They dragged him through the gate and a short distance down the entrance road before the Church guard stopped, spoke a soft three-count, and then threw him to the side of the road into a side ditch. Martin cried out as he flew and heard the crowd roar with approval. He landed hard and rolled. He felt something snap in his upper chest and knew his left collarbone had broken. Blinding, searing pain tore away his breath. He could only lay on one side with his knees drawn up against the pain. Each breath felt like he was breathing fire.
The Church guards moved aside and as soon as they were clear the crowd began pelting him with rotten vegetables and excrement. They struck him bodily, and he cried out against the additional pain. Hard vegetables struck him like stones. He curled into a ball and lifted his right arm over his head. The crowd cheered harder, and they taunted him with names. After a time the crowd grew bored and slowly dispersed until he lay in agony and solitude. A feeling of vertigo washed over him, and he swallowed against the urge to vomit.
“Vicar Martin, you must be away,” came a sudden, soft voice near his ear.
Martin cautiously removed his arm and winced against the pain of the broken bone. Any movement caused the ends to grind inside his chest. He squinted up and saw a young member of the Regent’s guard kneeling over him. He didn’t recognise him.
“Get up!” whispered the man urgently. “You must be away.”
“I-I can’t. B-broken b-bone. C-collar,” stuttered Martin, his teeth chattering with the pain.
The man grunted. “You’ll have to fight it for now. I’ll help you up, but then you must walk clear. If you are not out of sight of the guards by sundown, they will run you down. Do you understand? They are making wagers right now. You must be away! You’ve been lying here for hours! Dusk is only an hour away.”
Hours? It can’t be hours, I’ve only just landed here. Martin looked blearily toward the gate house, some fifty feet away. The sun was casting long shadows, and the sky was reddening confirming that he had indeed been lying here for hours. Martin blinked and spied a small gathering of guardsmen who stood nearby watching him. Behind them Martin saw that some people still remained to watch the spectacle.
“We have orders. You are to be slain on sight if you return to Munsten. Word will be sent to the villages and towns. They are not to harbour you. This is a right mess, Vicar Martin. But you were good to me once when we was coming back from the Crossroads. I dunno if you remember me? You helped me, right? Now I’m helping you! Now get up!”
Martin did not remember the young man. He had spoken to so many injured during the retreat from the Crossroads. He tried to focus on the face but found he could not. His vision swam with pain. Suddenly without warning his world spun violently, and he felt himself hoisted to his feet. He cried out when the collar bone ends scrapped inside him, tearing his flesh. Sweat poured from him and he felt the need to throw up.
The young guard held Martin steady and leaned in with his head to whisper in his ear. “You will need to immobilise your left arm up over the collar bone. Don’t let it fuse twisted or out of alignment. Maybe get help? Is there anywhere you can get help?”
Martin felt overwhelmed and grief rose up thick and cloy. Help? I am alone.
“Vicar Martin? Know where you can go?”
Martin had a momentary vision of a house on a cliff side but then immediately thought of the Rigby Farm and nodded once.
“Good, wherever it is, go straight there and hide. I don’t know what you’ve done, but the Realm is against you. Please, go now.”
The young guard released Martin and when he did he swayed. The man steadied him again and then gently let go. Martin stood awkwardly with his shoulders hunched over the pain of the broken bone. He looked over at the face of the young guard and tried to remember him.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name, my son. Forgive me.”
“Nothing to forgive.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
The guard looked hurriedly back to the gate. “You’ll thank me by getting clear. Hurry!”
Martin nodded and took one step away from the gate. He looked down and saw his shoes had the toes worn away and they were stained red with his own blood. Once he saw the state of his feet, he felt the pain and sucked in a breath. He looked back at the guards at the gate and saw they were watching him. Some brandished their swords at him and laughed. He took another step and then another. He found if he stepped carefully the pain was not so bad. He grimaced and shuffle-walked toward the distant bridge that crossed the river. He was so focused on moving he failed to hear the young guard return until he moved back in front of him.
