Lia Dàn – Stone of Destiny: Dàn Cycle, #2

By James Raquepau

Breanna Ban Morna manages to free her Chief but fails to slay her Norse father as they escape from Dun Garm. In a fierce battle with his Dreadriders, Ćroí Dàn claims Erin's Hero as she single-handedly defeats the Norsemen. Able to seek refuge at Dun Uisneach, the Aos Dána at the large Gaelic hillfort first notices that Breanna carries Lann Dàn across her back, and then the Heart of Destiny reveals herself.
 

With the full backing of the Druids and the Chief and Chieftess of the Dun, Erin's Hero leads her growing band of warriors to seek out Lia Dàn while evading the Dreadlord's pursuit. Yet, while they follow a path southeast to some ancient standing stones that will allow them passage to Falias, also known as Tír na nÓg, the magical realm of the Tuatha Dé Danann, they find themselves in a stand-off at a river crossing with the Dreadlord and his Norsemen once more.

Before any battle can take shape, ancient enemy demons emerge from the river. Breanna must use her magical ring to summon the Tuatha Gods to save them. Manannán Mac Lir answers the call this time, battling the foul Fomorians, ensuring her band can enter Falias without further interference.
 

With help from Dadga and having acquired the Stone of Destiny from Danu, Erin's Hero returns to her realm, where she must seek Erin's Altar to wield the magic of the Triple Dàns, an act that will remove her father and his ilk from her land. Breanna's Band must battle the Dreadlord and his Norsemen to give Erin's Hero the time to make such a feat possible—a feat that will warp the Emerald Isle's fabric of time and could claim Breanna's soul!

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Raquepau
• Release date: Mar 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9798989660261

Book preview

Lia Dàn – Stone of Destiny

Lia Dàn – Stone of Destiny

Dàn Cycle Two

James Raquepau

Copyright © 2024 James Raquepau

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without prior written permission of the copyright owner, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual people or incidents is coincidental.

ISBN

979-8-9896602-6-1 eBook

Brought to you by:

Destiny Cycle Publishers

Gaels Rule!

www.destinycycle.com

Lia Dàn: Stone of Destiny – Dàn Cycle Two

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments & Credits

Celtic Magical Constructs

Guide to Pronunciation

Central Characters & Places

Glossary

Prologue

Destroyer Pursued

Tuatha Interlude

Safe Harbour

Dark Goddess

Tuatha Interlude

A Steep Price

Tuatha Interlude

Into Falias

Tuatha Interlude

Breanna’s Sacrifice

Epilogue

About James

Dedication

For my family – Cynthia, Jereme, and Gwyn Thanks for supporting the dream!

Acknowledgments & Credits

I want to thank Marty and Chris for helping me develop the original storyline and all my early readers who provided input along the way, including this 2nd edition, which will now be three books!

I want to give a special thanks to Steven Moore for his editorial services. While located in the UK, he previously lived in the great Northwest of the United States, not far from the author; I found him on the Reedsy website.

I also want to thank Nadiia Kolpak, a great illustrative artist from Ukraine’s beautiful and brave country who produced the cover artwork; I found her on the Upwork website.

As the Tuatha Gods spread the author’s musical talents to more worthy humans, I want to thank Claire Odlum and Emy Smith for the lyrics and compositions of the songs in the Destiny Cycle novels and on the website (www.destinycycle.com); I found them on the Airgigs website.

Map of Eastern Erin

Celtic Magical Constructs

In the fantasy-adventure genre, authors develop magical constructs for their envisioned world, whether a newly created world or one based in semi-historical or mythical times. In the Dàn Cycle series, the author’s magical construct revolves around Celtic mythology, especially Irish Gaelic mythology, which has had many interpretations over the years. It makes for rich and fertile ground for creative minds to till.

Celtic Gods were said to wield celestial powers, imbuing artifacts and weapons and bestowing portions of their unique magical aspects to key mythical characters. It is a common theme among the various tribes, often using the same or similar names for their deities, such as the Gaels and the Picts.

In the Dàn Cycle series, the author has followed this familiar path, with the Gods of Erin being the mythical Tuatha Dé Danann. That last word refers to the Mother Goddess, Danu’s pantheon, and the mortal druid and warrior worshipers upon whom they bestowed their gifts.

With these magical constructs in mind, the author uses italics to highlight magical items or weapons of Tuatha origin or seizing states of being. Examples of the latter would be void and sight, used by Druids, whose power comes from Tuatha Gods. Likewise, telepathic speech between two or more parties is in italics without quotes, as that speech is made possible via Tuatha magic.

