Keeper Of The Light (12 page)

Rioghan blinked, entranced by his kind face and blue eyes, and then quickly looked away. She reached for her wooden cup but merely held it, watching the clear water within as it shimmered in the light. “Thank you, but of course I could not think of doing such a thing,” she said. “My home is at Sion, where I was born, where I can care for the people of the Sidhe as well as those of Cahir Cullen.” She shook her head. “I could never leave Sion.”

Donaill smiled sadly, and then he sat back. “Tell me why you have come today, Lady Rioghan…and tell me what I can do to help you.”

Rioghan set down her cup once more and sat a little straighter, folding her hands on her lap and making herself remember why she was there. “Beolagh and his men came to Sion again last night,” she said. “They—”

“Beolagh!” Instantly Donaill’s good humor was gone. “Beolagh rode out to Sion last night? They are still trying to take your gold, after I warned them to stay away from you?”

Rioghan held up her hand. “They did not try to
take
the gold.”

“They left the gold alone?”

“Well, they did not approach my home.”

“I thought you said they were at Sion?”

“They got only as far as the stone circle. And, as they promised you, they did not harm me or any of the Sidhe, or try to take our gold.”

He studied her, his face very serious now. “I am glad to hear that no promises were broken. But what were they doing out there in the dark of night?”

“They…made us an offer.” Rioghan paused, seeing that Donaill grew increasingly angry. “They said that since they swore they would not take the gold by force, I must give it to them as a gift. And if I refuse, they will destroy something that is of great value to the Sidhe: the stone circle.”

“The stone circle!” Donaill stood up, towering over Rioghan, and clenched his fists. “They threaten to destroy the circle? The ancient circle? How could they do such a thing?”

Rioghan shook her head. “It means nothing to them. Your people have their own stone circle, much larger and much more open, far on the other side of this fortress. Your druids have no use for our little circle deep in the forest, nearly lost to the trees and brush. Some people here might be concerned if the Sidhe themselves were threatened—but their stone circle? Never. Beolagh believes that the circle means nothing to them.”

“No one here wants to see any of the circles disturbed. They are too valuable and could never be replaced.”

“Yet it has been uncounted years since your druids used our small circle, if ever they used it at all. It is of the Sidhe, and therefore of no use or interest to the people here.”

Donaill was silent. He gazed out at the laughing, playing children. Rioghan tried to catch his eye, but then looked away.

“I do not expect you to believe or help me,” she said. “I had hopes that you might, for you are one man who has seen the world from the top of Sion and who has even sat beside the fire in its cave. But Sion has never been part of the world of Men, and you have no obligation to protect it.”

She turned away from him. “I know the things that are said about me…the strange woman who does not know if she is human or Sidhe, who has lived too long alone in a cave and whose mind is no doubt touched in some way from such a life.” She smiled a little. “Who would believe me? None who live at Cahir Cullen…not even the king’s own champion.”

Rioghan stood up and gathered the folds of her black cloak close around her. “I thank you for the kindness and the hospitality you have shown me this day. But I should have understood that protecting me, and the people of the Sidhe, is one thing; risking your life for a stone circle that is of no use to anyone here is a very different thing. Scath! Cogar!”

She turned to walk away, and the dogs jumped up to follow her.

“Rioghan…”

She paused.

“Wait. I am not sure I have heard the whole story. Please come back and sit down, and tell me the rest of it.”

“But I have told you all there is to know. The men no longer threaten us directly, thanks to you. They say they will not harm us, and they have not. But they have also given us the choice of giving them our treasure or seeing our stone circle destroyed.”

Donaill placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and walked with her to the rocks. Once she was seated again, he gravely shook his head. “Was there anyone else to hear what Beolagh said to you, anyone else who heard these threats?”

She stared up at him. “If you mean anyone of Cahir Cullen, aside from Beolagh’s five dull and grinning followers, there was no one.”

Donaill frowned, looking ever more concerned. “No one else?”

Rioghan raised her chin. “You do not believe me.”

“Now, now, my lady, I said no such thing! I merely asked if there might be any other witnesses aside from the Sidhe.”

“Witnesses.”

“Well, it is your word against Beolagh’s, of course.”

“My word against his.”

“So…there were no others to hear these words.”

“Only my dogs, and the Sidhe hiding in the forest.” She paused. “I can see that you do not believe me, and the Sidhe are not here to ask—so perhaps you should ask the dogs. Scath! Cogar!”

The two huge wolfhounds came over, and she gestured toward Donaill. The two animals ran to him and stood up on their hind legs, so tall they could look him right in the eye, and then placed their front paws on his shoulders and eagerly licked his face.

He backed away, raising both hands. “Down! Down!” he cried, laughing as he spoke. “I think that is all the persuasion I need.” The two dogs dropped back down to earth, and then walked away to find a warm spot in the grass where they could stretch out once more.

Donaill quickly wiped his face with his sleeve. Then he placed one foot on one of the rocks and gazed down at Rioghan, with his head cocked and his arms folded. “So…I must make certain that I understand everything with the utmost clarity. Beolagh and his men have kept their promise not to harm you nor any of the Sidhe.”

She nodded slowly. “They have.”

“And they have not attempted to take your gold by force, also as promised.”

“They have kept that promise as well.”

“Yet they say that they will destroy the stone circle of Sion if you do not give them your gold of your own free will.”

“That is exactly right.”

“And what do you wish me to do about this? I have told you before—I am the king’s champion and I must follow the law even if others do not. Do you wish to go before the king and accuse Beolagh yourself, leaving him to the justice of the druids?”

