Authors: P.C. Cast
I breathed a sigh of relief as the people began to disperse. Before Epi retraced her steps, I looked at Alanna for approval. She was beaming, and I’ll be darned if she didn’t wink at me. The last bit of tension dissolved out of my shoulders. As Epi started back down the hill, I felt surrounded by love and acceptance.
“Rhiannon!” ClanFintan’s sharp tone caught me by surprise. I pulled Epi to a halt and looked over my shoulder. He was behind me, still on the crest of the Tor. He wasn’t looking at me, though; he was staring out toward the northern part of the temple grounds. His eyes squinted as he struggled to see, and he was taking in gulps of air through his nose, as if he was testing the breeze for a scent. Suddenly he pointed, and I followed his finger to the edge of the tree line.
“What is it?” Epi, too, began stirring nervously beneath me. It took very little urging from me to have her climb back to ClanFintan’s side.
“In the northern wind I caught the scent of darkness.” His tone made my skin crawl. “I have tasted this scent before.” His attention was focused on the trees.
“At MacCallan Castle?” My voice trembled.
He nodded.
I heard a ripple in the crowd. Suddenly, centaurs surrounded us and members of my guard were rushing from the temple to join them.
ClanFintan began shouting orders. He spoke to the first of the temple guards to reach us. “There is something approaching from the woods. Get your mistress to safety, then gather the women and children within the temple walls.”
Something inside me screamed,
Don’t leave ClanFintan’s side.
Without questioning this inner voice, I spoke.
“I stay with ClanFintan. Get the women and children to safety.” My warriors saluted in acknowledgment and hurried away. Before he could say anything I looked into ClanFintan’s eyes and repeated, “I stay with you.”
“And I stay with Rhiannon.” Alanna’s resolute voice came from the other side of ClanFintan.
ClanFintan sighed, but didn’t argue with either of us. His attention refocused on the distant tree line.
The gentle, seemingly harmless breeze caressed our faces. Dougal joined us on the Tor, and now Epi and I were sandwiched securely between the two centaurs, trying in vain to catch a glimpse of whatever they were scenting.
“It is mixed with centaur.” Dougal’s voice was grim.
ClanFintan’s tight nod was his only answer.
“There!” Connor’s shout shifted our line of vision from the middle of the tree line to an area closer to the river. Staggering, a lone centaur burst from the trees, moving swiftly, but erratically, in our direction.
“Ian!” Dougal’s cry wrenched from his chest at the same moment I saw ClanFintan’s start of recognition.
“Dougal, Connor, come with us. The rest of you position yourselves between the trees and Ian. If he has been followed, you must hold them off long enough for us to get him and ourselves to safety.” He scooped Alanna off her feet and deposited her on his back. “Hold tightly, we will be moving fast.” She nodded. He looked at me. “Stay near me.”
“I will.” I grabbed a handful of reins and Epi’s mane. I was almost too scared to wish for a sports bra.
We exploded off the hill. I felt a thrill of pride at the way Epi moved, which was immediately tempered with dread at what we might be charging into.
Dougal was the first to reach the centaur. He came sliding to a halt in time to catch the centaur’s torso in his arms as he stumbled, then collapsed to the ground.
I heard Alanna’s intake of breath as ClanFintan, Connor, Epi and I reached them. Dougal was on his knees trying to support the centaur’s bloody torso.
“Ian! By the Goddess!” ClanFintan’s voice was anguished and he, too, fell to his knees on the other side of the centaur.
Alanna slipped off his back and stood frozen, staring at the gruesome scene.
“Have you been followed?” ClanFintan asked, and Ian jerked his head from side to side.
“No—not—followed!”
“Breathe, Ian, then tell us what has happened.”
Ian struggled to draw breath into his lungs as Dougal murmured wordless sounds, trying to soothe him. The centaur was covered with a horrible mixture of blood and sweat. He was shaking violently. At first I didn’t see any open wounds on him, and wondered where all the blood had come from. Then his body shifted as he tried to regain his feet, and I noticed an enormous gash running from one side of his horse chest to the other. I watched as his struggles brought a fresh torrent of blood soaking his already darkened coat.
