“She hardly travelled across the sea,” Drake said.
“Then why does she have a sailing boat?” Rumble asked.
“Dymphna, your people came from abroad originally. How far is the journey?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Nobody remembers. Perhaps nobody alive knows.”
“Some of the Darksiders think that Sadler went across the sea.”
“To do what?” Drake asked.
Rumble answered for me. “Sadler lived in the human realm and aged because he was addicted to human suffering. He forgot to go home. Somebody brought him back from there and cleaned him up, but he was never the same. He disappeared again, and when he returned, he was joined by the doctor and some others, and his heart was full of darkness. His veins were black, and the land began to turn black, too, more quickly than before.”
“But the blackness came from the rift,” Drake said. “Are you saying it came from Sadler first?”
“No,” Rumble said. “Some say Sadler was baptised in the darkness and that he’s the one who started the spread. But the Darkside began before Sadler's descent into madness. Perhaps he gave the darkness life and strength. He sent others to gather up Deorad and his children. Deorad was only too keen to help his father. Sadler was favoured by the queens, both of them, and they didn’t notice when he made his home in the Darkside. Nobody knows the truth for sure, but some say he didn’t come home alone but brought a demon with him. All I know is that he died a different man than he was when I first arrived.”
“Do you believe in that story?” Drake was frowning, trying to digest it all.
“About a demon? No.” Rumble removed his helmet and glanced at me. “But I believe he may have been under the influence of a powerful geis, enacted by a god. Perhaps Sadler asked for his grief to be destroyed or his guilt to be removed.”
“What grief?” Dymphna asked.
“He grieved for the man he was and the woman his first wife had been. He grieved for the life that was, and the life that could have been. Some of the older members of court claim he even grieved for his old friend, Brendan.”
Despite my hatred of Sadler, I thought that was pitiful. “The doctor goaded him and encouraged him, maybe even had a kind of power over him. There was one time, in his room, when Sadler seemed high on my fear. He said something about finding women that looked like his first wife but that it was I who reminded him of her. And he seemed so sad about that. There were moments when he acted like he had just remembered how he used to be, how he was supposed to be, but they never lasted long.”
“Mostly, he was angry and spiteful, ready to punish the world. But you’re right.” Rumble looked at me. “At times, I saw the shadow of a decent man in there. But that man was slowly being destroyed by something far more dangerous and powerful.”
“And yet you were loyal to him.” Drake sounded disgusted.
“If it wasn’t for Rumble, I’d be dead,” I said sharply. Drake didn’t even look at me. He was too busy studying Rumble’s face.
“He was all I had,” Rumble said. “I had nowhere else to go. And I wanted to live. I knew the time would come when I could perhaps help him. His worst enemy was his own reflection in the mirror.”
“What do you believe is the truth about this god?” Dymphna asked.
“The god of death draws power from the dead.” Rumble's voice had strangely softened. “The goddess of fertility draws power whenever a child is born. The god of the sea draws power from the waves themselves. And the god of chaos draws power from mayhem. There’s never much more in the way of mayhem than a mad king who helps destroy the realm. That's the ultimate power for a god of chaos to siphon.”
“How do we beat a god?” Drake muttered.
“With four legendary treasures.” And I had just sent one across the sea. “Wait. Rumble, you said Sadler was accompanied by others when he returned. Who?”
“The doctor,” he said. “The hunchback. The glaistig, if the rumours are to be believed. There were five, but I wasn’t there. I never saw the others, and I’m not sure they were ever part of the court. They could have been killed, or they could have left.”
“Wait, two more people from across the sea could be roaming freely?”
Rumble gave me a steady look. “And another is your adviser.”
And the glaistig had vanished on the night I had acted as though my drink had been spiked. That shed some light on my conversation with Bart. I gazed at the fire. I had already known that Bart was from afar, but who did that leave, and were any of them loyal to this chaotic god?
“The doctor was the one with the power,” I said. “He was the one in Sadler’s ear, encouraging him. He was the one who hurt me.”
“True,” Rumble said. “But the ones from across the sea are capable of lies.”
I shivered. “Did the mirror come from across the sea?”
“I don’t know,” Rumble said. “It simply appeared. And it disappears at will.”
And for a sudden moment, I couldn’t wait to get home and look at my reflection again. I thought of the scrap of paper in my pocket. Had the image staring back at me ever been my reflection?
***
The cracked earth was uneven and hard to walk on without tripping or catching a foot in the gaps. The heat was sweltering, even though it was night.
“We haven’t seen anyone in a long time,” I said, just to fill the oppressive silence.
“It’s no wonder. This place is dead,” Dymphna said.
It was dark, and the moon was clouded, which made the way even harder to move through. After two hours, we reached the first blackthorn tree.
“Are they supposed to look like this?” I wondered aloud.
“Definitely not,” Drake said firmly.
The tree resembled upright firewood. The branches were spiky and parched. The wasteland continued into the blackthorn woods. The earth was less dry than in the area we had just passed through, as though all moisture were drained to this spot in order to keep the trees alive. But the trees were barely living. The first trees we passed were parched and white as bone. Some misshapen sticks lay beneath them, one twisted into the shape of a clutching hand. Shivering, I moved on, eager to reach the portal and get back to the human realm.
