The Shadowmagic Trilogy. John Lenahan

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СКАЧАТЬ I can’t remember that far back, I’m an old woman, you know. I have been here a long time. I imagine all of your fathers and most of your mothers have climbed in my branches. I know I have watched over the children of Duir since the beginning. But am I the oldest? Who can tell?’ She chuckled to herself. ‘I feel like the oldest sometimes. Picking up a big strapping boy like you was harder than it used to be.’

      ‘I’m sorry.’

      ‘Don’t be. It is a pleasure to meet you, young Conor. I don’t like to say it, but not all in your family have such a good heart. It pleases me down to my roots to meet a child of oak as fine as you.’

      I stood up and hugged her – I couldn’t help myself.

      ‘Will you come and visit me again?’

      ‘If I can,’ I said, thinking about the dangers that lay ahead.

      ‘Oh, my poor dear, your trials are not over, are they?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘Do not you worry. Remember you are oak and hazel, you will know when to be strong and when to bend.’

      Then she hugged me, a hug of wood and leaves that was softer than any I have ever had from flesh and blood. ‘Will you be alright climbing down by yourself? I have had enough bending for a day. I’m an old woman, you know.’

      Dad was asleep when I reached the ground. When I woke him he looked at me and said, ‘Well?’

      I couldn’t even begin to put my feelings into words, so I just said, ‘That’s a heck of a tree.’

      Dad roared with laughter at that. ‘That she is, son. That she is.’

      On the way back to camp several of our horses galloped past us. ‘Where are they going?’ I asked.

      ‘Deirdre is sending them home, we don’t need them any more.’

      Back at the camp Mom was whispering in Cloud’s ear. She finished and Cloud galloped off. ‘You can talk to horses?’ I said, amazed.

      She started to answer and then remembered she had a small gold disc on her tongue. She took it out and said, ‘One of my tutors was a Pooka.’ Then that little shadow of sadness passed in front of her face for a second. The same look she always gets when she is remembering her youth at the Hall of Knowledge.

      ‘You know, Mom,’ I said and then paused – I didn’t know how to continue. I wanted to tell her how glad I was to have found her and how wonderful and brave and beautiful I thought she was. I wanted to tell her that I loved her. ‘I just …’

      ‘I know, son, me too,’ she said and then held me. She was right, we didn’t have to speak.

      Dahy whipped up a roast rabbit dinner. He only cooked about five of them but they were so big they fed us all. We ate pretty much in silence. After dinner, Dad announced that he and Dahy would finalise the plan tonight. He told us to get some sleep and he would fill us in at breakfast. At the mention of sleep I instantly realised just how tired I was. Two days of riding and the outpouring of emotion with Mother Oak had drained me so much, I hardly had the strength to unfurl my blanket.

      At about the same time I put my head down, Fergal came over. He sat next to me, cross-legged. He looked like he wanted to talk but he didn’t say anything.

      ‘How you doing?’ I said, hoping he wouldn’t hit me.

      He gave me a weak smile. ‘Conor, I want to tell you something.’

      I let loose a big sigh and said, ‘Fergal, I don’t think I can take another emotional scene today. I already had one with my mother and my father and even one with a tree. Look, cousin. I’m glad I met you and I love you too, but we are not going to die tomorrow. Why don’t you get some sleep?’

      ‘Yeah, I guess you’re right, Conor. Good night,’ he said and left.

      As soon as my head hit the ground I remembered what I had said to him earlier, about always being there, if he wanted to talk. Damn, I can be a jerk sometimes. There was no way I could just go to sleep now, so I dragged myself off the ground and went looking for him. I couldn’t find him. He told someone in the camp that he was going for a walk. There was no way I was going to find him in the dark, so I went back to my blanket. When I got there Essa was lying on it.

      ‘I think you will find that that is my blanket,’ I said.

      ‘I know,’ she said, ‘lie with me.’

      ‘Essa,’ I said in a whisper, ‘your father is just over there.’

      ‘Oh, shut up and lie down, Conor, I just need someone to hold.’

      I lay down next to her and she placed her head on my chest. We didn’t speak. Her hair tickled my nose but I didn’t mind. It was what she needed and to tell the truth, it was what I needed too. Just before I fell asleep I had a scary thought. I imagined Sally standing over us with her arms crossed, saying, ‘And just what is going on here?’

      That night I had another vivid dream but this one was not about The Land, it was about the Real World. I saw buses and hamburger joints, sweet shops, TV sets, traffic lights, shopping malls, and Sally was everywhere. I didn’t see these things in a bad light. I missed them. This was my home – or at least it used to be my home. Is The Land my home now? I asked myself. Do I fit in here? Do I fit in there? The Real World was all I had known and I loved it. Had I lost it? I didn’t want to.

      Essa wasn’t there when Gerard woke me – thank the gods. I didn’t want to have to explain that. It was long before dawn. He handed me a cup of tea that made every cell in my body stand at attention. ‘Come and get something to eat, Oisin wants to talk to us.’

      There was a big cauldron of porridge on the fire. It was stodgy but it did the trick. I was glad to see Fergal there – he looked OK.

      Dad stood up and put on his leadership face. ‘The Leprechauns have left already. They are going to try to sabotage the Golden Circle from the outside. The map shows us that there are interconnecting gold lines buried in the courtyard. Essa, Araf and Fergal, it is your job to sever them where they meet by the central well. Deirdre and Nieve, you go to the Chamber of Runes and prepare for my Choosing. Conor, you are with me, we have to find my hand.’

      ‘Where is it?’

      ‘Cialtie has taken Finn’s bedroom. It must be in there. Any questions?’

      ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘How are we going to get into the castle?’

      ‘You are going to be delivered personally,’ said Gerard, ‘by the finest winemaker in The Land.’

TWENTY-SIX

      BORN READY

      Never in my entire life have I ever been so uncomfortable. When Gerard told me that he was going to smuggle us into the castle in СКАЧАТЬ