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‘What is wrong with sheep?’
Dad and I smiled.
‘OK, Pop, tell how you lost your hand–the truth, this time.’
‘I refuse to let you tell that story while we are in a boat,’ Mom said, ‘and we are approaching Ioho–we should not be talking in the Yewlands.’
‘Why not?’ I asked.
‘Because it disturbs the trees and you do not want to disturb a yew tree.’
Under normal circumstances, I would have thought about calling a shrink and booking her into a rubber room, but I had just had a little chat with a tree myself. ‘What could a yew tree do? Drop some leaves on us?’
She gave me a look that made me feel like a toddler who had just been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. It was going to take a while to get used to this mother and son stuff.
‘Yew trees are old. The oldest trees in Tir na Nog. We of The Land think we are immortal, but to the yew we are but a spark. To answer your question, if you wake a yew, it will judge your worth. If it finds you lacking–you will die.’
‘What will it do, step on me?’ I said, and got that same icy stare as before.
‘It will offer you its berries, which are poisonous,’ she said, in a tone that warned me that her patience was thinning, ‘and you will be powerless to resist.’
‘I find that hard to believe.’
‘Please, Conor,’ she said, ‘do not put it to the test today.’
I didn’t have to ask if we were in the Yewlands, I knew it when we got there. Heck, I knew it before ‘we got there. We rounded a bend in the river and ahead I saw two huge boulders on opposite sides of the bank. On top of them were the most awesome trees I had seen yet. They weren’t as big as the oaks, but these were definitely the elders–the great-great-grandfathers of all of the trees and probably everything else in creation. The roots of the yews engulfed the rocks like arthritic hands clutching a ball. It seemed as if these two trees had just slithered up onto their perches to observe our approach. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Past the guard trees we entered a thick forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. A dense canopy turned the world into a dark green twilight, and there was no light at the end of this tunnel.
The first corpse was just inside the forest. Within ten minutes I must have seen fifteen of them. On both sides of the bank, human remains in various states of decay adorned the base of one tree or another. Some of them were clean, bone-white–others were still in their clothes. Many of them had quivers with arrows on their back. All of them were looking up, open-mouthed, as if to say, ‘No!’ or maybe, ‘Thy will be done.’
Mom’s warning about not speaking in the Yewlands proved to be unnecessary. I wasn’t going to say a word. Never have I felt so humbled and insignificant as I did in the presence of those sleeping giants. I didn’t want them to know I was there, and I definitely didn’t want them to judge me. If they bid me to eat their berries, or throw myself off a cliff for that matter, I would do as they commanded, just to make them happy. Like a dog to a master–or a man to a god.
We spent most of that day silent, in an emerald dusk. It was slow going: each paddle was done with care so as to not make any splashing sounds. The frequency of the corpses diminished, but still from time to time a skyward-facing skull, encased in moss, would be just visible. As we came around a bend my mother’s breath quickened. Ahead was a moss-covered altar surrounded by a semicircle of what must be the oldest of these primordial trees. The bases of the trees were littered with women’s corpses. Each tree was surrounded with five or six sets of bones, some bleached white, some in white robes, a couple still with long, flowing hair, and all were in the same position. They were embracing a tree trunk, as if for dear life–which I suppose they were. I noticed that my mother didn’t look.
When, in the distance, I saw a clear white light at the end of the forest, I let out a tiny yelp of joy that I instantly regretted. My parents shot me a disapproving look. Luckily the trees took no notice.
The fresh air and sunshine made me feel like I had been rescued from a premature grave. I waited until the Yewlands were out of sight before I dared to speak.
‘Well, that was fun,’ I said, trying to sound cooler than I felt. ‘Who were all those dead people?’
‘Archers mostly,’ Dad replied.
‘Why archers?’
‘The best bows are made from yew; if you want to be a master archer, you have to ask a yew tree for wood.’
‘And those were the guys that didn’t make the grade?’
He nodded.
‘Have you ever been judged by a yew?’
‘Not me, I was never much of an archer. Good thing too–one-handed archers are traditionally not very good.’
‘I have,’ my mother said, in a faraway voice that sent a shiver down my spine. ‘I have been judged by a yew. Next to giving up my son, it was the hardest thing I have ever done.’
