Читать книгу Sons of Macha - John Lenahan - Страница 13

Macha rode in front on the way home. Not because she was a queen, but because we quickly figured out that if she wasn’t in front then all of the horses would keep trying to look around to see where she was. Dahy rode with her and the two of them chatted the entire time like teenagers on the telephone. Dad and Nieve rode wordlessly behind. If Macha had any guilt in leaving them motherless for so long, she showed no sign of now trying to make up for it. I couldn’t see their faces but their body language in the saddle made them look like unhappy children forced to ride a pony at a birthday party.

I was behind them with Araf – tantamount to riding alone – and behind me rode my girls, Essa and Graysea. I didn’t hear them share even one syllable and I wasn’t about to turn around to see if they were OK. The tension permeated the entire group to the point where Gerard, riding in the cart at the rear, was singing dirges as opposed to his usual ditties.

It wasn’t just the imminent outbreak of a cat fight that was upsetting the group, it was like the whole party was spooked. And the thing that was spooking everybody was the guy locked in the barrel on Gerard’s cart. I needed more details on this ‘Lugh being a god’ thing but Mom and Nieve were not in a talkative mood and Gerard didn’t like talking to me when Essa was around, in case she thought he was taking sides. (Even a father can be afraid of a child like Essa.) And I could never get Dahy away from Macha.

At night I tried to entice Grandma into talking about Lugh and her imprisonment but she said that it was far too horrid to speak of. She went to bed early every night with a horse standing guard outside her tent.

I was reduced to spending my days staring at the scenery – not a bad thing. Spring had fully sprung and summer was once again upon The Land. The vibrancy, the … aliveness permeated everything, and – if they were like me – everyone. The feeling – no, not the feeling – the knowledge that you can live for ever came from days like these.

News of Queen Macha’s return preceded us. An hour before our arrival at Castle Duir a rumble and a cloud of dust could be seen in the distance. Dahy and Dad sped to the front and were about to throw us all into battle stations when Macha said, ‘There is no need for concern. It is just my children.’

Sensing the Horse Enchantress’s approach, the horses in Castle Duir’s stables had become anxious. The master of the stables, having heard that Macha was soon to arrive, left open all the stable doors and let the horses run to meet their mistress.

Macha dismounted and walked ahead of us as the sound of thundering hooves intensified. What a scary and magnificent sight: Macha standing alone in an open field, her hands held out as a stampede of galloping horses came directly at her. As they got nearer they squeezed together so as to be close to the Horse Enchantress as they passed. I thought for sure they were going to trample her but at the last second they parted. They swarmed past her like a flock of birds – her hands brushing the charging beasts. They swung around for another pass. They did this three times and I’m sure they would have done it all day if Macha hadn’t put a stop to it. She raised her yew wand and the horses swung in front of her and then stopped as if at attention. From the middle of the herd came a huge silver stallion. I recognised him. The stable master had told me that his name was Echo because he was the spitting image of the horse that sired him – King Finn’s horse. When I once asked if I could ride him I was told that he was wild – unrideable. Yet here he was, head down, offering himself to the Horse Enchantress. Macha patted him on the snout and Echo quivered. Then, fast as a tree monkey, she mounted him and galloped towards Castle Duir. The herd whinnied and followed – leaving us behind.

We didn’t even have to kick our horses to catch up; Acorn leapt to join the herd whether I liked it or not. I galloped up next to Dad and Nieve. ‘I’ll say this about Grandma,’ I shouted into the dust-filled air, ‘she knows how to make an entrance.’

Mom had not been idle with the days that travelling dragon-back had given her. She had prepared a special airtight cell and had a Leprechaun smith make a pair of silver gloves/handcuffs that would hopefully render Lugh unable to whip up a breeze or any magic. While Dad and Nieve secured the prisoner, I went in search of answers.

I found Fand in the Shadowmagic laboratory she set up with Mom. She was stirring something in a small pot.