“No,” ClanFintan and Dougal held him down. “Do not try to get up.”
I slid off Epi and tore the cloak off my shoulders. I knew enough about horses and humans to know bleeding can be stopped by pressure. I looked at ClanFintan and he nodded in approval, then I crouched before the centaur and pressed the folded material against the terrible laceration.
“Connor, get a doctor!” I shouted at him. He spun around and ran back toward the temple.
Movement behind the fallen centaur’s body caught my eye, and I glanced up to see a line of warriors positioning themselves between the trees and us. Knowing they were there, standing ready to confront whatever had done this to the young centaur, gave me a moment of calm in the midst of what felt like chaos.
I turned my attention to the bleeding centaur. Up close his wounds were worse than they had first appeared. He was so crusted with blood and foamy sweat that his human body and his coat looked as if they were a dark, dirty color. His body was riddled with slashes and cuts. I peered over his shoulder at the rest of him. Like a grotesque quilt, patches of silver-blond palomino coat were interspersed between pieces of crimsoned flesh laid open and oozing a mixture of blood and bodily fluids. At each new spasm of his muscles, blood seeped from the horrible gouges.
As he began to speak, my eyes flew back to his face, which was a terrible gray color beneath the blood and grime.
“Laragon…is…gone.” He took deep breaths between each word, and his voice trembled. “The people…dead.” He whispered the last word.
“The women, too?” ClanFintan asked.
Ian shook his head painfully. “No, they…did not…kill the women.”
“The other centaurs?” ClanFintan’s question hung in the air between them.
“Dead.” The word fell from his torn lips into the terrible silence of realized fears. Ian’s body began to twitch violently and his eyes started closing.
“Ian! Stay with us!” Dougal’s voice pleaded with him.
Ian forced his eyes to reopen.
“How many of them?”
“Many—too many.” Suddenly, his breathing, which had quieted enough for him to speak, increased again. “Could…not…stop…” The centaur’s quivering became uncontrollable and his words were lost as he strained to breathe.
I could feel the heat of his blood as it seeped through the material of my cloak.
“Dougal! Where are you?” Ian’s eyes were open, but he flailed about like he couldn’t see.
“Here! I am here, my brother.” Dougal pulled the bloody torso closer, wrapping his arms protectively around Ian, trying to still his tremors. “All is well. You are safe now.”
ClanFintan pulled me away from the dying centaur so that I was pressed securely to his side. I watched helplessly as red foam appeared at the corner of Ian’s lips. I heard ClanFintan begin a chant, low and soft. As the sound of the chant reached Dougal’s ears, I saw him look angrily at ClanFintan, who didn’t pause in his litany, but shook his head sadly, affirming to Dougal what he must already know.
“ClanFintan.” Ian’s voice was amazingly clear as he spoke my husband’s name.
“Yes—” ClanFintan worked the words into his prayer “—I am here. I will lead you home.”
Ian’s body relaxed as ClanFintan raised his face and voice to the sky, reciting words that seemed to place a calming spell over the centaur, blocking his pain and suffering.
I watched as Dougal closed his eyes and leaned his head against his brother’s. I could see tears sliding down his face, mixing with Ian’s blood.
“I love you, my brother. We will meet again in Epona’s fragrant meadow.” Dougal’s quiet words carried through the air like a shout.
Ian’s body convulsed once more, and then he sighed gently and was still.
ClanFintan continued his chant. Bowing his head and closing his eyes, he focused within himself. Gradually, his voice became softer and softer, until he, too, was still. Then he stood, pulling me gently to my feet and approached Dougal, who was clutching his brother and weeping openly.
“Dougal…” ClanFintan’s voice was deepened with sorrow. “It is finished. He is gone.”
Dougal opened his eyes and slowly looked up at his Shaman. “He was too young. It should not have happened.” He sounded like a broken old man.
“True.” ClanFintan’s voice mirrored Dougal’s loss.
I felt tears spill over at the corners of my eyes. I remembered how, just yesterday, Dougal had seemed so young and sweet, blushing shyly whenever I smiled at him. I moved from ClanFintan’s side and shook out my bloodied cloak, spreading it softly over the worst of Ian’s chest wound. Movement in the corner of my vision made me look up from the centaur’s ravaged body. Alanna had followed suit. She, too, took her cloak from her shoulders and laid it respectfully over the centaur. Her face was wet with tears.
