I paused, calming my breathing. Still staring straight ahead, I nodded once to the guards, and the doors opened with a creaking welcome to the throne room. The most elegant and oldest room in the kingdom, I had heard of its splendor, but seeing it for the first time took my breath away. Every stone was hand-cut and engraved with the runes of our people. They told the tales of Old Mother’s protectors. The engraved stones went stories and stories up, all the way to the high ceiling and yet far beneath the earth’s surface.
Calista’s sarcophagus was at the center of this underground tomb, surrounded by silk drapes hung from the high ceilings. The smell of frankincense filled the air. Every thought and detail of an ancient culture was still alive and pulsing down here, unlike the tourist-filled streets above.
The council filled the room, but with all the yelling, no one heard me enter. I’d never met any of them before, but I knew the tales Mund had told me. The Swiss Kingerys were easy to spot with their golden spun hair. The Spanish Costas had dark hair and bronze skin. The Welsh Kahedins, Tegan and Brychan’s family, had a dark hair and olive skin. Like warriors, the Canadian Four-Claws had long dreadlocks with feathers woven in their hair. Mother’s family, the Vanirs, were the most beautiful of all; most had the golden skin of the Greek, but Mother was porcelain. The African Syllas were taller than most everyone in the room, and their clothing was closer to mine than that of the royal Kahedins.
I slowly walked the endless length of the room with my head held high. I wasn’t going to cower from Father anymore. Father stood in front of the Boru throne. Carved from wood, the armrests were two ferocious life-size wolves. The vein in Father’s large forehead looked as though it might burst. He looked old today, much older than he had seemed before.
“You have no right to voice your opinion here! You must serve the king’s rule,” my eldest brother, Flin, screamed in Mund’s face.
“Flin, you’re a bloody fool,” Mund said.
The room was filled with hushed whispers from the council.
“If it weren’t for you intervening, we would all be safe,” Flin said.
“You should be ashamed of yourself!”
“Silence!” Father said. He turned away from them and sat in the mighty throne. “I will decide.”
As I walked past the Four-Claws, the feathered woman turned and watched me, but I didn’t dare look at her. I was nervous, but I couldn’t let any of them know it. One by one, I could feel their stares burning into my skin.
“You don’t know anything about her or what’s best for her,” Mund said.
My pulse pounded and my mouth was as dry as the desert. As strong as I wanted to appear, I was suddenly terrified.
“You still have to learn your place, Redmund,” Father said.
“I know my place,” Mund said.
Quinn was quiet, but he stood proudly next to Mund. His light-blue eyes stared at the floor, and his furrowed brow clearly gave away his disgust in the conversation. The council was eerily quiet, but I could feel their stares. I studied Mund; his dark brown eyes were solid masses of anger, and his jaw was tight and set at an inhuman angle. He had never pushed Father this far. He usually just took his place as the second son. Mund’s thin, muscular frame shook with his emotions.
My brothers’ wives and young sat in stone silence. Gwyn sat next to Tegan, unflinching to the chaos only feet away. There was almost no resemblance between them, even though they were sisters. I met Gwyn once when she visited with Quinn. I loved her spiky blonde hair; I imagined it was her rebelling. Flin’s and Felan’s wives were quietly reciting Latin poetry. It was unreal how they could tune out everything around them.
Father lunged out of his seat and struck Mund in the face, the sound thundering through the room. My nervousness twisted into horror as Mund spat blood on the floor.
“Stop, please!” Mother said, defiantly standing between Mund and Father. Father just grabbed her like a doll and threw her out of his way, knocking her to the floor. She wept at his feet, holding her already-swelling cheek.
Rage pulsed through every cell in my body, and I forced my feet to move forward once again. Mund and Quinn stood in front of Mother. “You will not touch her again,” Mund threatened.
A deep growl came from Father as he narrowed his eyes at Mund. I dragged in a ragged breath, burning my deprived lungs with the fresh air.
