The Shadowmagic Trilogy

FOURTEEN

LORCAN

I awoke tied to a pillar inside a roofless ruin of a room. This waking up in bondage and pain was getting old real fast. Fergal was tied to the next pillar over. His chin was on his chest and his eyes were closed.

‘Fergal,’ I said in a loud whisper. He popped his head up.

‘Conor! You’re awake. Are you OK? What the hell happened?’

‘I’m alright, at least as alright as I can be in this godforsaken place. The last thing I remember, we got clotheslined.’

‘That explains why I hurt so much.’

‘Hey, do you have your Banshee blade?’

‘No, they must have taken it.’

‘Where are the others?’ I asked.

‘I haven’t seen them.’

‘Have you seen anybody?’

‘When I came to, some short guy was tying you up. He was a Leprechaun, I think.’

‘A Leprechaun? You mean a little guy with a beard and a green suit?’ I chuckled to myself and then started laughing.

‘I don’t think he was wearing green,’ Fergal said. That only made me laugh louder. ‘Conor, are you OK?’

I thought about this question for a moment, and all of the humour left me. ‘No, I am not OK!’ I spat. ‘I had a perfectly good life. It may not have been exciting or important, but it was a good life. No one hit me, or made me ride horses, or knocked me off horses, or wanted me dead, or made me sleep outside at night or … or … ANYTHING! The only thing I had to do was homework – which I will never complain about again for as long as I live. Which is probably about five more minutes, because everybody wants me DEAD!’ I was babbling now. ‘HEY, WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET IN HERE AND FINISH ME OFF!’ I screamed.

‘Quiet, Conor.’

‘Why? What difference does it make? It’s not like they don’t know we are in here – they tied us up, for God’s sake. And who are they anyway? WHO ARE YOU? GET YOUR BUTTS IN HERE AND UNTIE ME!’

Well, whoever they were, it got their attention. A very short man with a beard came into view from behind me. It was disappointing that he didn’t have a green outfit and a pointed hat, because if he did he would have been the spitting image of one of Snow White’s dwarfs. He was followed by a bulkier guy who had to be an Imp.

‘Is this the Leprechaun you told me about?’ I asked Fergal.

He nodded yes.

‘Hello, Mr Leprechaun,’ I said. ‘Top of the morning to you. For my first wish I’d like a chocolate sundae with a cherry on …’

‘Silence!’ the little beardy guy shouted.

‘OK,’ I said, ‘how about I cut to my favourite wish – I’d like: me untied, you boiling in oil and don’t forget to leave me that pot of gold.’

The Imp handed Beardy Guy my sword. ‘Is this yours?’

‘It looks like it’s yours now. You know – finders keepers.’

He crouched close and placed the edge of the sword at my throat. ‘I’ll ask you again.’ I could smell his breath and it wasn’t pleasant. ‘Where did you get this sword?’

I looked him in the eye and said, ‘Do it. Cut my throat. Get it over with. I’m tired of being tied up and threatened. Just kill me and then – LEAVE ME ALONE!’

I actually scared him when I shouted. It made him jump up and back off. He turned to Fergal and pointed my sword at him. ‘Who are you?’

‘I am Fergal of Ur.’

‘Ur! Well, what do you know,’ he said sarcastically to the bigger guy, ‘a fellow Imp.’ He put the blade to his throat. ‘Start speaking the truth, Banshee, or you won’t be able to speak at all.’

‘Leave him alone,’ I said. I was just about to say it again, when I heard a voice behind me say the same thing.

‘Leave him alone!’

I didn’t recognise the voice right away because I actually hadn’t heard it that much.

‘Who are you?’ the Leprechaun said. His question was answered by his Imp partner.

‘Prince Araf!’

Sure enough it was Old Chatty himself. He strode in, followed by Essa and a horde of confused Imps.

‘Untie my companions,’ he demanded.

The Imp made a move to do just that but the Leprechaun stopped him.

‘Hey, Leprechaun guy,’ I said. ‘Don’t make Araf repeat himself, he’s not fond of saying things the first time.’

Araf and Beardy stared at each other for a while. It was a struggle as fierce as any sword fight. At last Beardy gave in and nodded to his Imp, who untied us.