I thought that maybe she wasn’t going to say anything more–her face told me it was a memory that was painful to remember. I waited–she took a deep breath and went on. ‘The place you saw with the altar is called the Sorceress’ Glade. Like archers with their bows, a true sorceress must translate a spell onto a yew branch.’
‘What, like a magic wand?’
‘If you like.’
‘And you were judged?’
In reply she reached into her pouch and produced a plain-looking stick, carved with linear symbols.
‘What does it do?’
‘It gives me power over the thorns,’ she said.
‘Huh?’
‘You will understand when we reach the Fililands.’
We were floating by fragrant fields of heather, inhabited by sheep, rabbits and deer. I even saw a black bear fishing on a bank. It was like a 3-D Disney film. I almost expected the bear to wave.
‘How did you become a sorceress?’
‘Her father,’ Dad said, ‘wanted to make a superwoman.’
‘My father wanted his daughter to be educated,’ Mom corrected. ‘He hired twelve tutors to teach me in the arts, philosophies, combat and magic. I loved all my tutors, almost as much as I loved my father for providing them for me. Of all my studies, it was at magic that I excelled. Against my father’s wishes, I made the pilgrimage to the Sorceress’ Glade with my tutor, my mentor, my friend.’ Mom fell silent and sadness invaded her face.
‘It was Nieve,’ Dad said.
‘Nieve? My Aunt Nieve? The one who tried to pierce my sternum with a javelin?’
‘I am sure she took no joy from that task,’ Mom said. ‘Nieve has a very strong sense of duty.’
‘Could you give her a call and maybe we could sit down and talk about this?’
‘Nieve and I have not spoken to one another for a long time,’ she said.
‘Because of me?’
‘No, before that, when I left her guidance to study Shadowmagic’
Shadowmagic–there was that word again. Every time someone mentioned it, they sounded like they were selling a stolen watch in an alley.
‘What is the deal with this Shadowmagic stuff?’
‘Magic is never without cost,’ she said. ‘Like wood is to a fire, gold is to magic. Gold is the power that is made by the earth. In order to cast a spell you need to spend gold. The greater the spell, the more gold you need. That is what they call here in The Land, Truemagic. Gold is not the only power in the world, it is just the easiest to find and use. There is power in the air and the water, that is too difficult to control, and then there is another power–the power of nature that can be found in the trees. Harnessing this power is the force behind Shadowmagic. It is not as powerful, but it can do things that Truemagic cannot.’
‘So what does Nieve have against it?’
‘Shadowmagic is illegal,’ Father said.
‘Why?’
‘Ages ago,’ Mom explained, ‘in the early reign of Finn, there was a Fili sorceress named Maeve. Maeve detected power in amber stones and devised a way to use amber to power magic. Since amber is only petrified tree sap, she started to use fresh sap, the blood of trees, to power her magic. She became very powerful and that power drove her mad. She decimated an entire forest and used its energy to raise a huge army. Maeve and her army laid siege to Castle Duir. No one knows what happened–it is believed that in the midst of the battle, Maeve cast a mammoth spell that catastrophically failed. Maeve and all of the Fili army were killed. Afterwards, Finn outlawed Shadowmagic and decreed that Maeve’s name should never be uttered again. The Fili were so decimated it was thought they were extinct.’
‘You found them, I take it?’
‘Yes. Maeve’s daughter Fand lives.’
‘And she taught you Shadowmagic?’
‘She was reluctant at first. She was deeply ashamed of her mother, of the wars and death and the forest she destroyed, but deep down she knew that it was her mother that was wrong, not her magic. Together, we found and read Maeve’s notes to try and find out what happened. It was the killing of trees that corrupted her soul. We found trees that agreed to allow us to tap them for sap, and we swore never to kill a tree. We revived the art of Shadowmagic and found that it was good. Just as valid as Truemagic. After all, the yew wand is an integral part of Truemagic but at its heart, it is actually Shadowmagic.’
‘Did you ever try to convince Nieve?’
‘Oh yes. When I returned from the Fililands I told her about it. She was shocked and appalled that I would do such a thing. As I mentioned before she has a strong sense of duty, but she agreed to discuss it again.’
‘And what happened?’
‘We never had that talk.’
‘Why not?’
‘I was banished,’ Mom said.
‘Banished?’
‘Yup,’ Dad said, ‘your mother here is an outlaw. A regular Ma Barker.’
‘Who banished you?’
