Chapter 17
YOUR brOTHER WAS right,” Kylin murmured, looking ahead as they moved off into the night. “And I believe that he and your father have been right and will prevail.”
Deidre silently prayed that he was right—that all was right!
They had gotten out in a matter of minutes, ready to ride into the night, and to wait.
Ryan himself had chosen to stay back with one other warrior—back close enough to hear when the attack on the walled portion of the city began. When they knew, they would catch up and alert the others that the true battle had begun.
She and Kylin didn’t think the enemy would stay long at the walls; they would quickly realize that they were making no headway and their numbers were being slaughtered, dying in agony from streams of boiling oil and other missiles.
“Well, sadly, we were right,” Deidre replied. “I’m not referring to what is happening now. I hate that we were correct about this—that a massive invasion was coming . . . and that it would be soon.”
He glanced over at her, shaking his head.
“Aidan is something with his tower! It’s concealed by the great branches of the trees, yet he can find a position to see out clearly.
He saw them far out in the water first, allowing plenty of time for him and his men to ambush a good number of warriors as they set foot on land. He is a remarkable leader.”
“I’m proud of him,” Deidre said softly.
“As well you should be,” Kylin said, reining in. They’d been riding for several hours.
Deidre knew that he had carefully judged their distance from their land and from Eion’s holdings at Connaught. Of course, a messenger had been sent on to inform Eion that it was beginning.
They believed that Eion’s forces would be meeting up with them soon.
Unless, of course, we were horrible judges of human character, and Eion is the traitor!
“We’ll hold up!” Kylin called. “There’s a stream to our left. We’ll water the horses and wait for Ryan and his man before moving forward.”
Deidre looked at him anxiously, despite her determination to have faith. “Do you think that Ryan will come now? That my father’s plan to protect all behind the wall will have had the effect that we were hoping for?” she asked.
“I do,” he assured her. “We should give the horses a rest. And this is where we parted from Eion on our way home. I believe that he’ll arrive shortly with his forces.”
“Unless . . .” she murmured.
“I already had that thought, that we don’t know, that Eion could be a traitor. But I’m trusting in the man.”
She managed a smile. “Because your sister is in love with him?”
He laughed. “No, because we’ve been close to him, we set out with him to battle others at the hills, and I can’t help but believe that one of us would know.”
Their group dismounted as Kylin had ordered, moving slightly to the west where he had indicated the stream would be. Aye, they needed to stop. The horses needed to be watered.
And yet she couldn’t help but worry. She had tremendous faith in her father, in her brother and in Sigurd.
But there was no speculating anymore; her home was under attack.
And while she knew that the defenders were as prepared as it was humanly possible to be, it was her family, Kylin’s family and their friends, and their people left behind.
Kylin seemed to read her mind.
He set his hands on her shoulders. “They will be fine—they will prevail. When Ryan reaches us, we’ll get into the passageways at Tara. We will be ready when that horde we’ve both seen comes raging over the hill.”
She nodded.
As she did so, they heard rustling and a call.
“Kylin! Kylin. Deidre O’Connor! Meeting in peace!”
“It’s Eion and his men,” Kylin said, arching a brow to her. “He’d not call out, you know, if he meant to attack. That would allow us too good a defense.”
“Of course.”
“Word has gone out, villager to villager, and the warriors will be rising. Meeting up with us, as planned,” Kylin said, studying her.
Worriedly? she wondered.
“Right,” she agreed.
Within a few minutes, Eion and his men had met up with them.
“From what I’ve heard so far—and we are so lucky!
Villagers running to other villagers in a fantastic relay system, getting the word out in a way that no man or woman, no matter how fast, could possibly manage on their own.
Eamon, Sigurd and your amazing brother, Deidre, have repelled them brilliantly at the wall.
They’ve given up on the plan to first take down your father and his castle—and they’re moving inland.
Time for us to get moving, too,” Eion told them gravely.
“We’ll move first—Deidre and me and our little group—to get into the passageways so that we’re able to fall upon them when they rush over the hill, ready to do battle with what they believe are our only forces,” Kylin told him.
“And what about Ryan’s report?” Deidre asked softly.
But even as she spoke, they saw Ryan and his little group. The man lifted a hand.
It was indeed time to move.
