Cill Darae
Page 26
In time the Church Guard emerged from the misting rain; their armour glistening with the mist. They marched with their eyes forward in perfect unison. Katherine shivered at the sight. They were well trained and disciplined. Their boots hit the gravel at the same time and made it that much more impressive. The sight of the draoi walking beside them had her gritting her teeth. These were draoi and they were openly siding with the Church. The draoi had abandoned the humble brown robes and wore expensive form fitting brown leathers, embossed with greens, and splashes of gold.
The Church Guard marched into the yard and split into two long lines until they formed a large vee. They halted as one and then turned to face Will and the draoi. The Church Guard had no emotion on their faces. They seemed distant and bored. In contrast, the leather-bound draoi stood off to one side and watched with a disdained expression on their faces. They stared defiantly back at Will’s draoi.
Katherine reached out with her senses and could feel nothing of the people in front of her. They were hidden from her. Ghosts of emotion crossed her senses, and she pressed harder to make sense of it.
“Will,” she whispered. “The guard, they’re all drugged. Look at them. They all have the same lack of expression.”
“I see that.”
They stood there for a moment and Katherine wondered what was next. No one seemed to want to speak. There didn’t seem to be a leader, and she looked around confused. Steve was frowning and seemed equally confused. Nothing was normal about the whole situation.
Will stepped forward to speak and the Church Guard moved as one. They pulled strange devices from their waist and held them with one hand and pointed them at Will’s draoi.
Steve was the first to react. “Down!” he screamed and ran and tackled Will just as the weapons erupted in an explosive sound.
Katherine was stunned by the noise. It filled the very air and drove the hearing from her ears. She turned to the draoi and saw blossoms of blood erupt from their chests and other body parts. Many of the draoi were being struck by some small projectile and collapsed straight down to the ground as if their lives had been plucked away.
Katherine felt like she was underwater. Her movements slowed and she could hear noises as if far away and muffled. Too much was happening at the same time and she tried to make sense of it.
She saw Steve’s crew emerge from the buildings and stand up on the roof tops. The opposing draoi turned to them and the crew froze in place. Nadine was falling next to her, clutching her abdomen and she could see blood spilling between her fingers. Dog was running toward the draoi, growling with teeth bared. The crew cried out and fell clutching their chests and heads. The enemy draoi had struck them with their power.
Anger rose hot and fierce within her. Her power blossomed and flared. She felt it reach out to Dog and felt him take the power and ground her. She pulled power and fed it all her anger. She watched the world around her slow and then stop. Draoi were frozen as they fell to the earth struck by something she didn't understand. The Church Guard were pulling swords from sheaths and frozen in the act. The enemy draoi were still. Dog landed on the ground from a pounce and turned toward Katherine.
You did it again, Katherine.
Yes, she replied. She clenched her teeth holding the power within her steady. We must do something.
Dog growled. We must do what we did in Cala.
Katherine shook her head. I can’t, Dog. It was too horrible.
This time we do it because we have to. Look at what they have done.
Katherine looked around. All the draoi had been wounded except for Will, who was under Steve, and Heather who was behind her husband, Chris. Katherine looked at the wounds and saw that many were already fatal. Nadine was hurt, but would survive, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She thought of what Dog was suggesting and found she didn’t think she could do it.
She looked at the expressions of horror and pain on the faces of the draoi. Her friends were sorely hurt by these soldiers. Heather was behind her husband and she could see he had placed himself before her to protect her. But he had been struck in the head and chest. He was already dead, and Katherine sucked in a sob of anguish. The draoi bonds were flickering out. Her anger grew and her power with it.
Gaea? Help me? Tell me what to do?
You must do what you must. You have it in you. Simon has given you great power.
I can’t repeat Cala. Not again. It nearly destroyed me.
You are not that same girl. You have a purpose in this life.
Gaea grew quiet, but Katherine could sense her watching and waiting.
Katherine looked around the farm. The crew were decimated. Her draoi were slaughtered. The anger in her bubbled and she remembered how easy it had been in Cala to kill people. She looked at Dog and saw the determination in his eyes.
We must do this, Katherine.
Agreed, said Gaea. You are the Cill Darae. You are the power the land needs. I can see what Simon has done over the years. I see his influence across time and how he has corrected me from the side lines. He led me to you. He suggested what I did to you so many years ago. We have created a power in this world that will make the difference we always spoke about. Be the Cill Darae and do what is right.
Katherine felt hot tears of anger and shame burning down her cheeks. She felt manipulated, used, hurt, and ashamed. She never asked for any of this. It was forced on her. She longed for her childhood when all that mattered was the farm and her horses. But all that was behind her and gone and now she had to step forward and be something she never wanted to be.
Remember this, Gaea. You brought me to this.
Yes. And I would do so again, willingly.