‘If that’s a super delicate Shadowpotion you’re working on,’ I said, ‘I can come back later.’

‘It’s tea,’ Fand replied reaching under the counter and producing two cups. ‘Would you like some?’

‘Oh, yes, thank you.’

She stirred the pot with a gold stick and when she removed it all of the used tea leaves had stuck to it. She mumbled something and the leaves all fell into a rubbish bin. Then she poured us both a cup.

‘What brings you down here, Prince Conor?’

‘I want to know who Lugh is.’

That query made Fand lean back and sigh. She took a sip of tea before she answered. ‘Maybe that is the wrong question,’ she said. ‘Maybe you should be asking: what is Lugh? A question that many have been asking for a long time. Or maybe the most important question is: who is the man we have locked up in the windless cell? I’m not certain he is Lugh.’

‘Gerard said he was a god.’

‘A god. One man’s god is another man’s false idol. What is a god?’

‘I don’t want to interrupt you mid-flow, Fand, but do you think maybe you could answer one of my questions with something other than another question?’

Fand laughed; it was not something I had ever heard her do before. It was sweet. ‘Sorry Conor, it is just that this appearance of Lugh, or whoever he is, has raised many questions.’

‘OK,’ I said, ‘let’s forget about this Oracle guy we have locked up. What are the old stories about Lugh?’

‘Well, that depends on who you are talking to. Among most of the houses of Tir na Nog, Lugh is thought of simply as Banbha’s consort.’

Banbha, there was that name again. Whenever there are dark tales of the early days of The Land, Banbha is the name that usually comes up. ‘Banbha was one of the three original sisters that founded Tir na Nog right?’

Fand nodded.

‘So Lugh was Banbha’s husband.’

‘This was long before customs such as marriage came about but that is essentially the idea.’

‘So why did Gerard call him a god?’

‘Well, as you know, many in The Land worship one or all of the sisters as gods. Leprechauns pray to Ériu for gold and most Imps venerate Fódla.’

‘I’ve seen Araf make a blessing gesture when hears Fódla’s name.’

‘Yes, I imagine he does,’ she said. ‘But others in The Land revere Lugh as much more than a consort. There are many, especially the Brownies, who look at him as a deity.’

‘Why?’

‘Most in The Land believe that the first land of Tir na Nog was Duir – the Oaklands – and this was found or created by Ériu who then sent for her sisters who in turn created other lands.’

‘I know this much,’ I said. ‘Fódla created Ur – the Heatherlands – and Banbha created Iodhadh – the Yewlands.’

‘That is what the Faeries believe, but lore reads differently. Most Brownies believe that the Yewlands were first and that Lugh was already there when Banbha found it. They say Banbha was the first sister and that Ériu and Fódla betrayed and banished her. What happened to Banbha no one knows but when she vanished – so did Lugh.’

‘Yeah, but the Brownies will believe anything if it gets them closer to Duir’s gold.’

‘It is not only the Brownies that believe that Lugh was The First – my mother believed it too.’

Fand’s mother was Maeve. As the inventor of Shadowmagic, she had decimated a forest to steal sap, the blood of trees, to fuel a war against my grandfather and the House of Duir. At almost her moment of triumph she blew herself up along with many of the Fili, with a giant Shadowspell that went terribly wrong.

‘No offence, Fand, but your mother had a lot of wrong ideas.’

‘I will not argue with you on that point, Conor, but she once told me that she learned these tales from an Elf.’

‘So the Elves are in the Lugh-is-a-god camp too?’

‘Who can tell what the Elves think. I’ve never had a conversation with an Elf that was not about trees or wine. They do know the yews though. They are the only ones that can pass through the Yewlands unmolested by the trees.’

‘I’ve been to this Oracle guy’s house. You know it’s made from yew wood.’

Fand thought and then poured us both some more tea. ‘As I said, Conor, this man raises many more questions than he answers.’

When I got back to my room Ruby was waiting for me. She was sitting in my big leather chair.

‘How did you get in here?’