I touched Dougal’s cheek lightly.
“He was very brave. Like his brother. I wish I could have known him.”
Dougal pried one hand from his brother’s shoulder and clasped my hand. “Would you ask Epona’s blessing upon him, my Lady?”
“Of course.”
Still clasping Dougal’s hand in mine, I reached my other hand to find my husband’s. I felt Ian’s warm blood sticky between our joined palms. Alanna stepped to Dougal’s other side and he reluctantly parted with his brother’s body, taking her hand in his. Bowing my head, I let my eyes rest on the dead centaur.
“Epona, I ask your blessing upon this young centaur, who has died before his time. Touch him with your soft hands and help him never again to feel pain.” I looked at Dougal’s pale, strained face, and a small voice within me whispered the words I added. “And help us to remember that this world is the land of the dying, but the next world we go to will be the land of the living—where our souls will be joined again, never to be parted.”
Dougal squeezed my hand gratefully before releasing it. He stood slowly, never taking his eyes from the body of his brother.
A flurry of hooves announced the arrival of Connor. He had a man astride him who leaped from his back before he had come fully to a halt. The man rushed to the fallen centaur’s side. He carried a huge bag slung over his shoulder, like a leather duffel bag, which he had open and was searching through as he went to his knees in front of Ian.
He touched the centaur’s neck and moved the robe away from his chest wound. I heard the man sigh heavily before he turned to face us.
The doctor spoke to Dougal. “My sympathies on your loss. If you allow, I will have his body cleaned, anointed and prepared for the bier.”
“Yes,” Dougal managed to say. “Yes.” Then he looked at ClanFintan. “Our father and mother should be…” His voice trailed away.
“There will be time for that, son,” ClanFintan said. “Connor, take Dougal back to the temple. I will see Ian is cared for.”
Connor approached Dougal, and gently led him back toward the temple. Until he disappeared from sight, Dougal’s head strained back to look at his brother’s corpse.
I took all of this in, but I found it hard to stop staring at the doctor. I knew this man, or perhaps I should say I knew this man’s mirror image—very well.
ClanFintan made a motion and an earsplitting whistle. The warriors who had been guarding us from what might have emerged from the forest immediately gave up their positions and headed to us.
“The centaurs will take Ian’s body to your work site. I will be in your debt if you can clean the young one up, and make him presentable to his family.” ClanFintan’s voice sounded as if it had aged years in moments.
“There will be no talk of debt.” Their eyes met and I saw a look of mutual respect pass between the two of them.
“Thank you,” I said to him. “I know we can depend on you.” My voice, though gruff from my recently shed tears, was filled with the warmth I felt for his mirror image. “Dougal deserves at least that much comfort.”
“It will be done.” I was taken back by the sudden look of coldness that sharpened his face as he answered me.
ClanFintan directed the centaurs to transport the Healer and follow him with Ian’s body. The centaurs lifted the bloody corpse and began their sad journey back in the direction of the temple.
But instead of watching them, my eyes had been drawn to Alanna. She was staring at the Healer, and as he rode away I saw him send a furtive glance over his shoulder in her direction.
“Rhiannon, let us go back to the temple,” ClanFintan said.
“Yes…” My voice sounded shaky.
I cleared my throat and called softly to Epi, who came obediently to me.
I smiled sweetly at the well-mannered mare, who had stood silently through the horrible death. As she came close to me, she nuzzled my face with her muzzle as if she needed comforting.
“It’s over now, sweet girl,” I crooned to her. I could see the damp trail tears had left down the sides of her face, more evidence that she was different from other horses.
ClanFintan’s strong hands circled my waist and he lifted me to Epi’s back. Then he turned and placed Alanna on his back. Together, we made our way slowly back to the temple.
ClanFintan led the way to the stables where we were met, not by my usual flock of maidens, but by several well-armed guards. First he helped me from Epi’s back, and then he set Alanna gently on the ground.
“Have the lead warriors, centaur and human, gather in the temple audience chamber.” He spoke a quick command to one of my guards.
