Cill Darae

by Donald D. Allan

  The nature around her felt her presence, and she felt an upwelling of joy that surprised her. Nature seemed to take a deep breath and wait for something. She didn’t understand and did her best to ignore it. She felt a sudden disappointment around her, and she promised herself to examine it later. That was strange.

  She dove deeper until she could see the Simon motes surrounding them and infused in all life. She shifted her vision and was startled to see the bond between the motes. It was a strange bond. It wasn’t solid like the draoi bond, but it shifted and pulsed as if thousands of little pulses travelled along the paths.

  She remembered that Nadine had spoken to the Simon motes and did so now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Katherine growled.

 

 

 

  Katherine felt a surge of hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Katherine felt a moment of panic.

 

  Katherine felt a rush of relief.

 

 

 

  Katherine thought quickly.

 

 

 

 

  Katherine opened her eyes and told the others what had happened. James looked doubtful but resumed his rowing. Heather was pleased and so was Nadine when Katherine told her.

  This changes things, Katherine.

  Yes, Nadine, it does.

  Get the proof we need and come home.

  As soon as we can.

  A few hours later, the four of them hid in the back alley of the museum. They had made an easy go through the streets of Munsten. Katherine and Heather had hidden them from seeing eyes and they passed only a couple of Church Guard patrols. The castle high above them was dark and quiet and James believed it meant their escape had not yet been discovered.

  “How can that be? It’s been hours. Surely they’ve discovered us gone?”

  James shrugged. “I think they are complacent in their belief they had us comatose. They probably only checked on us once a day and fed us.”

  “Thay didn’t feed us much. Dog nearly died o' starvation,” grumbled Heather and crouched beside Dog to ruffle his head. Dog licked her face and Heather wiped the spit away with an expression of disgust and pushed his snout away.

  “Shh!” whispered Katherine. “We need to get in and off the street. James? What now?”

  James looked pleased to be of value and pointed to the open window two stories above them. “Through that window.”

  Heather looked up and snorted. “Urr ye glaikit? It's twenty feet 'boon us.”

  James looked surprised. “I thought you could, you know, use your powers or something.”

  Heather raised her eyebrows at him. “Dae ye think draoi kin juist loup aboot?”

  James hesitated and then nodded.

  Heather’s face broke into a fierce grin. “Aye, we kin. Watch this.”

  Heather stood and looked up. She concentrated for a moment and then bent her knees and jumped up. She went straight up and shot past the window. She let out a little shriek and reached out. As she fell back down she grabbed the window sill and held on with her feet against the bricks.

  James looked at Katherine with an incredulous look. “Did you see that?”

  Katherine stifled a laugh and nodded. She looked up and watched Heather clamber through the window and disappear. Katherine bent her knees and drew power into her legs. She strengthened the muscle and thickened the tendons and then leapt. She flew upwards and caught the window sill. Heather reached out and helped pull her in. Heather then leaned out the window and whispered loudly down to James and Dog. “We’ll pass down a rope or something. Hold on. Dog, use your power and hide you and James.”

  James looked at Dog, but he was busy scratching his ear with a hind leg. “Did you hear her, Dog?”

  Dog paused with his leg hanging in the air and still twitching and looked at James with those strange human eyes. He nodded and resumed scratching.

  “Okay, then,” said James, and he looked away. “I guess we stay put for now.”

  Upstairs Katherine and Heather searched for anything to lower down to James. They were in a well-stocked storage room, but it contained little other than cleaning supplies, brooms and mops. Heather bade Katherine wait and left the little room. In moments, she returned with a basket of brightly coloured yarn. Katherine smiled and grabbed the biggest ball of yarn and went to the window with it. She held on to the free end and tossed the ball out the window. It landed at the feet of James, bounced, and rolled away before stopping. Dog bounded over to it and sniffed it.

  James grabbed at the coloured strand dangling before him and scowled up at Katherine. All he could see was the white of her smile. “How’s this supposed to help?”

  “It’s wool.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “From sheep.”

  “And it wouldn’t hold a small dog. You need rope.”

  Katherine laughed, startling herself. It had been a long time since she had laughed, and she enjoyed it. “Just tie it around Dog. Like you would a rope.”

  James, still holding the yarn, looked at Dog who was now beside him. “Do you understand this?”

  Dog cocked his head and said nothing.

  James sighed and broke the yarn from the ball and tied the end around Dog’s chest. He checked the knot and was certain it would hold. He looked up. “Okay, he’s tied, but you can’t be serious about this. This isn't funny.”

  James heard a titter from Heather. In a moment, the yarn grew taut and suddenly Dog was lifted off the ground. Dog whined and kicked his feet. In a moment, he stilled, and he looked down at James accusingly as he was hauled up the side of the building. James stood ready to catch him, certain the yarn would snap at any moment. It defied reason, but Dog was lifted up to the window and dragged inside by Katherine. He licked her face until she put him down.

