Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset

  In the Wild, Midlands

  Annwn

  “Come sit by the fire,” the man with the birth mark said. The music had stopped and all six pairs of eyes turned in my direction. I stepped out from behind the tree as smoothly as I could, trying not to spook them.

  “I heard the music,” I began. “And thought I might share your fire.”

  “Someone actually came toward your music instead of running away,” one of the women said, laughing at Oisín. The rest of the group chuckled. I realized then, that they had all been drinking. The man with the birthmark just kept watching me. It was clear that he was still unsure about whether I was friend or foe.

  My next words would be critical in getting out of there without violence. My mind flicked back to the song the bard had been singing. “Was that song about a man named Bren Búachaill?”

  The bard quickly set down the cittern and began to stand. Birthmark stopped him with a word. “Sit.” The other four changelings got quiet and their faces instantly sobered.

  “Who are you, and where have you come from?” The stoic man said. He had not stood, but his hand floated near the hilt of his sword, which was resting on the ground in its sheath.

  My mind danced about with the questions. I knew the best course of action was to make up an alias and a false destination, but there was still a deep rooted part of myself that refused to deny my family. “Tadg is my name.” This partial truth was acceptable to my pride. “And I ride east from Brú na Dallta.”

  “I am Diarmuid, and these are members of our fianna.” He motioned around the group, starting with the two women, “This is Gráinne and Muireann. And these lads are Rónán, Caolán, and Oisín.”

  I knew the term fianna, and therefore I knew exactly what I had just walked into. There were multiple fianna roaming the Midlands, some of which I had dealings with during my time at the Heart-shaped Pool.

  Fianna were bands of independent warriors that traveled around trying to right wrongs, and settle scores according to the warrior-chief’s unique brand of honor. Generally, they did good deeds, and saved the Falias military countless hours in maintaining domestic order.

  “Pleased to meet you,” I said, slowly stepping toward the fire. “The darkness is thick tonight. I was forced to stop riding.”

  “Did you say that you came from Brú na Dallta this morning?” Gráinne scooted closer to Diarmuid as she spoke. “That is a long ride.”

  I nodded at her and crouched down by the fire trying to hide my grimace. If I had to fight this group, I needed to keep my injuries a secret. It occurred to me then that I had left my breastplate back by Gaoth. That was good in one respect. The quality of the armor would likely give away my pedigree.

  “Lovely sword you have there.” Diarmuid said dryly.

  Dwal. I forgot I was carrying the former sword of a king’s guard. I nodded and partially pulled Vowkeeper out of the sheath so that they could see the saber’s blade.

  Oisín roused finally, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Did you know Bren Búachaill.”

  I nodded again. “He is a friend.” The group laughed at that. I wondered how many times they had heard Oisín’s retelling of Bren’s time at the north of the Pool. “I would dare say that ‘Bold Bren’ is the reason I find myself in Cluain Toradh this evening.”

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  “What is he?” Oisín continued. “Is he Tuatha?”

  I shrugged. “I wish I knew.” Looking around, I could tell that the group was disappointed in this answer. “What I can tell you is that I once saw him go into a fairy trance.”

  Oisín smiled at this. I could see his mind already working on another verse for his song. I decided I wanted to change the subject away from me. “Where is the fianna headed?”

  Gráinne spoke up again, this time being close enough to Diarmuid to make me think they were partners. “We are traveling to meet up with the rest of the group. They are stationed outside of Cruachan.” As she spoke Muireann crawled up next to the man, on the other side. Both women were practically sitting on top of him.

  My eyebrows must have raised at the mention of Cruachan.“Our people know enough to stay clear of the temple there.” Diarmuid said. He then brought the conversation back to me. “We may be traveling the same direction, but we do not share your pace.” He let the statement linger, allowing me to pick up on the unspoken part. Why was I traveling in haste?

  Making up fabricated responses was not something I had ever become accustomed to, so again, I told a partial truth. “There is something I must do… that only I can do.” That last statement had come out without me knowing exactly why I was sharing it.

  Out of the corner of my eye I began to see a light in the trees. It was close. The others stood and drew their weapons, obviously seeing the light at the same time. Looking around, I saw that everyone was on their feet. Everyone except Diarmuid. He was still looking at me. His head slowly turned to the light, taking his eyes off of me only at the last moment.

  The brightest part of the light was spherical. There, the color became orange and yellow and danced about like a flame. Trailing off of the main body were wisps of white light. They trailed the ball like it were a comet in the sky, yet caught in a twirling vortex.

  “Tine Sí,” someone said. Fae Fire, I mentally translated.

  “It is an omen,” Oisín said. He had been the only one, other than Diarmuid and I, that had not pulled a weapon.

  “You think everything is an omen,” Gráinne quipped.

  I had never seen Fae Fire this close before. I had seen it at a distance before a battle, and once… I paused, remembering the night of the Cold Moon. That night I had seen the Fae Fire dancing over the Heart-shaped Pool.

  “Oisín’s right,” Diarmuid said, finally standing to his full hight. Again, I thought he reminded me of someone I knew. But his hair wasn’t right. His beard was too short. I couldn’t place it. I intentionally didn’t look at the spot on his forehead. Each time my eyes passed close to it, I could sense a strange vibration in the weave. I had spent enough time around magic rich individuals to know a magic spot when I saw it. “It seems that Tadg’s coming to our fire this Sunset has garnered the attention of the very spirit of the air.”

  The rest of the party looked back and forth between me and the fairy light as it danced farther away from us. Diarmuid continued, walking closer to me, but addressing the fianna. “The lights mean us know harm friends. Sit back and have Oisín play you another song. Tadg and I will take a walk. The gravity of our meeting this night is now apparent to me.”

  Diarmuid began walking past me, back the way I had come. I took this to mean, either he wanted to discover what lie back at my camp, or he just wanted to encourage me to retreat back that way after our “walk.”

  “I know who you are,” he said to me when we were alone among the trees.

  “I thought you might.” I responded, trying to not sound worried. “I have been stationed at the Heart-shaped Pool for many moons. If your fianna is based out of the midlands, we likely have crossed paths a time or two.”

  “Your father is an enemy to those that I love.” He paused at that and stopped walking. “The Slaugh Doctrine, has made many fae flee to ériu.”

  I remained silent, trying to judge how much of my recent awakening I should share with the man.

  “Your silence is telling, princeling. But I believe something big is coming, and based on the arrival of the Fae Fire tonight, I wonder if you don’t have a part to play in it.”

  “Likely not.” I said, truly believing the words. But the more I thought about Brigid, I realized that she may well be the lynchpin to resistance victory. That realization brought with it many more questions. The most basic one was, do I even want the opposition to win. I realized that I didn’t know.

  “I have seen that look before,” Diarmuid said.

  “What look is that?”

  He didn’t answer me, but he also didn’t stay quiet for long. “It isn’t easy, is it cousin?” He paused, seeming amused by my look of confusion. “If I had told them who you were, they would have likely run you off with the tip of their swords. But I believe WE can be better, Tadg mac Nuada, so I will encourage you on your way. Don’t make me regret my decision.”

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