The author also italicizes the use of Gaelic to ensure the reader knows it must sound different from English. When a character speaks Gaelic, it is in quotes. Additionally, some characters have not only a name but also a title, like Erin’s Hero. It is the same with gods, who usually have multiple formal names that require capitalization. Likewise, when Gods make new Gods, they would be Mother, Father, Daughter, and Son to each other.

Hopefully, this will help make it easier for readers to follow this semi-historical fantasy adventure.

Guide to Pronunciation

While this novel occurs in fifth-century Ireland, the author uses standard Gaelic for certain words over Early or Old Irish. However, because certain vowels and consonants in Gaelic have no equivalent in English, it can be a complex language to read. Therefore, a Gaelic-English dictionary is needed to translate between the two languages.

Below is a summary of some differences, which can assist with some of the pronunciations of these words. I have included phonations in parenthesis to aid in sounding out names on the Central Characters & Places and Glossary pages. For those less inclined to make such an effort, sound out the word as you like. How it sounds to you will not insult the Tuatha Gods! I can’t say the same for native Gaelic speakers, though.

Vowels & Vowel Combinations: Individual Gaelic vowel sounds are as follows: a is typically pronounced ah, as in father; á or à takes on a longer sound, as in Dàn taking on the sound dawn (note: the author chose Scottish Gaelic spelling of Destiny over the Irish Gaelic spelling, as cinniúint is too lengthy); ae takes on the sound i, as in high; when words end in e, it is always sounded out, as in fairie; i rarely takes on the sound eye and instead is usually an ee or ih sound, as in feel.

Some vowel combinations take on different sounds from English to Gaelic; aoi takes on a long e, as in peel; ao takes on ay, as in pay; au takes on the sound ow, as in pow. Accents such as ` and ´ lengthen the sound of a letter.

Consonants: As with vowels, a few Gaelic consonants also take on different sounds from English; c always takes on a k sound, as in Celtic being pronounced Keltic; ch and kh are guttural, as in ache; g sounds are hard; h is not strictly a letter, but rather it’s a function to aspirate or lengthen a consonant, and thus lh would take on the sound full.

The author hopes you have some fun with Gaelic!

Central Characters & Places

Badb Catha (Badh-uv Kae-Thah) – Goddess of Death and Knowledge, commonly called Goddess of War, and the Mórrígan, often taking the form of a battle crow on the earthly plane.

Beatha (Kae-Thah) – A prophet or Fáidh near Dun Arrogh, one of the Aos Dána.

Bradaigh (Bra-daigh) – Bastard son of Hakon Skadi.

Braoin (Breen) – Bastard son of Hakon Skadi.

Breanna Ban Morna (Bree-an-na Bawn Mor-na) – A Red Branch warrior from Dun Arrogh who is of Clan Dálaigh (Daw-lee) and the daughter of Morna and Nevan.

Brede – Dreadrider of Garm and the oldest of Hakon Skadi’s warriors; he is also one of the Norvegr leaders known as Dreadriders.

Cuilcagh Mountains (Cuilcagh) – Northwest of Dun Arrogh.

Dagda (Dahg-duh)– All-Father of the Tuatha pantheon, Dagda is the God of Life, Death, and Fertility over the land and its people; he is also the first druid and a master of all things magical, often considered wise, witty, and wily. Dagda typically resides on the Tuatha island of Murias.

Danu (Dah-noo) – Mother, Earth, and Moon Goddess of Erin, also known as the Triple Goddess and the Silver Huntress, when she takes her wolf form; she is co-creator with the Dagda of the entirety of the Tuatha Dé Danann pantheon.

Dun Arrogh (Doon A-ruhg) – A moderate-sized ringfort where Clans Mórdha and Dálaigh splinters settled.

Dun Garm – The Dreadlord of Garm’s massive ringfort near Loch Ree.

Dun Uisneach (Doon Ish-nach) – A substantial Celtic ringfort located in southwest Mide along the High King’s Road, also known as Slíghe Mor (Slee-geh More). Chief Faolán and Chieftess Falyn in southwest Mide oversee it.

Eoin Mac Cairbre (Owen Mak Car-bree) – Acting Chief of Dun Arrogh, Red Branch leader of Clan Mórdha, cousin of Fergal, and a Prince of the Blood from Uliadia.

