Lara heard the last of Ruark’s words as they stepped out of the tent. The day after tomorrow. Lara felt her stomach tighten with millions of butterflies. Devlyn felt her stiffen at the words and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze and led her to the armory.
Aodhan looked up from the map in front of him and at Eion. He ran his fingers through his hair. “How do you really think she is doing?”
“I believe she is right. Lara needs to be out there with the men as a symbol. Also to show them that she can fight. It will probably keep her mind off of things and getting out the aggression will help.” Eion said.
Aodhan felt his father bump against him and glanced over. He was leaning on the table for support. Aodhan pulled over a chair and helped his father sit down. He gave Lord Blaine a concerned look and his father gave him a leave it alone look.
“How do you think she will react when she sees Liam again?” Aodhan asked.
Eion walked around the table to get a better look at Ruark’s maps.
“She will be more prepared for it this time.”
“What does the Lady Battle Raven have to do with Liam?” Blaine asked.
Eion rubbed his chin and looked around the table. “It is a long story. I will make it short in order to move onto more important events.”
Ruark put the piece of charcoal he was holding down. “If it affects the Battle Raven. I believe we all should know about it.”
Blaine motioned for the rest of them to sit. Eion looked at all of them and recalled what Kedryn had told him and some of his own experience.
“I will start off with Lord Faolan. When he spun the web around me he ended up turning into a mist wraith. The rumors are true that a person uses ultimate true power in the other realm he or she is lost. Faolan used his abilities as a wraith many times to influence Lara down the wrong path for eighteen years. Every plan he tried failed. She always struggled but would choose the light instead of the dark. I believe it was her upbringing that saved her.”
He leaned back in his chair and looked around and glanced over as a couple of servants walked into the room with goblets and a wine flask. He watched as Blaine gave a signal and goblets were filled. Eion nodded his thanks to Blaine as he took a sip.
“Faolan caught a break. Lara fell in love The man was the spitting image of Tormey and of course Liam since he’s a chip off the old man’s block. Faolan saw his chance and formed a new plan. He used his influence on the mind of the man to cause her and her son all kinds of grief. Kedryn filled me in on some of the details.”
Aodhan leaned forward in his chair. “When you asked to talk to Kedryn and fell behind. That is what you were talking about?”
“Yes. Apparently Faolan could sense that Wash, that was his name, did have genuine feelings of love for her. Unfortunately for Wash his mind was easy to influence. Faolan was able to influence him when he was not around Lara. For some reason he could not or did not influence Wash when he was with Lara and Kedryn. It worked well for him and confused and hurt her even more. When Wash was with them he was everything she wanted however when he was away he did everything someone you love was not supposed to do.”
Blaine started a coughing fit and Eion waited and passed the flask down to Aodhan so he could fill up Blaine’s goblet.
Blaine cleared his throat and took a drink. “That must have driven her mad.”
“Not just Lara. It drove Wash to the brink of insanity. He knew that he loved Lara and could not understand why he would do all of the hurtful things he was doing to her and Kedryn.” He shifted in his seat and looked around.
“He ended up killing himself right in front of Lara. Kedryn said his exact words were. I’m just a stepping stone to someone better. If I’m not here you will be free. Apparently Lara was like the living dead for almost two years then all of the sudden snapped out of it.”
Ruark looked at Eion with disgust on his face. “Right in front of her? That is the coward’s way out and it seems that Faolan’s plan with the man worked. He took a huge chance but must have had a feeling that if we did go after her, Lara would break down and be of little use to us when she saw
Tormey or Liam. Or perhaps it was that Wash was the only one he found that worked with his plan. Or it could have just been pure blind luck.”
“It is all speculation. The only real way to know is to ask Lord Faolan himself. Why do you think she stayed with him?” Aodhan asked.