  Another ball of yarn landed next to him. “You next,” ordered Katherine.

  James tied the yarn around his chest under his arms and held onto the thin thread. It felt so light and fragile. “Okay.”

  In a moment the yarn grew taut and suddenly all of his weight was on the yarn around his chest. It dug into his armpits painfully and he hissed in pain. He watched bricks slide past his face and in a few heartbeats he was looking through the window to the inside of the building. On the other side Heather was braced on a doorframe and was pulling on the yarn with very little effort. Katherine reached out and pulled James in as if he weighed nothing.

  “H-how?”

  “Glaikit, lad,” laughed Heather. “We ur draoi. Yarn is nae but sheep’s locks. We strengthened it. It's likelie stronger than a normal rope.”

  James nodded in sudden understandin
g and untied the yarn. He hesitated a moment and then coiled up the yarn and stuffed it into a pocket. They made their way through the museum when Katherine and Heather confirmed it was vacant of people. James knew where Benjamin’s belongings were probably stored and led the way. Once in the basement, they entered a large storage room filled with shelves stacked with all sorts of odds and ends. They fanned out and searched. James found what they sought in the back corner and called the others over.

  “Three chests of stuff all marked with Benjamin’s name. There's a clipboard here jammed between the chests.” James pulled the clipboard free and looked it over before handing it over to Heather. “Looks like an inventory of the chests' contents. And recently done. We need to pull the chests down and check them against that.”

  Heather and Katherine reached up and pulled down the chests with little effort while James watched. Heather caught his look and laughed. “Don’t be ashamed, James. It’' ouo power. Gei used toaeit.”

  James smirked. “I’m sure I have a use, right?”

  “Och, aye. Ye rowed us clear o'er th' bay 'n' intae th' ooter harbour,” replied Heather. “That wis a stoatin display o` yer manly braun. Ye hud me a' swooning.”

  Katherine laughed and then opened the first chest. It was filled with books. She lifted them out one by one and read the titles. Heather checked the books off the list on the clipboard. “Wordsmithing. Herb Lore. Church of the New Order: Gospel. Field Surgery. More wordsmith books; three of them Astrology. Nothing important.” She looked inside the chest and saw the last book was a massive heavy tome. She left it inside and looked up with disappointment clear on her face.

  Heather handed the list to Katherine. "A' thare," she announced before opening the second chest. Inside it was filled with clothing. She pulled out pants, shirts, socks and undergarments and called them out. “‘Aught bit auld clothes in need o' repair.”

  Katherine nodded after checking the list. "Yup," was all she said and looked at James.

  “Last one’s mine,” said James and opened it. The chest was half-filled with personal effects. On the top he found a stack of letters tied together with twine and James handed it over to Heather who started opening them and reading the contents. Next he pulled out a pipe and a leather satchel full of dried leaves. Katherine joined him and they soon emptied the chest, checking it against the list. It contained rings, a few coins, handkerchiefs, small boxes filled with odds and ends, but nothing of import. All was accounted for on the inventory list. They looked hopefully to Heather.

  She finished going through the letters and set them down. “Tis letters atween Benjamin 'n' Bishop Arnold Bengold. They're a' aboot blethering th' Great Debate. Thay seem tae be good friends. Thay planned oot each debate, it seems. Here’s the last one.” Heather handed a letter to Katherine.

  Katherine read through it and then handed it to James. “According to this, the bishop agreed to allow the Church to win the debate. That’s not how history records it. The bishop conceded the debate to the Word. It started the Revolution.”

  James finished reading the letter. “This is from the bishop. Why would he change his mind? He speaks of the potential for great harm if the Word won the debate. See here? The bishop mentions a tree. What a strange comment.”

  Katherine frowned and read the part James pointed out. “He does. He writes: ‘The wonder of the Tree has a greater place in our world. I can see the positive change you and your kind would expose the world to. After this is over, I would welcome a partnership.’ How strange. It’s almost as if the bishop knew what Benjamin was.”

  “Aye. 'N accepted it,” said Heather.

  Dog was sniffing around the storage room and returned to sniff the books. He sneezed at the dust and wiped at his nose with a paw. Katherine patted him absently and poked through the personal effects scattered around them on the floor.

  James looked around. “So, nothing? We came all this way for nothing?”

  Heather nodded her head and looked grim.

  Katherine went back to the books and saw the large tome at the bottom of the chest. “Perhaps there is more in here.” She reached in and lifted the tome clear and dropped it beside the books. "Aha!" she exclaimed and reached in and pulled out a thin folder tied up with twine. She held it up and looked in the chest. “Nothing else.” This was under that heavy book.” She handed the folder to Heather when she gestured for it. Heather attacked the knotted twine to untie it.