‘Finn,’ she said.
‘Finn, my grandfather? Why?’
‘Your mother performed a very public display of Shadowmagic in front of almost every Runelord in The Land. My father had no choice.’
‘He should have had me executed,’ she said.
‘What happened?’
‘That is part of the tale of how your father lost his hand. Not only is it a long-overdue story–it is a long one as well. I know a shelter up ahead. We can camp for the night and you can hear the tale properly over food and a fire.’
Food and fire, now that was a good idea. After paddling all day and the stress of the Yewlands, I was overdue for a break.
The meadows of heather gave way to fields of tremendously tall holly trees. We pulled the boat ashore and stashed it under a bush. (Mother of course asked the holly for permission.) We walked a faint path until we saw a stone hut with a thatched roof.
‘This is a lovely Gerard hut,’ Mom said.
‘Is Gerard home?’
‘I shouldn’t think so.’ Dad laughed. ‘Gerard is an old Runelord who likes to travel. He built a bunch of these huts so he wouldn’t have to sleep out-of-doors.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘it looks cosy’
‘They usually are,’ my father said, opening the door.
I had heard the sound of a crossbow firing before, but I had never heard the sound of an arrow piercing flesh. In the old cowboy movies, the sound of an arrow entering a body was always a clean thwap–in reality, the sound is a pop, followed by a hideous squelch. Dad spun completely around like a top and hit the ground hard on his back–a crossbow bolt was sticking out of his chest.
Chapter FiveRothlú (#ulink_5cbd6faf-bd02-5ff5-8604-f0ffa443b07d)
When I saw the air gurgling out of the wound in my father’s chest, I dropped to my knees and screamed, ‘Dad!’ This turned out to be a lucky choice–if I had remained standing the second arrow would have got me right between the eyes. As it was, it still gave my hair its first centre parting. Dad had opened the door to an ambush.
‘Don’t move,’ I heard a woman’s voice order.
I looked up expecting a second attack, but instead I saw a deadly scene frozen in time. Aunt Nieve was standing in the doorway, and behind her were two soldiers with empty crossbows. My mother and my aunt were face to face, eyes locked–Mom was holding an amber ball while Nieve was holding a gold sphere made of wire.
‘Make one move towards him and we all die,’ Mom said.
‘If the boy dies then my duty is done,’ Nieve replied. ‘If we die with him–so be it.’
‘If I set off this Shadowcharm then all will die except the boy,’ Mom said. ‘You have seen the protection I have given him already. Your duty will fail and you will be dead.’
They stared at each other for a time.
‘You should be with me in this,’ hissed Nieve.
‘You want me to stab my own son in the neck?’ My mother said neck with such vehemence that it made me jump. ‘We all realise that if Conor wasn’t around we would all be safe.’ She spoke in such a strange voice that it made me think she wasn’t talking to Nieve–she was talking to me. ‘You don’t expect me to risk his neck just to make us safe!
The amulet! She was talking about the rothlú amulet around my neck. I reached up, slowly wiped my lips and casually let my hand drop to the gold charm hanging around my neck. I wrapped my little finger around it.
‘Do you really think you and Dad would be safe if I was gone?’ I said to my mother.
‘Listen to him,’ Nieve said, ‘the boy is beginning to understand.’
‘I hope he does understand,’ Mom said, talking to me, while never taking her eyes off Nieve. ‘Yes, it would be safer for all if you were gone.’
I looked down at my father, who nodded to me with his eyes. I did understand. Mom wanted me to escape with the amulet and defuse this situation, so that maybe Dad could get some help.
‘You know, Aunt Nieve,’ I said, ‘all of my life I wished I had an aunt that would send me an unexpected birthday present, like other kids. Instead I got one that tries to kill me every time we meet. Well, I want you to know that I am taking you off my Christmas card list. Oh, and by the way–rothlú!’
A rothlú spells kick in fast but I did have a split second to see Nieve’s expression before all went black. It was so satisfying that it was almost worth the pain.
Pain! Did I mention pain? Man, did I hurt. I didn’t hurt all over, like with a killer hangover–it was more like every little bit of me hurt. My lips hurt, my earlobes hurt, my toes hurt, my hair hurt and I don’t even want to talk about my groin. It felt as if every tiny fragment of me was torn apart and then quickly reassembled. For all I know that’s what actually happened.