“Kedryn seems to think that she hoped that he would see the light and change his ways. Wash would always tell her that they were the two only good things in his life and his reason for living. It seemed as soon as things were looking good he would leave again. Kedryn said she was completely in love with him and never gave up on him until he gave up on himself.”
“Faolan truly is an evil creature. If she took the anger of all of the bad she could use it.” Blaine said and Aodhan looked at his father a bit annoyed at his lack of sympathy for Lara.
“It is a possibility. You should have seen her reaction when she saw Liam. Kedryn said Liam and Wash could almost be twins.” Aodhan said
Eion stood up and bowed to Blaine. “With your permission I would like to check on Lara and Kedryn and see how they are faring with the soldiers. I am assuming there will be a war counsel tomorrow to discuss strategy. I really should work with Lara on confusion.”
“Of course. Tomorrow the council will be held after the morning meal. I would like to get a glimpse as to how well she can fight also.” Lord Blaine said.
Eion made his way out of the pavilion. He walked down the thick grass of the sloping hill to the soldiers tents. The tents surrounded a small flat area where three groups of solders could train at a time. There was also a smaller area off to the side with a few fire pits. Eion stepped onto the trampled grass of the training area and stood with his arms crossed as he watched Kedryn and Lara.
Chapter 19
On the rise of a hill beside the stretch of forest Liam and Niall were watching two groups of Danann soldiers as they trained. Niall looked through his spy crystal and nudged Liam as he pointed to Lara. Liam adjusted the crystal in his and followed her as she fought off the men around her.
“Seriously, how can anyone fight with her around? I could just sit here and watch all day. If training didn’t consist of using blunt weapons we wouldn’t have to worry about any soldiers. She would have wiped them out all during their training.”
Liam studied everything about Lara. From how she fought to the way she looked. He was a sucker for long hair and he could see hers was a long auburn color. Her hair was swept up but he could see the strands that were flying out around her that gave the length away. Everything about her was fluid, lovely and deadly. He shook his head.
“I need to think strategy and not about how she looks.” Liam said and cringed after he realized he said that out loud.
Niall glanced at him and shrugged “She is a wonder to watch. Who do you think the man is in the other group? He must have just stepped in the circle.”
Liam reluctantly moved his spy crystal away from Lara and looked at the other group of soldiers. He watched the soldier as he sparred with who he knew to be Scanlon, Devlyn and two he didn’t know. The young man was getting the upper hand on them all and he was very impressed. He hadn’t seen Devlyn be bested by anyone.
It seemed that none of the soldiers were used to the man’s style of fighting. Liam couldn’t figure it out either. The soldier was a natural at the Milesian style of fighting except he also mixed in some Danann and another he didn’t recognize.
“He fights like a Milesian and uses other fighting styles as well. It’s unnatural. I have to admit though it does have its appeal.” Liam said.
Niall watched Kedryn for a minute more. “I am not sure who he is. I did see a young man with Aodhan in the other realm. It is rumored that he may be her son.”
“A son? It would make sense with the way he fights. I dislike saying this about an opponent. He would even make General Kayne proud. We wil
l have to keep an eye out for that one.”
Liam watched Kedryn a little bit longer and his eyes snapped over to where Lara was and stared in shock. Lara was surrounded by a group of Danann soldiers and she had fought most of them off. What caught his attention was what happened when they begun to form a tight circle around her.
She raised her arm and moved it in a swooping motion. As she turned there was what looked like black feathers and smoke following her arm that fell over the surrounding soldiers. They ducked and swiped their weapons at the falling feathery smoke. Lara ended up in a crouch ready to fight again and rose slowly. She looked at the soldiers around her who stood looking at her confused.
“Holy banshees! Did you see that?” Niall asked.
Liam for the first time felt fear for his troops. “I believe it is time to go. We have overstayed our welcome and Kayne is most likely getting nervous.”
When Eion saw what Lara had done he snorted out a laugh. Lara saw him standing next to the training area and ran over giving him a wide grin.