The guard looked at me before moving to obey his order.
“I have appointed ClanFintan as Chieftain of Warriors. Why are you hesitating? Obey him as you would me.” I made sure my voice carried.
The guard saluted me, and then turned to ClanFintan. “Yes, my Lord,” he acknowledged before hurrying away.
I gave Epi one last pat and kissed her muzzle softly. Take good care of her,” I said needlessly to the guard who was waiting to lead her away.
“Of course, my Lady.”
Alanna moved to my side. “Rhea, you must wash.” She made a weak gesture at my bloodstained clothing and skin.
I looked down at myself, surprised to see blood smeared on my hands, breasts and the silky clothing that hid so little of my body. There was so much blood…My stomach suddenly felt queasy and my mind foggy, like I had taken too much Benadryl. I staggered as an overwhelming wave of dizziness washed over me.
“Rhiannon?” ClanFintan’s voice was filled with concern.
I tried to blink the haze from my brain as I answered him. “It was horrible. That poor centaur…”
“Evil is only a shadow of good.” He put his arms around me and cradled my shaking body against his. I felt his strength rush into me as the heat of his body enfolded me. “We walk in the light with good, while evil crouches, hiding in the darkness.” His arms tightened around me as he continued. “But we will not allow it to continue to hide. We will burn it from its dark lair.”
The wonderful mixture of the warmth and strength of his body, and the surety of his faith, combined to penetrate the fog of my shocked mind. I turned in his arms and spoke to Alanna.
“Before we meet with the Clan and Herd leaders, we need to talk to the teacher and find out exactly what is known about these creatures.” I could feel ClanFintan’s silent support. “Send for her to meet us in the library room that’s attached to my chamber. What’s her name, anyway?”
“
His
name is Carolan,” she said.
Her cheeks had flushed pink again, and I gave her a questioning look, so she took a deep breath and continued.
“And he is not really a teacher, he is a historian.” She paused, looking very uncomfortable. “And a Healer.”
Suddenly it all made sense.
“He’s the man Connor brought to Ian.”
“Yes, Rhea.” She looked decidedly sheepish.
“He seems a caring Healer.” ClanFintan was oblivious to what was passing unspoken between Alanna and me. But he was a guy, so I didn’t find that surprising.
I turned back to face ClanFintan and tugged on his arm until he bent for my quick kiss.
“Alanna and I are going to get cleaned up. Why don’t you go get the Healer and meet us in my chambers.”
“I will not be long.” He touched my cheek lightly in parting.
As soon as we were alone, I said to Alanna, “My friend, we need to talk.”
She nodded and followed me. Relieved that I was starting to figure out my way around, I headed back through the door that I knew would open to the courtyard. This time it was filled with chattering women and children, and ringed with warriors. At my entrance an emotion-laden silence fell. I understood what I must look like as I saw fear reflected in their faces.
I suddenly realized I had seen this kind of fear before in my classroom on a spring day when a student had been caught coming onto our campus with two loaded semiautomatic guns. I knew from that experience that hiding and prevaricating only made things worse; it works better to tell truth and deal with the ramifications of reality. So I held my hands to my sides, not attempting to hide the blood that stained them and the rest of my body. Squaring my shoulders, I met their frightened gazes with my don’t-worry-I’min-charge look.
Bullshit is a prime weapon in any successful teacher’s arsenal.
“A young centaur has been killed.” A collective gasp filled the air. “We are not in immediate danger, but we must prepare for the enemy.” I decided to use the same tactic I did in my classroom. When in doubt, give the general public something to do, it’ll make them docile and useful. “I need your help. I want you to divide into groups. Some of you will begin preparing a place to care for the wounded—making linens into bandages, and that kind of thing.” I saw several heads nod, and I felt encouraged. “My maidens will need help. Those of you who are the best cooks, please form a group and report to the kitchens. Warriors will need to eat well.”
“My Lady! My sisters and I have carved and quilled arrows which we have bartered to the centaur traders.” A voice came from the crowd.
“Who just spoke?” I yelled.
The women parted to let a tall, slender blonde step through the crowd. I felt my face break into a relieved smile as I recognized her resemblance to our school’s best computer teacher. Now,
there
was a woman who knew how to organize.
