The Skull of the World (33 page)

A few days later the royal fleet was tacking to and fro among the islands of the Bay of Deception when the lookout suddenly cried out, "Craft ahoy! On the starboard side, sir!"

"What kind o' craft, porridge-head?" Arvin the Just, the first mate, shouted back.

There was a short silence then the lookout said with rather an odd note in his voice, "I couldna say, sir."

Curious as ever, Finn shimmied up the ropes and into the topcastle, her familiar, a tiny black elven cat, bounding along behind her. She seized the far-seeing glass and held it to her eye for a long moment. Very faintly she heard Lachlan cry, "Well, what is it, Cat?"

She leaned over, putting both hands to her mouth and shouting, "The oddest thing I've ever seen, Your Highness. Best come and see for yourself."

Lachlan spread his wings and flew up to join her, making Finn groan with envy. What she would not give to be able to soar up like a bird, instead of having to climb up all that great height of rope and mast!

Lachlan stared through the eyeglass for a very long time.

"It looked like a sleigh o' some sort," Finn said at last. "Pulled by enormous otters."

"It be Isabeau," Lachlan replied shortly and passed the far-seeing glass back to the lookout boy, who took it with a shy bob of his head and a reverent, "Thank ye, sir, I mean, Your Highness."

Lachlan spread his wings and flew back down to the deck, leaving Finn and the elven cat to make their own slow way down. By the time Finn reached the deck again, all were leaning over the side staring at the strange craft gliding toward them.

It was a long sleigh with high curved sides, all painted with delicate colors and brushed with gilt. Drawing it at great speed through the water was a team of sea otters, barking with excitement, their great dark eyes alive with intelligence. Holding the reins was a very thin, gaunt Isabeau, her skin badly sunburned and peeling in places. She was dressed only in a ragged shirt and breeches, one arm bound up in bloodstained bandages. Clustering around her were three young children, the two boys dressed in filthy, torn nightshirts, the little girl in what could only be described as rags.

"Cuckoo!" Elfrida cried, bursting into tears. "It's my wee Cuckoo!"

"Donncan!" Iseult called and took flight off the ship deck, soaring over the waves with her arms held out. "My babe!"

Donncan spread his golden wings and flew to meet her, mother and son embracing joyfully midair, the waves tossing about just below them. Lachlan flew with strong beats of his great black wings to join them, catching his son up and hugging him close. "Och, my wee lad! We have been so afraid . . ."

"Aunty Beau saved us," Donncan replied cheerfully.

Iseult shot her husband a fierce look. "I kenned she would," she answered and hugged Donncan to her again, almost causing them all to fall into the sea below. Lachlan turned and flew to the sleigh, his weight almost causing it to capsize as he landed with a thump. He bent and raised Isabeau up, embracing her fiercely.

"Thank ye!" he cried. "With all o' my heart I thank ye!"

Meghan stood in the cool gray hush of dawn, her lined face very serious. Isabeau stood beside her, wearing a wreath of flowers on her head and carrying a bouquet of herbs and sacred twigs in her hand.

Close beside her stood the little cluricaun Brun, dressed in a brown velvet doublet and brocade breeches tied with velvet ribbons. Around his neck hung a fine chain hung with keys, rings, buttons and a silver christening spoon. As he danced about with excited anticipation, he chimed like sleigh bells.

Gathered all around Rhyssmadill's great square were a crowd of men and women, all dressed in their finest clothes. There was much jesting and laughing, particularly from the group clustered around Dide.

The young jongleur was dressed all in green, from the long feather stuck in his cap down to his knee-high boots. A crowd of laughing girls were tying leafy branches on to his arms and legs. Isabeau could not help smiling at Dide's antics and, noticing her, the jongleur swept off his hat, bowed and blew her a kiss.

Meghan held up her hand and silence fell over the crowd. They all turned to the east, watching as light began to spill over the violet curve of the horizon. Bells rang out joyously, and Brun raised his silver flute to his mouth and played a haunting tune. Meghan flung out her arms dramatically. The bonfire in the center of the palace square burst into flame and everyone clapped and cheered riotously.