“Did you see that? I did it and you didn’t even have to show me how. It’s like I knew what to do. I felt it and now I just know how.”
“Very good.” Eion said.
She looked a little concerned. “Problem though is I can confuse a whole group outside of me. How do I leave our soldiers out of it?”
“I can help you with that. You will have to do this with your mind. I will use an example. Kedryn can sense if someone is telling the truth by if they are radiating good or bad towards a person. I believe that confusion is somewhat along those same lines. You will have to ignore the Milesian blood in you and concentrate on the Danann. Begin to see who wants to cause harm to you or to any Danann on the battle field. Or you can just concentrate on one or two people.”
“Um, ok?” she looked at him a bit skeptical and followed Eion over to an un-trampled grassy area just outside of where the other soldiers were training.
“Sit by me and we will get started.” Eion gave her a serious look.
She sat cross legged in front of him waiting patiently for his instructions.
“I want you to concentrate. I know that the Milesian camp is a few miles away. You must stretch your mind out and sense the hate and the desire to spill Danann blood.”
Lara closed her eyes trying to remember her meditation state that her sensei taught her all those years ago. She took a few breaths to relax. After a couple of minutes she sighed and almost gave up.
“I can't.” she said under her breath. “No wait. I’m starting to get a sense of something. It’s like a feeling of a certain separate state of mind. That’s the best I can describe it. No colors or anything else. There are two men that seem to be different than any of the soldiers here. I think they are heading away.”
“Good. Stretch your mind out further and see if you can match what you feel with those two men. Connect the feeling to those in Liam’s camp. You will really know what to look for.”
Lara kept her concentration pushing herself mentally further than she has ever done before. She truly wished that she learned how to do this sooner. She did have to agree with Eion that she was catching on quick like riding a bike. A bike that she had never rode before if that makes any sense.
“I am getting it. I believe that I can do this but wish I had more time. The only way to know is when we actually go into battle. That will be the true test. What about just confusing some around me and not all?”
“We will get to that. Also, you will have to keep your eyes open especially if you are fighting. Just out of curiosity are the two still heading away? They may have been scouts to check out the camp and I bet they got a shock if they saw what you did.”
Lara intentionally kept her eyes open to see if she could concentrate and found out it could be done. “Yes they are heading away.”
“I think we should get a group of men together. So that you can truly recognize them without having to think about it too much.”
Eion turned to where Scanlon and Devlyn were talking. “Devlyn.”
“Yes.” Devlyn said turning to face Eion.
“Could you gather one more group together? I would like for Lara to do that again.” Eion asked.
“Yes sir.” Devlyn said and turned to go and gather some more men.
Lara turned as Kedryn walked up to her. “I didn’t get to see it but the men are all talking about what you did.”
“You will get your chance. Eion is going to have me train some more.” Kedryn watched as Devlyn led a group of men to the training area. Lara turned and pointed her finger at him.
“Wait here.” Lara patted him on the head and headed off with Eion.
Kedryn rolled his eyes at her and watched as his mom and Eion walked into the training area. He heard footsteps coming up from behind and turned. Aodhan, Blaine and General Ruark walked up and stopped beside him to watch. Along with pretty much the whole army. All eyes were on Lara as she strode into the middle of the handpicked solders Devlyn brought to the training area. After a couple of failed tries her third time confused the soldiers close around her. The next time she concentrated ignoring all outside influence. It worked and she confused all but a couple of soldiers. The time after she was halfway through and collapsed to one knee. Lara felt like a ton of weights were pressing down on here whole body.
“Now we know she has limits. I am pleased Eion decided to test this out before the battle.” Ruark said
Kedryn saw a flash out of the corner of his eye and watched as Aodhan appeared where Devlyn was holding Lara in his arms. Aodhan’s brow furrowed and Devlyn gave him a give it a rest for now look.