A new scent swirled through my thoughts, briefly distracting me, and my instincts turned my head to see glowing black eyes in the shadows. Definitely wolf. I didn’t know his scent, and I couldn’t see his face, but he watched me.
My mother let out a cry when she saw me, and I rushed into her arms. I felt her pain as if it were my own pain to bear, and it filled my soul with the deepest sadness. I almost looked away, afraid to see her so vulnerable, but her mournful eyes held mine. The burning ache in my throat stopped me from speaking.
She wrapped her arms around me, holding me so close, I felt as though I were becoming a part of her. I closed my eyes as I breathed in her beautiful scent—fresh rain and lavender. I always loved the way she smelled and the warmth of her arms. I wanted to avenge her, but she didn’t release me.
“She endangers us all,” Flin said, pointing down at me. It felt like a death sentence.
“It can’t be the only way,” Mund said.
“She must leave,” Flin replied.
“Do you want to sacrifice her to a fate worse than death? They know she lives,” Father said. “She can’t stay here.”
My mind was whirling around in all the confusion. Death. Sacrifice. I was grasping to understand, but I didn’t understand at all. Was this because of Adomnan? Was I being punished for being outside the walls?
“She endangers everything we’ve spent centuries building,” Felan said.
“We have to protect her from herself,” Flin said.
“She’s just a child,” Quinn replied.
“If they capture her, we will all die,” Father said.
My mind was thick and heavy. I demanded to know what was happening, but no words came out. My mother’s arms wrapped around me tighter, as though she had heard my cry.
“You can’t send her away,” Mother said.
“She goes,” he said, looking at me for the first time, “to save us all.”
Looking into my eyes, Mother said, “Tha gaol agam ort.”
“I love you too,” I whispered.
Mother slid a ring on my finger, but I couldn’t concentrate on it. I was too distracted by the chaos around me. Everything was happening so fast. Father ripped Mother away from me.
“Get your hands off her,” I said forcefully. My voice was icy.
He looked surprised by me, but I didn’t care and I didn’t have time to think. He was tearing my family apart. I started advancing on him as one of his guards grabbed me around the waist, knocking the air from my lungs. He dragged me farther away from Mother. I tore at his flesh, kicking and fighting as hard as I could to break free. My anger twisted into adrenaline, and I broke free from his grasp as I lunged back to my mother. Before I could even take a step, a second guard grabbed my throat, nearly choking me. Tears stung my eyes. I saw my mother slipping away from me. I felt as though I couldn’t win, but I kept trying.
Out of nowhere, the black-eyed man from the shadows seized me and dragged me onto a motorcycle, holding me tightly in front of him. I screamed as loud as I could for Mund, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. Everyone’s eyes were on me as they watched my life being torn apart, but they didn’t try to help me, they only watched. I tried to free myself, but I was held firmly in place. His motorcycle roared to life.
“You have betrayed me,” Mother screamed at my father.
Her words broke Father’s hardened face as he looked at me. I felt as though he was seeing me for the first time, seeing my tear-stained face and wild hair.
“It is done,” he said. My heart sank with his words. I was nothing to him.
Mund ran to my side and placed something in my h
ands, but I was too numb to care. “I will come for you, I promise.”
“You know where to find me,” the man said to Mund.
Suddenly we were driving through a doorway I hadn’t seen before, winding through catacombs in a sea of darkness, driving so fast that I couldn’t comprehend what direction we were traveling. The light from the bike only cast a few feet ahead of us, making the tunnel seemed endless.
I welcomed the stillness of the dark as I would welcome death. We broke into the moonlight on a dirt road far from the city limits, followed only by a cloud of dust.
I cried to the moon, but the stranger said nothing. I sobbed so hard, he had to hold me on the bike. I shivered in the cold wind that whipped me with my wet hair, stinging my face. The rain began to fall. My tears danced with the raindrops in a grave melody.