“Your name?”
“Maraid, my Lady.” She performed a cute curtsy.
I turned to one of my ever-present guards. “Send for the centaurs Dougal and Connor. Bring them to this courtyard. Have them instruct the women in what they can do to help support the warriors.” I pointed to Maraid. “This woman, Maraid, will be in charge of organizing the women’s groups.”
The guard saluted and rushed away.
“The centaurs will tell you what they need.” My teacher voice carried through the expectant silence. “By helping them you will help all of us—and I thank you for it.” As an afterthought I added, “Epona’s blessings on all of you.” Then I beat a hasty retreat, with Alanna scurrying after me.
Rushing through the door that led to my private corridor, I breathed a relieved sigh and whispered to Alanna, “Do you think that was okay?”
She nodded, her head tilted toward mine as we hurried to the bathing-room door. “It gave them something to do. If they are kept busy, they have less time to be afraid.”
“That’s what I thought.”
The guard opened the door for us. We stepped into the bathing chamber, and I began stripping off my bloody clothes before Alanna could help.
“Are you certain you should have asked for Dougal, too?” Alanna was handing me a sponge and a bottle of bath soap. I sat on the pool’s ledge and began scrubbing the blood from my body.
“I thought it would be best if he stayed busy.” I submerged myself to rinse away the last of the blood. Alanna had laid a towel near the edge of the pool, and I stepped out of the water, wrapping myself in its softness.
Alanna was rummaging her way through one of the large wardrobes.
“Do you think you can find something that’s not semitransparent
and
has a top to it?”
“I think you will find this acceptable.”
She was holding a pretty piece of cream-colored material in her hands. I obediently held out my arms and she began her magical wrapping. I was pleased to notice the soft fabric wasn’t see-through. She finished with a flourish and another elaborate pin.
This outfit only showed off a nice expanse of my long legs, which I was used to, and, quite frankly, I enjoyed.
“I like it.” We smiled. I turned back to the vanity and rummaged quickly through the plethora of jewelry. “The ability to accessorize is what elevates us from lower-life forms,” I said in my lecture voice, choosing a pair of diamond-studded drops for my ears. “Like men.” We shared a smug girlfriend look.
“Now, tell me about Carolan.”
The smug girlfriend look fell off her face and was replaced by a bright flush.
“Jeesh, quit blushing,” I said. Which, of course, only caused her blush to intensify. I took her by the hand and led her to the bench in front of my makeup vanity. Pointing to the spot next to me, I said, “Sit and talk to me.”
She sighed and looked into my steady gaze. And sighed again.
“Want me to help you?” She nodded. “You’re in love with him.”
Her eyes widened. She looked like Bambi.
“How did you—” I put up my hand to shush her.
“I’d like to say it’s because of my wonderfully intuitive mind—or even because it’s some kind of Beloved of the Goddess thing—but the truth is there’s nothing at all mysterious about it.” I smiled and playfully pushed my shoulder into hers. “He’s the mirror image of Suzanna’s husband, Gene.” She blinked in surprise and I kept chattering. “They’ve been married forever and he still adores her like they were newlyweds. It’s really pretty disgusting.”
She was making little mewing noises, so I poured a goblet of wine from my unending supply and handed it to her. She drank deeply as I continued.
“Actually, it’s weird how people mirror themselves—or however the hell I should say it.” I poured myself some wine, too, and briefly contemplated grammatical problems caused by alternative dimensions before continuing. “In my old world Gene is a lawyer and a history professor. Suz and I call him Doctor-Doctor.” I giggled. “She calls herself Mrs. Doctor-Doctor and says that his brains can kick sand in the face of any overmuscled Neanderthal pretty boy.” I chased away the hilarious mental picture of Gene in a Speedo, which Suz’s words never failed to conjure.
“What is a Neanderthal?” Alanna sounded on the edge of confused hysteria.
I frowned at her. “Don’t worry about it. It just means she’s crazy about him, too.” She looked like that explanation helped. “You two aren’t married in this world?”
“No!” She jumped as if the words held an electrical charge.
“Why not?”
