Chapter 11
DANIEL SHOWED THEM the different nooks in the long passageway and as they walked along, they discussed logistics, numbers of warriors, the best places to keep troops in waiting, the best way for those within the great hills to burst out and ambush the enemy.
Kylin felt the touch of something from the time they entered the passageway, as if, indeed, something invisible lived within the darkness, but it wasn’t a sense that anything here was malevolent, rather that it had a connection to the magic of the sword, the spear, the cauldron or the stone.
They were welcome deep within the earth, and it was almost as if the invisible spirits were proud they had spoken in vision and dreams—and had been heard.
After a few hours of exploration, they were ready to move on.
Ten of Cillian’s warriors met them at the exit for the ride on to meet Declan, to request a private audience.
Kylin rode at the front of the line. Despite the warriors, he felt that he would be the first to know if danger threatened their party.
But this would not be the best place for an enemy to come upon them.
They rode with ten guards—on grounds that could at any time be filled with Cillian’s or Declan’s people, prepared to face their enemies.
They weren’t molested as they rode that day. And while Deidre had ridden at Cillian’s side for part of the ride, there was a point when she gently spurred her horse and rode up beside Kylin.
Dreams!
He hated to admit it, but he had been avoiding her as much as he could that day.
He had dreamed about her.
About her coming to him, touching him. And it hadn’t been a point when he’d needed to worry about his own behavior: she had been the one to come to him. And it hadn’t been just to be held.
In the dream she hadn’t come out of fear. She had come out of longing, need, desire.
And maybe even the fact that while they’d always shared an attraction, there had been that strange bitterness between them, until now, until they had both begun to understand the feelings of the other, and therefore . . .
He smiled, looking downward. It was possible to fall in love.
Was it possible to fall into like first? If so, they had. And being together, learning the heart and mind of someone, did that change attraction and admiration into something far greater, something both physical and deeply emotional?
He gritted his teeth hard as he rode, not daring to glance her way for several minutes.
The dream hadn’t stopped with a kiss. It had been incredibly intimate and erotic, almost as if it had taken place in a burst of magic greater than any shimmering presence.
A dream so real he had awakened and for several amazing minutes believed that it had actually happened.
“Kylin, are you all right?” she asked him.
He forced himself to look at her at last with a smile.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry. I’m thinking about the passageways, how we’re going to use them, logistics, numbers of men and warriors and . . . figuring out the best strategies,” he lied.
“Of course. I’ve been thinking myself. And I’ve been grateful that Cillian is so determined to be of so much assistance.”
“Cillian is a good man, a good rí. And he’s also aware that someone intends to take everything that is his birthright, ancient lands that he’s also fought to maintain. It’s an understanding of the danger all around us,” Kylin said.
“Of course. But I’m glad that he is with us as we seek our meeting with Declan.
I mean, if my father and your father could be here, that would have been wonderful.
My brother is an able commander, one of the best I’ve ever seen and I’m not just saying so because he’s my brother—I’ve heard others say the same.
But it’s wise for our fathers to remain behind to help him. ”
“I would be among those others,” he told her. “Aidan is an excellent commander.”
“You’re not just saying that because you’re riding next to me, right?” she teased.
He shook his head. “Your brother . . . like you, he’s as trained, competent and moral as your father.”
“Thanks,” she said lightly.
“Hold!” Cillian suddenly commanded. He pointed to a hill ahead of them. An array of warriors stood there, watching.
One of Cillian’s men raised his flag, showing them who they were.
They continued on without harassment.
Cillian moved ahead, approaching the guards and explaining that they needed an audience with the ard-rí.
They were quickly brought to Declan’s private receiving chambers where one of his men was the first to enter, explaining that Cillian, Deidre and Kylin were there and wished to have a private interview with him.
Despite his position, Declan was still a caring man. He rose to greet them all with pleasure and affection.
And worry.
“What is this? We are warned, we have men moving throughout the country. All will provide troops to protect us here. What more is there?”