It was like a scene from a spy movie.

‘I walked in. I’m blind, not lame.’

‘Well, you can walk right out again. Last time you came here I almost got killed by a tree and then again by your father and now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure your grandmother wants to kill me too.’

‘Yeah,’ she said with no intention of leaving, ‘sorry about that.’

‘Are you?’

‘Of course I am. It was very nice of you to take me riding and I’m sorry you got hurt and I’m sorry you got in trouble.’

I took a hard look at her with her huge sunglasses and her feet sticking straight out from my chair and I reminded myself that even though she acted like she was forty-two, she was still only twelve. ‘OK,’ I said, ‘and I’m sorry you had to fend for yourself outside the wall. Let’s not do that again. OK?’

‘Deal,’ she said, sticking her hand out, not quite towards me, to shake.

‘Deal,’ I said, shaking. ‘So what are you doing in my room?’

‘I need something Daddy and Grandma can’t give me.’

‘Hold on, isn’t this how we got into trouble last time?

‘Relax, O’Neil,’ she said, and I had to laugh. She sounded so much like her father. ‘I just need some advice.’

‘About what?’

‘I want to be a sorceress. How do I do it?’

‘Oh, I don’t really know.’

‘Who does?’

‘Well, my mother is a sorceress.’

‘OK,’ she said, sliding off the chair and striding to the door. I just stood there befuddled until she turned around and said, ‘Are you coming or what?’

Now I promised myself the last time Ruby got me into trouble that I wouldn’t allow myself to be bossed around by someone a third of my weight, but I had planned to check in on Mom later anyway, and I really wouldn’t mind knowing how she had become a sorceress myself.

‘Fine,’ I said, taking her by the hand. ‘We’ll see if she’s busy.’

While Dad was ill, Mom had set up the room next to the master bedroom as her queenly office. As we drew closer I saw that the door was ajar and stuck my nose through the crack.

Mom was down on all fours behind her desk, I could only see her feet sticking out. I heard what sounded like hammering and then wood splintering.

I walked over and said, ‘Are we doing a little remodelling?’ It wasn’t Mom. Macha popped up so quick that I jumped and almost fell over Ruby.

‘Ow,’ Ruby squealed. ‘Watch it. There’s a blind kid here you know.’

Macha initially looked like I had just caught her with a hand in the cookie jar, but when she noticed Ruby she became very interested. She walked around the desk, took Ruby’s sunglasses off, then placed her hands on both sides of her head and tilted her face up so she could look closely into Ruby’s sightless eyes.

‘Hey, who are you?’ Ruby demanded.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do. Macha was being awfully rough with Ruby, but then she was my grandmother and what do I know about how to treat kids? Still, it was plain to see that Ruby didn’t like it. When I saw Ruby cock her blind stick back ready for a strike, I grabbed her wrist and got between the two of them. I never saw Ruby hit anybody with her stick but I’d bet money that she was good at it. Macha looked angrily at me.

‘Sorry Macha,’ I said trying to explain myself, ‘but she can’t see, you know.’

‘I do know,’ Macha said. ‘I have been waiting for you, little girl.’

‘Is my mother here?’ I asked.

‘No,’ Macha answered absently, never taking her eyes off Ruby.

‘Are you waiting for her?’

Macha didn’t even answer that. I walked over and looked behind the desk. There was a dagger on the floor and the skirting board had been prised away from the wall.

‘What were you doing behind the desk?’ When she didn’t answer me I said, ‘Does Deirdre know you are here?’

That seemed to get her attention. She started to answer then looked to Ruby then back to me like she was trying to make up her mind about something. ‘Oh well,’ she said reaching into a fold on the side of her dress. ‘I was hoping that I could be around for longer but it seems that now is the time.’ Out of a pocket she produced a lace fan that she snapped open like a Spanish lady at the opera. With a flick of her wrist the door to Mom’s room slammed closed in a way that looked a lot like the magic that Oracle guy used on the mountain. I started to ask her how she had done that but I only got as far as, ‘How …’ before her fan flicked in my direction and I sailed across the room and into the wall. By the time I came to my senses she was sitting on my chest painfully holding my nose. I opened my mouth to gasp for air and when I did I felt and tasted some kind of liquid hitting the back of my throat. She then pushed my mouth closed and jumped on my chest – it was swallow or drown. It tasted awful and I coughed and rolled onto my side as Macha jumped off me.