Her eyes started to fill with tears.
Oh, great.
“Don’t tell me he doesn’t love you. I saw the way he looked at you out there.”
“He loves me.” Her voice was soft.
Then I remembered that Gene had been married once, briefly, when he was very young, long before he’d met Suzanna.
“Is he married to someone else?” I took her hand, ready to provide best-friend comfort and support.
“No! He loves no one except me.”
“Then what the hell is the problem?”
“You.” Her voice was a whisper.
“Me!” I glowered at her. “You mean that damn Rhiannon—not
me.
”
“I am sorry. You are right. Rhiannon, and not you.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“Once she discovered our feelings for each other, Rhiannon forbid the marriage. And she forbid the love. She would not let me be alone with him. Ever. She said I belonged to her and no other.” She shrugged her shoulders sadly. “She said when she was finished with my services, Carolan could have me. That he could wait until then.”
I was momentarily speechless.
“And so he has waited,” she finished sadly.
“That selfish bitch.” I shook my head at the absurdity of keeping them apart. “With all the damn men she had, you’d think she’d let you have one!”
“Oh, she would have let me have any other man. Just not Carolan.”
“But you wanted no one except him.”
She shook her head. We both drank our wine. Another thought popped into my head.
“Alanna, you don’t have any children?”
“No, of course not. I have never been married.”
I just stared at her and kept my mouth shut. How could I tell her that in another world she and the man she loves are happily married with three beautiful girls? I couldn’t. Once again I felt the weight of Rhiannon’s decisions hanging heavily on my conscience.
“He must hate me.” I hadn’t realized I’d spoken the words aloud until Alanna nodded slowly in agreement.
I stood abruptly. “Well, this I can fix. Marry him. Today.”
Alanna shot to her feet. “Bu-but there is no time for a ceremony.”
“What has to happen for you guys to get married?”
“A priest or priestess must speak an oath to bind us together.”
“I’m a priestess. Right?”
She blinked like she was starting to understand. “Yes.”
“So I can perform the ceremony,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Yes,” she repeated, looking faint. “But now cannot be the right time—we are readying ourselves for war.”
“Sounds like a perfect time to get married.” I looked hard at her. “You don’t want to wait till after the fighting, do you?”
“No.” I saw fear shadow her eyes.
“Then come on.” I prodded her toward the door. “After this mess with the vampire-things gets cleared up, you can renew your vows.” She wasn’t saying anything, just nodding in a kind of dreamy way. “I’ll throw a big party—it’ll be great.” I hastily decided that being the preacher was probably going to be almost as much fun as being the maid of honor.
We emerged from the bathing room and I paused only long enough to get my bearings. Striding purposefully to my chamber I was humming “Here Comes the Bride” to myself, and enjoying Alanna’s dazed but happy expression. Being the Good Guy is a hell of a lot more fun than being the Bad Guy (something John Wayne certainly knew).
The maid who looked like Staci was just finishing supervising the laying out of my breakfast table. Smelling the enticing aroma of some kind of honeyed hot cereal made my stomach growl. I gave her an appreciative grin and remembered to call her Tarah. She surprised me by responding sluggishly, and she walked a little unsteadily as she left the room.
“You think the girls have been drinking too much?” I asked Alanna after the servants departed.
“What?”
“Never mind.” She had that dazed expression still plastered on her glowing face, and I didn’t think she’d heard anything I’d just said. And, anyway, sometimes wine creeps up on a girl (purely by accident). I was a real bitch to even mention it.
“Come on, eat something before you fall over.”
We had just dug into breakfast (well, I’d dug in—Alanna was picking at her porridge) when two sharp raps sounded against my door.
“Come on in!” I yelled though a mouthful of sweet mush (it tasted kind of like oatmeal, only wilder—if that makes any sense).
My guards held open the doors and ClanFintan, followed by Carolan, entered the room. I had meant to watch Alanna’s blushing reaction to her soon-to-be husband’s entrance, but I found myself having what I liked to think of as a
Star Trek
Moment. ClanFintan’s presence caught me like he was a big ol’ black wormhole in space, and I was a little shuttle-craft. For you unknowing civilians, that meant he sucked me to him like a Hoover.