Page 59 of Queen of the Shadow

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The sun was at midday height when Taog, a local fisherman and his son, Iain, sloughed through the shallows to the bank of Loch Duich, well out of sight of Dùn Dòbhrain, to greet Scáthach and the group with her.

“We be glad you’re here, Queen Scáthach,” Taog said, bowing so low his bushy gray beard brushed the water plants that painted the bank of the loch brilliant green. “Lord Kintail was a good man, as were his sons. ’Tis horrible what was done to ’em.”

“We’re going to set things right,” said Scáthach. “And your aid is much appreciated.”

“I would fight with you if I could!” exclaimed his young son.

“Hush, laddie. The queen leads the Shadow Guard,” chastised his father. “She doesn’t need the help of a fisherboy.”

“But I do.” Scáthach smiled at the young man. “And you’re giving me the exact help I need by aiding my people. I shall not forget it.”

“Thank you, Queen Scáthach!” The boy’s eyes shined with pride, and then they settled on Cuchulainn, taking in his tricolored hair, his divine beauty, and his undeniable strength. “Cuchulainn! It is truly the Hero of Ulster?”

Cuchulainn paused in loading reeds into the boat and nodded to the boy. “I am Cuchulainn and I, too, thank you for aiding Queen Scáthach.” Cuchulainn’s gaze found Scáthach and he winked.

“Go on now, laddie boy. Don’t gawk at the warriors. Help them into the boat,” said Taog.

Tabiti and Amage waded up to the boat, dragging a wide stretch of algae and water detritus with them. “Do you have a net so that we can pull this along with the boat? We’ll need the concealment as we swim to the fort,” Tabiti asked Taog.

“Aye! Iain, help secure that to the boat,” said Taog.

When all was readied, Tabiti, Amage, and Cuchulainn went to Scáthach. The Queen of Shadow met the gaze of each warrior. “Our timing should be right. Uathach and our escort will arrive at the bridge to the fort at about the same time the boat is close enough for you to slip over the side and swim to the islet. They’ll be concentrated on me, but do not assume that your way will be clear. Move quickly and quietly. You only need to see if her army size has been significantly increased or decreased from the two hundred warriors Geirr of Lethra reported, and to know if there are any defensive surprises awaiting us—but neither of those pieces of information is as important as your lives. If you are discovered, get out. Take no heroic risks. The time for heroism will be when we invade the fort, not now. Understand?”

“Yes!”the three warriors said together.

From the boat, Taog called, “I’ll be waiting and watching for them, and I’ll bring them straightaway back here.”

“I’m counting on you, Taog,” said Scáthach.

The old fisherman’s face flushed and his eyes glistened as he bowed.

The warriors clambered into the little boat and then lay along the bottom. Taog and Iain covered them with nets and tarp, and then Scáthach pushed the boat off, and the father and son took up the oars, rowing steadily out onto the loch. Scáthach watched them, noting that they did look exactly as what they pretended to be—a small fisherman’s boat collecting dinner from the loch.

Satisfied, she strode back to the tree line where Uathach waited with ten members of the Shadow Guard who would escort them to the fort.

Uathach pointed her chin at the boat. “It’s a good ruse.”

“It is. And now let us do our part.” Scáthach mounted. With Uathach at her side and the small group of Shadow Guards following closely, they made their way around the loch.

When they came within sight of the islet fort, Uathach took out the white flag of parlay and raised it. They went to the entrance of the stone bridge that mother and daughter had crossed many times when they came to trade with Lord Kintail and stopped before it.

It looked no different than it had last time Scáthach had visited. A ten-foot-tall wall of stone encircled the settlement. The entrance held a sentry platform on either side of the wide wooden double doors. The platform was built onto the stone wall, and sentries were visible standing lookout.

“I see no added defenses from here,” said Uathach.

“The only change is that the entrance doors are closed,” said Scáthach. “Perhaps Aife believes the islet makes the fort unbreachable.”

“Aife is mistaken.”

“Well, let’s see if she’ll talk.” Scáthach pitched her voice to reach the sentries. “Hello, Dùn Dòbhrain! I am Scáthach, Queen of Shadow. I come to speak peacefully with my half sister, Aife.”

There was a flurry of activity on the sentry platforms and then the front doors swung open. Scáthach got a glimpse of the fort within and, except for the double line of armed warriors that stretched back from the open doors, it looked crowded but much as it had when last she’d visited. Smoke wafted from the tops of thatched-roofed roundhouses. Chicken and sheep roamed freely, and in the center of the fort was a round, stone keep structure.

Then Scáthach’s view was blocked by a petite woman who strode out with Drest at her side. He wore the distinctive cloak of Lethra’s elite Wolfskin warriors.

“He has no right to wear that cloak,” Scáthach said between clenched teeth.