Cill Darae

by Donald D. Allan

  “Coming, Dog. Come Heather. I tell you, he can’t understand a word out of your mouth. You need to hide that accent of yours. It’ll get you in trouble one day.”

  Heather looked appraisingly at the sergeant and then huffed and walked past. She hurried to catch up to James and punched his upper arm. “Cheeky bastard.”

  The square in the military compound was filling up with military ranks. Lunch was over and it appeared drill was on the schedule for the afternoon. The men and women lined up while sergeants and corporals barked orders. They wore the colours of Turgany, and they looked fit and hale.

  James stopped for a moment and watched and then shook his head and moved on toward the office building. Heather looked at the drilling soldiers and then at James and a look of confusion crossed her face. She opened her mouth to ask a question and thought better of it and filed in through the door after Katherine and Dog.

  The batman met them inside and saluted James and shook hands with Katherine and Heather. He ushered them up the stairs and to the office of Colonel Robert Sibbald. He knocked and waited.

  “Send them in, there’s a good man. Please bring refreshments. Come in, Major Dixon, Heather.”

  They entered the small office and found seats already waiting for them. Robert Sibbald looked tired and worn out. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and he looked questionably at Katherine and pursed his lips at seeing Dog trot in.

  James saluted. “Colonel, you know Heather. May I present Katherine Rigby and Dog? Both draoi, the same as Heather. You’ve heard of them, I’ve no doubt.”

  This time the smile did reach Robert’s eyes. “Ah, so this is Katherine and Dog! I’m so pleased to finally meet you. My thanks for what you did. The Realm owes you a debt of gratitude for dealing with that Erebus fellow. Please come in, sit down. What brings you to Jergen?”

  They looked at each other, not sure who should speak for them. James coughed into his hand and leaned forward once Robert sat in his seat. “Sir, we are here looking for Edward. He has come into town, and we need to locate him.”

  “The heir? Here? In Jergen? Should he not be in Munsten? What’s happened?”

  “We were hoping you would know, sir. We’ve been… out of things, for the last little while.”

  Robert sat back and appraised them a moment. Katherine was conscious of just how thin they still were. They wore the clothes from the Chamber still. They likely looked a mess. Robert looked sharply at them one after the other and then looked at James. “Perhaps you better start at the beginning.”

  James sighed and started the tale. It was long in the telling. Robert never interrupted except when his batman showed up with tea and biscuits and a bone for Dog; which launched the batman right up to the top of Dog’s favourite people list. By the time James was done, Robert had swirled in his seat to look out his window. The soldiers in the square had long ago finished their drills, and the compound was quiet.

  Robert swung back round. “Will is here in Jergen. He has moved into Nadine’s old house with that Vanessa woman and her children. He just tends the garden and won’t speak to anyone. We’ve left him alone.”

  Katherine sat at the front of her seat. “Does Nadine know?”

  Robert shook his head. “As you know, there’s no draoi in Jergen. Ours left a week or so ago. Called to another village in Turgany.”

  “Could you not have sent a note?”

  Robert shook his head. “It is not for me to interfere in marital spats. That is their business, not mine.”

  Katherine looked at Heather and Heather nodded and her eyes went vacant. “We’re telling her now. We’ll go see him. What about Edward?”

  Robert moved an object on his desk to a new position before responding. “Nothing. I would never have known if you hadn’t told me. We’ve not seen hide nor hair of Edward. Believe me, if I had I would have him secured. We can’t have the heir running around wild. Why would he leave Munsten? And why can’t you simply use your powers to find him?”

  “We have no idea why he would leave Munsten. Again, we hoped you could provide insight. And no, our powers don’t let us find one person lost in the Realm. A draoi we could find instantly. Edward is another story. It would help to narrow down the search.”

  Heather stirred and nodded at Katherine. Nadine knows. She wants us to bring him back. Break Kennit’s hold.

  Katherine nodded.