“Vicar Martin, you’ve dropped this.”
The guard pressed something into Martin’s right hand and then hurried away back to the city. Martin stopped and lifted his hand. He held his wooden amulet with a snapped lanyard.
Eight
Rigby Farm and Munsten, August 902 A.C.
NADINE WAS ANGRY. “The draoi are split, Will! Split! And you do nothing but hide in your workshop creating potions and unguents! You must talk to them. Make them understand why the Gaea Decision was made the way it was. Gaea asked to die. She wanted it. By saying nothing you fuel their doubts and fears. Speak to them.”
Nadine paced by the apple trees behind the farmhouse. Will sat on a stump and had his head lowered. Nadine glanced at him and growled.
“Say something!”
Will shook his head.
Nadine looked over to Steve, who stood with his back up against a cherry tree. He saw her glare and held up a hand and shook his head. She turned to Will.
“You are the Freamhaigh, Will Arbor! You must lead! Everywhere across the land the people are scared. Scared and frightened! A second revolution is not far away.”
Will finally looked up for a brief a moment. He lowered it again. “What would you have me say?”
“Have you say? It is not for me to put words in your mouth. You must speak to them as you always do. As the Freamhaigh! Assure them all is well. Bring us together. Unite us. Lead us toward harmony. You cannot continue to hide away from the problem, Will!”
Will looked up and Nadine was shocked to see raw anger in his face. “I am not hiding, Nadine. I rule as I always have. Each draoi has a voice. I will not impose my will on others. They are draoi and we will always do what is right for the land. I have no fear of that. Nor should you.”
Nadine stopped her pacing and stood in front of Will with her hands on her hips. “That may have been true when Gaea ruled the draoi. We spoke of this. With Gaea gone there is no one to make sure the draoi follow the tenants. The draoi require someone to lead them. To keep them focused. You are that focus, Will. You are the Freamhaigh!”
“You keep saying I’m the Freamhaigh like it has some special power attached to it. I have faith the draoi will do what is right.”
“Faith? You speak of faith? Are you some peon of the church?”
Will stood. “No. I have led the draoi as best I can. Why do you question me now?”
Steve pushed off the tree and stepped up beside Nadine. “She’s worried, Will. As am I. Ever since we defeated Erebus you’ve been different. What’s bothering you?”
Will frowned at the question. “Nothing is bothering me.”
Steve frowned as well and stepped closer to Will. “That’s true, isn’t it? Nothing seems to be bothering you. You should be bothered by all this. What’s wrong with you?”
Will scowled. “Nothing! I keep telling you. Nothing!”
Nadine made a noise and reached out to Will. “Hon, please…
Will twisted away and stomped off around the house and out of sight. Steve and Nadine watched him go in shock. Once he was gone, Steve whistled out loud. “He’s off. You were right.”
Nadine nodded and sat on the stump Will had been on. “I don’t understand. I’ve examined him. I can sense nothing wrong.”
“Perhaps we need Edward.”
“Edward? Whatever for?”
>
“He says the mind needs healing just as much as the body.”
Nadine snorted.
“Don’t dismiss it so lightly. Martin agreed with him. Although Martin said it was more spiritual in nature.”
“And what do you believe?”
Steve hesitated. “I’ve seen men and women. Stronger than you and me. They just… just stopped after seeing too much. I can’t explain it. I once had a young lad in the crew who lost his eyesight. One moment he was fine, the next he was blind. Peter, our draoi, looked at him and said there was nothing wrong with him. Explain that.”
Nadine reached down and picked up a fallen apple from the dozen that laid around them. She looked it over and then took a bite and grimaced. “I can see the beauty in this apple. I can taste how tart it is. With my power I can change how my tongue tastes it and make it as sweet as honey. What you describe is outside my ken. If I am hearing you correctly, you think Will has something wrong in his head.”