Erin (Eh-rin)–Four primary provinces or kingdoms comprised what the Gaelic called old Ireland. Connachta (Kon-akh-ta) is in the northwest; Mumu (Moo-moo), later called Munster, is in the southwest; Ulaida (Ul-ay-duh) is in the northeast; and Laigin (Lay-gin) is in the southeast. Royal Mide (Roy-uhl My-de) was carved out of the latter two provinces, which held the High Kings in Tara. Unfortunately, this last kingdom did not survive as a province by itself once the heroic period of the fifth century passed; High Kings would not reemerge until four to five centuries later.

Falias (Fall-eece)–One of four fairie islands where the Tuatha resided with Danu and Lugh. Often called Tír na nÓg (Teer na nOg).

Fergal Mac Conall (Fur-gul Mak Koh-nawl) – Dun Arrogh Red Branch warrior of Clan Conall, a subordinate clan to Clan Mórdha (Mur-dha) and cousin of Eoin Mac Cairbre.

Hakon Skadi (Hah-kon Skah-de) – Dreadlord of Garm, son of a Norvegr Jarl, and killer of his father.

Kyras (K-eye-rass) – Dun Arrogh Smith of Clan Dálaigh, brother of Nevan, husband to Lissa, Toal’s father, and Breanna’s uncle.

Lang – Dreadrider of Garm, brother of Lunt.

Lissa – Wife of Kyras, Toal’s mother, of Clan Dálaigh.

Lugh (Loo) – Sun God and wielder of Tuatha’s magical Jewels and other items of the Tuatha Dé Danann, sometimes seen as a great white stag in his animal or familiar form known as Cernunnos.

Lunt – Dreadrider of Garm, brother of Lang.

Mórrígan (Mohr-ree-gan) – Goddess of War, Fate, and Knowledge, also known as Badb Catha or the Dark Goddess.

Morna Ban Cahir (Mor-na Bawyn Kah-hee) – Wife to Nevan, mother of Orla, Ronat, and Breanna of Clan Dálaigh.

Nevan – Warrior husband to Morna, brother of Kyras, and of Clan Dálaigh.

Niall Noígíallach (Nye-al Nee-Gal-ach) – The High King in fifth-century Ireland, also known as the Ard-Rì; the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties, which governed significant parts of the Emerald Isle for many centuries; his son, Lóegaire Mac Néill, followed him as the next High King.

Runa – Norvegr Völva or seeress of Dun Garm, whom the Gaels called a baobh, a fury, a cailleach; to the Norvegrmen, she is their seið-kona.

River Shannon – Divides the Kingdoms of Connachta, Mumu, Laigin, and Mide.

Toal Mac Kyras (Toe-al Mak K-eye-rass) – Dun Arrogh Red Branch warrior of Clan Dálaigh, cousin of Breanna.

Ulicia (You-Lee-see-ah) – Healer or Ollamh of Dun Arrogh, one of the Aos Dána.

Glossary

Aos Dána (Ees Daw-nuh) – Led by All-Father, wise ones of the Celts known as Druid; comprised of four sects, each wielded Tuatha powers such as the sight and void, with others controlling the four elements.

Ard-Rì (ard-ree) – The High King of Ireland, the Chieftain to which all Clan Chiefs swear allegiance.

Bards – History keepers, storytellers, and master musicians of the Aos Dána.

Breitheamh (Breh-huv) – Judicial sect of the Aos Dána that acts as judges, lawmakers, interpreters, and negotiators.

Celts (Kelts) – People who once occupied a greater part of Europe and the northern Isles, with those hailing from southwest France and northeast Spain (known as Galicia) considered ancestors of the Gaelic.

Claimh Solais (Kly-vuh Soh-lish) – One of the Four Treasures or Jewels brought to Erin by Dagda and Danu and wielded initially by the Sun God, Lugh; it was gifted to Nuada of the Silver Hand, one time King of the Tuatha; once unsheathed, no enemy could resist the Sword of Light or escape from its path.

Ćroí Dàn (Kree Dawn) – Created by the Mother Goddess, Danu, and known as the Heart of Destiny, Ćroí Dàn is a heart-shaped ruby pendant that endows heroes of the land to rise above their mortal beings, become true defenders of Erin, and rally clan warriors to their cause.

Danu (da-new) – Mother Goddess of the Tuatha pantheon.

Druids (drew-id) – Known as Aos Dána, Dagda’s masters of law, music, foreseeing, healing, and elemental magic.

Dun (Doon) – Earth mounds and pickets that usually surround a settlement of several clans for defensive purposes; duns or ringforts typically consisted of the main hall and several small conical-shaped huts serving as living quarters.

