The Well of Shades (89 page)

Colm waited.

Bridei rose to his feet. He knew, as did Broichan and
Keother and Carnach, what the decision was to be. All the same, his heart was pounding and his head beginning to throb in a familiar way.
Stating this aloud before the Christians made intention fact. He had made difficult choices before, taken paths that had surprised his people and stretched the goodwill of the gods almost to breaking point. So he believed; and he knew that as soon as he had spoken, he had once again set his dear ones at risk. The shadow of the Nameless God hung over all of them. He could hardly have said why he was
doing this; only that, after this season of fear and hurt and loss, it felt right.

“On the matter of your brethren in the Light Isles, King Keother offers you his assurance that they will remain safe,” he said. “He and I are in agreement on that issue. I understand these hermits are quiet folk who are well accepted among the people there.” He did not add another fact that he had been told, which
was that the number of conversions to the Christian faith had been extremely small. The island people had a tendency to resist change. “We do not wish to see their number greatly expanded.”

“They are few,” Colm said, “and likely to remain so. They go for the sea and the silence.”

Bridei glanced at Keother, who sat quiet and pale on his left side.

“You mentioned hostages,” the King of the Light
Isles said to the priest. “That situation is for King Bridei and myself to handle; we are kinsmen, and understand each other.”

There was a little silence, during which Bridei looked across the chamber and met Brother Suibne’s eye. The translator gave a little, crooked smile; it seemed to Bridei the Gael knew exactly the mixture of conviction and trepidation he felt in his heart.

“On the matter
of the island,” Bridei said, “we will allow you tenancy there for two years. Build your house of
prayer; open your ears to the silence. Go no farther than the neighboring isles, and then only if your men’s skills may serve the community. No prayers beyond Ioua; no ritual, no teaching. We have a powerful chieftain in control of the west; his name is Umbrig. He will be instructed to deal with any
breach of those rules promptly and decisively.”

“And after two years?” It was Suibne who asked the question; it seemed to Bridei that Colmcille had not heard anything after the first words, for the granting of his dream had rendered him temporarily wordless.

“After two years,” Bridei said, “we’ll look at this again. No promises. I’m not a fool. I don’t for a moment believe Brother Colm capable
of restricting his activities to a single island. If I decide to pack the lot of you back home, believe me, I’ll do it. You’ll be watched. Don’t forget that.”

Suibne nodded; neither he nor Faolan rendered this speech into Gaelic.

There; the words were out, and there was no going back, at least until the two-year trial was over.

Colm had regained his equanimity. “Thank you, my lord king,” he
said gravely. “I sense that your druid is not in full agreement with you on this matter, and I congratulate you on standing firm.”

Bridei felt Broichan stiffen beside him, then heard the druid controlling his breathing, holding back words of anger. “You read us incorrectly,” Bridei said. “Broichan and I are of one mind where these matters are concerned. Here in Fortriu, the will of our gods is
woven into the long history of our people. They are older than time, knitted fast in the rocks and waters of the Glen. They are nourished by the love we offer them; we are blessed by the great web of life they wrap us in. It may be that the voices you hear in the wind and waves of your island are not so different from those that guide us. But it is not through a desire to know more of your own doctrines,
or to see them advance like a shadow across my
beloved land of Fortriu, that I grant you this favor. I think you are a good man; a man of integrity. I find myself in a position to offer you safe haven from certain powerful enemies we happen to share. As a man of honor, I believe it is my duty to do so.”

“You have two years to prove yourself, Brother Colm.” Broichan’s voice was like an iron blade.
“Break the restrictions we have set you and the king will banish you forever from this shore. Do not doubt his word.”

“In two years,” Colm said, “I will build my house and sow the seeds of my community. Then, God willing, I will return to White Hill and we will talk again.”

(from Brother Suibne’s account)

On the eve of our departure, seeing that Broichan looked pale
and weary at supper, Brother Colm drew him aside and called me to translate for him. He offered the king’s druid a cup of water. “I wish to leave you in a spirit of good faith,” our leader told Broichan. “I see that you are not in the best of health. Whether this ailment is of the body or of the spirit, I cannot tell. But I have certain healing gifts. Drink of this cup, over which powerful prayers
have been spoken, and your sickness will leave you.”

I was somewhat surprised that Broichan did not dash the thing to the floor. “I need no Christian prayers,” he said coldly. “What is this? I see a little stone in the cup. Would you feed me a charm to suck out my life?”

“The pebble is from Ioua; from the loveliest, most remote part of that seashore, where the waves roll in straight from Ulaid,”
Colm said. “The white stone holds great healing power. Place it in any cup and he who drinks from that vessel is well again. God is good. I offer this in…” He hesitated, the word
friendship
refusing to leave his lips.

“In deepest respect,” I said in the Priteni tongue. “Carry it away unspilled, at least. Consider it. Good
health is an essential tool for a man with missions still to accomplish.
Go in peace, brother.”

Colm raised his brows at me, unable to understand, but Broichan took the cup and bore it away. His expression did not provide any assurance that he would make use of it.