Kylin lifted his own in return.
It was enough to let their men know that it was time to mount up.
“We should keep it close, Eion, I mean, you should be close behind us. They won’t see our movements if they’re busy chasing your men, Eion. Because, if they do get that close, we’ll be blocked by you,” Deidre said.
“Aye, we’ll keep it close,” Eion agreed.
At that moment, as she mounted her horse to ride again, she couldn’t help but wonder if they were being taken, if they were fools.
She didn’t like Angus, but that didn’t make him a traitor, she reminded herself yet again.
And still the question—who?
James of Munster was an older man, one who had led his people here for a very long time, one who had been friends with Declan forever.
What of Berach of Linns?
A young man but leading his people well.
And Eion . . .
Part of their own section of the battle tactics. A man who would be riding with them, right behind them.
What if he is the traitor? If so, his men could simply ride closer and tighter and take us all by surprise . . .
At her side atop his horse, Kylin looked over at her.
“I already thought of that,” he told her.
“Thought of what?” she demanded.
“What you’re thinking. That if we’ve been off and our trust in unmerited, Eion and his men could attack us now, take us by surprise,” Kylin said, grinning.
“And that’s amusing?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “Nay, not at all! I’m grinning because I’m discovering that I can read your mind so well.”
“Am I so apparent?” she fumed.
He shook his head. “I’m just learning your mind. Maybe it’s the magic.”
The magic.
The dreams.
She looked ahead quickly. “Do you—”
“Nay. I have warned our people to take the gravest care. But even so, I wouldn’t be riding here now if I thought that it might be possible.”
“And what would we be doing?”
“We’d have ridden ahead before he reached us,” Kylin said.
“Ah.”
“Our tactics are good—good because your brother is one of the most adept leaders I’ve ever known,” he assured her. “Good because, if they’re close, as you said, they’ll see the tail end of Eion’s warriors rather than us.”
She smiled suddenly. They were headed into a life-and-death situation; hundreds would die before the battle was over.
But at this moment, she was alive. And maybe they desperately needed some humor to make it through all that they must survive.
“Trying to get on my good side by complimenting my brother?” she asked sweetly.
He laughed at that. “Nay, my beloved. Just stating a fact.”
She smiled and nodded. They had come to an open field, and she looked over at him.
“Race you, my beloved!”
She nudged her horse gently with her knees and they took off. Seeing her movement, the others did the same.
She was in the lead with Kylin quickly at her side.
Dusk was coming, beautifully. The land seemed to be bathed in pastels.
And yet they would battle, and blood would cover all that beauty.
They raced, one pulling ahead and then the next, until they reached the edge of the next forest where they reined in.
“Beat you, my beloved!” Deidre teased.
“What?”
“I beat you!”
“Ah, lass! Darragh was ahead most the way.”
“Most the way, that, my beloved, is debatable. That we won, well, that is not!”
Their small group of men was right behind them, along with Ryan and his man, who had caught up.
“Ryan?” Kylin asked.
“They’re coming fast! Apparently, when the decision was made to abandon the attack on the wall, they determined that they had to strike at the ard-rí quickly, meet his forces and take them down!”
Kylin looked at Deidre grimly. “The race must continue! My friends, onward with all speed!”
All speed simply couldn’t be that great as they moved through the dense forest before the final clearing that would bring them before the Hill of Tara and the passageways.
But the enemy would be faced with the same difficulties; they had to rely on their knowledge of the terrain.
And they did so. There was no such thing as racing a horse through such foliage, but they knew the trails and still . . .
“What is it?” Kylin asked her.
She shook her head unhappily. “We’re widening the track for them!” she said.
“There’s no help for it. I’m just praying that our great relay system of villager to villager has gotten word to the ard-rí. That his forces, joined by those of our other leaders, has allowed for a great army to be waiting or on the way!”
“I’m going to believe that they will be there,” Deidre said.
She felt her sword. It seemed to tremble against her as if there was an ancient from the days of the Tuatha Dí Danann riding with her, one in complete agreement with her.
Shimmer.
She didn’t glance at the sword in her belt. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know if it was shimmering as well as trembling.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t a bad thing at all that magic seemed to ride with them, just as it seemed to dwell in their dreams. Magic.