We stood and joined Araf and Essa. I whispered to Fergal, ‘Prince Araf?’

‘Yeah, Araf is the heir to the throne of Ur. Didn’t he tell you that?’

‘He babbles on so, I guess I just missed it.’

I approached the Leprechaun. ‘Can I have my sword back, please?’

He reluctantly handed it to me and said, ‘I would still like to know who you are and where you got this.’

‘The business of my companions,’ Araf stated, ‘is of no concern to you. What is of concern to me, is who you are and why so many of my kinsmen are here.’

The stare-down started again. Finally the Leprechaun said, ‘Lord Araf, if I may speak with you alone?’

‘Anything you wish to say, you may say in front of my comrades.’

This provoked another staring contest. At this rate we were going to be here all day. ‘Very well. May I invite you all to join me in my headquarters for tea?’

Araf nodded.

‘You wouldn’t have any of that willow stuff, would you?’ I asked.

It wasn’t until I got outside that I realised where we were – in the ruins of the Hall of Knowledge. The first thing I saw was a lone standing wall with a beautiful yellow and blue stained-glass window in it. The window depicted a woman sitting in the middle of a willowy tree. Amid all of the destruction it was amazing that the glass had survived.

As we walked, Imps and Leprechauns peeked around corners tying to get a glimpse of the strangers. Beardy’s headquarters had obviously once been part of the Great Library. Gerard had told me that the Library was a circular room surrounding a courtyard. What was left of it made my blood boil. I don’t even like it when someone folds down the corner of a cheap paperback – here, heaped around the room, were towers of partly burnt books and piles of scorched manuscript pieces. The bookshelves that were still intact were blackened with soot. Who could do this to a library?

Essa spoke first. ‘You are trying to save some of the manuscripts, I see.’

‘That was not our intention,’ Beardy said, ‘but none of us could stand to see it like this, so I have delegated a handful of people to try to make as much order of the books as they can.’

‘What is your intention here?’ Araf asked.

Beardy straightened and thought for a moment. I recognised the look. I’m sure I had worn it quite a bit recently – it was the look of someone who was deciding whether to tell the truth or not.

‘I am Lorcan.’

‘Lorcan the Leprechaun?’ I blurted out and laughed. Lorcan and the others gave me a dirty look and I instantly apologised.

‘I am Lorcan, I was chief engineer in the mines of Duir. Three years ago I asked Lord Cialtie what he was doing with all of the gold, now that he had stopped the allowance to most of the Runelords. For an answer he imprisoned my wife in his tower and told me that the next time I had the audacity to ask questions, she would die. Over the next two years I smuggled gold out to the Runelords that had been cut off, and planned a rescue of my wife. I had not seen her for months, and when I finally gained access to the tower, she was not there. I learned that my wife had been killed a month before, defending a fellow prisoner. No one had told me.’ He paused and then forced himself on. ‘I knew that Cialtie would find out I had been there, so I escaped. Ever since I have been organising this secret fighting force. We call ourselves the Army of the Red Hand. Our goal is to dethrone Cialtie.’

‘If your army is a secret one,’ I said, ‘then why are you telling us?’

‘Out of respect for Prince Araf I will not lie to you, and also because you will not be allowed to leave here until we have mounted our attack.’

‘What?’ Araf shouted.

‘I am sorry, my lord, this must be,’ Lorcan said, as the room filled with scores of armed guards – none of them, I noticed, were Imps.

We drew our weapons but it didn’t look good – even if we hacked our way out of this room there was an army outside.

‘Put down your weapons,’ Lorcan said, ‘your detainment will not be long. Our attack begins soon.’

The way I looked at it, putting down weapons was a good idea. If these guys wanted to stuff Cialtie, I wasn’t going to get in their way. I lowered my sword and looked at Araf. He reached into his shirt and came up with a wooden whistle. He blew two shrill notes on it that were so high I thought they were going to pierce my eardrums. The effect was instantaneous: at once there was a tremendous commotion outside the room, and every entrance was flooded with confused Imps brandishing weapons. Araf dropped his staff and held his hands up in a calming gesture. I found myself standing in the middle of a room packed full of confused and agitated Imps and Leprechauns all pointing swords. As usual in situations like this, I laughed.