Isabeau passed Meghan the bouquet and she flung it into the fire. Then Dide ran forward and thrust the torches he held in either hand into the bonfire. They kindled quickly and he spun them and threw them up into the air, catching them with great dexterity. The laughing men and women crowded forward, thrusting the brands they carried into the fire, then formed a procession behind Dide as he danced down the tree-lined avenue toward the city, singing joyously:

"Rise up, bonny lassies, in your gowns o' green,

"For summer is a-coming in today,

"Ye're as fair a lady as any I've seen,

"In the merry morn o' May."

At his heels, Brun the cluricaun leaped and frolicked madly, the bells on his toes ringing. Isabeau smiled at Meghan. "Dide makes a good Green Man."

"Aye, that he does, with his bonny face and merry heart." The old sorceress looked at her closely. "Ye do no' wish to join the procession?"

"Och, time enough for dancing," Isabeau replied. "Is it no' a Fair Day all day and evening? Besides, I have no' seen ye in months. I ken ye wish to climb the tower and watch the bonfires being kindled. I thought I'd climb with ye."

"That would be nice," Meghan said, smiling at her. "How is your wee owl?"

Isabeau smiled and put her hand up to stroke Buba, who was huddled upon her shoulder, her sleepy head nestled in to Isabeau's neck. "She will no' leave me for an instant, no' even to
snooze-hooh.
She is afraid I will fly away and leave her again."

The two witches walked back into the palace and began the long climb up to the tower heights. Isabeau was content to climb slowly, for she had not yet recovered her vitality after the past arduous few weeks. Once again she was forbidden from working sorcery or from studying too hard, and for once she was happy to accept her teachers' restrictions. It had been a week since the
Royal Stag
had berthed in the shelter of the Berhtfane and in that time she had done little but sleep, cuddle her elf-owl, walk in Rhyssmadill's beautiful gardens and play with the children.

In contrast, Lachlan had been very busy, arranging for the retrieval of the pirate ships, sending his instructions to his army still holding martial rule in Tirsoilleir, and reading out in court a public proclamation charging Sukey Nursemaid with treason, sedition and kidnapping. She had been arrested in Lucescere a week after Isabeau's desperate flight away from the Shining City and was now held there awaiting her trial. If found guilty, as she surely would be, the pretty young nursemaid would be executed. Although the hurt of Sukey's betrayal ran deep, Isabeau could feel only misery that the life of her first friend at Rhyssmadill was to be so tragically wasted.

Meghan had only arrived back in Rhyssmadill the night before and so this was the first chance she and Isabeau had had to talk since the kidnapping of the little prionnsachan. The old sorceress was very eager to hear Isabeau's story and was full of questions and exclamations that greatly slowed their progress. They had only reached the sixth floor by the time Isabeau was describing the last confrontation with Margrit, and she stopped to show her guardian the carved turquoise ring she now wore on the thumb of her right hand. A large square ring of vivid blue, it was set in an ornate silver casing and had been carved with
lagu,
the rune for water.

"See, if ye press just here, the ring swings sideways, allowing ye to tip out the poison. Is it no' ingenious?"

Meghan gave a little shudder. "Just the sort o' thing the Thistle would do too, poison one's enemies instead o' facing them cleanly and boldly. But tell me, how in Ea's green blood did ye ever manage to switch the glasses without her noticing? Margrit would no' easily be hoodwinked."

"Nay," Isabeau replied, "and she was watching my every move, as I was watching hers, all the while being as sweet to each other as ye could imagine. So I had no time to swap the glasses. Instead, I swapped the wine .in the glasses. I had to evaporate both liquids, move them through the air without mingling them, and then transform them back into liquid, all in the blink o' an eyelash. It was a tricky maneuver indeed and Gwilym says a sign o' true Skill in the element o' Water. He says I deserve to wear the ring, even though I have no' actually sat the Test o' Water yet."

"I'm no' surprised," Meghan said, visibly impressed. "To move wine from two glasses simultaneously is sorceress level! I am no' sure I could do it myself without mingling the wine together."