  Robert was giving James his full attention. “No. I’m afraid not. I can tell you the Realm is in turmoil. There is a substantial Church Guard now, did you know that? They have been sent all across the Realm. They have replaced the magistrates and reeves in the towns and cities. All with Brent’s blessings. That’s what surprises me the most—that Brent went along with that. He’s lost to the church, I’m afraid. All that god nonsense has clouded his mind. The Archbishop is running the capital now, I’ve heard. Knight General Kingsmill was furious. He tried to see Brent, but despite being the Knight General he was still denied access. He came back here and then was called back immediately. He hopes Brent has seen reason.”

  James sat forward. “Do you, sir? Think he’s seen reason? He’s not the man I knew. Something's wrong with him.”

  “The Knight General thinks the church has got its claws in him. He’s the Regent, but he does whatever that woman Eylene says. She’s been made the Archbishop. Not supposed to happen that way. I know Healy went against that, but the man was a tyrant. Brent has more sense than that. Only a King can make someone the Archbishop. It’s a sad state of affairs.”

  “What of the villages and cities, sir? Why are the Church Guards taking over security?”

  Robert sat back hard and thought. After a moment he reached over and opened his desk drawer and pulled out four chipped glasses and placed them on his desk. He then pulled out a bottle of Cala whiskey. Heather made an appreciative sound and smacked her lips drawing a glare from Katherine.

  “Tis Cala whiskey! ’N’ th' best tae, Uisce Beatha, the Water of Life. Ah haven’t hud that sin mah da gave me some as a wee lassie. Ye'v guid taste, Robert.”

  Robert smiled and poured a measure in each glass and handed them out. Heather raised her glass and said “Slainte mhaith!” She tossed the contents back and swallowed and smiled at Robert, her red hair and freckled face glowing with the setting sun. Robert chuckled and repeated the phrase and tossed his back. A small shudder rippled across his frame, but he smiled.

  James took a sip and set his glass down. Heather shook her head at him and waited for Katherine. Katherine took Heather’s empty glass and poured a little of hers in it and set it down for Dog. Katherine raised her glass. “Slainte mhaith!” she said and shot her measure down her throat. Dog licked at his and then pawed at his nose. Katherine scooped up the glass and drank that, too. “Waste not, want not, Dog!” She handed the glass to Heather who then put it in front of Robert.

  Robert laughed. “Giving the best whiskey in Belkin to a dog. That’s fantastic.” He refilled Heather’s, Katherine’s and his own glass.

  “Not just any dog, sir,” said James. “He’s Dog. The dog. It was him and Katherine that defeated Erebus.”

  Robert raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know that, my apologies, Dog.”

  Dog woofed at Robert and went back to his bone.

  Katherine sipped her whiskey this time and settled back in her seat. “You were about to tell us about the villages, Robert?”

  “Yes, I was. There is significant unrest. The events in Munsten did not translate well out to the Realm. The true story changed in the telling until Brent became a dark assassin who killed the President. He then took power for his own and rules the land worse than Healy ever did. I have it from reliable sources that the church has been spreading those same lies. The people don’t know who to believe, but they believe the Church Guard. They make certain of that. The Knight General Kingsmill tried to tell Brent, but as I’ve said, he’s been denied access. Eylene Kissane is slowly taking control of the Realm. Brent is a puppet. I never
thought I would speak those words in my lifetime. A Bairstow brother is a puppet. His brother Frederick would beat him to death if he was still alive.

  “To make matters worse, the draoi are moving out across the land. Nadine has ordered them to help quell the uprisings. It won’t end well. The church has already tainted the minds of the people. They speak of good draoi and evil draoi. It supports your belief that Lana and this Kennit person are in league with Eylene.”

  Heather nodded. “Yes, the draoi are split. We need to warn Nadine. Give me a moment.” Heather’s eyes lost focus.

  Katherine growled, the sound very much that of a dog, causing Robert to push back his seat a little. James patted the air and Robert relaxed a little but kept a wary eye on Katherine. “I can’t believe we are where we are. We defeated Erebus. This is supposed to be a happy ending.”

  Robert smiled. “Only in fairy tales, I’m afraid. In real life, the story goes on after the ending. We need to find Edward. James, you spent a lot of time with him. Where would he go?”

