Inseparable

By Kevin L. O'Brien

Donall Ruad Mac Roibeaird and Somhairle Duhb O Nollaig love each other more than their lives and honor. They eat together, fight together, and sleep together, and are closer then husband and wife. They have even sworn an oath, that should either of them fall in battle, the other would willingly surrender his life, so that even in death they might never be separated.

Yet when Somhairle was killed in a war with tribes from the south, Donall was too grief-stricken to fulfill his oath, and so he continued to live. That one act of betrayal destroyed him, and he withdrew from life even as he clung to it.

Now Ireland is being ravaged by a horde of the walking dead, driven to scour the land of all human life, but only Donall knows that the revenant that leads it is his long-dead beloved. The Morrigan, the goddess of war and death, has charged him with destroying Somhairle, but his love for his companion of old is stronger than ever, and he cannot make himself do it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin L. O'Brien
• Release date: Nov 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311270160

Kevin L. O'Brien

Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing.He writes primarily speculative fiction -- fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres -- but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:Medb hErenn (http://www.medbherenn.com/) -- One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.Eile and Sunny, Team Girl (http://www.teamgirlforever.com/) -- They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.Sir Differel Van Helsing (http://www.sir-differel.com/) -- The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.For more information, see his website: http://www.kevinlobrien.com/

Book preview

Inseparable

Kevin L. O'Brien

Smashwords Edition

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Text Copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien

Cover design and typography copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien

Aon Cari font distributed under a free use license by Cari Buziak and Aon Celtic Art [http://www.aon-celtic.com/]

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License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. It is licensed for your personal enjoyment and remains the copyrighted property of the author. This ebook may not be sold, reproduced, or copied, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, but it may be given away if no changes are made. If you enjoyed this book and would like to share it, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from Smashwords or their favorite online retailer, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support, and for respecting the hard work of this author.

Please consider writing a review for this book on the retailer's website.

If you see any misspellings or typographical errors, please notify Kevin L. O'Brien using one of his online social networks. Thank you.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents, including those based on the real world, are either products of the imagination of Kevin L. O'Brien or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Because some ebook platforms do not support special characters, certain words may appear misspelled, but this was done deliberately to avoid the problem of the platforms deleting the characters. Also, the LRF platform used by older models of the Sony Reader does not permit the use of links to external URLs, whereas the PDB platform used by Palm reading devices does not support any form of linking whatsoever.

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Table of Contents

Preface

Inseparable

About the Author

Other Books by Kevin L. O'Brien

Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien

Sample Excerpts

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Preface

To the ancient Gaels of Ireland, the whole world was magical, but it wasn't particularly beneficent magic. Their gods were rather bloodthirsty, looking upon their human subjects in the same way as the latter looked upon the boar and deer they hunted. As well, every person from the moment of birth was inflicted with geasa, singular geis, magical obligations similar to taboos requiring him or her to perform an act, or refrain from performing an act, or face dire, even deadly, consequences. For example, a warrior might be required to never pass a camp fire without asking for a taste of whatever meat might be cooking, while also obligated to never eat dog meat. Worse still, there were forces at work, both spiritual and physical, setting traps in which a person would be caught between conflicting geasa, thereby ensuring he or she would violate one and bring about his or her downfall. In other words, an enemy wanting to destroy our hypothetical warrior could build a fire in his path and roast a dog. It wouldn't matter if the warrior refused to ask for a bite, or ate the dog's flesh; either way he would be doomed.

To the Gaels, such pitfalls were inevitable; it was only a matter of time before they encountered one, and that belief instilled in them an intense fear of death, especially that brought about by a supernatural agency. Their ancient myths speak of dozens of warriors dying from a bloodcurdling scream in the night, and only by drinking themselves insensate could they ensure a peaceful sleep. Yet they threw themselves into battle with a heedless abandon that suggested a contempt for death. This was because they feared dishonor more than death, and because, if they were fated to die anyways, they felt it was best to pursue a short life ablaze with glory, so that future generations would forever remember their names and deeds.

It is a matter of some controversy as to just how close the members of the ancient warbands really were. Certainly they had to develop an intense loyalty and esprit de corps to function together effectively, but whether that included sexual relations is not known. The ancient myths and legends hint at it, but they were mostly written down by Christian monks who undoubtedly censored more explicit descriptions, and Victorian and early modern scholars were loath to give such an idea credence. Even if warriors having sex with each other was not common, there is no reason to believe that homosexuality was any less prevalent then than now, and the myths also hint that it was better tolerated by the Gaels than by us.

Back to TOC

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The chariot delivered Donall Ruad Mac Roibeaird to the dolman just as the evening sun touched the horizon. He stepped carefully off the back, and accepted his shield and spear from the charioteer. They spoke no words, merely looked into each other's faces, then Donall Ruad turned towards the dolman as the chariot pulled away.

He would not need it again; he knew he would not return. Whether anyone would come looking for him in the morning was of little importance, because he would be dead and, he hoped, past caring. His only concern was the location and the task; his only worry was whether he could accomplish what he came to do. As an honorable warrior, he feared failure more than death, but he also feared that he may not truly die.

A freezing wind gusted, biting his exposed skin and chilling his elderly bones. It was late autumn in Erin, ten days past Samhain, and already the mountains were covered with snow. He tried to wrap his cloak closer around him, but his fingers were too cold from lack of blood while their joints ached maddeningly. He stroked his thick, bushy, gray moustache in an absent manner, then reached up to scratch an itch on his balding, wrinkled scalp under his helmet. As he lowered his hands, he looked at them, and grimaced at the sight of their gnarled fingers, and the loose, parchment-white skin covered in dull brown spots, with blue veins running like ridges along their backs. Not for the first