I took a sip of water, and the closest trees seemed to bend toward me as if gasping for a taste. With a fright, I dropped my water, and it spilled along the ground. The moisture was instantly drawn beneath the earth as if a mouth were directly under the surface, sucking it down.
There was a strange sound, as if a dozen twigs were cracking at the same time, and six figures leapt out in front of us, barring our way. Startled, I stepped back, right into Rumble. He gently lifted me out of his way and positioned himself so as to guard me.
The creatures looked as though they were made of wood. Their feet were blackened and rotting, and their arms were dry, cracked twigs. One tried to run at us and broke, falling in twisted pieces. It sank its wooden arms into the ground to haul itself closer.
The clouds passed, and the beam of a full lilac moon sent a sheet of glimmering light over us.
“The lunantisídhe,” Drake whispered. “They don’t remember me.”
The earth we stood on was full of the blight. Dried black stains marred many of the wide cracks. The lunantisídhe came closer, aggressive in their dying state.
“Hold,” a woman’s voice said. “She gave the forest a gift. We don’t harm the generous, not even now—not even if they didn’t intend the gift.”
Beyond the spiky stick men, in the shadows of the trees, a woman’s shape slowly formed before my eyes. Her tangled white hair reached her feet, and the curvature of her spine made her look tiny. She gripped a walking stick, and a massive albino raven sat on her shoulders.
“A witch,” Dymphna muttered under her breath.
“A witch, am I?” the old woman called out. “So some say. Others call me a guardian. But few call me anything anymore. My blackthorns are forgotten, and so the realm
dies.”
Drake held out his water with a steady hand. He let it spill to the earth. The lunantisídhe moved out of our way. Dymphna followed suit, but Rumble stepped past them and offered the water to the woman.
She took it, a strange smile on her lips. “Come, children. We have guests.” She beckoned us forward.
The others hesitated, but I was dying to know more, so I took the lead.
“We’re looking for a portal,” Drake said when we reached the old woman.
“And I’m looking for answers,” the woman said smartly. “My needs shall lead to your desires.”
She led us deeper into the forest. “You have horses.”
“We left them on the plains,” Drake said.
She reached up and touched the raven. “Make them stay. We’ll take care of them.” The raven flew up into the air and was soon out of sight.
We reached a little hut. The land was as black there as anywhere I had seen. The woman settled into a little chair and beckoned for us to sit at her feet. Rumble and I did so willingly. Drake and Dymphna hesitated.
The woman looked at me. “You’re the one who will answer me. And tell me no lies. I’ll smell them.”
“She’s a queen,” Drake said in a haughty tone. “You won’t direct her.”
“She’s a human first,” the old woman said, locking gazes with me. “And I know her face. I saw it in the moon. I saw it in the leaves when we had some. I see her face in my death. And in the blackthorn’s reawakening.” She stretched out her arms. “We sit under the branches of the first blackthorn tree. If it dies, so do all the others. When trees die in the faery realm, the end of days approaches.”
“Nonsense,” Drake said, but he didn’t sound sure.
“What do you want to know?” I asked.
“Are you going to end the blight?”
In her eyes, I saw a world stretched out beyond. I blinked rapidly, and I only saw her beady black eyes again. “I’m trying to. We’re looking for the Lia Fáil, the stone of destiny. It could close the rift. Our friend is looking for the First Tree, the one that can cleanse the earth.”
She tutted. “Treating the symptoms not the cause. The First Tree won’t grow here. Do you know, I saw Sadler once.”
“In the leaves or the moon?” Drake asked scathingly.
“Face-to-face.” She turned her head and looked at him. “I saw you, too, when you were a lost little boy. You still haven’t found what you were looking for, and now it’s out of your reach.”
“My father is dead. It may not have been by my hand, but I found what I was looking for.”
“Symptoms,” she said with a snort. “Some things never change.” She turned to me again. “Sadler came here to destroy me because he knew my tongue could give him away. He cut off the water, poisoned the earth, and made sure nobody wanted to venture here again. Then he locked himself away in his little castle and played with his toys.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, unsure of what else to say.
“I don’t want sorry,” the old woman said. “I want a promise. Treat the cause, Cara Kelly. One way or another, treat the cause.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Then may the goddess help us all.” She stood abruptly. “I may be dead by the time you return. Until that day, I’ll take care of the horses as if they were part of my forest.”
“Why don’t you leave?” I asked. “Go somewhere less tainted?”
“This is where I belong. I could survive outside of here, but the woods would die as soon as I left. We’re as one while I’m here.” She drank deeply from Rumble’s water. “And I thank you for the extra few days.” She pointed a hand. “The portal is an hour in that direction. Everything out there is dead, so you’ll come to no harm.”
