Mac Tire � Son of the Earth

Part 26 � Promises

Dom was dragged up from a deep sleep by someone banging on his door. Ede was not there, which surprised him. She usually slept in his bed, but the commotion seemed to have awoken her also, as she came through the connecting door, stepping over the sticky puddle of wine and the bottle on the floor. She pulled a face at the state of it. �I will have those half wits punished for not clearing this. Four days without food should be enough to remind them of their duties.� Dom pitied them but all thoughts vanished when his wife opened the outer door. It was Neeve.

The woman stared wildly at Dom, who was rubbing his eyes. "I am sorry, my lord... lady...pray do not be angry with me! There was nothing I could do..." She wrung her hands in despair and Ede pushed her down into a chair. "Huisht, Neeve. Tell us your story, but calmly."

Dom sat up in bed, his head thumping. As it cleared a little, he knew, for a certainty this concerned Lij. He stared at her and motioned for her to continue.

"I couldn't sleep last night, my lord king, and was taking a breath of air outside, well after dark, when the Egyptian lord and the merchant crept by holding their horses reins.

They saw me, and Egypt came up to me and asked me to give you a message. He said that he could no longer stay here after you had behaved so coldly towards him, and showed that you held him in such little regard. He was leaving with the merchant and his servants for the harbour and that when the Phoenician captain came here to Tara you were to tell him to return as soon as possible for Egypt would be waiting on board his ship.�

Dom fought for breath. Lij had gone?

Neeve ran her hands over her face. "He said he feared your anger and scorn, and, worse than that, he said, your coldness and disdain, and that it was better thus to ride away in secret. He bound me with sacred oaths not to tell you of it until the sun had risen. So here I am, as the dawn has just broken."

"What oaths?" Ede asked, studying Dom out of the corner of her eye.

"I am not sure, my lady. Someone called Ra. And ...the Aten, I think he said, as well as Dhia and Maeve. He swore I would die a painful death if I broke this vow. I believed him. His eyes were fearful dark as he bound me to it. I am sorry, my lord, I am an old woman, but I wish to live." Neeve glanced at Dom, imploring his forgiveness, but he was not looking at her. He was not looking at either of them.

Ede folded her lips tightly. "Did he leave a message for Cormac? I do not think my son would have allowed him to depart alone, if he had known of this...enterprise."

"Only to tell him that he was sorry that it should be like this, but it was better that he stayed with his own people."

Dom was lying back on the pillows, his eyes dead in his face. Lij had gone - left him without a word. Dom knew for a certainty he would never see him again.

"Get out!" he said hoarsely. Neeve rose to her feet and curtseyed. "Yes, lord," she said, and left. Dom looked up at Ede, and the woman saw the blind despair in his eyes. "Get out, you witch! I shall follow him. I shall..."

Ede picked up the bottle of wine which was still nearly half full, and poured him out some. "You will not! You are a king with a nation to knit together. You will not leave them leaderless again. I know you, Seaneen. Your duty will ever come first. Here, drink this," she murmured. He obeyed without a word.

She wisely left him to his grief. She heard him sobbing through the walls but did not enter his room again.

*

She was eating a hasty breakfast when she heard Cormac's loud voice through the wall. "Where is he? What have you done with him?"

She quickly entered the other room. Cormac stood by Dom's bed quivering with rage. "Lij has disappeared!" he said to her in an unsteady voice. He sat down in the chair, despairing. "I have searched everywhere, lady. He has taken his clothing...everything is gone from his chamber. Where is he?"

Dom answered, his voice flat and dry. "He has gone, boy. Left us both without a word. Never would I have thought it of him..."

Cormac stared at him - disbelief written large on his face. "Left me? After last night? After he told me....no. It cannot be. Tell me you lie!"

Dom closed his eyes. "And what did he say to you last night, Cormac? That he loved you?"

The young man wistfully shook his head. "No, not that. He loves only you, Sean-Adomnan, you should know that. He said I should find it pleasant living in Egypt and that I should like the warmth, as the cold here bothered me. He gave me this cloak he'd had made for me...said the blue was a perfect match with my eyes...."

Cormac tenderly smoothed the fine wool, his fingers trembling. "Tell me what has happened," he said quietly. Ede told him Neeve's story, as Dom remained silent.

Cormac could not speak. The two men looked bereft and Ede withdrew quietly into the other room, leaving the door open, so she could hear what was being said.

"I cannot believe he has gone from me," whispered Cormac, echoing Dom's thoughts exactly. "I loved him...really loved him, while you...you..." he pointed a shaking finger at Dom..."treating him with such coldness, yesterday, as if he did not matter�had never mattered!"

Ede smiled to herself. Soon, only she would remain to be a comfort to her Seaneen and what a comfort she would be! There was a flurry of noise outside the second chamber and she went to answer the door, irritated by the distraction. Responsibilities claimed her attention and she stepped into the corridor.

Dom tried to speak, but could not. He cleared his throat and tried again. He had risen from the bed and was pacing about the large room like a predatory animal. He peered into the other chamber. Suddenly he turned on Cormac, fury in his eyes. Distress made him reckless.

