Page 61 of Queen of the Shadow

But arrows didn’t fly. Spears were not hurled. A single warrior jogged through the press of Aife’s people to bow low before her and then speak softly to her. As she listened to him, Aife’s expression shifted. Her face lost its flush and when she turned to Scáthach again, her songbird illusion was once again in place.

Her smile was sweet and pretty, her voice high and musical. “I have just been informed that we have captured the warrior I came to this desolate place to find.” Aife’s laughter was girlish. “And now our discussion has concluded, sister. There is something, someoneI must see to. Goodbye, Scáthach. I doubt we shall ever meet again.” Aife turned and was swallowed by her wall of warriors as she hurried back into the fort.

Scáthach did not wait. She led her guard away from the fort and back along the loch at a gallop, and did not slow until she reached the spot where they’d launched the little fishing boat. There she dismounted and began pacing along the bank of the loch, staring out at the water, hoping she was wrong.

“Mother, what is it? Aife sounded almost mad. Could she have lost her mind?” Uathach asked.

“I hope she is mad and delusional.” Scáthach stared out at the empty loch. “But I’m afraid the truth is much, much worse.”

Chapter 14

There had been a moment when Scáthach had thought she’d glimpsed her father within Aife. But the familiarity had only lasted a moment before Aife’s blue eyes had shifted and become something so unlike Ardgeimm—something smug and sly and victorious. When Scáthach had met her half sister’s true gaze, she’d known Tabiti, Amage, and Cuchulainn had walked into a trap.

Please let them walk out. All of them.

* * *

The bottom of the fishing boat was small and tight and smelled of fish guts, but Cuchulainn loved that he was there—that Tabiti had chosen him as the second warrior to accompany her. Tabiti would never choose a warrior for any reason except his or her worth. To be found worthy by Tabiti was second only to being found worthy by Scáthach.

He rolled his ball of wax in his hand, keeping it warm and pliable as he shifted a little so that a small buoy stopped digging into his back. Tabiti lay across from Cuchulainn, facing him. She grimaced and also shifted to find a more comfortable position by putting her arm around her partner. Amage’s gaze went to Tabiti, and they shared an intimate look. The two had been partners for many years but were not demonstrably affectionate in public. But that look, that one glance, held a world in it—it was clear to all who saw them that Tabiti and Amage would always be there for each other. Cuchulainn envied the sureness of their solidarity and commitment.

“We’re coming up on the islet,” said Taog to the three hidden warriors. “I’ll stop rowing soon and Iain will cast out a line. When he does, I’ll pick up the tarp covering you and hold it up like I be looking for nets and such. That’ll block the view of the fort enough for you to slip over the side.”

“We’ll be ready,” said Tabiti. She met Cuchulainn’s gaze and he nodded.

“Iain, laddie boy, have you seen the small net?” Taog’s voice boomed around them.

“It’s under the tarp somewhere, Da,” called Iain from where he fished from the bow of the little boat.

“Under the tarp? Well then, I’ll have a look for it!” Taog called back to his son.

The old fisherman lifted the tarp, holding it like a curtain between the fort and the warriors, who moved swiftly. They sat, sealing their noses for the underwater feat and then, taking their reeds with them, slipped silently over the side as Taog and Iain counterbalanced the boat.

Once they were in the water they kept the boat between them and the fort as they swam to the cluster of flotsam that had been dragged along with them. The three positioned themselves so that the water debris shielded them and then started swimming toward the islet, staying low in the water.

Cuchulainn enjoyed the swim. The loch was cold, but not as frigid as the Fairy Pools where he’d trained, and the day was hot, so the loch was more refreshing than chilly. He was excited about their mission. Tabiti had described her plan to them before they’d loaded the boat. Once on land, they would move soundlessly to the thick wall surrounding the fort. Tabiti would be the lookout while Amage climbed onto Cuchulainn’s shoulders. From there she’d scramble atop the wall, take a quick count of the army within, and look for any traps they might be setting, and then Cuchulainn would help her back down the wall and they’d return to the loch and safety. Simple, silent, and swift—Tabiti had said that was their goal. Cuchulainn was more than ready.

“Underwater from here on,” Tabiti whispered to them, and the three warriors disappeared under the clump of debris, swimming beneath it as it floated the final distance to the islet.

Everything went smoothly at first. They waited, treading water until Tabiti gave them the all-clear sign. They crawled silently from the loch, pulling the big clump of debris with them onto land and leaving their reeds with it. Each of them rolled their wax balls and slid them into the inside pouches of their tunics.

Swords had been too bulky to bring, but they’d strapped knives and throwing daggers to their legs and waists. Tabiti drew two of hers, one for each hand, as she led them to the shadows at the base of the wall. They waited there for several breaths, pressed against the wall, listening for the voices of sentries or the sounds of feet on the walkway atop the wide stone.

There were no sounds. No footfalls. Nothing.

“Now!” Tabiti whispered to Cuchulainn and Amage as she kept watch, sliding from the wall shadows to the concealment of the thick grasses growing at the water’s edge and patrolling along their perimeter.

Cuchulainn bent a knee and took Amage’s hand as she scrambled to his wide shoulders, climbing him like a ladder.

Amage straightened, grasped the lip of the wall, and pulled herself up to peer into the fort. Warriors who had been laying atop the wall exploded from their place of concealment.

“Kill the women! But remember she wants Cuchulainn alive!” shouted one of the warriors.

Cuchulainn reacted first. He lunged backward, pulling Amage with him and breaking her fall as she tumbled from his shoulders. Above them, warriors drew taut their bows and let arrows fly. Tabiti threw both of her daggers, hitting two warriors, who fell from the wall, and then she raced toward Amage and Cuchulainn, running in a zigzag pattern. Arrows missed Tabiti, but as Amage stood, one embedded itself in her hamstring. Amage cried out in pain and fell to her knees.

“Amage!” Tabiti sprinted to her fallen partner.

“Get her out of here!” Cuchulainn ran toward Tabiti and Amage, shielding them from more arrows with the bulk of his body.