An important-looking Imp pushed through the crowd. ‘Prince Araf, what is amiss?’

Araf glanced at Lorcan. ‘Nothing is amiss, my kinsman. Master Lorcan and I were talking about the loyalty of the Impmen and I provided a demonstration – well done. Now, with Master Lorcan’s leave, you may all go back to your posts – Imps and Leprechauns.’

All eyes turned to Lorcan, who kept his gaze firmly fixed on Araf. We were in for another one of their famous stare-downs. As usual Araf won. Lorcan nodded and once again it was just Beardy and us.

Araf stepped up to the Leprechaun – there was so much tension in the air, you could swim in it. Araf spoke first. ‘I have no desire to create a mutiny in your ranks, Lorcan. I understand your need for secrecy and I am not unsympathetic to your ultimate goal, but we must not be detained.’ Before Lorcan could speak, Araf continued. ‘Let me introduce to you a member of my company. This,’ he said, pointing to his left, ‘is Essa of Muhn.’

Lorcan looked very surprised. He bowed and said, ‘Princess.’

Essa barely nodded back. It was a nice moment.

‘By your lady’s leave,’ Araf said to Essa, ‘would you show Lorcan what is around your neck?’

Essa pulled out the finger-length crystal that her father had used on me.

‘Do you recognise this?’ Araf asked.

Surprising Lorcan seemed to be becoming a pastime of ours. ‘Is that an Owith glass?’ he stammered.

‘It is,’ Essa answered. ‘I believe the queen of the Leprechauns holds the other one.’

‘She does. I have seen it.’

‘Then you know what it can do?’ Araf asked.

‘It catches lies.’

‘Essa, would you be willing to give Lorcan a demonstration?’

Essa took off the necklace and held it towards Lorcan. ‘What is your name?’ she asked.

‘Lorcan of Duir.’ The glass remained clear.

‘This time,’ Essa said, ‘I want you to lie. What is your name?’

‘I am – Finn of Duir,’ Lorcan said. The crystal instantly went black.

‘Why we are here and where we are going,’ Araf said, ‘we cannot tell you, but with Essa’s leave, I propose that you may use the glass to swear us to secrecy. The glass will show if we intend to break our vow.’

Lorcan agreed. We all, in turn, swore to keep secret our knowledge of the Army of the Red Hand and their plan to attack Castle Duir. The glass remained clear. Lorcan returned the necklace and thanked Essa.

I broke the awkward silence. ‘Hey, what about that cup of tea you promised?’

By the time dinner was served we were all pals – comrades in arms. Lorcan explained that he really wasn’t ready for an invasion but he had to hurry it because of the meeting of the Runelords.

‘What meeting?’ Araf asked.

‘Cialtie has called a meeting of the lords for a Runecasting. We suspect he is going to try to find out where we are hiding. We need to attack soon if we want surprise on our side.’

‘Who is performing the Runecasting?’ Essa asked.

‘Cialtie said it will be Nieve, but according to our sources Nieve has been missing for days. We can’t confirm this.’

Essa and I looked at each other but said nothing.

‘How long before you attack?’ Araf asked.

‘I have sent word to all of my reserves to meet here by the end of the week – after that, as soon as we are ready. Some lords are on our side and are trying to delay the meeting.’

‘Too long have the Imps and the Impwives watched our crops wither and our children suffer for the want of gold,’ Araf said. ‘I do not know Cialtie’s motives for hoarding so much gold. I only know that I do not trust him. We will leave in the morning. I cannot speak for my companions, but I will try to return to join you before you move out.’ He stood and extended his hand. Lorcan took it.

‘I stand with my kinsman,’ Fergal said.

Essa and I stood. ‘I am ruled by my father and do not know his mind on this matter, but I wish you success,’ Essa said.

‘My future is just too crazy to promise I’ll be back in time,’ I said, ‘but kick a bit of Cialtie butt for me – will ya?’

Araf and Fergal went outside to address the Imp troops. Essa asked Lorcan if we could see the courtyard where the Tree of Knowledge once stood. It wasn’t far. The room we were in was adjacent to the courtyard – it was one of the few rooms that had remained whole. The courtyard was strewn with rubble from walls that had been pulled down. The ground was charred like the bottom of a giant campfire – it smelt like an old campfire as well. Essa walked to the middle and scrabbled in the black dust until she found a charred root.