Her eyes widened. “I would have to bring the Sidhe before the king as well, as witnesses—and they would never show themselves there. They would never walk into this fortress and stand in front of everyone in the hall. You may as well ask a wild deer of the forest to do the same.

“You are correct, Donaill. There is nothing here except my word against Beolagh’s. No gold has been taken. No Sidhe has been killed. The stone circle remains untouched. And so…” Rioghan fell silent again. Donaill’s face was serious and still, but she could see the glint in his blue eyes. “I do not wish you to do anything about it, Donaill,” she snapped, and got up to leave once again.

He took his foot off of the rock and moved to block her path. “Are you so certain, Lady Rioghan? You will not have the chance to ask me again. Once you say you do not want my help, I will respect your wishes and stay away. Can you and the Sidhe and your dogs keep Beolagh and his men from destroying your stone circle?”

Rioghan tightened her jaw. “I am not certain.”

“Then…what is it that you would have me do?”

She sighed. As before, he was going to make her ask for what she wanted. She was tempted to simply walk away, but thought again of the invading, intruding men tearing up the earth at Sion, their swords slashing through her beloved dogs, their hands grabbing Kieran and holding him at bay like an animal.

“Lord Donaill.”

“Lady Rioghan?”

She took a deep breath. “I would ask you to help me guard the stone circle of Sion, and keep it from destruction by the men of Cahir Cullen.”

He studied her closely, first frowning, then looking away, then looking down at the ground while apparently deep in thought. Finally, after much consideration, he took a step toward her. “I will agree to do this for you,” he said, “if you will do one thing for me in return.”

“What is that?”

“It is very simple,” Donaill answered. “Stay here at Cahir Cullen tonight. Stay here with me for a time, and I will do all I can to help you.”

Chapter Nine

Rioghan sat very still. For a moment she could only blink and open her mouth to try to form words, but none came. She was not yet certain whether she felt the greatest insult or the first stirrings of excitement.

Perhaps it was a combination of both.

At last she rose slowly to her feet and looked him directly in the eye. “You will help me…if I stay the night with you?” She tucked her hands beneath her cloak so he would not see them trembling.

He looked entirely astonished. “You wish to stay the night with
me
,
Lady Rioghan?” Donaill shook his head and stepped back. “Why, I could not think of anything I would like better, though it seems to me a bit soon… I am not accustomed to women inviting themselves into my bed so quickly, but perhaps this is the way of the Sidhe. Ah, I understand now.” He grinned broadly. “All right, then! I accept your offer. If you would like to stay with me in my house, in my bed, I will bring out my finest, softest furs, put up the newest leather screens for privacy, and accept most enthusiastically. When would you like to come? It is a long while until nightfall, but I suppose we could find something to do to pass the time until—”

“I have said nothing at all about agreeing to stay the night with you!”

“But—you did indeed! I heard you! You said, ‘You will help me if I stay the night with you.’ You are right: I will help you. And you are most welcome to stay the night with me.”

He started to walk toward his house. Rioghan quickly followed, struggling to find her voice.

“I did not say that I would stay this night or any other with you! I was simply repeating what I thought you had said to me!”

He stopped. “You thought I was inviting you to spend the night with me, in my home, in my bed?”

“You said—”

“I simply invited you to stay here at Cahir Cullen—as my guest, of course.”

She raised her hand to her neck, but said nothing, so he continued. “I had thought that you might stay with Sabha. I am sure she would be happy to have you sleep at her home.”

Rioghan began to breathe again.

“There is to be something of a feast tonight,” Donaill continued. “My brothers, Irial and Lorcan, went out with a hunting party yesterday, and they brought back a pair of wild boars. Everyone will gather in the hall tonight to enjoy them to the fullest, since there will be more than enough dried meat and smoked fish in the months to come. And the feast would be even livelier if we had a guest—especially such a lovely and charming guest as you.”

He moved closer, until he stood right in front of her. “Stay, Lady Rioghan, as my guest. Beolagh’s men will not ride out tonight. They’ll be here, eating and drinking along with everyone else.” Gently he reached out and touched her cheek, brushing away a strand of her long dark hair.

She closed her eyes.

“Stay and enjoy the hospitality of Cahir Cullen for just one night,” he repeated. “Surely you have earned a rest, if anyone has.”

Rioghan reached up and took hold of his fingers where they continued to gently stroke her cheek. She lowered her hand, still holding his fingers, and looked into his eyes again. “Thank you, Donaill,” she heard herself say. “I would like very much to stay at Cahir Cullen tonight, as your guest.”

“Sabha, truly—you need not go to all this trouble for me.”

Sabha closed the door and hurried across the straw-covered floor of her house. “You do not know how glad I am to see you, and to have something to occupy my mind this day. Rioghan, you have never been to a feast here at Cahir Cullen, is this true? Ah, I thought not! Here—I will start the water to boil right now!”

The woman lifted the biggest bronze cauldron she could manage, set it on an iron tripod over the fire, and then filled it with all the drinking water in the house. Again she hurried across the straw to the door. “Wait here. I will go and fetch Bevin and Aideen and borrow a new gown and a mantle and—”

“Sabha!” Rioghan had to call out her name just to get her attention, but then smiled when at last the young woman stopped and turned to look at her. “I am so glad to see that you are feeling better. You have never been far from my thoughts. I know that even the strongest of women can be broken by such a thing.”

Sabha pushed a strand of soft brown hair from her face, and tried to smile a little. “Better?” she whispered. “I would not say that I am better…only, perhaps, that I am not yet broken. Not yet.”

Rioghan nodded. “That is enough for now. And if it will help you to comb my hair and dress me like a little girl’s play-dolly, then I am happy to let you do it.”