“So,” the old man said, “with the handfasting complete, they tended to their wounds and began the healing. They drank a toast to the love, the true magic, that had come out of dark and out of death.
“Inside the house while the rain fell, the brave rested and prepared for the next battle.”
He sat back, picking up the fresh tea a servant had set beside him. “That is all of the story for today.”
The protests were immediate, and passionate. But the old man only chuckled and shook his head.
“There’ll be more tomorrow, I promise you, for the story’s not finished. Only this beginning. But for now, the sun is out, and so should you be. Haven’t you learned from the beginning of the tale that light is to be treasured? Go. When I finish my tea, I’ll come out to watch you.”
Alone, he drank his tea, watched his fire. And thought of the tale he would tell on the morrow.
Glossary of Irish Words, Characters and Places
a chroi (ah-REE), Gaelic term of endearment meaning “my heart,” “my heart’s beloved,” “my darling”
a ghrá (ah-GHRA), Gaelic term of endearment meaning “my love,” “dear”
a stór (ah-STOR), Gaelic term of endearment meaning “my darling”
Aideen (Ae-DEEN), Moira’s young cousin
Alice McKenna, descendant of Cian and Hoyt Mac Cionaoith
An Clar (Ahn-CLAR), modern-day County Clare
Ballycloon (ba-LU-klun)
Blair Nola Bridgit Murphy, one of the circle of six, the “warrior” a demon hunter, a descendant of Nola Mac Cionaoith (Cian and Hoyt’s younger sister)
Bridget’s Well, cemetery in County Clare, named after St. Bridget
Burren, the, a karst limestone region in County Clare, which features caves and underground streams
cara (karu), Gaelic for “friend, relative”
Ceara, one of the village women
Cian (KEY-an) Mac Cionaoith/McKenna, Hoyt’s twin brother, a vampire, Lord of Oiche, one of the circle of six, “the one who is lost”
Cirio, Lilith’s human lover
ciunas (CYOON-as), Gaelic for “silence” the battle takes place in the Valley of Ciunas—the Valley of Silence
claddaugh, the Celtic symbol of love, friendship, loyalty
Cliffs of Mohr (also Moher), the name given to the ruin of forts in the South of Ireland, on a cliff near Hag’s Head “Moher O’Ruan”
Conn, Larkin’s childhood puppy
Dance of the Gods, the Dance, the place in which the circle of six passes through from the real world to the fantasy world of Geall
Davey, Lilith, the Vampire Queen’s “son,” a child vampire
Deirdre (DAIR-dhra) Riddock, Larkin’s mother
Dervil (DAR-vel), one of the village women
Eire (AIR-reh), Gaelic for “Ireland”