Holder of Lightning

Seancoim shrugged under his furs. "I know the magic of the earth, not the sky, and they're very different. Jenna, it's been four centuries since the mage-lights last came, and you Daoine had Lamh Shabhala then. For the Bunus Muintir. . well, the last time we possessed the cloch you hold was not long after you Daoine came here, an entire age ago. and all the tales have been so twisted and distorted in the tellings and retellings that much of the lore can't be trusted, or is so wrapped with untruths that it's difficult to separate the two. Each time, the cloudmages must learn anew. I can tell you very little that I know with a certainty is true."

"I'm scared, Seancoim," Jenna said, her voice husky and broken.

He stopped. He took her injured hand in his gnarled, wrinkled fingers. "Then you're wiser than anyone else who is searching for Lamh Shabhala," he said.

The land flattened out into a plain, and Jenna noticed that the trees were no longer so closely huddled together. The oaks were now less numerous than maples, elms, and tall firs, and the ground less boggy than the wide valley where Ballintubber sat. The woods grew lighter, with the sky visible between the treetops, and Jenna became aware of the bright singing of birds in the trees above them, a sound that she realized had been missing in Doire Coill. Ahead, they could see where the trees ended at the verge of a large grassy field, which ran slightly downhill to a wide, brown strip of bare earth bordered on either side by a stone fence.

"There is the High Road coming up from Thiar in the west and Bacathair to the south," Seancoim said. He pointed to the left. "That way, the road runs north to cross the Duan at Ath Iseal. Beyond the line of trees on the other side of the road is Lough

Lar, and the High Road runs along-side it. This is the eastern border of Doire Coill, and here I leave you."

"Thank you, Seancoim of the Bunus Muintir," Mac Ard said. "I promise you that I’ll tell Ri Gabair of your help. Is there some way I can have him reward you for bringing us here safely?"

"Tell Ri Gabair to leave Doire Coill alone," Seancoim answered. "That will be reward enough for the few Bunus Muintir who are left."

Mac Ard nodded. Jenna went to Seancoim and hugged him, then stroked Dunmharu’s back.

"Thank you," she said.

"Take care of yourself," Seancoim whispered into her ear. "Be sparing with the anduilleaf; do not use it unless you must, or you’ll find it difficult to stop. I also think you should be careful about showing the power of the cloch you hold. Do you understand?"

Jenna nodded. She hugged Seancoim again, inhaling his scent of herbs. "I’ll miss you."

"I am always here," he told her. "Just come into Doire Coill and call my name, and I’ll hear it." He let her go, and turned his blind eyes toward Maeve. "Take care of your daughter," he said. "She’ll need your help with the burden she bears."

Maeve nodded. "I know. I thank you also, Seancoim. When I first met you, I didn’t trust you, but you’ve kept your word to us and more."

"Remember that when you look on others," he answered. He gave a short bow to the three of them. "May the Mother-Creator watch your path. Denmark, come-we have our own business to the south." He turned his back to them and walked off into the forest. Jenna watched until his form was swallowed in shadow, and the three of them made their way to the High Road.

Chapter 10: The Taisteal

THE High Road, between the waist-high stone walls that bordered its path, was rough and muddy, with a scraggly growth of grass and weeds in the center between ruts carved by the wheels of carts and car-riages. Mac Ard bent down to look closely at the road. "All the hoof marks are old. No riders have passed this way in a few days," he said. "That makes me feel a bit easier." He stood up, scanning the landscape. "I've come up on this side of Lough Lar a few times. Ath Iseal is no more than ten miles to the north, but there aren't many inns or villages along this side of the lake, so near to Doire Coill. It's too late for us to reach the town today, but we can camp along the lake's shore if we don't come across an inn. Tomorrow morning it should be an easy walk to the ford of the Duan, and once across to Ath Iseal I can hire a carriage to take us to Lar Bhaile." He smiled at Maeve, at Jenna. "We're almost home," he said.

Not our home, Jenna wanted to answer. That's gone forever. She clamped her lips together to stop the words and nodded encouragingly.