"But if I'd mingled them, both o' us would've died," Isabeau pointed out. "Needs must when the devil drives, as Elfrida would say."

"Well, look at ye with a ring on every right finger," Meghan said. "And ye no' yet twenty-four."

Isabeau looked at her bare left hand. "I just want to wear my dragoneye ring," she said. "Now that I have won all my elemental rings, when can I sit my sorceress test?"

"Patience, Mistress Impatience," Meghan said shortly, stopping once more to catch her breath. Isabeau grinned and winked at Gita, hanging to the Keybearer's long white plait.
She never changes,
she chittered to the little donbeag who chittered back,
would you want her to?

"I may be getting auld but I'm no' deaf," Meghan said austerely. "Must ye talk about me in front o' me as if I were some doddering auld fool?"

Maybe she's getting crankier,
Isabeau chittered.

Gita replied,
No, she was always as disagreeable as a bear with a sore head.

Meghan scowled. Isabeau smiled at her, slid her hand under her arm and helped her up the last few steps. For once Meghan accepted her help and they came into the tower room together.

The sun was just raising its bright face above the dark ocean, a ruffled skirt of crimson and gold spreading out across the water. The land behind them was still sunk in shadows, so both Meghan and Isabeau could clearly see the bright spots of bonfires leaping on every hilltop, as far as the eye could see.

Down in the city the procession of torches wound its way through the streets and plazas, and Isabeau could see similar ribbons of flame winding through the villages on the other side of the river. She pointed them out to Meghan, saying, "Is it no' grand to think the Beltane fires are being lit on every hill in the whole country, for the first time in my entire lifetime."

Meghan said gruffly, "Everywhere but in Carraig."

Isabeau sobered. "Aye, everywhere but in Carraig. They'll have to do something about that now, willna they?"

Meghan nodded. "Aye. We lop off the head o' one enemy and there's a host o' others needing our attention. In truth, I am growing tired o' the harlequin-hydra o' this war."

"We all are, I think," Isabeau answered, troubled by the note of fatigue in the Keybearer's voice. "Lachlan and Iseult both seem weary and preoccupied, do ye no' think? Still, we are at peace with Tirsoilleir now, and the pirates have been vanquished and the Thistle is dead. Gradually all our enemies have been dealt with."

"All but the Fairgean," Meghan said.

Isabeau nodded, her face very grave. Every night Isabeau dreamed of webbed hands reaching up out of a dark pit to drag her down, dreamed of wet black hair streaming out like seaweed. The nightmares darkened all Isabeau's days with a shadow of foreboding that no feasting fire could drive away.

Meghan saw how somber Isabeau's face had grown and laid her hand on her arm, saying, with a return of her usual briskness, "Come, it is May Day and time to be celebrating! We shall worry about the Fairgean another day."

Yes,
Isabeau thought.
At least for this day we can be at peace and rejoice. We shall worry about the Fairgean tomorrow.

Far below, in the briny darkness of the sea caves that riddled the rock upon which Rhyssmadill was built, the Fairgean warriors floated. They could see nothing, for no light penetrated the sea caves, but the Fairgean warriors did not mind. They were used to darkness. They were used to waiting. They had crawled through the cramped subterranean passages under the cover of the night and there, deep in the sea caves, they drifted, grasping their tridents, waiting for the dark again. When the tide once again began to rise at the setting of the sun, they would swim silently through the darkness to the well from which the humans drew their water. Up the ladder they would climb and out into the very heart of the fortress, a thousand Fairgean warriors driven by a thirst for revenge that a thousand defeats had not quenched. For months the king and the priestesses had been plotting and preparing, eavesdropping and spying, waiting for a time when as many humans as possible would be gathered in this one place, unprepared and unsuspecting.

"The waves of Jor's wrath roll slow," the king said with a predatory smile, "but to sand the rocks are always ground."

Aedan MacCuinn:
the first Righ, High King of Eileanan. Called Aedan Whitelock, he was directly descended from Cuinn Lionheart (see
First Coven).
In 710 he united the warring lands of Eileanan into one country, all except for Tirsoilleir and Arran, which remained independent.