Everyone watched as Lara was helped off the training area. Devlyn sat her down on one of the wooden benches. Kedryn started walking over to where she was and was stopped by Scanlon who held out an arm.
“Go and eat with Doyle and Lawler. I am sure your mother will be fine.”
“I don’t know.” Kedryn looked over at her again.
“Go Kedryn. That is an order.” General Ruark said and instantly turned as Blaine started coughing.
“Yes sir.” Kedryn said glancing at his mom. He headed to where he saw Doyle and Lawler go to eat their evening meal.
Scanlon walked over to where Aodhan and Lara were sitting. “Aodhan. You should look in on your father. He is having another coughing spell. ” he turned to Devlyn “Devlyn, the General would like a word with you.” Scanlon watched as Devlyn gave him a nod and walked away.
Aodhan looked at Lara with concern on his face. He stood up and stepped in front her. “Are you going to be alright?”
She looked up at him. “Thank you. I just need to rest. Go check on your father.”
Aodhan turned to go and paused looked at her torn. He ran his fingers through his hair.
“Go. I’ll be fine.” she said.
“As you wish, my Lady Battle Raven.” Aodhan gave her a slight bow all the while looking up at her with a sly crooked grin.
As he straightened back up his face turned serious. He turned and saw Eion walking their way. Aodhan motioned for Scanlon to come with and walked away. Lara watched them walk through the soldiers tents towards the pavilions up on the hill where she assumed Aodhan’s father was. She looked up at Eion as he stopped before her.
“I believe I should show you to your pavilion, my Lady.” he said.
Lara stretched out her arms and legs. She stood testing her legs. Not as wobbly as she thought. Eion put a protective hand on her arm. She looked at the training area that was now abandoned by the soldiers.
“I have my own?” she asked.
“Lord Blaine instructed the men to set up one shortly after you arrived. Being a woman and all.” He held out his arm and she gratefully took it. Lara was a bit more unsteady than she thought and didn’t want the soldiers to see her collapse again.
“Heaven forbid I sleep with the men. What a scandal that would be.” she said and laughed at Eion’s confused face.
“I was j
ust joking. That was very thoughtful of them. So when do we eat? I’m hungry.”
“You do not think you need rest?” Eion said as he led her through the soldier’s tents.
“I think I should eat something. That might have been part of why I faded out so quickly. We didn’t eat lunch.” She put her hand on her stomach and Eion heard it growl. “I think the soldiers need to see me eating with them to show them that I am not weak. You guys said I was a symbol right?”
“That could be. Apologies. I should have thought about that. Using power, any power, takes a lot of energy. I shouldn’t have been so careless.” he said and changed their direction to where the soldiers were set out by the small fire pits.
“Don’t blame yourself. No one in our group thought about lunch. I bet Kedryn is starving after the workout he went through too.”
The closer they got to the cooking fires the louder the voices became. She heard laughter, some serious talk along with the sound of metal scraping on metal where the soldiers were eating. Eion led her to an area where Devlyn and Scanlon were eating. He mumbled something and walked away. Lara sat down in the dewy trampled grass next to Devlyn and looked around.
“Where are Kedryn and Aodhan? And how is Blaine?”
Devlyn gestured behind her. “Kedryn is eating with Lawler and Doyle close to the other fire pit. He wanted to come to your side after you collapsed. Ruark ordered him to go eat with the others.”
“That was probably for the best. He needed to get something to eat and besides he’s been too worried about me lately. Aodhan?”
“Aodhan is with Blaine in his pavilion. His father is not faring well and is in there with a couple of healers.” Scanlon said.
Lara glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Kedryn as she waved at him. He gave her a concerned look and waved back. She watched as Lawler nudged him and Kedryn elbowed him. She almost jumped as Eion set a plate of food and a tankard of water in front of her. She examined the plate and picked up a metal fork to poke at the mush of potatoes and meat. She looked up at Eion amused.
Celtic Rain (The Battle Raven Series) Page 22