"Do you not know the evil of which she is capable?" he hissed, stabbing his finger in the direction of Ede's room. "You saw Colm's body hanging from the ramparts, his wife raped and murdered, his children..."

Cormac stuttered, puzzled. "But that was Connor...Sowrawn...it was not..."

"You have not lived with her for many years, Cormac. I never knew of you when I was married to her before..." The incomprehension on the young man's face told Dom that even this former marriage was news to him.

"She is Sowrawn. She alone ordered their deaths. She alone encompassed this wickedness. I have a witness - a trusted witness to her evil ways. I am sorry, Cormac. Your mother is a murderer. You have no idea of the depth of her malice, or her need for revenge. I did what I had to, to keep my beloved safe. Now he is gone, thinking that I do not love him and he is my life..."

Dom's voice cracked on the last word, and he stood by the window, staring out at the green fields beyond the hill. They heard the latch snick.

"Never a word of this, Cormac, or we are both dead men," he whispered as Ede came back into the other room.

"I have sent a troop of guard out to see if they can find him, Seaneen." she said as she entered through the connecting door. "I would not have him leave like this, with no word to either of you. If they can track the way he has gone, they will try to persuade him to return, if only to stay until the Phoenician comes. I have had his servant whipped for his carelessness. He should have watched him more closely."

She sat on the bed and gazed placidly at both of them. The two men kept their feelings from their faces. "When he is recovered you may question him. He knows nothing though,� she went on, as if she were discussing the ordering of flour.

Cormac, hiding his horror, rose hastily, and bowed low. "I beg you will excuse me my king, lady...I wish to...I am..."

Dom looked kindly on the distressed young man. "Stay - and ride with me after we have broken our fast. The fresh air will do us both good. Do not trouble yourself to have us followed, lady," he continued, glaring at Ede with barely concealed hatred in his eyes. "I have sworn my oath to you, and I shall keep it. You may trust my given word." Ede gave him one hard look, and left the rooms.

Dom indicated that Cormac sit at the table and, spurning the wine, poured out two cups of the watered mead. He called for servants and ordered food and fresh clothing, and for the horses to be brought to the main door in an hour. After he had washed and eaten, he and Cormac rode off together down the hill.

*

Dom and Cormac stood side by side by the little tree at the edge of the peat beds. "'I'm sure he lies easy, here," Dom said in a voice husky with emotion. "He was a good friend to both of us, and was devoted to Lij you know."

Cormac nodded."I know. He... Lij� used to tell me of your life in Egypt, Sean..."

"...Dom. Please call me Dom. There is no-one left, now, who..."

He could not go on. Lij was gone. His life was nothing now, but duty and misery. Cormac, looking at the man standing beside him saw that Dom had suffered far beyond his own loss at his lover's sudden departure. His eyes were circled with weariness, his skin waxy with sweat and strain.

Cormac was a kind soul. He put his hand on Dom's arm. "Come from this place, Sea...Dom. Nekeb is not here. He is riding with the Hounds of Heaven across the sky. He is at peace."

Dom nodded. "He is, of that I am sure. But I will never be at peace again...never... and I have no-one who can help me with it."

Cormac coughed, as they remounted their horses. "I cannot take his place, Dom, but let me be your friend. If you can forget whose son I am, I would like that. I, too, will be alone, now. Maybe we can help each other in friendship."

Dom smiled wearily at the earnestness in the young man's voice. "So be it, my friend. Come, let us ride!"

Dom took off across the green fields, and Cormac whooped and followed, the warming wind blowing his hair into his eyes.

*

Cass and Brian were eating a hasty meal between watches. The lady Ede was angry, and it did not do to be the cause of this anger, however inoffensive the deed.

"...So she had them whipped and is depriving them of food for four days - all for spilling some wine on the king's floor!" Brian said, thickly, around a mouthful of meat.

"The woman is mad entirely." Cass took a long draught of watered mead. "Keep out of her way, Brian, I would not see you hurt."

The two men smiled at each other. Cass took a bit of bread and commented, "I saw that Phoenician servant of Lij's prowling about in the cellars, too. Shifty kind of man - you know the type - his eyes are too close together..."

Brian interrupted, a puzzled look on his face. "Do you not think it odd that he left without him, Cass?You know how helpless he is with his clothing and gear. I cannot imagine him surviving without someone to help him. He is such a ....king!"

Cass laughed. "He is! But I expect one of the merchant's servants will go with him. After all, this Egypt sounds a fine place...if you like sand."

His voice became more serious. "I think it is odder that Lij left without a word to the king. I have seen them together, in bed and outside it. They loved each other beyond telling, Brian."

Brian looked fondly upon his chosen mate. "It begs the question as to why he married the witch, then doesn't it? And, my friend, if you spoke as coldly to me as Dom did to Lij, yesterday, I'm sure I'd run off without a word, too."

Cass cuffed Brian gently around the head. "You are more likely to punch me in the jaw and ask me what I mean by it!" The men rose laughing and went to return to their duties.