Aedan's Pact:
Aedan MacCuinn, first Righ of Eileanan, drew up a Pact Of Peace between all inhabitants of the island, agreeing to live in peace and not to interfere in each other's culture, but to work together for amity and prosperity. The Fairgean refused to sign and so were cast out, causing the Second Fairgean Wars.

ahdayeh:
the art of fighting.

Ahearn Horse-laird:
One of the First Coven of Witches.
Aislinna the Dreamer:
One of the First Coven of Witches.

Alasdair MacFaghan:
baby son of Khan'gharad Dragonlaird and Ishbel the Winged, twin brother of Heloise and younger brother of Iseult and Isabeau.

Arkening the Dreamwalker:
sorceress who was rescued from the death-fire in the Sgailean Mountains and became one of the new Council of Witches.

Arran:
south-east land of Eileanan, consisting mainly of salt lakes and marshes. Ruled by MacFoghnans, descendants of Foghnan, one of the First Coven of Witches.

Aslinn:
deeply forested land ruled by the MacAislins, descendants of Aislinna, one of the First Coven of Witches.

autumn equinox:
when the night reaches the same length as the day.

Awl:
Anti-Witchcraft League, set up by Maya the Ensorcellor following the Day of Reckoning.

banprionnsa:
princess or duchess.

banrigh:
queen.

Bay of Deception:
large gulf of water to the south of Eileanan, so called because of its deceptive peace and beauty which covers many reefs and sandbanks.

Beltane:
May Day; the first day of summer.

Berhtfane:
sea loch in Clachan.

Berhtilde the Bright Warrior-Maid:
one of the First Coven of Witches.

berhtildes:
the female warriors of Tirsoilleir, named after the country's founder (see
First Coven).
Cut off left breast to make wielding a bow easier.

blaygird:
evil, awful.

Blessem:
The Blessed Fields. Rich farmland lying south of Rionnagan, ruled by the MacThanach clan.

blizzard owls:
giant white owls that inhabit the snowy mountain regions. Sorcha the Murderess had a blizzard owl as her familiar.

Blue Guards:
The Yeomen of the Guard, the Righ's own elite company of soldiers. They act as his personal bodyguard, both on the battlefield and in peacetime.

The Book of Shadows:
an ancient magical book which contains all the history and lore of the Coven.

Brangaine NicSian:
the daughter of Gwyneth NicSian's younger sister. She is named banprionnsa of Siantan in the Second Pact of Peace.

Bright Soldiers:
name for members of the Tirsoil-leirean army.

Bronwen NicCuin:
young daughter of Jaspar Mac-Cuinn, former Righ of Eileanan, and Maya the Ensor-cellor. Was Banrigh of Eileanan for one day.

Brun:
a cluricaun.

Buba:
an elf-owl; Isabeau's familiar.

Candlemas:
the end of winter and beginning of spring.

Carraig:
Land of the Sea Witches, the most northern county of Eileanan. Ruled by MacSeinn clan, descendants of Seinneadair, one of the First Coven of Witches. Clan has been driven out by Fairgean, taking refuge in Rionnagan.

Cave of A Thousand Kings:
the sacred cavern of the Fairgean royal family.

Celestines:
race of fairy creatures, renowned for em-pathic abilities and knowledge of stars and prophecy.

Circle of Seven:
ruling council of dragons made up of the oldest and wisest female dragons.

Clachan:
southernmost land of Eileanan, ruled by the MacCuinn clan.

claymore:
a heavy, two-edged sword, often as tall as a man.

cluricaun:
small woodland fairy.

coh:
Khan'cohban word for the universal life-death energy.

craft:
applications of the One Power through spells, incantations and magical objects.

Cuinn Lionheart:
leader of the First Coven of Witches. Descendants called MacCuinn.

cunning:
applications of the One Power through will and desire.

cunning man:
village wise man or warlock.