  James thought for a moment and then laughed out loud. “The library.”

  * * *

  They made their way into the library under a draoi cloak. They spotted the two Church guards positioned at the entrance, but they slipped past undetected. Inside the library they found an overweight vicar wearing large round spectacles seated behind a large station surrounded by stacked books. They left him alone and wandered deeper into the library. They moved behind a large bookcase that went from floor to ceiling. Heather nodded to the others and her face went slack. In a moment, her face lit up and she smiled and moved quickly through the library.

  The others followed behind her. Heather twisted and weaved and then stopped before a strange section. It was cordoned off with a red thick velvet rope hanging off brass stanchions. Beyond the rope, they could see four large heavy-set doors. Heather ducked under the ropes and approached the door labelled Occult. There was a key in the lock, and so Heather twisted the door handle and pushed the door open.

  As Katherine entered the room ahead of the others, she spied Heather standing over Edward, seated at a table with books piled up around him. She had her hands on her hips.

  “Juist whit dae ye think yer daein' 'ere?”

  Edward sputtered and went cherry red. He turned in his seat toward her and then caught sight of Katherine behind Heather. “I-I…” James came in behind Katherine followed by Dog. “I… I… well, I never.” Edward slumped in his seat. “Dammit”.

  * * *

  An hour later they walked up the walkway to Nadine’s old house in Jergen. The sun was just starting to set, and the sky was filled with reds and oranges. The garden looked like it had exploded with life. The garden was thick and ripe with fruits and vegetables. Only a draoi could have produced that much life in a garden that size.

  On the way over they told Edward to keep his mouth shut until they reached Nadine’s old home. He kept looking at them sideways and starting to speak until Heather took his voice from him. Edward was furious but shambled along beside them and looked miserable at the same time.

  Ah can’t sense th' Freamhaigh, kin ye?

  Katherine shook her head. She walked up to the front door and pushed it open eliciting screams from the woman and children inside. James cried out for Katherine to stop, but she ignored him. She strode into the middle of the large room and stopped and looked around. Not seeing Will she turned to the woman.

  “Vanessa, is it? Vanessa, I need to know where Will is. Tell me.”

  The woman looked from Katherine to James, Edward, and Heather and pushed her three children behind her skirts. “Who are you? What do you want with me?”

  Dog walked in and barked in joy and ran toward the woman. Vanessa shrieked, but her two younger children cried out. “It's a dog! It’s a dog, mum! Come here, boy!”

  The two younger children ran out from behind Vanessa and she cried out for them to stop. But the children soon engulfed Dog in hugs. He licked them whenever he could sneak a lick in, and they squealed in delight.

  “Mum, he’s a right proper dog! Look at him! Can we keep him? Can we?”

  The eldest stepped out from behind his mum. “William! Fiona! Get away from him.”

  James stepped forward. “Vanessa, hello. Remember me? I was here with Brent nearly two years ago.”

  Vanessa looked him over, her face red with anger, and nodded. She squinted her eyes and then strode up to Katherine. “Who are you, ya wee scamp, coming bursting into my home and making demands. I want the lot of you out! Out! This is my home and you are not welcome!”

  “But mum, they have a dog!”

  “And take your mutt with you!”

  Katherine ignored the woman. She could see the sleeping mattresses on the floor and knew there should be one more. “Where does he sleep?”

  “Wh-what?”

  “Where does Will sleep? He doesn’t sleep in here. Where is he?”

  Vanessa looked furious. She glared at Katherine for a long moment and then pointed out toward the back of the house. “He sleeps outside. Says he needs to feel the ground next to his skin, or some such nonsense. If you’re here for him, then take him with you and be off. Such nerve, barging into a woman’s house. And with children! Have you no shame?”

  Heather moved up to the woman and gently took her arm. In a moment, the woman calmed and sat at the table near the stove. Heather looked around the kitchen for a moment and started to make tea. Edward sat at the kitchen table looking miserable. James crouched down beside the children with Dog and watched Katherine leave out the back door.