Anger rose yet again, and Katherine felt it yearning for release.
She closed her eyes for a moment. Mom? I’m sorry. Please forgive me?
Katherine opened her eyes and gazed at the Church Guard and enemy draoi. Her hatred for them consumed her. She opened her mouth and screamed in defiance and released her power. She drove it into each of the guards and draoi bodies and found the Simon motes that lived there. The motes responded to her and followed her orders. Images of Cala returned to her and the images of faces of those people she had killed flashed before her eyes. This is different, she thought. These are evil men and women. The motes surged within the bodies and broke the bonds that held them together.
In an instant, the Church Guard and draoi were dead. Frozen in time they remained standing, but Katherine knew as soon as she released her power, and time resumed, they would splash to the ground as a liquid. She felt horror for her actions. She had executed them, and they had been powerless to stop her. No one should have this much power. She turned away and closed her eyes.
Help me, Dog. We must heal those who we can.
Together they healed the draoi and crew who could be saved. They pushed balls of lead out of their bodies and stitched together flesh. Those who wer
e beyond her care they eased toward death. It took very little time and Katherine found it soothing for her soul. Perhaps this balances things, Dog?
We did nothing wrong. We were good dogs. This is what being alpha means. We must make the hard choices and do what is right for the pack.
Katherine stared at Dog. When did you get so smart?
Dog scratched his ear with a hind leg. I dunno.
We must release this power. Are you ready? This is going to be bad.
I am ready.
Katherine closed her eyes and released the power. It washed out of her and Dog with a thunderclap. The very air thinned, and the rain stopped. Clouds overhead shattered and flew outwards. Katherine heard the sound of the Church Guard and draoi splashing to the ground and kept her eyes averted She crouched beside Nadine and took her hand. Nadine was trying to look everywhere at once.
“Wh-what happened? Katherine?” Nadine looked at her blood-soaked hand and then grabbed at her stomach. “I was hit by something? What happened?” Nadine looked past Katherine to where the guard had been. “What is that? Oh my Gaea! What happened?”
Cries from the surviving draoi and crew rose quickly. Nadine looked around the farm bewildered.
“I dealt with it, Nadine. We have to leave.”
Steve rolled off Will and helped him to his feet. Will stood and stared at the carnage. “The draoi!” He sobbed and ran to his fallen draoi.
Heather turned her husband over and wailed in misery. Katherine saw her lose herself to her power, seeking to heal her husband.
“I’ve healed everyone I could. The others are gone. I’m sorry.”
Will turned to Katherine. “What happened? What did you do?”
“I did what I must.”
Will’s expression turned to horror when he saw the remains of the Church Guard and enemy draoi. “Did you do that?”
Katherine refused to look where Will was looking. She nodded and then wiped at her face with her sleeve.
“How could you?” admonished Will and Katherine jerked as if slapped. “You killed all those people with your power? That is not Gaea’s way!”
Nadine was beside Heather and crying with her. Steve had gone over to his surviving crew and was getting them together. With her power Katherine could only sense the grief pouring out of everyone. She felt the disgust Will felt toward her and it hitched her breath.
Dog stood beside her and panted.
“How could you Katherine? There had to be a better way!”
Katherine shook her head.
Dog woofed gently. It was needed.
“You are an abomination!” declared Will and he took a step back away from Katherine and Dog. Nadine looked up at him in shock. “The way of the draoi is to nurture life! Sustain it! Seek harmony! You destroyed those people!”
Katherine shook her head in denial, but his words rung true. “I won’t deny it, Freamhaigh. I did what I had to. There is an army coming. They will raze the farm. We best leave at once. We have to run.”
Katherine looked at Will and Nadine. They both looked horrified. James and Steve walked up and looked at her.
“You did this?” asked her father.
Katherine nodded and waited for the next blow.
“Good,” was all he said, and he turned to Will. “We need to be off. We can’t face an army. We need to catch up to the others. I know where we can go. Come.”
Nadine nodded and pried Heather from her husband’s corpse. James held her, and she sobbed. Little by little, the survivors gathered together. They all looked shocked. They refused to glance at the ground where the remains of the guard lay. Katherine stepped forward to join them, but Will put out his hand and stopped her.
“Not you. Leave. I can’t be with you.”
Dog growled at Will, startling him and he frowned.
“Will!” said Nadine. “You can’t mean that!”
“She broke every rule of the draoi. She cannot stay with us.”
Katherine felt her heart breaking. “I did what I had to! Can’t you see that?”
Will shook his head and turned away and started to walk south. Dog barked at him.
Nadine looked at Katherine with sympathy. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll let you know when you can return.”
Katherine looked from Nadine to Will. He continued to walk away from her. “Please, no!” sobbed Katherine.