‘This was the Tree of Knowledge,’ she said in a faraway voice. ‘I sat in it once when I was young.’

‘You sat in it?’ I asked.

‘Yes, it was a hazel tree. It didn’t have a thick trunk like an oak, it had hundreds of thinner branches coming out of the ground. Over the ages the branches were trained and bent into a living chair. On the day a student left the Hall of Knowledge, he or she would sit in the tree for a leaving ceremony. The student would receive and eat a hazelnut from the tree. It would ensure that the student would never forget what was learned here.’

‘Wow, it sounds like a heck of a tree.’

She looked me in the eyes – hers were wet. ‘Your grandfather died trying to defend it – so did my brother.’

Her eyelids could hold back the tears no longer. I reached for her and she collapsed in my arms, shaking with sobs. I cried a bit too. Together we mourned a grandfather I had never known and a brother that she would always remember with the emotions of a little girl.

I don’t know how long we knelt there. Being brave only postpones the inevitable – sooner or later you have to mourn your dead with all of your being, and that was what Essa was finally doing. When her sobs subsided, I picked up my staff and used it as support to help us both to our feet. The hazel staff slid into the ground like it was sand and then stuck there. Essa stumbled. I let go of the stick and held her with both arms. She leaned on me until we cleared the courtyard, then she stopped, wiped her eyes and put on her brave face before we joined the others. I forgot all about my staff.

Essa was fine the next morning. We exchanged knowing glances at breakfast. After that, nothing was said. We packed our horses. Acorn had gotten used to the place and was his old self again. Lorcan rode with us to the end of the castle’s lands. As we said our goodbyes, I remembered that I had left my staff in the courtyard. Lorcan gave me his blackthorn banta and promised to look after my hazel stick until I returned.

Before he rode off, Lorcan said, ‘The Reedlands are more treacherous now than ever before.’

‘Who said we are going to the Reedlands?’ Araf said.

‘There is nothing else in the direction you go. It is a bad place. This land may be dead, but that place is foul. The last two scouts I sent there have not returned. Be careful.’

I was looking forward to getting out of the Hazellands. I needed to see something growing again. I promised myself that I would hug the next living plant I saw. It was a promise I did not keep. If I had hugged the first living plant I saw – it probably would have killed me.

FIFTEEN

THE REEDLANDS

I could see the border of the Fililands a mile away. The sight of green in the distance made us all quicken our pace. I couldn’t wait to be among living, breathing plants again. I fantasised about galloping straight into the forest. Thank God I didn’t. As we approached I saw that the woods were sealed off by a tall, dark hedge. Huge blackthorn trees stretched for as far as the eye could see, and these weren’t the kind of thorns that gave you inconvenient scratches – one look at the forearm-length, needle-sharp thorns was enough to make me realise we were not getting into the forest from here. I remembered once seeing razor-wire on top of a fence at an airport. It was barbed wire with razorblades stuck in it. It was the nastiest barrier I had ever seen – not any more.

‘My gods!’ Fergal said. ‘Don’t tell me we’re going in here.’

‘That is where we are going,’ Essa said, ‘but not through there.’

‘Is this the Fililands?’

‘Yes, Ona sealed it off with the blackthorns after the Fili war.’

‘Do we have to go around? Can’t we hack our way through?’ I said.

‘You would be dead before your sword touched them. They can fire those thorns.’

‘How about if I asked nicely?’

‘Go ahead,’ she said, with a knowing smile I didn’t like.

I dismounted. I had gotten pretty good at getting on and off Acorn – I wasn’t Robin Hood or anything but I didn’t look like a giraffe on an escalator any more. As I approached the blackthorns I could hear the wood creaking as they pointed their very sharp thorns at me. I instantly felt this was a bad idea. I found one place where I could reach through the thorns and touch a branch. Before I could say a thing a command shot straight into my brain. ‘You have until the count of ten to back off and go away!’ the plant told me.

‘But my mom is in there.’ As soon as I said that I realised how pathetic it sounded.

‘Five.’