  Outside, the sun was almost below the horizon. She gave herself night vision and looked around the backyard. A motion caught her eye, and she saw a figure seated on a swing that looked out over the ocean below. She walked over and around the swing and saw Will sitting there with his hands folded on his lap.

  “Will? Freamhaigh?” she asked.

  Will stirred and Katherine realised she had woken him up. She moved closer until she was standing in front of him.

  “Will? Are you all right?”

  “Katherine? Is that you? You’ve come to visit me! How nice! Where’s Dog? Is he with you?”

  Katherine used her power to try to sense Will. She could see him with her eyes, but to the draoi power, he was simply gone. She looked for a collar, but he wore nothing but his draoi robes, heavily stained green. “Will, why are you not part of the draoi? I can’t sense you?”

  Will frowned. “What are you talking about? I can sense the draoi. All of them. They are content.”

  “No, Will, they’re not. Kennit took half the draoi from you. Nadine is all alone at the farm. We can’t sense you. You don’t have the draoi bond.”

  “Nonsense. I can sense you right now. You are right in front of me.”

  Katherine had a quick thought. “Can you sense Heather? Where is Heather?”

  Will’s eyes lost focus for a second. “She’s, she’s… well, I’m not sure. How strange. Is she okay? Nothing happened to her?”

  Katherine’s breath caught in her throat as her emotions grew. Fear and sorrow welled up within her. Something is terribly wrong with Will. She swallowed and answered. “She’s fine. She’s in the house with Vanessa. Can you not sense her?”

  Will looked a little shaken. “No.”

  “How about Kennit, or Lana? Can you sense them?”

  Will lost focus and then looked at her. “Yes, they are in Munsten.”

  “Yes, they are. They are working for Eylene Kissane, the new Archbishop. They are no longer aligned with you, Will. They left Nadine. You left Nadine.”

  “Nadine? I left Nadine? No, she left me. Told me to go. Didn’t she?”

  “Can you see your bond with Nadine? Please Will, look for it,” sobbed Katherine. The horror of seeing Will in such a state tore at her. He was her foundation, and he was broken somehow.

  “It-it’s gone? How? When? Katherine, what is happening?”

  Hearing the fear in
Will’s voice twisted something inside her. Her anger fuelled a massive surge of power within her. The power shot out and joined with Dog. Together the power swirled around her. Dog came bounding out of the house to cries from the children. The cries brought back memories of Cala and she remembered the anger then that had bubbled up and exploded out of her out of control. She had such power in her hands. Together with Dog they had ripped the land apart and destroyed lives with a thought. She felt her sanity start to unravel until she felt Dog reach for her and anchor her. In a heartbeat, her anger twisted upwards and flew away from her.

  She gasped in shock at the sudden stillness and stepped backwards. The power remained and pulsed within her and Dog. She watched it in awe. It hummed in such beautiful control. She could sense everything around her; every aspect of life. All of nature was at her beck and call. She looked at Dog and realised that they truly were one. We are just different aspects of each other. She felt such love for him and felt it returned.

  What is happening, Dog?

  I didn’t want the Cala thing to come back.

  What happened to my anger?

  I took it away. You had too much.

  How?

  I don’t know. I became the alpha. I told the anger to leave, and it did.

  Katherine doubted that was what happened but said nothing. Do you see this power? It is so much! Can you sense nature? It is everywhere! Everywhere!

  Yes, I can sense it.

  Dog, if we had this all along we could have easily wiped out Erebus! How did we not know?

  I don’t know. Why are we like this now?

  I grew angry, Dog. It’s Will. He’s lost. Lost to the draoi. Kennit did this to him. Thinking of him made me angry and the more I thought of what he has done, the more I grew angry. He broke the bond between Will and Nadine! My anger spiralled out of control. It was like Cala, Dog.

  Dog went over to Will and sniffed him. He smells different.

  Dog, he’s not moving.

  Neither is anyone in the house. They froze when our powers grew.

  Katherine looked out over the ocean and saw that the waves had stopped moving. Oh no, everything is stopped. What is happening? What have we done?