My companions stood and followed her direction, but she grabbed my shoulder before I could move. Her black eyes turned white, and her grip felt as if it would bruise my skin. “Hard choices,” she murmured. “Always choices. That’s your punishment, a punishment you’re not even old enough to have learned. You’ll have to choose between friends, between enemies, and between outcomes. And you can’t avoid the paying a price for your choices. Our fate lies in the hands of humans, as it always has. But beware the voices. They will mislead you. The words will spit from the mouths of those you trust and those you don’t, and the words you listen to will be the ones that change our fate. We are dying, and the voice we need is silent. The gods have already played their hands, and now we wait. We wait for—” Her head shot back, and her eyes turned black again. When she looked at me, she said, “Well, what are you waiting for? The portal’s that way.”
Unsettled, I ran after the others. The old woman didn’t even seem to realise that something had happened. Neither did anyone else. It was as though only my eyes had seen it. The stick men crept after us, but none of them came close enough to harm us with those pointed wooden fingers.
Still, we hurried after that and made it to the portal in record time. It blurred at the edge of a cliff with a dangerous drop. If it didn’t work, we were all doomed.
“Any idea where we’ll come out?” I asked.
“We’ll find the stone first.” Drake gave me a look I didn’t recognise. “And then you’ll get to see your friends again.”
Dymphna passed through soundlessly. One second she was there, and the next, she was gone. When the wind blew, I thought I saw a glimpse of her form through the portal, but it might have been my imagination.
I could barely see the portal, so I gripped Rumble’s sleeve and closed my eyes, letting him lead me through. A rush of air lifted my hair, and a shiver ran down my spine as I half expected to drop off the cliff, but then we were through. Dawn was slowly approaching, and we were in a field, surrounded by flowers I didn’t recognise.
“This way,” Dymphna said excitedly. “We need to go this way.”
I pulled my hood up over my hair and hoped we would make it before the sun finished rising.
Chapter Twenty-Two
We set foot on the hill of Tara when the sky was dashed with red-and-pink light. And as soon as we stood on the grass, I knew that the stone of destiny had to be here. Something in the breeze vibrated. Drake's eyes were bright and eager, and I knew he felt it, too.
“It’s not just me, right?” I sensed the same pull that the so-called spear and the sword held over me. “It’s here, and it wants to be found.”
“We’re on the right path,” Drake said, his eyes closing in a moment of relief.
I knew how he felt. Wondering if I was doing the right thing had become a solid part of my daily routine.
We proceeded, and I drew in a breath to steady myself, knowing that ancient beings had stepped on the same piece of earth as we were walking on. A part of history surrounded us. I wondered if there had been a time when Tara existed in the realm of the fae.
The Lia Fáil was also known as the inauguration mound, a place where kings, perhaps human and fae, had stood for their crowning. It resembled a massive sundial. When we stood around it, nobody said a word for a moment.
“Do you think this could be it?” Dymphna asked as the wind picked up, sending my hair across my face.
I reached out, intending to touch it, then dropped my hand in dismay. It was awe inspiring, but I felt no magic. I walked around in a circle, and the back of my neck prickled. “It’s somewhere here. I just know it is.”
Drake and I stepped forward as one, coming to a stop on the slabs circling the monument.
“No singing,” he said lightly, but I caught a flash of disappointment in his expression. “It used to sing for true kings.”
“Neither of us belong here,” I whispered.
He reached out and brushed his fingers against mine then stepped to the other side of the stone, looking around for some sign of a hiding place.
“It’s here.” Kneeling, I slid my fingers across the slabs. They were cold and lifeless, as expected. Drake did the same on his side, and we continued
until we met up. My hand touched the final slab, and I jumped away, shocked.
“What is it?” Drake touched the slab, but he withstood any shocks he might have been experiencing. He pushed hard, and as if set on a spring, the slab slid neatly upward.
And under the slab was a plain, moss-coloured stone. Drake lifted it out and hefted it in his hand. He glanced at me and shrugged. It looked so… ordinary.
But I understood what Brendan meant about the sword. My first view of the stone had been disappointing, but as soon as Drake held it in his hands, an ache had formed in my chest. I wanted it. I needed it.
I reached out, and even as I was moving, I felt the stone calling me to it. Drake opened his palm flat to let me touch it. When I did, it changed shape. The stone flattened and stretched, even changed colour, until it looked like an ancient tablet. Engravings spread across the surface as we watched. At first, they were hard to make out. But then I realised flashes of images were morphing into something different before we could even register the original shapes. I thought I saw a green sword and maybe an underwater cave, but it was hard to focus when the movements were so fast.
The last image was of the monument we were kneeling next to. And then the tablet cleared, and across the blank surface, one black line slowly etched out a new picture. Drake and I exchanged an excited glance. What would we see?
Finally, the image developed into the exact same picture the Watcher had shown us except that underneath the cross extended a series of squiggles that I eventually realised were roots of a tree. The others came to see, and before our eyes, the roots turned black then broke away. Dark flakes fell off the tablet. And then it shrank back into an unassuming stone.
“That was… something,” Dymphna said.
Drake looked at me. “We did it. We found it. You were right, Cara. It was here all the time.”
The wind howled, making me uneasy. “We should go. If we’re going to see everyone before we return, we need to be quick.”
He helped me to my feet as the others stepped away. “Take it,” he murmured. “Take the stone.”