Cursed Peaks:
what the Khan'cohbans call Dragon-claw.

cursehags:
wicked fairy race, prone to curses and evil spells. Known for their filthy personal habits.

dai-dein:
father.

Daillas the Lame:
sorcerer and headmaster at the Theurgia.

Dide the Juggler:
a jongleur.

donbeag:
small, brown shrew-like creature that can fly short distances due to the sails of skin between its legs.

Donncan MacCuinn:
eldest son of Iseult and Lachlan. Has wings like a bird and can fly.

doom-eels:
sea-dwelling eels with phosphorescent tails that deliver an electric shock if touched.

dragon:
large, fire-breathing flying creature with smooth, scaly skin and claws. Named by the First Coven for a mythical creature from the Other World. Since they are unable to adjust their own body temperature, they live in the volcanic mountains, near hot springs or other sources of heat. They have a highly developed language and culture, and can see both ways along the thread of time.

Dragonclaw:
a tall, sharply pointed mountain in the northwestern range of the Sithiche Mountains. Isabeau and Meghan lived by a small loch at its foot, in a secret valley. Called the Cursed Peaks by the Khan'cohbans.

dram:
measure of drink.

Duncan Ironfist:
the captain of the Yeomen of the Guards.

Dun Gorm:
the city surrounding Rhyssmadill.

Ea:
the Great Life Spirit, mother and father of all.

Eileanan:
largest island in the archipelago called the Far Islands.

Elemental Powers:
the forces of Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Spirit which together make up the One Power.

Elfrida NicHilde:
exiled banprionnsa of Tirsoilleir.

elf-owl:
the smallest of all the owls, about the size of a sparrow, with a round head and big yellow eyes.

Elsie:
a scullery maid at Lucescere Palace.

elven cat:
small, fierce wild cat that lives in caves and hollow logs.

Enit Silverthroat:
a jongleur; grandmother of Dide and Nina.

equinox:
when the sun crosses the celestial equator; a time when day and night are of equal length, occurring twice a year.

The Fair Isles:
a group of lush tropical islands to the south of Eileanan.

Fairge; Fairgean:
fairy creatures who need both sea and land to live. The Fairgean were finally cast out of Eileanan in 710 by Aedan Whitelock when they refused to accept his authority. For the next four hundred and twenty years they lived on rafts, rocks jutting up out of the icy seas, and what small islands were still uninhabited. The Fairgean king swore revenge and the winning back of Eilea-nan's coast.

Fand:
slave in the Fairgean king's court.

The Fang:
the highest mountain in Eileanan, an extinct volcano called the Skull of the World by the Khan'cohbans.

Faodhagan the Red:
One of the twin sorcerers from the First Coven of Witches. Particularly noted for working in stone; designed and built many of the Witch Towers, as well as the dragons' palace and the Great Stairway.

The Fathomless Caves:
the sacred system of caves and grottos that riddle the Isle of the Gods.

The Fiery Womb:
cave deep within the Isle of the Gods where the Fairgean believe the gods were born.

Finn the Cat:
nickname of Fionnghal NicRuraich.

Fionnghal NicRuraich:
eldest daughter and heir of An-ghus MacRuraich of Rurach; was once a beggar-girl in Lucescere and lieutenant of the League of the Healing Hand. Has strong searching and finding powers.

The Firemaker:
honorary term given to the descendants of Faodhagan (see
First Coven)
and a woman of the Khan'cohbans.

First Coven of Witches:
thirteen witches who fled persecution in their own land, invoking an ancient spell that folded the fabric of the universe and brought them and all their followers to Eileanan. The eleven great clans of Eileanan are all descended from the First Coven, with the MacCuinn clan being the greatest of the eleven. The thirteen witches were Cuinn Lionheart, his son Owein of the Longbow, Ahearn Horse-laird, Aislinna the Dreamer, Berhtilde the Bright Warrior-Maid, Foghnan the Thistle, Ruraich the Searcher, Seinneadair the Singer, Sian the Storm-Rider, Tuathanach the Farmer, Brann the Raven, Faodhagan the Red and his twin sister Sorcha the Bright (now called the Murderess).

frost giant:
lives on Spine of the World.

geal'teas:
long-horned, snow-dwelling creatures which provide Khan'cohbans with food, milk and clothing. Their very thick white wool is much prized all over Eileanan.

geas:
an obligation due to a debt of honor.