"The men are asking when you will be joining the guard officially and getting your tattoo, Cass," said Brian, rubbing his face. "They think it is time..."

Cassawn smiled. "Come to my room after your duty is over and I'll show you something that will surprise you!"

Brian guffawed as he opened the door to the guard room. "Don't bother! I've seen it already!" he grinned. Cass grinned back. "Not this you haven't!"

Four hours later Brian said "It's me, you eejit!" to Cass muffled enquiry from beyond the closed door. It opened and Cass stood in the doorway. Brian stared at him, lost for words.

He managed three. "Well, fuck me!" he spluttered using the language of the peoples of the big isle across the southern sea. He stepped in and closed the door, still staring at the tattoo emblazoned across Cass's face.

Cass drew him roughly into his arms and kissed him, hard. "I can do that - yes!" he whispered into Brian's ear, familiar as he, too, was with the language his mate had used. "But let us talk, first!"

*

Dom, breathing in the fresh air, thought his country never had looked as good as it did today. As if in opposition to his misery, new life sprouted everywhere. Trees were growing green again, and the shamrock gathered in clusters mixing with the yellow and purple blossoms at their feet.

A couple of peat cutters walking to the beds bowed low as they saw his royal emblem emblazoned on his saddle cloth. As they rode through a village they saw that a house had burned down, and got down immediately to see what he could do to help.

The people who had lived in the hut, for it was little more, were a young couple with a new baby - the woman seemed sick, and the man was tearful and defensive. It seemed no-one wished to take them in, and they sat on a log in front of the burnt building as the woman tried to feed her baby, defeat in their tired eyes.

The village elder came out when informed that people of consequence had arrived, and offered the couple his cow shed. It was obvious as he spoke that he thought the cows were more entitled to it. Dom was furious.

"You will house these good people within your own dwelling until theirs can be rebuilt," he said in a loud voice that brooked no refusal. The fat elder bridled. "No one can order me to take them in - I am a free man, and answer only to the high king...."

His voice tailed off as he spotted the emblem, the Harp of Tara, on Dom's horse. "Exactly!" Cormac spoke, amusement showing through at the man's discomfort. "So I suggest that you do as the Ard-Ri orders, do not you?"

Dom spoke quietly, but with so much dignity the crowd which had gathered listened with interest. It was time their fat, lazy elder got what he deserved.

"No - I have changed my mind. This place is not fit for these good people. You..." he pointed at the elder, "...will convey them to Tara in your best wagon, and take them to Lord Ultan's dun. His Lordship will be glad to take them in. Just tell him that...Sean-Adomnan has asked it of him."

The fat man bowed low, and ordered the horses to be harnessed to the wagon. He also tried to invite Dom and Cormac into his house for refreshments. Dom refused politely, but firmly. "I will enter no house to which the lowest of my subjects has been refused entrance. You should learn... that the master of all is the servant of all."

He turned to the couple who now looked immeasurably happier, and said kindly, "I will call on my way back to leave orders for your welfare. Do not fear, there is a healer there, too, and he will be glad to look at your wife. Tell them I suggested it."

The young man stood straighter and when he spoke Dom realised why they were so ill-regarded amongst who should have been their own. He had a very serious stammer, and could hardly speak his thanks.

Dom waved him away, and rode off behind the wagon, to general acclamation from the crowd, who, Cormac said, wryly, wished they too, could be housed at Tara.

Dom grinned, but he was thinking of something else. "You know, Cormac, I once saw a man cured of a worse stammer than that. They put small stones in his mouth and made him speak around them. Soon he spoke as well as any man..."

Dom's voice tailed off as he remembered that he would never see Egypt again. The sun was high in the sky, and Cormac realised with a start that he was hungry.

"Do they have good food in Ultan's house?" he asked as they skirted the foot of the hill and came to the High Road of Tara.

Dom smiled. "They do! Have you not marked the size of the man? Come, let us eat!"

*

Ede had been informed that Dom and Cormac had stopped at Ultan's dun for the midday meal. She shrugged. Eating alone never bothered her. She finished her meal, and gave some instructions to a few servants, who having seen the results of the whippings meted out to their fellows were fawningly anxious to please.

She smiled grimly. It never hurt to show who held the upper hand. She walked down the steep staircase to the cellars and through a thick door which she opened with a key.

Inside were two men sitting at a small table lit by two candles, playing some game with stones and a board. One was Porphyry, Lij�s Phoenician servant. He rose to greet her.

"Is all well?" She asked, quietly. "All is well, lady," came the smooth reply. He took a key tied around his waist and opened another door.

Lij was chained naked to the wall by his hands and feet. His arms outstretched, his feet well apart. It was a painful position to be in for any length of time. It looked as if he were sleeping or had fainted, but his head shot up as Ede entered. He began to speak, but she stopped him. "Silence, little mouse! I am mistress here and you will listen and obey. I hear from my spies that you are much addicted to prayer..."

She laughed at the flash of anger on his face...."Glower all you like, little man! And say your prayers if you have breath. You will need them, for I swear to you now, by Don Dorcha the Dark Lord, and by Louna, the Evil One, you will never leave this place alive!"




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