‘But …’

‘Three … two …’

I backed off fast. This bush was not one for negotiation. I looked up and saw my three companions smiling at me. I straightened my shirt and regained a little composure. ‘He said that he would let me through but not you guys, so I thought I might as well stay with the group.’

‘How nice of you,’ Essa said.

We travelled north along the thorn wall. On the other side of the spikes we could hear sounds of life – birds chirping and an occasional running deer. When a breeze came from the east, we were blessed with fresh, plant-cleansed air that was scented with wildflowers. It made me hate this living barbed-wire fence even more.

I fell in next to Fergal, who was quieter than usual. I asked him what was bothering him.

‘It’s the way Lorcan said Banshee – hell, it’s the way everyone feels about Banshees, like we’re scum.’

‘Why is that?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. I was raised by Imps, remember? I guess it’s because people are afraid of us. Banshees are the undertakers in The Land and nobody likes death. More than that it seems they can sense death approach, so every time someone sees a Banshee they think they are going to die.’

‘Can you do that?’

‘Sometimes I think I can, but I never learned all of that Banshee magic stuff.’

‘I can see how that would make you guys a bit spooky.’

‘It’s also what makes us – them, such good warriors. Banshee armies can sense if an enemy will die, they almost know if they will win a battle before it begins.’

‘So Banshees are warriors?’

‘That’s their primary role, to defend the western shore from invasion.’

‘Men of war always make people nervous in peacetime,’ I said.

‘I guess.’

‘Well, I like you, Fergal, no matter what anybody says.’

That brought a smile that seemed to bring him out of his funk. He babbled on for the rest of the afternoon. I almost regretted cheering him up.

We camped that night still in the Hazellands. We were all exhausted. We had been teased all day with the promise of life but were doomed to be stuck in this land of death. Tomorrow we would reach the Getal – the Reedlands – no matter how bad it was there, it had to be better than this. We went to sleep without much chat, in the hopes of a better tomorrow.

I dreamt I crested a hill and saw an army of Banshees. When they spotted me they all pointed, as if to say, You soon will die. I ran to escape but every place I turned blackthorn trees sprouted and blocked my path. Eventually I was encased by a blackthorn cage, surrounded by screaming Banshees. The huge thorns closed in on me. I awoke with a scream in my throat.

We smelt the Reedlands before we saw them. Just one whiff of the sulphur and decay dashed any hopes of our landscape getting better. Our only consolation was that we were just going to nip the Reedlands. The plan was to enter it just enough to find an opening to the Fililands, but this was not to be. When we got to the border, all we found was swamp. Murky water choked with black vegetation that bubbled with a smell so bad it put rotten eggs to shame. It was like a disease. You could see in places where it had started encroaching upon the Hazellands. There was no way we could walk in that stuff, let alone the horses, so we followed the unholy border west in hopes of finding some sort of a path. This meant that inevitably we would have to trek through a large part of this foul place.

After fifteen minutes the swamp gave way to reed-covered bogs. It was still too soft to travel through but it was an improvement – at least it smelt a bit better. Ten minutes later Essa called a stop.

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘Someone has been here,’ she said, in a low voice that made me look over my shoulder.

She pointed to tracks that I could hardly make out. We followed them until they turned into the Reedlands. The footing was dry and solid where the trail led.

‘We enter here,’ Essa said. ‘Be careful – I don’t think we will be alone in there.’

The life in the Reedlands made me miss the desolation of the Hazellands. If this was life – it was a corruption of it. Plants of tan and black grew in odd shapes without the symmetry that nature usually provides. The Land had struck me as being so wholesome – this place was the opposite. It was just plain wrong.

Instinctively we travelled as quietly as we could. We didn’t want to meet anyone that would choose to live in a place like this, and I didn’t like the look of the vegetation – I didn’t trust it. A snake slithered quickly across my path. I grabbed on tight to the pommel of my saddle. I don’t know much about riding but I had watched a lot of cowboy movies and I knew that horses freak when they see a snake. Surprisingly, Acorn took no notice, but everyone else did.

‘What was that?’ came a girly cry from Araf that made me laugh.

‘What’s the matter,’ I said, ‘haven’t you ever seen a snake before?’

‘That’s impossible,’ Essa said, ‘there are no snakes in The Land.’

‘Well, it looks to me like there are now.’