“I will let my young friends do the explaining,” Cillian said, extending a hand and deferring to Kylin and Deidre.
Kylin looked at Deidre and she said, “Sire, we have spent the morning with Cillian at the burial mounds, near here. We believe, as you know, that there will soon be a concentrated attack to shift the rule of law and our entire way and structure of life. And, as you know, we believe that someone on our emerald isle is complicit in this. Because of this, we feel that our battle plan must remain between a chosen few, and we believe that we have thought on this long and hard, spoken with our fathers and Cillian, and that we know how to best defeat those who will come upon us.”
“The sacred burial mounds?” Cillian asked with a frown.
Kylin stepped forward, “Aye, sire. As Deidre has said, we believe that we must concentrate our main forces in and around the mounds—”
“But the bulk of this horde must come from the sea,” Declan said.
“Indeed. And our fathers and Aidan O’Connor have seen to it that the neighboring people will come to the walled area of his castle and men there will have defenses that will repel the warriors who come.
When they fail at taking the castle first, they will still come inland and we will have troops out to lead the way, should they not immediately take to the trails.
To any coming upon us, taking Meath and land that is sacred to us for many reasons is the greatest way to destroy the hopes and morale of the people.
And, sire, with Cillian and his man Daniel, we have devised movements that will give us the strongest possible positions so that we might win the fight. ”
Declan nodded thoughtfully.
“There are rulers from other counties still here,” he said quietly. “Can you really suspect any of them of being a traitor—to me?”
“We just don’t know, sire,” Kylin told him.
“So, already, word has gone out. I am receiving warriors each day from other counties. How do you suggest we set this plan in motion?”
“We use our warriors, Cillian’s, and men who are your men, longtime loyalists to you, Ard-rí, for the passageways, those who will flank the onslaught of the enemy,” Kylin told him.
The information they were giving Declan was wise and tactical; he already knew that they believed beyond a doubt that there was a traitor on the isle.
But it seemed that their words pressed that truth into him in a painful way. He looked downward for a long moment and then looked up at them again.
“It will be as you say, and I will pray that all goes as we hope, that Eamon, Sigurd and Aidan are able to repel these invaders when they come. What will the plan be to assure them coming when we feel we have the advantage?”
“We will be on the outskirts with a small contingent, sire,” Kylin told him.
“Deidre and I will make certain that they follow, thinking perhaps that they will quickly catch up with us and destroy us before they continue on their way. We will lead them to the hill where we will quickly disappear, where they will believe that they are still seeking a small contingent of warriors, and we will then have leaders who will meet them head-on while the others pour from the passageways to flank them, sire.”
Declan nodded slowly. “A good plan,” he murmured.
He rose, drawing imaginary lines on the floor. Declan knew the mounds well, and his queries then were regarding exactly who went where and how they would be utilized.
“I already have men here from nearby counties,” the ard-rí continued.
“Sire, we must be careful on who we send, only those who are your sworn people,” Kylin said. “And all others will front the enemy, which will quickly show those nearby if any are traitors. By the time they show themselves, we’ll be ready to take them down along with the foreign enemy.”
“I think it is our best possible plan,” Declan told them. “I am in agreement—still, I must know everything that you determined while walking in the passageways today.”
There was a knock at the door. One of the ard-rí’s retainers cracked the door open to the small council chamber.
“Enter,” Declan said.
“Sire, Angus was supposed to have left days ago, but apparently, he stayed on. I believe that now he’s about to leave to return to his own county. He wished—”
“I’ll go out and speak with Angus,” Deidre volunteered. “Kylin and Cillian can explain positions and tactics.”
She hurried out.
When she was gone, Kylin and Cillian worked with Declan, showing the various crypts and dug-out chambers within the passageways.
Kylin thought that the ard-rí was truly a great tactical man and one who knew the passageways as few others did; he listened, understood and had a few excellent suggestions for best utilizing their men, and for keeping as many alive as possible.
“When do you think this will happen?” Declan asked.