Steve moved over to Katherine and hugged her. He whispered in her ear. “You did good, Katherine. We were all dead. Will doesn’t see that yet. Give him time. Will you be all right? Where will you go?”
“Gaea and Simon, daddy! They told me I had to. I had no choice!”
“Shh! We’ll talk about this later. Give Will time. Will is a sensitive sort. He’s lost and scared. He’s still a boy at heart.”
Katherine nodded against his shoulder and when Steve moved to let go of her she held him tighter. “I’m scared.”
Steve laughed a soft laugh. “You have nothing to fear, daughter of mine. You have my blood in you. You’ll be fine. It’s the world I’m scared for. You are the strongest woman I know. I’m proud of you. You remind me of your mother, you know. She always did what was hard when no one else could.” Steve let go of her and she let him. He raised a hand and wiped at Katherine’s tears. He looked down at Dog. “Take care of her, Dog.”
Dog woofed gently and looked up at Katherine.
Steve walked away and joined the others. A handful of the crew remained. Three draoi, Heather, Nadine, Steve, James and Will joined them and walked down the southern road. Nadine waved at Katherine and blew her a kiss through her tears.
Katherine stayed where she was and watched them walk away. There were so few left. So many people gone so quickly. Her feeling of loss overwhelmed her. Grief was consuming her.
You did what needed to be done, Katherine, said Gaea.
You knew he would abandon me.
Yes, it seemed likely. He will see the error in his judgement.
What now?
replied Simon.
Epilogue
Former Baron Windthrop’s Country Estate, October 902 A.C.
STEVE COMLIN LED the survivors to the country estate of the late Baron Andrew Windthrop. They arrived on the first day of October. Steve had sent a scout ahead to warn the estate of their arrival and they were met by Castellan William Crenshaw and some of his men. Little was said that needed to be said and the survivors of Rigby Farm and all their animals were taken in and given food and shelter. Just outside of the Rigby Farm they had turned and watched as black smoke rose thick into the thin autumn air and they had wept. Their home was gone, and they had marched in silence to the estate.
Crenshaw had ridden forward and met them on the road. Steve had spoken quietly to him and Crenshaw had looked grim. Crenshaw had come with an armed escort and they had quickly gathered up Edward and Martin and taken them at speed to the estate to protect the heir to the throne. The rest of the walk had been in misery. Will was inconsolable and Nadine was beside herself trying to get him to see reason. Steve didn’t need to be draoi to feel the anger coming off of him. Steve had tried to talk sense into him. His daughter had saved their lives and yet Will remained set in his condemnation of her. In truth, Will was starting to annoy Steve. He was no longer the young man he knew in Jaipers. Steve had no idea how to return Will to the path he once followed.
The walk from the farm had been made longer by their despair and sorrow. Heather had gathered her children around her and wailed as only a woman of Northern Belkin could. She had cut at her hair with a dagger and tossed the locks to the ground. Her scalp bled in places, but she wouldn’t let the draoi heal her. She was wrapped in grief and her throat raw. In time, she ceased crying and walked like the aos’si, also known as the sluagh sidhe. She wasn’t alone. Children and parents mourned their lost ones. They walked with vacant expressions, not believing their fate and loss.
When they reached the estate
they were welcomed by the staff and brought inside and fed and wrapped in blankets against the chill. They watched in some bewilderment as three large groups of people were ushered away from the estate. There were angry words and many times the soldiers of Crenshaw had to step forward to break up brawls between the groups. The draoi stood aside and watched as the three groups disappeared down the road. Crenshaw later explained they were supplicants to the Windthrop estate. Three families had insisted on staying in the house and had been for months, waiting on the Regent to decide who would inherit the barony. Crenshaw had evicted them all when word came to him the draoi and crew were coming. The draoi shook their heads and quietly entered the estate and found rooms waiting for them and everything they needed to clean themselves. For a time, silence descended on the estate, broken only by the sound of someone crying.
Hours passed and Steve gathered Will, Nadine, Edward, Martin and James in a large conference room. Crenshaw provided tea and hot soup and they sat and ate in silence. When bowls were pushed aside and tea filled steaming cups, he cleared his throat and spoke to them.
“We have suffered a great loss. No one can deny that. But we must find a way past this and determine what happens next. The enemy will not wait. We must be ready,” he said to the top of lowered heads.
Only Martin was looking around with a bewildered expression on his face. “My friends. There is still hope!”
Will snorted and Nadine reached out and grasped his arm.
Martin looked at Steve and spoke again. “My faith is strong. We have already endured so much. Surely we can overcome this terrible loss and find a path to salvation!”
Will looked up, his anger clear on his face. “We have lost, Martin. I have five draoi remaining. Five! We numbered over forty not so long ago. I have nothing to offer this Realm. I would nurture this land, but the land rejects me! What would you have me do, Martin? Tell me!”