“I do. Ever since we returned from Munsten he’s been… off. We’ve watched the draoi struggle to understand their new source of power coupled with the sudden absence of Gaea in their daily lives. You know how they worshiped her. For some, her loss was too terrible to take. Kennit has exploited that weakness. Lately, we’ve watched draoi step up and confront Will and he does nothing. They feel leaderless and they’re not wrong, Nadine. Will is not acting as the Freamhaigh. He acts like he’s in a dream.
“But I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think this is in his head, despite what I said. There is more to this. He seems removed from the problem. Controlled. Something has influenced him and pulled him away from dealing with the here and now. If this was a stress related problem—that’s how Peter described what caused the young man to lose his vision—we would be seeing other signs. Lack of sleep, nightmares, losing control of his emotions. Other than Will not sleeping, he seems as right as rain. Nothing bothers him at all. We already spoke about this. You know I’m right, Nadine.”
Nadine threw her apple to the ground. Steve watched as the soil parted and the core disappeared into the ground. In a moment a little tendril of a sprout broke the surface and grew higher, twisting as it did so. When it was three inches high it stopped. Nadine looked up at Steve. “I’m not ready.”
“Yes, you are. We spoke about it. Whatever is happening to Will is not happening to you.”
“Do you think it is Kennit?”
“After what you told me, I do. Aye. It’s him.”
“So do I. I have to be careful here. I could cause more damage.”
“Are you sure you have the power?”
“No. It’s just a belief I have. Reading the Draoi Manuscript and looking back at all the Cill Darae before me: there’s something there hidden between the words. Now knowing that there were more than one Cill Darae at a time makes me think I am right. Gaea was a woman. She represented motherhood. Nurturing. There hasn’t been a male Cill Dara for a very, very long time. From what I can tell, I suspect the last male Cill Dara was a woman trapped in a man’s body.”
“Like Windthrop.”
Nadine snorted. “More or less. He was… unique. But the point is, the Cill Darae were always the only one to speak directly to Gaea. The Freamhaigh led, but with the advisement of the Cill Darae, the High Priestess. Gaea always chose not to speak to her Freamhaigh. Will is—was—the exception.”
“And now with the Gaea motes gone, and the draoi having the Simon motes, you think perhaps Gaea knew this would happen?”
“Yes, I do. She was always thinking ahead. Probabilities and possibilities. She weighed them all. She always knew what would happen and made it possible with her manipulations. The one constant throughout the years? She relied on her Cill Darae to be the nurturing type and guide the Freamhaigh.”
Steve laughed and Nadine shot him a look. “My pardon, Nadine. You’ve never struck me as the nurturing type.”
“Exactly my point. Up until now, she always chose a mother. Someone like her. I’m not like the others. I’m…?”
“A hard-ass?”
Nadine smirked. “Exactly. But I would have said I’m too old for this malarkey.”
* * *
Nadine stood by the draoi meeting spot central to the Rigby Farm and sent her call across the bond and watched to see how it was received. The threads linking her to the other draoi here at the farm and across the land all pulsed with her order. She watched the threads and observed how the colours shifted and flowed. Intuitively she knew the call was being received with mixed reactions. She saw anger flare in some, and in others a sense of relief. She marked who responded favourably and stored that information away for later.
She looked for the bonds of Katherine, Heather and Dog and was saddened to see them still missing. She looked at the thread leading to Lana and watched it pulse red. She’s a bad one with no doubt, she thought. As she watched, the colours across the threads calmed and all appeared normal. Interesting, Kennit has reach and power. Power I don’t yet understand.
She waited as the draoi emerged from the buildings and from working the surrounding fields. The sun was high in the sky and the heat of summer rose from the ground in waves. The loud buzz of insects filled the air and Nadine closed her eyes and reached out with her senses to nature. She was filled with the beauty surrounding her and allowed it to pass through her and energise her. It was at times like this that she missed Gaea the most. Always before, her presence was felt and now it was gone; like a cloud covering the sun and stealing it's warmth. It bothered her and she felt grief at the loss.