Isle of Erin | Érie (ay-rah) – The Emerald Island known as Ireland.

Fáidh (faw-ee) – The prophetic sect of the Aos Dána typically called seers or ovates.

fíanna (f-ee-AE-n-uh) – Initially, freeborn Fir Bolg warriors – and after a time, interbred Gaels – who once made up the army when the High Kings in Tara ruled in Royal Mide; the fíanna were made up of fíans (fi-ann), or bands of nine, who eventually served local Chieftains and kings when the first reign of the High Kings ended.

Fragarach (frea-gar-thach) – A sword, also called Answerer, brought from the otherworld by Lugh, the Celtic God of the Sun; known to be able to pierce any armor, and later gifted to the Celtic God of the Sea, Manannán Mac Lir.

Filídh (fil-id-h) The bardic sect of the Aos Dána, keepers of the histories, storytellers, and master musicians of the Aos Dána, commonly known as bards.

Fir Bolg (feer-buhl-uh g) – The original people of Erin were subjugated first by Fomorians, then by the Tuatha.

Fomorians (foh-mawr-ee-uhn) – A race that settled in Erin after the fall of Atlantis and was subsequently defeated by the Tuatha.

Gaelic (gay luhk)– A people who came to Erin after the Tuatha, arriving from a part of the Celtic empire called Galicia.

Lann Dàn (Lanna Dawn) – Blades of Destiny, created by Badb Catha, the Goddess of War, are a pair of long diamond-bladed weapons with oak hafts imbued with the power to battle invaders wielding magic.

Lia Dàn (Lee-ah Dawn) – Stone of Destiny is a round crystal brought to Erin by the Mother Goddess, Danu. It enables those holding it to see the past and many future timelines on the wheel of time.

Lugh (Loo) – Tuatha Sun God.

Maorgairme (May-o-r-gair-mee) – The Dark Goddess created an amulet ring to aid the bearer with fickle magic and summon Tuatha Gods in great need.

Ogham (OH-am) – Typically only used by the Aos Dána, it is the written language of the Celts.

Ollamh (O-lam) – Healer sect of the Aos Dána.

Red Branch – A band of warriors in old Ulaida led by Rory the Red; in Gaelic, they were called Craeb Ruad (krayb roo-ad); it was a name resurrected by Eoin Mac Cairbre of Clan Mórdha when he organized the young warriors in Dun Arrogh to fight the Dreadlord.

Rune Stones – Black stones used by Asgardian magic wielders like Runa, etched with symbols to help divine the future.

Sidhe (shee) – What the Gaelic people call fairie or Tuatha mounds and living places.

Sight – A common name for the vision state of the Aos Dána used to touch the wheel of time to see a possible future.

Tir na nÓg (Teer-Na-Nug) – Alternate name for Tuatha realm.

Tuatha Dé Danann (Too-ah-ha Day Dah-nawn) – Magical beings who came to Erin after the fall of Atlantis, the same as Tuatha Dé Danann, often referred to as Faerie.

Tuatha Dé Danann Islands – Falais (Fall-eece); Findias (Fin-dee-us); Gorias (Gore-us); and Murias (Mord-us).

Urghabháil an neamhní (ur-guh-vawl un nyow-nee) – Means to seize the void. This state allows some of the warrior class who have reached mastery level to access the magic of the fairie realm, similar to the sight typically used by Tuatha’s Aos Dána to access Erin’s wheel of time through Lia Dàn, the Stone of Destiny.

Prologue

The Mother Goddess of Erin once again sat beside the white pillar on which the Stone of Destiny rested, with Lugh on her right and Badb Catha on her left. Dagda sat before her. Danu shook her head to clear her mind of Ćroí Dàn’s strident demand to be delivered to Breanna and said to her fellow Gods, The Heart of Destiny is concerned about her Hero, our Hero.

Badb Catha muttered, Erin’s Hero is reckless.

Lugh countered, "Breanna is the youngest one ever chosen by Ćroí Dàn. We need to find ways to support her. She is only seventeen."

Dagda interjected, "She must be trained, but we have no time. We need our Gaels to support her and ensure she accepts Ćroí Dàn."

Danu agreed, Our Heart needs to be sent to her soon. We must watch for a moment when they can best meld in action when Breanna requires courage and bravery. That will make their bond stronger.

The Dark Goddess sighed, closed her eyes, and reached for the ring on Breanna’s finger with her mind. As its creator, they were linked, and she passed a command to the distant piece of fickle magic. When she finished, she nodded, saying, "Maorgairme will wait for such a moment and reach out to Ćroí Dàn to let her know it’s time."

