Chapter 14 #2
‘She didn’t, by the way. You passed her, reached this place first. But she will cross the stream.’
My heart starts to beat again. Confirmation that Niamh is still alive is probably the best thing that’s going to come out of this interaction.
The washerwoman is a harbinger of death.
She’s not the only one in the Underworld, but she is the one I know of who is more than just a harbinger – she can cause death, too.
Her washing may make her look innocent, but her cloths are shrouds and if one touches you, you’re marked for death.
And not a quick death either. That would be too convenient.
You won’t know when or where but fear will follow your every step until you go mad, begging for an end as she draws her power from every second of your fear.
Even as Huntsman, I am not immune to her deadly tricks and despite the distance between us, I know she could condemn me to death if she wanted to.
‘Here?’
But the Bean Nighe doesn’t answer.
‘I thought you and the Riali girl were getting married, going to unite two of our remaining Unseelie Kin, bringing our numbers down to only seven Kin left at Court.’
‘That’s the plan,’ Confused by her change of subject, I nod, mindful of keeping her on side.
‘And you hope to be the next king?’
‘If I’m acceptable to The Unseelie Court, yes.’
She looks up at me, her paper-thin skin almost translucent.
Why is she telling me this? She nods and returns to her work, scrubbing a sheet in her basin, then dunking it in the stream to rinse it.
My patience is wearing thin as I’m aware the longer I’m caught up here, the further Niamh will be from me – however much I don’t want to anger the Bean Nighe.
I need her permission to cross the stream, otherwise I’m not going to be able to catch up with Niamh on time.
‘And try to stop the Blight?’ she asks.
‘If I can, yes. Vincenzo lets it continue unchecked.’
‘I predict identical twin boys. One to rule each family in the next generation.’
An image forms clearly in my head, two boys who grow quickly, handsome, strong.
But then they smile at me and as their lips curve upwards, their mouths open and Blight pours from inside them, covering them, devouring them until there is nothing left.
She smiles at me and I try not to recoil at the sight.
‘No?’
‘I’m the Kennard of the Hunter Kin, Bean Nighe. I don’t base my decisions on other people’s visions.’
‘Maybe you should.’ She smirks at me, squeezing the water from her sheet and flicking it up before returning it to the murky waters below.
‘Are you going to let me pass?’
‘You’re welcome to try your luck,’ she taunts, repeating the move as I watch her.
She’s seated next to a fording point. Any attempt to cross is likely to result in me being touched by the sheet, and if I’m going to die, it’s not going to be because I got taken down by a washerwoman – even a Kinfolk one with ties to The Unseelie Court.
‘There are questions you could be asking, Huntsman,’ the Bean Nighe says, continuing with her task.
‘Would you answer them?’ I challenge her.
‘Yes.’
‘Honestly?’
But she just laughs. I look along the stream, into the darkness but I can feel that dawn is close. Fuck it. I may as well try asking questions. The Bean Nighe’s reaction may give something away, even if her answers don’t.
‘What will happen to her?’
The Bean Nighe chuckles. ‘Silly boy, that is a question that no one can answer yet.’
‘Where is she?’
‘She still has time to reach sanctuary.’
‘But she’s not Kin, she cannot enter.’
The Bean Nighe looks around at the quiet, mist-filled landscape. ‘Strange things happen, Cillian. Many humans find their way into the Underworld and whether or not they should be able to do so, the fact is that they do. Niamh has already found a way into the Underworld. Human … or not.’
‘You helped her to pass through?’
‘Not I.’
I should have known the Bean Nighe would only speak in riddles. ‘Then how? And why did the Guth Dorcha not work? She remembered everything.’
The Bean Nighe just laughs. ‘You know already, Cillian. You just keep forgetting. There’s more magic in this world than Unseelie magic.’
I frown at her. ‘But The Seelie Court is gone, destroyed by the Blight. The only magic left is ours.’
‘The Tree of Life can be healed when its roots are strong. A king should know this.’
I frown at her, shaking my head. ‘Nothing has worked to reverse the Blight.’
She pulls another sheet from her basket and dumps it into the water.
‘Nothing that the Rialis have done. Nothing … yet. Now, I have work to do, Cillian. Niamh is heading this way and I don’t want you scaring her off.
Life and death is an ongoing process. You need to stop believing what you think you know.
The Rialis hide truth in their lies and lies in their truth. ’
‘Will she be safe there?’
‘The rules of sanctuary apply to all who have the right words to enter. She is safe inside its walls, from you as well as others who would harm her.’
‘She’s a human who killed Kin. She’ll never be able to leave. The Court will find her guilty.’
‘Then it’s just as well your family have been tasked with the duty of overseeing the sanctuary, isn’t it?
Enforcing the rules. As the only Kinfolk able to enter you’ll be able to visit her.
If she wants to see you. But it’s time to stop dawdling here.
Someone wants Niamh dead. Someone wants her alive. ’
‘And I need to work out who?’
‘No, you need to work out why. You’re not listening, Cillian. Only a fool doesn’t listen when death itself speaks. Now, you have a fiancée waiting for you to return to her with a trophy. Go back.’
And with that she flicks her wrists, the sheet held in her gnarled fingers flaps up into the air, and I back away to avoid it touching me.
Then she’s gone, the stream has disappeared, and I’m back in the human world.
Her magic has returned me to the car park.
I blink, not used to being at the mercy of someone else’s magic. There’s no hint of the mist anywhere.
Ahead of me the sun appears over the horizon.
The hunt is over. My palm tingles and I watch as the sigil and Niamh’s name disappear.
My heart sinks as I come to terms with the fact that I didn’t reach her in time.
I failed. The Wild Hunt will be called and…
I shudder, knowing the consequences of my failure.
I pray that the Bean Nighe was telling me the truth, and Niamh has somehow reached St Marnox.
Maybe she’ll be safe. For a while, at least. If not…
No, the Bean Nighe couldn’t lie about that.
Niamh will reach the sanctuary. Now I just have to hope she stays there.
I sigh, realising there’s little hope of that in the long term but I’ll do what I can to persuade her to delay it as long as possible. But first, I have a delivery to make.
I open the boot of my car, retrieve my hunting kit and set to work cutting out the deer’s heart.