Ruby let loose one of her migraine-inducing screams. Macha was on her in an instant, covering her mouth, snatching her stick and throwing it across the room. I got up to help her but Macha shouted at me, ‘Stay where you are!’ And I did. Unlike one of my aunt’s paralysing pins it wasn’t like I couldn’t move, it was like my body just didn’t want to move.

‘What have you done to me?’ I said, desperately trying to move my legs.

‘That fluid I placed in your mouth was horse … well you are better off not knowing what part of a horse it was but now that you have ingested it, I have control of your body. Sit,’ she commanded and I dropped hard on my butt. ‘See?’

‘What do you want?’

Ruby squirmed and then Macha pulled her hand away in pain. Ruby had obviously bitten her. As she started to scream again Macha gave her a hard slap. Shock and then tears came to the poor kid’s face. She went instantly from the woman-child that bosses me around to an all-too-fragile twelve-year old.

‘What I want,’ Macha said, looking at her bitten hand, ‘is this child to be silent.’ She reached into her pocket and produced a handkerchief. ‘Come over here, Conor, and gag her.’

I almost laughed. There was no way I was going to do that but even as the smirk hit my face my body stood up, took the handkerchief from my puppet-master grandmother and pulled it across the child’s mouth.

Macha said, ‘Make sure it’s tight,’ and, despite every cell in my brain telling me to stop, I pulled it tighter before I tied it in the back. A muffled cry of pain came from Ruby and the only thing I could do was say ‘Sorry.’

Macha went back down onto the floor and recommenced ripping up the skirting boards. I looked to the door and felt that with Macha’s attention elsewhere I could pick up Ruby and make a break for the door, but when I tried Macha said, ‘Don’t even think about leaving.’

‘What are you doing?’ I tried to ask and was surprised to find I could.

Macha didn’t stand up but from the floor said, ‘Do you know whose room this is?’

‘Yes, it’s my mother’s.’

‘Do you know whose room this was before your mother?’

‘No.’

There was another sound of splintering and wrenching of wood. I heard Macha exclaim, ‘Ah ha,’ followed by the sound of scraping. Macha then reappeared from behind the desk in a plume of dust and loudly dropped on it – a leather-bound manuscript. ‘This room was once Ona’s lair.’

Holy cow, I said to myself. A manuscript chock full of Ona’s predictions. As if her prophecies hadn’t caused enough problems – here were a stack more.

‘Where are they keeping Lord Lugh?’

I didn’t want to answer her but found myself saying, ‘The guest chambers, one floor down.’

‘Come. Bring the girl and make sure you are not seen.’

My possession was the strangest thing. I was still able to do ordinary things as long as they didn’t seem to contradict the will of Macha. Before we left the room I picked up Ruby’s sunglasses and put them on her face. I pushed her hair back and told her everything would be OK just before I gruffly dragged her by the arm. I stuck my head through a crack in the door and saw a guard on his usual patrol. I tried to shout to him but instead I unwillingly ducked back inside the room and waited for him to pass. When he had gone I led us past my room and down the servants’ staircase.

The floor had been cleared of all guests except Lugh. There were two guards posted outside the door and another two walking a patrol. Macha waited for one of the patrol guards to come past and blew him hard into the wall with her fan. I was surprised his head didn’t crack open.

Macha pointed to the unconscious guard and said, ‘Take his sword and kill the other one.’

‘No,’ I said. I was proud of myself when that came out. All the way down the steps I had been incanting a Fili meditation chant and was beginning to think I was getting control again.