Thank you, sister-mine, Danu said with a relieved smile.

Badb shrugged as if it were nothing and added, "There is another problem. The Dreadlord’s völva, that baobh called Runa, actively uses her magic to support him. So, we must also counteract her influence on events to come. For example, she helped Hakon summon the Formorian God, Tethra. Runa is leading the Dreadlord to Erin’s Hero. We need to create divergences to lead them astray."

Like what? Lugh questioned.

Badb Catha gave him a wicked smile and answered darkly, "I’ll use my precious crows, the ones she sacrifices each time she uses her magic, to read her Asgardian runes to see the future. Use them to misdirect the baobh."

The Dark Goddess closed her eyes and commanded her legion of crows across the land to report any contact with the baobh, the witch völva named Runa. Controlling her use of the sight would be a more significant challenge, yet there might be a way to confuse it.

Runa, Hakon Skadi’s Norvegr völva, stumbled back to her hut after the Celt girl had bashed her head. She needed to understand the meaning of the appearance of the Destroyer in Dun Garm and what it meant for their future in this strange land. The white-haired young lady was not the male warrior Runa had expected, and not seeing her arrival or her attack was something Runa had also missed.

Turning to her bird cage, she thrust a hand inside it, snatching the crow inside. Once in her hand, she raised her ceremonial yet sharp sword, sliced a leg off, and then stuffed flour into its stump. Finally, she thrust the squawking crow in her hand back into its cage and let the blood drip onto her round casting stone. Her Runes tumbled onto the stone table, some in blood and others not.

Gazing at the Runes, she reached for the sight and saw nothing but a massive murder of crows in her mind, all squawking, flapping, diving, and pecking at her mind. She withdrew herself from the sight and just gazed at her Runes. Erin’s Dark Goddess had just thrown down a challenge, as she knew crows were her familiar. It was a battle! A simple völva from a distant Norvegr pitted against the Tuatha Goddess of War!

Destroyer Pursued

Toal Mac Kyras listened intently to the Norvegr warriors on the wall above him, and from their panicked tone, it seemed they appeared convinced that the High King in Tara had sent an entire dun full of warriors to attack their walls. The fire high in the main hall’s roof seemed to fuel the Dun Garm warriors’ confusion. That made Toal smile. Then he looked up through the fog, trying to see anything on top of the rampart, and noted the torchlights were barely visible. Not even enough to show them the ground at their feet. He asked with more than some concern, Fergal, between the dark and the fog, how are we going to find Eoin and Bre once they escape?

The old warrior looked around, surprised as much by the question as he was at not having thought of it himself. How could he hope to find his cousin if he could hardly see Kyras’s son a few feet away? He cursed, "Droch ollach mullach!"

We all have wool for brains sometimes, Toal chided.

And those who do, more often than not, end up dead when facing the likes of the Dreadlord, Fergal growled. Then, he paused momentarily and added, If I were Eoin or Breanna and heard those on the wall yelling about the fire, I’d not head here, and I’d not head for the gates.

Too many warriors about?

Correct, Fergal answered. That leaves us with the south and east sides. Let’s circle the dun and see what we find. And stick close. I don’t want to lose track of you in this murky soup.

Aye, Toal agreed, shuddering at the thought. His imagination started to run, with fairies and demons lurking in the mist as Fergal turned and headed into the darkness. Toal kept close to the older warrior. If the sun were out to cast a shadow, he would not see his own.

Careful not to make any noise, the pair moved slowly southward along the ramparts. As they passed around the south end of the fort, Fergal paused to see if he could hear anything. It was quiet, save for the now muffled yelling from the Dreadlord’s warriors about a fire in the main hall. Eoin’s cousin led Toal on, circling to the southern side and then the east.

Torches burned atop the wall, as they had all along the rampart, but they still could see little else. When Fergal could hear nothing above him, vise-like indecision gripped him. Should he retreat and slip back into the trees or wait it out? If sunrise came and the fog lifted, Hakon’s warriors could see them, and all would be lost. What good would it do if Hakon’s men captured them as well? But if Breanna did manage to free Eoin, he’d be leaving them when they needed him most. Given that, he headed south again along the eastern side.

Toal broke into his thoughts, whispering, Let’s keep to this side. My arrows came from the west side, so more warriors should search there first. That means Bre and Eoin should likely come over somewhere on the eastern rampart.