  “Perhaps false bottoms?” asked James, and he started to examine the inside of the chests. Heather glanced at him once but resumed undoing the knots keeping the folder closed. Katherine sat on her bottom and Dog placed his head in her lap. She scratched his ears as Heather finally wrenched the twine free and opened the folder.

  Inside the folder were dozens of sheets of paper covered in words all written with a steady and neat hand. Heather looked at each sheet, back and front, briefly and laid the stack down in front of her and turned the pages one by one, like reading a book. “Huh. It’s Benjamin’s memoire. About his time as the Senior Advisor to the King.”

  Katherine looked interested. “Really?”

  James crouched next to Heather and laid a hand on her shoulder to steady himself. Katherine frowned when Heather didn’t seem to mind. There was a time not so long ago when she would have torn his hand off.

  James was intent on reading what Heather was looking at. “Is this the same writing as the letters?”

  Heather nodded. She flipped quickly through the stack until she reached the last few pages and started reading to herself.

  James looked at Katherine. “Brent spoke of Benjamin’s book. It was a rare find, banned by the Church. His father owned a copy. It spoke of the time of the King and what led to the Great Debate and the aftermath. He published it a few years after the Revolution. It spoke mostly of the need for the Word to use caution. To balance their work with the needs of the people. It started as a memoire he said, but it ended with a cry to find peace in the world.”

  Heather made a noise. “Weel, this memoire ends afore th' Great Debate. In this last chapter he talks aboot his fear o' Gaea. He says she is na langer speaking tae him. He is worried aboot something comin'. He’s bonny specific fur a draoi wha wis taught tae hide his nature.”

  Katherine took a page from Heather and read it quickly before handing it back. “He is saying everything but outright that he is draoi. What happened to Benjamin after the Great Debate?”

  James stirred and sat next to Heather. “We are taught in military school that the King went insane. He lit the bishop on fire. Benjamin strode forward, eased the bishop’s pain and then disappeared. He was never seen again. The King slaughtered his own people and was thrown in the Tower. Benjamin was never heard from again.”

  “And now we know he went off with Analise.”

  Heather nodded still reading.

  Katherine chewed her lip. “The Freamhaigh alone with the Cill Darae. They stole Hietower’s bones and then headed to Foula Island. Then Analise or Gaea locked him up in that strange cave for years where he died alone. Now we know he hated Gaea. Feared her. Perhaps it is Analise that is doing Gaea’s work?”

  Heather made a small happy noise. “Listen tae this: ‘Analise spoke o' a source o' Gaea’s power. Ah mist travel tae Finnow 'n' see this fur maself. If her power lies thare, then ah mist destroy it.’ Och, Gaea! Benjamin wis th' enemy, nae Analise.”

  Katherine and James shared a look and Katherine spoke. “Finnow. That’s where we need to head to.”

  James nodded and, in a moment, Heather nodded, too.

  Katherine picked up the list and scanned it. "There's no mention of the memoirs. Whoever inventoried these chests missed it. If it was the Church, they have no idea this was here." Katherine stood up and Dog walked up to stand beside her. “We take the memoir with us. Let's put this all back and then get out of here.”

  Fifteen

  Munsten, August 902 A.C.

  ARCHBISHOP EYLENE KISSANE responded to the li
ght knock at the door and stood from her position at the head of the large table. She had chosen the War Room in the castle for this meeting. It seemed appropriate to her. The door swung open and the head of her Church Guard strode in and fell to one knee with his head bowed. The door closed behind him.

  Eylene let him remain that way for a time looking him over. His armour was gleaming with gold leaf. The rich red fabric under his hauberk gave him a regal look, and she admired it. She could see the handgun in its holster at his waist and smiled.

  “Rise and come forward, Captain General William Walsh.”

  The Captain General rose to his feet and came forward and kissed the ring on the extended hand of Eylene. “Your Grace. I am here as you requested.”

  “Be seated. Tell me the news.”

  William Walsh waited for Eylene to seat herself and took a chair and settled himself. He removed his gauntlets and laid them on the table. Eylene could see the anger simmering in his eyes and knew they were not for her. Rather it was the news he carried.

  “It is as you have heard, your Grace. They have escaped the dungeon. We searched the gaols and found a hidden room barred from the inside. We forced our way inside and found a door in the floor leading to the hidden passages behind the castle walls. We searched the passages and discovered they had fled to the Chamber.

  “The news is grim, your Grace. First, we discovered the two rowboats we had in the Chamber were missing. One of them was located tied up in the outer harbour. The other well south of the city along the coast. A family had claimed it. They spoke of a young man abandoning it and fleeing into the nearby woods. We believe this to be Edward. We’ve sent church guards after his trail.”

  Eylene nodded, her eyes flashing. She gave this head of her guard one thing: he was confident. He never once takes his eyes from mine. He looks me straight in the eye. I admire that. “Tell me of the prisoners.”