I heard, later, that he had been on the point of tipping it out in the garden when his daughter, the queen, persuaded him to drink it. The argument she used related to her son, the odd little child Derelei,
and the fact that Broichan must remain well and strong for a good fifteen years to see the lad become a man. So he drank. The next morning we left White Hill for our long voyage to the west and our new home on Yew Tree Isle. I cannot say whether the white pebble’s miraculous healing powers were effective on a recalcitrant druid. I hope that, at some time in the future, I have the chance to find
out.

It has been an adventure; a time of miracle and magic, sorrow and joy, grievous loss and wondrous finding. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be part of it. I sense this is not yet finished. Colm held himself quiet during that meeting, but I know his zeal; it is a thing to be reckoned with. He is a bright beacon, a powerful force for change. Once we are settled on our peaceful
isle, a new tide will flow across this land, and the dark practices of the past will struggle to stand up against it. That is my belief.

Bridei is no fool. Perhaps he sees what I see and is following a longer and subtler path than any of us can guess at. Or perhaps the joys and terrors of these last days have blinded him to the true force of Colmcille’s mission. One thing I do know. There will
be work for me yet at the court of Bridei, king of Fortriu.

S
UIBNE, MONK OF
D
ERRY

“W
E HAVE SOMETHING
to ask you, my lord king.” Faolan’s tone was diffident. He and Eile had come
hand in hand up to the walkway where the king was standing alone save for Ban, with Dovran on guard at a distance. The formal manner of address alerted Bridei to some awkwardness in the matter
to be raised.

“Speak openly, Faolan. Dovran’s out of earshot and Ban can’t repeat what he hears. What’s troubling you?”

It was night, and the waxing moon was veiled by clouds. A chill wind from the northern sea whipped the torches into fiery banners and set the men’s cloaks billowing.

“I’m wondering,” Faolan said, “if you remember a conversation we had on the night you were elected king. It’s
a long time ago. Chances are you have forgotten it. You offered me a new position in your court and I refused it.”

“Councillor, adviser, and companion.”

“You do remember.”

“Indeed. And you, I think, told me you did not have it in you to be a friend. Even then I knew you were wrong.”

Faolan nodded. In the fitful light his expression was hard to read. “Eile and I have been discussing the future,”
he said. “I wondered whether that offer might still be open.”

Bridei felt a smile creeping over his face. “It might,” he said. “You are weary of travel? You no longer wish to exercise certain special skills?”

“That life mixes poorly with the duties of husband and father, Bridei. Besides, my knee isn’t what it was. Eile hasn’t asked me to do this. I want that to be clear. It’s my decision to
change the path of things. I can’t inflict my old life on her and Saraid. I need to be here for them. If I keep on with these duties I’ll be constantly worrying and so will Eile.”

“If I said no, what would you do?”

“I’d leave,” Faolan said bluntly. “Seek employment elsewhere. Provide for my family as best I could. I can turn my hand to a few trades.”

“No doubt.”

“But it would break my heart
to do it, Bridei. I want to stay here; to work under your patronage. That’s if you believe I can still fulfill the role you had in mind.”

“I’ve no doubt at all that you can.” Bridei put his arms around Faolan’s shoulders and embraced him; after a moment, Faolan returned the gesture.

“Thank you, my lord,” Eile murmured. “The truth is, I know Faolan will miss the adventure and the challenge. I
think it’s possible he may be available for an assignment here and there. Just as long as he’s not away too often or for too many days. It would be unfair for him to have to change so much, just because of us.”

Faolan smiled. “I already have changed,” he said. “The man I was last summer would never have put such a request into words.”

“I’m glad the two of you have come to see me,” said Bridei,
considering how to frame his next speech. What he knew of Eile meant the offer he intended to make must be expressed just right, or her pride would make it imperative that she refuse. “This will indeed be a major change for you; for all three of you, I believe. Eile, Tuala and I owe you compensation for the near-fatal attack you suffered while in our service. You were doing a highly responsible
job of caring for our son when Breda took it into her head to make an attempt on your life.”

“Oh, but I let Derelei go off—I didn’t keep him safe—”

Faolan put his arm around her shoulders.

“Nobody could have foreseen what would occur,” Bridei said. “Besides, as my wife tells it, Derelei was determined to get out, and he is a child of unusual abilities. I hope you will accept what I have to
offer, Eile. It is customary to do so under such circumstances.”

“I don’t need any sort of reward, my lord. I have everything I want.” She glanced up at Faolan, her eyes bright with love.

Bridei smiled. “I had in mind a modest patch of land with a cottage; there’s a vacant holding situated near the
settlement below the walls of White Hill, a smallish place set by itself on rising ground. Should
the three of you decide to take it on, Faolan could still come up here to perform his duties as a councillor, but you could retain some independence and privacy as well. I sense the communal life of court is not entirely to your liking, and I see a difficulty in folk making undue demands on Faolan’s time if he continues to dwell here once his role changes. We’re all so used to having him on call
night and day. For a married man, that’s not reasonable; I’m sure you’ve heard Elda say so many times, and she’s right.”

Eile appeared to be speechless.

“I’m told the place needs a bit of work,” Bridei said. “It’s a little rundown and the garden’s overgrown. Tuala tells me that should not be a problem for you.”

“I—” faltered Eile. “I—”

“I expect I can add mending thatch and digging drains
to my existing skills,” Faolan said. “And Eile has the garden already fully planned in her head, I think. I imagine she would still come to visit court. Saraid and Derelei have formed a friendship.”