Fergal Mac Conall was thankful for the boy’s sound reasoning. He took him by the arm and again led him back to the southeast corner of the massive fort. This time, they went even slower as they headed north along the rampart’s base, hoping to discover something they had missed on their last pass.

When Toal heard voices ahead, he was sure from the accent it had to be Breanna and Eoin, and then the sound of timbers breaking made him all the more convinced. Fergal also seemed to sense the same thing and picked up the pace. Suddenly, Eoin came stumbling down the steeply pitched dirt wall of Dun Garm, nearly skewering his cousin a moment later. The pair went down amid curses and grunts.

Breanna was more graceful as she came to a skittering stop at their feet, the faint light of Lann Dàn and Maorgairme showing a grim expression. A white-haired lad followed her as she hissed at Fergal in a quiet but tight voice, I put you in charge of the Red Branch to keep them safe, not to drag them into the Dreadlord’s stronghold to get hacked apart!

I didn’t drag anyone to Dun Garm except for Toal, who came of his own volition.

Finally realizing her cousin was at her side, Breanna turned to him, saying, And what do you think you’re doing here?

Trying to help free our Chief, Toal spat as his back stiffened; he was glad his voice didn’t crack as it was wont to do of late. That fire Hakon’s warriors are preoccupied with right now just happens to be what I was doing a few moments ago.

Eoin and Fergal were finally on their feet again, and the former said, Now is not the time to argue about who should and shouldn’t have done what. Fergal and Toal, meet Braoin – he’s with us. Let’s be away from this place. Fergal, do you have your chariot?

Aye, his cousin said tartly; he was not pleased to let Breanna’s rebuke pass. But Eoin was right, and he added less tightly, We left it in the trees northeast of here. The horses should be rested by now and could carry us all.

Good, then let’s be away from here, Eoin commanded and started limping.

Wait, Breanna demanded in a tight low voice. The Dreadlord will surely catch us if we return to Dun Arrogh, and that chariot won’t carry us swiftly enough with four in it to go anywhere else. And with how you two are still limping, it’d take us an hour or more to get to that creaking old bucket. Once Hakon’s hounds have our scent, we’d be done for if we didn’t have at least a half day’s lead on them.

Then what do you propose? Fergal demanded acidly.

You and Toal take the chariot, Breanna offered. "It will carry you two faster than the four of us. My sister lives deep enough into Mide that her husband’s clan will protect you. I doubt the Dreadlord would risk an attack with the Ard-Rì so close at hand in Dun Tara."

It’s a three-day ride to Orla’s, Eoin commented. Fergal would have to move swiftly.

Or the Dreadlord would catch us, Fergal added, his tone almost accusatorial, as if suggesting that was what she wanted. I say let Toal take the chariot. He handled it most of the way here anyway and would make better time without me.

Then which way would you four go? Toal asked.

We certainly need to throw the Dreadlord off our trail, Eoin interjected as he looked over his shoulder at Dun Garm’s rampart. East and south, I’d say, toward Dun Uisneach. Then, once we’ve outwitted their pursuit, we’ll keep going that way. If I remember correctly, my Champion has a goddess to visit.

I don’t like sending Toal off on his own, Breanna countered, hoping she didn’t sound like she wanted to be rid of her Chief’s cousin too obviously. You dragged him here, Fergal. You should see that he gets back safely. He’s just a boy, after all.

If Breanna had thought to goad Fergal into looking after Toal, she certainly miscalculated her blood cousin’s anger at being called a boy. Toal said sourly, I’m old enough to look after myself. Fergal’s right—he’d slow me down. So instead, I’ll lead Hakon’s dogs away from your trail, get to Orla’s, and find someone to get word to Dun Arrogh that you are all safe.

Safe, but on the run, Eoin corrected. Now, we’ve wasted too much time. Run, Toal. Get to the chariot and yourself to safety.

Breanna was about to protest further but said, Aye, go safely and quickly then.

Toal quickly hugged his blood cousin and bolted into the misty darkness.

Come on, Eoin said, turning in the other direction, following the rampart south and then away from Dun Garm.

Lang climbed from the rafters of the main hall with a bucket and two arrows clenched in his hand. With a face covered in soot and the wound inflicted by Hakon’s bastard causing his arm to throb, he sighed. At least they had saved nearly all the thatch, and the fire was out. He looked up to assure himself that they had found every flaming arrow. Thinking of the attackers made him seethe with anger. They could have lost the entire hall had it not just rained.

The Dreadrider handed the fire arrows to a nearby