essa really did need calming down but I had seen the Princess like this before and I wasn’t going to go near her. It took someone that didn’t know Essa very well to attempt such a foolhardy thing. Tuan walked towards her and pulled down the back of his trousers. I thought he was going to moon her. Then the hair on the back of his head grew in, then went coarse, curly and pepper grey in colour. His hands changed to paws as his back went horizontal and straight. His shoes, on what now were his back paws, fell off. Then I saw the reason for the mooning – a long tail, full flowing with long hair, sprouted out of the top of his trousers. Tuan had changed into a fully clothed Tuan-sized dog. An Irish wolfhound or something close to it and it was the funniest thing I had seen in a very long time.

  Essa was shocked into silence, then smiled, then laughed, then dropped to one knee and gave doggie-Tuan a big hug around the neck. I would pay lots of money to find out how to do that. Tuan reformed back to his Pooka self during the hug and the two of them fell laughing on the ground.

  ‘I used to do that for my mother when she was upset,’ Tuan said, pulling up the back of his trousers.

  ‘Did it always work?’ Essa asked, still laughing.

  ‘Never failed,’ Tuan said, helping her up.

  ‘Right,’ Essa said, straightening her clothes, ‘I’m going back to Fearn Keep.’

  ‘Hold on, Princess.’ Now that she was calm and it was safe, I dismounted. ‘You can’t go back there. We only just got out and I’m pretty sure accusing them of stealing and demanding your slate back isn’t going to make them say, “Oops sorry, here you go.”’

  ‘I must get that slate back,’ she said, her voice once again betraying her anxiety. ‘Dahy must be warned about the army.’

  ‘Which is probably why they took it,’ Brendan said. ‘I’m a cop, Essa, trust me, you won’t get it back.’

  ‘But I must. I send a message to my father every other day. He will be worried sick about me. And do you know how expensive those things are?’

  ‘Princess, the others are right,’ Tuan said. ‘I agree that Master Dahy must be informed of what Araf has seen but we cannot go back. We are at the beginning of the Fearn Peninsula. Less than a mile back there is a trail that, if I remember correctly from my last journey in these woods, leads us to the beach. I propose we take it to the sea. From there we can send Yarrow to warn the Hazellands and then the rest of us can follow the coast to Alder Point.’

  Everyone looked at Yogi, who said, ‘I do not know the way.’

  ‘I will guide you back to the Hall of Knowledge,’ Essa said.

  ‘You can’t do that, Princess.’ Turlow said ‘Princess’ in that lovey-dovey tone that was enough to make me vomit.

  ‘And why not?’ Essa shot back.

  Turlow was foolishly about to start an argument with Essa when Araf piped up. And when Araf chooses to speak it’s such a surprise that people tend to listen.

  ‘This discussion is not for here. Tuan, will we make the coast before nightfall?’

  ‘Easily, I should think.’

  ‘Let us think on this as we travel and decide at the next camp. Until then, do not speak of this among the alders.’

  Turlow looked like he had something to say, but none of us waited to hear it. We turned our horses and remounted.

  The rest of the day was in silence not only because the trees were listening but also because the trail was narrow and forced us to ride in single file. By late afternoon the alders thinned out. In the distance the horizon widened and the slight sting of salt could be detected on the breeze. The trees disappeared altogether about a quarter mile from the coast. We trekked over rolling sand dunes covered with long grass until we reached a black sand beach. The warmth of the ocean changed the crisp dry air in to a cold misty one, but the relief from being out from under the spying eyes of the alders meant that no one complained.

  ‘What happened to the trees?’ I asked Tuan.

  ‘The alders hate brackish water. They never live near the coast. That is why I proposed we come here. If Yarro – I mean Yogi and Princess Essa hug the coast, there is a chance that they can get out of the Alderlands without the alders knowing.’

  ‘You think she should go with him then?’

  ‘Yarrow is my friend and in a fight I would have no other at my side.’ Then Tuan looked over his shoulder and leaned in. ‘But he is not the smartest in the clan. Essa, I have learned, is a woman of substance and she is a natural guide. I think together they have a better chance of success.’

  We set up camp while Yogi stripped off, bear-ed up and then had a dip in the freezing water. He came out holding a flat ray-like fish the size of a bicycle. I pitched tents while Tuan and Araf fried it up. Araf produced a bottle of Brownie-shine that he had stolen from the stores at Fearn Keep. Everybody knew it was a goodbye party for Essa and Yogi, but no one said it.

  I tried to have a little alone time with Essa before I went to bed, but she was deep in conversation with her fiancé. I waved at her, mouthed, ‘Good luck,’ and promised myself that I would wake up early so as to have a chat with her before she left.

  As it turned out she woke me. Long before the dawn she shook me awake to say goodbye.

  ‘What kind of time do you call this?’ I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

  ‘Yogi and I thought it might be a good idea to leave before it was light in case any alders could sense this far.’

  I got out of bed and walked with her to what was left of the fire. I looked around expecting to see the Banshee.

  ‘Where is Turd-low?’ I said, and then mentally kicked myself for starting a fight. But Essa was calm.

  ‘We have said our goodbyes.’

  ‘Goodbyes? I thought he would insist on coming with y.’

  ‘No,’ she said dispassionately. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to hide emotions or if she didn’t really care. ‘He tried to persuade me not to go, but when he realised I was not for turning he didn’t volunteer to come.’

  ‘If I could, I would
go with you.’

  She looked me straight in the eyes for one of those hour-long seconds, smiled – then changed the subject.

  ‘Yogi has packed the boat onto Tuan’s horse and has taught him how to assemble it. You be careful out there on the ocean.’

  ‘Gosh, it almost sounds like you’re worried about me.’

  She started to scowl but then gave me a hug. ‘I am,’ she said.

  Yogi appeared with the horses and Essa quickly turned to go, but before she could get away I caught her by the wrist. She tensed up and I instantly let go remembering what a foolish thing that is to do, but she didn’t attack and I got to say what I wanted to say.

  ‘Then we will both worry about each other. OK?’

  She nodded and mounted up. I watched them disappear into the pre-dawn.

  I went back to bed for another hour; when I awoke Brendan was already up. He had a good fire going and was cooking breakfast.

  ‘Have you been up long?’ I asked.

  ‘I love the sunrise on a beach. I grew up near a beach,’ Brendan said. ‘Dawn is a magical time by the sea. That’s what my mother always said. She also used to say, “Just because you can’t see a skunk doesn’t mean that things don’t stink.”’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ Brendan said, laughing. ‘She used to say all sorts of crazy stuff. I’ve been thinking about her all morning. Once she woke me up and we trudged to the beach before the sun came up to hunt for driftwood. We built a fire and she told me stories until it was light enough to see. You know what she told me?’

  I shook my head, no.

  ‘She told me about a land where people never grow old – she even named it. I’ve been stretching my memory to remember and I’m pretty sure she called it Tir na Nog. She told me I came from a line of wise men, who were forced to leave.’ He stopped and looked away.