Gita:
a donbeag; Meghan's familiar.

The Great Crossing:
when Cuinn led. the First Coven to Eileanan.

The Great Stairway:
the road which climbs Dragon-claw, leading to the palace of the dragons and then down the other side of the mountain to Tirlethan.

Gwilym the Ugly:
one-legged sorcerer who spent the years of Maya the Ensorcellor's rule in Arran but who escaped the autocratic rule of Margrit NicFogh-nan to help Lachlan win the throne. Was rewarded with the position of court sorcerer.

harlequin-hydra:
a rainbow-colored sea serpent with many heads that lives in the shallow waters near the coast of Arran. If one head is cut off, another two grow in its place and its spit is deadly poisonous.

Haven:
large cave where the Pride of the Red Dragon spend their winter.

Heloise MacFaghan:
baby daughter of Khan'gharad Dragon-laird and Ishbel the Winged, twin sister of Alasdair and younger sister of Iseult and Isabeau.
 

Iain MacFoghnan:
prionnsa of Arran.

ika:
a potent Khan'cohban drink brewed from berries.

Isabeau the Foundling:
apprentice to Meghan of the Beasts, twin sister of Iseult. Also called Khan'tinka.

Iseult of the Snows:
twin sister of Isabeau, banrigh of Eileanan by marriage to Lachlan the Winged. Also named Khan'derin.

Ishbel the Winged:
windwitch who can fly. Mother of Iseult and Isabeau.

Isle of Divine Dread:
island in the far north of Eileanan; traditional stronghold of the Priestesses of Jor.

Isle of the Gods:
island in the far north of Eileanan; traditional home of the Fairgean royalty. It was invaded and occupied by the MacSeinn clan in the early history of the Coven and not regained by the Fairgean until after the Day of Betrayal.

Jaspar MacCuinn:
eldest son of Parteta the Brave, former Righ of Eileanan, often called Jaspar the Ensor-celled. Was married to Maya the Ensorcellor.

Jay the Fiddler:
a minstrel and apprentice to Enit Silverthroat. Was once a beggar-lad in Lucescere and lieutenant of the League of the Healing Hand.

jongleur:
a traveling minstrel, juggler, conjurer.

Jor:
the God of the Shoreless Seas, a major Fairgean deity.

Kani:
the Mother of the Gods in the Fairgean cosmology, the goddess of fire and earth, volcanoes, earthquakes, phosphorescence and lightning.

The Key:
the sacred symbol of the Coven of Witches, a powerful talisman carried by the Keybearer, leader of the Coven.

Khan:
Khan'cohban word meaning "child." All young, uninitiated Khan'cohbans are called "child" until after they have successfully won their name and totem in a dangerous journey of initiation.

Khan'bomet:
Scarred Warrior of the Fire Dragon Pride and Isabeau's teacher in
ahdayeh.

Khan'cohbans:
Children of the Gods of White. A fairy race of snow-skimming nomads who live on the Spine of the World. Closely related to the Celestines, but very warlike. Khan'cohbans live in family groups called prides, which range from fifteen to fifty in number.

Khan'deric:
Soul-Sage of the Fire Dragon Pride.

Khan'derin:
twin sister of Isabeau. Also named Iseult.

Khariderna:
First of the Scarred Warriors of the Fire Dragon Pride.

Khan'fella:
twin sister to Khan'lysa, the Firemaker.

Khan'gharad the Dragon-Laird:
Scarred Warrior of the Fire Dragon Pride, lover of Ishbel the Winged, father of Isabeau and Iseult.

Khan'katrin:
Isabeau and Iseult's cousin, and heir to the Firemaker's position.

Khan'lysa the Firemaker:
Isabeau and Iseult's great-grandmother.

Khan'merle:
Isabeau and Iseult's aunt, and heir to the Firemaker's position.