The bike slowed to a stop. There was nothing around and no scents of life. This was where I would die. His boot hit the ground with a thud, grinding the dirt and rock to nothing. He was off the bike before I even realized he had moved. A silver blade hung at his hip. His gloved hand protected him from the poison as he wrapped his fingers around the handle, staring down at me. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping my death would be quick and merciful. When the blow didn’t come, I peeked at his hard, black eyes; they were filled with uncertainty.
I waited a long time, but he didn’t hurt me. Instead, he handed me his leather jacket without a word. I slipped on his warm coat, and my body stopped convulsing from the cold. My tiny frame nearly drowned in his coat, but I didn’t mind. I couldn’t help but breathe in his scent of musky earth, wood, and gasoline.
“I’m not going to hurt you, child,” he said.
He was much older than I, closer to Father’s age, but much taller and thinner. As frightening as I thought Father was, this stranger was even more so. His long black-and-silver hair was soaking wet to his shoulders, and his black T-shirt was getting drenched, but he didn’t seem to notice the cold. He slid me to the back of the seat, and we sped off.
We drove in silence. I was thankful for the warmth of his jacket, but I didn’t trust him. I still had no idea where we were or where we were going, but I let the rhythm of the bike soothe my mind as I watched the world whip by. There was nothing but the ocean and grass as far as I could see, and the occasional outcrop of limestone and cattle pastures.
I allowed my mind to let go and just be there. I would have to bury the pain deep to forget, if I were to survive this. I knew someday I would have to deal with these feelings, but right now, I was content burying them. My mind and body were numb.
5
Broken
We entered a small coastal village on the eastern side of Ireland. It was more rustic than modern in appearance—livestock-filled streets were a way of life here. It reminded me of home, and I hoped he would leave me here. I could live among these quiet people, protect their village, and find my purpose. The bike slowly crept down the dirt streets, the livestock scattering out of the way and turning to look at us.
A small Irish man with wide-set shoulders and drab hair was staring at me. I wondered what he was thinking from the vast expressions that twisted his face. Mostly it looked like concern.
From far away, a deep howl echoed through the sky, but it was close enough to even make the stranger in front of me sit straighter on the bike. The eerie sound made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end—it was Adomnan hunting me.
“Hang on,” he said, “they’re coming for you.” I wrapped my arms around his body and buried my face into his back. Another howl answered the first call, and the people began to scramble back into their homes, gathering their children and as many animals as they could. I smelled their fear, and it called to my soul to protect them.
On the other side of the village, we reached a cliff, and the ocean came into view. The bike leapt forward in a thunderous jolt, and we slid down the side of the cliff toward water. His leg scraped the ground, and he fought to keep control of the bike. The howls were closer now, and I felt my pulse pounding in my ears. I was certain they were already in the village searching for us. The bike ripped up rock in a storm behind us.
“Willem!” he called to a man at a dock. Willem, whomever he was, frantically started untying the ferry and barking out commands to two dockworkers. When I caught his scent on the wind, I was certain he was a wolf too.
We neared the dock, but seven large wolves erased the earth between us. They saw me and howled as the pack closed in on me, their prey. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the fierce rage in Adomnan’s green eyes.
“Cast off!”
“Bloody hell, hurry!” Willem said.
The ferry engines gurgled to life, sending bubbles to the murky surface as it started moving farther away from shore. We weren’t going to make it in time. I was frozen stiff with fear and adrenaline.
“Let them take me,” I said. “Save yourself.”
I hung my head with acceptance of what was to become of me, but I made the right decision. No one should die for me; he owed me nothing.
He laughed so hard, he shook the bike and me with it. He caught me by surprise; I didn’t even know what to say. Was he straight-up crazy? Just what I needed—to be traded by my own father to an insane old man to save me from Adomnan. I wasn’t certain whom of the three I trusted more.
“I don’t give up that easily,” he replied.
The ferry was at least fifty feet out in the water now. Willem looked as panicked as I felt. The two humans with him were revving the engine. What was my captor thinking? This was insanity. We would hit the water and drown or have to swim back to shore to them. I shuddered at the thought. Both options seemed rather bleak to me.