She opened her eyes and discovered the draoi surrounding her. They looked at her strangely, except for Kennit. He had his eyes closed and seemed focused. His eyes opened, and he looked directly at her. She could see the defiance in him. A smirk touched the corner of his lips and Nadine squinted her eyes at him. She looked for Will and found him across their bond, still working in his workshop. He had ignored her call.
Nadine opened her mouth to speak, but Kennit beat her to it.
“What do you wish of us, Cill Darae?”
Nadine stumbled mentally. This is not starting the way I want. “I ask you here to speak to you of the draoi. And our future.”
“What of it? We are all draoi, are we not?”
“We are. But we are divided.”
“Divided? How can that be? We all work to the greater good.”
“Yes, we do.”
Kennit looked around, making a point of looking for someone in particular. “And where is the Freamhaigh? Why is he not here to speak to us of our future?”
“He is… Nadine knew lies would not work with the draoi. “He is indisposed. It is for that reason I wish to address you all.” Across the bond, in other areas of the Realm, Nadine could feel the confusion at her words. Here at the farm, the draoi looked at one another, the bonds pulsed with conflict. “We are divided. The Gaea Decision was a difficult time for us.”
“Not so difficult for some,” said Kennit and stepped forward. Nadine noticed the draoi that stood nearest to him. They were the same ones she had marked as discordant when she had placed the call. “You were the first to agree to killing Gaea. You made the decision so lightly and so quickly.”
Nadine nodded. “This is true. I recognised the will of Gaea. She was tired. Done. Her purpose fulfilled. I honoured the request she made.”
Nadine was pleased to see half the draoi nod in agreement.
Kennit laughed and Nadine willed herself not to slap him. “Honoured the request? You fought for her demise. You convinced half the draoi this was the right path. As Cill Darae, our High Priestess, your role was to follow the Freamhaigh and fight for her survival. How could you do otherwise?”
“You know nothing of the role of the Cill Darae. Have you forgotten your lessons so soon?”
“I know that Gaea was our saviour. She provided guidance in a world gone mad. She led us with passion. In a moment, you allowed her to die. You removed your role and that of the
Freamhaigh with that decision. As far as I see it, the draoi must speak with the voice of the majority.”
“Will put the decision to a vote! You all decided Gaea’s future.”
“Yes, and when it came to a tie, you decided.”
Nadine raised her chin. “Yes, I did. With Will. We decided that the will of Gaea came first. Do you think this was lightly taken?”
Kennit spoke softly, but his words resonated across the draoi bond. “Yes. Yes I do. The land is in greater turmoil than ever before and the draoi sit here and do nothing.”
Nadine was at a loss for words. Across the farm, standing outside the main farmhouse, Nadine could see Steve with his crew. They stood apart, but in range to hear their words. She wished he could be here beside her. Then she remembered Will and wondered why she was so content that he not be present for this. What is happening to me? I was so clear in my mind before. Now I stand with my mouth open unable to respond to this upstart.
“I see you are at a loss for words, Nadine. Perhaps I can help you? We need a leader to take the draoi into this new world of ours. Gone are the days of Freamhaigh and Cill Darae. We are now a power in this world, with access to the power the Simon motes represent. We need to adopt a governance. One that lets us pick those most suited to lead the draoi.”
Nadine closed her eyes and focused on her link to the world around her. She reached out to nature and announced herself. She felt her power flow to the Simon motes. For a moment she felt surprise from the motes. She pushed harder and gritted her teeth. The motes resisted her, and she growled. She tried again, but the response was the same.
She opened her eyes and found Kennit smiling at her. He stood only a step away from her. He turned to the draoi and put his back to her. “Dear draoi, the time has come to make a decision for our future.”
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