“Please—don’t die for me.”
He laughed again. “I don’t plan to,” he said.
He hit the throttle, and we sped down the wooden dock toward the water. We drove up a ramp and soared into the air. We floated between earth and sky for what seemed like an eternity. The wolves howled and pawed the dock just moments behind us as we barely landed on the ferry, cracking the boards under the bike’s weight. We slid across the deck, and I lost my grip, slipping off the bike, cracking my arm into the metal rail. I cried out in pain as the bike came to a stop. The pain vibrated through my bones. He was next to me in a moment, looking at my arm, mumbling again. I couldn’t make out a bloody thing he said.
The humans were stunned with fear staring at us, but they quickly resumed their work. I watched the wolves as they grew smaller in the distance. This was the second time I had gotten away from Adomnan. The pain from my arm blurred my vision, and my head was spinning. If I shifted, it would heal in minutes, but there were humans on board, so I would just have to endure the pain.
I looked at the strange man before me. His Bloodmark was a four-point Celtic shield burned into the flesh of his wrists. The blood-red color was unmistakable. He was thin, but obviously strong. He was good looking for his age. His dark jeans were ripped, and there were cuts on his legs. I stared into his black eyes, hoping to find some truth there.
He placed his hand under my arm and pulled me to my feet. He stood there watching me. It was more than I could endure. I felt overwhelmingly self-conscious, and I blushed as the rain cascaded down on us.
“Thanks for the coat,” I said.
He just kept staring at me as if he were waiting for me to transform into a leprechaun. I hated the silence.
“Who are you?” I said.
“Baran,” he replied. He smiled and walked away.
That was it? That was all he was going to say? One word? What the heck was wrong with him? Definitely crazy, I decided. But I wasn’t going to stand for this. I was going to get some damn answers.
I marched right up to him, ready for a fight, but he turned on his heel just as I approached, and I nearly walked right into his chest. He smiled again, looking down at me.
“Come have a seat out of the wind,” he said, gesturing toward the covey behind the captain’s ar
ea. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked away to the motorcycle, picking something up. Returning, he sat down, crossing his long legs out in front of him. “Or stand if you prefer,” he said.
I was still standing. Feeling quite dumb, I sat down, leaving plenty of space between us. However, this decision did leave me in the wind and rain, drenching me, but what little was left of my pride wouldn’t allow me to move any closer.
He shook his head. “My name is Baran Killian. I am a very old friend of your mother’s. I was born to the Killian pack of Scotland, but the Killians were exterminated in the seventeenth century. My nephew, Willem, and I are the last of our pack.”
He was quiet, lost in thought. I knew the legends of the Killian pack. They used to be one of the most powerful royal packs, but I had never heard of Baran. Why hadn’t anyone spoken of him before if he was a trusted ally?
“Your father has bestowed you as my ward.”
“To take me where?”
“I can’t tell you just yet,” he said, nodding toward the humans who were obviously trying to listen. They were suspicious of us but didn’t ask questions. “It’s not safe. But I vow to protect you.”
I sighed and studied my hands. The dark shape on my right ring finger caught my attention and stopped my fidgeting. I remembered Mother putting it on my finger. I recognized it immediately—intricate Celtic knots carved by Ragnall Boru for his betrothed, Calista. It had slightly tarnished with age, and as long as I could remember, it had had a place on Mother’s hand. A wave of sadness rolled through me, and I wept as I studied the ring both Calista and my mother had worn.
Baran wrapped his long arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him, out of the rain. I buried my face in his chest and cried. “There now, child, it will be all right,” he said. His tender response only made me sob harder. I hadn’t expected this rough-looking man to give me any comfort, and I showed him all my weakness. I didn’t know how to deal with my feelings; I just felt broken. “The worst is over now.”
“I don’t feel I am strong enough to survive.”